tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68933254459682124522024-02-08T00:57:41.967-05:00Steve's Occasional Game BlogA place where I pontificate on the various products available to the player of board games, war games and role-playing games that don't involve a computer, the people that play these games and the games I've had.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-73748232207288187802023-02-24T10:41:00.022-05:002023-03-17T17:53:24.676-04:00West Side Warriors - a Savage Worlds game for 3-12 players and a GM
<P><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6s0-SbznFOdbxIFppnfrYHWXuwp9binZYrae3xZHuaXtiK0XmLJ7U0yN8zyrFy9jZFbJ9eNTQHnAky9a5PDVtTzNZn_nTQOCfA0hP3AfQ-1id7gjgDH1Shn_JVPJFHBvgMQLq69_bRalIt182Xefb6dJv8ucfB7ZtqixUL9yl1eQLM5-SA9mabPN/s1600/WestSideWarriorsLogoTiny.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6s0-SbznFOdbxIFppnfrYHWXuwp9binZYrae3xZHuaXtiK0XmLJ7U0yN8zyrFy9jZFbJ9eNTQHnAky9a5PDVtTzNZn_nTQOCfA0hP3AfQ-1id7gjgDH1Shn_JVPJFHBvgMQLq69_bRalIt182Xefb6dJv8ucfB7ZtqixUL9yl1eQLM5-SA9mabPN/s1600/WestSideWarriorsLogoTiny.png"/></a></div>Think The Warriors, played out in a post-appocalyptic NYC, using the same methods as in West Side Story</P>
<P>New York is a wasteland by night. Vicious gangs run rampant, stealing, vandalising and using unrestrained threatening choreography on each other and any poor bugger who wanders into theater.</P>
<P>The players take the part of members of the mostly unknown gang The Warriors, after gang delegates (the players) have attended a meeting of gangs in The Bronx.</P>
<P>The object is to get back to Coney Island with everyone as undamaged as possible. Unfortunately, unbekownst by The Warriors, they have been framed for the killing of Mr Big, an important member of NY's most powerful gang The Riffs.</P>
<P>The Riffs have put a bounty on The Warriors! </P>
<P>Every gang in NY is looking for The Warriors, and the road back to Coney Island will be a difficult one. </P>
<P><B>Navigating NYC</B></P>
<P>The Warriors move across NY using a map broken into zones. Crossing zones takes cinematic amounts of time decided by the GM, but at least one gang must be overcome in every case in order to enter a zone. Gangs can be confronted and overcome by combat, or The Warriors may attempt Stealthy Passage, avoiding contact by EITHER a series of standard group stealth rolls (in which the least stealthy PC determines the outcome) or by Stealth Choreography, which consists of a series of group performance rolls (using the least able performer's skill). Success in either will grant a conflict-free passage into and out of the zone. Choreographed Stealth can also grant bennies.
<P><B>Confrontation</B></P>
<P>When confronted by another gang, initiative is determined, and the winner gets to choose the mode of combat: </P>
<P><OL>
<LI><b>Ultra violence</b> - a vicious no-holds-barred brawl using whatever weapons come to hand (no guns, no-one can afford them). PCs may use a single skill to elaborate on their combat technique, using athletics in conjunction with a descriptive narration, or taunt (with a suitably humiliating descriptive narration) to put opponents on the "back foot" until their next turn. Winners incerease their gang reputation (which affects combat bonuses and penalties) losers lose reputation (as well as getting sliced up a treat). Losing reduces the Warriors's reputation and blocks their way forward on the map, forcing the choice of a new route or a re-match.</LI></P>
<LI><b>Choreography</b> - a vicious no-holds-barred dance-off that wll grant the winning gang bennies. (Bennies are used for re-rolls and avoiding damage). Losers slink off or faint away with shame.</LI>
</OL></P>
<P>Whoever has Gang Initiative decides the nature of the battle - either <b>Choreography</b> or <b>Ultra-Violence</b>. Th GM plays the NPC gang.</P>
<P>Choreography battles are "Dramatic Challenges" of a random number of rounds with fixed initiative. Whoever wins determines the performance troupe size AND dance formation, which must be matched by the opposing gang as best possible. Non-performers sit out and watch. The gang that wins the most rounds of performance wins the choreography battle. If that is The Warriors, they continue on their way and each PC gets a benny.</P>
<P><b>How it works:</b></P>
<P><OL><LI>The GM rolls for the challenge length, and determines the NPC Performance "target number" to be beaten by The Warriors' performance.</LI>
<LI>The Warriors' leader makes the group Perform roll using their Perfom skill</LI><LI>The leader may elaborate their performance with a skill roll for +1, or +2 for a raise.</LI><LI>Each member of the performing troupe within 5 inches of the leader rolls their own Perform and adds +1 to the leader's roll for a success or +2 for a raise.</LI><LI>Each member of the performing troupe within 5 inches of the leader MUST then use the same elaboration as the leader, granting an additional +1 or +2 for a raise.</LI><LI>An un-bennied failure of the elaboration OR the performance roll of a trouper removes them and any bonuses they may have contributed from the performance AND can run the risk of tripping other adjacent performers of their troupe, forcing an immediate athletics check to recover or be removed from the troupe along with any bonuses the tripped PC may have contributed to the performance roll.</LI><LI>The losing team must remove one performer from the stage for the next round due to twisted ankles, hamstring problems or histrionic meltdowns.</LI></OL></P>
<P>Most number of wins after the challenge ends determines victory. Winner sends the other gang skulking away and if the PCs are the winners, each member of The Warriors who performed (including those who were eliminated during the performance) gets a benny, and the Warriors may progress on the map as they wish. Draws are determined by single combat Perform challenges Leader to Leader. At this point player might announce that they are opting for a vocal performance, and could describe the nature of this song and what it is attempting to achieve. Extra bennies or other bonuses might be granted for a clever enough use of this tactic.</P>
<P>Any member of The Warriors may contest the leadership if they feel agrieved. This can be settled amicably, by a gang vote or by the above combat methods, PC on PC. Players might be wise to avoid Ultra-Violence challenges for the good of the gang, but the choice is theirs.</P>
<P><b>This is a musical. No-one dies.</b></P>
<P>Characters who take enough damage to kill them faint instead. The wound penalties do accrue though.</P>
<P>Players may at any time "chew the scenery" by announcing they are going to sing. They must say what the theme of their song will be, and what they are hoping to attain by singing it. Examples might be attempts to gain sympathy for imagined (or real) wrongs by other gang members, pleas to reconsider decisions already made and so forth. The other players may take the performance to heart or with a pinch of salt, but a simple success will grant a benny <i>if</i> the technique is not over-used.</P>
<P>Bennies are a feature of the Savage Worlds game system. They enable players to re-roll bad dice results, to soak away damage as though it never happened and to change features of the encounter in minor but possibly important ways.</P>
<P>This scenario uses three different colors of benny.
<ol><li>White Bennies are used as described above</li>
<li>Red Bennies are used either as White Bennies or to add 1D6 to any single roll. Using one grants the GM a benny</li>
<li>Blue Bennies work like Red Bennies but do not grant the GM a draw</li>
<li>In-game benny draws are done blind, for a random color</li></ol></P>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-55399370017172432892019-01-04T12:30:00.000-05:002019-01-04T12:30:28.312-05:00More New Purchases<!--More New Purchases--><!--Composed on 12/26/18 at 4:35pm--><!--Categories:New Purchases, Board Games, Parker Brothers, Waddingtons--><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyn2bBlvqwB-BOCEX9aEXNRPwBOSIIYW4Sch0OTCSVoNKqKyb2GXSbE51qDyGtiEH7Si8hM9vXIfbMwb9gpE3toAEdkAM9yScp35S9YToq7brjP6Fj6qdoiwf-F3-cBCONvhTe91OKg8/s1600/BlastOff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyn2bBlvqwB-BOCEX9aEXNRPwBOSIIYW4Sch0OTCSVoNKqKyb2GXSbE51qDyGtiEH7Si8hM9vXIfbMwb9gpE3toAEdkAM9yScp35S9YToq7brjP6Fj6qdoiwf-F3-cBCONvhTe91OKg8/s200/BlastOff.jpg" width="200" height="85" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="678" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisaQS3-Ys1vX4KsAWPx-PvQ1c6NIcShYvRrL3_Q34rTCs4HlRu4E0hrgelMynBD-NwnLG8-J3ZJq5Q41BM7CgOFTN1N9ogfZPSsxmwx6j9Rg6eeiPAU2PQW32BMCpVAzIF2NCqDNKXxGw/s1600/BlastOffDetail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisaQS3-Ys1vX4KsAWPx-PvQ1c6NIcShYvRrL3_Q34rTCs4HlRu4E0hrgelMynBD-NwnLG8-J3ZJq5Q41BM7CgOFTN1N9ogfZPSsxmwx6j9Rg6eeiPAU2PQW32BMCpVAzIF2NCqDNKXxGw/s200/BlastOffDetail.jpg" width="200" height="119" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="951" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm5_RSwQiznHUNtdSxQrhq7RieOppHweMeSU36im_V4o8App6WVjAvliMq6Z0FU5xru4apPJWQWeDZC2uadZYT3Nc2wuGLqkHpZhN-eiND2G2NNOkEmag7oYKYh5U_6J4_7E-TGJy16A/s1600/Masterpiece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm5_RSwQiznHUNtdSxQrhq7RieOppHweMeSU36im_V4o8App6WVjAvliMq6Z0FU5xru4apPJWQWeDZC2uadZYT3Nc2wuGLqkHpZhN-eiND2G2NNOkEmag7oYKYh5U_6J4_7E-TGJy16A/s200/Masterpiece.jpg" width="200" height="87" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="695" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qcrEHYjAt4UHLqyGNhuQoWoCo2xdOyX1d7SWo3oJ1hrFgk-bS_qo_AcvBZD-JznYF9uz_jpNcPUxqbffDpLC-61_rUUExgKLV9rYWq7PTLUWT6bDG2n-VIMcr-AeiPDfe9ZUmTn39WQ/s1600/SpyRing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qcrEHYjAt4UHLqyGNhuQoWoCo2xdOyX1d7SWo3oJ1hrFgk-bS_qo_AcvBZD-JznYF9uz_jpNcPUxqbffDpLC-61_rUUExgKLV9rYWq7PTLUWT6bDG2n-VIMcr-AeiPDfe9ZUmTn39WQ/s200/SpyRing.jpg" width="200" height="99" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="788" /></a></div><p>I obtained a number of old school games made by Parker Brothers and Waddingtons recently.</p><p>These games were designed by masters of the form, usually complex enough to hold the attention of an adult while being easy enough to play to allow for children to join in (or possibly the adults post Christmas Dinner c/w copious quantities of alcohol). Waddingtons' <i>Formula One</i> was a purchase that was voted a damn good waste of time at my local friendly game store three months ago, and I just picked up copies of Waddingtons' <i>Blast Off</i>, a Space Race game I had played in the early 1970s which was in excellent condition, and Parker Brothers' <i>Masterpiece</i> which is an art collector game where the object is to collect works of art that are highly prized while dumping your acquired forgeries on the other players. Each artwork card is a reproduction of an actual painting, and gets assigned a random value known only to the owner as it is drawn. A very clever mechanic and a game I've wanted to play since I was an older kid. Never knew anyone who had it though.</p><p>I also picked up a copy of Waddingtons' <i>Spy Ring</i>, which I had played at university in the mid-1970s but it turns out there are two different iterations of the game. The one I had played was the original. The one I bought turned out to have a different game-play and objective while using many of the same pieces. Sadly, the one I want to play is the <i>other</i> one. Oh well.</p><p>Can't wait to get a crowd together for some old-school gaming.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-65480653567397128162018-12-27T12:22:00.000-05:002019-05-14T12:02:42.490-04:00New Purchases<!--New Purchases--><!--Composed on 12/26/18 at 4:35pm--><!--Categories:New Purchases, Boardgames, Avalon Hill--><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3cbM5ksctp74CHfeidnhciXfGZzj2mQSW2Bw3CN1UQDRl4xl7ZLQsYLRtdKlxX5wmw4fzmp8Po0mQ5DmapPrIDhz-K2cn4kb51nE0fO7JYeSjuBCVsMN1PyVFbdlubed4Z0AnJy6BVU/s1600/20181226_233231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3cbM5ksctp74CHfeidnhciXfGZzj2mQSW2Bw3CN1UQDRl4xl7ZLQsYLRtdKlxX5wmw4fzmp8Po0mQ5DmapPrIDhz-K2cn4kb51nE0fO7JYeSjuBCVsMN1PyVFbdlubed4Z0AnJy6BVU/s200/20181226_233231.jpg" width="186" height="200" data-original-width="1485" data-original-height="1600" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMO-ZXOTkfB88u4Cgz4zcmhG6-N-WlaUFT-aDaxTZ70dQp5aZSJtYO1ZjgsNtTTZsdeq9CXd_9THwVXgY_natpey5GdsYoHgTFwkDgzp1vTkQOA7wyT7FWFy5BuMoyDmZXtzu_3R1ewc/s1600/20181226_233558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMO-ZXOTkfB88u4Cgz4zcmhG6-N-WlaUFT-aDaxTZ70dQp5aZSJtYO1ZjgsNtTTZsdeq9CXd_9THwVXgY_natpey5GdsYoHgTFwkDgzp1vTkQOA7wyT7FWFy5BuMoyDmZXtzu_3R1ewc/s200/20181226_233558.jpg" width="200" height="129" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1028" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWTfC7vhXU3qrPeD5VlPYhpprZv7eknrPclxrYK7983hhFbjzvSIWd0elH8FSv1UTQiq50rrnaqq0JvYkuD2TO6y6CmNmOwei4NDMWmbqVQyU4C1kzJkhNnpUJwFinfg6bEiTkCBHGZ4/s1600/20181226_233701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWTfC7vhXU3qrPeD5VlPYhpprZv7eknrPclxrYK7983hhFbjzvSIWd0elH8FSv1UTQiq50rrnaqq0JvYkuD2TO6y6CmNmOwei4NDMWmbqVQyU4C1kzJkhNnpUJwFinfg6bEiTkCBHGZ4/s200/20181226_233701.jpg" width="149" height="200" data-original-width="1108" data-original-height="1484" /></a></div><p>More new purchases, courtesy of eBay.</p><p>I've long been wanting to get a look at the Avalon Hill old chestnut <i>Outdoor Survival</i>, pretty much since it was suggested as a resource in the last few pages of <i>Wilderness Adventures</i>, the third booklet that came in the box that held the original version of Dungeons and Dragons. Gary Gygax suggested using the <i>Outdoor Survival</i> map board as a campaign map for D&D, retasking the various features on the board as castles, baronies etc.</p><p>When the chance came to buy the game I jumped at it, and scored a copy that by the looks of it had never been played. I, of course, plan to ruin the collectibility of the thing by punching the counters from the sheet and actually playing the game. It looks to be an odd beast, where the players are actually playing however many simultaneous games but not actually doing much in the way of co-operating. The conceit is that players are lost in the Great American Outdoors and must survive and navigate their way to safety. To simulate being lost in confusing territory while at the same time having a bird's eye view of the whole terrain, the players do not have complete freedom of movement, but must move in straight lines largely in accordance with instructions randomly determined according to how dilapidated the player characters are. If a counter crosses a trail, the player may decide to follow it instead of beating through the bush, but that's about all the discretionary movement one is allowed if my cursory reading of the rules is right.</p><p>The different counters show the same characters in steadily decreasing state of health, from striding along confidently to staggering and even crawling desperately. It is all very amusing, in a life-or-death way.</p><p>The game came with an actual wilderness survival booklet too, the game having aspirations to be a teaching tool as well as a good way to kill a couple of hours on a rainy day.</p><p>Looks like fun.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-15690927632747282022018-10-24T16:35:00.000-04:002018-10-24T16:38:13.495-04:00Own Goal<p>
I recently picked up used copies of <i>Panzerblitz</i> and <i>Panzer Leader</i>, two games from Avalon Hill's golden age of bookcase games, which I somehow managed <i>not</i> to buy despite promising every time I saw them that I would.</p>
<p>
For those not in the know, these games "simulate" armoured conflicts in WWII, <i>Panzerblitz</i> between Germany and Soviet Russia and <i>Panzer Leader</i> between the German and Allied armies post D-Day. In their time there were expansions available (if you could find them) that could shift either game into new theaters of war. They remain quite popular with enthusiasts to this day, even though neither game has been available outside of a collector's market since the late 80s.</p>
<p>
Picturing battles to come with opponents I am determined to scare up, I decided to pen my own version of <i>The Panzerlied</i> - the German song of the tankmen as heard in the movie <i>The Battle of the Bulge</i>. Since I don't speak German, and the point was to needle my putative opponent (assuming I get to play Germany) the lyrics were of necessity in English and inflammatory in nature.</p>
<p>
<i>If we see an enemy tank we shoot it to bits!<br>
If we see an enemy truck we shoot it to bits!<br>
And if we see a tank hunter we shoot and shoot until it's blown to bits!<br>
If we see an enemy jeep we shoot it to bits!<br>
<br>
The enemy hides in camouflage which we shoot to bits!<br>
The enemy hides in houses which we then shoot to bits!<br>
The enemy hides in trenches which we squish and then we shoot them to bits!<br>
The enemy hides in bunkers which we shoot to bits!<br>
<br>
The enemy arrives in landing craft which we shoot to bits!<br>
The enemy arrives in gliders which we then shoot to bits!<br>
The enemy arrives at airfields which we overrun and then we shoot to bits!<br>
The enemy arrives in halftracks which we shoot to bits!</i></p>
<p>
Only thing is, since writing it I can't stop it running round and round in my head. It seems I have written an earworm.</p>
<p>
So <i>that</i> worked.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-89993015829278089912018-10-17T14:09:00.001-04:002018-10-17T14:13:25.291-04:00Savage Worlds Kickstarter And More<p>
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/545820095/savage-worlds-adventure-edition?ref=591652&token=798aede0">And speaking of <span class="savageworlds">Savage Worlds</span>, a new version is being kickstarted.</a></p>
<p>
Funded in 3 minutes. Oversubscription to this level should speak volumes about the quality of the product line to date. I believe <span class="savageworlds">Savage Worlds</span> is more fun than a barrel full of monkeys poking one in the eye, and I recommend it to anyone not moving quickly enough to get out of the way. It is simple to riun, easy to teach and fun to play.<a href="https://www.uptofourplayers.com/savage-worlds-rules/">This is the most entertaining explanation of how it works that I've come across to date</a>.</p>
<p>
You can use it to build your own RPG games or you can bolt it onto any of the many available pre-written settings: Deadlands Reloaded, Space 1889:Red Sands, 50 Fathoms, Slipstream, Flash Gordon, Rifts, Necropolis, Realms of Cthulhu, Sundered Skies, Lankhmar, Rippers, Gaslight, High Space, Kerberos Club, Weird War, Mars, High Space and more. Call it a sort of math-light GURPS in concept.</p>
<p>
Two self-contained games don't even require a separate purchase of the basic rule books: Solomon Kane and Pirates.</p>
<p>
I can personally recommend Pirates and 50 Fathoms to would-be Jack Sparrows , Flash Gordon and Slipstream to 30s SF serial buffs, Rippers, Realms of Cthulhu and Gaslight to the Steampunk and Horror fan bases, Space 1889 to anyone who loved the 60s movies based on Jules Verne and H.G. Wells stories, and Deadlands Reloaded to everyone - even those with no interest in the wild west, as I found it to be exciting and enjoyable after over a decade of avoiding it. Of the stand-alone games, Solomon Kane is a personal favorite.</p>
<p>
Coming soon will be a new mashup Fantasy/SF/Horror setting called "Crystal Hearts", set in the world of <a href="https://www.uptofourplayers.com/comic/1-campaign-pitch/">this webcomic about an RPG campaign</a>, kickstarting in mid-November.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-2873736268970581042018-10-16T13:52:00.002-04:002018-10-24T16:46:50.967-04:00Figure Flats For Wargaming and RPGs<!--Figure Flats For Wargaming and RPGs--><!--Categories: Card Miniatures--><p>Like every gamer I like having metal or plastic miniatures on the table when doing grid-based combat<sup><a name="1610180sup1" href="#1610180foot1">1</a></sup>, but am increasing less enthused when it comes to the job of basing them<sup><a name="1610180sup3" href="#1610180foot3">3</a></sup>, prepping them<sup><a name="1610180sup4" href="#1610180foot4">4</a></sup> and painting them, as this takes time I'd rather use to be playing.</p><p>So I've fallen back on an old idea, made new again first by Stephen Jackson (or GURPS fame) and later by several others, of cardboard representations of the figures mounted in some sort of base.</p><p>The disadvantages boil down to "not a three dimensional figure" and "can easily blow over if clods abound". The advantages are that the artwork is often superb and large collections can be transported with a fraction of the time and trouble three-d minis cause.</p><p>Steve Jackson's <i>Cardboard Heroes</i> were assembled as "tents", so the figures resembled upside-down letter Vs with a base that could be stuck to a coin for heft.</p><p>Pathfinder sells collections of high quality thick card "Figure Flats" to match their printed products<sup><a name="1610180sup5" href="#1610180foot5">5</a></sup> that are sort of like cardboard tombstones in shape. They are designed to slip into a grooved set of jaws of the special bases they sell. These bases are not cheap either, because they are quite complex mouldings made, unless I miss my guess, by injection moulding. Dies represent a hefty investment - they have to be fabricated using machine tools, which is why small companies don't do plastic injection very often.</p><p>Precis Intermedia make a series of figures that can be assembled as triangular prisms, flats and counters, and also sell a rather nice base to take the flats. These are the bases I prefer to use as they are much less expensive than the Pathfinder ones and actually grip the thinner card likely to be used to make them. Precis Intremedia actually sell PDFs of these figures for download and print-at-home..</p><p>Pinnacle Entertainment Group, the company that puts out my favorite RPG system <span class="savageworlds">Savage Worlds</span> also make a range of settings for the basic system, most of which (but not all) also have an available line of figure flats for purchase. These are intended to be assembled as triangular prisms and so have three faces, one of which is a black silhouette and the other two a full-color depiction of whatever it is.</p><p>I have extensive collections of both Pinnacle's and Precis Intermedia's product lines, but I prefer the figures to be presented as simple two-sided flats, with a rear and front depiction. I also prefer the figures to be slightly larger than either company chooses to make them so that the detail prints properly on inexpensive home printers that cannot get anywhere near the resolution of a professional printing press. So, to get a usable figure collection I have to do a bit of work.</p><p>Job one is to import a page of figures into a program like Photoshop or GIMP so they can be re-engineered. The Pinnacle figures are usually presented in a tight matrix that makes good use of the card available but is not suitable for flats to be mounted in a clip-base. I pick out the figure I want, and carefully extract two of the three panels from the original (one side image and the rear silhouette).</p><p>Using the rulers and guides in the graphics program I carefully scale the image appropriately. With Necessary Evil, for example, the PC Villains were scaled to be larger than the NPC aliens, which in turn were scaled up slightly so they would print cleanly. For Deadlands I made the figures, which started life at about 1.25 inches tall (including whitespace) 1.5 inches tall. I then carefully added a half-inch tab to the bottom of the character. This is what got printed, on high quality matte paper.</p><p>The printed figure art was then stuck to card using rubber cement. This is a decent bond for the duration of the preparation, but won't last long in play as the glue gradually loses its grip.</p><p>The figure was then carefully cut out using a sharp Xacto knife, the fold line scored and the figure folded and glued into a flat. It was now a two-sided cardboard affair of decent thickness<sup><a name="1610180sup6" href="#1610180foot6">6</a></sup> with a tab. This I wrapped with heavy duty clear Scotch brand wrapping tape. I started about halfway down the tab on the rear side of the flat, wrapping the tape over the back of the figure, across the top, back down the front and cutting enough to fold over the bottom and cover the initial start point of the tape. The sides of the tape wre then trimmed flush with the sides of the flat.</p><p>The wrapping was done for several reasons, starting with the fact that rubber cement does not form a durable bond with the card. Wrapping over the top and bottom not only made sure the paper would not come away from the card backing, it formed a durable point at which the base attached - slipping the figure into the base posed no threat that the paper would be torn away from the card by the jaws of the base itself.</p><p>The glossy tape also made the card figure durable vs greasy dimwit player fingers, <i>and</i> gave me a nice erasable surface on which to write with wet- or dry-erase pens to indicate special status or wounds or whatever.</p><p>So not quick as far as preparation goes, but oodles quicker than painting.</p><ol class="footnote"><li><a name="1610180foot1"></a>In which the RPG sort of strays into board game territory in the name of clarity and fun. Some hate it and prefer Theater of the Mind<sup><a name="1610180sup2" href="#1610180foot2">2</a></sup>, but I see useful applications of both techniques<a href="#1610180sup1">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1610180foot2"></a>In which all combat scenarios are enacted in the players' heads and no miniatures a re needed. All RPG combat was like this at first<a href="#1610180sup2">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1610180foot3"></a>i.e. gluing them to a base and then dressing the base to look nice<a href="#1610180sup3">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1610180foot4"></a>An endless process of removing the casting lines and flash, changing out patrs for others in order to make the figure unique, bending or cutting/regluing to change the pose etc<a href="#1610180sup4">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1610180foot5"></a>Bestiaries and Adventure Modules<a href="#1610180sup5">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1610180foot6"></a>Because two layers of card, yes?<a href="#1610180sup6">↑</a></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-85146727262130964122018-10-15T21:03:00.000-04:002018-10-15T21:03:31.752-04:00New Purchases<!--New Purchases--><!--Categories: Avalon Hill, New Purchases--><p>I just successfully bid on three Avalon Hill boxed wargames from the golden age of games, when people weren't afraid of rulebooks.</p><p>The first was an almost complete "Tactics II", arguably the game that jump-started the market for Avalon Hill wargames. I've wanted to try this for years and a copy was available for the Buy it Now price of 20 bux plus postage, so around 35 bux in total. Not bad for a game missing a couple of counters<sup><a name="1510181sup1" href="#1510181foot1">1</a></sup>.</p><p>The second and third came as a single deal in one auction. "Panzer Blitz" and "Panzer Leader" were games I remember seeing and scheduling for my shelves but money wasn't endless and I had other games that were fun and ... well, the time when these were available new passed when Avalon Hill collapsed and became a boutique name for Wizards of the Coast.</p><p>These days it is almost impossible to find people in the same locale as me who are willing to invest the time and effort in playing simulation games like these. The games are designed to recreate the actual physics of driving tanks and shooting at things. Things are intuitive once you get the designer's basic take on what is important, and certain standards were used in just about all wargame-type games so picking up a new one wasn't a steep learning curve usually and things were designed to work the way you expected them to.</p><p>The rules are also written in what is called the "Case System" which groups rules in increasing amounts of specialty. You look up whatever you want to do in general terms, then the special conditions that apply as and when you need them. It is a sort of hyperlinking. The key concept is that the players are never expected to be "off book" while playing, so the rules ware exhaustive and easy to navigate. <sup><a name="1510181sup2" href="#1510181foot2">2</a></sup>.</p><p>I was feeling nostalgic and decided to chance the condition and component count<sup><a name="1510181sup3" href="#1510181foot3">3</a></sup> but these seemed in good condition.</p><p>I expected to get sniped to be honest and placed my bid in such a way to foil the manual snipers, but there's nothing you can do against software designed to up the bids incrementally before a human can type a counter offer. But after a brief flurry of activity by one inexperienced bidder and a halfhearted bid by someone not really interested I took the prize for around 50 bux. Twenty five dollars per game, not bad.</p><p>So I'm looking forward to receiving these blasts from the past<sup><a name="1510181sup4" href="#1510181foot4">4</a></sup>. Even now I am picturing the Panzer games in the window of <i>Dungeons and Starships</i> on Summer Row, my not-so local friendly game store of choice in 1981.</p><p>Now if only I can find an opponent ...</p><ol class="footnote"><li><a name="1510181foot1"></a>Which can be replaced easily enough by printing replacements from counter sheet images on the web<a href="#1510181sup1">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1510181foot2"></a>Contrast this to game rulebooks today which typically adhere to the RPG standard where it is assumed that the players will figure a way of winging it when (not if) things get confusing or they hit something not covered. The result is often a disorganized mess. Fantasy Flight Games, I am looking at you<a href="#1510181sup2">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1510181foot3"></a>the options for both these games were not great and nobody was doing a component count on the various offerings<a href="#1510181sup3">↑</a></li> <li><a name="1510181foot4"></a>The ancient past in the case of Tactics II, which dates from 1958 I think.<a href="#1510181sup4">↑</a></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-45711870261132363322018-10-01T23:18:00.002-04:002018-10-01T23:18:48.418-04:00Intro To Savage Worlds<p><a href="https://www.uptofourplayers.com/savage-worlds-rules/">I came across this excellent primer on the Savage Worlds RPG game engine and think everyone will find it entertaining and informative.</a></p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.uptofourplayers.com/">And you can join a game running in the Crystal Heart setting. Well, you can watch the others play.</a></p>
<p>
After reading, bet you wish the writers played your favorite system.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-33341630542144863262018-09-17T23:49:00.001-04:002018-10-24T16:51:27.451-04:00Space 1889:Red Sands Session 1, And Deadlands:Reloaded.So on Sunday I finally convened the delayed start of Space 1889:Red Sands.<br />
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I am glad to report The Curse is alive and well. This game has collapsed twice due to players having conflicting schedules that eventually killed it. These people assure me that the problem isn't my GM style (my first suspicion), just events.<br />
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This day there were supposed to be two players, Matt and Chris, but at the last minute Chris had to beg off as he had contracted a bad cold.<br />
<br />
Rather than not play - I had had a rotten month and badly needed the break from suckage - I decided to play with only one player and a GM, padding the numbers out with an army column of 25 troopers, a sergeant and an officer. Matt would be a civilian being escorted through the Libyan desert by the army.<br />
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Savage Worlds lends itself very well to this sort of kludge because it splits characters into two types:<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li>Wild Cards like the players and "boss" baddies who have a number of wounds they can suffer before being taken out (the consequences of that can vary according to the setting), several "bennies" that can be spent to re-roll failed trait checks or "soak" wounds (shrugging off attacks cinematically) and access to certain edges (feats/advantages) restricted to Wild Cards, and</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Extras who are downed by a single wound. Think of the enemy soldiers in a Rambo movie or bandits in a western - extras are characters for players to shoot if opposing or to give support if allied. Extras can be made very quickly. In fact, I used templates from the back of the Space 1889:Red Sands setting book.</li>
</ul>
The number of allied NPCs meant I could terrify Matt with a huge number of attacking Bedouins as he raced for Fort OubliƩ.<br />
<br />
I gave him a good run for his money and threw in a Lame GM Bone (LGMB) so that he survived with some soldiers to enter the fort and suffered attacks by what waited within.<br />
<br />
And he had a ball. I had a ball. Things can only get better when Chris joins next session.<br />
<br />
The preparation involved reading the scenario and setting rules to re-familiarize myself with them, and turning text-block clues into first person diary entries for touchy-feely clues a-la Call of Cthulhu.<br />
<br />
I think this time we might get all the way through. I might even finish the Globe of Mars I was working on when the last game collapsed in a puff of weddings and postings abroad.<br />
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That was in the afternoon. In the evening I stepped into my friend Craig's game slot and ran Deadlands:Reloaded, the Weird West setting for Savage Worlds. I ran Deadlands a few years ago and had a great time doing so, using a module called Coffin Rock. When it was over I calculated we got 18 3 1/2 to 4 hour sessions from that module, and I could have run another 9 without breaking a sweat. Coffin Rock is just about the best value for RPG dollars I've ever bought.<br />
<br />
This evening I ran "Shootout at the Circle R Corral", an inexpensive pdf I bought from the Drivethru RPG website. We got about halfway through before we had to beak for the evening. During that time much Mad Science was deployed on both sides of the GM screen (<i>actually, the screen was off to one side because I prefer to run "in the round" with open die-rolls. The screen is just an aide-memoir for the various once-in-a-blue-moon rules I normally can remember but have trouble with after running D20 most of the time</i>). Mine was largely ineffective, theirs was devastating, blowing my mighty steam wagon to shrapnel with one shot and taking down my clockwork mech with riflefire. The mech proved delightfully incapable of directing gattling gun fire onto any of the many targets and eventually blew up due to over-the-top damage the likes of which have not been seen since Kirk activated the self destruct on the NCC-1701A while Klingons were rifling it.<br />
<br />
It was all great fun and we shall be meeting again in two weeks to do some more.<br />
<br />
<i>UPDATE: <a href="https://space1889redsands.blogspot.com/">Future posts concerning the Space 1889:Red Sands campaign will be posted in a purpose-built blog rather than here</a>.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-91607882260820854662018-08-22T14:03:00.000-04:002018-08-22T14:05:25.064-04:00End Of An Era<!--End Of An Era--><!--Composed on 8/22/18 at 1:30pm--><!--Categories RPG, D20, Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green--><!--Local--><p>
So last week I sat with the two people who showed up to the (delayed) Delta Green session and we decided that the game wasn't doing it for anyone any more.</p>
<p>
It was agreed that if we had more interested people it would still be a going concern, but with only two players the pacing was not as good as it might be, and the mix of player styles wasn't working with our established milieu. We had enjoyed it more when there was a crowd, with all the churning of ideas that brought.</p>
<p>
And so, I reluctantly put the campaign to bed, with the players stipulating that if interest should pick up I should run it again, which was kind of them but we are done.</p>
<p>
It had a very long run, more than eight years of (mostly) monthly play. I didn't count the sessions but I would be surprised if we hadn't convened the game more than 90 times.</p>
<p>
This game brought me into contact with some of the best RP gamers with whom I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Their buy-in and keen participation drove me to the limits of my creativity when trying to devise suitably convoluted plots, schemes and double-crosses. It has been the most enjoyable of all the games I have run.</p>
<p>
So I should thank those who made it so much fun, starting with the seven people who sat in the very first scenario, at a small convention called RetCon. I don't know all their names, so they'll all stay anonymous. I learned a lot from devising and running that one session.</p>
<p>
Mark, Jay, Melanie, Kevin, Mike, Justin, Chris, Dan, John, Matt, Stephen, Daniel, thank you all.</p>
<p>
I shall remember forever Kevin's radio kluge that saved the day, Melanie's cunning "Almanick deception ploy", Justin's tiny hand and later inadvertent bloody sacrifice, Jay's leadership and knowledge (<i>along with his gobsmacked reaction when he found out about Melanie's perfidy and his loud refutation of personal cultism while his character stood naked in a field chanting a spell with a bunch of other naked , blood-soaked "non-cultists"</i>), Mike's re-entry to the game after a short spell away, Chris's telephone pole climbing stunt and his mix tapes, Dan's close encounters with mythos stuff that somehow didn't kill him or drive him insane, Matt for his gleeful playing of insane characters ("The Frogs! Aargh!"), Stephen for his attempt to psychoanalyze someone going mad in a submarine via radio and his love of ridiculously large caliber guns, John for destroying the known universe for no good reason, and Daniel for his powers of deduction and the spaceship incident.</p>
<p>
Thanks to all those who participated in single games whose names are too numerous to mention, too.</p>
<p>
I hope everyone had fun. I know I did.</p>
<p>
We took a vote and decided to switch to a monthly game of Space 1889:Red Sands, which can be played with fewer players owing to the ease of use of NPC "extras" in the Savage Worlds system.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-46403091254219036792017-09-26T16:34:00.000-04:002017-11-09T10:19:18.657-05:00I Can Has Questions<p>Why do the current crop of RPG rulebook writers insist on hiding the essential information needed to get up to speed as quickly as possible behind pages and pages of waffle?</p><p>Used to be the character build process was the first thing in the rulebook and was laid out quickly and in a straightforward manner. But now you have to wade through almost the entire blasted book to find out the most important stuff - i.e. how to build a character for use in the game.</p><p>Not that I'm against having a rich character-build process or game world you understand, but it is much easier to understand the bits the author is trying to convey at the start by reference to an actual, you know, <b>character</b>. Writers: don't describe the blasted skill test mechanics to me until you've described how I build the skills.</p><p>Case in point: I want to run some players through <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span> this Saturday and since no-one has any idea of what that entails I need to get up to speed quickly. I flip to the character build section (a good 1/3 of the way into the book) and my immediate question was "How many skill build points do I have?" It took me about 15 minutes to locate the section in which that info was yielded up. Shortly after, I was looking at the Starship build process (part of the initial group character build process). How many resource points do the players get? Another 15 minute search for something that should have been front and center, not buried in a small paragraph at the end. Seriously, are the editors autistic or something?</p><p>This isn't a problem restricted to <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span> either. D&D 5e pulls the same nonsense. <span class="dresdenfiles">Dresden Files RPG</span> did it in spades, requiring reading almost the entire rulebook to get a character built.</p><p><span class="savageworlds">Savage Worlds</span> on the other hand presents all the relevant info concisely and up front. <span class="gurps">GURPS</span> also does the job right, if somewhat less concisely. So it isn't impossible or hard to do. <span class="cofc">Call of Cthulhu</span> has a two-page spread that explains the whole process diagramatically. It really doesn't get any easier than that.</p><p>So game designers and editors: If you want people to play your games, why make it hard to glean how to do so from the rulebooks? If you are going to make people go hunting in YouTube for instructions on how to play, why bother writing a rulebook at all?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-61287241046772493662017-09-21T14:39:00.001-04:002017-09-21T14:45:13.429-04:00Thank You, Ralph.<p>A shout out to my friend Ralph, who has lived far away from me for Lo! these many years.</p><p>We vacationed in the Poconos this year on account of a hurricane wiping out our Florida plans (hence, no reports of an expensive visit to the local friendly game store this summer) and managed to swing by Ralph'n'Cate's place in Pennsylvania before departing for home. They have a beautiful house in a wonderful neighborhood, but that's a subject for a different blog.</p><p>What gets a mention here is that Ralph was extremely generous as we left for home, gifting me with two fine game products: the remade <i>Horror on the Orient Express campaign</i> for <span class="cofc">Call of Cthulhu</span> <sup><a name="2109179sup1" href="#2109179foot1">1</a></sup> and something I hadn't seen before: <i>Gumshoe: Cthulhu Confidential</i> , which is a special rewrite of the <span class="cofc">Trail of Cthulhu</span> rules for one player and a GM.</p><p>These fine gifts shall not go unappreciated, and Cthulhu Confidential is scheduled for a detailed reading in a couple of weeks, after the <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span> playtest.</p><p>So now I need to find a platform that will support Ralph and my long-distance gaming interests. I'm thinking Google hangouts.</p><ol class="footnote"><li><a name="2109179foot1"></a>which I'd seen but steered clear of on account of having the original and not believing Chaosium would ever deliver on the Kickstarter<sup><a name="2109179sup2" href="#2109179foot2">2</a></sup> <a href="#2109179sup1">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109179foot2"></a>And in fact they almost didn't but for the intervention of some "angels"<a href="#2109179sup2">↑</a></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-37715571134904352832017-09-21T14:06:00.002-04:002017-09-21T14:16:20.793-04:00You Could Have Knocked Me Down With A Feather, But ...<p> <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span> delivered.</p><p>About a year and a half late, but it delivered, and nice it is too.</p><p>The conceit is that players are NCOs and officers in a mercenary company in the far future, in the universe of the Schlock Mercenary webcomic. Notable mechanical goodies are that each player gets a gang of three NPC grunts to order about, a card-mediated "mayhem" mechanism that purports to put role-playing opportunities back into dice-fest combats and skill blitzes. Looks good on paper.</p><p>I Kicked in for a deluxe package containing the hardcover rulebook, a pdf copy of same, A distressed copy of The Seventy Maxims Of Maximally Effective Mercenaries<sup><a name="2109178sup1" href="#2109178foot1">1</a></sup> and a pdf of same, a GM screen depicting ships of the universe on the player side, some themed dice, the cards (of course), a dice bag, a challenge coin D2 flipper and some lapel pins. All very nice.</p><p>The delays in delivery were mainly caused by overthinking the artwork on the Maxims book and the rulebook as I understand it. This was unfortunate, especially as I would have kicked in without the "ultra realistic" artwork, gussied up from the webcomic. I rather like the webcomic art. No matter, though much of the momentum and expectation I'd built for the game in my pool of players has evaporated in the interim.</p><p>I'm taking it out for a test-drive next weekend, so I'll report in on the experience then. if it goes well I may try and convene a regularly occurring game of <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span>.</p><p>I also Kicked into a separate project by the same team for three copies of their plastic "handbrain" things. These are basically frames that can hold a half sheet of legal pad paper created to look like the PDA "handbrains" used by everyone in the comic. They are intended as small gm shields or handout dressing. Once properly distressed and painted up they should look nice, and may be useful for handing out building plans, space station layouts or briefings. Who knows?</p><p>They ran a month late too, though that was because of manufacturing problems that pushed into the schedule for Gencon.</p><p>At least they honoured their promise to not hold the <span class="planetmercenary">Planet Mercenary RPG</span> release up until Gencon. I hate Kicking into a game that then delivers at Gencon first instead of to the early-bird supporters that got the game made.</p><ol class="footnote"><li><a name="2109178foot1"></a>An in-universe artifact made famous in the webcomic<a href="#2109178sup1">↑</a></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-85609097041438022492017-09-21T13:13:00.001-04:002017-09-21T14:17:34.985-04:00All Good Things Must Come To An End<p> "So what happened with Beauregard Tucks and Co?" I hear you ask<sup><a name="2109170sup1" href="#2109170foot1">1</a></sup>.</p><p>Surprisingly, he didn't get killed, at least, not for a good, long time. He survived the deaths of just about everyone else in the game, ending up in the final confrontation as the only PC to have witnessed the demise of The Earps.</p><p>Stone <sup><a name="2109170sup2" href="#2109170foot2">2</a></sup> was killed twice (he didn't stay dead for reasons I won't spoil). The first time in mano-y-mano duel between Stone and a character played with gusto by Matt, using magic bullets it took a couple of PC lives to recover from their resting place, and the second in a bloody drawn-out slugfest <sup><a name="2109170sup3" href="#2109170foot3">3</a></sup> that ended up with two more PCs dead before Stone engaged, and the final death of Tucks when he decided that the epicness of the situation called for an all-out effort, shot at Stone, missed and was backshot to instant death by Stone's posse.</p><p>This behavior of Tucks' was so at odds with his usual "<i>go invisible and fly over the enemy, blasting them with a shotgun and/or magic attacks for the quick kill</i>" tactic that he had used so effectively in the past (<i>while Matt's character was dealing with Stone's challenge, Tucks was dealing very effectively with the twenty or so henchmen trying to add their voice to things for example</i>) that the others might have been forgiven for thinking that Tucks was simply trying to steal the show.</p><p>That wasn't what was going on.</p><p>First, Tucks was hamstrung by a dearth of magic resources to hand. He could have borrowed the resources needed from demonic forces, maybe, but with Stone out and about he thought that <i>might</i> be a foolish thing to try. Long explanation short, Tucks could not afford the resources to go invisible.</p><p>Second, Tucks had opted to cast a spell with a cheesy "get two moves for the price of one" effect, which I interpreted as "<i>you only have three seconds instead of the usual six in which to think and act in each move</i>". This was entirely subjective and I discussed it with no-one, but it seemed immersively right from my seat, and I refused to pause for long decisions and discussions with the other players as I made Tuck's moves. This probably didn't go over well with the other players but I had broadly hinted at what was going on and some of them were role playing their own parts well.</p><p>Third, Tucks was the only character in play by then who had seen the horrible deaths of the Earp family, and was carting Wyatt Earp's marshal's badge. That badge was magic and had save Tucks's hide several times, but I (as a player) honestly thought our party had over-reached and were doomed, and decided that Tucks, realizing how bad the situation was, would decide that the time was come for playing out the hand as dealt and living up to the totem he carried by trying his damn' best to take down that Son of a Gun Stone as quickly as possible, with a shade less thought for his own skin than had been the norm before, so that the others could have time enough to flee for their lives if they so chose.</p><p>In other words, an epic scene from an epic campaign required epic participation. Tucks was, after all, a Legendary character<sup><a name="2109170sup4" href="#2109170foot4">4</a></sup> by this time.</p><p>Had Tucks had one more round and ten more magic points, perhaps he would have made different tactical choices. But you play the cards you are dealt, as Tucks might have said.</p><p>In the end Tucks managed to find the one weapon that could kill Stone, but flubbed the shot and was killed for his failure. Appropriately epic in my estimation. I'd have liked him to survive, but I was happy the way it went down.</p><p>Until he rose from the dead as a Harrowed character<sup><a name="2109170sup5" href="#2109170foot5">5</a></sup> that is.</p><p>Should the opportunity to play Tucks arise again, he will be constantly fighting the same horror Jim Dandy ended up losing his battle to - permanent demonic absorption.</p><p>The other players were magnificent.</p><p>Matt - Died once, then got smart and survived until the end</p><p>James - Died several times, but always from chance critical hits while doing the right thing.</p><p>Sam - Died once but couldn't make many of the sessions, including the last one.</p><p>Ali - Missed many sessions, but her portrayal of Dr Honeydew as she slid ever deeper into madness was brilliant</p><p>Jeff - Died three times. Became Harrowed and lost the dominion battle once. A martyr to ambushes and multiple critical hits.</p><p>Craig - Our GM who threw us Lame GM Bones when required and did his very best to keep it unreal.</p><p>I haven't had so much fun in years. I looked forward to the games and dressed-up as Tucks faithfully each time to maintain the image. By the end I had the black hat, dress shirt, studs, Poker Hand Cuff-Links, a smart waistcoat, a monogram bolo tie and a fob watch. I've never done at-table cosplay before<sup><a name="2109170sup6" href="#2109170foot6">6</a></sup>, but it will become part of my RPG kit-out whenever opportunity knocks.</p><ol class="footnote"><li><a name="2109170foot1"></a>When I put those words into your mouth, dear reader<a href="#2109170sup1">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109170foot2"></a>the personification of Death in Deadlands:Reloaded<a href="#2109170sup2">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109170foot3"></a>in every sense of the word<a href="#2109170sup3">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109170foot4"></a>A game term for the experience level the character had earned that also carries repercussions in-game<a href="#2109170sup4">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109170foot5"></a>I suspect a cheesy GM finesse used as some sort of comedic come-uppance here, but them's the breaks.<a href="#2109170sup5">↑</a></li> <li><a name="2109170foot6"></a>A lie: I wore a robe to A Song Of Ice and Fire once<a href="#2109170sup6">↑</a></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-77959676451038574212017-01-05T15:20:00.000-05:002017-01-05T15:36:39.649-05:00What Am I Playing These Days (A Ransom Note Test Of My CSS Code)<!--What Am I Playing These Days---><!--Categories: RPG, Savage Worlds, Deadlands:Reloaded, D&D, Gamma World, Delta Green, D20--><!--Composed on 1/5/2017 at 3pm--><p>So, let's inventory the regularly scheduled games I'm involved with, just for fits and wiggles.</p><p>Friday nights alternate. Last week I ran <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span>, this week I'll be playing in someone else's <span class="dandd">Dungeons & Dragons</span> game. I'm having more fun playing in the <span class="dandd">Dungeons & Dragons</span> game than running the <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span> one, but the <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span> players are reportedly having a ball. I'll run the scanrios in the set until they are played out and then will happily drop <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span> like a radioactive spud.</p><p>Saturday, being the first Saturday in the month, I will be running <span class="dg">Delta Green</span>, continuing a campaign set in the mid '90s using the D20 rules for <span class="cofc">Call of Cthulhu</span> that has been chugging along claiming PC sanity and lives (and in one case the entire observable universe) for around five years on a once-a-month basis. This can be a lot of fun, but it is always a lot of work. I'm having difficulties with the current plot instalment but it should all smooth out and run better after a couple of hours of Investigator Effort.</p><p>Sunday evening will be the next installment in the <span class="dlrl">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> game I'm having so much fun with. This is another game in which I'm a player rather than the GM, and I haven't had quite so much fun in years.</p><p>Candidates being considered for the Friday slot when I'm done with <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span> include <span class="skane">Solomon Kane</span> and <span class="space1889">Space 1889</span>, both of which I've had a lot of fun with in the past, but that is way off in the future. I've probably got enough <span class="gammaworld">Gamma World</span> stuff to take us into the summer.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-37463070911616658732016-12-28T12:57:00.005-05:002017-01-05T13:48:42.068-05:00Deadlands Fun<p>
So life has been getting more and more fun in the <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> game in which I am currently playing a huckster (a sort of card-playing magician) by the unlikely name of Beauregard Tucks.</p>
<p>
So much so that I decided to dress the part, at least from the waist up (no-one can see the legs while we are seated at the table). So I augmented my fake Stetson with an inexpensive tuxedo waistcoat, a fancy shirt, a western-style bow tie and a "fan of aces" set of cufflinks. This outfit drew admiring comments from the other players with the exception of Jeff, who regards such shenanigans as unnecessary hi-jinks and game distractions.</p>
<p>
For the longest time now I've been theming my dice for the milieu I'm gaming in, with my go-to Deadlands dice of choice being either the two tone copper/black and copper/green set or the steel and green,blue or copper set. These evoke the mineral nuggets the NPCs were grubbing for during "Coffin Rock" (<i>possibly the best value for RPG dollars I've ever added to my library and highly recommended to all Deadlands GMs as a source of hours of fun</i>). The look of he dice adds an indefinable element to the ambience that helps me get in the mood.</p>
<p>
Adding the "Stetson" - discovered in January in a gas station store on the way back from Florida and actually made from a hard but flexible plastic shell covered with some sort of textured flock rather than felt, and <i>very</i> comfy to wear - was an obvious step after reading the Cattlepunk episodes of the <i>Knights of the Dinner Table</i>. I discovered that wearing it helped me focus on being a character in an imaginary western setting rather than a player at a table in New York.</p>
<p>
And so the extra bits and bobs. And it worked great. When I fiddled with my ridiculously cheap Steampunk fob watch I was doing so as Beauregard Tucks, hard-gamblin' master of matters arcane, set by fate upon a path to death or glory, most likely both, not as Stevie, timid and aging no-account computer botherer and captain of all things sad.</p>
<p>
I've no doubt that this effort will precipitate events in which Beauregard Tucks will be shot into mincemeat, rendering the whole wardrobe effort moot. Given the current state of Jim Dandy (Jeff) it is highly likely that Beau's demise will come at the hands of - or because of the treachery of - Jim Dandy. This time at least Jeff will have a plausible excuse for his character's lack of loyalty, what with him being not entirely in control of his life any more on account of him being harrowed (undead and hag-ridden by a demon about sums it up).</p>
<p>
But by the pricking of my thumbs it is a rip-roaring experience, the best RPG-as-a-player one I've had in memory.</p>
<p>
Resources:</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Gemini/BlackCopper.htm">Black/Copper dice at Chessex</a><br>
<a href="http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Gemini/CopperGreen.htm">Green/Copper dice at Chessex</a><br>
<a href="http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Gemini/CopperSteel.htm">Steel/Copper dice at Chessex</a><br>
<a href="http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Gemini/BlueSteel.htm">Steel/Blue dice at Chessex</a><br><br>
<a href="https://www.peginc.com/product-category/deadlands-reloaded/">Deadlands:Reloaded at PEG</a><br>
<a href="https://www.peginc.com/product-category/savage-worlds/">Savage Worlds at PEG</a></p>
<p>
<i>To play <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> you'll need a copy of The Savage Worlds core rules and a copy of the Deadlands:Reloaded Player Guide. To *run* <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> you'll need to add a copy of the Deadlands:Reloaded Marshal's Handbook. Adventures run the gamut from free "one page" affairs to quite costly (but still reasonably priced for what you get) campaigns of linked "plot point" adventures and stand alone encounters. All available in comparably reasonably priced PDF form.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-30499394475051966392016-12-13T10:45:00.000-05:002016-12-13T10:50:11.553-05:00For The Tainted<p>
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
A statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Eight runes from R'lyeh,<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Nine servile shoggths,<BR>
Eight runes from R'lyeh,<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals<BR>
Nine servile shoggths,<BR>
Eight runes from R'lyeh,<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Eleven cultist henchmen,<BR>
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals<BR>
Nine servile shoggths,<BR>
Eight runes from R'lyeh,<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>
<BR>
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me<BR>
Twelve Brides of Dagon,<BR>
Eleven cultist henchmen,<BR>
Ten Tcho-Tcho rituals<BR>
Nine servile shoggths,<BR>
Eight runes from R'lyeh,<BR>
Seven scrolls from Xiccarph,<BR>
Six Leng-ground lenses,<BR>
Five Squamous Thynges,<BR>
Four blasph'mous tomes,<BR>
Three hellish chants,<BR>
Two yellow signs<BR>
And a statuette of Thatte Whych Shoulde Notte Bee!<BR>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-85117585102349811842016-11-29T12:31:00.001-05:002016-11-29T12:42:06.320-05:00The Trials of a Gamblin' Man<p>
I've been playing in a <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> game, and having a ball.</p>
<p>
Run by my friend Craig, who introduced me to the game some years ago when I needed to get up to speed on the Savage Worlds rules engine and hooked me on the setting quite unexpectedly, this game is one of four world-changing "quests" pitting player characters against elemental forces of nature personified.</p>
<p>
I started out with a gunslinger character, one quite badly hampered with the sorts of "realistic" hindrances Craig had moaned about never seeing - one eye, abrasive personality and so forth. I was up to the challenge. My friend Jeff wanted in and made a Texas Ranger character. Jeff is an accountant by career, a very successful one, and an Alpha Character (in spades).</p>
<p>
Jeff did his usual min-maxing thing (<i>which took forever because he was unfamiliar with the rules</i>) including taking an "edge" that gave him a free experience level, making him Big Man At The Table. I was a bit nonplussed that the numbers on the page dominated things to the point that he refused outright to name the character, making it awkward to interact with him. He eventually stated his character would be called "Tex", but we pointed out that a character in the Texas Rangers who was currently operating entirely in the heart of Texas calling himself "Tex" was likely to cause NPC hilarity and/or distrust. We just called him Ranger Jeff and moved on.</p>
<p>
My Gunslinger (John Dray) was then involved in a number of firefights in which he saved the miserable hide of Ranger Jeff, despite being hampered with one eye and the depth perception issues <i>that</i> involved any time there was need for extreme measures. Ranger Jeff was tending to face encounters "D&D style" in frontal assault mode, which made for simple if bloody lead-filled conversations with the enemy. Don't get me wrong; the game favors that approach early on and I participate readily in such stuff when the odds are right, but this campaign was likely to get too damned dangerous too damned fast for it to be a <i>modus operandi</i> for every confrontation.</p>
<p>
It was shortly after one such battle that Player Jeff interrupted a spate of role-playing between me and a third player (<i>a lady joined only for that one session to see how it all worked</i>) and opined that I (<i>as John Dray</i>) was lying to her. This was an unkind way to put matters, to say the least, and Ranger Jeff had no knowledge of the events I was discussing (<i>how John lost his eye; something I was toying with making a "running gag" by telling it different every time I was asked</i>).</p>
<p>
Now Savage Worlds is not like D&D or Pathfinder, the games Jeff had played before, in that there is provision in the character build system to saddle the characters with hindrances. I, as I have already said, chose to saddle John Dray with "one eye", and also "quirk" and "vengeful". Among the raft of stuff Jeff had opted for was "loyal".</p>
<p>
So I was a bit put out that this bastion of Law'n'Order would call John's word into question so casually, but went with it and demanded an apology. Jeff refused to back down and so things escalated into a "high noon" style gunfight (a feature of the <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> game setting).</p>
<p>
And it ended badly for John, as I knew it would, because of all those negative die modifiers to his shooting roll due to the "realistic" build and my legendary skill at rolling low when the chips are down. The only fun part was pointing out to Jeff that Ranger Jeff had drawn first in the duel, which made him - according to the Code o' the West - a murderer. Jeff the player was pissed and tried to talk his way out of things but the witness was laughing her head off and confirming the situation as was the GM.</p>
<p>
I spent the rest of that session doing some thinking and making a new character, but I was mildly pissed because if Jeff had played the character he had built the situation should never have arisen, since his own hindrances would have required him to either not make the unfounded remark that set matters in motion or to take back the slur when given the opportunity to do so. I think Player Jeff's alpha personality just wouldn't let Ranger Jeff back down even in the world of make believe.</p>
<p>
Later I quietly advised Craig in a private conference that if the GM wasn't going to step in and "remind" Jeff that his own character limitations - starting with "Loyal(!)" - were true limitations on his player actions in that sort of situation then I wasn't going to attempt to play the sorts of character he, Craig, was complaining never saw the light of day in his Savage Worlds games.</p>
<p>
I decided that my next character would be a "huckster", a magic using gambler by the name of Beauregard Tucks. I almost never play these magical characters as they require too much complex rules uptake, but the challenge of using magic under the nose of a Texas Ranger (<i>an organization dedicated in part to stamping out such abominations</i>) was too good to miss. Plus, I already had a pretty good grasp of the magic system of the Savage Worlds engine and the refit to <span style="color:orange; font-weight:bold;">Deadlands:Reloaded</span> is no big deal.</p>
<p>
And while Ranger Jeff was alive I had a ball. Jeff's Character (<i>who Jeff eventually gave a name which I can no longer remember</i>) would be looking the wrong way each time Beauregard used magic to save Ranger Jeff's miserable life. I made up a code sheet so I could tell the GM what I was doing magic-wise <i>without</i> telling Player Jeff. It drove him nuts, but he couldn't come up with an excuse to have Ranger Jeff discover Beauregard's shenanigans.</p>
<p>
Best of all I gave Beauregard a magical birth "knack" that enables him to "lay on hands" and by using up a mulligan chip cure one wound automatically, including any permanent injuries arising from said wound. So when Ranger Jeff had each arm smashed beyond use in two separate encounters, each time Beauregard would put a poultice on his injured arm, get him soused until he fell asleep, then lay on hands and fix him up good as new.</p>
<p>
Jeff the Player was going nuts. He couldn't do what he wanted to do and inconvenience Beauregard at noose-point because Ranger Jeff literally owed him his life and both arms - and was now properly Loyal to boot.</p>
<p>
And then Beauregard learned how to fly, which I disguised as "sneaking" through long grass (<i>i.e. hovering three inches above the ground</i>) or "climbing" sheer rock faces with ease. It was just great, until Ranger Jeff, in a move so suicidal it beggars the imagination, went toe-to-toe with a hugely powerful undead character, armed only with a rifle and posse of five NPC buddies, rolled several bad rolls and died while Mr Tucks was taking position on top of a cliff to give supporting fire.</p>
<p>
Jeff then announced to the world that it was obvious a person could not succeed at this game on his own, so the secret was obviously to make a character that could persuade others to act in his stead. I kept my mouth firmly shut as he built a new character, "Jim Dandy", with a staggering level of Charisma (<i>normal characters usually have a Charisma modifier of 0, Jim's is 4</i>). It was a Knights of the Dinner Table sketch made manifest.</p>
<p>
Long story mildly shorter, Jim and Beau ended up in Tombstone when the Earps were assassinated and a new marshal was required - a job no-one in their right mind would want. Jim decided to advocate for Beauregard Tucks as Marshal, but I had gotten the jump on things by having Beau spend a fortune on sketches of Jim that became fly-posters (Jim Dandy for Mayor of Tombstone, Jim's just the Dandy choice for Mayor etc), people to stick same up all over town, performances by marching bands and temperance ladies' choirs, rallies, banners and all manner of nonsense.</p>
<p>
Jeff loudly protested that Jim Dandy was going to spend an equal amount on the same tactics, but I countered with two telling blows: first, I got in first and should be considered to have a considerable advantage in the promo war, and second, Beau was currently disfigured after the aforementioned run-in with undead that killed Ranger Jeff. When it came to interacting with people, Beau was taking a -1 Charisma modifier whereas Jim Dandy, The Dandy Choice for Mayor was charming the very planks out of the boardwalk with his +4 Charisma modifier.</p>
<p>
At this point the GM got fed up with things and made us move on, which was a shame since I was about to have Jeff/Jim hoist on his own cheesy Charisma petard.</p>
<p>
Which I think would have been hysterically funny.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-56684619024745863172016-10-31T16:41:00.000-04:002016-10-31T16:41:45.276-04:00So, What Am I Playing These Days?<p>
I deep-sixed <i>Necessary Evil</i> as no-one was having any fun.</p>
<p>
The players felt over-matched. This was mainly because they would plan and reconnoiter, then make a frontal assault against overwhelming odds. They apparently never learned that the bad guys had super-powers too. Oh well.</p>
<p>
The GM, yours truly, hated it because of the huge number of misprints in the plot point campaign. I only run these things so I can avoid doing massive amounts of game preparation, so I need the plot point notes to be right.</p>
<p>
And they weren't. Bad guys were shorted their powers and abilities routinely because the notes in the betsiary in the back of the book had been mis-transcribed into the notes in the plot point adventure.</p>
<p>
So we dumped it for <i><span style="color:#00ff00; font-weight:bold;">Gamma World</span></i></p>
<p>
We decided to start playing through the boxed set scenarios after I got back from my vacation in Sunny Florida, and I used that time to get a full set of the extra cards printed up.</p>
<p>
One of the sucky things about fourth edition D&D, and by extension <i><span style="color:#00ff00; font-weight:bold;">Gamma World</span></i>, is that Wizards of the Coast used it as an experiment to attempt to introduce the Collectible Card madness into the RPG world. I've always hated the "blind package" hobbies for the very reason the companies that use such marketing love it: the overspend factor. Buying cards in packs of eight guarantees that you will end up with multiples, and most of those will be unusable because the rules limit the number of duplicates you can have in a deck.</p>
<p>
These cards are of two types: Alpha Mutations, which are mutant powers the player characters develop "because of all the radiation" such as tentacles, the ability to fly and so forth, and Omega Tech, which are devices that can be used once and maybe more often, but usually only once. Found treasures.</p>
<p>
I played in a brief <i><span style="color:#00ff00; font-weight:bold;">Gamma World</span></i> campaign and ended up buying a few packs when I could get them at discount prices, but I would need a fairly complete deck if I were to run the game. One of the players was eager to use his own deck (<i>players can optionally make up their own decks - WoC are not dumb and want everyone at the table to have a chance to hurl money at them</i>) but the other interested guy had no cards and no money so I would be "fronting" him - which I was completely OK with.</p>
<p>
So I ordered a set of the after-market cards as a print-on-demand deal from Drive Thru RPG.</p>
<p>
The other sucky thing about <i><span style="color:#00ff00; font-weight:bold;">Gamma World</span></i> is that it is so far tuned for the "Encounter" experience it is not untrue to say it is just a board game for which no-one wanted to write proper board-game rules.</p>
<p>
The setting as a post apocalyptic one, set after a disastrous "collision" of different parallel worlds. Players take the roles of mutated animals, robots and animated plants in this bizarre landscape and take on quests and adventures.</p>
<p>
But after a couple of games it is woefully apparent that "off the grid" (<i>out of combat</i>) the mutations they pick up are mostly of no use whatsoever. The vast majority the card powers are things to use in combat situations. And any time a one is rolled, the powers switch out in a random mutational surge. It is impossible to approach this game with any sort of serious intent when this sort of manic Keystone Kops nonsense is going on. To say the game is "light hearted" is akin to saying "the current crop of presidential candidates is a tad uninspiring".</p>
<p>
Not only that, the rulebook is deficient in anything not directly involved with combat. It is painfully obvious that this game was designed to sell cards rather than to be a gripping RPG experience per se.</p>
<p>
But the players are seemingly enjoying themselves. I'm not, but I can stick it out for the few weeks it will take to get to the end of the thing.</p>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-26453231135935197392016-07-15T15:50:00.000-04:002016-07-15T15:50:01.121-04:00So, What Am I Playing These Days?<p>
I spent last night playing in someone else's Space 1889 game, using the Savage Worlds rules.</p>
<p>
This setting is more fun than a poke in the eye. Set at the end of the Victorian Age, sometimes on Mars where the miracle of Liftwood makes flying ships a reality. Steampunk on toast.</p>
<p>
The GM had pregens but I begged to be allowed to play a home-built character, and turned up with a Weird Scientist with a mania for the wondrous powers inherent in Radium. He was toting a Raduim-Enhanced pistol (SMITE power), a Radium Enhanced cricket bat (aka club, c/w SMITE power) and a flask that used Radium Infusion to produce a beneficial healing elixir (HEAL power), and much scenery chewing was done in the two hours or so we played out.</p>
<p>
Pure delight watching the others who took full advantage of the GM's wonderful photo-printed cliff scenery to leap aboard a land ironclad (tank) right before another player blew it up with more dynamite than I thought existed in the world. I merely hid behind rocks shooting at the enemy for most of the time, but my awesome Radium Enhanced attacks were quite ... average if I'm honest. Fun though.</p>
<p>
If you get a chance to play this system and setting I urge you to have a go. It is just about the best fun one can have with one's clothes on.</p>
<p>
If you are in NYC and happen by the Citicorp Atrium around 7pm next Thursday, drop by the table and join us.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-11440795463238724502016-07-15T15:38:00.000-04:002016-07-15T15:38:09.776-04:00So What Am I Playing These Days?<p>
I'm GMing Delta Green once a month.</p>
<p>
On the first Saturday of any given month I gather with a few people (<i>currently down to 3 others, but there have been as many as 8 others at the table in bygone days</i>) and we play out a modern day, conspiracy-theory heavy cross between <i>X-files</i> and <i>Cthulhu Now</i> using the D20 version of <i>Call of Cthulhu</i>.</p>
<p>
I picked D20 in part because I wanted an action/adventure feel for the campaign, but mostly because I was using the whole Delta Green thing to challenge my assumptions.</p>
<p>
Call of Cthulhu GMs tend to be reactionary sticks-in-the-mud who cleave to the <i>BRP or Nothing</i> mantra. BRP, or Basic Role Playing, is the system from which Call of Cthulhu is adapted and it is a simple-to-use game engine that lends itself to quick uptake.</p>
<p>
A character has less than twenty attributes to take care of, most of them derived from the core attributes generated by rolling dice in the familiar RPG manner, and a list of skills he/she selects to reflect competences in various disciplines. The list can be a tad arbitrary depending on the published version you are using, and GMs are encouraged to use it as a springboard rather than a finite limit on what can and cannot be achieved by a character.</p>
<p>
BRP advancement involves identifying the skills used "successfully" by characters and allowing attempts to increase these skills at an adventure's end.</p>
<p>
D20 is a rather more complex affair, adding (some would say "larding") to the richness of the player character build-outs with experience-earned "feats" that give characters special abilities above and beyond the skills the system also offers. D20 also has the hated "levels" that are a legacy of the D&D RPG that started the ball rolling and which drive the <i>BRP or Nothing</i> Brigade to apoplexy.</p>
<p>
Advancement in D20 involves the use of "Experience Points" that are collected until one has enough to "level up". Once a player increases a character's level, that character gets more hit points, gains increases in various bonuses (to attacks and various "saving throws" that grant reprieve from pitfalls, mental attacks and poisons to name but three) more feats and points towards the purchase of more skills and so forth.</p>
<p>
I picked D20 and Delta Green five years ago as a way to open my mind to two things I'd always turned away from without really thinking about it. I didn't care for the incredibly detailed background of Delta Green, never really found that end-of-the-millennium paranoia to my taste to be honest, and had the standard <i>BRP or Nothing</i> GM's stance on Call of Cthulhu. </p>
<p>
But I had the books, and the D20 book had some rather good ideas in it. Moreover, it made the whole business of players being able to access the ancient and maddening books of magical lore much more like the original first edition of the game. Later editions had strived to make the business of reading a magic book and being seduced by the lure of power something that took so long no player would ever consider doing it. One book famously takes over a year to read!</p>
<p>
I had long held that the model for this nonsense was "obviously" derived from the story <i>The Dunwich Horror</i>, but that story is really detailing the process of Magical Research rather than a straight reading.</p>
<p>
The BRP way of dealing with books is also intended to be a "between sessions downtime" thing, something I hadn't realized until I read John Tynes' way of doing things, which is not only an in-game affair but is more evocative and just all-round better in every way than the stilted and rather pedestrian BRP loss of sanity between sessions method.</p>
<p>
A few games saw players being lured in and coming, inevitably, to bad ends for the best reasons and doing so from the most altruistic drives. It was wonderful, and the sense of wonder was back in the game. I was happy.</p>
<p>
I also liked having the possibility of mass combat with modern weapons actually be manageable. I wanted to be able to model 50 debased inhabitants of Innsmouth chasing panicked investigators armed with Glocks through the streets at dead of night with the fog rolling in off the ocean.</p>
<p>
BRP GMs scream another old mantra "<i>If you are using combat you are doing something wrong</i>" but that is an overly broad interpretation of the game's reality and contradicted by the content in the published scenarios and campaigns, just about all of which feature combat prominently.</p>
<p>
There is a school of thought that the reason people don't fight in Call of Cthulhu is tha the combat system doesn't work very well. It is derived from a rather persnickety combat system intended to model hand-to-hand combat with edged weapons and shields, and really doesn't port well into a "scared academic with a pistol" scenario, let alone the "four ex-marines with advanced tactical training and mac-10s" scenario.</p>
<p>
D20's combat system addresses those concerns by providing a robust combat system that can be played out on a grid (BRP Call of Cthulhu didn't even specify the speed character could move, making a mockery of the old joke about Call of Cthulhu player characters having higher "flee" rates than shooting skills - everyone moved at the speed of plot.)</p>
<p>
It turned out that just about all the concerns BRP GMs were using as places to stand and dig in their levers were non-issues.</p>
<p>
The hit points thing ("The PCs end-up being God-Like") is simply not true. The D20 rules have and always have had something called a Massive Damage rule, which is a level of damage inflicted at which a character must take a Fortitude Save - Difficulty Check 15 - which if failed is instant death. The monsters have the same rule, but the damage threshold is 50.</p>
<p>
This means that you would have to inflict 50 points of damage in a single attack to stand any chance of killing a powerful thing from hell, but it would only have to cause ten points of damage to you - and almost forgone conclusion and one that had people dropping like flies until they learned to keep their distance from the nasties. Just like they do in BRP.</p>
<p>
As for the levels, well, the players tend to be irretrievably mad or so fragile they'll go mad at the drop of a tentacle long before they become "Godlike". There are only so many things man was not meant to know you can look at before you are about as stable as a three legged cow.</p>
<p>
And the game has become fun again. If you check out the forums you'll find them depressingly full of people claiming that their players "don't get" Call of Cthulhu and that they can't seem to scare up a game these days. The evidence is right there in front of these GMs - no-one enjoys the rather sterile experience of Call of Cthulhu as it has become. I also couldn't scare up a trad Call of Cthulhu game, but people were eagerly waiting each month for the Delta Green game. I had players who fell into the lure of Eldritch Power with predictable results. I had players gleefully treading the path to madness. All having fun doing so.</p>
<p>
And that game has generated more deep immersion "buy in" than any other I've run. The sheer effort the players drove me to at times to provide them with challenging and interesting mysteries was exhausting. I've throttled back a bit, running some published scenarios rather than home-brewing them, because I couldn't sustain the mental effort any longer.</p>
<p>
All from a setting and rules-set I had initially thought worthless.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-46976891826263305252016-05-04T19:10:00.001-04:002016-05-04T19:10:54.687-04:00New Arrivals<p>
<i>The Stripey Hole</i> by Inner City Game Designs is an old-school indy boardgame in a bag, with pages and pages of rules. The basic idea of being cons in the slammer planning to be the first out either by serving out one's sentence or bustin' outta the joint is a nice one, but to pull it off and include activities like tunneling, crawling through sewer lines and/or air ducts etc requires a bunch of rules I doubt I'll get anyone from today's audience to sit still for.</p>
<p>
I found this one at <i>Men at Arms</i> in Center Island and couldn't resist it, or another Inner City game <i>Gargantuan</i> which is an attempt to survive a sinking ship as the decks flood under one's feet. Both these are sold in 8x5 baggies like the old Task Force Pocket Games used to be, have components that must be cut out and eschew color - actually, the standees for <i>Gargantuan</i> <u>are</u> in color, printed on photo paper.</p>
<p>
If I said I had a weakness for games produced on a shoestring in someone's front room would I be surprising anyone? Anyway, if you are in New York of a weekend and want to play an old-fashioned board game of easy-to-moderate complexity, give me a shout.</p>
<p>
Back in 1977, as my college days were coming to an end, I remember playing a wargame set in South Africa in which players took the part of Black South African rebel forces and White South African government forces as the two sides fight for control of the country still at that point being run under apartheid. I was the rebels. I lost.</p>
<p>
The game in question had been given away in <i>Strategy and Tactics</i> magazine. This was an every-two-months publication from Simulations Publication International (SPI) and I often wondered what it would be like to replay it. The nature of the changes in South Africa would lend the game a surreal feel, I thought.</p>
<p>
And so it was with some surprise that I found a copy of said magazine c/w an unpunched copy of the game inside on Amazon for a reasonable price. The game is now mine and I await the discovery of a worthy opponent so I can wreck my investment's collector value by punching out the components and playing the game with them.</p>
<p>
I miss SPI wargames something fierce. Some of my best friendships were born over those four color maps, including that with Paul, the globetrotting wargamer of previous mention in these e-pages. But most of today's kids are scared of anything with more than a page of rules and won't try such games out.</p>
<p>Also scored a decent copy of Avalon Hill's <i>Starship Trooper</i>, a game put out in the early 1980s depicting the action from the Heinlein book. Like all Avalon Hill games it features a proper ("mounted" in game parlance) board in place of the paper maps of SPI. The humans get to fight two different sorts of alien (not at the same time), and the insectile sort have a hidden tunnel mechanism that looks like it will generate much fun for all.</p>
<p>
Assuming I can find a player who isn't frightened off by the rulebook of course.</p>
<p>
I picked up a digital handful of pdf game publications too.</p>
<p>
More Lankhmar products for Savage Worlds including <i>Savage Foes of Nehwon</i>, a book of characters and adventure seeds featuring them - I have a similar book for <i>Solomon Kane</i> and it was great value for money - and Lankhmer Archetypes, a sort of quick start for players wanting to get a character up and running in double quick time.</p>
<p>
I kickstarted into the Weird War I product launch and have a bunch of pdfs for that setting, including the GM and player handbooks and some scenarios, maps, archetypes and so forth. The product seems to be well worth what I kicked in and I can recommend these quick-delivery e-product kickstarters from PEG without reservation. I've been a part of two PEG kickstarters and each delivered in about a month or so.</p>
<p>
Lastly, I grabbed me an e-copy of <i>The Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition</i>. Expensive at about $25 plus tax etc but people were singing up the changes, which for the first time since second edition were more than a cosmetic change in the rulebook and some tweaks to make the mythos bits even more unplayable.</p>
<p>
I've some very strong opinions about what has been done to the game over the years. I honestly believe that by 6th edition what had been a very simple and easy to play game had become a nightmare of contradictory nonsense, mostly concerned with implementing rules that emphasized a certain set of "realistic" views on certain crucial factors in the game that sucked all the fun out for everyone except for a few moody teens.</p>
<p>
But 7th edition was written as an attempt to drag back an audience lost to <i>Trail of Cthulhu</i> and <i>Realms of Cthulhu</i> and umpteen other game systems' <<i>Insert Verb</i>> <i>Of Cthulhu</i> offerings. It has been back to the drawing board and emerged a different beast (or so they say). I haven't gotten too far into it, but already I'm gritting my teeth over certain pesonal hot buttons.</p>
<p>
However, I've cut the vitriolic story-so-far I wrote and I'll post a more considered view when I've read it through again.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-105582490531209602016-02-09T14:58:00.002-05:002016-02-29T14:19:36.950-05:00New Find, New Purchase<p>
Just before we went on vacation to Florida, I came across a game called Splendor, made by Asmodee.</p>
<p>
The game is very well made. The components are cards, which are of a nice sturdy quality and printed in many colors, card components on thick card similar to that used by Fantasy Flight these days and by Battleline in the '70s, along with high quality poker chips with card insert artwork to represent the "gems".</p>
<p>
Play is very simply explained. On your turn you may do one of the following: Collect three different colored gems into your "personal bank" to a maximum bank of 10, collect two gems of the same color provided that by doing so you leave at least two gems of that color in the pool, use gems to buy cards that are played openly on the table for all to see, and reserve a card for possible future purchasing by taking it into your "hand" and taking a joker gem token (the only way to collect a "wild-card" joker gem), to a limit of three cards reserved in your hand.</p>
<p>
Cards are arrayed on the table in three ranks, displayed face up so they may be purchased. Cards offer two features: some have points scores and all convey bonus gems. Cards of the first rank are cheap to buy (typically costing three gems) but rarely offer points. Cards of the second rank are more expensive (typically four to seven gems to buy) and offer points as well as gems. Cards of the last rank are wildly expensive (typically eight to twelve gems) but offer generous points values of 4 or 5 points each. As cards are bought new cards are drawn from face-down decks to replenish the field.</p>
<p>
The objective is to have the most points when a player declaration of 15 points owned is made and all the players left in that round have played a turn. Obviously, if the last player on a turn declares she has 15 points, she will win. If the first player in a round declares he has 15 points, the other players have one turn each to pip him at the post.</p>
<p>
Players can claim bonus scores by being the first to meet certain criteria and getting a visit from a patron (the game's conceit is that the players are renaissance merchants). Needless to say, this makes for interesting strategic play as players attempt to win or deny patrons to others.</p>
<p>
Not only that but the bonus gems on cards can be spent whenever a purchase is made which calls for that color of gem, and they don't get used up by doing so. This means that eventually players are able to claim cards from the first rank without necessarily spending any actual gems at all. This can be a dangerous distraction, or can be a lifesaver when one player has a corner on all the gems of a certain color as a denial tactic.</p>
<p>
What I like about this game, and I like it <i>a lot</i> is the overall production values make you want to try it, the simplicity of player options makes it easy to pick up (about five minutes by experience) yet the options available to the player in a game are wide open, allowing for subtle and complex play. Each game is complex, the rules are not. Think of a game of draughts (US Checkers). The moves are easy to teach. But the play can become fiendishly complex. The same holds for Splendor.</p>
<p>
I also like the fact that the box holds the components securely so the game can be transported, played and then packed away without losing parts or having to resort to baggies. It drives me nuts when I get a game that will not go back in its box once deployed (Mansions of Madness) or won't stay in it if the box is tilted (Tokaido).</p>
<p>
Resources:<br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SCSPL01-Splendor-Board-Game/dp/B00IZEUFIA">Splendor at Amazon.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-91762536033375980092016-01-21T15:33:00.000-05:002016-01-21T15:33:10.046-05:00New Arrivals<!--New Arrivals--><!--Composed on 1/21/16 at 2 p,--><!--Categories: LotFP, PDF, RPG, GURPS, Deadlands:Reloaded, Weird War II, Firefly, Rippers, New Arrivals, Traveller, Call of Cthulhu, Vorkosigan Saga, Microscope, GDW, Savage Worlds, Kerberos Club, BRP, Legend, Runequest, Rant--><p>So I went a bit crazy on the PDF acquisition front in the last three months or so.</p><p>I began the slow process of converting some paper resources into more space-saving and generally more useful for my commute-friendly RPG research needs by buying <i>Carcosa</i> and <i>Isle of the Unknown</i> pdfs for Lamentations of the Flame Princess, an "old school" RPG very much in the vein or White Box D&D that bills itself as "Weird" while having absolutely no in-game mechanics I can discern to bring on the weird tone at all. I also picked up <i>Hammers of the God</i>, <i>The Grinding Gear</i> and <i>The Random Esoteric Creature Generator</i>. I already had the rulebook. Not sure whether I'll run LotFP. To be honest the game is aspiring to be Solomon Kane is as many ways as I care to notice, to judge by the suggestions in the rulebook itself. The artwork is both disgusting and awesome by terms.</p><p>I picked up a metric tonne of original GDW Traveller books in a "Bundle of Holding". Traveller is a game close to my heart and I'm dying to run it in campaign mode again, but I cannot get anyone interested in playing. In any event, the bundle provided the three rulebooks, five expansion rulebooks and a selection of the supplements. Not as complete a set as I would have liked, but not bad at all for what it cost me.</p><p>I picked up <i>Stone and a Hard Place</i> and a collection of <i>Trail Guides</i>. These represent episode three of a four part campaign of campaigns for Deadlands reloaded, and a collection of one-off adventures. <i>Stone</i> also contains rules re-introducing the long-gone Deadlands "Hexslinger" character type, and expanded rules that allow a player to play a so-called "harrowed" character. I am still mulling over the content of this volume, and can't say more without spoiling anyway, so perhaps I'll keep a detailed discussion of <i>Stone</i> for another time. In any event, after my attempt to run <i>Last Sons</i> hit player fatigue I am disenchanted with Deadlands campaigns for a bit. Hence the <i>Trail Guide</i> adventures. I'll review those as we play them.</p><p><i>Rippers</i> also arrived, in record time for a Kickstarted project too. Not bad, and people will definitely take to the Gothic Horror/Victorian Steampunk Super Hero aspect of the setting I imagine. There are a few small changes to the original rules (<i>which were included in the bundle but which I had bought recently anyway</i>) alson with some modification of the settings backstory. The ancilliary products that were bundled in, like maps and adventures, were a welcome addition. The usual high quality graphic design is front and center but to be hinest I preferred that used on the older version. The deal included a set of inserts for the GM screen too. Nice.</p><p>I picked up a copy of <i>Microscope</i>, a co-operative game involving RPG elements in which the players work to build a history of, well, whatever they decide. It has an innovative approach to what would seem to be an anarchic process, and it can be used to play just for its own sake or, perhaps more interestingly, to arrive at a setting in which to place a home-brewed RPG, especially one in which the players share GMing duties. I'm looking forward to trying out this one, though th eidea is harder to convey as an exciting prospect than I imagined it would be.</p><p>I bought <i>Weird War II</i> after ignoring the Savage Worlds setting for years. I was trying to build my own setting and realized I might be re-inventing the wheel, so decided to take a look. The pdf is a far more lavish affair than the last paper copy I had in my hands, with color illustrations to boot! I'll be reviewing this one in more depth at a later date. Given the way the Weird West caught my attention after years of "meh" I may have a new fad on my hands.</p><p>While on the subject of Savage Worlds I decided to buy a pdf of the <i>Kerberos Club</i> setting, which I have in paper form and have not really taken much a liking to, but on re-reading find a little more interesting. The setting is Victorian England (my original reason for buying was to increase my library of <i>Space 1889</i> resources) and the conceit is that of the Victorian Costumed Hero. Think <i>League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> and you are in the right neighborhood. The paper copy is of rather indefferent quality to be honest, far below the general Savage Worlds accepted standard. In pdf these things matter less. More to come later.</p><p>I finally weakened and bought <i>The Vorkosigan Saga</i>, a self-contained RPG set in Lois McMaster Bujold's "Barrayar" universe and a gorgeous production. It took so long to bring it to press it became that rarest of things, a fourth edition setting book for GURPS (for the rules in the book are GURPS-Lite). This is a great thing if you are a buying in hardback (I was an early adopter). Buying the pdf perhaps will inspire me to run a GURPS game for a bit, though I find the though terrifying. It's like trying to interest people in tax instructions. The base rulebooks are hysterically funny, insisting on the essential symplicity and stripped down feel of fourth edition GURPS in a sidebar on a page containing dense type explaining how to calculate fractional characteristic values. But nobody does a setting book like the GURPS guys do, which makes the idea of porting the thing wholesale to a different engine if not easy, at least not a herculean task.</p><p>Please note that while I find GURPS unattractive for many reasons as a GM I do acknowledge the awesome flexibility of the engine itself and also the people who built it. An achievemment that is underappreciated by many, including (of course) me.</p><p>Perhaps the most unlikely new purchase for me has been that of the <i>Firefly</i> RPG and a couple of scenario books for it. I got one of these in a "for charity" bundle I coughed up for, and was intrigued despite never having been a fan of the <i>Firefly</i> series or the <i>Serenity</i> movie. Some reading, and I was hooked. Hooked enough to start planning a game and start researching by buying and watching the series <i>and</i> the movie on Blu-ray, both soundtrack albums for planned background music (I rarely use music in my games as it usually becomes a distraction, but the "feel" I got from my reading was that it might work positively here. And I buy and listen to soundtrack albums anyway. I also felt the need for a small model of the ship as a focus item for the table. The cheapest way to that goal was the Firefly Yahtzee set, which has a very nice model of the Serenity as its dice cup. So yes, I bought in to the FIrefly game bigtime and can't wait to run it.</p><p>And despite my feeling that the Sixth Edition of <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> is the least accessible rulebook for the game ever published, making what should be a simple and quick assimilation by a new GM a tortuous trip through contadictory and confusing nonsense, I bought that in pdf too. I was about to start running <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> again from the BRP rules (I've been running a <i>Delta Green</i> game using the much-maligned D20 rules for more than five years for perhaps the best <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> gamers I've ever had but missed the 20s and BRP experience) and needed an electronic form of the book. I'm using 5.2 for the game itself, but couldn't source that as an e-book for luvner money.</p><p>This brings me to the lamentable quality of comparably high-cost Chaosium e-books. Chaosium have been coasting on their quality for some years, with customers acting as appologists for the horribly dated look and the fact that the lack of production values has resulted in every case I've paid for in a book that is functionally useless as an in-game resource.</p><p>The products are consistently higher priced than lavish equivalent products from other publishing houses, lacking any sort of relief from the tedious greyscale. Compare, for example, the monochrom but much more interesting <i>Trail of Cthulhu</i> with <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> and you'll come away with a sour taste in your mouth.</p><p>Forget the artwork for a moment. Let's look at the way a pdf is navigated. Hyperlinks from the table of contents to the content itself is best, but not essential. Bookmarks are absolutely essential, the more granular the better. These become most useful if they approach index levels of depth, but don't have to go that far, as long as they can be used as anchors in which to page back and forth as a game progresses.</p><p>Not one of my Chaosium pdf products has bookmarks, meaning that one is reduced to using "search", just about the lousiest, most useless way of using a rule or setting book in-game. And I'm not talking about old products here. Gold Book BRP, Cthulhu by Gaslight (the latest one that was delivered by the author as an electronic version for Hastur's sake!), Beyond the Mountains of Madness (a magnificent but most of all HUGE book that cries out for bookmarks), House of R'lyeh and, of course, the Sixth Edition Rulebook. All came without bookmarks.</p><p>And Chaosium are not alone in "not getting it" when it comes to how pdfs get used by GMs. Wizards of the Coast finally published pdf versions of their D&D 3.5 core books. As locked-down pdfs.</p><p>Now you may be wondering who would lock down a pdf of an obsolete version of an RPG which for all intents and purposes is available at a fraction of the cost under a different name in an <i>un</i>locked format, and so am I. The locking of the pdf means that the GM cannot annotate the rulebook they have just bought (and not cheaply either I might add; Pathfinder is a better buy on cost grounds too). So no highlighting and no post-it notes, something I have come to understand is more than just extremely useful to me as a GM, it is essential. Way to protect your IP, Hasbro. On a game nobody wants to buy anyway. Pfft!</p><p>I am told that the Seventh Edition rulebooks (plural, there are now two sold for the game) for <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> do have bookmarks, but I am not remotely tempted to pony up almost thirty dollars for the GM manual to find out. Chaosium have burned out all the customer brand loyalty from me with mediochre and half-hearted attempts to "serve" their audience. There has been a change of management there of late in an attempt to revitalise the company still reeling after a financial misstep in the 1990s (!) but we can still see self-defeating behavior such as floating the Seventh Edition Kickstarter before they had fulfulled the long over-running <i>Horror on the Orient Express</i> Kickstarter, with predictable results wioth respect to <i>both</i> products and unhappiness in the backer ranks.</p><p>Oh, and I picked up <i>Legend</i>, the pdf that replaces <i>Runequest</i> in the Mongoose line of products (lapsed licence) so I could contemplate running an <i>Elric</i> or <i>Hawkmoon</i> game, but that is way off in the nevernever future.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893325445968212452.post-76506190515808267062015-12-16T16:43:00.001-05:002015-12-16T16:45:28.628-05:00Fall of Magic Arrives<p>About two weeks or so ago I took delivery of <i>The Fall of Magic</i>, a project I had kicked into in late May, and a nice item it is too.</p>
<p>The box it comes in is reminiscent of the sorts of games my great grandmother had hiding in the back of her closet. More like the box in which you'd find a tenor recorder than a game. Inside is a really neat idea.</p>
<P>The chief component of the game is the map, which is presented on a linen scroll that the players unroll as they advance through the game, depicting a road and towns along the route, each with four locations picked out. There are counters for the players, cards that extend the map when the players reach "the islands" and a die for the rare random number needs.</p>
<p>The conceit of this GM-less RPG is that the magic in the world is dying. We don't know why. The players are students of The Magus. The Magus is undertaking a journey or pilgrimage. We don't know why. All the things we don't know about the magic, the Magus, the journey and the other players will hopefully be made manifest as the journey progresses.</p>
<P>Each turn a player can move his/her counter along the road to a new location or move the (non-player) magus to the next town. As each player moves, he or she adds a little more detail to the story of the journey, prompted by hints determined by that player's location.</p>
<p>There's a bit more to the game than this, but that is the gist of what the game is about. It is a cooperative storytelling, a cross between <i>Fiasco!</i> and <i>Tokaido</i> to put it entirely too broadly.</p>
<p>This game also represents something of a rarity: a game Kickstarter project that ran for less than a year and delivered what it said it would only about three weeks late. That should make it eligible for some sort of Kickstarter award.</p>
<p>I can't wait to play.</p>
<p><i>Pictures to follow later when I have time to arrange them; Watch this space.</i></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0