Still here, actually

irst of all, appy-polly-loggys for not updating this blog more often. I'm trying to finish the AMPUTHEATRE Rule Book before the Horror Realm this September, and (you've heard this before) I find that blogging is something I don't want to bother with when toiling on text in Adobe InDesign. And you know what else I find a drag...? Writing strategy for the Slashers. The book is going to include the profiles and stats of (I think) sixteen characters, and I can only write "a robust assortment of powerful attacks" so many times before sleep sets in. Yug.

I went to Portland, Maine for the Fourth of July weekend. From our vantage point on the island where my mother-in-law lives, my wife and I got to watch the fireworks from four other islands. I'd like to thank my friend Heather from The Portland Quest Center for letting me present my monsters to her students. Heather gives my monsters out as rewards to the most outstanding of her charges. Here are some examples of the creatures I've sold her; if you've already seen these guys I'm sorry about that:


...I love the guy in the demon mask, particularly.



But enough about me. Congratulations to Cathy Horner of Kingsport, TN! She's the winner of the Zombies & Toys-Chenille Macabre contest and thus the lucky recipient of the Zombie Woman Figure! Way to go, Cathy! Enjoy your Zombie! Thanks to Jason of Zombies & Toys as well, and all who took part in the Undead Bazaar! It sounds like it'll happen again next year, too! Thanks also to those of you who found me through Z&T!



...Now back to me. AMPUTHEATRE was quite crowded last Friday- two full boards with folks still waiting to play!- so work has begun on a third board. Behold: the new and improved Mt. Ripper!

Still under construction, and currently being played on by some of my Mortal Kombat figures. It's so cute. They think they're not going to get in trouble for this. But I forgive them- I figured they wanted to fight on a dangerous board for once. I keed, I keed.

The new Mt. Ripper board is getting a massive overhaul. First off, it's larger that the original AMPUTHEATRE: 10 spaces by 12, meaning Gnash and Trigger Treat will enjoy themselves. Second, the Mandible Gunsaw on the top now rests on blood-drinking grates, meaning you'll have to abandon the gun if you want to reliably heal (which I see a lot of my players NOT doing, honestly.) Finally, the two gray spaces will hold the board's two signature weapons: guns. I know I want one of them to be an assault rifle.

(Some folks might not like the idea of guns in AMPUTHEATRE- I sang NEVER NEVER NEVER for the longest time- but the idea of signature weapons on certain boards is a nice compromise.)

Less obvious changes from the first Mt. Ripper include a subtraction of cheese from the Gunsaw. It can now only target Slashers within the caution tape. You'll notice a line just before the peak. Thus, you'll have to find another way to deal with Slashers who share the top with you. (You're allowed to aim the Gunsaw in any other quadrant during the Rally Action, which led to cheesy 5d8 Weapon Attacks with the damn thing.) Also, the Chaos Deck for Mt. Ripper will sport a few guns: smaller firearms, like 9mm pistols and UZIs.

Finally, there's something else we're working on in regards to AMPUTHEATRE. I'll post it up here when we're nearer completion with it.

(...)

A number of the movies I've seen since I last blogged here: How To Train Your Dragon (bliss), Survival Of The Dead (better than Diary), Firepower (starring The Ultimate Warrior in an endless series of insomnia-curing cage matches), Aswang (forgot my rule about too many laurel wreaths on the DVD box, but I'll let this one slide), The Crow: City of Angels (still sucks harder than an airline crapper), Xanadu (EVEN SUCKIER!), Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (turned it off when this "Edward" thing squealed its way onto my television; I'd never seen her before), Stripped To Kill (not bad), and Honeymoon Horror (worth it for the human voice imitating coffee grounds being scooped up).

Twice. The sound is imitated twice.