Cayden Cailean

Matt_Scudder's page

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Good movie, but Gone Baby Gone remains my favourite Affleck.


Yes, portages.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IstSib007_1.jpg


I was a Forgotten Realms fan back in the day. I remember being disappointed when Eric Boyd and others really felt the need to fill out this turgid history of the Realms instead of providing playable material. I mean, I liked the lore, but I didn't really feel the need to know that Volo met a drow who may or may not have been Drizzt while stopping off for a ham sandwich at an inn someplace. And the level of magic did get a little out of hand at times, especially for older gamers raised on Greyhawk...that said, The Realms are like a great salad bar; take what you want, and leave the rest.


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And another more recent one - Wool, by Hugh Howey.


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They should follow the storyline from Icewind Dale or one of those terrific earlier games.


The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher perhaps?


Margaret Atwood - Oryx & Crake, The Handmaid's Tale, The Year of the Flood...


Good show.


Disappointed but not surprised with the lack of originality reported in this flick. Wasn't Star Trek supposed to take us to places we'd never been before?


I think from the trailer it looks like they are relying more on the Kents to show how the 'human' side of Kal-El was nurtured.


Guess this is still the main thread...anyhow, I thought the new trailer kicked major tail. Hopefully the film delivers, because my expectations are pretty high now...

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/manofsteel/


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This makes me wish Whedon had had a crack at doing the X-Men flicks - maybe adapting the arc he did for Astonishing X-Men. As others have noted in the thread, both Whedon and Morrison had a good handle on Cyclops' character. Not a perfect dude but certainly under the gun like few others in the Marvel Universe have been.


One of the reasons I was fond of the books written by those ex-SAS guys, like Andy McNab; they tended to have a more Pogo-esque view of the world.

For folks who want something similar to Clancy, I suggest the following:

Devil's Keep by Philip Finch
Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp (the basis for Die Hard)
The Detachment by Barry Eisler (or any of the Rain series)

I think Clive Cussler was the first fella who I noticed did the co-authorship thing, but I now think there are authors who simply have their books ghostwritten. I've been reading John Sandford's Davenport series for 25 years, and there's no way someone else hasn't written the last two or three while Sandford (or Camp) writes the Flowers series.


Reading a few things:

Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand - never thought much of the dude, but I read a piece he wrote on the passing of Margaret Thatcher, and was pretty impressed. The book itself is enjoyable fluff.

A classic hard-boiled murder mystery by Lawrence Block - Eight Million Ways to Die.

A Joe Lansdale short novel, Hyenas.


Started rewatching this recently after it was mentioned in the Defiance thread, and boy oh boy, I wish it had lasted a few more seasons.


Yeah, it's a shame, I still keep the hardcover of the first three Guardians books up on my shelf.


Great review; I've heard good things about this book.


Can't remember it exactly, but the line involved a Girdle of Helm.


For new players, give them props for participating, even if their actions may not make the greatest tactical sense.

Spring for pizza every several sessions.


Ilja wrote:

They use neo-nazi gangs to control and abuse immigrant workers and supress worker's rights.

While I don't usually believe in "consumer power", this is a case where we need to set a clear example. By not buying from them and informing them of that being the reason, they will know people do not accept this kind of behaviour.

They of course say they have nothing to do with it, but they clearly benefited from this and could have prevented it before.

The Book Depository looks better and better.


HolmesandWatson wrote:

Boys of summer is a fantastic book

Yeah, I love most of Kahn's stuff. Not too many sportswriters left who can say they saw DiMaggio play *and* spent time with Robert Frost at his home.


Sports week. Reading The book of Basketball by Bill Simmons and Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer.


Casino.

Favourite Scorsese movie not starring DeNiro or DiCaprio?


Ruyan, thanks for the link to those adventures. It's interesting as that location, the Angle, is where Tolkien intended to place the home of the remaining Dunedain of Eriador, or so he noted in a letter.


I think traditionally the balor has been thought of as a version of a balrog.


The blu-ray hits this week. It has had excellent reviews - hopefully they do good business.


"You have the right to remain silent." Night Dogs by Kent Anderson.


They need Milius back as well...it was his writing which really made the first Conan stand out.


I enjoyed it very much; too bad it was slaughtered at the BO. Still, rather have a good movie that will stand the test of time than a middle-of-the-road vehicle which does well the first week and is forgotten.


Yeah, one of Milius' charms was that he was pretty unapologetic about all his right-wing paranoia - but he did have real writing chops.


More sci-fi than fantasy, but I highly recommend Snowfall by Mitchell Smith. Catania is the doctor to the Trappers, a group of humans who survive near the Wall, the glacier which has cut across North America since a shift in Jupiter's orbit brought on a new ice age 700 years ago. Catania is an extremely well-written character, a believable heroine.


One fella who passed away this past year was John Christopher, author of The Tripods trilogy and some other great science fiction novels, like No Blade of Grass.


Doodlebug Anklebiter wrote:
Matt_Scudder wrote:
Currently reading Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, the crime novel which was made into the film Die Hard; and Lord of Silence by Mark Chadbourn, well-written fantasy.

I had no idea Die Hard was based on a book.

Yippie-kye-aye, m@&$&*++##%#!

It's actually pretty good. The main character is a retired New York cop, and it's his daughter held hostage, not his wife. And it's much darker than the movie, all the great action though.


phantom1592 wrote:

Ok guys, what movies/tv shows do you use for motivation? What really gets you into the mindset and ready to play? World of Darkness always lists a set of 'based on' or 'themes' of movies/books/music to get you in the mood... How about one for Pathfinder?

I know when we were playing Ravenloft 1890's... a couple of would usually watch either Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein... or The illusionist (I was a stage magician ;))

How about regular games?

Lord of the Rings is always a win... And I just watched the Colin Farrel 'King Arthur' movie again, and realized what a Paladin he was... A knight who fought for the ideals of a country that didn't really exist...

Awesome :)

Any other good Paladin movies out there? How about ranger? Wizard? Other??

What do you guys do to get hyped for a new character?

The Last of the Mohicans sets the mood for me.


Grand Magus wrote:

.

THE. SCARIEST. BOOK. EVER.

The-Descent-by-Jeff-Long

.

Even JJ had something to say.

.

Yeah, this book was pretty good.

McCarthy's The Road.

A few Lovecraft stories.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.


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Remember, if you're watching the original in a rep theatre, when Conan and Subotai are looking for Thulsa Doom and he starts talking about the standard with two snakes coming together, someone has to run back to the back of the theatre and hold their fists together in front of the projector.


I'll check it out. Lotro for life but I'd like to see what else is out there.


Currently reading Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, the crime novel which was made into the film Die Hard; and Lord of Silence by Mark Chadbourn, well-written fantasy.


Again, really appreciate all the info and advice. Gauss, I appreciate the tip on the specific dividing line in the Pathfinder paths. I'm not sure which adventure path he's planning on starting on but I'll make him aware of the split. I think the issue may simply be one of time. Our DM may not be crazy about the thought of learning new rules, and hopes to roll with 3.5. From what I've read here it seems like it would be easier and better in the long term if we simply make the jump to the Pathfinder core rules. I've been quite impressed with the Pathfinder material and I'm sure he will, as well.


A good man; he helped and looked out for the younger generation of comic artists as well. He leaves a great legacy.


Our DM, at the moment, intends to only use the Pathfinder adventure paths with the 3.5 PHB and DMG. However, he isn't fully aware of the significant differences in the rules.

I really appreciate the advice, information and clarifications! I will give him the link to the conversion guide and, since it appears Pathfinder will be our game of choice from here on, the sooner we all switch over to the appropriate rule system, the better.

Again, many thanks. We have a pretty tight group going back to the start of 2nd edition so we'll be able to resolve this without much drama.


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Will Swyfte, "England's Greatest Spy" from Mark Chadbourn's Swords of Albion series.


Hey, folks. Our DM has decided to make the jump to Pathfinder, but after I purchased the core rulebook and became somewhat familiar with it, I was surprised to find the DM intends to just use the adventure paths but not the core rulebook. Haven't quite clarified the reason for this yet, but I'm a little worried because I see the differences in character creation/development between 3.5 and Pathfinder - changes in hit dice, class abilities, etc. A fellow on another board suggested folks chip in for the beginner set to ease the DM in. Anyone have any thoughts? Fears founded or unfounded?