Let's roll some dice, watch some movies, or generally just geek out. New posts at 6:30 pm ET but only if I have something to say. Menu at the top. gsllc@chirp.enworld.org on Mastodon and @gsllc on Twitter.
Sundays now are lazy days for me. I either post something silly or other people’s work. Usually both. Today, it’s some Star Wars memes (though mixed with a tiny bit of original content). Why? Because TNT was playing the Star Wars films in in-universe chronological order, and while I was organizing myself for my upcoming move, I had the movies playing in the background. I saw the tail end of Revenge of the Sith (from the point where Anakin tells Padme he’s headed to Mustafar), all of Solo: A Star Wars Story (see tweet below), Rogue One (my favorite Star Wars movie), A New Hope (for the first time in more time than I can remember), and Empire Strikes Back. After that, I had to go to bed.
I've got Solo: A Star Wars Story on in the background as I organize myself for my move. He's making the Kessel run in 12 parsecs and encounters a creature. Like the worm living on an asteroid, exactly how does that creature sustain itself? #StarTrek >> #StarWars
— Rob Bodine, #Attorney by Day, #Nerd by Day & Night (@GSLLC) December 11, 2021
To all you Star Wars lovers, don’t give me too much shit for the negativity. That’s always for Kessel Junkie’s benefit. Besides . . .
@tntdrama has been running #StarWars in chronological order all day (which continues tomorrow), and I have two observations. 1, That was some magical shit; and 2. #RogueOne is still my favorite entry in the series.
— Rob Bodine, #Attorney by Day, #Nerd by Day & Night (@GSLLC) December 12, 2021
Anyway, here are some memes presented, appropriately I think, in in-universe chronological order.
Suck it, Star Wars fans that are prequel haters.
I wouldn’t be gsllc if I didn’t put one of these in there.
I should have stayed up later to watch Return of the Jedi.
I’m actually quite happy at work.
“Don’t bury yourself in the part.” — Dr. Leonard McCoy
McCoy aside, I hope that quote is accurate.
Probably not considering his dismissal of Vader’s “religion.”
Last week, I discussed the Shishi, pointing out how Americans get exposed only to western mythology. That’s not exactly true. We get only western European mythology. Nothing’s more west than America itself, and there are untapped storylines from pre-USA civilization right here on our continent, all of which are great for movies, RPGs, etc. Here’s a video from last week on native American folklore.
Of course, it just has to start with the wendigo, but that one has its own video on the same channel.
Characters like the deer woman are most fascinating to me. Much like the night hag from folklore and the 1st Edition D&D Monster Manual, the character’s threat arises as a reaction to bad behavior on the part of her target. In the context of a role-playing game, that’s the kind of story that writes itself. The PC behaves badly in a particular way, and the DM sends the appropriate monster to exact punishment. If the PC’s sin calls a creature far beyond their power level, that’s on them. (I know. Modern gamers don’t like to “lose D&D,” so you may have to power her down so there are no real consequences. *sigh*)
Sundays now are lazy days for me. I either post something silly or other people’s work. Usually both. Today, it’s science. I don’t normally discuss serious matters on this blog, but this warrants it.
Recently, I discussed the introduction of eastern folklore and mythology to the MCU, and specifically discussed the shishi in Shang-Chi. This inspired me to crack open my new PDF of 1st Edition AD&D‘s (“1e“) Oriental Adventures, which I’d never read before. So far, I’m impressed, though I’ve just scratched the surface. Three new races, 10 new classes (10!), a bunch of new spells, and 31 new monsters. I find myself wondering whether the typical 1e player considered this book bloat, but I digress. Today is Caturday, so here are the cats that appear in Oriental Adventures.
Hengeyokai (p. 12)
One of the PC races, the hengeyokai (I’m assuming that’s also plural) are shape changers. Though not lycanthropes, they have the same three forms: animal, human, and a hybrid of the two. One type of hengeyokai is a cat, which must be chaotic (of course), and while naturally dexterous, has a penalty to wisdom (exactly what you’d expect).
Not particularly wise.
Generals of the Animal Kings: Tiger King (p. 120, Level X)
Oriental Adventures states that
The oriental mind has organized the world into a unified whole. One particularly strong belief is that of the Celestial Emperor, a powerful being who heads the Celestial Bureaucracy, a type of government of the spirits. Like the bureaucrats of the real world, these spirit officials can be corrupt, disobedient, just, or incompetent.
Oriental Adventures, page 116
Yes, I know. The “oriental mind.” *sigh* Anyway, one part of the bureaucracy are the generals of the animal kings, and the most powerful (by XP) type of general is the Tiger General, who suppresses rebellions or doles out punishment. He appears as a giant, anthropomorphic tiger wielding magic, scaring the hell out of characters with his appearance, and regenerating 5 hps/round. The best part, however, is that he wields a +5 vorpal sword (+8 to hit, 3 attacks/round). There could be more than one of them, and each one is always accompanied by 100 tigers. Good luck with that.
Shirokinukatsukami (p. 128, Level IX)
This one’s weird. Okay, it’s all weird, but this is really weird. The shirokinukatsukami has “the body of a horse, the face of a lion, the trunk and tusks of an elephant, the tail of a cow [intimidating!], and the feet of a tiger.” As far as I’m concerned, that’s enough to count as a cat. It’s a shame this book doesn’t provide a picture. Good luck visualizing that.
Google is your friend.
It can have up to 5 physical attacks per round, casts a lot of spells, regenerates, +3 or better weapon to hit. . . it’s a bad ass, which explains why there can be no more than four in existence at any point in time. This is also explained by how difficult it must be to build something like that. Fortunately, its lawful good, so your PCs should be okay even if it shows up.
Neither of the monsters appear on the random encounter table. They aren’t the kind of monster you’d want to randomly drop on a party. They deserve planning.
That’s it. Oriental Adventures has a ton of new material, but not a lot of cats.
Play What You Want 