Kingbeast's Lair

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.

-== What is it? ==-

The Widening Gyre is best described by its byline, “Steampunk Roleplaying For The Hero System.” It was written by Bill Keys (aka Teh Bunneh on the forums) and imprinted by Blackwyrm Publishing. The first edition was released in July 2011.

Widening Gyre has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8.5” x 11” and is 159 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I purchased. I have not run a session using Widening Gyre but I have read the product cover to cover and have a fair amount of knowledge with the Hero System. 🙂

-== What I Like ==-

Widening Gyre opens by describing the setting. Bill describes the setting in a lot of detail and provides information on how it can be played during various time periods starting at 1861 and ending around The Great War in 1918. I particularly like the story of The Gyre on page 8.

Bill does a fantastic job explaining the different roles that the PC can take in the setting. Some games do a very poor job of this…in fact some don’t do it at all. Each time period defined in Widening Gyre has a section specifically on roleplaying in that period.

In one section Widening Gyre lists 19th century sciences. I thought this section was fun and informative.

Bill presents several Packages in Widening Gyre. These are well thought out and broad in their coverage. Packages include entries like the tech savvy Savant, Detectives, Air Pirates, and even Clockwork Men. At the end of the section Nikolai Tesla is presented as a sample character. Although I gushed at having stats for Tesla I was disappointed because he does not use the Savant Package as presented in the text. In my opinion it would have been better if whatever sample character was presented used the packages as presented.

Gear and vehicles are covered next. The vehicles presented in Widening Gyre are particularly fun. They range from steam powered carriages to the time machine from H.G. Wells.

After the gear section is a sample adventure. The sample adventure involves a car race with an hidden secret. I thought the sample adventure in Widening Gyre was actually pretty creative and unique. Often sample adventures are pretty boring but this one was nice. As an added bonus there are more cool vehicles. 🙂

The highlight of The Widening Gyre is the Steampunk Sourcebook section. This section has a TON of great thoughts on the Steampunk aesthetic and how it can be used in gaming. I particularly liked sections on Genre Settings, Genre Moods, and Conventions. Fantastic stuff.

Near the end of the book is a section called Putting It All Together that really wraps up the book nicely. Often books have tons of great data then don’t explain what you can do with it. Bill has it covered in Widening Gyre.

I really like the covers by Curtis Craddock, Bill Keyes, and Jonathan Wyke. I think the front cover conveys the attitude of the setting really well. On the back cover is a poster called Notre Dame De Vapeur that I really love. I want it on a poster! 😀

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

There is some very brief information in the book about running the setting without magic but I would have liked to see more. My expectation is that steampunk does NOT include demonic magic.

One minor complaint that I had with Widening Gyre is that there were a LOT of quotes in the sourcebook section. At times it almost felt like there were too many.

I think my biggest gripes are around layout issues. First the text is pretty small. I’m not sure if it is the font selection or just the font size but I found it difficult to read at times. Background coloring in Widening Gyre can also be quite dark. With a dark background the text can be hard to read. The Packages are formatted with a very dark background and are especially tough to read.

Unlike the cover artwork the interior artwork is very hit or miss. There are lots of photos and several marginal drawings.

-== Summary ==-

Overall I was VERY surprised by The Widening Gyre. I guess I did not expect the amount of coverage that this genre book provides. The quality of the writing is so high that it feels like a book that Steve Long might have produced. (FYI, this is very high praise in my book.) I think Bill has written THE steampunk sourcebook for Hero with Widening Gyre.

You can get copies at Amazon at this URL for $24.95. DriveThruRPG has is for $11.95 at this URL in PDF format. Of course Noble Knight has print copies at this URL for $21.95.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.