THROWBACK THURSDAY: I Never Met David Bowie, But...

Nick and Andorian cosplayer at the premiere 'after-party'

I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with this David Bowie-themed Throwback Thursday by suggesting I had met the great man.

The closest I ever came (via the laws of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon) was when Nick and I, 24 year ago, blagged ourselves tickets to the gala celebrity premiere of Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (probably my favourite of the original Star Trek movies). I can't remember if this was through work or through my old Trekkie friend John Carrigan.

The only celebrities there actually connected with the movie were director Nicholas Meyer and Iman  - model-turned-actress and wife of David Bowie - who played Martia the shapeshifter.

So I was in the same room as Bowie's wife, which is the next best thing to having been in the same room as him!

As is often the case when someone famous dies you discover all the fascinating facts about their life that you wish you'd known while they were alive.

For instance, thanks to the Times of Tunbridge Wells news website back in 2016, I learned of Bowie's connection to the town of my birth.

His mum came from Southborough (a 'suburb' of Tunbridge Wells that bridges the gap between that town and Tonbridge, where I now live) and she met her future husband (and David's father-to-be) at the old cinema in Tunbridge Wells.

Like the rest of the right-thinking world I've always been a fan of Bowie's music, but in recent years it took on an added poignancy, as his song Where Are We Now? was the only track I remember the radio playing as Rachel and I sat by my mum's bed in her final days.

After years of silence, he had surprised the world by announcing a new album seemingly out of the blue, and here I was hearing the first release from it (repeatedly), sitting in a night-shrouded room, swathed in grief, saying 'good bye' to my ailing mother.

When I think back to those days, and I often do, the image in my head is almost like a Nativity scene, with Rachel and I sitting in the halo of light from a bedside lamp, holding mum's hand, in an otherwise dark room, with Where Are We Now? providing the soundtrack for the vignette.

Beauty Is In The Eye of The Blogger

Image by Elle from Pixabay

RPG Menagerie is a new feature launched this week by prodigious blogger and podcaster Michel 'Siskoid' Albert on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery.

Renowned for his in-depth knowledge of Doctor Who, Star Trek, comic books, movies, and roleplaying games - to mention but a few strings to his bow - Siskoid's latest offering on his 'must-read' blog is:

"... a new series of posts looking at role-playing game monsters/threats from across all games (probably with a preference for vintage games), but not an entirely serious look."

The first entry casts an eye over that stalwart of the Dungeons & Dragons 'verse: the beholder.

Beastmaster III - The Eye Of Braxus (1996)

The beastmaster Dar (V's Marc Singer) is reunited with his young half- brother Tal (Starship Trooper's Casper Van Dien, sporting a most unconvincing wig) now ruler of the small barbarian kingdom of Aruk, and the warrior Seth (horror legend Tony Todd), both characters from the original movie, but now recast.

Tal was bequeathed a mysterious amulet by their late father, and this is - of course - the MacGuffin (the titular Eye of Braxus) sought by the warlord-wizard Agon (the ever-excellent David Warner).

After Dar leaves Tal's encampment, it is set upon by Agon's Crimson Warriors (so-called because of their red-coloured sword blades) who kidnap the king and take him back to their master.

You can't go wrong with David Warner

Agon is pissed though because Tal no longer has all of the Eye of Braxus, which is required to open a doorway beyond which lies the imprisoned Lord of The Pit, the evil old god Braxus, and "ultimate power" to any who release him.

Canny Tal had given half of the medallion to his wandering, nomadic brother for safe-keeping.

Driven to rescue his brother, Dar teams up with Seth, who had been acting as Tal's advisor, and roguish-swordswoman Shada (Sandra Hess, who played Andrea Von Strucker in The Hoff's Marvel movie, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, and who has surprisingly coiffured hair for someone in her line of work).

Shada's loyalties tend to flip-flop, as she - rather successfully - plays both sides, and eventually picks the winning one.

As a love-interest for Dar, Shada was never going to measure up to Kiri (the late, lamented Tanya Roberts of Charlie's Angels fame) from the original Beastmaster, but she grew on me as her character developed.

Near-naked and constantly oiled-up Dar is never without his small coterie of telepathically-linked animal companions, a pair of ferrets (representing his cunning), a hawk (as his eyes), and a lion (for strength).

Oddly the lion has the same name - Ruh - as Dar's panther from the first film, but I suspect this is a similar naming convention to The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia always calling his horse Roach.

By the way, these aren't CGI creatures, but flesh-and-blood animals on the set, which does make a scene of the lion's capture slightly uncomfortable viewing, but I like to think the noble beast's handlers took good care of it.

After a run-in with some savage hill people, Seth, Dar, and Shada get to Agon's city, and decide to join a circus camped outside the walls, as a cover to smuggle themselves in.

Only the circus (which seems to have just two performers and a stable boy on staff) turns out to be run by an ex-lover of Seth's, Morgana (soap opera stalwart Lesley-Anne Down), who possesses a magical gem in her headband that can turn living things into animals.

Morgana, Dar, and Shada

This all gets a bit awkward, and leads to an another apparent betrayal of Dar, but Morgana actually has a plan and Dar being imprisoned in Agon's fortress is part of it.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus, like the previous films in the franchise it neither takes itself too seriously nor sends-up its subject matter.

The low, made-for-TV, budget, and the steady hand of established television director Gabrielle Beaumont (who lists multiple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hill Street Blues, and L.A. Law, to name-check just a few, on her CV)  lends an air of Xena: Warrior Princess and Legendary Journeys of Hercules to proceedings that prepares us mentally for the "man-in-a-rubber-suit" final Big Bad.

While David Wise's script has its plot wobbles on occasion and isn't going to win an Oscar, there's great evidence of world-building here. More places and people get actual names in Beastmaster III than most B-movie sword-and-sorcery flicks.

The cast may be small - and this makes for some comically empty backdrops to some scenes - but most of the named characters we meet are interesting and quirky.

So much of the story also has a very Conan feel to it, but it's just the budgetary limitations once again that prevent it from going full wide-screen barbarian, instead recasting Dar's band of brothers as a mismatched party of Dungeons & Dragons adventurers instead.

It's all a question of managing your expectations, if you go in expecting another chapter of Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings, you're going to be disappointed, but if you're looking for something more akin to Hercules or Xena then you can have a great time with this hour-and-a-half movie.

Yes, of course, it could have been so much better, but there's actually so much to enjoy that did make it onto the screen that I must confess I was pleasantly entertained by The Eye of Braxus.

Three Months In And We've Hit Our Stride

Photo by www.kaboompics.com 

Although there's over a year's worth of material on Cowboys, Capes, and Claws, today marks the end of its first quarter of active engagement with its audience.

And I have to say I'm very pleased with how things are going. In these last three months we've recorded a steady heartbeat of visitors (of course, a large percentage are bots, I know):

Visitor numbers since official launch of the blog

We appear to be getting a decent number of visitors, while still keeping our head below the parapet so I can carry on happily pootling around, not really knowing what I'm doing.

The largest proportion of referrals are from Facebook this quarter, with the United States accounting for 23 percent of hits on the site, while my fellow Brits only make up seven percent! 

Since removing the "number of hits" counter from the front of the blog, I've definitely become more relaxed about visitor numbers. It wasn't that I was desperately hunting for hits, but rather I was worried about attracting "bad actors".

I've never monetised my blogging and never will. I write all this nonsense primarily for my own entertainment, as storage vault for my ideas, and a vague diary of the more geeky elements of my life.

Do I wish more people would comment on the blog? Of course, I do. But that's something to work on as I continue to regrow the audience I used to have on previous blogs.

Since my first overview of goings-on (after just a month of this blog being "live"), the site has two more recruits to its Posse of Followers: namely, my old friend Adam Dickstein (of whom more later) and another gamer I've known for a long time, Norbert Franz.

But more are always welcome, so please show your support to my humble mumblings by clicking the blue button on the right marked FOLLOW (I think you need to have a Google account for this to work properly).

I'm not sure if there's a connection, but my six-year-old, private, tabletop roleplaying Facebook group, I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters, has also started to blossom again. We've had about a dozen new signings in the last couple of months, which is magnificent.

Also, Adam (see, I said he'd be back) has created a month-long blogging challenge, inviting people to share their home game settings through a series of daily prompts (Barking Alien's RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026).

And I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters is hosting the offerings from four participants: namely Timothy S Brannan's West Haven; Chantel Jones' Wonderland; Jonathan Linneman's Project 5.5 (The Fifth Moon of Elysia); and Adam's own Star Trek: Prosperity.

These are generating interest and conversations and, hopefully, next year that will translate into even more gamers taking part.

Dungeons & Dragons - Honour Among Thieves (2023)

The biggest concern for most geeks when approaching a Dungeons & Dragons film is how true to the source material will it stick?

I couldn't tell you if Dungeons & Dragons - Honour Among Thieves stuck to the letter of the rules system (I lost interest in the current, Fifth, edition, some time ago), but what this film captures perfectly is the feeling of a fun game of D&D.

Written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, with a writing assist from Michael Gilio, there has never been a film so packed with D&D lore and Easter Eggs, yet it flows majestically like a classic heist movie.

The film brings elements of the game world to live-action better than any film before it and I really enjoyed seeing the kids from the old '80s cartoon pop up during the epic, open-air "dungeon exploration" sequence, as well as all the recognisable monsters from the pages of the legendary Monster Manual.

However, as much as I loved playing "spot the beastie" and picking up on familiar name drops from the game's storied 50-year history, I quickly found myself invested in the travails of our protagonists.

Having escaped from prison, bard Edgin (Star Trek's Chris Pine) and barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez, from the Fast and Furious franchise) head to Neverwinter to find Edgin's young daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), who'd been left in the care of their old friend, the rogue Forge (Hugh Grant).

Much to their surprise, they find Forge is now lord of the city and has spent the last two years turning Kira against her father.

He has also allied himself with Safina (Wrong Turn's Daisy Head) the evil Red Wizard, who helped his rise to the top for her own devious ends.

Safina is a minion of Szass Tam (Ian Hanmore), the real big bad who has apocalypic plans for Neverwinter as a staging post for his subjugation of the continent of Faerûn.

Edgin has a scheme to break into Forge's magically secure vault and steal a supernatural tablet that has the power to resurrect his wife, Kira's mother, which has - in a roundabout way - been his motivation all along.

To pull this off though, he and Holga will need some help, and so they enlist Simon (Justice Smith), an insecure half-elf wizard, and the tiefling druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) to their cause.

Their quest sees them having to team-up, briefly, with the brilliant, noble paladin Xenc (Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page) and a journey into the Underdark to retrieve a very important, magical helm.

Although it starts a bit slowly (and I must admit I was getting worried during the first few scenes), Goldstein, Daley, and Gilio's script soon kicks into gear and from then on is simply structurally perfect and a joy to behold.

It hits all the right beats at the right time, making the initially intimidating two-and-a-quarter hour runtime fly by. 

Even the climactic plot twist, while predictable, is well earned.

As might be expected in a film based on Dungeons & Dragons, there's plenty of fights to keep the audience entertained along the way, with Holga getting in a couple of classics and Xenc also having a chance to show off his skills.

With such an ensemble team at its core, the screenplay does a magnificent job of giving every character their fair share of the action, and everyone rises to the challenge admirably.

The most hilarious piece of casting in the whole thing is Hugh Grant as the crucial character of Forge the con artist. He is essentially playing Hugh Grant (which is generally what he gets the big bucks for) and clearly hasn't got a clue what's going on, yet is professional enough to go along for the ride.

Ultimately, the film is an amazing, high fantasy adventure romp that is readily accessible to non-gamers, although those steeped in the lore of Dungeons & Dragons will obviously pick up on the Easter Eggs. 

Should there be a sequel to Dungeons & Dragons - Honour Among Thieves (and I really hope there is), I don't care if it isn't about Edgin and his crew as long as we get to see more of this wonderful world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Is This The Secret Sauce Recipe?

Player-characters from Adam's Star Trek Adventures campaign

A shared love of the specific setting (I.P.) is the secret sauce that turns a roleplaying campaign into a potential "forever campaign".

I had this Road to Damascus moment reading two brilliant pieces, just over a year ago, by my dear friend Adam Dickstein - on his Barking Alien blog - about the success of his on-going, decade-long (at least) Star Trek Adventures campaign: Why Star Trek: Prosperity Works and Command Crew To The Bridge.

Both articles are a great, inspirational, read, and helped coalesce a variety of random thoughts I've had over recent years about why ideas I've had for games haven't worked out.

Sharing Adam's attraction to licenced RPGs (or, at least, RPGs that use established media properties as potential settings), it struck me that the 'secret sauce' to the success of his long-running Star Trek game was the fact that all his players were not just sci-fi fans but dyed-in-the-wool Star Trek fans.

They know, and understand, what is expected of their characters to satisfactorily emulate the goings-on of the Star Trek universe, without the game devolving into a bunch of phaser-armed murderhobos raiding Klingon outposts for whatever loot they could find.

The players' Get Out of Jail Free card

Imagine unleashing a gaming group who weren't into Doctor Who on the Whoniverse of the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game... with their own TARDIS.

The chances are anarchy would ensue as they realised they could, at the bare minimum, dodge pretty much any set-up the gamesmaster threw at them (if they wanted to) because of their access to a magic box capable of travelling anywhere in space and time!

Let alone coming to terms with the "talk first, fight last" attitude of the game system!

Or picture a superhero campaign setting with a group of players that doesn't read comics or even, particularly, like the Marvel or DC movies!

Again, it would just become simply a power fantasy as the players would have no understanding of - or, necessarily, respect for - the tropes of the works that the gamesmaster was seeking to draw upon.

There's a good chance the game would soon, unintentionally, replicate Prime Video's The Boys, but with the players' characters being their world's answer to the villainous Seven.

Such set-ups might work for a few sessions, even a mini-campaign, because such weighty matters may not be of such great importance initially (except where they impact the specific adventure). But for a game to have legs everyone definitely needs to be on the same page.

Black Adam rips Terra-Man in half in DC's 52;
not the actions of a good guy!

Sure, the gamesmaster could write a lengthy introductory booklet to the setting (I know, I've done it MANY times), but there's no guarantee anyone will actually read it and take on board what you are trying to get across.

You could also have a "session zero" where you try and spell it all out, face-to-face with your players, but again, the chances are this will come across as a dull TED talk and the majority will zone out.

Some - even you, the gamesmaster - may also see this as a waste of precious gaming time, especially when you only have limited "gaming slots" in your calendar (not all of us have the luxury of biweekly campaign sessions, dotted around assorted other gaming escapades).

Even with the most "straight-forward" RPG setting (or so you perceive it) there's still an element of risk, a possible "breakdown in communication" between the heavily invested gamesmaster and the "just want to play a game" players.

You always run the risk of the old adage that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and the players will not grok the atmosphere that the GM is aiming to create, and will instead take his toys and run amok.

Game setting or established IP, the more it veers from normality, everyday life and learned experience, the more the GM will have to explain and the more risk he runs that the players will get the wrong end of the stick or simply not pay attention.

The best way to motivate a player is to place their character in a setting they are already familiar with and invested in. 

Which is why so many of us default to games and settings where killing monsters and stealing their treasure is de rigueur. Because we all get it. As I've said many times before that's why Dungeons & Dragons-style games (although not necessarily just D&D) tend to be the lingua franca of gamers.

Whether you like those games or not, everyone has heard of them, has an opinion on them and knows what is expected in them. Get enough like-minded souls together - and there are more D&D players than any other setting, style or genre - and you have a game.

But what if you want something else? The easiest, most obvious, route to go is a licensed game or setting, because it has an inbuilt fanbase. And you hope, in the Venn diagram of fandoms, that your players fall into the precious overlap where they want to play your game in someone else's established setting.

And that is the secret sauce, my friend. It's not a great revelation, but it's my revelation.

No matter how much you - as the gamesmaster - love a setting, if the players don't share your passion, the game isn't going to last.

Four-Minute Sneak Peak of Starfleet Academy

Mark your calendars! Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will premiere January 15 exclusively on Paramount+. A new episode will drop every week through March 12.

Get a sneak peek of Paul Giamatti as part Klingon, part Tellarite, Nus Braka, the season’s villain with an ominous past connected to one of our cadets.

This thrilling new chapter follows a fresh class of cadets as they train under the watchful, demanding eyes of Starfleet’s finest.

Together, they’ll face the highs and lows of academy life: forging unbreakable friendships, clashing in explosive rivalries, experiencing first loves and stepping into their destiny as the next generation of Starfleet officers.

When a mysterious new enemy threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself, these cadets must rise to the challenge or risk losing everything they’ve just begun to fight for.

Doctor Mordrid - Master Of The Unknown (1993)

It should come as no surprise to anyone watching Full Moon's Doctor Mordrid to learn that it was originally developed as Dr Strange project, but when the rights were lost for the Marvel Comics character it was reworked as its own entity.

Lovecraftian legend and regular Star Trek guest star  Jeffrey Combs stars as the titular Doctor Anton Mordrid, an ageless entity living among mortals in human form, protecting us from demonic entities, such as Kabal (regular villain Brian Thompson), an evil sorcerer he imprisoned 150 years ago.

Guided by a mystical entity he refers to as Monitor, Mordrid is alerted to Kabal's escape from a fifth-dimensional prison and he sets out to prevent 'The Death's Head' from using alchemical skills to take control of The Philosopher's Stone... and then the world.

Mordrid's life, however, becomes a bit more complicated when he attracts the attention of his new neighbour, large-haired police consultant Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), who then seeks his assistance on a 'Satanic' murder case she's working on.

This, naturally, leads to all sorts of trouble when her colleague, no-nonsense cop Tony Gaudio (Jay Acovone) collars Mordrid for the murder.

Coming in at 74-minutes, Doctor Mordrid feels like a TV movie or a pilot for a great '90s cop show (there's some strong language and a scene of random female nudity, but all involve supporting characters that could easily be trimmed for a more family-friendly edit) rather than a blockbuster movie.

Sadly, while it has its moments, there's nothing actually in the film to rival the multi-dimensional, cosmic psychedelia suggested by the DVD's cover.

I have to be honest and admit I was hoping for a bit more "duelling wizards" material, the mid-section of the film instead feels as though it gets rather bogged down in police procedural.

Mordrid's Castle

The final showdown between Mordrid and Kabal - although boasting some decent Harryhausen-esque stop-motion animation - is surprisingly brief, especially when compared to effects heavy final acts in similar films today.

Amidst the flashy sorcerous combat, we get a teasing glimpse of the demonic forces that Kabal is releasing, then wallop, Mordrid slams the door in their stop-motion faces (which is a bit of s shame as they looked quite cool).

As is often the way with these low-budget outings, there are some great ideas at work here with the potential to spark some fantastic, tangential creativity and there's definitely an unavoidable feeling that Full Moon Features were hoping to milk this franchise for at least another film, maybe more.

Mordrid's extra-dimensional castle - where Kabal is imprisoned - is too good a visual alone not to want to revisit the world of Doctor Mordrid.

Stephen Colbert Lends His Voice To Starfleet Academy as The Enterprise Continues To Explore Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres January 15, exclusively on Paramount+.

This thrilling new chapter follows a fresh class of cadets as they train under the watchful, demanding eyes of Starfleet’s finest. Together, they’ll face the highs and lows of academy life: forging unbreakable friendships, clashing in explosive rivalries, experiencing first loves, and stepping into their destiny as the next generation of Starfleet officers. When a mysterious new enemy threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself, these cadets must rise to the challenge or risk losing everything they’ve just begun to fight for.

Starring Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner, as well as Holly Hunter, who plays the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

Additional cast members include Tig Notaro and Robert Picardo, reprising their roles as Jett Reno and The Doctor, and guest stars Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman, reprising their roles as Admiral Vance and Sylvia Tilly, as well as recurring guest stars Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Meanwhile, here's a thrilling, first look at the fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as revealed at New York Comic-Con:

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

On September 8, 1966, Gene Roddenberry introduced [American] audiences to a world that championed diversity, inclusion, acceptance, and hope.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Sic Itur Ad Astra

The Star Trek: Voyager episode One Small Step features a discussion of childhood dreams and ambitions.

Whenever I watch this, it strikes a particular chord with me as, at about the age that Chakotay decided he wanted to be a palaeontologist and Seven Of Nine was dreaming of becoming a ballerina, the only thing I wanted to be was an astronaut.

It wasn't even Star Trek (The Original Series) or other sci-fi shows of that era (early '70s) that drove this dream but simply the fact that I was growing up in age when men were still walking on the Moon and the "space race" was a vibrant and exciting part of everyday life.

Sadly, I also remember when how that dream got mothballed.

I was reading an article in an annual (either Star Trek or Doctor Who, and I'm leaning towards the latter) about the reality of space travel and I came across a paragraph that pointed out that if your craft re-entered the atmosphere at the wrong angle you'd burn up (I already had a childhood phobia about fire from being freaked out by The Amazing Mr Blunden as a six-year-old) and so that was it. Dream shattered. Astronaut ambitions shelved.

I wonder how different my life would be if, at that impressionable age, I hadn't read that article in an old annual and had instead pursued my space-travelling dreams through later life, studied the sciences at school (heck, any studying would have been an improvement), gone off to university at 18, taken a job in the aerospace industry or become a scientist or a pilot...

Talking of old annuals, as we were, another "freaky" story revolved around a pair that I picked up at a summer fête at the old Pembury Hospital (I think one might have been a Victor annual, but I can't remember the other, it might even have been a Doctor Who one).

One of favourite annuals as a kid
- but nothing to do with these anecdotes

What I do recall is that the two annuals were from different years and I didn't look inside them until I got home - only to discover that these two, otherwise unconnected books, both contained exactly the same illustrated article about UFOs! My little kid mind was officially blown!

The Pembury Hospital fêtes were fixture of the Knight's social calendar as, in their day, the events were always able to attract "big name stars" to open them.

One year we had Rod Hull & Emu (I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I stroked Emu) and another time there were a couple of genuine Daleks for people to inspect (before my time, even William Hartnell, dressed as The First Doctor, opened the fête one year).

In later years, once I was a local journalist, the hospital fête gave me my first opportunity to interview Louise Jameson (The Fourth Doctor's companion, Leela).

She was thinking of moving to the area and so ended up grilling me on what I thought about Tunbridge Wells.

Either later that year or the next she moved to Rusthall, on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells.  I like to think I played some small part in that decision.

The Tuesday Knights May Be On An Extended Hiatus, But The Gaming Wheels Are Still Turning

Today is the 17th anniversary of the first gathering of our gaming group, The Tuesday Knights.

However, we are currently on an extended hiatus - for various reasons we haven't gamed since May and now, of course, I'm rather entangled in a medical "mystery" as science tries to figure out why my legs aren't working properly!

I've thus pulled the plug on my supers' game, as Pete has stepped up with a new system he has invested in, to continue his long-running time travel/alternate reality campaign, which has so far bounced from GURPS Atomic Horror to Hollow Earth Expedition.

Next up will be Outgunned, which I'm very excited about as it's a game I was seriously considering picking up when it was launched through some crowdfunding programme or another. It's "cinematic action" vibe really appeals to me, so I'm looking forward to playing this.

I think we might still be playing in the same Indiana Jones-inspired inter-war setting in which our HEX game was set, presumably using the Outgunned Adventure supplement, although, to be honest, I wouldn't mind our characters sliding into contemporary bodies for a bit of John Wick/James Bond action.

In the meantime, I've superficially been kicking around some alternate systems for me to try out on the gang once I'm feeling better and Pete takes his next break from his long-running game (currently 32 sessions over 36 months).

Top contenders for further investigation on my behalf are:

GO FER YER GUN! But rather than a straight Western, I'd be looking to "Dark Tower it up" by easily blending some magic and monsters into the mix. This would be very easy to do with the simple d20 rules of Go Fer Yer Gun! 

ALIEN RPG (EVOLVED): I haven't read enough of the original edition to really get my head round the system, but there's a new edition out later this year (I didn't back the Kickstarter) and I really love the setting.

STAR TREK ADVENTURES (2nd Edition): I've never really grokked the 2d20 system that Modiphius uses to power most of its RPGs, but I know a lot of online buddies talk of playing in ongoing, long-running campaigns with this game. And who doesn't love Star Trek, right? I have the starter set for the new edition, just need to get round to reading the books.

PLANET OF THE APES: Another setting I adore. I can't help imagining the team as crashed astronauts on a post-apocalyptic Earth being pursued by trumpet-blowing gorillas.

The rules are variation on the old West End Games d6 system, which many, many people speak highly of although I've never played it. I didn't back the Planet of The Apes Kickstarter in the end, but the rule books are due out early next year.

BEYOND THE VEIL: While my previous possibilities are essentially variations on a theme, just with different settings, Beyond The Veil is nothing like any of those.

It's a roleplaying game about ghost-hunters in contemporary times. Not superheroes or trained astronauts, but members of the public - both believers and non-believers - brought together to scientifically investigate claims of the supernatural. It's The X-Files, Uncanny podcast and Stephen King horror, mingled with UFOs, cryptids and ghost stories, as read about through the pages of The Fortean Times.

Beyond The Veil is due to hit Kickstarter in a couple of months, but I already have the introductory Prologue booklet, which I'm halfway through reading.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK, RACHEL!!!

Rachel's birthday cake

As it was Rachel's birthday this week, she took the week off work and we'd planned a selection of low-key events (to take into account my current wheelchair-bound status): most of which revolved around food consumption!

This was as close as I got to Timmy

MONDAY: We visited the Raystede Animal Sanctuary to coo over all the cute animals they have rescued, support their charitable work, and say "hello" to Timmy, the alpaca we adopted on our previous visit. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit nippy and wet and so the alpacas were seeking shelter on the far side of their massive estate, quite a distance from humans.

TUESDAY: 'Biscuit Club' (my weekly exercise class) , which was very exhausting, but satisfying. Then, in the evening, Paul popped down to see how I was getting on, give Rachel some wine for her birthday, and shoot the breeze. This was really cool of him, and we all shared a delicious Indian takeaway.

Alice and I admiring my bubblegum-flavoured milkshake

WEDNESDAY: Lunch at the exquisite TJ's American Diner, where Rachel and I filled our faces with yummy food and massive Wonka-esque milkshakes. As a canine-friendly venue, it even offered a menu for dogs, meaning Alice (who was a BIG hit with the staff) got her own meal - which she hoovered up in about 10 seconds, as is her way.

THURSDAY: Our car was due in for its first annual service, so Alice and I stayed in (watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and sundry YouTube featurettes) while Rachel was at the garage. She then returned with a McDonald's for lunch - but sadly our store was out of milkshakes and McFlurrys (because I hadn't consumed enough milk and ice cream in the last 24 hours!).

Rachel's parents join us in celebrating her birthday

FRIDAY: Rachel's parents came over to mark their daughter's birthday. We drove round the corner to our local pub and restaurant, The Vauxhall Inn, which has had a facelift - and change of ownership - since I was last there. The food was, of course, delicious and I was touched by the small gestures of kindness from the staff and other patrons when it came to accommodating my limited mobility. 

The party posse!

SATURDAY: One of Rachel's oldest school friends - who also celebrates her birthday this week - came round with her family, so we could all dine out in our garden. It was a lovely, fun end to Rachel's birthday week and we managed to spend more than 10 hours in the garden (which is why I was extra tired - and a bit grumpy - today).

HEALTH UPDATE: The doctor we spoke with at the hospital, when I had my MRI scan, rang on Friday to tell us he'd forwarded my discharge notes to my GP. He'd spoken to specialists at King's hospital in London and the consensus was I didn't need surgery on my spine (the disc should, eventually, return to its correct position, but some physio wouldn't hurt). However, he said, the prolapsed disc didn't explain the sudden onset weakness in my legs. It could be connected to my stroke, but, at the moment it remains a mystery. Hopefully, my orthopaedics referral appointment in a couple of weeks might be able to shed some light on the matter or suggest a different treatment regime.

First Class Trailer for Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy follows the adventures of a new class of cadets in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Starring Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner, as well as Holly Hunter, who plays the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Additional cast members include Tig Notaro and Robert Picardo, reprising their roles as Jett Reno and The Doctor, and guest stars Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman, reprising their roles as Admiral Vance and Sylvia Tilly, as well as recurring guest stars Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is my favourite "modern" Trek, and I love the fact that it's continuing to embrace the "weird" that I associate with the original and best Star Trek from the 1960s.

Re-Opening The X-Files

Being rather immobile at present (having apparently slipped a disc, and am waiting for a treatment regime from my GP), I've been watching a lot of TV from a recumbent position, either in my lounger or in bed (I can't concentrate/focus enough to properly read, which means a growing backlog of novels and comics). 

As well as new (to me) shows, like Castle Rock, returning on-going favourites like Murdoch Mysteries, Dexter and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, classics like the BBC's Paranormal series and, of course, Ancient Aliens, I've also dug deep (thanks to Prime Video) and started watching The X-Files from season one, episode one.

By "sheer coincidence", the Amazon delivery guy turned up a few days ago with the first volume of this gorgeous X-Files tome, a stunning, hardback, faux replica of the titular X-Files themselves.

I'm a massive fan of "in-universe" books such as this, but The X-Files: The Official Archives is quite possibly the best-looking one I've seen to date.

This official book collates information (files, evidence, photographs etc) on 50 of the show's "most memorable" investigations relating to "cryptids, biological anomalies, and parapsychic phenomena". 

And if that wasn't impressive enough on its own, in May next year volume two arrives, dealing with "extraterrestrial activity and The Syndicate".

These are not only amazing reference books, but invaluable research material for an idea that's been scritching away at my brain since my serious, leg-related issues began and I realised I was (currently) unable to fulfil my gamemastering obligations for The Tuesday Knights. 

Honestly, I'm not sure how long I'll be out of action and our superhero campaign had already lost momentum and was faltering (for various real world reasons).

Pete has kindly offered to step in, when I feel like getting back to the table, as he has "an idea", which is always an exciting prospect as we had great fun with his 1950s GURPS game that segued into 1930's Hollow Earth Expedition. 

Perhaps, our characters will be "sliding" into the Victorian steampunk game he mentioned some time ago?

Or maybe it's something else entirely...

The Return of Tonbridge Comic-Con

"I could do this all day!"

Tonbridge Comic Con & Toy Fair has returned, with (I believe) different people running it, eschewing celebrity signings for more cosplayers, more photo ops, and more traders.

It must be a good five years since there was a Comic-Con at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge (that time I got flustered meeting Hannah Spearritt from Primeval and S Club 7 and got her to sign my copy of the Primeval roleplaying game), but this was quite a different affair.

In a strange - but comforting - kind of way, this fresh iteration reminded me a lot of Cavalier (our annual wargames show), but with people dressed as superheroes and anime characters and staged cinematic photo opportunities in lieu of wargaming displays.

The time we spent at the comic-con was really enjoyable, I got to chat to a load of people (stall holders and cosplayers) and - as you can see - Rachel took loads of pictures.

Today's event was 'nicely busy' (enough people to make me think it was a success for the organisers, but not so many that it felt claustrophobic or made getting to any particular place a struggle).

This definitely helped me adjust to the situation, and I surprised myself with how conversational I was with the many people I spoke to. Normally, I hold back, for fear of my aphasia tripping me up, but this felt really relaxed.

Major kudos to the Captain America cosplayer who we met before we got inside the event. He embodied the spirit of Cap nicely and, after he remarked on my t-shirt, we talked enthusiastically about James Gunn's impending Superman movie.

Meanwhile, inside the Angel Centre, the chap who'd 3D printed then built the array of animated Star Wars droids was clearly a Doc Brown-level genius.

Huyang moved (he didn't walk though!) and spoke with David Tennant's voice

These are the droids I was looking for

Deadpool dance class

"You now have fifteen seconds to comply." Robocop's ED-209 was quite threatening

"Beam me up!"

"This is The Way!"

Rachel snuck into Andy's room to play with Woody and Buzz

"The claw! The claw!"

Just chillin' with Thanos before we destroy the Universe

Radio-controlled baby droids to play with

Lightning McQueen

Our shockingly conservative haul from the day

Much to my (and Rachel's) amazement I didn't actually buy anything at the show (although there was some great art, action figures, and prop replicas that caught my eye), although I did get a free 28mm goblin from a man promoting promoting his self-published fantasy novel.

Rachel treated herself to a "Trust Me, I'm A Dogtor" pin badge to go on her NHS lanyard.

We may have stayed for only an hour, but we had a great time.

The only minor quibble I would point out is that for a COMIC convention, there was no one selling actual comics, which was a shame.