The Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Setting of Rygar
I absolutely adore metroidvania style games. I love the exploration, adventure, and the feeling of familiar content giving way to new content because of my personal advancement. I don’t even know how many hours I spent on the Metroid and ...
The Strange Case of the Half-Orc Champion
It turns out that having a bone surgically re-broken, getting some bone graft shoved inside you, and then having a bunch of plates and screws put in you doesn’t lend itself to quick recovery. What I am saying is, I’m ...
The Legend of Zelda Franchise and the D&D Roadmap
In the spirit of journalistic, or at least hack-authorial, integrity, this article was written with a large amount of medically-prescribed opiates in my system. I had an osteotomy on my left shoulder done last week. As a life hack, I’d ...
Brothers Majere: The Dragonlance Book with Lich Sex
When I wrote about Lord Toede ages ago, I shared what I considered one of the more obscure and outlandish books in the Dragonlance novel library. In talking with some friends, I realized that while it was certainly bizarre, I ...
Planescape, Gonzo Gaming, and Being Totally Rad
Cold eyelids that hide like a jewel Hard eyes that grow soft for an hour; The heavy white limbs, and the cruel Red mouth like a venomous flower; When these are gone by with their glories, What shall rest of ...
Guilt, Dark Souls, and the Buried Giant
“That’s true, good lady, but then we boatmen have seen so many over the years it doesn’t take long to see beyond deceptions. Besides, when travellers speak of their most cherished memories, it’s impossible for them to disguise the truth.”– ...
The Almighty Johnsons, The Power of Self, and the Reverse ...
I had a conversation the other day regarding clerics, warlocks, and the nature of other-directed character advancement. It hadn’t ever been something I really considered, but it was a very important issue to the people I was speaking to at ...
Broad City, Player Agency, and Storyline Direction
Four and three and two and one. One of my favorite shows on TV right now is a show about young female friends in New York. They navigate the challenges of jobs, money, relationships, and feminism, examining some of the ...
Man in the High Castle and Alternate Histories
This week on Performance Check I’m looking at alternate histories. Poor Philip K. Dick. He’s had thirteen of his works adapted, many with multiple versions, and the resulting adaptations are largely crap. Sure, Blade Runner is great, Linklater’s adaptation of ...
Black Comedies, Discomfort, and Challenge
When I walked out of Kingsman: The Secret Service, I turned to my friend and said, “People are going to be angry about the last ten minutes.” Almost immediately, I began to read reviews and comments from people praising the ...