Film Review: Ip Man

    Not even worthy of a place on my website. Get stuffed.
    It's not even a good martial arts film. I've seen martial arts cinema at it's finest and this has nothing to do with it.

Music Review: Piece of Mind, Iron Maiden

    This album does have a few songs on it that listeners might find off-putting. Die With Your Boots On grates at your nerves a bit and I'm not even going to go into how dire track seven (may it's name never be spoken) is; it's unfortunate they included that one on the album since their are eight other songs. However it starts out well with Where Eagles dare, you immediately get the feeling you're listening to a good album (the song has some very early eighties sound effects but I don't mind) followed a couple of tracks later by Flight of Icarus. But it's the centre piece that really makes the album. Normally battle metal isn't renown for it's maturity, lyric content is often basic and sometimes cringe inspiring if someone else was listening to it (see Invaders from Number of the Beast or Where Eagles Dare.) However the song that was the penultimate track on Best of the Beast proves that people can do it right and make a truly incredible song. Put the volume up though because it seems to have been recorded more quietly than the other which is a shame because it would be absolutely amazing otherwise.
   This is one of the band's more fantasy orientated albums and is very useful to listen to if you're writing something along that line.

Music Review: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Iron Maiden

    The first time I heard this I felt a bit jilted feeling that Iron Maiden had fallen in love with synths and electronic music. Although it does have a strong existentialist tone that will do you're head in if you listen to it too much, it's one of Iron Maiden's most listenable albums. The music definately has a more polished sheen to it than you might be used to from them and the last song carries a bitter edge but in an appreciable way (unlike Fear of the Dark.)
   Apart from a short moment at the end of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son it's devoid of any cheezy lyrics that occasionally plague the band. The music might not be as good as you've been led to expect but this album is definitely solid if not quite as good as some of their more daring releases.

Music Review Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden

    You might think that Iron Maiden's early work was an uninterrupted string of first rate heavy metal. I can't say what I think of most of their work from the nineties but be careful: this is by and large a bad album. There's only one song on it that I listen to that measures up to Iron Maiden's standards. I heard the first song before but it starts a theme of social commentary that reaches an all time low in Childhood's End. They've made a few songs with dodgy lyrics before but I was always ready to forgive them for it because of the quality of the rest of the album. That quality is lacking here. You're better off just buying the single.

Film Review Stay Alive

    When I first heard this was a teen slasher movie naturally I wasn't enthusiastic, but this is markedly more intelligent than other films of it's demographic base. There isn't any drooling over the fact that women have tits like in All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and other such purile crap. This is definately a cut above most other horror films of it's type.
   Many films have been made based on video games. This is something of a twist on that idea. It's a curse movie with a leaning towards action but still has mystery and detective work although this is more supplemental to the film's pro-active story. The characters are all at least reasonably intelligent and the film is devoid of any cheezy stalking that makes you distance ourself from it like in some bigger budget but less intelligently made horror films. Also they are characterful and diverse so you'll probably find one of the members of the story to empathise with which is actually quite a rare thing in a horror film and genuinely adds something to it in a way that reminded me of Cloverfield. The characters aren't overdone like Blair Witch 2 which leaves them room for having real personalities rather than being stereotypical.
   Rating 7/10

Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero

    Everyone get hung up over the content of this film and it's become a rock solid horror cult classic. Except I disagree.
   I've seen much better films than this made for less money (it apparently cost $650,000.) Despite the fact that it had a large budget by the standards of underground films (if I can use that term) it looks atrociously cheap. Being made in an earlier decade doesn't save it either Tetsuo was made in the late eighties and for what must have been a fraction of this budget.
   I admit I hate the seventies, but even considering that, it's execution, not just it's appearance is disappointment for a film that's been cited so much. Romero himself made a better film in Night of the Living Dead. I didn't even watch it long enough to see the bit when they're in the mall but doubt I would have been impressed.

Child's Play

    On a first misguided viewing of one of these films it created an instant prejudice against comedy horror.

    Child's Play

   Don't be put off by the beginning of this film. It sounds utterly cliched and badly acted but that soon passes. The film may in many ways be of only average quality but the persona of Chucky is enough to make it enjoyable. They clearly weren't making this film to be takes too seriously, in terms of how they manage the various aspects of it I think it's a creative success albeit a relatively modest one. It sets the stage for the next film so if you thought this was OK I'd recommend it.

   Child's Play 2

   My true initiation into the World of Chucky. I watched it one night in an indifferent state of mind which turned out to be ideal. The brings out elements of the first film and exaggerates them, like you'd expect from a good standard sequel. The main character makes friends with a teenage blonde but thankfully they didn't make the mistake of success going to their heads and casting a brainless bimbo. The gratuitous violence of the earlier film and Chucky's evil charisma which are what made the first film notable are more strongly present here. If you don't mind a film being very low key and not taking itself particularly seriously then I'd definitely recommend it. The violence is more amusing than potentially upsetting- you'll understand what I mean when you watch it.

   Child's Play 3

   Hopefully the least well-known of the original trilogy, the first part of the story should have really ended with Child's Play 2. (I've lost the damned cursor again because of this stupid Blog so I may get a bit annoyed.)
   They say that the third album is the hardest. It certainly is the case here. They move the story on eight whole years necessitating a dramatic revamp and redesigning of the film. They seemed to be working with a bigger budget this time but it seems to have been a disadvantage because they tried to make more of a hard-edged genuine rather than a low budget comedy that sports amusing, inventive violence with carefree glee. There are a rare few of those genuinely pleasing 'Chucky moments' that made the first films memorable. Instead they misrepresent his character in a similar way to Ryuk in L Change the World.

The Editorial

"If we are ever to have law and order in the West, the first thing we gotta do is take out all the lawyers and shoot 'em down like dogs."

Major Rufus Cobb
Jesse James

In my experience the first people we should shoot are those gol-dang computer programmers. You'd think that writing a template for a simple website would be easy, that anyone working for a major organisation like Google could do it. Well that is far from the case. Not only are computers damned confounded, infernal machines but so are their creators. They can't even manage the simple task of changing the type face without it turning into a struggle against the ineptitude of the half-wit on the desk that some damned confounded idiot has tried to make think for itself when it's got even less common sense than the idiot who built it. There's already something that uses common sense and thinks for itself, it's called a human being. If computers simply did exactly what they were told like all machines do instead of trying to outwit us when they are patently incompetent then they wouldn't be nearly as half so troublesome.

Film Review Ashes of Time Redux, Wong Kar Wai

    This is a remastered version of a much older film, which was actually longer but apparently of lower technical quality. The film and sound quality of this film aren't what you'd expect from a film such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon however this exceeds any other wuxia film I have ever seen.
   The reason for this is Wong Kar Wai is a genuine artist. Although he has a thick layer of style in 2046 here he lays on artistic expression as a director particularly strongly. He uses colour to create a visual richness in the landscape that made it particularly inspiring for my adaptation of Exalted. The soundtrack combines modern instruments with traditional Chinese melodies as well as featuring cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma. The result of his free use of his powers as a director might be overwhelming to those new to Asian or art cinema. I found it a turn off the first time I tried to watch it. Years later I recognise it as the masterful film that it is.
   Despite being a wuxia movie the plot is primarily a romance with the kind of depth that you'd expect from his other films, although here he has less time to dwell on it as there are serious action scenes, one of which is rather difficult to follow on first viewing. Although he does bring the same degree of intelligence and involvement to these as he does to the romantic story.
   I wouldn't recommend this for people who are solely accustomed to mainstream western cinema unless you're really looking to break out your own boundaries. It probably suits the slightly more mature end of the audience although the action and emotional intensity make it vibrant even by his own standards.

Trait Minimums for Sorcery

    I was a bit (or maybe very) over the top when I suggested the Sorcery trait minimums should be increased to Occult and Essence 5 for Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, 7 for Celestial Circle and 9 for Solar Circle. Mainly it was just my megalomania and reacting to the low prerequisites that the games writes made. Having Occult and Essence 5 to be initiated into sorcery does make it an impressive achievement and maybe suitable to Call of Exalted where everything is far more occult. But in a normal game it makes it too exclusive and means you can't start the game as a sorcerer which would frustrate many players (including me.) However I think that the existent prerequisites are too low vis-a-vis other Celestial powers- all of the post-Form Charms for Border of Kaleidoscopic Logic Style are Essence 8. Considering Sorcery is supposed to be the apex of Exalted achievement, having Solar Circle Sorcery requiring no more than Essence 5 just isn't good enough, especially considering Solars gain Essence more easily.
   So to make sorcery appropriately powerful I think these new minimums should be used:
   Terrestrial Circle Sorcery: Occult and Essence 3
   Celestial Circle Sorcery: Occult and Essence 5
   Solar Circle Sorcery: Occult and Essence 7

Film Review, Twilight

    Please.

Film Review, Let The Right One In

    I was surprised to learn this film was set in the eighties. The book it's based on was written then and they decided to set it at the same time rather than updating it. The way they portray the era is evident when you know it but extremely subtle and could easily be viewed as a contemporary film.
   The film starts off edging towards the understated and disturbing. It's a relatively quiet film, focusing on the life of the main character and the nature of another character's vampirism.
   This is not a lost in the woods type horror film like I thought it would be, all about survival drama like so many other horror films. Instead it's set in an urban environment as is much more about supernatural influence on eeveryday life that high drama and action. I'm not a particularly great fan of vampire films, not that I'm prejudiced against the genre but simply because of what it's produced. I haven't seen a vampire story like this one before and it's a better film for it. I've never seen one that focused on children before.
   There's nothing uptight or exclusive about it's focus on young characters, adult are not included as mere footnotes. The fact that it's a continental film definitely adds something to it and gives it a sense of distinctiveness.
   Although it doesn't focus on primarily being exciting I would never call it boring, eventful scenes are simply not dressed up like they would be in an American film. Instead fact of the characters' existence and their relationships to eachother in all forms take precedence.
   In all it's a good alternative to 'Hollywood' supernatural films.

Zatoichi, Regional Influences, Lookshy, the East

    As a comparative note between Zatoichi and Ladyhawke, Zatoichi also uses modern synthesized music but it doesn't sound tagged on, even next to the traditional music in the rest of the soundtrack.
   Zatoichi is a major eye opener for the design of building in Lookshy. There's a myriad of design styles visible in the background. The last time I watched it I spent more time looking at the background than the characters on a few occasions. There's a wealth on information for someone interested in it. As well as the fact that it suits perfectly Creation's eastern architecture, most obviously that of Lookshy. It's not such a question of what materials they use, it's how they use them that's important in determining regional styles.

Scroll of Exalts, Second Edition Review, Compass of Terrestrial Directions The North

    You might argue that Exalted characters were better put into each of the Manuals of Exalted Power. There are a good number of characters of each type and it's interesting to see them all written up next to eachother (as well as giving readers a sample of all of them.) Including a character section would have added another chapter to each book so.
   Mainly I want to talk about the Alchemicals. The first couple of characters are very interesting and give a vibrant new angle to the game. The real reason I want to talk about the Alchemicals though is that it's illustrative of some characteristic flaws in the writing of Exalted. In Dreadful Adjudicator of Law it describes a mystery behind the character's identity (that people would probably guess at) the takes away an opportunity for the Storyteller to turn it into a mysterious conspiracy as so often happens in the game. The opposite mistake in Thousand-Faceted Nelumbo is giving an out of game explanation that a certain detail has deliberately been left unresolved to let Storytellers use it for their own purposes.
   Exalted has an annoying habit of being over-detailed in some areas that should be left to the imagination of participants, such as the exact depths of the floodwaters from the various rivers around Nexus, while being afraid of committing to their own work in a way that undermines faith in their writing, such as the alternative identities of the Bull of the North in the Compass of Terrestrial Directions. In New Breeds of Bull it says he could also be a Lunar, a deathknight, or a Fair Folk noble after categorically stating in the main rulebook and in all other material he is a Solar. Although the North did have one of the few (possibly the only) civilisations I could get my teeth into on pages 95-98 in the Zalvanesh Divers.
   Going back to the Scroll of Exalts I think it would have added another dimension to the Manual of Exalted Power series if the characters had bee included in their books. Among the characters listed are all the ones on the front covers of various books. And of course you wouldn't know what their Charms did unless you had the relevant source book.

Regional Influences, Second Edition Review

    The fundamental nature of Elemental Essence in Version 3 is different to the Second Edition. This is because of the more oblique nature of their design from the influences listed below. Elemental aspects are not so direct. In Second Ed it's a simply matter of 'the Pole of Earth is about Earth so at the centre of Creation is a mountain, Earth aspected martial arts are literally about Earth' and to an extent so are Dragon-Blooded powers.
   In Version 3 Elemental influence expresses itself more subtly. Artistic and architectural styles are influenced by their location but not to the extent that 'it's near the pole of earth so use rock.' Instead the way cultures around the Elemental Poles are influenced by their environment is a deeper, less direct and more profound one.
   For the Pole of Earth, in fact the whole of the Blessed Isle, the main influence was Wong Kar Wai's outstanding wuxia work Ashes of Time. Watch that film and you'll really understand how an area can be profoundly Earth aspected while not being so in a crude way like 'it has to have stone, mountains etc.' The reason for this is not a disdain for such evocative, primal ideas but that they simply do not fit with the game. As I have said before if Exalted use conventional fantasy notions like archetypal, you could even say stereotypical, dragons then that would work. But it's precisely because Exalted avoids such conventions that it's attractive and applying an idea like that would not suit it. Instead you have to do things differently. Thus instead of thinking of the Elemental Poles as 'inertly' Elemental, they are related to the life of Creation, principally animal life, via their association with Gaia and the Elemental Dragons. Even the presence of the forests of the East, the most wild environment of all, is just a setting for the life that exists there rather than being a force in itself. The nature of the Elemental Dragons and the Exalted they created is linked intrinsically to animals rather than the inert matter of one of the directions of Creation. So rather than using boring (and conceptually difficult to handle) jade from the sea, the jade found in the West is living matter.
   Unfortunately the nature of jade and Elemental is both poorly described in original sources and difficult to up with sound ideas for, although I have one or two which might work out.
   The next film which influenced me, in quite an accurate fashion, which helped with the setting for the East was Zatoichi. it expresses my ideas for the Wood setting, especially in the Scavenger Lands. It's not a simply matter of the presence of an element, whether it's fire or earth, in a film like Ashes of time it's very evocative of that element while not being directly so (deserts are a big feature on the film) and they both adhere to, or in the case of Ashes of Time created my ideas for the setting of a particular quadrant. The Blessed Isle is based on historical China, while Lookshy is based on Japan. One flaw with the Second Edition was a complete failure to create and kind of cultural identity for any of the countries it described. This is mainly evident from language and the use of names, language structures for names are scattered at random throughout Creation failing to give any culture a real sense of identity. Lookshy is something of an exception, since they thankfully created some kind of cultural homogeneity.
   A closer study of the art and architecture in both films, as well as knowledge of the cultures they come from, will help demonstrate the effect they have on influences regions of Creation. For a long time I tried to create my own little country somewhere in the north east. I tried to work within the existing setting and nomenclature of what I think is High Realm (not the most imaginative name.) On that note it's similarity to the stereotypical fantasy in the film Rolemodels makes me extremely uncomfortable. Of course what I create was rubbish-largely because their description of the Terrestrial directions is rubbish. It wasn't till I saw Ashes of Time that I realised I shouldn't be trying to trying to fit my ideas in with that the game already says. I should be redesigning the Blessed Isle.
   Paying attention to background aspects of films such as these two and Hero played a major role in reshaping the identity of Creation. And I can't write any more because this stupid dolly sized keyboard is annoying me so much if I have to use it anymore I'll kick this stupid computer out the fucking window.

Film Review: Ladyhawke

    I have never seen such a waste of talent as this film. It's difficult to think what convinced stars of Bladerunner and Scarface to work on this. That can't be held totally to blame, Michelle Pfieffer must have known at the end how bad her performance was. Without inside info it's impossible to say if the director pushed her on or if she was genuinely oblivious.
   Strangely the main stars of the film were upstaged by the comedic subplot starring Mathew Broderick and Ian McKern. Although they're only sidekicks, there to keep the main characters on the rails rather than have a direct role in the narrative, Mathew's character is a genuinely amusing thief who's constantly promising to give up his underhand ways while unwilling to do so in the need for self preservation.
   The most painful aspect of this film and one which makes itself felt immediately is the awfully contemporary soundtrack which jarrs horribly with the medieval setting of the film. Somehow it managed to score four stars in a professional review.
   The ending of the film seems like it belongs in a romance made several decades earlier, in an era best not resurrected. The amusing contradiction in the existence of Phillipe the thief and the operatic scene stealing way Mathew Broderick plays him is the only thing that stops this film from being on the Blacklist.

Lunars, Phases of the Moon, Full Moon

    The Fair Folk are a passion given form. Much the same could be said about the Lunars.
    People fear the full moon because it's when the Wyld is at it's strongest and yet it's the time when Creation defence against it is at it's strongest. To the Lunars it's a call to arms. All of the unite for battle against the Fair Folk under the full moon under the direction of the Full Moon Caste. At the same time when the moon does not appear people miss it's radiance and miss the thrill of risk that it brings. The Full Moons are those who thrive on risk. They don't display courage in the face of danger like the Solars do but actively seek it out.
    The Gold Faction still maintain that if the Usurpation and the Wyld Hunt hadn't taken place then the Fair Folk invasion would never have happened.
   To Lunars the Wyld is at the same time the source of their strength and their enemy.
    Dangerously, the Fair Folk also see the Moon and feel their power growing with it's waxing phase and are called into Creation when it shines.

    Associations    Full Moon Caste: Valour        Half Moon Caste: Temperence
                   Waxing Moon Caste: Compassion   Waning Moon Caste: Conviction
    The Waxing Moons were experts at making people feel as they feel. Waning Moons were known for being solitary, for relying on no one but themselves.

The five Dragon Styles

    Through learning the five Dragon Styles they didn't learn to wield Celestial Power which was beyond them but could channel the power of the earth itself. Through this they regained the lost power of the Elemental Dragons. Hence the names. The Form Charms- becoming the Dragon is a way to gain it's powers. All the Charms are explicitly Terrestrial Charms rather than Terrestrial martial arts (which is merely a category of their potency.) They can only be learned by Terrestrials and others who can learn Terrestrial Charms. Elementals are excluded because they are mere fragments of the Dragons' power and grow on their own. Terrestrials still carry the blood of the Dragons and are the only ones who can resurrect their power as the Immaculate Dragons once did. The Philosophy of the Immaculate Order believes that the Dragon-Blooded can carry out the Creation ruling Mandate on their own by restoring the power of the Elemental Dragons. A power that was thought long lost and mythical for much of he First Age. But the Immaculate Dragons rediscovered it and started to study it's secrets. The Immaculate Dragons were themselves beings of incredible power that is beyond more worldly Terrestrials. Each one of them had devoted themselves to restoring the power of the Elemental Dragons long before the five Dragon Styles were created. Because of the absolute dedication to their purpose they were able to live long enough, living under changing fake identities to conceal their power, to raise their Essence to a height that could match the Solars. All Immaculate Monks aspire to their adherence to virtue and steadfast purpose. They don't seek power for the sake of being mighty as other Terrestrials do. However no one has mastered the five Dragon Styles since the Immaculate Dragons. Each one is written on a scroll kept at each of the five Immaculate Temples. Only their dedication to overthrowing the Solars kept them alive long enough to raise their Essence that high that they could achieve the supreme power of the Terrestrials, something that was thought impossible in the First Age and came as a great surprise to the jaded Solars. Immaculate Abbots stress the importance of Virtue as a way of attaining mastery of oneself. A practise that other Terrestrials would have a hard time mimicking. Everyone becomes an Immaculate Monk for a reason. Sometimes it's simply to find a purpose.

   Obviously not my best work but it's still lays some ground work for future writing and storytelling like a pupil who might finally learn one of the Dragon Styles again.

Terrestrial Exalted Aspect Abilities, Craft

    This website is so shoddy you can't even put a simple table on it. For some reason they decided not to use the whole width of the page for a text box (why not?) You can't even write a simple table with one line per entry.

   Unlike the writers of the rulebooks I wrote the character and Abilities of the Dragon-Blooded along animalistic rather than purely elemental lines. I think the standard personification of the Dragon-Blooded is rather boring so gave them an animal based aspect to add character to them. I would have liked to show the information below in a neat table but because of the way Blog is constructed that wasn't possible (one of many failings of computers.)

   Water Aspect
Animal: The Fish
Key words: Movement, Group-Action
Abilities: Sail, Archery, Linguistics, Lore, War

   Earth Aspect
Animal: The Crane
Keywords: Majesty, Unity
Abilities: Bureaucracy, Performance, Ride, Craft, Martial Arts

   Ice Aspect
Animal: The Crafty Fox
Keywords: Cunning, Resourcefulness
Abilities: Investigation, Occult, Medicine, Survival, Dodge


   Fire Aspect
Animal: The Snake
Keywords: Self Reliance, Focus
Abilities: Integrity, Presence, Melee, Awareness, Resistance

   Wood Aspect
Animal: The Monkey
Keywords: 
Abilities: Socialise, Athletics, Larceny, Thrown, Stealth

   No I didn't forget keywords for the Monkey I just haven't come up with them yet. Apologies for not putting the Abilities in convenient alphabetical order but that the order I came up with them in.

    As I may have said in an earlier post the essence of the Terrestrials is based on the animals that live in each quadrant of Creation associated with their Element. Their Charms are based on animal traits and each Terrestrial has a totem animal which becomes visible when their anima banner manifests as it does for Lunars, although the Terrestrials obviously can't shapeshift. I also thought the Immaculate Dragons identities should be reviewed. One sign that was seen as a special portent by their followers was that they each had the totem creature traditionally associated with their Aspect. In regard to their animal aspected powers and identities- they are beings of Creation- the Lunars' are aspected towards the Wyld and should have Charms based on that. I look forward to coming up with some.

    A note on Craft. I haven't decided how best to categorise Crafts in terms of their Elemental aspects. One idea was to base each Craft on each quadrant of Creation and the activities people would do there. Although there would be some overlap in skills, players would argue that someone skilled in working with wood would be able to make a boat, storytellers may want to give concessions in experience to players who already have similar skills. My interpretation of skills isn't as simple as in the rulebook. Plants are naturally in abundance in the East, it's the feature of the Elemental Pole, as a result using plants in general, making things out of wood and using plants for various purposes such as mixing, drugs, medicines etc would be an aspect of Wood Craft. Using any resource primarily found in one area of Creation would fall under the areas Craft. Using underwater plants, making boats etc would be Water Craft. Making things out of ice or using materials from animals since no others exist in the North would be Ice Craft. In the south the proximity of the Pole of Fire means craftsman are able to flow lava into vast molds and create huge blocks of stone that cannot be made anywhere else in Creation. Dealing with heated matter and controlling the way in which it cools to create usable object is Fire Craft. Cooking and other similar processes might qualify as well but I'm a bit inclined to categorise them as Wood instead.
   The relevance all this has for the Dragon Blooded is that Earth Aspected Terrestrials have Craft in general as a Favoured Ability (not sure about Celestial Crafts like Magitech yet.) However each Aspect has the Craft associated with their direction as a Favoured Ability.

Curse of Anguished Blood Forgotten, Shadowlands Circle Spell

Cost: 12 m
Target: One ghost
   Normally it takes days of binding to create a mindless hungry ghost, or one can be found by tracking it through the Underworld or Creation. This horrific spell can turn any shade into a hungry ghost instantly.
   Make a Charisma or Manipulation + Presence roll against the target's MDV + Compassion. Halve their MDV if they died a violent death and the character carries the target's skull or is in the immediate presence of their exposed body. If the total number of successes is greater than the target's Essence they immediately become a hungry ghost.