The wonderful folks at ThinkGeek have some fabulous cookie cutters available, from Gingerdead Men to Pac Man, and Williams-Sonoma (I know, right?) has several sets of Star Wars cookie cutters. Time is running a little short to get any of these cool cutters in time to bake for this year, but with some creative frosting skillz, you can turn regular gingerbread men, snowmen, reindeer, and Santas into little zombies, or Cylons, or whatever. And hey, what geek is going to turn down cookies in any shape, even if they are just plain old snowflakes?

Now all you need is a cookie recipe or two, right? This week I am happy to share with you two of my favorites, one for gingerbread and one for sugar cookies. I typically mix up all my cookie dough in the evening after I get home from work, put it in the fridge to chill, then bake all the cookies in a marathon session the next day – it’s really nice to get up in the morning and have all the dough waiting for you. When it comes to frosting, I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of frosted cookies – I just decorate mine with colored sugar – so my advice if you don’t have a tried and true frosting recipe of your own is to buy frosting at the store.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

My parents don’t care for gingerbread, so my mom never made gingerbread cookies when I was growing up. I had to find my own way as an adult. This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sei Unser Gast (Be our Guest) by the North Star Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. And yes, those are ginger-buffalo in the picture.

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt*

1 cup lard, butter, or vegetable shortening (I use butter! *If you use salted butter you don’t need to add any additional salt)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup molasses

2 eggs

Melt whatever fat you’re using and pour into a mixing bowl. Beat in the sugar and molasses, then the eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and spices. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough forms (it will be kind of messy/crumbly). Pack the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic or put in a plastic bag and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-third of the dough at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge (if it’s too sticky to roll, chill it longer; if it’s too stiff to roll, it got too cold – leave it out on the counter to warm up for a little while). Roll to 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick, depending on how thick you like your cookies. Cut out cookies and place on parchment lined (or lightly greased) cookie sheets. Bake about 10 minutes or until cookies are rather firm to the touch and starting to crisp around the edges (bake a couple minutes less if you like softer cookies, a couple minutes more if you prefer them crisp). Remove to either cooling racks or spread out newspapers/paper sacks to cool. Makes at least 4 dozen, depending on the size of your cutters.

German Cutout Sugar Cookies

This is my mom’s cutout sugar cookie recipe. What makes it “German”? I really have no idea, but that’s what was written on her recipe card, so that’s what I keep calling it. Unlike a lot of cutout sugar cookies I’ve had before, these taste absolutely fabulous even without frosting.

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (If you use salted butter you don’t need to add any additional salt)

Mix the first five ingredients at medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add in the flour (and salt, if needed) and mix until the dough forms. Pack the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic or put in a plastic bag and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-third of the dough at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge (if it’s too sticky to roll, chill it longer; if it’s too stiff to roll, it got too cold – leave it out on the counter to warm up for a little while). Roll to 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick, depending on how thick you like your cookies. Cut out cookies and place on parchment lined (or lightly greased) cookie sheets; sprinkle with colored sugar or leave them plain if you want to frost them. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges around the edges (bake a couple minutes less if you like softer cookies, a couple minutes more if you prefer them crisp). Remove to either cooling racks or spread out newspapers/paper sacks to cool. Makes at least 4 dozen, depending on the size of your cutters.

The Finishing Touches

Regardless of which recipe you use, make sure all your cookies are completely cool before frosting them. Decorating can be time consuming, so make sure you have a comfy chair and a couple hours to spare. Let the frosting set (overnight if you can) before you pack up goodie trays for everyone. I’ve learned that while a pretty presentation is nice, most people don’t care if those cookies come to them in a fancy tin or on a paper plate, so do whatever works for you.

It doesn’t take much to make a fun handmade gift – with these recipes and a little time and effort, you’ll be able to give all your friends and family a gift they’ll love and always remember. Just be warned – they’ll probably want more cookies next year!

Have you made geeky cutout cookies before?

With gadgets come choices: laptop, iPad or netbook?  Or can you get away with ditching them all and relying on your smart phone?  What about your trusty DS or PSP for the long plane ride?  Where do we keep all these electronics so that they don’t get crushed or stolen, but are easily accessible for plane checkpoints and Twitter updates?

I am very practical.  More than that – I’m pretty cheap.  I don’t have the perfect catch-all bag yet, because I won’t buy one until I’m certain it’s The One – and I have a lot of requirements.  Here, then, is a peek into my brain as I attempt to suss out what I want in a gadget bag.

Zip It

I am fond of messenger bags, satchels and the like; particularly the kind that tip the laptop vertically instead of horizontally.  However, many of those bags close by draping a piece of cloth across the top, leaving areas on the sides exposed by the elements.  My dream bag would have to zip closed.   That’s considerably easier to find in a backpack than a cross-body bag –  so let’s consider backpacks.

Bags That Come Close: STM Small Alley Bag

A House For My Back

There’s a wide variety of laptop backpacks available, with plenty of room for everything from hydration systems to the course load of a first-semester Bio major.  They often have cool, cushy straps that claim to minimize the wear and tear of, well, life.

The downside?  Well, for one, they often look like… well, laptop backpacks.  In other words, “please rob me.”  For another, keeping everything out of sight and leaving you hands-free is something that’s perfect for the outdoors, and not so perfect when you want to keep an eye on something you just bought.  I like having my bag easily accessible, for grabbing a water bottle or my phone or whatever I need.  I can see using a backpack for travel – not necessarily at the con.

Oh, and?  I’m clumsy as all get-out.  I would probably take out three people with my overstuffed backpack and not even notice.  Having my appendages where I can see them helps with my body awareness.  Hmm, looks like I’m looking at messenger-style bags again.

Bags That Come Close: Level8 17″ Atlas Backpack

Keeping It Simple

I’ve noticed a bit of the disconnect in the laptop bags I’ve been looking at.  I have a laptop that is on the smaller side, and very slim.  I want a bag that keeps my laptop secure, but has lots of room for everything else.  However, most of the bags that are designed for the new Air seem to be for just the bare essentials – and the bags that have room for the kitchen sink are made for monster 17-inch laptops that would leave mine knocking around.

So maybe the best, cheapest decision is the simplest: get some sort of super-protective sleeve for my laptop, and use a regular, mammoth messenger bag.  Maybe even a vertical one, if I can find it.  Then it won’t matter if I decide to bring my laptop, my iPad or a game of Battleship.

Bags That Come Close: The Handlebar 13″ Laptop Sleeve by Brokesy

Almost Perfect

In truth, I have a “purse” that is very close to the perfect bag.  Technically it’s a Man Bag, bought in the men’s section of Target somewhere around 2007.  I have scoured the Internet for a picture, to no avail; naturally, this one time, the bag is lacking any branding or tags.

So why is it perfect?  It zips closed; it has secret pockets upon pockets, inside and outside.  I can place my iPad safely inside, or leave it sticking out in an outer pocket (worn against my body, in that case).  It is the TARDIS of bags, fitting everything from a bottle of water to stuffed animals with ease.   The only thing it won’t fit? My laptop.  And the search goes on (or I leave my laptop at home).

What about you?  What do you use to tote your gadgets hither and yon?  And what electronics are essential for travel and cons?

Buying gifts for crafters can be difficult, especially for a non-crafter. The temptation is strong to buy them craft supplies and call it a day. While no crafter I know would turn down a gift of supplies, most of us are rather particular about what we use. For example, I use only certain brands of crochet hooks, and can’t use any yarn made from animal fibers or I’ll break out in a rash. So while I’d be thrilled that you’d thought of me and bought me a box full of 100%  wool yarn, I’d also be toting it back to the craft store to exchange it for something I could actually use. So unless you know the crafter so well that you know exactly which brands of paint or types of thread they prefer, I’d get them a craft store gift card instead of taking a chance on buying them the wrong thing.

But man, gift cards are decidedly not geeky. What’s Santa to do? Luckily, there are lots of geeky books and products out there for the crafter on your list. If you play your cards right, the recipient of your gift just might be so grateful that they make you something in return. Win-win!

Gifts To Inspire Geeky Projects

Books and magazines loaded with patterns, instructions, and ideas are a welcome gift to any crafter. Even the most creative ones, who make amazing things with seemingly no instructions other than their own imaginations, can get inspiration from project books, or find techniques for creating the great stuff they’ve been dreaming of. Or they might take a pattern and use it as a starting-off point to make something completely different

Speaking of patterns… There are a ton of talented guys and gals selling original patterns for sorts of crafts on Etsy and elsewhere on the web. While a few of them are physical paper patterns that will be mailed to you, most of them are in PDF format, sent via e-mail. If you’re buying the patterns as a gift, make sure you let the seller know so you can figure out how they want to go about it. Don’t just purchase the pattern and make a copy of the file for your friend (or worse, print it out for them). That’s file sharing, and it’s just not cool. The seller may want to e-mail the pattern directly to its intended recipient, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to hold off until you can present your friend with a “Patterns Incoming!” gift card in advance.

Since I’m primarily a needleworker, I know the most about resources for needle crafts. What about other crafts? Just check out the crafts and hobbies section of your favorite bookstore. There are tons of books out there, on everything from steampunk jewelry to woodworking. Even if you personally don’t know much about the craft, flip through the book to look at the projects. A good craft book will have awesome pictures and detailed instructions. If the projects in the book look like something that would interest or inspire your favorite crafter, go for it! The same thing goes for craft magazines. Giving the gift of several magazines with an assortment of projects and articles may help your crafter find a publication they love and want to subscribe to. (And then you can get them a gift subscription next year!)

Here are some suggestions to get you started (I own all of these and can vouch for their awesomeness).

Creepy Cute Crochet: Amigurumi are adorable little crocheted plushies, and patterns abound for them. Want to make a little Cthulhu, or a zombie, or a skeleton bride and groom? Creepy Cute Crochet has those patterns, among others. The book also has a great section on the basics of making amigurumi, so the crocheter can take what they’ve learned and create their own little monsters.

Charmed Knits: Knitters and crocheters around the world watch every new Harry Potter movie with baited breath, waiting to see what the new Hogwarts scarves look like, or what sweaters Molly Weasley has made for her clan that Christmas, so they can recreate them for themselves. If your favorite crafter is tired of winging it, or isn’t comfortable stitching without a pattern, get them a copy of Charmed Knits, chock-full of Potter-inspired patterns that even Dumbledore would love. While they’re all knitting patterns, crocheters can get plenty of ideas and inspiration from the book as well.

Manga Cross-Stitch: I won a copy of this book in a Twitter contest last year, and I’m still so delighted with it that I can’t say how! Cross-stitchers don’t have to be resigned to Thomas Kinkade landscapes and vases of flowers anymore – now they can make their own manga-inspired scenes to adorn their walls! The book comes with a CD containing the patterns in the book, as well as software to make your own patterns.

Sublime Stitching patterns: Sublime Stitching makes some fantastic embroidery patterns. Geeky selections include unicorns, fairies, zombies, pirates, and space robots. Don’t know anyone who embroiders? These patterns can be used for wood burning and painting too! You can buy transfer sheets (and use an iron to get the pattern to your fabric) or PDF versions of the patterns.

Dover Clip Art and Design Source books: More images for painters, carvers, embroiderers, and artists of all types! I have a number of these books and wish I could have them all. A large number of the Dover books come with a CD of the images, making them even easier to use.

Gifts To Help Make Geeky Things

Remember a few paragraphs up when I said to be careful about buying supplies? I haven’t changed my mind on that. However, there are some generic tools and a few supplies that you can give as gifts without much worry.

Cool scissors: If you have to cut stuff for your craft, you can never have too many scissors. For needlework, I’m in love with these Wicked Step Scissors and Gold Dragon Scissors, both available from Sublime Stitching. Your crafty geek has lots of cutting needs, and wants only the best? You can’t go wrong with anything from Gingher Scissors (“Scissors worth geeking out over” isn’t their motto, but it should be).

Tools appropriate for the ren faire: Jas. Townsend & Son, Inc., is one of my favorite sources for awesome historically accurate loot. Gifts for the ren faire or SCA geek abound here. Crafty-specific ones include spinning and weaving supplies, inks and writing implements, buttons and buckles, and more!

Geektastic work lights: Every crafter I know has experienced eye strain at some point, due to working in poor light. Save those eyes so you can see your character sheet! I am hopelessly pining away for an OttLite lamp, especially one of these cool spin and store lamps (because it spins and stores things!) or a POD lamp, which looks like a battle droid and can manage the wires for all my phone chargers while it provides sweet beautiful light.

Storage containers: Craft supplies need a place to call home, otherwise they will just lie together in a huge pile, start breeding, and take over your entire living room/bedroom/house. A crafter will find a use for any storage container they are given, whether it is craft-specific or not. So if you find a plastic tote decorated with unicorns, or a tin shaped like a Tardis, I guarantee the crafty geek in your life will squee and happily fill it with beads, yarn, or paint brushes.

Kits: Craft kits come with the complete supplies and instructions for a specific project. New and experienced crafters alike love the convenience and ease of crafting from a kit – no extra supplies to buy, no decisions to make. Sublime Stitching (have you noticed that I love them?) has a number of embroidery kits available, and you can pick the geeky patterns you want included. Etsy seller Midwest Maille has a wide selection of chain maille jewelry kits at several different price points (and levels of skill). And for the model builder on your gift list, it’s hard to go wrong with a kit for any Star Wars vehicle or Star Trek ship they don’t already have.

Need More Help?

Even if you don’t know a knitting needle from an ink pen, with just a little bit of research, you can make holiday magic for the crafty geek in your life. Still stumped, though, even after reading this post? Leave a question in the comments, or shoot me an e-mail, and I’ll do all I can to help out!

Have you given or received an awesome geeky and crafty gift? What was it? As a crafty geek, what would you love to unwrap this holiday season?

Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side – Whether your geek is a major fan of Star Wars or Family Guy, this parody of The Empire Strikes Back is sure to be a hit.  You might want to make sure they’ve also seen Blue Harvest, the parody of A New Hope.

District 9 – This sci-fi thriller, set in South Africa, brings a distinctly different flavor to the typical big-budget alien flick.  Good for the geek who likes both aliens and action and doesn’t mind a little (okay, a lot) gore.

Inglorious Basterds – Tarantino’s latest is an epic WWII movie filled with conspiracy and, yes, more than a little blood.  I’ve included the link to the 2-disc Special Edition because I’ve never met a Tarantino fan that wasn’t scrambling for extras.

Push – A group of Americans with special powers are on the run in Hong Kong.  This movie is underrated, in my opinion, and manages to stay away from being too similar to Heroes or X-Men.  It also manages to have a indie feel to it, despite the big-budget visuals.

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut – If you know a Watchmen geek who saw the movie on opening night, chances are they either liked it because it was close to the source material, or whined about the source material that didn’t make it in.  This edition – combining the Director’s Cut and the Tales of the Black Freighter – is for them.

The IT Crowd – I’m tossing this one in because I firmly believe most geeks will love it.  I’ve written a longer review already.  If these British goofballs seem like they’ll appeal to your geek, give them a chance!

Star Trek – With all the geek-oriented movies that came out this year, it might be tempting to forget about this reboot.  Rare that a movie with so much hype and advertising, as well as a critical, ingrained fanbase, actually does well with pretty much all audiences.  This was definitely one of the good eggs of the year.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Ultimate Edition) – Now that they’re almost done making all the Harry Potter movies, they’ve starting coming out with what will supposedly be the final DVD editions.  This first one features four discs of goodies.

Ghostbusters 1 & 2 – The release of the Ghostbusters game this year, as well as increased rumors about a third installment, have brought a renewed interest in the 20-year-old franchise.  And now you can get both movies, a host of special features including some of the cartoon series, and a little booklet, inexpensively.

Metalocalypse, Season One – This show from Adult Swim is not for the faint of heart – either from the gore or the skull-melting music.  The animated show combines mostly-related plot lines with fictional music videos (think Jem, only, you know, more hardcore).  This one’s for the geek that… well… if it’s a fit for them, I’ll bet you already know.

How about you?

What other DVDs are on your wishlist this year?

We’ve already checked out everyone’s favorite anger management case, the Barbarian, the tree-hugging, garden-planting, recycling-before-it-became-cool Druid, the peace pipe smokin’ Shaman, and now we’re on the final class – the paladin of the forest, the Warden.

In no particular order:

#1 Level 1 Encounter: Roots of Stone

“The burst of primal energy you unleash ripples through the ground around you and limits your foes’ movement.”

Starmus loves to be the center of attention.  He’ll round up all the creatures and bring them all to him, just so he can show off.  Some of his party members say he’s just showing off how well he bleeds, especially the cleric, who often has to go into her last reserves of power to keep him alive.  But death doesn’t phase Starmus – it’s just another stop along the circle of life, death, and rebirth.

#2 Level 6 Utility: Returning the Gift

“You draw on your strength to return the aid given to you by an ally.”

Dynna’s mother raised her right.  “Always give back,” she said. “Never take without giving.”  Dynna lives by these words and is very gracious to all that she meets.  She cleans up her own room at the inn before checking out, she tips her bar wenches well and in battle, she helps the allies that help her by mirroring their beneficial spells back to them.

#3 Level 16 Encounter: Sun Fire Guardian

“Enemies that try to strike your ally are blinded by golden light.”

It’s no secret that Karn has the hots for the cleric.  He follows her wherever she goes, he won’t let her out of his sight, and his first matter of business in any battle is to be sure that she is safe. He’ll drop anything he’s doing to rush to her aid, or at least close enough to send the sun fire guardian to protect her if she’s being attacked.

#4 Level 22 Encounter: Strength From Death

“You gain renewed vigor when an enemy falls.”

Trunk is a warforged who grew up in the forest.  Although there’s very little natural about him, he feels the need to protect wildlife and all those who inhabit the forests of the world.  Killing those who threaten that way of life gives him great pleasure.  Every time one enemy falls, a giant grin spreads across his face as he raises his sword and rushes for the next target.

#5 Earth Shaker Level 12 Daily: Tread The Earth

“You dive within the earth and move through it quickly, gaining advantage over unsuspecting enemies.”

They call him the Dirty Dwarf.  In fact, nobody remembers his real name because they’ve always known him as Dirty.  His hair in dreads, his skin caked in dirt, he’s a fearsome warrior.  When he suddenly started burrowing into the ground during battles, it didn’t really surprise his party much.  He’s always been half dwarf, half bulette.

That’s all, folks!

Grab your copy of Primal Power from amazon.com or your Friendly Local Gaming Store and start having some great adventures!

We’ve already checked out everyone’s favorite anger management case, the Barbarian and the tree-hugging, garden-planting, recycling-before-it-became-cool Druid.  Now it’s time for the peace pipe smokin’ Shaman!

In no particular order:

#1 Level 2 Utility: Engaging Pursuit

“Your spirit companion follows your enemies closely, preventing them from escaping your wrath.”

Ever have a bear follow your every move?  It starts out annoying, then becomes frustrating, and eventually turns out deadly.  Friv loves sending Bobo after bad guys.  And hey, if there are no bad guys, it’s fun to make Bobo follow the cleric around.  That big city boy doesn’t know what to do with bears, even spirit ones.

#2 Level 7 Encounter: Hammer of the Grasping Tides

“Your spirit companion transforms into a thrashing tide – a tidal wave to your foes and guiding current to your allies.”

Moradin’s healers tend to be clerics.  But not Rartor.  He has always felt the call of the wilds outside of the mountains and found the ways of the shaman to mesh better with his lifestyle.  It’s no problem – Moradin has blessed him with a great hammer of water to beat down the bad guys.

#3 Level 15 Utility: Tree Father’s Bounty

“Trees erupt from the ground, battering your enemies and allowing your allies to skirt around the trunks to reach superior positions.”

Tweet believes there are never enough trees.  Whenever the party travels, she plants acorns and saplings.  She’ll even pour healing potions at the roots of ailing trees… or at least she did until the party took the potions away from her.  Because of her close connection to trees, she can summon them in the heat of battle, but she winces every time a tree takes a hit while shielding an ally.

#4 Level 22 Utility: Medicines of Many Forms

“You scatter medicinal herbs among your allies, healing body, mind, and spirit.”

Eelu loves herbs.  Eelu loves talking about herbs, collecting herbs, eating herbs, drinking tea made of herbs, and healing with herbs… but above all else, Eelu loves smoking herbs.  It’s rare to find Eelu without his special pipe.  Sometimes the herbs smell sweet, sometimes bitter, sometimes savory.  His party have learned to predict Eelu’s personality based on the way he smells that day.

#5 Great Elder Level 12 Utility: Great Hymn of Nature

“In the spirit world, the song is many-layered and hours long.  In the natural world, you hum three bars and the spirits do the rest.”

Lyre’s parents were bards, and she traveled the world with them, listening to their songs.  While she decided to go the route of the shaman, she still believes in the great power of music and often sings her spells instead of simply saying the words of power.  In fact, her singing voice is so beautiful that she’s often been able to earn the party free meals by performing the many songs she’s learned throughout her life.

Coming Soon…

Stay tuned for the last post in the series on the warden! In the meantime, grab your copy of Primal Power from amazon.com or your Friendly Local Gaming Store.

The first post in the series took a gander at everyone’s favorite anger management case, the Barbarian.  Today, we’ll look at our tree-hugging, garden-planting, recycling-before-it-became-cool friend, the Druid.

In no particular order:

#1 Level 2 Utility: Sudden Bite

“When a foe drops its guard, you change into a beast to strike.”

Jilene looks like a sweet and innocent elf.  In fact, she appears like she’s terrified of everything.  The sky looks like lightning bolts will fly out of it at any moment, her food always smells as though it’s been poisoned, and she’s never, never, EVER the first person to peer around a corner.  In fact, during battles, she makes it a point to stay as far back from the action as possible.  But when an enemy tries to run past her, she morphs into a black panther and swipes at the creature, snarling viciously.

#2 Level 5 Daily: Clinging Drones

“Immense insects cling to anyone who gets near you, making it difficult for them to move carefully.”

After years in the jungles of Xen’drik, Frank the half-giant has become more of a druid than a cleric.  Where he once used to summon a Celestial Bee to fight off undead (rather ineffectively when it came to damage, his party might add), he can not summon a swarm of giant bees that sting the enemy and slow it down.  Turns out that living amongst the kobolds in the jungle makes one a pretty good beekeeper.  “You’re covered in beeeeeeees!”

#3 Level 16 Utility: Dryad’s Trees

“Two ancient trees spring up. You and your allies can move from one tree to the other with a single step.”

Thorn’s father wanted him to be a warlord, commanding soldiers, leading an army.  But Thorn wasn’t that kind of guy, really.  He was more of the plant a tree, hug a kitty, love your neighbor kind of guy.  Needless to say, his father disowned him at a young age.  Luckily, he was able to take refuge in the local druid grove.  He still grins when he throws acorns of primal energy across the battlefield and watches them sprout instantly into giant trees that his allies can use to gain better positioning.  If only his father could see him now!

#4 Level 29 Daily: Earth Maw

“You call forth a maw of earth and stone, which seeks to swallow your foe.”

Hew believes that some creatures are just born evil and that they need to be returned to the earth so they can be reformed into something good.  As such, he always buries creatures that the party kills.  In fact, he bought a bag of holding just to hold a large shovel.  When he cannot bury a creature with dirt, he covers it with a large piece of brown cloth (which he also carries in his bag of holding just for this purpose).  When Hew opens the great maw of the earth with this spell, he calls to his god, asking that the creature’s next life be more enlightened.

#5 Level 12 Spiral Wind Utility: Releasing Breath

“As your friend catches his or her breath, wind gusts past, making you and your allies harder to see.”

When Hunter decided he’d rather channel the wind than be as a wild beast, everything changed.  As his spirit wind whips around the party, he heals and protects them.  This is great, since the party recently lost their cleric.  What’s not so great?  Ever since the whole Spiral Wind incident, Hunter’s been significantly more chatty.  In fact, he doesn’t shut up.

Coming Soon…

Stay tuned for posts on the shaman, and warden! In the meantime, grab your copy of Primal Power from amazon.com or your Friendly Local Gaming Store.

Several years back my family purchased its first automated hot chocolate machine, and my life was forever changed.  Previously, I had made the occasional instant cup with hot water, but you have no idea how much better that same mix is when milk is added.  I was an instant addict.  I’m also clumsy and likely to burn myself when dealing with a stove or oven, so an automated machine is perfect for me.

Here’s the thing, though: thus far, no cocoa machine has been perfect.  I’m like Goldilocks, trying to find that perfect product.  Hopefully, you gadget geeks out there know of something I don’t, and that’s why I’m making my search public.

These are the two machines I’ve had the most experience with, and their pros and cons:

Cocomotion, by Mr Coffee

This is my original life-changer.  It’s cheap – around 20 bucks, and easily available, from Amazon to WalMart.  You pour in the liquid and the cocoa, hit ON, and, in the words of Maurice Moss, just walk away.  It heats it to a really nice temperature, not scalding, not lukewarm.  Overall, a “nice” product.

Here’s the problem, though: The whole thing is one piece.  The spinner that mixes is is a detachable magnet, which is nice, but the plastic container is attached to the plastic bottom.  No dishwasher,  and it’s awkward to hold when you’re washing it out.

Oh, and, turns out, it’s not the greatest quality.  My family went through at least two or more when I was in college; later, I bought my own, and it died in about a year.  It starts losing heat, and it stops mixing as well, leaving giant chocolately clumps… essentially, the whole thing just dies.  When mine died last year, I started hunting for a different brand to replace it, and I wound up with…

Cocoa-Latte, by Back to Basics

Essentially, it’s the same idea – plastic container, plastic bottom.  Runs for around 30 bucks at places like Amazon and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Immediately, it appeared superior to the Cocomotion.

For one thing, the container detaches from the base.  It has a plug on the bottom, which means it’s still not dishwasher-safe, but it’s much easier to wash.  The quality of the whole thing seemed slightly better, and it came with a little recipe book for additional drinks.  In terms of heat, mixing, everything checked out.  Oh, and it also had a little dispensing spigot, so I didn’t have to detach the container to pour my drinks.

I used it every day.   After about a month or so, however, the lever on the little spigot snapped clean off.

I knew this was a possibility – it’s mentioned more than once in Amazon reviews.  In fact, I initially planned not to use the spigot at all, but it was just so cute and handy, I couldn’t resist.

Luckily, it snapped off when the spigot was closed, which means I now effectively have the same machine, but without the dispenser.  And that’s not a big deal; the container is also shaped to pour, and since I can detach the top half, it’s still easier to pour than the old Cocomotion.  It’s been getting daily use again this year, and everything else still seems great.

That’s what’s so frustrating – a spigot isn’t a necessity; why add something with the potential to render the whole machine unusable?

I always have one eye out for the ultimate cocoa machine, something with all the automated benefits and a dishwasher-safe container, but so far my Cocoa-Latte seems to be the best, even with a busted spigot.  Which is fine for me (I wouldn’t want to be the person whose spigot broke in the pour position), but I’m hoping the wrinkles get ironed out in the future.

But I wonder, do you know something I don’t?  Is there a better product out there – maybe not geared for cocoa, but one of those weird coffee products that are utterly foreign to me? Do you have any appliances which, ridiculous as they may be, get a lot of use?

And if you happen to design such products – you have your marching orders!

We’ll start with everyone’s favorite anger management case, the Barbarian.  (I think I referred to the Avenger as an anger management case, too.  Perhaps it’s a hybrid made in heaven?  Then again, the stats probably wouldn’t mesh.  Someone look into that!)

In order from lowest level to highest:

#1 Level 1 Day Attack:  Savage Juggernaut Rage

“Your blow triggers an inner wrath that grows more and more unstoppable with each enemy you fell.”

His mother re-named him Jugger after a very unfortunate encounter with a flight of stairs when he was just beginning to crawl.  She screamed in horror as the tiny gnome rolled down the stairs, head over heels, and crashed into the potted flowers at the bottom.  When she ran down to rescue him, she found he was not crying, but laughing.  “Boom!” he said, pointing at the mess of dirt and flowers on the floor. “I made a big boom!“  To this day, Jugger’s small stature is laughed at… but only until he makes a big boom.

#2 Level 7 Attack: Looming Threat

“An ally might have raised a foe’s ire, but once you strike, that enemy must pay attention to you.”

Dwarf twins Yarka and Tarka have always had problems sharing.  Luckily they went different paths for training – Yarka as a Barbarian and Tarka as a Warden – but being in the same adventuring group causes issues.  For example, whenever Tarka marks an enemy, Yarka does her best to pull the enemies attention to her so she can make the kill.   It’s a constant back and forth that can sometimes drive the other people in their party crazy.

#3 Level 10 Utility Power:  Howl of the Alpha Wolf

“You snarl nearly incomprehensible orders to your allies, and they hasten to obey.”

There are so many great, juicy, absolutely vile vulgarities in the giant language.  In fact, Gauthak believes there really isn’t any other language that can describe horrific things in such detail with so few words.  During a near death experience, Kord appeared to him and told him that he should never use these words again.  “These words grant power to your enemies,” Kord said, “and you will be a stronger warrior if you avoid them.”

For someone who grew up with the mouth of a sailor, giving up vulgarities has been very difficult for Gauthak.  He does his best, messes up frequently, and beats up on himself after the battle.  When he does manage to avoid swearing, he snarls and screams in gibberish.

#4 Level 16 Utility:  Bounding Advance

“You bound past your foes.”

Eyrina is a paradox.  She’s quite possibly the happiest elf ever to walk the earth, but she’s also a bloodthirsty warrior ready to gut an enemy with a single swipe from her blade.   Eyrina doesn’t “bound” across the battlefield – she skips.  And whistles.  With a grin that spreads ear to ear.

#5 Level 20 Stonefire Rager Attack: Volcanic Rage

“Your weapon is sheathed in flame as you strike.  Your wrath boils over, radiating from your molten skin and scorching nearby foes.”

Biri has always breathed fire, but nothing like this.  With this, she is fire.  Ever since she began channeling fire energy, Biri has become more and more hot-headed.  She’s easier to get riled up and extremely hard to talk down.  The party’s wizard helps focus and calm her by producing a small ice cube with one of his cantrips and floating it over to her.   This fiery rage is not something she wants spilling outside of battle and she is extremely apologetic to her party members once she calms down.

Coming Soon…

Stay tuned for posts on the druid, shaman, and warden!  In the meantime, pre-order your copy of Primal Power from amazon.com or your Friendly Local Gaming Store.

In my previous posts, I focused on the new build, powers, and paths of the Cleric, Paladin, and Avenger.

Last but not least is everyone’s favorite channeler of holy words – The Invoker.

#1 New Build: Malediction Invoker

“The malediction invoker employs dread words of power to eradicate the gods’ foes.  The words are frequently too potent for mortals, imperiling the health and sanity of those who speak them.  Words of power bear a physical price.”

Sounds to me like you can now play D&D with a SANITY CHECK!  See, now I want to play a malediction invoker who slowly goes insane over the course of a campaign.  Sigh.  Anybody want to start up a new campaign for me?  I only have two I’m playing in at the moment and that’s not nearly enough.

#2 Level 2 Utility Prayer:  Divine Protection

“You act knowing that your god will save you from harm.”

Cheddar is an interesting Halfling.  It all started when her parents named her after their favorite cheese.  Things always seem to want to eat Cheddar, but Sehanine keeps her eye on the little invoker, because she’s able to weave in and out of the action during battle without getting so much as a scratch on her.  Before leaping into the fray, Cheddar kisses a small amulet that hangs from her neck and says, “Watch my back, sister!“  And Sehanine does.

#3 Level 5 Daily Prayer: Malediction of Blindness

“At your command, your foes lose their sight.  The power of this prayer leaves you barely able to defend yourself for a moment.”

Juanton is a lover.  When he’s not trying to bed the nearest female, he’s trying to bring together others in blissful encounters.  He sees evil creatures as opposing love, and thus, they’re not worthy of seeing his fine Elven self.  The anger in Juanton builds up over the course of an encounter.  The more he sees his friends being hurt, the more angry he gets until he finally explodes, blinding all those around him.  He stumbles a bit to get his bearings and is able to fight again in a short while.

#4 Level 19 Daily Prayer: Forced Submission

“Your enemy bends to the divine will expressed through you.  You cease focusing on your own defense while you harness it.”

“Dance, monkey, dance!” No one really knows why Kord called upon Mikah to do his work, because he’s really a very immature human.  Sure he’s strong, sure he’s brave, but he’s got the sense of humor of a schoolboy.   He makes sure that every enemy he dominates does the Monkey Dance before doing anything useful.

#5  Adept of Whispers Level 12 Prayer: Restorative Word

“You softly call your comrade’s name and whisper a word of healing power.”

Oria is under a vow of silence, having given her voice to the gods.  She only speaks the words of power and no others.  In fact, she’s even mastered her spells so well that for some, she can merely think the words of power to cast them.   A trained lute player, Oria will “voice” her opinions during party negotiations through her music – and it’s pretty obvious by her choice of chords how she feels about the situation.

What Do You Think…

Should I go back and do a similar series for Martial Power before Primal Power comes out in October?