Haha. Working second shift begets a lot of watching things by myself. I have gone back and forth better dubbed and undubbed. What anime have you watched and liked. I feel like it is mostly garbage, and after a decent first season it either disappears or gets sucky.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 69):

I enjoyed Bebop and Trigun enough to recommend them to people, Beserk enough to watch it again, Hellsing and Beserk enough to watch them again, and Now and Then, Herr and There enough to think of it fondly whenever anyone asks this question. Movie-wise, I thought Ninja Scroll was popcorn fun, Vampire Hunter D and Ghost in the Shell were overrated, and I couldn't understand why Akira was so revered--but I liked Mononoke and Spirited Away quite bit.

Also, Dragonball sucks in all of its incarnations

I have not heard of most of those. Recently watched Ghost in the Shell, I was confused that it was supposedly critically acclaimed. Kind of felt the same way about Mononoke, but I still think of it fondly from like a million years ago, so there's that. I liked Ninja Scroll.

Heard of Bebop and Trigun from you, haven't seen them.

I liked the first season of Death Note, but it was all too long. It's not that it was slow, just long. The live action movie was pretty true to the spirit of the series and has William Defoe (great casting, IMO), if you like that sort of thing. I guess I appreciated that they took something long and tightened it way up.

I liked Sword Art Online conceptually, but it is mostly typical anime fare.

Castlevania is a bit past the level of gore, disturbing darkness, and sexy than I would ever be comfortable recommending. Each season has a slightly different feel, so I didn't hate that they didn't stop after 1 season.

Attack on Titan is overrated. I can't tell you how much I hated that show, and stopped watching it kind of deep into the first season when it was supposed to be really ramping up. I think what makes me so mad is that I kind of liked it, but they are trying to force an animated series to BE manga. They might as well have had still frames that switched every few minutes. It was not just slow, but they would show, tell, then have an existential crisis about everything that ever happened and talk about it over and over. Just awful. Some episodes could be compressed to some sad music and a look of despair. It's just bad craftsmanship.

I suspected as much about Dragon Ball, and it seemed like they suffered from the same thing I was just describing. But it seems like what AoT has that DBZ doesn't is stakes, if I understand the story line.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 71):

You should watch both Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, but you have to let Trigun run to the point that it is clear it isn't just Japanese Looney Tunes, which takes a minute. I think it has very good themes and villains. It's imagery is very Japanese.

Bebop has amazing music, and a very interesting--but very small--subplot that runs through the series that, upon its resolution, ends the series very well. It's kind of episodic, otherwise. Very much a character drama.

Beserk culminates in rape. It evokes the feeling it is supposed to. I don't think you should watch it, but the everything up to the culmination seems very much up your alley, so that's kind of a shame. It also never got an ending, so maybe best to leave it even without the rape consideration.

Hellsing is fun--and I'm talking the original one. I haven't seen what came after, but what came before was a great concept and fairly well executed.

N&T,H&T I remember as both sweet and sad. I also remember a mop of some significance.

I am surprised you haven't heard of many of these. It makes me think that the anime I knew in college might be trapped in that time, when I was under the impression it was universally known--like I was talking about the Beatles.

I basically know what's on Netflix.

Been watching bebop, pretty good, but can be kind of slow sometimes. A little moody for me.

Also mostly done with Beserk, forgot that you said anything about it. I fast forward sex scenes and a rape at the end makes sense, I guess. Problem is that I don’t identify with Guts’ melodrama. I am not as anti-melodrama as I use to be, I recognize that it is a form of performative art, it’s just not for me.

Noticed there is a live action bebop. I assume it will make some cool scenes neat, but suck the life out of it in search of wide appeal and woke compliance.

Been watching WoT, which I know you don’t plan on watching, just wanted to round out my report. As I’ve mentioned, I think a series is ideal for these books sense RV shows tend to add a bunch of side quest nonsense for character and pacing purposes, but Jordan already did that in the books. I try not to compare movies and tv to the source material because they have different constraints and strengths so far I generally agree with the changes but am annoyed with others.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 74):

I think a reason I liked Guts so much because, on some level, he reminds me of Garin--and I actually think there's a line to be drawn between Garin, Guts, and Spike, but I can't talk about it until you are done.

I will not be watching the live action Bebop. Great things don't need re-made.

Re: WoT -- I decided firmly against it at the line in the trailer which suggested that any of the five kids, who are not kids, could be the Dragon -- as that both flies in the face of Moraine being competent (it's about saidin, stoopids) and ruins the impact of those two Forsaken changing genders but maintaining their channeling ability. Also, Rosamund Pike is no Moraine. I've heard that Perrin gets a real extreme pivot AND that they have already re-cast Mat for the second season.

The whole thing is clearly in the shitter, and probably won't finish. That's not inside info -- It's just incredibly expensive and the press is just not there. GoT burned everyone so badly that nobody is optimistic. Shoot -- They didn't even do a good job with LotR and LotR is WAY more filmable than WoT.

I was just commenting to Emily about what they have done with Perrin so far. They started him out married (apparently) and while fighting trollocs with her in that first attack, he was in a battle rage and accidentally turned and axed her in the gut, wasting her. I actually prefer this as it gives an actual reason for always being worried about hurting other people and letting go in battle rather than being ‘big and clumsy’ which always just made him annoying.

Yeah, I mean, I’d be lying if I said I liked the casting decisions, but meh. It is dumb that they didn’t just stay with being Egwene to train at the white tower. At one point in another scene/group there was reference to men and women claiming to be the dragon reborn through the years. I think it goes into the hand wavium of saying that people interpret the prophesies differently. It doesn’t matter to me if the story makes sense with what I know from the book because it only needs to be make sense internally to the show.

I guess to repeat myself, I look at it as it’s own thing. Do they look like I thought they would?, no. Is Mat as likeable as he should be?, no. These things don’t matter to me.

The kids thing is weird because they are definitely not portrayed that way. It is clear that they are all about 20 and they and very adult in their relationships, etc. in fact, the thing I dislike the most about it is how immoral they are out the gate in the Two Rivers rather than being ruined by the world (with the exception of Perrin, and probably Nynaeve).

I wouldn’t read into the any of the kids from the two rivers thing. I strongly suspect that whoever was in charge of making the trailers forced dumb things into those scenes. In fact, at one point when we were watching it, I almost pointed out that the reason the scene was so dumb was because it was make to be the trailer.

Not trying to convince you to watch it, to be clear, just defending my honor.

I made a thread for the fortune reading.

I am not sure what all I said about these, but the first three pertain to things that will help you, the 4th to a person that will be and ally, and the 5th is Strahd.

Each card reveals a place in the Dread Realm you will find these things and people. You may see the people other places as well, but you will see them in the place the card reveals.

I posted as you so you can add any notes or rearrange the info within the post. I would prefer to not have a bunch of posts after the ones I created to keep the thread clean.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:49, Fri 15 Apr 2022.

I just want to say that I didn't remember who or what your fortunes pertained to when I created that thread and stuff and didn't know if anything would come up in this town.

Although one of the cards is a special ally, there is no reason you couldn't recruit anyone to your cause, if they are willing.

The way that it works is that there are 3 items that will help you and one ally. the items are placed in barovia based on the cards you pull, and the ally is chosen by the cards and it is pretty much set where you will encounter most anyone in the game, though they do move depending on timing of events.

Oh, and I didn't intend to tip you off with the 'cards' reference, but I did notice it after I wrote it.

Oh, and level up for finding one of the fortunes and for the information gained from Van Richten.

Quick reminder, RvR is staying at the inn, and your wine run earns you room and board. He has a private room which is where he keeps his notes and such. You have an almost dorm style 4 person room. Though the rooms share a wall, they are accessible in totally different ways. Not very convenient.

For in depth information, you could always exchange letters. Also, once the tavern patrons leave, you could have the run of the ground level of the inn.

Oh, So, hearing the voice at the alter scene. RvR assumes it's Strahd. The irony is that this cult used the alter to sacrifice people and then you used it to destroy their shambling corpse demon. It also technically would satisfy their demand for 'One must die'. I don't recall if the house was supposed to stop being hostile after you killed the shambling mound or not, and I have read other dm's/players talk about the different ways they satisfied the demand. If you sacrifice a player, then you are free to leave. Theoretically, you could do that and find someone to raise dead, or something.

Oh, while I am at it, there was a room with a statue of Strahd holding an orb (non-magical, worth 25gp, usable as spellcaster focus). If you touched the statue or orb, 5 shadows would have appeared and attacked you. That would have been a rough, if not fatal, fight. There would be no bottle-necking them. Probably fatal.

In reply to The Mists (msg # 81):

We went in that room, I think? I recall a staircase up to the library. At that point, I was very much under the impression that I should not eff with Strahd, so touching anything to do with him seemed like a prudent course of action.

No problem on you being busy at work -- I'll just annoyingly ping from time to time and read about vampires in the interim.

It was in the dungeon area, but above the alter/prison cell level.

Yeah, smart.

That is an interesting topic. I think it speaks to the DM relying to strongly on the conceit that protagonists can be counted on to protag. I think for this game, what a good dm would do is make the players feel a little desperate to look for allies and to make it more clear that everyone is suffering some hardship and needs help. And, you know things more specific to the characters.

One of the reasons I wanted to post about the fortune telling is because it should be kind of an investigation game looking for clues about where to find things.

BTW, there is a book I want to write, that I am been thinking about for years. It more of a joke/farce, so the challenge would be to give it real moments and a plot. The idea is that it is from the point of view of henchmen (2e style) to a dnd party. So, from their POV, the world and everything is real. Everyone knows that adventurers and insane, some say touched by the gods, how else could they do what they do? So, there would be a lot of things like bursts of conversation and enthusiasm, then the adventurers going silent and robotic during travel, travel, travel. Or like before traveling they declare what they are going to do during the trip. "I am going to sharpen my daggers. Yes. The whole time." "I am going to teach myself to juggle." etc. then they just do that for days. And like lots of references to things that don't exist.

I mean, it's not really workable, but I think about it a lot. The actually plot would be taken from a couple old dragon stories and the henchmen would be who the reader identifies with. The other thing is just a gimmick to make it fun.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:03, Sat 28 May 2022.

PING

In reply to The Mists (msg # 85):

Pong.

Finally caught a minute and remembered. Going to try and catch up and post, here.

whoa, it's like you raised from the dead

I thought this was the busy time of year

In reply to The Mists (msg # 87):

It has been, but this week and next end up with a lot of down time. Most of the work is done at this point, so now everyone just is crossing their fingers and making blood sacrifices in the hopes that they don't get paged on Christmas morning because some software error ruined Christmas.

What do you mean by this question? Are you asking about the person he is burying?

In reply to The Mists (msg # 89):

Yes, and Imondo is taking note that death seems to be the only release from Strahd.

In reply to SIRE (msg # 90):

I came up with a neat idea for this setting, using Prestidigitation: Have someone close their eyes and create the impression of the sun emerging from and then hiding behind a cloud with a little warmth and a little light. Thought it might be a way to inspire some hope in these yokels, but Edwin does not have Prestidigitation.

Something I always try to remember to give out for free to characters is that Wizards/bards/sorcerers get prestidigitation, Druids get druidcraft, and clerics get thaumaturgy.

Merry Christmas!