The Top 5: The Week of Feb 15

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These are my Top 5 favorite things this week. I’ll try to put up a new one of these each week, God and country willing. These are RPG related things, geek related things, and me related things. If you have anything you think I should take a look at to have in my Top 5 some week, let me know.

1. My Girlfriend is a DM

A fairly new blog to the RPG Blogger’s Network, My Girlfriend is a DM is a fresh look at 4e, including some great free falling combat rules. Written by a couple, much like this blog, they have a great sense of humor and write very well. I laughed pretty hard at their post titled: “What Are the Grapple Rules for Shower Rape?” talking about the guy who got his D&D books taken away in prison. Check them out. This post didn’t hurt to get them on the list, either.

2. Mouse Guard RPG

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, but I’m actually getting a chance to run this. I’ve been scouring the internet for ideas for missions, and coming up with great ways to add depth and intrigue to my upcoming games. I’ve got some really enthusiastic players rearing to go, and I plan on putting a page here on Dice Monkey to track their progress. We’ll be beginning in Spring of 1152, about six months before the start of the first comic. I’ve printed off lots of condition cards, persona and fate point cards, and combat cards. I think it’s going to be a very good game. Keep your eyes peeled for progress.

3. Stuff You Missed in History Class

Stuff You Missed in History Class is a fantastic podcast from HowStuffWorks.com. It, along with Stuff You Should Know are two of my favorite podcasts to listen to on the way to work. Hosted by Katie Lambert and Sarah Doughty, the two discuss a wide variety of topics, from the Nazi King to Bungled Attempts at One Person Flights, they cover it all. The podcasts are meticulously researched, and you really will find out about all kinds of things they don’t talk about in history class too often. It’s worth a consistent listen, and each episode is only a half hour or so long.

4. On Writing by Stephen King

I had picked this book up multiple times and had read through about half of it. This time, however, I actually sat down and read it the whole way through. It’s a memoir of Stephen King’s life, how he came to be a professional writer, followed by advice to aspiring writers. Such gems as: “You must never go lightly to the page,” “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that,” “The road to hell is paved with adverbs,” “Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life,” and “Fiction is the truth inside the lie,” are all things you’ll see throughout the book. If you want help writing well, read this book.

5. Star Wars Artists’ Guild

If you’re playing a Star Wars RPG right now and aren’t scouring the Star Wars Artists’ Guild for images of NPCs, PCs, ships and maps, you’re letting your whole group down. A website loaded with fantastic images (and a lot of crappy ones), you will be able to find almost any character you would want on here. There’s some fantastic artists like Travis Moore and Stirzy, and also some great ship designs out there as well. Check it out.

That’s all for this week of Top 5. Keep rolling 20′s.