Ken Newquist When it comes to pen-and-paper role-playing games, one of things that causes the most consternation for non-gamers is the concept of character death and the effect this has on players in the campaign. While those with religious objections may focus on the spell-casting and pantheonic aspects of games like Dungeons and Dragons, I’ve found that … Read more
The mountain dwarf Torthan of Clan Urtcheck, follower of Luc, dwarven hero of the Grand Duchy of Geoff, died at the hands of a vile undead shadow on Friday, Nov. 24. He was momentarily survived by himself, having risen from the grave as another of the undead creatures to threaten his fellow adventurers. They defeated him and his shadow progenitors, as well as the master they all served: the Mad Marquee of Sterich. His ashes remain lost to the world in the dungeons beneath the Marquee’s castle.
It was not the first time death touched him. During an earlier expedition to the Lair of the Eyebiter in Geoff, the barbaric bard fought and was killed by the evil followers of a rebel noble. His spirit could not be bound to the afterlife however, and he willingly allowed himself to be reincarnated by a druid. This resulted in his return to the land of the living in the form of a human.
It’s been a while since I’ve put together a good RPG wishlist, but over last few months I’ve managed to find a few products that have tempted my wallet, including the new urban fantasy book Cityscape and the alternative fighter combat book Tome of Battle by Wizards of the Coast, country and village map packs … Read more
The next big home improvement project around the ol’thermonuclear burg will be rearranging our third floor office space, turning my wife’s craft room into something a little more office like (and a little easier for her to work in) and converting our old “office” into the new gaming room. As a result, I’m going to … Read more
The holidays loom large, and with them so does that most venerable of Nuketown traditions: the Geek Tree. This year’s Geek Tree includes a major addition which my wife Sue bought for me last Christmas: the Hogworts Express. This is an HO Gauge train set featuring a large oval train track, several over-long sleeper cars, … Read more
Uncle Bear officially turned 10 years old last week. The venerable ursine is one of the few geek zines/blogs/sites/whatever-we’re-calling-ourselves-now to have survived from the year of Nuketown’s own genesis. Congratulations to Berin, and here’s to another 10 years of geekdom and gaming goodness!
I spent the last week coughing and hacking (and taking care of equally sick kids) instead of going to the gym. The upside to all the phlegm though is that I didn’t have much of an appetite, and as usually happens when I’m sick, I lost some weight. In fact, I’m now down to 208 … Read more
After a reading lull brought about by way too much painting in September, I’ve returned to my books with a vengeance. Science fiction dominates my reading list this time around as I return to Ben Bova’s “Grand Tour” of the Solar System with the hard science fiction novel Jupiter then have some fun with Vernor … Read more
Geek fitness (or the lack there of) leads Episode 40 as I talk about my quest to lose 35 pounds. Over in Net News, I congratulate Jason Adam’s for reaching the 50th episode of Random Signal, talk about Nathan Fillion’s upcoming appearance on the 7th Son podcast, and offer some old school, 1st-edition D&D-style gaming … Read more
Daylight Saving Time has ended in Pennsylvania and once again the sun crawls into the sky at the ungodly hour of 6:29 a.m., with its accursed forerunners arriving in the dawn twilight at 6:15 or even earlier. It strikes terror into the hearts of vampires and parents everywhere, sending the former fleeing to their dark … Read more