Space Cowboy

My Smuggler/Gunslinger character concept for a Star Wars D6 pbp. Pretty happy with the look of it. Take the cowboy concept and put it to space.

A Giant Fire Breathing Robot Approaches!

Don't you dare close your eyes! The Giant Fire Breathing Robots are invading!!  If you're not familiar with them, Giant Fire Breathing Robot is both a web site and a podcast which covers all manner of nerdy, cool stuff.  You can find their podcast on iTunes or off of their website.  I have been a pretty big fan of the podcast for a long time, at least the last 9 months or so I'd say (I think I started listening when they were still in their 20's or so).

The show, which is put out twice a week, covers topics including anime, RPG's, comics, and board games.  They are the self-proclaimed "Talk Radio for Generation Nerd".  All of the folks on the show have a really fun, geeky banter, and they seem to actually like each other, which is a real plus when you're listening to someone talk for an hour on end.  They also like to use adult language, which is really great, because honestly, I like knowing that I am not the only person who  curses like a sailor.

GFB Robot is not just a podcast; they have an awesome website which covers all kinds of geek related stuff.  They have quite a bit of RPG related, and board game related content, which makes this site highly relevant to the interests of the collective RPG blogosphere. I'm

But, one of the other awesome things about GFB Robot, is I will now be writing for them! I have been in talks with their Editor in Chief Andrew, the host of the podcast, about writing for them and helping them fill a spot in their anime department.  It should probably come as no surprise to you that I'm a big anime lover.  I had an anime blog at one point, which never really went too far (it actually died when I decided to focus on The Dump Stat).  Living in Japan, I get to catch a lot of stuff on TV before folks in the states get to see it, and, I also live really close to some of the biggest anime centers in the world, namely Akihabara, but also the biggest manga and anime conventions such as the bi-annual Comic Market (Comiket).  So, you'll be able to hear my thoughts on anime once a week over on their site.  You can check out my author feed in order to see all of my  articles, the first of which, a short newsy bit about Durarara!! coming to Adult Swim very soon, is up now. I highly encourage you to explore the site and check out what they have to offer.

L5R Art Contest - Week 4

This last piece of the contest is probably my favorite one and among my favorite piece overall actually.
Once again back stories could be many, so how about a Ronin assassin on on the look out for is quarry? He lost his Katana at the same time as his honor and family, and has now become a expert at the short sword technique, relying on his Wakisahi for his kills.

L5R Art Contest - Week 3

Week three of the the L5R theme should touch the heard of our friend Shinobicow as from what I read his preference goes to the Crane Clan.
So here is a Kakita Bushi Duelist. She getting known as a very skilled Iajitsu practitioner and a fantastic sword woman.
Look close enough and you'll get a sneak peek at week 4 art.

Enjoy.

L5R Art Contest - Week 2

Week 2 of the challenge. An Imperial Samurai at his retreat... How about for this one, you guys create the back story?

My own L5R art contest - Week 1

So after reading about Shinobicow's review of the new edition of the Legend of the 5 Rings RPG (L5R), and having had a brush of interaction with this game many years ago, I got a new found interest for this fantastic setting.

Aside from the fact it would be quite interesting to participate in a PbP campaign (hint, hint, to whoever would like to GM one :)) I decided to challenge myself and over the next month I will, each week, create one piece of Art related to the L5R setting, or at least Asian setting. Plus considering the events in Japan, I think it would be a nice tribute to this rich and greatly interesting culture.

If any other artist read this and would be interested in participating, they'd be more than welcome!

So to start this L5R month, I made a piece about the character I maybe could have played some many years ago -though the game started and finished at character creation- an Ise Zumi monk from the Dragon Clan.

The Art of RPG

Here is my long due first blog post, and I though I should give a little introduction about myself and my relationship with RPGs.

I am a french Ballroom Dance Teacher living and working in the fantastic city of New York, USA. I grew up a big fan of the Star Wars universe and when I was introduced to the Star Wars RPG in 1992 I discovered the joy of being part of that beloved universe. I also was lucky enough to have a group of good friend sharing the same passion and together we made the Star Wars universe a part of our teenage and later life. No toys, costumes or conventions for us; just our imagination and some good old pens, paper and six-sided dice.

An attribute of mine, I tend to go overboard once I set my mind and dedication on something, so it wasn't long before I own almost every rulebooks, handbooks, complements and journals from the Star Wars D6 line. The best in my opinion. I, or should I say we -my friend and I- only strayed away from this game on the occasion, having a try at Dungeon and Dragon of course, 2ed, and I discovered a great interest in other genres, particularly the universe of Shadowrun, being more on the sci-fi side, but we never got to develop more than a curious eye in these different games.

I left France in 2000, and to fulfill my interest in RPG I turned toward Pbp games. It was much later, in 2008 that I started doing artwork, inspired by my years of gaming, by my imagination and maybe desire to hang to it.

You see, for me RPGs are more about storytelling than stats and rolls. Though I wouldn't do without the former two, for it brings a sense of scale and randomness, and helps at the identification of a character, what I love is the creativity of a group put together to build a story, with its drama, action, twists, laughs, loses and victories in a given universe.

And in my case it usually starts with a picture. I see a piece of artwork -a character, a landscape, a scenery- and let my imagination run its course. I let the story begin. And I found myself frustrated when I was lacking this image that would start it all. Whether it's a character I would not find any interest in, or a place where a tentative description only would not inspire me to act in it.

In a sense I could say I was frustrated at my own lack of imagination. And it's a funny thought process to realize that lack of imagination lead to the creation of artwork, perfect medium for expressing what is in one's mind. So instead of surfing the web to find the perfect picture that would inspire me for the development of a character I though, why not make it yourself?
But I am to this day still a lousy drawer, so digital art has pretty much been my only option. I discovered in 2008 the tools that would help me create my art, and fell in love with the result.


So since RPG brought art to me, I am happy to help other gamers spring their imagination by bringing art to them. And if my specialty has been more sci-fi related, mostly Star Wars, I'm open to put my skills to different genre, and make characters and games come more alive with a simple piece of art.

Guest Post about The RPG Blogger Community @ Tossing it Out

I was recently contacted by Arlee, the writer of the Blog Tossing It Out, the host for the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  He let me know that there were a lot of folks from the RPG Blogger Community which have been showing up for the challenge this year, I being among them.  He let me know that there was a spot open on his blog and was wondering if I would put together a little blog post about my experiences in gaming, but also, about the RPG Blogger community and our world.  I jumped at the chance and was happy to do it.  So, today, If you go over and check out Arlee's blog, Tossing it Out, you will find my Guest Post: Intro to the RPG Blogger Community.  I hope I did a good job representing as much of our community as possible.  I tried to keep it universal.  If you have something you'd like to add, I urge you to comment on the post and throw in your 2 cents.   Thanks everyone who provided me with some ideas for the post and helped me put it together.  Hopefully, this might bring some new readers and a new audience to our community of gamers.

A New Author Approaches - Obidancer Joins the Dump Stat

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that we have a new author here on The Dump Stat.  Obidancer, a player in my current Shadowrun Play by Post game, has graciously accepted an invitation I sent him to join the site as an author and artist.  We can all expect some interesting stuff coming from him in the future.  If you hadn't noticed, I have been posting his artwork up here on the blog over the last few weeks; I'm a pretty big fan, so I'm really glad to be bringing him on board.

In addition to being a fantastic Digital Artist, Obidancer is also a big fan of the Star Wars RPG, something which I have actually never even touched. So, hopefully, we'll be hearing some interesting tales of the Star Wars RPG in the future too!  Hope everyone enjoys his artwork and RPG commentary.

All Wrapped Up @ Stargazer's World

Today, my wrap-up post for my series on World Building hit the internet over at Stargazer's World.  This series has taken over 10 weeks to come out in full and I had a good time writing it and analyzing my world building processes.  I hope some people got something out of it.  Now, you can find all the articles in one place.  Go give that post a read to find some links to stuff on the web that I use to help me World Building as well.  Please read: All Wrapped Up: My World Building Wrap-Up Post.

Eye of the Vortex - My new column! Gaming with Chopsticks

Recently, I joined up with Eye of the Vortex as a regular writer.  I will be writing a weekly column called Gaming with Chopsticks.  If you aren't familiar with the website, Eye of the Vortex focuses on all things nerdy.  They have some great writers who cover topics ranging from RPG's, Video Games, CCG's, Boards Games, and pretty much everything else nerdy under the sun.  I highly recommend you going over to their site and giving some of their articles a read through, but of course, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to go give my first articles, Video Game Difficulty - Do you like it Hard? a read.  Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.  If you like Video Games, you are going to like Gaming with Chopsticks!

World Building Part 10 - The End of the World as We Know It?

My 10th and final world building post in my world building series over at Stargazer's World has been published and is now available.  I urge you to go over there and check it out.  Provide comments.  You know the drill.  Please read: World Building Part 10 - The End of the World as We Know It?

World Building Tips @ Stargazer's World Pt. 9

My latest post in which I explain about first adventures and selling your setting like Mr. Don Draper of the TV Show Mad Men is up at Stargazer's World.  If you haven't already, go check out my post, World Building Part 9 - The Don Draper School of World Immersion.

World Building Tips @ Stargazer's World Pt. 8

Oh... yea! My new world building post is up on Stargazer's World.  You should go check out : World Building Part 8 - Kicking Off Your Homebrew Setting Campaign.  Enjoy!

I Suck at Warmachine - Part 1 -

Greetings everyone and welcome to the first installment of my new Series, "I Suck at Warmachine".


Since I have a deep seeded hatred of having to repeat myself, and can only imagine how much detail I will need to go into later to keep everyone up to speed with whats going on, I have decided to get all the ground work out of the way right now. I know you were probably expecting some initial battle reports with lots of pictures and what not, but the people who don't know anything about the game will be left behind (slackers...) With that said, I'll start by explaining the game itself a little bit. Beginning with basic information and concepts, then, more importantly, the different factions you can choose to play and their different play style nuances.

I did a lot of research so you guys don't have to and even got my hands dirty playing some games to learn everything I could so you guys don't have to! (seriously, there was a lot and you all owe me now... In case you're wondering, I love burritos from Chipotle, and giftcards are accepted.)

After this initial blog entry, I will dive right into buying, assembling, and playing my army (aka losing a lot), with all the pictures my camera can muster.

Anyways, let's get started!

Warmachine is a turn based, steam punk themed, table top strategy game made up of 4 waring factions: Cygnar, The Protectorate of Menoth, Khador, and Cryx. Each army is lead by a Warcaster (your magic weilding, reasource managing unit, that commands the rest of the army), Warjacks (the powerful hulking warmachines that do your bidding), and troop/infantry units (the guys who usually make up the meat of your force and can be used as excellent cannon fodder). Each model, or unit of models, cost a predetermined amount of points decided ahead of time. Battles are fought with armies comprising a set amount of points (minimum sized armies consist of 15 points). Your local hobby shops that run tournaments will likely be running between 25 and 50 point games. Warmachine runs on dice rolls and there are stat cards available for each model for very easy referencing while playing.

The "Starter Box" for each army will set you back $50.00 (ouch), and contains just under the 15 point minimum, meaning you will need another model or two to finish up your first army. The official rule book is $30.00, and each faction's rule book runs $35.00 (you only need your faction's, thankfully). All the models come unassembled, and unpainted, giving you a lot of room to be creative when putting it all together. Between glue, paints, and other supplies you will need to pick up the game, you are looking at an initial investment of approximately $175.00. (Exciting, isn't it?)

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, there are four factions in Warmachine, and each one offers a unique way to experience and play the game. For your benefit, I have condensed each factions basic concept and play style to help you better understand, and eventually decide which sounds like the most fun to you.

Cygnar is the most technologically advanced of the factions, and have a theme of lightning. Their preferred method of combat is ranged combat. Almost all of their units have some sort of ranged attack available to them, and a lot of the tactics you will be using revolve around this fact. This is not to say you couldn't run a completely melee oriented force if you desired and fare well, but you would need to put a little more planning into your strategy and force composition in order to do so. Cygnar units are very decent stat wise and point cost wise allowing them to field a nice array of unit types to make a very balanced army composition. These factors combined with your Warcaster (leader of your army), give Cygnar the ability to adapt well and assert control the flow of battle. Overall Cygnar is a very diverse and well balanced faction that have many options available to them. If you prefer sitting back and watching your opponents forces wither under a storm of your firepower as they vainly attempt to engage you, Cygnar is the faction for you!

The Protectorate of Menoth are religious zealots that have a theme of fire and fetish of melting their opponents with it. They are also a faction that rely on synergy and special abilities. A lot of their model's stats do not seem very intimidating at first glance, and some look just out right depressing. They make up for this deficiency by being on the cheap side for point cost, and being able to boost each other's stats and abilities. The army as a whole, provides a 'veil' of buffs and protection for each other that greatly enhances your seemingly weak fighting power. Some Menoth units actually grow stronger as others are damaged or die nearby. With a wide array of ranged, melee, and support units, Menoth enjoys a diverse list of unique units available that can seemingly perform miracles if planned for properly. If you enjoy watching your opponent beat their face into the table as they try turn after turn in vain to topple your forces, or if you're a pyromancer at heart, then The Protectorate of Menoth is calling!

Khador are essentially the Russians hanging out in the snow; and as such, have a theme of ice/cold. Khador's niche is having very strong, but expensive units. Your opponent's forces will pretty much always outnumber your own, and usually outpace you. Sadly, not only are your units expensive, they are also usually the slowest. The good news is that your units incredibly strong, as well as having some of the highest armor values in the game. So while it may be easy to hit your slow moving forces, it is very difficult to actually do damage to them. Khador seems to have a slighty better melee game than ranged, but are very capable of both. If you enjoy the the thought of watching a small force of elite troopers march omniously forward, unscathed by most attacks, and then visciously ripping your opponents wind pipe out of their ass when they get close enough... then you're a sadistic freak. And you should also definitely be leading the forces of Khador!

Cryx are the hordes of evil undead and wicked necromancers that plague the living. They have a theme of acid/corrosion. Cryx is a faction that has cheap, quick, expendable units and enjoy debuffing their enemies. Most units are a lot quicker than the other faction's units are, which allows for quick positioning, hit and run tactics, and gives your opponents the psychological feeling of being surrounded. Being quick lends most Cryx units the advantage of being rather tough to hit with attacks. However, they are very fragil and quickly die when attacks start connecting. As such, you will almost always outnumber your opponents and, sadly, lose more forces than them. Although this can leave a bad taste in your mouth as swathes of your forces are cut down before they even get to do anything, you should not lose heart. Every Cryx unit has a very specific role and being a meat shield is sometimes one of them. Luckily, even if you lose a handful of guys before your opponent loses even one, it still balances out due to yours being so darn cheap. Cryx also tend to have the more powerful damage dealing spells and debuffs in the game which can quickly ruin anyone's day. If being a debilitating, spell slinging necromancer, with swarms of undead minions running around the battlefield sounds like fun, then go dress up in your best Halloween costume and take up arms for Cryx!

In the end, all the factions are very balanced, and no one is "over powered" or "too weak". Each offers a unique experience and lots of fun and different ways to play them. With a little luck of the dice, and some good planning, anyone can come out ahead in this game.

I hope you have enjoyed this first installment and you will stick around for more. Next week I will reveal which faction I have decided to play myself, and rant about my difficulties putting them together, and then losing my first game.

New World Building Post at Stargazer's World

In case you missed it, my new post in my series on World Building, is up on Stargazer's World. While I admit that there are a lot of these series out there, I think this one presents some unique commentary regarding building your world from both a Micro level and a Macro level at the same time. I hope to get some feedback. Thanks. You can find that post here: World Building Part 5: Macro Meets Micro. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

A New Challenger Appears - The Dump Stat Welcomes Exist

No, but really- greetings one and all. My name is Skyler, a.k.a. Exist.

I am 23, happily married, and much like my best buddy Shinobicow, whom you have all had the chance to get to know through his posts, have been a gamer for a very long time.

For me it started when I first got my hands on a super nintendo and played Mario Bros until mushrooms and piranah plants where popping out of my ears. To this day, I still have an aversion to green pipes and turtles... But that's another story. It can be safely stated that this was the beginning of my gaming life and knew I wanted more! From that point on, I was hooked on all things video games, and began my long journey into 'nerdom'.

These days I live my life with no regrets for my passions and hobbies, and would happily like to think of myself as farily seasoned gamer and well rounded nerd. I have hundreds of video games under my belt, and am also a big fan of table top gaming with a couple years experience Warhammer 40K and Dungeons & Dragons (3.0 and 3.5).

Currently, I am actively playing World of Warcraft, CoD: Black Ops, and Warcraft 3's DotA. Unfortunately there are not many chances to play D&D right now, but I still thouroughly enjoy it when the opportunity arises.

Now for those of you who were able to endure my life story and make it this far, I am pleased to announce I will be starting my own series here at The Dump Stat, "I Suck at Warmachine". I have been begged for many years by my peers to start playing and I am finaly giving into peerpresure. (see how easy I am?).

It will be a weekly series that will chronical my experiences in learning the game from ground zero, starting my army, and getting my teeth kicked in and my ass handed to me by my so-called 'friends'. It is intended to help give insight to those of you who have never played a table top strategy game before, are interested in picking one up, or if you just enjoy reading about an egotistacal jerk getting his face trampled on by those he would consider lesser than himself. There will be rants about my crushing defeats. There will be gloats about my unparrelled victories (you know, the ones I accidently win with some lucky rolls... or something). And once I cool down, there will be an objective and detailed analysis of the game itself, and how to (hopefully) get better at it by learning from my mistakes.

Come check it out!

If anyone has any questions, suggestions, or need to contact me for any reason, I can be reached at exist.dumpstat@gmail.com.
You can also follow me on Twitter @Exist776

A New Team Member Approaches

In the spirit of this month's RPG Blog Carnival, which asks us what new things we are going to be doing in our gaming lives in 2011, the Dump Stat has a very important announcement to make. This week, the Dump Stat will be welcoming a new member to the team (now this site will not be just a one man job). My oldest friend, and long time gaming counterpart, will be joining me to blog about his own personal experiences in gaming. As a matter of fact, he will not only be new to the Dump Stat, but new the RPG Blog community as well. He is a newcomer to our little corner of the net, but he is eager to get his start, so I hope we are all on our best behavior when he makes his big debut *wink wink*.

As a reminder, the Dump Stat is always looking for new members of the team. If you would like to join up and post a bit, we would love to have you. Just shoot me an e-mail using the contact information that you can find in the Contact section at the top of the page, or simple leave a comment here with your e-mail.

I hope you look forward to hearing from our new team member and I hope to hear from others out there looking to join the Dump Stat team.

World Building Tips @ Stargazer's World Pt. 2

My 2nd World Building Tips Post is up on Stargazer's World. You should go over to his blog http://www.stargazersworld.com/ and give it a look see. I am sure you won't be disappointed. This week's post covers getting started and the world builder's best friend.... head over to Stargazer's World to find out what that best friend actually is.

:)

EDIT:
Sorry, due to some technical problems on my end, the post is not up on Stargazer's World quite yet. Expect this article to be out very soon. My best estimate is that it will be out on Saturday or Sunday. Sorry for the trouble.

A Gamer in Japan Part 1 @ Stargazer's World

My first post in my series on being a gamer in Japan is up on Stargazer's World and has already been met with several great comments and some really good feedback. I hope more comments are coming in; i'm a comment whore. Here is a link to the post over on his site. I hope you will get a chance to check it out and read further into my adventures and my comments about staying in touch with the Dungeons and Dragons hobby while you're abroad in Japan; maybe you will find information there which you can relate to your own experiences in traveling in a different foreign country.

Here is the link:
http://www.stargazersworld.com/2009/06/25/a-gamer-in-japan-part-1-the-group/