The Dragonry? A Brief Editorial Comment, and Zorro Rides Again!

The caption reads, 'HIGH STREET DRAGONRY OPENDAY 19 AUGUST 1929'.  My question is... what the heck do they sell???  I've been trying to find out, doing a bit of Internet research, but I have had no luck.  It's really frustrating me...  Anyone out there in the blogosphere know?

Yeah, sure I could use my imagination, and come up with all sorts of cool, weird, or even logical reasons for this stores existence, but before I do that... I want to know what they really sold.

A Brief Editorial Comment

I've noticed that quite a few bloggers are discussing social interaction rules, and is has something to do with making D&D more like Dogs In the Vineyard?  Meh... I haven't been following that closely, and really don't want to take the time.  What I want to say is that, play the way you want to play, and if you and your players are happy and having fun then WOOT!  All is good.

Yes, discussing rules can be helpful, and the back and forth in the blogs can be very synergistic, and it can really help to get someone else's opinions.  Just remember that in the end it's about you, and your players.  Not someone that runs games in a another state, or half way around the world.  If some blogger posts about something you've written, and says it's wrong and their rules are right, I laugh at them.  In a nutshell, play, design, hack, rewrite, mutate rules, games, and campaigns to your hearts content, other bloggers can have their opinions, but in the end it doesn't matter.  To reiterate, if you're having fun , and your players are having fun, then be happy.

I've been watching Zorro Rides Again, the Republic Serial.  It's better than I thought it would be.  I expected it to be about a swashbuckling Zorro, but this is a great grandson of the original Zorro, and while he still uses a whip, he also has six-shooters.  It's almost like Zorro in the wild west, but there are also cars and planes, but mostly they ride horses.  One great part is where the bad guys use a plane to try and bomb a plane. They fail, and Zorro gets off a good shot with a rifle, and the train robbery is thwarted.

I did notice in the eight chapters I've watched that they reuse footage quite a bit.  Yeah, a money saving technique that movie making in early Hollywood favored.  ( Anyone else remember the African native in the Tarzan movies?  The one that fell of a cliff, the SAME cliff in every movie, at least that I can remember... )  There are also quite a few explosions.

I guess Zorro has some sort of a partial Code Against Killing.  He had several chances to get rid of the bad guy, but he always let him go, or the guy makes his escape.  It sure would save him a lot of trouble if he would just freaking off El Lobo.  ( Not the most original villain name, but hey, it was 1937. ) I mean this gang is ruthless, they even killed a kid!  Zorro should take the kid gloves off, this gang is slaughtering people right and left.  Anyway, I am enjoying it, and there's some clever writing.  Yeah, I was surprised.

Zorro Rides Again got me to thinking about a different Zorro.  A descendant that lives a few hundred years in the future, and decides he needs to fight the corruption on a frontier planet.  What sort of weapons would he use?  Some kind of force saber?  A Neural Whip?  Does he have cybernetic implants?  It might make an interesting campaign. even if it's just a short one.

Okay, enough for tonight.  So far I'm keeping up with the whole 'post every day in December' thing.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

More nostalgia, or "Are we having fun yet?"

"Whatcha gonna do with all those gumballs Popeye?"

After I posted the blog entry yesterday, I began wondering how many people would understand the Popeye Gumball Machine reference?  The whole idea of a giant mutant brain with tentacles clutching a Popeye Gumball Machine made me laugh.  I want to play such a character in a post apocalyptic campaign.  The giant mutant brain would be fond of saying, "Thanks for the gumball Popeye... thanks for the gumball!".If I can't play one as a character I will make one a NPC, and he will roar, "Thanks for the gumballs Popeye... thanks for the gumballs!"  Who out there in the blogosphere knows where that bit of dialogue came from? ( I found the photo here...  A cool 70's nostalgia blog. )

I decided to continue a little with yesterday's theme, and list RPGs I would like to own, or in some cases own again, but not necessarily play.

1.   Space Opera
2.   Bushido
3.   Paranoia
4.   Space Master
5.   RuneQuest
6.   Tunnels & Trolls
7.   Marvel Super Heros
8.   Twilight 2000
9.   Boot Hill
10. Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega
11. The Morrow Project ( Actually this one might be fun to play. )
12. Shadowrun

I'm sure there are quite a few others I would like to own.  I just can't recall anymore right now.  While I was doing research for this post I found a RPG database at Pen&Paper . Cool beans!  Now I can search for those games I have forgotten the names to, but played once or twice at conventions.

Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega probably would have been the third RPG I bought; if I had ever been able to find it.  The first was D&D, the second Gamma World, so the third would have been MAtO!  Instead, I believe that Traveller was the third RPG I bought.  It was the cool little black box with the digest sized books.

Anyway, time to chill out, and watch some Zorro, no not the newer movies, but the old serials.  These will either be really cool, or funny.  Hopefully, not lame.  I hate lame...