Review: Designers & Dragons: The '70s

Designers & Dragons: The '70s by Shannon Appelcline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The decade that gave RPGs its birth has never been covered in much greater detail and scope elsewhere. About a third of the volume details TSR, which is understandable as the company published the Dungeons & Dragons and created an entirely new industry. As a fan, I went through an emotional rollercoaster as I read the book: my heart soared as I shared in the victories and many firsts of the era, as RPGs are starting to rise to prominence, while I almost wept (with or without much gnashing of teeth as accompaniment) as companies floundered in the many upheavals of the industry and failed. Having been introduced to RPGs around 1989 or so, and having grown up in a small backwater South-east Asian country, it is nice to know about the people (and games) that have all come before in this industry I will always be a part of. On the the '80s!



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Review: The Broken Sword

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Fantastic story. Furious action scenes and a fast-developing plot, along with Poul Anderson's prose make this a fantasy epic worth reading. Read this because of the AD&D (1st Edition) Dungeon Master's Guide's Appendix N (Inspirational and Educational Reading). Elves, trolls, demi-gods, cursed swords--this is one of Gary Gygax's many literary inspirations from which pages the now-classic D&D tropes would evolve.



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Review: Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







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Review: ソードアート・オンライン Sword Art Online - Fairy Dance

ソードアート・オンライン Sword Art Online - Fairy Dance by Reki Kawahara

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is a great continuation to Sword Art Online, the killer VRMMO which was cleared in volume 1 by Kirito the Black Swordsman and Asuna the Flash. However, two months after the servers of SAO went down, Asuna still has not revived. Kirito wallows in despair until he is contacted by Egil, who showed him a screenshot of a girl uncannily resembling Asuna except her avatar looks like that of a winged fairy. Furthermore, Asuna-fairy is held in a cage hanging from the lower branches of the World Tree, the ultimate objective of the new Full-Dive VRMMO, ALfheim Online.

So off Kirito went to create a character in this new world, where he meets Yui, his and Asuna's "offspring" from volume 2 and the Sylph swordswoman, Lyfa, who is much closer to Kirito in the real world than either of them realize.

The first few chapters of this new volume almost felt like they dragged on a bit too much, but that's understandable as the author lays in the foundations--characters, settings, new rules, and all--of this new game called ALO. Soon, however, the pace quickens as Kirito logs into ALO and begins his journey towards the massive World Tree that dominates the center of the world.

The books ends abruptly though, so make sure you have volume 4 ready to read as soon as you finish!

A must-read for fans of SAO, fantasy and massively multiplayer online roleplaying games.



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Review: Sword Art Online - Aincrad

Sword Art Online - Aincrad by Reki Kawahara

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Volume 2 of Sword Art Online is set before the end of Volume 1 (which had Kirito clearing the game). This volume featured four short stories, each one pairing Kirito with a different girl he met during his two years in SAO.

The first story, The Black Swordsman (Aincrad 35th floor, February 2024), features the beast tamer Scilica, and how Kirito helped her restore life to her dragon pet, as well as hunting down some player-killers.

The second story, Warmth of the Heart (Aincrad 48th floor, June 2024), features the blacksmith Lizbeth who forged Kirito's white blade, Dark Repulser.

The third story, Morning Dew Girl (Aincrad 22nd floor, October 2024), features Yui, a strange "girl" who becomes Kirito and Asuna's "offspring" in SAO.

Finally, the last story, Red-nosed Reindeer (Aincrad 46th floor, December 2023), expounds on Kirito's first ill-fated guild, The Black Cats of the Full Moon, and his quest for redemption after the TPK of the said guild.

The stories are top-notch, so if you liked Volume 1, this volume is a must-read. A couple of the stories, particularly the ending of Warmth of the Heart as well as the Rudolph song sequence in Red-nosed Reindeer, are definite tear-jerkers, underlining just how much sadness there can be in this life and death VMMORPG.



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Review: Sword Art Online - Aincrad

Sword Art Online - Aincrad by Reki Kawahara

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Finished this during traffic on the bus. It's a very quick read.

This first volume covers the launch of the first Virtual Reality MMO where players use NervGear helmets to achieve "deep dive," a state that allows full immersion in the game. About two hours into the launch, the creator of Sword World Online announces that everyone is now trapped in the game with no way to logout. This taking of the players hostage is achieved via the specifics of the NervGear interface which basically cuts off all of the brain's signals so that they translate to actions in game rather than as instructions to one's body. Death in the game also results in the NervGear electrocuting (or microwaving; the translation is hazy) the player's brain, killing the in the real world as well.

Sword Art Online is set on the huge floating "castle" called Aincrad which is itself divided into 100 floors. Players start on Floor 1 and negotiate the maze there until they come upon and defeat the floor's boss, in which case access to the next floor is granted.

As I've said, this novel is a very quick read, not just because it is relatively short at less than 400 pages. The pacing is fast, often jumping months, and years to follow the main character. By the time the game is cleared at the end of this volume, two years have already passed in the story, and the main characters are at a supposedly high level, and the frontier of exploration has moved to the 75th floor.

Those who have played MMORPGs before (and have been hooked) will definitely find something to like in this action-adventure/love story. Even without NervGear, the experience we players had with the current MMOs are comparable: sometimes, the difference between the real and the virtual worlds blur, get confused. And you're left with the feeling that one is better than the other.

I'm looking forward to reading through Volume 2 which are side-stories set parallel to the main storyline of Volume 1. In the anime adaptation, these stories have been inserted into the episode order, mainly as padding to complete at least 13, or maybe 26 episodes (a season length to which some anime should definitely adhere).



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Review: Dungeon World Red Book

Dungeon World Red Book by Sage LaTorra

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Old-school dungeon delving with a shiny new ruleset! I've just stumbled into this gem fairly recently and loving what I'm reading. I've taken a look at Apocalypse World before, but my eyes glazed over before I could grok the rules. Dungeon World grounded Apocalypse World's rules for me. Who doesn't like a dungeon crawl?

This one's different though, enough to make me feel like that time I got my grubby little hands on the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide.

Can't wait to unleash this on my players.



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Bob Ong's Ang Mga Kaibigan Ni Mama Susan

Or, What Not To Do When Facing Pretentious Powers From Beyond

This is my second Bob Ong book right after Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin, and while that other book was fun while it lasted, Ang Mga Kaibigan Ni Mama Susan was a thoroughly shitty experience. Bob Ong, last horror mo na 'to, ha?

The man should just stick to pop culture comedy instead of wasting his time, and more importantly, my time with this annoying sorry-excuse-for-a-novel that highlights what can only be called the cliched backward and barbaric mentality of remotely rural Filipinos: trusting in faith healing instead of modern medical science, listening to the inane ramblings of elder pieces of excrement, and believing in weird and outdated occult phenomenon.

All the complications in this book could have been avoided if the hero was man enough to hack his way through the members of the Kapatiran (Ooh, I'm soo scared--NOT!). Seriously, the moral lesson of this story is that you should not be a wimp when confronting the supernatural. That undead abomination that he calls his grandmother, a.k.a. Mama Susan? I would have smashed her with the gas lamp, laughing through the smoke as she and her so-called "friends" burned to oblivion. Oh yeah, I would have set that backward subhuman lost town right. Freaky supernatural shit? Show 'em who's the goddamn boss.

Maybe Bob Ong wasn't really trying to write horror with this one. With something this annoying, the man was definitely trolling. And, obviously, selling off bullshit to make his rent.

The only good thing about this book is that, thankfully, it is short: only a hundred and twenty odd pages. Because apparently that's the limit of his attention span, his intelligence, and his talent.

The Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World

Leonard Anthony took the Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World and got 80%!



You are a Gary Gygax Superhero. If aliens ever invade Earth and challkenge us to a Gary Gygax trivia contest, you will be our champion.

Paladin Code: You completed this quiz without using Google.

ATTN: Cosplayers!

A lot of cosplayers say that cosplaying allows them to "express" themselves. Fucking BS (Bull Shit). The only thing they are expressing is how their crippled heads are devoid of any creative and original idea so that they can only APE the style of a character that they did not even create.

Most of the scene is composed of shallow wannabes whose idea of cosplaying rarely goes beyond the cosmetic and the physical--just like a freaking beauty contest. At least have the decency to internalize the character, you goddamn weeaboos.

I'm pretty sure this will just pass over their simple little heads. Well, konichiwa my ass, motherfuckers. OMG, using Japanese words shows how cool and otaku I am--NOT!

On Heroes

This piece was supposed to have been posted on June 12 (the Philippine Independence Day, I think), but I couldn't be arsed.


The so-called "heroes" of the Philippines represent nothing more than the rotting and decaying trash of those brown monkeys calling themselves Filipinos. They are exemplars of the worst of their execrable kind.

Take one of the more recently-inducted into their hall of heroes (or more appropriately, hall of retards): Ninoy "One-Shot" Aquino--the man who defied a dictator and then got shot in the face at the airport trying to return to a country who couldn't care less. Words can't begin to describe just how stupid that sounded, and the actual event is even more so. One could only hope that the man did not get an opportunity to pass on his inbred genes.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The little bugger managed to spawn at least three retarded whelps (not counting the bastards that this obviously savage fuck-bunny sired, of course), one of which is even now doing a dubious job of being the mother-fucking President of the Philippines. This is the sort of thing that reflects the average Pinoy IQ: never higher than the low double digits. This is in a country where a 50 would get you qualified for the Senate.

These dung-flinging monkeys need to revise their criteria for selecting heroes as bad as they need to evolve beyond their backwater traditions. Heroes should be larger-than-life, they should possess freaking super powers, and most of all, they should not be losers--not victims of natural selection because they were too inferior to succeed with whatever inane thing they were trying to do in the first place.

Goddamn bastards.

Summer Vacation

For all its faults, being in a predominantly Roman Catholic country does have its perks: you get to enjoy lots and lots of vacation time! Granted, this time it's barely a week. It's Holy Week in Christian country but screw self-reflection and faith reestablishment, I'm having FUN instead :-P

There's a lot I want to accomplish this summer, and despite ever-annoying Real Life and Work issues that will definitely try to get in the way, I aim to achieve them. First on the list is a rewrite of Beyond Black Doors. Six years on, and that story's still clamoring to be told. I've long since parted ways with the co-author, but since I've done most of the plotting, there's no need to contact her. Besides, I'm setting it on its own world, divorced from its previous fan-fic-esque roots in Ragnarok Online's Rune Midgard. The lead female protagonist will get redesigned as well, least of all a name change from Venris Dastonia/Sevrin Astergarden to a better name: Zelle. This allows for a better dynamic with the male hero, Fynn, that wasn't possible before. So stand by for an epic swords-and-sorcery adventure as unlikely heroes try to save a dying world from those who would hasten its death.

On the console gaming front, I still have to work through a lot of backlog. There's Divine Divinity, the Diablo clone that offers better gameplay in my not-so-humble opinion, bringing more RPG to the hacking and the slashing. Dragon Quest IX is also begging to be played on my NDS. I started playing it again because I intended to enjoy the tagging and partying with my sister but I've lagged behind her so much.

There's a lot of backlog in my viewing list as well: Wolverine Anime and Supernatural Anime come to mind, among others.

So it'll be a busy summer. Have fun, everyone.

Was that it?

She said she's not going to talk to me the way she used to talk to be before. I guess this is the closest we'll get to breaking up. No matter how much I think about it, I can't see the point. Why did she suddenly decide this? What cryptic thought processes did she follow to arrive at this mind-boggling conclusion.

A few days ago, she said we've grown to close, to the point that she's feeling guilty for her boyfriend everytime we're together. Especially when we're together. But that's a good thing, right? What's so bad about enjoying someone's company? People should do things because they want to, not because they think other people think it's wrong.

I don't know what's worse: "losing" her friendship or being categorized as "badwrongfun".

I guess this plot twist in my ongoing saga will let me focus on the other big change happening, but did it have to hurt this much? But yeah, I suppose you could tell me "I told you so." I knew it was a train wreck waiting to happen right from the start, when I boarded the proverbial train...

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I recently got Season 2 of this wonderful anime series, based on the light novel series of the same name. Season 2 adds 14 more episodes mixed in with those of Season 1. Season 2's episodes are supposed to be viewed interspersed with Season 1's episodes.

In fact, the first seven episodes aired for Season 2 were the 6-part The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya followed by The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya. Episode 8 is the first actual Season 2 episode, Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody. Then the next three episodes are once again taken from Season 1: Mysterique Sign and Remote Island Syndrome Part 1 and 2. After that is the massive 8-part Endless Eight story, followed by the 5-part The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, which rounds up the new episodes added this season. The rest of the Season 1 episodes are then aired after: The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00, Live Alive, The Day of Sagittarius, and finally, Someday in the Rain.

As far as book adaptations go, this series is fairly well-done, with little to no changes made. Our point-of-view character is still the otherwise-unnamed Kyon who also narrates the novels in first person. Kyon's dry wit is an effective anchor against the craziness and chaos that Haruhi generates. In fact, there were some episodes in Season 2 that I could swear I've already seen before which is impossible, although explainable by the fact that I've already read the novels that have been localized so far.

I had a Haruhi Suzumiya marathon today, covering all six parts of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Already, I am reminded just how fun reading and watching this story has been. Hopefully, I'll find more time tonight or maybe tomorrow to view the rest of the series.

My Current State of Gaming

Haven't made a post in quite a while. But that's just normal for this blog, I guess. Anyway, my main desktop PC broke down a week or so ago, and I just managed to fix it last Monday. In addition, my backup laptop's HD crashed! Having had no computer nor internet access for a week is maddening; only dying would be worse. Nothing like being deprived to get a lazy writer to finally write a blog post. And nothing like a post about gaming, my one and only true love.

Most of my gaming these days is done on the Nintendo DS Lite (I'd love to get a DSi XL when I get enough funds, but let's not hold our breaths for that).

Roguelike Gaming + Pokémon = FUN FUN FUN
My free time in the past few days have been consumed logging in hours to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky. This game allows you to enjoy the best features of the roguelike genre without the over-sadomasochism present in most of the noncommercial games. It's also the only Pokémon game I can play for long: the original monster-taming games bore me before the first Gym leader.


My main character is a ChimChar which I named Bong, after every RPG's favorite hero name (all the RPGs I've played before that allowed naming the hero have had the same name, for some strange reason, and since it coincides with my own nickname, I'm not complaining). The game gives you another pokémon as a partner and I picked a Pikachu, mainly because it's the only one I really recognize. Together, Bong and Pikachu form Team Punks, the latest apprentices of Wigglytuff's exploration guild. Along with up to two others, they delve into "mystery dungeons" (the series name for roguelike dungeons). Hi-jinks ensue.

Currently, the plots been kicking in and the guild's now preparing to hunt down the thief who's been stealing the Time Gears, artifacts that make time in the pokémon world flow freely. Team Punks is ready to kick some Grovyle ass!

The Best RPG Ever (On The DS)
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies fulfills this role quite effectively, boasting a sandbox world that can do both solo play and adhoc wifi multiplayer. Downloadable content, in the form of new quests and items, add to its already impressive list of features.

Unlike Dragon Quest VIII though, this installment harkens back to the good ol' days, when you create whole parties from scratch rather than assemble them from all-too-often-cliched characters. With 6 different character classes plus 6 more advanced ones that you can freely change into any time after getting access to All-Trades Abbey, not to mention different skill paths, there are plenty of options to keep even the most jaded RPGer playing for more than 50 hours.

And the game looks great too. Gear you wear, both weapons and armor, can be seen on your avatar and those of your party mates. The battle system is based on DQ VIII's visual style, where you can finally see your party members moving around while attacking, unlike previous Dragon Quests where you just get the traditional turn-based menu-driven combat that only offers a view of the monsters you're facing. At least one of my gaming friends, who likes playing RPGs, got turned off by DQ IV because of that.

All in all, a solid role-playing game experience, and one I look forward to spending more time with once my present addiction to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon wanes.

Other DS Games
I'm currently playing too many DS games to mention here, as my gaming ADHD kicks in every now and then. But sometimes, I do manage to finish one or two. Recently, I've finished Squishy Tank--a quirky puzzle game--and Alice in Wonderland--a quirky platform game from Disney Interactive that breaks the mold of film-to-video-game adaptations (i.e. it does not suck) and is actually quite a charming adventure.

That's All, Folks! (For Now, At Least)
Like all good things, we've come to the end of this post. I've run out of steam, and until the posting bug bites me again, I'll be gaming. I sincerely hope you will be too. Game on, everyone!

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games - Episode 1: City of the Daleks

I'm a relative new comer to the Who-niverse, having just recently picked up the series with Season 5, which incidentally is also the start of the 11th Doctor's adventures (though I did later watch The End of Time two-part special that ended the 10th Doctor's life).

I regret being late to party for this one and hopefully still get to enjoy the previous Doctors' adventures.

Along with the new season, BBC has also released episodic adventure games, starting with City of the Daleks and continued with Blood of the Cybermen,which went live for download just a few hours ago. There'll be four episodes total before they're through.

Tonight, I finally got to install my copy of the first episode, City of the Daleks. The game checks over the Internet to verify your location and will not allow you to install if you're located outside the UK. If, like me, that excludes you, you'll be happy to know that a good anonymous proxy server is your friend.

City of the Daleks is quite short, and I actually finished it in one sitting (about an hour, maybe two of gaming). Locations you'll explore include a shattered London Square and London Underground as well as Kaalaan, the planet of the Daleks. You'll be controlling the Doctor most of the time, with Amy Pond tagging right behind you. There's one sequence near the end where you'll switch to Amy. The whole experience was fun, and felt just like an actual TV episode of DW, from the prologue to the opening and ending credits.

If you're a Doctor Who fan who'd like to find out what it would be like to be the Doctor, you can't go wrong with this one. If you're not a Doctor Who fan, well, it's about time you come to the party.

I can't wait to play Blood of the Cybermen, but the proxy server I used to dupe the first episode's installer doesn't seem to be of much use over an extended period of time (the kind of extended period that a 330MB file download would require) so I'll wait a few days for a non-UK-only download link to become available.

My Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score

Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score
Category	Your Score	Average
Hacklust	51.89% Will kill for XP	53.6%
Sensitive Roleplaying	81.01% Occasionally remembers to name their PC	54.8%
GM Experience	43.48% Puts the players through the wringer	69.4%
Systems Knowledge	68.36% Local rules guru	90.4%
Livin' La Vida Dorka	65.52% Goes nuts on the weekends	63.3%
You are 59.35% pure Average Score: 68.8%
Take The Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test and see how you match up! (By The Ferrett)

Marriages vs. Friendships

We shouldn't have to choose between the two. But for three of my closest friends so far (hencforth to be referred to as L., A., J1., and J2., respectively), getting married meant cutting off the relationships we've had for more years than they'd been married now: hanging out, okaying boardgames, and most importantly, playing role-playing games.

L. was one of the best players in my home game group: showed up every session, was enthused enough with whatever setting we're playing in at the moment as well as with his character, and took care of reminding players about the next game session. On top of that, he was also a very good friend who I hanged out a lot with. All of which promptly changed when he got married. 

Mr game group which has stood intact for nearly 20 years fell apart, although L. was not fully to blame for that. Now, we're trying to rebuild the group and start a game of D&D 4E (as well as Savage Worlds, I hope). Most of the players are quite tied up with Real Life(tm) and things are further complicated by geographical separation. Still, we've got about four players that can be rounded up, L. included.

What strikes me as funny is the fact that these people claim not to have difficulty finding time out for gaming. Surely you don't have to be with your spouse 24/7! That's be hell. Would it kill people to have a little afternoon off each week for gaming? 

I'm all for my friends' happiness(-es), but surely anyone can see that eschewing hobby time is very unhealthy. Things shouldn't suddenly change just because you're married. Dumbasses.

Yet Another Quitting Attempt

I'm currently on hour 18 of yet another attempt at quitting my smoking habit.

I have no idea if this will follow through or how long it will last, Even now, the craving is pulling at me and it is all I can do to resist it.

Wish me luck, everyone!

Dragonball Z: The Director's Cut

Just watched the first three episodes of the new "remastered" Dragonball Z...

And it's awesome! I was actually disappointed at first when I saw that the animation was still the same (I thought it was actually a remake or reimagining as is common these days). But as I continued watching, the wonder of the past Dragonball Z seized me, and I was aching to see more energy-blasting action.
The pacing's a lot quicker now too. They're taking out most of the grunting, staring fillers, and cutting straight to the chase. As episode 3 ended, Goku and Raditz just died from Piccolo's Makansanpo (sp?) and everyone's dreading the arrival of Vegetta and Nappa in one year.
Can't wait to see the next episodes!