The1True
8, 8, I forget what is for
actually surprisingly interesting.
That wasn't the fun dunk on some poor shmo's fantasy heartbreaker that I was hoping for... :\
General Discussion
- Thread starter Beoric
- Start date
That wasn't the fun dunk on some poor shmo's fantasy heartbreaker that I was hoping for... :\
DangerousPuhson
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
There are a lot of systems out there - the laws of probability would dictate that many of them are actually good. In fact I'd wager that there's likely a slight skew towards better system products than worse ones, based on the premise that barrier-to-entry for system design is slightly higher than for adventure design (thanks Dyson and DTRPG), which naturally filters out the more amateur efforts.
The1True
8, 8, I forget what is for
I hope you're dissing Dyson map users and not Dyson himself, who is pretty gifted imho and our proud hometown hero!
DangerousPuhson
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
Yes, the users. Dyson I blame for lowering the barrier to entry for unskilled amateurs, but his actual work is a great boon to the sphere. He's from Ottawa? That's cool - didn't know that.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
When news about the 2026 Odyssey movie came out, I saw promotional materials, which I can't find now, that looked something like this:
Someone posted that they couldn't wait to see the new movie, TES QDPSSSSPS.
To which someone else replied, "TIL you can call a cat by saying
."
Someone posted that they couldn't wait to see the new movie, TES QDPSSSSPS.
To which someone else replied, "TIL you can call a cat by saying
."
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
I have seen these for a few movies. They aren't released by the studio, they are a "concept trailer," but it's a fan's concept, not a studio/director concept. This one is generated by an account named "Royal Trailer." Here is the disclaimer:
I look forward to it's release, mainly to read Bret Devereaux' inevitable demolition of the gear and battle scenes. He had a go at Gladiator last week, I'm looking forward to reading it.
So, the "trailer" likely includes no actual scenes from the movie.ATTENTION
How this content was made
Altered or synthetic content
Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.
I look forward to it's release, mainly to read Bret Devereaux' inevitable demolition of the gear and battle scenes. He had a go at Gladiator last week, I'm looking forward to reading it.
DangerousPuhson
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
Like, the sequel film? I've heard bad things...
FYI any Wes Anderson fans out there, I heartily endorse The Phoenician Scheme - a real return to form for Anderson after the staleness of Asteroid City and the divisiveness of French Dispatch. Really takes after GBH in terms of tonality and humor.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
No, nitpicking the original. Also, his series on the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Siege of Gondor, and comparisons between the books and the movies, is really excellent.
@squeen you would really like his analysis of the books, if you haven't already read the articles. Read the Siege of Gondor first, it sets up some things for the Helm's Deep series. Also, lots of inspiration if you want to run a domain campaign. You will have to live with the fact that he does not hate the movies, but I think it would be worth it for you.
He also has a really great article on how cavalry actually functions, which I can't find but may actually be included in one of those series. TL;DR, running into a wall of infantry, or trying to trample people, just gets you and/or the horse killed. But infantry have a really hard time standing firm if they see a wall of horses running at them full tilt, and tend to break and run, at which point the cavalry outruns them and picks the runners off from behind. So the cavalry runs full tilt at the infantry, and if the infantry doesn't break, they turn away at the last minute. And the impulse to run is so strong that even if the infantry knows that is the tactic, and even if they have trained for it, and even if the tactic has failed against them before in the same battle, there is still a chance they will break, so in the absence of some other distraction for the cavalry, they just keep doing it over and over again, slowly working the infantry down.
So basically, the cavalry imposes a morale check every time it charges, but doesn't actually engage unless the infantry formation breaks.
Mounted archers are a different thing entirely, and he also has an article on that somewhere.
I think the only Wes Anderson movie I have seen is Rushmore. I didn't love it, but I was young and stupid so that doesn't mean anything.
Last edited:
DangerousPuhson
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
They're like black licorice - you either love it, or you believe the rest of the world crazy for loving it. Grand Budapest Hotel is his opus; if you watch it, you'll know which side you fall on. Life Aquatic is pretty approachable too, as a way to dip your toe in (pun intended).
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
While we're sort of randomly talking about media, I think Billie Eilish's "You Should See Me In A Crown" (Spotify) (YouTube) (Other YouTube) is a great basis for a villain.
Actually, three villains. I had never seen the video(s) until this moment when I looked it up for the YouTube links, but the villain I have in my head from listening without video is way different from either video, and the two videos are very different from each other (the animated one gets interesting at about 1:05).
I was going to say what I was thinking in terms of villains, but I'll wait until a few people weigh in (or not), I don't want to hijack your mind's eye.
Actually, three villains. I had never seen the video(s) until this moment when I looked it up for the YouTube links, but the villain I have in my head from listening without video is way different from either video, and the two videos are very different from each other (the animated one gets interesting at about 1:05).
I was going to say what I was thinking in terms of villains, but I'll wait until a few people weigh in (or not), I don't want to hijack your mind's eye.
Last edited:
DangerousPuhson
My my my, we just loooove to hear ourselves don't we?
The1True
8, 8, I forget what is for
I have not. Prince dropped glowing praise on it which prompted me to buy it a while ago. I did read it. I collect classic adventures, so I have more than I'll ever be able to run which leads me to rate modules more as reads than playable adventure aids. On that scale, this was a slog, so I think we're in agreement there. Huge explanations delivered in big, bland, square paragraphs. Few illustrations to spark the imagination. Very little bolding or highlighting to guide the eye.
I dunno, Prince and Bryce have a way of seeing through the outer fluff of a product to how it's actually going to play out at the table. I can see how maybe this one could be more fun for the players than the DM. But yeah, there's a lot to wade through there. It's very technical 2.5e AD&D as well, since he's pushing the various Players Options books, it's a little more difficult than usual to convert to your system of choice, or just riff off of like I and DP were suggesting in that other thread.
I dunno, Prince and Bryce have a way of seeing through the outer fluff of a product to how it's actually going to play out at the table. I can see how maybe this one could be more fun for the players than the DM. But yeah, there's a lot to wade through there. It's very technical 2.5e AD&D as well, since he's pushing the various Players Options books, it's a little more difficult than usual to convert to your system of choice, or just riff off of like I and DP were suggesting in that other thread.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Yeah, that doesn't sound great.
I actually looked for it on Prince's blog, because I know he likes Cordell, but I couldn't find the review. I don't rely too much on his reviews, I know he liked those sahuagin modules (another thing that I could use conceptually), but I could not get through them.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Yes, those are great. I mean Cordell's 2e sahuagin modules: Evil Tide, Night of the Shark and Sea of Blood.
Beoric
8, 8, I forget what is for
Today's Grognardia, on spellbooks.