Review: The Perfect Weapon

It seems like just last month that the Star Wars folks announced Delilah S. Dawson would be writing an e-short titled The Perfect Weapon. Oh wait, that was last month! Del Rey doesn’t make us wait very long with today’s release of The Perfect Weapon, one of five stories that feature the pictured beings from Maz Kanata’s castle. Bazine Netal is an efficient and lethal mercenary and spy who knows how to get a job done. When an anonymous client hires her to track down a former stormtrooper, she’s forced to trade teaching a newbie in exchange for use of a ship. And while Bazine is good, even she can still be taken by surprise on a dangerous mission…

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Of Dice and Droids #0: Roll For Introductions

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Welcome to Of Dice and Droids, an all-new Star Wars tabletop RPG podcast here at Tosche Station. Nanci and Brian are joined by players Sho, Jay, Rocky, Saf and Game Master Tom for an adventure-filled trip into the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

This is a special introductory Episode Zero where we’ll introduce ourselves and our characters, provide an overview on tabletop gaming, the mechanics used by the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG games, answer some reader questions, and provide the first glimpse at the campaign.

Come back January 8th as we kick off the campaign!

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

Introducing Of Dice and Droids

diceWelcome to Of Dice and Droids, a brand new podcast project here at Tosche Station!

So what exactly is this? Well, it’s is a podcast that will be all about pen and paper Star Wars RPGs. We’ll be talking about the mechanics of tabletop gaming, how to put a campaign together, how to play, and answering questions from listeners. The centerpiece, though, is an actual campaign that we’ll be recording for a twice-monthly podcast.

A few months back, I had tossed the idea of doing a Star Wars tabletop podcast into the winds of Twitter after watching some old episodes of Penny Arcade’s endlessly entertaining Acquisitions Incorporated, the live D&D game they play at PAX Prime and PAX East. The concept of doing a show where a small group of friends create their own adventure for an audience was compelling to me, and as you’ll see below, was compelling to a few other people.

This podcast is going to have something for everyone. If you want to learn how to play the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPGs, we’ll go over the how-tos. If you just want an original (totally non-canon) Star Wars story being put together by six creative players and one awesome GM, we’ve got you covered. So even if you have no desire to ever play yourself, we hope you’ll stick around just to enjoy what promises to be a supremely entertaining adventure.

Without further ado, the players:

  • Brian Larsen: Editor here at Tosche Station
  • Nanci Schwartz: Editor here at Tosche Station
  • Sho: Contributor here at Tosche Station
  • Jay: Contributor at 1138
  • Rocky: Contributor at 1138
  • Saf: Contributor here at Tosche Station and at every fansite in the multiverse

We are extremely fortunate to have Darth Internous himself, Tom from Del Rey, serving as our Game Master. He has crafted an original campaign for us that will kick off during Return of the Jedi. Tom is a long-time tabletop player and GM. Now, what is this original campaign you might ask? Well, it will be utilizing the Age of Rebellion Rulebook, but what you’re going to find interesting is the name of the campaign: The End of All Things. Episode I will be Darkness on the Edge of Town.

The players have been split into two parties. The first party consisting of myself, Nanci, and Rocky are with the Rebel Alliance. The second party consisting of Jay, Sho, and Saf are hired mercenaries. Each month we’ll be recording two episodes (schedule permitting). One episode will center around the Rebels, and the other episode will center around the mercs. Tom will be GMing both groups.

Later today, we’ll post our special Episode Zero show, which is very much an introduction and workshopping episode that’ll give you an idea of what goes into creating the campaign and characters. You’ll get to meet the players and GM and learn a little about the story we’ll be telling.

Tentatively, the first actual episode is set to be recorded on January 8th.

We don’t want to give away everything, but Tom did write up an opening crawl as a teaser…

THE END OF ALL THINGS

EPISODE I: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

The Galactic Civil War endures. As Imperial and Rebel forces engage each other in conflicts great and small across the galaxy, pockets of peace are scarce.

Conflict brings opportunity. Crime cartels and gangs – operating at the Edge of the Empire struggle for control, playing both sides of the war and filling power vacuums where they can.

Far into the Outer Rim, the lone desert planet of Tatooine sits on the brink of chaos after the death of Jabba the Hutt. Eager to display strength, the Hutts offer intel on valuable technology that could sway the balance of power in the war….

Tosche Station Radio #135: You Sunk My Battlefront

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This week on Tosche Station Radio, Tom from Del Rey joins us to discuss Battlefront!

Kicking off the show the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog.  Rounding up the last few episodes of Rebels, Brian reviewed Brothers of the Broken Horn, Nanci reviewed Wings of the Master, and Bria reviewed Blood Sisters. Bria also told us why Katooni should be in RebelsWe’ve got a bunch of comic reviews, as per usual. Bria reviewed Chewbacca #3, Darth Vader #12, Star Wars #12, Kanan #8, and the first issue of Vader Down #1Saf was at PAX Australia, and she interviewed Hollow Night’s William Pellen.  Matthew previewed the 2016 LEGO Star Wars sets.

Fixer’s Flash covers the latest geek things we’ve been up to. Nanci is still neck-deep in NaNoWriMo. Brian’s been playing Fallout 4 and Battlefront. Tom? Battlefront and Halo.

From there we discuss the latest news in Deak’s Dirt, we say goodbye to  Star Wars Weekends. . In Biggs’ Bull#&@*, we talk the four new TFA TV spots and the EW cover story.

This week on Camie’s Concerns, Tom and Brian give their impressions of DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and your support on Patreon!

The Diversity Wars: A Letter and An Offering

My Dearest Fellow Diversity Bloggers,

It has come to my attention that we must yet again fight the #WheresFemaleCharacter War. This shall be dubbed the First Battle of Rey as we shall undoubtedly take up her standard and charge forth into the front lines of war in the weeks following the release of The Force Awakens and then likely yet again in Second and Third Battles of Rey with Episodes VIII and IX.

But these have not been the only battles we have fought, my worthy Capable Lady Warriors. Oh no. For we have all stood together and raised the cry of #WheresHera and #WheresBlackWidow in the First Battle of the Rebel Ladies and the Second Battle of the Avengers to name but a few of the hills where we have drawn our swords. We were all there for #WheresGamora and we routinely fight in the Battle of Will Someone Please Just Give Us A Decent Action Figure Of Leia In Something Besides The Metal Bikini. (At least there’s good news from the front lines on that last one.)

As much as I value all of your efforts, my dear Capable Lady Warriors, I also value your time. Our energy is far more useful in the trenches of Twitter than in having the write essentially the same column again. In an attempt to save us all some time, I have written the below form article for us to all use when posting yet another one of these articles. Please feel free to use as you deem necessary although to be honest, we’ve all had to do this so often that we could most likely write these pieces in our sleep.

So make use of the below and then run forth to Twitter and carry our banner high! We’ll win this war one marketing battle at a time.

Best Regards,
Bria

HeraIt seems that the toy and merchandise companies can’t seem to take a hint. For every Target who stops separating their toys by gender, we find another example where a leading female character has been excluded. I recently found this __(Insert Product)__ at __(Insert Store)__ and while it featured all of the main male characters, __(Insert Excluded Lady)__ was nowhere to be found. Given that she is one of the leading characters, this is ridiculous. Apparently it’s time to start a #Wheres__(Lady)___ hashtag. Again.

This is not the first time that this has happened with __(Marvel/Star Wars)__. __(Marvel/Star Wars)__ previously routinely excluded __(Hera and sometimes Sabine/Gamora)__ from much of their __(Rebels/Guardians of the Galaxy)__ merchandise and also __(Padme and Ahsoka/Black Widow)__ from their __(Star Wars/Avengers)__ products. It’s not just getting ridiculous—it’s been ridiculous. __(Franchise)__ should have long since gotten the memo that girls like __(Franchise)__ just as much as boys. By not acknowledging the existing market, they are yet again alienating these women and young girls. Finally, __(Company)__ needs to realize that excluding women from products that feature an entire team not only shows how tone deaf they are but also sends a bad message to the young boys they are supposedly marketing to. Women are not lesser and are absolutely an equal part of the team. They should not be excluded from products that feature that team.

So come on, __(Company)__. Stop excluding __(Lady)__ from the __(Franchise)__ products and making us as #Wheres__(Lady)__. It’s getting real old real fast.

 

Review: Vader Down #1

Hooolyyyyy crap.

Yeah. That’s the best way to describe the opening issue of Vader Down.

Story Time! At Dragon Con this year, I was lucky enough to partake in one of the last panels of the convention titled ‘Palpatine’s Plan’ in which we discussed… you can figure that one out. During the course of the panel, I found myself having to continuously defend Darth Vader and the fact that he is powerful as hell and a serious force to be reckoned with. If I had had this comic issue on hand, pulling it out would have been the equivalent of a mic drop because holy hell is Vader a powerhouse.

It’s not like we the fans don’t know (for the most part) that Vader is strong in the Force and terrifying to many a person. It’s not like we don’t know that Vader/Anakin is an amazing pilot. Jason Aaron takes both of those facts and reminds you in a way that you will not be forgetting any time soon. You do not mess with Darth Vader whether he’s in a TIE or on the ground.

When you take a step back, Vader Down is certainly a set up issue but it never feels like it while you’re reading. So yes: Vader, Luke, Leia, Han, and Aphra are all being maneuvered on to Vrogas Vas but this is explosive exposition. It’s a great hand off to Kieron Gillen and I absolutely cannot wait to see how these two gentlemen handle the next five issues of this story.

Mike Deodato knocks it out of the freaking park with his art on this issue and uses his four two-page spreads incredibly strategically and for great dramatic effect. Some of these would look amazing as full sized posters. Deodato also draws a pretty fantastic Han Solo. I hope we see more of his work in the Star Wars universe.

This is definitely one of my favorite single issues from the Marvel Star Wars team thus far and you should absolutely pick it up and the rest of the storyline.

Review: Star Wars #12

Let me start with a note that you should definitely read this before you read Vader Down #1 as this is an arc wrap up before getting into the crossover.

Star Wars #12 by Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen is a nice little wrap up to the second arc. We get a final-final answer to the Sana question, Luke gets rescued, and there’s some really freaking cool stuff in the middle. Some spoilers are going to follow.

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On Bugs and Bouncing: Hollow Knight’s William Pellen Interview

There was one game that completely caught my attention in the lead-up to Melbourne’s massive gaming convention, PAX Australia: Hollow Knight, a gorgeously atmospheric action-adventure platformer with a healthy dose of challenge.

Hollow Knight is being developed by Team Cherry, an indie company based in Adelaide made up of Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and David Kazi, with a release planned for the first half of 2016.

Set in a bug-infested cavern system below an eerily silent village, Hollow Knight is filled with all kinds of strange creatures and wonderful sights. I’ve always been a sucker for platformers with fascinating worldbuilding that you can explore for hours, and from what I’ve played of the Hollow Knight beta, it seems to be shaping up to be exactly that. Though the gameplay can be difficult, it never feels punishing. 

I had the opportunity at PAX Aus to interview Willaim Pellen and ask him a few questions about Hollow Knight, influences, Kickstarter, and taking the leap to full time game dev.

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