Welcome back to another new episode of Geek at Arms. Bryan, Mike, and James start off the show with a discussion on the recent events that have shaken our country. Next, in Geek Out, Bryan shares how much he’s enjoyed gm’ing a Tales from the Loop campaign and continuing his march through the Marvel cinematic universe with the show Runaways. James talks about how much his daughter enjoyed playing the games Dragonwood and Unexploded Cow and how much he enjoyed playing in the rpg’s run by both Mike and Bryan. Speaking of Mike, he describes our recent game of Star Wars D6 with the good folks at City On A Hill Gaming Podcast. Finally, we jump back into The Film Club with the 1991 Disney high-flying adventure, The Rocketeer!
Stay inside and listen to the newest episode of Geek at Arms! James starts Geek Out with a review of the historical fiction novel The Ill-Made Knight by Christian Cameron which leads to a long discussion with Mike about medieval archery and it’s effectiveness against armor. James also describe show much he’s enjoyed playing Magic the Gathering: Arena with Bryan and replaying the classic Star Wars: Battlefront on XBox with his wife. Next Mike shares his enjoyment at reading The Lord of The Rings with his daughters and the ups and downs of replaying the platforming game Hollow Knight. Bryan wraps things up with how eager he is for Peace Talks, the newest book in The Dresden Files from author Jim Butcher. He also shares how much he enjoyed playing a Scooby Doo/Call of Cthulhu game GM’ed by the GeekPreacher himself, Derek White. Finally, the guys discuss how they have been dealing with the current Quarantine.
James and I were recently delighted to play a short session for the City on a Hill actual play podcast. They run a 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons game, and we were adventuring in a corner well away from the main storyline. The DM, Ryan, instructed us that the only available races were Gnomes, Halflings and Warforged (sort of a cross between a golem and cyborg—a constructed being with a full personality). I’ve played my share of halflings in the past (alas, poor brain-damaged Willem Baggins), and a Warforged didn’t sound interesting to me, so I decided to try a gnome. Since gnomes are among the smallest and weakest of typical D&D races, I naturally decided he should be a Fighter—the mightiest gnome of Clan Spitlk! (That’s pronounced “Spittle Lick,” and yes, it is a Superman reference.) I present Feddernik Singsangsung Thrubmorton:
As the eldest son of the Thrubmorton family of Clan Spitlk, Feddernik stands to eventually inherit his grandfather’s responsibilities as governor of the Thrubmorton Fens. In addition to his own quite large family, Fed is on good terms with the other gnomes in and around the Fens, as well as a few tribes of other races. He strongly believes that a governor’s purpose is to protect and improve the people, not to enrich himself. He tends to be contemptuous and disrespectful of rulers who do not measure up to this ideal, which gets him in hot water when dealing with typical nobles.
Fed left the Fens in order to gain a broader experience of the world and make contacts among the people with whom he would one day need to negotiate. That plan has gone somewhat off the rails since he really doesn’t get along with the leadership of most other races. He’s gone haring off into a life of adventure instead of performing his duties (which, given his idealistic views of governance, is a bit hypocritical, but it doesn’t seem like he’s twigged to that yet).
Standing over 4 feet tall, Feddernik is massive for a gnome. If not for his slender build, he might be mistaken for a dwarf. If there were any dwarves in… Injornu? (Ryan never typed that name, and although he said it quite a few times, I am not quite sure I have it correct.)
Fed is a fashion plate. He delights in fine clothing and is typically the best dressed person in a given room, especially by gnomish standards. He keeps his beard closely trimmed to an elegant point on his chin. He’d like to grow it longer, but it’s not such a good idea to give an enemy something to grab.
Although as a rule, gnomes tend to immerse themselves in thoughtful pursuits, Feddernik’s brash personality and unusual stature have led him down a different path. He is a skilled with sword and shield, and he prefers to be heavily armored if there is any risk of battle. Even if he doesn’t style himself an intellectual, though, he is still wickedly clever and is likely to find an unconventional solution to most problems. But when it comes time to hit something with his sword, he never shirks.
He has a big personality, and when he’s fired up, he is prone to give self-aggrandizing speeches. Ideally, his enemies would throw down their weapons rather than facing a gnome of such power, but more often than not, the speech merely serves to give his comrades time to get into position and to draw the first volley of attacks to himself rather than to anyone less capable of taking a hard blow.
Feddernik Singsangsung Thrubmorton
Level 2 Rock Gnome Fighter
Max HP: 20 Hit Dice:Â 2d10 Armor Class:Â 18 (chainmail), 11 (unarmored) Proficiency Bonus:Â +2
Saving Throws: Strength +4 (Proficiency)
Dexterity +1
Constitution +4 (Proficiency)
Intelligence +2
Wisdom and Charisma: +0 Gnome Cunning: Gets Advantage on Int, Wis, and Cha throws against magic
Skill Proficiencies: History (Int) +4, Insight (Wis) +2, Intimidation (Cha) +2, Persuasion (Cha) +2 Artificer’s Lore:Â Adds his Proficiency Bonus twice on History rolls related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices.
Armor: Chainmail, Armor Class 16. Shield, +2 to AC.
Other Equipment of Note: Bag of Holding, fine clothing, signet ring, scroll of pedigree
Other Abilities: Tinker (gnome): Proficiency with Tinker’s Tools. Can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to make small clockwork devices, such as toys and music boxes, that will function for 24 hours.
Protection Fighting Style (fighter): If he is using a shield, when a creature attacks a target other than Feddernik within 5 feet of him, he can use his Reaction to impose Disadvantage on the attack roll.
Second Wind (fighter): Can use a Bonus Action to regain 1d10 + 2 Hit Points. Feddernik must take a short rest before he can use this ability again,.
Action Surge (fighter): Feddernik can take an additional standard action on his turn. He must take a short rest before he can use this ability again.
Thanks to Redrobes of the Cartographers Guild for providing the Thrubmorton Fens, from which Feddernik hails. The Thrubmorton Fens and all related materials are licensed CC BY-NC-SA.Â
I don’t remember where the portrait came from. Likely it was in one of the Dundjinni community collections. If whoever created it sees it and objects to my use here, please do let me know. I’d be happy to provide attribution.
Geek at Arms is back again! Mike kicks things off with his report on PAX East, and then describes the new love of his life, Betrayal: Legacy. James explains how his new game Kingdom Come: Deliverance feels like stepping into 15th century Bohemia and how much he and his wife enjoyed Captain Marvel. Next, Bryan deep dives us into his latest math interest with the Mandelbrot Set and math comedian Matt Parker. He and James also share how their latest rpg session with City on A Hill Gaming podcast went with fellow players Kyle from the Min/Max podcast and Mike from Innroads Ministries. The guys then have a discussion about all the upcoming film and TV adaptations that will hit the screens in the days to come: from the Lord of The Rings to Discworld to The Wheel of Time and many more!
Errata: Bryan said Good Omens was either already out or coming within the next week (of the recording). He was wrong. It becomes available beginning May 31. Bryan also attributed the Wheel of Time television movie to a company called Red Sky, but it was actually Red Eagle. And the Lord of the Rings TV Series may, in fact, not follow Aragorn, but be set instead in the Second Age. Bryan obviously needs a fact-checker. But to be fair, that LotR stuff is still largely conjecture!
Bryan, Mike and James return for yet another super-sized episode! Mike shares his enjoyment at reading The Fellowship of the Ring to his children for the first time and how he barely contained his Geekiness at meeting author and fencing master Ken Mondschein. Next, Bryan talks about how much he’s been enjoying the new Voltron: Legendary Defender and My Hero Academia. Both he and James express how much they’re looking forward to actually gaming in an upcoming RPG session with the City on a Hill Gaming Podcast. James keeps the gaming talk going by detailing a hopeful upcoming Monster of The Week campaign, and how happy he was at finally finishing The Last Duel and playing Biblios. Finally, we see the return of the Geek at Arms Film Club! Shifting from sci-fi to fantasy, the guys delve into the George Lucas written, Ron Howard directed 1988 epic Willow.
Special caution: During the show I recommended the series Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Although the first book, Midnight Riot, was fairly tame, book 2, Body Work, has some rather explicit naughty parts.