Burrowowl

I’ve been playing a Bodger (an Iron Kingdoms-specific character class). Bodgers excel at working with all things mechanical. They’re able repairmen, are skilled an improvising tools for whatever occasion may arise, but aren’t the most capable death-dealers in the world. I intended for this character to use a variety of tools and clockwork widgets to help an adventuring party overcome the sorts of problems normally tackled by a traditional D&D Rogue.

My Bodger has been adventuring with three Fighters, so combat has been especially challenging for me. As the party is Fighters get an excellent BAB, and tend to emphasize dealing copious amounts of damage with the single swipe of an over-sized blade or hammer of some sort. After a few sessions of flailing around, I found the following to be good tactical approaches to a violent situation:

• Manipulating initiative: this is vital when playing a character that doesn’t have a lot of magical abilities. When you do something can be just as important as what you do. By readying an action until a teammate or opponent is in position, you can accomplish much more, faster.
• Flanking: with a low-BAB character type, fighting a high-AC opponent can be frustrating. An extra +2 attack bonus can be of great assistance in actually delivering a little damage to the enemy. This is especially important for Rogues, who can deal additional Sneak Attack damage when flanking his target. Initiative manipulation is very important here, as you want to set up your flanking situation to optimal benefit; if your Fighter is probably going to hit even without the flank, let him move in first, then move the Rogue into position for the Sneak Attack. If the weaker melee combatant isn’t likely to land a blow even with the bonus, and especially if the stronger melee combatant is having trouble hitting, get the weak character into position first. Even if you feel you are doomed to miss, you can provide your teammates with a bonus this way.
• Attacks of Opportunity: especially useful against spellcasters and opponents with good ranged capabilities, attacks of opportunity are wonderful. If you cannot get to an enemy Wizard with a Charge action (move twice your movement rate in a straight line, followed by a single attack at +2 to hit), run up next to him anyway, hoping for a free attack on his action, possibly interrupting whatever he was doing.
• Readied Actions:Once you’re in close, ready an action to perform a Partial Charge on a spellcaster or ranged combatant’s initiative, hoping to force a Concentration check. This prevents a clever opponent from simply taking a five-foot adjustment and casting spells from outside your reach. Readying a partial charge limits your character to a single attack, which is somewhat of a disincentive at higher levels, but against a difficult opponent this tactic can turn the tide of a battle.
• Communication: if you’re moving somewhere just to set up a flank, or readying an action for later, let the other players know why. Team tactics require teamwork, and teamwork requires communication.

Note that this doesn’t just apply for Bodgers. Other characters with low BAB progressions, such as Sorcerers, Wizards, and Arcane Mechaniks can make a substantial contribution when they’re out of spells through these means.

TV-Tokyo’s airing of a School Rumble anime adaptation was something I initially viewed with unreasoning enthusiasm. As the initial air-date drew near, however, it struck me that as a long-time reader of the Mangainc translation of the manga, the animated version probably wouldn’t have a whole heck of a lot to offer me. After the first two or three episodes aired, I hungrily downloaded the fansubs, and watched each. The animation quality wasn’t anything to write home about, but pretty good for a TV anime. The character design and plot, however, were so similar to the manga that there just wasn’t a lot of incentive to continue watching. I already had 70 chapters (plus b tracks) of that plot read, digested, and thoroughly enjoyed.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch it through again, after a several-month hiatus from the print version. It’s a fun series, with a notably non-grating opening and end theme song for most of the series. The last episode was great, as it panders to what I expect would be a number of fan requests for how things should tie up. They didn’t go so far as to have Harima (the male protagonist) fall madly in love with somebody other than Tsukamoto Tenma (the main female protagonist), though a lot of American followers of the print version would have liked to see any number of alternative couplings result.

Don’t panic. It’s just a movie. Take a breath. Relax. Double-check where your towel is. Everything is going to be fine. I have seen some claims made that the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a plot too convoluted, characters too absurd, and premises too obtuse to make for a watchable movie for the small handful of English-reading earthlings that haven’t already consumed the Douglas Adams classic (though increasingly inaccurately-named) Hitchhiker’s Trilogy. This is patently false, and I am an ardent supporter of professional film critics that claim otherwise being stripped of their columns and dumped in the street.

Unlike other movies that are ostensibly based upon popular books, the Hitchhiker’s Guide suffers from no warping of the original content. This is not to say it is identical to the books, but upon reflection on the origin of the Hitchhiker’s Guide, one realizes that it has always been a work in progress, with changes in details, the roles of individual characters, and even the general plot-arc molding readily to fits the needs of the story’s medium. The original content is warped, but does not suffer for it.

The casting was better than I would have hoped for. Martin Freeman makes for an excellent Arthur Dent, faithfully recreating the hapless protagonist for the tale. Mos Def is all you could want from a Ford Prefect, somehow managing to be dapper, wise, and somewhat odd, with the mellow ease one would expect from an intergalactic hitchhiker. Sam Rockwell brings the charm, self-confidence, and schmooziness we need from a Zaphod Beeblebrox. Zooey Deschanel adds a lot to what I had always regards as the somewhat shallow, uninteresting character of Trillian, an earthling that quite readily fell into the background in the book but provides a solid performance in the film.

Anyhow, don’t take my word for it. Go see for yourself. Whether you’ve read up on your Douglas Adams or not, it’s well worth the price of a matinee ticket or two. They don’t quite hit you over the head with why Ford is so dilligent about keeping a towel handy, but some things are better left unexplained.