F is For Full Metal Alchemist

Full Metal Alchemist is a story about two brothers trying to reclaim their lost humanity. Along the way they make numerous friends and enemies and wind up in a much larger scale of events than they had ever anticipated.

The series has proven very popular. There are two separate animes on it. While this is not unusual (see Gundam), the fact that they came out so close together is a little unusual. There is also a lengthy manga. I stopped reading a while ago as I had caught up to the series and after watching the new anime, will have to go back and catch up on it all over again.

One of the things that's great about Fullmetal Alchemist, is the world building. By making the characters Edward and Alphone, into specialist in a field of specialist, the viewers are able to have numerous favorites. There are different named characters like the 'Crimson Alchemist' or the 'Flame Alchemist'. Some very impressive sounding names.

These named characters also have named maneuvers and abilities. This puts them into a category that is above the standard soldier. In many ways, this makes them perfect classes with each type of class having a different specialization.

Because they work for the government, they also automatically have a patron. This prevents the Game Master from having to work too hard in order to get the characters involved with the adventure.

When a setting gives you an "in" like this, it can make running the campaign easier. In the classic game, Legend of the Five Rings, one of the suggestions is to make the characters Emerald Magistrates. This allows the game to get moving without the dreaded "You all meet in a bar" standard. In newer games, Spears of the Dawn has a similar option in that the title, Spears of the Dawn, is an actual title of those who fought against monsters and are well respected.

Ed and Al have their own motivations though. In this case, it is to get their bodies back. To do this, they need to do research. This involves them going to different research faculties and studying. While that could be boring, the writer showcases several small bits that are anything but ranging from a burned down library, to a random encounter with a former state alchemist who knows more than he's telling.

By having both options, player driven quests, and the ability to introduce patron level quests, the Game Master has the best of both worlds. Indeed, if the characters are having too easy a time of getting their own deeds, the Game Master can add complications through the patron. They may have to do some standard guard duty instead of hunting down that serial killer.

Of course players will seek to work around such restrictions but that's the point. The conflict of trying to do what they want against what others want them to do, is how the game creates a sense of tension.

The setting that Fullmetal takes place in, is one that has a variety of creatures that themselves can be different than one another. For example, Alphonse does not have a body, but rather, his soul is bonded to a suit of armor. During the series, we discover that there are others like this.

There are also combinations of men and animal known as chimeria. Each one potentially different than the others.

Then there are the Seven Sins. Some of these are 'standard' like Lust and Gluttony while others are a bit more friendly than you'd think.

The setting is large enough to weave numerous threats that the characters can't overcome just with punching or kicking.

Despite the grim overtones the series carries, the writer is able to weave quite a bit of humor into it. This should be something that a Game Master keeps in mind when prepping his own work. Even as plagues and zombies take over the land, there needs to be some genuinely funny things. Perhaps someone has a favorite cup that he dropped and is always talking about it. "My favorite cup!"

The humor helps break down the gruesome elements and gives the viewer a break and allows the reader to recharge her batteries.

Another element to note, is that there are changing alliances. One of the most popular characters here is Scar, named (originally!) after his scarred face. He's a tough loner who hates the heroes! This type of anti-hero is fairly common and the anime/manga Dragon Ball Z is littered with characters who once fought against Goku but now work alongside him.

When designing your NPCs, are there 'hooks' that the characters can use to turn them from enemies to friends? Are there deeds that the characters can perform to show these foes that the players are not the true enemies?

Have any other gamers used Fullmetal Alchemist as inspiration for their games? If so, how did it go? I have friends who are enamored of the art style in the series and love the animated suits of armor as well as some of the villains the characters face.

E is For Empire

While I've been... 'enjoying' my forced time off with pinched nerves and bulging disks, over the course of several days I've managed to stream Empire from +Hulu .

Fantastic show.

It has many elements of a Shakespeare tragedy tied into neatly into the modern era and hits subject matter that the bard would have been unaware of.

At its heart, Empire is about family and legacy. About drive and ambition. About pride and making 'hard choices'.

It is the characters that allow Empire to be a fantastic resource for anyone looking to do a character study.

Fist, it's designed to appeal to a wide range of audience.

The cast members are modern royalty. They are members of an upper elite. The children are gifted. They are young. They are driven. They are loved. They have wealth. They are in great shape. They have status. They have power. This gives them an appeal beyond what a standard member of say, "All in the Family" may have. The stories are on a higher plateau, one that has bigger consequences.

For a Fox show, the amount of diversity at least acknowledged, is tremendous. Not all of it plays out well, and some of it may be harmful. But to its credit, it opens a door. Few traditional subjects are not put under a spotlight.

For the patriarch of the family, Lucious Lyons, played by actor Terrance Howard, his is in many ways a vile person. This is in part explained by his upbringings, growing up an orphan on the streets at the tender age of nine. Part of it is his ambition and drive, to leave something behind.

Part of it is his fear. Much like a true tragedy of the darkest era, Lucious is initially given a medical diagnosis that is a death sentence. That in and of itself drives him to push him family against itself in an effort to allow the most worthy heir to step forward.

Competition is one theory in terms of bringing the best goods and services to market. Having more water in the pool to lift all boats is another.

But in terms of how vile Lucious is, we have to look at how his 'standard' sins are. For example, he is a womanizer. This includes cheating on his soon to be wife, as well as his ex-wife.

He is a child beater.

He is a manipulator.

He is a murderer.

He is a drug dealer.

All of these things though, are put into his own perspective.

He is a child beater because his child does not confirm to what he thinks a child should be.

He is a manipulator for other people's benefit. He does it to make them better, according to what he thinks they should be.

He is a murderer because those who he has dealt with, according to him, needed to be dealt with. They were not some random shootings unneeded violence.

He is a drug dealer out of necessity.

Every action, ever step, ever move, one that is countered by his own belief, his own confidence, his own inability in his abilities.

And because he has so much of his own confidence, he manages to maintain a somewhat sympathetic nature.

First, above and beyond anything, he is under a medical no cure death sentence. People with that amount of pressure on them can be driven far beyond what normal people are.

Second, he is old school. He did come up from the streets. Unlike his children, some of who grew up in wealth unlike anything a young Lucious could even hope for, he has a hard edge. His street creed is beyond reproach or question. He has earned his respect.

Third, he does love his family. This may be a horrible love that pushes him to push them, but beyond his own ego, beyond his own ambition, he wants them to have exceeded what he has done. But not too soon.

Fourth is his talent. This is not some con artist. This is not some petty hustler. He carriers himself with earned talent that not only comes from his survival on the streets, but his ability with music, with his talent, with his gift, to rise above those streets. His survival is earned with gun and drug, his ability to leave it behind, with music and talent.

The soundtrack has a lot of variety to it. There are numerous genres represented here allowing people whose music taste vary tremendously, to enjoy it. For example, my 71 year old mother greatly enjoys the R&B styling while I enjoy the cover of Money For Nothing.

Empire deserves several more mentions just to hit on how it deals with homosexuality, mental disease, drug use, and other bits, but for the A to Z Challenge, E is for Empire and you should be watching.

D is for Detective

Okay, I'm lying. D isn't just for Detective. It's for Davis, Lindsey Davis and her novel The Iron Hand of Mars. This is the next volume in the Ancient Rome Detective series starting Marcus Didius Falco so it could be D for Didius!

Besides, I'm already behind so it's okay if I cheat in this A to Z April Blog Challenge right?

In short, Lindsey continues to put Falco through the paces.

This includes emotional as well as physical.

Stress from financial situations as well as the desire to do what's right in a world that often isn't. What does he say? "No point risking my neck unless it's for a world where chldren can believe magicians will  always mend their broken toys.'

Lindsey does this with an ability to take the reader to these ancient lands, so that we can smell the food cooking and look around in a sense of awe and wonder at a different era.

She brings the reader in through familiar use of first person as we see the world through Falco's eyes.

In terms of detective, she often pairs Falco with others so that Falco has someone to bounce his ideas off of. In some instances, Falco isn't too pleased with those they've set him with. For example, Falco loves Helena Justina.

Helena is more than a match for Falco. She's smart and forward, quite unlike many women in her era. She's also the daughter of a Senator, far above Falco's station.

Helena Justina is being pursued by Titus Caesar.

Falco likes to think of himself as a man of the world, so that when Titus Caesar's 'barbar' is assigned to go with him up north into Germania Libera, Falco thinks that it's to make short work of him while he does his own investigations.

Along the way Lindsey brings a lot of tricks that can be used for almost any situation.

For example, towards the end, there is a building of suspense.

Falco is exploring the wild regions looking for numerous things.

Things he isn't looking for? An abandoned Roman fort, long ago fallen and empty with no signs of life or habitation. When adding something like this to say, a role playing game, you have a few options.

If it's to showcase a sense of fallen civilization or how quickly things can happen, a rough description of what happened and what's left should be all that you need. If you're using it as a set piece however, you should have it fully mapped and noted out what's in there. If you map it out and there's nothing there, you're wasting everyone's time.

Thing he isn't looking for? A druid circle complete with freshly slaughtered animals and skulls nailed to trees.

Thing he isn't looking for? An opposing military force that captures him.

By building the suspense, Lindsey is able to augment the sense of dread and the tingle of anticipation. This is a technique used in the original Alien movie where we're not seeing the monster on screen every second so that when it does appear, it's appearance means something.

Another nice thing, is that Falco isn't perfect and he often thinks something is happening when it's not. For example, his 'assassin' barber is merely a barber, but one who does save Falco's life with one of his razor's so the man is capable of killing.

In addition to exploration, part of Falco's detective work involves speaking with numerous people. Often these individuals are not happy to speak with Falco for whatever reason.

He sometimes compensates this by having someone else talk to the same person. In a society where status has real meaning and real power, while someone is willing to dismiss Falco, they are not quite so willing to do the same thing with Helena, a Senator's daughter. Even in the far out lands outside civilization, such a person has their own amount of regal bearing and pose.

Lastly, there is also the ability to use random encounters to one's advantage. During the final tangle, Falco and his allies are outnumbered and surprised, one of them already taken down by a barbed spear.

Into that mess comes a maddened wild bull which gores the opposing captain allowing Falco's group to seize the initiative, even as the bull itself then turns on Falco, which requires the nimble 'detective' to engage in some fancy footwork to prevent himself from being gored.

Lindsey Davis is more than familiar with these characters and this setting and reading this book is like visiting an old friend.

For those who want to see how a detective story can be one that involves exploration of the width and breadth of a massive empire like Roman, The Iron hand of Mars is a worthy read.

C is for Captain Marvel

It appears that somewhere, someone in comics, decided that there is not enough variety in terms of who people can read about.

As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing.

To help celebrate this push in diversity, +Google Play  and +Amazon.com have a ton of comics on sale featuring leading ladies.

One of those I picked up is Captain Marvel. It's important not only because Captain Marvel is an older character whose have various incarnations, but also because she's been poorly treated. While she's been 'rehabbed' a few times, there hasn't necessarily been a definitive sticking point for her yet either. I probably better remember her from her time with the X-Men as Binary, a cosmic level entity.

Perhaps more important than who the character is, is who is writing Captain Marvel. In this case, it's Kelly Sue DeConnick. This is important, I think, for a major reason.

It's a woman writer.

All too often men think they know how to write women and pat themselves on the back for what outstanding jobs they've done.

Sometimes they do a good job.

Sometimes you just don't know what other people are capable of bringing to the field because no one lets the other kids play.

It is my believe that as we get more creators, illustrators, and people of color and different belief, that the medium will continue to expand just as it did with Milestone originally despite that line not having long lasting success (as many brands of the 90's didn't including many Image comics, Malibu, and others.)

By having actual different people at the creator's helm, things can move in a different direction that might not have even been bought first possible. It's a potentially good thing.

And if I don't like it? Move on! Plenty of comics out there. So so so so so many... hush Wallet!



I bought all three series. I figured at $2.99 a volume, it's hard to go wrong. Unfortunately, Marvel did go wrong. There's a tremendous cut off between volume 2, back to a NEW volume 1 (comics everybody!) which should have been included in that volume 2.

Another potential problem, and this again, is a standard comic problem, is the change of art styles. I don't know if that's in order to maintain the timing of the comic or artist issues or pricing. Often like with Avengers Assemble, Marvel with start with top notch talent to capitilize on something and then as sales die down, keep low balling artists and writing until the inevitible happens and the series is canceled.

For what it's worth, my favorite artist was .Dexter Soy. Deep rich colors, almost painted like panels. Reminded me a lot of Mark Texeira work on Ghost Rider back in the day.

Emma Rios was my least favorite. That style didn't match in tone, color, or well, anything. Very jarring as a matter of fact. But again, for $2.99 a volume?



One of the things that Kelly had to do, was bring in some new mythology for Carol. Part of that is done by going to the past. Part of that is done by showing her relationship with the other characters in the Marvel Universe.

To me, that's one of the blessings and curses of the Marvel Universe. Comics, at least to me, like Runaways, Young Avengers, Avengers Arena, and others, often do much better in terms of telling a more closed story, when they are somewhat isolated from the actual Marvel Universe.

Far too many series, like the original Secret Avengers, get their face smashed in over and over by the continual need for cross over events that lead to perhaps brief sales bumps, but also horrible impact in the story itself.

And in the second volume of this series, we do have a bit of that in that Captain Marvel, the original Mar-Vel, his old foe long gone for many years comes back and almost kills Carol but again, to be continued in another series!

The last volume, the new volume one, is an almost pick up series in that it happens after one of the other crossovers, this time, I believe Infinite. The good news is that it's relatively isolated, can be read in and of itself, and isn't a bad story.

The bad news? It wasn't a story for me. It had the problem is isolating Captain Marvel too much from the greater Marvel universe, despite some fun times with the Guardians of the Galaxy, who really ,are not that impressive outside of the movie and in comic time, are essentially a bunch of normal people running around. Let me know when Drax is back to being more than an assassin style guy with a Racoon shooter, another assassin, another shooter, and a tree eh?

For me, the series was okay. I recommend it at the $2.99 price point. I think that much work remains to be done with Carol though. She still needs a rogue's gallery for example. Personally, I'd have Epoch make a Marvel Version of the Green Lantern Corps with Carol as their tactical leader and Quasar as the 'heart and soul' of the team. If the universe needs protecting and Marvel wants to make Captain Marvel be something big, it doesn't get much bigger than that.

B is for Beowulf

Beowulf is a popular tale in many role playing circles. It is one that has been retold many times and will continue to be translated anew as new students fall in love with the ancient poetry and turned again into movie as movie studios bankrupt of ideas decide to hit a classic.

Part of it's appeal to literature, is it's age. It's one of the oldest known surviving poems. Part of it is it's vikings, magic, dragons, and that doom laden feel that vikings were known for.

For those who don't know about Beowulf, he is a viking warrior who in his travels, comes across a monstrous entity known as Grendel. The two battle and Beowulf defeats the monster as told in the free version like so: "Then he advances towards Beowulf. A fierce and desperate hand-to-hand struggle ensues. No arms are used, both combatants trusting to strength and hand-grip. Beowulf tears Grendel’s shoulder from its socket, and the monster retreats to his den, howling and yelling with agony and fury. The wound is fatal."

Not satisfied there, Beowulf then goes after said Grendel's mother. He dispatches Grendel's mother with the sword of a giant that he finds in her lair. It already sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign!

After many years of peace, Beowulf's land falls under dragon attack and Beowulf manages to claim victory in this battle as well, but in his advanced years, he is mortally wounded.

The last version of Beowulf I read, and it's been many years, was by Seamus Heaney.



But there is another one that seems to have gained some steam lately that I'm tempted to check out and that's by one of the founding fathers of modern day fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien.



If you wanted an idea of where Tolkien came up with some of the action for his riders of Rohan, look no further. If you wanted an idea of how Smaug was so mighty and powerful, look no further.

There was also  an GCI version that wasn't bad and took some liberties to bring it's own version of the story to modern audiences.

This version was a great visual feast. Some of the well known actors include Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie. The preview should be enough to give you an idea of what it's about:


If you're into Dungeons and Dragons, Rolemaster, or any of the fantasy era games, Beowulf should be on your radar.

A is For Abyss

In Dungeons and Dragons, the Abyss is an plane with endless lairs. The majority of creatures that make there home there, fall under the Demon category. These creatures are 'Outsiders', not-native to the Prime Material Plane.

The Abyss has a long history in Dungeons and Dragons. It made huge waves in 2nd edition. TSR had many campaign settings in that era, and one of those was Planescape. Here something called the 'Blood War' raged. In that war, on one side were limitless numbers of demons against a strict military hierarchy of devils from the Nine Hells. The Blood War made a great backdrop to other aspects of the Planescape campaign and could be dropped in and made a prime part or the entirety of the campaign, or something that the players only heard of.



One of the nice things about 3rd edition, was the the OGL and d20 license, allowed third parties to take a whack at the whole of the Dungeons and Dragons cosmology. One of those companies was Green Ronin and one of the books that came out, and was eventually updated, was the Book of Fiends.



One of the nifty things about the Book of Fiends is it brought a new type of Outsider to the Abyss, obyrith. These were the original rulers of the Abyss. The original 'proto-demons' if you will. Their reign did not last the eternity they thought it would. The great thing the author did though, was he insured that there were still a few of them left, and still a few unique ones left. This allows the Game Master to spring something fresh and new against the players when they least expect it.

The Abyss though, is so much more than the things that inhabit it. Don't let official products like the 3.5 book, Hordes of the Abyss fool you!



Because it is limitless, there only limitations that a Game Master has, is what he decides a particular plane is.

While mainly the Abyss has been used to detail the horrors that live there, there's nothing stopping the Game Master from having the players stranded in the Abyss, trying to return home. Perhaps every step they take brings them to a plane that they think is a Prime Material Plane, but is actually a warped version of it. Think Sliders or Fringe but with much heavier doses of the worst of the Twilight Zone or other series.

What if the players are located on a layer of the Abyss that is being destroyed? What if they discover something actually eating the plane one layer at a time? Some primordial creature that is eating it's way out of some other prison and cannot be freed until it eats the Abyss. How does one eat the infinite?

The Abyss is a great potential setting and can be used for low level characters who must dash out as soon as possible, to higher level characters launching attacks against the likes of Orcus or Demogoron as was done in the Paizo directed Adventure Path, Savage Tide, published for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.

Review: Reaper Miniatures Skeleton Guardian W 2 H Sword

My back issues continue to prove problematic. Thankfully I can still paint in some degree using a breakfast tray and laying down. I say thankfully because when you're out of commission, a hobby like painting can help pass the time.

Another three pack of skeletons I picked up at #Adepticon2015, was this figure, Skeleton Guardian w 2H Sword. Note, at this time, the figures does not appear to be on sale.

The figures are lanky, which makes sense considering the subject matter.

The Bones, the plastic these figures rom Reaper are made of, are not necessarily the greatest for some things. In this in-house studio image for example, you can see the warping at the tip of the sword.

The figures may also need heating and cooling as they may be warped. My least favorite part of a figure being warped isn't the weapons. Those are small and worst comes to worse, I can snip off the weapon and put a new one there.

It's the base itself. When the base is warped you have to make sure that you've got it straightened out correctly. What's worse than that is sometimes the warping will return.

Bones also has potential problems with mold lines. While the material is easy to cut, it's not easy to scrape. I'm always worried about applying too much force and doing damage to the figure.

This figure in terms of sculpting, is fairly good save for a few minor issues. The left arm is just all sorts of out of whack. I don't know if it's the angle, that I'm in need of glasses or what.

You'll notice on these, I did not glue them to a seperate base. The bases are stable enough to stand.

I went through my usual stages here. The primary difference was that I used Army Painter Black Matt to prime them.

Then it was a shade and a few layers of highlights. Because of my lighting conditions and brush use, I did more of an 'overbrush' than anything on those layers. These are meant for the tabletop after all.

Here you might be able to see the bendy parts at the ends of the swords a little more.

And done.

If I was trying to be more accurate, I would have done another wash to dirty things up on the weapons and bones while at the same time went lighter on the clothes and leather to show advanced aging.

In terms of use, outside of the numerous role playing games and table top games that use Undead, I think that these skeletons are great to introduction someone new to painting.

They have no assembly. The bases are integrated and they stand well.

They have a minimum of items. I could have not used the gold at all and just went with steel/silver but I wanted to try and break up the monotony a little.

They are durable. While they are easy to cut and physically destroy, they will NOT be harmed by dropping them and they will not be harmed by game play.

They are inexpensive. Starting a new hobby can be very costly. A good brush can costs over $10. Hobby paints vary and can be $4-$7 a bottle. Having figures that you can practice on and not worry about dropping them? Unlike say Gale Force 9 whose miniatures are FAR superior to these in terms of detail, depth, items, complexity, flash, and cleaning, these figures will not break the bank and unlike Gale Force 9 thin joins on its resin, you will have to work really hard to break them.

Anyone else working their their Kickstarter pledges? I suspect for the next week until my second follow up to the doctor, that I'll be pecking away at it here and there.