Cosmic Patrol from Catalyst Game Labs appealed to me the instant I saw the book. Such classic iconography with the rocket ship surrounded by orbiting bodies. A name so evocative of the pulp stories and radio serials that I love. Elegant graphic design in an attractive digest-sized hardcover. Wait. Digest size? I suppose that’s when I knew that something was about to go terribly wrong. After all, RPG books are supposed to be the full size of a 8.5x11 sheet of paper. It’s only reluctantly that Savage Worlds and Fate won me over to the 6x9 novel-sized format. Certainly Palladium’s decision to publish the new edition of Robotech: the Shadow Chronicles in manga-sized trade made the book completely undesirable from my point of view. I was rushed, so I passed by the core book and grabbed the Quick-Start rules instead. Let’s take a look.   Create Your Character: (D10)   The hardcover books are certainly very attractive leatherette numbers with nice quality paper stock inside...

PLEASE NOTE: The mp3 file links for this post are outdated. To listen to this episode please visit  The SBU Podcast Archives.  Sorry for the inconvenience. A review of the gamer movie "Unicorn City" and some reactions to how God and religion are portrayed in "Dragon Age: Inquisition".

PLEASE NOTE: The mp3 file links for this post are outdated. To listen to this episode please visit  The SBU Podcast Archives.  Sorry for the inconvenience. A review of Knights Of Badassdom and how geeks can REALLY unwind and relax as we continue looking at the book of Hebrews!

Review By Paeter Frandsen The first paper and pencil role-playing game I ever played was the first edition of the DC Heroes RPG, published by Mayfair Games in 1985. I didn't discover the game until about 1996, when it turned up like buried treasure in the back of a "hole in the wall" comic shop. DC Heroes is from the old-school of RPGs. No miniatures, cards or extra fluff to buy. Just rulebooks, dice and your imagination. Just the way I like it. (True, the first edition came with some reference cards and 2D cardboard character standups, but who used those?) The system is more about story and action than about stats and mechanics. But that's not to say it is "rules lite" or without an exhaustive structure with which to build and populate detailed worlds. Central to DC Heroes are two tables. The Action Table and the Result Table. Each table is a number-filled grid. Running vertically along the left edge and horizontally along the top are s...

Adapted from the article "Questionable Content" Many Christians have grown up with the understanding that games with certain themes should be off limits and are sinful by their very nature. Role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Tabletop games with violent or dark supernatural themes. The Bible seems to be nearly silent on the topic of entertainment. Is there anything in scripture we can use to help us navigate this issue and avoid problems while not hindering the freedom God intends us to have? There's actually more than you might think! And God wants us to take this kind of time to discern the difference between what is harmful and what is not, rather than just assuming based on tradition or cultural influence. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” The Greek word for “form” here means “appearance, fashion, shape or sight.” Paul is not saying to avoid anything that LOOKS like evil. He...

This week I've started playing a new (new to me anyway) fantasy table top game called "Thunderstone". It's something of a card-based dungeon crawl, though I'll let you check it out for yourself for more details. But playing the game got me thinking about the concept of adventure. In fiction, adventure always seems to come with evil. Adventure never seems to exist in RPGs, video games, comics, books or movies without evil being in the mix somewhere. There's an evil enemy to overcome (moral evil), or dangerous circumstances to avoid (natural evil). Two verses I've been trying to memorize recently describe what eternity with God will be like for those who choose to trust him in this life. Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourni...