Beware the Judderman, my dear, when the moon is fat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...Sharp of tongue and spindle-limed he is, and cunning...

 

Last weekend in our Dragon Warriors game, the party found a hollowed-out tree with a tiny stage set inside it.  On the stage were a set of puppets. They were moving, but no puppeteer was visible.  Upon closer inspection, we realized that the puppets were actually carved wooden representations of our characters.  After watching for a few minutes, it bacame obvious that the story the puppets were portraying was in fact a retelling of real events from the past day.  This was driven home when we saw the puppets climbing a cliff, and, esactly as had happened to us,  a rock was thrown at them from above.  The GM asked us to roll to dodge the boulder again - it was clear that anything bad that happened to the puppets was going to get us all over again.  We rushed up to the stage in an attempt to stop the show and a goblin - who had been controlling the puppets - appeared and begged us not to hurt him.  He offered us a goblin boon if we would spare him and his puppets so we let him be and went on our way.

 

This vignette made us reflect on an advert from the 90's, for the now discontinued schnapps alcopop, Metz.  The lead advert for the brand is a 1m13second masterpiece (the version below is the slightly shorter TV edit)featuring the fictional Judderman.  I think I first saw it at the cinema, and whilst I can't remember the film I saw, the advert certainly stuck with me.  It created a bit of media fuss when shown on TV, with complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority from parents of frightened children.  My wife still recalls the advert with a shudder.  Inspired,  I'm already scribbling notes for a Judderman article, so keep an eye out for it in the next issue.