An Indepth Look Into A Geek's Soul

The return of the top ten is a glorius thing indeed.  This one has been brought you to by a request from Joel, which I was only to happy to oblige.  The names of each of the games is a link to a video which represents the trailer (or closest I could find to one).  WIthout further ado, lets dive into the list.

Number Ten:  Elder Scrolls IV:  Obilivion

Starting off the list this week is Oblivion, the huge, open world RPG by Bethesda.  Why is this ranked number ten?  Well, it has mostly to do with the fact that it is open ended.  Something tells me that if this game was more themepark, I would enjoy it a slight bit more.  As it is, I tend to get lost doing all manner of quests that has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline.  Makes the game drag to a crawl at points, which is probably why I've never finished it.  However, this game is simply gorgeous to look at and a thrill to play.  Your character can be whatever you want it to be.  I always go for the more sword-and-board style of character myself, but I've made up a pure magic use that probably hasn't attacked once in the game with anything resembling a weapon.  Even if you get tired of how your character plays, you can start using completely different skills and change your armored warrior into a holy cleric that does nothing but heal.  You might level up a bit slowly, but it is more than possible to do that multiple times in a single game.  All in all, this game is fantastic, and it never seems to get old, no matter how many times I reload it onto my computer.

Number Nine:  World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is on the list because it is the one game that has gotten me hooked on a whole new genre of video games.  While WoW wasn't my first MMO, it was the first one that got me to pay for it.  And pay I did.  I have probably put more money into WoW throughout the various years than I have in any other series of video games that currently exists.  There is just something about WoW that keeps me coming back for me.  I think it's the idea of being able to have an effect not only on the game world, but also on other people who play the game.  I'm not just some guy saving Westfall from the Defias.  I'm a guy that is keeping my entire team alive by soaking up as much damage as I possibly can.  It's one of those games that builds teamwork, whether you want it to or not.  True, I do perfer to do mostly solo missions in the game, which is totally fine, but it is nice to know that when you need someone to help you get through a dungeon, there are plenty of people that will have your back.

Number Eight:  Final Fantasy X

Coming in at number eight is Final Fantasy X for the Playstation 2.  This one I debated on for a long time, because I have long held that Final Fantasy VIII was my favorite game in the series (well, that I've played at least).  However, I think FFX beats it.  It could be that I was just more involved with this game than I was in the other one, but there is something about the game that is just captivating.  Even after being out for all of these years, you are looking at a game that still holds my interest when I pick it up again.  Have I completely destoryed it like Joel has?  No, I don't put that much time into most of my games.  However, I have picked up a legendary weapon or two along the way and have played countless hours of blitzball in the process.  The game is the pinacle of what makes an RPG, Japanese or not, worth playing.  Sure, the company might have made a mistake in making a sequel to it, but hey, everyone makes mistakes.

Number Seven: Mass Effect

Mass Effect managed to take a genre I feel so-so about, add in the right amount of RPG elements, sprinkle in some game altering choices, and come out a game that I absolutely love.  The game is primarily a third person shooter, though there are some times when you want to go first person.  Normally third person shooters are tough to control, but this one was never troublesome.  In fact, the only trouble I have with the game is that I feel like I have to play it twelve times over to see all the parts the game has to offer.  Choices include whether to exterminate an entire alien race, who to fall in love with, and which character you have leveled up to die.  This game really made me think hard about what consequences my typicaly goody goody choices might have in the future, mostly because there are no right and wrong answers to any of these.  I haven't played the sequel(s) yet, but all the choices, including who died, transfers over from one game to the next.  That level of immersion and attention to detail is something that keeps me coming back to this game time and time again.

Number Six:  Age of Empires II

Age of Empires II is hands down my favorite RTS.  Now, I understand that most people would declare Warcraft of Starcraft as the superior item, but seeing as how I have never played them (though Starcraft 2 looks sweet), they are not even in the running.  This game made the learning process nice and even for a relaitve newbie into the games, and I think that's what got me hooked in the first place.  The campaigns were horrendously hard to me, so I never much bothered with them but I would play random matchs all day long.  Plus, there were plenty of easily available cheats for the game, which made doing some simply crazy things easy to do.  I still remember walling off an entire island, just because I could.  Probably my favorite thing to do with the game though was destory an enemies town center then build a castle in its place.  It gives you that right amount of glory while still fortifying the surrounding area.  Makes me want to load up the game even as I type this up.

Number Five:  Timesplitters Future Perfect

The only true first person shooter on the list, Timesplitters Future Perfect is one of those games that drew me in not because of any deep gameplay or awesome story, but simply because it is fun to play.  The last (so far at least) game in the series brought everything that I enjoyed about Timesplitters 2 and added in a humorous, if rather average story.  The mutliplayer aspect of the game is what drew me in, spending hours in this game with Steven, just trying to slaughter as many computer opponents as possible.  Of course, he was the better of the two of us, but that is to be expected.  I still remembering trying to collect all the various characters you can unlock (something well over 100) and Beheading the Undead with shotguns.  Until I added Killzone 3 to my game collection, this was my only first person shooter in my possession.  It is still my favorite.

Number Four:  Champions:  Return toArms

This one was a tough choice to be honest.  I hold Champions:  Return to Arms on the same level as Baulder's Gate Dark Alliance 2.  They are both awesome games that I never get tired of playing.  However, when I think back during my time in highschool and early college, this game is the one that sticks out more.  It was probably because I remember playing this almost every single weekend with at least Steve, if not Chad and Joel as well.  Our team was essentially unstoppable, even with Chad falling into every pit that there was.  The amount of items in this game was awe inspiring.  You could play through the game multiple times (which we did) and not use the same set up of armor and weapons in each one.  While the story was kind of weak (DA2 wins in that particular regard), playing it with friends more than makes up for that.  Plus, being able to go one on one against Joel's maxed out elven ranger was always a fun, if short lived, adventure.

Number Three: Sim City

Sim City for the SNES is the first game I remember falling in love with.  Who would have thought that city planning would be a thing that would interest a young boy?  Well it did, and is probably the reason I love world building in DnD.  It's just so open.  This is easily my favorite sandbox game, and my favorite of the series.  Yes, the other games got more sophisticated in what you could do and more complex in what you had to control, but I think this game blows them all away.  I still remember playing on good old map 696 for hours on end.  I played that game until I hit a century in game time, which took forever.  Then my sister deleted my file because she was pissed at me.  It was a fairly terrible day in my young life.  Needs to say, I've picked up this game from time to time when I could get my SNES working and just build a town and watch it grow.  Nothing more is needed.  Just watching the city change could easily eat up an entire afternoons.  Definitely a must have.  Also, it's free to play now on the sim city website, but only if you have a really old computer.  Alas, my fancy new one is too much for it.

Number Two:  Civilization III

  The mighty and expansive Civilization series is one that I launched into a long, long time ago.  I want to say Civ II was the first computer game I ever bought.  I still have no idea why this gem caught my eye, but I'm glad I did.  When the sequel came out, I was even happier.  They added so many revolution ideas, the favorite of mine being the idea of culture.  With increased culture meant you have larger boarders and if you have enough culture you could actually acquire whole towns and civilizations!  There is nothing like taking over the entire world with art and literature.  I played this game to death, and I've even loaded it up on my current computer just to try it out.  It definitely shows its age, but that's okay.  It is still my favorite one to play, even if Civ V has the better mechanics.

Number One:  Pokemon Black

Yes, Pokemon Black is my favorite game I've ever played.  It takes everything that I love about the Pokemon series and updates, makes it new, and perfects a tried and true formula they've used since the first pokemon games first came out in Japan all those years ago.  Pokemon Black is the only pokemon game where I haven't restarted the file countless times over, which is something of a miracle.  I find that I still have enough stuff to do once the Elite Four has been defeated that I don't want to start over.  Well, I did try to start over once, on a ROM that I downloaded, but that was only because I wanted to trade and battle over wifi.  Alas, this is not possible with the ROM I have either, but oh well.  I will continue playing my cartridge version, and maybe just going down to the school more often to get my trade or battle on.  I may only have 74+ hours of gameplay in Pokemon Black, but this will be the game where I catch them all.  Also, here's a bonus video for you guys.  It's a video of a Magikarp sweeping a team of legendary pokemon.  Enjoy.

So there you have, my top ten favorite video games.  This list changes all the time of course.  For instanced, I'm sure the Old Republic will move up to the top three places easily when released, as will Skyrim if I ever get my hands on it.  Until then, that's that.

Peace Out.

That is right people!  The Top Ten list is back!  For this Monday at least.  I figured that since we are newly into another year, I should start this off right by actually updating a somewhat regular occurance here on my site.  In honor of the new year, I decided to do my top resolutions for the year.  Do I plan on really doing all of them?  No, not really, but I am going to try.  These are all things that I've wanted to do for awhile now, so why not hunker down and actually do them?

Number Ten:  Winning a Magic Tournament

Starting off this year's list of resolutions is a hobby of mine.  After going to countless tournaments and participating in a variety of online matches against virtual opponents, I came to the conclusion that I really would like to win a tournament.  I'm not talking about the World Championship or a Grand Prix or anything like that.  I just would like to win a low key tournament.  I don't mind if it is down at Northland Games for Friday Night Magic, or if it is on Magic Online, battling people from around the world.  It will most likely be in a limited format, as I do not have the money to build a tournament worthy constructed deck.  To get to the point where I can stand a reasonable chance of winning, I plan on simply practicing.  Nothing really beats that.  I will of course try to stay a bit more current with the ebb and flow of the game, reading articles and that such thing, but nothing beats actually trying out the all the stategies that are being thrown around.  With any luck, I'll have a win under my belt by summer.

Number Nine:  Regularly Updating this Website

Oh yeah, it is this good old resolution again.  This is one of those things that I am just horrible at, yet constantly try to improve upon.  I know that it does not take a lot to update;  all I need to do is pick a topic and write and rant about it.  I think the biggest reason I do not is a lack of motivation.  I'm not sure why either.  It might have something to do with me losing my gusto on any subject the more I write about it.  Who knows.  This site will be updated more, though.  I plan on adding a new area by late winter/early spring and getting rid of a few of the current areas that are already on here.  Anyone reading this should let me know how the changes are when I get around to making them.

Number Eight:  Working on my Car

I resolve to improve my mechanical skills when it comes to my car.  I pretty much never want to have to resort to the above picture.  This is not because I don't think that it is an awesome idea, but because I want to always have my car in a working, Pringles free condition.  This is something that I do not plan on working on until the middle of spring, mostly because my dislike of the cold is greater than the love of my car.  I do not plan on doing huge repairs on the car, at least not right away.  I want to do things like replace the fluids in the my car, be it windshield wiper fluid or the oil.  Until warmer weather comes my way, I will make my car nicer simply by keeping the inside of it clean, something that I'm sure my very patient girlfriend will enjoy.

Number Seven:  Staying True to Myself

This is one of my more wishy-washy resolutions.  By this, I simple mean I want to be more of what I feel is the real me.  I don't want to bend over backwards for people just to have them like me.  If people don't like what I'm doing, then tough.  I am my own person, and if you don't appreciate my hobby or the way I act or something like that, then there are plenty of other people in the world.  A lot of people won't notice this change.  The people I really care about, like Megan, already know how I act, and I don't plan on changing how I act around them.  This is mostly for those people (and customers) who get all pissy when I do the slightest thing wrong.  To them I say this:  good bye.

Number Six:  Reading Twenty Six Books

This resolution is one of those that are meant to better myself.  I plan on reading a box every other week for all of 2011.  I have already started this with Star Trek Titan:  Taking Wing, a book about Riker taking command of his own starship in a whole new series.  I won't plan on reading only one genre the entire time etiher.  I will try to mix it up every time I finish a book, moving between fiction and nonfiction, as well as trying to hit up a lot of the genres.  No longer will I locked into those science fiction and fantasy books, even if they will be well represented.  How will you readers know how I am doing on this quest?  Just check the site;  I will be keeping a running update.

Number Five:  Listening Better

I have a problem when it comes to listening.  I am terrible at it.  Megan could tell me do something or pick up something from the store and chances are I will forget.  This is something that will be changed.  I feel that by listening better, it will make me an overall better person.  At the very least, it will make my very loving (and patient) girlfriend happy.  It could also lead to higher grades and better results when it comes to things dealing with jobs and other tasks set before me.  The biggest thing to work on is focus and memorization.  I need to focus on the person when they talk and try my best to remember it, possibly by writing it down real quick or by repeating it in my head several times.  This is something that should be affect all aspects of my life.

Number Four:  Earning 4.0's

As the clipart above shows, I plan on getting a 4.0 on both of my next college semesters.  It did sting me something fierce when I recieved a 3.88 on my last semester GPA.  Yeah, I know, it is nothing huge, one 3.5 out of all the classes I've taken at NMC so far, but it represented a lack of excellence that I know I am able to attain in any of my classes.  I will rectify this situation by doing better this time around.  I may have blown my chances at achieving the 4.0 overall GPA that I wanted to get, but I can at least  try to get the next best thing.

Number Three:  Managing my Money

With any luck, I will someday invent this money tree.  As it stands right now, I am sitting with a little under $200 in my bank account, which is the most that I've had in weeks.  This money is all but gone even as I speak now.  I have books that I have to buy, gas tanks that need filling, and presnets that need buying (damn, forgot about the presents I need to buy for the folks).  I simply cannot figure out how to manage my money effectively.  Megan seems to do it without a problem.  Yes, I realize she makes a bit more than I do, but she also buys a lot more than I do and doesn't manage to get overwhelmed by all of the bills she has to pay, which are many.  I need to sit down every time that I get a paycheck and plan out where each dollar will go.  Doing this will help me see the flow of cash and possibly tie up any loose ends that might get away from me.

Number Two:  Loosing Weight

Ultimately, I want to get down to about 160 lbs.  That is roughly thirty pounds  lighter than I am right now.  This comes to about three pounds or so every month.  This is probably the most daunting resolution that I will apply to myself.  It will be a lot of work.  I need to improve the way I eat, work out more, and probably get more sleep.  I'm honestly not sure if I will complete this one.  I will have my motivation in a healthier me, which will help to reduce a lot of my stress.  Plus, Megan will be here, working out much harder than I am.  I'll do it for her as well, so she'll have some arm candy to show off.

Number One:  Get a New Job

I am just tired of Best Buy.  Time for a new job.

So there you have it.  The first Top Ten of 2011.  I hope that you all enjoy it.  Let me know what your resolutions are for the new year in the list below.

Peace Out!

Welcome back to another Top Ten list my friends.  It's good to keep these things going strong.  Yeah, it's posted a little later than what I would want, but hell, nothing you can do about that.  In fact, you should read this blog right here to see why these are rather difficult to come up with.  And why I might skip a week or four when I do this kind of thing.  But nevertheless, this is going to be all about mythical creatures in one form or another.  Enjoy.  And yeah, the first picture scares me too.

Number Ten: Zombies

Don’t get me wrong, if I saw a zombie, I would want this thing dead.  Again.  But zombies are just so sweet, even if I hatehorror films with all of my heart.  Iblame this one entirely on my zombie deck. It has been my best deck to me for longer than I care to remember.  Yes, it could be better, but that’s foranother Top Ten list folks.  Zombies arecool because of what they represent:  amockery of life.  Everyone at some pointwishes for a loved one to come back, but everyone would destroy that person ifthey came back as a zombie.  Plus,Dungeons and Dragons have come up with some awesome zombies.  I mean heck, ever seen a zombie explode whenyou kill it?  I have.  Well, my character has.

Number Nine: Goblins

How could you not love something as simple yet brilliantas a goblin?  Seriously, not only are these guys iconic beginning monsters for DnD, they are also some of thefunniest creatures you can come across. These guys take on entirely different aspects depending on which culturethey come from or what game you’re playing or which book you happen to pickup.  Which is another good selling pointabout them.  Personally, I like the factthat they are these shifty, sly little thieves, more or less, in DnD.  In Magic, I just love Festering Goblin.  And if any of you readers happen to stumbleinto the Writing Center at NMC, you have to ask Chris to do his impression of agoblin.  I’m pretty sure it’s one of the wonders of the world.

Number Eight: Dwarves

These stout little guys are pretty freaking sweet.  I’ve always had this thing for dwarvencharacters, mostly because everyone else tends to like elves more.  However, dwarves have always been theengineers of the mythical realm, more so than any gnome.  They delve deeper than most of the other humanoids out there, they love precious gems, and can’t wait to get drunk onsome ale.  What more could you reallywant from a mythical being?  What’sthat?  A lot more?  Well, that’s just mean.  I still like your Mr. Dwarf.  Come, lets go play with our mounds of platinum and gold beneath your mountain.

Number Seven: Unicorns

Before you guys give me crap, I’ve always loved unicorns.  I don’t care how gay that makes me.  These things are freaking sweet.  Yeah, they can be all good and kind and caring and all that jazz, but don’t piss them off.  They have a horn for a reason, which is to impale your stupid ass.  I think theunicorn is the reason I rather enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons.  In my first little mini set of adventure thatcame with my first starter set for the game, you fought a bunch of goblins tosave this unicorn.  It was awesome.  Yeah, I think I even had a picture of one at some point.  Won it t a carnival if I remember correctly.

Number Six:  Golems

I think the first memory of a golem comes from Dragon Warrior Monsters.  He’s one of the bosses in an early Traveler’s Gate, and low and behold, that guy was weak against sleep, which worked rather well for me if I do say so myself.  I’m not sure why he was weak to sleep either.  I’m thinking that maybe it has something to do with the origin of golems.  I think they are from Jewish mythology orsomething like that.  Anyways, golemshave evolved a great deal from their 8-bit days and have joined the 21st century doing all kinds of awesome things. I still think my favorite type of golem is the Iron Golem, mostly because he looks like a giant robot that is going to kill you with his sword.  Scary things. This one is purely based on nostalgia. Side note:  Nostalgia?  Really? Who the hell came up with that word? And where can I find you, so I can punch you.

Number Five: Jackalope

Not so much a mythical creature as a creature out of folklore, I love it just for the fact that I have a Magic card called Jackalope Herd.  How sweet is that?  I mean, rabbits with antlers?  That’s all win and no fail.  I would love to actually own one to be completely honest.  I think that I couldhave lots of fun with it.  I’d put it ona leash and walk it everywhere and it would be the closest thing to a pokemo nthat I would ever get to see in real life. Though a real life pokemon would be sweet too… JACKALOPE, GO!  Heh, yeah, that would be sweet.

Number Four: Phoenix

These guys are sweet because they are birds that are onfire.  Fire.  How sweet is that?  Let me tell you, it’s really sweet.  Plus, they are like impossible to really kill.  In fact, I’m not sure how you’resupposed to go about doing such a task. When they die, they tend to blow up in a giant fireball and take theirfoes down with them.  It leads to really stupid encounters in DnD.  It’s a good thing I never let Joel use one against me. It would make me never want to play the game again.  I still love the fact that Dumbeldore had Fawkes as his familiar more or less.  Everyoneelse has a raven, or an owl, or some cat, but he had a phoenix.  That pretty much trumps all.  Take that you stupid talking bird.  Poe should have written about the mighty phoenix instead.

Number Three: Illithids

Also commonly known as Mindflayers, these guys are theonly good thing about psionics.  Pretty much they are purple humanoids with an octopus for a head, they don’t look likemuch until they grab you by those tentacles and suck your brain out.  Yeah, they do that.  In fact, that’s the only thing they eat.  Brains. Think zombies, only smart.  And abit more powerful.  These guys work great as the villain of your campaigns, but really, they work awesome doing justabout anything.  These guys are always hard as hell, and you know you’re going to have a memory (good or bad) when yousee one.  Plus, they look like the bastard child of Cthulhu.  And there is nothing wrong with that at all.

Number Two:  Giants

I love the idea of giants.  The fact that they were simply giant humanoids with some kind of elemental tint to them is a rather awesome idea.  Now, I’m not sure if that’s theone that most people think of, but I always think of fire giants when I hear ofgiants.  Not sure why to tell you thetruth.  I think it’s because you hear alot about them in good old DnD.  Thosekinds are kind of scary, too.  Lots of damage, lots of fire, and an overall lack of niceness.  Also, I don’t view them in any sort of way asthe story “Food of the Gods” by H.G. Wells portrays them.  I rather like the idea that they are more orless an element taken human form.  Dealwith it people.

Number One: Dragons

Dragons are without a doubt the coolest kind of mythicalcreature out there.  There is a sense of wonder and awe that you get when you hear the word dragon.  They are majestic creatures that are at the heart of the best kind of stories.  I mean, there is a reason why it’s called Dungeons and Dragons.  I’m talking about the true blooded European dragons too.  Give me claws and wings and scales and fire breathing.  Get those Chinese lion headed snakes out of here. Yes, if you are looking for a memorable encounter, no matter the timeand place, get yourself a dragon.  In every format they are the king of the crop. Mighty terrors of the sky, yet at the same time great pools of knowledgeand wisdom.  Indeed, these awesomecreatures are the coolest things to come out of someone’s mind.

You know it guys, it's time for the long awaited return of the Top Ten column.  Hopefully it'll be more of a weekly thing again, but only time will tell.  This week we shall be exploring the wonderful world of Middle Earth and my favoriite characters that reside in.  Enjoy.

Number Ten:  Sauron

That’s right, starting off with the evil of all evil. Whyyou ask?  Is it because I’m cold andheartless?  Naw, I just like him becausehe’s the most mysterious of the characters. Sure, you get the backstory of him, up to a point at least.  I want like his whole life story.  Why did he go evil?  What natural gift allowed him to craft theOne Ring?  What does he look like beneaththat sweet suit of armor?  These are allquestions I ask myself when I read about him. Plus, I like how he was mentioned in the Hobbit without you initiallyrealizing it.  He’s the Necromancerthere.  Also, how sweet is that?  Going by a nickname and still being feared byall?  Pure power right there.

Number Nine: Legolas

Yeah, I had to throw Legolas on there.  I know he’s an elf, and on principle Idislike elves, but I had to make an exception for him.  The reason? “Take him down Legolas!”  And thenhe doesn’t.  It could be said thatLegolas is the reason why Helm’s Deep almost fell, because he couldn’t slaythis one guy with a torch, even though he hit him three or four times.  Must suck to be an elf.  The only thing this guy has going for him ishis eyes.  The guy can see far away.  So far that it beats even Gandalf andAragorn.  That’s crazy far.  Another thing about him:  Gimli wins the kill count at the battle ofHelm’s Deep against this guy.  Beats himby one.  That must suck, doesn’t it,Legolas?

Number Eight: Merry

Merry is awesome sauce because I think he, more thananyone else, is the truest member of his race. No other character, not even Sam, truly embodies what it really means tobe a hobbit.  He’s able to sit on thesite of a mighty battle and engage in small talk like nothing had happened.  He has a found love of food (especially baconit seems) and pipeweed, and really, what good hobbit doesn’t?  The adventure changes him, sure, but notnearly as profoundly as it changes everyone else.  I think that in itself is the true way of thehobbit:  simple and unchanging.

Number Seven: Frodo

Yeah, I had to have Frodo on here.  I picked Frodo mostly because I would like tobelieve that if given the same choices as he was forced to make that I couldmake it too.  I guess I just see a bit ofmyself in him.  Not a very cool part,more like a tough part, the part of me that’s all tough as nails.  And he had to be tough as nails too.   He travelled more in his lifetime than Iexpect most people even dream of in theirs. May we all find the will to cast the One Ring away when our time comes.

Number Six:  Sam

Good old Sam.  Whatwould Frodo have done without you man? He wouldn’t have made it.  Sam isawesome in the same way that Neville Longtbottom is awesome:  he’s a great supporting character.  He’s loyal to a fault and will stand up forsomething when it really matters to him. He has some good bits of dialogue, especially when it comes toGollum.  It’s his distrustful ways thatbring out the worst of hobbits.  Italways makes me smile.  But more thananything, I think Sam would make a great friend.  He just seems like the kind of guy you couldknock a few beers back with and drink the night away without worrying about theconsequences.

Number Five:  TomBombadil

Oh Tom.  How sad itis that you were left out of the movies. I realize that you would never have fit in:  you are far too carefree and singsongy forthe majority of mainstream American cinema goers, but I would have liked to haveseen it nonetheless.  Your attitudetowards life is something to be admired and the fact that you can hold the OneRing and not be affected by it makes you might indeed.  I do think it’s rather cool how you had thosepoems made specifically for you.  Andyes, I did just look that up on Wikipedia. Sorry guy.  But hey, keep up thegood work, alright?  It’s not easy beingthe oldest being in Middle Earth, even if Treebeard claims to be older thanyou.

Number Four: Aragorn

Ah yes, Aragorn, son of Arathorn, wielding of the Bladethat was Broken but has been Reforged. Good guy.  If there was a regular,nonmagic wielding guy of Middle Earth that performs magical feats, it would begood old Strider.  He has this ability torally people without even trying.   Plus,he has a wicked blade.  I think the thingthat makes me like him more than anything are his skills though.  He is the very definition of a ranger.  Why, his skills are so impressive that eventhe elves are awed by it.  That commands someserious respect.

Number Three: Gandalf

How could any list be complete without Gandalf?  It wouldn’t be I tell you.  Gandalf is cool because of his extreme polaropposites.  For instance, he’s all happygo lucky Gandalf when he’s in the Shire. Take him over to Rohan though, and the guy is all business and verylittle play.  I guess being one of themost powerful beings on Middle Earth does that to you.  I do wish that he could have done some actualflashy spells in the movies, but hey, you can only do so much.  I suppose Gandalf holds all of his flash inthe form of nifty fireworks to impress the little folk.  Oh Gandalf, what would Middle Earth bewithout you?

Number Two:  Gimli

The dwarves of Middle Earth often get looked over in allthe fawning over the elves.  Well let meset it straight:  dwarves freakingrock.  Especially Gimli, son ofGloin.  Yeah, he is the butt of a lot ofjokes in the movies, but in the book, he is more likely to make the jokes.  Especially when Merry and Pippin wereinvolved.  He is a simple man who enjoyedsmoking his pipe and eating a good hardy meal. The biggest thing I would like to have with Gimli is a named ax.  Like, Aragorn has a named sword, so why can’tGimli get a sweet little weapon like that? Mostly, when I think of Gimli, I think of a person who enjoys the finerpoints of battle (especially when those nasty orcs are involved) and of hisdislike of horses.  He really hated thosethings.

Number One: Treebeard

This may come to a shocker to most people readingthis.  When people think of iconic Lordof the Rings characters, I don’t think that Treebeard comes up very often.  But for the life of me I can’t figure outwhy.  This guy exudes awesomeness.  First off, he’s as old as the forestitself.  That gives him tons ofexperience and wisdom.  Plus, he’s a hellof a fighter.  The thing I think I likemost about him though is his sense of humor. The movies do not do him justice at all. He makes all these sidecomments that just make me smile.  Ithink if I could be friends with anyone from the entire Tolkien universe,Treebeard would be my number one choice. 

Peace Out.

Alright guys, here's another Top Ten list after such a very long time.  Sorry it's been such a long time since the last real list, but I'm hoping this will be a nice easy one to let you all get back into the groove of things.  To start off, let me preface this all by saying that these are only the classes from the 4th edition of DnD, and if you don't like that, then write your own Top Ten list.  Anyways, any more hostilities aside, lets get into this.

Number Ten:  Rogue

Rogues are always fun. They are those sneaky bastards who prey on the weak and steal from whoever the hell they can.  Mostly, it's just fun to backstab people and watch them flail under the accuracy of your little blade.  I've always wanted to play a really awesome rogue, and from time to time I have attempted to such a thing.  I think that I might have to go and try and use a half-orc one someday, just to see how sweet that would be.  Hell, I might even do some fandangling and make him one of thoser brute type guys.  Pretty much, I just lke deal a shit ton of damage sometimes, and rogues let me do such a thing.

Number Nine:  Druid

Druids are a neat class in the most recent edition. I think they got a pretty big change in the current edition from the previous ones.  They still retain their wildshape, but it's less distinct and more a raw primal spirit.  They are natural leaders, which is kind of weak in my book, and it's mostly because they heal people better than others do.  However, I just like them for the nature spells they wield.  I can just imagine a druid, bringing down lightning onto a foe, and then transforming into a primal spirit to tear that guy limb from limb.  Good stuff.

Number Eight: Cleric

Ah yes, the humble yet necessary cleric.  I don't think this guy gets the attention and respect that he deserves.  Either you end up playing him as a healbot or you try to make him some martial character that buffs everyone.  I personally like to play clerics as how their god demands that they be played.  If it's a cleric of Moradin, I want him (and generally have him) act totally diffrent than a cleric of Pelor would act, or a cleric of Bahamut would act.  This here in lies the true powe of the cleric.  Sure, he may fall into one of the above catagories now and then, but trust me, it's a lot more fun that way.

Number Seven:  Wizard

Wizards have always held a certain fascination with me.  I love how they are in complete control of the arcane arts.  From the simplest parlor tricks to world shaping spells, there is a master of the arcane arts hiding behind them.  There are so many minor differences between the lot of them and you could make a thousnd different wizards who play totally different from one another.  This is one of those classes that I'll keep coming back to time and time again when I just want to loose myself into the greater magic of the world.

Number Six:  Warden

The warden is a new class that I really want to try out.  The easiest way to describe it is a defender of nature.  He has this awesome ability to turn into different aspects of nature, like a tree or a warrior made of out pure rock.  I personally just like the idea of some guy (like Mr. Warforged here) turning into a giant treefolk with his morningstar and shield at the ready, roots dug deep int the earth.  He's an immovable force of nature, and he's not willing to let you near his friends.

Number Five:  Ranger

Rangers have gotten cooler and cooler as time went on in my opinion.  With the fourth edition of DnD, it finally has reached it's peak.  It's simple, yet deadly, and is always a blast to play.  Plus, I think that using an archer is just a cool thing to do.  No other class comes anywhere as close to being so good close up and far away as the ranger.  You start picking guys off with arrows from a distance, then move in for the kill with your two blades.  Dealing a little extra damage on the side doesn't help either.  Their quarry ability is just plain sweet.  Reminds me of locking an enemy in your sight and not letting him go.  Pure awesome.

Number Four:  Avenger

Avengers are pretty much holy rogues who can use greatswords.  Need I say anything else?

Number Three:  Barbarian

The mighty barbarins comes in at number three on the list.  I've always had a soft spot for these guys, even if they never got used too much by me.  I think I just love the idea of taking the biggest weapon you can find and swinging it really hard at someone's face while screaming at them.  Of all the classes, I sometimes feel like it is the easiest one to role play, but only because I am very two dimensional when it coems to such things.  Plus, as this chick above demonstrats, barbarians tend to not wear a lot of clothes.  Need more proof?  Here's some for you:

Number Two:  Sorcerer

The sorcere represents pure,raw arcane power.  It's as if the wizard snapped and went crazy all over the place.  I feel that in the fourth edition, they nailed the flavor of what it means to be a sorcerer.  My personal favorite build is the chaos mage, who prety much doesn't know what is going to happen next.  One minute his spells are surging like  wild river through him, the next the spell rebounds on him, causing a gigantic explosion.  This class definitely had the biggest surprise in for me, and it only too something like 6 years of playing DnD to make me realize that it really is super awesome.

Number One:  Fighter

The humble and simple fighter from my youth.  I'm pretty sure most of the people reading this who actually talk to me about such dorky things would immediately guess that my true love of DnD is a fighter, but for those of you who don't, I suppose I could rattle off a few reasons why they are my favorite.  First off, they are simply super easy to jump into.  A lot of people confuse this with being a class for simpletons.  This couldn't be any more false.  While they are easy to jump into, they take a lot of skill to actually be good with.  Secondly, you get to not only focus on one weapon, but that weapon will determine what kind of moves you use.  Want to knock people around?  Get a hammer. Want to be jumping into a group of people and slashing everyone as they go buy?  Grab a longsword.  Want some reach?  Go get that spear.  Lastly, my first ever charcter was a fighter.  His name is Corath and he's broken to the extreme because I didn't know the rules back then.  Oh well.

So there you have it.  Go ahead and leave me some angry comments if you would like.

Peace Out.