Hawk's plateau

World War Z

2011-10-11T06:26:00.000-04:00

Looks like some production troubles plauge the filming of this movie.

Let this be a lesson to everyone, hire people that are familiar with the laws when you deal with prop guns. It was a stupid and probibly an expensive mistake. Now for the woman almost crushed, that is a serious issuse.

Random thought

2011-10-10T20:05:00.001-04:00

A llama in a wetsuit

Johnny Cash sung by....

2011-10-10T06:45:00.000-04:00

Lenord Nimoy.

#23 Angel's Tip

2011-10-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

My first layerd drink. I was sort of reluctant to try to make one but it turned out well. It like to thank my mother-in-law for finding the correct sized glass. Now if my friend Bob D would come through with the silver straw he promised.

Angel's Tip

3/4oz Creme de Cacao

1/2oz Sweet Cream

Float cream and instert toothpick in cherry and put on top. Use Pousse Cafe glass.

A very nice presiontion drink thats really easy to make and very tasty too. I wonder through if I used a better quality Creme de Cacao how it would improve the drink.

Next up: #24 Angel's Wing

#14 Alexander Cocktail No. 2

2011-10-08T21:13:00.000-04:00

or better known as a Brandy Alexander.

I read some where that they named this one after Czar Alexander II of Russia and first made at a famious wedding in 1922.

Alexander Cocktail No. 2

1oz Creme de Cacao

1oz Brandy

1oz Sweet Cream.

Shake well with ice and serve in a 4oz cocktail glass.

Very tasty. Perfect for after dinner relaxation.

As funds are low I have to start jumping around a bit, or put up a wish list. Right now I know I don't have the readership for the latter.

Next up: #23 Angel's Tip

The Raven 2012

2011-10-03T07:04:00.000-04:00

Ohhh...this looks interesting.

A serial killer whose murders mirror based on Poe's work.

Persued by Poe himself, the man who invented detective fiction.

And Poe is being played by John Cusack.
This goes on my must see list.

Kindle Fire

2011-09-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

Is an IPad killer?

The next new thing to get?

Over-hyped, perhaps?

I don't really care. Just buy one using my link.

#13 Alexander Cocktail No. 1

2011-09-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

Yes, you did read that right. I'm skipping past #11 because Chartreuse is expensive and #12 because it's almost the same as the Alabama Fizz.

There is a reference to this drink from a 1915 drink book, making this a very old drink.

Alexander Cocktail No.1

1oz Dry Gin (Bombay Sapphire)

1oz Creme de Cacao (Jacquin's)

1oz Sweet Cream ( Used 1/2 and 1/2)

Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a 4oz cocktail Glass.

It's quite nice but the gin flavor doesn't tend to blend well with the two other ingredients. Maybe the No 2 will blend better.

Next: #14 Alexander Cocktail No. 2

Looking forward

2011-08-28T20:39:00.000-04:00

After 22 hours with out power, I've had a chance to look forward in the A chapter and see a few stumbling blocks. Most of theme are expensive or rare liquors, such as Yellow Chartreuse but there is a piece of glassware needed. So here is a list of what I need:

Yellow Chartreuse
Amer Picon
Creme de Yvette

Pastured in the shell eggs

Pousse Cafe Class

So if anyone know where I can get these, hopefully in airline sized bottles for the liquors, in the Delaware Valley let me know because the next drink may be pushed back later.

Be seeing you.

#10 Alabama Fizz

2011-08-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

I'm back from vacation and ready to go on The Boston Project and since we're bracing for Irene to hit us hard in the Delaware Valley it's a good time for a cocktail.

Now this is my first sub-family of cocktails I've encountered. Our friend Mr. Boston says this about Fizzes, "An early morning, late afternoon or evening pleasure, these are made from liquor, citrus juices and sugar, shaken and strained with ice in to small highball glasses, which are then filled with 'fizz' (soda) water, though different carbonated beverages, even Champagne, may be used. A few call for egg whites or yolks."

Not looking forward to the eggs but this drink doesn't call for it. Lucky me.

Alabama Fizz

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1 Teaspoon of Powdered Sugar (used simple syrup)

2 oz of Dry Gin (Used Bombay Sapphire)

Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a 7 oz highball glass. Fill with carbonated water. Add 2 sprigs of fresh mint.

Now I didn't have a glass that small, and I forgot the mint. Still though not bad, although the gin was very hard to taste.

Next up: Alaska Cocktail.....hopefully . See the next post for more.

...and it annoys the pig.

2011-07-30T11:10:00.000-04:00

I've removed the adds because they just arn't doing anything. The Amazon links will still be here. Use the links to buy anything and I get a kickback.

Now here's Burt Ward's hit single.

#9 Alabama Cocktail

2011-07-24T20:53:00.000-04:00

It's still too dammed hot here in the Delaware valley. Maybe, a drink would cool me down.

Alabama Cocktail

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of powered sugar

1 1/2 oz of brandy
1 teaspoon of curacao

Shake well and strain.

This is kind of bland. It has a vague medicine taste to it. It's neither good nor bad but it isn't refreshing either. Maybe the next drink will be better.

Next: Alabama Fizz

Happy Pi Approximation day

2011-07-22T06:25:00.000-04:00

Its the 22 day of the 7th month, lets celibate one of the most useful mathematical constants. So tonight, have some pie to celebrate.

Getting ready for the weekend.

2011-07-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

The Penguin Sings!

2011-07-20T20:56:00.000-04:00

Use the Amazon links or there will be more. This is not an idle threat.

#8 After Supper Cocktail

2011-07-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

Another hot day here in the northeast, with predicted highs in the triple digits. I dread weather like this, when it's cold I can put on more clothes, but when its hot all I can do is sit around. As promised, the After Supper Cocktail, maybe it will cool me off.

1 oz Apricot Brandy

1 oz Curaco

1/2 teaspoon lemon

Shake well, and strain.

The ratio of lemon seems to make this better then in the After Dinner. The Apricot and Triple Sec are more pronounced and balanced. Every sip is a delight and refreshing.

Next: Alabama Cocktail

The Dark Knight Rises teaser reaction

2011-07-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

Wow., thats a lot of....well....nothing. I do know the movie is a still a year out, but most of it was cut from the last two movies. I want to see Cat Woman, the new Batmobie and a clear shot of Bane.

http://youtu.be/apMXFloDH6M

And WB won't let me host the video, curse you Barry Myers.

#7 After Dinner Cocktail

2011-07-17T17:55:00.000-04:00

On this bright warm day, I bring glass of sunshine. But first, a confession. I did subsitute Triple Sec for the Curaco and used bottled lime juice. It's what I had, and I can't find clear Curaco here in Pennsylvina.

1 oz Apricot Flavored Brandy

1 oz Curaco

Juice of one lime

Shake well, strain, leave lime in the glass.

This is tasty. Sweet and sour, a very complex flavor combonation. I give it my thumbs up.

Next up, its twin the After Supper Cocktail.

Musings and The Thin Man

2011-07-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

There won't be a cocktail tonight, I need to go out and buy more liquor. In the mean time I' ve trying to find out if tried to drink through Mr.Boston. I've found a few blogs but none of them succeded. I susspect that they didn't go into this with a plan and they used a more later edition with more recipies.

So to keep your attention here are some clips dealing with cocktails from The Thin Man

#6 Affinity Cocktail

2011-07-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

After a hard day at work I decided I needed a drink. So on to tonights drink.

Affinity Cocktail

3/4 oz Dry Vermouth

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

3/4 oz Blended Scotch Whisky

2 Dashes of Orange Bitters

Stir with ice.

It tastes at first like mouthwash, but after a few sips its quite enjoyable. As my lovely wife says, "A good drink to nurse." and I'd have to agree. I think I'll have a affinity for this drink .

Next: After Dinner Cocktail

#5 Adonis Cocktail

2011-07-10T18:15:00.002-04:00

Named after the mythic lover of Aphrodite, this cocktail is wine based. I raise tonights drink to my lovely wife who is away for the weekend.

1 Dash Orange Bitters

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth

1 1/2 oz Dry Sherry

Stir well

The taste reminds me of a port but fruiter and lighter in the mouth. This is a drink that I must rember to revisit.

Next up: Affinity Cocktail

#4 Absinthe Special Cocktail

2011-07-09T17:16:00.001-04:00

Now to the last of the Absinthe subsitute drinks, for a while anyway.

1 1/2 oz of Absinthe subsitute

1 oz of water

1/4 teaspoon of powdered sugar

1 dash of orange bitters

Shake and serve in a cocktail glass.

I'll be using simple syrup instead if sugar tonight, just to make mixing a bit easier.

Looks nice, as all these drinks do. But the taste is just anise and bitter but I'll call it nasty. Since I'm dumping my glass down the sink, I'll do another tonight.

Next: Addonis Cocktail

Absinthe Drip

2011-07-06T19:39:00.004-04:00

So here is what Mr. Boston says to do.

"Pour 1 1/5 oz of absinthe subsitute in a special drip glass or Old Fashoned cocktail glass. Place cube of sugar over hole in drip spoon. (or in silver tea strainer). Pack spoon or strainer with cracked ice, pour cold water to fill. When the wate has dripped through , drink is ready. "

Now, I don't own a drip glass, spoon or any other absinthe doodads. So I need to improvise, I have a pitcher filled with water and ice, a slottled spoon and an old fashioned glass. Let's try it out.

Hmmm...looks nice. Let me taste it........watery and sweet, I don't really like it. I think I added too much water, but I will boldly strive forward to the next drink!

Completed:3

To go: 745

Next is Absinthe Special Cocktail

img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" border="0" alt="" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawspla-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" />

Captain America

2011-07-04T10:12:00.003-04:00

With the Cap movie hitting theaters and The Avengers out next year, it leaves me to wonder what version of Cap they will use. Will it be the remorse filled one of the death of Bucky, or the no nosense one from the Ultimates with the 1940s moral code.

I feel that patrotic heroes can be often be written to focus on one political belief and that tends to piss off the rest.

I do have to say though, I am looking forward to the movie and the beating up of tons of nazis.

Absinthe Cocktail or Absent cocktail

2011-07-02T19:13:00.006-04:00

To tell the truth I wasn't looking forward this one. I am not a lover of anise this one calls for two ingredients that features it.

1 1/2 oz of Absinthe substitute
3/4 oz water
1/4 Anisette
1 dash of orange bitters.

Shake and serve in a cocktail glass.

A beautiful looking drink and the scent of it fills the room. The flavor reminds me of licorice jelly beans coating my mouth. Not bad at all.

Oh and before anyone asks why I didn't use real absinthe, it was illegal when the book was published and we don't have anyway.

Completed:2
To go: 746

Next up is Absinthe Drip

Looking after I leaped

2011-07-02T11:47:00.003-04:00

I was out buying ingredents at the local liquor store and was chatting with the clerk and he asked how many drink are in the book. I didn't have an answer for him and just maybe I should find out.

Ye gods!! That's 748 drinks! What did I get myself into?

At about three drinks a week, its going to take 5 years.

Well 1 down and 747 to go.

Captain America

2011-06-27T08:12:00.002-04:00

Reason one why we need a new Captain America movie.

The Boston Project or Abby who?

2011-06-26T17:15:00.004-04:00

Today I start my much anticipated project of drinking through a cocktail book. I've selected Mr.Boston's De Luxe Official Bartender's Guide from 1967.

Today's beverage is the Abby Cocktail

Made with Dry Gin, Orange Juice, Orange Bitters and garnished with a Maraschino Cherry. It's quite refreshing and tasty on this summer's evening.

Next Drink: Absinthe (or Absent) Cocktail

An open letter to DC Comics

2011-06-20T06:19:00.003-04:00

Well, I've been meaning to have a bit of a talk with you. Some of us are worried about your actions, the seem....whats the word I'm looking for.....self distrctive. Your actions with your movies are hurting us and your self more then you think. The Green Lantern film shows this all too well, and I haven't seen it.

You need to stop with the marketing tie ins at least until a sequel is made. Seeing Reece's schill your movie along with peanut butter cups doesn't make me want to see it.

Stop casting the wrong actors for charicters, even if they are minor charicters. I like Angela Bassett but my geek-o-meter runs cries foul when you have her play Amanda Waller. Wasn't Patricia Belcher from Bones avaiable to work?

Lastly, the special effects are not the only thing in a movie. Compairing Oa to Thor's Asgard, Oa looks like ass. The CGI costumes don't work for me at all, I want to see iconic looks not fancy energy patterns. I suspect pure fxsploitation.

I think that covers it. We'll talk again soon DC about Superman.

Moble blogging

2011-06-07T15:42:00.001-04:00

Now I can Moble blog. Take that 20th century!

Gaming Logistics

2011-03-06T15:11:00.002-05:00

The one thing I have issues with in running an RPG is getting a group together and keep them on a scedule. Currently I can get only two people in on a regular on Sundays. A couple of plans of attack that come to mind are:

1. Change the System. I like Gamma World, but not everyone does. I might change over to Serenity so I can gain one or two more players.

2. Change the day. I usually run on a Sunday after the bi-weekly game I play in and another player in that game runs on that Sunday too. Perhaps if I switch it to an off week we could get more players.

Anyone have thoughts to help me out?

Things that shouldn't be sold....

2011-02-16T07:24:00.002-05:00

On Amazon .

The net is a strange place.

Cocktails

2010-12-24T13:17:00.003-05:00

In order to do my cocktail project, I need to take invintory of my liquor cabinet and found it waining.

4 bottles of Gin
1 bottle of Rum
1 bottle of golden rum
1 bottle of Apple Jack
1 bottle of dry vermouth
1 bottle of sweet vermouth

and some others that shouldn't be mixed.

Hmmmm...looks like I need to stock up on some supplies.

Plans for the new year.

2010-12-11T16:33:00.002-05:00

Lets see....

1. Run a game at my home. I alway wanted a successful game of my own, in addition to the one I'm in now.

2. Find a perminate job. I have a full time, long term job that I like but its still a temp job.

3. Blog about cocktails. I have a book from 1940, and I plan to drink through it.

Superman!

2010-10-05T19:39:00.003-04:00

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/usmovies.accesshollywood.com/zack-snyder-set-direct-new-superman-film

So Zack Snyder directing, Christopher Nolan to produce and David Goyer to write it. Sounds good to me. But some advice guys....

Do a total, from the ground up, reboot.

Superman Returns bites, learn from it.

And drop a few throw-away lines about other heroes wouldn't hurt either.

The future is NOW!!!

2010-10-03T21:13:00.001-04:00

JET PACKS!!!

They are real and they are coming!!!

Now will someone give me $100,000 for one? Or for a modest house?

Gilligan's Island the Movie???

2010-10-03T10:25:00.003-04:00

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1361548/

Ummm.....what???

That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard! What are they going to do to it. make it 3-D?

I pray this will never get made.

The Odd Couple Sings!!!

2010-10-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

Comment or I will post more

Gamma World update

2010-10-02T18:00:00.002-04:00

So WotC has started to preview Gamma World.

(Yes, I know that I am a bit late getting around to reporting this, but I was getting married.)

The first section, released on Sep. 13, has an overview of the cards. There are two types, Alpha Mutations and Omega Tech. The Mutations end after the encounter, while the Tech is discarded after it's used. It looks like the player's build a deck, and can rebuild it after each extended rest or between sessions. From a mechanics view it looks interesting, but could be easily abused.

On the 17th, Character creation was previewed. One of the key differences between GW and D&D shows here, there are no races; instead you roll for your PC origin. That's a real change from what I remember from older editions, but still looks OK to me.

Then on the 20th the topic was origins. It started with this sentence "Gamma Terra is made up of the debris of multiple fractured realities, all competing to origins the same time-space." What??!?! That's not classic GW?! *Deep Breath* On the orgins, PCs roll twice on a chart to get hybrid race, if you roll the same result twice you get an "Engineered Human", what ever that is. My test roll came up with a Pyrokinetic Felinoid. With PCs like that adventures should be interesting.

Gear was shown-off on the 24th. Ammo is treated very simplistic and weird, if you only shoot once in an encounter, you will never run out but any more then that you are will run out until you get more. Not realistic at all.

The 27th gave advice about running Gamma World. There are some locations given but they seem uninspired. It's followed by advice on adventure creation. It's ignorable if you GM or watch Thundarr the Barbarian or Samurai Jack.

Lastly a preview of a monster. A Porker, a mutant humanoid pig. The stat block looks like it was taken out of 4e. That's a good thing, it makes the learning curve easier.

At this this time it looks like this isn't you daddy's Gamma world.
I'll be back on the 4th with the next preview.

Gamma World-Guess work

2010-08-07T08:37:00.002-04:00

Looking at what Wizards has said so for, here is what we know and can guess about Gamma World.

The boxed set contains a 160 page rule book, two poster sized maps, two sheets of cardbord counters, a deck of mutantion cards, a deck of loot cards and charicter sheets.

Here's what I can guess so far:

If this if 4e setting there is going to be a race, level and likely a class system.

Of the 160 page rule book, 30 pages will be on the combat system.

Since the book is in a boxed set and judging by the size; it will be perfect bound.

Thats all I can guess for now.

Lurch Sings!

2010-08-02T06:57:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when I don't get comments.

Total Recall....the remake?!??

2010-08-01T21:07:00.002-04:00

From

WHAT?!?

'A contemporized adaptation of the movie' Is that hollywood code talk for 3-D?? Hollywood has run out of ideas, hasn't it?

Coming Soon-Gamma World

2010-08-01T09:50:00.005-04:00

Before I get to what I learned, I'd like to thank Kelly, from the Wizards of the Coast Online Response Crew for getting back to me.

Here is the full unedited text of the response:
"Thank you for your interest in the D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game! At this time we do not have detailed information available to provide you with in regard to your questions. However I can direct you to the following links and I recommend you keep watching these site for product information and updates as it comes closer to when Gamma World comes out in October 2010.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/254600000
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/

I'm sorry I cannot provide you with any further information, however as information is release about Gamma World it will be posted on these websites."

So for now, all I can offer are basic facts and guess work. Those will come in a later post.

Sir Christopher Lee sings!

2010-07-29T06:44:00.003-04:00

The horror, the horror.

Missing you (in combat)

2010-07-25T15:24:00.002-04:00

Typicaly, in most of the better roleplaying games I've been in, combat goes somthing like this:

DM: Ok, Dave your up!
Dave: I try to hit the Orc. I rolled a modified 22! If that hits, the damage is 9 hit points.
DM: Great! You cut down the orc like a sheaf wheat. Lou, your next.
Lou: I attack the other one. I rolled an 8.
DM: You miss. Its the orc's turn.

Many things cause an attack to cause no dammage, too often attacks that cause no dammageare just dismissed as a miss. but in reality many things cause an attack fail. Here are some examples to spice up your combats.

1. The Whiff. Simply put, the target isn't where you expcected it to be. You swing your weapon and hit nothing but air.

2. The Dodge. The target moves out of the way of the attack, good for a dextrious enemy to use.

3. The Parry/Block. The target activly puts something between the attack and himself, most often a shield or a weapon. It tends to be very common for people with shields, or ones that use two weapons but not limited to them.

4. The Glance. The attack hits the target, but skipps off the armor. Some armors are designed to make sure no hit lands cleanly.

5. Absorbed. The atttack hits but does no dammage. This could be that the armor is thick, such as on a dragon. It can also be used for any type of worn armor too.

6. The Graze. The attack hits and causes no damage or superfiacal damage. I'd use this for an attack that just barely missed, maybe descipbe a cut on the cheek or the ear.

Anything else would be a normal hit, so take my advice. Go out and making missing exciting!

Watch this space!

2010-07-25T15:03:00.004-04:00

With Gamma world, and other products, coming out from Wizards of the Coast, I'm trying get some my specific questions answered. When I get an answer, I'll post it here under Coming Soon. It might become even a new feature, so watch this space.

GMing

2010-06-27T08:36:00.005-04:00

After my life settles a bit, I'm planning on starting light campaign with a few friends. In selecting which game, as usual, I am not starved for choices. Here is my list so far with minor notes, in no real order.

1. Savage Worlds, Nescessary Evil. I've always liked Supers and having the PCs play villains appeals to me. As does the buy in price of the basic rule book, a scant $9.99. It has one drawback, one of the potential players is a bit of a power gamer with supers.

2. Savage World, Slipstream. Pure retro sci-fi based on the serials of the 30s and 40s. Lots of options for PCs and swashbuckling fun, but the drawback the one the 'for sure' players suffered "Bad GM Syndrome" in a sci-fi game. The Savage Worlds rules are light and easy to learn too.

3. Dungeons & Dragons 4e. Say what you want about 4e, but I like it. It plays well and it's easy to run. Also the fact that it's very board gamey works to my advantage as a lighter fun game. The main drawback is the cost of the PHB, $35 bucks is a lot of money these day, but I can run it using my own books to start.

4. Gamma World. Yes, that old classic. A new edition is due out in the fall as a stand alone product using the d20 rules. With the game being so new, the drawbacks are unknown.

5. Star Wars:Saga Edition. I've run this before and the players had a great time. Straight forward rules, and a setting known to most of the population of the US. Unfortunately, the publisher has dropped the license due to the economy. The rules are falling out of print.

That's how it stands at the moment. D&D is leading the pack, followed by Slipstream, Star Wars, Nescessary Evil and Star Wars following close behind. Where Gamma World will fall into the mix can't be guessed yet.

Predators

2010-06-20T14:18:00.000-04:00

Awesome!

Little Known Fact-Ohio

2010-06-19T08:46:00.002-04:00

The state of Ohio has a field of strange energy emitting from the soil. These 'Xenia Rays' are known to the powerbrokers in Columbus, and to a lesser extent the ones in Lima. Long term residents have built up an immunity to these rays, but visitors experance weird dreams of an ancient ruined city with red and yellow banners on the walls. To combat these effects the architecture of the Pro-Football Hall of Fame is designed to channel the Xenia Rays to the Van Allen belt, but the energy keeps growing. The Rock & Roll Hall of fame was built to counteract the growth but the levels are growing.

Studies have shown that the energy will spike in December of 2012. Is this mark of next age that the Myan predicted? Can a new Hall of Fame be built in time?

We will see but I tell you this.....

This is FACT!

Game of the ahem week, Heroes & Heroines

2010-04-18T11:49:00.004-04:00

I admit, I am not doing these every week but I also have a job. Neener, neener, neener.

Next Game, Heroes & Heroines.
Author: James E. Freel III
Status: Very very out of print.
Genre: Generic Supers
Year: 1992

I have a soft place in my heart for this one, because H&H is the first game I successfully ran a campaign. I learned some important lessons from those sessions but I will go into those on another post.

This game came out when comic books hit surged in popularity in the 90s, with a simple idea. Make a generic game, then publish licenced source books from publishers. Sadly, no source books came out. I came across this game in the discount rack of my FLGS.

The rule book is slim, and the game is very rules light. Creating a hero is a mix of rolling and point buying. Heroes have 5 stats, Bench press weight, IQ, reflexes, Agility and Stamina. There are over 230 powers in the book, nothing special here except for quite a bit of overlap in my opinion. (i.e. Energy Blast, Fire Blast & Force Blast all could be rolled in to one power.)

The combat rules take up just 7 pages and are quite straight forward. Simply put, compare attack rating vs. defense rating on a handy chart and roll over that number on a d20 to hit.

After combat comes weapons and experience, nothing special to note here really, except that exp is based on the build points of the NPC beaten. Then a section on animals. Except for mythical beasts, the section does not give any info on how to grant experience.

Next is the obligatory adventure, where the superheros need to fight an evil wizard at his castle. Yes, an evil wizard, not too super heroic but with two of the regenerated heroes being name 'Alex' and 'Tina' its par for the course.

Lastly is the character sheet. One sheet and quite basic, but I've found thought play its too small for a typical hero fit all his info.

I would of like to have seen a few additions to the book. The game lacks stats for a generic baseline human, so you don't gain exp for beating up goons that are robbing a bank. There are two villains, two goons and the afore mentioned three heroes but there could of been more given. Finally, the weapons list lacks any sort of bow, so if you want a Green Arrow/Hawkeye type you'll have some extra work to do.

There are sourcebooks for the comic 'The Maxx' & 'Deathwatch 2000' but I have only seen them on ebay. There may be others as well.

I have found, through game play, that this is a good supers game. Yes, it has a few drawbacks but it plays well. If you are willing to put put some time it to world creation, it can be a nice long term campaign.

Star Wars: The sitcom???

2010-04-07T06:49:00.002-04:00

*sigh*

George, why can't you leave well enough alone? I mean you have made some great movies but this sounds just wrong. Do I have to remind everyone about what happened with the attempt with variety/holiday special?

At least you hit a home run with the The Clone Wars.

Critical Hits & Fumbles Charts

2010-04-06T21:01:00.002-04:00

This comic brings up my topic for the day.

After years of playing RPGs, I have come to hate these *bleeping* charts. As a GM they slow down the game, instead of making the game more exciting. As a player, I find that they rob me of my naritive control. I can come up of somthing more interesting, on the fly, then what a chart says.

Boba Fett

2010-03-15T23:22:00.001-04:00

Need I say more?

Alien Prequel Watch

2010-03-14T09:16:00.004-04:00

*Sigh* Its going to be in 3-D. Why does it seem that every new movie is jumping on to this fad?

If this movie happens. I do not want to hear any griping like I heard about mediclorians.

I do have to say that the firts Alien movies are great.
Alien Quadrilogy (Alien/ Aliens /Alien 3 /Alien Resurrection)

New Blog rule

2010-03-14T09:07:00.002-04:00

Ok folks, I will no longer allow comments on posts older then two months.

EDIT: And no anonymous posts either.

Christopher Nolan's Superman

2010-03-11T06:55:00.002-05:00

Wait, read that title again.

Savior it.

Yes, the man who brought the Batman franchise back from the depths of perdition is talking about Superman.

Two things to note though. One, the current plan is to do it after the next Batman. And two, Nolan dosen't think a crossover would work.

Orginal story: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-christopher-nolan-batman-superman.html

Alien 0 Update.

2010-01-18T10:33:00.002-05:00

Because it's gotten the most response, here's an update on Alien 0.

According to IMDB, it's still 'in development', Ridley Scott is listed as director, and the current relases date 2011. But there has been no news since July 2009.

I still think its a silly idea.

Dramatic Control

2010-01-06T22:51:00.002-05:00

Yet another "NEW FEATURE" coming soon is Dramatic Control, a series of articles on how to roleplay in combat. It's a reaction to Method Actor type players that just say "I attack that guy" while in combat.

ESPN in 3D

2010-01-05T23:10:00.002-05:00

WHAT?!?!

Ok, it sounds neat...pro-football where we could seem to just reach out and catch the ball

But don't directors spend time setting up 3-d shots for max effect. Plus, I don't think I want to wear 3-d glasses at home.

Hmmm, can you gimmick?

RPG of the week-Pandemonium!

2010-01-05T21:38:00.002-05:00

In an effort to get off my lazy butt to update my blog, I am starting a new feature. I taking one gaming product off out of my collection and doing a mini-review and maybe some adventure ideas.

First up, is PANDEMONIUM! Adventures in Tabloid World.
Author: Stephen Michael Sechi
Status: Very very out of print.
Genre: Modern Comedy

Pandemonium takes place in a world where the supermarkets tabloids are 100% factual and the PCs work for one of tabloids as investigators. They hunt down weird stories all over and report back to their paper to be printed.

The game system is barely there. Maybe if had more crunch the game would of done better. Thankfully though, its the only drawback.

Following one of the great unwritten rules of comedy, the book is written in a serious tone even when dealing with silly things. The art is black and white pasted together photos or old public domain images that really capture the cheesy tabloid feel. The sample adventure introduces the world quite well and, Heck, it has Elvis so it must be good.

But the true value of tha game is the section "The Encyclopedia Paranormal". It contains comprehensive list of tabloid subjects. It would be quiet an addition to any GMs collection if he deals with weird games.

There was one supplement released called "Stranger then Truth!", with some currently big names as authors.

The adventure idea, The PCs are sent to Las Vegas to investigate a case of Evis impersonators spontaneously bursting into flame at a local seedy night club.

Walken reads Lady Gaga

2009-11-01T10:46:00.001-05:00

'L'Expédition vers Paris'

2009-08-19T12:46:00.006-04:00

Since someones blog keeps mentioning Zombies, I have decided to generate a campaign idea around it.

Paris, France-1890 A.D.
Three months ago the gates of the city were shut to stop the Grey Death spreading to the rest of Europe. Observation towers were built outside to make sure none of the infected escaped. A week ago, a light appeared at the Eiffel Tower. The light signaled in Morse Code, "We have the cure. Extraction needed." Since then no signal has appeared. Your patron wants you to go and find who signaled and retrieve the cure. He will provide an airship that can dock at the Tower and will retrieve you when you signal.

So there you have it. Zombies, zeppelins, steampunk and the City of Lights.

A new word for the age.

2009-08-09T14:48:00.002-04:00

In watching modern cinema, I have noticed we need a new term to describe movies that have alot of CGI and little to no character development or plot.

FX-sploitation- Noun, A movie that has more effects then accual plot or charicter development. Often a major summer blockbuster.

See Star Trek and Transformers

A tale of two twentys

2009-08-06T13:13:00.003-04:00

Last time I was at my FLGS, the owner showed me a showed me some dice he just began to carry, by a company called Game Science. The goal of the company is to make the most random rolling dice possable. I purchased a set to test out.

My test was series of twenty rolls on my new coal black d20 and my orignial TSR D&D d20 with a diviot in it, here after called 'Old Blue'.

The new die, only repeated the same number 3 times. The rest were spread out quite evenly. On the other hand, Old Blue rolled along the band that has 16, 8, 10, 12, 15, 5, 13, 9, and 6. This leads me to conclued that the Coal Black die is round, therefore random and that Old Blue is oval in shape and rolls like poo.

Yes, I do know that this wasn't the most scientific test but I could see the pattren emerging. I recomend these dice, because you should have the right tools for the job.

Paranoia

2009-07-31T10:12:00.002-04:00

I am getting ready for a stint behind the GM's screen running two diffrent games. The first being PARANOIA. A classic roleplaying game with a rich 25 year history. It encourges the GM to plays with the PCs, as a cat toys does with a mouse.

My players have little experance with the setting but are have been playing with each other for a great long time. My first goal is to drive them apart, make them distrust and then elimate each other. I will provide the illusion of some control over their fates by letting them create their PCs.

My only issue is that one of the players is going to be very, very trigger happy and wants to take it out a certian player. Oh, the evil thoughts I have in the foiling of her.

After a session or two of Paranoia, I will switch to the next game.

Anyway, check out the new edition of Paranoia. It's due out in a few weeks and the link is on the side of the page here.

After

Patric Stewart Sings!!!

2009-07-30T13:24:00.002-04:00

Comic Movies

2009-07-22T09:21:00.003-04:00

Man, does Ryan Reynolds have it made. Not only is he cast in the Deadpool spin-off of Wolverine but he also lands the title Green Lantern. Both are scheduled for the same release year too.

I wonder which one that the studios will force him to drop. My guess is Deadpool, just because DC needs another hit film series and Marvel has bigger things to get done, like the Avengers respective tie-in movies.

Headline of the moment

2009-07-17T19:01:00.001-04:00

Ex-Marine fends off lion with chainsaw

Wow! Just wow!

Al Leong Appreciation Day!!!

2009-07-09T11:16:00.002-04:00

Today, July 9th, is the first ever Al Leong Appreciation Day!!!

Who is Al Leong you ask?
Well if you watched action movies, you'd know what he looks like.

Yes, him. He is truly a legend in modren film. He has brought years of enjoyment to us all. So let us celebrate his work!

The Holiday weekend

2009-07-02T12:11:00.002-04:00

I have a few terms everyone needs to get straight for this weekend

Barbecue-Cooking slowly using wood smoke.

Grilling-Cooking over a charcoal.

Cooking Outside-Using a gas grill.

Happy Indenpence weekend all.

Theremin

2009-06-25T14:16:00.001-04:00

I think I might want one of these.

Its called a theremin.

Disturbing thought for the week

2009-06-20T09:58:00.002-04:00

Columbia Pictures, will be releasing 'The Smurfs' to theaters in late 2010. They hope to make it a trilogy.

Can I gouge out my eyes now?

Pixar!

2009-06-19T10:18:00.003-04:00

From the OCregister

"Pixar grants girl's dying wish to see 'Up'. Company sent DVD so Huntington Beach girl, 10, could watch it."

I have to say to people at Pixar, You have shown very good form.

Frank Gorshin sings!!

2009-06-18T10:17:00.001-04:00

Better the Shatner and Nemoy combined.

Alien 0?

2009-06-02T13:38:00.004-04:00

(Via Sci-fi Wire) Alien reboot, a prequel, is confirmed.

My question is why and how? If I remember right, the only thing happened before Alien was the great big alien ship crashing on LV-426. It doesn't sound like a very good idea to me.

The Hoff as Nick Fury

2009-05-24T13:28:00.001-04:00

First thoughts on MM2

2009-05-20T14:59:00.001-04:00

Fell Taint is the worst name for a monster ever.

Turkish Star Wars

2009-05-15T08:16:00.000-04:00

Yes, its that bad.

Star Trek-With spoilers!!!!

2009-05-08T23:20:00.003-04:00

I tried to put the original series out of my head as much as poss able in watching this movie, so I found it to be an enjoyable summer blockbuster, but ultimately forgettable. I'd say its worth seeing on the big screen but not on opening weekend.

I first should say that the cast was incredible. Everyone did a phenomenal job filling in the shoes of the original cast. Karl Urban as Bones, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Simon Pegg as Mr. Scott stood out from the rest. Casting gets: A++

The rest of the film left me unimpressed. I really dislike J.J. Abrams camera work, with the return of the 'very shaky cam' from Cloverfield; it was very distracting. As were the quick cuts in the fight scenes, I know they can make a fight more exciting but they were too much. Filming gets:C-

The story was disappointing but it had a lot of action to make up for it. The writers also didn't seem to have a grasp for basic space science either. I do think they did an OK job with the time travel aspect, even though at certain points I wanted to stand up and yell something like "Black holes don't work like that!!!". All the Treks had more respect for science, even though they sometimes got it wrong. The Story gets:B

Overall I have to give the film a solid 'B'. Nothing ground breaking but an good movie. One thing does trouble me, why do the below deck scenes remind me of Space Mutiny?

First thoughts on Arcane Power

2009-05-07T11:29:00.000-04:00

Poke-familars???!?!? What the.....

4E feat

2009-05-06T09:29:00.003-04:00

Here a feat I made, that I hope brings a little of the 3.x D&D feel to the 4Etable D&D.

Skill Specialization
Heroic Tier
Prerequisite: Training in chosen skill

Benefit: Choose a sub use of a skill in which you have training. You have a +3 feat bonus to checks with that sup use of the skill.
Special: You can take this feat more than once. Each time you select this feat, choose a different sub skill. Will stack with Skill Focus.
In example, with the skill Thievery a Player can specialize in Disable Traps, Opening Locks, Picking Pockets, or doing Slight of Hand.

Because this feat was designed with 4E in mind, it should work with Star Wars:Saga Edition with little or no changes.

Critical hits and fumbles

2009-05-05T10:58:00.004-04:00

I remember my first encounter with critical hits and fumbles, way back in the days of AD&D 2nd edition. Back then I enjoyed the idea of killing a monster with one hit if I got lucky or breaking my +1 long sword if my luck was bad.

Now I realise that they are NO FUN. For the most part anyway.

Why, you ask, are they not fun? Here are a few reasons

1. They are unfair to the players. Yes, cutting off a goblins leg is fun but having a PC you've played for years gain brain damage isn't. The goblin was meant to be killed, but your PC was meant to last.

2. They take too much time. Most of the tables for these rules are either expansion or home brewed rules hidden in binders that the GM must dig out. Then rolling and interpreting the chart takes a while. All this takes out the rhythm in a combat.

3. It steals narrative control from the players and the GM. I like describing combat, both as a GM and a player. These charts don't let the one who did the critical hit or miss come up with a description why their actions were so successful or miserable. And isn't that one of the keys of roleplaying?

D&D Game day

2009-05-04T08:33:00.002-04:00

I was asked to run a D&D game day on May 23rd. I ran the last one for the release of the Players Handbook 2 and I there were some issues. I don't plan to have them again.

The bigest one was reading the quickling entry wrong, I thought its Fey Shift power was usable more then once a day and as a move action as well. That lead to the party expending too many healing surges and attacks. It also made the first of the three combats last way too long.

The other issue was the players wern't familar with their charicters. I lay some of the blame on WotC for using 11th level PCs. The next game day, the prerolled PCs are 5th level; that should help out quite a bit. To make it simplier for new players, I plan to make color coded power cards for each PC.

I will be keeping notes on my preperation for this Game Day. All I know right now is the tilte, Journey Through the Silver Caves, and the book it's promoting, Monster Manual 2.

The Revenge Squad

2009-05-03T10:27:00.002-04:00

One of the problems I have with many Superhero RPGs is reactionary nature of the adventures. In a typical game, there's a problem and the heroes go and solve it. That set-up has gotten a bit stale to me. So here's an idea that I've been kicking around for a while now.

The (Fill in the Blank) Revenge Squad!
Its a classic trope in comics, a band of villains who have never worked with other before team up to destroy the hero that they feel wronged them. Off the top of my head, it's happened in Spiderman and Superman comics; if I tried searching I'm sure more would turn up.

For the Players
The players create PCs who have a grudge against a major heroic NPC. Their backgrounds should feature him very prominently, maybe even responsible for a current prison sentence. At the beginning of the campaign the PCs are individually contacted by a mysterious benefactor, with a pledge to help them gain vengeance.
I'd also suggest for the PCs to take some social drawbacks, such a a gimmick that the must do involving their crimes or must gloat before finishing an enemy. It will give a nice silver age feel o the game. Secondly, players should avoid playing psychopaths. You can play a villain with out being evil. The other players will thank you for it.

For the GM
This one is going to be a bit hard, you have to let the players take charge of what they are going to do. Preparation is the key to this, you must create a detailed world, the main hero, and if you like a group of backup heroes. One of the first things you should do is who the benefactor is,, how much help he can provide can provide and at what cost. Other questions, is there a jealous villain who wasn't invited, where does the money come from or what happens when the hero is finally destroyed.

This idea can also be used in other genres, fantasy and sci-fi pop to mind. Hmmm...hunting down Drizzt sounds like it might be allot of fun.

I recomend Mutants & Masterminds: RPG - 2nd Edition to use with this. It's chock full of super goodness!

G.I. Joe trailer #2

2009-05-02T09:08:00.003-04:00

Via Henchman Publishing

I grew up watching '>GI Joe, so I plan to be picky about this film.

The good: The battle scenes look awesome. The effects will kick butt on the big screen.

Is that Destro? No, mask for him I guess but for his troops. Ok I can see that.
Cobra Commander wasn't seen yet weird

The bad: Delta-6 accelerator suits. Lame. Turning the Joes into Iron Man wanna-bes doesn't work for me at all. Yes, I know the millatary is working things like that but still lame.

I one thing I do hope for from this movie is a cameo from Sgt. Slaughter.

YO JOE!

The king of the surf guitar

2009-04-30T23:48:00.002-04:00

Tonight I leave you with the music of Dick Dale

Henry V

2009-04-30T23:35:00.003-04:00

Tonight I watched Henry V with my girlfriend. Suprisingly she had never seen it, and what I showed earlier was no subistute.

The Kenneth Branaugh version is better.

Xtranormal

2009-04-30T14:34:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine turned me on to xtranormal Here is my first real success, I hope to turn it into a series.

Hi all!

2009-04-30T14:18:00.000-04:00

Hi all!
Welcome to "Hawk's plateau"!

First a bit about the name. "Hawk" is a referance to my name in the SCA. "Plateau" is spanish for a flat topped mountian or table; I choose this because it refernces a gaming table.

I plan to use this blog as a space for my gaming hobby, artistic endevors and various ideas that come to me.

Hawk's plateau

World War Z

Random thought

Johnny Cash sung by....

#23 Angel's Tip

#14 Alexander Cocktail No. 2

The Raven 2012

Kindle Fire

#13 Alexander Cocktail No. 1

Looking forward

#10 Alabama Fizz

...and it annoys the pig.

#9 Alabama Cocktail

Happy Pi Approximation day

Getting ready for the weekend.

The Penguin Sings!

#8 After Supper Cocktail

The Dark Knight Rises teaser reaction

#7 After Dinner Cocktail

Musings and The Thin Man

#6 Affinity Cocktail

#5 Adonis Cocktail

#4 Absinthe Special Cocktail

Absinthe Drip

Captain America

Absinthe Cocktail or Absent cocktail

Looking after I leaped

Captain America

The Boston Project or Abby who?

An open letter to DC Comics

Moble blogging

Gaming Logistics

Things that shouldn't be sold....

Cocktails

Plans for the new year.

Superman!

The future is NOW!!!

Gilligan's Island the Movie???

The Odd Couple Sings!!!

Gamma World update

Gamma World-Guess work

Lurch Sings!

Total Recall....the remake?!??

Coming Soon-Gamma World

Sir Christopher Lee sings!

Missing you (in combat)

Watch this space!

GMing

Predators

Little Known Fact-Ohio

Game of the *ahem* week, Heroes & Heroines

Star Wars: The sitcom???

Critical Hits & Fumbles Charts

Boba Fett

Alien Prequel Watch

New Blog rule

Christopher Nolan's Superman

Alien 0 Update.

Dramatic Control

ESPN in 3D

RPG of the week-Pandemonium!

Walken reads Lady Gaga

'L'Expédition vers Paris'

A new word for the age.

A tale of two twentys

Paranoia

Patric Stewart Sings!!!

Comic Movies

Headline of the moment

Al Leong Appreciation Day!!!

The Holiday weekend

Theremin

Disturbing thought for the week

Pixar!

Frank Gorshin sings!!

Alien 0?

The Hoff as Nick Fury

First thoughts on MM2

Turkish Star Wars

Star Trek-With spoilers!!!!

Game of the ahem week, Heroes & Heroines