Monstrous Monday: Count Draco Knuckleduster for Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition

 I've become a huge fan of Super7's ReAction figures and they have teamed up with Killer Bootlegs, Inc. who created Count Draco Knuckleduster. 

"Legend has it that during the period of darkness that followed "the Great Fall of 2548", the prison planet of Archea had become a breeding ground for a new form of evil. Thousands of star systems fell and worlds crumbled, dark beings conspired in the shadows to take advantage of the billions of deaths and endless destruction.

Count Draco Knuckleduster, was once a brilliant specialist in the field of cryonics. He was at one time considered the foremost authority on artificial life preservation in the Realm. His research and experiments were always in question by Absolute Rule Thuban and were eventually deemed "unnatural". Using a primeval form of Black Wizardry coupled with the most advanced technology of his time, Draco fashioned himself a Cybernetic Chronautical Exosuit. This device helped him sustain a somewhat cadaverous life for many revolutions. This temporarily prevented the inevitable crossing over of his consciousness. In an effort to sustain himself through unnatural means forever, Count Draco Knuckleduster plans to replace his natural-born heart with the Cryptoscrystalline Stone.

For uncounted centuries, the Stone lay hidden among the cosmos. Draco now must find it as he knows whomever possess it would hold the power to resurrect an army of deathless warriors and once again rule the stars..."

Dungeon Crawl Classics: The Incredible Dr. Steel

   

Yeah, Jack "The King" Kirby did the art for the toyline!

I'm blaming Needles and Brutorz Bill for this post.

Is the incredible Dr. Steel friend or foe?

The Incredible Dr. Steel for Dungeon Crawl Classics

Init +4; Atk shining steel hand +d8+2 melee (2d6+d8+2); 

AC 16 HD 6d14; MV 45’; Act 3d20; SP deflect missles 

(Once per round when Dr. Steel is hit with a missile attack rolla a d8 and on a 1-2 he takes no damage); SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +4; 

AL N.

Masters of the Universe is Returning in a BIG Way!

Yeah, I know, DC Comics, Dark Horse, and Super7 have been giving us cool Masters of the Universe stuff for the last few years.

But we've also learned that He-Man as been cast in the upcoming feature film.

That Kevin Smith is Show Runner on a continuation of the old Filmation series.

And that Mattel is bringing the toy line back in February 2020 and even had a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Prince Adam and He-man two figure Package.

You might notice that I'm a fan of He-Man.

I'm pretty excited about what 2020 might bring us of the Masters of the Universe.

Hasbro adds Dungeons & Dragons to their Kre-O (think Lego) Toyline in January!

I'm a huge Lego fan and so are my two youngest.  We've been using Lego minifigs and playsets in our games for months.  Now Hasbro is adding Dungeons and Dragons to Kre-O (joining the ranks of Transformers and Star Trek).

And apparently there is a collectable poster at ComicCon!

Wouldn't it be cool to get a Warduke?  Or Mercion?

Weaponeers of Monkaa!

In the last six weeks, as I've done "research" for the A to Z Challenge, I discovered some awesome new toys and one of these are Weaponeers of Monkaa.  The toys use the Glyos System (based on Onell Design's system of interlocking toy parts) so you can mix and match toys from various manufactures.

The designs for the Weaponeers really struck a cord with me and I placed our first order for them this past week.  I'll post pictures when they come in.  I really can't wait.

I Missed Masters of the Universe Day!

Apparently, April 28th was Masters of the Universe Day on the web!

I was busy running a prerelease of Dragon's Maze for Magic: the Gathering, I had NO idea.

Grumble, grumble, mumble.

Check out Battlegrip.com, Phil Reed's (of Steve Jackson Games) excellent toy site for the rundown of content.

Battle Beasts #1

Last week Battle Beasts #1 hit the stands, published by IDW.  I can't say there was much lore for the creators to draw from, but the premise was interesting and I'll keep reading it.  The art is very, very good and I hope the Valerio Schiti gets more attention.

I wish some of the old toy designs had been featured prominently, but I'm just glad to see something being done with the property.  At this point, unless your a huge Battle Beast nerd, you probably have a 50/50 chance of enjoying the story.  Hopefully, future issues will increase that ratio.

W is Warduke

My first exposure to Dungeons and Dragons was through the toy line from LJN in 1982.  The first two figures I got were Warduke, the Evil Fighter and Strongheart, the Good Paladin.  This toy line fired my imagination and made me want to play DnD.  The closest I got was absorbing the Monster Manual at a local B. Dalton's.

Soon after, the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon began airing on CBS saturday mornings.  DnD, Thundarr, and Herculoids are my "holy trinity" of cartoons.  While I won't say that DnD or Herculoids stand the test of time (but Thundarr sure does), they are ingrained in how I think of fantasy and the fantastic.  They form a foundation for what action and adventure mean to me.  These cartoons are the root of my love for Science-Fantasy. My adventures should entertain and if I'm having a good session, not only get your brain working, but maybe let it work like it did when you were a kid for a few minutes.

To this day, its very hard for me not to give a group of new PC's, some cool magic item, like in the cartoon.  And how can you look at Warduke and not be inspired to produce a great villain?  You look at Warduke and you know he's not your friend and he's going to (try to) kick your ass.  If your lucky enough to defeat him, his whole outfit screams that he has sweet, sweet magic items.  Who doesn't want to wear that helmet?  Its got to give a bonus of infinity + 1 on Intimidate checks!

The best part of all of this, is that I still have my Warduke figure.  He's like a sacred talisman, and holding him let's me connect with my childhood.  It helps me remember what DnD felt like before I played it and reminds me how it should assualt my player's senses.  They should be able to see, smell, hear, taste, and touch my adventures.  Warduke let's me remember how to make that happen.  If your one of my players, blame his helmet.

I didn't actually play DnD for almost 10 years after my Mom bought me Warduke, but the first character I made was a Fighter.  His name was Garamond and he never got that helmet.

S is for Shogun Warriors

What's not to love about giant robots and Godzilla?

I remember loving my Great Mazinga (with missle launching fingers) and Godzilla (with a rocket fist and fiery breath) more than nearly anything.  If I recall correctly they were nearly as big as me!

A robotic warrior is inspiration enough, but the childish wonder these toys draw forth is key to their inspiration.

I have far less time than I did 5 years ago, so when I start planning an adventure I want it to be entertaining and memorable.  And if I'm truly lucky, I might even tap into your inner child.  I spent years as a Gamemaster before I was lucky enough for my librarian friend, Val, to ask me to run some games of DnD for her teens at the library.  My time doing was few and far between, but their enthusiasm and imagination shocked me.  I didn't start gaming until I was a sophomore in college, so I didn't share any epic adventures with middle school or high school friends.  So I was shocked at her teens' hunger for adventure, their creative solutions to problems, and the lack of bloodlust the showed to enemies.  I was so used to conflict resolution meaning kill the monster and take it's stuff, I almost didn't know what to do.  They changed me as GM, in a very good way.  Thankfully, her teens were gracious and patient and I was smart enough to let them shape their experience.  And I was better off for it.  Thank you, Val.

The point is don't let your expectations color your inspiration.  When you see an adult tap into their inner 11 year old, you know that the time you've spent is well worth it.

M is for Masters of the Universe

Yeah, thats right, He-Man.  The MotU toys showed my 9 year old self that magic and technology could exist side by side, in the same world.  Barbarians and sorcerers riding sky sleds and shooting ray guns and fighting the eternal battle of good and evil.  I could craft those battles with my action figures for hours upon hours.

There are few things I find cooler than Magic vs Machine and He-man, and his allies and enemies,  represents that battle in it's purest form.

And then there's Eternia, the setting for this epic ride.  A world rife with danger and ancient artifacts that can save or destroy untold universes.  Castle Greyskull, whose mysteries could provide the brightest of hopes or the blackest of dooms.  A Power Sword that could be split in twain.  Snake Men from the primordial past.  An invading Horde from another universe.   Cosmic Enforcers whose true allegiances were nearly unknowable.

Rumors even claim that the MotU toy line began development as a line of Conan the Barbarian toys.

I can't think of a game that can't benefit from drawing upon my childhood memories of visiting  Eternia.

J is for Joe

G.I. Joe, that is.  I don't remember getting my Eagle Eye G.I. Joe, with life-like hair as a child, it just feels like it always with me.  He had a foot locker with all kinds of cool equipment and weaponry.  The only thing I wished he had was a cool enemy to fight.  Joe has been my friend since before I could remember.

You can imagine my awe at going the Convenient Store--yes that was its name--at the end of Utz Drive in 1982 and finding G.I. Joe #6 on the newstands.  By that time, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero offered everything the Adventure Team had not and more.  I already had Clutch and the V.A.M.P. Battle Jeep, Flash, Rock n' Roll, and Stalker.  But a comic book for the Joes?

My life at the age of 10 was changed forever with a single purchase.

This was the gateway that led me to collecting Comic Books.  It was this series that led me to find Comic Book World, the company I now work for, to find back issues.  It was ads in comics like this that gave me my first exposure to DnD and the Robotech RPG.  It introduced me to Role Playing Games.  It ultimately led me here.

If it wasn't for this comic, I'm not sure if I'd be exactly the same person I am today.  G.I. Joe was the catalyst for everything in this blog and more.  Oh, so much more.  Literally, I don't know that I'd have met my wife (she works at CBW) or had my children, without it.

Thats how inspiring the Joes were for me and mine.

Yo Joe!

D is for Dungeons and Dragons

This is kind of a duh, obviously.  However, DnD was not my first RPG (Champions 4E, in fact, was), nor was it ever been a game I was very fond of playing.  The way our group ran the game and interpreted the rules, made DnD seem like a ruleset more about what you could not do, than what you could (a polar opposite to Champions and the HERO System).  ADnD 2E, in hindsight, is probably my preferred edition, but I reached a point where I simply wouldn't play it (I really, really like unified resolution systems).  DnD 3.X was well done, but in trying to run either iteration of the rules, I discovered I didn't want to run them the way I felt the designers intended and the whole experience fell flat.  I fully embraced 4E and enjoyed it for close to a year, but its emphasis on miniatures and grids, something we never used, turned me off. For many, many years DnD was a game I felt I simply didn't understand.  Something I couldn't quite mold to into the image I needed it to be.

Then I discovered the OSR, and things began to change.  House rules weren't simply encouraged, they were required and I began to see that less was definitely more for me and the stories I wanted to tell.  Swords and Wizardry, OSRIC, Basic Fantasy and Labyrinth Lord helped me focus less on rules and more on an interesting story and an intriguing setting.  And while I learned to enjoy a more stripped down simulation of the DnD rules, I was startled to find that I actually really enjoyed Pathfinder.  Things that I couldn't tolerate in 3.X were somehow more palatable now.  I honestly believe its the quality of the product and the devotion Paizo shows not only for their rules but also their fans and the legacy that Pathfinder is trying to carry forward.  In learning to understand these interpretations of the DnD rules and settings my journey toward loving DnD was finally coming to my desired destination.  This newfound place of comfort gave me to the courage to begin to shape new games and begin to ponder DMing them, after long hiatus from the hobby.

And now we have the 800 lb. gorilla that is DnD Next waiting to be unveiled.  I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, but unfortunately a Non-Disclosure Agreement prevents me from sharing any of them.

I will say that my journey has taught me that what the rules don't tell you isn't intended to prevent you from doing something, its empowering you to do something.

B is for Battle Beasts

I still LOVE his sword!

Anthropomorphic animals.  Power armor.  Cybernetics.  Shiny weapons.  Allied to fire, water, or wood.  What more could you ask for?!

Battle Beasts, like Master of the Universe, introduced me to Science Fantasy.  What is cooler than swords and power armor?  Or Guns and wooden shields?  Well to me not much.  These little 2" figures were kind of mystery compared to many of the toys of their day.  They didn't have a cartoon and we didn't even know each Beasts name (though you could send away for a poster with their names, which for whatever reason I never did).  Only their arms moved and they had these little heat activated holograms on their chest (Transformers did something similar at the same time, which makes sense because they were both owned by Hasbro), so you could play Rock, Paper, Scissors or, in this case Fire, Water, Wood.  And there were tons of these guys.  You could field a whole epic battle between these 3 forces to determine their secret goals.  Why secret?  Well, if I didn't even know their names, how could I know their goals?!

That Rabbit alwasy reminded me of Jaxxon from the Star Wars Comics.
Oh, and that Deer in the second row has a drill for a left hand!!

Even now, they strike me as awesome and if I could find my old figures, I'd use them for miniatures in an RPG.  I don't know if it would Palladium's After the Bomb, WotC's newest version of Gamma World or just DnD.  But they are totally cool.

Go ahead, mess with us.

I do remember that Blackthorn had a 2 issue, black and white comic.  But that was the only product tie-in I recalled, until today.

It seems that Diamond Select Toys has acquired the property and has released several limited edition minimates and plan to launch Wave 1 in toy stores this summer, with a tie-in comic from IDW Publishing.  I can't wait to show my kids.