Spooky Outhouse Productions

Toolcards : Fantasy GM Cards »

Toolcards are easy-to-use cards that inspire the GM to run fast, exciting adventures. Names, monsters, treasure. Toolcards has it all.

#gandg

The post Get Your Character’s Name into the Toolcards: Fantasy Deck appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

Congratulations to our lovely host Jeff, for his perfect score of 25!

Thanks to Art and Tad for their voice mails.

Picks:

Jeff

1. Oblivion
2. 42
3. The Croods
4. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
5. Scary Movie 5

Lena

1. Oblivion
2. 42
3. The Croods
4. Scary Movie 5
5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

There are no other movies in wide release this weekend.

Back Seat Art House picks:

• Jeff – In the House
• Lena – Filly Brown

Note:  Sorry to Lena and Jeff for posting this late.  Totally Tony’s fault because of a flooded basement.

If last week’s talk about this RPG made you lean in, here is some more. I give you the basic rules in under ten minutes.

Also, I announce the first Ruthless Contest.

GET YOUR CHARACTER’S NAME IN THE TOOLCARDS: FANTASY DECK.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/218255739/toolcards-fantasy-gm-cards?ref=live

In 25 words or less, tell us why your character should be in the deck. Send entries by April 30 to ruthlessdiastema@gmail.com. Jim Pinto of Post World Games will decide on the winner. It’s his product, after all.

Get Hello, the Future’s Song Fu! album at a 20 percent discount by using the discount code RUTHLESS.

http://hello-the-future.bandcamp.com/album/song-fu-2012

The post Adventures in Oz RPG, Part Two: All the Basic Rules…Under Ten Minutes appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

Welcome back to the continuing story to Captain Jaxx. Hope you are enjoying it so far. *** The silence of the hallway is oppressive. Where I expect a place full of sound and motion, I am greeted with a long expanse of gleaming metal. There are none of the background sounds that I have come to expect from an installation. There is normally the hum of power flowing through conduits and the trill of a computer somewhere off in the distance. It’s strident cry alerting everyone to its need for their attention. I step out into this wall of silence. A soft luminescence springs up from the floor and begins to pulse a few feet out from where I am standing.  Alone, but not unobserved, I take a few tentative steps along the corridor and watch as the light continues forward. Feeling more confident that I understand what is expected, I confidently stride deeper into the Kossun  outpost. The silence extends beyond the physical as well. Any place where sentient species congregate provides a warm blanket of minds to act as a buoy when everything else is bleak. I only know that there are beings here because HAL has told me as much. Their capabilities to shield their presence from even my casual awareness is astounding. That they are able to keep me from accessing the systems of the base is another prodigious feat. As a captain, I integrate immediately with a ship of any size unless forcibly ejected by another Talent similar....

On April 18, 1938, Action Comics #1 was released to comic book stands everywhere, and a legend was created. Well, two really. Both Superman and Lois Lane made their first appearances in that issue (now worth over a million dollars), and have been a part of international culture since. To celebrate, this coming Monday, we’ll be releasing the first episode of our new monthly podcast, Superman with Aron and Paulie, which will feature commentary on our favorite Superman media (the first episode is running commentary on “Last Son of Krypton,” the premiere 3-parter of Superman: The Animated Series), as well as reviews of our favorite Superman storylines. Tons of great Superman stuff coming to the site leading up to the release of Man of Steel this June. Also, listen to Superman with Aron and Paulie for a Superman-related contest! Today, take some time to read a bit about the Man of Steel in some of these great articles: Bleeding Cool Superman Homepage NY Times Newsarama, where the below infographic comes from…. How will you celebrate Superman today?

Goblinoid Games has a successful campaign with this one, and there is still a LITTLE time to back it. Two fellows from the company answer some questions about their game.

From the Kickstarter;

A magic noir Pacesetter game of intrigue between powerful Maji of competing Towers.

The Questions 

I missed the Pacesetter System when it was new. Can you give me a description of it?

DP: The Pacesetter System was designed by some folks who left TSR in the early 80s to form Pacesetter Ltd. It was used in their rpgs, including CHILL, Timemaster, Star Ace, and, in simplified form, SANDMAN. At and around that time there were a few different “chart based” games from different companies, but in my opinion the Pacesetter one is the best and most innovative.

Why is it the best? First I’ll explain a bit about the system in general. At its heart the Pacesetter System is really just a percentile system. So in that sense anyone who is familiar with other percentile systems is on fairly common ground in understanding how it works. The difference comes in when you are dealing with different sorts of “checks,” rolls to see whether a skill or attack is successful, for example. General checks are like other systems, just roll your percentage or lower to succeed. A specific check is when you use the chart, when a result isn’t simply succeed/fail but can have ranges of success. The beauty of the chart is that it also can be used to scale damage effects, difficulty of acts, lethality of attacks, poisons, disease, and a whole bunch of other things. Once you grok the table it is actually very elegant, and in my opinion the most innovative of any of the chart systems. In short, the reason I think it is the “best” is because there is so much “simple complexity” built in, that as a universal system it can give you about everything you need if you want a range of simple to gritty. As the referee you can use the table as little or as much as you want, and when you understand it you can use it on the fly to decide outcomes.

So, Majus is Magic Noir. If you were to do a mash-up of two movies that would come closest to the themes or tone or plot of the game, what would those movies be? Can you explain?

MC: You don’t need to mash-up two movies to best understand the central themes and plots of MAJUS since there’s a single film that sums those up perfectly: The Maltese Falcon. One of the masterpieces of film noir, The Maltese Falcon covers all the ground I tried to touch upon when writing the game. It has shadowy players, heroes with questionable moral compasses, double-crosses, and a valuable artifact several parties are contesting for. Just replace the statue with a magical artifact and recast Sydney Greenstreet and Bogart as Maji, and you’re good to go!

Can you give me a playlist of five songs that would be a perfect mood warm-up for a session of Majus?

MC: Your mileage will vary on this one, depending on what sort of campaign you’re running, but here’s what leaps to mind based on the themes I’ve explored with MAJUS:

“Got My Mojo Workin’ (But It Just Won’t Work on You) by Ann Cole & The Suburbans

“Season of the Witch” by Donovan

“Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring

“Flaming Telepaths” and “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Öyster Cult

In a pinch, I’d just throw on BOC’s concept album “Imaginos” and run from there.

Tell me about the Magi? The Skein?

MC: The Maji are modern day workers of magic who claim a common ancestry with the priest-kings of ancient Sumer. They’ve been practicing their arts in the shadows of humanity since the dawn of civilization, even to the point of guiding the fate of human development. At one time, they may have had lofty goals about the advancement and elevation of humankind, but that’s pretty much taken a backseat to their daily goals of survival and besting their rivals in the Old Game. Central to a Majus’ life is the Skein, which can be described loosely as a mystical point of contention for the Maji. Most Maji seek to protect, control or destroy the Skein, depending on their personal goals or those of the cabal (otherwise known as a Tower) they serve.

MAJUS’ strength as a game is that what the Skein actually is and its purpose is left to the game master to decide. That way, each MAJUS campaign can be custom tailored to what sort of stories the group wants to explore with the system. Several examples of what the Skein could be are provided in the rulebook. In one game, the Skein might be a potent sorcerous bloodline the PCs are trying to defend or destroy, while in another campaign it’s a network of magical sites spread across the globe that need discovering, protecting, or pillaging to advance the PCs’ goals. In short, the Skein can be whatever the game master and the players want it to be based on the game they want to play with MAJUS.

What is the Old Game?

MC: Otherwise known as the Mehen, the Old Game is the term Maji use to describe the various maneuvers and intrigues used in the contest for the Skein. The Old Game covers everything from bribing a doorman to gain access to a rival Maji’s apartment building, to bargaining with conjured spirits, to gun battles down at the docks, to sorcerous curses thrown at rivals in the night. The thing about the Mehen is that, once you start playing, it’s nearly impossible to stop since you’re making enemies from your first tentative gambit. This life of constant contention and scheming wears heavily on a lot of Maji, leading to a state of weariness and despair that’s one of the central themes in film noir and therefore, MAJUS the game. Paranoia is rife amongst the Maji and one’s allies might not be what they seem in the Old Game. Players who love to create intricate schemes are going to enjoy the sort of possibilities the Mehen offers.

What do players play in the game? Do?

MC: Much like the Skein, what the players are and do in a MAJUS campaign is left up to the game master and group to decide. In one campaign, the PCs might be minor Maji working for a specific Tower, acting as that cabal’s lowly agents in whatever capacity their masters require, be it dealing with supernatural threats, acquiring potent relics, or eliminating potential threats. In another campaign, the PCs could be free agents looking to build their own power bloc against their rivals. What the Skein is in a campaign also greatly influences the tone of a MAJUS campaign. Depending on what Skein option the game master decides to use, the PCs could be globe-travelling explorers seeking out hidden mystical sites or objects, while in another game they might never leave their hometown and spend the game trying to uncover and foil the plots of their rivals to unseat the PCs from their own tentative positions of power in the magical underworld. And the Maji aren’t limited to Earth in their exploits, either. The Astral Plane and its various sub-regions and the entities therein are a Maji’s playground as well.

Can you complete this analogy? Majus is to ___________ as _____________ is to _____________. Why?

MC: MAJUS is the Dungeons & Dragons as John Constantine is to Gandalf. Seriously, if you really want to grasp what life is like for a Majus, pick up any of the trade paperbacks of DC’s “Hellblazer” series. They really convey what the daily life and hazards are like for a Majus and played a large role in developing the game. If you’re going to lift ideas, you can’t go wrong getting inspiration from Allan Moore, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Brian Azzarello, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman.

You have 10 seconds to pitch your game. How do you sell it?

MC: You’re Harry Dresden, Philip Marlowe, John Constantine, and Rick Deckard rolled into one, fighting an ancient battle across the sets of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Wicker Man (the good version),” “Cast a Deadly Spell,” and “Lord of Illusions.” You’ve got a grimoire in one hand and a smoking .45 in the other. And then Leonard Nimoy shows up with every critter and myth from “In Search of…” to further complicate matters. 

How can we find out more about Majus and the Pacesetter system?

DP: Michael Curtis has posted a series on his blog about MAJUS (links below). I have a couple blog of posts that go into more detail about the Pacesetter System (links below). In addition, people can drop by the forums to ask for help from the community  

http://goblinoidgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/pacesetter-system-part-1-intro-and.html

http://goblinoidgames.blogspot.com/2011/11/pacesetter-system-part-2-action-table.html

About MAJUS:

http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2013/03/kickstart-magic-of-majus.html

More about MAJUS

http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-about-majus.html

A look at the Skein

http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2013/04/majus-look-at-skein.html

Adventure Seeds

http://poleandrope.blogspot.com/2013/04/majus-five-adventure-seeds-to-get-you.html

The post Question the Crowdfunder: Majus RPG and Goblinoid Games appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

I am a lover of all things within the urban fantasy genre. The combination of fantasy tropes with modern sensibilities is something that has a deep resonance for me. I definitely read Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, and Kim Harrison but am always on the lookout for new entrants into this arena. One such new voice is  Doyce Testerman with his debut novel, Hidden Things. I picked the book up around the beginning of the year after reading the back blurb. It sounded like it shared some similarities with Gaiman’s American Gods which made it an easy purchase for me. It was not until this last weekend that I had some free time for reading. It was an hour long road trip to visit family and I finished the book on the way back home. It was captivating. Hidden Things is the story of Calliope Jenkins, a strong woman with a complicated life. She is a private detective who is awoken at one in the morning by a strange call from her partner. He lets her know that the case he is working on is not going how he expected. He wants her to let his wife know that he won’t be home as planned. In the light of day, things only get darker as it turns out her partner has been murdered. The only thing is that she has a message from him an hour after he is supposedly dead. This one strange item proves to be a gateway for Calliope as answering this....

I.

The gaming group came to an impasse

A rule was debated with much sass

Player said, “TAKE A LOOK.”

“FIND THE ANSWER IN THE BOOK.”

Said GM, “I make rulings, you jackass.”

II.

My attributes were rolled one-by-one

In order until I was done

My Cleric was so weak

Two HP at his peak

Thank goodness that dying was fun

III.

She has a +4 Saving Throw

Bravely to adventure she’ll go 

The Halfling’s end will be tragic

When she tries to use magic

Instead of just aiming her bow

Thank you to Swords and Wizardry for bringing back feelings of wonder from my youth. I felt them just reading the book.

The post Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day Limericks appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

Players: Joe, Megan, Timo Todd, Tom Our next session of the Black Diamond AW campaign. Playbooks are changed willy-nilly! Violence breaks out all over! Lennox goes to Burger King, the person, not the restaurant! All this and crazy, crazy Goldie! … Continue reading →

Life is short; make good playsets. Jason Morningstar tell us how to do it.

The post How to Make Good Fiasco Playsets with Jason Morningstar appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

John Adamus provided us with thirty info-packed minutes about editing. If you think you might like to be an editor, here is a great start.

The post Editing 101 with John Adamus appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

Filamena Young is living the freelancing life. She gives us some insight into what it is like and gives advice about how we can become a freelancers.

The post Freelancing 101 Featuring Filamena Young appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

In the Seat:

• Scott

Recorded 04/16/13

You may have noticed that I am quite of fan of the independent project by Luke Keith and Jeremy Fiest entitled 7%. I’ve written a review of Issue 1 and Issue 2 which you should go check out. Luke and Jeremy were kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for Ideology of Madness. Give it a read and then go pick up their comic, 7% 1. Tell us about your independent project and the process behind it? Luke: The name of this project is Seven Percent. It is a six issue comic mini-series developed by Jeremy Fiest and myself. I originally came up with the idea back in the summer of 2010, I spent a while working on the basic concepts before I went to Jeremy. By December of 2010 we had completed the first issue. Professionally, I write a lot of code, and if there’s something programming has taught me, it’s that everything must fit together and have a purpose. Every line of code has a reason for existing. In other words, if I create a story that takes place in a distant future where the human mind and technology can work harmoniously together, what are the implications? How can this technology be used and how can it be abused? What sort of conflicts might arise as a result? It’s important to me that the story I create does not conflict with itself or the rules of that universe. I am a an absolute stickler for this sort....

#1 42 from Warner Bros. opened at #1 with a gross of $27.5 million in 3,003 theaters.  Budget was $40 million.

#2 Scary Movie 5 from Weinstein Company opened at #2 with a gross of $14.2 million in 3,402 theaters.  Budget was $20 million.

#3 The Croods from 20^th Century Fox held at #3 with a gross of $13.1 million (-36.5%) in 3,689 theaters (-190).  Total gross to date is $142.4 million.  Budget was $135 million.

#4 G.I. Joe: Retaliation from Paramount fell from #2 to #4 with a gross of $10.9 million (-47.8%) in 3,535 theaters (-199).  Total gross to date is $102.5 million.  Budget was $130 million.

#5 Evil Dead (2013) from TriStar fell from #1 to #5 with a gross of $9.5 million (-63.2%) in 3,025 theaters.  Total gross to date is $41.5 million.  Budget was $17 million.

#6 Jurassic Park 3D from Universal fell from #4 to #6 with a gross of $8.9 million (-52.4%) in 2,778 theaters (+7).  Total gross to date is $32 million.  Budget was $10 million.

#7 Olympus Has Fallen from FilmDistrict fell from #5 to #7 with a gross of $7.3 million (-28.7%) in 2,935 theaters (-124).  Total gross to date is $81.6 million.  Budget was $70 million.

#8 Oz The Great and Powerful from Buena Vista fell from #7 to #8 with a gross of $4.9 million (-39.3%) in 2,504 theaters (-401).  Total gross to date is $219.4 million.  Budget was $215 million.

#9 Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor from Lionsgate fell from #6 to #9 with a gross of $4.5 million (-55.4%) in 1,805 theaters (-242).  Total gross to date is 45.4 million.  Budget was unknown.

#10 The Place Beyond the Pines from Focus Features rose from #13 to #10 with a gross of $3.9 million (+449.6%) in 514 theaters (+484).  Total gross to date is $5.2 million.  Budget was $15 million.

#11 The Host (2013) from Open Road Films fell from #8 to #11 with a gross of $2.4 million (-54.2%) in 2,172 theaters (-1,030).  Total gross to date is $23.4 million.  Budget was $40 million.

#12 The Call from TriStar fell from #9 to #12 with a gross of $2 million (-44.2%) in 1,630 theaters (-372).  Total gross to date is $48.6 million.  Budget was $13 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $108.8 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Hosts: Megan, Timo, Todd What’d We Play? (9:20) Megan- Just Dance 4 Timo- Uncharted 3, The Walking Dead Todd- Ascension, Dungeon World Topic: Reflecting on your game (23:20) We discuss the benefits of discussing your games and reflecting on them … Continue reading →

Release date – 10/12/2012

Warner Bros. Pictures

Directed

• Ben Affleck

Produced by

• Grant Heslov
• Ben Affleck
• George Clooney

Screenplay by

• Chris Terrio

Based on The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman

Cast

Ben Affleck

• Tony Mendez

Bryan Cranston

• Jack O’Donnell

Alan Arkin

• Lester Siegel

John Goodman

• John Chambers

• If the intern was there, she’d have been screaming THE DREAM TEAM!
• Vaginas are always serious… a well-established fact.
• Mixed reviews
• A bit of comedy in the first half, then it tightened up.
• A good period piece for the 1970s.
• Also mixed reviews as to whether it should have won the Oscar.
• Affleck did a good job in not over-acting the character, but it might have been too much in the other direction.
• Hey, Argo F%#k yourself!
• The conversation quickly veers off to the other movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar
• Nice touches that lent to the 1970s-ness of the movie.
• The Civil War would have been over in a week if they had Twitter
• #ShermansMarch
• #AtlantaBurns
• The would have liked a bit more Jack Kirby.
• The 70’s pornstache was brilliant!
• Oscar expectations, when seeing the movie after the fact, weren’t met.  BUT, still a good movie.
• David lists movies that he thought were better than Argo.
• Did it win Best Picture because of politics?
• Discussing past Best Picture winners and whether they were warranted.
• Thoughts on acting – well cast, well acted.
• Alan Arkin stole every scene he was in.
• Bryan Cranston goes all Walter White toward the end of the film!
• Why are so many movies nominated for Oscars?
• Netflix:  House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, Lilyhammer and Arrested Development
• This is the End

Trivia bits-n-pieces:

• In order to make the movie feel like the 1970s, Affleck shot it on regular film, cut the frames in half and blew the images up 200% to increase the graininess.
• Argo is the first movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture without a Best Director win since Crash (2005) and the first movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture without the Director being nominated since Driving Miss Daisy (1989).

Awards won (partial list):

• Academy Awards – Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing
• British Academy Film Award – Film, Director, Editing
• Critics Choice Awards – Picture, Director
• Golden Globe Awards – Picture/Drama, Director
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association – Screenplay
• National Board of Review Awards – Top 10 Films, Special Achievement in Filmmaking, Spotlight Award/John Goodman
• Directors Guild of America – Director
• Producers Guild of America – Picture
• Screen Actors Guild Awards – Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
• St. Louis Film Critics Awards (shout out to BSP’s homeland) – Film, Director

Your Producers for this episode were:

• Tony
• Darrell
• Tony
• David

This episode was recorded:  4/10/13

Care to hear this episode with a more focused approach and no foul language or adult talk? Head on over to Banterless, our new clean feed.

The Evil Dead trailer

Sister Unit

Music (and hard labor) as therapy

Yes, we’re obsessed with Biz Markie

Why Thom can’t typeset the Bible

Pirate evolutions and joincidences

WE PLAY FATE ACCELERATED EDITION!

No one took Forceful as an Approach

Keeping Blank Aspects

Our thoughts on how Fate handled the game

Fudge dice make sad donkey sad

Hosts:
(the) Brian
Ian
Thom

Read the full show notes here. The Sideways Tower And don’t forget to check us out and give us a Like on our new Facebook page The Sideways Tower Podcast

Our intro/outro music is by local band Suckerpunch. You can check them out of Facebook here: Suckerpunch

This week, renowned Internet Sex Gurus Aron and Paulie talk about sex in comics… Wayne went to AnimeStL New Batman Arkham Game Batman #19 Batman and Robin #19 Superboy #19 Avenging Spider-Man #19 Age of Ultron #5 Hawkeye #9 SEX IN COMICS Saga #12 Sex #1 & #2 Give us a call at 972-763-5903 and leave us your thoughts. If we use your voicemail, you’ll win an Ideology of Madness SurPrize! Knights of Reignsborough Season 2 is coming…!

Business:  We won’t be attempting an IndieGoGo campaign.  While we appreciate everyone who offered their support, fundraising would require treating WotG like a business, and that’s not in the cards right now.  The PC games will come, they just will take a little while longer.

News:  Microsoft’s new Xbox is going to feature DVR capabilities; 100% of WotG’s hosts have no use for it.  When focus testing The Last of Us, Naughty Dog had to specifically request female gamers be included in the testing.  And Skyrim has effectively un-capped character levels, because we all needed an excuse to lose more time in that game.

Games:  Jonathan tricks Alex into thinking he got early access to Injustice: Gods Among Us, but what he really played was the free iOS version of the new fighting game.  Alex and Sam explore JRPG goodness in the form of Hyperdimension Neptunia and Ni No Kuni.  And both Jonathan and Sam have put time now into Bioshock Infinite, and while they’re both stunned by the visuals and the world, they find the gameplay to be a bit dated.

Topic:  And while we’re on the subject of Bioshock Infinite‘s gameplay, is it fair to ask the question “Is it even necessary?”  Walt Williams and Jeffrey Yohalem, writers for Spec Ops: The Line and Far Cry 3 respectively, talked recently at GDC about the use of violence in games and making it more than just filler.  Moreover, how do you make a death meaningful in a game where the player kills dozens, if not hundreds, of people?  The guys take up these questions and see where they lead.

Metagame:  Defiance finally earned an aggregate score of 67, leaving the host’s average scores completely untouched.