Rudie Can't Fail!

Here's one for Lawrence and all the rest of us hard working stiffs sturggling to keep a roof over our head, food on the table and more books on our shelves.

RPG Brain Storm Questionnaire

Last week I got an idea to give my game group some random questions to use in generating plots for rpgs. I’m not out or plot ideas but I thought the questionnaire would be fun and, perhaps, inject a bit of creative thinking into our group. This is certainly no insult to my group, they are all great fun and I’m often guilty of running out of creative ideas while we’re sitting at the gaming table. Here are the questions which I presented along with their responses and my comments about the responses.

1. What type of character have you always wanted to play but have never gotten the opportunity? (Any genre or setting is acceptable.)

Reverse Dungeon, a mob boss, a young Jedi or a paladin. A hybrid character of Conan, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Dracula and Elvis.

Comments: Yeah, my guys are a bunch of jokesters but these are some creative ideas.


2. What book and, or movie contains elements which you would like to use in an rpg?

Dune, the Mad Max series, Hellraiser, King Kong, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Robin Hood, Reservoir Dogs, Land of the Lost and Raiders of the Lost Ark

Comments: I haven’t seen three of these films but they all sound like good ideas.

3. What rock band and, or song would you like to see used within an rpg plot?

Michael Bolton; the whole collection (a joke)
Rush (Another joke, I think based on the recent film Fanboys.)
The Ramones (This is an idea I could work with.)

4. What historical event or period would you enjoy in an rpg?

Victorian, 1930s, Prohibition, South Central L. A. circa 1990, The future as envisioned by the past.

Comments: I like the 1990’s L.A. idea and “the future as envisioned by the past,” brings to mind the novels of A.E. Van Vogt, Doc Smith and Poul Anderson.

5. Insert any additional comments here:
I want to level like a Mofo and; Brought to you by Carl’s Jr.

Thanks to by pals in the OSP for answering my random nonsense with their own brand of nonsense. It’s entirely likely that this first questionnaire will lead to a second set of questions and I may get around to developing some of these ideas and suggestions in 2011.

Daddy Grognard Says;

"They've all been reissued with rather risque covers."


Yeah, I didn't mention in the earlier post that the Gor books have gained a popular following among practitioners of B&D. The Google Books version displays the cover art pictured above, as if the original cover art by Boris Vallejo was not risqué enough?



Now, back to the musical portion of the program. If you don't know about this, you don't know diddley.

The Musical Portion of the Program

Our local entertainment guide, Metro Pulse, recently ran a story of popular songs which mention Knoxville. Most of these songs are about outlaws and this seemed depressing to me. But I had to consider the modern songs which mention my hometown, Birmingham Al. The two songs which I immediately thought of are; Sweet Home Alabama and Black Betty, "She's from Birmingham, Blam, Ba-damn," and this musical selection is pretty depressing too.

The saving grace is a song which does not mention Knoxville, much less B'ham, in the original version. Richard Thompson's 1952 Vincent Black Lightning received a reference to Knoxville when recorded by Del McCoury in 2001. Despite being one of the most talented singer-song writers alive, Thompson is not a widely known musician. He is a personal favorite of mine and has performed in Knoxville twice in the last three years. I suggest his recordings; Action Packed or Live from Austin City Limits for any interested in his style of folky-rock.

I'll paraphrase Matt Everett, author of the original article, for the rest of this story.
It’s a haunting, beautiful song, and if the tragic tale of Red Molly and the motorcycle outlaw James doesn’t move you to tears, there might be something wrong with you... McCoury also modified Thompson’s reference to Box Hill—“and down to Box Hill they did ride”—to “Knoxville,” giving the city yet another fist-pumping anthem of Appalachian anti-authoritarian defiance to go along with “Thunder Road” and “Copperhead Road.”