What Have You Watched Recently?

[Spence]

On 5/2/2022 at 5:36 AM, Ninja-Bear said:

D&D can do this as well even using the 10 second per round. The key is if you present combat as the rationale that you are only rolling one important roll in those 10 seconds and the rest is the swipes, blocks and evades and such and present that as fun it works.  I did it with my kids and nephew. Man we’re they getting into it even if they whiffed a roll. 

 

Not the same thing.  Early D&D already was that way with the combat round being all kinds of action and the roll only to determine the possibility of inflicting damage.  I really can't remember when it changed.  Just like Hit Points are an aggregate of damage/stun/fatigue.  But I can present any RPG's combat as exciting via narrative.  Especially if the players are new or younger.  But Hero actually has it baked into its' bones. 

 

In D&D a 3 foot hobbit fighter getting hit by a 15 foot troll wielding a club that masses 5 times the hobbit will result in "you take 15 damage, the elf is up".   No getting knocked across the room and taking more damage as you hit the wall.  Heck most of what passes for Knockback in D&D is an ability in a creature write-up that pushes someone back a square.  Or maybe two. 

 

Yes you can use the narrative to "describe" the combat with glowing cinematic action terms.  But in Hero the game actually creates the cinematic action as part of its flow. 

 

I know that the use of Knockback. Knockdown or neither is supposedly tied to the genre with most "fantasy" settings using Knockdown and most pundants saying that Knockback is a supers thing.  But I completely disagree.  Knockback or Knockdown is part of the type of game. 

 

If all the PC's, NPC's and encounters stay within normal human ranges, then yes Knockdown.  But with the reservation that if the threat is big enough (elephant, crane, car) than Knockback will be used. 

 

But for a Fantasy (D&Dish) Game I definitely use Knockback as a core rule.  If you are a human and get hit by a giants club you will most likely go flying, well unless the giant smashed you into the ground to go splat.  Or your PC is tough enough to take the hit.

 

Don't get me wrong, D&D and PF are fine games and I enjoyed years of playing.  But after playing several other systems, including Hero, they just don't have that pizazz any more. At least for me. 

 

Hero does cinematic action in combat by default.  No big reason to "describe" it up. 

It just doesn't spend much time on the non-combat part.  But then not too many games do.

[Ninja-Bear]

@Spence, you make some good points. My bigger point is that D&D does have to have the boring, I roll and either hit or miss. I just use Hero’ sfx and mechanics rule. Hero I believe is the first game to come up with sfx separate from mechanics but that doesn’t mean it can’t be imported to other games. (Iirc we were describing near hits (miss by one on AC) in the D&D game as scraping off the armor or shield. And I think (since we weren’t looting every one) great damage rolls were breaking a shield to breaking a weapon.

[fdw3773]

It's been a mixed bag of everything the past few days (trailers included):

 

A Very British Scandal on Amazon (Season 1)

 

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (I just finished this last night with a friend 🙂)

 

Thinner

 

Secret Window

[mattingly]

1 hour ago, fdw3773 said:

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (I just finished this last night with a friend 🙂)

 

My third favorite Coen movie!

(behind Hudsucker Proxy and Raising Arizona)

[Spence]

7 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

@Spence, you make some good points. My bigger point is that D&D does have to have the boring, I roll and either hit or miss. I just use Hero’ sfx and mechanics rule. Hero I believe is the first game to come up with sfx separate from mechanics but that doesn’t mean it can’t be imported to other games. (Iirc we were describing near hits (miss by one on AC) in the D&D game as scraping off the armor or shield. And I think (since we weren’t looting every one) great damage rolls were breaking a shield to breaking a weapon.

100% agree.  My mind was running down the track and didn't notice the spur

[Ninja-Bear]

Especially after watching Street Fighter 3, I was wondering how to incentivize players to have more movement when playing martial arts. My last game still came down to players not really moving on the map. 

[Grailknight]

26 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Especially after watching Street Fighter 3, I was wondering how to incentivize players to have more movement when playing martial arts. My last game still came down to players not really moving on the map. 

 

Take away that extra d6 rolled for KB.

[Ninja-Bear]

42 minutes ago, Grailknight said:

 

Take away that extra d6 rolled for KB.

I have done that and that does help. I’m thinking that Roll with Punch should be used more often too.

[Bazza]

Obi-Wan trailer. Dang. 

[Ternaugh]

Moon Knight: Last episode dropped today. Overall, I enjoyed it, though I may have to watch it through again to catch stuff that I missed. (Disney+)

 

Network: Excellent satire about the 1970s TV industry, that unfortunately also looks like it was used as a roadmap for certain cable channels. Several TCM pieces about it were included in the extras, which were also well worth watching. (HBOmax)

[Tjack]

MOON KNIGHT FINALE/THE BATMAN/ PICARD FINALE........(NO SPOILERS)

  

All were good, lots of surprises.

[Ninja-Bear]

My boys have told me that Moonknight is good. Haven’t had the desire to watch it at all.

[Starlord]

Moon Knight overall was great.  The finale was good, but the ending was a bit confusing.  After credits scene was interesting....

[Joe Walsh]

Moon Knight was right in there with the better Marvel Disney+ series. Not quite as good as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, or WandaVision, but very good indeed. Well worth a second watch sometime.

 

[Spence]

17 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Especially after watching Street Fighter 3, I was wondering how to incentivize players to have more movement when playing martial arts. My last game still came down to players not really moving on the map. 

 

You could make the threat more mobile or more threat at range.  Force the players to engage. 

 

Not really much more to say without knowing what genre/setting

[Pariah]

I just watched an episode of Wheel of Fortune for the first time in I don't know how long. Honestly, I liked it better when they would buy prizes at the end of each round and somebody always got stuck with that stupid ceramic dog.

[Pariah]

I watched the pilot for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tonight. I was impressed. Anson Mount is a worthy addition to the stable of heroes the franchise has had in the center chair. The rest of the cast was fantastic as well. The actress playing Cadet Uhura is dang cute, too. 

[Bazza]

Anson Mount, I hope he speaking lines…

[Joe Walsh]

I watched pre-release versions of the first three episodes of MST3K Season 13 (Gizmoplex.com via the Roku and FireTV apps): Santo in The Treasure of Dracula, Robot Wars, and Beyond Atlantis. The new season's starting strong! I like that they have two different SoL crews, and I'm really looking forward to the return of Joel Robinson in a later episode. To me, the first and third episodes are the strongest so far, but all three are very funny and well worth watching.

 

I also watched a bunch of old MST3K shorts on Gizmoplex. A few kind of drag, but most of them remain as hilarious as any of their riffs.

 

 

[Ninja-Bear]

I watched Ultraman Season 2. I also watched Heman: Revelations Part 2. It had some good points and Skeletor was funny as ever. At the end of the day though it should have been called Teela and the Masters of the Universe. 

[Joe Walsh]

Last night we finished S1 of Perry Mason (2020, HBOMax). The season ending episode was great and very well done, like the rest of the series. I appreciate the after-the-trial sequences that wrapped up a good number of loose ends. I'm so looking forward to season 2!

 

[csyphrett]

it's Columbo night as Jack Cassidy returns as the Great Santini, a magician who can be in two places at once, and Robert Vaughn is the guy until he winds up dead and he isn't the guy which leads to a Thin Man Summation and a classic Columbo trap.

 

Jack Gillis returned to write the Robert Vaughn episode. He was the show runner on the classic Raymond Burr/Perry Mason and the mystery is one of those where everyone is telling the truth except for one detail.

CES 

 

 

[tkdguy]

I re-watched the Doctor Who episode Blink, or more properly, people reacting to the episode. Some of them got really terrified and said they'll never look at statues the same way again.

 

I can understand that. I watched Blink at a friend's house and came home at night. My yard has a number of statues, including a couple of angels. I got inside my house as quickly as I could that night.

[death tribble]

Batch processing begins.....

 

Farscape Season 1

Finally managed to see all of season 1. And we see the two different officers, Crais and Scorpius who want Crichton for different reasons. I like it as it is different. A living ship with an odd pilot who is bonded to the ship. And a crew on the run. Late in we have a new crew member who was supposed to die in the episode she appeared in. The ship itself becoming pregnant and giving birth to a weaponised ship while we have the cliff hanger of the ship fleeing leaving three of the crew behind, Two of these are out in space. I liked Claudia Black to begin with but this shows her acting chops.

 

The Girl Can't Help It

Tom Ewell and Jayne Mansfield in a film remembered now for the rock and roll artists on show. Fats Domino, Eddie Cochrane, Little Richard and Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps all appear in colour as a lot of their appearances on TV were black and white. You also have Julie London as an apparition. Mansfield is supposed to be turned into a star in six weeks for her gangster boyfriend but has no talent except her figure. She just wants to be a house wife which is so 50s. Watch for the rock acts and maybe Mansfield. But Ewell lucked out. The previous year he worked with Monroe in the Seven Year Itch

 

The Soldier

The KGB plan to turn half the world's oil radioactive for 300 years ! Shock ! Horror ! Send for the Soldier ! This is a less plot more action type of film which has Klaus Kinski in it for no discernable reason. It ends rather quickly. But I found the lead Ken Wahl rather wooden. It does have some nice touches but other bits have you going 'What ?'

 

The Comedy of Terrors

Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre run a funeral business which is not doing well and Vincent is drinking the profits. Basil Rathbone wants a year's rent from Price and he does not have it. But he tries to find a way to do it by killing people and then burying them as a way opf drumming up business. This however does not go well when clients do not co-operate. This is well worth a look for the actors alone. Originally Boris was to do Basil's role but illness made the two swap roles. It still works wonderfully.

 

The Monster Club

A 1980 horror anthology which is let down by the links set in a club for monsters. Two stories revolve around the children of monsters a Shadmock and a Humego The third story is about a vampire and his family who are normal human. The stories are really good with the last one featuring Stuart Whitman the first one I recall which brings Dungeons and Dragons ghouls to mind. What detracted slightly is I recognised the location for a bridge which repeatedly appeared in the Avengers series (the British quasi spy thing from the 60s). Vincent Price playing a Vampire links the three stories talking to John Carradine playing a horror author. There are music interludes which is the detracting bit. The second story has an anti Vampire squad featuring Donald Pleasence and Anthony Valentine. Britt Eckland plays the Vampire's wife. See it for the stories and fast forward the bits in between.

 

The Evictors

A couple move into a house and then find themselves being menaced by someone who wants them to leave. Set in Louisiana in the 40s and supposedly a true story. The house has seen previous occupants die in accidents after a family were involved in a fatal shoot out with police at the end of the 20s. Michael Parks and Vic Morrow star. It is a neat little story with a couple of twists.

[BoloOfEarth]

On 5/5/2022 at 8:27 PM, Pariah said:

I just watched an episode of Wheel of Fortune for the first time in I don't know how long. Honestly, I liked it better when they would buy prizes at the end of each round and somebody always got stuck with that stupid ceramic dog.

As a gamemaster, I often have to help players spend accumulated XP.  I frequently find myself saying "You have 2 XP left - do you want to save them, or spend them on a ceramic dalmatian?"