Let's Kill Hitler

It was inevitable that it would happen eventually. Every time-travel show eventually tackles the idea of going back in time and killing Hitler. In fact, I’m kind of surprised it took this long for Doctor Who to do it. Oh, there have been a few episodes here and there that have taken place during World War II, but none of them actually involved Nazis. At least one novel (Timewyrm: Exodus) has had Hitler in it. However, the television show has stayed clear of the man himself until now with the mid-series première episode, “Let’s Kill Hitler”. Alas, his presence here is rather superfluous. SPOILERS FOLLOW.

Humans of Golarion

The Pathfinder Player Companion line of products contains several books centred on the specific races of Golarion (such as Elves of Golarion, Gnomes of Golarion, and most recently, Goblins of Golarion). Humans of Golarion rounds out the core races within this sub-series of books. Much like the other race books, it is focused on providing options for players of the given race. Unlike those other books, though, it needs to cover a much broader topic, as humans are the most prolific and varied race on Golarion.

It is because of this that Humans of Golarion has received a lot of negative criticism. Many people feel that the book doesn’t offer much new for people who already own the Inner Sea World Guide or its predecessor, the Pathfinder Campaign Setting. To a certain extent this is true. Each human racial group, for example, gets a one-page write-up like the equivalent one-page write-up in the Inner Sea World Guide. They are not word-for-word copies. Instead, the Humans of Golarion write-ups present a more player-orientated description of the groups. However, there is no denying that the information contained within them is very similar to that in the Inner Sea World Guide, and people who have read that book (or the Campaign Setting) are not going to discover much that is new in them. As such, Humans of Golarion seems a much less exciting or interesting read than the other race books, as it doesn’t provide new insights into humans in the way that a book like Gnomes of Golarion provides new insights on gnomes.

Celebrity Dungeons and Dragons

Several years ago, I was involved with a podcast series called, Screaming Halibut. It was a sketch comedy series, and for a little over a year, we produced a new episode almost every week. I was one of the writers for the show and also did voice work.

For one of the early episodes, I wrote a sketch entitled, "Celebrity Dungeons and Dragons". It had three parts to it that were spread out over the episode it was part of. The sketch became so popular with our listeners that later, Gord Zajac (who was the show's creator and central guiding force) made animated versions of the first two parts to go along with the original audio. I present those here for you now. Part One stars Jordan Gross as the voices of Christopher Walken, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sean Connery. Alicia Land is the voice of Emma Thompson, and I voice the narrator. Part Two stars Jordan Gross as the voice of Don Cherry (a well-known, opinionated and controversial sports commentator in Canada) and I play the host. Enjoy!

We Be Goblins!

We Be Goblins! is a short adventure for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game released for this year’s Free RPG Day. The pdf is available for free download at paizo.com. In the adventure, players take on the role of goblins instead of standard PC races and head out to retrieve a stash of fireworks for the Licktoad tribe. Most groups should be able to run through the whole adventure in one session, two at most.

In short, this adventure is a lot of fun. I ran it as a play-by-post game and had a blast. There is a lot of humour injected into the adventure (not surprising as Pathfinder goblins have a very comical bent to them) and groups may end up spending large amounts of time laughing at the antics they get up to, both from scripted and non-scripted events.

Links

Just a site updated: I've added a few links on the right-hand side of the page. I may gradually add more over time.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

As a fan of both roleplaying games and Doctor Who, I am naturally attracted to any attempt to blend the two together. Over the years, there have been a few attempts to make a roleplaying game based on the world's longest-running science fiction television series. In the mid-1980s, FASA produced the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game. Then in the 90s, Virgin Books (which published Doctor Who novels at the time) came out with Time Lord, their version of a Doctor Who rpg. The latest attempt is Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. And without a doubt, it’s the best one so far.

The Brinewall Legacy

Pathfinder Adventure Path #49: The Brinewall Legacy is the opening instalment of the Jade Regent Adventure Path. Written by James Jacobs, Paizo’s creative director, it presents the first part of a world-spanning campaign that will take PCs from the small town of Sandpoint in Varisia (part of the world of Golarion) to the eastern continent of Tian Xia and the country of Minkai. Fans of the old AD&D Oriental Adventures book are likely to find a lot to love in this series. Minor spoilers follow.

The plot of The Brinewall Legacy revolves around discovering the birthright of a prominent Sandpoint personality, Ameiko Kaijitsu. People familiar with the Pathfinder Adventure Paths will recognize Ameiko from the first AP, Rise of the Runelords. She was a prominent, though minor, character in that Adventure Path, and is now a major focus for Jade Regent. (Warning: Some of her history has been retconned slightly to keep her still very young in this adventure. Game Masters who wish to set this after Rise of the Runelords may want to review this and make appropriate adjustments.)

And so it begins...

I've contemplated this whole blogging thing for some time, but have never really been entirely certain what I want to blog about. I've never been a fan of blogs that don't have a focus or purpose, that just ramble on about random, unimportant things. However, as a writer, I feel I need to take every opportunity to get my writing out there.

So, I've decided to write reviews. What makes my opinions at all important? Nothing, really, other than to give people an insight into things they might be interested in taking a look at. I will be reviewing role playing game books, mostly Pathfinder stuff to start. Occasionally, I might delve into reviews and commentary on other science fiction and fantasy material. Undoubtedly, there will be some Doctor Who, as I can do very little without mentioning Doctor Who at some point.

Anyway, enough of an introduction. On to the purpose of this blog...