Dusting Off The Cobwebs ...
Apr. 19th, 2005 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiat_knoxIt feels that it's been so long since I wrote here, the Net Spiders have come in and laid webbing all over the place.
Or maybe it's an infection of Azlu, I don't know.
Anyways, time for another update on life in general, and what's been happening over the last few weeks since the last posting.
First, lots of Star Wars stuff. A small relly of mine has an Xbox, and his Mum's been buying and renting Star Wars video games for him to play on them. To say I've not been joining in would be a bloody lie: I have been hooked on the Jedi Knight series of games, especially Outcast (which, sadly, was a rental but one day soon I hope to buy it for him).
I love the duel arena option. For some reason I can't figure out, I play best when I'm playing a female, Jan Ors.
In the game we already own, Jedi Academy, I'm playing another female, of the species with the two big tentacles sticking down her head in place of hair. Any time I play a male, I'm bloody useless. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's an anima thing, and my warrior side emerges in the form of female characters in video games. Either way, the characters I end up running just rock. Killing machines on legs ... and what legs! ;)
Next, Yugioh. I caught the CCG bug from the same relly, who's been beating me senseless at the game. Mostly because whenever he gets the chance, he pulls out these Blue Eyes White Dragons with 3000+ attack each and just blowtorching the opposition on my side of the field.
But I may have some way of getting my own back, though. :) I have managed to secure a couple of fun cards designed to beat off such high end opposition: Bottomless Shifting Sands, Hammer Shot and of course Messenger of Peace. All those affect the sort of creatures that the enemy keeps pulling out of his hat: all the high level ones with 3000+ attack points won't stand a chance ...
I bought a booster deck recently, and out popped Exodia. Damn. One of the rarest cards going. All I need now are the four supplementary cards: Left Arm / Right Arm / Left Leg / Right Leg of The Forbidden One, and if I put them in my hand together with the Exodia card ... automatic win. End of story.
I love games that end like that. :)
Meanwhile, I want to get a card called "White Dragon Ritual," that enables me to Special Summon my shiny "Paladin of White Dragon," and a "Blue Eyes White Dragon" card to go with it, because apparently "Paladin of White Dragon" can be Tributed, i.e. sacrificed, to summon a BEWD right there and then.
So anyways, here I am, putting my best cards into deck protectors and keeping them in those little Ultra-Pro boxes, all green and black and whatever.
I know it's of a great sadness, but what can I say? I enjoy gaming against the little tyke, and at least this means we're talking and making the most of my time and his childhood.
Neither of which are in plentiful supply ...
Gaming: Elsewhere, I'm still into tabletop, but nowadays mostly it's more along the lines of writing and reviewing White Wolf's latest stuff to come out. I know that there are some people who still desperately don't care for White Wolf since last year's wrapping up of their major game lines; but White Wolf's new stuff is just too good to ignore.
The latest books to emerge in the past few weeks have been, for example, Werewolf: the Forsaken and the Lancea Sanctum Covenant book for Vampire: the Requiem. I'm looking forward to Ghouls for V:tR, Predators for W:tF and Mysterious Places for the core World of Darkness game, with Mage: the Awakening the highlight of August.
So far, I've managed to get my hands on the following:
World of Darkness core
World of Darkness: Ghost Stories
World of Darkness: Antagonists
Vampire: the Requiem core
Coteries
Nomads
Rites of The Dragon
Bloodlines: the Hidden
Lancea Sanctum
Werewolf: the Forsaken core
So far, there's only one release for the Werewolf game, and that's Hunting Ground: the Rockies, which I'm going to hold fire on until much later.
Highlights so far from these games:
- Voice of The Angel, aka the Testament of Marco Singe, the "Pain Prophet" of Delhi (the God-Machine story)
- The Magnuses, from Ghost Stories
- The Murder Tree, from Ghost Stories
- Doll, from Antagonists
- Trevian "Third" Williams, from Antagonists
- Julia Snow, The Minister's Daughter, from Antagonists
- Aswang, Beasts of Bethlehem, Groetnich, The Hunger, The Living Web, Passion Shades, Toxicum Mold, The Virus and Witchcats, all from Antagonists
- The Ordo Dracul Covenant and the Mekhet Clan from the Vampire: the Requiem core
- Coils of the Dragon, from Vampire: the Requiem
- Rules for Chrysalis in the Ordo Dracul section of Coteries
- Flowers of Demeter, the Cruac ritual from Coteries
- Stats for The Unholy in Nomads
- The Architects of The Monolith, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Gilded Cage ritual path, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Bohagande, aka Jonahs, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Page 56 Stigmatica fiasco in Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Khaibit bloodline and its unique history, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- Obtenebration, from Bloodlines: the Hidden - a Discipline which raises much controversy for its seeming dilution compared to its former Old Skool glory at the hands of the Lasombra of Vampire: the Masquerade
- The outrage I felt looking at the Nahualli bloodline, and thinking that these were the sickest bunch of creeps ever put into a White Wolf book anywhere, Old Skool Wraith: the Oblivion Spectres notwithstanding
- The Memento Mori and Constance Disciplines from Lancea Sanctum, Constance especially: I can see that one developing independently outside of the Icarians, that much is certain ...
That's what I've enjoyed of the series so far. I haven't really got so far into Werewolf: the Forsaken to say what I like or dislike about that game; at least, not yet anyways.
But apart from the next few books, the one I am really looking forward to has got to be the third core game, Mage: the Awakening, scheduled for the end of August. The latest news on that game confirms it's going to be the heaviest book of all the cores, with the most mechanically challenging magic system ever developed for any tabletop roleplaying game.
There you have it. No posts for weeks, and then along comes a monster. Enjoy the moment, peeps. I'm off to take a bath.
Or maybe it's an infection of Azlu, I don't know.
Anyways, time for another update on life in general, and what's been happening over the last few weeks since the last posting.
First, lots of Star Wars stuff. A small relly of mine has an Xbox, and his Mum's been buying and renting Star Wars video games for him to play on them. To say I've not been joining in would be a bloody lie: I have been hooked on the Jedi Knight series of games, especially Outcast (which, sadly, was a rental but one day soon I hope to buy it for him).
I love the duel arena option. For some reason I can't figure out, I play best when I'm playing a female, Jan Ors.
In the game we already own, Jedi Academy, I'm playing another female, of the species with the two big tentacles sticking down her head in place of hair. Any time I play a male, I'm bloody useless. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's an anima thing, and my warrior side emerges in the form of female characters in video games. Either way, the characters I end up running just rock. Killing machines on legs ... and what legs! ;)
Next, Yugioh. I caught the CCG bug from the same relly, who's been beating me senseless at the game. Mostly because whenever he gets the chance, he pulls out these Blue Eyes White Dragons with 3000+ attack each and just blowtorching the opposition on my side of the field.
But I may have some way of getting my own back, though. :) I have managed to secure a couple of fun cards designed to beat off such high end opposition: Bottomless Shifting Sands, Hammer Shot and of course Messenger of Peace. All those affect the sort of creatures that the enemy keeps pulling out of his hat: all the high level ones with 3000+ attack points won't stand a chance ...
I bought a booster deck recently, and out popped Exodia. Damn. One of the rarest cards going. All I need now are the four supplementary cards: Left Arm / Right Arm / Left Leg / Right Leg of The Forbidden One, and if I put them in my hand together with the Exodia card ... automatic win. End of story.
I love games that end like that. :)
Meanwhile, I want to get a card called "White Dragon Ritual," that enables me to Special Summon my shiny "Paladin of White Dragon," and a "Blue Eyes White Dragon" card to go with it, because apparently "Paladin of White Dragon" can be Tributed, i.e. sacrificed, to summon a BEWD right there and then.
So anyways, here I am, putting my best cards into deck protectors and keeping them in those little Ultra-Pro boxes, all green and black and whatever.
I know it's of a great sadness, but what can I say? I enjoy gaming against the little tyke, and at least this means we're talking and making the most of my time and his childhood.
Neither of which are in plentiful supply ...
Gaming: Elsewhere, I'm still into tabletop, but nowadays mostly it's more along the lines of writing and reviewing White Wolf's latest stuff to come out. I know that there are some people who still desperately don't care for White Wolf since last year's wrapping up of their major game lines; but White Wolf's new stuff is just too good to ignore.
The latest books to emerge in the past few weeks have been, for example, Werewolf: the Forsaken and the Lancea Sanctum Covenant book for Vampire: the Requiem. I'm looking forward to Ghouls for V:tR, Predators for W:tF and Mysterious Places for the core World of Darkness game, with Mage: the Awakening the highlight of August.
So far, I've managed to get my hands on the following:
World of Darkness core
World of Darkness: Ghost Stories
World of Darkness: Antagonists
Vampire: the Requiem core
Coteries
Nomads
Rites of The Dragon
Bloodlines: the Hidden
Lancea Sanctum
Werewolf: the Forsaken core
So far, there's only one release for the Werewolf game, and that's Hunting Ground: the Rockies, which I'm going to hold fire on until much later.
Highlights so far from these games:
- Voice of The Angel, aka the Testament of Marco Singe, the "Pain Prophet" of Delhi (the God-Machine story)
- The Magnuses, from Ghost Stories
- The Murder Tree, from Ghost Stories
- Doll, from Antagonists
- Trevian "Third" Williams, from Antagonists
- Julia Snow, The Minister's Daughter, from Antagonists
- Aswang, Beasts of Bethlehem, Groetnich, The Hunger, The Living Web, Passion Shades, Toxicum Mold, The Virus and Witchcats, all from Antagonists
- The Ordo Dracul Covenant and the Mekhet Clan from the Vampire: the Requiem core
- Coils of the Dragon, from Vampire: the Requiem
- Rules for Chrysalis in the Ordo Dracul section of Coteries
- Flowers of Demeter, the Cruac ritual from Coteries
- Stats for The Unholy in Nomads
- The Architects of The Monolith, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Gilded Cage ritual path, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Bohagande, aka Jonahs, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Page 56 Stigmatica fiasco in Bloodlines: the Hidden
- The Khaibit bloodline and its unique history, from Bloodlines: the Hidden
- Obtenebration, from Bloodlines: the Hidden - a Discipline which raises much controversy for its seeming dilution compared to its former Old Skool glory at the hands of the Lasombra of Vampire: the Masquerade
- The outrage I felt looking at the Nahualli bloodline, and thinking that these were the sickest bunch of creeps ever put into a White Wolf book anywhere, Old Skool Wraith: the Oblivion Spectres notwithstanding
- The Memento Mori and Constance Disciplines from Lancea Sanctum, Constance especially: I can see that one developing independently outside of the Icarians, that much is certain ...
That's what I've enjoyed of the series so far. I haven't really got so far into Werewolf: the Forsaken to say what I like or dislike about that game; at least, not yet anyways.
But apart from the next few books, the one I am really looking forward to has got to be the third core game, Mage: the Awakening, scheduled for the end of August. The latest news on that game confirms it's going to be the heaviest book of all the cores, with the most mechanically challenging magic system ever developed for any tabletop roleplaying game.
There you have it. No posts for weeks, and then along comes a monster. Enjoy the moment, peeps. I'm off to take a bath.
