http://www.amasci.com/~billb/cgi-bin/instr/instr.html

Some choice selections:

Cross one eye
This is a very simple trick. Just cross your eyes at somebody so everything becomes doubled, then stare at just one of the pair of people you see. If you look at the left-hand twin, that person will see your right eye cross, but your left eye will not. Crossing one eye is supposed to be a come-on in the South Pacific and Indonesia. In Kabuki theater it’s called ‘mie.’ 

Gleeking
Yawn. (no, REALLY yawn), then immediately curl your tongue backwards and force it against the roof of your mouth. The saliva glands under your tongue will squirt like a squirtgun! You can only squirt once or twice before another yawn is required. Also works while eating (or sucking on hard candy.) Practice this in front of a mirror until you can slightly part your lips and silently hit a target with deadly accuracy. Hey! Is it raining in here?

Dry your tongue!
Get a clean cloth or paper towel. Stick out your tongue, then dry it thoroughly with the cloth. Keep sticking it out so it will air-dry a bit more. Now challenge your friends to feel your dry tongue surface. Weird and creepy. Grab the hands of an unsuspecting passersby, and force them up against your warm dry tongue.

Never drive with a Jerk
As you slow your car at a traffic light, the deceleration is relatively constant, but when your car actually halts, the deceleration vanishes. Your passengers feel the sudden change as they fall back into their seats. This effect is so common and expected that we can play with everyone’s heads: remove the jerk! As you brake to a halt, simultaneously ease off the pedal so your car decelerates less and less. Time it right and you will stop braking entirely just as the car halts entirely. Unless your riders are looking out the window, they won’t realize that the car has actually stopped. (This works particularly well with a van full of kids who are waiting to leap out as soon as you come to a complete stop.) [I'm told by a commercial pilot that this is a common practice on airlines. At the end of the flight when passengers are waiting to leap up and rush to the overhead bins, they'd better look out the airplane windows. The passengers who run by inertial guidance (waiting for the final jerk) will be intentionally misled!]

This is just a choice selection; go over and check it out yourself!

Now, both are very good books; they are tailored to both high and low level characters who are looking for the extra spice in their campaign, more classes to tinker with, and even more prestige classes to expand your power.

Along with completely new uses for skills, spells, and feats, there are also campaign ideas and quick situations than can provide hours of fun for players. But what makes these books different? More importantly, are they worth 30 or so dollars it costs to buy each?

Well, that depends. For the casual DnD player, who maybe plays once every month or so with a couple buddies, or between commercials during Monday Night Football, than these books probably aren’t worth the investment. For the moderate-to-serious roleplayer, and everything in between, you’re looking at genuine gold.

Complete Adventurer is, in its own words, “primarily a player resource focused on skills and other game elements that characters of any class can use.” Basically, the book expands and adds skils, spells, classes, tactics, and more to the 3.5v ruleset. It comes with tons of new magic items, sweet new weapons, advantageous new rules, and killer tactics, not to mention amazing artwork by Wizards of the Coast’s expert illustators. One of my favorite abilities, Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting (pg 111), allows you to wield a larger-than-normal weapon in your off hand with the same penalties as a light weapon. Seriously; what’s scarier than seeing a huge, ill-tempered, green dude twice your size and hirsuteness with two axes the size of your legs rushing at you? Exactly.

On the other hand, Complete Scoundrel is similar in that it also provides more classes for play, more skills to use, and more spells to cast. But it is not just a Complete Adventurer v.2.

Complete Scoundrel goes more into detail about what makes a scoundrel. The book does a very good job of describing the term, stating that, “Being a scoundrel doesn’t have anything to do with a character’s class. It’s a mindset, a way to play your character, an archetype any PC with any goal might fulfill. Being a scoundrel isn’t about thieveing, lying, and cheating… it’s about thinking on your feet, taking the big risk, finding opportunities, and doing whatever it takes to get exactly what you want.” Well said.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the very beginning, in which it gives examples of character from various medias who fit certain alignments. The list goes as follows:

• Lawful Good: Batman, Dick Tracey, Indiana Jones
• Lawful Netural: James Bond, Odysseus, Sanjuro (title character of Yojimbo)
• Lawful Evil: Boba Fett (Star Wars), Magneto (X-Men)
• Neutral Good: Zorro, Spider-Man
• Neutral: Lara Croft, Han Solo (mostly in early appearances), Lucy Westerna (Dracula)
• Neutral Evil: Mystique (X-Men), Sawyer (Lost television series. Personally, I love this reference)
• Chaotic Good: Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly references? Sweet!), Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica), Robin Hood
• Chaotic Neutral: Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), Al Swearengen (Deadwood TV show), Snake Plissken (Escape from New York *coughMGS2cough*)
• Chaotic Evil: Carl Denham (King Kong), Riddick (Pitch Black)

I love how Han Solo and Sawyer are on this list. Pretty hilarious to me how seemingly random the Wizards’ pop culture references are.

Anyway, along with all the nitty-gritty rules and talents, the book also supplies detailed adventure ideas, and a list of one hundred scoundrel challenges that are sure to have players testing their wit and ingenuity for some time.

In short: Both of these books are good investments for the DnD player looking to add that extra flavor to a character, new or epic, or the Dungeon Master who wants so flair in a campaign; or simply just whoever finds this useful for whatever endeavor they choose to follow. After all, in the words of the authors, “Dungeons and Dragons isn’t about limitations – it’s about options.”

*Feel free to discuss today’s topic in the comments. What do you think:

• Are these books worth their weight in salt?
• New prestige classes unnecessary/awesome?
• Nitty gritty bits (Immediate/swift actions,’tricks’ as opposed to ‘feats,’ etc.)

Cheers,

Gabriel.

Oh! Almost forgot, some good blogs for your perusal on this topic:

D21 Gaming – Concise, well-put together review on Complete Scoundrel.

Irrational Ecstasy – A humorous article about Complete Adventurer filling a ‘Dear Abby’ role.

General Items

1. Money.
2. Gift cards! Thinkgeek.com, Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. are all good place for gift cards.
3. Home made stuff!

Thinkgeek.com Stuff

www.thinkgeek.com is a website dedicated to the best in nerdy goodness. All the items on the site have to be ordered online, so delivery can take a little while.  Highlights include:

• USB Rocket Launcher
• Lifesize Officer Warrior Weapons (Yeah XD)
• DO NOT WANT! shirt
• Chainmail Shirt (Mhm. :])
• d20 Spiral Necklace
• Final Fantasy Mini-Replica Weapons

Dungeons and Dragons Materials

 Dungeons and Dragons is a role-playing game played with dice, paper, and pencil.  While not totally necessary, some accessories and add ons are very useful.

1. Player’s Handbook
2. Monster Manual
3. Dungeon Master’s Guide
4. Complete Scoundrel
5. A good set of dice! Something like this or this works wonders.

Thanks again, in advance. :]

This blog is simple enough, basically my personal menagerie of my interests and life, which includes, -but is surely not limited to-, literature, roleplaying, the Internet, Dungeons and Dragons, and most wonderful things that are esoterically awesome and delightfully dorky.

So, if you, like me, are a simple geek, nerd, dork, or what have you just trying to make your way through this crazy Underdark, armed with only your +20 Sword of Social Awkwardness, and a faithful Keyboard of All-Knowing, then you have found your home!