So, I guess I still really don't like the D20 system.

Apparently, I still have a major dislike of anything d20.

This is not me bashing the system as much as just realizing that I don’t want to have anything to do with it.

To be fair, I got into gaming playing D&D 2^nd ed, and still have fond memories of that game. It was the game that got me into gaming in the first place. So without it, I may have never got into gaming at all. For that I am grateful.

It started in 1991, and I played that game (along with others such as Call of Cthulhu, cyberpunk, champions, etc.) for a good decade. Then I had a few years where I did not play anything, mostly due to not being able to find people to play with.

Then I moved to NYC in 2003 and started my own sci-fi/fantasy book club. From that I found people wanting to game, and we started playing 2^nd ed again. It was fun, especially getting to introduce new people to gaming. I had a blast.

Then it changed.

I started to get bored with the game, and a few other things happened at the same time.  The first thing was an introduction to the indie game scene by playing Spirit of the Century. This changed how I viewed gaming and I started to go into a different direction. The second thing that happened is that we started to make a game and I realized our game was just a clone of D&D.

I don’t think we meant for that to happen, but it did.

Not to mention at this time it seemed like every game was becoming a d20 game.  Or it could be that I was so burned out of D&D that it ruined other d20 games as well.

So, anyone that knows me already knows this.

But last weekend we were at half-price books, and I came across and old star wars box set for 7 bucks. Part of me remembered that Wizards made a D20 star wars game, but I blocked that part of my mind and could not wait to get back home. See, I had played star wars years before it was a D20 game and it was AWESOME.

So, when I got home, I started reading the book and realized it was the Wizards version which was D20. It was so disappointing to me, and once I got a few chapters into the game, I was already done with it. It just annoyed the hell out of me. lol.

So, apparently, even though I have not played a d20 game in probably 4 years or so, I am still annoyed with the system enough that I don’t even want to read the book in a setting I love. This may never change, and if that is the case, that is ok.

I have enough indie games I love to make up for it.

Harry Potter and the end of an era

First thing you need to know about me is that I am a huge fan of the Fantasy genre.  I have seen since I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings when I was nine.  This is why I started a sci-fi/fantasy book club seven years ago (and it is still going today).   What I love about fantasy is that the premise is usually about people banding together to fight for the greater good.  The actual greater good and not just one person’s definition of the greater good…which can get a bit confusing as it were. 

I remember when the Harry Potter books first came out and I was reluctant to read them at all because they were children’s novels.   I am not someone that does things because everyone else does.  But then I went and saw the saw the first movie and I was enchanted.    Now ten years later, seven books, and eight movies later…it may finally be over. 

I love the books.  I truly do.  Like everyone else, we grew up with these kids.  First in the books, and  later in the movies.  Yeah, not all of the movies were as good as they could be (especially Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire), but overall I still enjoyed them.  Last night we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2.  I really enjoyed Part 1, regardless of the fact that It was a bit slow from time to time.  But I am also a huge fan of the book…so those things do not bother me as much.  But with something you love, you really want them to end it on a high note.  Whether you are reading a book or watching a movie. 

So, my thoughts on the movie?  I really enjoyed it.  To be fair, I am a bit of an emotional guy, and the movie got me pretty good on that regard.  So, there were a lot of moments in the movies that really hit me.  I think the first one last night was when they got back to Hogwarts and see all of their classmates and then a bit later when the Order of the Phoenix arrived (Go prof. McGonagall). 

From the time they got to The Room of Requirement to The last battle with Voldemort, it was done about as well as I could have hoped.  A few stand out moment?

·         After they left the Room of Requirement, there is a scene where the three of them get caught up in the battle.  I loved this because the music was amazing and had a sense of almost hopelessness to it. Just proving again how vital music can be in helping a scene.

·         How they handled Snape’s memories and what actually meant to Harry.   This was amazing and powerful scene.   

·         I know it was silly, but it was great to Ron and Hermione kiss.

·         The CGI for different things.  The room of requirement and the killing of the horcruxes.

·         Neville!  Yeah that changed how he came to do it, but damn it was awesome to see him get his moment. 

·         Mrs. Weasley getting to get her moment in the sun as well.  I even did a bit of a fist pump.  J

·         The Dragon was sweet!

I  loved this movie, but there a few nitpicks. 

·         How they handled the last fight between Harry and Voldemort.  I am someone that likes CGI, but only to add to a scene.  I feel like they used CGI to make it a completely different scene totally, and it just felt that way.  It wasn’t horrible, but I would have rather seen something more like the end of the book. 

·         Also, it would have been nice for the fight between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix to be a bit longer. 

·         The amount of wizard that attacked Hogwarts was a bit too much like helm’s deep.

So my final thoughts are that they did a great job with finishing the series.  Yeah, a few things here or there could have been tweaked, but overall I loved it.