When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." Goodman noted, "I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," according to the below Fort Pierce Police Department report. That logic, however, did not keep cops from citing Goodman for misusing the 911 system. Even after being issued a misdemeanor citation, Goodman contended, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency."

Iron Kingdoms - Dungeon Adventure

If you are one of my players - do not read this post.  :)   (I don't think any of my players read this... but just to be sure...)

So, in about two weeks or so, I will be running another installment in our big Iron Kingdoms adventure.  I decided I wanted to run a big expansive dungeon this time around.. and I have hashed out a few ideas...and there are still a few things that need hashing out.  I have run one small dungeon in this campaign already... a small mine excursion... but not a real dungeon.

You need to understand some basic Iron Kingdoms lore to fully follow...  I will keep it brief.  A horrible race of people came from across the sea, they were called the Orgoth.  They arrived on the shores of the Iron Kingdoms, and conquered.  They were undisputed.  They were a vile people.. using dark magic, trapping the souls of their victims inside weapons to power them.. using necromancy, worshipping their foul gods.. just all around dark and evil race.  The subjugated the peoples of the Iron Kingdoms for a long time (about 300 years I think) and then the people rebelled, and overthrew them... using the advent of magic and technology.  The Orgoth fled back across the sea, never to be seen again.  They destroyed everything they could get their hands on as they fled; however, many of their cities, temples, vaults and other structures remained.  That was about 600-700 years ago.  Now there are Orgoth ruins scattered about the land.. many have been inhabited by other opportunistic creatures... others have been raided and pilfered for military purposes... but many still remain untouched and

 undiscovered.  The Orgoth are known aesthetically for their armor, weapons, architecture, art is all adorned by carved horrific faces.. usually wailing in agony.  Here is an example (see pic) ... this a Doom Reaver... his sword is Orgoth, he is not.  

Anyway.. the party (level 6) will be entering the ruins of an ancient Orgoth city called Old Korska.  They will encounter it as they travel east, as they will rescue a man (I need to introduce a new PC) who is being held captive in the ruins by a tribe of Bogrin (bogrin are kinda like dire goblins) and battle will ensure.. but just as they begin to defeat the Bogrin (who will be a not-too-tough encounter) they will face a Bullette.  The Bullette will erupt from the ground, and begin the slaughter... hehe.. but really its purpose is to weaken the ground below the party... the stone streets of the ancient city... and the trauma will be too much for the old ruins... and the ground will collapse in as a huge section as the stone streets and some of the ruins crash through the (now weakened) ground into the underground city below... the landslide will  drop them into the first level of the dungeon, and seal the passage behind and above them.. trapping them inside.  They must now face the long dark of Old Korska...

I did not create the map for this dungeon.  I was originally planning on it... but then thanks to this post at Penny Arcade I discovered the Cartographer's Guild.  And through their forum I found this thread, which was chock full of awesome dungeon maps.. included the one I will be using, an 7-8 level dungeon (which was inspired off of the Tokyo subway system).  Its a really cool and  expansive dungeon... part of the top level will be closed off due to the cave-in.. but all the other levels will be there.  So I need to fill these dungeon levels with all manner of traps, encounters, and puzzles.  The general idea is that this dungeon was under the control of a powerful and wealthy Orgoth family before the fall of their empire.  They were involved in a lot of the invasions, and this area was where they dwelt during war times, and served as a staging ground for their assaults.  It was also, on lower levels, their home and safe house, as well as "research" lab and vault.  Here is what I have so far...

The first level will be inhabited by an Iron Kingdoms race called the Dregg.  They are a horrible twisted race of creatures known to dwell in underground lairs.. (They look alot like the Skeksis from The Dark Crystal, but a bit less bird-like) they often perform raids to the surface for food, supplies, weapons... and a dungeon such as this is a great "base" for them.  I am going to contain them to the top level, as the other levels are sealed (more on that later)  Anyway, they provide me with fodder to attack the party though out the first level.. after all, these Dregg may have a way out of the dungeon, or the cave in might have sealed them inside as well. At which point.. they have nothing to lose... They can make for a diverse encounter group... they can have stolen rifles (for artillery) some warriors (soldiers) and sorcerers (controllers)...  and should prove tougher than the Bogrin up above.  Basically, when I use the Iron Kingdom monsters (since they are not 4e) I just find a monster in the 4e Monster Manual that is appropriate level for what I am looking for and adapt it a little to fit the Iron Kingdoms "feel".  For these guys I am planning on adapting the Troglodyte stats to fit these Dregg monsters.  The above Bogrin will more than likely be Bugbear stats..

I am also excited to use the "classic" Otyugh garbage room encounter.. (this could be one route to the next level, down the pit into the garbage pile).. or it can be a room on the same level.. a place where the Dregg throw their used-up stuff and victims.  I was planning on making the encounter include some Gelatinous Cubes as well.. (making for a very thorough garbage disposal).  A large room with two corridors leading out, a pile of junk in the center (otyugh).. when they run for the corridors... they discover they are both full of gelatin... (not the kind that has pears cut up inside, the bad kind).  One otyugh doesn't seem enough of an encounter; hence, the reason I am adding some G. Cubes.  I guess I could advance the otyugh some as well... I guess if its a very old otyugh... or anyone suggest a good template?

The Orgoth are also known for their evil experimentation, in regards to constructs and undead.  So I am planning on having one level be the "workshop/lab" level where the would have conducted these experiments...this level could have numerous undead creatures.  There a couple Iron Kingdoms specifics.. a creature called a Excrutiator.. an ancient undead master of torture.. he can be adapted to be a "mini boss" and they are often known to use lesser undead for protection.  (cue undead encounter here).  There is also a construct called a Dread.. basically what the Orgoth did was take a warrior, perform a horrible ritual over him, then pour molten metal down his throat.  the metal eventually hardened, and you now have an  undead warrior, retaining his previous abilities, but now made of metal on the inside.  This will be another "horror" of the "lab" level... (I told you these Orgoth were nasty...)

I also want to use lots of traps.. I haven't used many traps so far.. so it'll be a new experience.  Privateer Press's No Quarter Magazine actually did an article on Orgoth dungeons and mentioned some of the types of traps they used.  "The Orgoth favored mechanical traps, many whose purpose is to main and disfigure those intruders who are not killed outright.  Traps encountered include poisoned arrows, darts and spears, wall blades, falling blocks, tripping chains send unwary into spiked pits, sprays of acid, or fogs of poison gas..." (No Quarter No.5, pg. 55) So I have lots of options there.  >:)  There is even a mention of the Orgoth coating the walls and ceilings of the rooms/passages with a poison. When the intruders enter, the heat from their torches causes the coating to dissolve into an odorless gas, causing hallucinations and paranoia.

I also want to utilize some puzzles...and I am planning on having the main entrance to each level of the dungeon (there will undoubtedly be other entrances, secret doors, holes etc) be a sort of puzzle door.  (no, there will be no kicking chickens into them, and they don't speak in old wizened voices)  The Orgoth always carve faces into things.. so the faces will be tied into the puzzles. Perhaps one door leads to the crypt and burial chambers of the family.. so maybe finding the one face that is "weeping" is the key to opening it.  On another I was going to have all the faces have their eyes closed.  In order to find the right face to "activate" they will need to extinguish all light sources in the room, and the appropriate face will glow slightly...  I still need to come up with a few more of these doors... and some more encounters.  

OK... so I trap them down there... but I need to find a way for them to escape.  I am not planning on this being completed in one session (though our sessions usually run all day).. so I am thinking of maybe having a way out about halfway down... perhaps a natural cavern that broke into the constructed one.  This would give them a way out of the dungeon to rest/resupply, would provide a good stopping point (if we get that far) and allow them to return and continue the search later.  Though I really hope they go all the way down.  >:)  [that's an evil DM face btw...]

good ol' SONY :)

You gotta love the Onion News Network

Campaign Wolrd Ideas #2

Cosmology (and a bit of racial history)

This is the easy one.  I decided to utilize the 4e core model of the Outer Planes.  This leg work is already done.   There will be the Shadowfell and the Feywild, as well as the Elemental Chaos and the Astral Sea.  I am also planning on using the Far Realms, in theory.  I think its an interesting cosmological plan, yet remains simple (especially compared to the 3.5 notion of the Outer Plane).

The only thing I need to decide is "how thick the walls are".  I am actually not very fond of the idea that the Eladrin dwell in the Feywild, and live in cities that are wholly in the Feywild, crossing over to go adventuring in the normal world when they wish.  In my world passage between these ralms is closed off.  The elves were the original inhabitants of the 3 worlds... the Eladrin living in the Feywild, the Eladrow (later changing their names to just Drow) in the Shadowfell, and the Eladurin (elves) on the normal world.  But over time, the echo realms expelled their inhabitants... trapping them on the normal world.  The eladrin sought out their brothers, the elves and the two races formed a community together.  The drow however, sought refuge from the world and hid in the shadows, and formed their own secret empire underground.

While the elves were sorintg themselves out, the other races began to establish themselves on the normal world (I need a cooler name than "normal world", but for now it'll do)... 

Theology

So I am not using any of the core D&D pantheon, except for Tiamat.  Instead I am looking to a create a simpler, and more straightforward pantheon of gods.  But one that still has a lot of versatility.  I am using alot of filler terms and adjectives for now, for I don't have specific names for alot of these ideas yet... just bear with me.

First we have the "common" gods.  These are the core pantheon of the majority of the denizens of this world.  The only other gods beyond this pantheon are the Elven god(s), the Dwarven god(s), and Tiamat.  There are 4 gods within this "common" pantheon.  Each god a representation of one of the four cardinal alignment directions.  God of Good, God of Evil, God of Chaos, God of Law.  No one disputes the existence of these gods; however, their purpose/appearance/ideology differ among the races.  Each race sees the gods in their own image... humans look at the God of Law, and see a man with a dark beard, middle aged, wearing gold robes.  But that same god, in halfling texts, may appear as a ancient wizened old halfling carrying a twisted cane..or something.  The god is still the same... and the only unifying features will be the alignment, the name (though each race may have a title, or alternate name, to accompany the true name) and the gender.  Humans may see the God of Chaos as a woman, her hair wild and full of colors, they may believe she encompasses deceit, treachery.... while at the same time, the Orcs may see this same Goddess, but to them she is an amalgam of beasts constantly shifting out of form, a mutant creature encompassing their own racial rage, representing destruction and power.  The important thing: it is still the same god... just perceived differently by the different races.

I am not sure what I am gonna do with the Dwarves yet.. still working on them...I am thinking they are the only ones whose gods are actual ascended being, dwarves thought to have achieved god-hood through their own hard work.  I also thought that maybe the dwarves were more closely tied to the elements, so maybe each of their gods are elemental based?

The elves... I was thinking that maybe the elven god was... damaged... maybe split by some catastrophe... or maybe he/she divided himself willingly when he created the three elven races... and the three parts have gone at odds with one another... one that embraces magic... one embracing nature, one embracing darkness.. something like that.  Still working on these too..actually, as I type this, more concrete ideas are forming... maybe there was one race of elves created on the normal world before it was split into the Normal, Shadowfell, Feywild.. and when the world split, so did the god and his people...

so many ideas... head gonna asplode...

AND Tiamat... she is the god of all dragonkind... kobolds, dragonborn, dragons of all kinds.. but she is Nuetral... and somewhat of a metaphor.. you see, she has multiple heads... and these heads, often refered to as aspects, represent very different things... when one worships Tiamat, you generally worship an apect (head) of Tiamat.. so maybe you worship the "good" head of Tiamat, or perhaps the Chaotic head... but the point is, good/evil/whatever.. dragonkind all worship her.  She has no realm.. by is constanly flying between all the realms... theologians often discuss whether her heads are real or metaphorical.. but her image is always that of a great dragon... she is mentioned (if only in passing) in every theological text.. regardless of the god.  Often she is thought to be the most powerful and feared of all the gods...often unjustly blamed for the actions of some of her "children..."

I feel better having these ideas.. "on paper"...

WARMACHINE mkII

FULL METAL COMBAT, MK II

PRIVATEER PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW EDITIONS OF WARMACHINE AND HORDES

Seattle WA. February 9, 2009—Privateer Press, Inc. is proud to announce the new Mk II edition rules for its WARMACHINE and HORDES tabletop games.

“In the past six years of WARMACHINE, the game has grown rapidly, and we feel the time has come to reevaluate and retool in preparation for the upcoming years of full metal combat. We have chosen to tighten the bolts on both the general game rules and the individual model rules to make every model as compelling as possible and to perfect the WARMACHINE experience,” stated Jason Soles, Privateer Press lead developer.

The public will get their first look at the WARMACHINE Mk II rules in April through an open field test, allowing players to become familiar with the changes while providing feedback that will assist Privateer Press in making final adjustments to WARMACHINE Mk II before going to press.

The WARMACHINE: Prime Mk II rulebook will be released to the public in early 2010. The new edition of HORDES will follow later in the year. All tournaments, leagues, and release events that make up Privateer Press organized play will adopt the new edition on its release.

More information regarding the WARMACHINE Mk II rules will be announced as it becomes available. This and other news items can be found at www.privateerpress.com and in the pages of No Quarter Magazine.

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Exciting news!  The game is in need of  big redux to the rules.  They are pretty sound, but the sheer number of models has caused it to get quite complicated.  A streamlined version of the rules.. consolidating a few things, and re-balancing things from the ground up would be great.  I am looking forward to seeing what transpires.  It is also very cool that they are doing a public trial of the new rules before they run them in print.  Its a great idea to make sure they don't miss anything.. the folks in the Privateer Press Forum are quite thourough when it comes to disecting the rules...

Good to know...

Street Fighter 4 'How to Unlock All the Characters' clip

Basically, you have to beat the game with every character in order to unlock every character... kind of anoying... It be nicer if you started with them all... I can see having to unlock Akuma, Seth, and Gouken (they are all sort of "boss" characters)... but Dan? Rose?

Akuma - Complete Arcade mode with all other unlockable characters

Cammy - Complete Arcade mode with C. Viper

Dan -  Complete Arcade mode with Ryu and Sakura

Fei-Long - Complete Arcade mode with Abel

Gen - Complete Arcade mode with Chun-Li

Gouken - Complete Arcade mode with Akuma

Rose - Complete Arcade mode with M. Bison

Sakura - Complete Arcade mode with Ryu

Seth - Complete Arcade mode with all default characters

Looks like Phil B. will be playing a couple rounds as Chun Li  :)

-- I also read some rumors that you need a certain ammount of perfects rounds and/or ultra combo finishes to unlock Gouken and Akuma... no confirmation on that yet.--

HORDES:Metamorphosis - Feb. 25th

Change of an epic scale is sweeping the land. Makeda leads the Army of the Western Reaches to the Abyssal Fortress. Thagrosh undergoes a terrifying transformation as the power of Everblight increases. Krueger pursues a path of glory and stirs an ancient enmity. Madrak struggles with the curse of Rathrok even as he relies on the axe's strength to defend his people. And above all, the dragon threat grows ever stronger.

HORDES: Metamorphosis is the second expansion for the award-winning miniatures battle game set in the untamed lands of the Iron Kingdoms. Evolve your Monstrous Miniatures Combat with:

Three commanding new warlocks for each faction, including new EPIC characters.

Powerful new warbeasts for each faction, ready to rile.

Dragoon rules introduced into HORDES for the first time.

New painting and modeling guides for each faction.

Limited edition hardcover available while supplies last.

Adapt and Annihilate! Be sure to reserve your copy today wherever Privateer Press products are sold!

Chun Li Evolution

Street Fighter 'Chun-Li Evolution' video

So far I'd have to say the Alpha 3 version is my favorite.  Hopefully, SF4 will change that.