Kingbeast's Lair

Summary

[ This year the awards are a “bit” late. 🙂 I got busy with my new campaign and blog posts have lapsed. I am hoping to get some reviews in soon. They are stockpiling! 😀 ]

Welcome to the fourth annual Lair Awards! It is again time to pick through the fumbles to uncover some critical hits. This year I will be adding a new category.

Here is how the 2014 Lair Awards will work. There will be five categories: Best Anime, Best Read, Best RPG, Best Board Game, 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 2014 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 2014…period…it does not matter when the product was actually released. 😉

The envelopes please! 😀

Best Anime – No Winner!

This is sad. I did no anime reviews in 2014 at all. I watched several animated features but did not get a chance to review them on the blog. Of the animated series that I watched my favorite was Clone Wars. I watched all seasons and the Lost Missions (i.e. Season 6) with my boys. Great series.

Best Read – Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology

I reviewed four exceptional graphic novels in 2014. Two earned 8 paws and two earned 9 paws. The two 9 paw products included Paraiah Missouri and Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology. I would give the story nod to Pariah but the art nod to Batwoman. I chose Batwoman for the off the charts artwork. The broken panels, the coloring, and the stunning panorama views by J.H. Williams III are just breath taking. Go buy it. 🙂

Best Board Game – Memoir 44

Even though I only did one board game review in 2014 it was a great one. My 9 paw review of Memoir 44 on March 20, 2014 is the most thought out review I have ever done. After playing hundreds of session I had a lot to say but I wanted to say it in a condensed and considerate manner. I consider it one of my best reviews. If you don’t have Memoir 44 you should go buy it.

Best RPG – Hero Kids

I read a lot of RPGs in 2014 but only reviewed around five products. Out of these products two stood out. I really thought the Trail Of Cthulhu Resource Book & Keeper’s Screen and Hero Kids were the standouts. I gave the nod to Hero Kids because of the enjoyment it has brought to me and my kids. Even now the boys beg to continue their Hero Kids adventures. Right now they are going through a kid friendly version of the Temple Of Elemental Evil and having a blast. I will have to write up some of the details from the run and post it to the blog. 😀 (Note that the Hero Kids article about our first session has also brought traffic and comments to my site which I appreciate. 😉 )

Best Session – Session #11 – Daring Tale #6 – The Palladium Peril

I played Daring Tales Of Adventure with my main RPG group in 2014. There were a TON of great sessions to pick but I went with Session #11. Session #11 had our illustrious heroes confronting a fencing master, performing a rescue on a train, and a cliffhanger at the Coliseum in Rome!

Please reply if you have any comments. 🙂

GAME ON! 😀

[ Author’s Note: This is the log for the 4th session. Instead of posting your standard log of everything that happened during the session I will post “Then” and “Now” sections that summarize the story. The players will need to remember the details as to how it unfolded. This means that the players will be responsible for remembering any loose ends that may come back to haunt them in a later Episode.

Starting with the 4th log I will be calling the sessions logs Episodes NOT Chapters. I realized that this campaign is really going for the TV show feel so I thought Episode sounded better than Chapter. ]

Then

Galliano, USA – November 1854 – Dem’ locals will pay for their crimes! The dark deal that I made with my voodoo mojo will ensure that I come back from the dead to regain the power that I so likely deserve. I will return! This darkness…it is lifting…my hands…what is wrong with my hands…my feet…no…the water…my reflection…my head! What terrible fate has befallen me!?! The swamp…the isolation…it will be my comfort…yes…the festering swamp…teeming with life…it will be my savior…my savior…

Now

Galliano, USA – April 17, 2015 – Isiah unfolded his chair just out of the morning sun and nodded towards his companion Otis, “Hey Otis. Whaddya think about those strange men that visited?” Otis sits down on the curb between the two pumps like he always does and hikes up his overalls. The thin black man replies in a careful tone that would appear thought out to folks who don’t understand the slow man, “They seemed right serious to me Isiah. Seemed like they was lookin’ for sumpin’…I would betcha they found it.” Tipping back his Shell baseball hat Isiah chuckles then replies, “I betcha they have too. Hopefully they don’t run into more than they can handle. Sometimes findin’ is a bit harder that lookin’.” Otis wipes his forehead and replies with a confused tone, “I’d think it depends on what you was tryin’ to find and if it wants to be found.” “Well spoken Otis,” chuckles Isiah.

[ Author’s Note: This is the log for the 3rd session. Instead of posting your standard log of everything that happened during the session I will post “Then” and “Now” sections that summarize the story. The players will need to remember the details as to how it unfolded. This means that the players will be responsible for remembering any loose ends that may come back to haunt them in a later Chapter. [Evil GM snicker.] ]

Then

Just South Of El Kur, Egypt – 1450 BC – Hefting her heavy pack the young woman tightens her shawl against the raging sandstorm. Slowly she walks through the barren windswept countryside inching ever closer to her destination. She thinks about her role as handmaiden and how it has come to such an terrible finale. The royal family respected her position and she must honor theirs with her actions. Tomb robbers will not destroy the two most powerful woman that she is likely ever to come to know and love. If Neferure’s prophecy is correct the queen and princess will rise again to reclaim their throne. She stumbles to her knees. Before standing she reaches for her skin of water only to find that it is dry. She must continue! Taking out a small statuette of a woman with a cat’s head she prays one last time to Bastet. Give her the strength to continue! Staring up into the sun tears fill her eyes. As she sinks into the sand a shadowy presence covers her body filling it with strength. If she can just make it to the burial chamber…

Now

New Orleans, USA – March 21, 2015 – Doctor Sophia Omari shakes her head in disgust as she surveys the damage to her precious artifacts. Whatever was not damaged by fire is destroyed by water from the automatic sprinklers that did their job a little too well. Even though Susan Taylor, the NOMA Director, keeps telling her that they have insurance she realizes that there is no way these items can be replaced. Of all the things that could happen a freak electrical accident was not something she expected. As despair fills her heart she remembers that at least the amulet is safe in the hotel vault. With a sigh she sits down on one of the nearby benches. She is startled when Gunter, the young man who was working at the souvenir stand the previous night, takes her hand and pulls her to her feet. Excitement fills his steps as he pulls her into the main museum chamber, “Doctor Omari look! Can you believe it!?! Your fancy queen mummy did not get destroyed!!! In fact it looks like it is pretty great shape. Wow…that is amazing!”