3D Dot Game Heroes

A rather heavy week at work almost made me reconsider dedicating time to this frivolous, but fun, blog.

Well, now I'm well fed and refreshed after 12+ hours of sleep.

I'm out of excuses. Here is the first of many posts to make up for it!

Don't get me wrong, i love video games but i rarely bother to keep up with the latest releases.

I dislike advertising shills like IGN and don't buy gaming magazines.

I  usually get all my info from GameFaqs.

Still, this does not excuse me from missing this amazing title by almost a year!


3D Dot Game Heroes is a loving tribute to some of my favourite games of all time.

Pure nostalgia rarely sways me when buying Media of any sort, but this game hit me hard.

It perfectly recaptured the feelings i had when playing Legend of  Zelda: A link to the past for the first time, many, many summers ago.

They say you can't buy love, but this game came quite close!

Check out a direct comparison of Zelda: Ltp and 3D Dot Game Heroes on YouTube.

Review: Judge Dee Detective novels by Van Gulik

Judge Dee (also, Judge Di) is the titular protagonist of Robert Van Gulik's series of detective novels. The series is set in Tang Dynasty China and deals with various criminal cases solved by the upright Judge Dee (judges often play the investigator role in ancient Chinese crime stories).

                                                                      Quoted from wikipedia

 Judge Dee has a few things in common with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, he's a brilliant detective with amazing analytical and deductive skills, but the similarities end there.

Unlike Holmes, Dee is a family man and a skilled martial artist, with a reputable and stable job in the highly bureaucratic Chinese government of his time.

Dee has a multiple cast of well developed sidekicks. His friend, clerk and family retainer Sergeant Hoong, and Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, two ex highwaymen that join him after realizing how cool Judge Dee is.

Also, in contrast with his western colleague, he deals with numerous cases at the same time. These secondary cases more often than not provide a clue, or are otherwise linked to the solution of the main one.

I really enjoyed reading Van Gulik's novels. Each one of them was a page turner and just the right length to keep me entertained. His descriptions of ancient Chinese daily life in is captivating and vivid. Not the mention the way he skillfully weaves multiple narrative threads, offering us two or three solutions for each mystery, exposed trough Dee's inner musings. Invariably there is a fourth or fifth solution, neatly and plausibly explained when the last piece of the puzzle is found.

Another great aspect of the books is that Judge Dee has no qualms about joining the fray and defeating criminals directly.  The novels are full of exciting sword fights and martial art combat scenes that would not be out of place in wuxia movies, like Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon.

Judge Dee's wikipedia article has a full bibliography. I recommend hunting down those books, they are a sure way to pass the time on a boring bus or train trip.

Ah, by the way, there was also a Judge Dee movie recently released, directed by none other than Tsui Hark!

              Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Check out the trailer on youtube.

I hope to find this movie in theaters or get my hands on a copy soon!

Stars Without Number

Stars Without Number is a retro science fiction role playing game similar to Traveller in scope and obviously inspired by the D&D role-playing game editions written by Frank Mentzer and Tom Moldvay. You can find a very good review on Grognardia.


As a thought experiment, and because I'm bored, I'm about to create a world from scratch using the cool random tables and world generation tools in the book.

I will use a bullet format fore each roll on the tables and interpret them in prose afterwards. Numbers in square brackets are my dice rolls results.

• Atmosphere  [6]               A breathable mix.
• Temperature  [4]              A cold world
• Biosphere     [5]               No native biosphere
• Population   [11]              Billions of inhabitants*
• Tech level     [6]              20th century technology 

* Good explanation required for this one!

World Tags: Pretech Cultists & Freak Weather

Local language: Zhe-sa Tibetan with loan words from Old Norse 

Government: Oligarchic Theocracy.

Spaceport facilities: None on the planet but an imperial, "Itaca" class spaceship in GSO above a minor 
capital serves as a temporary spaceport under the watchful eye of the government.

To be continued in a future post

M&M combat example

A mock combat i ran by my lonesome to test out the now outdated 2nd edition of the Mutants & Masterminds rpg. A nuts and bolts breakdown of the dice rolls and mechanics follows the narrative.

Ninja showdown

Satoru walked slowly among the shadows of the forest. He was sent here by his master to gather rare herbs, an odd request, but master Kotaru's orders always had a reason, sometimes hidden by another, like the layers of the onion he was snacking upon for breakfast. Satoru was pleased, a student of the silent arts should always appear dumber than he looked to his teacher, lest jealousy put poison in his food or suicidal missions be assigned to the ambitious. "If the old turtle didn't bother to come up with anything more elaborate to send me here, he must be really thinking me a harmless fool" he mused. A wicked grin flashed on his face, "and this belief will become his undoing, when the time is right". Up in the trees Yoshifumi was thinking more or less along the same lines.  Bring me Larks eggs... it seemed a weird order coming from the menacing and heavily scarred face of Master Kotaru. Yoshifumi's whisper was lost in the rustling of the autumn leaves "old turtle, if it's the blood of Satoru you want i will be glad to shed it, and if not, i will at least get rid of the onion stench of his breath!".

Running swiftly  along a tree branch Yoshifumi unsheathed his wakizashi. His grin of anticipation suddenly wiped from his face as his feet slipped on a treacherous patch of moss. Cursing his bad luck he rolled in the air and landed lightly on his feet, right in front of his blinking enemy. Satoru chewed on the last bit of onion and took a long apprehensive look at his opponent's blade, gleaming in the shafts of light piercing the leaves above. He then locked his gaze on Yoshifumi's unwavering eyes. "good morning Yoshifumi, i bet Master sent you on an errand as well" he smirked nervously as his hands edged closer to his weapon's hilt. Yoshfumi changed his stance slightly and remarked curtly "Yes Satoru an errand i will be pleased to complete".

Yoshifumi's attack came fast but his blade met only the air as his black clad opponent dodged to the left. Satoru's eyes revealed fear and a hint of desperate determination. Yoshifumi knew Satoru was a cowardly rat, but even rats fought to the death when cornered. He cautiously started circling his opponent waiting for an opening. Satoru drew his wepon and smiled uneasily " This need not end like this, we are both valuable students of our wise Master, surely the death of one of us will greatly displease him..." Yoshifumi's eyes narrowed "you are not going to talk yourself out of this Satoru" with unexpected speed he charged, his leveled blade leaving a thin crimson line in Satoru's left arm. Satoru grimaced in pain "you will regret this Yoshi" he withdrawed quickly, his wakizashi held high in a defensive stance. Yoshifumi gritted his teeth and moved closer "I always hated that nickname, reminds me of a green lizard i had when i was a kid" his sword came from below rising high to meet Satoru's curved blade.  The ring of steel startled a flock of multicolored birds that fluttered away in the noon sky.

Satoru disengaged, the blades scraping ominously against each other and slashed low, aiming for Yoshifumi's legs. The sword blow was easily jumped over by his grinning enemy " you must do better than that Sato, if you wish to finish eating the onions you have left".

Satoru knew when a battle was turning against him. Running away to fight another day, and with better odds, always seemed the more sensible approach  to him. He grabbed a small egg from his belt and dropped it in front of  his feet. A black oily smoke rose up from the impact point spreading quickly in the chilly wind, herald of the coming winter.

Satoru turned, ready to run but yoshifumi was soon upon him and as Swift as a frog's darting tongue his blade slashed diagonally, parting the smoke and drawing a thin red line along his back. Satoru felt the metal tang of blood as it began to well out of his mouth. His voice emotionless Yoshifumi raised his sword and said "Sato i give you the chance to die like a warrior". In desperation Satoru gathered what was left of his fleeting strenght and faced his fellow student. His wakizashi was held in trembling hands, the attack he tried soon after was pitifully slow and easily dodged by his adversary. "So; it seems i will be the one bearing the dangerous duty of reporting your death to Master Kotaru". Yoshifumi's grin widened "Will you mind me throwing away your stash of onions?". Satoru gazed blankly at his killer for a few seconds, orange and yellow leaves blowing past his ashen face. He fell gracelessly, a crimson pool staining the grass around his prone body. "I tought not" whispered Yoshifumi and without a backwards glance stepped out of the path, his eyes searching the trees for nests. He sighed "I really hope Master Kotaru doesn't want onion in his eggs".

0. Pre-battle: Yoshifumi draws his Wakizashi and runs along a tree branch hoping to suprise attack SatoruYoshifumi wins.

1. Yoshifumi takes a standard action and attacks Satoru, he misses, and using his move action retreats to a safe distance. Satoru draws his weapon, a move action, and using a standard action tries to demoralize his opponent, his attempt fails.

2. Yoshifumi takes a full action to charge Satoru and attack, his bonuses prove just enough to hit. Satoru fails his toughness save by 3 and is injured. Satoru takes a standard action to ready himself to block the next blow and a move action to move away from Yoshifumi.

3. Yoshifumi uses a move action to get close and a standard action to attack again. His attack is blocked by the readied action of Satoru. They both have the same dexterity bonus so they roll a die to determine initiative, Satoru wins.

4. Satoru takes a standard action and attacks, he misses. He uses his remaining move action and a free action to grab and drop a smoke bomb in front of him. Yoshifumi attacks, he hits and succeeds on the 50% miss roll imposed by the total concealment of the smoke. Satoru fails his toughness save by a wide margin, ending staggered, disabled and stunned.

5. Yoshifumi takes no action this round. Satoru is still stunned.

6. Satoru recovers from being stunned and attacks, trying to bring Yoshifumi to hell with him but his roll misses. Yoshifumi takes no action this round, waiting for his enemy to fall.

7. The strenous action taken by Satoru in the previous round brings him down to dying, he fails his fortitude saving throw to stabilize. Satoru is dead.

Skies of Aerann

Skies of Aerann is my campaign setting for a Final Fantasy-esque RPG partially inspired by the videogame Skies of Arcadia. A world of floating islands, majestically drifting trough endless skies.

I'm still undecided on the system to use.
Probably something narrative and/or light like PDQ, Fate or Heroquest 2.

The World
The vast majority of the floating islands are immobile but some drift along a specific circular route while others are "wild", meaning they drift in an erratic, random pattern.

Quan-Tang Empire: The main power in the setting is The Kastarian Empire. It is comprised of over hundred islands captured by Imperial forces and brought togheter into one huge flying landmass. Primarily Quan-Tang , but with significant subject populations of the other races.

Human Realms: The Humans once had a nation built on a single island the size of a small continent called Atlantea. They shared this nation with the Moguri and together they both developed and advanced technology and science. However, over mining caused the island to begin to collapse and fall away. Those that could fled, those that couldn't died. The Moguri decided they liked a nomadic existence on the winds but the Humans settled down on many islands. They no longer mine the islands they settle on.

Beastlands: Beastman roam freely in vast jungle reefs of small, usually no more than a km or two, islands. Using Gliders to visit and trade with their neighbours, they live a peaceful life periodically interrupted by months of sorrow when their young are drafted in imperial armies or an orc raiding party sets fire to their homes.

Races
Many races inhabit  Aerannn, each one has its own way of travelling through the sky.

Quan-Tang- Masters of magic, Lizard man airships are kept aloft by Aerolite and propelled forward by captured air-elementals. These provide the Quan Tang with a powerful source of propulsion making their airships the fastest in the known world. Because of their speed, most of them are sleek and aerodynamically designed. They are lightly armoured, relying instead on protective magics and offensive spells for weapons.

Humans- Human technology is the most advanced out of any of the races. Being Aerolite poor people, they rely on brute force methods for flight. Their Hawk-Hammers are massive, heavily armoured affairs often constructed out of alchemical metals. Slow, and unwieldy,  they mount a few treasured Aerolite stones but most of the lift comes from hypersteam turbines which belch steam exhaust out of thruster ports on the base of the ships. Usually four or more ports can be found giving the appearance that the ships are supported on massive columns of steam exhaust. They are armed with massive cannons on rotating mounts, Flame Projectors, Automatic Ballistas with explosive bolts and troopers with Flame Lances.

Moguri- The Moguri use a strange mixture of science and sorcery. Their ships run from dirigibles, ornithopters and clockwork/Crystal skybases. The Moguri are a completely nomadic race of merchants that live on floating mobile towns that never touch down on the islands. Not all Moguri belong to the Mogu-rasith

Beastmen- Gliders are the only way any Beastman lacking natural wings will choose to move through the air. Masters of finding and using thermals, their small gliders are almost impossible to detect and have a habit of slipping into the nearest cloudbank and disappearing. Some of them are equipped with extradimensional spaces for cargo. Beastmen magic would closely resemble nature magic with an emphasis on wind control.

Godless- Orcs and Goblins prefer to ride living creatures when flying. In their case it's Wyverns, or more rarely, enslaved and brainwashed young dragons. Sometimes they turn pirate and use captured ships of other races if they can figure out how to keep them running. However they prefer to use their reptilian mounts.

 

Magilite Stones

There are two kinds of rock in Aerannn. One kind is the familiar rock that comes in many varieties and tends to fall down when dropped. A second kind is called Magilite and is subdivided in four types of magically charged stones.

One type falls up rather than down. If you were to let it go, it would vanish off up into the sky as quickly as a normal stone would if dropped off a cliff. This type of rock is called "Aerolite". A heavy Aerolite might be as hard to "lift" (keep from flying off) as a similarly sized common rock. Find an Aerolite that weighs the same as you do and you have a crude levitation device, should you tie yourself to it.

In ancient times Humans and Moguri found ways of affecting Aerolite, diminishing it's upward pull or negating it completly. The process requires a steady amount of magical energy and is at the base of all Airship technology in Aerannn.

Recently, the Moguri began experiments aimed at increasing Aerolite's "lifting" power through complex chemical and sorcerous methods that reduce impurities in the stone. Unfortunately, Aerolites obtained with the new processes are instable and prone to explode in dangerous flares of magical energy. Most financial support for these experiments comes from humans, since empowering the Aerolites already in their possession could greatly benifit their Airship fleet.

The rarest type of Magilite is called Materia or Binding stone.  An exceptional stone capable of trapping powerful elementals in it's crimson depths. Many sorcerers own such a stone. The most powerful are owned by the Kastarian Emperor. Highly sophisticated Airships may be the most visible asset of the Quan-Tang but many believe, perhaps correctly, that Materia is the true source of imperial power.

The third type of  Magilite is called Hydrolite. The second most common stone after Negalite, it's vital to the survival of all life on Aerannn. Every few seconds Hydrolite conjures a volume of water proportional to their size. All lakes and rivers have one or more Hydrolites as their source and nine titanic Hydrolites are set on the floor of the Kastarian internal sea. Excess water forms Waterfalls that fall over the rim of the islands, constantly vaporized, producing clouds and rain in a delicate balance. Destroying a Hydrolite, however small is considered a heinous crime bordering on insanity, in most countries punisment for such an act is a swift death.

Aerolite, Materia and Hydrolite are much rarer than common rock , but together they comprise only 10% of the rock in Aerannn. The rest of the rock is "Negalite", a rock that does not fall at all. It is gravitationally neutral, just as common rock is gravitationally positive and Aerolite is negative. A Negalite that is dropped will simply stay where it is.

Another property that Negalite possesses is that it drags on the fabric of space… a small stone of Negalite, if thrown, will come to a sharp halt a few dozen feet away. A large boulder will be very difficult to move at all, despite the fact that it weighs "nothing". And a Negalite mountain is an immovable object.

Negalite rock tends to occur in large sheets, anywhere from a mile or two, to hundreds of miles across and tens of miles thick. These sheets are called islands. Islands tend to accumulate a sediment of common rock, Hydrolite and earth on their upper surface, and a proportionally very small sediment of Aerolite with rare veins of Materia on their lower surface. Sometimes fields of Negalite rock boulders can be found in vast walls and chains. These are referred to as reefs.

Stormjumping
Stormjumping: Originally developed as a scouting platform by the Moguri, the skyboard has become one of the most popular sports in the world. Enthusiasts leap from an island into a storm cloud below. They then essentially "surf" the winds in the most stylish and suicidal way possible. When done, they activate the boards Mogurish levitation crystals and fly back up to the island to do it all over again. On the extreme circuits they leap into thunderstorms or hurricanes

In medias res

Since i suck at beginnings, and know full well that introductions are boring, i will start my first post sharing a great movie i saw a week ago. Not really a review, more of a geeky, enthusiastic recommendation.

Save the Green Planet! An amazing movie i wish i had seen years ago, since it ticks all my boxes.

Here is a description straight from wikipedia. Yes, I'm that lazy ;)

Save the Green Planet! (Korean title: 지구를 지켜라!, Jigureul Jikyeora!) is a South Korean film, written and directed by Jang Jun-hwan, released on 4 April 2003 . The movie mixes elements of multiple genres, including comedy, science fiction, horror and thriller. The basic story begins when the main character, Lee Byeong-gu, kidnaps another man, convinced that the latter is an alien.

I won't spoil the plot* and instead give a you a few toughts and impressions that went trough my head while watching it.

This movie is exactly the the kind of movie i love!
 Ever seen a goofy, horrifying, tragicomedy?

A movie that makes you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time!
A movie that gets yo thinking, that scares the crap out of you, all the while filling you with wonder?

Well if you haven't. Rent or buy Save the Green Planet!

Don't listen to a random guy on the Internet and go check it out by yourselves.

It is totally worth your time.


*If you really want to know, you can look it up in the wiki page from witch i stole the movie blurb.