Martial Arts: Sherlock

I’m a doctor, I know how to sprain people.

– John Watson in Sherlock #3.3 (2014)

I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and the modern retelling offered by the BBC’s Sherlock (2010-) is great. I am not too keen on the actual stories, but the chemistry between the main characters, all of them great actors, is brilliant, as are many of the details. The following scene from the episode “His Last Vow” (Sherlock #3.3) shows an often underplayed side of Dr John Watson. The good doctor has always been a man of action, but he is seldom allowed to prove it in the various dramatizations. In this brief but hilariously funny scene we are reminded that Watson is a former British Army Captain with three years’ service in Afghanistan. The specifics warrant a detailed analysis in GURPS terms.

This article is part of the Melee Academy.

Stop reading if you want to avoid SPOILERS.

Disarming in Call of Cthulhu

I have analysed the famous disarming scene in the film The Maltese Falcon (1941) in GURPS terms, but how does one do it in Call of Cthulhu? I will break down the fight with the rules of Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition (and Fifth Edition; earlier editions did not have rules for disarming) and Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition.

Martial Arts: The Maltese Falcon

Why did you strike me after I was disarmed?

– Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon (1930)

The Maltese Falcon (1930) is one of the best of Dashiell Hammett’s novels. It follows private eye Sam Spade in San Francisco as he unravels the mystery of the Maltese Falcon, a jewel-encrusted gold statuette of immeasurable worth. As is typical in a Hammett story, he has to play off several parties against one other to emerge unharmed, if not victorious.

The novel has been made into a motion picture several times, the best rendition being of course the third one by John Huston. His Film Noir classic The Maltese Falcon (1941) boasts, among others, Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, one of the shady characters who are after the Falcon.

High-Tech: Remington Model 870 Police Magnum

This a practical review of the Remington Model 870 Police Magnum pump-action shotgun, with an eye towards its performance in games like GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, and Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game.

The Investigator’s Load

Our force … carried in its pockets a standard working equipment of police whistle, magnifying glass, electric flashlight, handcuffs … tin badge … tape measure (for footprints), revolver … Did our pockets bulge and sag with this equipment? I’ll say they did!!

‒ H.P. Lovecraft, letter to August Derleth (1931)

 

In Call of Cthulhu, ordinary and not so ordinary people are drawn into investigations of the Unknown, usually uncovering horrific truths Man Was Not Meant To Know in the process. These investigators will outfit themselves to face whatever Horrors they uncover. In H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, the pieces of equipment that are most often mentioned are a flashlight and a gun.

At the Movies: The Objective

This is a film review of Daniel Myrick’s The Objective (2008) with an eye towards using it in Call of Cthulhu games, especially with the Delta Green setting.

Stop reading if you want to avoid SPOILERS.

Lovecraft and His Guns

The lore of hunting allured me, and the feel of a rifle was balm to my soul; but after killing a squirrel I formed a dislike for killing things which could not fight back, hence turned to targets …

‒ H.P. Lovecraft as quoted by L. Sprague de Camp in Lovecraft: A Biography (1975)

In 1903, aged 13, H.P. Lovecraft already owned at least one firearm, a revolver that made up part of his kit as an eager consulting detective in the Providence Detective Agency ‒ and it was “the real thing” (letter to August Derleth in 1931), unlike the water pistol and cap gun of his colleagues.

 Source: Wikipedia Commons

Tactical Shooting: Collateral

Yo, Homie!

– Vincent in Collateral (2004)

Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004) is an excellent film, even though the premise of the story is a bit forced: A professional hit man, Vincent, is hired by a Colombian drug cartel to kill a whole bunch of witnesses on one night-long cab ride in Los Angeles. Despite the plot holes, the film features excellent photography, music, and of course the acting performance by the two leads, Tom Cruise as Vincent and Jamie Foxx as the cabbie Max Durocher.

High-Tech: H&K P7M8

This a practical review of one of my favourite pistols, the P7M8 made by Heckler & Koch of Oberndorf, Germany, with an eye towards its performance in games like GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, and Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game.