The Decimator

OK, this started as a one-note joke. So here I post it.

The Decimator

No. Enc.:	n/a
Movement:	120' (40')
Armor Class:	6
Hit Dice:	50 hp
Attacks:	1
Damage:	1d6 or target shrinks
Save:	L5
Morale:	n/a
Hoard Class:	none

The Decimator is an android fitted with a shrink-ray arm-cannon. Anyone hit by the ray must save vs energy, or get reduced to a tenth of it's original size, so a 6-foot man will shrink down to 7 inches (this is much better worked out in metric). The target has a tenth of it's original hit points, and counts have 10-points less of STR (minimum: 1) vs larger (normal-size) creatures. This can last for so many days, or is permanent (its up to the ML). They look like cheap knock-off (skinless) T-800 "Infiltrator" Terminators. They tend to cry in a loud, shrill voice: "Decimate! Decimate!" If you know where to find it, you can press a "suicide switch" (you must attack it, but it gets a free attack) that would set off incinerators, which would (literally) decimate the unit to nothing more then a single hand.

Someone with skill, can rig a defeated Decimator's arm-cannon and power-supply into portable shrink-ray cannon.

WTF Blogger?!?

OK, so I'm checking out my (recently updated) Blogger watch list to check on the blogs of folks I'm watching, and lo and behold, my list is flooded with posts form some "ngoceh" at the Personal Finance Tips blog. What the hell is going on here? I do not have this douche on watch! I do not give a damn about the glorified circle-jerk that goes on between Wallstreet fatcats! And I cant get rid of the posts, and they have flooded my watch list like a cockroach infestation, as the fucker dont shut up!

Damn, I hate these arbitrary updates! >=(

Running for Capital Hell and The Whorehouse

My growing frustration with Washington has reached the boiling point! I found out that Megauplod(dot-com) was busted, and all their equipment seized. Natually, this just happened after the big SOPA protest. With the treasonous National Defense Authorization Act green-lighted by both sides (to me, anyone who sighed-off on that deserves to be detained indefinitely and waterboarded), and how they tried to poss two bills (SOPA and PIPA) that only benefits a few fat-bastards who are as greedy and bloated as themselves (Hollywood, the record inds., big pharmaceuticals, cabal companies, etc.), I am loosing faith in the system. Yes, the old-farts had no clue about the internet, and the people spoke-up to get the bill defeated, but that is not going to stop them form passing another shitty ass bill that would reduce the Constitution to a piece of toilet-paper!

They are all dead to me! >:(

They don't answer to us - the tax-paying people - they only answer to their big corporate suger-daddies! I could say "Get the bums out!", but who would replaces them? We would just get stuck with another bunch of greedy, incompetent assholes! The Teaparty Movement tried to change the Capital by bringing new blood, but they prove to be a bunch of retards and sellouts!

Right now the media is too focused no that political game show I call The Biggest Looser, where a bunch of mega-yuppies compete to show America who is the biggest anti-Christ, and send him to the Whor... er, Whitehorse. (yes, I know "anti-Christ" is a strong term, but I dont see it in terms of that one guy who will become "The Beast", but more on the terms of moral hypocrites like Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps, who call themselves "Christian" but have no clue what Jesus was really about - he was a spiritual rebel, who rejected much of what the Bible had to say). They all follow the Cult of Regen - who's economic policies failed twice already. They put WAY too much trust in big business to do right. They say they what less government, but only one will deliver, but that guy is not content until the US is a Mad Max version of itself, but he thinks we'll get a utopia out of it. They are all fucking jokes!

I know its hard to believe that a crazy-ass like myself would have such a view, but I see things with a balanced approach. Too much government is a grinding and rigged bureaucracy at the vary least, or a police-state at the vary worst. Too little government means no one gets help, and robber-barons fill the power-vacuum. I like a degree of government control, like business regulations, environmental protection, product safety standards, anti-trust laws, political campaign restrictions, building permits, and so on. We dont need a lot of nonsensical nanny-state laws or a draconian legal system, but it needs to be appropriate and maintain a balance of powers. Unfortunately people get a little political and/or economic power, and they loose their heads.

Well I see Governor Walker (WI - R) getting recalled by overwhelming numbers in the TV, and it is giving me such a schadenboner. >=D

I have been delightfully "naughty" this season (the less said, the better), so I was deserving of this great gift for Christmas:
People wonder how I sleep at night. Well, quit warmly actually. >=D~ Muhahahahahaha!!!

Is Fantasy Heartbreakers a Form of Art?

I have given much thought about the the old-school movement and all the retro-clones, and near-retros, and such out there. Not just D&D-clones, but also games like Mazes & Minotaurs and Encounter Critical. M&M and EC are both examples of making a modern game that feels vintage and even makes-up a tongue-in-cheek backstory about their creation. The stories are fictional, but in the case of M&M, it was a good parody of real life events.

I see the necessity of games like Labyrinth Lord (Basic and Expert D&D) and OSRIC (1st ed AD&D) to keep the older, unsupported rules in-print. They are doing well because there is a demand for them, as a lot of older gamers are coming back to the hobby (or they what to introduce them to their kids), but they need replacement books, and there is an interest with younger players who have become disenfranchised with the newer D&D or just what to discover the game's roots. On the other hand, a game like Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-playing Game: The Grindhouse Edition (damn that is a long-ass title) is basically the older D&D rules - a mix of original, with basic & expert - with a good amount of useful house rules, and artwork tailored to the creator's personal aesthetics. This was not made to appeal to the general gaming market, or to tell people what D&D *should* be, but it was the expression of one man who made a rulebook uniquely his. Folks might write it off as a typical "fantasy heartbreaker" (a published indi-RPG that is based off D&D, that tries to compete with it), but to me it is a work of art.

The D&D rules are universally understood by most gamers, and with the malleable nature of RPG rules, plus the unusual legality that liberates them from copyright regulations (with the OGL as a great redundancy), it is only natural that fantasy heartbreakers become an art medium into itself. I already see RPGs in general as an art medium. Its like poetry, in which you have metrical composition (the rules), themes (the setting or genre), meaning (the scenario), euphemism (mata-stuff), and expression (the adventure). In this case, a fantasy heartbreaker expresses itself through house rules, supplemental material (new classes, spells, monsters, etc.) and artwork. To me, what makes a fantasy heartbreaker work is not just throwing is some house rules and ripped art into a carbon copy of the core rules, but to craft something that is meaningful and feels unique.

My Gaming Swag Has Arrived!

Awhile ago, I won a Mutant Future character design contest. Do to delays IRL (mostly from my end -- long story), I did not get it since yesterday. When the package arrived it was surprisingly heavy, and when I opened it, it was full of books and printouts. Blood Axe did say there was a surprise with the package, but it was more then I was expecting. What I got was:

• Metamorphosis Alpha Universe (MA 3rd edition)
• Fight On! Issue 12
• The Slayer's Guide to Kobolds
• Dungeon Crawl Classics #12 The Blackguard's Revenge
• Rotworld (printout)
• Labyrinth Lord Module: Idol of the Orcs (printout)
• Labyrinth Lord Module: Shadowbrook Manor (printout)
• Excavator Monthly Issue 3 (printout)

Before getting this book, I never opened a MA book. I have the 1st edition rules, but its a shabby print-out booklet I put together from a text-only document I found years ago (without page numbers or art, its hard to navigate). The 3rd edition book has added rules that really compliment the classic rules, like how you can boost your Weapon Class with a particular type of weapon after 10 kills using them. I'm still not keen on the alien invasion twist - mostly as an unnecessary element - but it still a great game.

The biggest surprise was Fight On! Issue 12. For a game 'zine, it is THICK! This issue is dedicated to James M. Ward, and has an article about Ward's involvement in the early years at TSR. It is full of fantastic articles, but one of the featured rules I like the most is Treasure Types, by Simon Bull. I seen the original post mouths ago, but I lost the link. I find this method much better then the dry old Treasure Type table.

Rotworld was a neat surprise, as I did not know (or just forgot) that Dan Proctor made a zombie apocalypses/survival horror RPG. It seems to be based on a game Dan required called Timemaster (I never seen this game, but I did know about it). I'm not a fan of table-based systems or attributes that double as a percentile number, but I find a lot of useful stuff in this game.

I already have the Dungeon Crawl Classic module from a box set I found at a book store, and the Kobold book was one of the Slayer's books I do not already have.

I have yet to read the last three books, as I'm pouring through the aforementioned books. I also have to get more plastic sheet sleeves and binders, as the printouts are loose one-sided sheets. This is not a problem, as I already go through a lot of plastic sleeves & binders, do to my artwork and game stuff.

Its going to be a busy week or two for me, as I enjoy reading game books as much an regular literature, so I am happy! =D

Fly Me to the Moon (and Mars)

Awhile ago, I found a site called Wikimapia, and I quite enjoyed it. I noticed that much of the info was from Google. Then I found a program called Google Earth which was full of neat features. All that time I had it, I never noticed a built-in flight-simulator.

This is me playing Terrorist. ;P

When I recently switch computers, I reloaded Google Earth. I took the time to really look through the features, and I found some awesome new stuff. One feature not seen in the old program was underwater mapping. When I was flying over Hawaii (the only vacation I can really afford), I crashed my jet into the water and discovered that I can go underwater!


Another feature was secondary maps of Mars and the Moon - although it always had a consolation map.


I was pleasantly surprised that I can fly on Mars and the Moon! (yes, Mars lack the atmosphere to run an engine, and the Moon has no atmosphere at all, or pull to stall a high-flying aircraft, but this system needs no logic, which only make things even more fun, so enjoy the flight -- although, adding a Lunar Lander game would be really nice)



Both worlds also have "historical" overlays, that makes them look like old astronomy maps. So you can take the bland old gray moon...

...and set it to "Geologic Chart" for something really wild.

And boy, it makes for a really colorful trip!


You can ether fly in a propeller plane - Cirrus SR22 - if you like to take it slowly, or a F-16 Fighting Falcon for those who have a need for speed. There are all sorts of other features to discover, so if you have the time, and a computer that can handle it, I highly recommend downloading Google Earth.