Category: Reviews

  • The Hunger and The Dusk is story fuel for your hot orc summer

    The Hunger and The Dusk is story fuel for your hot orc summer

    As a lover of fantasy fiction and storytelling my friends have consistently suggested comic books for more D&D source material, for further stories. Unlike many in the space, I was not a comics fan and certainly not a collector in my youth.

    I came to comics through soccer — the friends that I made through the game. The first person who really convinced me to give comics a shot was ETHAN HD, owner of Destiny City Comics and real life superhero in Tacoma.

    We chatted about subcultures, genre and the power of story. I picked up a couple comics, different formats — March, Dungeons & Dragons, some supers stuff.

    Later, again through soccer, I met G. Willow Wilson. We chatted about the paths to fandom, embracing stories of others and discovery of commonalities in differences. I now have a Poison Ivy book, because I loved and learned from Wilson’s Kamala Khan and her Empty Quarter.

    Wilson has a new series coming out and it’s right up my alley. The D&D vibe is strong. The Hunger and The Dusk is set in an enviro-apocalypse with an invasion of alien and/or planar beings. I’ll probably create the main characters as NPCs in my world.

    Releasing to the public on July 12, The Hunger and The Dusk from G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose is story fuel for any Dungeon/Game Master who tells fantasy stories. You’ll immediately recognize the first issue’s story of destruction, sadness and tiny bit of hope.

    This preview is from a pdf of issue #1 given by G. Willow Wilson. I had already pre-ordered the issue based on earlier reviews.

    I will attempt to not spoil anything.

    An interior cover of The Hunger and The Dusk. The left frame shows a building on fire. The right of the frame has the title The Hunger and The Dusk wrapping around a dark cloud. The character Will walks away from the fire, his head hanging.

    This is an interior cover, effectively the transition from prologue to main story. The prologue shows the multiple dangers facing the world. There’s environmental destruction forcing migration, there are the conflicts between human and orc, and there are the Vangol — an alien and superior being destroying all living things.

    They came out of the Dusk

    A view of orcs and humans after a Vangol raid. The colors and reds and oranges, with several bloody figures on the ground. The few standing are helping each other treat wounds. The main characters are in the distances, walking away from the destruction.

    The introduction of the Vangol is violent, swift. They are more powerful than orcs and humans acting on their own. Whether warrior or farmstead the peoples of this world cannot stand up to the Vangol.

    They came as an Omen

    The combination of language, color and layout are powerful. You see scale of story and individual depth in equal parts. The main characters are Gruakhtar Icemane, and Callum Battlechild (I think that’s Will too in later scenes). They have complimentary fantasy tropes and there’s depth to them behind just tropes early in issue 1.

    The Hunger and The Dusk mixes color themes in a way to signify despair and hope. Lush green fields are rare, a brief respite in a world where there is drought up and down the coast. The ending image of issue one is a transition from the oranges of a violent dusk to a soft, dark green hillside show that our protagonists might just be heroes, if things work out.

    I’m excited to see where the story goes. In interviews Wilson has said that this is a “hot orc saga.” I expect there’s some romance, there’s certainly found family to come, and there’s probably hope, because the world of The Hunger and The Dusk deserves hope.

    The final frame of issue one, this frame shows the main characters walking away from the destruction behind them. They enter a green land, still dark. Tara and Callum are out front, a third character is chasing them.

    The story of Gruakhtar Icemane, Callum Battlechild and the Last Men Standing is available in The Hunger and The Dusk at your favorite local comic book shop (like Destiny City Comics) or online on July 12 and throughout the hot orc summer.

  • Beer Review: +1 Charisma Pale Ale from Boundary Bay

    Beer Review: +1 Charisma Pale Ale from Boundary Bay

    A beer? For nerds! It’s getting to be more and more common these days. Classic Bellingham brewery Boundary Bay’s +1 Charisma took a journey down to me via a coworker.

    Once upon a time I was a distributor for Boundary Bay. I’m not any longer. Their Scotch Ale was one of the beers at my wedding, and I consider it one of the best of that variety.

    This beer was a gift from a friend.

    Boundary Bay +1 Charisma Bay Ale

    Close up of +1 Charisma's 12 ounce can. It looks like a character sheet.

    Beer Review

    First, let’s talk about the beer like a beer.

    Reminiscent of their classic IPA with lighter hop character. It has bitterness, like a classic pale or western IPA. There’s some malt character, providing a crispness. A good balance with the mosaic and moteuka hops.

    Boundary Bay didn’t overdue anything and for someone in the PNW or who regularly drinks strong beer this could be considered a session at only 5.5% ABV and 42 IBU.

    If you are looking for a easy drinking, quality beer that treads that line between West Coast IPA and classic Pale Ale with no haze or sweetness this should be on your game table.

    It currently isn’t on the tap list nor available for order on the website, which tells me this is a Bellingham, WA only release.

    D&D Character Review

    The can art is a Dungeons & Dragons character sheet, and properly done.

    Vorlauf the Great is a 5th level sorcerer with a brewer background. The art makes it look like a custom lineage (hop plant humanoid).

    Str: +1
    Dex: -2
    Con: +2
    Int: -2
    Wis: +1
    Cha: +1

    That’s a valid set of stats for the AC 14, speed 30, initiative -2, +3 proficiency bonus character with the Saving Throws all correctly done. Their preferred spell is Fireball, though I would have been tempted to use something with acid or Hideous Laughter, because it’s a beverage.

    The available spell slots are true to the game, as is the Brewer’s Tools. There is a custom magic item, an Ale of Bewitching (Wondrous, Rare). The section Features and Traits includes the tasting notes.

    Unlike many who dabble in D&D inspired merchandise, Boundary Bay’s artist seems to actually play the game. This character isn’t merely an homage, it’s the real deal. This is a playable, if not quite optimized character. I’ll be adding Vorlauf as an NPC to one of my games.

  • The Willow trailer is more proof that there’s never been a better time to be a fan of fantasy

    The Willow trailer is more proof that there’s never been a better time to be a fan of fantasy

    Back in the 1980s there was a cute little movie called Willow. Featuring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and others, the film opened well and then petered out. But among certain fans it maintained this legacy and appeal. There’s a little person (Davis), even littler people (two Brownies), Kilmer with a sword! and extraordinary effects. The story is quite a traditional tale of people without anything in common trying to save the world.

    Eventually when it was on video tape it developed a reputation as a grand adventure and we all loved it.

    Now, there’s a new Willow — with the same message, better effects and even more of everything. The cast is wider and the story more grand. It looks like an epic Dungeons & Dragons tale.

    That trailer shows every member of the party featured in the spotlight. Some are noble. Others are urchins. There are sorcerers and fighters. Davis is back and so are the Brownies. The princess is now longer a baby. Where the original Willow explores just a single continent in the world the new series explores the world and more.

    It’s an epic fantasy tale and another example of the wide variety of fantasy that is available in the 2020s. Sword & Sorcery, Epics, Grim dark, Magipunk, comedy and more subgenres of fantasy are available. Every streaming platform is hoping for a tentpole series, with none dominating right now.

    Like, there’s a lot of fantasy and there’s more to come.

    Honor Among Thieves looks like it will great. Wheel of Time is still in the Top 10 for Prime Video Streams. House of the Dragon and Rings of Power are battling every week to be the most watched non-sports/awards show. Legends of Vox Machina season two is still to come. Witcher season three. Shadow and Bone.

    Outlander, Last Kingdom and Black Sails are genre adjacent in that they are period shows that people who play D&D think of when they play D&D.

    All of this isn’t powered by franchises like Marvel, DC, Star Wars or Star Trek.

    Fantasy is capturing global imaginations and our dreams. We’re watching. We’re playing. We’re creating new stories with the old tropes seen a right angle so as to capture the people who we’ve always been. Fantasy is built around tales of cooperation among those with different backgrounds, skill sets and races. Fantasy is built around the authentic statement that the diverse group is the strong group — it’s been true for the millennia of myths about dragons and the people who fight them.

  • Reblogging — TV Series Review: The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)

    Source The first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina were just released on Amazon Prime Video. The show is based on the first campaign of “Critical Role”; a Dungeons and Dragons live play podcast and twitch stream. So far three episodes have been released; it is difficult to judge whether or not the […]

    TV Series Review: The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)
  • The Black Dice Society is more than an introduction to the Domains of Dread

    The Black Dice Society is more than an introduction to the Domains of Dread

    Unfamiliar with the Domains of Dread, besides a short dip into Barovia back in my original gaming group’s Interview with a Vampire phase, I’ve been drinking up the recent Lore You Should Know segments in Dragontalk, which helps. But, as a pandemic-retired DM and current player it helps to see the different angles to horror. The Black Dice Society does that.

    The show involves an intricate plot, with dream sequences and appearances by various Darklords who are pushing the characters through the mists, using them as pawns in the struggles between various Domains. Those Lords of Dread are ever present, even if merely as shadowy figures that the characters know could interfere with their lives and hopes. Sometimes they are much more than that.

    Within BDS is a group of characters who have grown up within the Domains and those who are from “normal” places. This dynamic leads to some characters having powers that are a bit creepy for the normies. This twist helps immerse the viewer or listener in the Mists. You are made as uncomfortable as the characters, who roleplay this quite well. As the group bands together these outsiders will become familiar with each other, but until then there will be a bit more creepy factor that is unusual within streamed shows. This dynamic is perfect for the story and genre of Black Dice Society.

    The whole thing is horror, PG-13 horror. Fear is ever present. Death and afterlife are significant themes. B.Dave Walters has crafted a tale that is much more complex than my other listens (NADDPod, D20 Dames). The buy-in from the players helps create a tale that is full of apprehension and unease.

    Then he spins another story over the PCs, creating a dizzying disquiet Walters has the Darklords observing. Their plots and treatment of the PCs as potential minions keeps a watcher-listener worried about betrayal. There is a sense of cosmic horror because they are all just so puny against those that rule the Domains. So far, the balance has allowed success with a constant fear of failure. That delicate string could break at any time.

    And that’s why I keep watching. What started as a desire for me to learn more about Ravenloft became an attachment to the story. What started as background audio is now foreground audio – no longer my second screen, but my first.

    How to Watch: Playlist of The Black Dice Society on YouTube

    It’s live on Twitch.TV/DnD on Thursday, without interfering with your Critical Role schedule. You can also catch up on the D&D YouTube channel.

    That’s their session 0.5 at GaryCon and a link to the full official D&D playlist for The Black Dice Society.

    Cast of Characters

    • B.Dave Walters – DM
    • Deejay Knight – Desmond, a human Ranger or light Fighter
    • Tanya DePass – Fen, a Bloodhunter dhampir drow
    • Becca Scott – Tatyana, a genasi Barbarian
    • Saige Ryan – Valentine, a reborn abberant mind Sorcerer
    • Mark Meer – Brother Uriah, a Cleric of the Grave
    • Nora Ibrahim – Nahara, a reborn fallen aasimar Warlock
    via their twitter

    How to Follow The Black Dice Society on Social

    Their billboard with Patreon, social links, and a way to buy dice inspired by the show.