Pathfinder’s Box – Cracking Open The Beginners Box

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box has been around for awhile now but I figure it’s worth a review. Today we’ll crack open the box and look at the highs and lows of this game.

If you haven’t already bought something from Paizo before then let me put you at ease. Today gamers expect quality and Paizo delivers in bucket loads, both visually and content wise. In fact, Paizo polish would be my main reason for recommending anything they sell. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, if you don’t know, is actually an improved version of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. You’re not getting a new game here, you’re getting the next generation of a game that won a place in the hearts of role-players everywhere.

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The Amazing Spider-Man

So I just saw the Amazing Spider-Man. Wow!

Now, I’m a little biased, because I’ve always loved Spider-Man. Spider-Man is fast, agile, confident and has always stood up for good ideals. Spider-Man doesn’t kill his enemies, he puts himself at greater risk to preserve all life. Spider-Man has always been my favorite super hero, I’d choose him over Wolverine, Captain-America, Iron-Man or any of the others.

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Concept Art – Claustrophobia!

Today I thought I’d share some of the concept art I’ve done for Claustrophobia! so far. Its been loads of fun getting out the pencils and brushes for this project, mucking about with watercolours and ink again. When I wrote Claustrophobia! I only had 24 hours for the creation process, so the concept art lets me explore the world in more detail. I’m excited to see where it will lead. Continue reading Concept Art – Claustrophobia!

The busiest station in the world

We’ve become so used to the pace of our little city that we were completely thrown on a recent visit to the capital. Tokyo is teeming with people and nowhere more so than Shinjuku station. Twelve train networks connect there, the station has 200 exists and about 3400000 people pass through everyday! Because you arrive underground and walk a myriad of passages, it is tough to keep your bearings. There was interference on my phone’s mapping system and I couldn’t help but wonder if an old-school compass wouldn’t have been better. However, once you arrive, there are stacks of things to do.

The station and surrounding area is jammed with trendy fashion shops and boutiques. I beelined for Isetan – a department store catering for tall and western sized people – but after seeing the exorbitant prices (a nondescript denim skirt for about R2000) I was reminded of the reason I buy so few brand clothes. Not wanting to give up on my hunt, I ventured into another clothing store, O1O1. Alas, it didn’t have anything nearly big enough, but it did provide some great entertainment. The six floors are hung rail to rail with cute and crazy little girl outfits for teenage girls and women. Each floor is themed: from frilly pink princess dresses to metal studded, black, goth garb. The walls are painted to suit each theme and it’s worth going to check out the conglomeration of interior and fashion design.

Clothing display at O1O1, Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Dressing up (especially for cosplay) is REALLY big in Japan and a stroll around Shinjuku presents an interesting array of eye-catching outfits. Other impressive sights are the magnificent skyscrapers. It is quite surreal to look up at the towering architecture.

Tokyo is packed with foreigners so there are many stores catering to us. The World Food and Liquor shop stocks wines, muesli, shortbread and blocks of real cheese. They have Amarula and Ceres fruit juice as well! There are also bookstores, such as Kinokuniya, that stock a wide variety of foreign language books.

Rodney’s latest roll-playing game, Claustrophobia!, was no doubt inspired by our trip. It features garden gnomes on a journey to the center of the earth with little room to move and growing levels of insanity – lots of fun! Check it out at risingphoenixgames.com.

Trouble’s The Name – Claustrophobia!

So, you’re an up and coming Doom Master (DM) with a Friday night game session of Claustrophobia! in the works. You’ve got snacks, you’ve got victims (also known as players) and you’ve even got an adventure. All you’re missing is a neat way to cause mayhem and destruction. Well, have no fear, I present to you… The Table of Trouble.

Spanner in the Works

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To Gnometopia in a Trash Can – Claustrophobia!

So hopefully you’ve had a chance to play test  Claustrophobia!, the game of suicidal garden gnomes on a journey to the Earth’s core. If you’ve been following my Twitter and DeviantArt accounts, you’ll have seen the engine that is Rising Phoenix Games is hard at work churning out more gnomic chaos. Today’s no exception. So, sit back, relax, open a cold one and enjoy…

 

When the Slime Hits the Fan

Claustrophobia! Slimed

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Friday Funny – Robotic Perception

I love teaching English in Japan. It’s a great learning opportunity… even if the stuff you learn is sometimes totally random. Such as when I asked my students to draw a robot and I got back pictures of Doraemon, a little blue robot cat. This is the home of Asimo right?

Asimo or Doraemon, who would you choose?
Asimo or Doraemon, who would you choose?

 

If you’re on DeviantArt why not check out my other deviations: cptphoenix.deviantart.com.

Claustrophobia! – A Short History of Gnomes

Two weeks ago I released Claustrophobia!, the game of gnomish insanity that’s currently in play testing until the end of July 2012. Since writing the game I’ve been thinking back on how gnomes became a part of my life, and indeed Western culture. Gnomes have enjoyed different levels of popularity throughout the ages. Nowadays gnomes even embrace elements of geek culture, as last week’s collection of gnomes illustrates. But what exactly are gnomes, and just how did they become so popular?

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Claustrophobia! – Gnomes To The Rescue

Recently I released Claustrophobia!, the game of gnome mayhem on-board a terrestrial submarine headed for the Earth’s core and certain doom. The game is currently in play testing until the end of July this year. In Claustrophobia! you can use garden gnomes found in the wild (or bought at a store) as your “character sheet” and so today I’ll review some of the coolest garden gnomes out there.

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Be the Hero