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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd)

@monkeyx.bsky.social
273 followers 184 following 626 posts

This is my rocket 🚀 This is my gun 🔫 I use this site 🦋 Mostly for fun 😜 blog.srazavi.com poems.prazavi.com blog.monkeyx.games

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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
After reading them online for a good while I've made the plunge into the omnibus editions. Probably some of the best X-Men / superhero stories written. This should keep me busy for a while.
House of X / Powers or X; Dawn or X Omnibus vol 1 & 2
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Are there any TTRPGs that have tried the Skyrim style approach: you build your character by making choices in game? You cast spells and become a wizard. You pick up a bow and shoot arrows, you're a marksman. Big axe? Barbarian. Hiding a lot? Rogue. Mix of things? Something bespoke. Play determined.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In this episode of the Dogs of Durango: Sofia finds out if words can kill, Isabel deals with grief and Juan is pulled into a dangerous torrent of lies by all sides. Campaign log for our Cartel game: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/09/18/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cartel #3
The RV had been moved again, which was supposed to make it safer. Isabel García had found a car park far enough from the school to avoid another confrontation with the mothers and anonymous enough…
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It was great to see you in person - been too long! The Nomadic Waagh will strike again I'm sure.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
And that ending. Harry destroys his apartment searching for a bug and never finds it. Fifty years of technology later, the scene feels less paranoid, not more. Then he plays the sax. The one voice he has that doesn’t require explanation. Exposed and alone, but briefly still his own. 10/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Harrison Ford is wonderfully unsettling here, partly because he looks impossibly young. Stett barely seems to act at all. He just appears, watches, knows things. His exact relationship to Ann, Mark and the Director stays slippery, another connection Harry can sense but never quite resolve. 9/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The murder twist is perfect because Harry hears the words correctly and still gets them wrong. His guilt supplies the interpretation. Even afterwards there’s another question. Did Ann, Mark or Stett know Harry would listen closely enough to act? Was the surveillance itself part of the trap? 8/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Then the medium turns on him. A conversation stolen from strangers loops through his head. His own saxophone is played back to him over the telephone. Recorded sound stops being evidence he uses but a threat against him. Harry discovers what it feels like to exist as somebody else’s tape. 7/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I loved how the film makes sound itself unreliable. We hear the same conversation again and again. Distant, broken, filtered, cleaned up, remembered, reinterpreted. The recording seems to become more truthful as it becomes clearer. But in fact, Harry is imposing a story on it. 6/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
His Catholicism plays into that. Harry understands guilt almost sacramentally, but confession can’t solve the problem because he can’t confess what he actually does. He wants absolution while keeping the compartment sealed. Eventually guilt fills the space secrecy was meant to protect. 5/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The film keeps worrying at the difference between involvement and responsibility. Harry insists he only records things. What happens afterwards isn’t his doing. But he knows that’s a lie. His guilt comes from consequences he helped make possible without ever choosing them. 4/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
That makes the women around Harry fascinating. His secrecy has an attraction, but intimacy requires disclosure. He wants to be known without being knowable. He can listen to anyone, yet cannot bear the reciprocal risk of another person listening to him. 3/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Harry’s privacy isn’t really freedom but armour. Amy is attracted to his mystery but eventually finds there is nothing she is allowed to know. Meredith gets closer precisely by seeming to accept the barrier, then uses that intimacy against him. 2/10
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The Conversation has stayed with me less as a thriller than as a film about Harry Caul. He makes his living invading privacy while needing almost pathological privacy himself. Gene Hackman makes that contradiction feel painfully human rather than merely ironic. (some spoilers ahead) 1/10
The Conversation starring Gene Hackman, a film by Francis Ford Coppola
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Investigative horror: The Seventh Culture of Play
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Keen to hear your impressions on this. Our group is still on Secret of the Dragon Emperor. I've been unsure about PoG on first read through as a follow up.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Winning at being handsome tho
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Things have only gotten more complicated in Durango. A session filled with secrets, intrigue and potential betrayal. blog.monkeyx.games/2026/09/03/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cartel #2
Geraldo Juarez did not sleep it off (see part #1). Somewhere between the first bottle of tequila and the point where good judgement stopped being a consideration, the question Ortiz had accidentally…
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Without saying your age, what is your favourite movie that came out when you were 20 years old?
static.klipy.com
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Raoul Duke
Alt: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Raoul Duke
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Dirk the Dice @thegrognardfiles.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I’ve spoken on about finding a gangster TTRPG that captures the tinderbox of living a life of crime. I was a nervous about Cartel because of trivialising the milieu. But,playing in a campaign run by @monkeyx.bsky.social … it’s great. Tense. Creative. Thrilling. blog.monkeyx.games/2026/08/28/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cartel #1
Durango had a way of making the dangerous look ordinary. Violence hid behind stucco walls and tinted windows. Money changed hands in kitchens while children did their homework in the next room.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A tense first session of our Cartel game. A truly unique experience. blog.monkeyx.games/2026/08/28/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cartel #1
Durango had a way of making the dangerous look ordinary. Violence hid behind stucco walls and tinted windows. Money changed hands in kitchens while children did their homework in the next room.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Look what the postie brought! I've reviewed them here: blog.monkeyx.games/2025/10/24/c... And here: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/02/20/h... Plus a write up of our Cold City mini-campaign here: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/05/15/c... blog.monkeyx.games/2026/06/19/c... blog.monkeyx.games/2026/08/10/c...
Cold City / Hot Water Kickstarter drop
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
RuneQuest. The system is great but the lore tax is too high.
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Wyrd Science Magazine @wyrdscience.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
24 hours left on our flash sale. Buy anything on our site & get a second item half price, ad infinitum. Just use the code WeKilledTheSun at checkout Fill out your Wyrd Science, Glaive or Secret Passages collections or just fill out one of our Lukasz Kowalczuk t-shirts with your incredible physique
wyrd.science
Wyrd Science – Tabletop Gaming Magazines, Merch & More
Everything that we have on sale including magazines, merch, t-shirts, art prints, books and more.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I've been reading the stories leading to Judge Dredd's Necropolis, which prompted a piece on democracy, authority, media, and why this story has haunted me since childhood. blog.monkeyx.games/2026/08/14/w...
blog.monkeyx.games
Who Judges the Judges?
Necropolis looks, from a distance, like a story about monsters. Judge Death returns. Mega-City One falls. Corpses fill the streets. Dredd comes home to put things right. Read on its own…
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Bad Moon Cafe @badmooncafe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Our Borough manager Jasmine talks through some board game recommendations! We've got huge board game libraries at both venues including casual, party and serious strategy games! Book your table at the link in our bio and bring your mates for a brilliant evening of tabletop gaming!
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The concluding part of our Cold City scenario: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/08/10/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cold City #3
The Schwarz Latern had lost its glamour by the time the agents returned. The songs had thinned. The laughter had gone sour. The early drinkers were gone, leaving only the professionals, the wounded…
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The list of games I want to run keeps growing but the number of days of the week stay the same 😔
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Also look into VirtualBox as a way of running things
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I finally got intrigued enough to order Daggerheart. What do you like about it?
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Ubuntu is probably the easiest to get going with.
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Gaz @evilgaz.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Having played some Cy Borg, I'm thinking about cyberpunk shizzle (Neuromancer film upcoming), is there an Into the Odd / Mythic Bastionland style hack for this sort of thing? Essentially looking for a rules lite, but rules interesting vehicle for cyber shenanigans.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
This is a lot of fun
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Great t-shirt. I'm running an Warhammer Old World tournament in a lovely AC controlled environment
T-shirt with stylised waves and sun design
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I think we need more Dark Sun style consequences of extreme power mechanics.
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Wyrd Science Magazine @wyrdscience.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
A good day to remind you all that you can spend £5.50 on a 28mm @countbinface.bsky.social model from Troublemaker Games, £3 of which goes to NHS supporting charities Now who is selling some frog faced fiends and a scale model pier for them to fight over? www.troublemakergames.co.uk/product-page...
A 28 mm wargame miniature of Count Binface
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I would piss my pants laughing if we could make that happen
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Savage Symposium
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Can a TTRPG stop trying to simulate action movies and start making you feel like you're in one? I read Outgunned, a game built for explosions, one-liners, and impossible stunts. Here's my review: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/06/26/o...
blog.monkeyx.games
Outgunned: Bullets and Banter (Review)
I am not, by any reasonable metric, an action movie person. If you looked at what I deliberately sit down to watch, it’s mostly horror, slow weird fiction, or something with too much subtext and not…
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The heat has brought on a bout of madness.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I found Buzzsprout easy to use, good customer service and reasonably priced without forcing adverts on it.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
If you see this, post a vampire that isn’t Dracula.
Kiefer Sutherland in Lost Boys
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Every time a gamer steps back from Yet Another Kickstarter I think an angel gets her wings.
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RossyDoesDrawings (commissions open) @rossydoesdrawings.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
In the deep forest There is a troll His fur is like a nest His back is like a knoll Rest your feet if they hurt He is the troll bus and his name is Burt.
a drawing of a troll in a forest with lots of small creatures riding upon them.
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
I managed to talk myself out of it and withdraw my pledge. And for the low, low price of 1,299 SEK I can show you how!
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
It looks quite good as a trad DB setting. But it is competing with Trudvang for my time tho. And Trudvang doesn't have mallards. I've still backed it tho 😂
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
What t-shirt are you wearing today?
Old school essentials t shirt
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
If Mothers Day means flowers....
Cornish pasties with Dad inscription
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Grab your trenchcoats and prep your gravelly voices, as we're back to shadowy streets of Berlin for the second chapter of our Cold City campaign files: blog.monkeyx.games/2026/06/19/c...
blog.monkeyx.games
Cold City #2
The Schwarz Latern waited below street level, where Berlin kept its cheaper sins and dearer secrets. Red bulbs marked the stairwell. A woman with a cigarette watched the door, her coat hanging wrong…
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Seyed P. Razavi (aka Syd) @monkeyx.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Post-script - the "board state" at the end
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