RIP - Meat Loaf (1947 - 2022)

This week we lost one of Rock 'n' Roll's greatest voices.

I don't have much to add to the volumes of heartfelt thanks for an amazing contribution to pop culture, movies and music but I'll leave this piece of artwork here as my memorium.

Dungeonmorphs Vietnam - Junglemorphs 1

In response to the August 2021 RPG Blog Carnival topic "Let's Build a Dungeon" I wrote an article "Where we're going wee don't need walls!" for my friday night club Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.  

I opined that the principles of dungeon building could, with a bit of imagination, be used to create any wilderness encounter.

The focus of my attention was an upcoming Savage Worlds: Tour of Darkness campaign set in the steamy jungles of Vietnam sometime during the Vietnam War (1969 to 1972).

In that article I suggested that patrols could be mapped using geomorphs or rather Junglemorphs.  True to my word this weekend I began scratching away at squared paper and came up with the first set of Junglemorphs.

Download a bigger version here - Junglemorph#1

Sir Ian Livingston

The 2022 New Years honours list had a surprise in store for Gamers, with the legendary founder of Games Workshop, Ian Livingstone, getting a knighthood.

Arise Sir Ian Livingstone CBE

Sir Ian became a Knight Bachelor, the most ancient sort of British knight who can trace their history back to the 13th-century reign of King Henry III.

He is a giant of the UK Games Industry (and I would argue the global one as well), being responsible for founding the behemoth Games Worshop which alledgedly is more profitable than Google.  Growing up in the 80s they dominated the boardgaming scene with epic titles like Space Hulk and Heroquest.

My Particular passion is for the bookcase boardgames released during this early period, but his influence on me includes his work as a writer of Fighting Fantasy Books, the early licensing and import of Dungeons & Dragons into the UK alongside publishing UK versions of games such as Paranoia, Runequest and Stormbringer.  

The founding of miniatures company Citadel rocked the little lead men idustry at the time and they were soon dominating the shelves with their excellent sculpts in never before seen detail.  

In later life Sir Ian got involved in Computer Games with Domark which was bought by Eidos and he was instrumental in securing the licenses to Tomb Raider and Hitman. He ended up contributing to the Tomb Raider Anniversary game.

I don't think there is another man who has made such a big impact, and continues to play a role in the UK games Industry and it is such a pleasure to listen to him speak at events like Dragonmeet which he regularly attends as a guest of honour.

Doctor Danny Dyer?

Now that Jodie Whittaker's stint as The Doctor is nearing it's end, the rumour mill has started turning.  Today, I learned that Danny Dyer could be in the running to be the next Doctor Who!

A Mockney Cockney Rhyming Slang Timelord.  I Can't Adam and Eve it!

If the doctor can regenerate into a woman then there's no reason why she can't be a pearly king is there guvnor?  

"Avvit!" or "Avin a Girafe"?

In terms of regional accent we've had 3 Scots, 2 Scouse, 1 Mancunian, 1 Tyke, a bunch of southerners and 1 Received Pronunciation.  

However, looking at the stats, I think it's glaringly obvious that we need a Welsh doctor.  

Actor/actress options include; Catherine Zeta-Jones (Darling Buds of May), Ioann Gruffudd (Fantastic 4), Jonathan Pryce (Brazil), Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones), Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey), Michael Sheen (Passengers), Rhys Ifans (The Kingsman), Christian Bale (Batman The Dark Knight), Paul Whitehouse (The Fast Show).

That's a cavalcade of talent right there, although I do hear that Daniel Craig is at a loose end since hanging up the keys to the Aston Martin. Whichever actor gets tapped up for the role, can we please keep their identity a secret until the regenration episode airs.

Let me know who you think should be the next Doctor Who in the comments below.

I am 500 Posts Old

Congratulations to me on my 500th published post.

Here's a bunch of articles I am most proud of:

Optical Illusions Posts

I wrote a bunch of articles about optical illusions in art and movies and how you can integrate them into your games.  See: Optical Illusions

Free Mapping Software

A run down of all the freeware I could find (at the time) to help you make your own RPG maps at different scales.  This is a perrenial favourite and always seems to feature highly in my popular posts.  See: Mapping Tools Part 1 

Rescued Numerous Vintage Boardgames

Over the years I have rescued several boardgames such as Belisha, Chainsaw Warrior, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Judge Dredd and even translated my German Language copy of Cleopatra and the Society of Architects into English.   

Published my own Stuff

I have been running my own vanity project for some years now, making pocket money PDF downloads ranging from Item Cards to Papercraft Scenery check out my Store on DriveThruRPG