BARKING ALIEN: Music

Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Rock On!

They is, am, are, and be,

they who is and are known as

THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM!

Electric Mayhem - The Muppets Mayhem

Album Cover Art by Matt Taylor

I apologize for how long its taken me to cover the recent Disney+ Streaming Series The Muppets Mayhem, a ten episode series featuring the Muppets legendary rock band, The Electric Mayhem.

Let me start by saying WOW! I absotively posilutely lovified this streamificated narrative of musical proportions. Heheh, channeling my inner Dr. Teeth there. Truthfully though, I am happy to say I really enjoyed it.

The Muppets Mayhem does a lot right. I would even go so far as to say it does what it sets out to do better than some of the previous attempts to 'modernize' the Muppets. How? Well, at the heart of what makes The Muppets Mayhem not just a great series but a great Muppets series is that this series embraces the fact that the Muppets are Muppets.

I...um...Say what now?

The laws of physics and other basic facts about our world change when the Muppets are around. They themselves can instantly change clothes, make items appear out of nowhere, get squashed, stretched, and of course, survive massive explosions. When Humans enter the presence of Muppets - and vice versa - the normal people become part of the Muppets' extraordinary reality. Forget that, ignore that, and you lose a great deal of the magic of the Muppets. The Muppets Mayhem doesn't shy away from this but rather embraces it.

Well All Right!

On to a full-on Barking Alien-a-rific review...

SPOI-LERS! SPOI-LERS! SPOI-LERS!

Ha-Ha-Ha.

The GOOD

So much! The element that stands out the most to me is, as noted above, the Muppet-ness of the band and how the band interacts with the world they're in. It is both subtle and apparent and happens throughout the series. It isn't focused on but rather just happens as an aside to the scenes the Muppet characters are in. Clearly there are things that occur in the series solely because Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem are Muppets.

Another thing about the series that I loved was the detail and depth given to the characters. Each and every member of the band, including 'new' member Lips, is given time to shine and has some great moments dedicated to them. While not every character gets heavy character development, all the characters get the chance to stand out, to be distinct, to be funny, and to make the viewers feel like we got to know them. A very impressive feat given an aspect of the show that I'll discuss below (The BAD).

I liked the Human characters, although I feel that not aspects of them were as well thought out as the personalities and traits of the Muppet characters. The thing is, if I came to the Muppets Mayhem series for the Muppets, the real life Humans had better be highly entertaining to warrant their presence in the show. I personally think that the Humans were handled quiet well in that respect. I liked when they were on screen and I really liked how they interacted with the Electric Mayhem.

I liked the new Muppet character of Penny Waxman a lot. Not only is she a classic character type, a trope of the heyday of the 60s and 70s Music Industry, but she was also given enough unique quirks to make her memorable. I also really liked her design.

The overall story was quite good, with the subplots given to the individual Mayhem members even stronger in many cases. Getting new reveals and realizations about these characters, some of which are nearly 50 years old, was extremely fun for a long time, die hard Muppets fan like myself.

Finally, it was funny - REALLY FUNNY! Oh man, I found myself laughing out loud so many times throughout the season. The best part about the humor is that it wasn't all from cameos or nostalgia - it was from the context of the narrative and the characters. That is amazing to see in modern pop culture entertainment. Yes, it had Easter Eggs. The series definitely made references to past Muppet works. All of that was simply icing on the cake. The cake definitely had a great flavor all its own.

Oh, fer sure. Like, totally.

The BAD

There really wasn't anything I would deem bad but there were a few things that seemed off and it largely revolved around the Human characters, specifically the lead.

Nora Singh (played by actress Lilly Singh and that's not confusing) is the main Human protagonist, the assistant to Penny Waxman, owner of Wax Town Records. Her major character trait and focus seems to be her love of music, imparted to her by her father. According to references made during the show, including a specific one made by her sister, music has been Nora's life since she was little. This is why she got a job in the Record/Music Industry and why she wants to make a name for herself and Wax Town Records by getting the Electric Mayhem to cut their first album.

OK, cool, I'm on board. Except...the writers are very inconsistent about Nora's relationship with music. In an inverse version of 'Show don't tell', we are repeatedly told that Nora loves classic rock n' roll (especially her dad's favorite song by Joe Cocker) but then gets the words to a famous KISS song incorrect, doesn't seem overly familiar with the Electric Mayhem, their history, inside info about the industry she's in, and has few if any contacts within the music business. I get it, she's young, struggling, an underdog to be sure, but she either knows music or doesn't and it's unclear which of these defining things is true. It repeatedly threw me off and I found it distracting.

Maybe that's just me.

Huh?

The GROOVY

The music! It's actually good and some of it is very good but you don't get to hear many of the songs in their entirety in the episodes. You need to check out The Electric Mayhem - Muppets Mayhem album, available on Spotify as well as for purchase ON VINYL! Vinyl baby!

I am particularly fond of Rock On and Gotta Be.

Man, I am so inspired by this series to do something to honor it with my RPG, The Googly Eyed Primetime Puppet Show. Not sure what yet. Any ideas?

Mahb du da rit up oul da band stas 'em pote dem ere?

Lips, that's it! You are a genius brother. Thanks.

Barking Alien

Hey everybody, one more thing before I split...

Could really use some help and support to keep the creative works coming as well as just get through the Summer months, which can be very tough for me and my business. If you like what I do and can lend a hand, check out my Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/barkingalien

Thanks all. I really appreciate it.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

RPGaDay Challenge 2018 - Day 18 & 19

Yeeeah...so...

and

Questions like this, which pop up regularly in these sorts of challenges, never fail to amuse me.

It is largely the wording. What art inspires your game? What music? For 'my game'. As if I have but one. As if there is one sort of art or music or but one source to find them. I know, or at least I'm fairly sure, that's not what they mean but it does seem to be very narrow way of asking about a subject with very wide ranging answers.

I have no one source of artwork or one style of art as I do not have one type of game. When running Traveller I tend to use more 'photo-realistic' art than I do when running Star Trek or Star Wars for example. With the latter two I can get away with more stylized illustrations compared to what I am inspired by when it comes to the Hard Science Fiction setting of Traveller's Third Galactic Imperium.

I am a visual person, and an artist myself. Images tell a story and more over convey a feel and an atmosphere. I am all about that. The art must match the genre, setting, and story and vice versa.

The same is true of music. I do have a confession that may sound weird - I am not often inspired by music for my games. I mean, I like music and there have certainly been times where the right music in the background adds to the flavor of the game but generally speaking it's not a tool I use very often.

I wish I had more to say on these subjects but I feel I have spoken about this many time before. How about you? What art and music inspires and enhances your game (singular - Tee hee hee).

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Barking Alien

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Direct Hits

Yes folks, I know this one is late. OK, really late. My plans for the close of my September theme had to take a backseat to my Real LifeTM, which just got a lot more interesting. I am soon to be the owner of my own business. Details coming soon.

The next few posts are not all I have to say on the subject of comedic RPGs by a long shot, but they are all you're going to see of the theme month gimmick for September. As we are now into October already, I want to switch to my next theme, Horror, and Fantasy.

Just like September, I am going to play fast, and loose with the overarching motif, so some remaining material from September may yet find its way into the new month of posts.

***

My next guests first hit the scene in 1987, where they found a niche with fans looking for a different kind of sound. Not truly indie, they were also not emulating the bands that were topping the pop charts at the time. In many ways, they were very much a part of the new wave movement of the late 80s.

Here promoting their self-titled album, sentients and sophonts across the cosmos, please give it up for our musical guest...

Teenagers From Outer Space!

'Ride On Shooting Star'
From the Anime FLCL, or Furi Kuri
By The Pillows

I've said it before and I have no problem repeating it here:

Star Trek is my favorite setting to game in.

Star Wars D6 by West End Games is my favorite system.

Superheroes is probably the genre I've run the most at this point.

Teenagers From Outer Space however, that's the game that has my heart; green, eleven-valved, and methane producing as it might be.

Over the last twenty-eight years that the game has been in existence, I have easily run Teenagers From Outer Space, or TFOS, dozens upon dozens of times. Sometimes, I've even used it to run Teenagers From Outer Space!

Yeah, I'll explain...

I've told this story before, but about a day after reading the rules for TFOS, I modified them by changing the D6 standard to a D10 standard.

In addition to giving the game a bit more range, it made the system more compatible with R. Talsorian Games' other 'Interlock System' games, such as Cyberpunk 2013/2020 and Mekton. Other advantages to this alteration included facilitating some additional house rules, and homebrewed sub-systems, as well as making TFOS adaptable to outside systems, most notably Ars Magica (more about that below).

At a Japanese Pop Culture convention in 1995 or 96, I met with the editor of R. Talsorian's V-Max Magazine, a house periodical dedicated to Anime, Manga, and gaming with a lean toward their Anime related titles. I described to him my modified Teenagers From Outer Space game, which I had come to call 'Advanced TFOS'. He loved the idea, and had me work it up as a full article for V-Max. Unfortunately, RTG folded up the magazine before the article could see print.

While I'm not a huge fan of universal systems (believing a game's mechanics should be tailored to the game it's supporting), I do have a scant few games that I believe can be used for a wide variety of genres, subgenres, and settings. My Advanced TFOS, and even standard TFOS, are among the most versatile, and effective in my opinion.

The main reason is their simplicity. TFOS is a Stat + Ability/Skill + Roll system, with very little else going on to get in the way. Perhaps my favorite idea in the game though, is that if you roll too low, you fail, if you roll the difficulty number or higher you succeed, but if you roll too well...it can end up backfiring on you royally. Exceed the required difficulty number by more than double, and things can get out of control. It is recommended that the GM embellish the success to the point of extreme, over-the-top, you'll-wish-you-failed-the-roll, comedic annoyance.

As I mentioned, I've used the 'Advanced TFOS' rules to run a plethora of games, including several set in my homebrewed campaign setting of Blast City Blues. The Blast City Blues universe is similar to the default idea for TFOS but my variant allows for more character and story options. Magical Girls in stylized sailor suits, Giant Robot Pilots, adolescent Cyborgs, and Psychic School Kids can all be found somewhere in the milieu of Blast City.

However, the default premise of the game isn't what I want to address with this post so much as what else can be done with the system. As the focus of September's entries are comedy games, I would like to tell you all about some other humorous trips I've taken using this very versatile map as a guide.

Some of my most successful alternate uses of TFOS include:

Galaxy Quest

My first Galaxy Quest game, a one shot that turned into a campaign (that became a phenomena! Um...yeah), was originally based on my Advanced TFOS rules. I added the Jobs, and Character Types, and the rest is history. It was a hell of a thing.

Near Miss

A Science Fiction Comedy campaign very much in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy meets This Is Spinal Tap.

The PCs were members of a musical group of misfit aliens travelling around the universe getting into one crazy mess after another. The name of the band, Near Miss, was also the name of a garage band I was in with some buddies from high school (who were incidentally the players in the group plus one, or two others).

Neo-Tokyo Crimebuster - Furiransu Keikan

Using a hybrid of the Advanced TFOS rules, and the rules of Mekton II (foolishly trying to make the R. Talsorian 'Interlock' systems actually interlock), Furiransu Keikan (roughly, Freelance Police) was an Action/Comedy set in a cyberpunk future where various corporations police various regions. Citizens are welcome to chose, and pay for whichever 'Law Enforcement Provider' they wish.

The PCs represented a small-ish, independent police precinct trying to make a name for themselves in the crime ridden, high tech city of Neo-Tokyo. Inspirations for the game included (but were not limited to) Dominion Tank Police, Blade Runner, Mobile Police Patlabor, Barney Miller, and Starsky and Hutch.

Once Upon The End of Time

A Science Fiction Time Travel/Action-Adventure/Murder Mystery campaign inspired by my friend Avram Grumer in which the entire plot is revealed in reverse order, starting from the end of the story in the first session.

Each session afterwards was set a few days to several months before the previous one. The last adventure had the players joining the Time Patrol, and being confronted on their first mission by their older more experienced selves who were out to stop the campaign villain's creation.

Wizard of Oz - End of the Rainbow

I ran a campaign set in L. Frank Baum's Oz and its surrounding magical lands using my Advanced TFOS system crossed with (get this) Ars Magica. A significantly simplified Ars Magica to be sure, the combination of the two worked incredibly well. I was very happy with the outcome and would love to try running it again.

***

I haven't played, or used the game in quite some time, and that is a shame. Not just because I love it so much, but because I feel it's the kind of game my Barking Alien Gaming Group could really get behind. So why haven't I brought it to bear with my regular gang? Well, it goes with something I am hoping to bring up in a future post, but in all honesty, I may just say to hell with it, and do it. We've been experimenting with the occasional one-shot comedy game here, and there recently, so there is no reason we couldn't give it a go.

We're going to pause one last time for a commercial break, but we'll be right back after this...

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Barking Alien

Belated Happy Birthdays to Groucho Marx (Oct. 2), Jim Henson, and Steve Whitmire (Both born on September 24th!).

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

RPGaDay Challenge 2015 - Day 26

OK, what do you have for me today Mr. RPGaDay Challenge 2015?

Okaaay. Different approach today. Going to try to ignore the abhorrent grammar, and use of vocabulary, and just try to answer as best I can.

Because, to have a favorite inspiration...that would be...you know...impossible.

If there were one thing that always inspired you no matter what you were working on, one go-to source for "the process of being mentally stimulated to do, or feel something, especially to do something creative" (Definition by way of a Google search), one could just go to it any time they needed any idea, for anything. Right? Yeah. So...ugh.

Also, grammatically, this is kind of asking, "Remember that one time you were really inspired to do something? Tell us about that one time." Your favorite inspiration would be the one time you were inspired that you enjoyed the most.

I don't think that's what we're going for here.

Let's try...

Revised Edition

Is this what you meant maybe? OK then. Why didn't you say so?

Inspiration for my games, and game ideas comes from a wide variety of things, and sources. It depends very much on the subject of the game, the style, and atmosphere I'm going for, the mood I'm in, and whether I am trying to do something new, or recapture an old vibe from back in the day.

For example, when trying to get inspiration for Traveller, I look at what kind of PCs I have first. If I am getting an exploration motif out of the team (like we're aiming for with our upcoming Traveller: Beyond game), I will check out Sci-Fi artwork, books, films, comics, and games focused on discovery, and exploration. If on the other hand it's a mix of combatants, bureaucrats, scientists, spies, and such (Like our current Operation: PALADIN campaign), I am going to look into things that are more conspiracy, espionage related.

I guess if I had to pick a favorite source of inspiration for my games, I would say artwork tends to be a major inspiration. I will get more ideas from a cool illustration than a written work more often than not.

On a related note, Anime, and Manga of various sorts are often great catalysts for ideas. Again, the nature of the Anime/Manga series will inspire a related genre, or idea. I get a lot of comedy ideas by watching comedies. I am inspired to run a military mecha game after seeing a great military mecha Anime.

For Superhero gaming, comic books, especially older ones, and ones with more obscure titles, and characters are key inspirations. I love the forgotten heroes, and villains of the forties, through to the sixties. A gonzo villain updated a bit, with a new name, and a redesigned costume always makes a big impression on my players, mostly because I'm jazzed about them.

Music, songs to be more precise, used to inspire me a great deal, but less so over the last 5-10 years. It's getting harder, and harder to find modern stuff that gives me the ideas that pieces from the 60s and 70s did.

My last great source for inspiration is conversation with friends, especially fellow gamers. One discussion will lead to a joke, which will set off an idea, and presto, I have a concept for a scenario I can insert into my game world.

So that's about the size of it. Art, Anime/Manga, Comic Books, Classic Rock, and Good Conversation are my favorite inspirational sources.

How about you?

Oh, and about fixing the question, really, there's no need to thank me.

Just doing my job.

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Barking Alien

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Reeling In The Year: 2014

Having just finished listening to the Play on Target Podcast episode, '2014 in Review', I starting thinking about my own experiences in gaming this past year.

Now I'm sitting here, listening to Steely Dan, preparing to share my thoughts with all of you.

Life is funny that way.

Deacon Blues

This has been a rough year for me personally, and financially. Gaming wise, I've had a number of campaign attempts begin with fantastic false starts, but die quickly, running into snags, or simply having no staying power.

Although my primary gaming group and I have been together a little over two years now, we still experience growing pains, differences of vision and opinion, and though I am loathe to admit it, we're only Human.

Remind me to get that fixed.

Pretzel Logic

Still and all, it's been a pretty damn good year for gaming. For all the attempts that missed the mark, one or two have bullseyed the target in a big way.

My main group continues to enjoy the living daylights out of our Traveller campaign, Operation: PALADIN. It boggles the mind that this thing has outlived the other campaigns we've tried to get going. It experienced, at one time, or another, all the problems that laid low lesser games, saw one player move, another was kicked out of the group (he's back now, but not yet in the Traveller campaign), and has been delayed numerous times due to difficulties with scheduling during the November to January Holiday season.

Yet still it endures. Heck, it not only endures, it excels. It's awesome. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Now we're making another attempt at a Champions/Superhero campaign, one of the game types that has eluded us up until now, which stinks since Superheroes is my favorite thing to run after Star Trek. Will it work? It hasn't in the past, but the first session went great, and my Magic 8 Ball says all signs point to yes. I'm hopeful.

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

By nothing short of random chance, I bumped into a fellow in the street that I had gamed with at the last RECESS Game Day event. That was...a year ago? Two? We exchanged numbers, and the next thing you know we're gaming together fairly regularly. It turns out we live about 10-15 blocks away from each other, which in Manhattan is a leisurely stroll.

The guy is really cool, his friends (now my friends too) a great group to game with, and I'm getting the chance to play in Superhero games as opposed to running them, while getting to run Star Trek. You can't make this stuff up. Awesome sauce, I'm telling ya.

My Old School

My weekend job at the tutoring center affords me the opportunity to use RPGs as a learning tool to teach kids, while simultaneously having fun at the same time. In addition, everything old is new to them, so I've been able to use games I feel nostalgic about, and see completely new approaches to them through my interaction with this younger generation of 'players'.

So incredible, so rewarding, and so enjoyable.

***

Now, on to my thoughts inspired by listening to Play on Target...

***

First, and foremost, and at the same time least, my thoughts on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.

It's a well known fact that I really don't like generic, medieval High Fantasy. I don't like it. I find it so boring, so...so trite. More so than any other genre, D&D style Fantasy practically reeks of same-old-same-oldness, and been-there-done-thatness.

I've now run D&D 5E twice, and with each attempt, I like it less.

Play on Target points out, and rightly so, that what elements 5E has that are exciting people, and are new for D&D, are things that are practically old hat to the larger gaming community. If even the snazzy new doo-dads are stuff I've seen many times before, what does the game have to excite me?

Oh wait, it has all the best elements of the old editions. Really? The very best of mediocre, eh? Sorry, but if I wanted to play that, which I don't, I already have it. Many have said it reminds them of AD&D, both 1st and 2nd. Unfortunately, I grew tired of AD&D right around the time it's 2nd edition came out. I hardly ever played 2nd.

Fifth does nothing for me. Nothing. It's a really good game. A great version of D&D.

I don't like D&D and 5E does nothing to change that.

***

I got to run Golden Sky Stories (Yuuyake Koyake) for the kids at the center, and it was both great, and something I think I'd really liked to explore further. I don't think we did as much as we could with it. I see greater potential for using this game to teach problem solving, and how to handle different [interpersonal] relationships, but I haven't had time to really devout time to this project.

***

I've gotten to play in a pretty darn fun Superhero RPG of Kapow! over Google Hangouts this year. Originally, the campaign was run by the games creator, but due to a recent job change (Congrats Josh!) the reins were taken over by another player, and he has done a bang up job.

We haven't played much over the Holiday season, but I hope we get back to it soon.

I only got to GM over Google Hangouts once, or twice, the whole year. I...liked it? I don't know. I enjoyed it, but in comparison to playing face-to-face it doesn't hold a candle.

***

I didn't go to any conventions at all this year. As said in the podcast, "Sad Panda".

***

My purchases have been minimal this year. Largely, this is because I have little to no disposable income. Another reason is that there is so very little I am interested in on the market right now.

I honestly can't remember the last game I bought. The last items I recall include Base Raiders...something for Mutants & Masterminds maybe? Really can not say for sure.

***

There is a moment in the podcast where the participants discuss the fact that it's very easy, and therefore enjoyable, for them to play in genres, and games, with which they are familiar. This means, at least to my ear, that if they have played, or have been playing, let's say a Fantasy game for example, they prefer to keep playing that game or genre, because preparation for it is simple to non-existent. They are so in tune with their chosen game, that they hardly have to prep to make a session, an adventure, or even a campaign work.

That whole thing bothered me.

(Gonna get ranty...)

It was a discussion all about what they'd learned. I'm trying not to judge, or be snarky, but honestly, I'm gonna fail. You've been warned.

It sounds to me like they've learned to be lazy.

Now I don't really mean that. I don't mean to say that they've become lazy GMs, who are just phoning it in. Not these guys. These guys are awesome, creative dudes. That's why I not only listen to them, but they produce my absolute favorite podcast.

Rather, very generally speaking, I am bothered by the idea of becoming too comfortable with a particular system, or type of game.

It also seems to me that it's a fairly common phenomena. So many people play D&D because they have played D&D before., or their family and friends have. Because D&D is accessible without much effort. D&D is easy. Playing it more, and more, it becomes easier, and easier.

Hey, I like easy as much as the next guy. I also think if I did everything the easy way, I would get really bored, and I'd never learn anything new.

I like doing prep. I might gripe about it, but more than likely I gripe over not having enough time to prep. I love prepping for a game!

I like researching Inuit mythology for a folkloric fantasy game set in pre-European contact Greenland. I could run Star Trek, Star Wars, or Traveller again, but I'd LOVE to run Space:1999, or original version Battlestar Galactica. I loved those shows, but I haven't watched them in years. I'd need to do quite a bit of reading, and renting on Netflix, to run a game set in those universes, but man the end result would rock. Marvel Heroic? I know Marvel very well (although not as well as DC), yet learning Marvel Heroic was a very new, very different experience when it came up.

Don't be lazy. Work for your fun. Put some blood, sweat, and tears into it man!

Ahem.

***

What have I learned this past year? Hmmm.

A lot.

The main thing I'd have to say is that I desperately need to get my edge back. I need the players to be a little more concerned for their PC's well being. I need to generate more physical conflicts in my otherwise cerebral games, just to keep the players on their toes. I did it in the past, became a bit too nice, and now I'm working toward re-establishing my skill at kicking ass.

Happy New Year Everyone!

All the best in 2015 to you and yours from Adam, Delilah, and of course Barkley.

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Barking Alien

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Campaigns A-To-Z: Distant Soldier Herakles

D is for Distant Soldier Herakles

Title: Distant Soldier Herakles

The title mecha, the OCA-X10DS Herakles

with Thruster Pack and Rail Gun Rifle

System: Mekton II

Circa: 1989-90. Two follow up one shots, entitled 'Distant Soldier: The Twelve Labors War' and 'Be Forever Distant Soldier', were run in 1991.

Player Base: 6 players, four males and two females, ages 20-23.

Characters: All but two PCs were Mecha Pilots serving the Outer Colonies Alliance, a group of off-world colonies set up by the Earth but now banding together to seek their independence. One PC was their Mechanic/Engineer and one was a sort of Politican/Bureaucrat doing shady dealings with the mercenaries, pirates, OCA sympathizers in the United Terran Space Government (UTSG) to keep the fledgeling rebellion supplied and protected.

The UTSG-AST9 Harpy

A Transformable Aerospace Mecha

Markings indicate it's from the 70th Squadron stationed at Pollux.

Above, Soldier Mode. Below High Speed Flight Mode.

Synopsis: In the late 22nd century (originally 2189 I think), the United Terran Space Government and many of it's most distant colonies are at war as the latter attempts to gain it's independance from the former.

Wrongs in the conflict have been perpatrated by both sides and eventually a cease fire is called to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Unfortunately, the peace talks are a ruse, and a young Terran pilot, learning that the UTSG intends to strike hard at the OCA while their leaders are arrested at the bogus negotiation meeting, steals the prototype UTSG 'Distant Soldier' Mecha codenamed 'Herakles'.

The young pilot convinces his friend, a Harpy pilot, to assist him in saving the Outer Colonies Alliance leaders and forces and join him in eventually defecting to their side. He and his friend are labelled traitors and ruthlessly hunted by a female UTSG politican who wants them dead but the Herakles robot returned as intact as possible.

Many of the adventures and plots were based on or at least inspired by Greek Mythology, crossed with classic Japanese Anime space-war-soap-opera such as Mobile Suit Gundam or Macross. The technology of the Earth and it's colonies was akin to Blade Runner or the fairly recent Sci-Fi film Elysium.

Distant Soldier: The Twelve Labors War focused on a mission in which the UTSG had set up 12 different 'secret weapons', hidden in various facilities in different star systems. The team of PCs had to destroy the 12 items or devices or whathaveyou before the UTSG could begin putting them into action. One wasn't an item at all but a young girl with vast psychokinetic powers who was brainwashed into being a sleeper agent.

Be Forever Distant Soldier revisits the setting 5 years after the end of the original campaign. The Herakles (upgraded during the series to the Herakles-Champion) and it's pilot (PC) are stranded on a planet inhospitable to Humans with limited resources, including food and air. In flashbacks we learn that the war is over and what happened to everyone.

In the final 'scenes', the female pilot of the Harpy (also upgraded to the Harpy-Zephyr), now the captain of a starship in the Outer World Confederation fleet, detects the distress call of her marooned long time friend. As he begins to pass out from lack of oxygen and sends a farewell communication into the stars, the woman's cruiser pulls into orbit and launches a rescue shuttle.

End credits roll. Totally Anime.

Bonus Features: I loved building, and customizing Gundam model kits back in the day, so I built, and painted several as 'minis'/props for the game. I later lost, or sold most of them.

This is another campaign with a theme song. Several in fact. I don't recall any of them except for the closing to Be Forever Distant Soldier (at least part of it).

Be forever my distant soldier.

Be forever my distant soldier boy.

Be that one in a million.

Be the one that made it out alive.

Don't be the one who went down fighting.

Don't let only your memory survive.

Don't let them say he went out a hero.

Don't let them say in the end he was so brave.

Be the one that knew when to call it.

So at least yours was the life you saved.

Well, I don't know if they told you,

But you'll always be forever my distant soldier.

The one I'll hold so tightly,

The I one I pray for the gods almighty,

To bring home.

Barking Alien

OK, so far so good. I can do this. I can make this challenge work. Go me!

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Campaigns A-To-Z: Blast City Blues

B is for Blast City Blues

Title: Blast City Blues

System: Teenagers From Outer Space (Modified)

Circa: 1987-1988 (Follow up campaign in 1989).

Player Base: Three players at the start, male, ages 17-18. Eventually added three or four more, same age range. A follow up campaign in the same setting occurred a year or two later and included one additional male and two female players.

Characters: PCs were Human and extraterrestrial high school students attending Blast City High, hoping to graduate and get the chance to attend Blast City University. Each of the PCs had a superhuman power or skill, including super speed, super strength, energy blasts, super intelligence, supersonic screams (like Marvel's Banshee or DC's Black Canary) and many others.

I expanded the rules for powers so that each PC started with 10 Power Levels. You could have Super Speed at Power Level 10 and be as fast as the Flash, or, as was the case with the character 'Mech' Herrera, a teenage cyborg, you could break those Power Levels up into different abilities. Using Mech as an example, he had Super Speed 2, Super Strength 2, Invulnerability 3 and Micro Missiles 3.

Magical characters could change up what their PL 10 abilities were, but had to pay a price (Needed to rhyme to cast spells, spells that hurt opponents bestowed bad luck on your allies for an hour, etc.).

Synopsis: 25 years ago, an alien spacecraft of considerable size landed just off the tip of Long Island Sound in New York. A plethora of extraterrestrials emerged from the vessel, proclaiming themselves to be the surviving members of the United Galaxy Alliance. The Alliance was invaded, and every last one of it's worlds conquered, and stripped of their resources by the terrible Dreggetti. Like space locusts, they swarm across planet after planet, consuming all in their path. Now, they are heading for Earth!

Luckily, thanks to their superior Star Drives, the refugees of the United Galaxy Alliance have arrived in our solar system at least 1 year ahead of the Dreggetti fleet. They've come to Humanity with a secret weapon that might just have a chance at defeating the evil aliens.

The greatest minds of the UGA have developed Polytransmorphic Metamutagen Alpha! This chemical, well, it's a compound actually, can...I suppose gaseous gelatin would be more accurate. Where was I? Oh yes, so there's this process involved and, you see it's all very complicated. The end result is that PM Alpha can give Humans superpowers. Sadly, it doesn't seem to work on any of the UGA member species since many of them have superpowers of a sort built into their genetics. Since Humans don't, the potential of the PM Alpha on them is unknown and potentially limitless.

After meeting with the world's political powers, the Earth unifies under the banner of the United Earth System Alliance and begins developing superpowered soldiers and learning all about the incredibly advanced technology, and scientific knowledge of the UGA aliens. At the end of one year, they ready themselves for what is destined to be the war to end all wars, deciding the fate of the Human race and perhaps the entire Galaxy, once and for all.

Only...the Dreggetti never arrive. Time passes. The aliens settle down on Earth, the Moon, a terraformed Mars and a few other spots in the solar system. Still no Dreggetti. The UGA starship is converted into a city, dubbed Blast City, which contains additional housing, training facilities, as well as business and government offices for many of the aliens and the superpowered population. More time passes. The Dreggetti are still a no show.

Fast forward to the present, and the sons, daughters, and unisex, undulating, spore blobs of the superpowered Humans and alien refugees are going to school, printing spread sheets, watching Zero-G Boogie Ball (a sport I created), and just trying to live with each other and not destroy any private property in the process. Some superpowered individuals are part of the United Earth System Alliance Defense Force, while others have more 'normal' jobs.

Adventures ranged from wacky 70's sitcom fare mixed with sci-fi or comic book elements, to fairly serious disasters and villains that forced the PCs, none of them old enough to graduate high school, to really work together and be courageous in the face of certain destruction!

Appendix N: Galaxy High animated cartoon series, Legion of Superheroes comic books from DC Comics, Sidekicks comic book from Oni Press*, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (In the USA, Part 1 of the R-word ** series: The Macross Saga) Japanese anime series, Teen Titans comic books by DC Comics, Urusei Yatsura (Those Obnoxious Aliens - Lum) Japanese manga and anime series.

Bonus Features: A short comic book featuring the setting, and characters was created by our high school RPG club and sold at the school's annual art faire.

One of the coolest things we ever did for a game was create both an opening, and closing theme song for our Blast City Blues series. The song was written by me, and performed and recorded on a cassette tape (long since lost) by a garage band my friends, and I had put together.

Another friend of mine (one of the players incidentally) translated the entire opening into Japanese, complete with minor changes to make it sound, and read, more sensibly in the Japanese language.

The opening song's overall styling matched the Japanese pop-music of the era, while the closing had a more blues-rock n' roll sound. I don't recall much of the closing theme (I Love Blast City) but the English opening goes like this:

Well hello!
Hello, how are you?
I'm doing fine.
I'd really love to talk, but I don't have time.
What do you mean?
I'm off to school and I can't be late!
I want to learn the golden rule, and take a chance on fate.

(chorus)
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, Oh School House Rock!
Nothing to dread, when you use your head.

Tell me more!
Well, my school, it's a little strange.
Why don't you come and see it, 'cause you'll be amazed.
There's a boy who can fly,
A girl shoots rays from her eyes,
And the teachers walk through walks to no ones surprise.

(chorus)
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, Oh School House Rock!
For Heaven and Earth to be seen, you must stand in between.

Oh no, the bell!
That's the bell, and I have to run,
But it was great talking to you. It was lots of fun.
Think about checking out the school.
The light in your eyes tells me you're no fool.

(chorus)
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, School House Rock!
Ohhh, Oh School House Rock!
Nothing to dread, when you use your head.

AD
Barking Alien

* Sidekicks was not yet created when I ran my Teenagers from Outer Space/Blast City Blues campaigns but it has some remarkable similarities and is one of my all time favorite comic books. Highly recommended.

** Adam does not say the R-word.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

The Weight

This is one of my all time favorite songs. I mean...ever. Being sung by Jimmy Fallon and the Muppets.

Happy Birthday to Me.

Real tears here people. Real tears

Too beautiful.

The Feels.

Thanks guys.

AD
Barking Alien

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Supervillainy A-To-Z: M is for Master Plan

Oh boy. I am in trouble. Big trouble.

How am I ever going to complete this challenge by month's end?

No clue, so no use griping about it. My focus at this point is on other things. The real world beckons for my attention and I must give it its due. Fear not old friends, I am not defeated yet and where there's a will there's a way. Possibly a dead guy. They have wills too.

My next villain has been a major player in many of my older games, yet once again I don't think the system (The ICONS Superhero RPG for those following along at home) does him any justice. He doesn't seem mechanically special. It will be up to me to convey his coolness in other ways and up to you, the GM who uses him in a game, to bring that coolness to the table.

Wish us both luck.

MASTER PLAN

True Identity: Milton Paternaster

Description/Appearance: Milton Paternaster is a plain but decent looking Caucasian fellow in good shape, with brown hair and green eyes. Paternaster is in his late 30s. He stands just under 6 feet in height and weighs around 185 lbs.. Over time he has worked out and may look a bit more fit than is reflected in early descriptions.

As Master Plan, Milton is garbed is a form fitting black costume with white gloves, boots, shorts and a large 'M' insignia on his chest. His detailing is purple and green, including a letter 'M' on his forehead and belt buckle. He also wears a rather flamboyant cape which is purple on the outside and green on the underside.

Origin and Background: Milton Paternaster was born a prodigy.

At the age of 4 he solved a Rubik's Cube, guessed the Riddle of the Sphinx, and could program a VCR or DVD player with no instructions. By 6 he had read Tolstoy, balanced his family's household budget, done their taxes, and found a way to rewire the TV for free cable. By 12 he had graduated High School. By 15, he had a doctorate and a master's degree. At the age of 18...he was incredibly, unendingly, and painfully bored.

With money from various grants and patents coming in (he had invented several computer programs and apps when he had nothing else to do), Milton had no real desire to get a job or start a career working with, or heavens forbid...underneath, a person of normal intelligence. Instead he sought a real challenge and whiled away the hours designing various insidious plans and inescapable death traps, inspired by the villains he would see on the news and in movies.

Certain that he had surmised their true reason for failure, Paternaster created a costumed identity for himself and set out to test his theory against real law enforcement officers and superheroes. While his first few forays were not especially successful, it was not success he was striving for. He was never caught and his true identity never identified. There in lied the crux of his first, big plan. Supervillains never assumed they'll lose and yet always seem to. Paternaster, or Master Plan as he called himself, planned to lose [or at least assumed he would] from the very start. He also had 5-10 different ideas for escaping and getting away.

Soon, he starting focusing on winning while still fully expecting to lose. The key was planning. Contingency on top of contingency and back-up upon back-up. If 'Plan A' didn't work, no worries, as Milton has a Plan B, C, D, E and probably alternatives all the way up to W. After years 'in the game' as he calls it, Master Plan was finally thwarted by the combined efforts of Mothman, American Dream, Blues Traveler, Mr. Spaceman and others, who went on to form The Heartland League.

He spent little time in prison however as he had a plan on how to escape all along. OK, actually, he had a least two dozen of them.

Powers and Abilities: Outside of being one of the smartest people on the planet, Milton Paternaster has no superhuman powers. He is a scientific and technological genius as well as a master tactician and strategic mind and has developed several high tech devices to assist with his activities.

Master Plan's costume provides considerable resistance to harm, while his mask/reinforced cloth helmet protect him from mental attack. Master Plan is also highly trained and practiced in the art of resisting telepathy, ESP and mind control as he views those as the only things that can hope to defeat him. His thoughts are his ultimate weapons, so if an enemy can read his thoughts, he's done for.

Other devices Milton has created include a force field generator in his belt, various energy weapons and remote control units for the innumerable robots, traps and hidden passages weaseled away in his different secret hide outs.

Personality and Motivations: Master Plan is snarky, bold and a bit condescending to most people who encounter him and, honestly, it comes as no surprise. He is smarter and better organized than 95% of the Superhero and Supervillain community. As a result he appears to have a major ego but (and this is not to say he doesn't have one) his ability to keep himself in check is perhaps his greatest asset and what prevents him from being just another mad genius.

That said, Master Plan will never turn down a challenge to his intelligence or skill. He enjoys pitting himself against detective villains in battles of wits as much as proving brain is greater than brawn over superpowered paragons. He plans for everything and so there isn't a type of hero, or villain, he will not face.

As noted, Master Plan is well respected, if envied and despised, by the rest of the supervillains of the world. He wins fairly often when they lose constantly and yet his goals have nothing to do with wealth, vengeance or taking over the world. Where would the fun and competition be if he won the final battle without question and conquered the planet? No, that way only leads to boredom and with a mind like his, even defeat is preferable to such a hell.

***

Master Plan was created for Villains & Vigilantes when I was in Junior High School I believe. He has been used in Superworld and Golden Heroes/Squadron UK. He has not been used for Champions prior to this post but I do intend to add him in to our next campaign.

Master Plan is the villain we all think we see in comic books but rarely ever actually do. Doctor Doom is too much. Marvel's Wingless Wizard is too little. Dr. Sivana never wore a costume or had a code name. The Silver Age Lex Luthor is close but when was that last time Luthor was that guy? Seriously, the closest character I can think of relating Master Plan to is Syndrome from The Incredibles.

Master Plan for ICONS:

The illustration for this character was shamelessly swiped and modified from one of Count Nefaria

done by the incredibly talented Dusty Abell.

***

I am sure I have missed a number of birthdays and deaths and I don't want to go through them all now but I do want to make special note of a couple.

Happy Birthday to Mandy Morbid! Mandy is probably familiar to many of you from Zak Smith's blog PDNDWPS. She is also Zak's girlfriend. Zak put up a really cool post that recounts Mandy's past characters. So cool and kind of sweet if you ask me. I want a girl like that. That is, a girl who likes to game and is really cool and stuff.

Another Happy Birthday cheer for one of my childhood heroes, Lee Majors, the Six-Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy. I remember thinking this guy was the King of Cool when I was a kid, right behind William Shatner. It helped that my dad was a big fan as well.

A Rest in Piece guitar riff goes out to Woodstock alumni and fascinating fellow, Richie Havens, who passed away yesterday at the age of 72. Read his Wiki entry and you'll be surprised to learn what he did that most people don't know was done by him. Peace out Mr. Havens.

Barking Alien