A blog about tabletop hobby and or strategy games, with a side order of electronic turn based goodness here and there. Now with tons of retro gaming content both electronic and tabletop. Also with 20% more self loathing douchebaggery!

Monday, November 23, 2009

A Posting Cornucopia of.. STUFF

Why just.. STUFF? Cuz I have a long work week thanks to holiday schedules. And... I can actually use the money. Like really need it. So enjoy a selection of silly things, quick ruminations, and junk like that.

This is what gaming with me gets you:
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CHEESECAKE! Holiday themed Cheesecake, covered up until game day with a plastic lid that still has that sticky glue crap on it. I haven't done anything one could really consider cooking in a LOOOONG time. Like 06 or so. Even this was mostly just a mix. But I mixed it.. WITH LOVE. (And not that kind of love. Sicko.) I tweaked the recipe a bit, adding in some Pumpkin Pie spice for that little something extra. And I dunno how it will be cold and all, but the batter on the blender blades was AWESOME. Seriously. I had the urge to just say "To hell with my diet, to hell with everyone! Imma eatin GOOD tonight baby!". Luckily sanity prevailed. But if its as good in actual chilled cake form as it was in "remaining batter on blender blades and mixing bowl", its gonna ROCK. I put it in an Oreo cookie pie crust, put some soft (ish) peppermint sticks on the top (which I had to break to make it not look odd. I want my decoration to be somewhat symmetrical!) that have a bit of the old PMint action seeping into the cake, and some Christmas Tree candies as extra sprinkled decoration for something that should be festive and tasty.

This is the kind of nice things people who game with me get. Because I am awesome. (Eventually someone will realize it, right?)

This next topic is just a picture I saw on whichever rendition of the Warhammer thread Something Awful is up to now:

Librarian GOB

"Tricks Brother Michael? That's something a Sororitas turns for money. What I do is enforce the Emperor's most holy will made manifest through time and space using me as but a humble vessel for his limitless might!"

The quote is from me. I see a Space Marine Segway and I can't help but think of Arrested Development. That show was awesome.



This is how I sell stuff on Ebay. Personalized descriptions, a fair price that isn't ripping myself or the consumer off, and I am showing I care. With this item I just sold, I think I have passed the 1K mark in things sold in the last few months. Of course much of what I have sold is nerdy things that are seriously wanted by other nerds that I myself do not want anymore, but at least its (for the most part, at least one Ebay seller has bought one of listings to obviously be resold at a higher amount!) going to a good place and I am making money and the purchaser is saving money over MSRP or other Ebay sellers.

I mean I have one of those Magic 15th Anniversary 2 player life counters. I have mine up currently for 30 with a Buy it Now of 50. The only other listings are from a seller who has them in his or her store for 100, 100, and 200 or so each depending on color.

I am selling my nerd stuff I don't want and taking up space to my brother and sister nerds and I hope it shows. I even put little personalized notes in most of my items.

Those Orks? They went in under 5 minutes, though it was to someone in an IRC Chatroom I have Ops in (#tinypewtermen in the irc.synirc.org channel. SA Goon Warhams talk. Or as some say: "Cpt Rufus' personal sperg arena". I talk a lot.) who wanted em so bad he is willing to pay shipping to Australia. So my Orks get to visit Kangaroos and Koalas! He has done a pretty good job converting AT 43 Type 3 infantry suits to Ork Killa Kanz so I expect him to do the same to my "counts as" ones!

Actually I had quite a bit of interest in the channel as I was asking for price advice and such on the Boyz. I just ended up going with something a little under what I paid for them. I think. I've been buying the Orks off and on since.. 99? 2 sets of Gorkamorka (1 of which was a free gift for a year's subscription to White Dwarf, back when you got something good for subscribing AND the magazine had useful game information instead of being a commercial you pay for.), a couple trades here and there, and the odd massively good deal on ebay. I am SOOO gonna miss those Night Goblins converted to Gretchin.

But the way I look at it, I need cash for other fun things I want. (And bills. OH GOD BILLS.) I am not using the stuff, so why not pass it on, and if I can make a few bucks doing so? ROCK ON.

And I had another epiphany at the disastrous 40K game last week where my World Eaters using the Blood Angels PDF codex were the Japanese Schoolgirl to the Eldar's Naughty Tentacle Demon. (And just what is it with those Tentacle Demons? You would think they would find a nice lady tentacle demon far more attractive than some icky human. Are they like the Furries of the Demon World? Shunned and mocked by being freaks who don't find their own species that attractive?)

See I mostly play 40K for the fun of it. Its not a particularly well designed game. Its not a particularly well balanced game. Its in no way, shape, or form a particularly CHEAP game. Or even moderately priced. I like to make odd and silly lists that do odd and silly things.

But because I had Orks, Eldar, Tau, World Eaters/Blood Angels, Chaos Marines, Tyranids, and Imperial Guard I was spending what 40K money I had on bits and pieces of each army, never really gaining any skill or competence with them, and not really having enough models to do various strategies and army builds. So I was totally Barding it all out. Jack of all trades, master of none. I keep forgetting what units do, and even forgetting rules while playing. Its too many armies for one game.

Sure my Imperial Guard are mostly just a dual duty with my AT 43 games so they kind of get a pass. But the others? My Eldar are so haphazard and unfocused they seem to have eternally sucked since 3rd edition. My Tau are boring and tedious to play. I find Orks funny but I seem to maybe play them once or twice a YEAR at best. I love my Nids because I love the Alien movies (even the god awful ones. Its like Jaws. Its got XENOMORPHS IN IT. I can't help myself!) and I have enough to be flexible. My Chaos army is so old now its massively flexible too. My World Eaters/BA can mostly be used with my Chaos for insanely large Apocalypse games.

Not to mention my Ork and Tau army builds can mostly be replicated in my other armies. So why even keep them? I can pay some bills or get some stuff I might actually USE, and get more enjoyment out of the armies I do want to keep. I mean I love my Eldar even though I can't seem to win a single game with them unless I play Stinky Kid. (I'll get to him in a later post.)

See one thing I have learned the last few years whilst stupidly draining my bank account (not always on goofy junk, sometimes its bills I never knew of or expected, or emergencies, or just not realizing all those little coffees and such really do put a hit on the ol' finances!) is that while I may HAVE more stuff, I spend LESS time with each purchase and I get far less enjoyment out of them.

You know those god awful videogames we all bought as kids? In some cases we still loved them and have fond memories of them. Because its all we had so by golly we were gonna beat em and get our money's worth! And we had time and reread favorite books and comics. And even replayed our games just out of the love of it.

We had less and appreciated more.

Its why I am cutting waaaay down on what I buy. I now ask myself if I REALLY want it. Do I need it now? What use will I get out of it? If I wait a while can I get it cheaper down the line?

And the latter is a BIG thing. Do I need to play that hot new videogame NOW, or can I wait a year or two and instead of spending 60, spend 20 instead? I mean, is a great game less great if I wait a year or two? I've got more games to play now than I will ever finish as is!

Something to think about.

Well, I probably won't get time to make another update till after the Thanksgiving weekend so have a great holiday if you celebrate it and your job doesn't force you to work it to amuse the sad horrible people who do not!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Review Corner: Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine Ironclad Dreadnought by Games Workshop

Well the times, they are a changing. As is the purpose of my blog. While I will talk more about this in December, stuff like what y'all get today is part of the new intent. More reviews and information you can use. While some will not care about all the details I get into in my typically wordy style, I want to cover all the bases and give you, my reader, the most information possible.

So let's get this comic review started. (Note: A small minority whine they can't read my text. Either use an image zooming feature nearly every OS has now, or get your eyes checked. I can even read it on an iPod Touch with minimal zooming. I know people have read them on 12" mid 90s monitors. I've read them on 2 different sized iMac widescreens.)

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A minor bit I missed in the review was scaling the model against a normal object like a CD or DVD case. Our little plastic bundle of overpriced joy stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and is about 3 inches wide. Its smaller than a 10 dollar Transformer at Wal Mart. And it doesn't even turn into a truck.

Edit: CURSES! I reread the damned comic twice to pick up grammatical errors and to do some text and box reformats. And I still missed a misspelled word. Its articulation, not whatever the hell word I apparently came up with. Sigh. Its like every comic I do is doomed to have at least 1 wrong word someplace.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Speaking of Corporate Douchebags..

http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2009/11/12/31361

For those too lazy to point and click: Games Workshop, known for being buttfaces to both customers and retailers have begun embarking on their latest way to piss off their fanbase. Going after fansites that have been keeping the flame alive IS NOT COOL.

Hell, Games Workshop will go after online retailers who dare post PICTURES of their products to sell saying it violates their Intellectual Property.

Really?

Isn't there this thing called "Fair Use"?

Is posting a picture of a box or the odd scan from a GW product or even fanart or fangames actually a threat to Games Workshop's ownership of their IP?

Do lawyers and Copyright law have any common sense? Do courts have any damned logic or sense?

(Actually no, but let me dream a little that people aren't ignorant buttweasels, if only for a little while, ok?)

I mean, its bad enough Palladium pulls some of these sorts of shenanigans basically harassing and boning people who are basically GIVING YOUR PRODUCTS FREE ADVERTISING BECAUSE THEY LOVE WHAT YOU MAKE OR MADE.

This is especially notable in the most recent bouts of Cease and Desists GW has sent as most are to RPG and Blood Bowl sites, products Games Workshop barely acknowledges they or one of their licensees produce. The fans are doing more for those products than the company that produces them!

Maybe my non law degree self is all dumb and stuff, but shouldn't there be some happy middle ground where someone else's IP can be discussed, shown, and enjoyed by the people without having to make sure its approved by the IP holder?

Its not like it actually affects the ownership of or the profits of the IP holder in many fan project/site type cases. Posting up PDFs of army books? Sure that's butt. Making a program to play Blood Bowl online or fanart or conversion rules projects? No.

If that sort of stuff was a threat Squaresoft and Capcom would be out of business instead of selling millions of copies of some of their games and tons of merchandise (including THREE dedicated SKUs to a 150 dollar joystick designed to play on ONE system and primarily for ONE game... see today's other gripey rant!) even though fans draw fanart, have websites, sometimes even dress up as the characters and play the piano. Hell, people draw comics showing the characters largely doin it (and since much of that output is from Japan doin it generally seems to mean rape. DAMMIT JAPAN STOP BEING CREEPY AND VILE!) and sell em at fan conventions and it doesn't affect the companies' bottom lines or the understanding who the characters actually belong to.

Heck, a North American publisher put out a pricey art book covering one of Capcom's more nichey fighting game series and it sold so well they are planning on doing more comics about the game.

Fan projects just don't cause the troubles lawyers seem to act like they do.

Yet fighting against the fanstuff? That does.

Maybe by the law GW and their ilk are in the right.

But by all common sense and decency they are wrong. Fox News wrong.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Yay Sony! Corporate Speak for the Lose!

Some backstory: I bought a Playstation 3. I bought it used for 30 bucks more than a new smaller machine that uses less power and has a smaller form factor yet a bigger hard drive all so I could have a model with backwards compatibility letting me play my 60 or so Playstation 2 titles I have bought for the machine since I got it in THE YEAR 2000.

Well thanks to toy collectors having far too much cash on their hands I am selling stuff I choose no longer to have out of lack of space, lack of love, and embarrassment for having toys in the first place at my age I have lots of money for fun things.

So as I have a good 20 arcade styled PS2 titles ranging from classic SHMUPS to Fighters to arcade retrocollections I decide that 150 dollars for a good PS3 arcade stick is a nice thing and its a great time to do it.

My first mistake was not doing enough research on either of my 2 stick purchases. My first for 150 and since returned was the Tekken 6 Limited Edition box with game, wireless stick, and a pretty art book. Reports on the stick said it constantly cut out on people, the buttons died fast, and it was certainly not worth its cost as part of the box. Time wasted on 40K day to return it and I didn't get to play 40K at all. Oh, and the manual with the stick THAT WASN'T MENTIONED ON THE BOX AT ALL said it didn't work with PS2 games at all.

So I spent more time getting the stick everyone seems to respect if not love (hardcore fighting game fans are SCARY PEOPLE), the Madcatz Street Fighter 4 Tournament Edition stick. Which is 150 bucks just for the stick. (The Tekken 6 threw a nice artbook and the game in the box. )

I had heard people say it did work with PS2 games but on Madcatz website after I had it in my home it said it did not.

AWESOME.

So I sent myself a little email to Sony customer support asking for any info. Below is my message and the wonderfully corporate lamespeak I got in return. (I'm bold. Sony's response is in Italics.)

Ok. I have a 60 gig backwards compatible PS3. I have a decade's worth of PS2 titles I would love to play on the machine. But fighting games just don't work well with the Dual Shock controllers and never have. So I bought a Madcatz Street Fighter 4 TE joystick for a 150 dollars, a VERY substantial amount of money for me.

And.. it will not work with PS2 games with no visible reason, and Madcatz' FAQ says "maybe when Sony does an update".

When is this update due? It should take a programmer about a half hour or LESS to make the joystick work as it works on my iMac with NO issues whatsoever, and it works fine and dandy on PS3 and PS1 titles on the machine.

So do you guys have a date for this?
If not I need to return this stick as I bought it to use with PS2 titles. I have 20 PS2 games that would work wonderfully with this arcade stick yet for some reason it does not.

If I am gonna be forced to play my arcade favorites on MAME I certainly won't bother with a 150 dollar PS3 stick!

I have a LEGITIMATE collection of games, an expensive console, and an expensive joystick.

So when will I be able to use it?


Ok. Seems like a fair question right? I am a consumer who wishes to know why something so goshdarn SIMPLE isn't working as it should. I mean, is there any reason for a USB stick my iMac picks up and plays without any issues to not work on the system it is dedicated to? I mean the stick has toggle switches so you can use it as any of the 3 directional controllers present on the PS3's Dual Shock/Sixaxis controllers which work fine with PS2 games. Is there any logical or valid reason the stick is ignored by PS2 software?

None anyone with half a brain can see. Maybe some programmer out there could tell me why not. (Of course for 150 bucks the stick should work on the 360 as well but Sony and Microsoft have little proprietary shenanigans going on so the USB controllers have to be properly vetted for each machine. Meaning if you want to play on both you either need to buy 2 150 dollar sticks, or spend some time and money getting fan made circuit boards and some skill with soldering irons and power tools to mod it yourself. Oh for the days when almost every system but the NES and PCs used the same joystick port and you at least got single button and stick control on them all..)

But here is the wonderful corporate BS reply Sony sent me I have been promising for a couple paragraphs now:


We apologize for the delayed response regarding your request. We apologize for the inconvenience. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has not released any details concerning the product, project, or development referenced in your email. SCEA and its affiliated companies are regularly engaged in extensive research and development in many areas of the computer entertainment industry. Hence, we cannot comment on future PlayStation(R) developments, projects, or products. We appreciate your enthusiasm and continued interest in our products, and hope you understand our position. You may however, visit our website at http://www.us.playstation.com/ and view our current press releases and future updates.


Yeah. That sure helps you buttweasels. I had to go to the Playstation website for the contact info in the first place. I don't read Kotaku for its intelligent commentary. I go there because its all the dumb game news I might want. No I do NOT understand their position. Either tell me "we have no plans for this in the foreseeable future" which while annoying is at least HONEST, or if they are working on it or mulling it over "We are working on this issue but do not currently have an arrival time for it".

That's clear and not a pile of nonsense which tells me nothing and pisses me off more than a simple "we have no plans to correct this issue". (Which while INCREDIBLY DOUCHEY OF A SOLUTION, its at least at least calling a spade a frakkin spade.)

So now I have a 150 dollar stick which I can use for a handful of PS1 arcade type games that don't look like a mess of 2nd generation polygon barf (something PS1 3D games are entirely wont to be), and a handful of fighters on the PS3 I really don't want (outside of the upcoming Street Fighter 4 2nd edition game with more dudes and dudettes I won't play because I refuse to use anyone other than the first lady of fighters Chun Li!), and a handful of Playstation Network purchases of old arcade games I already have on collections that run on my PS3 but Sony has decreed I should be forced to use their mediocre control pad for. While the Dual Shock series have a fair D pad and decent enough face buttons (and now really nice shoulder buttons), its not good enough for fighters or a proper home arcade experience. And for general modern gaming their analog sticks are unsatisfying to be generous. (The 360 has far superior analog sticks. Your thumbs rest in them. Which I prefer. Concave is superior to convex.)

I am 35 and I love classic arcade titles and my tour in the Navy was the early 90s when thanks to Street Fighter 2 arcades had their final glory days. I want to bring that experience home and am happy to pay the cash to do so in a satisfying and easy experience. (Its why I mainly use Macs for computing and consoles for gaming. I aint got time for nonsense!)

But as it stands I either return the stick and feel like a doofus, or I keep it and use the Mame emulator to play games I already own, but have to deal with the questionable legality of downloading ROMs that don't always friggin work.

Instead of say, popping Fatal Fury Archives into my PS3, selecting Fatal Fury 2 or Special, and kicking patootie with my homeboy Terry Bogard. Or throwing Namco Museum in and getting some Rolling Thunder, Dig Dug, or Galaga action in. Or Taito Legends 1 and 2 and getting my Bubble Bobble, Bust A Move, and Elevator Action fix.

This is the future dammit. I have a pocket sized supercomputer that can take pictures, play music, surf the web, make phone calls, be a GPS roadmap, and play games of near Dreamcast level quality and technical sophistication.

Is it really THAT hard to make a dedicated console joystick that works with every type of software that console runs and its default controller is happy with?

Really?

I guess Dark Helmet was right.

"Even in the future nothing works!"



PS: Its sad when NINTENDO seems to let almost everything be playable on the Wii. Nearly every Gamecube game and Gamecube accessory works on the Wii plus most games and their Virtual Console retro catalog of downloadable games not only work, but you have multiple control options for most of them. I'm hoping the Madcatz lower end fighting stick will come out for the Wii as they have planned. Not only can I use it to have Tekkaman Blade fight Mega Man, I should be able to play NES Contra and Castlevania with it. If they can just make old Gameboy titles playable either via purchased download or a new Gameboy/DS player like the Gamecube had. Hell do both! I've been wanting Game Boy Donkey Kong since I first played it on an original DEATH TO YOUR EYEBALLS V1 Gameboy.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Movie Review/Game Ideas: Paranormal Activity

WARNING WARNING! Spoilers ahead. It is recommended you either watch the movie first, or don't care about having the whole thing spoiled. Last chance to back out jerky!

IM SERIOUS. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT STOP READING IT NOW DOOFUS!

(Edited at 11PM November 3rd with some direct gaming ideas.)

I saw the movie earlier today, without knowing anything other than that it was a horror film, its name, and it was made on the cheap. I hadn't seen any reviews or previews or anything. (I got rid of everything but Basic Cable a few months back which I don't actually watch anyhow.)

Its a movie that builds dread and you have to at least have a suspension of disbelief about it all.

The basic plot and synopsis
Our story involves a young twentysomething couple, Katie and Micah. Katie is a graduate student working on becoming a teacher while Micah is a day trader apparently doing really well as they have a very nice house in San Diego California. Katie has been having weird occurrences happen to her and Micah buys a very expensive camera and audio setup to try to get it all on tape. Come to find out Katie has been harassed by a mostly unseen entity since she was a child, and believes it to have caused her childhood home to have been destroyed.

The film is done from the viewpoint of this camera, ala "Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield" two movies I really like.

Micah's filming causes additional friction to the couple, and an early discussion with a psychic reveals it is most likely a demon not a ghost, and that it is actively following Katie. He recommends consulting a Demonologist, and Micah's early skepticism and failure to heed the psychic's warnings that it feeds off negative energy merely antagonizes the entity whose actions amp up more and more through their 3 week ordeal.

Later on as they are low on sleep and their nerves continue to fray more and more they make even more mistakes even as the evidence mounts. Now unable to get a hold of the Demonlogist they were recommended the demon apparently possesses Katie, kills Micah, then looks at and attacks the camera facefirst.

Now on to my thoughts about the movie and some thoughts about some folks' comments on the movie.
Yeah one of our two leads did some dumb things. Early on because he like most of us would be a skeptic. Later on he wanted to handle it MAN STYLE. By the time he realized the threat it was too late and he was so sleep and emotionally drained he did idiotic things.

You have to empathize with the characters and actually care about them. If you go all "its just a movie blah!" of course you won't like it. If you need special effects and to see everything you won't like it either. I liked Blair Witch and Cloverfield and I like this sort of movie. (I am a huge fan of the original Dracula novel too, so I sort of like this "from the character's point of view" thing.)

Plus the style is raw and leaves you drained and empty. Even with this apparently derided ending you are left MESSED UP by the experience. And I actually like the demon coming up and attacking the camera. Its the demon's way of saying "Hello mortals. You cannot stop me. I will invade you in your homes. I cannot be contained, controlled, or reasoned with. I have all the power. And I have a body. I am coming. For you."

And that's chilling. Hell, I even yelled out "Word that rhymes with TRUCK!" even though I knew what was coming up next. It was a mostly sparse audience, but 655 PM on a Connecticut November Monday isn't going to be a packed house, especially with the amount of showings it was getting. (And the theater staff commenting most of their business this day was for the movie.)

If I was a character in the film I certainly would have done things differently, but even as a skeptic on the supernatural, I am not a disbeliever either. I know enough to know I don't know enough. Plus I would be (outside of being doomed to die via possessed lady) lucky to have a lot of cash for a nice house and an attractive lady. How some of people can not find her attractive (and even call her fat!) is beyond me. She could be any woman you meet in the real world.

So I really liked it but can understand some people would not like it. Folks who need constant action or who nitpick EVERY stupid thing characters do in movies or folks who only want REALISTIC films. (I knew a pit boss at the casino I worked at who was proud to have never seen Star Wars as he wanted "reality" in his entertainment. I wonder if he realized he worked in an industry based around a complete LACK of reality..)

But to each their own. Nobody is gonna like everything. Hell, each of us should realize everything we adore and hold dear is utterly despised by someone else out there.

Why some folks seem to have spent the last 2 weeks posting about how much they hate the movie leaves me baffled though.

Most of the audience I was with liked it, though a few didn't. A couple folks were either coughing, laughing, or shrieking around the 3/4ths mark of the film but I just ignored it.

The two characters are well acted and you generally feel bad for their plight and wish you could help them and warn them of some of their more foolish actions. (A Quija board? Yeah. Dumb move there. I am not sure I believe in the supernatural, but I know well enough that YOU. DO. NOT. USE. A. QUIJA. BOARD. EVER.) The practical special effects were all well done and if there were any CGI effects I really could not tell, though some of them had to be given the 15,000 dollar budget I have heard the film cost.

But have you ever got that feeling in your eyes when the supernatural is discussed or you read a tale about the spectral unknown? Where you begin to tear up a little around the edges, and you want to leave all the lights on, you know.. "Just in case"?

This movie did that for me. if you like films with a sense of dread and not big showy special effects productions, I highly recommend this movie.

I do kinda want to run a Call of Cthulhu game as a sequel to this though. It leaves with a nice hook. (Or New World of Darkness Mortals. The trail could lead to a.. special place. A Silent Hill perhaps? :pyramidhead:

(Yeah that's a cheesy idea but it could work if done right. And the right player group.)

What really did happen to Katie? Is she still possessed? Where has she gone? Has the demon altered her, slowly warping her flesh into a proper host for a demon? Is her soul still within her body? Did she have to watch her boyfriend being murdered by her, powerless to do anything? Did she not know, but was then shown its handiwork afterwards? What is the demon doing NOW? Is it going to possess others? Is it bridging a gateway to bring other demons across? Could Katie just be a latent psychic whose powers she has no control over? What if for brief instances she can retake control of her body?

An entire adventure or campaign could be created answering those questions above. And the film itself is a great example of setting a proper mood for a horror game. It starts off basically normal, with even some jokes. Then the night comes. Things get worse and worse each night. Sanity frays causing foolish actions to be taken. The feeling of helplessness and dread descends upon you. Then, a brief instance of terror with most left to your imagination. And it ends. You have no answers, no denouement. In fact, you have more questions than answers.

And you know, it does not care about locked doors. It will visit you. In your sleep. Just because. And it feeds off your suffering and pain. And you cannot stop it. If it wants you, it will have you. And it can wait.

Pleasant dreams.

(Some game ideas below.. if you can sleep after seeing it. I must say I had.. difficulties in sleeping. I wasn't scared but the movie wouldn't leave my mind, nor that final bit..)

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay/40K Roleplay.

The basic concept would work great in either line. A young couple connected to a semi important merchant or noble has gone missing with a basic log or servoskull readout telling the basics of what happened. If playing a game as the aftermath to the events it will be time to hunt down and purge the demon with cleansing fire and blade. (Some chain powered if its 40K.) In the Warhammer universe the demon is clearly either Tzeentch or Slaanesshi in origin. It either possessed Katie to further its plans, or just because it enjoys feeding on pain and negative emotions, something Slaaneshi demons love.

(As an aside, how come every Warhammer Slaanesh fan merely fixates on the sexual side of things? Slaanesh is about emotion and passion and senses. Not just URF URF SPLUT...)

Now that it has a body, what will it do with it? Perhaps the Tzeentch demon will use her money and minor influence to put plans into motion, perhaps fleeing the planet/region and going where it can cause great harm and nobody will really find out that Katie is missing and wanted for murder. If Slaaneshi, she will probably form dark cults in either universe, seducing other young nobles and bringing them into her dark ways.

The hunt could involve investigations, explorations of tombs or now daemon infested starships, it could have big battles in the deep underhives.

And if you want to use the events in the movie itself directly and change things? Howabout a noble asking the PCs to protect Katie and find out what is haunting her. Perhaps she is a latent psyker? Witch Hunters and Inquisitors will need to be blunted from her as their main answer will be to kill her and let the Emperor/Sigmar sort it all out. Can the PCs save Katie and her macho yet problem escalating fiancee? Or will they just make things worse? Why is she being harassed? Is there a cult behind it? Does Katie's family hide a dark secret?

Similar ideas could be used in many Palladium games, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, Legend of the Five Rings, D&D, and even lighter games like Kobolds Ate My Baby! or Ghostbusters.

(Though it would be lighter and funnier in those cases. Perhaps Katie is possessed by Vor who is angry at Micah for being such a doofus and he then decides she could make a fun way of smiting annoying Kobolds. He can send his avatar to do it for them and eat the furry little blighters without having to constantly look at what stupid things they are doing, and have the fun of watching a human devour them live. In Ghostbusters maybe the demon is a bored spirit who was a teacher and just doesn't think Micah is a good fit. Perhaps its less scary and more amusing in its actions. Maybe instead of killing him, the demon just gives him nightly wedgies and messes up his stock trades. (I know if I were a demon haunting a young woman I wouldn't want her with such a yuppie bro type either. Especially when he does stupid things to annoy me directly!))

See? One short movie leads to a ton of inspiration for adventures if not entire campaigns.

The fact its a darn spooky movie just makes it all the better!

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