grown up – Gamer Peak

Dungeon23 – Week 13

91 Rooms. 3 Layers.

The time is flying by, and I’ve managed to keep up the momentum. I’ve had a few last-minute, near-misses, but so far the rooms have all be done on the right day.

This week, I only had one decision to make. I knew what I wanted for the last few rooms, but I still needed a boss for this level. I wanted something hiding behind the deadly growths in the laboratory, that had to be beaten in order to progress.

TTRPGs with Kids – Tiny Potion Problem

Adventures for young players should be simple, to help them get to grips with the game. It should have some sort of limit or containment on it, so they don’t feel lost/get too caught up on the background ceiling. Ideally, it should be silly.

Fables & Fantasies 2 – A Tiny Potion Problem is definitely all of these things, especially the last one.

Atlantis: TLE– Greatest Disney BBEG?

I realise that my current naming convention could lead to spoilers. Most Disney villains are obvious from the outset, but occasionally we get a plot twist. I don’t care how old a movie is, I don’t like giving spoilers if I can avoid it.

So if you haven’t seen Atlantis: The Lost Empire, go and watch it. Now. Seriously. You should go and watch it immediately, it’s great. Then come back here, and we’ll talk about how that villain would make a great Big Bad for your Table Top game.

You were the best thing that day

A little sentimentality for your Saturday afternoon:

At some point in your life, you were the best thing to happen to someone that day.

They may have had an incredible day, and you were the person that elevated it. They may have had an awful day, and then you did something that broke through.

It may have been deliberate or you may not have realised it at the time. Something monumental you sacrifice, or a small gesture that resonated.

Whether you ever really knew it, or not, someone somewhere once said: I’m glad they were there.

The Folly of Serious Games

Let me start out by saying that I am a big fan of The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2. I’m still not sure if I’m happy with the story so far, on the whole, but the fact that I’m still thinking about it tells you something.

However, my gosh, are both games goofy sometimes.

Have you ever felt something was made just for you?

When I saw the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts trailer, I was excited. If you have only seen one or two (or all five) of the Bay movies, you would be forgiven for not sharing in my enthusiasm. On the other hand, if you’ve seen Bumblebee, you should be very hopeful. In my opinion.

This is not a mini-blog to gush about that movie though. I could. The first five minute action sequence shames the first five movies all on its own with its awesomeness. I’m not here to do that though. I’m here to point out a really specific moment.

When the very first Transformers movie was announced, I had a very VERY specific hope:

I wanted to see a Transformer perform a handbrake turn into a transforming, flying punch like the intro of the original cartoon. (Like I say, very specific)

Six movies later, it happened:

I went back and watched this scene multiple times, with childhood glee. It just has to be deliberate. Someone working on this show was such a massive fan of the cartoon, that they wanted to same thing as I did. I can’t believe for a moment that this choreography is a coincidence.

I also had a very selfish thought: This was clearly made just for me.

That’s how little moments like this feel. A very specific want from a movie, song, game, play… and that need is met. A lot about Bumblebee did this for the child in me.

How about you? Was something made just for you? In part or completely tailored to your demands and desires? Too perfect to be an accident?

As always, thank you for reading.

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Fantastic Beasts and How to Slay Them: Runespoor

There are a few creatures with multiple heads in Dungeons & Dragons. The Ettin is a two headed giant. The Hydra usually starts with five heads and gets messier from there. Tiamat, an evil dragon goddess, also carries five heads.

The Runespoor is therefore not an impossible D&D monster, but the fact that the heads are so different requires some extra thought. The Ettin heads are often very different personalities but do not perform different functions that would effect their stats. The hydra heads all have a straightforward chomp. The Tiamat heads have unique breath weapons but, again, that’s where the complications end.

The Runespoor heads do very particular things, with a distinct personality. On top of that, Fantastic Beasts specifies that the creature often kills one of its own heads. This snake is an odd duck.