Top 10 – Hunters

Shh, do you hear that? It sounds like the trees rustled over this way, quickly, hide in the underbrush. Now, careful, for today we’ve got to keep on the low-down, lest we become prey for them. Whether you’re a vampire, a beast, or even just an ordinary human, today we’re going to check out the Top 10 Hunters across all pop culture. Video games, Film, TV, Literature, you name it, we’ve got it covered.

Top 10 – Inspiring Fictional Mothers

Motherly figures are amazing when they’ve been portrayed correctly. The matriarch of the family can be strong-willed, strong in general or sometimes just mentally in-tune to their children’s needs. As tomorrow is Mother’s Day, today is the perfect day for us to take a look at some of the amazing mothers in film, tv, video games and comics in this week’s motherly loving Top 10.

Top 10 Serial Killers

Always an uneasy subject in any world, fiction or nonfiction alike, a serial killer is a dangerous, strangely motivated individual. They focus usually on a specific niche, but they typically spread their killings around. For those of you who are already feeling scared, don’t worry, this is a spoiler free and safe list. Now uh, be prepared to sleep with one eye open, as we cut through our Top 10 Serial Killers.

Top 10 – Keys

This week there’s no need to hold the door, as we have the very key to unlock it! We all know that key’s take many different forms, from cards, to the typical metallic key shape that we’re used to. So long as these items adhere to a standard look, or are used to open locks of some description, then they are up for consideration.

Now get ready to unlock your mind, as we take a look inside our Top 10 Keys list.

Top 10 Female Protagonists

Often underrepresented, but never underappreciated – The women of anime, comics, film and video games are here. Who is our top woman in all media? Who has the strength, the resolve, the skill and the brains? We were surprised we hadn’t made a Top 10 Female Protagonists list before, so we figured we’d right that wrong, as we check out our favourite women in all different media.

Top 10 – Eyepatch Wearers

Ah yes, the simple eyepatch. It’s not always the most fashionable thing to wear, but for some people it acts as a nice aid to stop them from enduring intense pain. For others, it prevents them from remembering how they got their horrific accident in the first place. Or it just makes you a bit of an awesome looking pirate. Regardless how these characters got their patches, they deserved to make the list.

So join us as we eye-up the candidates for our Top 10 Eyepatch Wearers. These guys and girls are certainly an interesting bunch.

Rewriting History

On Sunday, Tim discussed world building from a far more broad perspective than I did in my article DMing 101 – World Building. By and large we have looked at these things from the perspective of creating new worlds, fantastical, fictional, completely fabricated, when in fact we have our own rather stunningly rich history filled with incredibly weird and wonderful characters, places of incredible natural beauty, and complexities beyond comprehension. Many of the worlds we create heavily draw from the real world for inspiration for that exact reason.

I’m not a fan of reality, that’s why I play in fantasy worlds and devise new marvels, wonders and weave such rich tales as I am able, it’s escapism, a break from a world that annoys me, but sometimes you really have to sit back and acknowledge that there are parts worth looking into. If you – like me – simply cannot bear reality as it stands there are ways of making it more enjoyable with only a few little tweaks.

Top 10 Vampires

You voted for it, you’ve got it. This week, we’re looking at some of the most blood thirsty creatures ever known to sci-fi/fantasy. No, we’re not on about a leech, nor a parasite, but they certainly could fall under these categories. We can only be talking about Vampires, a type of undead that likes to nom on your blood, essentially draining you of your very life force. What a horrible way to go.

Have you ever looked outside at the dark night (not to be confused with the film that scores better than 5/7), then romanticised about someone nibbling on your neck? These guys will be a literal pain in your neck when they clamp down on your flesh and drain you of your fluids (That doesn’t sound healthy). Join us as we count down our Top 10 Vampires.

Vampires, Film Stars and Monsters

Of all the many monsters of myth and legend, none make for better films than vampires.Enigmatic and deadly stalkers of the night, sourced from a thousand legends from a thousand cultures throughout history, with many conflicting accounts of their strengths, their weaknesses, and their origins. There are a few things that the majority of vampires have in common:

• Bloodlust – Mostly a direct need to feed on blood, but many vampire myths talk of full-flesh cannibalism, blood-rites, or simple anaemia or a blood-borne disease that carries vampirism.
• Aversion to Sunlight – No vampire likes the sun, not one. Even dhampyrs (half-vamps) like Rayne or Blade prefer the dark to the day. It varies between an irritation to a lethal reaction to the hard light of day, but it’s always there.
• The Bat Motif – Vampire bats are the most famous haematophages, with the possible exception of mosquitoes, but they’re not quite so scary. Vampires and bats all share the fangs and the night life, so they tend to get along just fine.

So many times the lords of darkness have been put to the silver screen, and in so many different forms that they can barely be called a single creature, and more a category. Werewolves are always werewolves, and Frankenstein’s monster will always be called Frankenstein by those with limited mental capacity, but vampires are a lore unto themselves.