Seems like the blog-0-sphere is rife with posts giving the "2010 in Review" and "What's on the Plate for 2011" type posts. I figure it's as good a time as any for reflection and prediction. The slate is clean, in a sense. I was hoping to get a few more posts made before the end of 2010, but averaging over a post a week isn't so bad, all in all. I got a little distracted by the holidays, shopping, a new Wii and episodes of Angel on Netflix. Granted the blog was buried from March until October. If it weren't for successfully completing the Daily Blog Challenge in November, I wouldn't be anywhere near that number.
I started this blog about a year ago...I made few posts and it stalled. I recognized the problem almost immediately. There was no direction. I wanted to leave it as open as possible, allowing me to write about all sorts of topics of interest. The problem? It didn't really keep my interest. You see, I don't think of myself as a natural writer or anything. I don't dislike the writing process, but the words don't just "flow" for me, either. Combine that with a long standing desire to procrastinate and0 any lack of focus is probably a bad thing. If you go back to those earliest posts you'll see a bunch of brief movie reviews, some commentary on Food Network programming, a couple posts on RPGs.
Back in October, I decided to resurrect the blog and give it a bit of focus. Gaming, and RPGs specifically have been taking up a lot of my free time these days (although I still do watch a fair amount of trashy movies, listen to heavy metal records, and watch Food Network programming -- though I do wish we had access to their newish Cooking Channel with our current cable service. The programming over there appears to me much more my "style"...I can't believe I just admitted to that...anyway)...
So what is in store for 2011? More gaming, for sure, and hopefully more posting. Right now, I'm considering setting a schedule for myself. I'd love to average 12-16 posts a month, which is quite a high number, considering my posting history. For that to happen, I'm going to need some inspiration, so in the coming days, expect to see some posts that are more brainstorming than content or review. We'll see what happens. I'm going to apply for the Role Playing Game Bloggers Network at the end of January, because I'm hoping that having potentially more readers will be an enticement to post more content.
Well, what about 2010? It was a big gaming year for me, for sure. I've met a bunch of cool new people, I went to a couple gaming cons, I've found some great blogs, I've bought some box sets, and I've played a bunch of games.
October was my first visit to GASP Games day, and honestly, I'm kicking myself for not checking out this group sooner. Great people. Great games. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Pittsburgh area interested in trying out new games. At that first event, I didn't know anyone there. I started making some contacts on the forum, but just showed up ready to play. I got to check out a bunch of board games and I was finally able to check out Labyrinth Lord. I also went to my first "big" gaming convention, Origins, where I got to play Aces & Eights and Hackmaster Basic, sat through some RPG demos, checked out a bunch of board and card games. 2010 was my inaugural attendance at GASPCon, too. Again, I wish I had checked the event earlier. I met even more rad people and played way too many hours of RPGs. Right now, I'm planning on signing up to GM at least on session at the next con.
That Labyrinth Lord game at GASP Games day really set me off on a huge OSR / OD&D / retro-clone kick. I had been following some of the games for a few months, but hadn't played that style of D&D since the late 80s. Since then, I've played 4 additional sessions of LL, a session of Spellcraft & Swordplay, a session of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and a session of Hackmaster Basic. I refereed a session of Swords & Wizardry which appears to have the potential to turn into a campaign. In addition to all that, my "every other Tuesday" group is still going strong. We started out as a 4e group, but due to a little 4e burnout on my part we've been exploring other games. We just wrapped a 3 session Gamma World (new edition) adventure. In a couple weeks, I'll be running a Hollow Earth Expedition adventure. We're not sure where were going after that; maybe back to the 4e campaign for a while, maybe some Savage Worlds, maybe something else. More details as they become available. The 3.5 Ravenloft Campaign I play in sputtered for a while, but seems to be back in the swing. The same could be said for the 3.5 Forgotten Realms campaign. The Call of Cthulhu game is still going strong, although I believe we're approaching the end of the story arc.
Since deciding to focus this blog on gaming, I haven't posted much on other topics. I quit my regular DJing gig down at the Smiling Moose. We were doing a weekly "Metal Night". All vinyl. Old school. Anyway, the crowds morphed into packs, and the packs morphed into stragglers. I was burned out of playing records for the same 15 dudes every week, so we called it off. No regrets, but my heart really wasn't in it any more. My heavy metal record collecting has definitely slowed this year, too. I already own more records than I know what to do with, but the lure of vinyl is strong. I have all the old records I want that are easy to find. I got lucky and started collecting Heavy Metal records before the collector mentality took over the scene, so I was able to grab a lot of the cool 80s stuff before it got out of hand expensive. There are still some gaps I'd love to fill in, but I have no love for eBay (or paying $50 for 30 year old record). Because of eBay, and n00bs willing to drop that kind of cash, I'm kind of out of luck. The cool records just aren't showing up in the shops like they used to...they're all in collectors hands or sitting on eBay at ridiculous prices. Oh well, like I said, I already have more than I know what to do with.
My band, Abysme, is set to begin recording our debut LP, Strange Rites, tomorrow. It's death metal, taking influences from Entombed, Nihilist, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Repulsion. If that sounds like it's up your alley, check us out. We'll be playing the Smiling Moose on January 15 with Nunslaughter and Derketa.
Well, that's enough for now.
Showing posts with label Call of Cthulhu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Call of Cthulhu. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
On Dungeons & Weird Tales
Daily Blog Challenge post 17. I have to admit, I've even surprised myself here. 17 blog posts in 17 days. Sure a few of them were posted a little late, and I counted a couple that didn't really have much content, but I'm still going strong and I think it's all improved the way I think about my writing. Knowing that there are at least a couple people out there reading has been helpful (as is all the positive feedback).
Speaking of which, I have to promote a blog I just discovered because the author, Shane Mangus, appeared in my Google Followers list. The blog is called Swords Against the Outer Dark, with the subtitle "Where Swords & Sorcery Gaming meets Cthuliana and Yog-Sothothery". Yowzers. Sounds perfect for the guys in my gaming group. I just took a few minutes to look over some of the posts, and it all looks very interesting. Shane is working on an OGL game which will be released as Swords Against the Outer Dark: Sword & Sanity Roleplaying. The game will utilize the Labyrinth Lord rules and Sword & Sorcery flavor combined with Mythos nastiness.
It seems like there is a growing interest in this style of gaming as of late, with the impending release of Sword & Sanity RPG and the recent release Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Role-playing. Personally, as a fan of both Call of Cthulhu and D&D, it seems like a natural fit to me; two great tastes that go great together. Taking cues from arguably the two most important and well known RPGs, and developing a new way to play is quite exciting. Where LotFP borrows from the weird tales, to me it still feels a lot like D&D with a twist of Weird, rather than a true blend of the two genres.. This is speaking from limited experience. I've read the books in the boxed set, the blog, and parts of the adventures Raggi has published, so I'm by no means an authority on the subject at this point. Just some first early impressions, really. If you feel significantly differently, feel free to let me know.
I have the feeling from what I've read on SAOD that Shane is looking to create a more blended game. While defining the "Sword & Sanity" role playing style, Shane, proposes the following:
Well, I gotta run to band practice, so I better wrap this up. Not much else to say right now, but I'll be sure to follow what's going on over at SAOD and keep yinz posted.
Speaking of which, I have to promote a blog I just discovered because the author, Shane Mangus, appeared in my Google Followers list. The blog is called Swords Against the Outer Dark, with the subtitle "Where Swords & Sorcery Gaming meets Cthuliana and Yog-Sothothery". Yowzers. Sounds perfect for the guys in my gaming group. I just took a few minutes to look over some of the posts, and it all looks very interesting. Shane is working on an OGL game which will be released as Swords Against the Outer Dark: Sword & Sanity Roleplaying. The game will utilize the Labyrinth Lord rules and Sword & Sorcery flavor combined with Mythos nastiness.
It seems like there is a growing interest in this style of gaming as of late, with the impending release of Sword & Sanity RPG and the recent release Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Role-playing. Personally, as a fan of both Call of Cthulhu and D&D, it seems like a natural fit to me; two great tastes that go great together. Taking cues from arguably the two most important and well known RPGs, and developing a new way to play is quite exciting. Where LotFP borrows from the weird tales, to me it still feels a lot like D&D with a twist of Weird, rather than a true blend of the two genres.. This is speaking from limited experience. I've read the books in the boxed set, the blog, and parts of the adventures Raggi has published, so I'm by no means an authority on the subject at this point. Just some first early impressions, really. If you feel significantly differently, feel free to let me know.
I have the feeling from what I've read on SAOD that Shane is looking to create a more blended game. While defining the "Sword & Sanity" role playing style, Shane, proposes the following:
[...]these two types of fiction are diametrically opposed. The heroes you find in Sword & Sorcery fiction are individuals that test their mettle against whatever foe steps across their path, and they always live to fight another day. In the stories of H.P. Lovecraft there really are no heroes in the truest sense of the word [...] The challenge then becomes presenting a story (or in this case a game) that has both elements of Sword & Sorcery, as well as a good dose of Yog-Sothothery, without compromising either genre.I'm curious to see how he handles this opposition in the game, both with the "fluff" and the "crunch". How will the characters differ from the standard tropes of the D&D and CoC? Could this system work as a great "What if?" scenario as in "What if TSR received the Lovecraft Mythos License, rather than Chaosium?" For more info, check out the blog and the FAQ. Consider me very excited. If I had known about the blog last week while putting together my list of OSR related blogs, SAOD would have certainly made the list. I'm not sure how Shane found me, but I'm glad he did. If you happen to read this Shane, and you need play-testers, consider this my application.
Well, I gotta run to band practice, so I better wrap this up. Not much else to say right now, but I'll be sure to follow what's going on over at SAOD and keep yinz posted.
On being GM and knowing when to screw the rules
I was quite tempted to let post 16 for the Daily Blog Challenge slip by today. It's been a long one...I spent the morning reviewing library digitization grant proposals in Harrisburg, PA. We finished early, which was nice. All three of us were mostly on the same page about the proposals, so it went pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I still had a 4-hour drive in front of me...and it was raining...hard...nonstop...for all 4 hours. PA turnpike + shitty rainstorms + low visibility + big scary semi-trucks = NO FUN!!!
Fortunately there was fun to be had when I got back to the 'burgh. Our bi-weekly Call of Cthulhu game was scheduled, and because I got out of Harrisburg early, I was actually going to be there on time. Bonus points. I've mentioned it here before, but in case you were out of the loop on the whole Gutter Cult scene, we're playing through Masks of Nyarlathotep. My buddy Allen is acting as Keeper. The investigators are being run by his wife, Jen, Mark ( the DM from our Ravenloft game), and Dave, who plays in almost every other gaming I'm playing right now. Tonight's game was fun, but I was exhausted from the trip, Jen was kind of sick and I think Dave and Mark both had long days at work. Weeknight gaming can definitely be a challenge, but I think we did pretty good, at least for the first few hours. Then the fatigue started to set in...
Anyway, it took me a while, but I finally figured out what I'm trying to say here. Allen runs the game very rules-lite. None of the players have a ton of experience with the system, so we just kind of wing-it and it's been great. Certain nights it's been more of a storytelling and puzzle solving exercise than anything else. We've lost characters to mortal injury and sanity loss. We've solved a few scenarios and totally botched others. I'm fairly certain that we're not going to save the world. We're going to screw it up somehow and Nyarlathotep is going to show up and wreck shit. There are big swaths of rules we just skip over. We advance our skills every few games when Allen gives us points. We lose sanity and take damage when it makes sense, often without ever even rolling the dice. The whole thing is fast and smooth and it works. Because there is a lot of trust between the players and the Keeper, we've been able to ignore a lot of the fiddly bits. We know he is out to get us, too, because we know there are only losers when you are dealing with Elder Gods and Old Ones. That's why we signed up for this game, dammit. Everyone at the table is having fun while we're telling the story of these investigators. We know we're going to go insane and we're going to die and the world is going to get destroyed and we're having a blast while it all goes to hell!
As a person who is sometimes a bit over concerned about "the correct and incorrect" way of doing something, it took a bit of getting used to, but eventually everything clicked. I don't know if I'd run CoC, that way, but that is what makes it interesting to play with different GMs. You experience different ways of playing. I guess this post is kind of meandering, but I hope I made some kind of point. It just boils down to playing however you want to play. Rules exist for good reason, but they are also meant to be broken, ignored, rewritten, undermined, overthrown, and re-interpreted. Role-playing games should be organic, evolving to fit the needs and interests of those playing. The act of gaming should be the experience, and that can be independent of what's actually printed in any of the rule books.
Fortunately there was fun to be had when I got back to the 'burgh. Our bi-weekly Call of Cthulhu game was scheduled, and because I got out of Harrisburg early, I was actually going to be there on time. Bonus points. I've mentioned it here before, but in case you were out of the loop on the whole Gutter Cult scene, we're playing through Masks of Nyarlathotep. My buddy Allen is acting as Keeper. The investigators are being run by his wife, Jen, Mark ( the DM from our Ravenloft game), and Dave, who plays in almost every other gaming I'm playing right now. Tonight's game was fun, but I was exhausted from the trip, Jen was kind of sick and I think Dave and Mark both had long days at work. Weeknight gaming can definitely be a challenge, but I think we did pretty good, at least for the first few hours. Then the fatigue started to set in...
Anyway, it took me a while, but I finally figured out what I'm trying to say here. Allen runs the game very rules-lite. None of the players have a ton of experience with the system, so we just kind of wing-it and it's been great. Certain nights it's been more of a storytelling and puzzle solving exercise than anything else. We've lost characters to mortal injury and sanity loss. We've solved a few scenarios and totally botched others. I'm fairly certain that we're not going to save the world. We're going to screw it up somehow and Nyarlathotep is going to show up and wreck shit. There are big swaths of rules we just skip over. We advance our skills every few games when Allen gives us points. We lose sanity and take damage when it makes sense, often without ever even rolling the dice. The whole thing is fast and smooth and it works. Because there is a lot of trust between the players and the Keeper, we've been able to ignore a lot of the fiddly bits. We know he is out to get us, too, because we know there are only losers when you are dealing with Elder Gods and Old Ones. That's why we signed up for this game, dammit. Everyone at the table is having fun while we're telling the story of these investigators. We know we're going to go insane and we're going to die and the world is going to get destroyed and we're having a blast while it all goes to hell!
As a person who is sometimes a bit over concerned about "the correct and incorrect" way of doing something, it took a bit of getting used to, but eventually everything clicked. I don't know if I'd run CoC, that way, but that is what makes it interesting to play with different GMs. You experience different ways of playing. I guess this post is kind of meandering, but I hope I made some kind of point. It just boils down to playing however you want to play. Rules exist for good reason, but they are also meant to be broken, ignored, rewritten, undermined, overthrown, and re-interpreted. Role-playing games should be organic, evolving to fit the needs and interests of those playing. The act of gaming should be the experience, and that can be independent of what's actually printed in any of the rule books.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
GASPCon Day 3
Daily Blog Challenge post number 13.
Day 3 has wrapped. I made some new buddies, played a bunch of games, and got one of the best compliments I've gotten in months, I think. I was talking to John "Evernevermore" today, who ran all the games I played yesterday. I guess his girlfriend said I was the best roleplayer she played with all weekend. *Blush*. I think we played in two games together, Hackmaster and LotFP. In my limited experience gaming at cons, actually getting into the RP part of the game can be kind of difficult. You're sitting around the table with a bunch of strangers, so that can be intimidating. There is also the concern of inadvertently (or intentionally, if you are a jerk) taking the spotlight away from other players at the table. In a good game, all the players at the table will have their time to share the spotlight. So in the past week, I got props on the blog from Sean Preston at Reality Blurs and my buddy Allen, who blogs, mostly about horror films and the related, over at "The boat can leave now" (a reference to Fulci's classic Zombi 2), and now this compliment. I'm walking on cloud 9.
Games:
Labyrinth Lord - Under Xylarthen's Tower
Labyrinth Lord is a D&D clone. The game is going to be run by Tim Harper, who also runs the LL game I played on Friday and the LL Campaign at GASP game day. This session was based on a dungeon designed my Jeff Reints from Jeff's Game Blog. I've mentioned Jeff's blog on here at least once or twice before. It's a great read for anyone interested in old school gaming. This game was a triple whammy for me: Jeff Rients designed dungeon, Labyrinth Lord rules and Tim's gonzo DM style. Dave and Curt were signed up, as was Jeff from the GASP Game Day campaign. The session was a pretty standard dungeon crawl, with some interesting traps and other weirdness. Treasure was found, saves were failed, characters and retainers bit the dust, but we all had a ton of fun. Great wrap up for the RPGs of the weekend.
I also played Transamerica with Dave, Jonathan, Guy and Tim (who I met at the the Savage Worlds game yesterday). It was some kind of train game. It was kind of cool. Not exactly my thing, but it was fun. The five of us blasted through a couple rounds of Zombie Dice.
Swag:
There is a huge raffle at the end of GASPCon. From what I can tell, everyone with the gold badge (people who registered for the whole weekend), and were still hanging around on Sunday, got something off the prize table. My ticket was called pretty early, so I had a pretty good variety to choose from. I snagged a copy of the Call of Cthulhu adventure book, Mansions of Madness. Pretty sweet deal! I figure I could use it for inspiration for a one off using either Call of Cthulhu or try converting them over Realms of Cthulhu.
Summary:
GASPCon was a great experience all around. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks to everyone who made it happen, including the guys that ran all the games I played (aka Tim, John, and Tom)!
If you are in the Pittsburgh area and any of this sounds at all interesting to you, check out GASP Game Days. It's sort of a free, mini-con that happens once a month. Game Days occur on the second Saturday of each month starting at 11 AM and going on until midnight at Legions Hobbies and Games on Perry Hwy in the North Hills. If you have questions about GASP or GASP game day, hit me up. If I don't know the answer (I'm a newbie), I can probably direct you to the right person.
Day 3 has wrapped. I made some new buddies, played a bunch of games, and got one of the best compliments I've gotten in months, I think. I was talking to John "Evernevermore" today, who ran all the games I played yesterday. I guess his girlfriend said I was the best roleplayer she played with all weekend. *Blush*. I think we played in two games together, Hackmaster and LotFP. In my limited experience gaming at cons, actually getting into the RP part of the game can be kind of difficult. You're sitting around the table with a bunch of strangers, so that can be intimidating. There is also the concern of inadvertently (or intentionally, if you are a jerk) taking the spotlight away from other players at the table. In a good game, all the players at the table will have their time to share the spotlight. So in the past week, I got props on the blog from Sean Preston at Reality Blurs and my buddy Allen, who blogs, mostly about horror films and the related, over at "The boat can leave now" (a reference to Fulci's classic Zombi 2), and now this compliment. I'm walking on cloud 9.
Games:
Labyrinth Lord - Under Xylarthen's Tower
Labyrinth Lord is a D&D clone. The game is going to be run by Tim Harper, who also runs the LL game I played on Friday and the LL Campaign at GASP game day. This session was based on a dungeon designed my Jeff Reints from Jeff's Game Blog. I've mentioned Jeff's blog on here at least once or twice before. It's a great read for anyone interested in old school gaming. This game was a triple whammy for me: Jeff Rients designed dungeon, Labyrinth Lord rules and Tim's gonzo DM style. Dave and Curt were signed up, as was Jeff from the GASP Game Day campaign. The session was a pretty standard dungeon crawl, with some interesting traps and other weirdness. Treasure was found, saves were failed, characters and retainers bit the dust, but we all had a ton of fun. Great wrap up for the RPGs of the weekend.
I also played Transamerica with Dave, Jonathan, Guy and Tim (who I met at the the Savage Worlds game yesterday). It was some kind of train game. It was kind of cool. Not exactly my thing, but it was fun. The five of us blasted through a couple rounds of Zombie Dice.
Swag:
There is a huge raffle at the end of GASPCon. From what I can tell, everyone with the gold badge (people who registered for the whole weekend), and were still hanging around on Sunday, got something off the prize table. My ticket was called pretty early, so I had a pretty good variety to choose from. I snagged a copy of the Call of Cthulhu adventure book, Mansions of Madness. Pretty sweet deal! I figure I could use it for inspiration for a one off using either Call of Cthulhu or try converting them over Realms of Cthulhu.
Summary:
GASPCon was a great experience all around. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks to everyone who made it happen, including the guys that ran all the games I played (aka Tim, John, and Tom)!
If you are in the Pittsburgh area and any of this sounds at all interesting to you, check out GASP Game Days. It's sort of a free, mini-con that happens once a month. Game Days occur on the second Saturday of each month starting at 11 AM and going on until midnight at Legions Hobbies and Games on Perry Hwy in the North Hills. If you have questions about GASP or GASP game day, hit me up. If I don't know the answer (I'm a newbie), I can probably direct you to the right person.
GASPCon Day 2
Daily Blog Challenge post number 12. I got home from the con last night and was ready to give my report, but the internet was being flaky at the house, so I had to hold off until this morning.
Saturday 9-1: Hackmaster Basic - The Town of Knarr's Rest
I played a session of Hackmaster Basic at Origins this year and had a blast. It's a great hybrid of old school feel, with very detailed combat mechanics. It's sort of like if they took every alternate rule for combat out there and mashed them together. It's clear the guys behind this game have some sort of innate love for number crunching and data management. Sometimes it seems like it could get a bit unwieldy, but it does have some sort of appeal for me. Anyway, the party was off to an abandoned stronghold near the the Town of Knarr's rest to save some children from from goblins and bugbears. Pretty standard fantasy stuff, but it worked. The DM, Johh, aka Evernevermore on the GASP board, went pretty light with the rules, because he was managing about 8 around the table and most of us weren't totally comfortable with even the basics. Good times.
Saturday 2-6: Savage Worlds - Scraptown Run
Savage Worlds is designed for "Fast, Furious, Fun" game play. I'm glad I'm glad I finally got to jump and play. The adventure, again, GMed by John Evernevermore, used the post-apocalypse Earth from the video game series Fallout. I haven't played Fallout, but it was pretty easy to pick up on the setting. The group playing was great: it was Dave, Jonathan, a friend a Dave's who I met this summer at Origins, a couple of Jonathan's buddies, Guy and Tim, and two other guys that ended up being friends of friends. Kind of crazy coincidence, there. Anyway, we played extra fast and furious, which seems to be John's preferred GMing style, and it was certainly a lot of fun. Essentially the scenario was set up that we needed to get from point A to point B and back, but the John left it open enough that we had had a ton of options right from the start. I was playing a doctor/field medic, who I played as a bit of a wimp. I made sure to stick tight to my "10-4 good buddy truck driver with the big gun".
Saturday 7-11: Lamentations of the Flame Princess -Death Frost Doom Last minute sub.
More OSR madness. Again, John was the DM, and Dave was in the game. Essentially, we spent all day Saturday together. The original DM had to back out so, John volunteered his services. He didn't quite like the pacing of Death Frost Doom for a con game, so he suggested something he developed. Everyone was okay with the sub, so we went with it. The game played like old school D&D mixed with Call of Cthulhu in my opinion. It was dark investigative horror with swords and sorcery. The concept was great and the play was fun. By mid-way, I have to admit I was feeling some RPG fatigue, and I'm assuming some of the other folks around the table were feeling similar. There were a lot of people at the table and it got pretty distracting at times. John kept it all together though, and in the end, we were able to complete the adventure. I can't wait to try this game out with my regular crew.
Swag:
I picked up LotFP - The People of Pembrooktenshire. I almost didn't pick it up, as it's intended as a supplement to the adventure No Dignity in Death, which I don't have. It's a collection of 137 NPCs from the town featured in the module. I figured last minute to pick it, since I figure I'll track a copy of the adventure down eventually.
Saturday 9-1: Hackmaster Basic - The Town of Knarr's Rest
I played a session of Hackmaster Basic at Origins this year and had a blast. It's a great hybrid of old school feel, with very detailed combat mechanics. It's sort of like if they took every alternate rule for combat out there and mashed them together. It's clear the guys behind this game have some sort of innate love for number crunching and data management. Sometimes it seems like it could get a bit unwieldy, but it does have some sort of appeal for me. Anyway, the party was off to an abandoned stronghold near the the Town of Knarr's rest to save some children from from goblins and bugbears. Pretty standard fantasy stuff, but it worked. The DM, Johh, aka Evernevermore on the GASP board, went pretty light with the rules, because he was managing about 8 around the table and most of us weren't totally comfortable with even the basics. Good times.
Saturday 2-6: Savage Worlds - Scraptown Run
Savage Worlds is designed for "Fast, Furious, Fun" game play. I'm glad I'm glad I finally got to jump and play. The adventure, again, GMed by John Evernevermore, used the post-apocalypse Earth from the video game series Fallout. I haven't played Fallout, but it was pretty easy to pick up on the setting. The group playing was great: it was Dave, Jonathan, a friend a Dave's who I met this summer at Origins, a couple of Jonathan's buddies, Guy and Tim, and two other guys that ended up being friends of friends. Kind of crazy coincidence, there. Anyway, we played extra fast and furious, which seems to be John's preferred GMing style, and it was certainly a lot of fun. Essentially the scenario was set up that we needed to get from point A to point B and back, but the John left it open enough that we had had a ton of options right from the start. I was playing a doctor/field medic, who I played as a bit of a wimp. I made sure to stick tight to my "10-4 good buddy truck driver with the big gun".
Saturday 7-11: Lamentations of the Flame Princess -
More OSR madness. Again, John was the DM, and Dave was in the game. Essentially, we spent all day Saturday together. The original DM had to back out so, John volunteered his services. He didn't quite like the pacing of Death Frost Doom for a con game, so he suggested something he developed. Everyone was okay with the sub, so we went with it. The game played like old school D&D mixed with Call of Cthulhu in my opinion. It was dark investigative horror with swords and sorcery. The concept was great and the play was fun. By mid-way, I have to admit I was feeling some RPG fatigue, and I'm assuming some of the other folks around the table were feeling similar. There were a lot of people at the table and it got pretty distracting at times. John kept it all together though, and in the end, we were able to complete the adventure. I can't wait to try this game out with my regular crew.
Swag:
I picked up LotFP - The People of Pembrooktenshire. I almost didn't pick it up, as it's intended as a supplement to the adventure No Dignity in Death, which I don't have. It's a collection of 137 NPCs from the town featured in the module. I figured last minute to pick it, since I figure I'll track a copy of the adventure down eventually.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Daily Blog Challenge = DBloC
Sean Preston, from Reality Blurs, creator of the supremely awesome Realms of Cthulhu (and other cool gaming products I'm not too familiar with but I'm sure are also awesome), has put forth the Daily Blog Challenge aka DBloC. This seems like a perfect opportunity to get my butt in gear and get back to writing.
There is going to be a lot of gaming in the next few weeks for me. GASPCon is a about 8 days away and counting. I'm signed up for some Savage Worlds, Labyrinth Lord, LotFP, and a few other things. I've got at least one more Call of Cthulhu game this month, I'll be running my 4e game once or twice, and playing in the 3.5 Forgotten Realms game at least once.
I'm already a few days behind, so I'm going to go ahead and count this announcement as post #1. I've got to get two more together to get caught up. As for a theme, I'm still working on that for now, but I hope to have something together by the end of the day.
There is going to be a lot of gaming in the next few weeks for me. GASPCon is a about 8 days away and counting. I'm signed up for some Savage Worlds, Labyrinth Lord, LotFP, and a few other things. I've got at least one more Call of Cthulhu game this month, I'll be running my 4e game once or twice, and playing in the 3.5 Forgotten Realms game at least once.
I'm already a few days behind, so I'm going to go ahead and count this announcement as post #1. I've got to get two more together to get caught up. As for a theme, I'm still working on that for now, but I hope to have something together by the end of the day.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
On Edition Wars and Games of Interest...
This post probably isn't going to make much sense (or be of much interest) to my non-gamer nerd readers, but who knows. Any, I figured I'd give a little update on the Table-top RPGs that I've been playing lately, and decided to combine that with my commentary on the ongoing "Edition Wars", since I feel the dust has finally cleared enough for me to make some personal assessment.
I follow a lot of RPG Blogs (I recommend at least subscribing to the RPG Bloggers Network as lots of great stuff is compiled there. Maybe I'll make a future post about some of my favorites). Anyway, there has been, since the release of 4e, Pathfinder, and a barrage of OSR products, a ridiculous amount of contention between the Old School Renaissance, the 3.5 or die folks and those that went with 4e. Personally, for DMing, I went down the 4e path, because it was something new. I was in the middle of a multi-year 3.5 campaign, which was my first RPG experience since my teenage years. I was looking for something different, but I wasn't quite prepared to step outside the D&D universe. 4e was fresh and new and kind of exciting.
Now that I'm approaching my 4th year "back into the hobby", I am feeling a little burned out on the modern equivalents of D&D. I've been in at least one active 3.5 campaign since January 2007 and have been DMing 4e since the Summer of 2008. In that time, I've spent a lot of time (and money) reading about Savage Worlds, Warhammer 40k RPG (Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch), Call of Cthulhu, Hackmaster Basic, Aces & Eights, OSR games like Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Labyrinth Lord, Dark Dungeons, and Swords & Wizardry.
Both 3rd Edition and 4th Edition D&D are good at what they are and I've had a lot of fun with both games, but I'm really feeling the crunch to expand those horizons. At some level, I guess I'm interested in the mechanics of a game, even over what the intent behind the mechanics might be. I want diversity, because I don't feel like the mechanic of the game makes "the game" good or bad. That responsibility really lies on the game master and the players. Sure, there are poorly designed games out there, with lousy mechanics, and there are certainly games and gaming styles that might not be for everyone, but I'm guessing there has been some group out there that's been able to have fun with most of them.
I've been playing in a Call of Cthuhlu game for a while now, which has been a blast. We tried some Dark Heresy, too, but I was having a hard time holding it together. Only two of us really had a good grasp of the universe and the combat mechanic turned out to be a little on the complicated side. I'd love to get back to it eventually, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen. I've been dying to try Savage Worlds, too. It looks like it should be pretty fun and there are opportunities for all kinds of games/scenarios. Playing Labyrinth Lord and reading Lamentations of the Flame Princess has gotten me really excited for some stripped down old style D&D. It was really refreshing to play out and abstract combat, where we didn't need to worry about what powers we were "wasting" and whether we made the best tactical movement. Those 2+ hour combats in 3rd & 4th Editions really pull me out of the situation. It's almost like you are starting a new game or something. It has a totally different mindset from the rest of the interactions in the game.
I talked to my 4e group about taking a break from the campaign to try out some other stuff, and everyone seemed pretty receptive to the idea, so we'll see what happens. I think a few months off 4e may refresh my interest in the campaign.
Forgotten Realms [WoTC 4e]
I started running this 4e game back in October 2008, I think. It is my first experience trying to DM an entire campaign, and there have been some ups and downs, but basically, I think it has been fun for both me and the players. It has been mostly the same group (I had a couple drop out) since day one. One player swapped his Dragonborn Paladin for a Githzerai Monk. We also have a Tiefling Warlock, Eladrin Wizard, Human Warlord, and Genasi Figher/Shaman. They've just hit 12 level, which was significantly slower advancement than I anticipated going in. We play almost every other week, but only manage to get about 3 hours of gaming in, because it's a weeknight. In those 3 hours, we usually only get to tackle one or two encounters, because combat can be so slow. We've tightened some stuff up, but a lot of the fights still turn into a grind.
Ravenloft [WoTC 3.5]
Due to a very literal series of unfortunate events, this game has been on hiatus for months. Hopefully we'll be starting up soon. It's been fun playing in an evil party with totally wacky character concepts. We're on the verge of trying to start an inter-gang war so an organized crime group we've joined can take control of the drug dealing in one of the cities in the setting. Yowch.
Forgotten Realms [WoTC 3.5]
This game has had a player retention problem. Only two of the original five have made it this far. I think almost ten people have played at least a game or two. It has lead to some disconnects, but Tim is doing his best to hold everything together. Some cult or something totally wants to kill our asses, but we're doing pretty good otherwise. Going to be leaving Lantan via an airship in the next game!
Call of Cthulhu [Chaosium]
Due to some of the same unfortunate events that are stalling the Ravenloft game, the CoC has had a few starts & stops. Hopefully everything gets back in track soon. We're playing through the Masks of Nyarlathotep module. Last game, both of my characters were killed, but that's okay. I'll be returning to the table with a psychiatrist turned occultist. We'll see how he fares.
Labyrinth Lord [Goblinoid Games]
I played my first game of Labyrinth Lord last Saturday and I loved it. It's an old-school clone of D&D. Remember when you could just be an elf or dwarf? No class. Just an elf? It's like that. You roll stats, 3d6 straight. You barely have any special abilities. There is no skill list. Wizards can only cast one spell and only have a couple hit points. Anyway, it was great! The DM designed this huge dungeon and our only goal is to clear it out, keeping any treasure we find. No other long term goals. Just kill things and take their stuff. Brilliance in it's simplicity.
I follow a lot of RPG Blogs (I recommend at least subscribing to the RPG Bloggers Network as lots of great stuff is compiled there. Maybe I'll make a future post about some of my favorites). Anyway, there has been, since the release of 4e, Pathfinder, and a barrage of OSR products, a ridiculous amount of contention between the Old School Renaissance, the 3.5 or die folks and those that went with 4e. Personally, for DMing, I went down the 4e path, because it was something new. I was in the middle of a multi-year 3.5 campaign, which was my first RPG experience since my teenage years. I was looking for something different, but I wasn't quite prepared to step outside the D&D universe. 4e was fresh and new and kind of exciting.
Now that I'm approaching my 4th year "back into the hobby", I am feeling a little burned out on the modern equivalents of D&D. I've been in at least one active 3.5 campaign since January 2007 and have been DMing 4e since the Summer of 2008. In that time, I've spent a lot of time (and money) reading about Savage Worlds, Warhammer 40k RPG (Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch), Call of Cthulhu, Hackmaster Basic, Aces & Eights, OSR games like Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Labyrinth Lord, Dark Dungeons, and Swords & Wizardry.
Both 3rd Edition and 4th Edition D&D are good at what they are and I've had a lot of fun with both games, but I'm really feeling the crunch to expand those horizons. At some level, I guess I'm interested in the mechanics of a game, even over what the intent behind the mechanics might be. I want diversity, because I don't feel like the mechanic of the game makes "the game" good or bad. That responsibility really lies on the game master and the players. Sure, there are poorly designed games out there, with lousy mechanics, and there are certainly games and gaming styles that might not be for everyone, but I'm guessing there has been some group out there that's been able to have fun with most of them.
I've been playing in a Call of Cthuhlu game for a while now, which has been a blast. We tried some Dark Heresy, too, but I was having a hard time holding it together. Only two of us really had a good grasp of the universe and the combat mechanic turned out to be a little on the complicated side. I'd love to get back to it eventually, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen. I've been dying to try Savage Worlds, too. It looks like it should be pretty fun and there are opportunities for all kinds of games/scenarios. Playing Labyrinth Lord and reading Lamentations of the Flame Princess has gotten me really excited for some stripped down old style D&D. It was really refreshing to play out and abstract combat, where we didn't need to worry about what powers we were "wasting" and whether we made the best tactical movement. Those 2+ hour combats in 3rd & 4th Editions really pull me out of the situation. It's almost like you are starting a new game or something. It has a totally different mindset from the rest of the interactions in the game.
I talked to my 4e group about taking a break from the campaign to try out some other stuff, and everyone seemed pretty receptive to the idea, so we'll see what happens. I think a few months off 4e may refresh my interest in the campaign.
Forgotten Realms [WoTC 4e]
I started running this 4e game back in October 2008, I think. It is my first experience trying to DM an entire campaign, and there have been some ups and downs, but basically, I think it has been fun for both me and the players. It has been mostly the same group (I had a couple drop out) since day one. One player swapped his Dragonborn Paladin for a Githzerai Monk. We also have a Tiefling Warlock, Eladrin Wizard, Human Warlord, and Genasi Figher/Shaman. They've just hit 12 level, which was significantly slower advancement than I anticipated going in. We play almost every other week, but only manage to get about 3 hours of gaming in, because it's a weeknight. In those 3 hours, we usually only get to tackle one or two encounters, because combat can be so slow. We've tightened some stuff up, but a lot of the fights still turn into a grind.
Ravenloft [WoTC 3.5]
Due to a very literal series of unfortunate events, this game has been on hiatus for months. Hopefully we'll be starting up soon. It's been fun playing in an evil party with totally wacky character concepts. We're on the verge of trying to start an inter-gang war so an organized crime group we've joined can take control of the drug dealing in one of the cities in the setting. Yowch.
Forgotten Realms [WoTC 3.5]
This game has had a player retention problem. Only two of the original five have made it this far. I think almost ten people have played at least a game or two. It has lead to some disconnects, but Tim is doing his best to hold everything together. Some cult or something totally wants to kill our asses, but we're doing pretty good otherwise. Going to be leaving Lantan via an airship in the next game!
Call of Cthulhu [Chaosium]
Due to some of the same unfortunate events that are stalling the Ravenloft game, the CoC has had a few starts & stops. Hopefully everything gets back in track soon. We're playing through the Masks of Nyarlathotep module. Last game, both of my characters were killed, but that's okay. I'll be returning to the table with a psychiatrist turned occultist. We'll see how he fares.
Labyrinth Lord [Goblinoid Games]
I played my first game of Labyrinth Lord last Saturday and I loved it. It's an old-school clone of D&D. Remember when you could just be an elf or dwarf? No class. Just an elf? It's like that. You roll stats, 3d6 straight. You barely have any special abilities. There is no skill list. Wizards can only cast one spell and only have a couple hit points. Anyway, it was great! The DM designed this huge dungeon and our only goal is to clear it out, keeping any treasure we find. No other long term goals. Just kill things and take their stuff. Brilliance in it's simplicity.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Inaugural Gaming Post
Disclaimer(?)
When I say "gaming", I'm mostly referring to pencil and paper RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, but it could also refer to board games or occasionally video games. Part of my reason for starting this blog was to write more about gaming. The catch is knowing when to post. Writing specifically about your campaign or character may be useful for writer, but it doesn't always hold the interest of the reader. Part of my reason for writing is to share something interesting or useful with said reader. From time to time, I'll be posting about the games I'm playing, and maybe posting a product review occasionally. If these posts are in anyway successful, eventually I'd like to do a spin off blog dedicated completely to gaming, but that is down the line. If you're at all interested in these types of posts, I highly recommend you check out the RPG Bloggers Network, which compiles dozens of blogs on this very topic. It's a great resource.
A Little Background
I first got interested in RPGs back in the 80s when they were everywhere. Religious groups were concerned that they were tools of the devil. There was a cartoon on Saturday mornings. A friend of mine got the game Dungeon for Xmas one year and we were hooked. We knew it had something to do with D&D (simplified board game version, published by the same company). Eventually, I used some birthday money to get my first D&D books. Like a lot of folks my age, I started out with standard "red box" D&D. Since there was no dedicated gaming store in Butler (at least that we knew about at the time), we'd hit the Walden Books at the mall to get our gear, mostly. I played a little AD&D at the time, too. As I got a little older, we started playing some of the Palladium games like Palladium Fantasy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (based on the comic, not the TV show), and Rifts. We never really got any long term campaigns off the ground though, which was unfortunate. Eventually that stuff got put aside. I still loosely followed the industry, occasionally bought a product, and was interested in playing, but we could never get the game together. Through the magic of the not-Roboto board, some of us eventually got a game together. We spent about two years or so, running around the the Greyhawk setting, using the D&D 3.5 rule-set, and it was great fun.
After the Greyhawk game wrapped, the DM started up a game set in Ravenloft. I've taken up the reigns for a 4e game and a Dark Heresy Game. I joined a game set in the Forgotten Realms, run by another player from the game. I'm also playing in a Call of Cthulhu game, run by yet another person from that Greyhawk game. Then there was a couple other false starts, two Gygax tribute games, and a couple shorter campaigns. Yeah..."no gaming" to "way too much gaming" in just a couple years. Here's a quick overview of the games I'm currently playing.
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a classic Gothic horror setting for D&D. The game we're playing currently is run by Mark, who was the mastermind behind the Greyhawk game. It is certainly the most ambitious effort I've been involved with in an RPG. The DM is essentially running two games concurrently. The party my character is a member of is made up of evil and neutral characters. The other team is made up of neutral and good characters. Mostly the teams work separately, but the most recent game brought both teams together (about 14 players) which is pretty crazy, using the 3.5 rule-set. The DM has plans for players to switch teams, and sub-groups to form from members of both teams, depending on certain situations. I'm playing a tiefling beguiler (from PHB 2), named Vandyrk, who stumbled through the mists while exploring a dungeon in the Faerun.
3.5 Forgotten Realms
My buddy Tim, who was also a part of the Greyhawk game and plays in the good party in the Ravenloft game, started another 3.5 game that I decided to join. He's planning on it being a fairly short campaign. So far we've been mostly traveling around the Chult Peninsula, trying to sort out some kind of dinosaur cult. Most recently, he dumped us in a giant maze and we're working our way out now. I'm playing a human rogue/fighter with a spiked chain named Ras Sulamal. He's pretty burly. More of a thug than your typical agile rogue.
Call of Cthulhu
Allen, another an alumni of the the Greyhawk game and a co-party member of the Ravenloft campaign, had some experience playing Call of Cthulhu, before moving to Pittsburgh a few years ago. We wanted to get a game going here, and since he had the most experience with the system, we encouraged him to act as Keeper (CoC terminology for GM/DM). We're working our way through the classic world jumping adventure, Masks of Nyarlathotep. I'm playing two characters, a professor of anthropology and archaeology and a professional wrestler.
4e Forgotten Realms
This is one of the two games I'm running. Outside of a couple one-offs, this is the first time I've acted as DM since the late 80s and I'm having a ton of fun. We started shortly after 4th Edition was released and have been playing for a few hours every two weeks, on average. The players just hit 8th level and the individual stories are starting to break out. They are on their way to Waterdeep right now, to follow up on some information they've received from an oracle. Plans to send them deep into the Underdark and the Elemental Chaos are on the table.
Dark Heresy
Dark Heresy is the other game I'm running. In the game, players take the role of acolytes of the Imperium, essentially fascist space cops tracking down heretics, aliens, and demons in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Fun! I got my first taste of Dark Heresy earlier this year at the Geekadrome in Brookline. Our GM was intimately familiar with the 40k universe and ran a pretty cool campaign. I'm not too familiar with the universe and I'm going to be relying heavily on published materials. We've gotten two games in and I've already killed one of the PCs. Oops! Well, they said it's a deadly game, so we'll see how it goes at the next session.
Other Stuff
There are a couple other games that I'm really interested in playing, but don't have the time right now. As soon as one of these games wraps, I'd like to try Rogue Trader, Savage Worlds (I picked up the Rippers Source book, too), Mutants & Masterminds, Dragon Age RPG or All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Both the 3.5 Forgotten Realms game and the Ravenloft game are supposed to be relatively short campaigns, and Mark has already expressed interest in running a superheroes game. I loaned him my copy of Mutants & Masterminds and I'm keeping my fingers crossed he picks it for the system. Chris, from the Ravenloft good party has volunteered to run a Dragon Age game at some point in the future, too. I have no long term plans for the Dark Heresy game, so maybe after a few more months, I might recommend the same group try out some other system.
Conclusions?
Well, I don't really have any conclusions to speak of. We'll see where this goes. Right now, I need to start planning out some possibilities for the 4e game, get my secondary character rolled up for Ravenloft, and reread the adventure path for the next leg of Dark Heresy, so there's plenty of my plate. Look for more posts related directly to the games I'm playing in the coming weeks, as well as some product reviews if I pick up anything totally cool.
When I say "gaming", I'm mostly referring to pencil and paper RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, but it could also refer to board games or occasionally video games. Part of my reason for starting this blog was to write more about gaming. The catch is knowing when to post. Writing specifically about your campaign or character may be useful for writer, but it doesn't always hold the interest of the reader. Part of my reason for writing is to share something interesting or useful with said reader. From time to time, I'll be posting about the games I'm playing, and maybe posting a product review occasionally. If these posts are in anyway successful, eventually I'd like to do a spin off blog dedicated completely to gaming, but that is down the line. If you're at all interested in these types of posts, I highly recommend you check out the RPG Bloggers Network, which compiles dozens of blogs on this very topic. It's a great resource.
A Little Background
I first got interested in RPGs back in the 80s when they were everywhere. Religious groups were concerned that they were tools of the devil. There was a cartoon on Saturday mornings. A friend of mine got the game Dungeon for Xmas one year and we were hooked. We knew it had something to do with D&D (simplified board game version, published by the same company). Eventually, I used some birthday money to get my first D&D books. Like a lot of folks my age, I started out with standard "red box" D&D. Since there was no dedicated gaming store in Butler (at least that we knew about at the time), we'd hit the Walden Books at the mall to get our gear, mostly. I played a little AD&D at the time, too. As I got a little older, we started playing some of the Palladium games like Palladium Fantasy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (based on the comic, not the TV show), and Rifts. We never really got any long term campaigns off the ground though, which was unfortunate. Eventually that stuff got put aside. I still loosely followed the industry, occasionally bought a product, and was interested in playing, but we could never get the game together. Through the magic of the not-Roboto board, some of us eventually got a game together. We spent about two years or so, running around the the Greyhawk setting, using the D&D 3.5 rule-set, and it was great fun.
After the Greyhawk game wrapped, the DM started up a game set in Ravenloft. I've taken up the reigns for a 4e game and a Dark Heresy Game. I joined a game set in the Forgotten Realms, run by another player from the game. I'm also playing in a Call of Cthulhu game, run by yet another person from that Greyhawk game. Then there was a couple other false starts, two Gygax tribute games, and a couple shorter campaigns. Yeah..."no gaming" to "way too much gaming" in just a couple years. Here's a quick overview of the games I'm currently playing.
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a classic Gothic horror setting for D&D. The game we're playing currently is run by Mark, who was the mastermind behind the Greyhawk game. It is certainly the most ambitious effort I've been involved with in an RPG. The DM is essentially running two games concurrently. The party my character is a member of is made up of evil and neutral characters. The other team is made up of neutral and good characters. Mostly the teams work separately, but the most recent game brought both teams together (about 14 players) which is pretty crazy, using the 3.5 rule-set. The DM has plans for players to switch teams, and sub-groups to form from members of both teams, depending on certain situations. I'm playing a tiefling beguiler (from PHB 2), named Vandyrk, who stumbled through the mists while exploring a dungeon in the Faerun.
3.5 Forgotten Realms
My buddy Tim, who was also a part of the Greyhawk game and plays in the good party in the Ravenloft game, started another 3.5 game that I decided to join. He's planning on it being a fairly short campaign. So far we've been mostly traveling around the Chult Peninsula, trying to sort out some kind of dinosaur cult. Most recently, he dumped us in a giant maze and we're working our way out now. I'm playing a human rogue/fighter with a spiked chain named Ras Sulamal. He's pretty burly. More of a thug than your typical agile rogue.
Call of Cthulhu
Allen, another an alumni of the the Greyhawk game and a co-party member of the Ravenloft campaign, had some experience playing Call of Cthulhu, before moving to Pittsburgh a few years ago. We wanted to get a game going here, and since he had the most experience with the system, we encouraged him to act as Keeper (CoC terminology for GM/DM). We're working our way through the classic world jumping adventure, Masks of Nyarlathotep. I'm playing two characters, a professor of anthropology and archaeology and a professional wrestler.
4e Forgotten Realms
This is one of the two games I'm running. Outside of a couple one-offs, this is the first time I've acted as DM since the late 80s and I'm having a ton of fun. We started shortly after 4th Edition was released and have been playing for a few hours every two weeks, on average. The players just hit 8th level and the individual stories are starting to break out. They are on their way to Waterdeep right now, to follow up on some information they've received from an oracle. Plans to send them deep into the Underdark and the Elemental Chaos are on the table.
Dark Heresy
Dark Heresy is the other game I'm running. In the game, players take the role of acolytes of the Imperium, essentially fascist space cops tracking down heretics, aliens, and demons in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Fun! I got my first taste of Dark Heresy earlier this year at the Geekadrome in Brookline. Our GM was intimately familiar with the 40k universe and ran a pretty cool campaign. I'm not too familiar with the universe and I'm going to be relying heavily on published materials. We've gotten two games in and I've already killed one of the PCs. Oops! Well, they said it's a deadly game, so we'll see how it goes at the next session.
Other Stuff
There are a couple other games that I'm really interested in playing, but don't have the time right now. As soon as one of these games wraps, I'd like to try Rogue Trader, Savage Worlds (I picked up the Rippers Source book, too), Mutants & Masterminds, Dragon Age RPG or All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Both the 3.5 Forgotten Realms game and the Ravenloft game are supposed to be relatively short campaigns, and Mark has already expressed interest in running a superheroes game. I loaned him my copy of Mutants & Masterminds and I'm keeping my fingers crossed he picks it for the system. Chris, from the Ravenloft good party has volunteered to run a Dragon Age game at some point in the future, too. I have no long term plans for the Dark Heresy game, so maybe after a few more months, I might recommend the same group try out some other system.
Conclusions?
Well, I don't really have any conclusions to speak of. We'll see where this goes. Right now, I need to start planning out some possibilities for the 4e game, get my secondary character rolled up for Ravenloft, and reread the adventure path for the next leg of Dark Heresy, so there's plenty of my plate. Look for more posts related directly to the games I'm playing in the coming weeks, as well as some product reviews if I pick up anything totally cool.
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