Bulldogs! The review

So, Bulldogs! was an odd read.

Not odd, in a bad way, but I have read quite a few Fate books at this point and there are certain parts in each of them that I can pretty much skip. The introduction to fate, this is how fate works parts of the books.

This is not a criticism, but just part of the experience.

For the most part, Bulldogs! does not stray too far from what Fate already does. The biggest difference is in its setting. It is hard to look at this and not compare it to Diaspora, since they are sci-fi games using the Fate system. They do go about their approach very differently though. Diaspora is more of a hard sci-fi game where you get to create the system from scratch. There is a lot to like about that. Bulldogs! already has a setting and allows you to jump into the game a lot quicker.

It also has a very Firefly feel to it, which is what drew me to the game in the first place. I would play either gladly, this one just hits what I want a bit more.

There are a couple of things this game a bit differently than other Fate games.

First, the character creation is not as collaborative. That doesn’t mean you cannot do as a group, but instead of your character being a part of another’s phase, everyone is done separately. You do not get involved with their “adventure type” phase and it gives you ideas on how to come up with your aspects. Things like weaknesses, your homeworld, your profession, or ones specific to the alien race you choose to play. It is unlike anything Fate has done before, but it seems interesting.

Another interesting thing is the game suggests that you let the GM be the captain. That is an interesting idea, but some people may want the Firefly game and can you imagine someone not being Mal?

Then you get to make a ship (or you can choose one already made), and off you go!

Secondly, there are the races I spoke of a moment ago. They are:

Arsubararans-Human like and pretty much everywhere.

Dolome-Huge, blue, tripod-legged. Very loyal, but you probably don’t want to make them angry.

Hacragorkans-green, burly, tattooed, and man do they love fighting. It is what they excel at.

Ken Reeg-Slick, smooth, and also green. They are manipulators of the highest order. Dealing with them is always a risk.

Robots-Where would the galaxy be without them? They come in just about every shape and size you could imagine.

Ryjyllians- Catlike and with retractable claws, they are fierce mercenaries that have a high code of honor.

Saldrallans-Snake-like and cold blooded. They were one side of the thousand years war. Their ruthless pragmatism guides the Empire well.

Templari-Haughty and purple, the Templari rule the Devalkamanchan Republic, guided by their belief that they are genetically superior to all others.

Tetsuashans-They are slug like and unlikely adventurers, but they seem at ease in space. They have an affinity for piloting and ship-building.

Urseminites-They resemble small teddy bears, but don’t let that fool you. They are angry and murderous in temperament. Due to this, they tend to be despised by all.

The best part is that they also give you really good tools on creating your own species. Which is most definitely what I want to do. They give you a lot of examples of abilities to choose from, and it looks like it would be fun to do.

The ship combat is handled a lot like normal combat, but it seems like it would flow well, as each member can do certain things. From piloting, firing cannons, repairing, etc.

Overall, it was a fun read and I really want to play this pretty badly. I have wanted to play something that gets the feeling of Firefly, and I think this could be it. 

Do I not know Fate as well as I thought?

Wow, I really need to read more of Fate.

Especially since the game we are making is using the system. This is what happens when you haven’t really gamed in a while and realize that you must play the game to really understand it.

I played the Dresden Files rpg over the weekend. It isn’t that I forgot EVERYTHING. But I did forget enough for it to bother me. I need to know this system, inside and out. I may know 90% of it, but then 10% showed up this weekend and that is not acceptable.

I have to start taking this more seriously. I own four fate games. DFRPG, SotC, Bulldogs, and Diaspora. My plan is to start playing these games more via in person, or google+ hangout. At some point I would really like to get a good tablet, so I can use the pdf’s instead of the books. But that day is not today.

So, here I am. Upset about not being able to remember magical rules and realizing that I need to know the system better. Every bit of it.

Just found the whole thing embarrassing. No one else knew it at the time, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I need to get off my ass and start doing real work on this.

Otherwise it is just yet another in a long line of things that I want to accomplish, but don’t.

Time to get to work.

The first step? Research

So, we finally got started on working on the game again. There are a few things we have to figure out, but overall I am just damn glad to be started. But a name would be nice, and the old name "perdition" just doesn't feel right anymore. The name of the world is Kushara, and I am writing a book that is going to be tied into the game. The name of the book is Kushara's Fate. I have no idea if they will be the name of the game, but we will figure that out eventually.

So, the first thing I realized I had to do when we agreed to make the game with Fate as a foundation? Well, other than creating an entire world and brainstorming with Chris. :)  Next? Read Fate again! I know some of Fate pretty well, since I have played Spirit of the Century, and was part of the Dresden Files play-test. But that doesn't matter, in order to really dig into the system, I have to read it all over again. So, along with those two, I am also going to read: Bulldogs, Diaspora, The Kerebos Club, Legends of Anglerre, and Starblazer's Adventures.

Those are all different games using the Fate system, so reading all of them will give me a feel for how they went about it as well. I especially want to read Legends of Anglerre, since it is the only other fantasy game like mine on the list. It was made by Cubicle7, and they already have a companion book out for it.

So, with each book I am going to be taking notes and trying to come up with ways to tweak the system to fit the world we are making. I will go into more about the world on my next post. But, the question is always how much you want to keep of the OGL, and how much do you want to tweak it. It isn't an easy thing to figure out, and luckily not something we have to figure out today.

Another great thing is Google+. There are so many people on there with so much information and most of them are willing to go over ideas I have for the game. That is just a great source to, and I am damn appreciative.

REALLY, appreciative.

So, now I got back to reading Sotc. :)

p.s. don't forget to vote on my poll.

Game day!

My thoughts on yesterday's gaming.

It was nice to get back into it, I have not done as much as I would like in the last few years. 

Game 1. Mouse Guard. I have actually wanted to play this for some time, and even owned it before the awfulness of my storage unit happened and I lost over 800 books. 

The game appeals to me, cuz I like to play the characters that are fighting for a cause or against evil. Making the character was actually fun, and that is how it starts. Making a character SHOULD be fun. 

Saying, that, we got our asses kicked. I played a scout that took too many skills in pathfinding, and not enough in scout. Duh! After 30 minues, one mouse almost dead, one lost, and one robbed and chasing (badly) bandits through the forest.

Game 2. Dungeon World. This is a hack of Apocalypse world (which I want to play). I do NOT like D&D, so when it had some of the same spells and components, initially I was not thrilled. But it is a story game for the most part, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I played a cleric named Wesley "the hammer", and it was fun smiting the undead. Also, I got to kill the evil cleric Sheldar the Cooper (in one strike also), Raj the unholy, and the dreaded wizard Wolowitz.

I also bought a couple of games, since they were so cheap from the vendor at the gaming place. Mouse guard, and Dragon Age. Reviews of both of these game will be forthcoming.

I also, have finally gotten Bulldogs! Which I will review, once I have read it.

I had a lot of fun, and may have even found a few players for our local group. :)

Fate Part 2. The games of Fate

So, I thought the next thing I would talk about is the actual games that use the Fate system. I myself have only read three of them, but that will be changed as soon as I can.

So, I will start from the order I have came across them. This is only listing the Fate games, not the ones that are motivated by the system.

Be warned, this is a long one.

Spirit of the Century by Evil Hat

The deadly Doctor Methuselah seeks to unravel time itself with his solution to the Eternity Equation… Gorilla Khan stalks darkest Africa from conquered Atlantis… Mad scientists, strange sorcerers, and power-hungry dictators all seek to undo the fate of humanity. It’s the final century of the second millennium – and you are our last hope!

Ah, where it all began. This is such a fun game, and if you like pulp, even a little, you will have so much fun playing this game. The nice thing about SotC is that it is actually set up for you to win, it is up to you to determine how well. I say that not as a slight to the game, because you can still get your ass handed to you in it, but let’s face it...you are in the Century Club. You are the best of the best. You SHOULD win. Besides, getting to fly across the room using a chandelier, or save they day with a jet pack? Awesome.

The Dresden Files Rpg by Evil Hat

The world is getting weirder. Darker every single day. Things are spinning around faster and faster, and threatening to go completely awry. Falcons and falconers. The center cannot hold. But in my corner of the country, I’m trying to nail things down. … I don’t want to live in a world where the strong rule and the weak cower. I’d rather make a place where things are a little quieter. 

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. When things get strange, when what goes bump in the night flicks on the lights, when no one else can help you, give me a call. 

I’m in the book.” 

Where to even start here? I am such a huge Jim Butcher fan; it is a bit sick at times. So when I found out Evil Hat was making this game, I immediately tried to get on the playtest.  Which I did. :) That was one of the more rewarding experiences I have ever had gaming.

But the thing about DFRPG is that it is just the opposite of SotC, in the fact that the world in this game is brutal. I still believe you are supposed to succeed in Sotc; there are not such guarantees in DFRPG. You can make a badass character in that game that does some impressive things. Yet, there is still always something hiding in the darkness that can take you out. If you have read the books, you will love the game. If you have not, there is enough that you would recognize to be able to catch on quick.

Diaspora by Vsca

Humans have been in space tens of thousands of years, and societies have risen and fallen so many times that no one remembers where we came from.

Colonies huddle together in clusters of a few star systems connected by slipstreams — artifacts of the cosmos, or perhaps a forgotten technology. Only the slipstreams allow travel faster than light. Apart from that, spacecraft make do with reaction drives, dumping heat as best they can.

Lost technologies of a fallen civilization thrum beneath your feet. Just the other side of the slipstream live the last dozen members of a post-Singularity culture bent on raiding your system for the raw construction material of its moons. It’s dangerous out there — and where there’s danger, there’s the possibility of profit, if you’re brave or crazy enough to seek it out.

I am currently reading this on PDF. It is slow going, but that is only due to the fact that I don't read anything on the computer too quickly. Typically, I am not a sci-fi guy, especially the hard kind. But after reading some of this, I am blown away with how well written it is, and how much it makes me want to create my own systems and play it. That says a lot. I will eventually have a review of this once I read it all.

Other Fate games

Bulldogs by Galileo Games

Who could be desperate enough to sign his life away for five long years? Desperate enough to take a job hauling volatile and hazardous cargo to the most dangerous places in the galaxy? Planets where the very air is a corrosive acid. Planets where the locals might cut your throat just so they can turn you into a nice steak. Planets where petty thugs and warlords are engaged in constant running gun battles and you’re just as likely to catch a blaster shot in the skull as get a signed delivery manifest.

You are, that’s who. Welcome to Bulldogs!

I am probably more excited about this game than I have ever been for any sci-fi game (except for the disaster that was the Serenity Rpg). First of all, the comparisons I am hearing are that of Firefly. I get giddy just hearing that since Firefly is one of my favorite things ever. So, I hope to get this one sooner rather than later. 

Legends of Anglerre by Cubicle 7

Legends of Anglerre shoves a massive battle-axe in the hands of the characters. Play action-packed fantasy using gritty adventurers on paths to greatness; epic heroes leading mighty armies and noble kingdoms; mythic questers traversing the many planes and battling the gods themselves.

The fate of the world hangs in the balance. Danger is everywhere - and great adventure. Will the flickering lights of civilization grow stronger, or be extinguished forever by darkness? In these perilous days, the world cries out for heroes.

This is the next Fate game I am really excited about. Mostly to see how well an epic fantasy game works with fate. Especially since I want to make one at some point.

Starblazer Adventures by Cubicle 7

Starblazer Adventures is based on the classic British comic series, Starblazer, from the 1970’s and 80’s. Each of Starblazer's 281 issues explored a whole adventure set within the vast galactic empires of the far future. 

Choose from 8 alien races or play whole star empires! There’s over 100 worlds, 70 heroes, alien races, monsters & starships. There’s an introductory adventure & tons of support for Story Tellers including adventure seeds, several plot & planet generators and over 400 pieces of inspirational art! Watch out for online adventures, supplements and adventure tools.

I know nothing at all about the comic book series, and I am not really into sci-fi all that much.  It is also over 600 pages long and that intimidates me. :) I will get to it however.

The Kerberos Club by Arc Dream Publishing

The Kerberos Club is a complete roleplaying game for thrilling superheroic and steampunk action in Victorian London. It includes a treatment of Victorian society in its every particular, especially the incredible and sometimes awful changes that "the Strangeness" comes to wreak upon Queen and Country alike. 

Play the heroes and villains of a Strange century!  

"Stony" Joe Smithson, the honest London boxer transformed into living rock.

Doctor Archibald Monroe, the erudite chemist and physician-chimpanzee. 

Maeve O'Connel, Queen of the Mudlarks, the eternal child touched by Faerie.

The Lady Mirabel, who by darkness defends Whitechapel as the terrifying Night Hag.

When the victims and enthusiasts of magic and bizarre science meet in an infamous club for "the Strange," thrilling action is sure to follow!

I honestly don't know what to think about this setting. It is the one I have concerns with only because I am not that much into the Victorian Setting. Or steampunk. Saying that, I am still intrigued to see how well the setting plays out, and to see if it can hook me into wanting to play it. It is one of those things were the more I hear about it, the more I want to read it.

Strands of Fate by Void Star Games

Strands of Fate contains everything you need to tell stories of adventure, action, horror, and intrigue set in any genre. Whether it’s classic fantasy, urban mystery, dashing super heroes, or far future action, this book is your guide. Strands

utilizes the FATE roleplaying game system and provides the Game Master with all the tools he needs to get any campaign, of any genre or power level, off the ground and running in minutes. 

This is the Fate game I have the least interest in.  I find it interesting that they are creating a game for any genre. I normally don't like that much and would rather have people concentrate on one specific genre, but I have heard some good things about this title. Only time will tell and there is still some interest.

I think that is all of them, if it isn't let me know what I have missed.

The problem with mechanics...

After going back and looking at the work, Chris, Henry, and myself did, I realize this is going to be something that needs to be figured out by us.  I know everyone that makes a game goes about it differently.  I know some people like to work on the mechanics first, and then figure out everything else.  While others create the setting and build mechanics around it.

I am not sure since the one part of this I have struggled with the most is coming up with a new mechanics system.  I worked on it for almost a year and every time I came up with something I thought was cool, I saw someone else already had something like it.

That has been the most frustrating part of all of this.  Setting (which I will talk about next) is going to be a lot longer to do, but easier to create.  Maybe easier isn't the right word, but it will be more enjoyable.

There are a lot of people out there that blog about mechanics a lot.  I try to read through them when I can.  I see how creative people can be.  It is nuts, the things people think of.  Then you have the people that take someone else's game, and tweak it.  Like the D20 games or Fate (to name a few).  How do people feel about that?   Is it ok to do that because of how much they like the setting?  I have thought a few times of what our game would like using Fate...but that is cuz of how much I love the system.  I personally have no problem with it since every once in a while someone will do this and a setting will catch my eye (like Bulldogs!).

Then there is the excitement of creating something new. Something we can call ours.  But that is hard since so many people  have already created so many different things.  I still like this idea as well.

As I said, it is issue.  :)  It isn't anything that we figure out today, but it is something I am thinking about after reading what we created so far.