Kingbeast's Lair

Summary

Welcome to the third annual Lair Awards. It is again time to pick through the fumbles to uncover some critical hits. This year I will not be changing the format.

Here is how the 2012 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 2012 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 2012…period…it does not matter when the product was actually released. 😉

The envelopes please! 😀

Best Anime – Samurai Jack Season 2

Picking the winner for this category was difficult. I watched three animated features that I thought were very good. Here is a list of the three that stood out with some comments and links to the detailed reviews. These are presented in alphabetical order.

• Mushi-Shi – A rare series that merits buzz words like serene, exquisite, and enchanting. A true joy to watch.
• Patlabor The Movie – Classic giant robot movie with action, investigation, and drama. Off the charts set of extras in the limited edition DVD set.
• Samurai Jack Season 2 – Season 2 has some of the best episodes in the entire run. The three that really stand out include XVII (The Scotsman), XIX (Lone Wolf And Cub), and XXV (300).

When I was considering these entries I thought about each one then reread my reviews. They all have some amazing content but Samurai Jack Season 2 raises to the top of the pile because of some superior episodes. The Scotsman episode (XVII) is probably my favorite episode of Samurai Jack. Every time I watch it I fight to stay seated on my couch. 😀

Best Read – No Winner!

Houston we have a problem! I realized a bit too late the I did not have any print media reviews this year. Wow…this is something that I must address in 2013. I read some wonderful stuff in 2012 that just did not make it to the blog. 🙁

Best RPG – The Widening Gyre

The award for Best RPG was easy this year. Bill Keyes really hit it out of the industrial park with his steampunk genre book for the Hero System called The Widening Gyre. The amount of coverage and the high quality of the writing make this one a real winner. The Widening Gyre should be considered THE steampunk sourcebook for Hero. (I just heard today that Bill is contemplating a version of The Widening Gyre for Savage Worlds. That would be great. 🙂 )

In this section I also wanted to mention a blog post that I did called One Patron’s Guide To Crowd Sourcing RPGs. I think this is my best blog post on the site for 2012.

Best Session – Spirit Storm Session #34 – Vault Of The Dragon Kings

I had a lot of fun gaming in 2012 and I was able to blog about many of them through the session reports. The sessions that I blogged about in 2012 included Sessions #34-#35 of Spirit Storm and Session #1-#8 of The Armitage Files. After reviewing all of these blog posts I decided the my favorite session was Spirit Storm Session #34 – Vault Of The Dragon Kings. The massive climactic dual between Avatars Of The Great Tree and Sunscratch in Cragspine’s body were just a blast. Every PC really shined in that adventure. Highlights included Cillian taking on his dragon form for the first time, Oren’s crushing blow on Sunscratch’s skull, Bilby’s acrobatic prowess, and Po’s powerful curses.

If I had to pick a second favorite it would be The Armitage Files Session #6 – Travelling Side Show Freaks. The roleplaying and depth of investigation in this session is really wonderful.

Please reply if you have any comments. 🙂

GAME ON! 😀

I decided that it might be fun to start a new Christmas tradition at Kingbeast’s Lair. Since this is a time of giving and since I love reading gift lists I thought it might be fun to present a list of the RPG, anime, and fun read related offerings that are currently on my gift list and a list of items that I think would make great gifts for the geek in your life. For each list I will limit myself to one RPG, one anime series or movie, and one fun read.

My Wish List

Here is a brief summary of a few of items on my Christmas list this year. I really hope I get some of these under my tree. If any of my regular players are reading this then I want to remind them how much work I put into running games…I could really use something to keep me motivated…hint hint. 😀

Agents Of Oblivion by Reality Blurs
Agents of Oblivion is a setting for Savage Worlds and True20 by the folks at Reality Blurs. Here is the elevator pitch from their site:

Ready for horror-fueled espionage action? Agents of Oblivion wants you!

The pages within are graced with everything you need to play the style of spy game you want to play from “The Company Line” where every nightmare and conspiracy you can imagine is real and you can wield the powers you need to drive back the darkness to “Spy versus Spy” where you can take things on in a gritty brutal fashion.

Agents Of Oblivions was a nominee for 2012 ENnie Award for Best Supplement. The other things that look interesting to me is that it is run with Savage Worlds, which I have been itching to run, and it features spies and monsters. What is not to love about espionage and horror! 🙂 Here is a link to the product page on the Reality Blurs website. They have copies at Noble Knight Games at this URL for $24.95.

Rin: Daughters Of Mnemosyne Complete Series by FUNimation
Rin is an adult anime series that looks to be full of sex, violence, and mystery. Here is the story blurb from the FUNimation site:

Rin Asogi is an immortal private detective with a thirst for vodka and a talent for attracting things that go bump in the night. In a series of nightmarish vignettes spanning sixty-five years, Rin’s lush body is sadistically pierced, blown up, and mulched to a bloody pulp. The fiend behind her tortured existence is Apos, an eternal being obsessed with sacrificing Rin to Yggdrasil, the tree of all life. While Rin struggles to unravel the secrets of her endless agony, Apos lurks in the shadows, eager to tear into her ripe body and devour the memories of her countless lives. Rin’s no stranger to the realm of the dead, but her next visit could last forever.

I has received some good reviews and the preview material on the FUNimation site looks excellent. Here is a link to the Rin site at FUNimation.com. You can get copies at RightStuf at this URL for $24.99.

Black Fire by Hernan Rodriguez
Black Fire is a very interesting graphic novel published by Archaia. I don’t have any experience with Hernan Rogriguez but I love almost everything that comes out of Archaia and the summary on their site looks really interesting. Here is a synopsis from the Archaia site:

Black Fire is the story of two soldiers in Napoleon’s army retreating from his disastrous campaigns in Russia. Separated from their unit by a Cossack attack, they stumble across an isolated Slavic town, where strange and bizarre doings are afoot. The ancient town is deep, forbidden territory, the prison of a dark monster-god out of Slavic legend and nightmare, which seeks to use the newcomers to escape. This is an historical horror story in the vein of HP Lovecraft and Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Monsters and Napoleon’s soldiers!?! SOLD! Here is a link to the Archaia product site for Black Fire. You can pickup copies on Amazon.com at this URL for $18.96.

Wish List For That Special Person In Your Life

Here are just three of the items on my bookshelf that I think would make great gifts. Note that two of these entries have not yet been reviewed on Kingbeast’s Lair but may be reviewed next year.

Never Unprepared by Engine Publishing
This is a new book full of advice for GMs of any system. Here is the blurb from the product site:

Whether you’re new to game mastering or have been running the same campaign since 1974, Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Session Prep will help you prepare for games faster, avoid common pitfalls, and have more fun in the process. To our knowledge, this is the first book entirely devoted to the process of prepping for tabletop RPGs.

Ten years in the making, Never Unprepared is award-winning author Phil Vecchione’s epic rock ballad to game prep. A project manager and veteran game master, he draws on extensive experience to present flexible systems for developing or optimizing your own unique approach to game prep. Phil’s work has previously appeared on GnomeStew.com (silver ENnie Award winner for Best Blog, 2010 and 2011) and in Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters and Masks: 1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any Roleplaying Game.

You can pickup copies at Noble Knight Games at this URL for a paltry $17.95.

Mushi-Shi by FUNimation
Mushi-Shi is a wonderful anime series that follows a mushi master known as Ginko. Stories are heart warming and deep. I did a complete review of the series with tons of details at this URL. Highly recommended.

Atomic Robo by Red 5 Comics
Atomic Robo is a light pulpy comic that is a joy to read. The stories are well written and the artwork is just beautiful. Here is a blurb about the first trade paperback:

In 1923, Nikola Tesla’s career is in its twilight… until he unveils a robot with automatic intelligence – ATOMIC ROBO! After decades of dealing with all manner of weirdness, Atomic Robo and the so-called Action Scientists of Tesladyne become the go-to defense force against the unexplained! See ROBO take on Nazis, giant ants, clockwork mummies, walking pyramids, Mars, cyborgs, and his nemesis, Baron von Helsingard, in his first trade paperback graphic novel. This edition collects the hard-to-find, sold-out, debut issues of Atomic Robo #1-6, complete with cover gallery, pin-ups, concept sketches, and bonus stories.

Another cool thing about Atomic Robo is that there will soon be an RPG for the setting produced by the brilliant folks at Evil Hat Games. (Here is a link to the RPG site that you can watch for updates.) You can get copies of Atomic Robo at this URL for $18.95 on Amazon.

Merry Christmas everyone! 😀

[FYI. If any of my players are still reading this post I was just kidding…it is a joy running games for you gyus. 🙂 ]

Date At Start Of Game: September 12th, 1935

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 8th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Following The Tears Of Azazoth

After questioning the circus performers the PC decide that they need to track down the Tears Of Azazoth. They head back to the circus to arrest Claudia (aka the fortune teller) and to look around in the various tents. Detective Keegan takes the lead by going to Claudia’s tent and summoning her. When confronted Claudia admits that she handled the book and did not know its value until she tried to sell it. The fortune teller sold the book the previous night at King’s Book in Arkham. She confesses to knowing that the book is stolen goods. After Claudia gets dressed Detective Keegan locks her in his car and proceeds to speak with Clyde Beatty about his wife Harriet Evans who has been arrested. His goal is to discover if Clyde knew anything about the robberies. While speaking with Clyde, Archie takes the opportunity to search Claudia’s tent. He finds some cash, an empty wooden box that likely once held the book, and her fortune teller costume. Archie takes the box and the bracelet from her costume as the small pendants match the one found taped to the latest Armitage file. The box looks quite old and has a word in German on the side. The hidden compartment at the bottom is very well crafted.

Clyde Beatty is settling down with his morning coffee when the Detective knocks on his door. With a concerned look Clyde offers some coffee to Detective Keegan and asks what brings him to the circus. Detective Keegan explains that his wife Harriet, Vladimir the strongman, and Sergei the acrobat have been arrested breaking into a local mansion. Clyde seems upset by the news but somehow not surprised. After talking for a bit Clyde grabs his coat and Detective Keegan escorts him to Claudia who is waiting in the squad car. When entering the car Claudia says hello to Clyde but they do not talk any further.

This gives Archie a chance to search the Beatty trailer and Vladimir and Sergei’s tent. In the trailer among Harriet’s trunks he finds some cash and a scrapbook with newspaper clippings from her career. One interesting clipping is of Harriet performing as a magician’s assistant. This must be where she learned how to pick pockets. In a desk Archie finds an accounting journal that confirms Harriet’s statements in the interrogation room. The Clyde Beatty Circus is failing fast. Escalating costs are killing all of their profits. In Vladimir and Sergei’s tent Archie breaks into Vladimir’s trunk. Inside he finds $100 in cash and a velvet bag with a silver scale. The scale is comprised of two plates and a loose balancing chain. On one plate in the concave center are the symbols of three tentacles. Archie takes the money and scale.

At this point the PC head to King’s Books to find the Tears Of Azazoth. After knocking on the door for some time with no response Tredge picks the lock and the PC enter the small store. At the back counter they see some strange scratches and find a receipt book with “p. Murphy”. When they move upstairs they find Milton dead in his bead. An oval sized bite mark on his chest shows a ring of razor sharp teeth. Milton’s hands are at his fear struck face. ..his eyes rolled back into his head. Near the bed posts and window ledge the PC find more scratch marks. The window shutters eerily slaps against the frame. At this point Detective Keegan calls in the incident then the trio of PC head to the church to check on Pastor Murphy.

As they are driving up the gravel path to the church the spot a young man on a bicycle with a look of terror on his face. When the PC stop their car the boy is so spooked that he falls from his bike sending himself sprawling on the gravel road. After calming down the boy the PC learn that his name is Phil Hughes. He explains delivering a package to Father Murphy. After delivering the package Phil went into the church to say a quick prayer. Upon leaving he heard some strange sounds coming from the basement under the house next to the church. When Phil went to investigate he found these strange flying creatures surrounding the Pastor who was preaching to a hobo that was tied up in front of him. With that Detective Keegan hands out a shotgun to Archie and the three PC approach the house.

When the three PC approach the house they can hear loud noises coming from the basement. After breaking out one of the blacked out basement windows Detective Keegan sees a horrible sight. Four winged gargoyle like creatures are flying around his parish preacher. The preacher is loudly reciting a sermon from a black tome as he wildly swings at one of the flying creatures with a scythe. The target of the sermon is a supplicant hobo who has his hand tied together. The hobo is frozen in terror! The words coming from the Pastor are a combination of Cthulhu madness and holy diatribe! After gathering their wits the PC spring into action. The Detective starts firing at the closest gargoyle with his shotgun. Archie busts open the storm cellar doors then jumps down with a ferocious shotgun blast. Tredge rushes up to the melee hoping to be able to snatch the Tears Of Azazoth from the insane priest. As the creatures are swirling around the priest Tredge realizes that the gargoyles are also trying to grab the book. During the frantic combat Tredge takes several hits and falls unconscious. As the combat progresses the scythe glows but Father Murphy’s blows go wide. As one of the gargoyles fells the preacher another grabs the Tears Of Azazoth. Archie punches at one of the gargoyles killing him with a fractured ribcage. With the book clutched in his talons the last gargoyle races for the window. Detective Keegan nails him with a deadly shot but the creature does not fall! It busts out of a basement window trying to make a hasty retreat. Detective Keegan takes one more parting shot but it goes wide…the creature has escaped with the book. With that the PC check the hobo and the pastor. The hobo is mentally scarred but physically fine. Pastor Murphy is dead. After bandaging Tredge and stealing their nerves the PC take some photographs of the melting gargoyles then try and decide how to proceed…

Date At End Of Game: September 12th, 1935