Author Archives: Shane

Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear! – Radio Show / Podcast Ep. 43

Podcast for the Shane Plays radio show from 3/26/2016:
Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear!

Highlights: Phillip Daigle and Amber Scott of Beamdog, Inc. talk Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear!

Shane Plays airs on Saturdays at 1:05 PM Central on 96.5 FM The Answer in Little Rock. It can also be heard online at http://965fmtheanswer.com and on the Tune In Radio app and iHeart Radio apps. Call in at 501-823-0965 or tweet @ShanePlays during the show!

Like what you hear?
Support Shane Plays Radio on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays

Shane Plays is carried on Krypton Radio!
Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi.
http://kryptonradio.com/

Listen to the Shane Plays podcast on iTunes and Stitcher (and other fine podcast directories) after the live show.

Direct Download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/shaneplays/Shane_Plays_3-26-16_podcast.mp3
Listen Here via Embed:

SHOW NOTES

NEWS ITEMS

Shane’s Spoiler Free, Knee Jerk Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Review
https://youtu.be/EmffZ_PUtEg

Brain Trust’s Batman V Superman reaction video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsU9E98qETI

Batman V Superman Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_v_superman_dawn_of_justice/

GUEST: BEAMDOG

Phillip Daigle – Lead Designer

Amber Scott – Publishing and Marketing Coordinator

Beamdog, Inc.
https://www.beamdog.com/

Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear Presentation
http://www.gamereactor.eu/grtv/?id=257103

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@Slaktus: GAME DESIGN JARGON OF THE DAY
“COYOTE TIME”
The number of frames during which you can still execute a jump after running off a ledge.

NEXT WEEK:

Super Hero movies.

Batman V Superman Spoiler Free, Knee Jerk Review

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I caught Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Thursday evening during the so-called advanced showings (what does that even mean if it’s been known it will open on Thursday night for a while, anyway?) and here’s my spoiler free, knee jerk review:

Spoiler free because, well, there are no spoilers.

Knee jerk because it’s my initial thoughts within a couple of hours of seeing the movie for the first time, and without reading any other reviews to avoid biasing my own opinion and expectations.

Don’t want to watch the video review? Here’s a very quick summary:
*The video above has a lot more information and thoughts, not just the below summary points

Should you see it? Yeah of course, if you’re an action movie or super hero movie fan. There are several good scenes and of course some big action and it’s good to see the so-called DC trinity go into action on the big screen.

Otherwise, meh not so much. I don’t think it has the same general appeal for the average movie goer that the Marvel movies do.

It’s rough and uneven and almost two different movies pacing wise. The first half is uneven and ponderous, while the second half pulls together much better.

If any movie ever needed re-editing, it’s BvS.

Rotten Tomatoes currently has BvS at 29%. I wouldn’t go that low but it’s not as good as what Marvel’s putting out these days, that’s for sure.

D&D Out of the Abyss Notes #6

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This episode: Betrayal, madness and role play repercussions on the verge of Gracklstugh.

This is an ongoing series of Shane’s notes, thoughts and tips for running the D&D adventure Out of the Abyss, which is the tabletop portion of the Rage of Demons story line.

Each video follows the most recent session with his group.

D&D Out of the Abyss Notes #5

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This episode: Natural gas, ritualistic murders and wererats, oh my! Just another day’s work in the Underdark.

This is an ongoing series of Shane’s notes, thoughts and tips for running the D&D adventure Out of the Abyss, which is the tabletop portion of the Rage of Demons story line.

Each video follows the most recent session with his group.

Comic Books & The Wild Stars! – Radio Show / Podcast Ep. 42

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Podcast for the Shane Plays radio show from 3/19/2016:
Comic Books & The Wild Stars!

Highlights: Geek news; Michael Tierney, comic book industry expert and creator / publisher of The Wild Stars.

Like what you hear?
Support Shane Plays Radio on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays

Shane Plays is carried on Krypton Radio!
Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi.
http://kryptonradio.com/

Listen to the Shane Plays podcast on iTunes and Stitcher (and other fine podcast directories) after the live show.

Direct Download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/shaneplays/Shane_Plays_3-19-16_podcast.mp3
Listen Here via Embed:

SHOW NOTES

NEWS ITEMS

AlphaGo beats Lee Se-dol again to take Google DeepMind Challenge series | The Verge
DeepMind AI goes 3-0 up to seal historic victory
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/12/11210650/alphago-deepmind-go-match-3-result

Star Trek New Voyages new episode: The Holiest Thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opdlZ6jxcdg

Star Trek Beta Fleet: The New Unofficial Comic You Don’t Want To Miss
http://trekmovie.com/2016/03/09/star-trek-beta-fleet-the-new-unofficial-comic-you-dont-want-to-miss/

“Preacher” to premiere after “Fear the Walking Dead” midseason finale (May 22) | CBR
http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/preacher-set-to-premiere-after-the-fear-the-walking-dead

Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford announce a new Indiana Jones movie | EW.com
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/15/steven-spielberg-and-harrison-ford-announce-new-indiana-jones-movie

D&D comes to Middle-earth
http://cubicle7.co.uk/dd-comes-to-middle-earth/

Microsoft will allow Xbox gamers to play against PS4 and PC players | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/14/11222370/microsoft-xbox-cross-network-play-pc-ps4-gaming

Shane Plays Podcast Extra: Comics Legend Will Eisner (Randy Duncan, Part 1)
https://shaneplays.com/comics-legend-will-eisner-randy-duncan-part-1-podcast-extra/

GUEST: MICHAEL TIERNEY

Michael Tierney, comic book industry expert and creator / publisher of The Wild Stars.

http://thewildstars.com/

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@DungeonFacts
One of my favorite adjectives is “jumentous”, meaning “of or pertaining to the smell of horse urine”

NEXT WEEK:

Phillip Daigle (Lead Designer) and Amber Scott (Publishing and Marketing Coordinator) of Beamdog, Inc. talk about their upcoming Baldur’s Gate “interquel”: Baldur’s Gate: Seige of Dragonspear.

https://www.beamdog.com/

Comics Legend Will Eisner (Randy Duncan, Part 1) – Podcast Extra

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Podcast Extra:
Comics Legend Will Eisner (Randy Duncan, Part 1)

This is a Shane Plays podcast extra, featuring content that was not recorded as part of the live Shane Plays radio show.

Highlights: Comics scholar, professor and author Randy Duncan discusses comic book legend Will Eisner and Will Eisner Week.

This is part 1 of a conversation with Randy Duncan.

Like what you hear?
Support Shane Plays Radio on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays

Listen to the Shane Plays podcast on iTunes and Stitcher (and other fine podcast directories) after the live show.

Direct Download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/shaneplays/Shane_Plays_podcast_Randy_Duncan_talks_Will_Eisner_3-3-2016.mp3
Listen Here via Embed:

NOTES

More about Randy Duncan:

The Power of Comics on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1472535707/

Creating Comics as Journalism, Memoir and Nonfiction on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Comics-Journalism-Memoir-Nonfiction/dp/0415730082/

Randy Duncan: Creating a class filled with costumes, iconic characters and CRASH!
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/oct/14/randy-duncan-creating-class-filled-costumes-iconic/?f=trilakes

The Case of Evil! – Radio Show / Podcast Ep. 41

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Podcast for the Shane Plays radio show from 3/12/2016:
The Case of Evil!

Highlights: Geek news; Neal & Jana Hallford of Swords & Circuitry studios and their award-winning horror short film The Case of Evil.

Like what you hear?
Support Shane Plays Radio on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays

Shane Plays is carried on Krypton Radio!
Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi.
http://kryptonradio.com/

Listen to the Shane Plays podcast on iTunes and Stitcher (and other fine podcast directories) after the live show.

Direct Download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/shaneplays/Shane_Plays_3-12-16_podcast.mp3
Listen Here via Embed:

SHOW NOTES

NEWS ITEMS

Man demands ‘Magic’ cards in attempted robbery | Comic Book Resources
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2016/03/comics-a-m-man-demands-magic-cards-in-attempted-robbery/

Captain America: Civil War – Trailer 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKrVegVI0Us

Supergirl renewed for 2nd season | Polygon
http://www.polygon.com/2016/3//11179418/supergirl-renew-second-season

Luke Cage premieres on Netflix September 30 and Daredevil returns March 18 | Polygon
http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/11/11206546/luke-cage-premiere-date-marvel-netflix

CW renews The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and iZombie | Newsarama
http://www.newsarama.com/28362-flash-arrow-dc-s-legends-of-tomorrow-izombie-renewed-by-the-cw.html

DC Comics’ SCALPED Will Be Adapted into a TV Series | GeekTyrant
http://geektyrant.com/news/dc-comics-scalped-will-be-adapted-into-a-tv-series

The Tick Returning With Amazon Pilot Order | Comicbook.com
http://comicbook.com/2016/03/10/the-tick-returning-with-amazon-pilot-order/

D&D Curse of Strahd Review
https://shaneplays.com/dd-curse-of-strahd-review/

Ravenloft setting now allowed in DMs Guild
http://support.dmsguild.com/hc/en-us/articles/217029298-Content-and-Format-Questions?affiliate_id=237976

The history of Dungeons and Dragons video games from youtuber 90sgamer92 (2 hour video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgoonTyjKoc

GUEST: THE CASE OF EVIL

Sword & Circuitry’s Neal & Jana Hallford and The Case of Evil.

http://www.swordsandcircuitry.com/

http://www.thecaseofevil.com/

For a limited time, Shane Plays listeners and followers can watch The Case of Evil 50% off using the promo code XCPCVPPHC!
https://selz.com/item/5674c62f6edca00e788f7485?code=XCPCVPHC

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@OutofContextDND
The second room is unremarkable except that it is on fire

NEXT WEEK:

Michael Tierney, comic book industry expert and creator / publisher of The Wild Stars.

http://thewildstars.com/

Let’s Play Serpent in the Staglands #31

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This episode: The thriving metropolis of Corem unfolds before our eager, exploring eyes. Vendors are a’plenty. Shipping guilds are rude. Everyone seems to want to climb aboard our train.

Join Shane as he plays through a hardcore computer RPG that has the mechanics and style of a 90s CRPG, and that’s just dripping with beautiful atmosphere!

Thanks for watching!

About Serpent in the Staglands:

A true role-playing adventure.

A campaign within the world of Vol, a fully realized setting inspired by the late bronze age in a Transylvanian landscape, with unique politics, races and gods steeped in history. Featuring a chosen party of five, you role-play Necholai, a minor god of a celestial body who descends to the Staglands for a moonlit festival only to find the way home blocked and immortality slipping away. Seeking answers and aid, you take on a mortal body and the guise of a traveling Spicer. This isn’t a story of good and evil, saving the world or being a hero, it’s about intrigue and your adventure of survival in a harsh land.

Buy on GOG:
https://www.gog.com/game/serpent_in_the_staglands?pp=6a3236f5f213960de5c415fd15c6d1cb5a46d04e

Buy on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/335120/

Let’s Play Star Wars The Old Republic Trooper #7

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This episode: We get cut out of a crucial clutch cargo mission and then get thrown right back in, aggressively cleanse some corruption in the Republic, save a damsel in distress, almost (almost!) take out a tough bad guy (oh sooo close), and draw ever closer to wrapping up the Ord Mantell portion of the Trooper storyline.

This is a let’s play series of the Trooper story line in Star Wars The Old Republic.

Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is the only massively-multiplayer online game with a Free-to-Play option that puts you at the center of your own story-driven Star Wars™ saga. Play as a Jedi, a Sith, a Bounty Hunter or as one of many other Star Wars iconic roles and explore an age over three-thousand years before the classic films. Become the hero of your own Star Wars adventure as you choose your path down the Light or Dark side of the Force™.

http://www.swtor.com/

Belaphoss statue from Sword Coast Legends

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Game dev studio n-Space offered a pretty spectacular upgrade reward for their D&D based cRPG Sword Coast Legends. In addition to multiple other goodies, customers who purchased the Deluxe edition also received a Belaphoss the Mad statue. (NOTE: Special thanks to n-Space CEO Dan O’Leary, President Dan Tudge and community manager Ash Sevilla for mine!)

Belaphoss the character is a demon lord created for SCL that has since been incorporated into overall D&D Forgotten Realms canon. Belaphoss the statue is quite frankly bad to the bone.

Here’s some info on Belaphoss and the statue. Make sure to check out the photos below!

From D&D‘s Belaphoss monster stats PDF:

Belaphoss the Mad is an ancient and powerful balor* with ambitions to godhood. Called the Left Hand of Demogorgon, the Devourer of Hope, and the Warlord of the Gibbering Hordes, he has long waged war across the Abyss.

As a lieutenant of Demogorgon, Belaphoss commands significant demon armies and demands loyalty from all his servants. As crafty as he is powerful, he often masquerades as a devil or a benign spirit to lure mortals into pacts designed to fulfil his own plans—after which he betrays his unwitting followers at his own whim. Belaphoss often gathers such servants through dreams and nightmares, using them to set his centuries-old plans into motion.

Belaphoss styles himself more civilized and cunning than other balors. He has served Demogorgon for eons, leading the hordes of the Prince of Demons into battle against the armies of Graz’zt and Orcus. However, this service has all been part of a calculated plan to one day turn against Demogorgon—and become lord of the Gaping Maw in his stead.

The demon Belaphoss is a multihorned balor who wields a deadly weapon: a greataxe wreathed in flame that has a flaming whip attached to the base of its haft.

*If you’re not in the know, a balor is basically D&D‘s version of a Tolkien balgrog. They had to change the name for legal reasons.

The statue is fantastic and was created by Symbiote Studios. It’s made of resin, quite large in size, very dramatic in presentation and painted with excellent details, gradations and layering.

Mine is currently on display where my weekly gaming group meets: Imagine Hobbies & Games in Sherwood, AR. If you’re in the area come see the big guy for yourself! (be prepared to roll for madness)