New Facebook Group!

Hi everyone! We want to invite all of you to join us over on Facebook! We now have a discussion group set up for everyone to interact with the show and a friendly place to discuss all the things we love about being geeks. Comics, movies, TV, Roleplaying games, Video Games, board games, cosplay. Come join the discussion!

Facebook Group

Episode 36 - Dragonlance

This week the Rambler and I discuss the world of Krynn, our favorite novels, characters and Authors. Be sure to check out our blog @ thegeeksmenagerie.net

Check out this episode!

Episode 34 - RPG Corner

On this weeks episode we take a look at the Cortex system and the Supernatural RPG

Check out this episode!

Episode 30 - Dark Side Campaign

Episode 30

Hello everyone, welcome to another RPG Corner! This week our WEG D6 Star Wars gaming group recorded before our last gaming session. Uriel (dancing Bear) and I (Rod) are joined by Greg (the Rambler), D (Roy), Chris (Loki) and Kayleah (Titty Sprinkles) as we discuss our characters and a our home brew rules for a Darkside Starwars game. (Explicit language)
Look for more details on the campaign and characters over at the Blog. www.thegeeksmenagerie.net

Check out this episode!

Episode 28 - The Dresden Files

Episode 28 - 


Welcome random believers! to another episode of the Geeks menagerie podcast! This week Greg and Uriel join me to discuss the Dresden Files, Novels and tv series.

Check out this episode!

Kensei miniature update! phase 1

Check out phase one of my Kensei army! Head over to the Geeks Menagerie for more info!

Episode 17 - RPG CORNER is live!

On this episode of the Geeks Menagerie Podcast we revisit the RPG CORNER for a look at Palladium Books! Our friend Uriel joins us on the show again and let me tell you it was a very entertaining episode to record! We haven't had a 2 hour show in a while so I hope this makes up for the summer hiatus. Let us know what you think and be sure to LIKE us on facebook.

Shadowrun 5th Edition

With the upcoming release of the new Shadowrun edition PDF on July 11th, I thought some of you might want to check out a few previews of the book.

Drivethru RPG PREVIEW

Reviews:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/63154

http://www.thewargamingaddict.com/review-of-shadowrun-fifth-edition-rpg/

Let us know what you think!

Episode 15B - Almost live game play - part 2

Recorded live at this years RPGCON II, here is part 2 of the Marvel Super Heroes RPG action.

Listen to the episode now.

Episode 15A - Live game play

Recorded live at this years RPGCON II, we have some old school Marvel Super Heroes RPG action.

Listen to the episode now.

RPG Finds!

Once again Half Price Books came through for me in a big way. I stopped by one location near me that rarely has any unique RPG books but I was going into withdrawal so I figured I would stop in and check. To my shock and excitement I found the original 1985 DCHEROES RPG Box Set. Now you may say " yeah whats your point? I've found used box sets before, whats the big deal?" The big deal is that this set has never been used! The box is in excellent shape, all of the player character cards are intact, even the plastic stands for the small card board characters (desktop combat miniatures) have never been separated. The GM screen and all of the books are perfect, no pen/pencil marks, tares or creases. They dont even look like they where opened. Got it for $35 -15% discount coupon

I also grabbed this supplement for the DC Universe RPG: Directive on Superpowers. This cool book gives you more powers to choose from for your character creation. I love these supplements. Thats it for this installment of cool stuff I found to increase my Horde!

Mutants and Masterminds - Supernatural Hand Book

There are Things That Go Bump in the Night...

The Supernatural Handbook is a sourcebook of heroic horror for the Mutants & Masterminds Superhero Roleplaying Game. It lays out the elements for a successful M&M game in which the strange and paranormal are true and a few lone heroes struggle against the Things That Go Bump in the Night.

The Supernatural Handbook includes:

• Detailed information on character creation, horror-themed series, and adventure design.
• A complete system for building your own supernatural menaces for your heroes to hunt (or to hunt them...).
• New hero and villain archetypes like the Curse-Burdened Adventurer, Noble Monster, Dark Emissary, and Inhuman Juggernaut.
• ARCADE (American Research Center for the Arcane Defense of Earth), a new organization whose agents wage a secret war every night.

Join the fight against ancient evils and occult menaces with the Supernatural Handbook!

You're Not Afraid... Are you?

Hello everyone, Loontern here, I wanted to share a new source book for Mutants & Masterminds. The Supernatural Handbook looks to be a great addition to this super hero RPG. I love any system that adds a cool supernatural twist to its game setting and I cant wait to pick up this book. Since I havent read the book yet I'll share a couple preview pages from the Green Ronin website. So take a look and go out and buy this book! It looks great.

http://grfiles.game-host.org/3e_files/GRR5506e_SupernaturalHandbook_Preview01.pdf

http://grfiles.game-host.org/3e_files/GRR5506e_SupernaturalHandbook_Preview02.pdf

http://grfiles.game-host.org/3e_files/GRR5506e_SupernaturalHandbook_Preview03.pdf

Dungeons & Dragons - 3.5 Animated Character stats

As a follow up to our Dungeons and Dragons episode in which we touched a bit on the D&D Animated series from the 80's I wanted to share the character bios and magic weapon stats from the DVD box set. All the following information was created for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. You might be wondering why I have a picture of Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase - Community) at the top of the post. Well its quite simple actually, as you read the following, picture Pierce's voice in your head =)

And finally the map of the Animated World

Palladium books - Robotech updates and more!

Straight from Palladium's weekly update news letter here is what is going on with all of the new products from Palladium ROBOTECH line for 2013 and other releases:

Robotech® RPG Tactics: Defense of Macross Island™ is going to be the big boxed game to launch the Robotech® line of 1/285th scale game pieces. It will be quickly followed by several expansion sets, and we plan to present ALL eras of Robotech® as quickly as we can.

It is still too soon for us to announce who we’re working with or any details about the product line, but it’s all excellent. I can tell you we hope to debut it at Gen Con® and release en masse in the Fall of 2013.

Some outsiders looking in have questioned Palladium going into an unfamiliar market with a new product line. I think, however, that all questions and doubts will be put to rest when more details are presented. Our thorough research indicates this is a tremendous opportunity to make Palladium truly strong again. And the talented people working with us have the expertise that Palladium does not have itself. You don’t pass up an opportunity like this when it comes your way. As Robotech® fans ourselves, we are working to make this game line gorgeous to look at and fun to play. We want it to be everything Robotech® fans as well as Robotech® gamers could want. We want you to go wild over this product line. We’re excited. The people working with Palladium are excited. The people at Harmony Gold are excited. This is going to be something special.

2013 will be the year of new RPG book releases. I know, year after year Palladium promises to release more role-playing game sourcebooks than ever before . . . but we seldom succeed. So let me simply say this: My personal focus and goal is to release as many new RPG sourcebooks as I can possibly deliver. It will start with the Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Northern Gun One, Northern Gun Two and Megaverse® in Flames. All of which should be epic, inspiring and come out in rapid succession. Then, I want them to be followed by – in no particular order – more Robotech® books (namely the two, expanded UEEF Marines books), new Chaos Earth Sourcebooks, new Palladium Fantasy RPG® sourcebooks, new Splicers sourcebooks, the two Beyond the Supernatural sourcebooks (Tome Grotesque and Beyond Arcanum). And . . . well, let’s leave it at that for now, shall we? I don’t ask you to wait or believe. I simply ask you to watch and see. I think you’ll be pleased by this year’s production schedule.
● More for Palladium Fantasy RPG® in 2013. I had hoped to release the Palladium Fantasy RPG® Ultimate Edition for its 30th Anniversary, but that won’t happen. However, we are kicking around ideas for many new Fantasy sourcebooks. I don’t want to get people’s hopes up, so I’m not going to mention what I have in mind or when you might expect to see them. At least, not yet.
● Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebooks, at last. By hook or by crook, I expect to hammer out the two, long awaited Beyond the Supernatural sourcebooks: Tome Grotesque™ and Beyond Arcanum™. It is one of my personal goals.

Episode 5 - Harn Master RPG!

Tonight's episode I sit down with Greg and Uriel to discuss the Role playing world of Harn.

Listen to the episode HERE

Be sure to subscribe  to the show on Itunes and leave us a review!

West end Games- Star Wars Finds!

 So last weekend I was on the hunt for more Role Playing Game books for my office shelves and I hit the jackpot! I found The Dark Empire, Shadows of the empire and The Jedi academy Source books. The best part was getting three for the price of two! The cashier forgot to ring one of them up! I got all three for $16

Zenit Miniatures - Kensei

 Kensei is a new miniature wargame inspired in feudal Japan designed for two or more players.

The characters, histories and legends from Kensei " War in Hymukai" are inspired by the history and mythology of feudal Japan and Asia. Created by Zenit Miniatures

These are the most beautifully sculpted Samurai miniatures I think I have ever seen. They have a really nice variety of military  units: Dai-Katana Samurai, No-Dachi Samurai, Yari and Yumi Ashigaru, Naginata Monks, Ashigaru with Teppo(Rifles)

I like the fact that these are sold as sets, the Basic army pack includes 21 miniatures ($65.93/$3.10 per mini) for you to start forming your armies. The other sets contain 5 Samurai each ($26 -$35/ $5 - $7 per mini) Very reasonable considering the quality of sculpts.

Check out the Kensei store for more details

They also have the individual Heroes from  each of the clans, these are so cool. I wont go into the rules set for the system, i'll let you look over the free Kensei Rulebook PDF and decide for yourselves if it will work for your play style. (updated version dec 4th 2012) Let me know what you think.

Also I wanted to mention one section of the rule book that I found very interesting:


Three factions: Before you start to play
you must choose one faction to play your
games. In this game there is a conflict
among three social classes who struggle
to dominate the Himukai Empire; these

are represented by three different factions:
the Buke, the warrior class; the
Kuge, the aristocratic class; and theSohei, the religious class. Choose your
faction and create a clan belonging to
it. In order to give more depth to your
games you can make up the whole history
of your clan, its name or its symbol
(mon); you can also name your characters,
name your Daimyo, establish the
lands they rule over and the internal
relations within the same clan. It all
depends on the depth you want to provide
the game with. Nothing prevents
you from creating a campaign for you
or at your game club; your only limit is
your imagination.

I love this! I love a system that encourages its players  to expand the game out side of just war gaming. I can see this system working great in conjunction with a Legend of the Five Rings RPG campaign. Which I plan on starting after I order my Army Box set! So plan on seeing a follow up review down the road. One other item I want to mention is a product by Craft Plast Games who make oriental buildings and bridges specifically for the 28mm Kensei miniatures.

The art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

If your anything like me you love Robotech! Luckily for us the folks over at Harmony Gold are still (slowly) producing Robotech material. 2013 looks to be the release date for "Love, Live, Alive", a modern remake of the original Japanese animated movie and it looks like a lot of the original voice actors from the next generation series will be involved. So at least we have something to look forward too from an animation stand point. Rumor had it Harmony was planning on continuing the Shadow Chronicles, but I haven't heard much about that.

Palladium books is releasing a couple new supplements, Genesis Pits which will be out around Christmas and UEEF Marines for their Robotech RPG Line. In other book related news, Robotech.com has released a Shadow Chronicles art book. Here is the description:

The Art of ROBOTECH: The Shadow Chronicles

The long-awaited comeback film Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles picks up directly from the pioneering space opera that first aired on television in 1985. The breathtaking animated movie combines the talents of artists, producers, musicians, and actors from around the globe, from Los Angeles and Tokyo to Seoul and Prague. Now, all the art - both classic designs from Robotech's Japanese heritage and modern digital production techniques from The Shadow Chronicles - that went into putting Robotechnology and Protoculture back on the screen has been collected into this stellar new full-color book from Stone Bridge Press. Everything fans seek in a film companion is right here:

- an inside look at the evolution of Robotech and the anime industry over three decades
- plot guides for the TV series and the movie
- in-depth character, mecha, and vessel profiles
- over 100 pages of concept art and production design
- detailed mecha and vessel statistics
- hundreds of full-color images, many never-before released
- a glossary of Robotech terms
- production commentary from director Tommy Yune
- foreword by original Robotech producer Carl Macek

$19.95

Thats it for now from the Robotech War front, I do plan on doing a review of the Genesis Pits source book when I pick up a copy.

Robotech - Genesis pits Source Book

For those of you that haven't heard yet, the new Robotech source book is done!

Palladium Books® Weekly Update – November 29, 2012 

"UPDATE: Robotech® Genesis Pits™ Sourcebook finished!

Wayne Smith had one primary mission this week: To get Robotech Genesis Pits completely laid out and finished. As of this Weekly Update, only a few pages remain to be finished. This book is one of the biggest RPG sourcebooks for Robotech® yet, and introduces a wealth of information, characters, menaces and fuel for adventure, including new types of Invid and mutants and monsters from the Genesis Pits. If you haven’t read the updated and expanded Genesis Pits description from last week, check it out below. This book should be ready to ship around Christmas-time. We’ll give you an exact date when we hear back from the printer."

I cant wait for this book to finally be released, here is the full product discription:

In final production. Goes to the printer next week. This is an epic sourcebook that takes an in-depth look at the Invid Genesis Pits, their purpose, function, the mutants and monsters they unleash and the dangers they pose for non-Invid. It is jam-packed with never before seen information, mutations, mutation tables (so you can generate your own Genesis Pit monsters and characters) and more.

      - Inorganics and other war machines of the Invid Regent.

      - Gura-Invid – monstrous mutant Invid that do not leave when the Regess and her Invid legions   depart.

      - Bioroid and Zentraedi mutants, Simulagents and more.

      - Different types of Genesis Pits from across the galaxy.

      - Tables for creating Genesis Mutants as player characters and NPC villains.

      - Tables for creating Genesis Pit Monsters as player characters and NPC villains.

      - Secrets of the Invid and notable Genesis Pits of Earth.

      - Genesis Pit mutations, monsters and dinosaurs.

Artwork by Apollo Okamura, Allen Manning, Brian Manning, Mike Mumah, Ben Rodreguiz, Mike Wilson, Nick Bradshaw, and others.

Written by Irvin Jackson. 8½ x 11 inch book format. Available only in the USA and Canada.

$16.95 – 96-128 pages. Cat. No. 555 – December release.

Head over to Palladiums website and pre-order this awesome book!

The castle project

So I have decided to complete the entire outer curtain wall surrounding the Keep. So, here is a run down of of the dimensions thus far:

The main gate and wall 

Total length: 54.5"

Height (wall): 

Height (tower/gate house): 10.5"

The Keep 

Height:

Width: 10.75"

Length: 14"

Keep Tower

Height: 14"

Width: 5"

Length: 5.5"

The Keep with an attached kitchen

Here is a shot from the west side of the castle, after looking everything over, im thinking of lowering the corner towers by 1.5". Possibly even swap them out with 4" diameter round towers.