Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Nobles, Knights, and Necromancers (NKN) is a villains books for Fantasy Hero. The focus of the book is on humanoid adversaries where Monsters, Minions, And Marauders focuses more on classic fantasy monsters. It was written by Steve Long and published in September 2006 by Hero Games.

NKN has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8.5” x 11” and is 175 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I bought. I have used some of the underlying plot threads in my Fantasy Hero campaign but I have not used any of the entries directly as written. When doing reviews I always read the product cover-to-cover.

-== What I Like ==-

NKN is split into three sections. The first covers Lords Of Evil (aka mastermind type villains), the second covers Fiendish Organizations, and the last covers Solo Adversaries.

The Lords Of Evil section is not bad. Most of the entries have useful bits and are well developed. I think the artwork by Sam Kennedy for Thorg Split-Chin is excellent.

The Fiendish Organizations section in NKN is very well done. I particularly like the Baragon Coven, Kal-Turak’s Lieutenants, and the Sarresharan Regency. The Sarresharan Regency section is particularly rich with plot seeds. For GMs running a campaign with court politics this section would be well received.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The Solo Adversaries section in NKN is very hit or miss. There are some great entries but there are some not so good ones as well.

The artwork in NKN is extremely hit or miss. I like the work from Sam Kennedy but many of the pieces are not that great and some are very poor. The cover is just a collection of interior pieces by Mack Sztaba that have been colored and put into a police lineup.

-== Summary ==-

NKN is a book that has some nice material for GMs running a campaign with a heavy humanoid influence. I did not find a ton of value in the product but I did enjoy reading the entries and using some of the juicier bits for my campaign. If you can find NKN used or for a good price AND you are running a humanoid centered campaign that I would buy it.

You can get copies of the book at Amazon for $26.99 at this URL. Noble Knight has the book at this URL for $15.00. The PDF is only $9.49 at DriveThruRPG at this URL.

I give it 6 out of 10 paws.

I thought it might be fun to have all of the monsters I created for my Spirit Storm campaign available for download. These monsters are entirely of my own creation. All monsters are provided in Hero Designer format. Some monsters are built using Hero System 5th edition and some are in Hero System 6th edition. There are 61 monsters included in the zip file! Entries run from Acidpede to Zelekhut. (Pictured is a Gem Eater.) Here is a hyperlink to the page where SpiritStormMonsters.zip can be downloaded.

Next up…all of the Spirit Storm NPCs!

-== What is it? ==-

Samurai Jack Season 2 collects episodes XIV through XXVI of the iconic animated series. In case you have been living under a rock, Samurai Jack is an animated series about a Japanese samurai who travels to various places where a demonic entity known as Aku holds power. This series of episodes initially aired from March 1, 2002 to October 11, 2002. These were produced by the Genndy Tartakovsky. Samurai Jack was a landmark series for Genndy that won four Emmy Awards. Phil LaMarr does the voice acting for Jack and Mako does the voice acting for Aku.

There is essentially no nudity in the series and very little sexual references at all. There is violence but it is directed primarily at robots, monsters, and serious bad guys. Samurai Jack is not rated at RightStuf.com but I would probably give it a “13+”.

I purchased the standard edition version of the Samurai Jack Season 2 DVD boxed set. Each episode of the series is 22 minutes in length. There are a few extras in the package that will be discussed below.

-== What I Like ==-

The stories in Samurai Jack are really what makes it an iconic show. Some stories have tons of action and other are more serene. Either way they are heartfelt and often full of surprises.

Season 2 contains some of the most memorable episodes of the run. Here is a list of the episodes the I would individually rate at 9 or 10 out of 10 paws!

• XIV – Jack meets a race of creatures who can jump really great. After the creatures teaches Jack how to jump he teaches them how to defend themselves.
• XVII – In this episode the Scotsman enlists the aid of Samurai Jack to rescue his wife. This might be my all time favorite episode of Samurai Jack. It is so funny that often I have to stop the DVD player to guffaw. One of the extras in the boxed set involves the episode producer pitching the episode with the team. It is hilariously funny and well worth watching. A wonderful extra.
• XVIII – Jack encounters a village killed by mysterious robots. The entire event is an elaborate trap for the samurai. Lots of great plot twists involving Extor, a scientist.
• XIX – Jack enters a village that reminds him of his hometown. There is a joyous childhood romp through a wheat field that is followed up by a scene where Jack watches a warrior at a bridge that inspires him to be a samurai. The warrior on the bridge is a direct reference to Lone Wolf And Cub. It ends with Jack receiving words of wisdom.
• XX – In this episode Jack meets three monks climbing a mountain who tell him about a great reward at the summit. After a difficult ascent Jack is rewarded with renewed faith. A wonderful tale.
• XXII – Fierce lion warrior hunters are approached by Aku to hunt Jack. This episode is filled with tons of great cat and mouse action. The lions are expertly voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
• XXV – Jack comes across Spartans defending a mountain pass ala 300. Awesome fight scene with Jack against the King.
• XXVI – Frantic episode of Jack against a gang of bikers after hurting his feet. Silly but really well done.

Unlike many of the products I review this DVD boxed set has some wonderful extras. There is an episode pitch for XVII (see above for details), as well as a commentary on XXV, and a very funny bio of Genndy. The bio really surprised my with the humor and details. Well worth watching.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Even though Season 2 has some of the best episodes in the entire run it does have a couple of losers. Episode XV has three smaller vignettes with a two-headed snakes and fairies. The story with the two-headed snake is not new and quite a let down. The other episode that I did not particularly like is XXIV. This episode is a tribute to Alice In Wonderland. It goes so far to have Jack lose his clothes and end up with an outfit that resembles Alice’s. Unlike episode XXVI this one is silly in a not so good way.

-== Summary ==-

Samurai Jack Season 2 captures arguably the best season of an award winning series then throws in some stellar extras. Avid Jack fans should pick up this set. People who have not seen Samurai Jack should rush over to Amazon and buy it for only $8. My gosh that is low. This is a fantastic show that should not be missed.

You can get it on Amazon.com at this URL for a PARLTRY $7.97!!! Jeez loueez!

I give the collection 9 out of 10 paws.