Penny Arcade

Automata, Page 3

Automata returns. Again! This series ends on Monday, if you were wondering - after which we will indulge in a full week of surprising (and inappropriate) Falcon Pawnches.

The Claptraps in today’s strip really turn my crank - and if I had more than one crank, I firmly believe that The Claptraps could turn both simultaneously. The idea that via a cultural form of propulsion - in this case, Jazz - a group of people could phase between social strata is incredibly appealing to me. Their logo (and technically, this wallpaper) communicates this fluidity:

It’s got an elegant, modern Art Deco motif that hides a secret affinity for the automated underclass. I can’t take credit for that: it’s Kiko’s doing. But it communicates the truth of the situation in a way I didn’t make explicit. This is why is it vitally important that you make friends with clever designer people right away, so that they can make you seem very smart in retrospect. Find one today, fruitlessly scrutinizing the font choices on an insurance billboard, and hold them close.

My thought processes are so mired in phlegmy cords of vile present time that I rarely notice it, but I’m noticing it now: you have a very strange job when you can go from ginning up pop culture broadsides to prejudice against robots in the space of a week, and it doesn’t result in the loss of said job. That readers would enjoy what we do is a tremendous honor, a delightful and unexpected surprise, but the fact that you can tolerate (let alone track) these mad vacillations is a marvel worthy of graduate study.

(CW)TB out.

will i find eden or the snake

My Neo Geo for Child’s Play

You might remember me talking about my Neo Geo Arcade machine here on the site a few times. I saved it from an arcade that was remodeling and fixed it up. It’s been very good to me over the years, but it will not be making the trip over to our new office. Instead I have decided to auction it off for Child’s Play. You can find the Auction here. You must be local and you must be able to come get it. Other than that, I only ask that you give her a good home, and treat her well.

-Gabe out

my D&D game

My D&D game last night was an epic one. I called it the season finale because it wrapped up a story-line that started on their very first encounter. They have also reached level 11 which is a major milestone and so I wanted the game to be especially dramatic.

The main villain they’ve been chasing since level 1 was their foe the entire night. He kept changing forms from spell caster to Dragon to Volcanic Dragon. They fought him through his underworld lair which (like any good villain) happened to be built over a massive burning chasm that stretched down into the center of the world. As the fight neared it’s climactic end the Dragon tore the room apart sending all of them tumbling down into the abyss. This was my final set piece and also the trickiest thing I’ve ever tried to do in D&D.

Here’s what I did:

I started by designing the play field. I went to the hardware store and picked up 4 sheets of clear plastic (11x14) as well as some wooden dowels. I used a black marker and a ruler do draw out my 1"x1” grid on each of the plastic sheets.

Next I cut the dowels down into 8” sections. I did 8” because I wanted enough room for large miniatures as well as players to get their hands in between the levels.

I used an epoxy to secure the wooden dowels to the corners of the plastic sheets. This worked okay and was very simple. However the structure is a bit rickety and if I were to do this again I’d probably screw the supports directly into the plastic.

I created a “fire” map to place under the bottom piece of plastic so that the players could see what it was they were falling into. Finally I created a set of “Free Fall Combat” rules that I passed out to each player. I used a combination of underwater combat, flying combat and my own ideas to generate these rules. I also let the players know at the table that it was a test and I wanted to hear their ideas. If they could make me a good case about why what they wanted to do should work I was happy to allow it.

I used flying monsters that could navigate between the levels with ease. I also placed bits of falling rubble (the dungeon tiles you see in the pictures) at various points. These were very important as the players discovered when the first Cinder Storm hit. The idea was that the party was falling straight down into the center of the earth. They would occasionally fall through these clouds of hot gas and cinders. This was big damage that could be avoided by getting yourself up onto one of these bits of rubble and using it as a shield.

Over all the fight was a huge success and everyone said they had a great time. My only problem now is figuring out how in the hell I’m going to top it.

-Gabe out