Critical Mass Crit Mass Grab Bag Week 5: Star Trek Adventures

Well, we started a journey a few months ago to review all of the Star Trek RPGs that have
been made over the years. When I had started that series, my hope had been to finish up
with Star Trek Adventures the week after the previous entry. We’ll get to that later. We’ve
already discussed the illustrious history of Star Trek RP gaming so I’ll forego that here. Star
Trek Adventures represents the latest in the line, and for me at least, it was the answer to a
long period of hoping for a new Star Trek RPG. Don’t get me wrong, I love the previous
iterations, but a lot has transpired since Decipher’s version concluded in 2007. Naturally,
I wanted to have some officially licensed material that reflects those changes.

Made by Modiphius, Star Trek Adventures makes use of Modiphius’ patented 2d20 system.
It’s a fairly simple system too. Like some of the previous entries in this series, this system
puts its emphasis on the narrative aspect of gameplay instead of the crunchy rules that other
systems bank on. This emphasis makes the system quite a bit more simple than other systems
that I’ve played. To create a character, one needs only pick a race and a profession, then fill in
a few gaps with some backstory, and that’s it. Making a character takes all of about 15 minutes
to half an hour on the long side of things. Some might find the lack of options a bit limiting at
this point, but considering that the system has only been in production for about 6 months, I
can imagine that more character options will be made available later.

Like playing the characters, running games has been streamlined to that narrative theory, and
that makes running games pretty darn easy. Combat is a roll off between characters, or ships,
and skill checks are done by adding two numbers and then trying to roll below the total. You
can see from the character sheet:

That things are pretty simple. That one sheet in the picture is the only sheet that’s used during
the game. This is simultaneously refreshing, and mildly frustrating. While it’s nice to have so
much leeway in the gameplay, there can be a little too much rope sometimes. While combat is
really easy, and character creation is also really easy, upgrading a character can seem a little
nebulous at times, and definitely takes some practice in order to really understand.

For the most part, I really have no complaints about the rule book. It’s layout is a little disorienting
at first, but once you get used to it, it all makes sense, and it’s pretty easy to use. The production
quality is top notch. The pages are printed with white letters on a black background, although you
can get books that have the opposite scheme now, and this really adds to the feel of the book.
It actually feels like something that you would expect to encounter in the Star Trek universe.The
artwork is beautiful, and you can really tell that a lot of time and care went into designing and
producing this book. What I’m most excited about where this game is involved is the
unprecedented amount of product support that’s going into this line. Besides the core book,
Modiphius has already released a book of adventure modules, a game master’s screen, licensed
dice, miniatures, and tile maps. WIth more promised to be on the way, fans of both Star Trek and
RPG gaming have a lot to look forward to. As you can see here:

There’s already a lot to buy. There’s so much more on the way, and that makes me pretty excited.
I love all of the other systems, but none have gotten quite this level of product support in the past.

The artwork may have suggested that this system is pretty focused on the Next Generation era.
However, the system takes a more hands off approach to setting. With more generic damage
tables for weapons, and basic write ups on ships and whatnot, the game can be played in just
about any era of the show fairly easily. This is an especially important aspect of the game as there
are a lot of different settings within this vast universe in which to play, and with so many fans of
the show joining the craze, there are going to be a lot of different takes which the open
endedness of the rules allows people to indulge in.

My biggest complaint about this new system isn’t actually about the system at all. See, when
Modiphius announced that they were producing a new Star Trek RPG system, I knew that I
would want to get in on some of that action. I worked really hard, and saved a bunch of money
in order to get a whole bunch of the new stuff that would be released. Then in June of this year,
everything went on sale for pre-order. Like a rabid wolverine, I jumped all over the preorder
opportunity. I figured with an announcement that things would be shipping at the beginning of
September, it wouldn’t be terribly long until I was able to bask in the awesomeness of this new
game. However, I don’t think that Modiphius adequately anticipated the amount of buzz that this
game would generate. Their operation was plagued by delays, and setbacks, and their
communication left more than a little to be desired. I had hoped to be getting my merch by the
end of September, but didn’t actually get it until just after Thanksgiving. That’s a really long wait
to endure, especially when one puts a good bit of money towards said merch. Everything worked
out fine though, and now I’ve just been enjoying what the system has to offer. I can only hope
that Modiphius is able to overcome their troubles and stabilize their production and shipping. If
they can get that and a few other wrinkles ironed out, they’ll be set up for crazy success.

Before we tie everything up for 2017, I want to briefly look at one last Star Trek RPG system
that someone suggests I take a look at during the initial RPG review run. This system is called
Far Trek. I have to admit that I haven’t gotten to look at this system nearly as closely as I
would like, but I have glanced over it, and what I’ve seen so far is really promising. There’s
some pretty great artwork included in the core rules, there are quite a few adventure modules
to run, and the system itself is a fairly simple 3d6 system similar to what I grew used to with the
Decipher and Last Unicorn Games systems. The thing that really sets this particular system
apart from the rest that I have reviewed in this series is the fact that it’s produced entirely by
fans of the show who love gaming. All of the material is free for anyone to download and use
right here.

I can tell that everyone who has touched this creation has done so in love and reverence
towards both the mythology created for the Trek universe as well as the myriad gaming systems
that have come before. There are a lot of things to love about this system. I find that the
character creation is simple and quick. It also features one of my absolute favorite features,
random character generation. I love random character generation! Sure it’s fun to play a
character that you’ve engineered down to the finest detail, but there’s something to be said about
the challenge of letting the dice to literally all of the work and then playing whatever said dice
produce. Making skill checks will seem pretty familiar to anyone who has ever played the FASA
system as these two systems use similar rules for that. In all, even though I haven’t actually
been able to play this wonderful system yet, I can confidently say that it would be a great system
for both beginners and veterans alike. The ‘official’ material is light on the brain and accessible
for beginners, but those longing for more can easily fold FASA material into their game so there’s
a lot of versatility built into this system.

Either one of these systems would be great fun for anyone who enjoys tabletop RPGs. They offer simple rules, easy and fast gameplay, and just enough options to satisfy most gamers. Each system does what it’s trying to do extremely well. Whether you’re in the market for a fun, easy to learn, free system, or you want to take the plunge on the vastly more expensive, but higher production quality of Star Trek Adventures, you won’t be disappointed. Give either of them a try and you’re sure to experience hours of enjoyment! That’s all I got for this year. Thanks for making it a great one! Stay tuned because we’ve got 52 more weeks coming up of quirky and fascinating reviews! Happy New Year to you all!

Critical Mass Crit Mass Grab Bag Week 4: Literal Grab Bag

We’ve moved in a lot of new and exciting directions together this year, and the exciting thing
is that there are still new corners to turn in the future! At any rate, we jumped merrily jumped
down the movie score rabbit hole this year, and I want to revisit that territory, but from a
slightly different approach. We’ve covered my most and least favorite composers and that
was fun, but this week, I want to look at some movies that I like specifically because of
the soundtrack. These are the films that I get excited to watch as I listen to the soundtrack
album, and some of them are just as great as their accompanying soundtrack, but others
maybe aren’t. So without further adieu, here are some movies that I like because of the
soundtrack in no particular order whatsoever. Believe me when I say that this list was
actually pretty long so you’re really only getting a small taste of what was really going on
in my head when I started.

Number One: The Time Machine (2002)

I touched on this score when I wrote my article about my favorite composers. Indeed, Klaus
Badelt scored his butt off for this movie, and it shows. The score is sweeping, energetic when
it needs to be, brooding when it needs to be, and inspiring at its very best. It really gets the
job done. It’s no wonder then that when I listen to this score, I get an inclination to watch the
film. However, I have to remind myself that I’m pretty much in for a snooze fest if I take that
road because after the second act wraps up, this film is boring. But let me backup a little.

The Time Machine is loosely based on the classic HG Wells novel of the same name. I’ve
gotten into plenty of discussions over which film version of this tale is better, the 1960
version or the 2002 version. I have to say that I’m still on the fence as both follow the
source about as well as can be expected, but take different approaches based on the
social climate into which each was introduced. That’s not really the discussion we’re
having here though. We’re just going to focus on the 2002 version. I saw this in theaters,
and was immediately grabbed by the score. The truth of the matter is that I only really went
to go see the film because of the fact that a teaser for Star Trek Nemesis was featured and
I really wanted to see that.

This movie basically covers all of the bases that the source material covers, but with a bit
of a twist. In this telling of the story, the Professor, who gets the name Alexander Hartdegen
in this film, is consumed by his work, but in an adorable quirky kind of way. He’s to be
engaged to a lovely young woman named Emma, but just after the happy moment, a thief
robs them, and she’s shot and killed. In a deep depression, Hartdegen, you know, invents
time travel. Then he starts the unhealthy cycle of going back in time to try and save his
beloved. It’s actually kind of romantic in a twisted sort of way. We aren’t made privy to
exactly how many times he attempts this, but he fails every time. So he goes into the far
future to consult the science of that age in order to see why it is that he can’t change the
past. Orlando Jones makes an appearance here as a delightfully sarcastic library attendant
at which time we’re teased with a few strains from the Time Machine the musical, which I
would absolutely have loved to see in real life!

Anyway, Hartdegen is lead to face the fact that he might not be able to change the past. He
goes to head even further, and when he stops, the moon is crumbling and falling from orbit
into the Earth. Hartdegen is knocked unconscious in a scuffle, and hits the gas on his
machine, flinging himself millions of years into the future. Here, he happens upon the Eloi.
This is about where I usually lose interest as the third act just kind of falls apart. The subtle
philosophical conversation that the film was carrying on earlier grabs the cast iron frying pan
and just starts bludgeoning you with it. The story becomes pretty boring, and the action is just
not exciting enough to save it. In the end, Hartdegen forcibly realizes that asking ‘What if?’
in life only leads to heartache, and one must just live each day to the fullest in order to truly
be happy. Then he destroys his time machine to save the world that he’s stumbled upon quite
by accident, and that’s kind of cathartic, and then he settles in to live his life as richly as
possible, and that’s the end.

I don’t have a lot of negative to say about this film on the whole. It’s imaginative, and creative,
and for the most part, entertaining. However, it’s a John Logan screenplay, and I will always
be of the opinion that John Logan couldn’t write a third act if you put a gun to his head and
threatened to pull the trigger if he failed because, quite frankly, he can’t write final acts of
films. He does great on the set up, but he tends to falter pretty bad on the payoff. That being
said, this film has some great music, in case I didn’t mention that before, the period stuff is
just awesome, and the special effects are a sight to behold. It’s a good film to watch two
thirds of so give it a go when you have a few minutes to burn.

Number Two: Space Jam

Okay, so this movie only loosely fits my very loose criteria for this article, but hopefully by the
time I’m done, you’ll get the idea.. This movie was an ever loving mess, y’all. It probably
started with good intentions. Michael Jordan was in a cooling off period with his sports balling,
a younger generation of kids were growing up without the knowledge of the Looney Toons,
and there was money to be made off of both. Being presented in much the same fashion as
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, this film blended live action with cartoon animation… Badly.

The basic premise is that some aliens have come to take over the Earth, and they’re not
taking no for an answer. But Bugs and the gang give Earth a fighting chance by challenging
the tiny aliens to a game of basketball. The winner takes Earth. That sounds alright, but
they strayed way off that premise and it wasn’t alright you guys. There’s some stuff, and
Michael Jordan, the best sports baller on the planet is recruited to play on the Looney Toons
teams. Bill Murray wants to help for some reason because having all of your teeth surgically
removed is easier than getting him to commit to a project. Between the dream team that is
Michael Jordan and Bill Murray, and an assortment of Looney Toons, the world is saved in
the most suspenseful fashion that the producers could dream up in their coke addled stupor.
This movie is not well-regarded these days, and has become more infamous than famous
for reasons…:

None of them good.

Yeah… It was a mess, but for as bumbling and confused as the film was, the soundtrack was
actually pretty on point. To be clear, I’m not talking about the score on this one. I’m talking
about the soundtrack of licensed music that was compiled to accompany the film. It was 1996,
and music was kind of confused itself. If you don’t believe me, give this a view. However,
Space Jam had a focused, and commendable soundtrack in a time when music was in the
middle of a minor upheaval looking for the next big thing. With tracks from Seal, Coolio,
R. Kelly, Jay-Z, Salt-N-Pepa, Barry White, and the Quad City DJs for some reason, this album
was a Hip-hop and R&B aficionado's dream come true. I personally knew that I had stumbled
on to something pretty cool when my older and infinitely cooler uncles started asking to borrow
it. Whether you liked the film or not, it’s hard to turn down such a fine collection of eclectic
awesomeness.

Number Three: Star Trek The Motion Picture

I admitted earlier this year that I love anything that Jerry Goldsmith composed. And it’s not
exactly a secret that I love Star Trek as well. Heaven knows I’ve reviewed enough of it since
I started this series. I’m not actually going to take a hard look at the movie, I just want to take
a brief look and then look at the score. So we might revisit this movie later.

Anyway, Trekkies have a few choice nicknames for this film. Some call it The Slow Motion
Picture. Others have dubbed it The Motionless Picture. Whatever it’s being called, it’s Star
Trek’s first foray into the the feature film world, and it’s a slow movie. There’s not a lot of
action, the costumes are pretty drab, and most people who have seen it know that it’s one of
mankind’s most effective sleep aids. That said, the score is a totally different story altogether.
Goldsmith really hit that job right out of the park. There are elements of romance, triumph,
mystery, and conflict woven into the music that he wrote. Ilia's Theme is one of the most
beautiful pieces of music ever penned in my opinion, and certainly it tops my list of
contemporary orchestral music. And who could forget the ten minute sequence of showing
off the new Enterprise. Most people give the film a hard time over needless moments like
this forgetting the context in which these things were done, but they also maybe overlook a
wonderfully triumphant piece that accompanies that moment. This entire score is chock full
of gems, and whenever I listen to it, I feel an irrational urge to watch the film, forgetting just
how long and boring the movie can actually be.

Number Four: Godzilla (1998)

It’s amazing what a couple of years can do to the topography of our culture, and in turn, what
that culture can do to our personal tastes. It was only 1996 when I was enjoying the chill
excitement of the Space Jam soundtrack, but in two years, the music industry had found a
place to settle for the time being, and there was a new Godzilla movie on the way. To be fair,
there were a few end-of-the-world movies that year. This one just happened to be one of the
worst. I’m not even sure that I can tell you the basic premise anymore, and that is reason
enough alone to revisit this turd later. I know there’s some atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll,
and then the monster attacks San Francisco. There’s Matthew Broderick, “Hey I like that guy!”
There’s some crappy CGI, and that’s all I can recall. I did own this one on VHS back in the day,
and I did give it a good bit of love then, but fortunately, tastes tend to refine themselves with
age and wisdom.

This is another one where the soundtrack of licensed music is really good. I remember in
the marketing for this film, “Come With Me” by Puff Daddy and featuring Jimmy Page was
everywhere! I was fine with this. It’s a great song. Some people snub it for being a loose
cover of “Cashmere” by Led Zeppelin, but they probably listen to this song in the relative
privacy of their own homes. If you subscribe to the alternative rock scene that was pretty
big at this point, this is just a treasure trove of great music. You’ve got entries from Green
Day, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, Days of the New, Fuel, and Silverchair.
But then that’s all tempered with some more mainstream stuff from the likes of the
Wallflowers, Jamiroquai, and Ben Folds Five. It’s a really well balanced blend of good music
for a movie that absolutely didn’t deserve nearly this much care.

Number Five: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

This last entry takes us to the foreign and exotic lands of Japan. Okay, in today’s culture, it’s
not that foreign or exotic, but it is still quite a departure from our previous entries. I first
heard about this film in the way back times of 2005. I had it on preorder for the longest time,
and there were doubts that it would ever actually get released for a time. At this point, I
have to admit to not really having a stake in the Final Fantasy claim. I like the idea of the
games well enough, but I haven’t the patience to actually play them. I do however, like the
music of the games, and especially Final Fantasy VII. Say what you will about what the
franchise has become, but this is a great game. Even I can concede that based merely on
the cultural impact that it’s had. You’re never getting that remaster though. That’s just a tease
that Square Enix uses to showcase new hardware.

At any rate, there’s a guy named Cloud, and he’s got some friends, and they’ve been just
kind of kicking it since the days of the game. Then there are these three brothers who were
created in much the same way as Sephiroth, the main villain of the game, but they weren’t
was stable when they were created so they act kind of funny at time. At the end, Cloud fights
Sephiroth and Sephiroth dies, which cures some sort of blight that had been plaguing the
world. I dunno, I think I could follow it better if I actually played the game, but it’s darn fine
CG animation, and some breathtaking action scenes, and I really like watching it now and again.

Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the music for Final Fantasy exclusively for years, reprises
his role as composer for this film, and let me tell you, it is an Uematsu fan’s wet dream come
true! All of the great musical cues from the game are represented in this movie, but they’ve
all been force fed a hefty serving of steroids! There was already some great music from the
game, but for the film Uematsu pulled out every stop. Just give a listen to the Advent Children
version of One Winged Angel. This song was already amazing, but Uematsu infuses it with
some of his rock influence and takes it to a whole other level of awesomeness! Beyond that,
there are some great original songs. The score is stylistically varied, and intense. My only
complaint is that it was a little underutilized in the actual film, but believe me when I say that
finding a copy of this score to listen to will not disappoint you in any way, shape, or form. I
pretty much guarantee that you’ll enjoy listening to this cinematic gem.

I know it’s been an eclectic article, but give any one of these albums a listen, and call it a case
of me trying to broaden your musical horizons a little. And really, what can I day? I have really
eclectic tastes in music. We’re one week from the last Friday of the year! Stay tuned because
we’ll be tying up a couple of things that got started earlier, but remain unresolved! Happy
holidays to you all!