Gladiator

sadly, i can only find time to publish articles i've written anyways, so this is my review of Gladiator

Now Gladiator is one of those films I wouldn’t imagine myself liking. Much like Troy and Kingdom of Heaven, and films in that nature, I can normally make a pretty sound judgment of its quality when I just read the premise. A Roman general in the Mid-Imperial period is caught on the wrong side of a political power struggle as the rightful emperor is disposed by his insane son. The general goes on to fight in the Coliseum as a Gladiator, and gets to kill the Emperor in a single combat duel (oh spoilers, the bad guy dies…..what did you expect), with plenty of fight scenes and blood along the way. And um, that is kinda all true. But while the film is a list of clichés, and plot holes, it has a certain charm that makes you look past that and see an actually good film, in the same way Pirates of the Caribbean was good for all of its Disney roots (and by that I mean the first one, before the fish people and the racial serotypes got involved). It was kinda stupid, but thoroughly enjoyable and had a certain charm to it. But enough of me talking about it, lets go into this film?

Gladiator follows the story of the Roman general Maximus, which roughly translates to “general awesome” who is serving under the last of the “5 Good Emperors” Marcus Aurelius (those of you who know Roman history will remember that everything is down hill from here). The general, who is Russell Crowe out in a battle in Germania (which is, for those of you who suffer from abrupt stupidity, modern Germany). And…ok, the first fight scene is awesome. Seriously, it is nothing short than epic. You know how in “Saving Private Ryan” the only part of the movie you actually care about is the first half hour invasion of D-day and everything after that is rather uninteresting? Well this isn’t that good, but it is close, and does the most important, it defines the period. Seeing that battle literally defines Rome, with ten minutes as the Romans prepare for war, and then this wonderful scene as the German hoards are just mechanically wore away by the stoic Roman military machine. And I have a page limit, so I’ll let you enjoy the awesome scene, anyways, Russel Crowe then goes on to talk to the Marcus Aurelius, who hopes to make Rome a Republic again, because apparently he suffers from historical inaccuracy, and hopes to have Russel Crowe take control until he can restore the Republic. Enter the Emperors nutty son, Commodus, played Joaquin Phoenix, who murders his father and take control of the Empire with the help of the Praetorian Guard (the personal body guard of the Emperor, infamously disloyal), and attempts to kill Russel Crowe, who is able to escape, but his family is murdered, then he becomes a Gladiator and ok, you know the rest. What the movie does to make up for it is in the telling. Russel Crowe has this great way of conveying the emotions of a remarkably static character type, but he is very good at making the character seem human. While he has the cliché stoic “I’m too cool to care” expression, he always seems very sad and forlorn within the role, adding a humoring element. For example, when he does the stereotypical “are you not entertained” shaming the mob speech, instead of doing the whole “grr, I’m macho and have no emotions” he comes off instead as a depressed and broken man who is ashamed of his own impotency. And Commodus is great as well, taking an incompetent and, quite frankly, unbelievably stupid historical figure and making him into a chilling, cunning, manipulative egotist, who is still rather sympathetic. However, the standard plot love interest, whose utterly forgettable name and actor I don’t care to write down ruin most of his scenes, as his heavy acting doesn’t mesh well with her…lack of acting, thus ruining all of her scenes.

But the greatest aspect of the movie I think is just the fact that, while it is a standard action film, it is very well thought out. The setting speaks for itself, I mean it is ancient Rome, but unlike some movies, they don’t totally abuse the awesome background but take advantage of it. In the microcosm of this story, you catch the hints of the macrocosms of the whole empire (you’ve taken 10^th grade English, you know what these mean). The republic stands for good ideals, but dies because both its own internal corruption, and the fact that the common people want an Emperor. Rome is ruled by the mob, and by the Praetorian swords, it is the apathy and bloodlust that ruined the empire, and finally the people’s inability to realize that they are in a despotic dictatorship. Also, while there are glaring a historical inaccuracy, the story has a sort of historical parallel. Commodus did not die in a single combat duel obviously, but he did fight in the arena and was killed by a gladiator (through it was an assassination). The movie is full of historical references and shout outs that are rather hard to catch, but give the imprisons that the director really cares, especially in the details, like Russel’s family gods that he keeps close to him. Also, I like how the villain just keeps beating the main characters no matter what happens, ending aside.

Now, my biggest beef is the action. First scene aside, most of the fights hast great set ups, but littler follow through. The camera cuts so fast that the fights come off as disjointed and inconsistent at times, first one being the exception, and it is hard to tell once action from the next, character’s placement changes from shot to shot, and it feels like they are skipping events in the cutting. I’d rather just see the guys fight each other for a minute or second on camera rather than just cutting from odd angle to odd angle then one guy falling over dead. Take the fight with Gaul’s champion, you never actually see them sword fight, you see one of them parry a weapon, then cut to a different angle of Russel Crowe falling down, then another cut and he is standing up, then he wins.

Anyways so in short, it’s not a great movie, nor mind-blowing. But it tells a good story, does good credit to the source material, nice characters and most importantly tells the moral of Rome, a society, very much like ours (disturbingly so, I mean, they have Gladiators, we have celebrities). It never becomes a truly great film, but it is good and entertaining. I feel like if it was made by Italians it would be more interesting, cause the characters would be more corrupt and multi dimensional, but most of the actors can make up for there stock roles with fine acting. In short, a solid B minus, if I had to give an arbitrary grade to it.

from

EE

Where have i been?

Well, i've been missing, and i have 5 reviews on hold too. Well Sr. year started, and i am taking college classes, so blog time isn't very common, sorry about that. I just wanted to comment, it is my 18th birthday today, and i got a cell phone, I Cladius, and Pan's Labyrinth. And now that I'm 18, i can go indulge in a life of decadence and hedonism :). I will post when i have the time, but until then, happy days everybody :)
from
EE

Higurashi

Friendship (because bodies are heavy) 

            Now, I’m going to be the first to admit, I’m not an anime person naturally.  I’m not an anime hater, the people who reject the entire animation genre because of the some of the worst examples, but I an notoriously picky when it comes to anime series (I know I’m using the terms anime and manga interchangeably here, just go with it), because there is a lot about the “genre” that can irritate me, Shonen being the most painful example.  Even series I like, and think are absolutely genius, such as Full Metal Alchemist and Berserk, are still following traditional conventions, so its rare I find a series that is really “different”.  Higurashi came when a friend of mine (you know who you are) recommended to me her favorite series, giving me the impression that it was a cute romantic comedy, something totally girly and uninteresting to a big macho man like me (grrrr).  This is the part where the people who know the show are laughing at my naïve assumptions, but lets back track and explain the premise for like three paragraphs before I then get into details and spoilers.  General warning, this show has minor sexual innuendoes and lots of blood.  

Higurashi is a three season series (with at least one spin off that I know off) with each season having a secondary title, the first season being Higurashi no Naku Kor Ni, and the series is sort of a twisted combination of Silent Hill/The Prisoner/The Shinning, and erm…some girly talking show that I don’t actually know to reference.  Anyways, the basic introduction of the show is in fact a spoiler, so if you really don’t like those things being ruined for you, then take my word that it is more than it appears and go watch it now. But the basic premise of the show is that a young man named Keiichi has moved and come to a small rural Japanese town, and joins the local “gaming club” (made up entirely of girls), which is dedicated to playing various games, with the catch being that you need to win by “Any means possible”, and thus their games quickly become elaborate mind games, as all the sides cheat.  Keiichi quickly gains the acceptance of the club through his own personal charisma, the fact he is a good sport, and his ruthlessness when it comes to the cheating culture of the club. The rest of the club includes Rena, an easy going girl who has a somewhat disturbing fetish with things that are “cute”, the younger Satoko, who is snarky and more of a tomboy, Rika, the youngest and most calm, and the club president, Mion, the eldest girl who is very outgoing and strong willed (inside joke for people who know the series.)  Later members include Shion, Mion’s twin sister, who is more calm and girly (again, inside joke for viewers) and the painfully shy Hanyu.  Now, as you almost certainly have noticed the by now, a bunch of girls with different color hair and various quirky personalities all hanging out with one snarky guy, seem to set this show up to be a romantic comedy, full of embarrassing situations and flirtatious jokes as the girls mess with he main boy’s mind with veiled sexual subtext.  A series that might be fun to watch, and entertaining, but very little in terms of plot and depth beyond just relationships, and not I’m stereotyping.  And, the series kinda is that.  The first episode is pretty much nothing more than romantic comedy, but throughout there are a lot of sinister signs that all is not well.  It’s nothing that is really explicit, but again and again throughout the pilot, there is just feeling of “something’s wrong”.  There are various mentions of various nasty incidence in the villages past, and characters will suddenly start speaking in a monotone and stark acting erratically.  As the episodes go by, the village seems to be part of some sinister conspiracy as the various characters scheme to do something horrible to Keiichi, who eventually takes matter into his own hands and goes on a killing spree with a baseball bat before being murdered.  However, its not quite clear if the town is actually evil, or if Keiichi is just insane. 

After the first arch ends with a massive killing spree, the next episode starts with all of the characters, again alive and well, as if something has happened.  Again in this arch, a different character snaps and goes on a killing spree.  And again, its not clear weather the town is some sort of malicious supernatural force who is working to drive its inhabitants insane, or if the characters are just a bunch of paranoid schizophrenic who’s delusions drive them to violence.  Also, its never clear if the fact that the town keeps “renewing” its self after each massacre is some sort of time loop, a curse, or maybe even another form of insanity in the mind of another character.  In fact, the central theme of the horror is that the audience only has vague hints of what is going on, the only consistency being that the town is some sort of dark cursed place where the people all go mad.  The show simply follows a system of watching the various characters slowly go insane, both by the strange nature of the town, and by there own preexistent problems (Keiichi for example, is naturally selfish and mistrustful, which leads to his paranoia…or people are actually trying to kill him.)  The show was much like the shinning, where the audience ‘knew’ that the place was haunted and messed up and that everything was going to go crazy, but you didn’t quite understand it. The whole show is about the supernatural, this sort of subtle evil that is unleashing the darker side of humanity.

Now the show isn’t fantasy, and so the main focus outside the disturbing mystery, is the characters.  And at first, the anime characters do seem like a series of stereotypes, and they do fulfill there roles in the typical “romantic comedy” relationship, but the nature of the town, plus the fact the various characters are constantly killing each other does mean they get much more depth, and act sort of like subversions.  Keiichi is “Da boy” in the mostly all female teenage cast, but instead of being a nervous dunce, Keiichi, who is by far my favorite character, is a very cynical and humorous man, as well as being hilariously genre savvy about the functions of the type of anime he is in. His imagination and flirtatious nature makes him a sort of comic relief in a good way, and yet even within his personality, we see his character flaws.  While he is intelligent and very charismatic, he is also manipulative and egotistical, as well as suspicious of those around him, and in the character arch’s that revolve around him, these tendency lead to his downwards spiral into insanity, a pattern repeated with the flaws of other characters (Shion’s inferiority complex, Rena’s suppression of her emotions, ect ect).  So the characters work well both as comedy and in drama.  And it says a lot about the series that, in a supernatural scary setting, my favorite moments in the story are when the characters interact normally, with all of the curtsy romantic comedy associated with that (I’m repeating phrases here I realize), but the characters, at least in the first season, really do mesh well together just as a whole, and who ever wrote the dialogue does a very good job of making them seem both funny and somewhat believable….you have to watch it to get what I’m saying…..don’t you judge me. 

Anyways, the interesting thing about the show it that because you see the various “go crazy” scenarios from different character’s viewpoints, the film really does make every single character and situation seem different.  The police chief seems like a kindly old man who is trying to do his job in a disturbing town from Keiichi’s perspective, an outsider who is more sympathetic to the rule of law, but when the story is shown from Mion, a native aristocrat’s view point, finds him to be an intrusive sinister police man who is seems to be an incarnation of the more sinister aspects of the law.  And when shown from Keiichi’s perspective in a different “Time loop”, he then views the chief as a truly sinister .  A very similar approach comes to families within the town, such as the Old grandmother “demon lady” who can come off as a sinister mafia like figure who dominates the lives of her children, or a conservative trying to keep the family together in hard times, and just happens to have no soul.  And the various perspectives leads to the feeling of no character being totally and completely evil, nor simply just stereotypes.  Now people who really hate it (….Lord of Rapture) will argue that even when they are shown from different perspectives, they are still essentially a mix of anime stereotypes, but I feel that, while they are based upon roles, but the quality of the writing, in particular with the dialogue, which is both clever, and humanizing, mostly in the character’s complain about there situation, which makes them feel more human as characters, because honestly, I could feel like making a lot of those sarcastic remarks when stressed.  Again, I don’t’ remember specific examples, as I finished the first season about a 5 months ago, and it too me awhile to watch the second one.  Actually I doe, there is one example, when two characters having an epic climatic fight on the roof, and Keiichi, instead of being dramatic, keeps mocking his foe’s faulty logic, and demands if he wins, his foe has to walk around in a skimpy maids outfit, to which she promptly says she gets the same thing if she wins. 

Basically as I’ve said before I’m not good about positive reviews for TV shows, because its mostly just me glowering, and naming specific examples is much harder, so forgive me when it seems like I’m reaping endless amounts of praise upon it, because most of you have heard it all before. However one thing that struck me about the show was it was…kinda anti Japanese actually.  I mean, I’m use to cultural differences when it comes to Japanese products, mostly in anime promoting values that are actually rather horrifying for Westerns, especially when it comes to subjects like child abuse and sexism (for example, sexual harassment means something very different over there.)  And yet, the series seems at a times almost an attack upon Japanese traditions.  The village takes place in a very traditionalist part of Japan, a small village that still very set in the old ways, which comes off as a kinda disturbing.  Shinto is show as a very dark and pagan force, full of odd rituals and dangerous implications.  The law enforcement, as a whole comes off as somewhat fascist and brutal.  The traditional family structure is shown to be stifling and brutal, as the three families who rule the town are very sinister and remind the viewer of a mafia who dominate a town (I was reminded somewhat of The Wicker Man, with Christopher Lee).  And one of the most fundamental of Japanese values, the idea of the group cohesion and working for the benefit of the group, is shown as very dangerous. One of the major events in the town history is the “Dam War” where the Japanese Government attempted to make a dam in the city, that would lead to the city’s destruction, but everybody who moved would be paid handsomely in response.  The town at first tires to unit in the face of the construction to fight the government, however many of the poorer citizens would like to move, the government compensation money meaning more to them than the town’s historical value.  There willingly to work with the government, lead to them being tormented and persecuted by the rest of the village.  Now, when I said the show is anti Japanese values, that is only limited, it doesn’t glorify the people who side with the government any more than it does the conservatives, but it isn’t just propaganda about how the group how the community is better than the individual. 

But speaking of the moral of the story, this is the big shocker. It’s the power of friendship.  Those who know me know me that I truly hate the way the “Power of Friendship” is used in stories, either it is some sort of vaguely defined crop out, where friendship is some sort of magical power than can review the dead, over come the evil guys magic, stop bullets or some other stupid Deus ex Machina.  Or alternatively it is used as the ethical guideline of the main cast, but this vague “power of friendship” is never explained or used well in context other than some sort of heave handed message.  While I’m not going to say I hate stories that promote friendship, I hate shows that promote friendship just as a platitude without any real thought pup into it, like how you can somehow win friendship by beating people up.  Higurashi however, actually explores what the “power of friendship” means.  In each “Snap and kill everything” time loop thing, it is the various character’s lack of trust that eventually leads them down the path of murderous paranoia.  Its only when the characters learn to work together and trust each other, not just themselves, do they finally prevail….kinda.  And even when the people work together, it isn’t some sort of magical power of friendship that solves everything, its more the group being more effective because they are a team. 

In short, Higurashi has proudly taken its place among my favorite anime.  It is clever, scary, well thought out, with good characters and great dialogue.  The animation is above average, with the exception of the ladder scene with Shion. The actual comedic parts of the story are extremely well done, acting both as good parodies and as a good romantic cutesy sub plot. The mystery of the town is just my favorite kind of horror and suspense ,with a good moral and subtle character development.  All and all, it is a wonderful series everybody should check out. 

Until the second season……yeah, you knew it was too good to be true.  Typically, the plot goes down hill in the second season, which I will address in my next article.  Now its worth noting that season one wasn’t perfect by any means, but I’ll reserve my criticism when I go to season two, next time, because this article is long enough as it is. 

From

EE

Homebrew stuff

basically, as i am still trying to get back all of my missing documents, i'm relying mostly on home-brews from people. Neoclassic is being awesome by letting me link her stuff, so you might be seeing some of it reposted here. If you want to see all of her stuff, check out her blog, at
http://neoclassicvere.blogspot.com/2009/08/introduction.html
i am following it, her setting is cool, so check it out if you can

Sorry for taking so long, i'm still making lots of stuff. Review on Gladiator, Inglorious Bastards, and Higurahsi (sorry Lord of Rapture lol)
from
EE

FACE OF THE BEAST

this is a Homebrew from NeoClassic, so its not mine. Enjoy :)
From
EE



Those who become Faces of the Beast are surprisingly diverse. Some are simple pyromaniacs, others religious zealots obsessed with the ever-approaching end of this world. A few use fire as a way to seek vengeance on those who have wronged them, and rarer still are those who merely want civilization to end solely for the sake of destruction.

A note on inspiration: I was particularly struck by the mask on the man in the picture, as well as his perilously swinging lamp. The notion of scarred by fire, but having no fear of it and in fact choosing it as a weapon of destruction & revenge, struck me. I admit that it was at this point I remembered "Some men just want to see the world burn" from "The Dark Knight," so that has influenced me some as well, specifically giving this class a more twisted, insane edge.

BECOMING A FACE OF THE BEAST
How you would normally become a member of this prestige class.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Race: Any humanoid
Base Attack Bonus: +7
Base Fortitude Save: +7
Alignment: Any nongood and nonlawful
Special: Must have at least part of one's face, torso, arms, or legs covered in scarring from second or third degree burns

Class Skills
The Face of the Beast's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier

Hit Dice: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+2	+2	+0	These Scars, Double-Sided Flesh (fire resistance 5)
2nd	+1	+3	+3	+0	Fueling the Flames, Double-Sided Flesh (fire resistance 10)
3rd	+2	+3	+3	+1	Furious Defense, Double-Sided Flesh (fire resistance 15)
4th	+3	+4	+4	+1	Iron Lungs, Pyrotechnics, Double-Sided Flesh (fire resistance 20)
5th	+3	+4	+4	+1	Not One of Us, Touch of Armageddon, Double-Sided Flesh (immunity to fire)

Weapon Proficiencies: A face of the beast gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies.
These Scars: The burns of a face of the beast are an integral part of his identity. They become oddly immune to most healing magic; only a miracle spell or similar can remove them. If the burns are such removed, a face of the beast loses all other class abilities and may no longer gain levels in this class until he gains new, notable, second or third degree burns.
Double-Sided Flesh (Ex): Whenever a face of the beast takes fire damage, he appears to be injured by it as any normal creature would; his flesh turns red, blisters, and bubbles. However, he only feels mild discomfort and takes less damage than normal creatures despite this appearance. At first level, he gains fire resistance five, which increases by five each subsequent level. At fifth level, a face of the beast becomes immune to fire.
Unlike most individuals, when a face of the beast receives magical healing, his flesh does not appear fully healed. Scars from combat wounds are generally light and nearly unnoticeable, but any burns from fire or acid leave a distinct scar upon his flesh, no matter how strong the healing magic.
Should a face of the beast be under the influence of shapechange, polymorph, or alter self, he loses this inexplicable property of his own skin and hence does not gain this fire resistance or immunity.
Fueling the Flames (Su): At second level, a face of the beast's connection with fire allows him to double the rate of expansion of (but not damage done by each section of) any nonmagical fires within one hundred feet. This can be anything from causing candles to burn down to the wick more quickly to speeding up forest fires. This ability has no effect upon magical fires of any sort.
Furious Defense: Once per day, after an opponent has rolled a successful attack against a face of the beast, the face may choose to use this ability. He adds his Strength bonus to his armor class. If the attack is still successful, he takes damage as usual. If it is not, he takes half of what the damage of a successful attack would've been. Immediately after, however, the face of the beast gets an immediate grapple check against his opponent at a +4 circumstance modifier.
Iron Lungs (Ex): At fourth level, a face of the beast's internal chemistry has grown hardier. He is now able to breathe in smoke or similarly contaminated air without penalty, though he can still suffocate by drowning or in a vacuum. Furthermore, he gains an immunity to inhaled poisons.
Pyrotechnics (Sp): Beginning at fourth level a face of the beast can cast pyrotechnics as a spell-like ability once per day.
Not One of Us: At fifth level, a face of the beast's creature type changes from humanoid to monstrous humanoid. From now on, he is not affected by spells or abilities which affect humanoids only. However, this is disconcerting to most humanoids, so he receives a -2 Diplomacy penalty to all such checks dealing with humanoids. He is granted a +2 profane bonus to Intimidate checks thanks to this change as well. This creature type change, and hence skill penalty & bonus, cannot be reversed unless the face of the beast loses his scars (see These Scars)
Touch of Armageddon (Su): Upon reaching fifth level, a face of the beast channels a connection to supernatural fiery and destructive energies. When casting a spell or using a weapon that does at least 1d6 of fire damage, he automatically adds another 1d6 fire damage. For chaotic weapons or spells that deal at least 1d6 variable damage, he instead adds 1d4 fire damage. These two effects can stack with each other but not upon themselves (a fiery weapon only get +1d6 fire damage, no matter how many magical fire properties it has, but a chaotic flaming weapon would deal 1d6+d4 additional fire damage).

PLAYING A FACE OF THE BEAST
Despite the fairly uniform reaction that societies tend to display towards faces of the beast (see below), these individuals tend to vary greatly in motivation, means, and philosophy.
Combat: Due to their class abilities and affinity with fire, it's rare to find a Face of the Beast who doesn't use a flaming or flaming burst weapon, though the particular weapon tends to be a matter of personal preference. Most members of this class are fearless, and tend to favor very direct, offensive combat. However, those who practiced a different combat style previous to entering the class may still retain that, so some Faces of the Beast do use ranged combat or stealthy/hit-and-run tactics. When possible, many choose to fight near or even inside of buildings or wilderness that's on fire, with their Iron Lungs allowing them to ignore any penalties from smoke and intimidating opponents with carefully timed Fueling the Flames.

FACE OF THE BEAST IN THE WORLD
There was no reason to it. One madman in the night, and the whole town of petrified trees, that little gem nestled away in the heart of the elven queendom, now lies charred and dead. - Anonymous traveler and witness of the destruction of Ille Nievere

Civilization has always appreciated fire but likewise realized its destructive capacity must be kept in check. At most, fire is to be used against one's opponents in war; otherwise it belongs solely in the hearth or the midsummer bonfire.
A face of the beast who is recognized as such is usually seen with prominent burns- yet holding a torch or other flaming item. As such, the association between this class and dangerously careless use of fire became widespread, leading to a great deal of distrust and outright hatred of faces of the beast in civilized and frontier regions alike.
Daily Life: It is rare for a face of the beast to choose a sedentary life. They are best suited to wandering, more often alone than not. Their skills at combat allow them to hunt for their own food and fend for thesmselves just fine.
Notables: Allegra (see below) is a good example of how an individual from a fairly ordinary life might end up as a Face of the Beast, but her power is petty in comparison with many who've walked the earth. The Trickster (Rogue 11 / Fighter 4 / Face of the Beast 5) has burned entire cities to the ground with just a bit of patience and the right knowledge of flammable substances. Mielle, a fallen paladin, recognized after her prolongued and near-fatal submersion in acid that she'd been vain, and dedicated herself to destroying the distraction of beauty in all its forms.
Organizations: There are no particular organizations dedicated to Faces of the Beast, since many (if not most) prefer to work alone. However, fire-centric or destruction-based faiths may have one or more Faces of the Beast active in their ranks.

NPC Reaction
NPCs, particularly authorities or those who live in flammable buildings, are likely to react in an unfriendly, if not hostile, manner towards faces of the beast. At best, a face of the beast might be viewed as a useful tool for a dangerous mission which the NPC doesn't want to have to do themself. At worst, they may be attacked upon sight, particularly if there have been any local arsons lately- regardless of whether this particular face of the beast (or any members of their class) were actually involved.

FACE OF THE BEAST IN THE GAME
Face of the Beast is a uniquely flavored but highly adaptable class, with a potential niche or role in nearly any campaign setting.
Adaptation: In your setting, you might decide that Faces of the Beast are in fact members of an evil, fire-centric cult, seeking to make everyone fear and respect the power of flame and its destruction. Alternatively, it might be useful for an odd villian or chaotic neutral pyromaniac, giving some unique powers to an individual with an unusual past shaped, at least in part, by their burns.
For a spellcasting version of this class, only a few adjustments are needed. Drop the HD to d6, change the good save to Will, and move the BAB to that of a Sorcerer. Remove Furious Defense. Add +1 spellcasting level for each level other than the first, and you now have a Face of the Beast variant perfect for a fire mage or destruction-focused divine caster!
Encounters: The PCs might discover a Face of the Beast at the heart of an apocalyptic cult, or perhaps as the high priest's henchmen, stirring up worry or even paranoia in common folk and nobles alike. Alternatively, one might be found as a stand-alone prophet of doom, prone to fits of destruction but at other times remarkably lucid and speaking eloquently of the civilization's inevitable fall through fire. Against an evil empire, either an icy northern one or a flammable agrarian one, PCs may instead find themselves wary but awed by a Face of the Beast fighting for freedom, or at least change.

Sample Encounter
Not all Faces of the Beast are malicious, dangerous folks; some could as easily be allies against a common threat as they could be enemies. It's up to the DM's decision of how to design the NPC's encounter with the PCs as well as the PCs' choice of how to interact with the particular Face of the Beast.
EL 11: Allegra was a tough-as-nails bodyguard for most of her life. Someone carelessly (or maliciously) dumped a cauldron of hot oil on her client as he walked through a narrow street. While she was able to push his out of the way in time, so that he only received minor burns, Allegra was severely injured, cosmetically and otherwise.

Previously, Allegra had never cared too much about her appearance, but her new scars were severe enough that she couldn't help but obssess over them. Resigning from her position, she sought to adventure independently, currently heading to a southern volcanic region, and warn others of the dangers - and power - of fire along the way.

Allegra
Female human barbarian 10 / face of the beast 1
TN medium humanoid (human)
Init +8, Senses: Listen +14, Spot +1
Languages Common
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AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (14 if immobilized)
hp 75 (11 HD)
Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +4
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Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee +1 flaming greatsword +14/+9 (2d6+3 plus 1d6 fire, 19-20/x2)
Base Atk +10/+5, Grp +12
Atk Options Rage 3/day
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type II), potion of cure moderate wounds
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Abilities Str 17 (15), Dex 18 (16), Con 16, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 11
SQ Double-Sided Flesh (fire resistance 5), literate, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +3, Damage Reduction 2, These Scars
Feats Improved Initiative, Blind Fight, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Greatsword), Power Attack
Skills Intimidate +14, Jump +13, Listen +14, Survival +15
Possessions combat gear plus +1 flaming greatsword, +1 studded leather armor, boots of dexterity +2, gauntlets of ogre power, everburning torch, 23 gp