But what I lack in quantity I made up for in quality! At least I hope so.
Again, I didn't get anyone's names.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Zatannurday: Zatanna Cosplay at Gen Con 2014
But what I lack in quantity I made up for in quality! At least I hope so.
Again, I didn't get anyone's names.
#RPGaDAY Day 23, Coolest looking RPG product / book
#RPGaDAY Day 23, Coolest looking RPG product / book
Not really sure. There have been so many.
I loved BESM 3.0 when it first came out. Colorful and really captured the feel I wanted.
I loved the way the Dresden Files RPG looks too.
But for my money the coolest RPG books are still WitchCraft and the 1st Ed. Monster Manual.
These two books fill me with all sorts of geek-related joy.
Not really sure. There have been so many.
I loved BESM 3.0 when it first came out. Colorful and really captured the feel I wanted.
I loved the way the Dresden Files RPG looks too.
But for my money the coolest RPG books are still WitchCraft and the 1st Ed. Monster Manual.
These two books fill me with all sorts of geek-related joy.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Kickstart Your Weekend
With record numbers of families hitting Gen Con this year this next Kickstarter is not a huge surprise.
The Baby Bestiary by Andreas Walters
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metalweavedesigns/the-baby-bestiary
Infant and young versions of classic monsters.
This is exactly something my kids would have loved a couple of years ago and it would make a great gift to a younger gamer.
The art so far looks great. They are offering a book, a calendar, desktop wallpapers and post cards.
They have 3 weeks left and are already funded. So check them out.
The Baby Bestiary by Andreas Walters
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metalweavedesigns/the-baby-bestiary
Infant and young versions of classic monsters.
This is exactly something my kids would have loved a couple of years ago and it would make a great gift to a younger gamer.
The art so far looks great. They are offering a book, a calendar, desktop wallpapers and post cards.
They have 3 weeks left and are already funded. So check them out.
#RPGaDAY Day 22, Best Secondhand RPG Purchase
#RPGaDAY Day 22, Best Secondhand RPG Purchase
In one of my many moves during college and grad school I lost a milk crate's worth of my 1st Edition books. I lost most of my modules, some Dungeon magazines, my Basic and Expert Sets and all my 1st Ed Hardbacks except my Deities and Demigods. I still had all my 2nd ed stuff, Ravenloft and some of my modules.
At first I was not too bummed out. I had 2nd ed and I was kind of getting out of D&D.
A few years later I saw some near mint 1st ed books on eBay. My wife saw them and told me to get them. Must have been something in the water because no one bidded on them.
I got a PHB, MM, DMG, and a FF all for about 60 bucks. At the time I called it a steal and I still do!
In one of my many moves during college and grad school I lost a milk crate's worth of my 1st Edition books. I lost most of my modules, some Dungeon magazines, my Basic and Expert Sets and all my 1st Ed Hardbacks except my Deities and Demigods. I still had all my 2nd ed stuff, Ravenloft and some of my modules.
At first I was not too bummed out. I had 2nd ed and I was kind of getting out of D&D.
A few years later I saw some near mint 1st ed books on eBay. My wife saw them and told me to get them. Must have been something in the water because no one bidded on them.
I got a PHB, MM, DMG, and a FF all for about 60 bucks. At the time I called it a steal and I still do!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Cosplaying Drow
I am not sure what everyone thinks about this, but there is a good post on Cosplaying Drow.
http://blackroleplayersorganization.blogspot.com/2014/08/cosplaying-drow.html
I know there are some people out there reading this that are not going to "get it". And to be honest my understanding is academic at best. I belong to the power class. I am a well off, hetero, white male in a hobby predominated by white males. But that doesn't mean I don't have empathy or understanding.
To me a universally despised race that is inherently evil being depicted as dark skinned seemed to smack a little too much of racism or white-privilege at the least. I have prefered to make my Drow pale skinned like the monstrous Morlocks from H.G. Wells. Though I am also happy with purple or pale blue Drow (no offense to Scottish people).
No I don't see this as reverse racism since like most Irish descendants I tend to be more pale pink than anything else. My wife who has more Ukrainian in her background tends to be more reddish.
What are your thoughts?
I happen to agree with the original poster. It is not how some other might see things, but how the people who have been harmed might.
http://blackroleplayersorganization.blogspot.com/2014/08/cosplaying-drow.html
I know there are some people out there reading this that are not going to "get it". And to be honest my understanding is academic at best. I belong to the power class. I am a well off, hetero, white male in a hobby predominated by white males. But that doesn't mean I don't have empathy or understanding.
To me a universally despised race that is inherently evil being depicted as dark skinned seemed to smack a little too much of racism or white-privilege at the least. I have prefered to make my Drow pale skinned like the monstrous Morlocks from H.G. Wells. Though I am also happy with purple or pale blue Drow (no offense to Scottish people).
No I don't see this as reverse racism since like most Irish descendants I tend to be more pale pink than anything else. My wife who has more Ukrainian in her background tends to be more reddish.
What are your thoughts?
I happen to agree with the original poster. It is not how some other might see things, but how the people who have been harmed might.
#RPGaDAY Day 21, Favourite Licensed RPG
#RPGaDAY Day 21, Favourite Licensed RPG
Is this even a question? ;)
Ghosts of Albion is my baby. I will write other games, I might even write batter ones, but Ghosts was like nothing else.
I also enjoy Buffy, Elric, Call of Cthlhu (that is sorta licensed), the various DC Comics RPGs and more.
I'll also admit that d20 Star Wars is my favorite version of that game, but I like all versions of Star Trek.
Is this even a question? ;)
Ghosts of Albion is my baby. I will write other games, I might even write batter ones, but Ghosts was like nothing else.
I also enjoy Buffy, Elric, Call of Cthlhu (that is sorta licensed), the various DC Comics RPGs and more.
I'll also admit that d20 Star Wars is my favorite version of that game, but I like all versions of Star Trek.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Owl & Weasel Wednesday #6 July 1975
Page 1 of the issue describes the game we all know so well and it is interesting to read something like this; the game as something new and different. The editors admit they are already obsessed with it and there is even a dragon on the masthead, making the issue temporarily Dragon, Owl & Weasel.
The article is continued later in the issue. Steve Jackson describes the contents of the box, 3 "little" books and not thousands of pieces. Though he adds that he thinks $10.00 is "too much" to pay for the game. Some things never change really. Jackson concludes calling D&D a "modern classic".
Moving on in the issue. The Letters page has a letter complaining about the lack women in gaming. Again some things never changing.
Later on Steve Jackson discusses the costs of D&D. Again the $10.00 price tag is mentioned, but also $5.00 for Chainmail and "at least" $2.50 for dice. Minifigs are also mentioned with several genres mentioned. Additionally Games Workshop reports that they will be selling D&D in at least three weeks.
Page 11 is the second part of Percy Kenyon's coverage of Mah Jong. Interesting and more complicated than I realized. I mean I new Mah Jong was a strategy game (and not the solitaire version found on lots of computers) but I guess I didn't think about how detailed it was.
The back page features a TSR price listing of what will be soon available in the U.K.
The enthusiasm in this article abounds. Sitting here comfortably on the other side of nearly 40 years (and after the largest Gen Con on record) it is easy to forget that once upon a time this hobby of ours was new. Not just new, it had a start and that start is documented here. I am not trying to sound all sappy here. I am big proponent of always looking forward, but sometimes you have to look back to see where you have been. Sometimes it doesn't amount to much, other times the difference is so striking that it leaves you somewhat agape or stunned. This is one of those moments. Sure some of the actual words said are even the same (it costs too much, where are the women?) but these are the first times they have been said and that is something important.
Not sure what the next issues will bring, but for me I am looking for that joy of discovery of a new thing. But I guess that is what it is all about all the time really.
eta: The middle pages
#RPGaDAY Day 20, Will still play in 20 years time…
#RPGaDAY Day 20, Will still play in 20 years time…
Well.
I have been doing it this long (35 years) another 20 sounds reasonable.
Plus I could be retired then and really be an old, pain in the ass Grognard.
I could yell at the new kids and tell the how we used to do it back in the day.
Plus RPGs seem like a good way to keep your mind sharp and that is important in your later years.
It also looks like RPGs will still be around then too. Gen Con and D&D5 are both doing quite well now and there were a lot of small children there ready to take the hobby into the next generations.
Well.
I have been doing it this long (35 years) another 20 sounds reasonable.
Plus I could be retired then and really be an old, pain in the ass Grognard.
I could yell at the new kids and tell the how we used to do it back in the day.
Plus RPGs seem like a good way to keep your mind sharp and that is important in your later years.
It also looks like RPGs will still be around then too. Gen Con and D&D5 are both doing quite well now and there were a lot of small children there ready to take the hobby into the next generations.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Gen Con 2014 in Review. Part 2: The Games We Play
I have already mentioned that I spent a LOT of time playing D&D 5. That was really our plan from the very start. Plus we also went down a day early to enjoy ourselves a bit more.
Again, my wife has the bulk of the pictures.
We played a couple of demo games in the hall, but everyone was selling out of everything!
Went for our last session of D&D 5. I ran the last of Bone Hill for about 2 hours and Jon then DMed all of us through a Birthright adventure he had. Lots of fun.
Headed back to the room to pack.
Sunday
Ugh. Last day. We had to get my son's bunny from his cousin so we opted to skip the last day of the hall. Plus everyone was coming down with something so we wanted to get home.
All in all it was a great Gen Con. We barely scratched the surface of all there was to do. My oldest got to play Duke and we wanted to try that. Plus there was that game "I am not a Werewolf" or something that looked fun.
Next year I hope to get in more board games and demos.
Tuesday
Started with what has become a tradition for us. Loading up the car and heading out to breakfast. We got to Indy in record time from Chicago; not many people on the road when we left.
Hit the pool for a bit and then played some D&D 5 Keep on the Borderlands.
The boys had hit the left hand side first so all that was left was the Kobold and Orc caves. I was getting tired so I decided that without the influence of the Cult of Chaos the humanoids went back to their normal mode and killed each other off. The best part? My youngest got it and was all "whoa that evil cult was keeping them from fighting? How powerful are they?"
Wednesday
Got up, hit the breakfast and headed over to the Zoo. It was walking distance from the hotel and really nice. We were there all day. I thought it would be nice to take a more relaxed vacation and get in some things my wife enjoyed too. Plus Indy is always so good to the gamers that throwing some more money into their coffers seemed like the right thing to do.
We got our swag bags. The bags were nicer but the stuff they used to put in them was missed.
Opted for dinner at our hotel restaurant. Not bad, but (and I hate to say this) we are used to better food in Chicago.
We went to the J.W. Marriott open gaming room and caught a table just as a group was leaving and set up for L1 The Secret of Bone Hill. My wife joined us for this round. We had to look crazy with my 1st ed module, D&D 5 book and boxed set and a bunch of 3e/4e tiles. The characters managed to completely avoid going to Restenford at all. They went to see the gambling monks and pieced together enough information to hear about Bone Hill. Or as my wife put it, it was the name of the adventure so we had all better get there eventually.
The adventure went well and the group stopped for the night. The Exhibitor's hall opens in 10 hours and I needed to sleep.
Thursday
Got up, did breakfast and headed to the hall for opening day. The boys were quite excited.
Our general rule is that we have to scope out the hall first before committing to any purchases. My oldest ran into a friend and they were off. My youngest, my wife and I headed over to Steve Jackson Games to pick up Munchkin Adventure Time and spin the wheel. End of con tally on that: several card boxes, dice, munchkin cards and a cup.
Went to some other retailers. Stopped by DriveThru and Eden. Stopped by the one retailer where they were selling "Buy 1 get 3 Free" but all I picked up was GURPS Goblins.
Went to the WotC area and played some D&D 5 with the same characters as last night. Our DM was great and she really took the time to help out my kids. Sure they didn't really need it...but it is the effort I appreciate.
We headed out to the food trucks for dinner (loved them!) and finally came back to the hotel.
Went back to the Open Gaming tables and got a table just as someone was leaving again! We were starting to play a guy stopped by and asked if we were playing D&D 5 and if he could set in. Nice guy by the name of Jon. He looked every bit the grandfather he was and had mentioned he came to Gen Con specifically to try out D&D 5. He didn't care for it when he played it with another group that day and was actually going to give up on it. He took one of our characters and we started.
Well he loved 5e and really enjoyed how well it worked with the 1st ed adventure.
Friday
Busy day!
Hit the hall again. We played a game of Flapjacks and Sasquatches; which was a blast. Picked it up after playing. It is a dice and card game where everyone is a lumberjack and you have to cut down the most trees. Of course other lumberjacks are trying to stop you and there is the ever present danger of a Sasquatch rampage. Honestly I was expecting very little with this and I had a great time!
Played a 1950s inspired game of Ubiquity. It was a lot of fun but I think my youngest and I enjoyed it the most. Plus I wanted to get a good feel for Ubiquity. I have had Hollow Earth forever and Leagues of Adventure is just sitting there begging me to play it more.
Did a ton of walking around the hall. Finally headed back to the hotel room to get ready for the ENnies!
Did a ton of walking around the hall. Finally headed back to the hotel room to get ready for the ENnies!
(ok I had more pictures but they were blurry as hell)
It was really cool to see +Jen Page and The Dungeon Bastard in person and hanging out with the glitterati of the RPG scene reminded me just how small this business is.
Best Blog came up and I didn't win.
But I can't feel bad about that. All the winners were multi-author projects that even had editors. I have me. Plus it was so cool to see my Other Side banner up on the screen. Maybe next year right!
Oh and by now I am sure you have heard. Monte Cook, Paizo and Evil Hat took everything.
Missed my Mage game but I just had to show off Union Station to my wife. That is my absolute favorite place to run a game. If I am running Ghosts of Albion then I want to do it there.
Got back to the hotel. Headed to the Open Gaming Room for more D&D 5. We only played a couple of hours though. Which was good because everyone was making great time. Jon found us again and had to let us know how much he enjoyed the game. We got very, very close to finishing the game but we all started to turn into pumpkins by midnight.
Saturday
Who the hell let all these people in???
Seriously, I have not heard the numbers yet, but it had to be 60,000 people.
We ran into some other friends on our way to a game. We played some Dungeon Command. The 4e-ish tactical dungeon battle game. My youngest loved it and won. For his efforts he got a free Sting of Lolth set! I am not sure if you have seen these but they are full of pre-painted minis. Worth it for that alone.
We ran into some other friends on our way to a game. We played some Dungeon Command. The 4e-ish tactical dungeon battle game. My youngest loved it and won. For his efforts he got a free Sting of Lolth set! I am not sure if you have seen these but they are full of pre-painted minis. Worth it for that alone.
The cosplays were great! We make an effort every year to see the parade. Some people were saying there seemed to more this year, but I thought it was less.
We played a couple of demo games in the hall, but everyone was selling out of everything!
Went for our last session of D&D 5. I ran the last of Bone Hill for about 2 hours and Jon then DMed all of us through a Birthright adventure he had. Lots of fun.
Headed back to the room to pack.
Sunday
Ugh. Last day. We had to get my son's bunny from his cousin so we opted to skip the last day of the hall. Plus everyone was coming down with something so we wanted to get home.
All in all it was a great Gen Con. We barely scratched the surface of all there was to do. My oldest got to play Duke and we wanted to try that. Plus there was that game "I am not a Werewolf" or something that looked fun.
Next year I hope to get in more board games and demos.
#RPGaDAY Day 19, Favourite Published Adventure
#RPGaDAY Day 19, Favourite Published Adventure
I would almost have to say my favorite is I6: Ravenloft.
There is so much about that run counter to what everyone thought D&D was or should be, but it had a huge impact on the game and my games especially. I have ran it maybe half a dozen differ times over the years and I still enjoy it.
Of course I do have to mention my own published adventure for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, The Dark Druid.
I would almost have to say my favorite is I6: Ravenloft.
There is so much about that run counter to what everyone thought D&D was or should be, but it had a huge impact on the game and my games especially. I have ran it maybe half a dozen differ times over the years and I still enjoy it.
Of course I do have to mention my own published adventure for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, The Dark Druid.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Gen Con 2014 in Review. Part 1: D&D is back
Well another Gen Con is behind us. Once again I ate more than I should, stayed up later and spent more money than I really should have.
D&D is Back!
I ended up play about 28 hours worth of D&D 5 over the con. Ran most of that time and played for about 4 hours with 2 different DMs.
This is not the best version of D&D ever, but it is really, really damn close. It plays and reads like a D&D "Greatest Hits" and you can see bits of not just every version of D&D in it, but little bits of Pathfinder and Castles & Crusades. As I read somewhere else, every game has been stealing from D&D for so long that it was D&D's turn to steal some of it back.
I ran the end of "B2 Keep on the Borderlands" and all of "L1 The Secret of Bone Hill". D&D 5 scales very well with the 1st Ed adventures and thanks to all the free stuff that WotC is throwing at us I was able to get D&D 5 stats for every monster in both modules. We even had a guy join us that wanted to try D&D 5 and had played 2nd ed almost exclusively. I think we made him into a D&D 5 fan by the end of the night.
At first I thought I would dislike the new faster XP progression but it really works nice. While the former math teacher in me likes the nice progression from 3rd ed I think this new progression will work better.
Besides, the XP are 1/10 of what you saw in AD&D1 anyway.
The great thing about running the Keep on the Borderlands under AD&D and then again under D&D5 was I really got to get a good feel of both games in the same environment. Trust me, if you liked AD&D then you should like D&D5, though everything in "5" runs faster.
I love the Backgrounds and the Archetypes. The Backgrounds work better than what you have in Pathfinder (and can EASILY be ported over to any other system) and give you a good feel for what your character was before he/she was an adventurer; or something I like to refer to as the "Luke Skywalker". Before Luke was a pilot or a Jedi he was a Farm Boy. How does this translate, well he did target all those wamp rats back home. Sure it feels a little "FATEy" but that is great.
Archetypes are the return of 2nd Ed kits, only reigned in. Kits stopped being useful to me after the Complete Book of Bards was published and each and every kit in there was over powered. In D&D5 they seem more reasonable. In my group we had two Rogues, one was the Thief the other was the Assassin. They were able to help each other out when needed but also had their own roles to play.
Multi-classing is of the 3.x variety (yeah!) and if anything easier to do.
The Wizard, Sorcerer and Warlock now all feel very different from each other. So you can see some of 5's 4e DNA here.
I know people complain about the price of the books. Well I got in 28 hours of play and 6 more of enjoyment (reading, making characters) so far. That's 34 hours of fun I had with my family. Compare that to going to the movies which runs me (just tickets here) $36-40 per two hours. That's $1240.00+. Frankly D&D5 is a steal. Plus my wife enjoy it so much she wants us all to play a couple of hours each week! Honestly I can't even put a price on that.
I also think, though I have not tried it yet, that D&D5 could run 3rd and 4th ed material too. I might have to give that a go.
On an interesting note we played D&D 5 at the Wizard's area as well. We had a WotC DM. In the past I have less than stellar luck with this and most of the DMs were not very good. I am happy to report that our DM was fantastic. She let use our current characters, was great with teaching the rules and was all around a good DM. In fact everyone I dealt with, talked to or otherwise interacted with at WotC were fantastic.
Does this mean I am done with "old school" D&D? Hardly. But it does mean my system of choice when it comes to D&D will be D&D5 for a while anyway.
Is it a perfect system? No. There are still some things I would have done differently. But when I read the rules and I keep 99% of them intact, that is a good sign.
Hell. I am not even sure I do that with Ghosts of Albion and I *wrote* all of those rules.
Pathfinder Note
I still enjoy 3e and Pathfinder. In fact I still have a game of it going that I want to wrap up.
I had planned on picking up the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide at the con. I like to buy some games directly from the publisher at Gen Con since I know how much they look forward to these sales.
Well one of the Paizo employees was so rude to my son while he was looking at one of the goblin things that I decided I really didn't need to buy anything.
I am not making a big deal of this.
But it has turned me off from getting the book to be honest.
They in no way what-so-ever missed my money. But the contrast between how WotC treated my kids and how Paizo did really stuck with me.
Next update. I'll talk about all the other things I did. Plus my first time at the ENnies (short story, I lost, but still had a great time!). Oh and pictures. All of them are on my wife's phone though.
D&D is Back!
I ended up play about 28 hours worth of D&D 5 over the con. Ran most of that time and played for about 4 hours with 2 different DMs.
This is not the best version of D&D ever, but it is really, really damn close. It plays and reads like a D&D "Greatest Hits" and you can see bits of not just every version of D&D in it, but little bits of Pathfinder and Castles & Crusades. As I read somewhere else, every game has been stealing from D&D for so long that it was D&D's turn to steal some of it back.
I ran the end of "B2 Keep on the Borderlands" and all of "L1 The Secret of Bone Hill". D&D 5 scales very well with the 1st Ed adventures and thanks to all the free stuff that WotC is throwing at us I was able to get D&D 5 stats for every monster in both modules. We even had a guy join us that wanted to try D&D 5 and had played 2nd ed almost exclusively. I think we made him into a D&D 5 fan by the end of the night.
At first I thought I would dislike the new faster XP progression but it really works nice. While the former math teacher in me likes the nice progression from 3rd ed I think this new progression will work better.
Besides, the XP are 1/10 of what you saw in AD&D1 anyway.
 |
| Playing in the J.W. Marriott's "Open Gaming" room. |
The great thing about running the Keep on the Borderlands under AD&D and then again under D&D5 was I really got to get a good feel of both games in the same environment. Trust me, if you liked AD&D then you should like D&D5, though everything in "5" runs faster.
I love the Backgrounds and the Archetypes. The Backgrounds work better than what you have in Pathfinder (and can EASILY be ported over to any other system) and give you a good feel for what your character was before he/she was an adventurer; or something I like to refer to as the "Luke Skywalker". Before Luke was a pilot or a Jedi he was a Farm Boy. How does this translate, well he did target all those wamp rats back home. Sure it feels a little "FATEy" but that is great.
Archetypes are the return of 2nd Ed kits, only reigned in. Kits stopped being useful to me after the Complete Book of Bards was published and each and every kit in there was over powered. In D&D5 they seem more reasonable. In my group we had two Rogues, one was the Thief the other was the Assassin. They were able to help each other out when needed but also had their own roles to play.
Multi-classing is of the 3.x variety (yeah!) and if anything easier to do.
The Wizard, Sorcerer and Warlock now all feel very different from each other. So you can see some of 5's 4e DNA here.
I know people complain about the price of the books. Well I got in 28 hours of play and 6 more of enjoyment (reading, making characters) so far. That's 34 hours of fun I had with my family. Compare that to going to the movies which runs me (just tickets here) $36-40 per two hours. That's $1240.00+. Frankly D&D5 is a steal. Plus my wife enjoy it so much she wants us all to play a couple of hours each week! Honestly I can't even put a price on that.
I also think, though I have not tried it yet, that D&D5 could run 3rd and 4th ed material too. I might have to give that a go.
On an interesting note we played D&D 5 at the Wizard's area as well. We had a WotC DM. In the past I have less than stellar luck with this and most of the DMs were not very good. I am happy to report that our DM was fantastic. She let use our current characters, was great with teaching the rules and was all around a good DM. In fact everyone I dealt with, talked to or otherwise interacted with at WotC were fantastic.
Does this mean I am done with "old school" D&D? Hardly. But it does mean my system of choice when it comes to D&D will be D&D5 for a while anyway.
Is it a perfect system? No. There are still some things I would have done differently. But when I read the rules and I keep 99% of them intact, that is a good sign.
Hell. I am not even sure I do that with Ghosts of Albion and I *wrote* all of those rules.
Pathfinder Note
I still enjoy 3e and Pathfinder. In fact I still have a game of it going that I want to wrap up.
I had planned on picking up the Pathfinder Advanced Class Guide at the con. I like to buy some games directly from the publisher at Gen Con since I know how much they look forward to these sales.
Well one of the Paizo employees was so rude to my son while he was looking at one of the goblin things that I decided I really didn't need to buy anything.
I am not making a big deal of this.
But it has turned me off from getting the book to be honest.
They in no way what-so-ever missed my money. But the contrast between how WotC treated my kids and how Paizo did really stuck with me.
Next update. I'll talk about all the other things I did. Plus my first time at the ENnies (short story, I lost, but still had a great time!). Oh and pictures. All of them are on my wife's phone though.
#RPGaDAY Day 18, Favourite Game System
#RPGaDAY Day 18, Favourite Game System
Oh, so many I really love.
But when it comes right down to it my favorite is still Cinematic Unisystem.
I am also fairly partial to the various versions of "Basic" D&D out there.
Oh, so many I really love.
But when it comes right down to it my favorite is still Cinematic Unisystem.
I am also fairly partial to the various versions of "Basic" D&D out there.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Back from Gen Con
Well I am back from Gen Con, but completely beat and everyone here has some sort of upper respiratory thing.
Will post more tomorrow, but I had a fantastic time!
Will post more tomorrow, but I had a fantastic time!
#RPGaDAY Day 17, Funniest Game you’ve played
#RPGaDAY Day 17, Funniest Game you’ve played
Hmm.
I remember have a great time laugh at the jokes made by the players during the Charmed/Buffy/Supernatural crossover at Gen Con I mentioned earlier.
I recall some funny elements that were not actually supposed to have been funny is some games.
But nothing solid is coming to mind.
Hmm.
I remember have a great time laugh at the jokes made by the players during the Charmed/Buffy/Supernatural crossover at Gen Con I mentioned earlier.
I recall some funny elements that were not actually supposed to have been funny is some games.
But nothing solid is coming to mind.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 16, Game you wish you owned
#RPGaDAY Day 16, Game you wish you owned
Following up on yesterday. I wish I had kept my copy of the Supernatural RPG.
I lost track of watching the show and I was not playing the game at the time so I sold my core book.
Of course I almost immediately regretted it and picked up the PDF. But I would like to have a copy of this book. Actually, I would like one that is updated to the latest seasons.
Following up on yesterday. I wish I had kept my copy of the Supernatural RPG.
I lost track of watching the show and I was not playing the game at the time so I sold my core book.
Of course I almost immediately regretted it and picked up the PDF. But I would like to have a copy of this book. Actually, I would like one that is updated to the latest seasons.
Friday, August 15, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 15, Favourite Convention Game
#RPGaDAY Day 15, Favourite Convention Game
I have had the amazing luck to have played in some really great games at Cons.
Running Ghosts of Albion: Obsession is one of my favorite things to do in fact.
But I have a couple of games that bring me great memories.
Back in 2012 at Gen Con I took my kids and we started our 1st Ed AD&D game. We played in the lobby of our hotel and it was a blast. Of course we kept getting interrupted by people walking by and telling us how awesome it was that we were all playing 1st Ed AD&D. We went through module B1 and had a great, great time.
Another one where I was the player in a Buffy/Charmed/Supernatural crossover. The game was using Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy/Angel) rules so I went into it knowing I was going to have fun. Well I had an absolute blast. I played Piper, one of my favorite witches ever. In the course of the game I burned through about 5 drama points but I also had earned 6 for role playing. 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.
--
BTW Tonight is the night I learn if I won an ENnie or not.
Win or Loose it was an honor to be nominated and I thank everyone that voted for me!
I have had the amazing luck to have played in some really great games at Cons.
Running Ghosts of Albion: Obsession is one of my favorite things to do in fact.
But I have a couple of games that bring me great memories.
Back in 2012 at Gen Con I took my kids and we started our 1st Ed AD&D game. We played in the lobby of our hotel and it was a blast. Of course we kept getting interrupted by people walking by and telling us how awesome it was that we were all playing 1st Ed AD&D. We went through module B1 and had a great, great time.
Another one where I was the player in a Buffy/Charmed/Supernatural crossover. The game was using Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy/Angel) rules so I went into it knowing I was going to have fun. Well I had an absolute blast. I played Piper, one of my favorite witches ever. In the course of the game I burned through about 5 drama points but I also had earned 6 for role playing. 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.
--
BTW Tonight is the night I learn if I won an ENnie or not.
Win or Loose it was an honor to be nominated and I thank everyone that voted for me!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 14, Best Convention Purchase
#RPGaDAY Day 14, Best Convention Purchase
Hard to say. I bought some really fun games on a whim at cons before.
But I think it has to be this giant 5 headed dragon I am using in place of Tiamt for my kids games.
It's a Mage Knight "Apocalypse Dragon" but that works for my game great.
Not saying what I spent on it. But it was more than my wife wanted.
Hard to say. I bought some really fun games on a whim at cons before.
But I think it has to be this giant 5 headed dragon I am using in place of Tiamt for my kids games.
It's a Mage Knight "Apocalypse Dragon" but that works for my game great.
Not saying what I spent on it. But it was more than my wife wanted.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 13, Most Memorable Character Death
#RPGaDAY Day 13, Most Memorable Character Death
I seem to recall talking about this one from other blogfests.
Oh well, it is a funny story and can be repeated.
I have played exactly 1 ninja my entire gaming life. His name was Oko-nishi (horrible I know). My lame attempts at a Japanese sounding name. In my defense at what I knew was bad I made him a half-orc. It must have been around 1984-5 as I made him using the Oriental Adventure rules. My then DM and I had worked up a D&D combat simulator on the Color Computer 2 and we plugged him in with 9 other characters. He was attacked by a Black Dragon (or Red, cant recall) and killed. The dragon kept attacking him and only him. We had not worked out all the errors. In the end he had been reduced to something like -70 hp. My DM offered to let him be ok, or keep him dead. We enjoyed watching it so much and getting the mental image of this dragon jumping up and down on my dead ninja that I felt it was a waste to say it never happened.
I never played a ninja or a half-orc again.
I seem to recall talking about this one from other blogfests.
Oh well, it is a funny story and can be repeated.
I have played exactly 1 ninja my entire gaming life. His name was Oko-nishi (horrible I know). My lame attempts at a Japanese sounding name. In my defense at what I knew was bad I made him a half-orc. It must have been around 1984-5 as I made him using the Oriental Adventure rules. My then DM and I had worked up a D&D combat simulator on the Color Computer 2 and we plugged him in with 9 other characters. He was attacked by a Black Dragon (or Red, cant recall) and killed. The dragon kept attacking him and only him. We had not worked out all the errors. In the end he had been reduced to something like -70 hp. My DM offered to let him be ok, or keep him dead. We enjoyed watching it so much and getting the mental image of this dragon jumping up and down on my dead ninja that I felt it was a waste to say it never happened.
I never played a ninja or a half-orc again.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 12, Old RPG you still play / read
#RPGaDAY Day 12, Old RPG you still play / read
Gotta go back to Basic D&D with this one!
I play a lot of games, but this one keeps me entertained for hours. Now going on decades.
Gotta go back to Basic D&D with this one!
I play a lot of games, but this one keeps me entertained for hours. Now going on decades.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Gen Con Bound
Posting will be a bit off-schedule this week.
Getting ready to head out to Gen Con. Going a day early to check out the zoo and spend some time away from the computer.
Hope to see you there!
Getting ready to head out to Gen Con. Going a day early to check out the zoo and spend some time away from the computer.
Hope to see you there!
#RPGaDAY Day 11, Weirdest RPG owned
#RPGaDAY Day 11, Weirdest RPG owned
Define "Weird".
If by weird landscape, or play or just obscure then I would have to say Sky Realms of Jorune.
But if by weird as in "what the hell were they on?" then that has to go to Alma Mater.
Written and illustrated by Erol Otus this game has gone into RPG infamy. So yeah I had to pick up a copy.
The premise is simple, it is a high school role-playing game for people still in high school. But any relationship it has with reality ends there.
It is sub-par even by the standards of the 80s. The system is clunky and combat takes a long time.
If you love Erol Otus' art then there is something to love here. The game itself is like someone took the Ramones Rock & Roll High School and mixed it with The Warriors movie and every other violent high school stereotype from before the Great John Hughes High School revival.
Define "Weird".
If by weird landscape, or play or just obscure then I would have to say Sky Realms of Jorune.
But if by weird as in "what the hell were they on?" then that has to go to Alma Mater.
Written and illustrated by Erol Otus this game has gone into RPG infamy. So yeah I had to pick up a copy.
The premise is simple, it is a high school role-playing game for people still in high school. But any relationship it has with reality ends there.
It is sub-par even by the standards of the 80s. The system is clunky and combat takes a long time.
If you love Erol Otus' art then there is something to love here. The game itself is like someone took the Ramones Rock & Roll High School and mixed it with The Warriors movie and every other violent high school stereotype from before the Great John Hughes High School revival.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 10, Favourite tie-in Novel / Game Fiction
#RPGaDAY Day 10, Favourite tie-in Novel / Game Fiction
Well...I don't really read a lot of the tie in fiction. I read the Dragonlance books when they came out. I read the Gord the Rogue books too.
But I guess I read the Ravenloft books more than anything. Yeah I read all of them.
It is interesting to note that some of the authors of those books would later go on to do bigger and better things.
Christie Golden, Elaine Bergstrom, Laurell K. Hamilton, Tanya Huff, P. N. Elrod, Gene DeWeese, and James Lowder just to name a few.
It's funny but I swear I catch some "Ravenloft-ism" in the Anita Blake books (Laurell K. Hamilton) and in a few of the short stories of P.N. Elrod.
These books were sometimes the only gaming interaction I got it while I was in grad school and had almost no time to play.
Not much about any of them stick out all these year later. I did rather enjoy "I, Strahd", "Tapestry of Dark Souls" and "Death of a Darklord".
The Azalin ones were cool for the Greyhawk ties but I felt the Lord Soth ones were weak. No fault I think of the author, but trying to cram Soth into Ravenloft was a haphazard idea.
Well...I don't really read a lot of the tie in fiction. I read the Dragonlance books when they came out. I read the Gord the Rogue books too.
But I guess I read the Ravenloft books more than anything. Yeah I read all of them.
It is interesting to note that some of the authors of those books would later go on to do bigger and better things.
Christie Golden, Elaine Bergstrom, Laurell K. Hamilton, Tanya Huff, P. N. Elrod, Gene DeWeese, and James Lowder just to name a few.
It's funny but I swear I catch some "Ravenloft-ism" in the Anita Blake books (Laurell K. Hamilton) and in a few of the short stories of P.N. Elrod.
These books were sometimes the only gaming interaction I got it while I was in grad school and had almost no time to play.
Not much about any of them stick out all these year later. I did rather enjoy "I, Strahd", "Tapestry of Dark Souls" and "Death of a Darklord".
The Azalin ones were cool for the Greyhawk ties but I felt the Lord Soth ones were weak. No fault I think of the author, but trying to cram Soth into Ravenloft was a haphazard idea.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 9, Favourite Die / Dice Set
#RPGaDAY Day 9, Favourite Die / Dice Set
I don't really have one. I am not a dice-fetishist.
Typically when I buy a new game I buy a set of dice that goes with that game.
I have a set of black dice for Ravenloft, some sets for versions of D&D, a green celtic set for Castles & Crusades. Some semi-clear ones for Ghosts of Albion, a clock faced d12 I use in place of of 2d6 for Doctor Who.
I am rather proud that I have held on to my original dice from my Moldvay Basic set and the chits from my Holmes Basic.
I don't really have one. I am not a dice-fetishist.
Typically when I buy a new game I buy a set of dice that goes with that game.
I have a set of black dice for Ravenloft, some sets for versions of D&D, a green celtic set for Castles & Crusades. Some semi-clear ones for Ghosts of Albion, a clock faced d12 I use in place of of 2d6 for Doctor Who.
I am rather proud that I have held on to my original dice from my Moldvay Basic set and the chits from my Holmes Basic.
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| My Unisystem Dice bag |
Friday, August 8, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 8, Favourite character
#RPGaDAY Day 8, Favourite character
I have a number of favorite characters but currently it is my iconic witch Larina that occupies my time.
I am not exactly sure where the name came from to be honest. I have her very first sheet where she was a dual classed Wizard/Witch in AD&D 1. Her background was she started out as a Wizard and wasn't very good at it because her "natural" magic was witchcraft. I used the Dragon #114 version of the witch then, but had supplemented more and more of my own house rules. On the back of her sheet I scribbled the following: "Larina Nix was only six when she heard the Call of the Goddess". The idea was she was witch from the start.
Since I have been playing in the same game world for ever each version of the rules represents another generation. So Larina in 2nd Ed used my Netbook of Witches and Warlocks book and was the alternate version of the 1st ed Larina who got stuck Ravenloft. I got very, very loose with the rules and had multi-class as one of my witches and as one of the Witches from the Complete Wizards Handbook. She was quite powerful.
Right now Larina is a major NPC in my kids D&D 3.x game. She is a 20th level Witch / 1st level cleric / 2nd level Witch Priestess. Yeah, we are into the Epic levels now. She is the reincarnation of the 1st ed Larina who was killed by a vampire.
Currently I have no plans (yet) to move her to D&D5. Though I do have Pathfinder, C&C, Basic and D&D4 versions of her.
I have a number of favorite characters but currently it is my iconic witch Larina that occupies my time.
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| Larina by Jabob Blackmon |
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| Larina Witch by Rick Hershey |
Larina was my first witch character ever. I have played her in every version of D&D I have ever played. Often times I start her over at level 1 and play her through various versions of the witch rules. She is my "playtest" character in many cases. I keep her stats the same and see how she plays through the different rules. As I played her I would write notes on her sheets and ideas I had. Spells that worked well were noted and spells that didn't work so well were also detailed.
I am not exactly sure where the name came from to be honest. I have her very first sheet where she was a dual classed Wizard/Witch in AD&D 1. Her background was she started out as a Wizard and wasn't very good at it because her "natural" magic was witchcraft. I used the Dragon #114 version of the witch then, but had supplemented more and more of my own house rules. On the back of her sheet I scribbled the following: "Larina Nix was only six when she heard the Call of the Goddess". The idea was she was witch from the start.
Since I have been playing in the same game world for ever each version of the rules represents another generation. So Larina in 2nd Ed used my Netbook of Witches and Warlocks book and was the alternate version of the 1st ed Larina who got stuck Ravenloft. I got very, very loose with the rules and had multi-class as one of my witches and as one of the Witches from the Complete Wizards Handbook. She was quite powerful.
Right now Larina is a major NPC in my kids D&D 3.x game. She is a 20th level Witch / 1st level cleric / 2nd level Witch Priestess. Yeah, we are into the Epic levels now. She is the reincarnation of the 1st ed Larina who was killed by a vampire.
Currently I have no plans (yet) to move her to D&D5. Though I do have Pathfinder, C&C, Basic and D&D4 versions of her.
Midnight Release and Tacos
It's midnight where I am and my FLGS, Games Plus, has the 5th Edition Player's Handbook out now.
We grabbed our copies and a copy of the Dragon Queen adventure too. Yeah it is basically the same thing we are doing in 3e. Maybe I'll back convert it or use it for ideas.
We celebrated the new release with tacos for Taco Bell. Hey. Not much else is open that late in the suburbs on a Thurday night.
In any case, 5e looks good. Now I need to get to bed. I still have work to dotomorrow today.
We grabbed our copies and a copy of the Dragon Queen adventure too. Yeah it is basically the same thing we are doing in 3e. Maybe I'll back convert it or use it for ideas.
We celebrated the new release with tacos for Taco Bell. Hey. Not much else is open that late in the suburbs on a Thurday night.
In any case, 5e looks good. Now I need to get to bed. I still have work to do
Thursday, August 7, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 7, Most “intellectual” RPG owned
#RPGaDAY Day 7, Most “intellectual” RPG owned
Not sure what this actually means.
The one that makes me think the most is Mage: The Ascension and Mage The Sorcerers crusade.
It is a great game to think about what our perceptions of reality and morality actually mean.
I guess a lot of the World of Darkness games though are like that. Vampire makes you think about what it takes to make you a monster. Are you going to drink that blood and take a life or are you going to hold onto your humanity a little bit longer.
Not sure what this actually means.
The one that makes me think the most is Mage: The Ascension and Mage The Sorcerers crusade.
It is a great game to think about what our perceptions of reality and morality actually mean.
I guess a lot of the World of Darkness games though are like that. Vampire makes you think about what it takes to make you a monster. Are you going to drink that blood and take a life or are you going to hold onto your humanity a little bit longer.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Gen Con Food Trucks
When I was last at Gen Con in 2012 the new thing was all of the food trucks. Well they expanded last year and now there is even more.
Dorkland! has a great list of all the trucks, where they are going to be and their websites.
http://dorkland.blogspot.com/2014/08/things-to-do-at-gen-con-food-truck-rally.html
Check it out.
Dorkland! has a great list of all the trucks, where they are going to be and their websites.
http://dorkland.blogspot.com/2014/08/things-to-do-at-gen-con-food-truck-rally.html
Check it out.
Owl & Weasel Wednesday #5 June 1975
A dismal report from the London Toy Fair with only two new games that might of interest; "Waterloo" and "Trafalgar".
Steve Jackson reviews two new "games" from Avon Hill. They are both "Ritual Kits" for "Witchcraft" and "Black Magic". In some ways they look like the adult interactive games like "House to Host a Murder" and in others like a Ouija board with pawns. OR they are meant as serious ritual tools? Who knows really. Obviously meant to take advantage of the occult revival of the 70s and perfect of example of the type of zeitgeist that fueled my own games. You can see these "games" over Board Game Geek for a better idea. Witchcraft Ritual Kit and Black Magic Ritual Kit. It looks trippy as all hell, or maybe cheap. Sometimes it is hard to tell. Honestly this is exactly the kind of thing I would have eaten up in the 70s and 80s.
Stuck in at the bottom of page 2 is paragraph. The title is "Dungeons & Dragons" and Steve Jackson is asking what people think of it. He has not played it yet but promises more when he has. He is also soliciting reviews.
Other games covered are Red Cloud's War and Epaminondas (something like a checkers variant). Interestingly enough when doing some research on these games it seems that the O&W article was one of the first reviews of the game published.
A discussion of Mah Jong shows up on page 11 and guidelines for how to play it with standard card decks.
Page 8 gives us some ads and some used games for sale.
Page 12 covers the Games Workshop Games Day. Planning on running from "Early in the morning to late at night". they promise demonstrations, meetings for game clubs and the possibility of a "Zine Stall". There will also be an information stall, and a place to buy used games. Refreshments will be available.
What I love about this exploration into Owl & Weasel is not just the nostalgia; in fact I was not gaming at this point so I don't have any nostalgia for this time. It is the whole DIY and Wild West feel of the Zine. It is similar to what we have going on in the blogs and boards now, but there is an earnestness about it that I find appealing.
#RPGaDAY Day 6, Favourite RPG Never get to play
#RPGaDAY Day 6, Favourite RPG Never get to play
Good question.
I am going to have to go with Chill and by extension all the Pacesetter games.
I used to have a lot of fun with Chill but despite all the talk I do about it here I rarely get to play.
I have plenty of ideas of things I want to do with the game and I know it would be fun, its just getting around to do it I guess.
Good question.
I am going to have to go with Chill and by extension all the Pacesetter games.
I used to have a lot of fun with Chill but despite all the talk I do about it here I rarely get to play.
I have plenty of ideas of things I want to do with the game and I know it would be fun, its just getting around to do it I guess.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 5, Most Old School RPG owned
#RPGaDAY Day 5, Most Old School RPG owned
I have a complete copy of the Original D&D rules. It is 4th printing I believe. Old enough to feel old, but no Hobbits or Ents in it.
I also have the recent reproduction from WotC. Can't get much more Old-School than this!
I also have copies of Traveler, Gamma World and some really cool supplements from the 70s and early 80s.
I have a complete copy of the Original D&D rules. It is 4th printing I believe. Old enough to feel old, but no Hobbits or Ents in it.
I also have the recent reproduction from WotC. Can't get much more Old-School than this!
I also have copies of Traveler, Gamma World and some really cool supplements from the 70s and early 80s.
Monday, August 4, 2014
All Hail the Vampire Queen!
So not this:
Or this:
But rather this:
I got my copy of The Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen in the mail today.
Let me tell you this. This module is a meat grinder. Levels 10-14. Sure.
While there are plenty of gonzo and tongue in cheek bits to this. I am thinking of playing it straight and making it a real horror piece.
I might make it part of a great Vampire Queen series.
Looks like a good time to me!
Or this:
But rather this:
I got my copy of The Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen in the mail today.
Let me tell you this. This module is a meat grinder. Levels 10-14. Sure.
While there are plenty of gonzo and tongue in cheek bits to this. I am thinking of playing it straight and making it a real horror piece.
I might make it part of a great Vampire Queen series.
#RPGaDAY Day 4, Most recent RPG purchase
#RPGaDAY Day 4, Most recent RPG purchase
To keep a trend going...
My newest purchase has been the D&D5 starter set. Like the Holmes, Moldvay, Cook & Marsh sets that came before it, this one has fueled new fires in me. Really looking forward to play this one.
To keep a trend going...
My newest purchase has been the D&D5 starter set. Like the Holmes, Moldvay, Cook & Marsh sets that came before it, this one has fueled new fires in me. Really looking forward to play this one.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 3, First RPG Purchased
#RPGaDAY Day 3, First RPG Purchased
I am pretty sure it had to have been the Cook/Marsh version of the D&D Expert set. I had gotten the Basic Set as a gift, but this I think I went and got myself.
I felt it was some great tome of hidden knowledge. I was stunned by such powerful spells as Disintegrate and such power monsters like the vampire.
I am pretty sure it had to have been the Cook/Marsh version of the D&D Expert set. I had gotten the Basic Set as a gift, but this I think I went and got myself.
I felt it was some great tome of hidden knowledge. I was stunned by such powerful spells as Disintegrate and such power monsters like the vampire.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 2, First RPG Gamemastered
#RPGaDAY Day 2 First RPG Gamemastered
Also pretty easy. It would have been the Moldvay Basic D&D. I wrote all my own adventures back then and my first dungeon had two dragons in it. It was not till later that I realized that with 10'x10' rooms and 10' wide halls there was no way for these dragons to get out. I hope there was a steady supply of adventurers for them to feed on!
Also pretty easy. It would have been the Moldvay Basic D&D. I wrote all my own adventures back then and my first dungeon had two dragons in it. It was not till later that I realized that with 10'x10' rooms and 10' wide halls there was no way for these dragons to get out. I hope there was a steady supply of adventurers for them to feed on!
Friday, August 1, 2014
#RPGaDAY Day 1, First RPG Played
#RPGaDAY Day 1, First RPG Played
That one is pretty easy. It was an odd ball combination of Holmes Basic with the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1979.
It was typical of the time with 1st level characters with enough magic to take on Dragons. It was crazy, broken and we didn't care. We had a blast. It was not till the Moldvay set came out that I really started paying attention to the rules.
That one is pretty easy. It was an odd ball combination of Holmes Basic with the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1979.
It was typical of the time with 1st level characters with enough magic to take on Dragons. It was crazy, broken and we didn't care. We had a blast. It was not till the Moldvay set came out that I really started paying attention to the rules.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
#RPGaDAY Blogfest
Maybe it is all the allergy drugs I am on or maybe it because I know August is going to be a busy month.
But I am going to take part in the #RPGaDAY Blogfest dreamed up by David F. Chapman over at Autocratik. Dave is the main guy behind the Doctor Who RPG and Conspiracy X 2.0; two games I adore.
Since Fall term starts are coming up for me and Gen Con this will be something cool to do. Plus I am a sucker for a good blogfest. Yeah I think many of these I have answered before.
And truthfully I would rather post about this than latest D&D5 tempest in a tea pot.
So join me. It is frivolous and fun and won't require a lot of thought on your part or your readers.
Here is a text based list:
1st - First RPG Played
2nd - First RPG Gamemastered
3rd - First RPG Purchased
4th - Most recent RPG purchase
5th - Most Old School RPG owned
6th - Favourite RPG Never get to play
7th - Most “intellectual” RPG owned
8th - Favourite character
9th - Favourite Die / Dice Set
10th - Favourite tie-in Novel / Game Fiction
11th - Weirdest RPG owned
12th - Old RPG you still play / read
13th - Most Memorable Character Death
14th - Best Convention Purchase
15th - Favourite Convention Game
16th - Game you wish you owned
17th - Funniest Game you’ve played
18th - Favourite Game System
19th - Favourite Published Adventure
20th - Will still play in 20 years time…
21st - Favourite Licensed RPG
22nd - Best Secondhand RPG Purchase
23rd - Coolest looking RPG product / book
24th - Most Complicated RPG Owned
25th - Favourite RPG no one else wants to play
26th - Coolest character sheet
27th - Game You’d like to see a new / improved edition of…
28th - Scariest Game you’ve played
29th - Most memorable encounter
30th - Rarest RPG Owned
31st - Favourite RPG of all time
Dates in red correspond to Gen Con dates.
But I am going to take part in the #RPGaDAY Blogfest dreamed up by David F. Chapman over at Autocratik. Dave is the main guy behind the Doctor Who RPG and Conspiracy X 2.0; two games I adore.
Since Fall term starts are coming up for me and Gen Con this will be something cool to do. Plus I am a sucker for a good blogfest. Yeah I think many of these I have answered before.
And truthfully I would rather post about this than latest D&D5 tempest in a tea pot.
So join me. It is frivolous and fun and won't require a lot of thought on your part or your readers.
Here is a text based list:
1st - First RPG Played
2nd - First RPG Gamemastered
3rd - First RPG Purchased
4th - Most recent RPG purchase
5th - Most Old School RPG owned
6th - Favourite RPG Never get to play
7th - Most “intellectual” RPG owned
8th - Favourite character
9th - Favourite Die / Dice Set
10th - Favourite tie-in Novel / Game Fiction
11th - Weirdest RPG owned
12th - Old RPG you still play / read
13th - Most Memorable Character Death
14th - Best Convention Purchase
15th - Favourite Convention Game
16th - Game you wish you owned
17th - Funniest Game you’ve played
18th - Favourite Game System
19th - Favourite Published Adventure
20th - Will still play in 20 years time…
21st - Favourite Licensed RPG
22nd - Best Secondhand RPG Purchase
23rd - Coolest looking RPG product / book
24th - Most Complicated RPG Owned
25th - Favourite RPG no one else wants to play
26th - Coolest character sheet
27th - Game You’d like to see a new / improved edition of…
28th - Scariest Game you’ve played
29th - Most memorable encounter
30th - Rarest RPG Owned
31st - Favourite RPG of all time
Dates in red correspond to Gen Con dates.
Sick Day
Bad News: I have a cold and feel like crap.
Good News: At least I am getting it done before Gen Con.
I wanted to thank everyone that voted for me for the ENnies at Gen Con this year. Really looking forward to going.
Good News: At least I am getting it done before Gen Con.
I wanted to thank everyone that voted for me for the ENnies at Gen Con this year. Really looking forward to going.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Owl & Weasel Wednesday #4 May 1975
Still 8 pages and still 10p.
The feel of this is still very, very local. But I did enjoy the front page story on Go (a game I have always wanted to learn).
Outside of that the zine is still focused mostly on Wargaming. Which is interesting comparing it more modern White Dwarfs. I feel less and less like White Dwarf turned it's back on RPGs and instead just went back to its focus.
There is another Monopoly variant published here. If you have three or more undeveloped properties then the lowest one goes on the auction block. Also the bank can bail you out if you go bankrupt. Though the editors dislike the Labour-style hand-outs.
Some newer movies are reviewed by comparing them to games. Cute, but little utility in that. Also a batch of "Urban" games are also reviewed, but they could also be called "Ecological" ones. I can remember being in grade school and getting hit with a ton of ecology related curriculum or propaganda so I guess that it was in vogue over in England as well.
There is an editorial/letters page in which we learn that a Game Day is being planned. First of many as we now know. And that the crossword puzzle is going away due to complaints. There are not really any letters, but a place to send them is noted.
Some used games for sale are also noted. See what I am saying about the local feel.
Finally we get to the aforementioned crossword.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Mary Poppins: Witch or Time Lord, Part 2
Mary as a Time Lord
So I explored how Mary could be a witch. How can she be a Time Lord?
Well in addition to all that we know she speaks a lot of languages including Baby. Her carpet bag could be a bag of holding or it could be Time Lord science. She acts both young and wise, much like the Doctor and spends a lot of time with younger companions. The 11th Doctor even made references to her in "A Christmas Carol" and in the book "Magic of the Angels". In MotA the Doctor even has a carpet bag that he claims he got back from Mary.
Mary could have avoided the Time War much like the Doctor did. She could have been The Nanny even. Heck if that is case maybe she regenerated into Nanny McPhee.
She knows people from other planets such as the girl from the Pleiades.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is almost as bad as Raxacoricofallapatorius.
Mary Poppins
Time Lord
From Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Limited Edition Hardcover Edition
Story Points: 8
Attributes
Awareness 5
Coordination 4
Ingenuity 6
Presence 6
Resolve 5
Strength 3
Skills
Athletics 1
Convince 4
Craft 3
Fighting 1
Knowledge 5
Marksman 0
Medicine 4 (little drop of sugar and all)
Science 3
Subterfuge 1
Survival 2
Technology 3
Transport 1
Traits
Animal Friendship, Attractive, Brave, Feel the Turn of the Universe, Friends (major), Indomitable, Keen Senses, Lucky, Quick Reflexes, Resourceful Pockets, Voice of Authority, Time Lord
Argumentative, Distinctive, Eccentric, Owed a favor to (the family she serves), Selfish (to a degree)
Equipment
Umbrella, Carpet Bag
Home Tech Level: 10 (mostly conforms to 4)
Personal Goal
To protect the Children
The Time Lord known as "The Nanny" (to some, Mary Poppins) fled Gallifrey in the earliest days of the Time War with one goal in mind. To protect those who could protect or help themselves. She has been known to have encountered the Time Lord known as The Doctor at least once.
She has a number of family members she will mention, but these are all adopted and are world wide.
It is also not too much of a stretch to see her working the Paternoster Row Gang at some point.
Next time I'll cover why Ms. Frizzle of the Magic School Bus is not just a Time Lord but is in fact River Song.
So how about you? Is Mary a Witch or a Time Lord?
So I explored how Mary could be a witch. How can she be a Time Lord?
Well in addition to all that we know she speaks a lot of languages including Baby. Her carpet bag could be a bag of holding or it could be Time Lord science. She acts both young and wise, much like the Doctor and spends a lot of time with younger companions. The 11th Doctor even made references to her in "A Christmas Carol" and in the book "Magic of the Angels". In MotA the Doctor even has a carpet bag that he claims he got back from Mary.
Mary could have avoided the Time War much like the Doctor did. She could have been The Nanny even. Heck if that is case maybe she regenerated into Nanny McPhee.
She knows people from other planets such as the girl from the Pleiades.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is almost as bad as Raxacoricofallapatorius.
Time Lord
From Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Limited Edition Hardcover Edition
Story Points: 8
Attributes
Awareness 5
Coordination 4
Ingenuity 6
Presence 6
Resolve 5
Strength 3
Skills
Athletics 1
Convince 4
Craft 3
Fighting 1
Knowledge 5
Marksman 0
Medicine 4 (little drop of sugar and all)
Science 3
Subterfuge 1
Survival 2
Technology 3
Transport 1
Traits
Animal Friendship, Attractive, Brave, Feel the Turn of the Universe, Friends (major), Indomitable, Keen Senses, Lucky, Quick Reflexes, Resourceful Pockets, Voice of Authority, Time Lord
Argumentative, Distinctive, Eccentric, Owed a favor to (the family she serves), Selfish (to a degree)
Equipment
Umbrella, Carpet Bag
Home Tech Level: 10 (mostly conforms to 4)
Personal Goal
To protect the Children
The Time Lord known as "The Nanny" (to some, Mary Poppins) fled Gallifrey in the earliest days of the Time War with one goal in mind. To protect those who could protect or help themselves. She has been known to have encountered the Time Lord known as The Doctor at least once.
She has a number of family members she will mention, but these are all adopted and are world wide.
It is also not too much of a stretch to see her working the Paternoster Row Gang at some point.
Next time I'll cover why Ms. Frizzle of the Magic School Bus is not just a Time Lord but is in fact River Song.
So how about you? Is Mary a Witch or a Time Lord?
Mary Poppins: Witch or Time Lord?
Mary Poppins is an interesting character.
She is both serious and fanciful. Strict and stern, yet kind and lovable. Old and wise and still young and innocent. A witch and a Time Lord.
Wait.
What was that last one again?
Certainly Mary has a number of traits that could be considered magical and even witch like. But there are other times her crazy world could be explained easier if she were in fact a Time Lord. Both seem as likely as the other to be honest.
Mary as a Witch
Mary has a number of qualities that make her seem more like witch or some sort of magic user.
Indeed a lot of what she does is called magic. It could be that is just what she is calling it to help explain it to the locals.
Mary Poppins
20th Level Witch Eclectic Tradition
From The Witch
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 18
Saves
Death Ray or Poison: 5
Magic Wands: 6
Paralysis: 5
Dragon Breath: 8
Rods, Staffs and Spells: 7
To Hit AC 0: 14
Hit Points: 50
Alignment: Lawful
AC: 7 (coat equal to leather)
Occult Powers
Familiar: Jackdaw
7th level: Speak to Plants and Animals
13th level: Permanent Magic
19th level: Witch’s Blessing
Spells
Cantrips: Alarm Ward, Animate Tool, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Object Reading, Warm
First: Comprehend Languages, Everlasting Candle, Fey Sight, Light, Magic Circle Against Evil, Consecration Ritual (Ritual)
Second: Augury, Detect Thoughts, Guard Watch, Mind Obscure, Rite of Remote Seeing, Calling the Quarters (Ritual)
Third: Astral Sense, Dispel Magic, Scry, Spirit of Albion (Avalon), Imbue Witch Ball (Ritual)
Fourth: Analyze Magic, Divine Power, Ethereal Projection, Remove Curse, Drawing Down the Moon (Ritual)
Fifth: Calm Weather, Dream, Greater Command, Seeming
Sixth: Anchoring Rite, Greater Scry, True Seeing, Legend Lore (Ritual)
Seventh: Ball of Sunshine, Greater Arcane Eye, Binding Ritual (Ritual)
Eighth: Astral Projection, Discern Location, Mystic Barrier
Magic Items: Umbrella (works as a Witch's Staff), Bag of Holding (Greater).
Mary Poppins
Very Experienced Master
From Ghosts of Albion
Life Points 44
Drama Points 10
Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Constitution 4
Intelligence 5
Perception 5
Willpower 6
Qualities
Attractive 1
Charisma
Contacts (Underground) 3
Contacts (Supernatural) 6
Good Luck 2
Hard to Kill 2
Magic 8
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 4
Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 5
Honorable (Minimal)
Metal Problems (Cruel, mild)
Metal Problems (Intolerance, mild)
Obligation (To the family she serves)
Rivals 2
Useful Information
Initiative +2
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 11
Lesser Sensing +19
Fear +12
Skills
Armed Mayhem 2
Art 5
Athletics 2
Crime 2
Drive / Ride 2
Engineering 3
Fisticuffs 1
Influence 6
Knowledge 7 (Science, Mathematics, Astronomy)
Languages 7 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, French, Animals)
Marksmanship 1
Notice 6
Occultism 9
Physician 4
Wild Card
Combat
These builds assume that Mary is one of the more powerful witches in your game. Of course to deal with children she would not need to be this powerful.
She is both serious and fanciful. Strict and stern, yet kind and lovable. Old and wise and still young and innocent. A witch and a Time Lord.
Wait.
What was that last one again?
Certainly Mary has a number of traits that could be considered magical and even witch like. But there are other times her crazy world could be explained easier if she were in fact a Time Lord. Both seem as likely as the other to be honest.
Mary as a Witch
Mary has a number of qualities that make her seem more like witch or some sort of magic user.
Indeed a lot of what she does is called magic. It could be that is just what she is calling it to help explain it to the locals.
Mary Poppins
20th Level Witch Eclectic Tradition
From The Witch
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 18
Saves
Death Ray or Poison: 5
Magic Wands: 6
Paralysis: 5
Dragon Breath: 8
Rods, Staffs and Spells: 7
To Hit AC 0: 14
Hit Points: 50
Alignment: Lawful
AC: 7 (coat equal to leather)
Occult Powers
Familiar: Jackdaw
7th level: Speak to Plants and Animals
13th level: Permanent Magic
19th level: Witch’s Blessing
Spells
Cantrips: Alarm Ward, Animate Tool, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Object Reading, Warm
First: Comprehend Languages, Everlasting Candle, Fey Sight, Light, Magic Circle Against Evil, Consecration Ritual (Ritual)
Second: Augury, Detect Thoughts, Guard Watch, Mind Obscure, Rite of Remote Seeing, Calling the Quarters (Ritual)
Third: Astral Sense, Dispel Magic, Scry, Spirit of Albion (Avalon), Imbue Witch Ball (Ritual)
Fourth: Analyze Magic, Divine Power, Ethereal Projection, Remove Curse, Drawing Down the Moon (Ritual)
Fifth: Calm Weather, Dream, Greater Command, Seeming
Sixth: Anchoring Rite, Greater Scry, True Seeing, Legend Lore (Ritual)
Seventh: Ball of Sunshine, Greater Arcane Eye, Binding Ritual (Ritual)
Eighth: Astral Projection, Discern Location, Mystic Barrier
Magic Items: Umbrella (works as a Witch's Staff), Bag of Holding (Greater).
Mary Poppins
Very Experienced Master
From Ghosts of Albion
Life Points 44
Drama Points 10
Attributes
Strength 3
Dexterity 4
Constitution 4
Intelligence 5
Perception 5
Willpower 6
Qualities
Attractive 1
Charisma
Contacts (Underground) 3
Contacts (Supernatural) 6
Good Luck 2
Hard to Kill 2
Magic 8
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 4
Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 5
Honorable (Minimal)
Metal Problems (Cruel, mild)
Metal Problems (Intolerance, mild)
Obligation (To the family she serves)
Rivals 2
Useful Information
Initiative +2
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 11
Lesser Sensing +19
Fear +12
Skills
Armed Mayhem 2
Art 5
Athletics 2
Crime 2
Drive / Ride 2
Engineering 3
Fisticuffs 1
Influence 6
Knowledge 7 (Science, Mathematics, Astronomy)
Languages 7 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, French, Animals)
Marksmanship 1
Notice 6
Occultism 9
Physician 4
Wild Card
Combat
| Maneuver | Bonus | Damage | Notes |
| Dodge / Parry | +2 | - | Defense Action |
| Grapple | +2 | - | Defense Action |
| Punch | +2 | 4 | Bash |
| Magic | +23 | per spell | Usually graphs a horoscope first |
| - Counterspell | +20 | Special | Magic defense action; dispels spell |
| - Deflect | +23 | Special | Deflects spell 45 degrees |
| - Hold | +22 | Special | Magic defense action; delays spell SL turns |
| - Deflect | +16 | Special | Magic defense action; returns spell to caster |
These builds assume that Mary is one of the more powerful witches in your game. Of course to deal with children she would not need to be this powerful.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Found my Gen Con Game
Every time I have taken my kids to Gen Con we have started a new adventure.
I like to pull from the classics no matter what it is I am playing. So in the past we have done S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and B2 Keep on the Borderlands.
This year it is going to be L1 The Secret of Bone Hill!
I am rather fond of this adventure and have figured out some new tweeks to it to make it work great in my kids' AD&D game. Plus I have a bunch of Len Lakofka's material from Dragon that I want to port into this.
Should be a blast!
I like to pull from the classics no matter what it is I am playing. So in the past we have done S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth and B2 Keep on the Borderlands.
This year it is going to be L1 The Secret of Bone Hill!
I am rather fond of this adventure and have figured out some new tweeks to it to make it work great in my kids' AD&D game. Plus I have a bunch of Len Lakofka's material from Dragon that I want to port into this.
Should be a blast!
Margot Adler (1946 - 2014)
I have long stated that the witches of my books and posts here have had far more to do myth and fairytale than they have had with the witches of modern paganism or Wicca.
But even a casual glance at my work will reveal that while my witches are more Baba Yaga than Isaac Bonewits or Fiona Horne, there is a bit of modern pagan thought there. This is no surprise really. I have often talked about how my influences are in line with the occult revival of the 70s and even the Satanic Panic of the 80s.
So in addition to reading a lot of fantasy stories about witches I also read a lot about Wicca, paganism and modern witchcraft.
One of those books I remember well was Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon.
What I liked about it was how it took each of these religions/belief systems and gave them equal weight. Some books I read at the time were either predominantly pro-wiccan and thus put their system in the est possible light or had a Christian bias and thus looked down their nose on all the systems.
It also avoided what I have come to call "Margret Murrayism" and make claims that could not be supported.
For gamers I would say pick up this book to see how you can run cults and faith in your games. Yes there are other texts, and even some that are better suited for this. But this is a good overall text and also one I think fits the feel that some of us want in our "Old School" games. Either the original 1979 printing or the revised 1986 one would be best for this.
The 2006 revised edition though is the only one I can find for an eReader.
This is also one of the books that I attribute to my cultivation of my own feminist thought (yeah I know that "feminist" is a bad word to some and loaded word to others. I don't care. I can use it to describe myself as I choose). It shares that distinction with Carl Sagan's "Dragons of Eden" and Carl Jung's "Man and His Symbols".
Margot Adler died today after a long battle with cancer. She was 68.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/28/336081618/margot-adler-an-npr-journalist-for-three-decades-dies
http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/themediawitches/2014/07/shocking-and-sad-rest-in-peace-margot-adler/
But even a casual glance at my work will reveal that while my witches are more Baba Yaga than Isaac Bonewits or Fiona Horne, there is a bit of modern pagan thought there. This is no surprise really. I have often talked about how my influences are in line with the occult revival of the 70s and even the Satanic Panic of the 80s.
So in addition to reading a lot of fantasy stories about witches I also read a lot about Wicca, paganism and modern witchcraft.
What I liked about it was how it took each of these religions/belief systems and gave them equal weight. Some books I read at the time were either predominantly pro-wiccan and thus put their system in the est possible light or had a Christian bias and thus looked down their nose on all the systems.
It also avoided what I have come to call "Margret Murrayism" and make claims that could not be supported.
For gamers I would say pick up this book to see how you can run cults and faith in your games. Yes there are other texts, and even some that are better suited for this. But this is a good overall text and also one I think fits the feel that some of us want in our "Old School" games. Either the original 1979 printing or the revised 1986 one would be best for this.
The 2006 revised edition though is the only one I can find for an eReader.
This is also one of the books that I attribute to my cultivation of my own feminist thought (yeah I know that "feminist" is a bad word to some and loaded word to others. I don't care. I can use it to describe myself as I choose). It shares that distinction with Carl Sagan's "Dragons of Eden" and Carl Jung's "Man and His Symbols".
Margot Adler died today after a long battle with cancer. She was 68.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/28/336081618/margot-adler-an-npr-journalist-for-three-decades-dies
http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/themediawitches/2014/07/shocking-and-sad-rest-in-peace-margot-adler/
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