By Frank Gori
“Destroying things is much easier than making them.” ― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games.
If I had not
already read the books, I might have had a knee-jerk hate-vomit reaction to Then
Hunger Games based on the marketing. It is a forgivable reaction to the way
the movie was shot and marketed, and I had some apprehension about using it as
this week’s theme. Based on our page views and reddit reactions I was a little
right in that we got a somewhat negative reaction.
For better or worse
Collin’s work has been caught in the wake of Twilight’s tidal wave of
success. In my opinion the movie suffered for that somewhat. Drawing
comparisons between the two (having read the books and seen the movies because
some gamers do indeed have lady-friends) is still quite unjust. In one we have
a strong female protagonist complete with description and flaws, the other is
an empty shell trying to fill her life with a supposedly perfect male figure
that fits the criteria for an abuser.
The plot of Twilight
can be summed up by saying that relationships can work as long as one person
completely bases their entire existence to suiting the needs of another. The
Hunger Games has much more depth. Frankly, The Hunger Games draws more
parallels to The Running Man and “V” is for Vendetta. If that
sounds awesome to you pick up the books.
There are plenty of
great themes to explore in The Hunger Games: coming of age, the cost of
fame, the tradeoff of freedom for security, the role of perceptions to one’s
reality, or my favorite the ultimate underdog prevails through straight out
stubborn persistence. I’m not talking about Katniss Everdean, I’m talking about
Peeta Mallark.
If you think the
male protagonist isn’t as much of an underdog as the female, you might be a
sexist. Katniss is an amazing archer with essentially the skills of a ranger
going in; Peeta is an expert baker with decent strength, intelligence, and
charisma scores.
Peeta is also an excellent model of taking a so-so character
class with good scores and making it work with creative play. He uses Bluff and
Diplomacy to ingratiate himself to a gang of higher CR characters in the early
part of the game. He uses his Int and Cha on the audience to create a
sympathetic dialogue to win support form an audience that saves his life later
with sponsored healing potions. He uses his Profession (Cake decorator) skill
to greatly enhance his stealth score to avoid danger when he gets injured. This
helps him survive for days.
I could go on but read the darn books, now here’s your
crunch:
Haymitch’s Medicated
Burn Crème- This works as a regular light healing potion for most injuries,
but acts as a moderate healing potion if the wounds suffered are from acid or
fire damage.
Price: 150 GP
Peeta’s Paint kit- This kit has water resistant makeup that is enchanted to work with unskilled users. Painting exposed skin adds a bonus of 2d6 to wearers stealth roll. There are 5 doses per kit, if the user has an appropriate art skill the kit can produce 10 charges. The makeup remains effective for up to 24hrs for the unskilled, up to 24hrs per character level for the skilled. Washing it off negates the duration.
Price: 500gp
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