TABLETOP TALES! NARUTO RPG! WORD OF THE DAY! 10/13/12. PT.1

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

CLICK CLICK BOOM: 

A NARUTO RPG BACKSTORY

zealot [zel-uht]
noun

1. A person who shows zeal.

2. An excessively zealous person; fanatic.

3. History. ( initial capital letter ) A member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.

This week I took part in a rather interesting RPG experience; I created a back-story, in a one x one role-playing experience, with the DM of a new Naruto Fan RPG he developed. The sessions were pretty unique, at least in my experience, as they were both intensive (it took several hours) and quite thorough in developing a character (from his family to his personality weaknesses)-- everything was covered.

The process began with the DM, Dayne, asking me to find a song, with lyrics, and an AMV of that song that he could use to develop the outline of my back-story session. I chose Saliva's Click Click Boom and, if you want to see the AMV, the link for the AMV is at the top of the article. As I go into the background summary below, you should be able to note and compare the points where he used elements from the AMV in my back-story.

Now, if for some reason you know nothing about the popular anime and manga, Naruto is a series about Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja, who is on a quest to earn recognition from the people that see him as a monster and to become the Hokage of his village. That is the very simplest summary of the main plot-line, but it hardly covers what makes Naruto so engrossing. The world is unique; with a rather unique art-style, Masashi Kishimoto managed to create a world where modern technology is available, but warfare stayed on the path of creating advanced warriors. The fights are Kabuki-inspired and are, in my opinion, some of the best choreographed and interesting fights I've seen in any anime. Finally, the characters that inhabit this world, with their unique abilities, are all interesting enough to get a back-story.

And maybe that's why a back-story is so important in a Naruto RPG. Just for all you continuity lovers, I think this setting is pretty removed from anything canon. Also, some parts of this story may seem a little strange or disturbing, but this is a fantasy; everything that happens fits within this universe's rules.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/12/12.

fatherly [fah-ther-lee]
adjective
1. Of, like, or befitting a father.

EX.Nothing is quite so fatherly as cutting off your son's hand so you can be twinsies.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/11/12.

kick flip [kik-flip]
noun
1.  In skateboarding, a trick involving a push down on the tail of the board to flip it lengthwise before the rider lands back on the board.

EX. I don't think he can do a kick flip over the moon...but I want him to.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/10/12. & WTF WED. WRECK IT RALPH!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

RETRO ARCADE COMMERCIAL 

FOR WRECK-IT RALPH!

penny arcade [peh-nee-ark-ehyd]
noun
1. An amusement hall or area that contains coin-operated entertainment devices, originally operated for a penny a play.

EX. I still think this film is about ten years or more late, but the idea of a classic penny arcade is especially nostalgic for people my age and older...

Anywho, for more of my opinions on Wreck-It Ralph, check out the 1st Mixed Bag. Podcast.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 10/1-10/7/12.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

MY LITTLE POKEMON WEEK!

7. WORD OF THE DAY/ 10/4/12. Red Herring.

Anybody out there remember A Pup Named Scooby Doo? I thought it was definitely one of the better of the sub-genre of exploitation where they take a proven franchise and make a show about their younger years. It can also been seen as comparatively consecutive because it was syndicated for years, as opposed to all the awful shows of this sort.

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 10/5/12. K.O.

Would it be worth writing a comparison between Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and FLCL?

5. MUSICAL MON! LIAM NEESON: THE MUSICAL!

Stare into those eyes and find your inner Neeson.

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 10/7/12. Cognizance.

Just curious, who was your favorite character in the Avengers? I think that I would have to say Agent Coulson or Mark Ruffalo's Hulk/Banner. Coulson is the heart at the center of the film and Ruffalo brought the character to life in a way that every other actor has failed.

3. WORD OF THE DAY! 10/6/12. Debate: TOP 11 REASONS I WANNA LIVE IN THE POKEMON UNIVERSE

Its been a while since I did a top 11 list; check out my First Call of Duty List, the Other COD List and my Legend of Zelda List.As for this list, it was less about a criticism/analysis of the series and more about the world.

2. TABLETOP TALES: RETURN TO RAVNICA PRE-RELEASE

And after a preview of the Pre-Release last Sunday, I went to the event, and wrote down the results into this handy article. I think the Pre-Release events are a great way for players, new and old alike, to get together and play some Magic the Gathering that's all about skill over wallet.

1. TABLETOP TALES: COLONEL HATHI'S COMPANY DECK!

And I think that the best way to end my trio of Return to Ravnica articles over the last two weeks was this awesome breakdown of my new Standard deck. If you are interested in getting into Magic the Gathering, leave a comment and ask away.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/9/12.

degradation [deg-ruh-dey-shuhn]
noun

1. The act of humiliating, debasing, etc.

2. The state of humiliated, wore down, etc.

3. Physical Geography. The wearing down of the land by the erosive action of water, wind, or ice.

4. Chemistry. The breakdown of an organic compound.

 EX. And I suppose using a Squirtle to wash my car would also be degrading?

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/7/12.

luchadore [loo-chuh-dohr]
noun
1. A member or spiritual member of the Mexican "lucha libre" or "free-wrestling" style, with a focus on theatricality, fantasy, machismo and other elements of Mexican culture.

EX. These awesome prints (Click Here) of "La Guerra De Los Luchadores" is a wonderful mix of Star Wars: A New Hope and Lucha Libre. Another fun fact in Lucha Libre is the idea of masked identities, similar to super heroes in some way, to create these legendary characters. Only in defeat, retirement, or death is it considered honorable to demask. It can be assumed that El Darth Vader would be demasked when El Death Star blows up.

MUSICAL MONDAY! DARTH VADER THE MUSICAL!

ANDREW LLOYD VADER PRESENTS

DARTH VADER: THE MUSICAL

Today, I got you guys an oldie but goodie (sorry for the low quality, but some internet classics are difficult to find in excellent quality) of an operatic version of two iconic Star Wars scenes between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. A mix of silly and endearing, as well as impressive for its time, I'm really remiss in my inability to find more information about the creators. Regardless of this issue, I hope you can enjoy it.

TABLETOP TALES: COLONEL HATHI'S COMPANY DECK!

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS:

COLONEL HATHI'S COMPANY DECK

To check out my other decks, hit the links below:

ALL OF MY DECK ARTICLES

This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to build a powerful deck on a reasonable budget.

A week after the pre-release and my new deck for standard is coming on pretty strong. My only purchases for this deck have been made through trades, the cards from the pre-release event, and two boosters I bought the other day, as well as a couple singles, totalling my expenses at around $35-40.

Check out my Return to Ravnica Pre-Release article to see how that green-white aggro deck has evolved since then:

RETURN TO RAVNICA PRE-RELEASE GW DECK

You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.

Without further ado, with these purchases, I built...

THE GW AGGRO DECK:

COLONEL HATHI'S COMPANY DECK

This deck is all about potent three-drops; in fact, not a single spell in this deck costs more than three mana and, with twenty four lands, it always has something it can do on any given turn. As for what it can do with these three-drops, it can put down efficient and/or difficult to remove/counter creatures that, when combined with Rancor, become lethal enough to take an opponent by turn five.

Please leave comments.

To check out the contents of the deck, click "READ MORE" below.

WORD OF THE DAY! 10/7/12.

cognizance [kog-nuh-zuhns]
noun

1. Awareness, realization, or knowledge; notice; perception.

2. Law.

a. Judicial notice as taken by a court in dealing with a cause.

b. The right of taking jurisdiction, as possessed by a court.

c. Acknowledgment; admission, as a plea admitting the fact alleged in the declaration.

3. The range or scope of knowledge, observation, etc.: Such understanding is beyond his cognizance.

4. Heraldry . A device by which a person or a person's servants or property can be recognized; badge.

EX. Joss Whedon's The Avengers is the most important super hero movie of all time because it simultaneously captured the style of story-telling in comic books and the coolest/funnest elements of that medium in a way that it had never been achieved. I'd argue that this was the closest experience that non-comic book fans can get to that of reading/enjoy comic books. This cognizance between fans of these heroes, from the most hardcore reader to the older tv fans to the littlest kid, is what makes this film stand alone amongst three decades of super hero movies.

Also, in my humble opinion, this is the only time television or film has captured a live-action hulk without being embarrassing or boring. 

Sure, the movie has problems; all comic books do. Even the very best comic books have plot holes. Its practically part of the media; part of the price of admission is enjoying the comic despite the occasional gap in the story or stupid moment. Its about the big picture.