So, you wanna play Destiny 2 in 2026?

You can do it!

You may have heard, the latest Destiny 2 DLC is Star Wars themed. I've noticed more new players since this content came out at the beginning of Dec. 2025.   I'll be the first to admit that D2 has a steep learning curve for new players. So, I made a new character in-order to provide the best advice. 

In my opinion, the character creation in Destiny isn't important. All three classes are fairly equal with a few variations. It just boils down to, do you wanna play a Space Cowboy, a Space Marine or a Space Wizard? I made a new Hunter (Space Cowboy).

 Here's my old Hunter chilling in a secluded corner of Neptune.

 

 

My first piece of advice for new players is, when you load into D2 the game is going to show you the cut scene/s for the newest content. Don't load into play that content yet. I suggest that you play the introductory mission which is titled A Guardian Rises. This takes place on Earth in the Cosmodrome and the contact is Shaw Han. There is now an option to skip this content, don't skip it, this is the perfect time to learn the game controls. The Destiny 2 weapon slots present a learning curve, they are best described as nontraditional for an FPS. There are lots of options too discover. But it is still best to keep the ranged and  close ranged weapon balance. This is also a great time to become familiar with the Destiny 2 character abilities, use them early and often, especially the grenade. 

 

If  you skip A Guardian Rises, or not, the next set of tasks is called Advent (I believe.) This is an introduction to the Tower, the main command center of the Destiny universe. You'll run around and meet most of the contacts at the tower. The contacts, prior to Renegades, provided bounties too obtain new loot. Now, most of them will sell you some loot, or new gear.

The last task of the Advent is to find Devrim Kay in the EDZ. This is the European Dead Zone on Earth and is another good place to  become accustomed to the game mechanics. Devrim's first mission is to complete a Lost Zone in the EDZ. Lost Zones are fun, quick mini boss fights throughout Destiny 2. There are several Lost Zones right around Devrim's snipers nest. Have fun with it and remember to use you heavy weapon too take down that mini boss. 

Devrim's second mission should be Risk/Reward. The "reward" for this mission is the Riskrunner exotic sub machine gun. Which is an Arc (electric) energy weapon and a good starting exotic weapon, it literally reloads itself. In Risk/ Reward we are also introduced to the ol' Destiny jumping puzzle, a great time to learn to control your character's jump style. Warlocks double jump and glide, Hunters have a more traditional triple jump, Titans jump like the Incredible Hulk (of course). 

If you try Risk/Reward and become frustrated with the jumping puzzle, well, welcome to Destiny 2! I often refer to the game as; Destiny 2 the Jumping.  I fell and died twice and I've done this mission 3 or 4 times. Just hang in there, the reward is worth it.  

Once I finished all these introductory missions, I had acquired armor at level 400. I am now ready to start the new game content, Renegades, I'll get started and report back.

Laser Cannons & Dragons, or what does your Mutant Future look like?

Of course,  I never ran that Mutant Future game two years ago.

But, I have the bug again, here we go!

When is your Mutant Future? 

= 2124 + 1d100 + 2d20 + 3d6

Where does your Mutant Future take place? 

Roll 1d6

1. New York / New Jersey 

2. Florida 

3. Great Lakes region

4. Mid West Farmland 

5. Southwest / Southern Border 

6. California or PNW

Because I have to pigeon hole everything, and for balance, I propose these player classes for Mutant Future.

Fighter: a specialist in combat, armed and unarmed, receives +1 to combat attacks and feats of strength.

Mystic or Cultist: a character with psychic or a mental mutation. Also, maybe a character practicing mystical or magical arts, receives +1 when attempting to use these skills. 

Nerd: a character knowledgeable of science and technology, receives +1 when using science based skills. 

Rogue: +1 to negotiation and sneaky stuff. 

What's your Mutant Future social network like?

* Government or Corporations *

These two groups remain the most organized and resourceful, with most capability to help or harm the remaining society. They control the best raw materials, vehicles, roads, building and laboratories. Characters may gain access to these resources through recruitment into Gov. or a corporate program or project. (Or theft.)

While the Government may have the best intentions too reorganize society, one overly ambitious military commander could seriously disrupt any well intended plan. 

* Mechanics *

Racers, Greases or Bikers, call them what you like. This group will have access to the best, and worst transportation available, the fastest hot rod, the toughest war wagon, possibly a flying machine. They'll be able to provide a personal transport at a price you can afford.

* Scientist, Techies, Nerds * 

Individual groups dedicated to the discovery, rediscovery and preservation of science and technology can be found dotted about the Mutant Future. They can be advantageous to player characters by assisting with medical needs, providing general or specific science info and repairing radios and other tech devices.

*Blacksmiths* 

This term refers to craftsmen who repair all forms of weapons. They repair, maintain, craft and collect combat weapons and armor, including hand weapons, firearms and explosives.

--- Next post, more details, less generalization. ---

Laser Cannons & Dragons: or, the return to true scientific realism.

Five years, five flippin' years! That would have been when I went to work for my current employer. Let's hope I've settled in now and can set aside a little creative time.

I have plans to introduce another group of noobs to tabletop rpgs later this month.  And here's my thought process. Your crazy uncle (me) asks you if you want to play Dungeons and Dragons. You say sure because your uncle is a fun guy and you haven't spent much time with him in the past few years. But, what's your character motivation? I have a chart for that! 

Twelve reasons to visit Tidy Island Bay: or rpg local of your choice.

1. The Fabled Market of Fables (shopping) 

2. Seeking employment on the off world colonies. 

3. Seeking knowledge they would not teach you off in college. 

4. To consult the Ishtar Collective.

5. To visit the used droid market of the Javas.

6. 75th Annual Independence Day Cook off and Aquatic Turtle Rat fishing championship. 

7. In search of you Uncle Jake. 

8. Gambling at the Amazonian owned casino.

9. Explore the wreck of the  Kobayashi Maru. 

10. To visit the Vulcan commune and organic farm.on Tidy Island. 

11. Seeking passage off world. 

12. That band you liked in college got back together.

 

Motivated now and do I need another pop culture reference? I'll be using the Mutant Future rules in my Tidy Island Bay location, created for Encounter Critical with elements from the Destiny video game franchise. Stay tuned!

Lastly, I've been reading How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove. I'm certain I'm behind the curve, but if you like History, Alternative History, Speculative Fiction, Modern Fiction and humanity, I recommend this book for ya. If you don't like any of these things, why are you reading this!?

 

Comic Review: Legion of Super-Heroes #270 (Dec. 1980)

As a lad, I didn't read DC comics. I grew up with Adam West as Batman and Christopher Reeves as Superman, what more did I need to know about the two DC main characters? 

I have been revisiting DC and vintage Justice League and actually prefer the Justice Society. So, I picked up this issue of Legion of Super-Heroes which should be named Legion of Whining Brats. We have a bunch of super powered teenagers and twenty-somethings who are paired into couples. What, am I reading an Archie comic? I shouldn't complain, the cover price of the comic was fifty cents

The Legionnaries seem generic, Lightning Lad, Light Las, Shadaow Lass (are they sisters?), Colossal Boy and Timberwolf (who does that sound like). I did like their enemies, the Fatal Five who always work in pairs minus their boss Tharok who is half man, half cyborg. I also like Mano who wears a fish bowl style helmet which adds an element of mystery. Why does he were that thing, who is he?

While this comic had a lot of potential, overall, it's just a disorganized mess like a soap opera with an infinite string of plot but on plot resolution. While the 1980s Legion of Super-Heroes isn't for me, other readers may fall in love with it. 

2.5 of 5 Stars

The impracticality of the Seven Gods

1st: "The Sleeper" sounds more like the title of a Wood Allen movie than the name of a potential world builder. Sleepy's name will be changed to Luna, 'cause that'll cover it.

2nd: The impracticality: As written, none of these guys have any god-like qualities. The Seven (Dwarf) Gods,  are more of an extended family than a team of  titans. There's one responsible adult, one grumpy old man and five children. Which, now that I think about it, resembles the Greek pantheon. 

3rd: Luckily, I have just uncovered some old notes for a group of five nature gods. They are:

A u t u m n,   T h e   M o t h e r   i s   t h e   s e a s o n a l   g o d d e s s   o f   h a r v e s t   a n d   w i n d .

W i n t o n,  T h e  F a t h e r  i s  t h e  s e a s o n a l  g o d  o f  w i n t e r.  H e  i s  a s s o c i a t ed  w i t h

c o l d  w e a t h e r ,  s n o w  a n d   i c e .  E x a m p l e s  o f  W i n t o n' s  a n i m a l  a n d  p l a n t

a s s o c i a t e s   a r e   w o l v e s, bears  a n d   e v e r g r e e n   t r e e s .

G a l e,   s e a s o n a l   g o d d e s s   o f   s p r i n g,  a s s o c i a t e d  w i t h  y o u t h  a n d  f e r t i l i t y. 

H e r   p l a n t   a n d   a n i m a l   a s s o c i a t e s   i n c l u d e   f l o w e r i n g  t r e e s,  robins and sparrows.    

W e i l d e n,   s e a s o n a l   g o d   o f   s u m m e r,  a s s o c i a t e d   w i t h   y o u n g   

m a n h o o d   a n d   t h e  f r e e d o m  a n d  r e c k l e s s n e s s  o f   y o u t h .  H i s  p l a n t  

a n d  a n i m a l  associates  include  b l a c k b e r r i e s   a n d   b e e s .  

O r g  the unwise   o r   T h e   D e c e i v e r   i s   t r a d i t i o n a l l y   t h o u g h t   o f   a s   m a l e. 

Org  i s  t h e  r e p r e s e n t a t i o n  o f   f e a r,  violence,  injustice  and  war.  

4th: "Org," that's a stupid name. Regardless, now we have The Seven, The Five and the Twelve Gods. Let's hope they don't become angry gods!

"By the Seven!"

I have just finished reading Lin Carter's Thongor and the Wizard of Lumeria in which Thongor continually swears "By the Nineteen!" But,   other than Father Grom, none of the gods of Lumeria are ever mentioned. So, I was thinking I would research the nineteen gods of Lumeria. I know they are all documented out here on the entree-net and in the various Lumeria frpg books.

However, before I got very far with the research, I got another idea. I'll just barrow a well known group of seven fair tale characters and make them members of my pantheon. Everyone knows this group. I'll just change the names and circumstances too fit their new status as immortals and world builders. Below I have listed The Seven by their fair tale names and their new godly labels.

Bashful -- The Youth: God of adolescence, young brides and Spring.
Doc       -- The Healer: God of nature, birth, healing, health and harvest.
Dopey   --  The Dullard: God of children, addicts and the simple minded.
Grumpy -- The Elder: God of Time, change, disappointment, anger and old age.
Happy    -- Happiness: God of pleasure, celebration and Summer.
Sleepy    -- The Sleeper:  God of Winter, night, dreams, laziness and death.
Sneezy   -- The Plague: God of illness, Fall, etc.

Without their fantasy names, the origin of the Seven may remain a mystery for a while. Unless, of course, you read it on the Polyhedral Dice Bag.

Caverns of Yaw

Here's a simple little dungeon crawl I designed a few years ago. It was written for two guys who hadn't played an rpg in a while and three guys who had never played an rpg before.

This was when I was in my "Encounter Critical phase" however, Caverns of Yaw was written for Labyrinth Lord. All the monsters in the Caverns are from the Opponent Opuscule which is the Encounter Critical "compendium of creatures" written by Christian Conkle. My conversions of the opponents is simple, the overall design of Caverns of Yaw is definitely Beer and Pretzels style.

Those of you who don't have a copy of Opponent Opuscule should be able to find it at the Encounter Critical Yahoo Group. I imagine it is also available on Google Drive too (somewhere). Opponent Opuscule is full of gonzo frpg goodness and each creature has an illustration by Mr. Conkle too. The O.O. certainly expands the possibilities of Encounter Critical. As demonstrated here, the O.O. can expand the possibilities of any frpg or rpg of your choice.

I have uploaded Caverns of Yaw to my Scribd account, have at it.

The ol' blog has come out of hiding in preparation for a Labyrinth Lord game I hope to begin soon.

Now just in time for Fall: Female Character Name Generator!

I had so much fun with the RPG Character Name Generator that I made a second name generator for female player characters. We want gender equality in our RPGs as in everything else. At least, I do.

Most of the names on this generator are Celtic. I found these via the good ol' entree-net. I have posted the PDF at Scribd, of course, because it's easier for me than Google Drive.

A player character by any other name would slay as sweet.

Or, further proof that d12 is not useless.

After producing the Alternative RPG Survey, I got the idea to create this RPG Character Name Generator. I have finally finished it and stored it at Scribd for our convince. It is a series of charts to produce a first, middle and last name for characters in tabletop role playing games.

Most of the names are vaguely Nordic, Roman or Anglo Saxon with a few Spanish, modern and fantastic names too. The names are also all masculine. No offence intended, the group I designed the chart for is all male.

There is an additional chart for descriptive names, if you want your character to have a name like Able the Irritable. The last chart is just a quick d12 roll too provide catchy names like Alpa or Covfefe.

You should be able to access the chart here: RPG Character Name Generator

Lastly, I have been reading Nietzshe, off and on, for a few months. It is torture and not something I should be undertaking unless for a philosophy class. My school days have been completed for a while but I can be very heard headed about my choices of reading material.  I will just add, I am pretty sure that Lovecraft's body of work was inspired  by exposure to Thus Spoke Zarathustra. 

How do you say "Hello" to a grizzly bear?

Do you quietly say hello, and anticipate his response? Do you quietly say hello and run screaming?    Well, how do ya and "How do you do?"   Hello to you grizzly bears of tabletop rpg die hards!

The rpg urge has been sneaking forward in my consciousness due to a younger generation of Gamers. I had noted that they are a bit too tied to the rule books, not a problem we often had when playing old school rpgs. So, I devised the following survey to give them some ideas about flexibility within their role-playing game settings.

While this survey may seem vague or sophomoric at first glance, I should point out that these young Gamers which I designed it for are preteens. I hope to patch together an adventure using Risus or a diceless rpg as our base mechanic.

I'll attempt to attache a link for a Google Doc, the text format of the survey is as follows.

An RPG which I would like to play other than fantasy.

Choose one option from the following lists or combine choices within the categories.

1.      The game setting would be:

Pre-Historic --  Horror --  Mystery --  Sci Fi --   Comedy  -- 1920s  Gangsters  -- The Wild West

Pirates --  Lost World Adventure (like King Kong) --  Super Heroes – Time Travel

Wizarding world of Harry what's-his-name

Combine two of the above or add your own suggestion:

2.      My character race would be:

Human – Wookie – Frankenstein – Vampire – Zombie --  Werewolf  --  Grey Alien --- Giant

Half-dragon --  Puppy, kitty or bunny --  Centaur – Klingon -- Robot or Android -- Caveman

Primate or ape -- Dinosaur  -- Godzilla -- The Hulk -- Mutant (like Ninja Turtles) -- Alien

Pokémon --  Other Fantasy --  Other Horror  --- Other?

 My character class would be:

Warrior -- Wizard  -- Thief or rogue -- Monk (Asian or European) – Gunslinger --  Gangsters 

Space Pirate  -- Detective – Con Man --- Scientist --- Jedi  --- Bard or Musician –

Star  Fleet Commander ---    Pioneer or Adventurer  --- Caveman – Other?

My weapon would be:

Sticks and stones ---  a sling and a club ---  a magic wand --- a gun --- a laser  gun --- magic beans

a broken bottle --- a magic lamp --- a laptop --- Fire or other element --- spider senses (mutant ability)

a musical instrument --- a magic harp --- The force --- a light saber --- other?

My vehicle would be:

A water buffalo -- a little red wagon -- Model T Ford -- a space ship -- time machine -- flying carpet --- a dragon --- a robot or android --- a unicorn ---  Mystery Machine or A Team van --- a pirate  ship ---- Other?

My companion or spirit animal would be:

Sticks and stones --- a dragon --- a robot or android --- a Wookie --- A hologram or spirit --- a pixie fairy --- a Smurf --- a pet rock ---- a parrot ---- a talking dog ---- a laptop --- Other?

Sturgeon vs. Bradbury

I would be hard pressed to define classic Sci-fi Lit. any better than simply referencing Theodore (Ted) Sturgeon who was a Pulp Era Sci-fi writer and early television and film writer. Besides his pulp contributions, Sturgeon is probably best known as a writer for the Original Star Trek series. Sturgeon in Orbit is a collection of five stores published originally from 1951 to 1955 in Fantastic Adventure, Planet Stories, Fantastic, Startling and Other Worlds magazines.

These five tales which transcend most Pulp Sci-Fi,  are more than adventure stories. Sturgeon explores the nature of humanity and the essential function of human relations through this collection. The first example, Extrapolation (Fantastic, 1953), begins as a tale of loneliness. Wolf Reger was a man so intelligent that he is almost prophetic. He "had so many talents that they were past enumerating."  Reger could master science, math and engineering. He could predict actions and reactions, or extrapolate, for every invention he created.  Reger's weakness was his relationship with humanity.  In fact, their ignorance and lack of foresight  would occasionally drive Reger into a rage. For this reason he could not work or live near his fellow humans. He lived alone until discovering a women who had attempted suicide who he nursed back to health and married. Reger's reformed attitude of humanity, based on his new romantic love, leads him to save humanity from an alien invasion. Isn't that the basis for most pulp era Sci-fi tales?

In the introduction to Sturgeon's novel Godbody, Robert Heinlein wrote that  Sturgeon's message was that he loved us all. The same can be said of Sturgeon in Orbit as each of the stories is about humanity and science. I believe that few would argue that Ray Bradbury loved us too. Anyone who would write a novel in defense of artistic expression and preservation of knowledge and creativity like Fahrenheit 451 obviously cares.

I have just finished reading The Martian Chronicles which also is an expression of Bradbury's concern for humanity. As well as, his concern for unbridled bureaucracy and technology and the failure of the use of basic common sense. This concern is no less relevant sixty-five years after The Martian Chronicles began to be published.

When I begin to read the work's of Sturgeon or Bradbury, I am not seeking an investigation into the nature of human civilization but this is how these men approached their art. I  would choose Fahrenheit 451 over The Martian Chronicles if reading for pleasure. I will add, about The Martian Chronicles, it is a bizarre book when the passages I enjoy most are an homage to The Fall of the House of Usher and a piece about the opening of the first Hot Dog Stand on Mars.

Catching up with Gardner Fox.

As usual, I have shelves full of old Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels and, in the interest of Spring Cleaning, I have been thinning the herd. I have most recently read these two books by Gardner Fox.

Kyrik: Warlock Warrior; This one is pretty racy, sexy for a tale that was first published in the 1950s. It is "in the tradition of Conan" but I've never read anything this sexy from R.E.H. Perhaps De Camp edited all the sex out? Oh, it appears Kyrik was published in 1975, thus the sexually liberated nature of the content.

The Hunter Out of Time is Pulp Sci-Fi at it's, often disjointed and illogical best. This twisted time travel tale reminded me of the writing style of Lionel Fanthorpe. Which certainly is not meant as an insult to Gardner Fox, whose literary achievements speak for themselves. 
                                

Both books were great fun and true testaments to sunny days and the simple pleasure and relaxation of reading.

Bizarre Books by Ashe & Lake

This is not some lost list of role playing tomes. Rather, it is a compilation of of awkward titles of published books. Most of the titles listed are publications from Great Britain, the edition which I have just read, the first U.S. publication, is from 2006. Bizarre, comical, intriguing or just plan wrong, Ashe and Lake have included book titles that will capture the interest of anyone brave enough to investigate their compendium.

How does this fit into a blog which is usually about Weird Fantasy Role Playing Games? Let me start with The Planet of the Knob Heads by Stanton Coblentz which appears to have been printed in the old pulp Science Fiction in 1939. The internet has a hand full of references to what was potentially Mr. Coblentz's masterpiece, but there is no archival existence of this piece that I could find. I did, however, find six results for Coblentz on the Internet Archive. Three of these documents are publications of Amazing Stories, there we are sure to find some fodder for any Weird Science RpG we're working on.

Some of the book titles listed could easily be fictional titles from Weird Science lit;

• The Skeleton Edition of the Book of Comprehension No. 1, The Preparation X.13: The Rose Color Reference for Technical, Kindergarten and Nature Teachers
• To Lake Tanganyika in a Bath Chair by  Annie Boyle Hore
• In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country by Albert Bushnell Lloyd
• Was Oderic of Pordenone Ever in Tibet? by Berthold Laufer
• The Trapping and Destruction of Executive Armoured Cars by John A. Minnery 

There is 215 pages of this stuff. As the following examples from the first two letters of the alphabet will illustrate, possibly the most useful info for an rpg is the list of authors' names.

• Istvan Apathy
• Gaspar Griswold Bacon
• Ludwig Von Baldass
• Jean Baptiste Banal
• Otto Banga
• Rudyard Kipling Bent
• Juana Bignozzi
• Rene Palapart de Bigot
• Bishop Boguphalus II
• Nancy Hess Omaha Boy
• Melt Brink

I'll consider that the names of the city council members for my latest Encounter Critical  burg, Nuevo Brussels. I also consider this further proof that wacky ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere. Inspiration doesn't have to be limited to High Lit. or the latest episode of Teen Titans Go!

Lastly, enjoy this phasic tune which I'm sure Hank and Jim listened to during the composition and play testing of Encounter Critical.

Lin Carter's Year's Best Fantasy Stories Vol. 1

I am a sucker for these old Lin Carter anthologies. They contain the best of, at least, three generations of Fantasy Fiction. The first two volumes both contain tales by Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Both volumes have new or rare material from Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de Camp, Jack Vance and Carter. The tales which I often enjoy most are from the young writers of the time. Vol. 1 of The Year's Best Fantasy Stories features newcomers Pat McIntosh and Charles R Saunders. There is also a piece of lost history of Middle Earth as told by Marrion Zimmer Bradley, The Sword of Dyrnwyn by Lloyd Alexander and a posthumous work by Hans Bok. Every sentence is classic, enduring fantasy enjoyment and most of these folks are listed as inspirational reading in Appendix N of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Master's Guide.

2014 was a quest of personal accomplishment for me which I have completed with success. I am now free of the literal and proverbial text books, free to read any smut, pulp or trash that I may like. And free to wonder the wastelands of fantasy role playing enthusiasts, a journey I hope to renew and share the travels of the polyhedral dice bag. 

Upon Reading Chapman's Homer

Or, rather, some things I have learned from George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords.

1. How to name nonplayer charters or, names for the average Joes of medieval fantasy:

Alyn of Winterfell, Josh Quick-Bow, Little Matt, Anvil Ryn, Ser Ormomd, Ser Dudley, Pate of Mory, Pate of Lancewood, Old Pate, Pate of Shermer's Grove, Blind Wyl the Whittler, Goodwife Maerie, Maerie the Whore, Becca the Backer, Ser Raymond Darry, Lord Darry, Young Lord Darry, the Bastard of Bracken, Fletcher Will, Harsley, Goodwife Nolla....

This list is from page 465. Those who have read he book may recall it as a list of folks murdered by Sador Clegane, "The Dog."

2. How many plot seeds can one location contain?

"The Nightfort had figured in some of Old Nan's scariest stories. It was here that Night's King had reigned, before his name was wiped from the memory of man. This was where the Rat King had served the Andal king his prince-and-bacon pie, where brave young Danny Flint had been raped and murdered. This was the castle where King Sherrit had called down his curse on the Andals of old, where the 'prentice boys had faced the thing that came in the night, where Blind Symeon Star-Eyes had seen  the hellhounds fighting.  Mad Axe had once walked these yards and climbed these towers, butchering his brothers in the dark." (p. 756)

3. No surprise, G. R. R. Martin fashions a very authentic medieval folk song.

"My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I'll lay you down.

I'll dress you in yellow silk,

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love, 

and I shall be your lord.

I'll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword."

"And she smiled and how she laughed,

the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him,

no featherbed for me.

I'll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hear with grass.

But you can be my forest love,

and I your forest lass." (p. 309)

I read this book over a year ago and it has been lying around while I've intended to post these comments. Now  off to Paperback Swap with you.

Another Encounter Critical Community Project!

No gaming activity, or blogging, for me since I moved to Alabama and returend to school back in Dec. The term is over at school so I discovered this Encounter Critical commuinty project over at No Signal. I'm having fun with it, come join us, if you will.

Gygaxian Democracy -  Planet of Tombs !

Further Deconstruction of Star Wars

There were a few points which I failed to mention in my last post. First, and just briefly, I find it hard to believe that Lucas had written all six Star Wars movies before making the original. I imagine he had an outline which included material not covered in the first three films. I am sure this outline expanded during the production process of each film. This is neither, here nor there. My opinion of Mr. Lucas' creative process doesn't really get us to my point very quickly. Ultimately, my opinion is mute because Mr. L is the creative genius millionaire and I'm just a lower middle class drone with a laptop.

I'll let this vague image of Grumpy Cat represent my question for today. What happened to the 999 other generations of Jedi Knights? I know they are covered in the various comics, video games and novels. It just seems that Lucas wrote this line and then farmed it out for creative licensing. Again, if I'm gonna bitch about it, I should be so creative.

I'm not sure I have all this deconstruction out of my system. I know I need to seek some sanctuary in my copy of the Dark Horse Omnibus of the original Star Wars comics. I should have some actual game content or news of the Adventure Capitalists for you all soon.

From Tatooine, the Skywalker family! Come on down!

I recently crawled out of my corporate cave long enough to discover Harmy's Star Wars Despecialized Edition. Then, one day this past week, before reporting to work, I managed to watch the first hour of Star Wars. I was, as you may imagine, riveted to the screen. That first hour of Star Wars is some of the best cinematography ever. I mean, evah!

The viewing of this old film greased the ol' thought process and I couldn't help but wonder how Luke Skywalker had an uncle? Since papa Skywalker, Anakin / Darth Vader, was an only child, where did uncle Owen Lars come from? I was thinking this was another

giant plot flaw in the Lucasverse until I looked at the
Wikipedia entry for the Skywalker family and was reminded that Grandma Skywalker, once released from slavery,  had married Cliegg Lars.

Now I know where uncle Owen Lars came from, plot flaw resolved. However, having read said Wiki article, I am reminded that Anakin/ Darth Vader was the product of a miraculous birth. Gibberish, pure gibberish I tell you!

While reading about Harmy's Star Wars project I was reminded that in one of the prequels, Yoda remarks that the prophecy associated with Anakin may have been misinterpreted.  What is Lucas saying here? And, why haven't Christian groups protested this stab at their sacred text? Perhaps there was some uproar but I missed the memo. Most likely, they just don't analyze the inner working of the Lucasverse to this extent.

This discussion could go on all day. I know it is a discussion that has been flogged to death across the entree-net. (Yeah, I call it the entree-net, if you haven't noticed.) None the less, welcome back, welcome back all of you to The Polyhedral Lucasverse!

Technical Difficulties...

Oh yeah!

Some of you probably noticed or heard about this; the RPG Blog Alliance was hacked back in Dec. This resulted in a mass mail informing members of the alliance that they had been rejected.

My reaction was, "Oh, I don't post for thirty days so I get the boot. I don't need them," and I removed their badge from my blog. No offense RPG Blog Alliance, it's common for old farts like me to think like this. It's commonly called "grumpy." A few days later I received an e-mail which informed me of the hack.

Now that I've crawled out of  hibernation I welcome back the RPG Blog Alliance to The Polyhedral Dicebag and I welcome myself back to the RPG B. A. Everybody; Welcome Back!

I have put the badge on the bottom of the right hand column. It's right above the Order of the D10000 badge which I need to do something with or remove. Now, where's that map I was working on?