Kingbeast's Lair

Summary

Welcome to the second annual Lair Awards. It is again time to pick through the rough cuts to uncover some diamonds. This year I will be adding a fourth category, Best Session.

Here is how the 2011 Lair Awards will work. There will be four categories: Best Anime, Best Read, Best RPG, and Best Session. To be eligible for an award the product must have been reviewed in the calendar year by me on the blog. There were a TON of great products released in 2011 but if I did not review them they don’t count. Also note that I often review products that are quite old. A product is eligible for an award if I reviewed it in 2011…period…it does not matter when the product was actually released. 😉

The envelopes please! 😀

Best Anime – Samurai 7

Picking the winner for this category was by far the most difficult. This year I watched then reviewed a LOT of really intriguing anime. Here is a brief list of some that really stood out with some comments. These are presented in alphabetical order.

• Batman: Under The Red Hood – Great story, excellent animation, and a kick butt Jonah Hex short.
• Batman Year One – Thrilling storytelling, good voice acting, and nice animation.
• Gankutsuou – Fantastic retelling of a wonderful story, excellent voice acting, and stunning artwork.
• Le Chevalier D’Eon – Strong characters, amazing intrigue, lush historical setting, and a powerful ending.
• Samurai 7 – Amazing main cast of characters, well paced action story, and a crisp animation style.

Out of this stellar list two entries stood out for me…Batman Year One and Samurai 7. I’m going to give the nod to Samurai 7 this year.

Best Read – Asterios Polyp

Like 2010 the Lair Award for Best Read is the easiest to give. Asterios Polyp should be listed as one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. The story is out of this world and the artwork is just fantastic. Asterios Polyp is a book that belongs on everyone’s shelf. This is the only review I gave out in 2011 that earned a 10 out of 10. 😀

Best RPG – No Winner

After perusing my RPG reviews for 2011 I was really disappointed. I reviewed some really marginal products this year. The highest rating I gave for an RPG product was a 5 out of 10! OUCH! Thus I decided not to give out the award for Best RPG this year. It is my award so I choose not to give it out. 😛

If I were to give out an award for presentation then the Bookhounds Of London Limited Edition would take it hands down. I also had a GREAT time with the series of blog posts on My Gaming Kit.

Best Session – Spirit Storm Session #29

Even though I did not post an RPG review worthy of a Lair Award I did take part in some awesome gaming sessions. In 2011 my Spirit Storm campaign logged sessions #22 through #33. I fondly reviewed the session logs then decided that Session #29 gets the award. In this episode there was so much wonderful drama. Cillian is a Dragon?!? His mother is who!?! That session will stay with me for quite some time.

There are my picks! Please reply if you have any comments. 🙂

Date At Start Of Game: 2/18/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 33rd session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Questioning The Gila Monster Kin

After the battle with the Gila Monster Kin in the Great Hall dies down the PC assess the situation. Only the archer is standing and his hands are in the air. The shaman is passed out but not dead. The barbarian is nearly dead and will not regain conciousness anytime soon. The basilisk is dead. After taking away their weapons the PC tie up the Gila Monster Kin and start questioning them. They claim to be minions of the Sunscratch, a large flame dragon. According to the Gila Monsters Sunscratch led them into the Vault through all the traps. Sunscratch went through the large doors in the next room and told them to wait for him or he would eat them. After waiting some time they saw an even larger flame dragon carrying out Sunscratch’s carcass! They hid and tried to decide how to proceed. Some hours later a large brown colored dragon without wings (aka Cragspine) appeared. This dragon also entered the next room. The brown dragon has not come out yet.

The King Of The North

After pulling down a pile of rubble that is blocking the door the PC enter the room past the large doors in the Great Hall. This room appears to be a large throne room. At each of the four compass points are large platforms. On one platform is a massive flame dragon who is severely wounded. Her neck is ripped open, several teeth are broken, and a terrible gash goes down her left flank. When the PC enter she rears up and addresses the PC. The PC discover that she is called Charbrand and that she is the King Of The North. She claims that Sunscratch and Cragspine are “betrayers”. She is extremely frustrated with the situation. The PC explain that they don’t think Cragspine would betray her unless he had a good reason. The PC ask to be able to enter the Vault. Charbrand says that they must return with the four dragon trumpets to prove their worth. The Avatars immediately show the trumpets that they had collected earlier. She asks them to deal with the situation by either killing or removing Cragspine from the Vault. The PC agree. At that point Charbrand explains that the trumpets will allow them to enter the lower Vault and open the Pool Of Dreams. As the PC sound the trumpets the King Of The North vanishes from her platform in a cascade of magical energy.

Exploring The Vault

After a long hallway the PC find a massive stairwell leading down. The stairs are roughly 3′ each and difficult to traverse. About halfway down the PC see a dragon head statue over a doorway in the room at the bottom of the stairs. Po reveals that the eyes radiate with an attack magic. Po drops a rock which trips a poison trap on one side of the stairs! There appear to be two traps. After a brief conversation Bilby decides to fly down and try to evade the eyes. Beams shoot out but he deftly dodges them and lands where they cannot target him. Po, Cillian, then Oren follow.

The chamber at the bottom of the stairwell contains three exits. There are two large hallways on either side and a passage under the dragon head statue. As the PC decide which way to proceed some tiles in a mosaic animate and start to attack! These tile golems fire piercing projectiles at Po but Oren decides to ball him up to protect him. The act saves the Raven Kin’s life as the projectiles are deadly and even pierce Oren’s tough Armadillo Kin hide! After some bloodsheed the PC level their weapons and start dealing damage. Bilby’s anti-spirit sword and Oren’s hammer seem to work well on the creatures and after some key hits the creatures fall.

After the fight and some healing from Po the PC decide to investigate one of the side passages. At the end of the passageway they find a room filled with a large glass cylindrical tube. This tube is filled with swirling magical mists that flash with the four elements (air, water, fire, earth). At one time they even see a ghostly dragon approach the glass then leave. Is this the Pool Of Dreams?

Next the party decides to check the hallway under the dragon head statue. The ceiling of the hallway is filled with an illusion of stars. When Cillian enters he becomes entranced and starts slowly walking down the hallway! Oren grabs him so he does not walk any farther. At the end the PC find a pit that leads to a river of glowing energy. It looks like the same mist that was in the glass cylinder in the previous room.

Before checking the last hallway the PC decide to play the trumpets to see if anything happens. After a couple of blows in different rooms it is apparent that these rooms are not the Pool Of Dreams. The trumpets attract four guardian creatures that appear to be Kirin but smaller! The creatures are armed with scimitars. As they approach they ask the PC to explain themselves quickly or they will be slain. After some conversation the PC convince them that they are actually here to find Cragspine. The guards seems perplexed at what to do. They first try to contact Charbrand and are concerned when she cannot be contacted. The PC continue to push but the guards say that their last order was to guard the lower chambers especially the room containing the Pool Of Dreams. Finally after the group is about to come to blows the guards suggest talking to Loremaster Slysska. Apparently she is an expert on dragons, a resident in the Vault, and a trusted advisor to the Dragon Kings. The guards lead the PC to a side chamber that is surfaced with highly polished mirrors. One guard enters then beckons for an audience with the Loremaster. To his surprise there is no answer. Concerned the Kirin starts searching for a secret door in the room. He explains that she has never refused their summons in the past.

During this period Po hears a whisper in his ear. The voice asks Po to remain calm. He explains that his name is Deryn The Black and that he is a minion of Sunscratch. Po leads him on a bit with some clever lies. Deryn explains that he can get into the room that contains the Pool Of Dreams but that he cannot open it. If Po helps him open the Pool Of Dreams he will be able to free his master.

At this point the PC open a secret door in the mirror room to find a library. Through the wall Cillian can see another secret room but cannot see in due to shelves that line the walls. After searching the group opens a second secret door. Inside the find a small Blue Belly Kin female covering up what appears to be a crystal ball with a silk cover. She hurredly asks the guards if they have dealt with the wizard that accompanied Sunscratch. The guards and PC explain that they have not seen this wizard. Slysska explains what she has observed with her crystal ball. Sunscratch attacked Charbrand in the Pool Of Dreams room. He was making egotistical statements about destroying all Dragon Kin completely leaving himself as the most powerful being in the world. After a fierce battle Charbrand defeated Sunscratch and one of his wizard followers. The King Of The North dragged Sunscratch’s bones outside as a marker to others who may try the same thing but she forgot about the minion. The Loremaster fears that the minion is still roaming the halls somewhere. Only a few hours later Cragspine entered the lower Vault chambers. He and the King Of The North entered the room with the Pool Of Dreams to ensure that it was held shut. On checking the room Cragspine turned on the wounded Dragon King in a fit of rage. Chrabrand was barely able to fend off the attacks and trapped the earth dragon in the pool. That is how the situation now stands.

At the close of the adventure the PC convince the guards to let them enter the room that contains the Pool Of Dreams. Two of the guards go to try and awaken Charbrand while the others open the chamber for the PC…

Date At End Of Game: 2/19/207

-== What is it? ==-

Black Panther is a animated series from Marvel Animation in partnership with BET. The series retells a story originally presented in the graphic novel Who Is The Black Panther but adds in the presence of Ororo Monroe (aka Storm) as a love interest. This graphic novel was penned by Reginald Hudlin and drawn by John Romita Jr. The animated series was released in DVD format in October 2011. Black Panther initially aired in Australia in January 2010. It was directed by Mark Brooks. Reginald Hudlin was a producer at BET and oversaw the entire production of the series.

There is no nudity in the Black Panther series but there is some violence. Bloodshed is well controlled and for the most part takes place off camera. The series is not rated but if I were to add a rating myself it would be “PG-13”.

I purchased the standard edition version of the DVD. There are a total of 6 episodes that are each 22 minutes long.

-== What I Like ==-

The story in the Black Panther series is not that thrilling but it moves at a good pace and each episode has a nice cliffhanger ending. It starts with T’Challa (the current day Panther) taking over for the previous ruler during a rite of combat. During this period side characters are introduced. The story continues to detail an attack by a rival nation that is being subtly backed by the fearful Americans. There are some good moments like a flashback where Captain America meets an earlier incarnation of the Panther but overall the story arc is just not that engaging. Also there are times in the Black Panther series where the story feels “preachy”. Another drawback is that the series only ran for 6 episodes. Don’t expect a lot of story depth in a run that small.

By far the best thing about the Black Panther series is the voice acting. I need to rattle off some of the cast so you realize how jam packed this thing is with talent. Djimon Hounsou plays T’Challa, Kerry Washington plays Princess Shuri, Alfre Woodard plays Dondi Reese and the Queen Mother, and Jill Scott plays Storm. This strong cast puts on a stellar performance. Their talent really makes it worth watching. (As a side note, if you have not seen Jill Scott in The First Ladies Detective Agency go out and find a copy so you can check it out. It is a touching and thoughtful mystery series.)

Normally the music in an animated series does not get my attention but in Black Panther it is very nicely done. It was composed by Stephen James Taylor. The opening song is catchy and exciting. During the series the music is really used to good effect. In the extras there is also an extended music video that is very cool. (One interesting side note is that Taylor made up his own language for Wakandan that he used in the music. The language was based on a modern day Bantu dialect with alterations by Taylor.)

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The artwork of the animated series really tries to mimic that of John Romita Jr’s printed panels. If you are like me your first reaction is likely to be, “John Romita Jr ROCKS! That is awesome news!” The problem is that in trying to replicate the John Romita Jr style the animators went with a rigid animation approach. It almost reminded of the REALLY old Marvel series where the characters didn’t really animate but were instead comprised of static cells that floated across the screen. (The current term for products like this is “motion comic”.) The result is that the characters in the Black Panther series move in a stiff fashion that was distracting for me. Some of the scenes looked fine but many of the scene showing the Panther move across the scene looked clumsy. The Panther is cat grace at its best…not rigid and clumsy.

Besides the music video mentioned earlier the extras include a trailer and a short look at the Black Panther series by Reginald Hudlin. The short video is light and fun but overall the extras are limited.

-== Summary ==-

Most people who know me know that I am a HUGE Black Panther fan. I even got a wrist watch made with Black Panther on the face! 😀 As you can imagine I had a lot of expectations for this series. Unfortunately many of my high expectations were not met. The story is fine, the voice talent is exceptional, and the music is great but it does not make up for the animation style. Another saving grace that I have not yet mentioned is the price. You can get copies on Amazon for a paltry $8.49. If you are into superheroes or the Black Panther specifically and you can accept that this is more of a motion comic and less of animated series I recommend it.

You can get a copy of the Black Panther from Amazon at this URL for the low cost of $8.49.

I give it 7 out of 10 paws.