Mutants

So, I’ve been on the naughty list for the last couple of days. Yes, I’ve been writing and posting my blog posts, but I haven’t been doing it the way I should be. Take today’s post for example. Cupcake gave me the topic, mutants, yesterday after I posted my discussion on April Fool’s Day. But, I’m just now (at 8:13 pm) sitting down to write today’s post. This means I’m going to be behind on getting my stats posted and that will mean a wide number of other things which I really don’t want to talk about here. It’s all just prattle.

Anyway, the topic is mutants, and I suppose I should be able to come up with a fairly decent post about mutants, mainly because I feel like one half of the time. Lol.

Cupcake was watching an episode of Face Off (SyFy reality tv show about practical effects make up and design) and the topic of the contest for that episode was mutants. Each of the contestants designed their own mutants and so on and so forth, the rest doesn’t matter so far as I’m concerned. What does is the concept, the question the challenge raises: What is a mutant and what does that mean to you?

It’s kind of a double question, but a good one none the less.

There are a couple of things that come to mind when I hear the word mutant. Most of those are pop culture references, and I think maybe one of them comes from scientific fact. That’s the one I want to talk about first.

As far as I can tell (and this is without me checking Google) a mutation is often an irregularity or abnormality n the genetic sequence. This irregularity often causes problems with the individual born with that mutation. An example of this could be a deer born with five legs, or it may have three eyes. And, there are other more common mutations. People are born blind, or they’re born with Down syndrome or something similar. This is and isn’t a mutation, it’s more like a birth defect caused by an irregularity in the genetic sequence… which is exactly what I just said to define a mutation…

Herm.

Mutations are also highly useful when it comes to evolution. First, there were a lot of brown bears, because there were a lot of temperate forests between ice ages. But, when the world got cold again, the ice caps spread and a lot more of the earth became white. Brown bears had trouble with getting food because their prey could see them miles away and get the hell out. Then there was a mutation. A bear was born with white fur (technically a polar bear’s fur is clear because it lacks any sort of pigment) and was better suited to sneaking up on its prey. This made the bears with white fur continue to survive and breed and be born, and the brown bears in the polar area slowly died out. (And, yes, I totally just stole that example from Cosmos.)

Now, the other references I can think of are right up Face Off’s alley. It’s the X-men from Marvel Comics. And, the mutant bug movies of the 1950’s. And, I’ll leave you with what I think is the most famous pop culture mutant of all time:

Ryan

4-2-14

Frankenstein

Is a novel by Mary Shelley, and it is one of the first intentional works of both science fiction and horror. Though, I believe it was categorized as a romance back when it was written. This categorization isn’t because the novel is a Harlequin bodice ripper, but because it was a work of fiction. Basically, you had two types (or genres) of novels, those that were based on actual factual events, such as travel logs or biographies, and those that were not (Frankenstein). Though, even Frankenstein has some basis in reality.

During the time the novel was written there was a natural philosopher (physical scientist) by the name of Giovanni Aldini. Aldini experimented with electricity and the human body to try and animate dead flesh by running an electrical current through it. These attempts succeeded to an extent. Running an electrical current through a corpse will cause the muscles to spasm and jerk, but there was no restoration of life (and not a single mention of a zombie). And, while the method of animation was not described in the book, it is implied that electricity was involved in the experiment. This also runs along the same lines as the multiple plays and movies based off the novel where the experiment itself occurs during an electrical storm and Dr. Frankenstein uses a lightning rod to harness the power of a bolt of lightning.

The novel could also have multiple inspirations coming straight from mythology. In a way it mirrors two of these tales. One being the story of Pygmalion and his statue named Galatea who was brought to life by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and lust. Then there’s the tale of the golem in Jewish folklore, where clay, stone, or mud are shaped into a humanoid form and a piece of paper with the Hebrew word “shem” (one of the names of God) and was inserted in to the mouth or forehead of the golem. This act animated the golem, but did not give life, as God is the only one with the power to give life to the unliving.

As for working Frankenstein into a Dungeons & Dragons game, there is little more to it than opening the Monster Manual, Frankenstein’s monster, the flesh golem, was one of the original monsters included in the game, albeit the Dungeons and Dragons flesh golem lacks the intelligence Frankenstein’s monster developed over the course of the novel. The flesh golem is much more like the monster shown in the many movies and plays that have been based on the novel.

To get an actual representation of the monster (its name is not Frankenstein, just saying) you would need to craft the flesh golem (meaning you’re probably a necromancer, it’s not a requirement, but a likely path considering the nature of the construction materials), then once the monster is animated use a spell called Awaken.

Awaken is a spell that “awakens” an animal, plant, or construct by giving it an intelligence score higher than three. And, in the case of the plant, it generates an intelligence score, a wisdom score, and a charisma score. Animals have intelligence scores, usually below three, which makes them unsuitable as player characters, but with awaken they’re intelligence score is increased above three (the base minimum for intelligence) changing its type from animal to magical beast, animals also come with a wisdom and a charisma score. Constructs lack intelligence, completely, their intelligence score in a statistics block actually reads Int—. Awakening them generates an intelligence score (3d6), and it gives them the living construct subtype.

So, now I’ve got things set up for a particularly nasty villain, or a potential player character. But, that’s not really the way I plan on using it right now. No, the closest I’m getting to putting a flesh golem in the game (for right now) is a short story I’ve been working on. It’s called Respect for the Dead and the protagonist, Phelix Goldleaf, is fighting against one. Even more so than the undead he’s also fighting against, Phelix feels that the flesh golem is the most obscene thing done with the corpses of the dead. Mainly because it inflicts such disrespect on the former bodies turned into construction materials. And, if I talk about it too much more I’ll give away what happens in the story and then nobody would want to read it.

So, on that note, I shall talk to you all later.

Ryan

3-3-14/3-4-14

Ninjas

Earlier today, I wrote a post about Pirates, and now I’m writing one about ninjas. It makes me want to ask the question: Pirate or Ninja? And, I can honestly say my answer has always been neither. I don’t want to be a pirate, and I don’t want to be a ninja. I would rather be a ranger. A ranger’s senses and skill with a bow would stop a ninja before they ever got close and the pure dual wielding styling would drop a pirate to the ground… in several pieces of course.

But, this post isn’t going to be about my love for the ranger class. This post is going to be about NINJAS!!!

…

(cricket chirps)

…

What? I can’t think very well at the moment!

Ninja’s are stealth assassins. The modern media and entertainment industry would have the people of the world believe that ninjas are people who ran around depressed up in black pajamas. This isn’t historically accurate.

If you were walking home at night you’re a little more alert than usual. (I am anyway, kind of paranoid in fact.) And, if I saw somebody running around in an all black outfit with a mask on I would freak the f*** out.  That’s because dressing like that gives the exact opposite effect of what a real ninja is trying to accomplish.

It’s a ninja’s job to blend into their surroundings. And, most of the time that means dressing like a normal person, or dressing in a fashion that’s going to help them infiltrate the organization they’re targeting. Say, for example, they want to get into an office building late at night to deal with a workaholic who’s about to crack the case of the missing crown jewels wide open, then they’re probably going to dress as a janitor to get past security. Or they’re going to dress as a security guard. And, if they want to make things real complicated then they’ll go the black pajama route and enter the building from the roof. Oh, and they’ll pretend guns don’t exist too.

Every time I think of a movie/tv show/comic where it shows ninjas in a modern setting using only swords, daggers, and shuriken, it makes me think of a scene in Indiana Jones. You know, the scene with the sword guy, the one Indy shoots. Yeah, don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.

As for other things… my brain is trying to shut down for the day, so I’ll hurry this along.

In my game, ninjas exist, but not technically. You’d have to look at the rogue class or the assassin prestige class if you really wanted to find one.

Why?

It’s because the ninja class offered in the Dungeons and Dragons source material isn’t considered open content for the OGL. And, I’m too lazy, at this point in time, to develop my own interpretation of the class.

I might do it later, if the Jade Isles (thank you Russell) then it will be kind of necessary, as the Jade Isles are a Far East style setting.

Anywho, I’m checking out now.

Later kids.

Ryan

2-17-14

Purple

Today’s topic is purple. It is the color of royalty, and those dragons you see down at the gas station during a bad acid trip. I really don’t know what that’s like, and it makes me happy. I have enough crazy shit going on inside my head, I don’t need to compound this with chemicals that make things worse.

Say no to drugs, kids.

And, I forgot what I was saying…

Oh, right, Purple, the color of kings. This is the color Julius Caesar wore the day his armies marched on Rome. He knew he would become Rome’s number one citizen, and the first emperor, even though he never really was called an emperor. I think most of that is attributed to Ceasar Octavious, Julius nephew, who changes his name to Caesar Augustus when he takes the throne.

Though, I guess Augustus would have had to have someone build a throne, you know, since he was the first emperor and the first sole ruler in Rome for something like five hundred years, I think it was. I’m not sure.

History lesson aside, Cupcake (who did you expect?) gave me the color purple as my topic for the day. She didn’t realize that today was cancer awareness day or some such thing, and that their dominant color is purple. I forget exactly what organization she was talking about. It probably wouldn’t take much in the way of a Google search to find out, but I’m lazy and I don’t want to do it.

As for other things, on days like this, when the topic comes from a color. I really wish I had a wide array of pens to choose from. Yes, instead of writing this in purple ink… I’m writing it in black. Oh the shame! Yeah, felt a little overdramatic there for a moment.

Now, I believe I’ve run out of things to say about the color purple.

Isn’t there a movie or a book by that name? The Color Purple?

I believe there is, and I think it was about race relations or something like that. I’m not sure, I’ve never read it. I know Google’s an option, but again, lazy.

How could I incorporate the color purple into my Dungeons and Dragons game? Well… I’ve already done that. A certain little boy’s “invisible friend” likes to change the colors of the PCs at random. I’ve actually worked up a chart for it :D

And, now for shits and giggles, I’m going to try an experiment. Which of my players read my blog?

The little boy in the game is Jacob. He’s an orphan, his mother and father killed by slavers when they attacked his home town. Jacob’s invisible friend is known as The Childlike Goddess (like The Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story). She is a greater deity with 20 divine ranks. She has 60HD (hit dice) worth of outsider “levels” (not actually levels, but there’s no better way to describe them) and she has 62 class levels covering the Barbarian, Wizard, Sorcerer, and Wilder classes. She was born a dragon (half celestial gold) and is older than almost any other dragon, though she chooses to remain in the guise of an 8 year old elven girl when she needs to be seen, and a wyrmling (youngest type of dragon) when she needs to fight. Though, most of the time she prefers to stay invisible and incorporeal.

And, unlike the topic of the post, her favorite color is pink.

With that, you kids have a fun day. I’m going to sleep through it.

Ryan

2-4-14

Yes, this post was written almost a week ago… I’m not proud of that. I’ve had a hiccup in life over the last half a week or so, and I don’t know where it came from. Part of it, was me instituting my F*** it Friday policy, the rest was a blur. It might have to do with me landing on my ribs pretty hard core, and feeling like crap after all that. And, how that pain has grown over the last week until it’s some great monster I’m afraid of. I’m going to go and get it looked at this week. And, hopefully it won’t be bad news.

Also, hopefully, I’ll be able to get back on track. Back to my walking. Back to my writing. Blogging. Goalling. And, yeah, you probably get the picture.

I’m dusting myself off this week, and trying to get back into the game.

I hope you’ll ride along to see the result.

And, one other thing, I’ve been posting my first novel here on the blog, Raising Kain: Diseased God, and I was wondering what you all thought of that. The first five chapters have posted already (links below) and I wanted to know if you liked them… Basically, I’m asking if I should post the rest of the story, or if it’s better off left in a hidden file folder on my computer?

Raising Kain: Diseased God

Foreword

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Let me know what you think. Comments are accepted below J And, you can comment on the link from Facebook J or reply @ryanmsmith1986 on Twitter J