Now This Is A Movie I want To See

My friend Joe told me about this movie. They say Tai Chi Zero is the beginning of a trilogy. I don't know but this martial arts/steampunk blend looks very cool. With games such as Steampunk Musha, Iron Dynasty, and Far West, this movie will be some inspiration.




I don't know if this movie will ever be availiable here but this Turkish found footage horror movie looks spectacular enough to make me want to see the rest of it.

B-Movie Monday

Long day.  Got some spaghetti western trailers for you...

Is the OSR Dead And Other Ruminations

Here's something I haven't done in a while. Just some random thoughts about various things in gaming and beyond...

Shhhhh! Me and Mr Holmes are thinking!

Is The OSR Dead?

A current meme that's going around is the question "Is The OSR dead?" I'll have to say that the question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.

Will we see a reduction of the amount of new retro-clone rules? For the various editions of D&D/AD&D, yes. The ones that survive will be the ones that are the most creative with their rule design. You will see retro-clones and revivals for other games continue, and more "what-if" style rules ala Mutant Future (Basic D&D powered Gamma World) and Rotworld (Pacesetter system used for  survival horror).

When it comes to dungeons, campaigns, and worlds? The sky is still the limit. Even if WotC releases every book in their library, someone will want to make their 'cowboys vs terminators helped by psykers and fae" setting for Basic D&D. A set of retro-clone rules makes it possible to share your idea with the world (or those 10 folks who want to cannibalise your games for parts).

Even if the OSR fades away, the ramifications of what they accomplished will go down for years. Sword & Sorcery has returned in force to fantasy roleplaying. PDFs, kickstarters, and print on demand has allowed people to create their own RPGs and supplements to sell in ways not possible even 10 years ago. In the end the OSR took up the do it yourself mantle and went beyond the d20 System revolution to awaken something much greater.

Finally, a thought about WotC releasing the entire D&D/AD&D library. You do realise for every person that buys the old D&D stuff from WotC because it's "official", there may be another that says "I can use this for my Labyrinth Lord/Mutant Future mash-up" when they pick up X2 Castle Amber?

Ad Infinitum Adventures Acquires Icons Superpowered Roleplaying From Adamant Entertainment

Several days ago I saw this press release about the future of the Icons Superpowered Roleplaying game  here.

I think this is a great development. I like Adamant Entertainment. I think Thrilling Tales in both the d20 Modern and Savage Worlds incarnations are among the best in pulp roleplaying. Mars is a great mash-up of all your favorite martian science fantasy  concepts. But I'm glad Gareth-Michael Skarka went this route. Icons is a great superhero game, and it deserves a solid focus to let it expand and grow. Kudos to GMS and Steve Kenson on making this deal.

The New Superhero RPG Golden Age

While I'm on superhero roleplaying games, are we not living in a golden age of superhero roleplaying? We have Mutants & Masterminds (M&M), Icons, DC Adventures, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, BASH Ultimate, Supers!, and two companies putting out products for Villains & Vigilantes, just for a start.

Yes, I said Villains & Vigilantes. Two companies. It's True.

Plus with various OGLs and Creative Commons there are a metric ton of great material that can be adapted for your favotite superhero RPG. Most of it is M&M 3e/2e or Icons, but from Golden Age  wackiness to dark Dark Knight-Wannabe grittiness there is plenty of Superhero goodness to go around.

I Wish I Had More Money For Kickstarters

To all my internet friends and people who've I bought games from: If I haven't donated money to your Kickstarter, it not because I don't like your idea. I think you idea is kind of sweet actually. I just can't afford to spend my paychecks on everything I want to support. Nothing personal.

Emmanuelle Vaugier is Still Flippin' Hot

Yep. Flipping Hot.

Emmanuelle Vaugier  is still flipping hot. I know it's not gaming, but I just had to get that off my chest.

B-Movie Monday: Sword Fight Between The Dimensions From Waxwork II: Lost In Time

One of my favorite B-movies of the 90s was  Waxwork II: Lost In Time, Anthony Hickox's 1992 sequel to his amazingly fun movie Waxwork (1988). The main concepts was that the main characters Mark (Zach Galligan) and Sarah (Monika Schnarre) are trapped in another dimension called Cartagra, with gates between  various movie tribute realities. Wikipedia describes Cartagra as:

... another dimension consisting of stories that have become realities (including homages to Frankenstein, The Haunting, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Jekyll, Alien, Godzilla, Jack the Ripper, Nosferatu, and Dawn of the Dead). According to exposition later given by Sir Wilfred in the form of a raven, these worlds comprise "God's video game," where God and the devil battle over the fate of the world, each victory being reflected in events occurring in the real world. When Mark or Sarah appear in each reality they take on the persona of characters in those stories, sometimes having their personalities and memories taken over by those characters until they regain their senses.

Not only is this a great campaign idea for an adventurous horror campaign, but it has one of my favorite scenes of 90s B-Movie fun: a six minute sword fight between Mark and the evil Lord Scarabis (the late Alexander Godunov) through multiple movie dimensions. The dialogue is in Italian, but the visuals need no translation

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B-Movie Monday: H. P. L. Hullabaloo!

Today is the 122nd birthday of the Old Gent of Providence himself, H.P. Lovecraft. I thought it would be fitting to present some of of B-Movie visions of his work. No doubt Lovecraft would be horrified by these movies, but they are an exploitation --I mean celebration of his cosmic vision.

Eclipsed by Reanimator, From Beyond was a sick squishy adaptation of the short story. Some of the scenes in this movie still make me wince.



The Shunned House is a film by Italian director Ivan Zuccon. The narrative of the film includes elements from "The Music of Erich Zann", "Dreams in the Witch House" and the title story. Admittedly a bloody mess, but there are some effective visions of time folding in on itself.



Beyond the Dunwich Horror is best described as a blend of Lovecraft and Italian Horror. This modern day adaptation by Richard Griffiths is low budgeted but fun. Eyes take a beating in this one.

 

 The H. P Lovecraft Collection is a series dedicated to adaptions of Lovecraft's stories. There are some real gems in these collections and some interesting interpretations of the master's work.

B-Movie Monday: Messiah of Evil (1973)

Welcome to B-Movie Monday! Presenting today Messiah of Evil (aka Dead People), an underrated classic from 1973. A very weird and dreamlike picture, there are some striking scenes in this one. Great inspiration for a twist on the average "rise of the zombies" scenarios.

B-Movie Monday: The Green Slime (1968)

I've been sloppy on the B-Movie Mondays. No More!






Here's the USA/Italy/Japan classic from 1968: The Green Slime (Japanese title Gamma 3: Operation Outer Space!)  Google Video  has the entire movie online for viewing. I love the monster design, and Luciana Paluzzi is gorgeous.