Ahsoka TV Show

I have been pumped for Ahsoka and really enjoyed the first three shows. This post leads with a  picture of Han because he is my favorite Star Wars Character. It should be no surprise that of the Rebel Era characters, Hera and Chopper are my favorites. Those two have the same wacky dynamic as Han with every droid he meets. 

Which loops back to Ahsoka. This might be the worst-named TV show ever because so far, it has little to do with her. The story leans heavily on Sabine Wren, the plucky Mandalorian. Well, we already have a Mando, we don't need another. I'd like to see more of Hera and Chopper's antics, but Sabine's story has sucked me in.  

I love the way that the writers handled her story. At various points in Rebels, Sabine worked her way up to Chopper-level war crimes but found several different ways out of that path through her friends. In the opening of Ahaska, we see her relying on herself rather than friends to find her own path. It might not be a good path, but it is at least stable until she gets dragged back into the fight. 

She doesn't wear her armor, she hasn't succumbed to drinking, she isn't a good Jedi, she hasn't become a smuggler or businesswoman. She really is her own person on her own path. 

My wife who is a hardcore action-adventure hater enjoyed the show. The most appealing aspect for her was the fact that you don't need to know anything to watch. You don't need to watch The Mandolorian or all of the Rebels cartoons to care or understand the problem. I was surprised by that because Thrawn and Ezra are the hooks for most viewers. My wife sees them as McGuffins, something that makes the plot go. 

I like that they have cast Sabine as a Jedi padawan. It is interesting primarily because she has virtually no connection to The Force. I personally believe that this is a lie. My working hypothesis is that she has a deep connection to The Force but it has nothing to do with the quest for power, therefore she has no overt abilities. She is a character without an obvious ending because she has rejected them all. Power won't help her find what she desires. 

She could have been a great Imperial but she rejected it. She could have been the ruler of Mandolor, but she rejected that too. Sabine obviously has a way into the New Republic but is equally uninterested. She has no drive for power so having no visible Force powers is not a problem. 

Thank God, because no one needs another Rey. I don't dislike Rey, but they use her like a superhero in Star Wars World. What a waste. 

There have been a bunch of canon stories that touch on people without The Force taking sides and doing amazing things. Those amazing things usually have zilch to do with wielding a lightsabre, the Uber weapon of Star Wars. In fact, picking up a lightsabre is probably the last thing someone without The Force should do. But it happens, too. 

I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Throwback Thursday - The Anniversary Edition

Today, Jen and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. As we had an excellent dinner and drinks, I noticed the Riviera Theater across the street was advertising bands that were big when we started dating. One of them really jumped out at me: 

Part of the evening was talking about vacation plans for next year. We are going back to Saratoga Springs, NY to see Dave Matthews Band. Due to COVID, a yearly tradition went in the garbage and now we are playing catchup. Jen would like to see DMB twice next year, back-to-back dates in Saratoga. 

We've seen them a lot and I accidentally derailed the conversation.

Jennifer said, "Man, we have seen DMB so many times. I bet you haven't seen the same band twice in two days." 

"Queensryche, 3 times in 3 days. I've seen them so many times," I said. 

She was flummoxed. "We've seen Dave Matthews 18 times. How many times have you seen Queensryche?" 

I started counting. As I got into it, it was easier to count cities by country than concerts. 

Buffalo, NY. 84, 89, 91 
Darien Center, NY. 95, 97
Weedsport, NY. 95 
Rochester, NY. 84, 89, 91
Blossom, Toledo, and Columbus, OH. in 1997, one time each. 

In addition to these dates, I saw them in Syracuse twice but don't remember what year. 

I could swear I saw them more in Canada than in the US, but I was wrong: 

Toronto, ON. 86, 89, 91, 95
Hamilton, ON. '88, 89
Ottawa, ON. 89*

* There was a second disastrous show in Ottawa where I ate the pizza at Mcdonald's. I puked my brains out at the show. So embarrassing because I didn't even have a chance to figure out the drinking age. It was a straight-up bad food choice. (It would have been 18 but for some reason, I forgot Ottawa was in Ontario.) 

You'll notice a funny thing about that list. I met my wife at the end of 1996 and we started dating in 1997. She missed the Queensryche years. When we met, she had only been to one concert. I decided to change that and one of our first concerts was DMB. 

So, if we go to DMB in July of next year, I will have seen Dave Matthews a little less than I have seen Queensryche. Thanks to my wife, by virtue of our metalhead daughter, I will get to add one more Queensryche tally to the list and keep that band on top for another couple of years. 

The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Production Progress

Well, I have some artwork to share. Just a bit and not all of it for POP-001. Since I do not have much time to draw, I have to dedicate some time to practice. As spring goes to summer, I have even less time. To that end, I am pushing my release date to the middle of August. Can't be helped so I updated the countdown. 

Anyway, the main feature of this project is a cenote. In order to make the art work for me, I broke it down into layers on paper so I could scan different parts as different layers. I can preserve my ability to change things up without resorting to "Fix it in post" crap.  

The first image is the extent of the waters. As you can see there is a small island with a cave in the image. I haven't decided if I will do color or not, but I might. The two odd features in the center are holes in the roof which provide access to the cen. There is no other way into this area.  

In order to get down to the water and rock shelf around it, characters will have to navigate a series of wooden platforms. There are two paths down, which are loosely based on both the movie Goonies and several amusement park attractions. 

This area would have been a daily trip for most people from the temple surroundings. Life-saving water plus a cool and relaxing place to hang out would have drawn every villager. The platforms are connected by ramps, but on one side there is a slide, and on the other is a floating platform for resting.

You can click each image to enbiggen them. 

One image will be overlayed on the other but there may be special cases where I want to separate them. A bonus map might be one cause. I was thinking of using the same art as a tiny dungeon. I will have to redress the walls, but it's doable. 

I've been practicing with several other images to get used to inking with new pens. 

Many of these spaceships are copies of stuff from the Dynomo Joe comic series, while the last two are of a spaceship I designed for my Star Smuggler campaign.

This ship is called The Waterbuck and is nearly twice as larger as The Antelope class ship. When designing it, I thought about what a next-generation ship would have and would not have. This ship has the ability to mount 3 turrets. The one turret in the nose of the ship can be fired by the pilot as he or she flies. The other two need crew. The Waterbuck also has an advanced medical bay.  

What it does not have is a stasis unit or any concealed compartments. 

It also comes with a larger shuttle that can be carried externally or in one of the cargo bays. This shuttle has its own fusion drive and life support, so it can carry much more than the old shuttles. Older shuttles can still be used but they must be carried inside a cargo bay. 

As time permits, I will write up the details of both these ships. 

POP-001 - The Pantheon of Gods

I'm starting to piece together the Pantheon of Gods for the Lost Temple. It ain't much of a temple without a god or gods to worship. In this case, these gods became lost when the temple was abandoned so the PC's will not have any knowledge of them. 

The first god is going to represent liminal spaces. While he is not the most important God in the Pantheon, he is the vehicle behind the PC's ability to explore this magical place. Rather uncreatively, I've been thinking of naming him Lumo. I'll probably come up with something better. Lumo is a placeholder for now.

The term "liminal space" is new to me. This post is talking me through the idea. 

"Liminal spaces" refer to transitional or in-between spaces that are not easily defined or categorized. These are places where boundaries between different realms, states, or stages of being become blurred or permeable, creating a sense of ambiguity or uncertainty. Examples of liminal spaces include doorways, thresholds, bridges, crossroads, and shorelines, as well as certain times of day (such as dawn and dusk) or stages of life (such as adolescence).

This abandoned temple is somewhat like El Castillo, Chichen Itza. At least, that's what I've modeled the cover image after. I have come to discover that pyramids are really very boring as dungeons. They don't have many, if any rooms. El Castillo challenges my understanding of the pyramid dungeon as it was built on top of other structures. It does have interior spaces that have nothing to do with being a pyramid or temple. These would be an example of a liminal space, crossing from one time period to another or one function to another. 

Now this will require a modification of my original idea, adding long tunnels around the perimeter of the pyramid. These would serve as an entry point to the older temples, a sort of dungeon space, and a way into the vertical shafts. 

And Lumo has always been a part of this culture from the beginning. He is a prime mover here. Where these spaces exist, he is able to exist. 

In The Revenants of the Lost Temple, he will play a special, unique role in a modified wandering monster mechanic. The fun part of this is the player characters will have the ability to control the wandering monster rolls. It is simple and intuitive, while also creating an atmosphere of dread. 

I can't wait to get this thing released. I can't wait to create several other gods to join the heroes in their quest.