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Sorry No HEAVY post this week so far. I Do in fact have a couple with content in them, I just don't have them finished to the extent I would like them. Just so I don't leave you totally hanging,

One of the reasons this post is so late. Yes, that is me in my "Mogged" Guardian of Tirisfal set. BOO YAH!

Later H47ites, I promise to post SOMETHING else before next Tuesday. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Seven Years Waiting for Style

I be waitin for Transmogrification! Fuck Deathwing, I mean, it all looks cool, I wouldnt mind that legendary staff even though I'm a Snick&Stick mage. But I want to get some snazy drapes.

"SnickNStick" meaning a main hand & an off hand.

Blues Be calling it "Mogging." I'mma Mog my gear to look like tier 5. hell yeah.

I could only find a "Mogger" in Ogr across from the cooking dailies guys. (currently under construction, the building will be finished after the patch to house the etherals. its the construction hut where you kill one of the food theives. The one thats NOT near the Tauren area, if that helps. I've parked a few of my toons there.) And of course, one in Stormwind, not sure where . . . lemme check . . . canal side of cathedral square. between Mage section & trade section heading towards docks. Most likely visible due to the cool void warp banners etheral's usually have (remember man tombs & the encampment in Nagrand? yeah, those.) )

Found these creepy critters north of Thunder Bluff between Stonetalon. True story. A herd of them live up there.

Hook it up to my homie Necrus who WAS a Forsaken War, we we're trying to outfit with Lightforge so he could run around in front of stormwind popping his defiler trinket bubble. Check it!

But I'm siked about FINALLY cureing the "skittles puke" issue, PLUS, being able to pick my own style, not look like every other dude.

True story though: Figureprints. Ribeyejack, my FIRST toon who I still have, I had to go buy cheap greens & farm LOW gear that had cool looks because I DID NOT have any that looked cool.

 I'm sure other sites will be doing guides and what-not, but I like Wowhead for all my "cheat" needs and am always surprised by how lite the troll community is on there, I can actually read conversations 9 times out of 10
Get your sets by "sets"
Part 1: How to get em
Part 2: Nifty items & more sets
Part 3: "look alike" tiers
Part 4: Green quality "sets"

As I dig through all the options and choices and try to reason with myself as to whether or not I'm going to compile any of these outfits, I realize how much MORE this is going to suck my life away. GJ Blizz, I wish it was sooner, but now its one less thing haters can complain about.

Necromania

No, this isn't a post about how much I love World Of Warcraft Forsaken, although I do.
This is another of my slightly rare Anime bumps. Which crazy cartoon did I FINALLY finish this time? Well, I'll have you know I finished a couple but this one was:
"Shikabane Hime" , or "Corpse Princess" in English.

I watched both seasons and found it entertaining. A couple excellent twists and addressed MOST of the larger questions the series presented.
I loved the opening and ending credit sequences and the images they evoke as well as how well it embodied the series as a whole. I wont lie, the fan service was quite compelling without ever being blatant or pandering. Well, maybe it was blatant, but not presented in any ways that made it seem crude or part of a joke.
This was one of those shows where I really liked the world the creators had developed and would LOVE to build a character duo for cosplay because I think many fans of the series would be able to identify what show you're from, similar to many pokemon cosplays.

As with many anime, the finale was good, but left one with a feeling of unanswered questions. I know this is fairly typical, and one of my more anime intense friends said "now to watch the OVA" but to be fair the end actually gave some closure to the whole series. Definitely better than many other anime I've seen. So perhaps my rambling is moot.

Apparently you can watch this thing ALL over the intarwebs for free, I think there's even some *gasp* dubbed episodes on Hulu, for heathens who *shudder* enjoy, such a thing. . . . like me. Honestly though, sometimes I like to watch a series in dub so I can actually WATCH the show, see the animation in all its glory and not have to READ the show, so I usually do both if I enjoy an anime enough. Evidence of this is EVA & Lagann where I can tell differen versions by how different the dub. Vs. the official sub./fan sub.'s are.

Anyway. if the art and the AMV peaked your interest, here's the first episode. Check em out.

Sick Day

So, I'm sorry. But it's one of those weeks where I got nothing. Well, maybe not entirely, I have PARTS of things, but no one has ever expressed an interest in those things from me.

SO. here's another post letting you know I might not post this week, but I will try. If not, I'll attempt to compensate with a double post next week, you know, usual+memeOrable, or perhaps even something else shiney. Who knows.

If you really must know, some of it has to do with the fact a member of my family has fallen particularly ill and my clan requests my presence. Although nothing new nor usually enough to put me off my posts (as many of you know my dedication to my adoring public is paramount in my life [some of this is true, some snark, believe whichever you like]) in this particular case I can focus on very little, save for the particular events going on where the bulk of my bloodline are gathered. If you REALLY want details, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I shant bore you.

Well, maybe not all bad can come of this. check this out for a diversion: For maximum effect Watch it huge in HD on youtube since my anchor bar over to the right likes to smash some of my vids. . . .

And if you like that, GO NOW and watch it on Hulu, or wherevs. and keep your eyes peeled here, FB or Twitter for more, as I'm working with several cosplay entities to create various cosplay costumes and groups from the series. I'd make a great Blue Rose, dontchya think?

Thanks again h47ites for hanging in there. More later.
-H4773r

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: Nov. '11

Way back at the beginning of this blog, over two years ago, I did a post about Optimus Rhyme which would begin what I now call 3rd 4 t3h NRRD. In the comments below that post I typed up a short follow up mentioning - Supercommuter.
Well here we are again.


Two albums deep, Childs Play proceeds gig with Penny Arcade and a solid track on Nerdcore Now means these cats are steady and strong. You can check them out All Over The Internets, except, strangely Wikipedia. Can someone please take a few to make a worth-while page for them. Apparently the last one was deleted for "lack of relevance" or something like that. They have a link and are referenced on the Opt. Rhyme page, but then you get the deleted page.


Why should you listen to them/buy their albums? Duh. I know a lot of nerds who love some clean chip-tune/chip-hop work, so you get that. I have covered how AWESOME Wheelie's vocals are before, see the link above, I can't put enough of his vocals in my earhole. All of that combined makes for silly-good tracks, and the added vibe that the bulk of them were written & composed during the actual COMMUTE up in WA makes it even more fun.
So, click through those links, find that playlist up on youtube and get chipped off these beats & rhymes. I wanna hear those beeps, boops, thumps & spits out on the asphalt while I'm stuck in that gridlock!

Black & Blue Box Bash

This last weekend I ran the Pathfinder Beginner Box Bash at Legends up at Vallco in Cupertino and it was a blast!
Although most of my RPG crews already have most of the books and play regular weekly games, I recommend this box to anyone.

First, perhaps the breakdown from "the Golem's mouth"


So yeah. All sorts of goodness in one box that costs less than the core book itself. And for those of you too lazy to watch the vid, here's a breakdown of the enclosed:

"Hero's Handbook:" Basically a shorthand style handbook for the players, with a cool "choose your own adventure" style setup at the beginning for those who cant wait to get rolling. Everything you need to roll a level one toon and buy gear with a some note son how combat & skill checks work.
For Experienced Pathfinders: Great quick reference for some more basic gear and mechanics. Lots of "shiny" inside. One customer said it reminded him of the old video game "Strategy guides" and that was enough alone to sell him on the box.

"Game Master's Guide:" A little thicker than the "Hero's" book, but understandably as it has all then bare bolts on how to run a game, make a game, a mini-bestiary in the back (all the monsters that have representation on the cut-outs below), and the main scenario to get players started on the road to Pathfinder table top gaming.
For Experienced Pathfinders: This little guy is a great quick-cheat book for forgetful GM's like myself, as well as it doubles as the scenario booklet and will probably stand up to more abuse than the usual one shot folio.

Double Sided Battle Map!: On one side, standard 1x1 square grid with generic yellow/tan mottled backdrop on which you can draw anything. I actually managed to fit all four scenarios for the bash on the one mat with the exception of a long pathway. I "dropped" one row from the map and it worked fine. The other side has the entire map for the "in box" scenario dungeon and I know I will definitely use it in the future as "generic dungeon X." You know how there are basically 5 different underground layouts in most MMO's? Yeah, like that. Also, as a total layout, I really like it's rooms, fixtures and dimensions. I know I could probably run it a few times without my group knowing it was the same map if they didn't have it sitting there in front of them. It is a stiff laminate board/paper/stock so it might not last as long as some "better" vinyl mats, BUT, I used a dry erase marker on it and it took fabulously and erased without a trace. I haven't used wet erase on it yet but it is designed to use "any marker."

Set of Dice: red, plastic, tumbled set of dice includes 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d"double-ot," 1d12 & 1d20. Hey, who doesn't like more/new dice? Need I say more?

Blank & Pre-Generated Character Sheets: The fighter Valeros, the rogue Merisiel, the wizard Erzen, and the cleric Kyra. Whom most of us might be familiar with from the majority of the art work or even the Society Pre-gens. Though they are not "built well" for many power gamers standards they are built CORRECTLY, as in according to Society rules and with some balance and flavor. They have cool breakdowns ON the character sheet to help explain everything to a new player so it can be decoded for noobies. Then, if they so desire, the blanks can be used to create their own characters in a simpler form than the standard PC Sheet, allowing a smooth transition into "classic" Char sheet layouts later.

Cardboard Cut-Out Miniature Token Sheets: As I have not yet fully committed to miniatures and play-mats, BUT HAVE decided to invest in some in the near future, these little guys are great for players like me who have not yet gone "whole hog" into the 3D representation but do enjoy having it as the 3 pages include male & female selections of every combination of dwarf, human, elf, fighter, rogue, wizard & cleric. THEN, it has a variety of creature's straight out of the "GMH" above, with enough of each to run the "in box" adventure. They're not just chinsy paper pieces that you have to fold the feet back & forth, these are sturdy, almost 16th of an inch thick, stock with more than enough plastic slot bases to stand them all up without having a cool breeze knock them over.

And of course, some standard propaganda for other Pathfinder products for those who wish to expand their game, as well as a "start-up" sheet that sits just below the dice, the pawn bases, & the battle mat, that breaks down exactly how to proceed no matter who opens the box and how many people are present.

So what? Who cares? Is it worth my time? My short answer, yes. Lets break it down a little further.
How much would I pay for that battle mat alone? 10-20 dollars. a set of dice, even cheap one's. peice meal, 5-15 dollars. cardboard miniature cut outs with plastic bases, "out of nowhere number if one were to buy the stock, print them out, cut them out, go to an arts & crafts store and buy the plastic bases scenario" $5 min?
Even if you are like me and already have a bunch of the books and are playing 3 games a week or more JUST in Pathfinder rule set, that's a $20 - $40 value on those items alone.
AND, if you're anything like me and are constantly pushing table top RPG's onto everyone you meet, having a more "board gamey" version to get people started with makes fantastic sense as opposed to scaring them with a dozen $30ish tomes and countless scribbled upon print-outs. Or, as described above, having short cheat books + a module for quick & easy gaming can get some SERIOUS use.
But WAIT, there's MORE. If you head to Paizo's page for the product they have FREE, yes FREE downloads to expand your experience once you've finished devouring everything in the box. Stuff for the "Heroes" in the form of leveling and gear (what every player wants) and a second adventure plus more in depth "tricks of the trade" for the GM's.
What's that worth in dollars would you say? Well, if we're paying by the page for sections of the Core, Bestiary & the GMG . . . . lets say, $15 of the Core, $3 of the Bestiary and $3 of the GMG, that totals to $21 of the "normal" publishing.
Les' tally that all up shall we? $41-$61 worth of goodness? So how much does it actually cost as that much awesome all packed into one box, usually like $100 bucks right? "Well I'm cheap so I want it for $50!" No worries dude, guess what . . .
I don't remember which pod cast this was from, but one of the gents I chatted with while running the Box last weekend said he had actually HEARD a Paizo designer say, "when they were developing The Box, the designer wanted ALL THIS and it NEEDED to be UNDER $35." So of course, it retails $34.99
WHAT!?!? That's crazy, I know! Even a low-bidding cynic like me can appreciate that kind of deal.

Yay, woo, neat stuff, but how about the CONTENT? Well, I'm glad you asked. Fun! Of course, WHO you play with is a factor, and I will be honest, one of the games I ran we had a young gentleman who I felt was . . . less than thrilled to be at the table, however, he admitted to having a good time after it was all said and done, so I hope he was not JUST being polite.
From day one I have found the pre-gens entertaining with their back stories. They are stereotypical in their classes but have enough little quirks that it HELPS a player slip into those characters and find the fun in them, while experiencing staples of the genre first hand. In this case, archetypes = good.
The adventure itself is a small hoot. There is equal opportunity for crafty dungeoners or hack & slashers. Some magic and some mundane plus a diverse yet mostly familiar crew of creepies inhabit this particular complex with simple yet creative encounters.
Overall I think even the most novice GM's could find ways to weave the overall scenario into most games, and of course, should this BE your first game, there are guidelines all over on how to make this the first of many or even seek out full blown Pathfinder Society play.

Woo, I think I'm fairly winded now. Not much else I can recall to expound upon further, so I hope this suffices. Oh, of course, most important of all, ENJOY!