Behold! It is the new era of Obscure Metal Roundup! Starting right here, right now with OMR11, all links will direct you to the album on Bandcamp (as opposed to Spotify), whenever possible. The reason for this is two-fold. First and foremost, I've decided that it's important to provide better support to the artists I … Continue reading Obscure Metal Roundup 11
Author: Rob Mackie
Hi! I'm Rob. My interests are all over the place, which is why I created Rob Writes About Whatever, a free-form conversation where nothing is off topic. Home to Rob's Complete Guide to Retro Bowl, Gross Football Lunch, CRPG Corner, and more!
Week 17 Confidence Pool
I can recall a time last year when, upon surveying the broader landscape of the AFC, I thought to myself, “Man, the whole conference is treating the 6 seed like it causes lymphoma” as the Steelers and Raiders crapped their way out of playoff contention. And I can recall a time earlier this year (which, … Continue reading Week 17 Confidence Pool
19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 6: Downtime; or, Making Your Players Do All the Work
19 Hits the Dragon is back! The battle is concluded, and, despite your best efforts to slay the player characters according to the precepts set forth in Episode 5, the heroes have emerged triumphant! Hooray! But also, uh...now what? Now it's time for downtime, of course! It's not like all that sweet loot is just … Continue reading 19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 6: Downtime; or, Making Your Players Do All the Work
Week 16 Confidence Pool
Hello hello! Due to the holidays, this week's column is going to be this week's picks and last week's stats only! There will be no commentary or analysis, except to say: Fuck You, L.A. Rams. Happy Holidays Everybody! Week 15 Correct Picks: 11/16 Season Total Correct Picks (Starting Week 2): 135/208 Week 15 Points: 101/136 … Continue reading Week 16 Confidence Pool
19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 5: To Flank Or Not to Flank?
19 Hits the Dragon is back to bring you the second part of our two-part combat series! Part one was dedicated to staying organized before combat begins, that you are set up for success once the dice start falling. Part two expands on this, as Mike and Rob delve into what to do once combat … Continue reading 19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 5: To Flank Or Not to Flank?
Obscure Metal Roundup 10
Dopelord – Sign of the Devil (Released 2020) Sign of the Devil presents doom/stoner/sludge at its most accessible. There are no 20 minute jam session space odysseys, nor are there any weird, minutes-long feedback experiments, and the whole package clocks in at a tight 36:03 of big, fat doom riffs supported by big, fat doom … Continue reading Obscure Metal Roundup 10
Week 15 Confidence Pool
Hey, look at that. The first lesson to take away from a weekend in which I flaunted my own picking and value-assigning rules out of desperation is that rules are important, and I should abide by them as best as I can. The Texans have no business getting 10 points from anybody, against any opponent. … Continue reading Week 15 Confidence Pool
19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 4: Punch Up Your Encounters, or; Tactical Adulting
19 Hits the Dragon is back again! Episode 4 is the first in a two-part series on combat. Tabletop RPG combat sounds like a blast but often falls flat. What should be the most exciting part of your game can easily devolve into a grim slog, as both enemies and player characters alike spend two … Continue reading 19 Hits the Dragon, Episode 4: Punch Up Your Encounters, or; Tactical Adulting
Obscure Metal Roundup 9
Teitanblood – The Baneful Choir (Released 2019) If we consider Black Sabbath's mission statement as a foundational text for the genre as a whole, metal is supposed to be scary in the same way horror movies are. Obviously, that thread has been lost in this post-Dokken world, and if you ask me, it's also obvious … Continue reading Obscure Metal Roundup 9
Week 14 Confidence Pool
I've started off this column enough times with more than enough weeping and gnashing of teeth over my many misses and bad beats from the previous week, and since I don't want this column to devolve into a primordial amino acid sludge of cliches, I will spare everyone the indignity of running that back again … Continue reading Week 14 Confidence Pool
