So I started reading the book and I love it so far. I even screencapped a paragraph or two and sent it to my friends because it resonated with me so much. Some of the tips were pretty good, like making three traits for each element of a scene, and I already find myself reflexively thinking "now I need three traits for this" every time I introduce something into the game. It also inspired me to make this thread since it talked about the nature of roleplaying.

Haven't finished it yet, but it was enough for me to go and order all of the other books on a whim.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;834389So I started reading the book and I love it so far. I even screencapped a paragraph or two and sent it to my friends because it resonated with me so much. Some of the tips were pretty good, like making three traits for each element of a scene, and I already find myself reflexively thinking "now I need three traits for this" every time I introduce something into the game. It also inspired me to make this thread since it talked about the nature of roleplaying.

Haven't finished it yet, but it was enough for me to go and order all of the other books on a whim.

Awesome.  Thanks for that.  Your thread helped me chip away at the mystery.  Another small breakthrough, I hope.  Much appreciated.

VS

Quote from: VengerSatanis;833987If you promise to tell the world about my evil, filthy demon ways (thereby saving it), I'll send you a free PDF.

I will send you a PM!

As for Metallica, the Black album songs played live are actually quite good, same goes for Death Magnetic which sounds far better live. Their concert movie Through the Never is worth seeing for fans who haven't seen them live. For reasons I don't understand, their post-Masters album sound has been weak by comparison.

BTW, for you metal heads, I heartily recommend Dark Roots of Thrash, the live album by Testament who has shockingly has gotten harder, faster and better with age.

Upon further introspection, my rating of 7 feels a bit harsh. I actually liked this work more than other products that I've reviewed here which got better scores. I just suck at number ratings and at being consistent, I guess.

Sigh.  Maybe one of these days Brett Bernstein will actually get around to publishing the GM book I wrote for him like four years ago.

Quote from: RPGPundit;834821Sigh.  Maybe one of these days Brett Bernstein will actually get around to publishing the GM book I wrote for him like four years ago.

If you published one I would literally buy it instantly.

Metallica is the poor man's Music Machine.

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;834858If you published one I would literally buy it instantly.

Go tell that to Brett Bernstein! I wrote it years ago. He owns it, and it's been on his back-burner to publish ever since.

Quote from: RPGPundit;835083Go tell that to Brett Bernstein! I wrote it years ago. He owns it, and it's been on his back-burner to publish ever since.

After 4 years and no publication shouldn't the rights return to you?

It's at least worth asking.  Send him an email.

VS

Can't you get someone else to publish it?

It was one of the only projects I did as a work-for-hire.  Brett paid me for it, he owns it, and owes me nothing.  So its totally up to him whether he ever publishes it or not.

Sounds like there's a lot of good stuff there. Although, Metallica have always been no more than the poor man's Megadeth.

Quote from: The_Shadow;836292Sounds like there's a lot of good stuff there. Although, Metallica have always been no more than the poor man's Megadeth.

Interesting comparison if you know the bands histories... and I assume you do.  For me, Megadeth went the way of Metallica right around Rust in Peace... Polaris.  I enjoy a few songs on that album but ultimately it's too polished and Dave Mustaine "sings" too much like James Hetfield on the black album and since.

Yeah, the 90's ruined heavy metal for me.  

VS

p.s.  Speaking of HtGMlaFB reviews, Geek Native just came out with this:  http://www.geeknative.com/52472/kickin-it-old-school-a-review-of-how-to-game-master-like-a-fucking-boss/

p.p.s.  Regarding metal, one of my favorite albums is Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss which came out in 1990.  So, you could say that's the exception that proves the rule or that it was essentially created before the doom that came to metal.

Quote from: VengerSatanis;836312p.s.  Speaking of HtGMlaFB reviews, Geek Native just came out with this:  http://www.geeknative.com/52472/kickin-it-old-school-a-review-of-how-to-game-master-like-a-fucking-boss/

>>Venger is clearly an experienced, knowledgable GM who knows who he is and what he does and he presents it clearly in this book. This can cut both ways, however. Venger makes some bold assumptions about your game in his advice. Although he never comes out and says it in the text, he assumes that your adventures will be swords-and-sorcery pulp fantasy. He assumes your adventures will always have some kind of dungeon in them. He assumes you will be playing D&D or some retro-clone spawn of it. And he assumes your gaming group will be mostly 30-and-40-something white males. Here, for example, is some advice he offers on including sex appeal in your games:

“Indeed, sexy women make the world go round. Without going overboard, pepper your campaign with exquisite curves, creamy thighs, and delicate ruby-red mouths. Seduce the players with her physical attractiveness. Compare her to a famous celebrity like Megan Fox or Kristen Bell. Better yet, come prepared with a picture of some unknown woman from the internet or evocative piece of RPG art.”<<

LOL With advice like that (which is what I already do in my online game, though I think some of the players are older, 50s maybe) how can I resist buying this much longer... Obviously the game I GM with lots of cute 18-22 year old girl players takes a slightly different approach, but even there I think the same general principle applies - it's just more brave, handsome noble male knights & such falling for the awesome female PCs.