Thursday, August 20, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 20 Favorite Horror RPG
So, here's my day 20 entry!
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Sunday, August 16, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Days 10-19 catching up and working ahead
The day job is busy and we have much going on with the family, right now. So, I hope you will pardon me as I catch up and work ahead in one post.
Day 10: Favorite Publisher
Currently, this is most likely Pelgrane Press. I like the
look and feel of their books. They do column layout and design better than most
of their competition. I like many of their game lines and can use nearly
anything rpg related as source material. They are also more than happy to talk
to their fans and are quick to sign books for their fans at conventions. Simon
and Cat are good people.
Day 11: Favorite RPG Writer
This is a hard one for me. If I buy a book, because a
specific person wrote the book, it’s because they are a friend of mine. Shane
Hensley, Jason L Blair, Jason Vey, Tim Brannon, and Dave Chapman come to mind
very quickly. I like their products, but I am also friends with them outside of
the rpg space.
If I buy a book, because I like the game line, it’s very
rare that a book I purchase is by one single person. Ken Hite and Gareth
Hanrahan are a great team up.
Maybe this is a take-away for me: look into rpg authors and discover them.
Day 12: Favorite RPG Illustration
Favorite? Not likely. Art, in this form, serves as
inspiration. To narrow it down to one image is impossible.
I will side step and give you my favorite artist: Timothy Bradstreet. I first viewed his work in
Vampire:
The Masquerade. His images became icons for the game line. His
work in Armageddon
is awesome. However, his Punisher MAX
image covers are just as iconic as his VtM work. I think the only genre I have
yet to use his artwork as inspiration for, is fantasy. I should rectify that
someday.
Day 13: Favorite RPG Podcast
I have fallen out of listening to podcasts. I grew
disillusioned with what they were offering. Some gave too much non-rpg content,
others added personalities or changed the line, another began covering topics I
just don’t care about, and the worst wander down completely unrelated, unnecessary
rabbit holes. However, if you are looking for recommendations, you could do
worse than start with Podcast at
Ground Zero, PLay On Target, or Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.
The latter two have been nominated for awards in the rpg industry.
Day 14: Favorite RPG Accessory
The Internet.
Nowhere else can I potentially play with friends across the
globe, work directly with contributors, bounce ideas off friends to make sure I’m
not going down a rabbit hole myself, or address concerns of fans. I can
research my next game session, find images that outline the layout and history
of a castle to include in my game, run name generators, and find new players
for my games.
Dice rollers included, no dice tower needed. Cool battle
maps can be found or built. Free scenarios for that new rpg you just purchased
are there for downloading and using.
For me, it’s just as much an accessory as the next “tool.”
Day 15: Longest Campaign Played
This is likely Lowell
Francis’ Freakish Band of Adventurers or a Vampire: The Masquerade game
that I ran. Both went 3+ years, playing every other week.
Lowell’s was a game of continent travel, righting rights,
releasing gods back into the world, and a game where one (?) character was a
full blooded human (mine). There was a rakasta, elves, half-demon, aperkitus, and
a wizard who was not all there, even if he did look human – in addition to my
character.
The vampire game spanned years in game time. There were three
players and an occasional fourth (who didn’t fit in the mix) who fought
Nephandi, Sabbat, Inconnu, Angels, Highlanders, and everything else that the
Internet could source in the mid- to late 1990s. The game ended with the end of
the world and the characters joining different sides to support.
Day 16: Longest Session Played
It has been decades since I played one that would qualify.
There were long nights playing Vampire: The Masquerade from dusk until dawn and
overnights of D&D. None stand out
for me this many years later.
Day 17: Favorite Fantasy RPG
Of a company I work for? Either Dungeons
& Zombies or Spellcraft
& Swordplay. They have the same author, but it depends on whether I
want a ton of zombie options or just zombies.
Of a company I don’t work for? 13th
Age. I don’t run it as is. I drop out the relationships ideas. I find
them tedious and intrusive to my game style. What I do like is the mechanics.
They use the same skill types as Spellcraft & Sorcery. The combat feels
very gamey to me and completely in style of as characters build experience,
their abilities increase with more than just feats or another cool thing.
Damage increases, options increase, and if you’re looking for a game where you
can min-max your heart out, you can likely do it with this one.
Day 18: Favorite Scifi RPG
Sorry, Dave, it’s not Conspiracy
X. Although, Con X is my favorite modern game with a sci-fi bent to it.
My favorite sci-fi game is WEG Star Wars. Of sci-fi game, I
ran this one the longest. If you look around the Internet hard enough, you can
find a .pdf of material either from the game, or rehashed, to make a new
product.
Eclipse Phase is a close 2nd. I think I need to run a campaign or two to see how the fun level compares.
Day 19: Favorite Supers RPG
The World of Darkness. No, seriously. It is or at least,
that’s how most folks I know play it. Which is fine if you are looking to run a
game where the setting is more supernatural than superhero.
I think the best rules out there are for Mutants
& Masterminds. I haven’t played many supers rpgs: old DC Comics, old Marvel, Hero, and M&M.
M&M is the best for my money. The math works out the best for me and in a
game wherein you can potentially play the upper limit of power, you need that.
Maybe, one day Beyond Human will fill
this roll. For now, it remains vaporware. Don’t worry, I’ll keep bugging George
to publish it. J
The superhero game I want is Gotham Central: players as human cops taking on
super villains. Maybe one day I’ll do it and do it right. Mutant
City Blues may be the way to go with this one. The game includes a
chart of how different powers are related. That builds in another clue
structure to the game. It also uses GUMSHOE which is clue driven.
Day 20: Favorite Horror RPG
I’ll stop right there. This one is going to be special.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Slayer's Gauntlet
I took a break from #RPGaDay2015 to type out my latest campaign idea. This idea was inspired by the first 50 seconds of the following advertisement for Gauntlet: Slayer Edition.
Don't worry, Dave. I re-scripted my video. I will re-shoot it this weekend.
Slayer’s Gauntlet
High Concept: Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets
Gauntlet/Diablo
The Pitch: The characters discover a deceased friend
accidentally opened a portal to a demon realm. Now, they must suit up and fight
their way through dungeons and armies to stop a demon prince before he brings
Hell to 21st century Earth.
Overview: The characters are all college students
or have good reason to all have lives that revolve around the same college or
university. They are friends, through classes, majors, sports, clubs, or high
school friends. All of them are well aware of the supernatural world and have a
clue how to handle themselves, even if it means knowing when to run away. One
night, they stumble onto a dead friend and it leads them to Hell and back. Can
they stop a demon prince’s plans to invade Earth or will they fall victim and
rise as one of the dead to serve in the demon prince’s army?
First Arc: The characters stumble into the situation and
must decide what to do and how to do it. During their investigation into the
situation, they could discover the deceased student’s Instagram feed showing
what the student was doing. They then move on to investigate the Book of the
Dead and what the missing page is for. As the characters move through the
motions, more demons enter the Earth plane. If the characters falter in their
decision to fight the demons, students come to them for aid and assistance.
Second Arc: Their research leaves no doubt as to what
will happen if the portal is not closed. They must go after the page from the
Book of the Dead. They can do some research into this demon prince. The
research reveals potential realms within his demense. However, there is no
indication as to which one the demon prince calls home. The research also
reveals a wife, Astarte, and her minions are among the dead. The characters go
through a montage wherein they gather arms and armor, spell books and written
incantations. Will it be enough?
Arriving at the portal, the characters discover a demon
spellcaster with an honor guard. He has cast a spell to make humans not notice
the demons and their activities. The characters can discern this through speaking
with other humans, perhaps the tough campus security guard or even one of the
characters could be affected. They could also overhear the demon speaking to
the honor guard about how it needs to cast a larger version of the spell
tomorrow. They will need as many virgins as they can gather for a sacrifice.
The power from the virgins will allow the demon to cast his net over the entire
city. As soon as they can cast the spell tomorrow at midnight the following
evening, the armies can start marching upon Earth, enslaving humanity. The characters’
only choice is to wade in and slay these demons while the portal into Hell
shimmers in the background.
Entering the portal, the characters find themselves as a
stasis point. Hallways, doors, and stairs lead away from what appears to be the
inside of a castle. Studying the room reveals it is the central traveling
chamber in this Hell. The characters have three main path choices from which to
choose. They will need to fight and clear each level of this dungeon-like Hell.
If this is a long-term campaign, the characters are in for
an old school dungeon crawl. They will need to fight through each major path in
order to find the demon prince (Diablo, Gauntlet, The Temple of Elemental Evil).
Each path will feature different elements. The final one features undead. There
should be no doubt to the players that each level is harder, but also that
there are simply too many pathways to go down. They stick to the major pathways
in an effort to more quickly find the demon prince. After all, why would a
demon prince scurry along in darkened, hollowed places instead of striding
through the halls of his own realm. Along the way, they may discover allies who
also wish to end the demon prince’s rule (e.g., humans stolen from Earth and
enslaved, races from other realms who are also here to end the demon prince’s
rule).
If this is a short-term campaign, the characters will need
to fight creatively, pitting demons against each other, and using the element
of surprise. After all, what demon underling would expect a band of human
warriors to bring the fight to Hell.
If this is an one-shot, the characters find themselves in
the castle of the demon prince. They will need to move quickly and decisively
if they want to win the night and stop the hordes from invading Earth.
Having won through to where they think they will find the
demon prince, they instead face off with his wife, Astarte, ruler of the dead.
This fight will take the characters to the brink of death. One or more could
die in this fight.
In defeating Astarte they discover the lair of the demon
prince and rush to it. If the characters decide to face off against the demon
prince, the fight is ugly. He does not hold back and nor should they. Weird
magics and unholy items come to play. Did the characters bring any holy relics
of their own? How will those items affect the demon prince, his powers, and
those Lieutenants not already defeated.
If the characters decide to instead steal the page from the
Book of the Dead, they do not get away without notice. Something will notice.
If the characters pull it off without a hitch, they gain a huge lead in escaping
the demon prince’s lair. In fact, with a few more successful stealth and
fighting checks, they make it all the way to the portal where they discover the
demon prince or his highest lieutenants await the characters.
Third Arc: The characters face their final moral dilemma.
Do they cast the spell to close the portal while they are still in Hell or do
they fight their way through the portal and cast it from the other side? If
they cast the spell while in Hell, they are trapped until they re-cast the
spell to open it. This means casting the spell, fighting their way out of the
portal room, and going “underground.” Ideally, the game ends here, but the
campaign could continue into a second season exploring those options.
If the characters fight through the portal to Earth before
casting the spell to close the portal, the demon prince follows them through
the portal. Reality warps around the portal due to the high level of magical
creatures and magic in and around the portal. The characters will need to
either hold off the demon prince while another character casts the spell,
closing the portal or they will need to defeat the demon prince and then cast
the spell, while holding off his minions. Once they close the portal, the
demons and the demon prince on Earth lose access to any sort of regenerating
powers. They have no way to tap into the Earth’s natural powers as the
characters’ abilities allow.
Original Outline:
1.
Setup
a.
Beginning:
College student gains a page from the Book of the Dead or some other
equally horrible book. Doesn’t realize what they are doing and opens a portal
to another world. Something comes through, kills the college student, leaves
the body, takes the page of the book, and runs off to tell is master.
b.
Inciting Incident: Increase of demon activity on campus. College
student found dead by character/s. A small, scouting band of demons steps
through the portal and attacks the character/s.
c.
Second Thoughts:
Are we the right people to do this? Other “friendly” students harmed
and/or come to the characters for aid.
2.
Confrontation
a.
Ascending Action
i.
Obstacle #1:
Knowledge of what is going on. Where does the portal go? How do they
close it? (research reveals they need the page from the book)
ii.
Obstacle #2:
A demon comes through and begins spellcasting to make the locals ignore
the portal. People formerly looking for help now don’t know what the characters
are talking about.
iii.
Midpoint with a big twist: A demon prince plans to send his many minions
to Earth, unless the characters go in, gain the page from the book, cast the
spell, and potentially kill the demon prince.
b.
Obstacle #3:
Fighting through dungeon levels, trying to determine the location of the
demon prince’s lair.
c.
Disaster:
The characters must defeat Astarte, wife of the demon prince
d.
Crisis: They
defeat Astarte, but lose something in the process (e.g., hit points, magical
weapon, an ally). They hear demons discussing the fact that the armies are
gathered and ready to pass through the portal. They are simply awaiting their
prince to lead them through.
e.
Climax:
Do they fight the demon prince or steal the page and run?
3.
Resolution
a.
Descending action
i.
Climax Continues: If fight the demon prince, they won and now
have the page and must escape the demon realm before casting the spell or be
trapped in the demon realm. If they stole the page and are on the run, they
must escape to Earth and cast the spell before the demon prince’s army comes
through the portal.
ii.
Wrap up:
Fight off straggler demons on Earth or if caught on the demon realm side
of the portal, find a place to hide, awaiting the right time to re-open the
portal to escape back to Earth.
iii. End
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Sunday, August 9, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Days 6-9 catching up
Time to play catch up on this blog project. I was travelling for work last week and unable to keep up.
Day 6: Most Recent RPG Played
I had the opportunity to play in a Delta Green one-shot prior to GenCon. It was a playtest for a scenario at GenCon. We over-thought the first portion of the game, forgetting the prime rule of a one-shot. You are in an one-shot, you are the stars of the show, go do something or force something to happen. If you don't, the scenario never ends. All three Delta Green agents survived and we completely burned the friendly who was assisting us. He likely ended up in Gitmo or some other black hole in ground.
Day 7: Favorite Free RPG
In the early days of the game, Eclipse Phase was available for free to download. The product was so good that many people went on to purchase the game. Enough sales of that core book have occurred to drive it to a fourth printing, 7 published adventures, and another 5-10 other source books. I think I own a digital copy of most of their products, even if I haven't read them all. I backed the most recent Kickstarter project: Transhuman. It's awesome. The books are layed out well, have beautiful interiors, and the setting can do anything you want. The two detractions I hear the most about this game are the rules system (percentile based) and how large the space is in which to play. The game is set up to let you do anything you want with it and you can. If you want a hard sci-fi game with aliens, you can. If you want dimension hopping through portals, it's available. If you want to go on antique hunting adventures to Earth, you can - but I wouldn't. Body morphs and lasers and space ships and sentient AIs and Things Man was Not Meant to Know are all in there.
To the best of my knowledge, it is no longer a free game. Look around the Internet, I may be wrong.
Day 8: Favorite Appearance of RPG in Media
I can't say that I have a favorite. I watched and loved the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon as a kid. I own the episodes on dvd. I enjoyed the quick snippets of roleplaying games that show up in TV shows, like season nine of Buffy. GG appeared in an episode of Futurama. I guess the old cartoon is my favorite, but this isn't a topic I think long and hard on.
Day 9: Favorite Media You Wished Was an RPG
I was going to say Flash Gordon, but GORDON'S ALIVE! So, I'll go with something more up to date, with just as much silliness, but not quite the amount of glam or camp: Jupiter Ascending. This movie has so much going on in the background, that it almost feels as if it were designed to be a tv series and then someone kicked it to the movie production business. The mainline is girl who doesn't know she's super awesome important, finds out, finds friends that will help here, and then wins the day. Or, you can go to IMDB or Wikipedia and get a real description. Whatever.
Jupiter Ascending brings elements of Flash Gordon, Dune, Highlander II (come on, I'm not the only one that thought of that with the rocket booster roller skate things), and everything else they could throw into it. There is a big, all powerful family who is fighting in and among themselves to control the universe. As it turns out, Jupiter, a young adult with horrible parental units, can save the day. She can't do it alone and needs help from others, including a human with wolf's blood or genes or something.
The movie is painful at times. You don't know whether to watch the background images or pay attention to the characters. If you pay attention to the characters, you get some stilted dialogue, over acting, and a sense of, "what were they thinking?" At the same time, the amount of CGI or paintings used to fill the blank space around the characters is amazing. There are worlds to be explored in this setting. Worlds, we'll never see, because the movie really wasn't that good.
Also: Sean Bean does not die in this film, even though he is in it.
Also Also: No soundtrack by Queen.
Also Also Also: There was a Flash Gordon and the Warriors of Mongo rpg by Lin Carter and Scott Bizar that I didn't know about until I went looking for a link to Pinnacle Entertainment Group's upcoming game based upon the movie Flash!.
Day 6: Most Recent RPG Played
I had the opportunity to play in a Delta Green one-shot prior to GenCon. It was a playtest for a scenario at GenCon. We over-thought the first portion of the game, forgetting the prime rule of a one-shot. You are in an one-shot, you are the stars of the show, go do something or force something to happen. If you don't, the scenario never ends. All three Delta Green agents survived and we completely burned the friendly who was assisting us. He likely ended up in Gitmo or some other black hole in ground.
Day 7: Favorite Free RPG
In the early days of the game, Eclipse Phase was available for free to download. The product was so good that many people went on to purchase the game. Enough sales of that core book have occurred to drive it to a fourth printing, 7 published adventures, and another 5-10 other source books. I think I own a digital copy of most of their products, even if I haven't read them all. I backed the most recent Kickstarter project: Transhuman. It's awesome. The books are layed out well, have beautiful interiors, and the setting can do anything you want. The two detractions I hear the most about this game are the rules system (percentile based) and how large the space is in which to play. The game is set up to let you do anything you want with it and you can. If you want a hard sci-fi game with aliens, you can. If you want dimension hopping through portals, it's available. If you want to go on antique hunting adventures to Earth, you can - but I wouldn't. Body morphs and lasers and space ships and sentient AIs and Things Man was Not Meant to Know are all in there.
To the best of my knowledge, it is no longer a free game. Look around the Internet, I may be wrong.
Day 8: Favorite Appearance of RPG in Media
I can't say that I have a favorite. I watched and loved the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon as a kid. I own the episodes on dvd. I enjoyed the quick snippets of roleplaying games that show up in TV shows, like season nine of Buffy. GG appeared in an episode of Futurama. I guess the old cartoon is my favorite, but this isn't a topic I think long and hard on.
Day 9: Favorite Media You Wished Was an RPG
I was going to say Flash Gordon, but GORDON'S ALIVE! So, I'll go with something more up to date, with just as much silliness, but not quite the amount of glam or camp: Jupiter Ascending. This movie has so much going on in the background, that it almost feels as if it were designed to be a tv series and then someone kicked it to the movie production business. The mainline is girl who doesn't know she's super awesome important, finds out, finds friends that will help here, and then wins the day. Or, you can go to IMDB or Wikipedia and get a real description. Whatever.
Jupiter Ascending brings elements of Flash Gordon, Dune, Highlander II (come on, I'm not the only one that thought of that with the rocket booster roller skate things), and everything else they could throw into it. There is a big, all powerful family who is fighting in and among themselves to control the universe. As it turns out, Jupiter, a young adult with horrible parental units, can save the day. She can't do it alone and needs help from others, including a human with wolf's blood or genes or something.
The movie is painful at times. You don't know whether to watch the background images or pay attention to the characters. If you pay attention to the characters, you get some stilted dialogue, over acting, and a sense of, "what were they thinking?" At the same time, the amount of CGI or paintings used to fill the blank space around the characters is amazing. There are worlds to be explored in this setting. Worlds, we'll never see, because the movie really wasn't that good.
Also: Sean Bean does not die in this film, even though he is in it.
Also Also: No soundtrack by Queen.
Also Also Also: There was a Flash Gordon and the Warriors of Mongo rpg by Lin Carter and Scott Bizar that I didn't know about until I went looking for a link to Pinnacle Entertainment Group's upcoming game based upon the movie Flash!.
Past entries in the #RPGaDay2015 project
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Wednesday, August 5, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 5 Most Recent RPG Purchase
#RPGaDay2015 Day 5 Most Recent RPG Purchase
My most recent round of purchases was at GenCon. I picked up games from 4 companies. I'll go with the one I went to the con to find - Mutant Year Zero.
My most recent round of purchases was at GenCon. I picked up games from 4 companies. I'll go with the one I went to the con to find - Mutant Year Zero.
After finishing up my run on Night's Black Agents, I suggested a game set in the post apocalypse. It didn't need to be zombie related, but I wanted something that if I put time and energy into it, I could use the material with All Flesh Must Be Eaten.
My group and I travel in similar circles online. It's only natural, given similar tastes in things. We were watching a lot of discussion around this game. People were excited, having fun, and generally giving it a positive vote. It's also one of the more recent RPG products to address post apocalypse that isn't related to AW/DW, which I do not like.
I did some looking into it and it looks keen. I picked up everything they had for it at GenCon: core book, dice, map, screen, and first book supplement. I have yet to read it. I poured through two other post apocalyptic RPGs I purchased and quickly put down, first. I hope to start in on reading this one later this month.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 4: Most Surprising Game
And now, for my 201st post, I give you #RPGaDay2015 Day 4: Most Surprising Game
I will narrow this one down to the past 12 months. In that time, I honestly have not played or game mastered many different games. The list is short. Night's Black Agents, King Arthur: Pendragon, D&D 5e, and Stars Without Number. The first as game master, the others as a player. Of those, only two are new: D&D 5e and Stars Without Number. Interestingly, both were run by the same game master.
For me, D&D5e is the winner of most surprising game. I didn't expect it to work as well as it did. I didn't expect to enjoy the rules as much as I did. I didn't expect to want to steal the rules for other games, at all.
And it was pretty easy to learn. Sure, I've played 1st through 3.5 edition, some Pathfinder one-shorts, 13th Age, and a dizzying amount of non-F20* games. However, with some versions, the nuances and rules can change. Those changes are not always obvious and I get annoyed when I find out I am doing it wrong. (Clerics in Pathfinder, I've got my eyes on you)
We played three sessions of the Lost Mines of Fandelver with our normal south-side gaming group + one. I think it went well overall. We all learned the rules the first night, clarified everything the second night, and coasted through the third night (rules-wise). We survived the fights, started our own fights, and came close to a TPK at one point due to everyone being down points - not due to the system taking out one type of character, then the next, etc.
The game works. If you are looking for a new flavor of D&D, try it, you might like it. If you want my preference for F20 games, look at the rules from 13th Age. There is an SRD for it, if you fancy such things.
*Defined by Robin D. Laws as fantasy games that use the D20 as the core mechanic, ala D&D. I heard it from his mouth first, so until he says and I hear it was defined by someone else first, I'm attributing it to him.
Day One: Forthcoming game you are most looking forward to
Day Two: Which Kickstarter are you most pleased that you backed?
Day Three: Favorite new game of the past 12 months
I will narrow this one down to the past 12 months. In that time, I honestly have not played or game mastered many different games. The list is short. Night's Black Agents, King Arthur: Pendragon, D&D 5e, and Stars Without Number. The first as game master, the others as a player. Of those, only two are new: D&D 5e and Stars Without Number. Interestingly, both were run by the same game master.
For me, D&D5e is the winner of most surprising game. I didn't expect it to work as well as it did. I didn't expect to enjoy the rules as much as I did. I didn't expect to want to steal the rules for other games, at all.
And it was pretty easy to learn. Sure, I've played 1st through 3.5 edition, some Pathfinder one-shorts, 13th Age, and a dizzying amount of non-F20* games. However, with some versions, the nuances and rules can change. Those changes are not always obvious and I get annoyed when I find out I am doing it wrong. (Clerics in Pathfinder, I've got my eyes on you)
We played three sessions of the Lost Mines of Fandelver with our normal south-side gaming group + one. I think it went well overall. We all learned the rules the first night, clarified everything the second night, and coasted through the third night (rules-wise). We survived the fights, started our own fights, and came close to a TPK at one point due to everyone being down points - not due to the system taking out one type of character, then the next, etc.
The game works. If you are looking for a new flavor of D&D, try it, you might like it. If you want my preference for F20 games, look at the rules from 13th Age. There is an SRD for it, if you fancy such things.
*Defined by Robin D. Laws as fantasy games that use the D20 as the core mechanic, ala D&D. I heard it from his mouth first, so until he says and I hear it was defined by someone else first, I'm attributing it to him.
Day One: Forthcoming game you are most looking forward to
Day Two: Which Kickstarter are you most pleased that you backed?
Day Three: Favorite new game of the past 12 months
Monday, August 3, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 3 Favorite New Game of the past 12 Months
#RPGaDay2015 Day 3 Favorite New Game of the past 12 Months
From the ad blurb:
Civilization came crashing down. Billions died.
A new Dark Age has begun. The descendants of the apocalypse's survivors scavenge the remnants of the Before Times, struggling to build a new life amidst the ruins of the old. In a savage world where the strong ravage and exploit the weak, the survivors' settlements are oases, connected only by convoys of armed and armored vehicles that run the gauntlet of raiders... and worse.
Though the threats of chemical and biological agents and radiation have all but faded, their taint lingers on in every mutant born to man and beast.
This is the world of Atomic Highway.
My newest favorite game could be Radioactive Ape Designs' Atomic Highway. It's a crazy, rules light, game of the apocalypse with badass cars. So, it's Mad Max or a version of Max and that's okay by me.
The game is by Colin Chapman. He's a good guy who spent many years promoting Buffy and Angel in his local area. At one time, he was probably one of my top three choices to write adventure products for those lines (not that it was my choice), because I enjoyed what he was doing with his games.
There is a supplement for it, Irradiated Freaks, that adds rules for mutants, crazies, monsters, and more.
I don't know when I discovered Atomic Highway, but I purchased it (it's free) within the past year. The content made me more excited for Mad Max: Fury Road. When the movie came out, it helped pump me up for the next game I hope to run. I'm tentatively titling it Wastelands of the Apocalypse. I plan to use Unisystem or my own game system to run it.
So, in review: Mad Max, Colin Chapman, Inspiration to run more games, and maybe a large influence of what I purchased at GenCon2015.
I think I'll call that a win.
From the ad blurb:
Civilization came crashing down. Billions died.
A new Dark Age has begun. The descendants of the apocalypse's survivors scavenge the remnants of the Before Times, struggling to build a new life amidst the ruins of the old. In a savage world where the strong ravage and exploit the weak, the survivors' settlements are oases, connected only by convoys of armed and armored vehicles that run the gauntlet of raiders... and worse.
Though the threats of chemical and biological agents and radiation have all but faded, their taint lingers on in every mutant born to man and beast.
This is the world of Atomic Highway.
My newest favorite game could be Radioactive Ape Designs' Atomic Highway. It's a crazy, rules light, game of the apocalypse with badass cars. So, it's Mad Max or a version of Max and that's okay by me.
The game is by Colin Chapman. He's a good guy who spent many years promoting Buffy and Angel in his local area. At one time, he was probably one of my top three choices to write adventure products for those lines (not that it was my choice), because I enjoyed what he was doing with his games.
There is a supplement for it, Irradiated Freaks, that adds rules for mutants, crazies, monsters, and more.
I don't know when I discovered Atomic Highway, but I purchased it (it's free) within the past year. The content made me more excited for Mad Max: Fury Road. When the movie came out, it helped pump me up for the next game I hope to run. I'm tentatively titling it Wastelands of the Apocalypse. I plan to use Unisystem or my own game system to run it.
So, in review: Mad Max, Colin Chapman, Inspiration to run more games, and maybe a large influence of what I purchased at GenCon2015.
I think I'll call that a win.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 2 Kickstarter Most Pleased I Backed
For day two, Autocratik asks, "Which Kickstarter are you most pleased that you backed?"
I've backed 14 Kickstarters. One I cancelled out of due to the creator using their Kickstarter adverts to futher their unrelated personal socio-politco beliefs. Another funded and the person took off with the money. Their husband would later ensure everyone was repaid their monies. Another one is still funding. Four have funded, but not shipped. One of those four is past due, but the parties involved have begun a campaign to keep backers in the know. The company is reputable, the author did a bad job on time and communication management. It happens. I've backed another project from said company and buy their products when I can find it.
The other Kickstarters are:
I've backed 14 Kickstarters. One I cancelled out of due to the creator using their Kickstarter adverts to futher their unrelated personal socio-politco beliefs. Another funded and the person took off with the money. Their husband would later ensure everyone was repaid their monies. Another one is still funding. Four have funded, but not shipped. One of those four is past due, but the parties involved have begun a campaign to keep backers in the know. The company is reputable, the author did a bad job on time and communication management. It happens. I've backed another project from said company and buy their products when I can find it.
The other Kickstarters are:
- The Dracula Dossier: a sandbox approach to Night's Black Agents
- Chill 3rd Edition: hunting supernatural creatures
- The Last Parsec: sci-fi gaming using Savage Worlds rules
- Amazing Adventures: pulp action
- Blue Dungeon Tiles: tiles that are laminated, designed for use with erase markers, and come with rooms, hallways, stairs, etc. on them
- Transhuman: The Eclipse Players Guide: yet another awesomely designed product from Posthuman Studios
- The Guide to Glorantha: an encyclopedic approach to the world of Glorantha, two massive tomes
I've read most of them, but not all. I have yet to use any of these products at the table. Some, I backed to have for future games. I backed other Kickstarters, because they were friends' projects and I wanted to see them succeed.
The one I think I am most pleased that I backed is also the one with the most heartburn surrounding its release. The Blue Dungeon Tiles from Kevin Chenevert was plagued with delays. There were design changes, composition of materials changes, shipping delays, more shipping delays, and I think there may have been personal sickness involved at some point. It was painful to watch happen and I truly felt bad for him.
However, out of all of the products I backed, this one will get the most use. I can use it with any game. I can use it repeatedly. My order fits in one medium, white "arrow" shipping box for easy storage. It also allows me to completely design a dungeon and not need to use a hex map. Granted, the tiles are filled with squares, not hexes which are my preference. It doesn't matter, because I no longer need to draw out the spacecraft, dungeon, or villain's lair on a hex map. I simply design the space on graph paper, like I would with a hex map, and then pull out the pieces I need. I can place the tiles out as the party traverses the map and not worry about removing cardstock from the hex map or drawing it out as they go. It adds flexibility to old school style game play.
Still, I've enjoyed each of the Kickstarters I have received. While I was running my own Night's Black Agents campaign, I perused The Dracula Dossier for ideas. Amazing Adventures keeps my friend Jason Vey in business and gets me on more covers (by accident). Chill 3rd edition gets the book back on shelves and helps Growling Door Games keep making good products. The Last Parsec provides me with memories of Traveller and the fun I had with that product. Transhuman is yet another beautifully laid out book for the sci-fi game I am most likely to run in the future. The Guide to Glorantha is the most intense set of books I think I've seen since Aria or Nobilis. These are seriously beautiful books whose publishers put a lot of time and effort into. I wish I had the space on my shelves to have backed the physical copies of the books. The Acrobat files are awesome, but wow are those physical books even better.
Be seeing you. . .
#RPGaDay2015 Day 2 Kickstarter Most Pleased I Backed
Labels:
amazing adventures,
gumshoe,
night's black agents,
rpg,
RPGaDay2015,
Transhuman
Saturday, August 1, 2015
#RPGaDay2015 Day 1: Forthcoming Game you are most looking forward too.
My good friend Dave Chapman is at it, again! Last year's RPGaDay is back. He's changed up a few days. He's asked industry insiders to put together their own videos for the different days. And he's linking to them via his YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIuHaeoQ_-s&feature=youtu.be
So, here's my entry on day one. I hope to see your posts this month and I hope to be seen around the 20th. . .
At first, I thought this would be a tough one to do as I have three I'm very excited about. However, I realized that one is a minis game and this isn't #MinisaDay2015. Then, the other two came down to one I'm the lead on and one I'm not. I'm going with the one on which I'm the lead. It's selfish, I know.
The AFMBE Director's Cut is something George Vasilakos of Eden Studios and I have discussed for quite some time. We wanted it to be meaty. We wanted it to have everything, EVERYTHING, the fans would need to run the game. We realized we could put everything, but not EVERYTHING in the book. But really, what would that include? How would we do it? What would we want in it? What would the fans want in it? What would it mean for future products and how we went about things? What would it mean to lay out and editing? And how would we get EVERYTHING else to the fans?
A bunch of things happened in real life that put that on hold. Day job changes. Life changes. Living out of hotels due to construction on the home. Log books were lost. Files disappeared. Bigger projects came along that needed much more attention involving important, top men. Top men.
And one day it clicked. This is how we do it. This is what we need for the future. This is how we produce the Director's Cut and this is how we produce EVERYTHING else. So, now I am back to working on the Director's Cut. It's not a new book, whole cloth. It's not a retelling of the tell. It's an updating of text. It's a collection of things. And I hope it's a precursor of good things to come.
So, here's my entry on day one. I hope to see your posts this month and I hope to be seen around the 20th. . .
At first, I thought this would be a tough one to do as I have three I'm very excited about. However, I realized that one is a minis game and this isn't #MinisaDay2015. Then, the other two came down to one I'm the lead on and one I'm not. I'm going with the one on which I'm the lead. It's selfish, I know.
The AFMBE Director's Cut is something George Vasilakos of Eden Studios and I have discussed for quite some time. We wanted it to be meaty. We wanted it to have everything, EVERYTHING, the fans would need to run the game. We realized we could put everything, but not EVERYTHING in the book. But really, what would that include? How would we do it? What would we want in it? What would the fans want in it? What would it mean for future products and how we went about things? What would it mean to lay out and editing? And how would we get EVERYTHING else to the fans?
A bunch of things happened in real life that put that on hold. Day job changes. Life changes. Living out of hotels due to construction on the home. Log books were lost. Files disappeared. Bigger projects came along that needed much more attention involving important, top men. Top men.
And one day it clicked. This is how we do it. This is what we need for the future. This is how we produce the Director's Cut and this is how we produce EVERYTHING else. So, now I am back to working on the Director's Cut. It's not a new book, whole cloth. It's not a retelling of the tell. It's an updating of text. It's a collection of things. And I hope it's a precursor of good things to come.
Labels:
afmbe,
eden studios,
rpg,
rpgaday,
RPGaDay2015,
zombies
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