Showing posts with label blogfest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogfest. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Looking Ahead to 2024: It's Always Sunny in Baldur's Gate

Image by Freepik
Image by Freepik
I have yet to talk much about my plans for 2024; it is a big year for D&D. It is the 50th Anniversary, a new edition (well...5.x or 5R) is coming out, and there should be a lot of nostalgia and navel-gazing.

Incidentally, 2024 is also the Year of the Dragon.

Tentatively, I am looking at the following "theme months."

January will be part of TardisCaptain's New Year New Character challenge. Mine though will be delving into some of my favorite characters since I started playing D&D.

April is the A to Z Challenge, where I will write about D&D and its history.

May is Sci-Fi month and I'll do a deep dive into Gamma World, Star Frontiers, and the d20 Star Wars. I'll also looking into games with a solid D&D connection with me. 

June has typically been Basic-era month where I focus a lot on B/X, BECMI, and OSE/LL. I really want to be sure I do that this year.

August is Dave Chapman's RPGaDAY month. I pretty much do this one as is. But I might focus on D&D more than other games. 

October is "horror" month for me. I want to focus on Ravenloft. All my horror movies will also all be connected to D&D in some way. Either movies from Appendix N authors or horror movies that mention D&D or fantasy/horror. I'll start putting together my list soon.

Additionally, I have something else fun planned throughout the year that I am keeping close to my chest for now.

But the big thing for me next year is going to be my year-long exploration of the Forgotten Realms. 

New Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms and Me

I was never a Forgotten Realms fan. I dismissed it in the 1980s as an "upstart," ignored it in the early 90s, and actively disliked it in the late 90s. But it seems my ire was misplaced. Around the time the 3rd Edition Realms book came out I was beginning to soften my stance. By the 4th Ed era I was considering moving a campaign to the Realms. In the 5th Ed era I made it official, more or less.

Honestly, my coverage of Ed Greenwood's work in the pages of Dragon magazine changed my mind. 

These past few months, I have been playing the hell out of Baldur's Gate 3, and my desire to play in the Realms has only grown. 

To this end, I have amassed a small collection of Forgotten Realms books. Nothing special, just ones that I have come by easily either at game auctions, Half-Price Books, or as in the books pictured above, Print on Demand from DriveThruRPG. So I will go over them in detail throughout the editions.

I'd like to run a Realms-based game someday, but I am still figuring out what edition to use. Part of me thinks I need to do it in AD&D 2nd Edition since that was the edition that was the most "Realms" to me. 

The Forgotten Realms to me was always viewed through the eyes of a character, whether that was Elminster or Drizzt or whomever. Likewise, I am going to look into the Realms through the eyes of a new character. Presently I am leaning toward my half-elf sorceress Sinéad. I know I want use someone that has magic, and someone that I can tie to the rich lore of elves in this world. She is also one of two characters I had specifically created for the Realms in all my years of gaming. I think I owe it to myself to actually give her a spin someday.  However, my wife reminded me the other night that Keller the Silent Monk might also be fun.

In any case, 2024 is going to be a busy year of posting here and I am looking forward to it.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 FAVOURITE RPG of all time

 This is a tough one. I have had so many favorites over the years. Each one representing a different point in my life and gaming.

Favorite RPGs

Most of these will be known to readers here.

Basic (B/X) D&D - not the one I started with that would be the Holmes Basic, but the one that got me deep into the hobby.

AD&D 1st Edition - This is the one I played the most in those early days. The Monster Manual was my gateway drug to RPGs coming from Mythology.

Chill 1st Edition - This was either my first or second RPG after D&D (tied with Traveller) but it was my first horror RPG, and it spawned everything after.

Call of Cthulhu - Not my first Horror RPG, but one of my favorites. Really set the bar on what a horror RPG should be.

Masque of the Red Death - not an RPG by itself, and a bit wonky, it did something I always wanted: it brought my AD&D 2nd ed rules to Gothic Victorian Earth and Horror. Ravenloft brought some of this earlier, and both were my game of choice throughout the 90s until D&D-burnout set in and I went to my next big thing. 

CJ Carella's WitchCraft - I can't overestimate how much this RPG changed things for me. The world was close enough to that of Chill, Call of Cthulhu, and Masque of the Red Death that my ideas for those games gained new life under Unisystem. I loved the game so much I pestered the publisher, Eden Studios, to let me write for them. The result was my next favorite.

Ghosts of Albion - while this might be self-serving, it is my favorite for a reason. Everything I wanted in a Unisystem game is here. Victorian era, magic, horror, and Unisystem. I would have happily written for Unisystem for ever if I could have.  Which leads me to my last one and the top of my list.

NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars - Again, a little self serving but NIGHT SHIFT is everything I have ever wanted in a game. It combines the best mechanics of all the games above along with a play style I love and in a world, or more to the point worlds, I enjoy.

If I only get to pick one, then it will be NIGHT SHIFT.

NIGHT SHIFT

I have had the luxury and the privilege to work on a great number of RPGs over the years. Some of which were dream jobs and dream games. I consider myself lucky. But of all of those, NIGHT SHIFT is not just my favorite game, favorite rules, and favorite setting; it was also my favorite writing experience. Only Ghosts of Albion and my various Witch books come close.


Thank you, Dave Chapman for hosting this again! I had a great time.

RPGaDay2023


Wednesday, August 30, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 OBSCURE RPG you've played

 I have a soft spot for Obscure RPGs. But I think one of my favorites, warts and all, is Lee Gold's "Lands of Adventure."

Lands of Adventure

The game has some flaws, but it is such a fun concept and a great idea. Plus, the art and design are fantastic. 

I reviewed it a couple of years ago but have only played once or twice since then. It really is an old-school gem from the ancient days of Dragon Magazine.


RPGaDay2023


Tuesday, August 29, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Most memorable ENCOUNTER

AD&D Lich

Ah. This one stuck with me as the most memorable encounter.

It would have to be the first time I encountered a Lich in the AD&D 1st Edition days. I think it was the summer of 82 or so.

The DM read the monster's description, and she decided that it had all these new spells because it was a former high-level magic-user. She played the monster as we would have today, but back then, that was kind of a new thing. Not only that she had poping in and out of the Ethereal Plane more or less at will. 

Needless to say it kicked our 6th to 7th level asses. That lich kicked our asses.

While I was annoyed, I later looked back on it and thought about how well she had done with it all. 

So yeah, freaking Liches are dangerous.

Since that day, my undead have all been way more powerful. 


RPGaDay2023



Monday, August 28, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 SCARIEST game you've played

 Scares do not come easy to me anymore. I consume horror movies like most people watch sitcoms (and laugh as much), nearly all my non-D&D games are horror and a fair amount of my D&D ones are as well.  So for a game to REALLY scare me, it has to be special. And it is usually NOT due to the rules being used.

Case in point. My online games from 2006 to 2009 that I called "Vacation in Vancouver."  I played it starting with WitchCraft and then moved over to True20 (a game not known for its horror).

True20True20 Adepts Handbook

The hook was that members of Vancouver's supernatural community were going missing.  Long story short, there was this entire underground where vampyres, demons, and witches were getting together and engaging in all sorts of lewd sexual acts in exchange for essence.  After a while, even open acts of magic were considered acceptable.

The game, though was not really about sex or even depravity (there was a lot of sexual slavery going on and it was hard to know who was using who), but about addiction and losing yourself.

A couple of characters had to be literally pulled back from the edge.

As a role-playing experience, it was intense.  There was not much combat, to be honest.  Part of that was out of choice (the characters were investigators, not thugs) and part out of necessity (combats online can be dull, even in Unisystem).

The game ended like many others, not with a big finale but gradually dying off.

The mystery of where all the supernaturals were going was solved, but not the one of the demonic sex trafficking. The demons never actually killed anyone. In fact, they seemed to be concerned for the welfare of the Gifted and Lesser Gifted in their "care".  And there were plenty of volunteers for the demons, too, since the exchange of Essence was pleasurable for both (but only humans can 'regenerate' Essence).

There were some very interesting games, though, that came from all of that.  It was one of those rare RPG moments where the bad guys might have won, and there was nothing the PCs/Cast could do about it.  While the game was fun and provided some of the best pure Horror roleplaying I have run in a long time, I am just not sure how it could even be revisited.

RPGaDay2023


Sunday, August 27, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Game you'd like a new EDITION of...

 This is a two-fer for me. There are two games I want to see a new edition of and I hope that once again they are the same system.

I would love to see a new edition of Mutants & Masterminds AND a new edition of a DC Comics RPG.

DC Adventures and Mutants & Masterminds

I started with M&M back in 2nd Edition and I loved it. Such a great game.

When 3rd Edition came out I grabbed the PDFs right away and was going to pick up the print versions, but Green Ronin also had released the DC Adventures game that used the same M&M 3rd edition system. So I got all of those books.

I'd love a 4th edition of M&M and wonder if it couldn't move a little closer to their AGE system.

I also want a new DC comics RPG. I know there is a new Marvel game out and yes it looks great, but I have always been more of a DC guy.  I also want to buy more Green Ronin stuff.


RPGaDay2023


Saturday, August 26, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Favourite CHARACTER SHEET

 Like games and dice I have a few favorite character sheets.  Though I will admit my all time favorite is a blank sheet. because at that point the potential is limitless!

Willow & Tara sheet

My "Willow & Tara RPG" sheet. I made this one myself for my combined Buffy/WitchCraft/Ghosts of Albion game. It had details for all three games so characters could easily move between the rules.

WitchCraft RPG Sheet

Likewise, I had a WitchCraft variant I used that also had similar information.


Mage Sheet

I love Mage, and the Sorcerer's Crusade sheet is one of my favorites.

D&D Basic

For pure nostalgia sake I love the Green D&D Basic sheets.

AD&D 1st Ed

AD&D 1st Ed

And the AD&D 1st Ed sheets too.

Though my own Witch character sheets are my most favorite of all.

Witch Sheets



RPGaDay2023


Friday, August 25, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 UNPLAYED RPG you own

 A couple fit this bill, but the ones starring at me, begging to be played, are both Age of Arthur / Chivilaric RPGs. 

Pendragon and Chivalry & Sorcery

Pendragon and Chivalry & Sorcery

Now I have played earlier editions of both of these, but these two have been sitting on my shelf all year and I want to do more with them both. 

Both have been around forever it seems and both are in their Fifth (or so) Editions. 

I really need to do a lot more with them both.


RPGaDay2023


Thursday, August 24, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 COMPLEX / SIMPLE RPG you play

 Complex and Simple RPGs. Ok.

Complex vs. simple

Playing wise (even it I haven't done much with the first one) I would say the most complex RPG I have is the Fifth Edition of Chivalry and Sorcery. I like the game, quite a lot, but it is a mountain to climb and character generation is not a fast process.  Still it is a gorgeous game and I have such fond memories of earlier editions. 

Simple of course goes to the classic B/X D&D, something I can more or less run on a dime. 


RPGaDay2023


Wednesday, August 23, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 COOLEST looking RPG product / book

 In addition to August being #RPGaDay2023 it is also #30yearsofMage. I knew Mage was going to come into this at some point and today is that day!

Mage the Ascension, especially in it's 20th Anniversary Edition format is one of the coolest-looking RPGs ever.

From its leather cover, to full-color art, to the ribbon bookmark (I am a sucker for a ribbon bookmark) and gilded edges it is one hell of an attractive book.

Mage Leather cover

Mage color art

Mage color art and ribbon

Mage color art

Mage color art

Mage guilded pages

Not to be ignored is one of my personal favorite versions of Mage, Mage for the Victorian Era.

Victorian Age Mage

Victorian Age Mage

Victorian Age Mage

Additionally, all the Mage books I own (all Mage: The Ascension, I unloaded Mage: The Awakening years ago) are not just fantastic to look at, they are great games too.

Mage: the Ascension

I do wish I could play it more often. 


RPGaDay2023


Tuesday, August 22, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase

 This one I had to think about this one for a bit. I have found so many great deals over the years that it was hard to choose just one really.  But in the end I think I figured it out. 

The Dark Eye

I have known about this game for a while, both The Dark Eye and the original German Das Schwarze Auge. I always wanted to own the original German, having taken German in both high school and college, but not using a language for, well, longer than I care to admit, you lose it. Das tut mir leid.

The Dark Eye always attracted me as a sort of darker fantasy RPG.  A game where Mirkwood is replaced by the Black Forest.  

I picked the 2nd Printing of the English edition at my local game auction.  I grabbed the core rules and a bunch of add-ons that I suspect came from Kickstarter. There is a lot, and it all looks so good. There is even a basic QuickStart.

The Dark Eye RPG

I played around with it for a bit, did some characters, and did a review. I enjoyed it so much I picked the special edition leather cover as well.

But it is a really great game, and I really enjoy it. I also wish I could play more of it than I do.


RPGaDay2023

Monday, August 21, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Favourite LICENSED RPG

 Licensed RPGs can either be really great or less so. 

One of my favorites might sound self-serving, but it is my favorite.

Ghosts of Albion

Ghosts of Albion

I have to admit it is my favorite because everything I wanted is there somewhere. A system I love, in a time period I love and I got to work with some really great people too.


RPGaDay2023

Sunday, August 20, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Will still play in TWENTY years time

 I would like to say yes to this. I'm in my 50s now. But my dad is going strong at 93 and his dad lives to his 90s. So in my 70s? Yeah. Let's do this!

Old Tim
By the way, my wife hates this picture.



I kinda have a Larry Elmore thing going there! Besides that is about how long this will take me to get through all my games.


RPGaDay2023


Saturday, August 19, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Favourite PUBLISHED adventure

 I have a few, to be honest. Sometimes I run them as is, other times I alter them. But one of my all-time favorites has to be the original I6 Ravenloft.

Ravenloft

I grew up on a steady stream of Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, and Dark Shadows. That's my Appendix N. So an adventure set in pretty much the Hammer Hamlet where I get strange locals and have to fight a vampire? Yeah, that is what D&D was to me.

Ravenloft was TSR's great experiment.  Take the central monster and make him a fully realized character.  Seems odd to ask to do this now, but back then, that was crazy talk.  Gothic Horror in Heroic Fantasy?  Crazy! But it worked.   Sure, Strahd can be thought of as a poor man's Dracula, but he has since become his own monster.

I know some old gamers bemoan "The Hickman Revolution," as it it called, but I loved it. Ravenloft was a literal game-changer for me. Finally, an adversary worth fighting and a REAL vampire too, not the D&D one. 

Ravenloft three different printings
Original, 25th Anniversary Edition, Print on Demand


I even got my original module from 1983 signed by Tracy Hickman.


I have run this one a lot and even in other game systems. It is a lot of fun.

RPGaDay2023

Friday, August 18, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 Favourite game SYSTEM

 Favorite game system? Well, I have two, but they are related.

NIGHT SHIFT and WitchCraft

NIGHT SHIFT with O.G.R.E.S. and WitchCraft with Unisystem are not just my two favorite games but also my favorite game systems to use.

Both let me play my favorite sort of game; a modern urban supernatural horror one, but they are both systems I like and have written for professionally.

NIGHT SHIFT is largely a love letter to both Old-school D&D and to WitchCraft. 

I love them both.

RPGaDay2023


Thursday, August 17, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 FUNNIEST game you've played

 Part two of Favourite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT is also my FUNNIEST game you've played.

Supernatural-Buffy-Charmed

This one I was at Gen Con a few years back. The adventure was a Buffy/Charmed/Supernatural crossover using the Buffy RPG rules. So naturally, I had to play. Sam and Dean were grabbed quickly, and there was no way in hell I was playing Xander. But that was all fine, the character I really wanted was Piper from Charmed.

I had an absolute blast. Piper was, at the time, the snarkiest of all the sisters. So playing her was great. Ended up with the most Drama Points at the end of the game.  In the course of the game, I burned through about 5 drama points, but I also had earned 6 for role-playing. Of course, having seen every Charmed episode gave me an advantage.  I wish I had remembered the GMs/Director's name because I would have easily gone to one of her other games.

I still have my Piper character sheet here somewhere, and it was really fun. The GM even had taken out the Buffy logo and put the Charmed one in its place.

We all spent our whole time laughing.


RPGaDay2023