101+ Eberron Adventure Hooks

Eberron is my favorite D&D setting in the stiff competition of Planescape, Ravenloft, and Dark Sun. It is a steampunk-adjacent (or dungeonpunk) setting where magic is used to replicate technology up to a 19th century level. The Last War has devastated the continent of Khorvaire but is finally over, which leads to the bigger question: what now? 

1.    While traveling on an airship, the PCs find themselves under attack by a renegade Lyrander corsair that has been corrupted by the Dragon Below.

2.    See #1. The PCs find that the airship has a Lyrander apprentice who is happy to pilot the second vessel for them as he's terrified of going "home" given what he did under his unwilling boss.

3.    A traveling sideshow salesman has a massive dragonshard with the head of a prehistoric Warforge inside it. He wants the PCs to guard him as he transports it to a buyer.

4.    See #3, the object is real and from Xen'drik, which terrifies the owner. 

5.    See #3, the object is a fake but a very well made one that was created by a warforged trying to create a pre-war history for his kind.

6.    See #3, the object's buyer is Merrix D'Cannith who wants to revive the warforged head for its secrets. 

7.    The PCs are hired to investigate a nationalist militia that has been specifically targeting veterans of the Last War.

8.    See #7, it is a recruiting place for the Emerald Claw that uses charm spells and nonmagical conditioning to create the goons that they use in all of their missions. The washouts are killed and made into undead.

9.    See #7, it is a recruiting place for the Swords of Liberty who are preying upon the disaffection of veterans in hopes of creating disruption that they can take advantage on a national scale.  

10.    See #7, their employers are Dark Lanterns who suspect one of their former members is the one responsible for this.

11.    A House Valdis outpost has gone dark and the PCs are hired by their discretion to investigate it. It turns out that it was a magebred facility that has been corrupted by Daelkyr cultists. The PCs will be paid extra if they destroy all the evidence, including the survivors.

12.    A fire giant from Xen'drik has escaped a traveling circus and set himself up in a nearby farm where he's eating the local livestock. The PCs don't have to slay him but he doesn't speak the local language and was not taken to Khorvaire voluntarily. He very much would like to go home but that may be impossible.

13.    The PCs are hired by House Cannith to recover a strange mechanical part. The part is a Creation Forge part that could be used to repair one of the destroyed ones. It is in the hands of a group of warforged renegades.

14.    A family of shifters claims that a fanatical Thrane knight wants to slaughter them and has been harassing them for weeks.

15.    See #14, they're a family of lycanthropes and the paladin wants to confirm it before slaying them.

16.    See #15, they are in fact lycanthropes but are Lawful Good werebears.

17.    See #16, this doesn't impact the paladin's plans to slaughter them as diseased monsters.

18.    The PCs are contracted to serve as couriers in a secret set of negotiations with Prince Oargev and King Boranel. They're supposed to do this at a ball and relay letters as well as messages while no one is the wiser. Dancing, food deliveries, and other oddities are afoot.

19.    See #18, the negotiations are Prince Oargev being offered to be made Duke of New Cyre but giving up his claim to Galifar's throne. Which multiple parties would rather Oargev die than happen.

20.    See #19, King Boranel actually wants to fund New Cyre settlers in Xen'drik or Q'barra or "elsewhere" with the profits of this all for New Cyre but meant to keep their numbers in Breland low.

21.    See #20, it is a marriage contract to one of his daughters (or sons). Which would tie them intristically together.

22.    A dying Dark Lantern agent has discovered the identity of the murderer of King Boranel's wife. The PCs have the encrypted message but the people trying to kill the agent are Dark Lanterns themselves (or appear to be at least).

23.    Once a year, Pontifex Jaela is allowed a day off and the PCs are asked to provide security lest the church see her doing things that are fun like riding dinosaurs or watching clowns. The Cardinal simultaneously considers this a massive state secret and vital for her spiritual health.

24.    A riot has broken out in Thaliost over the murder of a citizen by the Church's Templars. Possibly. Who was killed and why seems to constantly change based on who is doing the telling. If the flames (no pun intended) are not put out soon, it may turn into a full-fledged uprising.

25.    See #24, the riot was organized by the spirit of the Overlords and designed to merely cause as much misery and horror as possible. 

26.    See #24, the riot was done by a Aundair Duke who plans to "restore" order and claim the city for Aundair once more despite how likely this is to reignite the Last War or at least a Thrane-Aundair war.

27.    See #24, the riot is just a naturally occurring one but Cardinal Krozen is letting it play out because he wishes to justify a violent suppression followed by property confiscations to replace Aundair-loyal citizens with Thranish ones.Surely that will work out fine.

28.    A mysterious tablet is recovered from an archaelogical site in Droaam. It is then stolen by the Emerald Claw in full Indiana Jones villain glory. A beautiful Morgrave University researcher needs the PCs help to recover it! According to her research, the tablet is legendary magic that can bestow a WISH.

29.    See #28. The archaeologist is Emerald Claw herself and working directly for Lady Illmarrow. The WISH tablet is the only way she might be restored to her living status and give her back her Dragon Mark. The Emerald Claw renegades worry she will betray her undead followers then.

30.    The PCs end up drugged and wake up enslaved on a massive dreamlily plantation by an obsese member of the Aurum with the aid of his Inspired allies. They are on the borders of Droaam and have been slaving both humans and monsters both to create as much of the drug as possible. They also play the two groups of slaves against one another to keep then in line.

31.    See #30, the Daughters of Sora Kell know about this atrocity but are bribed into letting it happen. They will just blame human evil if it is discovered after all and have even been selling some of their dissidents to it.

32.    A Cyrean Avenger attempts to recruit the PCs to kill a Valenar warlord visiting their location. The Avenger claims that the warlord massacred thousands of Cyrean refugees fleeing the Mourning. Whether the PCs agree or not, he ends up dead and the Avenger both in unrelated murders that trigger a massive dust up between the Cyrean locals and the visiting Valenar delegation. 

33.    See #32, it is actually a member of House Lyrander who arranged this. The warlord wanting the Lyrander to no longer administrate their lands in Valenar or, worse, pay higher tribute.

34.    An insanely rich and well-respected Lyrander noblewoman has been working with House Cannith for decades on the ultimate airship variant: a void ship that she intends to reach the moons with. This "Spelljammer" is something that is about to launch and she wants the PCs to help guard it against sabotage.

35.    The PCs are approached with an offer by House Sivis to buy the rights to their adventures. If the PCs agree, they soon find a large number of printed stories across the continent with incredibly inaccurate (bordering on exploitation) versions of their adventures with sleazy covers. It does massively improve their reputations in...some ways.

36.    The Bloodsail fleet successfully surrounds Dreadhold, seizes control over the location, and threatens to release the worst prisoners unless Saeria the Lich is returned to them. Which confuses a bunch of people as they were under the impression they were in Dreadhold.

37.    A Cyrean refugee claims a Lightning Rail is transporting a huge amount of stolen goods from the Mournlands to their Aurum buyers. It's time for a train robbery!

38.    See #37, the people guarding the train are adventurers who recovered the loot themselves and consider it finders keepers.

39.    See #37, the loot is actually on its way to Prince Oargev and the "refugee" who wants to steal it back is the man supposed to recover it but tired of living in desperate poverty.

40.    A patriarch of House Kundarak has died and his goods are needing to be recovered from his trap-filled dungeon vault since he left no heirs. The PCs are thus hired to recover it with the House neglecting to mention they'd hired a second team of evil adventurers who have decided to keep the contents for themselves.

41.    House Cannith and House Phiarlan have created a device called the "Magical Moving Lantern" that can store illusionary recordings of performances in dragonshards. The financial benefits from this are beyond imagination. But someone has stolen the prototype!

42.    See #41, it's a member of House Thuranni who are tweaking their sister house's nose.

43.    See #41, it's a member of House Phiarlan who believes this will ruin the market for live shows.

44.    See #41, it's the inventor who knows it doesn't work because the dragonshard is rapidly used up. 

45.    See #41, it's all of them in a comedy of errors.

46.    The Emerald Claw is seeking to unleash a biological plague that can turn people into zombies via a bite and are demanding a king's ransom not to do it. House Jorasco are willing to pay the PCs a vast sum to assault their fortress and destroy all samples. 

47.    See #46 because House Jorasco was the group that created the plague and the fortress is their secret lab.

48.    It's the Race of Eight Winds time again and the PCs are asked to serve as their jockey's bodyguards as this one is going to be particularly nationalist. Mobsters, spies, and more will be all attempting to influence the race.

49.    See #48, Prince Oargev is also planning to fix the race to win a vast amount of money that he'll use to help the people of New Cyre...or so he says.

50.    See #48, if one of the PCs is a skilled rider, they must take the place of their patron when they're discovered to have been poisoned before they even became their bodyguard. 

51.    Gadzooks! Strange unidentified flying objects are circling around farmlands, leaving mysterious circles, and kidnapping locals! Is it Illtihids? Githyanki? Aboleths?  

52.    See #51, it's a bunch of fairies having fun.

53.    See #51, it's actually a group of gnome illusionists covering up an illegal dragonshard mine and kidnapping locals to serve as slaves. They plan to bury everyone alive once they've cleared out the vein.

54.    Two dinosaur barons in the Talenta planes are feuding over grazing patches for their thunder lizards. They've escalated to everything short of murder and the townsfolk want the PCs to meditate the issue. A war between them would destroy the economy.

55.    A non-Cannith artificer has figured out a way to used spent dragonshard powder, charcoal, saltpeter, and a long metal tube to allow non-magic users to create a very cheap wand of magic missles or staff of eldritch blast. The only downsides are you have to aim it. He'd like the PCs to be angel investors in his possibly terrifying weapon of war.

56.    A gnoll warlord in Droaam claims he has a new dragonmark and is the founder of a new House. Hehas begun gathering an army around himself while the Twelve declare him an Abberant.

57.    See #56, he is actually a reincarnated Deneith mercenary who has come to love the people who he identifies with now. This is his misguided plan to get them some more respect.

58.    The Swords of Liberty are employing a renegade Sivis scribe to print pamphlets across the kingdoms that are full of horrific libel. They're designed to exploit existing divisions and rouse the populace into violent lynch mobs as well as riots. King Boronal is not interested in fighting words with words and offers the PCs a sum to find their print shop as well as writers before slaying them.

59.    See #58, the actual reason for this is that one of their insane theories is actually correct but which one?

60.    The Boromar clan of Sharn has invited the PCs to the wedding of one of their daughters. This actually isn't a trap or some weird way to make a job offer, the daughter is just a huge fan of the PCs adventures. Then, of course, House Daask decides to kidnap her.

61.    House Tarkanan has had multiple members of their clan murdered and dissected in horrible ways. They believe the Twelve are hunting them. Others attribute it to a deranged serial killer.

62.    See #61, it is a deranged copper dragon wanting to study the abberant marks.

63.    See #61, it is a Cult of the Dragon Below who is attempting to harness their power.

64.    See #61, it is a member of House Tarkanan attempting to seize power by blaming the Twelve while he eliminates his rivals.

65.    The Galifar Aquila is a dragonshard relic of incredible value to the Royal Family and has been lost for centuries. A series of murders and thefts put the object in the hands of the PCs with a House Daask troll, a beautiful elven femme fatale, and a weasally halfling all after it. But does it belong in a museum or, perhaps, a particular royal family?

66.    Morgrave University is showing a display of orcish native art at a gala when it is attacked by a bunch of drow warriors to recover them. Weirdly, they're interrupted by another group of orcs who fights them. Both groups claim one of the relics in the collection is a prison for a powerful demon while the other is trying to free it.

67.    See #66, both are lying and the relic contains a map that leads to a House Tharashk payroll transport the orcish mercenaries robbed before turning on one another. The fact they can't find it is a sign its magically warded or something has gone catastrophically wrong.

68.    See #66, that's because the idol IS a prison for a demon and he's promised the prize to whoever frees him.

69.    One of King Kaius' brides is making a legal challenge on vampire persondom in the Brelish court systems. She knows his true nature but is hiding it even as many individuals want vampires to remain legally dead. The PCs can side with or against her.

70.    An Eldeen Reach village wants to hire the PCs to hire them to proetct them against a group of a few dozen bandits. The PCs would be accompanied by a few other oddball characters.

71.    See #70, the bandits are actually the mercenaries the villagers hired to clean out a nearby forest of monsters before cheating them. 

72.    See #70, the village is a bunch of Dragon Below cultists and the "monsters" were Gatekeepers. They hope to have more slaughter so they can awamen the creature in the now-unprotected forest.

73.    The PCs are sent into the Mournlands to recover the Crown Jewels of Cyre from Metrol, only to find an apocalypse cult of cannibals devoted to the Devourer and other survivors engaged in a low grade civil war. They can side with any of the factions they want or none of them to get in and out. 

74.    See #73, there's a mad artificer from House Cannith who claims he can reveal the secret of the Mourning if the PCs rescue him.

75.    A changeling claims to have had the PCs baby from a short relationship or one night stand. If the PC is dragonmarked, they have the dragonmark despite being a changeling. The changeling is very nervous about the safety of their child and will die if they leave the PCs sight for more than a day.

76.    A radical group of Kalashtar want to sabotage trade negotiations between Karnath and Reidra. They reveal the whole Dreaming Dark conspiracy.

77.    See #76, King Kaius knows about the Dreaming Dark but Reidra offers the chance to gain food independence from Aundair. This year will be a particularly harsh winter too.

78.    Mordain the Fleshweaver removed the brain of a particularly annoying psionicist into a self-sustaining jar. It has since gone on to become a powerful crime lord, escaping with its newly enhanced powers. "The Brain" of Sharn is believed just to be a metaphor but he's gradually dominating more and more to his cause with the ability to maintain simultaneous control over ever greater numbers of people.

79.    Of all things, the PCs inherit a hotel with an airship dock from one of their admirers. It is a perfect base for their activities but they soon find out House Ghallanda drove the previous owner to ruin before he was mysteriously assassinated.

80.    See #79, the Ghallandra who did this wasn't doing it for the House but because there was a hidden treasure inside the hotel when they were adventurers.

81.    House Sivis and House Kundarak are going to work together to do real-time trades on ventures at a former stockyard (nickname the Stocks). Almost every other house thinks this is a fantastically bad idea.

82.    A group of vampire hunters have successfully killed a powerful Karnath Lord and looted his castle. His daughter is now seeking revenge as a paladin of the Blood of Vol. She is notably not undead herself but possesses some vampiric abilities. 

83.    An dwarvish artificer is terrified of House Orien coming after him and claims he has an invention that they will stop at nothing to acquire. The invention being a weird black goop that makes roads very smooth and thus much more practical for House Orien vehicles.

84.    See #83, the easiest way to resolve this is just make a mutually beneficial contract.

85.    A young woman is running away with her half-orc boyfriend despite the fact that she is astoundingly beautiful and does not seem to care that much for him. They offer a shockingly large amount of money for their safe passage. Soon, monsters will start hounding the PCs as she attempts to flirt with any interested. She is a granddaughter of Sora Kell and on the run from her mother who wants to marry her to Gorodan Ashlord.

86.    A religious heretec claims that he derives his power from the "Vestige" of Siberys and that will enough believers in him, the Dragon God can be resurrected.

87.    See #86, It's a Radiant Idol that has a particularly effective scam going on.

88.    See #86, It's a Gold Dragon who sincerely believes this will work.

89.    See #86, It will work...after a mass sacrifice of the faithful.

90.    A local village is haunted. Literally. Dozens of horrible ghosts are wandering around the area, tormented and harrassing the living. Some of them look famous individuals who suffered suspicious deaths.

91.    See #90, it is a manifest zone to Dolurrh that used to be bound by Blood of Vol cultists who kept the spirits appeased with candy and costumes. This tradition was banned the previous year by the local Sovereign Hosters.

92.    See #90, a necromancer has grabbed an assassin who used a keeper's fang to kill their lover and are torturing both killer as well as the artifact to try to bring back their spirit from the Keeper's Vault.

93.    See #91, this is an ASTOUNDINGLY bad idea and creating a Manifest Zone to Khyber below.

94.    There's a gang war going on in a famous "party" town between House Phiarlan courtesans, a group of half-vampire prostitutes, and a changeling brothel that pretends to be a Silver Flame nunnery (the Thranish government was not amused). It used to be peace between the groups but the local ordinances have stated only one can remain open.

95.    This is actually a plot by House Ghallanda to replace the town with their own inns and "cheaper" entertainment.

96.    Queen Diani of Thrane is getting married and entertaining a variety of suitors including one of Boranel's children, Prince Oargev, an Aundair lord, and a Lhazaar Pirate Prince. 

97.    See #96. This is part of an attempt to gain support for her restoration of the monarchy and Krozen has hired an assassin to do her in

98.    See #97...or so someone wants the public to think. Diani wants the PCs to thwart the threat so she can force the High Cardinal into disgrace.

99.    See #98, the Cardinal knows this and has substituted a real assassin. He'll just blame Aundair.

100.    See #96, Diani actually wants one of the PCs to marry her (or at least be engaged to her) as a popular hero would be better for forcing the public sentiment against the Church versus a foreign invader.

101.    A Dhakaani ruin has been seized by several goblin clans that have claimed it in the name of the revived empire. The Dhakaani do not recognize these individuals as their brethren and are sending a group of troops to slaughter them. The local authorities sees this as a self-solving problem.

The Dark Imperium (Warhammer 40k, Dark Imperium #1) by Guy Haley review

    DARK IMPERIUM by Guy Haley is the first book of a trilogy set after the Indominatus Crusade event detailed in both the Warhammer 40K tabletop game as well as the Dawn of Fire book series. It is a trilogy detailing the Plague Wars where Primarch Roboute Guilliman faces off the Imperium of Mankind against the forces of the Chaos God Nurgle as well as the Traitor Marine Primarch, Motarion. If none of these names mean anything to you then this is probably not the book series for you. This is a series where the more you know about things like the Horus Heresy, the more you will enjoy the work.

    Dark Imperium is fundamentally three separate perspectives on the same event: Guilliam is attempting to rebuild the Imperium from the ground up but is stuck dealing with a backward, superstitious, and frequently stupid population that reveres him as a god. Unfortunately, for Guilliman, their belief in his divinity is the only reason he has any power at all and undercutting that would mean his cause was doomed. We also have the perspective of those fighting on the ground against Nurgle's forces who survive or die based on the whims of fate. Thirdly, we have Motarion, who hates the fact he must use magic as well as miracles to beat his brother but is stuck with the bizarre Addams Family-esque grotesques that make up Nurgle's inner circle.

    Dark Imperium's quality is somewhat varied because some of the perspectives in the book are more interesting than others. A large chunk of the book is devoted to battle scenes where Space Marines and Imperial Guardsman are fighting against the zombie-esque hordes of Chaos. These aren't really engaging and feel like someone is transcribing their Darktide video game sessions. However, these are right next to the fascinating scenes from Guilliman's perspective as he attempts to navigate his complicated feelings regarding both his father as well as religion.

    My favorite character in Dark Imperium is Mathieu, who is a priest of the Ecclesiarchy that Guilliman believes is saner than most of their kind. That doesn't mean that Mathieu doesn't believe in the God Emperor, though, and Guilliman fundamentally underestimates the man because of his disdainful attitude toward religion. He's a character I am very eager to see more development for in future books because he's an ordinary human surrounded by gods.

    The perspective of Chaos is something I have mixed feelings on with the fact that Nurgle's band of followers tend to be weird and hilarious like Muppets that kill billions. They're a kooky family of oddballs except for Motarion that refuses to acknowledge he's among a bunch of deranged weirdos. It's amusing to read about but doesn't really lend the forces of Chaos much in the way of terror. Sort of like how Orks are best treated seriously when they are the primary antagonists of a novel.

    In conclusion, Dark Imperium is a fun but flawed novel. The best parts are ones that deal with questions of religion, the Emperor's divinity, and the fact that a person who knows someone else as family (like Guilliman) might have to deal with someone who knows them as a hero (like Mathieu). Unfortunately, the military aspects are disjointed and the forces of Nurgle lack the intimidation they really need.

Available here 

House of the Dragon 3×08 “The Treasons of Tumbleton” review

    Daenerys did nothing wrong. This is one of those controversial hot takes that I’m sure a bunch of fans will shout is wrong but until the 20th century, if you did not surrender when under siege, then you forfeited the right to be treated with quarter. The people of Kings Landing would know this and certainly so would Cersei (who wouldn’t care).

    Throw in the fact that until several days into filming that Daenerys didn’t deliberately burn the city to the ground but it ignited all of the wildfire stores throughout the city (which you can still see the green plumbs of in the special effects). Daenerys saved the world and was murdered by a deranged traumatized soldier that was probably suffering from the effects of black magic.

    I bring this up because it’s interesting to see how “The Treasons of Tumbleton” contrast her with Rhaenyra the Cruel. For many years, Fire and Blood fans have taken the attitude Rhaenyra was RightTM and were Team Black. Aegon the Second was a scheming villain and usurper that just happened to have been named the true heir of Viserys by a misogynist society. Like the Brackens versus Blackwoods, the narrative is very clear that while both sides are flawed, the author’s sympathy is with the Blacks. The show, to my surprise, has taken the narrative risk of making it clear Rhaenyra was utterly unfit to rule. Aegon II is a spoiled, horrible manchild, and much worse but our one scene of him ruling showed he actually cared about the Smallfolk in at least a vague sense. Rhaenyra just wants to be worshiped by them.

    This episode has Rhaenyra drive her sister Helaena to suicide, abandon Mysaria (who at least nominally was on the side of the peasantry), murder the High Septon while claiming the Targaryens are not beholden to Andal gods, and claim the status of the Prince who was Promised. This despite the only people on Earth who know of the prophecy are Rhaenyra and Daemon themselves. Her journey from hero to villain even has a cool costume switch despite the fact the Queen Who Ever Was never bothered to enter battle despite having a dragon of her own.

    The sacking of Tumbleton is the centerpiece for this episode and meant to be our version of the Battle of the Gullet. Ultimately, it’s more a comedy of errors and if I don’t appreciate his changes to George R.R. Martin’s story, I understand Ryan Condall’s thesis. There’s no heroic epic fantasy heroes in the Dance of the Dragon. There’s just a bunch of scheming not very competent people fighting over a chair. Ormund Hightower’s evil plots all come to naught because his traitor is a drunk and fool.

    My heart goes out most to the character of Helaena who never wanted to play the Game of Thrones and resisted every time someone tried to make her a murderer or a gamepiece. Here, she takes herself off the board in a dramatic way and I have to say that it is well done. Aegon and Aemond reunite themselves, which makes no sense but one of the major flaws of HotD is that the characters go wildly off script then have to return to the script in order for the plot to make sense. It was the same thing that happened to The Witcher season three on Netflix where they had to make massive character changes once audiences rejected their attempted veering from the books.

    In conclusion, this is a fairly decent climax for the penultimate season. Rhaenyra falling to evil while Aegon becomes a far more capable leader after his ordeal (or perhaps just powered by hate) makes the climax of the Dance far more interesting. Still, a lot of the characters had to do nonsensical busywork to give them something to do like Alicent’s plotting against her sons. Was it an improvement over season two, though? Absolutely. I’m also looking forward to the Aegon the Conqueror movie and the next season of Ser Duke’s adventures.

8/10 

House of the Dragon 3×07 “The Dragon in Winter” review

    House of the Dragon remains one of the most entertaining shows on television but also an immensely flawed one. Game of Thrones was able to manage most of its insane plot twists, melodrama, and other twists right up until the final seasons. House of the Dragon struggles due to the fact it doesn’t have George R.R. Martin’s novels, only an outline of the conflict from Fire and Blood, which hurts its dialogue as well as interactions. Likewise, many changes have been made from that outline for better and worse.

    This episode deals with Rhaenyra taking two steps forward and one step back from her degeneration into the Mad Queen. It opens with her berating her sister Helaena for visions of prophecy that will confirm her divinity despite (or perhaps because) it terrifies the latter. Rhaenyra also cheats on her husband, Daemon, with the mysterious Mysaria. This despite the fact she’s finally clocked to the fact that the White Worm is manipulating her against him. On the plus side, though, Rhaenyra takes upbrage at the fact that Daemon thinks he’d have murdered her stepdaughter, Rhaena. She even defends her against the murderous flames of Sheepstealer.

    The best story so far is Aegon the Second’s slow transformation from the spoiled brat and incompetent fool to someone who, in another life, might have been worthy of king. The thing is that as a rapist and brute who watched children fights, I’m not sure that redemption is possible. Still, it’s hard not to be at least a little enthusiastic when faced with certain death, Aegon is rescued by his still-alive dragon, Sunfyre. Indeed, Aegon’s relationship with the dragon is his only redeeming quality.

    Aemond’s storyline in Harrenhal is also hurt by the fact they decided to make his Oedipus Complex into actual incestuous feelings for his mother. Is it weird that I can support Daenerys and Jon while thinking about Jaime with Cersei as a fascinating plot but think of this as absolutely disgusting? Well, I certainly do and believe it ruins Aemond’s character. What’s weird is this is the second dream sex scene with a character’s mother in Harrenhal. Which is not a lot but weird that it happened twice. What is Alys Rivers motivation as well? She seemed to want Daemon to reach his potential but I’m not sure why she’s helping Aemond then.

    There are some good bits scattered throughout the episode too like the revelation that Ulf is Ormond Hightower’s “inside man” due to the fact, well, Rhaenyra and Daemon have treated him like garbage despite him having the keys to a magical nuke. I also like the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ bit where Jeyne Arryn’s lesbianism is confirmed from the books. Would I have appreciated more if they’d had time to do it? Probably. Things like the unnecessary love triangle of Baela with Addam and Alyn are still more interesting than a lot of the crazier antics of our leads.

    In conclusion, “The Dragon in Winter” is a pretty good installment of the series but I’m not sure what it’s building up to. We’re almost to the end of the season and yet while pieces have been moved into place, I remain committed to House of the Dragon but I also feel like the series is far less epic in scope than Game of Thrones in its third season. Still, I’m watching.

7/10 

Fallout: The Series season two review

 
    I found season two was a bit...meh. Like eating Sugar Bombs that are two hundred years old, you're getting a lot of rads but not very much in the way of nourishment. Before you begin clutching your Pre-War pearls, I should clarify that I am both a huge Fallout fan who has played all the main games as well as a guy who actively hates those outrage merchants that reflexively despise everything on the internet. 

    I came into the franchise with Fallout 3, became a huge fan, and have generally followed its efforts ever since. But I’m not mindlessly supportive either. I felt Fallout 4 was a step-down storytelling wise from Fallout 3 (let alone New Vegas) and that Fallout 76 started in a state that was absolutely missing the point of the franchise. Nevertheless, I loved season one and thought it was a fantastic introduction to the setting for newcomers..

    This is frustrating because I was super excited about them visiting New Vegas and the greater Mojave Wasteland after the teaser for it in the previous season’s finale. Unfortunately, there’s something to be said about being careful what you wish for. In this case, the attempt to write around the events of Fallout: New Vegas while paying homage to them proves to be a needle that the showrunners just can’t thread. More on that later.

    The premise is Lucy Maclean (Ella Purnell) and Cooper/The Ghou (Walter Goggins) are on the trail of Hank Maclean (Kyle MacLachlan), Lucy’s father and the mastermind behind Shady Sands’ destruction. Hank has a nefarious plan to use mind-control technology to build the kind of paradise that the vaults were intended to be (or so he claims).

    Maximus (Aaron Moten), meanwhile, is now a highly decorated Brotherhood of Steel paladin and preparing for his Chapter’s overthrow of the Commonwealth Elders. Norm (Moisés Arias) is meanwhile trapped in Vault 31, surrounded by cryogenically frozen middle managers from Vault-Tec and Chet (Dave Register) is unwillingly caring for his sorta-girlfriend, Steph’s (Annabelle O’Hagan), baby. Oh, and Mister House shows up (Raffi Silva, Justin Theroux).

    There are a lot of plots and eight episodes mean that we move around at lightning pace to deal with each of them. Unfortunately, the season just keeps adding new plotlines while not taking sufficiently long enough to develop its current plot. There’s the Great Khans, Caesar’s Legion, The Kings (now feral ghouls), a focus on who is behind Vault-Tec, what Cooper’s wife’s true motivations are, and how the US government is involved. No sooner does it introduce a new element to the show than we move on to introducing another one.

    The biggest problem with season two is lore bloat. The first season was perfectly enjoyable if you’d never experienced Fallout as a gamer (my wife is proof) but the second season I suspect must be damned near incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t played Fallout: New Vegas. It’s not terrible but I feel like they could have cut two subplots (probably Norm’s and Chet’s, entertaining as they may be) or at added another couple of episodes to develop the existing ones. Probably both.

    The show also feels like it’s in conversation with the online critics of its first season. A lot of the more controversial decisions of season one like Vault-Tec being behind the war, Mrs. Howard being evil, and the death of the NCR are all walked back. But this happening didn’t feel organic. It also does its best not to provide any answers as to what happened at Hoover Dam or the Courier’s existence, which is a bit like ignoring who won WW2 in the Fifties, A lot of beloved franchise elements are also treated for laughs that don’t really work like the Brotherhood of Steel chapters feeling like they belong on Rick and Morty.

    Season Two isn’t bad, at least if we’re measuring whether I’m entertained. I was, mostly. I loved things like finally getting to see Pre-War Canada and now think that would be the perfect place for the next Fallout game. I also felt the acting of all the leads and recreation of Vegas was well done. I think Caesar's Legion was well realized if terribly underused. Sadly, everything else was a bit too exaggerated and comical. Will I watch season three? Yes. However, I hope they dial everything down and focus on the things that matter most: the characters and their journey.

7/10 

House of the Dragon 3×06 “Faceless Men” review

 
    Queen Rhaenyra is a woman that is interesting to examine in the context of Queen Daenerys. The character of Rhaenyra is a foil to the Stormborn Dragon Queen in both her origins as well as how the show is treating her. Queen Daenerys is the Chosen One who fulfills Aegon's prophecy and unites the Seven Kingdoms against the others before successfully defeating them. You know, regardless of the fact that Arya is the one who managed to slay the Night King (who doesn't exist in the bookverse the same way anyway). Daenerys was also a friend to slaves and the oppressed people of the Seven Kingdoms as well as Essos. Rhaenyra, in simple terms, is not.

    It's actually a pretty good contrast to see how quickly Rhaenyra becomes disenchanted with ruling. While she wants to actually help the populace of King's Landing, she doesn't have any solutions and is unwilling to take drastic measure to help anyone. In one of the genuinely affecting scenes, a woman talking of a sept being raided before one of the girls being carried off to a horrific fate. Rhaenyra's reaction is not Daenyers, who would do something stupid but bold. Instead, she's simply bored and annoyed before saying she'll pray for her. It reminds me of certain politicians in the real world after a tragedy, but I won't go into that.

    The continued circling of plotlines without any actual progress on them is a problem, though. For example, Rhaena shows up at Lady Aeryn's home to remind us she exists and is living in exile. This does nothing to further their plots or provide any real character development for her. This is because the writers are unwilling to invent much in the way of actual character development plots and when they do, like Daemon learning to be a better husband, they don't necessarily match with what the characters are doing on screen. For example, Alys Rivers is now trying to educate Aemond Targaryen about dragon eggs. Where did she get these? Why? What is her motivation? 

    The best part of the episode is undoubtedly putting to bed the story of Ser Criston Cole and that is sadly a mercy killing. I've been looking forward to his death for some seasons now and have to say that I am underwhelmed. I wish they would have used the iconic line from the book: “I’ll have no songs about how brave you died, Kingmaker.” The sentiment is still there but the scene lacks a lot of the emotional resonance it might have otherwise had. I do give credit for him holding Lady Alicent's favor as he died even if I don't understand why he cherishes that right as he complains previously about being a tool of high born. It also ignores he led his own men to their doom just like one of the people he claims manipulates others.

    I think what's going wrong with the show can be summarized by the fact they have characters make progress in their stories and development but oftentimes in ways that contradict the book characters. Then they attempt to shove the characters back into the role that they were originally meant for. Ser Hugh in the show is an honorable, righteous, and brave man that the show is now having his wife berate for going off to become a dragonrider. She blames him for her brother's death and assault versus, you know, the Hightowers that he's now going to be waging war against. Its nonsensical but Hugh has to become disillusioned with the Blacks.

    In conclusion, this is an episode that should be incredibly important but suffers for the fact that the characters really aren't possessed of much natural development. They need to establish the characters and their motivations before moving them to the next set piece. Unfortunately, I don't think the showrunners really have a good handle on many of these individuals. Also, why is a show called "Faceless Men" lacking in Faceless Men?

6/10 

House of the Dragon 3x05 "Unbowed and Unbent"

    The Dance of the Dragons has been a war we've not seen much of due to the focus on both the dragons as well as the politics thereof. The actual Dance was a series of battles that included armies, ships, and a variety of parties that had their own stories. These have been finally coming to the forefront with the Battle of the Gullet and the movement of the various armies across Westeros. However, the show has still run into the uncomfortable reality of prestige TV: big battles are expensive and Warner Brothers has been slashing costs everywhere.

    I bring this up because this episode changes the scope of the war as a (presumably) cost cutting measure. Instead of the great conflicts of the book, we are having the forces of the Greens transformed into a guerilla army. This was a somewhat unpopular plotline in A Song of Ice and Fire and the show where Daenerys seemed powerless against the Sons of the Harpy when she was the ruler of Meereen. Guerilla warfare has always existed in history but was never quite the organized thing that states engaged in and would have been classified as banditry.

    This is particularly noteworthy as the decision to engage in it is undertaken by Ser Criston Cole who is tormented by the inability to live up to his vows. If anyone should be wanting to engage in "honorable" warfare, it is he. Mind you, he has been somewhat adrift plotline wise ever since he left King's Landing and the show seems to have settled onto the idea he's wanted to die in battle since parting from Alicent Hightower or at least when his forces were decimated by Rhaenys' dragon during the Battle of Rook's Rest.

    Honestly, I find this something of a disappointment as I felt the relationship of Ser Criston Cole to the Greens and Black was one of the most compelling ones of House of the Dragon. Part of this is due to Fire and Blood not giving them much to do after certain events. It is something the show attempted to rectify with generating new plots for Alicent (to mixed results). I feel they could have done the same for Criston and that he's now just killing time until his next part in the story.

    Sadly, Alicent's own plots are ill-conceived with an intention to spirit away herself and Helaena but not the Crown Princess. This is such an appallingly evil act that she lies to her daughter regarding repeatedly that any sympathy for trying to do something other than wait around as Rhaenyra's prisoner. Most would side with a woman protecting their child but not at the expense of their grandchild.

    Ormund Hightower is also financing guerilla warfare within the walls of King's Landing, which I would love to understand how he's doing. Are they Hightower loyalists, sellswords, or the common folk? The show is not interested in this question, though. Instead, they just have him continue to do atrocity after atrocity in hoping they can make him the next Joffrey or Ramsey Bolton. I do like he recites some Dornish history regarding Aegon the Conqueror's reign.

    In conclusion, this was an episode that feels like it doesn't know quite what to do with its characters. The show is still better than season two but this is a low bar to clear. I feel like I'm understanding what George R.R. Martin had as a problem with this season.

7/10