#getting to vote on who was most goblin at the end of each level is also very funny to me

[lu-polls]

wait op 👀 can i ask who your favorite boy is? 👀👀 (sorry im too shy to reply to the post and im curious now because of your tags)

4️⃣

[dicloniusgames]

LEGO Daily Bugle Build Review

Greetings true believers & fellow builders. Four stories of fun, 25 minifigs and an infinite toybox of creativity later and LEGO created the ultimate modular skyscraper in the Daily Bugle. 

Does this provide the infinite amount of fun brought from the Spider-verse into the LEGO universe or do the villains triumph to stop the fun? Let’s find out. 

Design

While on the outside at first, the Bugle does look a little tame, it’s when you’re building the action scenes and the inside floors of the building along with the other intrinsic elements of the Bugle that make the set light a spark to the proverbial firework. Everything from reception to Jameson’s office looks fully detailed and what you’d see in a newspaper building and uses different colors to show its’ vibrant looks for every floor, minus the exterior walls since those are all gray no matter what floor you’re building. 

When it comes to the minifigs, they all look great for the most part with the exception of one or two who probably should’ve been left out and/or replaced with others from the Spider-Man universe. One of the standout characters that looks great is The Sandman. The way his minifig is designed looks based off of the film and his buildable base looks great once completed too. For the most part, the stickers don’t look bad even if there’s a lot of them to put on with the exception of one and that’s the large billboard sticker that has a misprint of Dr. Connors’ name. This was a weird oversight to see while building the set and probably a legitimate mistake by the designers. One of the nice design choices in this set is the inclusion of newspaper prints that can be placed inside and out of the building in certain building steps as they act like newspapers and while some are repeated, some of them have unique designs. 

Build & Difficulty 

At 3,772 pieces, this can be a challenge for a few different reasons. First being the stickers. The stickers are both different in size and style. For the first time seen (personally seen), there’s translucent stickers that go on portions of the set such as Brandt’s and Jameson’s computers respectively as well as the news stand sticker on the buildable newsstand outside the building. Two of the other harder stickers to put on are the large billboard sticker and the “Vote for Osborn” sticker as that sticker is placed on a rounded light blue rounded piece but personally there wasn’t too much trouble putting any of them on. 

With this build, you can’t bypass the massive repetition of window building. Yes with 4 stories of fun, there’s also 4 stories of window building...literally. While building the windows is pretty simple, it can get kind of tedious depending on your level of patience. 

Two of the neatest parts of the outside portion of the build is the window build involving the Green Goblin and building the large Daily Bugle sign atop the roof. The building elements for the Bugle sign is pretty cool as while they’re only simple red pieces, the way you build each letter is different and it’s fun to do. Given that there are 25 minifigs, there’s lots of play potential with the different characters like Venom, Carnage, Spider-Man, Doc Ock (Who looks like the PS4 game version of him), The Sandman and many others...they even got the likes of Gwen Stacy and Aunt May in. 

Things like the taxi and the taxi driver as well as Spider-Ham while nice to have, weren’t really necessary for the build but more or less of an extra to have but also could’ve been reserved for another character that fits the universe like Eddie Brock (in human form), Mary Jane Watson, Felicia Hardy, Shocker, Morbius and Electro. 

Final Thoughts

At 3,772 pieces for $349.99, is this a worthwhile set to pick up? Yeah. Before I say why, I ended up getting it for $270 with a $100 VIP reward from LEGO. Even at the old MSRP of $300 it would’ve still been worth it. Is this a perfect set by any means? No, there are some drawbacks to it like the window building and the exclusion of some minifigs over the inclusion of others and even the amount and size of the stickers can be intimidating for a set of this magnitude. 

The vast amount of minifigs is one of the things that makes this set worth the money as there’s a lot of play value and scenes to create within the Bugle and outside and around the building. The other thing is the interior elements of the build when you’re building the separate floors of the Bugle such as the newsroom and Jameson’s office. There’s a lot of play potential with this set given everything included and the amount of characters included and scenes that can be created so even at an incredible price of $350, this is still a good buy and one to get before it becomes harder to find. 

Pros: 

+Great amount of minifigs 

+Great amount of playability & creativity

+Good value for piece count

+Great building techniques & designs

Cons:

-Building the windows can get tedious

-Minor misprint on one of the stickers 

Score: 

Build Design: 4.75/5

Build Difficulty: 4.25/5

Creativity & Fun: 5/5

Final Score: 14/15

Final Grade: A

Recommendation: Buy It

[rpgsandbox]

Enter the world of classic fantasy and old school tabletop gaming. Adventure in the ruins of the past, set out on a treasure hunt in Ruin Masters.

Published for the first time in 1982, and with its roots in Steve Perrin's Basic Role-playing and RuneQuest games, the Swedish "Drakar och Demoner" was known for its basic and fun-to-play system and rules. Throughout the years the game has been one of the best-selling Role playing games and the "retro version" that was released in Swedish 2016 is still one of the top selling games in Sweden.

Now we want to expand this system with an updated, and re-designed English version of the classic game, including a rich portfolio of new art and design, a cover from Adrian Smith, interior art from renown artists such as Jesper Ejsing, Johan Egerkrans and not least Alvaro Tapia, who is well-known for his fabulous art in Trudvang Chronicles.

This game is designed and produced by RiotMinds that brought you Trudvang Chronicles (Voted, "the MOST ANTICIPATED GAME 2017", By ENWorld community) and LexOccultum (named as "one of top five games of 2018", Yawning Portal)

Now, please help us bring Ruin Masters to life!

The game includes tactical Dungeon Crawl AND Hex Travel rules for boardplay! So, gather your friends in this combined classic roleplaying and tabletop dungeon crawl game! Let´s see how long you can survive!

What's included?

The core package (without Stretch Goals) include the following:

Rulebook including character creation, general rules and the Caldarox world setting (the official world of Ruin Masters), dungeon crawling rules (drop lists, challenges, spawn lists, etc.) and monster stats. Softback, approx. 150-200 pages (pending on final format)

3 cardboard pages of cut-out miniatures

3x5 combat mode markers

Deck of Start-up-Cards

4-color map over Caldrarox

20 Character Sheets

Dungeon Crawl Introduction adventure (pdf)

Please notice: Dices are NOT included in some pledges. To make sure you get box and dices pick the "Adventurer" or "Dungeon Crawler Reward". You need one or more 10-sided dice(s) to play.

                                    Exclusive cover by Adrian Smith

Classic monsters, classic adventures, retro-play in a fast-paced, and easy to learn fantasy roleplaying game. Gather your old friends, kids, and family, and experience the thrill of a classic treasure hunt in the ruins of Caldarox!

Ruin Masters is a system which can be used with different approaches: roleplaying, dungeon-crawl boardgame, or even both!

Play classic, old-style fantasy roleplaying, or make your own dungeon using the Challenges, Spawn-, and Drop-lists to throw unexpected threats at the players as they crawl down in search for gems and artifacts.

                                                 Sample layout

                                              Tentative Character Sheet

                                                Goblin attack!!!!

About the rules and system

The game rules have their roots in the old-style Basic Role-play system, now with four characteristics (Physique, Mind, Intelligence and Charisma): each with a value ranging between 3 and 30 (3d10). There are also six broad skills (Combat, Outdoor, Knowledge, Magic, Burgling and Social),  with a value between 1 and 100% (d100) and an easy-to-learn combat system with actions (Offensive, Neutral or Defensive) including attacks and parrying.

A number of Body Points define how much damage one can take before death. The damage dealt by weapons can result in an "open-ended" way (roll again, should you roll a 10, etc.). Armor and shield absorb some of the damage pending on size and type. The system also use a "seven body parts" system.

Character generation is quick and easy (each player plays an "adventurer"). Roll the characteristics, define the skill percentages according to your tastes, draw 3 start-up-cards, equip your character and get ready to play!

The "Dungeon Crawl mode" use the same basic mechanics for combat etc, however each challenge is defined by a roll on a list of challenges (pending on level of difficulty) or pre-generated and set by the Game Master (such as "Clear the dungeon", or "Find the artifact", or "kill the crazy mage"). Characters keep their loot and get ready for another dungeon crawl. It's all about the "party" vs the Game Master!

Same thing with the "Hex Travel mode". Move your party through the world of Caldarox towards the next adventure site and encounter monsters and challenges in each and every hex! Just use the "ready-to-roll" charts and guidelines.

Purpose of the game

The players create their adventurers to play them in various adventures prepared and designed by the Game Master (or official ones from RiotMinds). Each adventurer must use skills and equipment (and friends) to survive and hoard treasures and experience in order to improve the adventurer and prepare them for more advanced quests in the ruins (classic role play). The game is perfect for any gamer who wants to get going and have some fun, just playing some good old-school, classic RPG.

In dungeon-crawl mode, it is all about surviving and reach as far into the dungeon or ruin as possible. As a Game Master you can even have many player groups competing against each other, or replay the same dungeon over and over again, just to see how far the adventurers can reach. Set a goal, plant treasures and drops should they be successful! Tell them about that magic artifact that is rumored to be locked into that last room in the dungeon.  Use the "encounter spawn charts" and start playing. This is Dungeon Crawl, or Ruin-play, as we say. Once you enter, there is no turning back! Cowards must fight their way back, just like they fight their way into the dungeon. And remember, every good adventure starts at the old inn!

Crush your players, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their friends. This is Dungeon Crawl!

                         Every good adventure starts at the old inn!

                Hex map travel rules (...and random encounter spawns...)

About the setting

Ruin Masters is a generic fantasy game system that can be played in any setting (or just, adventure-by-adventure-style). However, as an introduction to an adventurous world, we also include an easy-to-start-with setting of Caldarox. It's a post-cataclysmic fantasy world whereas the heroes explore and adventure in the ruins of a past civilization, a world full of monsters and treasures. In Caldarox the heroes meet classic fantasy monsters such as minotaurs, dragons, orcs and goblins, as well as evil mages and mysterious knights.

Needless to say, great inspirations is the old-style roleplaying games from the 1980s including RuneQuest, Rolemaster, the first edition of WFRP, and many more.

Play classic roleplaying adventures or skip the story and go all in for some hex-based dungeon crawl bashing and treasure hunt! The easy-to-learn rules fit for both.

                                        Each site is an adventure!

             Cardboard cut-out figures for dungeon crawl and ruin play!

 Choose the "Adventurer" or "Dungeon Crawler" reward to get a Box and Dices!

The Artwork

As always, we work with the greatest artists to deliver the most stunning visual experience. We believe that the art is a major component to the setting and hence we spend months and months together with our artists to get the right design and feeling. In order to get the right "classic", yet modern and unique feeling, in this production we've been working in close collaboration with Alvaro Tapia (most known for the fabulous art of Trudvang Chronicles). We're also happy that Adrian Smith accepted to paint the cover for this production. He is well-know for his great art for Games Workshop, and his unique style just felt like the only possible choice for us. We're amazed how fast Adrian grasped the concept and how excited he was painting the cover. On board is also Johan Egerkrans who illustrated the retro-version in full, as well as Jesper Ejsing and Even Amundsen. Needless to say, we think that we co-lab with some of the greatest artists out there on this project.

                       Roleplaying or Dungeon Crawl? Your choice!

                                                    More cut-outs

                                            Get ready for adventure!

Kickstarter campaign ends: Fri, April 19 2019 5:00 PM BST

Website: RiotMinds

[whoisleft-rp]

"The high Wizard court of law, held in a dungeon; the accused is magically bound to a chair in the centre of the room. A jury sits on the right of the prosecutor who states the case against the accused and eventually asks for a verdict. The courtrooms are located on the tenth level of the Ministry of Magic; the members of the Wizengamot, of which there are about fifty, wear plum-covered robes with elaborate silver initials on them..."

During the tragic events of New Year’s Eve, three Wizengamot members lost their lives at the hands of a senseless, baseless attack – an attack that is still under investigation, but not yielding many promising leads. Obviously, the lives of three impressive and powerful people were lost, and the entire Ministry leads the Wizarding world in mourning their colleagues, their friends, their leaders. 

It can not be ignored, however, that three Wizengamot seats were left vacant. Especially with the new legislation on werewolves now in the public eye and dozens of other pending, critical issues on the court’s docket, the seats can not remain vacant. It is clear by law that the Wizengamot seats are lifetime appointments; now that the lifetime of three dearly departed lawmakers has ended, the time has come to appoint new members to this historic ruling body. 

A special election will be held one month from now. 

The following candidates are eligible for one of the three open seats; each has been vetted by the Minister for Magic himself. No write-in votes will be permitted. All citizens above the age of fifteen will be allowed to vote – normally, the cut-off would be age seventeen, but the Ministry has taken note of the younger generations’ heightened interest in political demonstrations lately, and don’t wish to exclude citizens of the Wizarding community that are sufficiently educated enough to cast an informed vote, and who will be guided by these appointed Wizengamot members’ rule for the majority of their lives. 

The following seven candidates are up for election to the Wizengamot. Further plot posts will explain who/why/how, but one of the three winners will be shooed in by the Death Eater faction; one will be secured a win by the Order of the Phoenix pulling every string they’re able to. 

As for the third? That will be up for a genuine vote, to be decided by our characters! 

Please contact the main with the name of the candidate that your character would most likely vote for, based on their general belief system or instincts. The rule is one vote per character, not one vote per member. Please submit a vote on behalf of each of your characters; even if you think they’d be unlikely to actually get out to the polls and vote, please make a selection so that we can have the most varied results possible. 

What to do in the meantime, ahead of the election results? Remember, that this is a Big Deal in-game and should be acknowledged on the dash! Get your characters out there campaigning with a big button on, making campaign donations, talking politics with other citizens, or working for a candidate they feel passionate about. Pass out flyers! Punch a loudmouth tabling lobbyist in the face! Examine how this affects your character, especially if they have future Wizengamot aspirations of their own. 

Elphias Doge

Slogan: Common decency, common sense

Background: A good friend of the Dumbledore family. Traveled the world after his graduation from Hogwarts. An outcast during his school days who learned how to embrace his silly side and has become very outspoken as a result, while still maintaining a cheerful demeanor. His career has been spent working at many nonprofit organizations. Talent for charms. Pureblood, but not of the Sacred 28 and definitely not highly regarded by the most classist factions of the pureblood community.

Appearance: Extremely elderly, but extremely energetic, too. Often wears a silly hat. Due to being a Dragonpox survivor in his childhood, his skin is pock-marked and greenish.

Main Platforms: Repealing the new werewolf suppression laws, especially because werewolves without aid can easily be radicalized by dangerous people; Building stronger connections with other ministries around the world to unite the global Wizarding community; Mandatory language courses instated at Hogwarts.

Publicly Endorsed By: Personal, longtime friend Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Tiberius Ogden

Slogan: We mean business! 

Background: Has spent his entire life working for his family’s business, Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. Never previously involved with government, but he has plenty of experienced advisers with him on the campaign trail.

Appearance: Middle-aged, with a fox-like face, a pointed grey beard, and a perpetual smirk.

Main Platforms: Wants to run the government more like a business; Believes in setting up new, stronger connections between government and private industry; Plans to work toward reorganizing the Ministry departments into something more streamlined, efficient and accountable to budgets and tight deadlines. 

Publicly Endorsed By: Older brother Bob Ogden, Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol.

Olivia St. Culpo

Slogan: Equal society, happier world

Background: Rose to recognition - and a fair bit of infamy - as a lobbyist for goblin rights and centaur land reallocation. A halfblood witch with a dedicated younger group of supporters, she has been deemed a bit too “optimistic” or even “inexperienced” by some more wizened members of the Ministry.

Appearance: Late-twenties, with close-cropped brown curls - very hip - and a stylish collection of suits. She’s not your great-great-grandmother’s candidate, that’s for sure.

Main Platforms: Working on brokering a happier peace with and better lives for marginalized communities in the wizarding world; Stronger connections with other like-minded countries and their Ministries; Muggleborn protection and equality; Income disparity between members of the wizarding world.

Publicly Endorsed By: Celestina Warbeck, famous chanteuse. 

Piper Moonfall

Slogan: Justice with dignity

Background: A Ministry of Magic official who has made several different departments her home over the years, Mrs. Moonfall has long been a recognizable face at the Ministry; her most recent, and potentially last, position being in the Improper Use of Magic Office. She has worked closely with the Aurors over the years, fighting for less severe jailing sentences for varying levels of offenses.

Appearance: Middle-aged, grey-streaked black hair that she wears long. Extremely tall and fairly serious looking, but with a well-known toothy smile; often seen at Ministry events with her longtime partner Alina on her arm. 

Main Platforms: The abolition of Azkaban as an institution; Development and implementation of better criminal reform; Stronger mental health services in the wizarding world; The creation of more jailing facilities for varying levels of offenses

Publicly Endorsed By: Rosalina Prewett, former member of the Wizengamot and matriarch of the Prewett family.

Chilton Cloven

Slogan: Save our schools!

Background: A muggleborn currently teaching at a muggle school in London while also teaching night classes for magical adults, Mr. Cloven has been an outspoken member of the magical community ever since receiving his, as he calls it, “very unexpected” Hogwarts acceptance letter. 

Appearance: Average-height with cropped red hair and freckles, a laid-back sort of charm about him. 

Main Platforms: A focus on education, including reforms in the Hogwarts curriculum; Making Muggle Studies mandatory, as well as focusing more on Maths and English studies; Making school more accessible to muggleborns; Extra tutoring for muggleborns and halfblood students to help them start at the same level as many tutored pureblood students.

Publicly Endorsed By: Armando Dippet, former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Leland Talbot

Slogan: Serving with excellence

Background: A longtime Ministry employee and recently retired Auror. Has seen combat firsthand and believes strongly in fast-moving criminal justice. During his three years of Auror training after Hogwarts, he was one of only four people who volunteered for an unpaid internship as a liaison to Azkaban prison.

Appearance: Hardened and haunted. Physically imposing, both height and fitness-wise. Possibly has not smiled in 10+ years.

Main Platforms: Stronger, mandatory Defense Against the Dark Arts training for all citizens; Less open communication with foreign Ministries, who may be spying or eager to spot a weak spot; Raising the bar of difficulty to become a certified Auror; Auror training that begins earlier for promising recruits, following OWLS rather than NEWTS.

Publicly Endorsed By: Alastor Moody, Head Auror.

Tara Norwood

Slogan: Honoring our past, protecting our future

Background: A longtime employee of the Department of Mysteries - as such, it is impossible to comment fully on what she has done for wizarding society as a whole, though it is no doubt impressive and prestigious. An outspoken member of her community outside of her Ministerial duties, coming from a well-respected pureblood family - known for their outpouring of Ravenclaw alumni and donations to charities dedicated to preserving the histories of many of the wizarding world’s oldest families.  

Appearance: Middle-aged with long dark hair, the aristocratic look of a member of an old family. Average height, but often seen a sharp pair of no-nonsense heels. 

Main Platforms: Stronger restrictions on the Statute of Secrecy; Beginning a Ministry-regulated magical education earlier in life; Protecting historic magical institutions of government and societal traditions. 

Publicly Endorsed By: The Malfoy family, as well as several other notable and conservative pureblood families. 

[recentanimenews]

CR Features Argues About the Best Opening Sequence of 2018

Anime Awards voting starts TONIGHT and WE'RE SUPER EXCITED! However we have gotten so loud with our individual opinions on who we think should win that we’ve been told to duke it out via written words instead of continually disrupting our coworkers (sorry fam).

  We’ll hit each category by the time we hit the evening of Anime Awards! Today’s piece gets down to the nitty gritty of Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design. Let’s down to business!

Best Opening

Pop Team Epic from Pop Team Epic

    The opening so nice you saw it twice every episode, and it was a banger every time. It wasn’t just the song, either--the OP was full of little things to keep looking for, so you never skipped it unless you were a total monster.

-Nate Ming

Black Rover by Vickblanka from Black Clover

  The music for Black Clover OPs and EDs has always been top notch, but Black Rover is on another level. The sequence put together by the animators is also the perfect combination of cool, goof, and heart. It’s probably the opening I’ll associate with the series forever.

-Peter Fobian

  UNION from SSSS.Gridman

    This song, like SSSS.Gridman itself, made me so happy. It was light and deft, but somehow perfect for the opening of a show about kicking the crap out of kaiju. For a genre that can sometimes feel as tired as “robot man saves the world (and his friends),” this OP, along with the rest of the show, proved that SSSS.Gridman was going to pay a lot of tokusatsu homage, while still being a breath of fresh air.

-Daniel Dockery

Rightfully by Mili from Goblin Slayer

    I’ve been following Mili’s works since I played Deemo, and their songs always have a way of worming right in and refusing to leave. So when I heard that they were doing Goblin Slayer’s opening, it was a very welcome surprise! Mili delivers a powerful performance that has a calm, yet a very vicious tone to it. Combined with the opening visuals, it really ties it all neatly together to set the mood for the show.

-Nicole Mejias

Adabana Necromancy from ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

    Dapper dancing zombies. Super sentai action scenes. Idol dancing. ZOMBIE LAND SAGA’s opening sequence somehow manages to straddle several disparate genres without losing its own unified personality. Set to the theatrical “Adabana Necromancy” performed by the main Japanese cast, main character Sakura’s defiant proclamations of chasing her dreams and the truly unprecedented amount of explosions meld into something strange and charming--a perfect fit for this series.

-Cayla Coats

Best Ending Sequence

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    You always heard this one warming in the background as an episode would come to a close, and the striking imagery of  “Hibana” just made me more excited for what the next episode of Golden Kamuy had in store.

-Nate Ming

  Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Although I’ve still got Hizuru Basho bumping in my head from Fall, no ED in 2018 was as much of a thematic masterstroke as Asobi Asobase. After a misleading opening giving the series the appearance of a serene high school slice of life and a very confusing episode featuring mean-spirited pranks and Hanako shrieking, the ending dumps you straight into hell.

-Peter Fobian

  Book-end, Happy-end from Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

    I feel ya, nervous skeleton man. You had a hard day, and then you just go sit on the floor and read manga. And then you lay in the bed and read manga. What a beautiful life.

-Daniel Dockery

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    Banger alert! This song is incredibly GOOD! Not only is this song catchy, but the lyrics are a pretty good representation to what Golden Kamuy is all about, with lines about an “erased destination” and “accepting everything, pain and all.” If you skipped this ending, I don’t even know what to say; it’s too good of a song to skip!

-Nicole Mejias

Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Peter pretty much nailed it. After the fake-out cutesy pop opening, Asobi Asobase presents us with three middle school girls who make heinously ugly expressions and are just really, hilariously terrible people. The death metal anthem “Pulse” is a perfect fit for the horrible little nightmare children that comprise the show’s main cast.

-Cayla Coats

Best Animation

Violet Evergarden

  You don’t really expect TV anime to look this good--and then it does, and you’re treated to gorgeous, theatrical-quality animation every single episode. I wasn’t invested in Violet Evergarden, but just witnessing it made it worth the watch.

-Nate Ming

Violet Evergarden

    This one is really difficult to argue with. It’s Kyoto Animation on their absolute A game. The studio doesn’t often delve into fantasy but their backgrounds and character designs were breathtaking. Kyoto is always top shelf but they maintained damn near movie quality animation for the entire series run. Even their 3D integration was something to behold.

-Peter Fobian

Violet Evergarden

  LOOK AT HOW PRETTY EVERYTHING IS. Look at the backgrounds! And the shadows! And the way that the hair is animated! I know that that seems like a really small thing, but it irks me sometimes when everyone seem to have immovable Super Saiyan hair (though there’s nothing wrong with your hair, my beautiful shonen bro’s). Violet Evergarden was a bounty to look at.

-Daniel Dockery

Violet Evergarden

    I’d be crazy to not pick Violet Evergarden for this category. I mean, just LOOK AT IT! Absolutely GORGEOUS and BEAUTIFUL animation! I initially thought this was a movie, but nope. Kyoto Animation weren’t playing any games when it came to showing off their amazing animation skills, and my goodness, was it ever a sight to behold! Just look at how they animated the characters’ HAIR! Amazing stuff!

-Nicole Mejias

  Pop Team Epic

If you asked me two weeks ago, my answer here would have been Violet Evergarden for sure. But then my mind was changed when I saw our own Noelle Ogawa argue for Pop Team Epic’s stellar animation in this article. Pop Team Epic employs a wide range of animation styles--from 16-bit video game sprites to the horrifying, MS Paint-esque Bob Team Epic sequences to the use of unfinished storyboards seen above. The series is practically a showcase for experimental animation, and that suits the surreal humor quite well.

-Cayla Coats

    Best Character Design

  Devilman Crybaby

  Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka are some of the most iconic, memorable, and legendary characters in anime and manga, so seeing them (along with Miki, Siren, and the rest of the cast) get clean, modern redesigns for Devilman Crybaby was a real treat.

-Nate Ming

DARLING in the FRANXX

Just based no sheer amount of fan art, it’s hard to argue with this prediction. Masayoshi Tanaka has developed a well-earned reputation for his designs, in fact one of Atsushi Nishigori’s motivations for working with TRIGGER was the opportunity to work specifically with Tanaka. The character designs are great and so much work from accompanying DARLING in the FRANXX designs to multiple uniforms went into it. It’s probably my favorite part of the series.

-Peter Fobian

Hinomaru Sumo

There’s not a lot of amazingly intricate variety among the characters of Hinomaru Sumo. But I appreciate any anime where all the main characters look like they’d be equally at home being lackeys in a separate anime that get the crap kicked out of them in an alley by the Kenshiro-esque main character. Also, I love this show and so should you.

-Daniel Dockery

Cells at Work

Cells at Work is so beloved for the way it illustrates our hard-working cells as they work night and day to protect our bodies. Keep on kicking ass and taking names, cells! But on the other end of the spectrum are the threats and bacteria that invade our bodies, and some of them are depicted in very frightening ways. Remember to take care of yourself to avoid illnesses! Your cells are counting on you!

-Nicole Mejias

Laid-Back Camp

  There wasn’t a show I watched in 2018 that had more effective character designs than Laid-Back Camp. Everything visual choice made about these characters conveys something about their personality. Nadeshiko’s downward-sloping eyelids and messy pink hair are the perfect compliment to Rin’s alert eyes and neatly tied up hair. These choices echo how the characters themselves play off of one another, and gosh, it’s just delightful.

-Cayla Coats

    Anddd that's all folks! Check back in to see us argue about who else we think should win the rest of the Anime Awards categories. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites starting TONIGHT!

  Do you have a super intense devotion to a 2018 show or character or want your opinions shared to the world about Anime Awards? Send us an op-ed in written or video form. The nitty gritty details are in here and you may get published in a future article!

Who do you think should win: Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design? Tell us in the comments below!

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[caraidean]

Genealogy of the Holy War: Shadowrun AU

This is very possibly one of the most self indulgent AUs I've ever put together, but the tone and lore of the Shadowrun RPG setting fits Genealogy really well at some points - also I love it, please play Dragonfall or Hong Kong if you have something that can run it.

The first bit is frontloaded with a bunch of general info about the setting, so feel free to skip past it if you already know or don't care that much.

THE PITCH & BASIC CONCEPT

Shadowrun is a tabletop RPG setting taking place in our world, in the 2070s. It's a cyberpunk setting, where corporations have more power than the nations and money (specifically, the 'Nuyen') is king. It's filled with fairly standard cyberpunk tropes, such as rebelling against society, capitalism, faceless corporations grinding people into dust, etc. There's also a lot of advanced technology, with cybernetics and a wireless Augmented Reality based internet replacement called the Matrix permeating the world on every level.

Oh, also magic is real, in a BIG way. Wizards exist. One of the world's biggest megacorporations is run by a literal Dragon. Chicago is a hellscape overrun by unkillable Insect Spirits. People have a chance to turn into Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls or any other kind of fantasy creature at birth or puberty. The result is a mix of William Gibson, Tolkien and pulp fantasy that results in a setting not quite like anything else.

Players take the role of 'Shadowrunners', deniable assets. Criminals for hire, mostly by the other corporations in covert operations against each other. They can exist to make a quick buck, or to further their own political agendas long-term. In this AU, I fuse this hot mess of a setting with the plot of Fire Emblem 4, with a focus on the second generation.

"Watch your back. Shoot Straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon." - Street proverb.

BASIC SHADOWRUN TIMELINE

In the early 2000s, corporations of a certain size were granted rights as micronations and a great deal of power due to an incident during a trucker strike in New York. The rest of the 2000s was fairly standard cyberpunk fare, with the ascent of MegaCorporations and hypercapitalism taking place, as well as great leaps in augmetic research. Then, in 2011, everything went straight to hell. VITAS, an unexplained virus, took out ten percent of the world's population - and children started being born with strange genetic changes, resembling stereotypical Dwarves and Elves from western fantasy. Multiple civil wars erupt as countries lose more and more power as corporations become more dominant, Scotland becomes highly irradiated, the Korean War resumes, and it just keeps getting worse and worse.

Then, on December 24 2011, The Awakening happened.

The Great Eastern Dragon Ryumyo erupts from his sleeping place underneath Mount Fuji in Japan. Daniel Coleman leads a group of Native American protesters into the desert, while manifesting a magical forcefield that prevents the US Army from shooting them. Leylines and other magical phenomena start appearing. Regular human people undergoing adolescence start to undergo Goblinization, turning into Orcs, Trolls, Oni and other such races. Several other Dragons appear and start attacking or aiding humanity, and everything is descending into outright chaos and confusion until finally the Western Dragon Dunkelzhan lands outside Denver and gives a twelve hour interview explaining what was happening.

Every few thousand years, magic either manifests or leaves the Earth, creating a new Age. In the 2000s, Earth was entering the newest Age, with magic returning in violent form. People began to become mages of various kinds, spirits appeared, paranormal creatures from all kinds of mythologies manifested - and the Dragons were the most important part. Dunkelzhan became known as the greatest ally of humanity, Ryumyo made it clear that nobody was to ever attack Japan, Hestaby became the protector of the Elven race and set up the nation of Tir Tairngire, and most importantly Lofywr - arguably the main antagonist/protagonist of the setting - gained control of one of the ten MegaCorporations forming the Corporate Court, Saeder-Krupp in Germany.

Rather than go too far in detail on what happened between the 2020s and the 2070s in which this AU is set, I'll hit a few more major events. The Internet was destroyed by the Crash Virus, resulting in the creation of the semi-wireless VR based system called the Matrix; the United States fell apart, forming the United Canadian & American States (UCAS, Canada and eastern seaboard USA), Confederation of American States (the south), and Native American Nations (NAN, mostly the western seaboard); The corporation Aztechnology managed to unite all of South America into one nation they called Aztlan, essentially setting up a dictatorship with very good PR; Dunkelzhan was voted President of the UCAS, only to be assassinated shortly afterwards; the other nine members of the Corporate Court and many minor corporations gave Aztechnology a bloody nose with Operation RECIPROCITY, a joint military strike warning them against expanding past Mexico; A second Crash was initiated by a terror group, causing the end of the VR Matrix and its eventual replacement with an Augmented Reality and fully wireless version; and Chicago falls victim to the Insect Spirits, a malevolent magical force that can't really be stopped, only delayed. It becomes a hell on earth called 'Bug City' that nobody ever goes to.

For more detailed information, I suggest picking up one of the Core Books (20th Anniversary Edition and 5th Edition are the ones I use most), listening to a few episodes of the Neo-Anarchist Podcast (an in-character history podcast from the perspective of a Neo-Anarchist Crow Shaman, Opti) or bugging me on Discord because I am always down to talk Shadowrun lore.

SHADOWRUN GLOSSARY

MEGACORPS AND THE CORPORATE COURT: Corporations that are large enough to have Extraterritoriality, which essentially means that while on ground they own, you follow their rules. The ten largest corporations are referred to as AAA Corporations, and have a seat on the Corporate Court - the closest thing the world has to a ruling body or oversight committee with the complete irrelevance of any individual country or the UN. The current corporations on the Corporate Court circa 2070, ranked from most powerful to weakest, are:

Saeder-Krupp: A German conglomerate based on steel, heavy industrial goods, cars, arms and communications, particularly in Europe - where it has a monopoly on all those markets. Its majority shareholder is Lofwyr, a Great Dragon and the most powerful individual in the setting.

Ares Macrotechnology, a Detroit-based mix of automotive, steel and arms companies. Corporate culture is based off the US Military

Aztechnology: Based in consumer goods, chemistry and magical research. Owns South America as a country they call 'Aztlan', steeped in Aztec culture.

EVO (formerly Yamatetsu): Shipping and infrastructure. Originally Japanese, later became Russia- based.

Horizon: The unholy fusion of Disney and Facebook. A multimedia and social marketing nightmare.

Mitsuhama Computer Technologies: A money laundering op for the Yakuza that became succesful enough for them to go straight.

NeoNET: Formed from the merger of Transys Neuronet, Erika, and Novatech following the Crash 2.0

Renraku Computer Systems: Japan-based computer and arms company.

Shiawase Corporation: The first megacorp. Energy production, biotech and environmental procedures.

Wuxing: a Hong Kong-based company based on shipping goods.

SHADOWRUNNERS: Criminals for hire. Actually exist in a quasi-legal state, as mercenaries - and can be hired for entirely legal jobs. This normally isn't the case.

MR. / MRS JOHNSON: The moniker used by those hiring shadowrunners, for deniability. Occasionally changes name based on region. 

THE MATRIX: Currently, an Augmented Reality wireless network that replaced the internet and the first, VR-based matrix. Accessed by everyone wearing contacts or other eyewear (cybernetic or glasses) and either special gloves or implated electrodes in their fingers that let them interact with it. May be quasi-magical in nature, but that is still up for debate.

COMMLINKS: Smartphones that let you run your own personal 'node' on the Matrix.

DECKER: Hackers, who use special edited commlinks called Cyberdecks to access parts of the matrix denied to others.

CYBERWARE: Cybernetic enhancements of any kind.

BIOWARE: Biological enhancements of any kind, such as genetically engineered muscles.

TECHNOMANCERS: People who don't need Commlinks to access the Matrix.

MAGES: Magic users who manifest magic in the traditional sense.

ADEPTS: Magic users who manifest their abilities by changing their physical form - shapeshifting, increased strength, changing voice and appearance, etc.

ESSENCE: The 'soul' of a person, which also determines magical ability. Too many augmentations eats away at your Essence, making it harder for you to cast or resist magic.

STREET SAMURAI: The ‘muscle’ of a shadowrun team, normally with cyberware and bioware up to their eyebrows. 

RIGGER: Anyone who drives vehicles or pilots drones. 

FACE: The member of a shadowrun team who does the talking. 

GEN 1 PLOTLINE

The first generation of FE4 is kept fairly uneventful in comparison to the game. Most of the major houses are transitioned into A- or AA-level megacorps, not large enough to be part of the Corporate Council but with a high amount of power in their own rights. These include:

The Grannvale Collective, a collection of A-level corps who manage to operate at the AA and fringe AAA level by consensus. They consist of Friege Energy (an alternative energy distributor), Velthomer MagiTech (magical theory & equipment), Barhara Heavy Industry, Edda Medical, Chalphy Security Solutions (a private police force), Dosel Dynamics (a spinoff of Edda Medical, focusing on augmetics) and Jungby Mobility (vehicles and alternative personal transport).

Silesse Aerodynamics, one of the largest non-Ares investors in the new Space Race.

Thracia Group Solutions, a multimedia company that was on the verge of qualifying for the Corporate Cort before internal power struggles between Thracia itself and its rapidly rising subdivision Manster MMT, a private security force and magitech developer.

Verdane Agriculture, one of the few distributors of fresh food to the UCAS outside of Aztechnology.

Miletost Mercantile Solutions, a trading & gambling company that barely scrapes A-level status.

Isaach Industries, creating experimental weapons and armor with a focus on close-range urban environments.

Agustria Analogue, an entertainment company.

The only major shakeup during the 2030s through early 2060s is the capturing of Sigurd's wife Deirdre, by a team of shadowrunners hired by the Great Dragon Loptyr (more on him in this AU later). She is kept in hiding while a team of mages carefully wipe memories from her, working to set up the next stage in Loptyr's plan. Sigurd devotes a large amount of time and Chalphy's resources to trying to find her, resulting in it beginning to falter as a company and losing several lucrative contracts to LoneStar or Ares Knight Errant. It looks as though the other members of the Grannvale Collective are preparing to eject Chalphy from the collective, until late 2064 rolls around.

On November 2nd 2064, the terrorist groups Winternight and Ex Pacis initiate the Crash 2.0, destroying the VR Matrix and causing untold damage to corporations, nations and individuals worldwide. This works as the 'Barhara' equivalent, even without the direct involvement of Velthomer Magical, and results in the death or un-personing of many of the first generation characters. The few weeks with no real matrix capabilities are chaotic, but when the dust settles a new status quo has emerged.

Silesse Aerodynamics is no more, having been dissolved and its assets acquired by Ares. 

Manster MMT has split from Thracia Group Solutions, becoming its own corporation att odds with TGS

Agustria Analogue was bought out by Horizon Media during their ascent to AAA status. 

Verdane Agriculture and Miletos Mercantile Solutions were bought out by Aztechnology. 

The Grannvale Collective is reduced to a total of three corporations - Velthomer MagiTech, Friege Energy and Barhara Heavy Industries.  Velthomer has absorbed Chalphy Security Solutions as well as Edda Medical and Dosel Dynamics, with Friege acquiring Jungby Mobility. The sudden reappearance of Deirdre results in her remarrying to Arvis, resulting in the merger of Barhara Heavy Industries and Velthomer MagiTech into the renamed Velthomer-Barhara Corporation. VBC starts applying for AAA status, and becomes seriously considered for it. 

Notable survivors from the first generation of the game include Finn, Quan & Ethlyn - who manage to keep Manster MMT afloat as its own corporation despite heavy pressure from Thracia. Sigurd died during a hit by a shadowrunner team hired by Arvis on advice from Manfroy. Deirdre, instead of dying at Julius' hands, is assassinated by Manfroy's shadowrunner teams after she starts digging into the past life she forcibly forgot about too far. Manster MMT tries its best to find Seliph, but he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. Ethlyn never stops looking.

GEN 2 PLOT HOOK

By the 2070s, we have entered the second generation proper. The new Matrix is well in effect, and Velthomer-Barhara has begun talks with Friege Energy to merge into Granvalle Incorporated, headed by Julius and Ishtar post merger. Such a move would bring them onto the Corporate Court for sure, furthering Loptyr's shadowy plan. Most of the rest of the second generation and any survivors from the first generation have been forced into the shadows, when someone starts leaking information to them regarding the merger - and the possible motives behind it. 

Oifey starts acting on it, gathering those he can find and getting funding from Manster MMT to equip and train these Shadowrunners to start acting against Velthomer-Barhara directly.

LOPTYR'S PLAN

Like some of the other Great Dragons, Loptyr despises humanity. Instead of retreating into seclusion or rampages like Sirrug or the Sea Dragon, however, Loptyr takes a page out of Lofwyr and Hestaby's books - he will bring about the downfall of humanity with them as his implements. He identified Deirdre and Arvis as relatives, using this connection to create Julius and Julia both - the resulting twisted nature of their bloodline making them highly susceptible to becoming hosts to the destructive Insect Spirits that led to the fall of Chicago. He intends for Velthomer-Barhara to obtain AAA status, become one with the Corporate Court, and then use that position to destroy the AAA Corporations through an Insect Spirit conspiracy and leave the world leaderless, falling into chaos.

CHARACTERS

ISHTAR is the heiress of Friege Energy, who goblinized into an Elf during puberty. Her brother Ishtore remained unchanged, which resulted in her mother Hilda focusing on her as the next great thing for Friege. She eventually also manifested abilities as a powerful Technomancer, capable of interfacing with the AR matrix without use of a Commlink or other devices. She is engaged to Julius, waiting for the paperwork to go through before marrying him and resulting in the eventual merger of Friege and Velthomer-Barhara into what they plan to call Grannvale Incorporated, certain to replace NeoNet as the tenth AAA corporation on the Corporate Court. Recently she suspects that all is not right in Velthomer-Barhara, and has begun digging into the shady deals of Arvis' 'Head of Human Resources', Manfroy. She's the one who leaked this information to Oifey and Tine, hoping they can act on it some more and right things before they get out of hand. 

JULIUS is the heir of the Velthomer-Barhara Corporation, and a child marked by Loptyr's breeding program as a perfect host to an Insect Spirit. Manfroy manages to get him possessed by his fifteenth birthday, resulting in him becoming the same kind of twisted individual he is in canon - just now with the regenerative and magical powers that the Insect Spirits gift to their hosts. 

SELIPH and many of the other Second Generation units lost their SINs and resources during the Crash 2.0, being forced into hiding as unpersons while other corporations looted their homes and lives. They either live homeless, or turn to the quasi-legal life of Shadowrunners to survive and perhaps seek justice against those that wronged them during the Crash. 

CED was the heir apparent to Silesse Aerospace, before the Crash 2.0. He was unpersoned like his sister following the Crash, his parents dying when their spacecraft lost computing ability and crashed into the ocean. He uses his impressive magical abilities as a Shadowrunner to great effect, generating quite a reputation in the Seattle area as he begins to gather allies and resources for his ultimate goal: exposing and bringing down Damien Knight, CEO of Ares. 

TINE is a former heiress of Friege, who lost her SIN during the Crash and due to the machinations of Hilda never managed to recover it. Ishtar has been keeping close tabs on her since the Crash, trying to send help whenever she can and acting as a high-level corporate contact should she decide to turn to Shadowrunning to survive.

NANNA lost everything but her father when Agustria was bought out by Horizon, including her SIN. Fortunately, Quan and Ethlyn managed to move to protect her on Finn's request - bringing her into Manster MMT by wedding her to her childhood friend and longtime crush, Leif. She now works as a high-end PR agent for the firm, keeping an eye open for her half-brother Diarmuid should he ever resurface.  

FINN is Manster MMT's head of security, responsible for their own sites and their hiring of Shadowrunners - as a result, many of Gen 2 know him by the moniker 'Mr Johnson'. He is a combat cyborg, heavily augmented and mourning the loss of his wife Lachesis during the Crash. Notably, he has impressive combat experience thanks to time as a field commander in Operation RECIPROCITY, giving him an intimidating reputation in the security field. 

LEWYN survived the Crash, but only barely. He later resurfaced in Tir Tairngire under the new name of Holsety, using his status as an Elf to apply for new citizenship. He has no idea that Ced and Fee survived, and manages to get a job with Horizon Media as a magical consultant.

[gamesmasternotes]

WRITING A GAME – The Steve Method pt 1

In 2015, my local gaming group ran its second “GM Bootcamp”, an opportunity for people who were interested in Gamesmastering but had never given it a go to write and run short games. The ideas was that a group would form, which I would shepherd, and each member of the group would run a short two session adventure in the game system of their choice.

To help the group plan their games, I wrote a collection of essays about how I personally like to approach writing and running games. This is the first part of those essays, with a few revisions, focusing on short game planning.

With a small game – a simple dungeon-dive or a short one or two session quest - the place I like to start is with one small element. This may be a scene, encounter, setting, theme, or something like that, and build from there. I like to start with one awesome aspect I think will be the good central aspect of the game, or a central "most-fun-point" I can build around. It’s the best place I think to start any story.

Once you have one tiny element, you can build on it. Its very existence already raises questions. What is this thing? How did it come to be? Why is it important? Etc.

For the GM Bootcamp 2015, I ran a D&D 5th game in the first two weeks of the Bootcamp to get things moving and provide a good example for the others. So the central core element obviously needs to be fantasy based of course.

What I did was start with a general theme - this being a rite of passage. We’re dealing with Level 1 characters, who have yet to make a mark on the world, so it’s a good way to get them involved in the adventuring theme of D&D.

That made a good starting point, as it gave me an opening. Think about what questions it raises, and as you answer them you'll develop your game. What is the rite of passage for? Who is making it happen?

In this case we're dealing with a small game, so to keep it simple I decided on membership of the Adventurers Guild. It’s a rite - a quest - necessary before membership is approved. From there you get more questions which help build everything else, but now that you have a reason for a quest, you can move onto "what is the quest".

There are two schools of thought when writing a game - a straight forward narrative and the sandbox. Some people like to write a narrative, and make it a path for the player characters to follow. One event follows another which follows another, each twist being ore-scripted. Its directly analogous with a classic platform style video game – one path the player can walk down, with no opportunity for exploration. With small games this can sometimes work better as it keeps things tighter and in the timescale you have available, and it can allow for the kind of GM who has a specific story they want to tell. My preferred method however is the sandbox, which essentially makes the players part of the storytelling. I like to make a small world in which the players can roam, explore and find interesting things to do. In this small world, there is usually one particular interesting thing to do, but I like to make sure that players can move through the world and reach that objective by any means they wish.

The first thing is to set the objective. In a larger game, this can be something massive and epic like destroying the One Ring or defeating The Dark One. These are simple enough, but entail a lot of build up. In a smaller game, you can go for a smaller, simpler objective. You can go for epic of course, but make it streamlined so you don't need the build up and complicated stuff. Your main villain doesn’t need armies, or beefy lieutenants, or vast, elaborate trap-mazes to defend them. In a small game, you don’t have time to go into those details once you actually get to the playing table. So cut it back. To try to make things simpler, destroying the One Ring needs a lot of preamble. It requires finding the bloody thing, getting to Rivendell, getting to Mordor without being caught, etc, all the mountain and mine stuff, the forest, Shelob, the plains of Gorgoroth, and then Mt Boom. Not to mention Ringwraiths. There's a lot of stuff. With a bigger game, having your epic quest usually means a series of smaller objectives along the road, or elements the players can pick up in whatever order they want, but once assembled open up the endgame. In a smaller game, it best to keep to just one objective though, and keep any preamble to a minimum.

As a brief analogy to explain the simplification concept – a few years back, I entered a short story competition on a gaming forum I frequent. The competition set a theme, a simple word (“Thirst”) and a limit on only 400 words. And I won, with a story stripped of everything that was unnecessary. I told the story of a king in a sci-fi setting, who poison detector found poison in literally everything. Being paranoid, he ends up not eating or drinking, and eventually died. A young usurper then takes the throne, and laughs at having reprogrammed the scanner.

But I didn’t ever give either character a name. Their names weren’t important or necessary for the story. I didn’t go into detail on the surroundings, because I assumed that was something that the readers could fill in for themselves. I stuck only to the absolute essentials, and that story won the competition by a reader vote.

 For the D&D game, the players would be engaged in a rite of passage - a quest on behalf of the Adventurers Guild. For this sort of thing, as I've said a few times, simple is best. For D&D that usually means, "go find this thing" or "go kill this thing". “Oh no, our thing is lost. Go find". “Oh no, we've got trouble with this thing. Go KILL it".

There’s a common theme here. Quite often whole concepts add other assumptions which add into your plan, so don’t be afraid of obvious themes. Stereotypes, clichés and common tropes are not to be feared, especially when they might be what has attracted someone to a genre of game!

The idea of a rite of passage though means it needs to be something repeatable - other people need to be able to complete the rite from time to time, so it couldn't be a one-off deal. The best and most obvious route then was "go find/retrieve with a common but not to common item. So. A flower. A special flower that only grows in one place. That place needs to be interesting, so interesting terrain is called for. A mountain then - a flower that only grows near the top of a particular nearby mountain. This gives us a quest, a place to travel to, a journey which can be dangerous, and the assumption of a starting point.

So we've got a core element and a central objective. From here I'll tend to draw up a simple map of the area, which will be the arena my players will find themselves in. Its entirely up to you how much effort you put into this part, whether it be extremely simple sketch with key points indicated by simple crosses, or a  highly detailed topographical map printed on leather with every building of every town painstakingly drawn in by hand.

Now we can populate the area. In my style, there are three areas of population that need to happen.

First, we need a cast of NPCs from the home base. These include the primary quest givers and holders of vital information/supplies. This is the standard level its good to have available to your players in their starting location - or available through some form of communication as player specific contacts. Most of these can and should come quite naturally. They're the either the basic things you would expect to have in any place, or the contacts players specifically want to come with. For information givers, I find it can be better to let the players come up with their own contacts as part of character creation and letting them just use the information their characters naturally have access to in their endeavours.

In this game, I added basic grocers, a blacksmith and an alchemist for supplies, as well as the Adventurers Guild leader to give the main quest.

Examples in popular culture would include the entire population of say, the Shire. But in here you have important NPCs who can be helpful. If we resort to the books, Fatty Bolger is a great example of a starting NPC character to help get the players on the road. Elrond later turns up as a primary quest giver. During character creation, a player who comes to me with a Ranger (who we’ve agreed secretly has a “lost king” thing going on) would like a Elven ally as a contact. We discuss and turn it into a romance with an Elven maid to mirror some of the backstory we’ve worked out in the game world. Screw it we say, lets make this a useful NPC who can both aid you and give you vital information and supplies. Lets make her Elrond’s daughter, and call her Arwen.

The second level of population is the main hazard. The thing you've got to battle through. This usually can spin right out of the main objective and setting. If you've got a primary antagonist as part of your objective, there is one part straight away. The rest of the hazard will be his followers, minions or employees. His private security forces, or his summoned monsters, or the tribe/gang he leads. It’s nice if there's some variation, but keep to the theme. If you have a horde of Goblins, have a generic minion but add the odd special guy. The ranged support, of the magic buffer, or whatever.

In our game, we’re going to populate the mountain with a race of Birdmen. There will be generic warriors, plus a ranged archer group, and a leader who lives higher on the mountain. To mix things up and account for magic users in the party, this leader will be a magic wielding shaman. We’ll also plan for some kind of monster at the peak, close to the final objective as a final boss level encounter.

We can also make the journey a bit more hazardous, and say that between town and the mountain is a forest. And there are Wolves in the forest.

To use a Lord Of The Ring game as our example again, we can populate Moria with Goblins, and give them the special bonus of a cave troll. Towards the end, we add a bigger monster – the Balrog.

That’s the level where you more or less have your world in general terms. You can go into a lot more detail, but this is the starting level I feel you can easily start a game with, and build the rest as you go along, ideally with input from the players or with elements derived from character creation. If one character decides to be a herbalist, I can add in areas of the landscape where certain special herbs might be found. If one player has decided that their character is a drug addict, I can also easily write in a few local drug dealers - maybe the odd undercover police stings waiting for him to fall into their trap...

In the game I ran in 2015, one player asked for a contact within the adventurers Guild. He designed a character who was joining because their uncle was a member. Instead o adding the uncle as a new character though, I transplanted the concept straight into the primary quest giver, and made HIM the characters uncle.

There is a third level of population I'll throw in once I have the general setting though, and this is side quests. This isn't something necessary for the game at all, but I find it helps develop the world and get the players more involved with events. What I'll do is take the map or the list of NPCs and just add into them a couple of special missions. Maybe someone needs something else found, or asks for something to be killed or collected whilst the players are out on their quest. Maybe something is found whilst out, and it leads into a mystery the solution of which yields an interesting reward.

“Oh, while you’re out there……”

In smaller games, I say only one side quest is best. Any more can make things too complicated or maybe push the time limits on the game a bit too far. If you want to add one into yours, I do say they are a good idea, but if you do make sure to reward it. A good idea on a smaller one-off game is to make the reward directly related but not essential to the main quest. When fighting a Vampire for example, rewarding an optional side quest with damaging Holy Water might be very suitable.

I decided that instead of having a random person standing around town desperate to find an Adventurer to take on a side-quest, along their journey the players would find something which points to an interesting mystery. It would be optional of course, but in the search for the flower the reward at the end of it will be directly useful.

The players would come across a cart which had been attacked at the base of the mountain. A survivor would say that his associate (or a brother perhaps) fled from the Birdmen up the mountain. Along the path then, the party would find tracks and could follow them to where the fleeing man was being attacked, and could rescue him. If they did, he could tell them important information – that giant lizards (a T-Rex) lived on the very top of the mountain, and was attracted to the flower the party was after. This warning could be extremely useful to them later, and they could maybe take precautions.

I do find that it helps player immersion if side-quests are also driven by their own personal character traits or background. Perhaps offer a clue to a mystery one of them is researching, or put someone they care about in danger. Maybe a magic item one of them would find particularly interesting is nearby, or maybe a foe a righteous character particularly wants to smite.

From my perspective, that’s the level you need for a game to be able to start. That really is all you need on a starting level for a small game. Anything else you need to add is a little bit of flavour here and there, character quirks, that sort of thing.

[junco-partner]

All of em.

Oh fun something for me to do while I wait on laundry.

1: Full name. Beau W******d Boudreaux. 2: Zodiac sign. Virgo/Libra line. 3: 3 fears. Abandonment, lack of direction, spiders. (The last one is more of an intense hatred but I couldn’t think of a third one)4: 3 things I love. Music, nature, comedy. 5: 4 turn on’s. Red/brown/black hair, pale skin, pigtails, good music taste. 6: 4 turn off’s. Stupidity, southern accents, backwards hats, bad music taste. 7: My best friend? I’d tag him but his only blog that I know of is pornographic. 8: Sexual orientation? Hetero. 9: My best first date? 11/13/15. 10: How tall am I? 6'0. 11: What do I miss? Happiness and security. 12: What time was I born? 10:00 something pm. 13: Favorite color? Green. 14: Do I have a crush? I suppose. 15: Favorite quote? ‘Listen. Think. Calm down. Relax. Shut the fuck up.’ - Bill Hicks16: Favorite place? Where the good music is. 17: Favorite food? I can’t. 18: Do I use sarcasm? Nope. 19: What am I listening to right now? If You Have Ghosts - Ghost BC.20: First thing I notice in new person? Music taste, honestly. 21: Shoe size? 12. 22: Eye color? Blue. 23: Hair color? Blond. 24: Favorite style of clothing? Black. 25: Ever done a prank call? Deez nuts. 26: What color of underwear I’m wearing now? Grey. 27: Meaning behind my URL? It’s a Clash song. 28: Favorite movie? Seven Samurai. 29: Favorite song? Lol. 30: Favorite band? Queen. 31: How I feel right now? Filthy because I’ve been cutting grass all day. 32: Someone I love. Flop. 33: My current relationship status. Single. 34: My relationship with my parents. Good 35: Favorite holiday. The entire period of October to December. 36: Tattoos and piercing I have. 'Stärke’ on my left arm. 37: Tattoos and piercing I want. Possibly other German shit. 38: The reason I joined Tumblr. Because of a crush eons ago. 39: Do I and my last ex hate each other? No. 40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts? Sometimes. 41: Have I ever kissed the last person I texted? No. 42: When did I last hold hands? I can’t remember. 43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? I like to allow 90 minutes but like 20 if I’m not showering. 44: Have I shaved my legs in the past three days? Nah. 45: Where am I right now? My room. 46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me? Probably Cody, my aforementioned best friend. If not then probably Chris or Emily or Maurice or someone. 47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? Loud, fucker. 48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad? No. 49: Am I excited for anything? Going to see Lee Ranaldo tonight. 50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to? Yes. 51: How often do I wear a fake smile? I barely even wear a real one. 52: When was the last time I hugged someone? Maybe a few weeks ago. 53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me? Let’s not go there. 54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not? Lol nah. Made that mistake recently. 55: What is something I disliked about today? Too damn hot, what else is new. 56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Fenriz I guess. 57: What do I think about most? 'God, what idiots.’58: What’s my strangest talent? Vomiting words at a high volume. 59: Do I have any strange phobias? No. 60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Whatever. 61: What was the last lie I told? 'Yes, I know where this ENT’s office is.’62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? Don’t care. 63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens? If given sufficient evidence. 64: Do I believe in magic? See previous. 65: Do I believe in luck? See previous. 66: What’s the weather like right now? Fucking hot. 67: What was the last book I’ve read? Love All the People - Bill Hicks. 68: Do I like the smell of gasoline? Eh. 69: Do I have any nicknames? I don’t know. 70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had? Probably falling down a hill as a kid and nearly cutting my face of. 71: Do I spend money or save it? Spend more than I should. 72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue? Yes. 73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me? Post-its. 74: Favorite animal? Pug. 75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM? Drunkenly watching Yu Yu Hakusho. It was amazing. 76: What do I think Satan’s last name is? I’m not supposed to tell. 77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? I guess Wood Goblins by Tad because holy shit. 78: How can you win my heart? Lol. 79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone? We’ll see. 80: What is my favorite word?fuck. 81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr? 5 good ones. 82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say? Calm down. 83: Do I have any relatives in jail? No. 84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power? Time travel without LiS rules. 85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? None. 86: What is my current desktop picture? Gorgoroth’s first album. 87: Had sex? Like 3 times. 88: Bought condoms? Yep. 89: Gotten pregnant? Lol nah. 90: Failed a class? Nope. 91: Kissed a boy? Yep. 92: Kissed a girl? Yep. 93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? Yes. 94: Had job? Yes I have had 3 job thank. 95: Left the house without my wallet? Yes. 96: Bullied someone on the Internet? No. 97: Had sex in public? In a pool. 98: Played on a sports team? Long ago. 99: Smoked weed? Yep. 100: Did drugs? Not really. 101: Smoked cigarettes? Once. 102: Drank alcohol? Yep. 103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan? Fuck that. 104: Been overweight? Yep. 105: Been underweight? Lol. 106: Been to a wedding? Yes. 107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? Probably. 108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight? Yep. 109: Been outside my home country? Got back recently. 110: Gotten my heart broken? Yep. 111: Been to a professional sports game? No. 112: Broken a bone? No. 113: Cut myself? Not intentionally. 114: Been to prom? Yep. Fuck that. 115: Been in airplane? Yes. 116: Fly by helicopter? No. 117: What concerts have I been to? Jesus Christ I’m not typing that list again. 118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex? No. 119: Learned another language? Yep. 120: Wore make up? Yes. 121: Lost my virginity before I was 18? Lol yep. 122: Had oral sex? Yes. 123: Dyed my hair? No. 124: Voted in a presidential election? No. 125: Rode in an ambulance? No. 126: Had a surgery? No. 127: Met someone famous? Yep. 128: Stalked someone on a social network? Yes. 129: Peed outside? Yes. 130: Been fishing? Yep. 131: Helped with charity? Yes. 132: Been rejected by a crush? Lol. 133: Broken a mirror? No. 134: What do I want for birthday? To be happy again. 135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names? 0. 136: Was I named after anyone? A town. 137: Do I like my handwriting? Sure. 138: What was my favorite toy as a child? There were too many. 139: Favorite TV Show? Yu Yu Hakusho at the moment. 140: Where do I want to live when older? Where I fit. 141: Play any musical instrument? Yes. 142: One of my scars, how did I get it? Falling down that hill. 143: Favorite pizza topping? All the fucking cheese. 144: Am I afraid of the dark? No. 145: Am I afraid of heights? No. 146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad? Yep. 147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? All the time. 148: What I’m really bad at. Shrugging off bullshit. 149: What my greatest achievements are. Being happy. 150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me. Lol. 151: What I’d do if I won in a lottery. Buy things. 152: What do I like about myself? My misanthropy. 153: My closest Tumblr friend. I have none. 154: Something I fantasies about. I fantasies about be’s happys again. 155: Any question you’d like. Silence.

[recentanimenews]

CR Features Argues About Best Girl of 2018

*Anime Awards voting starts this Friday and WE'RE SUPER EXCITED! However we have gotten so loud with our individual opinions on who we think should win that we’ve been told to duke it out via written words instead of continually disrupting our coworkers (sorry fam).

  We’ll hit each category by the time we hit the evening of Anime Awards! Today’s piece gets down to the nitty gritty of Best Protagonist, Best Antagonist, Best Boy, and Best Girl. *Let’s down to business!

  Best Protagonist

Retsuko of Aggretsuko

The lady red panda’s life is starkly relatable in some way to everyone. She stresses the necessity of staying true to oneself and taking care of said self by any means necessary. Whether it’s with death metal in a karaoke bar or yoga with the girls despite being an awkward human, decompressing is highly important and she shows that through example.

-Ricky Soberano

Sakata Gintoki of Gintama

  Who better to lead the charge than everyone’s favorite lazy-ass, strawberry-milk-loving samurai? Even with war tearing Edo apart, Gintoki has stayed the same lovable jerk--he may have to grit his teeth a little more, he may have to take a harsher beating, but he’s still the same idiot we all cheer for, even when he’s being total slothful garbage.

-Nate Ming

  Saichi Sugimoto of Golden Kamuy

  Sugimoto is a breath of fresh air for protagonists; he’s vulnerable, but strong, determined, funny, and absolutely devoted to helping other people. I thought he would be a ruthless killer at first, and while he can be, Sugimoto’s relationship with Asirpa has really changed him as their journey went on. Watching Sugimoto change from the somewhat lost and aimless “I just need money” to “I am going to help you, Asirpa” has been amazing, and Sugimoto’s strong personality that grows and develops over time is one of the reasons that hooked me into Golden Kamuy, so him being my pick is a no-brainer!

-Nicole Mejias

Chise Hatori of The Ancient Magus’ Bride

In a year full of super powered heroes with abilities that could level mountains, my favorite protagonist is a bit more modest in her abilities. Chise Hatori does possess powerful magical abilities, but it’s something else that sets her apart--her empathy. All of the outlandish abilities in the world wouldn’t have helped her in her journey if she wasn’t able to feel the experiences of those around her so deeply. The Ancient Magus’ Bride told the story of Chise slowly learning to love herself, and it was only through her ability to love others that this was made possible. And that, for my money, is the most heroic character arc of 2018.

-Cayla Coats

Shirase Kobuchizawa of A Place Further Than The Universe

    Although starring an ensemble cast, it’s hard for me to think of any of the girls in A Place Further than the Universe as a lead besides Shirase. She’s the reason the girls end up on the expedition and, although they all tag along to experience their own self discoveries, it’s Shirase’s story about getting closure. Her shy personality that gets subsumed by stubborn determination in the face of doubters is extremely relatable.

-Peter Fobian

Best Antagonist

Vetto of Black Clover

Vetto was the most infuriating opponent that came out of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. He was a monstrously murderous sadist that made every person surpass their limits but not before making sure everyone experienced a personalized version of despair. The slam to Kahono’s throat was what solidified the anger that still makes my blood boil.

-Ricky Soberano

Lt. Tokushirou Tsurumi of Golden Kamuy

Tsurumi’s not someone you love to hate, which is strange for someone who is arguably Golden Kamuy’s deadliest and most important antagonist. In fact, we all kinda like him, warts and all, which makes him that much more memorable… and that much scarier when he shows us what he’s capable of.

-Nate Ming

Viruses, Parasites, Bacteria and Cancer Cells of Cells At Work

  Cells at Work was a charming and amazing show that I really learned a lot from in terms of how the body works in terms of fighting off disease and infection, but a large part of that was the unique ways that the show depicted all of those threats. Each one felt wholly unique and easily identifiable, given traits that fit their natural actions and behaviors, and it made me realize that there are some amazing battles going on inside of my body every day!

-Nicole Mejias

Joseph Cartaphilus of The Ancient Magus’ Bride

My protagonist and antagonist picks are sort of a 2-for-1 deal. Joseph is by far the scariest, most cruel presence in his series, but he is also the most tragic. Condemned to an eternity of suffering because of some misplaced kindness, simply existing for Joseph is unimaginably painful. He exists as a darker version of the traumatized Chise, someone who was transformed into a monster through immense suffering. The conclusion of the series resolves not in a fight to the death, but a surprising moment of tender kindness from Chise--making Joseph the perfect counterpoint to our heroine.

-Cayla Coats

Ladros of Black Clover

The best villains are always the ones with personality and Ladros has an excess. The magically deranged general of the Diamond kingdom made a huge impact in just a few episodes with his unexpected reactions and schoolyard bullying tactics with a huge voice performance from Takeshi Kusao. Within half an episode I went from thinking he was a jobber to falling in love when he screamed “MILLION LASER!”

-Peter Fobian

Best Boy

Goblin Slayer of Goblin Slayer

    Say whatever you want about the single tracked mind of the slayer of goblins: He’s motivated, supremely focused, and skilled. His mission in life to kill beings that not only rape and murder women but utilize women as playthings is admirable and justified. He provides comfort to goblin survivors and we may not know what his face looks like but we know what practically everything else looks like and I’ll take that.

-Ricky Soberano

Honda-san of Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Retail is a special kind of hell, staffed by a special, hard-as-nails kind of people. Honda-san is a refreshing retail lead in that he doesn’t hate his job--in fact, he loves it! By loving his customers and wanting to help them find the same joy in books that he does, Honda reminds me of the best parts of working in a bookstore… and a handful of the worst when everything’s on fire.

-Nate Ming

Gobta of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

    Okay, so hear me out here. Despite his appearance that didn’t even change when he was given his name, this little goblin seems to be indestructible! Strung up upside down and forgotten in prison? No problem, just summon a tempest wolf and rejoin your party. Be subjected to poisonous cooking? Dude gained the Poison Resist skill to survive, which earns the envy of Rimuru! To add to this, Ranga has unending faith in Gobta due to his quick-witted battling abilities. Gobta is certainly an irreplaceable asset to Rimuru’s group, so don’t make the mistake of underestimating him!

-Nicole Mejias

All Might of My Hero Academia

Deku’s great, but the end of the first cour of My Hero Academia Season 3, All Might absolutely stole the Best Boy throne from him. All Might threw himself into danger in order to protect the world and his body was left permanently stuck in his withered form. This was powerful stuff, but what sealed the deal for me was the beach scene pictured above--All Might punches Deku for his recklessness and then embraces him, dedicating himself to training and raising the young hero into someone truly amazing. He’s just SO GOOD.

-Cayla Coats

Rei Kiriyama of March comes in like a lion

I’ll say it again. Every year we get a March comes in like a lion, Rei Kiriyama is automatically best boy. He’s just a nice kid trying to get by despite some pretty unfortunate circumstances. He’s kind, thoughtful, and the way he experiences the world around him hints at an artistic mind that might never get the chance to express itself. He’s compassionate even to those who are cruel and preoccupies himself with finding ways to pay back the generosity he’s been offered. Rei Kiriyama for president.

-Peter Fobian

Best Girl

Mai Sakurajima of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Mai-san isn’t just a gorgeous, intelligent bunny girl senpai that works as a beloved actress. She also keeps her rascal, Sakuta, in check. Not only that, she’s incredibly mature, understanding, and trusting despite Sakuta’s life being constantly thrown in a loop by cute girls to the point that she didn’t object to Sakuta dating another girl. She makes Sakuta work for it but she can also be shy under that poker face.

-Ricky Soberano

Hina Kawamoto of March comes in like a lion

Probably the most criminally underwatched show this year, March comes in like a lion went right for the throat with an intense story arc dealing with bullying at Hina’s middle school. The complicit cowardice of Hina’s teacher and the professional frustration of her substitute teacher play against the casual callousness of the bully and Hina’s undying fire. She did absolutely nothing wrong--and if she just makes it to graduation, she wins.

-Nate Ming

Asirpa of Golden Kamuy

For me, there’s no argument that Asirpa is the best girl of 2018. She’s equal share protagonist with Sugimoto, but more importantly she’s a BADASS! Hungry? No problem, Asirpa knows how to hunt everything and cook it up. In danger? Her accuracy with a bow knows no equal. Need to track someone? She’s got it covered. There’s always talk about ‘strong female characters,’ and honestly I can’t think of many as good as Asirpa when it comes to anime. Asirpa holds her head tall and stands shoulders above the rest!

-Nicole Mejias

Lily Hoshikawa of ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

Lily is a spot of sunshine in Franchouchou, always beaming with a positive and infectious energy! The zombie idol group is comprised of plenty of eccentric and lovable personas, but Lily struck a rather personal chord with me--we’re both girls that used to be boys. It’s rare to find a trans character in any sort of media, rarer still to find one created with the amount of respect and love that was put into Lily. She’s the shining star of 2018.

-Cayla Coats

Nagisa Aragaki of HANEBADO!

  Nagisa literally stole the show in HANEBADO! Despite the subtitle of “Hanesaki’s play” and the focus on the forlorn badminton player, Nagisa got some great moments as she quietly worked on her own game in the background. The result was a redemption story surpassing that of the main character. Nagisa rose up to defeat the opponent who had previously shut her out so completely she’d almost quit the game. Seeing her triumph was a series-making moment for me.

-Peter Fobian

  Anddd that's all folks! Check back in to see us argue about who else we think should win the rest of the Anime Awards categories. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites starting on 1/11!

  Do you have a super intense devotion to a 2018 show or character or want your opinions shared to the world about Anime Awards? Send us an op-ed in written or video form. The nitty gritty details are in here and you may get published in a future article!

Who do you think should win: Best Protagonist, Best Antagonist, Best Boy, and Best Girl? Tell us in the comments below!

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Ricky Soberano is a Features Editor, Script Writer, and Editorial Programming Coordinator for Crunchyroll. She’s the former Managing Editor of Brooklyn Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @ramenslayricky.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com