TRAILER: Doctor Strange brings magic to the Marvel Universe

For years--the better part of this decade--I've been DYING to see how Marvel would add the arcane elements of the Sorcerer Supreme to their cinematic universe. Doses of the scienc-y "magic" were dropped with the Thor movies and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Avengers films had a pinch of that old Kirby Krackle, as well.

Strange even had a passing mention as a possible "threat" by SHIELD (we all know how that went!) In Captain America: Winter Soldier. The set up has been a loooong time coming.

And he's not just one of my favorites--he's long been one of Stan the Man's favorite characters.I was psyched way back in 2009 when Stan Lee said Strange was on Marvel Studios' radar to be made. I'm cannot properly communicate my elation at it finally happening!

By the look of this trailer Doctor Strange is gonna be serving up the MAIN COURSE! Finally we're going to experience the full-on comic book wonder that Marvel is famous for. I suppose instead of the Krackle, we'll be getting some "Ditko Dazzle!"

By the Eye of Agamotto, behold the psychedelic visions of Dr. Stephen Strange in this origin-focused teaser! Enjoy!

  
Doctor Strange hits US theaters November 4, 2016

More details:
If you're not up on your Strange lore, now's the time to dive in:

• Marvel's Doctor Strange listing
• IMDB listing
• Official movie site

Images and video courtesy Marvel and Disney

Space Magic in Rad Astra

First, a confession...

This is one of those posts that I initially dread writing. Mainly because I over think it. I've been mulling over ideas for space magic for a loooong time. Problem is I'd read spellcasting rules for other games as inspiration and that would just end up as an exercise in disappointment once I realized it wouldn't work in a rules-light game like X-plorers (the ruleset I'm currently using for Rad Astra) or other similar systems.

I'd decided a long while back on how I wanted the character class to work, but that didn't give me much of a clue about how to structure the underlying system. Until I decided to just let go and use X-plorers as my divining rod and snip off ideas from other sources without (hopefully) borrowing from them whole-cloth. Either way, this stuff still needs to be playtested.

This is a long winded way of saying, I'm not entirely sure this will work, but it's a start. I had originally planned to run a new spells system and space warlock/wizard class at Con of the North in 2015 but I was still hashing out details. So maybe consider this the first in a series, with this first post explaining how magic works (in a broad, rambling sense!), and an upcoming post will outline how the new class works.

This is all to say, it's going to take me a few tries to get this right. All right, let's begin...

How Magic Works in Rad Astra

In the beginning of spacetime, before the birth of the old gods and the plucking of the universal filaments to create the vibrations that would give way to the multiverse, there was only... the Krackle. The original source of all things that cracked, sputtered, spit, and hissed with raw power. Pure and potent, it's energies were first discovered by the eternal titans of the cosmos. Not only did they weave eternal geometries it into galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae, but likewise did they pour its essence into the "reverse" of spacetime fabric: hyperspace, astrality, and the dark dimensions. Hence, its application is unlimited. It can be pooled or tapped and called forth, fueling cosmic and arcane might. But those gifted mortals who seek to tame the blood of the universe are cursed to crave it evermore!