Nuketown

September 2009

The Blackrazor Guild Blogosphere Expands

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 4:30am

My gaming group has upped its presence in the blogsphere with two new blogs. Minis Like Dust by my friend Damon is dedicated to collecting and painting miniatures. It's mostly about wargaming (as illustrated by his posts about army building and rule sets, but he'll delve into RPG minis occasionally (as in The Old School Mini Renaissance). It's the companion site to his other blog, Books Like Dust, where he reviews science fiction, fantasy and history books he's reading.  

Meanwhile, Cory (@hardcorhobbs) has relaunched his Fat Cat Inn blog. Last time around, the Fat Cat Inn was a general interest geek blog; this time Cory's focused it computer role-playing games like Last Remnant and Lost Odyssey. 

Are you watching Heroes Season 4?

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 09/27/2009 - 11:55am
Yes
25% (2 votes)
No
25% (2 votes)
No, I gave up after Season 1
25% (2 votes)
No, I gave up after Season 2
0% (0 votes)
No, I gave up after Season 3
25% (2 votes)
Total votes: 8

Anticipating Bioware's Dragon Age

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 09/27/2009 - 4:30am

When it comes to western-style Computer RPGs, the single best designers around have to be Bioware. They created the fantastic high magic, D&D-spawned Balder's Gate, the Star Wars-themed Knights of the Old Republic, the Oriental adventure Jade Empire and the space opera Mass Effect.

This fall they're returning to their fantasy roots with Dragon Age: Origins, a surprisingly blood-drenched sword-and-sorcery RPG. I say "surprisingly" because although my friends have been talking about it for months, I hadn't actually gone looking for any of the promotional videos. After being approached about reviewing the game at Nuketown, I decided to go and browse YouTube for Dragon Age: Origins videos, and found a small horde of them.

SciFiWire.com: Heroes ratings plummet. Do you even care anymore?

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 5:27pm

I offered a plan to save Heroes. It looks like SciFi Wire's ready to grab their shovels. This review of the series to date, and the first episode of the "Redemption" arc, echos my own sentiments (and those who've commented here).  The general sense I get from the comment thread is either "I'm done with it" or "I've come this far ... I must watch it until the end." No one seems particularly pleased with the series opener, which isn't surprising; it's less of shot to the series' heart, than it is a gentle kick to a recently deceased corpse.

6 Things Heroes Must Do to Save Itself

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 2:23pm

Forget the cheerleader; Heroes needs to save itself. Defying all logic, the television series about everyday people with superpowers has succeeded in getting second chance after second chance, winning back audiences with each new season only to lose them again by season's end. Here's what Heroes needs to do to save itself.

GameCryer.com: Rebellion Era Campaign Guide

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 8:38am

My review of the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide for Star Wars: Saga Edition is live at GameCryer.com. The book deviates from the standard content of recent campaign guides -- there are no new Force powers or techniques and no new species -- but it makes up for those with a new Background system and dozens of species feats.

It was a hard book to review: on the one hand, it has a lot of nitty gritty detail about the era, but as I said in the review, a lot of this the Rebellion Era information was already covered in the core rule book and other releases. So if you're really into the Star Wars Expanded Universe, then you'll probably love this book. If the EU makes your head hurt, then you can easily get by without picking up this book.

Follow Friday for Sept. 9

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 9:09pm

Two days late (and a tweet or two short), here are my Follow Friday picks:

  • @make Notes about awesome DIY projects you could be doing if only you had time. And skill. And tools. #followfriday
  • @easdnewsflash Easton Area School District on Twitter. #followfriday
  • @ChattyDM Because he never stops talking & yet still has plenty of good things to say. #followfriday

Open Commenting Available Again

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 11:41am

I've re-enabled open commenting on Nuketown (meaning posts will be posted without being pre-screened). The Mollom module for Drupal has been doing an admirable job catching spam and I think it's up to the task.

We'll see what actually happens; if we get a major spam attack that Mollom can't handle, I'll have to fall back to the "must authenticate to post without approval" stance I've had since June.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Soda

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 5:07pm

Jones Soda is releasing a limited edition Dungeons & Dragons-themed soda. Available in 6- and 12-bottle variety packs, it comes the flavors  "Eldrich Blast", "Potion of Healing", "Sneak Attack", "Dwarven Draught" and my personal favorites, "Bigby's Crushing Thirst Destroyer" and "Illithid Brain Juice".

While my group isn't playing D&D right now, we have drunk an insane variety of sodas, and it seems only logical that we will try this as well. I'm thinking of ordering a pack for our next Nuke(m)Con so we can throw back a few when returning to our gaming roots with a one-shot of Pathfinder or D&D 3.x. And if we don't managed to get off a Nuke(m)Con this fall, there's always MEPACon...

Munchkin Cthulhu: Drive your buddy insane, then steal his stuff

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 7:14pm

Munchkin CthulhuMunchkin Cthulhu is the umpteenth expansion in Steve Jackson Games' venerable card game line dedicated to killing monsters, stealing treasure, and stabbing your buddy in the back.

This time around though, the game is infused with horrors from beyond time and space drawn from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft ... and a new game-ending mechanic that eliminates one of Munchkin's biggest flaws.