#Crusaders of the Dark Savant

[bolloxtothat]

Wizardry 6-8 classes but Kobolds! Who would you bring to your party to the stars and into the Cosmic Circle?

[rynnelarion]

Vol Hang explores old ruins. Which appears to be remains of former city-state Llylgamyn, featured in previous games. After centuries it becomes abandoned. It is where Wizardry 6 begins.

[videogamepolls]

Requested by @chambers-of-crimson-sleep

[archoneddzs15]

Sony PlayStation - Wizardry 7 The Pearl of Guardia (Crusaders of the Dark Savant)

Title: Wizardry 7 The Pearl of Guardia / ウィザードリィVII ガーディアの宝珠

Developer: Sir-Tech Software / Soliton Soft / Locus Company

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (Japan)

Release date: 13 October 1995

Catalogue No.: SCPS-10010

Genre: RPG

Wizardry 7 The Pearl of Guardia otherwise known as Crusaders of the Dark Savant on FM Towns, PC-9801, and MS-DOS, as well as the Sega Saturn as part of Wizardry 6 & 7 Complete is the seventh installment of the Wizardry series and a direct sequel to Bane of the Cosmic Forge (which saw a console port to the Super Famicom in the same year this PlayStation version of Wizardry 7 was released). At the end of the previous game, the party of heroes finally acquired the Cosmic Forge. However, before they were able to decide what to do with it, it was taken away by a servant of the Cosmic Lords, the cyborg Aletheides. It appears that the Cosmic Forge was in fact a clue to the location of the Astral Dominae, the artifact of life, somewhere on the planet Guardia, which has now been revealed to the universe.

The heroes then travel to Guardia, which is populated by many races and organizations with their own agendas, including the rhinoceros-like Imperial Umpani Federation and the spidery T'Rang affiliated with a malevolent being known as the Dark Savant, whose goal is to get rid of the Cosmic Lords. All these factions are looking for the Astral Dominae, finding which is the primary goal of the game. Depending on the decisions made by the player in the previous game (should he opt to import the party from there), the game will have different openings and begin in different locations. However, regardless of the initial premise, the player is free to follow or betray whatever faction he was supposed to be allied with.

I actually have to admit. It took me a while to get into Wizardry. I've always found Might and Magic games more varied and more dynamic, with their larger and much more open worlds, their flexibility, and user-friendliness (so far, I have played Might and Magic Gates to Another World and Isles of Terra. Might and Magic on PC Engine deserves mention though I hadn't played it). The first Wizardry I tried to tackle seriously was Bane of the Cosmic Forge, the Super Famicom version. I was fascinated by its character-building aspect but disappointed by the extreme monotony of its world and its linear progression. I also couldn't quite stomach the lack of an auto-map feature in a game known for its devilishly complex dungeons. I was therefore somewhat reluctant to play Wizardry 7. To my pleasant surprise, this game fixed everything that was, in my opinion, wrong with its predecessor, while retaining everything that made it great. It is a more generously designed game with a large world open for exploration, a less rigid progression, and new interesting features that come on top of an already excellent role-playing system.

The character creation can give you an idea of the game's depth and potential. I spent almost an hour rolling characters, trying to get that perfect combination of class, race, and attributes, to create the party, I really wanted. Without knowing the game inside out, however, it is rather impossible on the first try; that is why, somewhere in the middle of the game, I realized that I could have done some things differently and created a more powerful team. The discovery was a joyous one, because my party was perfectly capable of efficiently dispatching the foes, yet out of sheer curiosity and desire for experimentation I'd wanted to replay it before I finished it the first time. The game encourages trying out different combinations of classes and skills with your characters, increasing the replay value. And I barely even touched the excellent class-switching system, which allows you to create your own hybrids. Want to have a ninja who can hide in shadows, treacherously backstab, and critically hit enemies, and at the same time have at his disposal the entire spell arsenal of an experienced mage? With enough patience, persistence, and planning, you can do that.

Like its predecessor, Wizardry 7 is a beautifully challenging game - and, like it, the biggest challenge is simply exploring it. The entire game is built like an absolutely enormous, highly complex maze. There are two reasons why I enjoyed exploring it more than the comparable environment of Bane: non-linearity and automap. Unlike the previous game, Wizardry 7 doesn't put its areas in a specific order. Of course, some of the game's toughest and most coveted places are blocked off in the beginning due to a lack of certain skills and crucial items. Yet it is possible (especially during replays, when you already know where what is) to procure those items fairly quickly, gaining access to areas "out of order". In fact, you can march into the reasonably high-level Giants Cave almost right away - all you need is a high swimming skill, which you gain simply by swimming a lot. But even when you play the game for the first time, you are free to go to four or five large settlements and explore most of its dungeons in any order. This means that you feel much less "stuck" when you face a difficult puzzle - you can always go back and explore some other area, find a friendly person to trade with or get some information, hunt for better weapons or enemies that give more experience, and so on. The game keeps you occupied and interested regardless of what exactly you're doing.

The freedom of gameplay manifests itself also in the way the game handles encounters with its rather eccentric and well-written characters. You can choose to attack and kill anyone you meet in the game. This includes shop owners and crucial quest-givers. As long as you write down exactly what each character tells you, you can always finish the game, even if you literally kill everyone you meet. By the way, these characters are rather talkative and will provide quite a bit of information, enriching the game's lore - all given to you through an old-fashioned, yet strangely fulfilling text parser. They also tend to be memorable and funny. One of my favorites is the poetry-waxing Gorn King with his pseudo-philosophical musings. And who can forget the constantly inebriated brother T'Shober?..

A really interesting feature of the game is the NPC movement. Certain characters in the game don't just stand in one place, but wander around, searching for the exact same maps that you are searching for. These maps contain crucial information, and without them, it is impossible to finish the game (unless you're replaying it or consulting a walkthrough all the time). The thing is, these NPCs will sometimes get to those maps sooner than you. It will then become your priority to get the maps from them. This can be frustrating, but there are no dead ends in the game, and at any rate, it ensures that no playthrough is alike. Another notable feature is role-playing choices. You are free to join either the T'Rang or Umpani in their pursuit of the mysterious lost spaceship. Siding with one of those races will invariably incur the ire of the other, and one of the endings leads to a union with a certain faction. The different endings aren't easy to achieve and figure it - which, again, increases the replay value of the game.

On the downside, Wizardry 7 is tough. The battles, in fact, become more forgiving as the game advances, even if your character development is less than optimal - even simple straightforward leveling up gives you quite an edge. The game's difficulty lies in its puzzles, the clues to which are scattered all over the world and are really hard to find. Essentially, you'll have to explore each one of the game's large and complex dungeons to get the maps that give you crucial hints. However, some of those maps will likely have been snatched by your in-game adversaries, which means that you'll also have to find out who exactly has the map, track that person down, and either kill or bargain with him. Naturally, some people (me! me!) with little free time and even less patience can always use a walkthrough, bypassing much of the game's most cryptic and long-winded puzzle quests. Two maps, however, need to be found and used to complete the game.

Other difficulties and annoyances mostly lie in the game's somewhat user-unfriendly interface and archaic, hardcore gameplay elements such as the lack of teleportation spells. Luckily, some dungeons do provide reasonable shortcuts for quick post-exploration back-and-forth trekking, and enemy encounters lessen considerably when you backtrack on the same route.

Even though Wizardry 7 is a definite visual improvement over the previous game, it's still not very pretty, and quite monotonous. There is only one kind of tile for the cities, one for the wilderness (which consists entirely of forest), and two for the dungeons (castle and cave). More importantly, the wilderness feels somewhat too maze-like and too empty. Of course, you can always count on a treasure chest with a great weapon being hidden somewhere amid a thicket, and I suppose that's the reward for plowing through dozens and dozens of identical greenish squares, fighting sprite-sharing enemies on the way. Still, a little more variety would certainly make the game more appealing.

I am personally a bit mixed on what SCEI and Soliton have done to the portraits of enemies and NPCs in this PlayStation version. I know what they are going for, it was basically Sony flexing their 3D prowess (which was funnily enough inspired by Sony personnel seeing Virtua Fighter in the arcades), but to me, it just feels wrong somehow. I guess I am so used to the hand-drawn 2D portraits found on the FM Towns, PC-9801, MS-DOS, and Sega Saturn versions. Don't forget, the Sega Saturn version was ported by Data East and somehow Data East actually honored the good old days of 2D art in that version.

On a curious note, this must be the very first version of Wizardry 7 to actually feature some voice acting in it, though the voices are actually entirely in English (there are Japanese subtitles). If I remember, in 1996 there was a CD version of Wizardry 7 for MS-DOS PCs titled "Wizardry Gold". Somehow, Wizardry Gold is a little bit worse than this version of Wizardry 7 - it's buggier than the original Wizardry 7, features some questionable art design choices, and suffers from a bland, cumbersome Windows 95 interface. Also, Wizardry 7 for the PS1 does not support the mouse input, which feels bizarre considering Wizardry 6 and 7 were meant to be played with mouse input in mind.

In the end, Wizardry 7 is, for me, the first truly epic game in the series, one that broke boundaries and expanded beyond its scope, establishing itself as an essential classic RPG. It has everything that made its predecessors great, yet it takes risks and paves a path toward the future. With patience and persistence, this monster of a game can be tamed, and the reward far outweighs the frustration.

[yandins-beleagured-historian]

Entry #005.2ndcompany.v2[avaronedit].txt

--The Second Company, Part 1 of 5-- +Header Item: Pict-Capture, elements of the Second Company, Iron Fists Chapter, during deployments on Crucible, Poros Crusade, 985.M41. The Departmento Photartem formally apologises for resolution losses and degradation encountered during processing.+

Within every Astartes chapter, there is a company that occupies the lion's share of the spotlight. For some, this is the result of years of dutiful service, such as the Dark Angels' fifth company, or a hereditary, prominent position at the tip of the spear in the case of the Space Wolves' Blackmanes. The Ultramarines second company, oft-referred to as the Guardians of the Temple, exemplify this trend most clearly, thanks to their 'crafted...reputation as dynamic heroes'. The test for such prominence is fairly trivial, and requires that one merely browse the galleries of chapter artwork and identify the company heraldry that comes up most frequently. For the Iron Fists, this trend manifests strongest around the Second company, sometimes colloquially known as the black-blades, but more often referred to as simply "The Second". However, unlike the famous companies of first-founding chapters, the Second's prominence in the eyes of the outside world is not the result of a prodigiously long roll of honour, nor a saga of dramatic, galaxy-shaking deeds. It is a quirk of doctrine that makes the Iron Fists' Second stand out. The bespoke organisational layout of the Second dates back to around 350.M39, some half-century hence of the Fall of Taralus during Abaddon's tenth black crusade. With limited resources with which to rebuild the shattered chapter, surviving command staff were compelled to devise novel force structures in order to maximise the utility of what few assets they had. Swiftly-promoted from savant-initiate to captain (a normally unprecedented ascension that owed more to the lack of more senior candidates with more seniority), it was Llewellus Thoca who received the responsibility of reforging the Second.

Thoca deserves a treatise all of his own (which I am told exists but am struggling to locate at present), but his restructuring of the Second was one of the earliest and most immediately effective measures of its kind. The company focused itself around a core of assault veterans who had survived the Fall of Taralus by near-constant ship defence actions. The successful utilisation of these squads would prove pivotal in the company's first actions since the fall, and gradually the company's doctrine would shift towards creating and exploiting scenarios where their effect could be maximised, usually in the form of rapid, pinpoint strikes on key enemy targets. This structure had its fair share of downsides. The Second had significantly less specialised resources at its disposal in comparison to its contemporaries. The company's core strength was bound up in close-range infantry, and if improperly commanded, that infantry would take heavy casualties, especially if tasked to handle threats they were incapable or inequipped to face. These core assault squads also required significant coordination inside and outside the Second, which required company command to establish and maintain high levels of trust and cooperation with outsiders.

Nevertheless, such hardships would foster unique levels of proficiency across the company's tactical, assault and devastator units, creating a company-wide focus on cohesion, diplomacy and quality intelligence gathering. The entombment of select veterans of the company into dreadnought chassis would further this trend by preserving hard-won expertise for future generations to learn from. In particular, the tactical squads of the second company would develop a bespoke reputation for quality, both within and beyond the chapter, and it was not uncommon for individual squads to be placed under the command of other captains in instances where well-disciplined line troops were vital.

Thus, when the Second was suitably managed and supported, their ability to turn the tide of battles or even whole campaigns was profound. Such deployments frequently put elements of the Second in positions of much greater visibility to mortal soldiery and imperial commanders alike, in stark comparison to the other four battle companies who were generally more capable of operating alone. This factor would be further enhanced by the personality of the Second's captains, who were chosen by vote from within the company and were generally selected for their zeal, inspirational abilities and diplomatic candor, all the better to secure the collaboration that made the Second effective.

+Supplementary Log, Cosrau Yandin, Captain, 7th Company Iron Fists+

As a former sergeant of the Second's sixth tactical squad, Captain Yandin had this to say when asked about the prominence of the company. [edited for brevity]

"This is a feature, not a glitch. The Second lives and dies on its reputation. The moment it is perceived as unreliable by those it fights alongside, it is no longer able to draw on the support, intelligence or specialist units that allow it to fight as well as it does. You've only to look to instances like Ibossim to see how the Second fares when fighting alone." "A lot of the training leverages this mechanic. While you always train with your squad, eight times out of ten your squad trains alone. This cultivates an understanding of what happens when you are unsupported. If you make a mistake, you die, and so do those around you. The pressure is extremely fierce, as a result." "This pressure extends to every part of the company . A warrior of the Second bears responsibility for the lives of those they fight beside. But a captain of the Second carries the entire company on their shoulders. It lives and dies with him. He must be considerate enough to soothe his allies, yet passionate enough to inspire them. He must carefully consider his stratagems, yet always be ready to join the fray himself. He must be open minded to new ideas, but throne forbid he make a mistake." "That's not to say it's all as brutal as it sounds. Yes, I mean it, stop looking at me like that. The Second has just as long a history of teaching its members as it does combat-simming them into perfectionists. Sharing knowledge strengthens the whole company. Ascendants teach the sergeants, who teach each other, who teach the rank and file. [Author's note: 'Ascendant' is a term used within the company to refer to those interred in dreadnoughts.] The first squad was a self-contained bladesmanship academy long before it was the captain's personal bodyguard, and those who do make captain often spend decades being prepared for the role by their predecessor. The last captain, Exitas, could trace the teachings he received all the way back into M40, when Hayabusa Shandar was wrestling necrons out of their night scythes."

"That tradition could've continued for another thousand years, had his tenure not ended so abruptly. Exitas died on Kalidos, during the retreat from the Stygius sector, barely thirty years into his tenure and with no suitable successor prepared. Throne, it wouldn't have been so bad if we'd just lost Exitas. Samas Tenebra was right there, Exitas' direct predecessor, the only First Captain in the chapter's history to have risen from the Second. There was literally no better to teach Exitas' successor, but then Saphyre happened, and before either of them were laid to rest in Taralan soil, our beloved Chapter Master bike-slides onto the Tsiolkovan and declares Throne-damned cog-brained Artos Myra as Second Captain and before you know it-"

+Log terminated: storage capacity exceeded+

Saved by the voxcaptor, Hester Vinchix Calimorre, Historiographer-Moderatus, Logos Historica Verita.

+Attached Image: Second Captain Shado Avaron in action at the head of first squad Zaio, second company, during the "Ibossim Bloodbath", circa 639.M41. Recovered from data-fragments extracted from Praetorian XIX regimental datalink.+

[kylereadscomics]

Wildstorm Comics Reading Order

So at various times over the last year I’ve been binge-reading Wildstorm comics (Jim Lee’s imprint at Image Comics, originally named Homage, and later sold to and continued at DC Comics). While I’ve been reading, I’ve been organizing them into a good, clear reading order that keeps series and stories together in chunks, but also tries to avoid spoiling anything.

This is where I’m at so far, which goes from the beginnings of the universe in 1992 to about when it was sold to (and began publishing as an imprint of) DC Comics in 1999.

1.       Team One – Team One WildCats #1-2, Team One Stormwatch #1-2

2.       WildCats – WildCats v1 #0-4, WildCats Special #1, WildCats Trilogy #1-3, WildCats v1 #5-6, Cyberforce v1 #2, WildCats v1 #7, Cyberforce v1 #3, WildCats v1 #8-9

3.       Deathblow – Dark Angel Saga – Deathblow v1 #0, Darker Image #1 (Deathblow story), Deathblow v1 #1-12

4.       Stormwatch – Stormwatch v1 #1-3, 0, 4-5, Stormwatch Special #1, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Stormwatch story), Stormwatch v1 #6-8

5.       Union – Union v1 #1-4, 0

6.       The Kindred – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Kindred story), The Kindred v1 #1-4

7.       Gen13 – Gen13 v1 #1-5, Gen13 #1/2 (AKA Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Gen13 story)), Gen13 v2 #0-1

8.       Deathblow v1 #13-15

9.       WildCats solos – Warblade: Endangered Species #1-4, Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Maul story), Spartan: Warrior Spirit #1-4, Zealot #1-3

10.   WildCats – Gateway – WildCats v1 #10-13, Wildstorm Chamber of Horrors, WildCats v1 #14, WildCats v1 Annual #1, Voodoo/Zealot: Skin Trade, Grifter One Shot

11.   Wetworks v1 #1-7

12.   Team Seven – Team Seven v1 #1-4, Team Seven v2 #1-3, Team Seven v3 #1-4

13.   Spawn & WildCats #1-4

14.   Stormwatch – Images of Tomorrow – Stormwatch v1 #9, 25 (yes read 25 after 9), 10-17

15.   Wildstorm! #1-3

16.   Deathblow & Wolverine #1-2

17.   Backlash #1-7

18.   Union v2 – Wildstorm Rarities #1 (Crusade story), Union v2 #1-3

19.   Wildstorm Rising Prelude – WildCats v1 #15-16, Stormwatch v1 #18-20, Stormwatch Special #2, Stormwatch v1 #21, WildCats v1 #17-19

20.   Wildstorm Rising – Wildstorm Rising #1, WildCats v1 #20, Union v2 #4, Gen13 v2 #2, Grifter v1 #1, Deathblow v1 #16, Wetworks v1 #8, Backlash v1 #8, Stormwatch v1 #22, Wildstorm Rising #2

21.   Grifter v1 #2-10

22.   Grifter & Badrock #1-2 (no conclusion)

23.   Stormwatch v1 #23-27 (yes, read 25 again here)

24.   Union v2 #5-9, Union: Final Vengeance one-shot

25.   Deathblow #17-19

26.   Cybernary – Deathblow v1 #1-4 (Cybernary backups), Cybernary v1 #1-5

27.   Brass v1 #1-3

28.   Gen13 – Lynch #1, Gen13 v2 #3-7, Gen13/The Maxx, Gen13: The Unreal World, Spider-Man/Gen13, Gen13: Ordinary Heroes #1-2, Gen13: Rave, Gen13 Zine

29.   Wetworks v1 #9-15

30.   Stormwatch v1 #28-34

31.   WildCats v1 #21-28

32.   Grifter v2 #1-7

33.   Backlash v1 #9-14

34.   Brothers-in-Arms – Deathblow v1 #20-21, Gen13 v1 #8-9, Deathblow v1 #22-23, Backlash v1 #15-18, Deathblow v1 #24-25

35.   Fire From Heaven – Fire From Heaven #1/2, Sword of Damocles #1, Sigma #1, Deathblow v1 #26, Fire From Heaven #1, Backlash v1 #19, Gen13 v2 #10, Wetworks v1 #16, Stormwatch v1 #35, Sigma #2, WildCats v1 #29, Deathblow v1 #27, Gen13 v2 #11, Backlash v1 #20, Wetworks v1 #17, Stormwatch v1 #36, WildCats v1 #30, Sigma #3, Sword of Damocles #2, Fire From Heaven #2, Deathblow #28-29

36.   WildCats v1 #31-36

37.   Grifter v2 #8-14

38.   WildCats v1 #37-50

39.   Voodoo – Dancing in the Dark #1-4

40.   Savant Garde #1-7, WildCats: Savant Garde Fan Edition #1-3

41.   Gen12 #1-5

42.   Allegra #1-4

43.   Hazard #1-7

44.   Black Ops #1-5

45.   Grifter/Shi #1-2

46.   Grifter and the Mask #1-2

47.   Shattered Image #1-4

48.   WildCats/X-Men: The Golden Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Silver Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Modern Age, WildCats/X-Men: The Dark Age, JLA/WildCats

49.   Wildstorm Spotlight #1-3

50.   Stormwatch – Change or Die – Wildstorm! #4, Stormwatch v1 #37-47, Wildstorm Spotlight #4, Stormwatch v1 #48-50

51.   Gen13 v2 #12, 13A-13C, 14-15, Wildstorm Halloween: Trilogy of Terror #1

52.   Wetworks v1 #18-35

53.   DV8 v1 #1-4, ½, 5-8, DV8: Rave

54.   DV8 vs. Black Ops #1-3

55.   DV8 v1 #9-13

56.   Gen13 Interactive #1-3

57.   Gen13 Bootleg – Gen13/Generation X, Gen13 Bootleg #1-18, Generation X/Gen13, Gen13 Yearbook 1997

58.   Gen13 v2 #16-17, Gen13 3D Special #1, Gen13 v2 #18-25, Gen13 Bootleg Annual #1, Gen13 Bootleg #20

59.   Gen13/Monkeyman & O’Brien #1-2

60.   Backlash v1 #21-24, Backlash & Spider-Man #1-2, Backlash v1 #25-32

61.   Wildcore – Wildcore Preview, Wildcore v1 #1-10

62.   Phantom Guard #0-6

63.   Wetworks v1 #36-43

64.   DV8 – DV8 Annual 1998, DV8 Preview, DV8 v1 #14-23

65.   Gen13 v2 #26-29, Gen13 Bootleg #19, Gen13 v2 #30-35

66.   Slipstream – DV8 v1 #24-25, Gen13 Annual #2, DV8 Annual 1999

67.   Gen13 v2 #36-41

68.   DV8 v1 #0, 26-32

69.   Stormwatch v2 #1-10, WildCats/Aliens #1, Stormwatch v2 #11

[nomorepixels]

Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant

©️ Sir-tech Software, Inc. 1992

Image sourced from mobygames.com

[retrocgads]

USA 1996

[self-loving-vampire]

CRPG Progress 2023

I just thought I’d write myself a list of games from the highly-recommended and free CRPG book I sometimes mention.

There is still a lot of stuff from that book that I want to play, as well as other games not mentioned in it. 

Ideally I would play at least a little bit of everything on it for the best historical perspective, but in practice I find it difficult enough to finish just my existing backlog so I need to prioritize some things over others.

If a game is marked with a single exclamation mark, it means it sounds particularly interesting to me even beyond its historical significance and I want to try it for at least a couple of hours to see what it’s like.

If a game is marked with two exclamation marks, it means I have played some of it.

If a game is marked with three exclamation marks, it means I have played enough of it to have a reasonably solid idea of how it plays and all.

If a game is marked with four exclamation marks, it means I have reached the end credits or otherwise finished the game at least once.

70s RPGs

Beneath Apple Manor (!)

Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai (!)

Oubliette (!)

Futurewar (!)

Avatar (!)

80s RPGs

The Return of Heracles (!)

Wizard’s Crown (!)

Phantasie (!)

Starflight (!)

Alter Ego (!)

Deathlord (!)

Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds (!)

Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna (!)

Pool of Radiance (!)

Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (!)

The Magic Candle (!)

The Dark Heart pf Uurkrul (!)

Knights of Legend (!)

Dungeon Master (!!)

NetHack (!!)

Wasteland (!!)

Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn (!!!)

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (!!!!)

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (!!!!)

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (!!!!)

90s RPGs

Ultima VI: The False Prophet (!)

Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge (!)

Captive (!)

Champions of Krynn (!)

Fate: Gates of Dawn (!)

Disciples of Steel (!)

Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams (!)

Star Control 2 (!)

Betrayal at Krondor (!)

Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (!)

Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures (!)

Ravenloft: Stone Prophet (!)

Birthright: The Gorgon’s Alliance (!)

Diablo (!)

Final Fantasy VII (!)

Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (!)

Jagged Alliance 2 (!)

Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor (!)

Darklands (!!)

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (!!)

UnReal World (!!)

Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (!!)

Ultima VIII: Pagan (!!)

System Shock 2 (!!)

Baldur’s Gate (!!!)

Ancient Domains of Mystery (!!!)

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (!!!)

Ultima VII: The Black Gate (!!!!)

Princess Maker 2 (!!!!)

Exile Avernum: Escape From the Pit (!!!!)

Fallout (!!!!)

Fallout 2 (!!!!)

Planescape: Torment (!!!!)

Ultima IX: Ascension (!!!! DO NOT DO THIS PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE)

2000s RPGs

Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (!)

Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer (!)

Diablo 2 (!)

Wizards & Warriors (!)

ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal (!)

Neverwinter Nights (!)

Neverwinter Nights 2 (!)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (!)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (!)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl (!)

The Witcher (!)

Yumina the Ethereal (!)

Eschalon: Book I (!!)

Arx Fatalis (!!)

The Battle for Wesnoth (!!)

Space Station 13 (!!)

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (!!)

Mass Effect (!!)

Valkyria Chronicles (!!)

Dragon Age: Origins (!!)

Agarest: Generations of War (!!!)

Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale (!!!)

Dwarf Fortress (!!!)

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (!!!)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (!!!)

Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura (!!!)

Elona (!!!)

Risen (!!!)

Deus Ex (!!!!)

Wizardry 8 (!!!!)

Gothic (!!!!)

Geneforge (!!!!)

Gothic 2 (!!!!)

Temple of Elemental Evil (!!!!)

Sacred (!!!!)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (!!!!)

Gothic 3 (!!!!)

Fallout 3 (!!!!)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (!!!!)

2010s RPGs

Caves of Qud (!)

Dungeons of Dredmor (!)

Divinity: Original Sin (!)

Transistor (!)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (!)

Tale of Wuxia (!)

Pyre (!)

Cultist Simulator (!)

Kingdom Come: Deliverance (!)

NEO Scavenger (!!)

The Age of Decadence (!!)

The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (!!)

Legend of Grimrock 2 (!!)

Shadowrun Returns (!!)

Dragon’s Dogma (!!)

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (!!)

Pillars of Eternity (!!)

Darkest Dungeon (!!)

NieR: Automata (!!)

Kenshi (!!)

Vampyr (!!)

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy (!!!)

Mount & Blade: Warband (!!!)

Torchlight 2 (!!!)

Din’s Curse (!!!)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (!!!)

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (!!!)

Wasteland 2 (!!!)

UnderRail (!!!)

Fallout 4 (!!!)

Fallout: New Vegas (!!!!)

Mass Effect 2 (!!!!)

Dark Souls (!!!!)

Magical Diary (!!!!)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (!!!!)

Tales of Maj’Eyal (!!!!)

Legend of Grimrock (!!!!)

Path of Exile (!!!!)

Tyranny (!!!!)

ELEX (!!!!)

Pathfinder: Kingmaker (!!!!)

Slay the Spire (!!!!)

Disco Elysium (!!!!)

[reddus-sideblog]

A Rembrancer’s account of the House Mariqette’s affairs during the War of the Beast.

002.M32 - The Promenade Worlds - Still recovering from the terrible destruction wrought by the Traitor’s hand the Untellatian Parliament signs oath-contracts with several Rogue Trader houses at the dawn of Millennium 32 to go forth into the void beyond the sector’s borders and find resources to rebuild the shattered worlds of the Sector Untellatian with. The borders formed by the Dominion of Storms, the Acheronian Drifts, and the Xersinian Wastes send the entrepreneur-explorers into largely uncharted territory, with some daring to make forays into forbidden systems. At least two noble lines are lost to unknown circumstances in the depths of the Heart of Darkness, with the entire Trathine family’s fleet being lost to the Xersinian Wastes.

Those who scouted the regions that lie Rimwards find tens of untouched systems, brimming with unrefined resources. Mass-harvesting soon begins, with the Thune family claiming a majority of worlds before selling them to lesser houses for a king’s ransom, with interest rates that will take generations to pay off. As the newly named “Promenade Worlds” expand into full-fledged colonial worlds their remoteness draws in many noble families, who discreetly buy whole islands or continents on these planets, and create grand mansions and palaces upon them. This interest and development by the many noble families of the sector lead to a perceived air of exclusivity and refinement that the possessors of these worlds did little to dispel, leading to their lofty and grandiose title of “The Promenade Worlds”. With these periphery systems being still beyond the borders of the Sector Untellatian they were largely under the provisional purview of their owning nobility until such a time as a sub-sectorial constitution could be drafted and signed by these provisional rulers after their worlds were reviewed by Administratum logi-savants and Biologis adepts for tithe-grading. 

This tithe-grading process could last for decades, as hordes of bureaucratic adepts agonize over profit margins, labour-force numbers, and tonnage of harvested materials, double and triple checking their calculations before sending them to the nearest Adeptus Adminstratum collation nexus and awaiting a response through astropathic channels that could take months or even years that would give them the affirmation of due process needed to move on to the next step in the rigorous system. Occasionally, due to changing planetary conditions, corrupted astropathic transmissions, or lost mass shipments of paperwork, an entire system would have to be re-evaluated beginning the process all over again. This extensive and seemingly endless administrative busywork brought a sense of furtive complacency to the nobles who had taken up their private residences on these backwaters, as no end could be seen to it, and with it their private keep’s secrecy would remain unspoiled. For what reason these holds were kept can only be speculated at, but hiding away troubled progeny, dodging conscription tithes, stashing away unspeakably valuable heirlooms, and far less legitimate enterprises could all be assumed. For a handful of centuries these frontier worlds bolstered up the weakened Sector Untellatian until it could stand once more.

542.M32 - The Encounter at Scertan - As the Promenade Worlds began to face the growing pains of becoming a newly-formed subsector many of the Rogue Traders who had founded these frontier worlds now used them as stations to base further explorations into the depths of the void. As time went on these voyages would find the occasional world of use, but many of the habitable and resource rich worlds worlds had already been claimed. With this expansion of borders the Promenade Worlds came into contact with Forge World Tigrus around 374.M32. Soon after this chartist captains took to hauling raw resources from the burgeoning sub-sector to the Mechanicus sovereign space of Tigrus, and returning with manufactured goods and technological tools to further expand the scope of their industrial processes. This trade would continue largely uninterrupted for nearly two centuries, as it’s scale and rapidity benefitted the rapacious appetite of a recovering sector.

By 512.M32 an uncomfortable truth had been realized; across a wide number of the less habitable worlds of the newly-formed subsector a common xenoform was present, occupying their own primitive settlements far removed from any major human ones, but in numbers that could well threaten the less well defended industrial camps of the Promenade Worlds. The anomalous xenos had been repelled multiple times over the years by men-at-arms of the colonial world’s noble families, but as the years went on these skirmishes began escalating, some even becoming protracted campaigns, with noble families hiring Rogue Trader Militants to help them endure and scour their worlds. Even with this aid the infestations persisted, leading to a plea for help to, and interest from, Tigrus’ xenobiologists. 

In less than a decade the Tigrusian techpriests confirmed their findings, these xenos were none other than the long thought to be extinct “ork” species. While they exhibited none of the insane technological prowess that their species was said to possess during the Astartes’ engagements with them they nonetheless fit the profile of the creatures. It was surmised, ultimately, that these were merely stragglers, degenerated leftovers from the days of the Great Crusade’s xenocides, barely able to comprehend a simple firearm, much less use one. Skitarii cohorts were soon summoned, and rad-elimination protocols enacted, with consent from the planet’s rulers. This seemed to be the end to a pitiful, savage race that had no place in Mankind’s galaxy.

In the ensuing years a string of events occured that lead to the utter downfall of the sub-sector. The first of this was the growing predation on inter-system short distance haulers from the well-established worlds of the Promenade to the growing colonial worlds at the edges of it’s space. At first these were anomalous, but as the number of the escorts guarding the ships grew so too did the ferocity of these raiders. When ships laden with goods for colonies started disappearing, and some of their escorts with them, the Imperial Navy stepped in, determined to end the threat with decisive action. In 539.M32 the Battlefleet Ultima sent forth 2 flotilla of ships, consisting of one grand cruiser and three escorts each, to patrol the Promenade World’s outer edges, flush out these raiders, and crush them. These plans went unchanged for some three years, until chance had it that one of these patrol groups would investigate an astropathic plea for help coming from the Scertan system, a plea that mentioned xeno raiders preying on the isolated outposts of the planet’s worlds. The Exaction of Justice and it’s escort ships, the Torchbearer, Angelus Solarum, and the Terra’s Child took to the system, sweeping inwards to goad out their quarry. As the group approached Scertan III, the primary colonial world of the system, they made close passes on each of the planets, taking augur readings as they went. 

As the warships left the orbital rings of the gas giant Scertan VI they were hit by an unexpected bombardment that hit their rears, taking out the plasma drives of both the Angelus Solarum and the Terra’s Child, and crippling the maneuvering thrusters of the Exaction of Justice.To the shock of the ship’s captains the raiders had modified entire asteroids into attack platforms, which the initial scans had simply dismissed as ferric ore clusters. This opening salvo coloured the rest of the engagement, with the two disabled ships becoming easy prey for the lumbering asteroid fortresses. The valiant armsmen of both ships were unable to stop the tide of well-armed aliens that overran their vessels, soon commandeering them and turning their weapons against the Exaction of Justice. The Torchbearer left formation, as the Exaction suffered from the fire of her previous allies, and swung around to engage the commandeered vessels. Streaking through the hail of fire from the asteroid fortresses and gun batteries of the other escorts the Torchbearer disabled it’s rogue counterparts, annihilating their weapon batteries that were focused on the Exaction of Justice’s exposed flank.

With little left of it’s maneuvering devices the Exaction of Justice increased its plasma burn and accelerated deeper into the system, to put space between it and the overrun ships. As the Exaction hurtled forwards it approached the original goal of their interdiction, Scertan III. Coming closer to the beleaguered world the Lord-Captain of the Exaction of Justice realized how grave the situation of Scertan III truly was. It had been shelled from orbit, obliterating vast swathes of land and kicking up dust enough to block out entire continents. The devastation followed into orbit, where the shattered remains of the colony’s astropathic station and main void docks lay, now a mutilated metal corpse, it’s technological innards strewn about as though torn apart by some unimaginably immense chainsword. Then, from the opposite side of the planet’s orbit the xeno raiders struck at the damaged grand cruiser.

The hideous alien ship rounded the planet’s curvature, speeding towards the Exaction with full confidence in its ability to take on the heaviest class of ship of the Imperial Navy headon. With precious few options left the Imperial vessel’s Lord-Captain was determined to test his foe’s mettle. The Exaction hurtled towards the ugly, brutish ship, igniting her engines to full burn and taking shots at it’s pitted, spiked hull as the two ships closed the distance between them. In the last moments before the impact, the Lord-Captain Seyv Haadirge ordered the Torchbearer to retreat to the nearest civilized system, to tell the Battlefleet Ultima command upon Kar Duniash what had transpired, and regroup with the second flotilla. 

The cataclysmic crash between the human and alien cruisers was enough to totally destroy both combatants’ vessels, sending enough wreckage about to fully double the density of Scertan III’s debris cloud, and giving the vessels but a few precious dozens of minutes before they careened down to the world’s surface, obliterating a steppe continent with their furious force. The Torchbearer watched their doomed comrades with morose admiration before speeding out to fulfill their commander’s last order. 

544.M32 - The Tyrant Rises - It is unknown and perhaps unknowable if the Scertan Encounter lead to the ensuing invasion of greenskins, or if indeed the Tyrant of Jagga’s WAAAGH! had been in the making and rampaging towards these most tenuous borders of the Imperium for many years before it. Many xenoarcanists speculate it is a simple combination of the two, saying that the ork’s naval forces most likely returned to their main host and informed the orks of Jagga that the Imperial systems in that direction were ripe for the taking.

The reason for it mattered little in the end, as the Tyrant WAAAGH! swept through the  frontier systems of the Promenade Worlds, practically unopposed by the meager planetary defense forces and men-at-arms present on these planets. The endless tide of aliens tore apart the colonies of the fledgling sector and still hungered for more, and turned it’s sights to the ancient worlds of the Untellatian. As the orks renewed their strength on the spoils of their conquest the noble families of the Mariqette Reach's whipped their vassals and allies into a frenzy. The House of Mariqette was on the verge of being swept over by a green tide of barbaric fury, and they had lost many scions, assets, and entire family lines to the fury of the ork’s invasion already. The militant forces of the Imperium were occupied on the opposite side of the Promenade Worlds, pushing the WAAAGH! back from the Ostarrin Hold, and would promise very little in the way of aid to the far off Mariqette Reach.

Thusly the Lord Mariqette Solteraise the 1st summoned forth the multiple Mariqette lines that held Warrants of Trade allowing for the purchase of war materiel, most notably the Kees-Erraux, Dilante, and Deur-Maute lines. They made for Kar Duniash with all haste, and took to aggressive negotiations and in some cases acts of piracy out of desperation, being far too acutely aware of the destruction coming forth from the Rimward Reaches to care for the agonizing months or even years of due process that would be needed for the release of these vessels into their houses hands. While this was underway the Taghmata and Skitarii Legions of Bellus Prime and forces of House Vulker took to the field of battle, trying to delay the endless deluge of xenos with all the techno-arcane might they could muster. Ancient weapon vaults bearing hideous weapons not thought of in over a millennium were brought forth once more to destroy this menace, obliterating planetary biospheres in irradiated conflagration storms, phosphex bombing campaigns incinerating entire landmasses, and cybernetica constructs considered taboo by the nature of their abhorrent destructive potential commanded forth once more. Entire worlds were lost to these weapons, but it was barely enough to hold back the Tyrant WAAAGH! and the ranks of these ancient bastions of the Machine God were folding to the inconceivably more numerous hordes of their foes.

Many of scions of House Vulker were lost to hold back the greenskins, and cohorts and maniples without number sacrificed to give just another day to House Mariqette’s radical plan. The Knights of House Vulker had sworn binaric-honor pacts and intended to keep them, unto the death of their last son, but the ruling synod of Bellus Prime were becoming wary and uneasy. If the most terrible of relics from Old Night could not hold back this foe, then what? The other forces of the Imperium throughout the sector faced dilemmas of their own, with Incaladion besieged by an entire planetoid commandeered by orks, the worlds of the Ostarrin Hold dedicated to fighting a war very much the same as theirs, on the opposite side of what had once been the Promenade Worlds, and Tigrus facing a systemwide siege. There was no help to be found, from the followers of the Omnissiah or the Emperor, so the most drastic of measures were pursued to ensure the greenskins would not take their world. The biosphere of Bellus Prime was thusly poisoned with meticulous care to ensure it would be wholly inimical to the ork menace, any of the test subjects placed onto the forge world’s surface could not breathe and began to decompose within minutes of exposure.

After this act of self-poisoning the forces of Bellus Prime renewed their efforts, ensured that their home could continue to exist, even if the foe made landfall upon their world. It took still more weeks until the first of the Mariqette’s newly acquired fleet could make it to the frontlines, but once they did the effect was immediate. After witnessing the state of so many of the worlds that once held infinite promise for the noble houses of the sector their course of action was ensured. The fleet of House Mariqette would sweep through the stolen worlds and deny them to the enemy by means of obliteration, boiling oceans with lance batteries, obliterating continents in fusillades of macrocannon fire, and destroying moons and planetoids wholesale with nova cannons. Over the course of the next decade House Mariqette, supplied and followed by the remains of Bellus Prime’s Taghmata and House Vulker’s crusade fleet brought death to the lost worlds of Mankind. The destruction of planets was simply not enough to assuage their ignited rage and they took on the fleets of their sworn enemy head on, tearing them from the void and quite purposely marooning them in decaying orbits, or hauling the hulks into nearby stars.

598.M32 - The Lordly Patrol of the Dead Worlds - At the end of this grisly campaign almost two dozen systems were purgated, and only then did the Tyrant WAAAGH! resign. Though House Mariqette had bolstered its fleet with a score of ships taken from the Battlefleet Ultima command above Kar Duniash now only a half dozen of those ships were still serviceable. A handful of others required extensive refits to be considered voidworthy again, while the rest of the acquired ships were destroyed, either being scuttled as they were overwhelmed, utterly ruined by the alien foe, or in one case taking a whole enemy capital ship into a star’s corona with it while the crews of the two vessels clashed. If it could be considered a victory it was a hollow one. The perception of martial perfection of the Mariqette was marred by the brutal and terrible methods employed to cleanse the worlds of the taint of the greenskins, but their utter dedication to the Imperium would never come into question again. With the closing of the century came the sentencing of House Mariqette for their acts of piracy and theft against the Imperial Navy, presided over by the Lord Marshall of Justice for the Sector Untellatian, the Imperial Naval Review Board, and the Sector Lord himself. After the short 5 month trial the verdict was for the Lord Mariqette Solteraise the 1st and all his heirs to be punished by means of service unto the sector. This service entailed their stewardship over the worlds they had razed, to ensure that the enemies of Man would not ever use that region of space, and would not be able to use it as a route into the sector once more. To this end the Lordly Patrol of the Dead Worlds was established, with a flotilla of craft on near-permanent patrol throughout the breadth of the ruined worlds and multiple servo-automated listening posts stationed throughout the systems of the newly christened “Dead Worlds” as no longer did any of the systems once so full of promise for the Imperium resemble anything habitable.

[allcatsconstitutethesamefamily]

From Wizardry: Crusaders Of The Dark Savant Clue Book.

[aion-rsa]

Best New Movies on Netflix in March 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The month of March signals a grim milestone with it being roughly one year since COVID-19 shut movie theaters down around the world. And 12 months later, going to a cinema remains a risky proposition. However, the comfort of Netflix is still providing a safe alternative for the quarantine-bound.

Here’s a handful of new cinematic gems coming to a streaming service near you.

Batman Begins (2005)

March 1

Christopher Nolan‘s Batman origin story breathed new life into the Dark Knight in 2005 after Batman & Robin killed the movie franchise eight years earlier. Christian Bale, who gained more muscle than he probably needed for the role, turns in an excellent performance as both the troubled billionaire and the Caped Crusader. Along for the ride are Michael Caine as the definitive version of Alfred Pennyworth on the big screen, as well as Liam Neeson as Ra’s al Ghul, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, and Katie Holmes as love interest Rachel Dawes. Featuring plenty of twists and turns, a few spooky scenes with the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), and a deep-dive into the mind of a haunted man on a mission to save his decaying city, Batman Begins plants many of the seeds of brilliance that would fully bloom in its follow-up.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

March 1

Hitting its 10-year anniversary in a few months, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s Crazy, Stupid, Love. still feels like a rom-com from a different era. With its laid back demeanor, and generally laconic grooving on a plot about a player (Ryan Gosling) helping a middle-aged divorced schmuck (Steve Carell) get back on his feet, this goes down more like a star vehicle from five decades ago. Yet the piece is as effortlessly appealing as Gosling’s too-cool-for-school energy, elevating the movie over screenwriter Dan Fogelman’s more recent dramedies, such as This is Us. Plus, hey, it’s also the first movie to realize Gosling and Emma Stone have like crazy good chemistry.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

March 1

Kevin Costner’s Oscar winner is somewhat haunted by its little gold statues for Best Picture and Director, which it won over Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. However, there is still an excellent Western here that captured audiences’ imaginations in 1990 for a reason. The story of a U.S. Cavalry officer who becomes enamored with and then assimilated by a community of Lakota Native Americans, Dances with Wolves has a sweeping majesty that’s as immersive as John Barry’s score. It can be rightly criticized for embracing “white savior” tropes, but Costner’s movie still has the good grace to put performances like Graham Greene’s front and center.

The Dark Knight (2008)

March 1

Fans critical of Heath Ledger’s casting as the Joker quickly switched to praising the late actor when The Dark Knight hit theaters in 2008. A true agent of chaos, this Joker puts Bale’s Batman and his allies through a gauntlet of capers, assassination attempts, and pain. Even district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the city’s very own white knight, can’t resist the Joker’s corrupting influence as the clown lays siege to Gotham. A story about how far you’ll go to get justice, and how long a functioning society can withstand that pressure, The Dark Knight plays more like a serious crime drama (with Batman flying off rooftops on occasion, of course) than a traditional superhero romp. At a time when superhero movies were still better known for punching and tights, Nolan sought to say something more with the genre. 

Rain Man (1988)

March 1

Barry Levinson’s 1988 road trip drama cleaned up at the Oscars when it was released, bagging Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Dustin Hoffman. It’s often held up as creating the stereotype of the “autistic savant,” but this drama which sees selfish douchebag Charlie (Tom Cruise) travel across America with Raymond (Hoffman), the brother he didn’t know he had but who is now unexpectedly the sole inheritor of their father’s fortune, still stands up as a character piece that tugs at the heartstrings. If nothing else, it’s a highly quotable cultural phenomenon and a showcase of actors at the top of their game.

Training Day (2001)

March 1

Here is a film so good that its influence still lingers over pop culture to this day, even if no one quite remembers why Denzel Washington is saying King Kong ain’t got shit on him. Back in 2001, it catapulted Washington to his second Oscar, this time in the leading man category thanks to the role of Alonzo, a crooked cop who takes rookie Jake (Ethan Hawke) under his wing and (seemingly) into his vices. It’s a gritty crime thriller anchored by two strong performances, including Washington at his showiest. In fact, he’s so good at elevating this movie that it sometimes feels like director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter David Ayer have been unsuccessfully trying to duplicate it ever since.

Audrey (2020)

March 14

Audrey Hepburn so effortlessly inhabits the screen that for generations of movie lovers, she seemed unreal—a symbol of style and glamour whose feet were never meant to touch earthly clay. This, however, misses the remarkableness of her life’s journey, from starving conditions under Nazi occupation in the Netherlands during her adolescence—informing her unique frame for the rest of her life—to eventually using those unspoken memories of atrocity as the foundation to become a human rights activist late in life. In between, she had a brief Hollywood career stacked with high fashion and a shockingly high quotient of classics. In fact, she became a new image for femininity in the mid-20th century. Audrey is a somewhat rose-tinted documentary about all of this, but for those who would like to know more, it’s a lovely place to start.

Philomena (2013)

March 22

A sweet, powerful, and decidedly underrated gem, Stephen Frears’ Philomena provides a gentle touch to the true life story of Philomena Lee, a woman who spent 50 years looking for the child she was forced to give up to adoption. But even “forced” is perhaps too easy a word since in her native Ireland, she was more or less incarcerated at a convent after becoming pregnant at the age of 18, with nuns sending the child away to parts unknown without her consent. Philomena now tracks the final months of her search as an older woman through the prism of a two-hander between Judi Dench as Philomena and Steve Coogan as Martin Sixsmith, the journalist who told her story and inspired the film. It makes for a surprisingly warm and affectionate road movie.

At Eternity’s Gate (2018)

March 31

At Eternity’s Gate is far from the only film about the life of Vincent van Gogh and it isn’t the best (shout out to Lust For Life, Loving Vincent, and that one episode of Doctor Who), but it’s still worth a watch—especially for fans of the Dutch painter. With Willem Dafoe as van Gogh, Oscar Isaac as Paul Gaugin, and Mads Mikkelsen as “The Priest,” the 2018 biopic would be worth it for the performances alone. But director and artist Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Basquiat) further elevates what is a pretty straight-forward story (albeit with a controversial ending) about the painter’s final, prolific days in the French countryside into a visually vivid and emotionally affecting tale about the joys and struggles of creative compulsion.

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The post Best New Movies on Netflix in March 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3uFTdiw

[rynnelarion]

"Proud wandering Warrior, gentle Dragon" Next Wizardry fanart, featuring Vol Hang. Now full height and equipped with his alternate outfit, seen on some artwork.

[kynky]

STRICTLY BASS... MAY 2020 UPDATE

Tracklisting

Alien X – Badklaat

All Night Long – Slushii, Holly

Bahebe – Dirty Audio, Leotrix

Bakken tool – Alex Index

BARRICADE – REAPER

Blood Thirsty – Chee

Bongo Dub – Wetman

Born To Die – Besomorph, Coopex, EthanUno

Break Em – Gawm, Runnit

Brother to Save – K.L.O., Kursa, Lone Drum, Osmetic

BS6 – Hyroglifics, Sinistarr

Bubble – DJ Zinc, Alicai Harley

Bull Run – Project Paradis, Mr. Carmack, Promnite

Bust It Out – FWLR

Cheesecake – Kill Feed

Chemicals – The Glitch Mob

Chunky – Kompany, Effin

Coffee Black – Feed Me

Coming Down - Dux n Bass Remix – Sikdope, Duke & Jones, Dux n Bass

Crusade – Marshmello, SVDDEN DEATH

Dark Artifact – G Jones

Data Transfer – Hekler

Deadsong – graves, 93FEETOFSMOKE

DEATHMATCH – SVDDEN DEATH, Snails

Delirium – The Brig, Rob Gasser

Earthquake – Borgore, KULTIVATE, BLUPILL

Epoch – Snavs

Everybodied – Holy Goof, Massappeals

Family - Dirty Audio Remix – The Chainsmokers, Kygo, Dirty Audio

Fidget Dub – Imanzi, Kontent

Frequencies – Black Tiger Sex Machine, ATLiens

Get No Better – ReauBeau, Eskei83, Dani Senior

Ghost In The Bottle – Kayzo, Ray Volpe

Glass Planet – Aweminus

Good News – Apashe

Got Dat – Jantsen, TVBOO

Gully Mode – Gentlemens Club, Watson

Gunning For You (feat. Nevve) – QUIX, Nevve

Haters – Albzzy, Coleman

(Having A Sick Time) In The Mansions Of Bliss – Kahn, Neek

Hijack – Skepsis, Zero

Inside - Ekcle Edition – Culprate, Ekcle

In The Dance – Jantsen, Conrank

Into The Abyss – Zeds Dead, Rezz

James Woods – Deft

Keep Raving – Wax Motif

KILLZONE – Black Tiger Sex Machine

Leviathan – Savant

Me and You – Champagne Drip, Lucii

Migraine – Oddprophet

Moments – Gentlemens Club

Neck Crack Flashback – Chee

Never Alone – Gentlemens Club

No Poetry – Paranorman

Norman's Bait – Badger

Obstacles – Von D

Only Solutions – Infected Mushroom

Party All the Time – Darkzy, Kay

Potions - Au5 Remix – SLANDER, Said the Sky, JT Roach, Au5

POWERMOVE – PEEKABOO, ISOxo

Radiate – Fytch

Ratatata – Borgore, ETC!ETC!, SNC

Ravana – Alix Perez

Rave – Sikdope

RAVEPUNK – REAPER

Reality - Le Lion Remix – Xakra, Klippee, Le Lion

Redo – Crankdat

Rhythmic Pulse – BVSSIC

Run – Kai Wachi, Dylan Matthew

Saviour - CRaymak VIP Remix – Flux Pavilion, CRaymak, Tasha Baxter, Kaleidoscope Orchestra

Sea Anomaly – Earthnut

Senses – Snavs, Todd Helder

Set Me Free – Protohype, Charmae

Shinobi – Defiant

Shlappy - Secret Recipe Remix – Mr. Bill, Au5, Secret Recipe

Show Dem – Truth

Sike – KDYN

Sleep on Me – Axel Boy

Smoking Blunts - Pushloop Remix – Abstrakt Sonance, Substance, Pushloop

Space Swamp – Figure

Starcrossing – NastyNasty

Stay – Franky Nuts, Katie Sky

STFU – Akeos

Stogned – Aweminus

Stop Lights – Watch the Ride, Prima, Emz, DJ Randall, DJ Die, Dismantle

Suffocate – Kayzo, Bad Omens

Sunshine – Truth

Supernoize – Yellow Claw, Juyen Sebulba, RayRay

Systematic Error – Sleeper, Youngsta

Team Takedown – Krimer, Spag Heddy

Tell Me – Fransis Derelle, Josh Rubin

Tomahawk – Mystic State

UKG G – Seb Zito

Walls Cave In – Soltan, NAZAAR

Wholesome Degenerate – Klutch, James Seville

Wish You Would – Slushii

World Builder – 12th Planet

WYN – Gl0bal

Yella - Keith MacKenzie VIP – Smookie Illson, CLB, Keith Mackenzie

Ymir – BEATSMASH

SUBSCRIBE // SHARE // HIT SHUFFLE

[helbeard]

Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant - First Impression Backlog Deat...

[voidvoyeur]

i kno this blog has been no activia for the past week or so but i was Thinking lately abt why loomis is considered such a contentious character by fandom here -- not only being a filter for carpenter’s ableist inspiration for michael (a man he saw in an asylum with a ‘schizophrenic stare’) buuuuuut also that loomis’ character is another pillar in a pantheon of characters within classic horror that aligns with the trope of The Savant ( think van helsing, older priest in the exorcist, tangina in poltergeist etc.) many of these characters have a preternatural knowledge of ‘true evil’, especially if they come from a religiously christian motivated basis, therefore the evil they describe is aligned with the satanic / eg.  loomis: ‘the blackest eyes, the devil’s eyes’ 

          so, in halloween, on the one hand it is contemporary in its basis, it actively concerns itself with being a modern horror that wants to portray a terrifying and traumatic event in an everyday safe-as-houses town, but it still relies on age old formula of narratives throughout media history bc good vs. evil is timeless, however loomis is a therapist / doctor -- who is waxing near-shakespearean dramatics that u would hear from a priest. (sidenote: carpenter also cast donald pleasence as the priest in prince of darkness lmao)            this kind of Crusade against michael that loomis swears himself to inevitably creates tension when stressing the reality of his occupation and status as a doctor with a phd - especially when considering the long history of medical malpractise against ppl who are mentally ill .. but carpenter’s purpose is constantly trying to remind the audience that michael is an embodiment of a person who is evil  - michael is all at once a human and not, he is The Shape who wears a faceless man’s mask .. he is not based within the fantastical, he is not an unseen mist of a demonic force, he doesnt turn into a bat or possess a toy clown, he’s not a virus nor thunderstorm that can raise the dead, he’s an Evil Man           the objectivity of the metaphor loomis ‘prescribes’ michael with is obviously met with scrutiny in the film - the nurse in the car : ‘can’t we call ‘it’ ‘him’?’ carpenter is well aware of how hyperbolic loomis’ character is within his modern context but the modern context necessitates that the boy in the 1960s who kills his sister with no given purpose is sent to an asylum ... rather than some kind of Saint Samuel’s School for Demonic Boys which would be more befitting of loomis’ ‘diagnosis’. AND AGAIN, it is exactly the conflation here that creates conflict: an asylum that’s purpose is to psychologically rehabilitate so a patient can get better  --  with a doctor who is enforcing the savant trope of Knowing Evil - projecting that with a purpose to terrify an audience. .. the conflict of the modern reality with the ageless hyperbole is what is so divisive about loomis’ character....            whereas when we as an audience have laurie as the exemplarary Good that combats Evil there is much more evidential substance to what the horror of halloween is bc all the vague shit loomis has been saying for dramatic tension & build up is RIGHT THERE .. laurie is unquestionably right in her assumption of michael being evil, as a victim of his perpetration she evokes fear in the audience through empathy, whereas loomis is only an authoritative voice to michael’s perpetration -- trying to convince us to fear him through superstition.             idk .... i mainly wrote this all out to try and address / make some sort of sense of how loomis’ character is percieved ... like real talk in the end i dont think continuously calling him out for bein an ableist doctor achieves much bc the purpose of michael’s character is to traumatize and kill - and repetitive amounts of ‘well loomis OBVIOUSLY failed him’ has much progressive intent behind it bc all it is is criticism without a progressive conclusion -- bc he can never have a progressive conclusion (ie. michael’s treatment in smiths grove actually helps him) with what there is in canon being so genre and character defining........ obv it depends how someone sees michael and my interpreation leans for the most part towards ‘Evil Man is misogynistic and watches women before killing them apart from one who he still feels entitled to’ so u kno .......