RPG Geek
Latest Episodes
Review: Running A La Carte:: A good start, but not sure if there is enough meat on these bones
Posted: Sun, 14 Jun 01:45:14
Shadowrun: Running A La Carte is an e-resource book, providing information on food and eating in the Sixth World. While it is a nice introduction to the subject. It is sadly incomplete. This is exactly the sort of sourcebook I want to see more of, building out the Shadowrun world, but I would have liked for it to have been more geared toward usability.
Unusually, this product does not start with a fiction piece which would have seemed like an obvious choice. Instead it jumps right into Feeding the People, an overview of how food is big business and thus, a possible place for shadowrunners to get involved, with an all too brief discussion of where food comes from, a few of the corporations involved, and some off handed comments as to the sort of runs this might generate. This section also includes the information “Most food products consumed in the CAS start in one of four places: Soybean hydroponics labs, algae tanks, krill tanks, or fungal farms.” Which is fascinating but it is never mentioned again . . .
The next section is The Fine Dinning Experience, which talks about high-end restaurants, what they are like, their dining etiquette and so on, which is vaguely interesting. But, seriously, who is going to hold a meet with shadowrunners in a ¥500 a plate place? Yes, you could to show off, but it would be stupidly expansive as well as just stupid. Now, you might need to make a snatch or meet a contact in one of these places, so a little about them is good, but maybe not four and a half pages worth.
The third section is Rise and Fall of a Beloved Restaurant Chain, which is about the rise and fall of Pirate Pete’s, a pirate-themed fast food restaurant change that had an upscale spin off. While an interesting and amusing read, as the chain is defunct now, how useful is the information? Would not a snapshot of an existing and active chains been more useful for background color and possible adventures?
The forth, and last, section is Major Players which talks in general terms about the involvement of the Big Ten and small corporations in the food business. Again, a nice overview but more could have been done.
It would have been useful to have a list of canon fast food (and fast casual) chains, convenience stores, and such like so the Game Master could drop in setting appropriate locations when the characters stop for a bite to eat or have to meet up with a contact in a nondescript location.
Overall, a useful book for background information and inspiration but it would have been more useful if it had provided more game-focused details.
Posted: Sun, 14 Jun 01:45:14
by SeaofStars
Originally published on my gaming journal.Shadowrun: Running A La Carte is an e-resource book, providing information on food and eating in the Sixth World. While it is a nice introduction to the subject. It is sadly incomplete. This is exactly the sort of sourcebook I want to see more of, building out the Shadowrun world, but I would have liked for it to have been more geared toward usability.
Unusually, this product does not start with a fiction piece which would have seemed like an obvious choice. Instead it jumps right into Feeding the People, an overview of how food is big business and thus, a possible place for shadowrunners to get involved, with an all too brief discussion of where food comes from, a few of the corporations involved, and some off handed comments as to the sort of runs this might generate. This section also includes the information “Most food products consumed in the CAS start in one of four places: Soybean hydroponics labs, algae tanks, krill tanks, or fungal farms.” Which is fascinating but it is never mentioned again . . .
The next section is The Fine Dinning Experience, which talks about high-end restaurants, what they are like, their dining etiquette and so on, which is vaguely interesting. But, seriously, who is going to hold a meet with shadowrunners in a ¥500 a plate place? Yes, you could to show off, but it would be stupidly expansive as well as just stupid. Now, you might need to make a snatch or meet a contact in one of these places, so a little about them is good, but maybe not four and a half pages worth.
The third section is Rise and Fall of a Beloved Restaurant Chain, which is about the rise and fall of Pirate Pete’s, a pirate-themed fast food restaurant change that had an upscale spin off. While an interesting and amusing read, as the chain is defunct now, how useful is the information? Would not a snapshot of an existing and active chains been more useful for background color and possible adventures?
The forth, and last, section is Major Players which talks in general terms about the involvement of the Big Ten and small corporations in the food business. Again, a nice overview but more could have been done.
It would have been useful to have a list of canon fast food (and fast casual) chains, convenience stores, and such like so the Game Master could drop in setting appropriate locations when the characters stop for a bite to eat or have to meet up with a contact in a nondescript location.
Overall, a useful book for background information and inspiration but it would have been more useful if it had provided more game-focused details.
Solo Saturdays- Boom! (again)
Posted: Sun, 14 Jun 01:23:18
/pic9636747.jpg)
New bombs, new bag!
3 more losses on Heroic difficulty with FUSE Countdown today. Those Sparks are MEAN! But gosh, I am having an absolute ball with this new FUSE!
/pic9636742.jpg)
Game #1, Start
/pic9636743.jpg)
Game #1, End: 73 pts
/pic9636744.jpg)
Game #2, Start
/pic9636746.jpg)
Game #2, End: 75 pts
/pic9636749.jpg)
Game #3, Start
/pic9636750.jpg)
Game #3, End: 78 pts
I'm still getting used to Roles... which is partially why I haven't switched from the Technologist. In the heat of the moment, I often forget to use my special ability, d'oh!
Aka, I'm still happily refusing bombs :geek_grin:. What's on your table (or floor) this weekend?
Happy Saturday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe. And follow me across social media with my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/rachelncarpenter
Posted: Sun, 14 Jun 01:23:18
New bombs, new bag!
3 more losses on Heroic difficulty with FUSE Countdown today. Those Sparks are MEAN! But gosh, I am having an absolute ball with this new FUSE!
Game #1, Start
Game #1, End: 73 pts
Game #2, Start
Game #2, End: 75 pts
Game #3, Start
Game #3, End: 78 pts
I'm still getting used to Roles... which is partially why I haven't switched from the Technologist. In the heat of the moment, I often forget to use my special ability, d'oh!
Aka, I'm still happily refusing bombs :geek_grin:. What's on your table (or floor) this weekend?
Happy Saturday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe. And follow me across social media with my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/rachelncarpenter
This Week in Geek History June 14 - June 20
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:55:50
/pic6325365.png)
June 14
June 15
June 16
June 17
June 18
June 19
June 20
I'm sure this list can be improved. Feel free to offer suggestions for this and upcoming weeks. If you want your birthday included just add it to this geeklist: RPG Geek Birthday List
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:55:50
June 14
1933- Polish-American author Jerzy Kosinski [microbadge=27551]
1946- US President Donald Trump [microbadge=6679]
1949- American author Harry Turtledove [microbadge=12675]
1995- Author Roger Zelazny passes at 60 [microbadge=18608]
June 15
1215- King John signs the Magna Carta at Runnymede, England [microbadge=3999]
1219- Legend says the Dannebrog (flag of Denmark) fell from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise. It is the world's oldest national flag [microbadge=28597]
1330- Prince Edward of England, son of Edward III and known as the "Black Prince" [microbadge=15322]
1843- Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg [microbadge=5881]
1914- Romanian-American artist Saul Steinberg [microbadge=12845]
1924- J. Edgar Hoover assumes leadership of the FBI [microbadge=35230]
1941- American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson [microbadge=29973]
1954- American actor Jim Belushi [microbadge=9525]
June 16
1723- Scottish Economist Adam Smith [microbadge=1963]
1829- Apache chief Geronimo [microbadge=37890]
1880- Salvation Army forms in London [microbadge=6675]
1890- English film comedian Stan Laurel [microbadge=999][microbadge=4810]
1917- American publisher Katharine Graham (Watergate era publisher of the Washington Post) [microbadge=4687]
1937- American author Erich Segal [microbadge=5790]
1960- Hitchcock's Psycho released [microbadge=3835][microbadge=4238][microbadge=1768]
June 17
1775- Battle of Bunker (Breed's) Hill [microbadge=28143]
1882- Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky [microbadge=5878]
1947- Funk composer & musician George Clinton [microbadge=7178][microbadge=7179]
1958- "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe published [microbadge=10661]
1958- Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) [microbadge=3367]
1965- The Kinks arrive in New York City, beginning their 1st US tour [microbadge=5600]
2006- Author Anne McCaffrey inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame [microbadge=30123]
June 18
1812- War of 1812 begins [microbadge=3493]
1815- Wellington & Blucher defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo [microbadge=5236]
1914- American actor E.G. Marshall [microbadge=28072]
1942- English singer-composer Paul McCartney [microbadge=6037]
1952- Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Legend of Earthsea, The Odyssey) [microbadge=8934]
June 19
1623- French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal [microbadge=9129]
1846- The New York Knickerbocker Club plays the New York Club in the first official baseball game at Elysian Field, Hoboken, New Jersey. [microbadge=7122]
1897- Moe Howard [microbadge=4813]
1903- Baseball player Lou Gehrig [microbadge=7003]
1947- British-Indian author Salman Rushdie [microbadge=11108]
1950- Musician Ann Wilson, Heart [microbadge=18885]
1953- Ethel & Julius Rosenberg executed for espionage [microbadge=3663]
1964- US Civil Rights Act passes [microbadge=4350]
1978- Comic strip Garfield debuts [microbadge=20856]
1988- World's then largest sausage completed: 13.125 miles [microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485][microbadge=20485]
1991- Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrenders to police [microbadge=43057]
June 20
236 b.C.- Scipio Africanus, Roman statesman and 2nd Punic War general [microbadge=8142]
451- Battle of the Catalaunian Plains: Romans & Visigoths defeat Attila the Hun in France [microbadge=4552]
1837- Victoria ascends the British throne and reigns for 63 years [microbadge=18052]
1887- German artist Kurt Schwitters [microbadge=14784]
1893- Lizzie Borden acquitted of the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother [microbadge=35449]
1909- Australian-American actor Errol Flynn [microbadge=17306]
1924- Highly decorated American combat soldier Audie Murphy [microbadge=15348]
1924- Master guitarist Chet Atkins [microbadge=1346]
1928- American actor Martin Landau [microbadge=3503]
1942- Songwriter Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys [microbadge=9445]
1952- American actor John Goodman [microbadge=7424]
1954- Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony [microbadge=2041]
1974- Chinatown released [microbadge=17418]
1975- Jaws released [microbadge=13781]
I'm sure this list can be improved. Feel free to offer suggestions for this and upcoming weeks. If you want your birthday included just add it to this geeklist: RPG Geek Birthday List
Road to Victory - Ep. 01 - A Family Affair
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:11:09
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:11:09
A new episode has been added to the database:
Road to Victory - Ep. 01 - A Family Affair
EP 331 | We interview Christos "FAILNAUT" Reid
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:11:03
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:11:03
A new episode has been added to the database:
EP 331 | We interview Christos "FAILNAUT" Reid
Onboard, Worldbuild, Roleplay: The Table-Ready Episode
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:10:43
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:10:43
A new episode has been added to the database:
Onboard, Worldbuild, Roleplay: The Table-Ready Episode
Broken Chains - 04
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
A new episode has been added to the database:
Broken Chains - 04
Broken Chains - 05
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
A new episode has been added to the database:
Broken Chains - 05
Broken Chains - 06
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:52
A new episode has been added to the database:
Broken Chains - 06
Audio EXP podcast: June 13th - Paizo's Diamond Deadlock, DTRPG Rules, and the Dark Timeline Backlash
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:51
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:08:51
A new episode has been added to the database:
Audio EXP podcast: June 13th - Paizo's Diamond Deadlock, DTRPG Rules, and the Dark Timeline Backlash
Lunatics Unleashed - The Unexpectables II Episode 153
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:07:29
Posted: Sat, 13 Jun 23:07:29
A new episode has been added to the database:
Lunatics Unleashed - The Unexpectables II Episode 153
