To be clear, the products themselves might be fine or even quite good. For instance, Shadowdark certainly has some interesting mechanics, some of which I'm on the fence about (but which, I concede, very well may be vindicated in practice). But the cold hard truth of the matter is that I just don't see using this game that much (if at all) in the near future, as well as the other RPG products that have trickled in over the past few years (e.g., OSE).
AKRATIC WIZARDRY: A blog wherein I scribble about role-playing games (Mythras, Against the Darkmaster, Dungeons & Dragons [esp. old school], Swords & Wizardry, Into the Unknown, Middle-earth Role-playing, Lord of the Rings Role-playing, Adventures in Middle-Earth, Crypts & Things, Call of Cthulhu, etc.) and RPG settings (Middle-earth, Cthulhu Mythos, Greyhawk, Lyonesse, Ukrasia, etc.). I also write about fantasy and science-fiction films, novels, art, TV shows, and the like.
25 October 2024
Trail of Cthulhu 2e and Broken Empires
To be clear, the products themselves might be fine or even quite good. For instance, Shadowdark certainly has some interesting mechanics, some of which I'm on the fence about (but which, I concede, very well may be vindicated in practice). But the cold hard truth of the matter is that I just don't see using this game that much (if at all) in the near future, as well as the other RPG products that have trickled in over the past few years (e.g., OSE).
09 October 2024
The Tome of Worldbuilding from Mythmere Games
I thought I’d mention that Mythmere Games is running another kickstarter. This one is for a volume entitled The Tome of Worldbuilding. The title pretty much sums up what the book is about: “The Tome of World Building is written by ENNIE-award winning author Matt Finch, author of the critically-acclaimed Tome of Adventure Design. Using the Tome of World Building, you can create fantasy worlds quickly and fill them out with a wealth of detail from the random-generation tables in this book.”
While Mythmere Games is known primarily for its Swords & Wizardry retro-clone – my favourite game of the “Old School Renaissance” and the one that motivated me to start this blog over fifteen years ago – The Tome of Worldbuilding is system-neutral. This also is the case for the other book that is part of this kickstarter, The Nomicon, which provides “new tables for name generation.”
More information about the kickstarter is available here.
The art samples look really great. I’m especially impressed by the pictures by Kennon James, which evoke the style of the late great Dave Trampier, while still being original.
Mythmere Games does great work. Check it out!
07 October 2024
Sale on issues 1-14 of Fight On!
As recently announced here, the Old School Renaissance fanzine Fight On! has returned to publication after a long sabbatical.
If you are missing PDF versions of the first run, issues 1-14, they currently are available in a bundle at Drivethru RPG for 50 percent off (34.99 USD). The sale will run until this Saturday (12 October 2024).
It’s great to have Fight On! back with us … and fighting on!
05 October 2024
The Main Problem with the Rings of Power series
- The “Wizard” storyline ended pretty much as I expected (disappointing, lazy, and predictable). The story of the Istari belongs to the Third Age. There is no narrative reason for the writers to cram them into the Second Age (especially given that they already have too many other storylines to properly unfold). (But it looks like the proto-hobbits won't be around for next season? Or is that too much to hope?)
- The Durin III conclusion made no sense. (He single-handedly managed to bury the balrog with a swing of his axe? And since the dwarves now know that a balrog lies beneath Khazad-dûm, why would they later “dig too deeply” and release it in 1980 of the Third Age?)
- The Númenor storyline feels forced and under-explained. (You would have no idea of the central role that the “fear of mortality” vs “faith” plays in the conflict between the “Kings’ Men” and “the Faithful.”)
- The Adar story was a surprise and I found it moving.
- A solid ending for Celebrimbor. (I like how he manipulated Sauron into killing him, thereby ending his torment.)
- Sauron/Annatar is a joy to watch whenever he's on the screen (the actor Charlie Vickers really captures the essence of the character).
- And … how the hell is Gil-Galad the High King of the Elves? He’s portrayed as an indecisive doofus in the series.
Sadly, The Rings of Power is not what a series that aimed to tell a story about some key events of the Second Age – as described by J.R.R. Tolkien – would look like. It is no wonder that people who actually like the writings of Tolkien find it so disappointing.
02 October 2024
Rings of Power Season 2 Thoughts
Below are some quick thoughts on RoP season 2.
- The sets in both seasons are great. Ost-in-Edhil, Númenor, and (especially) Khazad-dûm look amazing.
- Many of the actors are quite good and are well cast for the characters they represent (e.g., Elendil, Annatar, Celebrimbor, Durin IV, Elrond, Miriel, Ar-Pharazôn).
- I like the new character Adar and the nuance that he brings to the condition of orcs in Middle-earth (a topic with which Tolkien himself struggled throughout his life).
- The original character Arondir also is cool (and well-acted).
- The relationship and interactions between Celebrimbor and Annatar this season are quite compelling. Annatar’s “gaslighting” of Celebrimbor is well done overall, I think. (But I’m annoyed that the relationship unfolds over a period of months instead of decades.)
- The portrayal of Sauron (Annatar) this season has been excellent.
- I’m still really annoyed by the grossly compressed timeline. Smashing together events from the middle of the Second Age – the forging of the rings and the war of Sauron and the Elves – with events near the end of the Second Age – the fall of Númenor – irritates me to no end. 1700 years reduced to … 170 days?
- Not only does the compressed timeline make a mess of the history of Middle-earth, it creates too many storylines, none of which are adequately developed. E.g., Why is Númenor split between the Faithful and the King’s Men? Watching the show, you’d have no idea (aside from the prospect of “elves stealing jobs”!?!).
- The “Wizard and proto-hobbits” storyline is terrible and pointless. It doesn’t even have a minimal connection to anything that Tolkien wrote. It’s an attempt by the writers to ram into the series a “Gandalf and the Hobbits” origin story. There already are too many storylines in the show and it definitely does not need this one. (The actor who plays the Wizard is quite good, though.)
- The scripts, especially dialogues, are often quite bad (albeit slightly improved from last season).
- Middle-earth feels too “small” in the series. Characters pop around the vast land (from Lindon to Ost-in-Edhil to Khazad-dûm, or from Pelargir to Ost-in-Edhil) far too quickly. (A great virtue of the original Peter Jackson trilogy was that it conveyed a real sense of the enormity of Middle-earth, the far distances and wildlands of the world.)
- Related to the previous point, the pacing always feels off, too rushed.