KOTOR on TV?

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool DC guy, so I have to admit that Disney+, with its upcoming slate of Marvel series, doesn't hold much appeal for me. Thus far, I've considered myself happy to wait for whatever streaming service Warner Brothers ultimately rolls out, but if rumors are true that Disney+ is developing a Knights of the Old Republic television series, I might need to rethink my streaming strategy. Then again, rumors of a KOTOR feature film didn't exactly pan out...

KOTOR the Movie!

I've become a bit disillusioned with Star Wars films in recent years. Although I loved the mad dash to get the Death Star plans to Leia -- with a no-holds-barred Vader in hot pursuit! -- at the end of Rogue One, that film and (especially) The Last Jedi left me cold. "Silly fanboy, you're stuck in the un-woke past! We're making grown-up Star Wars films now!" Got the message.

I was genuinely excited, though, to hear that the Knights of the Old Republic video game will be adapted as a movie. It's one of my top five favorite video game RPGs of all time, and likewise one of my favorite Star Wars narratives in any medium. I can't wait to see this story unfold on the big screen. And I may just have to play through the game one more time beforehand!

Happy New Year!

The boys stayed up until midnight for the first time this year. We played a family game of Pandemic and then I painted Nathaniel's new 40k vehicles while Nathaniel worked on Legos and Matthew got back into Knights of the Old Republic. We didn't get around to playing Star Wars: Destiny -- another gift from Santa -- during our holiday vacation, but we'll put it on the to-do list along with painting...lots of painting. Here's to a 2018 filled with gaming fun!

Phun With Phasma

With the rain continuing to fall at an Old Testament pace, the boys and I finished up the Star Wars mini-campaign this afternoon. We ended up fleeing rather ignominiously during the final battle when Captain Phasma (of Force Awakens fame) showed up, but we got away without being captured or killed, so...victory!

Both boys seem to like this system better than I do. Matthew would like to evolve his character into some sort of Force-wielder, as in the Knights of the Old Republic video game that he enjoys. Nathaniel just can't wait for the next chapter of the story. Although the Force Awakens-era game doesn't currently have any other adventure books, at least there's a free downloadable adventure module (A Call for Heroes) that we can check out.

"Not Feats Again!"

Matthew is playing through the classic Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic on our iPad, and he really loves the ability to customize his character as he advances in level. (For those who are unfamiliar with the game, it's a d20-based system that closely resembles Third Edition D&D.) However, he often expresses exasperation when prompted to select a feat. He'll hand the iPad over to me, and I'll spend a few moments poring over the options to find the one best suited for his character. Matthew isn't terribly concerned about making a choice between something that would give him, say, a +1 to damage vs. a +1 to saving throws. Perhaps someday he'll turn into more of a power gamer like his old man, but for now he just wants to play the damn game and keep the story going. His experience with KotOR is further confirmation for me that Fifth Edition D&D strikes an elegant balance to accommodate both types of player. Players like me can scour the feat lists and look for ways to optimize, and players like Matthew can forego the feat to take the stat bonus instead. Everybody's happy!

KOTOR KO'd

I finished up the iPad port of Knights of the Old Republic last night. What a fantastic game! I'd put it in my top ten favorite video games of all time.

Jolee and Kilowog Are the Same Guy

I'm enjoying my romp through the Star Wars cosmos in Knights of the Old Republic, and last night I met a cantankerous old Jedi named Jolee Bindo. When he started talking, all I could hear was Kilowog from Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Turns out they're both voiced by the same actor: Kevin Michael Richardson. Check out his Wikipedia page to see his extensive body of work as a voiceover actor. He was also the voice of Sarevok in my beloved Baldur's Gate!

Mystara Livestream

Check out this livestream of four guys playing Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. Maybe by the time I finish Knights of the Old Republic, I'll have a computer that can run this game...

Dreaming About KotOR

If you've noticed a lack of blog posts over the past few days, it's because I've been spending much of my free time playing the iPad port of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I've been playing it so much, in fact, that I've actually started dreaming about it! Last night I dreamed that I was traipsing around the sewers of Taris with Mission Vao and Zaalbar. I woke up before we had to face the Rancor...

The game has also influenced my plans for the sci-fi component of the Front Porch mulitverse. As you may recall, there was no sci-fi setting in "When Last We Left Our Intrepid Heroes"; the only futuristic part of the narrative was the cyberpunk bit in the Prologue and Epilogue. Knights is helping me translate my ideas for Front Porch sci-fi stories into familiar d20 System mechanics. I'm off to a good start, but it's probably going to be many months before I have a viable sci-fi campaign setting.

Knights of the Old Republic

I'm not much of a Star Wars fan (for me it's Doctor Who or nothing!), but Matt recently alerted me to the new iPad port of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, widely regarded as one of the finest computer roleplaying games of all time. I'm only an hour into the game and I can already see why. Developed by the same company that created Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, it features great music, familiar d20 System (i.e., D&D-based) mechanics, and an interesting story set early in the history of the Star Wars universe. At only ten bucks, it's a steal. Still need more convincing? Check out this glowing review.