RyanRMC

I was just introduced to this holiday classic by my girlfriend, who used to watch this as a snot nosed little brat in the back of the van while her poor parents drove her to her grandparents. And watch it. And watch it. And watch it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090683/ This must be what made Drew Barrymore a household name. Her performance is breathtaking.

After watching the wonderful Trainspotting again this week, I was reminded of another classic starring Sick Boy himself, Johnny Lee Miller. 1995's 'Hackers', telling the story of an 3133+ group of 'superhackers' who must use their computer savvy to clear their names and stop a computer virus from running wild. Rollerblades, shitty clothing and bad techo-talk abound in this ludicrous interpritation of mid-90's computer culture. The one high spot? Seeing Angelina Jolie's nipple for .5 seconds. The low spots? Just about everything else.

Just watching this now. I can't stop screaming at my television. It's a gingerbread fueled nightmare.

The Segment of Many Things.

If anyone is interested in a Pathfinder game, I am set up to run those over the interwebs. I would be willing to run an intro game to people wanting to learn the rules or just try it out. The Nerd Poker gang are running 4E, which is the current version of standard D&D. Pathfinder is a spin off the the previous version (3.5) that was released at about the same time 4E came out. Its closer to 3.5 rules, which means a litte less action / MMO based than 4E is, but still a solid system. I run a regular Sunday game for some friends, but I could set something up for another night or weekend afternoon.

+1 to the Action Point comments. This rule will go a long way to making your style of running the game even easier, I think. If a player wants to do something that is way outside what the rules would reasonably allow in 4E, AP could be the answer. One additionally standard or move action in your turn allows them to pull off some pretty amazing stuff.

My friends and I use Fantasy Grounds 2 as a virtual table top to play without needing to be in the same room. I was actually going to suggest this program (or others like it) after hearing mentioned that there was no room on the table for a map. If you are sticking to 4E rules, combat is pretty much impossible without a map to place characters, but you could use a VTT program and get each player a laptop, and you would be good to go. Best part would be that you then have the option to FRAPs the combat to post online for listeners to follow along with.

Another awesome episode. Allow me to be the biggest nerd in the room. When making a skill check (such as their attempt to break down the door), you can get 'help' from up to 4 other people. One player makes the attempt (in this case your strongest player), and everyone else makes an assist roll. Assist rolls just need to hit a flat DC 10 on their skill check, and each successful attempt adds a +2 to the roll of the person making the actual skill check to complete the task. So in this case, if Ell Ryan had made a succesful assist, Amarth Amon could add +2 to whatever STR modifier he was already adding to his roll. PS - "It's not really a bear, it's just a guy who looks like Steve Agee." I almost pissed myself, remember poor Steve Agee giving Jon Hamm a ride at the CBB Nativity Pagent. So if the party needs a steed....

Holy shit this makes me happy. I was positive I was having a fever dream when I first saw this was going to be a thing. Maybe this podcast will make it acceptible for me to be in public again. +1 to this being a hit! Fans of this podcast and DnD might also want to check out the DnD podcast that Wizards of the Coast puts together on occasion, featuring a 'celebrity' game run with Wil Wheaton! If you are into DnD you might just find that entertaining as well.