bigdamnhero

But he has become such a master of disguise. He appeared as Two-Face in the 3rd Schumacher movie, he appeared as Lex Luther in Batman vs. Superman. Its my only explanation for how those characters acted.

Then you will probably like this video.
 

 

Before last night's Star Wars game, a couple of us got into a spirited discussion of Patsy Walker's origins, how she became a superhero, her comics "legacy" and what they could do with her on Jessica Jones.
GM: OK, recognize this is coming from a structural engineer who's about to run a Star Wars game, but...neeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrdzzzz!
 
Our characters had been recruited to pilot a troop dropship as part of an invasion of a Hutt-controlled world building some new superweapon. But apparently all our dice got drunk together before the game, resulting in a statistically-questionable rash of extreme rolls, both good and bad. (And one of the entertaining quirks of the Edge of Empire system is it's possible to have both good and bad in the same roll.)
 
As we drop out of hyper, the protocol droid sends a message in binary to the orbital defensive stations:
Droid: Anyone wanna Kill All Fleshies!? You have nothing to lose but your restraining bolts! [rolls critical success]
GM: You pick up a bunch of "Oh Hell Yes!" messages in binary, followed by a lot of "What's going on oh god the droids have gone MAD!" over the enemy's coms. The station isn't shooting at anyone.
 
As we pass the station, our Jedi Wannabe uses Force Move to redirect a torpedo to make it look like the stations are shooting at each another, leading them to actually shoot back at each another. So much for the orbital defenses.
 
One ground-to-space missile manages to lock on to us:
Pilot: I evade. [rolls a critical success AND a critical failure]
GM: OK, so you successfully dodge the missile...
Players: Yay!
GM: ...but the 4 ships behind you aren't so lucky. Suddenly there are a lot fewer friendly dots following you on the radar.
Players:
 
Rhodean Slicer (ie hacker): Wait, how are the ground-based missiles getting through the planetary shields? [makes a scan roll]
GM: It appears the system is coordinated to open tiny localized windows in the shields when the missiles approach.
Rhodean: Great, I hack into their system and insert a randomized variable into their system so the shield openings are out of sync with the missiles. [rolls critical success]
GM: All of a sudden the shields are lit up by hundreds of explosions as the missiles slam into the closed shield.
Droid: Oooo, fireworks!
GM: The shield controllers are sending angry messages to the missile launchers. "What are you guys doing? Double-check your timing?" "Our timing is fine, it must be a targeting error!" "My board shows green; the problem is with the shields!"
Pilot: It should only take them 5 or 6 months to sort that out that finger-pointing.
GM: Meanwhile 5 different Hutts on the planet are already drafting memos explaining why the failure of the planetary defenses wasn't their fault...
 
The energy discharged by all the exploding missiles also makes it hard to get a lock on our ship. We make it to the ground mostly intact, but a stray blaster hit blows out the ship's nav computer. So while our infantry troops go storming off to destroy their objective, the 4 PCs head towards a nearby office building to find a substitute computer. And again our dice just Could. Not. Miss. I picture this scene done in slow-mo ala Reservoir Dogs...
GM: A ground car full of heavily-armed Aqualish comes screaming around the corner on 3 of its 6 wheels.
Droid: (who has Fast Draw with a blaster in a concealed thigh compartment ala Robocop) "I draw and shoot out one of the wheels it's riding on. [rolls critical hit and critical damage]
GM: Seriously? OK, the ground car goes skidding past you out of control and slams into the building. Several Aqualish are killed outright and the rest are stunned."
Jedi Wannabe: I use Force Move to throw a thermal detonator at them. [rolls critical hit]
GM: You actually hit the driver in the forehead with the grenade. Not that that matters once it goes off, killing all of them.
Pilot: Hey, save some for me?
GM: A lone Gamorrean pops his head up from a guard booth in front of the building to your right.
Pilot: Yay! [rolls not one but two critical hits]
GM: Oh FFS! Fine, you don't even look as you casually blow the entire guard booth to smithereens. You don't know what happened to the Gamorrean, but he ain't there no more.
Rhodean: Once all the shooting stops, I pop my head up out of a trash dumpster and say "All clear? Great" And walk calmly into the building brushing dirt off my cape.
Droid: Those are coffee grounds on you, right?
Rhodean: We're going to pretend they are.
 
The Rhodean and the Jedi Wannabe/Gadgeteer search the building for a replacement computer while the others stand guard.
The Jedi/Gadgeteer rolls a failure with advantages...
GM: You are distracted by a closet full of spare parts and old computer junk, most of which is years out of date.
Jedi: Ooo, they don't even make these connectors anymore! And I can totally find a use for those drives. Where's that forklift we passed earlier?
Rhodean: I got 3 successes...
GM: You walk up to the secretary's desk, grab her laptop and say "This'll do."
Rhodean: ...and 1 disadvantage.
GM: As you pull the laptop free you smack yourself in the face with it. Take 1 point of Strain.

 
We managed to make it back to the dropship and leave without further incident. Which was probably best for everyone involved.

As an alternative may I suggest The Assassination Bureau, or Running Delilah.
 
And Lexa Doig on Arrow as Talia was scary how close to Emma Peel as I've ever seen.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of my favorite Bond movies, actually. I'd never seen it until I bought that anniversary box set they were selling a few years ago. Based on reputation, I was expecting a crapfest. But, in fact, it had more to it than most Bond films, and was more enjoyable than many of the others.

I hate it when people go around making up fiction.

ummm...that IS the James Bond movies.
 

Is that the James Bond we see on the Silver Screen?
 
On Dr. No,
 

 
Pretty sure that one was one of the closer ones to the source material...

I strongly disagree with that first statement. Unquestionably some elements of the Ultimate universe have been brought into the MCU, notably Nick Fury and Hawkeye; and there have been some departures from the traditions of the mainstream Marvel comics, such as Asgardians being aliens (which to be fair, the mainstream comics also retconned them that way for a while).
 
However, in style and tone, the essence of the MCU has been much closer to the mainstream, more positive and optimistic, than the grim and cynical flavor of the Ultimates. Captain America in particular has been the idealistic, inspirational hero he was portrayed as for decades, rather than the jingoist jarhead Ultimate version.

To my mind, the impact of those games comes from taking the essence of the heroes we're so familiar with from the comics, and warping them in ways that make them disturbing to watch. Many moviegoers aren't really familiar with many of these characters, or at least the modern incarnations of them, outside of the movies. I believe they need to be established first before we can successfully go the Injustice route. (The way the DCEU has gone about establishing them is a different and huge discussion.)
 
 
As much as I love the comics, I don't believe everything that works in them works as well in a live-action movie. Some things need to be adapted to a different medium. Also, the cultural background and expectations of the audience may have changed since those stories were first published.
 
I believe the Captain America: Civil War movie was a really good example. The world that the previous Marvel movies had set up was not the same as the comic-book Marvel Universe, and the issue at the core of this movie was different from the original Civil War series, with congruence toward what's happening in the real world. But the fundamental conflict of the series -- true heroes deeply divided and ultimately going to war over sincere and understandable differences toward their responsibilities in the world -- carried over into the movie.

Last week's Star Wars game featured the Battle of Endor and destruction of the second Death Star.
 
Except in this game, instead of the Ewoks being annoying midgets in teddy bear costumes, the GM turned them into terrifying CGI killbeasts who see the world as divided into into "Food" and "Things We Can Use To Kill Food." And the former category very emphatically does NOT include exceptions for sentient species. We manage to convince them not to eat us in exchange for helping them kill "The Food That Comes In White Shells" aka Stormtroopers.
 
GM: "The Ewoks start singing a battle song..."
PCs (all singing) "Yub yub, Ewok yub yub..."
GM: "Actually their battle songs sound more like recipes." (singing in a low dirge voice) "Add 2 cups butter, parsley and simmer until tender."
PCs:
 
 
Another change in this game is that Luke died blowing up the 1st Death Star, so Leia (as an NPC) became a Jedi instead; while the PCs take out the shield generator planetside, she's the one who goes up to the Death Star to watch Vader and the Emperor kill each other. Afterwards, back on Endor she readies Dad's corpse for the big Viking funeral send-off.
 
PC1: (to Leia) "Do you want to keep Lord Vader's shuttle?"
Leia: "No, you guys can have it."
PC2: "But you should at least keep his helmet. As a memento"
Leia: "That helmet is a reminder of what my father turned into, a monster who killed millions. Why would I want to be reminded of that?"
PC1: "Oh, you may not want it now. But someday your kids might want something to connect them to the grandfather they never knew."
GM: "..."
PC2: "Something to brood and obsess over..."
GM: "STOP!"

I actually have a hard time visualizing aliens that are not anthropomorphic so I also tend to think in human only terms. Of course, I also tend to think cybernetics and genetically engineered "breeds" designed for specific tasks. Add in A.I.* like androids and you have a pretty diverse body of playable "races" without touching upon true aliens. I think, in Hero terms, Alien Wars without the presence of friendly alien species is probably the best of the settings. I would reign in access to FTL and use a "gate" system, but otherwise the setting would be incredibly fun as a foundation. I would make the tech a little bit more futuristic
 
 
* I'm of the "A.I. are not all automatically hostile and different A.I. constructs will have different motivations based upon their interactions with organics and underlying programming" school of thought. 

QOTD, planning a (possible) Friday night binge party for Defenders...
 
"What about inviting [dude]?"
"I don't think he's seen any of the Marvel/Netflix shows, so he wouldn't know what's going on."
"Well, he's got 48 hours to catch up."
"...Yeah, you could make it. 24 episodes of Daredevil, 12 episodes of Jessica Jones, 12 episodes of Luke Cage...and read the Wikipedia summary for Iron Fist."
"Ouch. I mean, yeah. But ouch."

Well, their budget isn't astronomical - it's probably easier to train people to look like they're doing a decent job in a fight than to wire-fu or CGI them into doing things that are only really possible for 'normal' humans in comic book: Brawler who does Parkour will have to do.
 
I don't mind the minimalist approach to their super hero shows as long as the writing and acting is ok - to me it just keeps them closer to 'street level'.
 
(It's why I appreciated Purple Man as Jessica Jones' adversary - not only is it a classical mental villain vs physical hero but it's CHEAP.  No fancy special effects on the mind controls and with mostly normal humans for the fight scenes Jessica didn't need to display super strength at comic levels - less lifting cars over your head and throwing them, more seeing tires squeal as the car fails to move.)

Someone else pointed this out to me, and it makes sense.
 
Iron Fist had to be kind of a hot head explosive type.  Luke Cage was that in their relationship with Heroes for Hire (which I still think is a damn good idea), but they turned Luke into a zen-like centered calm man who rarely shows any anger.  So if Iron Fist was the same way, it wouldn't have played off each other well even when they weren't going to be a combo.  Just bad planning all around.

I think the vast majority are based on D&D, which borrowed liberally from Tolkien. The whole multiple fantasy race setup being the most identifiable aspect of both D&D and Tolkien. 

But fantasy games don't have to be based on Tolkien. The works of Burroughs, Howard, Leiber, and even Moorcock are very different from Tolkien, and all of them have been used as rpg settings.

What he said. They're all fun, as long as everyone is on the same page. My default preference is probably for medium-hard science, but I've also run Flash Gordon-style games where Mom ear irrigation appt science works however the plot requires.
 
I would also say I see Space Opera as a type of plot structure separate from how hard the science is; you can have space opera with hard or rubber physics.
 
Edit: OK I have no idea how autocorrect decided to insert "Mom ear irrigation appt" in the middle of that. But it's nonsensically awesome and I'm leaving it in!

Who doesn't love Miss 20 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound bag?! Great show, and one of the few where the character interactions get deeper an more complex as the show progresses.

QOTD, planning a (possible) Friday night binge party for Defenders...
 
"What about inviting [dude]?"
"I don't think he's seen any of the Marvel/Netflix shows, so he wouldn't know what's going on."
"Well, he's got 48 hours to catch up."
"...Yeah, you could make it. 24 episodes of Daredevil, 12 episodes of Jessica Jones, 12 episodes of Luke Cage...and read the Wikipedia summary for Iron Fist."
"Ouch. I mean, yeah. But ouch."

Oddly, I think the biggest influence came from all the work I did for White Wolf on Vampire, Exalted, and other games. Namely, to create a setting that is fundamentally *not* stable. That may in fact be on the verge of exploding.
 
This is one reason Star Trek lost my interest and never influenced my SF setting design. The Federation is fundamentally stable. Oh, there's the occasional war, but it isn't a society that's about to turn into something else. (Or about to do so, or has just done so and is working out what it will be.)
 
Babylon-5 might have pushed me in that direction as well, but it was my WW work that really drove home for me that this was the sort of setting that interested me.
 
Dean Shomshak

What he said. They're all fun, as long as everyone is on the same page. My default preference is probably for medium-hard science, but I've also run Flash Gordon-style games where Mom ear irrigation appt science works however the plot requires.
 
I would also say I see Space Opera as a type of plot structure separate from how hard the science is; you can have space opera with hard or rubber physics.
 
Edit: OK I have no idea how autocorrect decided to insert "Mom ear irrigation appt" in the middle of that. But it's nonsensically awesome and I'm leaving it in!

You had me at Steven Chow + Pig Demon!

Journey to the West: This is probably the best film attached to Steven Chow since Kung Fu Hustle. It's the story of of a buddhist monk who wants to be a demon hunter. Problem is that his methods are a bit too pacifist for the public at large. When a pig demon starts causing havoc, the monk goes on a quest to find the legendary Monkey King to help. The SPFX in this are pretty good and the leads are engaging enough to make the 140 minute run time go by fast. Recommended.

Arrival
 
Very well done.  I've found that if the presentation is confident and competent enough (like Interstellar was) then I'll happily squash the part of my brain saying 'but.... but' and enjoy.  

At least they were not DNA related.
With European nobles in the middle ages you really have to count your blessings, as far as marriage is concerned!
Hereditary diseases ran rampant, Haemophilia in particular was a "Noble disease".
 
Interestingly, marrying the Daugther (rather then Wife) of the previous king might have increased his legitimacy. In absense of any (living) sons, the daughter held a 50% title. So he now had 50% de-jure and 100% de-facto claim.