Sunday, September 24, 2023

Chucky Shorts

Chucky season 2 is finally availability in Peacock and season 3 premieres soon. I’ve decided I would watch the whole franchise (which is available on Peacock, minus the reboot which I’m not counting). While doing some research about the following extra shorts. I thought I would share because they are fun and I’m sure there are other interested folks that don’t know about them.

The first was a Seed of Chucky bonus feature.

The following videos were mash-up promo shorts released for Curse of Chucky. It’s fun seeing him inserted into other movies.

Inked In Blood Review

The only thing America loves more than violence is being angry about violence, every night at 8:00 PM on the dot.

This is a follow up to Thursday's post about Ice Nine Kills. Inked In Blood is a graphic novel that bridges the story between The Silver Scream and Welcome To Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2.

INK's lead vocalist, Spencer Charnas, created the concept and the story was written by Steven Foxe. The art was created by Andres Esparza and Phillip Sevy. 

The stories protagonist is Heather, an Ice Nine Kills superfan. She's got tickets to see them and is ecstatic. Unfortunately Heather's mother forbids her from going. The reason? INK's lead singer, Spencer, has been charged with the murder of his fiancé and she is leading the investigation. 

Heather, who's bullied for her obsession with the band, decided to unite with other INK fans in support of Spencer. Their efforts prove to be deadly as they find themselves trapped in Heather's high school as a killer stalks them.  There are suspects and fakeouts. 

The story is broken down into easily digestible chapters. The story is full of horror tropes that any INK or horror fan will enjoy. The story plays out like a classic slasher mystery. Violent media and its effect of people is definitely a big topic in the story. There are even references to Tipper Gore and the PMRC. This one is a fun read for any fan of the genre, but will definitely be enjoyed by Ice Nine Kills fans.    

You can order your copy here. You can also preorder the sequel.

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I wanted to post some game related goodness, so I've going to stat out the story's protagonist Heather. Looking through What Shadows Hide, We Die Young, and Bloody Appalachia, the Final Girl class from Bloody Appalachia seemed most appropriate. Given the events of the story, I'd say she's earned a level. 

Heather Thompson
Class/Level: Final Girl 2
Alignment: Good

STR: 10 (+0)
INT: 13 (+1)
WIS: 12 (+1)
DEX: 16 (+2)
CON: 15 (+1)
CHA: 14 (+1)
SUR: 17

Courage: 14
Critical: 14
Death: 12
Magic: 8
Mental: 13
Poison: 6

AC: 13
HP: 19
Toughness: +2
Initiative: +3
Move: 12

Attack Bonus

+0 to hit melee
+2 to hit range
+1 to hit with punches and kicks

Damage
Unarmed 1
Ice Pick 1d4-1

Skills:
Athletics: Basic 1 (+0)
Art & Music 1 (+1)
Dancing 1 (+2)
Fighting: Brawling 
First Aid 1 (+1)
Investigation 2 (+2)
Knowledge: General 1 (+1)
Knowledge: Law 1 (+1)
Persuasion 1 (+1)
Stealth 2 (+3)

Traits:
Advantage on first SUR reroll each day
Advantage on Madness checks
Used improvised weapons with no penalty
+1 against Intimidate checks
+2 to Spot and Listen

Gear: Ice Nine Kills clothing, Spencer Charnas mask, ice pick, library card, extra locks on 

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce Que C'est?

Though he is the son of one of Batman's closest allies, Jim Gordon, James Gordon Jr. is arguably the Dark Knight's scariest villain. He is a human monster that totally lacks empathy. This is possibly do to when he was dropped from a bridge and caught by Batman in Batman: Year One. Whatever the case may be, he's been a cold and calculating killer his entire life. He's been show to torture and mutilate. While there's no way to be sure, he might have also poisoned an entire generation of babies in Gotham, turning them into future versions of himself.

Code Name: Talon, X-Strike
Real Name: James Gordon Jr.
Team Affiliation: Court of Owls, Suicide Squad

Medium Humanoid, Neutral Evil

Armor Class: 14
Hit Points: 76 (9d8+36)
Speed: 30 ft.
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Str 18 (+4) Dex 18 (+4) Con 18 (+4) Int 20 (+5) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 8 (-1)

Saving Throws: Dex +6
Skills: Stealth +6
Senses: passive Perception 12
Languages: English 

Unique Traits
Assassinate. During his first turn, James has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn. Any hit James scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit.
Sneak Attack. Once per turn, James deals an extra 10 (3d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of James that isn't incapacitated and James doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll. 
Total Lack Of Empathy: James has Disadvantage on all rolls related to persuasion.

Actions
Mutliattack: James makes three knife attacks.
Knife: Melee Attack. +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage.
Throwing Knife: Ranged Attack. +6 to hit, range 30 ft, one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) piercing damage.

Beware Of The Locals Review

Intro and Overview

Beware of the Locals is the first supplement to Bloody Appalachia. While the core book focuses on playing outsiders entering Bludworth Hollow, this book includes new classes and rules to let you play locals.


Character Creation

The book starts with a local specific occupation table. We're then presented with several new classes:
  • Backwoods Chemist - While the Pusher from the core book might sell illicit substances, you know how to make 'em
  • Backyard Wrestler- you're one Jim Cornette would refer to as an outlaw garbage wrestler, as the first official wrestling class for ST this, I'm super happy with this one! 
  • Family Prodigy - the class name, taken out of context is misleading, this one is designed to play a champion of the Lee and Hooper families. This class emulates the Sawyer family from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
  • Good Ol' Boy/Girl - this is just a rough and tumble country native
  • Miner - Miners have along history in Appalachia, it's hard dangerous work, the class also has an option for spelunkers
  • Moonshine Runner - you know how to drive and deliver your goods without get caught by the law
  • Mountain Folk - this is a solid class for kin that live in the back hollers
  • Mountain Preacher - this one is a fun one and very fitting. That old-time religion is an important part of Appalachian society (for good or ill). There are four variants and I've met them all (except the snake wrangler)
  • Poacher - these folks hunt when they want and where they want, laws be damned
  • Survivalist (Mountain Tracker Variant) - A doomsday prepper that's at home in the hills
Because of the lethal nature of the game, it's recommended to have back up characters ready. The skills section looks pretty similar to other ST games. The same can be said for the equipment. There is a small section on improvised explosives and quick and dirty drug creation. There's a full page of drugs, costs, and effects.

Rules For Play

Beware of the Locals adds vehicle and vehicle combat rules. There's a chart with vehicles, their costs and stats. We're also presented with ways to upgrade them (and what that costs). New car chase/race rules and specific actions for drivers are detailed (with a multiround example). Of course, the roads aren't always going to be clear so obstacle and crash rules are also included.  

Game Master Section

There are three new scenario for Bloody Appalachia. They can be played by locals or outsiders. There is an appendix of Appalachian terms. Going to be honest, I've lived in Appalachia 35 of my 39 years on Earth and haven't heard a lot of these terms. Not doubting there veracity, there just older terms. There are several useful tables like weapons you would fin in a barn, basic items you would find in a barn, what's in the cooler, as well as several other.

Final Thoughts

While this supplement is short (only 40 pages), it's definitely useful. Honestly, even if you don't plan on playing Bloody Appalachia, I think this is a good rural sourcebook for something like What Shadows Hide.  Plus it provides some vehicle rules not found in that game. Speaking of those rules, I might revisit this flick now that I have an Appalachian horror game with vehicle rules.

The art is fantastic. Peter Frain did a great job on this cover too and Christopher Torres art is metal af.

Friday, September 22, 2023

Fuccubus Friday

 


Misplaced Monsters: Volume One

Misplaced Monsters is a short monster supplement available on D&D Beyond. Each monster was illustrated and created by kids. The kids creations were then fleshed out, given stat blocks, and professional art. The product was created in partnership with Extra Life and all proceeds go directly to the Seattle Children's Hospital and Seattle Children's Autism Center

  • Coral (CR 6) a rainbow unicorn/mermaid/pegasus hybrid fey that can conjure bubbles with her magic horn
  • Dandylion (CR 6) - fey plant-lion farmers from the Feywild.
  • Rain (CR 5) - a fiery winged celestial unicorn kitty that likes to heal the good and punish the wicked
  • Scrapper (CR 8) - strong broad-shouldered constructs that are often found in scrap yards
  • Seth the Shapeshifting Dragon (CR 10) - a quick vegetarian dragon that likes to hangout in the water
  • Sheldon the Blueberry Dragon (CR 7) - an extremely friendly dragon that likes to go to parties and travels Wildspace
This is a fun little monster supplement and the purchase helps support a great institution.

Wereswans for We Die Young and What Shadows Hide

I thought it would be fun to create a new character option for What Shadows Hide and We Die Young. This was inspired by the legend of the Swan Maiden, the swanmanes of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, and D&D's swanmaes. I would say it was also inspired by Black Swan (which you would assume by my image choices), but I haven't watched that film yet. Actually creating this post has inspired me to go watch it. Hell, I believe it's considered a horror movie, so I might make it a part of the October Horror Movie Challenge.

Also stylistically I'm not a fan of "were-" and just prefer to remove the hyphen and make it one word so that's what you'll see below.

Wereswans 
Like other werebeasts, wereswans carry an ancient curse. Unlike traditional werebeasts, this curse is tied to bloodlines and the fae, meaning it cannot be passed intentionally to mortals. Because of this their numbers are much lower than other werebeasts. In general, wereswans are distrusting of most predatory werebeasts. Despite the fae origin of their curse, they tend to be on good terms with faeries and twitter fey. Their blood is considered exquisite by vampires, which also leads to distrust between the two peoples.

Wereswans tend to be lithe and beautiful. Once they reach a certain age their hair is replaced by extremely fine feathers.  

In every generation a Swan King is born (identified by a swan-shaped birthmark). It is the king's duty to travel the world to protect and better the lives of their people. A Swan Queen is also been each generation and destined to mate with the King and share in their duties.

Racial Attributes

Features: As traditional werebeasts, with the exception of their hair turning to feathers as mentioned above)

Alignment: By Fangkin

Base Move: 12

Bonuses: +2 to DEX, +2 to CHA, +2 to Initiative, +3 to Tracking (by smell), +2 to Spot and Listen,+1 to Dance, +1 HP at each level after 1st. Select a Fangkin. Note, nearly all Wereswans are members of the Ferine Refined, though a rare few join the Silver Vice because of their animosity towards vampires.

Abilities:  Advantage on Initiative and DEX checks. Otherwise, as traditional werebeasts, though they don't get a bite attack (outside of swan form).

The Death Hunt: As traditional werebeast.

Transformation: In general this works as a traditional werebeast. However, a wereswan may transform into a swan at will and stay transformed as long as they'd like.

Werebeast Form
  • Talons (d4-1)
  • 3rd Level - Gain Flying (16 Move)
Swan Form
  • Bite attack (1d2)
  • AC: 13 (plus Dex)
  • Move 18 Fly
  • Other stats remain same
Werebeasts & Magic: As traditional werebeast.

Weaknesses: As traditional, though due to the faerie origin of their curse they are also weak to Cold Iron in all forms.

Languages: As traditional werebeast.

Lifespan: As traditional werebeast, but 50% rather than 15%.

Size: As traditional werebeast.

At Advanced Levels:
  • 3rd Level: 1/2 damage from falling (rounded down)
  • 5th Level: +1 to DEX & +1 to all save stats
  • 7th Level: +2 to CHA & Toughness 1
  • 9th Level: +1 to any two attributes