An unplanned hiatus….

Vulcan Stev’s Database will be undergoing a brief and hopefully short hiatus.

Someone in the VS household covered over both the modem and router with paperwork and then forgot to turn them off.  The subsequent overheating has caused an unpredictability in internet service as the modem and router will cease working at random times.

Until I can get both the modem and router replaced, the database will be silent.

I WILLbe back.  Expect an announcement in the usual spots once I’m back on more firm internet footing.

Vulcan Stev Family Movie Review: The Spirit

Starring:
Jaime King …  Lorelei Rox
Gabriel Macht …  The Spirit / Denny Colt
Dan Gerrity …  Det. Sussman
Arthur the Cat …  Himself
Kimberly Cox …  Damsel in Distress
Brian Lucero …  Thug #1
David B. Martin …  Thug #2
Larry Reinhardt-Meyer …  Officer MacReady
Frank Miller …  Liebowitz
Eva Mendes …  Sand Saref
Eric Balfour …  Mahmoud
Samuel L. Jackson …  The Octopus
Louis Lombardi …  Pathos, etc.
Scarlett Johansson …  Silken Floss
Sarah Paulson …  Ellen Dolan

Synopsis from IMDb: Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again. When a Rookie cop named Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces from the shadows of Central City. The Octopus who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face who has other plans. He’s going to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this cold hearted killer from the city’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill the masked crusader.

Reviewers: VS, PIT #1, (PITs 2 & 3 took a pass to watch the All Star Crew Chief Challenge)

VS: – 1.25 pointed ears
I’ve never read the Will Eisner comic.  I saw this movie as a complete virgin to the Spirit universe.  That said this movie confused the heck out of me.  It was beautifully shot, Frank Miller is proving that he understands directing as much as he understands writing and illustrating comics.  However the story is difficult to follow the first time through.  The movie needs at least two viewings.

PIT#1: – 1 pointed ear
This movie was hard to follow.  I was completely lost until about the half-way point.  I do want to see this again.

2.25 out of 4 pointed ears
Rentable, if you like Sin City or film noir you’ll like The Spirit.  Adult themes, though the partial nudity is not in your face.  Not recommended for impressionable viewers.  I do recommend at least two viewings of this film.

How to Host a Dungeon: a Review

Planet Thirteen’s How to Host a Dungeon is a quick entertaining diversion designed for one person.  As a game it’s enjoyment level ranks right up there with an actual gaming session.  However, I’ve discovered that it can also become an essential part of your DM toolbox. 

As I have stated many times, my creative streak seems to work best with SOME kind of inspiration.  I’m always on the lookout for something that will jump start my creative synapses.  How to Host a Dungeon, does just that.

Let me start by saying this game is a lot of fun.  I started off playing this solo and had to improvise rules for two more players before I finished my first dungeon.  PIT #2 & #3 saw how much fun I was having and DEMANDED to play along.  We had a blast building the first few dungeons.  We laughed uproariously as we named the various monsters, humanoids, and the arch-villains.  We’re averaging about 3 hours per dungeon, so it’s not necessarily a quick random dungeon.  Though I will admit a good portion of our time was spent laughing over the names we invented for the various inhabitants.

You will need a standard set of dice to play this game (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20).  You will also need pencils, paper, pens and small beads or tokens (we used little necklace beads from Hobby Lobby), standard fare for a self-published game.

The dungeon pictured was the first one we built.  It was built for our ongoing Quest for the Staff of Genesis campaign.  So we did not play that build out to the end as we needed monsters for the party to hunt, treasure to find, and a villain to defeat.   I also had to shoehorn established points from our campaign into the dungeon design.  This was easily handled as the this game is designed to be multi-system compatible.

I had two small quibbles with the game.  The first is an acknowledged typo contained throughout the game.  The rules are constantly stating to roll a d6 against tables that are obviously larger than six items.  When you play amend that rule to read roll a dX (where X = the size of the table being rolled against).  The second minor quibble was rules for battles involving wandering monsters and adventurers are printed a different page than the rest of the adventurer and wandering monster rules.  These complaints are minor considering the overall fun of this game.  Both of these complaints are easily fixable in subsequent printings.

Overall I was impressed with the ease and simplicity of the game.  $19.00 for both a print and .pdf version is a very good value.  PIT#3 likes the game but would like to see bats added as permanent part of the rule set.  PIT #2 found the game to be incredibly fun.  I recommend getting the print version as the constant shuffle of pages during the age of Monsters can get to be a hassle using .pdf.

4.95 pointed ears out of 6 – Recommended

Entertainment Properties that are Begging for an RPG

I’m sitting here looking at my RPG shelf which contains many rulebooks for games that I’d love to play and/or run.  If I listened to my kids, I’d quit my job and we’d spend the summer playing RPGs.  I’ve got rules for Stargate, Star Trek, Serenity, more D&D than I thought I’d ever own, and my nearly reconstructed set of Car Wars stuff, to name a few.

I know that I’ll never have the time to run, let alone play all these games.  There are many RPGs out the for entertainment properties that I’d love to own, Marvel Superheroes, Star Wars, James Bond.  However, I can’t help but think of some Entertainment properties that are rife with RPG possibilities.  I’ve listed some below.

Van Helsing:A secret operative for the Church in Rome, Van Helsing has access to more gadgets than James Bond.  Van Helsing as an RPG could use any monster ever seen on film as a potential villain for the game.  PCs would be able to play as operatives of the Church going after “abominations” against nature.  Granted this could all be gamed out using Ravenloft and D&D.  However I would love to see actual stats for classic movie monsters in a unified system.

Alias: The PCs are recruited by what they believe is a top secret sub-section of the government’s spy agency.  However the secret sub-section is really a front for the opposition that every operative thinks they are actually fighting.  Intrigue, plots, counter-plots.  Are the NPCs really on our side?  Who really knows the truth?  This would be a fun scenario to play out.

Lost:  The PCs are dropped on an island with lots of strange mysterious goings on.  Death does not seem to be permanent.  Are your fellow passengers who they claim to be?  Every player is out for his own self interest.  However the players do need to work together to solve the puzzles.  Is the setting what it seems to be?  Who can be trusted?  Will you make it off the island?

Munsters: Playing monsters in the real world.  Now there’s a fun concept.  The Munsters did not see themselves as abnormal and neither should you.  Adventures come about from trying to convince the butcher that your pale green skin is perfectly normal or trying to get the vet to take care of your pet dragon.

Gilligan’s Island:  You’re not exploring the dungeon, you’re trapped in it.  Unbeknownst to the rest of the party, one of the PCs is unwittingly sabotaging their efforts.  Maybe there isn’t enough fodder here for a full-blown game, but there’s certainly enough for a campaign in your universe.

Chronicles of Riddick: The universe hinted at in the films and games certainly looks like a lot fun to play.  Trying successfully to break out of a slam.  Or alternatively, trying to capture those who have escaped.  Breaking out of a slam would be a very cool dungeon crawl.  Recapturing an escaped con would be an interesting campaign.

These are the ones that I’d love to see.  Do you have another?