Esoterrorists...good old occult detectives

I’ve been reading off and on the Gumshoes game, Esoterrorists, and I think I’d like to give it a try. Anyone available next Wednesday (17th) or Friday (19th)? I imagine 4-6 players would work quite well, but I can handle a few more if there is that much interest.

Gumshoes is a game focusing on investigation. Basically it has a version of drama points broken down into flavors (investigation abilities) that drive one’s investigation. Usually having investigation abilities, like Forensic Anthropology, allow you to find the important clue – Quincy always finds the important bit of medical evidence – that allows you to progress along the mystery. You can spend from your pool to basically establish cooler facts, usually to drive character development, which is why I liken the rule to mechanics. The rest of the game (basically fighting, escaping and other stuff) is a pretty standard test system. I appreciate the fact that social skills are mostly bundled in the investigative. You just succeed when it’s appropriate and roleplay away.

Esoterrorists is, as you can tell from the name, an occult investigation game. X-Files and Conspiracy X and the like. I won’t commit to actually using their background for this game, but I doubt that will matter to most folks as it’s a rather generic background of “we all work for a secret society out to keep the insane occultists from making the world more insane” system. Little more than a framework to explain the supernatural and get the characters to where they need to be.

Super Spy

I had originally picked up Matt Kindt’s Super Spy to read on my flight between Boston and Philadelphia, unfortunately due to airport craziness I ended up reading it while still on the Logan runway. Fortunately for me it was a good read and I had my laptop. As I didn’t expect to read much on the Philadelphia to San Juan branch I hadn’t bothered to bring a book (the book for the return trip is in my checked-in luggage.

I haven’t read anything by Kindt before, but after reading this I am definitely going looking for his other books. Both art and story were beautiful. This graphic novel is a collection of interlocked stories (not necessarily all told chronologically) that deal with espionage during WWII. Kindt focuses on the missions, the people undertaking them, and the toll the job takes on the individual, their family and the bigger picture and not (usually) the glorious Bondian action it insinuates. Paths cross, stories interweave, some come to abrupt halts while others seem to dangle, the ending uncertain.

The art is beautiful, Kindt does the entire book in this pulpy-yellowing sheen, giving the air of aged stories, the aesthetic of of-the-era printing. The coloring varies between sepia tones, black and white with blue washes and full color (with a four-color sensibility). Kindt’s art is just perfect with this roughness of line and edge that has a tense and rushed feeling, giving into the characters and their often desperate plight.

This is a must read for fans of espionage fiction.

Unfortunately I am stuck at the airport until 5:30 and then I have a 4 hour flight. I’ll probably be hitting the bookstore or I’ll go insane.

Pushing Daisies

So we watched the first episode of Pushing Daisies this weekend. It struck me pretty much like Bryan Fuller's other work, Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls (I don't like Heroes, so this better not be anything like that!), except less quirky and with an annoying voice over. peaseblossom reminded me that the episodes on those shows hinted at coolness and we should give it more time. One of the disadvantages of watching episodic tv as it airs instead of on dvd is you can't say "meh, but lets watch the second one to be sure."

I on the other hand maintain that Pushing Daisies just don't have the quirky edginess to it, that its too bland. I shall await and see. If Fuller creates another tv show to rival Dead Like Me I'll be very happy. That said and done the man has issues (not saying I don't) and really wants to deal with lack of emotional connection and dead stuff communicating.

My normal Heroes snarkiness aside, I must admit that of the two episodes Fuller actually wrote, one was Company Man, which I remember being my favorite.