My day at Nunchcon 2.5

Nunchcon 2.5

So, yesterday I went to a small convention type thing here in Pittsburgh. It was run by +Jeff Johnston and +Melanie Johnston Apparently they do this about every six months or so. Opening up their huge house and having games all day (and night). They are awesome.

So, I got there at 11 yesterday and the first thing they did was give me a t-shirt. SWAG! I then sat down and started talking to people about gaming related stuff and waited for the first game I wanted to play.

Game one started around 2 and it was Tabletop Blockbuster by +John Sheldon and +Brianna Sheldon. I have played play-tested this game a few times now, but am always willing to do so again. If you have not heard of this game by them (or me), the game takes like the 80’s blockbuster action movies and brings them to life.

The fun part of this game is that you get to create the setting and each time the game is played, it seems the setting is more awesome than the previous one. We have played a fantasy setting as dwarves and fairies, super soldiers in ww2, operatives fighting the supernatural in the Korean War, and yesterday? The old west with a bit of magic and taking place in New Orleans. It never fails to be awesome.

They are actually almost done with this game and it has been great to see the game grow over the last several months.

Game 2 was World of Cyberpunk, a hack of World of Dungeons. Being a huge fan of Dungeon World (and the World’s game in general, I was excited to see how this game plays out. It was run by +Stras Acimovic whom I have to admit is one of the more engaging people I have ever played games with. He is just so enthusiastic and it is always awesome to see.

So, Cyberpunk was one of the first games I ever played and enjoyed. This game had that feel, but also had that feeling of the world’s game that I love. But since it was a hack of World of Dungeons, there were a few differences, like rolling for stats/gear/cyberware. You rolled 2d6 and if you got a 7-9 you got gear that gave you a +1, a 10-11 a +2, and if you rolled a 12 you got gear at +3. You could then buy that gear for whatever type of character you played. For example, I played an infiltrator so I got a suit that allowed me to blend in the shadows, which added a +1 to my stealth roll.

Now if you are lucky enough to get a 12, it can help you quite a bit since a +3 is a huge bonus in this game.  But the game itself was probably the most fun I have had playing a “world” game. Stras does such a good job of hitting you with the soft/hard moves and moving the story along.

So our job was to kill a high level board member from the GenTec Corp and take his head (which had data in it that was important. Man did us over think this, it was going to be a train job and we just spent far too much time planning. Eventually we killed the person, but lost our doctor along the way. It was a grand time.

Game 3 was Little Fears, also ran by Stras. 

Wow, that game was a bit creepy…which we were warned it would be. Horror rpg’s are not an easy thing to play. First it is harder to be scared as we get older, and second you have to buy into it and really go for it. Not to mention that since we played children ages 6-10, you have to be ok with children dying.

This isn’t easy for everyone which is why this game probably isn’t for everyone. We were told up front it was going to be scary as hell and that most of us would die. Sweet, bring it on!

You made characters by answering questions like what you are afraid of, who your best friend is, what items do you have that you believe are powerful. That last part I had a hard time with (of course it was also 2 in the morning). Imagine those things you knew to be true as a child, but as an adult you know aren’t. Belief is such a huge part of this game. Do you have a pair of shoes that you believe make you faster? Guess what, they do. Do you believe that Purple Heart of your fathers gives you protection against the monsters? Guess, what, it does. Things like that.

So playing children can be a lot of fun and Stras did a great job of painting a picture of horror. The game truly was a bit scary and the tension involved was high as we fought and ran our way from really disturbing monsters trying to kill us. One of us died, and was ripped apart right of in front of us.

It was awesome!

I would so play that game again.

Overall, a damn good day with great people. Oh, and did I mention they fed up pulled pork! Holy hell that was amazing. Not to mention the jello with cream cheese and pretzel. No, you did not read that wrong.

Gaming over the weekend...

So, I did quite a bit of gaming this weekend. Here is what happened.

Friday night. Star Wars D6 system

So +Jacob Poss  ran a Star Wars one shot on Friday night. It has been over a decade since I have played this game. I have very fond memories as it had one of my favorite characters of all time…Janus Darklighter. A bad ass Jedi that kicked ass and took names.

So, Jacob started by asking who are favorite star wars characters were. Mine is Wedge Antilles. Survive TWO Death Star runs, leader of Rogue Squadron and in the books helped take down Coruscant!

So, I played the brash pilot template. I had an A-Wing and we also had a Jedi, a tracker, and a fighter droid. We were sent to find certain pirates and get rid of them.

I got to have a cool scene where I kicked pirate ass that were flying Z-95 headhunters (I know, right?). I flew circles around them, killed a few, and then talked the rest out of fighting me, because they would just end up dead.

Things went wrong as soon as I got OUT of my ship. Starting rolling 1’s on the D6 (which meant you are screwed basically). Got shot a bit, could not fight worth a damn and was saved by a teammate that just blew everyone to hell with bombs. The poor Jedi? Was left behind for the most part and had a very passive role in the game.

Saturday Slot 1. The Quiet Year prep for an Apocalypse World game

So, we decided to run a session of The Quiet Year in prep for our AW game coming up at the Gasp Day in Pittsburgh. The people I have talked to about this never really gave this idea much of a chance, saying it was not the best way to setup the other game. That is fine, I went to people for their opinions and they gave them.  If you want to know a bit more about the Quiet Year, go here. As I am not going to talk much about the game itself. I already did on a previous post. http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/110152/The-Quiet-Year

But the game went well, as we created a post-apocalyptic world based in Pittsburgh.  It was a nice start to our AW game I think. The map is built out and there are a ton of NPC’s in the game. Or we can choose to play any of them ourselves of course. But needless to say there are plenty of things in the world that won’t like us. A chopper gang roaming the roads, a Hocus that is trying to get followers, the Frost Shepherds, a militant religious order. Just to name a few.

I still it to be a great start to our game.

Slot 2. Dungeon World.

So, I decided to change my character from a fighter to a thief. I am just much more comfortable with this type of character and the game finally lived up to it hype as the session was oh my god, fun! We had a ranger with a demented cat, a halfing druid, a barbarian, and my thief.

The funny thing is that between my backstory and how the session started for me; somehow my thief got caught stealing, not once, but twice. Hmmm. 

So I was inside a mountain, trying to find a talisman for the god Akatar, and started out being captured by kobolds. I know, right? I was rescued by the others and they had found the Heartstone in the previous session and were trying to escape. We then met with the Kobold King, whom turned into a really angry fire creature and tried to smite us. While the fight was going on, I found the talisman and some loot and helped in the battle (or tried I kept rolling poorly). Eventually the creature was taken out and the barbarian became their king. This was really cool and he now has two followers that give him a 3 armor and 3 extra damage in battle. Awesome! We eventually got out of the mountain; I stole the heartstone from the druid and ran. In the most awesome moment I have seen in gaming in a while, the druid changed into a bird chased me down. When he found me, he dove towards me and shifted into a bear. In MID air! Also, he made the transformer noise to go along with it, which had me laughing for about 5 minutes afterward. Needless to say, I gave the stone back and then they finished their mission. Also, we were attacked by ratmen, as I was misled as to the type of deity the amulet was actually for. We took them out with good teamwork.

This was so much fun and I cannot wait to run it again.

Slot 3. Tabletop Blockbuster

So, my friends +John Sheldon and +Brianna Sheldon are making their own game. It is a genreless game that really showcases what an action movie would be like. I have played it three times now in different levels of playtesting and we have been in ww2 setting as super soldiers, a fantasy setting fighting dinosaurs, and this time? A merc group sent into the Korean War to find an occult item of some power.

I am not going to into the system much here, mostly due to the fact that it is still being playtested. But you have power/weapons which give you d6, and then you add relevant skills to it to add more. Then you roll a crapload of dice to see what happens. 5 and 6 are successes and you compare it to what the Gm rolled for the result.

You then create your character by choosing attributes, powers, skills, weapons, and trait.

What makes this game so much is just how actiony it feels. Our three characters were a vampire, The Sarge, and my character the Tank. Nicolas the vampire was the Dracula type, not to be confused with the sparkly, pansy ass vampires of our current age.  The Sarge was the grizzled old veteran driving our awesome military vehicle aptly named the Hammerhead. I was a big dude, with even bigger guns and armor.

There is also a mechanic that allows you to define things in the world, and another to allow you to re-roll missed dice. Very Fate Point in some ways, but nicely added.

One phenomenal thing this game does it that it allows the players to support each other in a way that is amazingly effective…and kickass at the same time. First the Sarge had a power that gave us a bonus if he gave a motivational speech. When he activates this as long as we are near him, we automatically get 3 extra dice to use on our roll. Next, if the Sarge knows I am tussling with that uber werewolf (which I was), he can say he is helping me by distracting it with grenades or something. He the rolls and the amount of successes he gets are added to may roll. Think about that for a second. My character already started with 12 dice (weapon+attributes), plus the 3 dice for the speech. Now I would get however many more dice if he succeeded the roll.

Holy hell, I had so many dice in my hands.

So, he would set things like that up. My character would do things like kick doors down and say cheesy one line. Bad ones like when the Sarge was worried that we were fighting werewolves, I turned to the “camera” and say while lock and loading my gun, “It’s ok, they all bleed the same Sarge”. It was like that all game long and awesome.

I am excited about his game. One because it is fun to play. Two because John and Brie are really good at taking feedback about their game. Everyone says they want honest input, but a lot of people then get offended that you dared say something bad about their creation. Seriously? I have seen the game improve from the first playtest they did back fall/winter. They go about this the right way and actually listen to what people say. Which to me is a no-brainer, but enough people don’t do that that it is nice to see when people actually do.

One last thing, I got to play with +Stras Acimovic twice yesterday and it is always a great experience. So much freaking energy and creativity is brought to any game by Stras. Great stuff.

Gaming at OHNERD!

So, last weekend I went to Columbus OH, to do some gaming. Yes, it was about a 3 hour trip, but luckily I was just a passenger, so it was all good.

We did get to the event an bit late, but these thing happen when you are driving in snow. :)

So, game one was Fiasco. I am very mixed about how this went. It was a gangsters set in England. The setup went fine, but the game suffered due to the fact that we had to cram the game into an hour and a half session. It just felt like there was not a lot of role-playing due to not having enough time. This was not anyone's fault and it was still enjoyable, but I want to re-experience how awesome my first game of this was.

Game two was Lady Blackbird ran by +Aaron Sturgill and it was actually a lot of fun. I have wanted to play this game for a while and have heard it was about as close to Firefly as you can get. But the game was a simple one to pick up (which I \knew it would be) and a very enjoyable time was had by all.

Game three was the one I am still amazed at. +Travis Scott has made/hacked a version of Fate Core that has Dragonriders in it. I had heard from a few other players (he ran it in the first session) that was AWESOME. So, I was happy when +Tracy Barnett talked him into running again in the last slot.

Thank goodness, because it was awesome.

You worked in tandem as one person plays the dragon, and the other played the rider. IT was so much fun to get to play this and I love what Travis has done with his world. I can only hope I get to play it again at some point as it was a joy to do so.

It was the most fun I have had playing Fate in some time.

So, I ran a one-shot of Dungeon World last night

So, I ran a session of Dungeon World last night and it was a mixed bag. 

I am still trying to get into the flow of this game. I enjoy it, but there is an amount of flow that you have to have for it to work. I got there eventually, but with only two players it felt kind of forced at times.

Not to mention, one of the players had really bad connection issues, which ended the game before the climax. Not his fault, mind you. :)

The bard and the ranger were sent by the High Priest of Avacyn (goddess of justice) to find the holy amulet that was stolen. Clues led them to a thieves guild that had a tattoo of a tear drop above their left eye. It was common knowledge that they were bad ass to say the least, and those that messed with them ended up with the fishes.

While in the city of Westin, they managed to piss off two different thieves guilds, fight off some thugs of one guild, and get taken by the city watch. Well, the city watch showed up as there were four dead bodies at their feet. The watch commander Celeste gave them a choice. Repair the damage done to the thieves guild or hang by a rope. She was afraid it could be open warfare if this was not resolved. She sent her second in command Johan to keep an eye on them. 

Information was gathered and it was discovered that thieves hung out at two bars. The Dragon Inn, and the Hog's Head. They brazenly walked into the Hog’s Head (after a joke about Butterbeer) bar with the member of the watch and all hell broke loose. You see, Johann was a bit corrupt and had tormented his share of people in the city. As they walked in, they immediately were surrounded and they had a choice. Save Johann, or escape. They tried to save him, and a fight broke out.

Yet, in the middle of the fight, the ranger had another choice...save his buddy the bard or save Johan. He turned in his back on the watchman and he died as a result. They were able to get out of the bar and go to the temple of Avacyn for sanctuary and a much needed rest.

This is where the game ended as one of the players dropped out due to a bad connection.
Unfortunately, we did not get to the finale as Celeste was going to come to the temple of Avacyn (with a couple of watchmen) after hearing what had happened to Johann. She was going to be enraged at the death of Johann (since he was he lover), cut the priestess down and attempt to murdereize our heroes. :)

Overall, fun. I need to read the book again and just do a better job of running the game, but not bad for my first time. I also think they had fun, which is the most important part. :)

Thoughts on running the game. It is certainly an adjustment to run this kind of game. I play games where there is a bit of narrative, but not many that really depend on it…almost like a mechanic. Two people made it harder for me as I had a hard time coming up with questions at the beginning. It is mostly just me getting used to how it runs/plays, rather than a problem with the game.

I did get into the flow after a bit and the game is a lot of fun. I just think I need to read the book again and be a bit more prepared next time. I did this on a whim last night, but it was fun and that is the point.

Gaming yesterday...

So, yesterday I went to the game day in Pittsburgh.

It is a monthly event that you pay five bucks and can play 3 games over 12 hours. Considering I don’t really have a gaming group now, this is a must for me to get to each month.

As usual, it was a lot of fun.

Game one. The Quiet Year. It is hard to explain this game. You play a community instead of a character. You draw a map and throughout the game, you are adding details to it, making the world up as you go. May be more of a card game than rpg, but it has elements of both. Either way, it was a blast to play.

There are four seasons (starting with spring), and each of them have 13 cards. Each turn, you draw a card and do what it says. It can tell you to create a project (or destroy one), or make a new location. There was a bit of variety in what you could do when drawing the car. Then on the same turn you can also do an action. Which was start a discussion in the community about something, start a project, or create something new in the world.

By the time you are done, you have this complexly filled out map and have resolved quite a bit. The interesting thing is when you get to winter, there is a card called the Frost Shepherds. Once that card is drawn, the game is over. So, you have a 1 and 13 chance of that happening when you start winter.

The cool idea was that we can play a session of this game next month, and use it is a basis to play an Apocalypse World game. I thought the idea brilliant.

Game two. Dungeon World.  I have been excited about this one for a while. I got the book this week, which was perfect timing for the game this weekend. I like how it starts with the GM asking questions to everyone, therefore creating the world a bit. You background, what is the name of that forest, why do you have bonds with other character. Things like that. It is a lot of fun to start playing.

I am still struggling with one aspect of the game.

There are not turns, so if you are someone that doesn’t step up to do things, you can feel left out.  I normally do not play fighters, so I was a little apprehensive about how to play it. That is my own issue and not the games fault.

It was one of the oddest sessions I have played in a long time. There was: butterflies, shapeshifting, unicorns, a living dungeon, a barbarian that thinks HE is civilized one, a panther named kitty that did more damage to the ranger than anything else did, and lot of blood and puss that anyone every wanted to have anything to do with. Very odd, but still a lot of fun.

Game three. Ghost Lines.

Ghost Lines is created by John Harper. It is hack of Apocalypse World by Vincent Baker. Harper made another game I very much want to play called Lady Blackbird.

Anyways, so the game is that you are A Bull. Someone who travels the train lines fighting ghosts. It is the only way for people to travel, and someone has to do it right?

The idea is very cool and the game was fun. The only problem I had was I was getting tired by this time and don’t think I played as well as I could have. Not to mention, my dice hated me. J

Since there were only two of us playing, it was very fast. But the problem was that my character was more of observer, and other character was someone that actually trapped the ghost. By the time we got to the end, it was obvious we were in trouble because neither one of us really were fighters.

So the train was out of control as ghosts had taken over the train. We got into the last fight and tried to keep the train from crashing. We did ok at first as my character was wiping out the minions and the other character was taking care of the bad ass ghost.

Then things started going wrong, also known as rolling poorly.

We ended up failing our last six rolls, taking damage and eventually the train crashed into the imperial city and we died.

It was a lot of fun to play. I think you need four people to play it right, as the roles of the game would work better then. But overall, it was a good hack of AW.

My thoughts on Fate Core after playing it a few times...

So, I have played the updated Fate Core a few times lately, and wanted to give a few thoughts on how it plays.

Now a lot of people have read the pdf by now, but there are some changes from some of the older versions of Fate.  A few of them are:

-You only start with a health and mental track of two. Yes, if you choose physique or will, it increases but since everyone doesn’t always choose those skills, the game seems a hell of a lot more dangerous for your character.

-When a player (or npc) take a consequence, it can be used as an advantage (what tagging used to be) for free.

-You get 20 skill points only, which comes up to 10 actual skills.(1, great, 2, good, 3 fair, and 4 average). This makes it really important for you to choose which skills work for you in the game.

-You start out with 3 fate points, and if you want a stunt it subtracts from that (but the first stunt is free). So, you start out with usually 1 or 2 fate points to start.

-You can now invoke an aspect to make the npc (or another player) overcome an obstacle. This basically is replacing the block action on a turn. I haven’t done this one yet, mostly because it is hard to remember to do it. It is an interesting idea.

-One cool thing I really like is that if you fail a roll, you can actually still succeed but at a cost. This is a very cool thing and since you don’t start out with that many fate points, it gives you another way to succeed.  Also if you tie, you can succeed, but at minor cost. Nice.

-They have created a boost. It is basically like tagging an aspect, but it is free and you can only use it once and then it is gone.

-If you (or the npc) succeeds at an action and get 3 or more shifts, you succeed with style. You actually get bonuses and/or extra advantages when creating them.

There might be a few more, but that is what I am remembering at this point.

So, what I got out of this was just how dangerous the game is now. I played a Star Wars game last week and someone almost died in the first scene. It was a bit brutal. With a smaller health track, it means you will be taking consequences pretty quickly if things go bad. Combine that with the fact that those consequences can be tagged for free, just intensifies that.

The other thing you get is that is just written so much cleaner. Everything they changed seems to speed the game along. Which has been one of the few issues I have had with the system over the years. Sometimes conflicts could take a while to resolve. Now, they seem to go at an almost super human speed.

Also, since it is a blank slate, people are going crazy with coming up with their own scenarios. If you want a Star Wars game, you make it. If you want a game set in the civil war, but with werewolves, you do it. It is very easy to create the world with this game and is kind of fun to see what everyone is making with it.

So, Fate Core is awesome. They took everything that was great about the system and cleaned it up a bit. It is decidedly harder for the characters to survive, but I don’t see that as a bad thing at all. Not to mention, you can still tweak it how you want and give them more skills or a higher health/mental track if you wish. The game yells flexibility.

Fate Core Star Wars...the recap.

So, we played our first session of the Fate Core Star Wars game last night. It was also the first time I really played the game with the new tweaks in the system. A lot of little changes that really speeds the game up, but makes it much more dangerous for the players.

So, this was a pretty hastily put together micro version of the Star Wars universe. Taking place at the beginning of the Jedi Knight order, and taking place in Corellia. The world had some of the usual tpes. A power hungry Hutt, the beginning of what would be the Sith, an alien type empire bent do conquering the galaxy…and only the Jedi to stop them!

You know, the usual.

The game itself ran pretty smoothly via hangout. One of the biggest issues is that one of our players is not a English speaker, so it is hard to understand him sometimes. That isn’t his fault, and for all I know he may have an equally hard time understand us. Is just one of those things you don’t have much control over.

A few highlights from the night.

My character Krax Inkari, doing a force jump and attacking a dark jedi in the face, while they were riding a dark side influence rancor. Yep, rancor.

Sadly, the next thing that happened was Zaen (one of the other jedi) then got stomped on by the Rancor and took an severe consequence not even 5 minutes into the fight. Holy shit.

The dark jedi ended up being Galen’s (the other jedi in the group) sister, and my ex-lover. She was being groomed by the evil jedi Taelros , and my character got a good enough roll to bring her away from the dark side.

As we were leaving some bounty hunter types that galen owed money, ambushed our party as we were getting into our ships. That is where we quit,

Thoughts?

Fate Core will #$@$ you up. The smaller health and mental tracks make the game so much more deadly. Especially with the addition of more ways to get advantages and boosts (what used to be called tags). A player almost died in the first fight. IT was nuts.

The game goes much faster, which has always been one of the issues with Fate sometimes. They cleaned up a lot of that and the game flows much better now. That is damn cool.

I like that you can play pretty much whatever you wish. Star Wars. WWII with steampunk. Old West. Knights of the Round table. It doesn’t matter, you just have to create the setting for it. This is why so many people are so excited about this.

It was a lot of fun.

You can go watch our you tube video of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h2_gJTMT5LQ

My Fate Core Star Wars character for tonight.

Krax Inkari


Race: Twi’lek
Description. Krax has a light blue skin and is about 5 foot 6 and has a lithe body. He is a Jedi, so he typically is wearing a grey robe and his lightsaber is purple..

High Concept: Twi’lek Jedi investigator
Dark side: When evil gains hold in the world
Aspect; Some wounds never completely heal
Aspect: Blindly loyal, fiercely protective
Aspect: Everything starts with a plan

Great +4 Investigation
Good+3: Athletics, Rapport
Fair +2 Fighting, Stealth, Empathy
Average +1 Physique, Will, Lore, Notice

Stunt 1. Force speed +2 to dodge attacks.
Stunt 2. The Power of Deduction. Once per scene you can spend a fate point
(and a few minutes of observation) to make a special Investigation
roll representing your potent deductive faculties. You may discover or
create an aspect for each shift you make on this roll, on either the scene
or the target of your observations, though you may only invoke one of
them for free.

My first adventure: Naive in the matters of the heart, Krax was lured to a remote jungle location by fellow apprentice Aria Orion They had had an on again and off again romance during their time together at the academy. Aria was upset that Krax had shown interest in another student and wanted to teach him a lesson. She drugged him with a bothan red and left him in the jungle to find his way back to the temple On his way back to the temple  Krax was then attacked by a Rancor and left for dead. The attack left Krxa with a knee injury.
Aspect: Some wounds never completely heal.

Crossing path-Galen Orion. Krax found out that Aria Orion was kidnapped by Kreega the Hutt.

Krax finds word of this and although things had not gone as planned for him with Aria, he knew he must save her. Krax charges blindly to her rescue, not knowing that  negotiations were almost finished, and she was about to be release. His appearance started a firefight during the negotiation, and Krax barely made it out alive. Aria vowed he would pay for nearly getting her killed.
Aspect: Blindly loyal, fiercely protective

Crossing path-Zaen Moor. Zaen was part of the crew which tried to take over a ship with Jedi’s Taelros and Sovi Duan.

Krax joins the battle against the pirates and as the battle rages on, plan after plan fails. Finally, the Krax makes his stand and defeats a group of pirates that had trapped him in a corridor.
Aspect: When a good plan falls apart, there is always my lightsaber.

Health track=3
Mental track=3
Refresh=2

Gaming yesterday at OH Nerd.

So, yesterday I went to an event in Columbus, OH, called Nerd OH. It was an all-day gaming event that started ta 12. They also had board games on Friday, and a discussion about game design today. I got a ride from someone I know in Pittsburgh, and we could not stay for the last part. Even if we really wanted too. This was a last minute thing, so I did not have much time to prepare, and then off we went yesterday morning.

So, the first odd thing. When we got there, the person running it was someone I knew back when I lived in NYC named Aaron. We were part of a group called Nerdnyc (which it still is active today and if you live in NYC and want to game…look them up), and it was just bizarre to run into someone in Ohio. It blew both of our minds and he is a really good guy.

So, Aaron ran our first game of the day…Burning Wheel. I cannot say I am a huge fan of this system. I do really enjoy Mouse Guard, which is based on the system, but this one does not work for me. That isn’t saying we did not have a good time, cuz we did. But the system is a bit took clunky for me and I never really connected with it. Not to mention on one of the Gasp days here in Pitt, I tried to join a campaign of this game. After four hours we did not even finish character creation and if that is the case? It isn’t a game I want to play. It was still fun and there many moments of laughter, but BW is not for me.

The second game was Apocalypse World. I really did this game and its rules (which are also the rules for Dungeon World). This can be a gritty game and can turn kind of ugly really quick depending on whom was running it. The person I came up with and I had already had conversations about what our “triggers” are for games. What will make us want to stop playing them? One thing the GM did that was great was the X card. If someone got too bothered by what happened, they could pick up the card and the story would then veer from whatever was taking it in that direction. I have seen this a few times, but it was still a cool thing to see.

The game itself did not work out as we wished, but only due to running out of time. It does take a little while to make characters in the game and we just ran out of time. What we played was fun and it is something I would love to play again.

The last game I played with Cthulhu Dark. This is a d6 light rules game for one of my favorite mythos. That game itself was ok, but it did derail at the end when we had to kill the person that was taken over by the ancient Chinese sorcerer. I am never a fan of Cthulhu when the end result is that you are just attacking them with weapons. Don’t get me wrong, the game was fun and the GM did a good job of the setting (887 A.D. we were monks and Vikings). Just it did fall apart a bit at the end. Still, with Cthulhu, all is good.

I do wish they would have played Fiasco. The person I came with has written a fairy tell setting for this that is just awesome. We played it last week and it would have been a great ending to the night. Or that I could have gotten into the Monsterhearts game. :)

Saying that, it was a blast. I got to play three games I have never played before. Which is always awesome. I also picked up Tracy Barnett’s game School Daze, cuz it was so damn cheap. So, I will be reading that one soon.

Lastly, it was also cool to get to know this new person that came into my life. That was not meant in a creepy way since she is married. But we gamed together last week and spent almost 7 hours in the car talking on the way there and back. It is always a good thing to get to know new people. Making new friends and all that jazz. She is a very nice (even if she doesn’t like to admit it) and the hours went by without either of us really annoying each other. Which is saying something, cuz I can be damn annoying after being trapped in a car for more than about 10 minutes. 

Gaming...yesterday

So, I was lucky enough to get to meet some cool new people and did some gaming yesterday. It was a Dresden Files game I played in….a few months ago. I dropped off the face of the world for a while and have not been back to the game since then.

Yeah, I was an ass for a while. I get it.

So, anyways. I have been talking about the awesome of Google+ for a while, and a few of the people that were at the game are people I chat with on there. Getting to meet people in real life can be so very cool.

So we went to their house, and they did a great job of being hosts. Wow, their house was massive. They had a room at the top where it was for nothing but gaming. Awesome.

Ok, the games.

The games we played were:

Hillfolk

The Dresden Files Rpg

Fiasco

We started with Hillfolk. This game was created by Robin Laws, whom has made other games I enjoy, such as Trail of Cthulhu.

Basically, you are a tribe, and each person plays a role. Our game had a matriarch, storyteller, high priest, raid leader (me), and a scout.  You then created relationships with each other and used a pretty simple card mechanic to resolve any issues you had.

I have not played a ton of diceless games, but this was fun and makes me wish I had backed the kickstarter when it came out. It is nothing but roleplaying and that is what I enjoyed about it. My character was the raid leader that wanted to get respect from the matriarch (his ex-lover). It was an up and down thing as the people lost faith in my ability to effective raid and ended pretty much the same way. There was a high moment, but it came crashing back down at the end.

Game 2 was The Dresden Files rpg. Boy do I love this game. But my character has not played in the game for so long, I felt like a minor character last night. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun, but it is what I get for not being there so long.

Speaking of which. Anyone that has ever played this game knows it is a game where you are lucky to even survive.  Yet, the entire game went without anyone even getting attacked.

What the hell?

That doesn't mean it wasn't interesting. There was a bit too much of people explaining what happened in the past games (so some of us could get caught up). This did go on for a bit, but mostly it was a rolepaying night where the players were heading to a supernatural summit, where a group known as the Thunderbirds were trying to consolidate power (along with a few other supernatural groups). In the end, disaster was averted by an apology that was made to the Thunderbirds. They had held on to a grudge for years and were willing to try to destroy a good portion of North America due to this. It was a cool thing to see at the end. An apology that saves the day.

The only real bad thing about it and this is not anyone’s fault. There were too many players at the table. Seven to be exact. That is just too many people for a GM to have to keep up with. So, the game did quite a bit of lagging. Please don’t think I am saying the GM did a bad job, cuz that is not what I am saying. But that is too many people to have any flow for a game. Minor quibble.

My best part was the end where I had to talk to the Winter Court about why I did not successfully do something and instead another player got kidnapped and I was told I have to kill one of the medium gruffs. Basically the one Harry had such a hard time killing at the bus terminal in Small Favor.

I am screwed.

The last game was Fiasco. OH MY GOD. This game was sooooooooo much fun. If you have never played this game. GO NOW. Seriously. GO. I will wait here, it is awesome.

The scenario (which was actually created by one of our host) was of fairytale creatures stuck in human bodies. You then create relationships (with the people to your left and right), objects, locations, and needs for example.

So mine were. To my left I had a relationship with a deputy. He was a bad witch, and I was a good one. We both had the need to get rich with the Midas touch.

To my right. Oh lord, did we have fun with this. We were brogres (yes, ogres that are bro’s) Fistpump! We kind of ran the fistpump thing into the dirt, but it never got old. Especially the time when we both went over to the fairy world and had the world’s most awesome slow motion fistpump. It was a magical moment for both of us. Truly.

But there was also Beauty (belle) and the beast. Gaston, the world’s most obnoxious and awful Sherriff, whom happened to be my father, and the before mentioned deputy that was also a bad witch.

Yes, it is even more ridiculous than I can actually convey here.

But there was betrayal, sex, attempted murder made with a gun that had only three bullets, and even more accidental gunshot wounds, fistpumping…LOTS AND LOTS of fistpumping, really awful police work, guidance counseling, more betrayal, Facebook (not real in the game) of the brogre’s talking about Gaston running someone over with his car, and the bad witch casting a spell that gave him the midas touch and who would have thought that could end up bad?

Oh and Gaston? Shot. Brain Damage. Coma. Stuck in the fairyworld for a while, but due the mechanics of the game (which I don’t’ 100% get yet so I am not going to try to explain) somehow managed to end up as the only character that had a “good” ending. My brogre and I? Had a Thelma and Louise moment of running from the state police and driving off a cliff. We did survive, but still. J

This was a really good day. Great games. Great people. It was awesome.              

My dungeons and dragons hypocrisy...

So a good friend of mine has decided he wants to run a 2^nd edition Dungeons and Dragons game. I said I was interested in play. If anyone has followed me at all the last few years they know how I feel about D&D at this point. For those of you that do not know, let me explain.

The very first game I ever played (way back in 1991), was D&D. Except for the first encounter where I died and nearly quit the game forever (a story for a different day), I became hooked. It was not the easiest game to learn, but I got the hang of the rules and such and enjoyed myself.

It became a gateway for other games as well. Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, and Champions to name a few.

But over the years something happened.

I got burned out of the game. Our gaming group played it pretty consistently for a few years and I just lost all the desire to play the game at all. We used 2^nd edition, which was the game I started playing back in the day. We then decided to go to 3.5, which is where my disconnect began. I have never liked any other version other than 2^nd edition, and that has not changed to this day. I especially have no interest in 4^th edition, or the 5^th that is coming out.

But I also began to have an irrational anger toward the game. This was right when I started playing indie games such as Spirit of the Century, Dog’s in the Vineyard and the like. I was fascinated by the newer games coming out that seemed (at least to me) be more about the story and less about the fighting.

So, for years I have argued against playing the game and focused on the indie games I love. If someone brought it up in conversation, I would voice my displeasure and move on.

That brings us to today. My friend never even thought of asking me if I would want to play…for obvious reasons. We were together last night with a few other people and it came up and I said I would like to play. He seemed shocked, especially since I think I had even made a comment out D&D earlier.

I am such a hypocrite. But I also just want to game and the 2^nd edition D&D is one that I know and can at least enjoy.

I even find myself oddly looking forward to it. Now I am off to amazon to find me a 2^nd edition players handbook!

Getting back into Fate

Hello all.

Yes, it has been a while. Damn, almost 3 months to be exact. You know, sometimes you get in a dark place. A place where you just don't really want to do much. It isn't an excuse, but it happens. I was there for a few months. I did not want to do much of anything, and that included any kind of roleplaying.

Well, that stupid (and mostly selfish) period is over and I am ready to get back into things again. This includes gaming and moving forward with the creation of our own Fate game.

So I am ready to get back into gaming soon. I can think a user on Google+, who motivated me today by posting a Fate tutorial on the site today. It is a very helpful thing for those that love the Fate system (and also to those that do not know anything about it).

So, those of you that follow this blog. I am just wondering what kind of gaming have you been up too? Playing Fate? Any other exciting games?

Gaming day! 7-14-12

So, yesterday was an interesting day at the gaming day. It lasted all day and was in Pittsburgh, and it proved so much just how important an efficient GM can be. 

The day started with Spirit of the Century. THe idea was to play the module called Hell comes to Hollywood, which is a tie-in to the book Dinocalpyse now by +Chuck Wendig The premise was simple, the wold has been attacked by dinosaurs! You must defeat them at all costs!

It was a lot of fun. I played a sneaky type chraracter, while the two others played an academic, and a bruiser. It never got TOO hard, but was hairy a few times, but overall we overcame all of the obstacles and saved the day. The only down side to the day was that since it was such a fighting kind of game, our academic did get to do as much as she could have. She did have guns and had a few good moments, but nothing that really showcased whom she is. That is not anyone's fault since it was a one shot game that took place in about 3 or so hours.

But the gm did a great job of moving the game along and I was reminded why this game is so awesome. You can do whatever you think you can do, you just have to be creative and be able to explain clearly what you are trying to do.

The second game was called Monster Hearts, which is hack of Apocalypse world (there seems to be a few of those), where you played angsty teenagers at a school. Yet, the characters in our game was tho chosen (think buffy), a ghost, and a third I cannot remember, but it had something to do with snakes.

The rules of this game were a little odd to get used to at first, since that is the way apocalypse world apparently runs. I am not going into the mechanics cuz I still don't feel great and don't have the energy to remember them. Needless to say there were interesting, but the person that ran the game did a good job of moving things forward.  

The last game of the night was Call of Cthulhu, one of my all time favorites. This did not go well at all. First of all, the GM did not do a good job (at least I think) of running it. It is a four hour one-shot and we spent the first almost an hour making fishing and cooking checks. We were on a boat in the everglades, but I have a philosophy that you do not roll for things that don't matter. The game turned out to be someone that wanted to play CoC as a D&D adventure. CoC is not really that kind of game. You're job is usually trying to investigate what is going on and try to find a way to fight the creatures....without fighting them head on if you can. Cuz that way leads to death.

Just never got into his style and all he wanted to do was throw a bunch of people into a situation where they had no choice but to fight. That is not what this game is to me..and I was not enjoying it before I got sick again. Which was bad, toothache, nausea, dizziness. Awesome!

Just not a good time in that game, but a good day overall.

Gaming day!

complicated.Now, I don't know how much of this has to do with the fact that I  mostly play indie games that don't get too complicated with character creation.

Now, I am not saying I did not enjoy it, but it was confusing at first...just trying to get how it worked.

I ended up making a roden thief since everyone else was making magical players or orcs. 

So, who know how they will turn out but I am sure it will end fun.

Game 2. Mouse Guard.
I love this game. I love playing heroic mice in a world full of creature that can kill them so easily. I find the mechanics very interesting and how you have to fail rolls to eventually level them up. It adds something to the story when you have intentionally to eventually increase that stat. 

In the game we were still trying to help a village rebuild and determine how it was destroyed in the first place. A few highlights.

Getting our ass kicked repeatedly by a raccoon, having the town turn against us due to their being mice being a part of a an evil cult of the serpent, trying to find, going out and finding 4 separate mice left to be sacrificed (we only saved 1 of them..it was that kind of day). 

We did not really do to well overall, but all of this led up to one of our own, sacrificing himself so we could escape the raccoon. It was a pretty damn awesome moment.

After that we raised an army, beat the raccoon and all was saved,..er mostly.

Dragon Age Rpg...the review.

So, Saturday, I picked up the Dragon Age Rpg...cuz it was dirt cheap. I have wanted to read through it before, since I am such a huge fan of the game on my ps3. I must have beaten that game 5 different times. L O V E D it.

So, I was excited when I opened the box when I got home. Inside? A players guide, GM's guide, a map of Ferelden, and a bag with three of cheapest looking d6’s I have ever seen. I think they took them out of yatzee or something. 

I knew beforehand that this was a fairly, rules light kind of game...but damn. It really is. I personally don't have too much of a problem with it, but I know others would. Especially those that like a bit of crunch to their game. 

So after rolling stats. Wait. Rolling stats? It actually makes you choose the ability and then roll to see what you get. I have never been a fan of this way, and would allow anyone to change that if I ran this.  So, anyways, you can choose to be a wizard, rogue, or a thief...just like in the game. You can also choose backgrounds that allow you to get other skills. Nothing to out of the ordinary here. Then you choose focuses, which allows you to add a +2, to any die roll it associates with. So a +2 to sneaking if you chose that as your focus. Character creating did not exactly break the chains of the industry, but it did seem pretty quick.

The books were small, and very quick reading. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, and the book on how to run the game was almost boring at times. The artwork was not too bad…nothing great, but definitely worth looking at.

The mechanics are very simple. 3d6+ability (like strength) +focus and you compare it to the total. The one thing that was sort of interesting is the dragon die. Just choose a different six sides die to be that one and when you are making a roll and succeed, check the dice. If any two of the three dice are the same number, you then check and see what number the dragon dice is. You get that amount of points to use in stunts. For example, if you are healing, and this happens, you can use stunt points to heal for an additional amount. It seems like a nifty little device, to break up the mundane system it seems to be using. I like the idea behind it.

It also comes with a starting adventure that seems more like a tutorial than anything. Reading, it felt like it was holding my hand at the beginning of Skyrim. Not bad, just kind of generic. But it is free and not a bad way to start. I would just tweak it a bit.

Overall, this game is mostly going to appeal to the fans of the video game. Which to be fair isn’t a bad thing. IT would also be a great game to start people out with. Other than that, I am not sure how many other people are going to be too excited about it. I would definitely play it, but I fit in their demographic pretty easily. But as a rules light kind of game, I think it could be a lot of fun.

Rating. 6.0 out of 10.0

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. :)

Looking at a few games...

So, I am taking a break from thinking about game design this weekend to look at a few games.  I have the pdf versions of Hollowpoint, and Diaspora.  These are games by Vsca Publishing, and two of the games I am really excited to get to know.

Just a few words on what they are, and I will review them later when I am done.

Hollowpoint is a game where you are a bad ass, literally.  You are an agent, and you have missions.  Think James Bond, or maybe the A-Team.  It is not a fluff game and deals with violence and death, so because of that it may not be fore everyone.  That is fine, it seems like a nice break and it is a pick up game.  Good pickup games are always a great thing to find.  So bring it on!

Diaspora is a Fate based sci-fi game.  Taking place in SPACE and dealing with a bit of a hard sci-fi approach, you create the galaxies and then on to having your ass handed to you.  You know, cut it is fate.  I am interested in this to see the Fate system in from a different point of view.  I love Evil Hats games, so this should be exciting to read and see what Vsca did with the system.

I am really enjoying reading what I have so far, but will have a review of the games when I am done with them.

Google+ and how it has already changed my life.

Social networking is a tricky thing.  One of things that always pulled me into gaming is that it a social event.  Yes, people have made fun of gamers for years, but the bottom line is you had to leave you house and go see other people to play.   Sure, there are still a few people out there that fit the stereotype of being socially awkward and all that, but social networking has probably helped those people communicate better with the rest of us. 

Just about everyone is on Facebook, and has been for a while.  I know I have been on it for a good time and there are people out there that the only time I hear from them is when we communicate with each other that way.  Saying that I have never been a fan of it and its views on security.  I am not going to go into that since everyone else already has at some point.  Let’s just say that given the opportunity, I would probably use another site if possible.

What a great segue way to Google+

I haven’t been on G+ for that long.  At first you hear about people and how they are so happy about getting their invitees to try it out.  It kind of makes you feel like you are the only one that hasn’t been picked to be in the baseball game that you played so often as a kid.  You really want to play, but you can’t because no one will choose you. 

Then I got my invite, to try it out and all was right in the universe.  I know that is silly, but if we are honest with each other…we like being chosen to be a part of something.  That can be good and bad depending on how much your life depends on this, but it is a fact of life none the less.

I had not read that much about it as of yet, so, I went into this not really expecting much.  I was immediately blown away by the simplicity of the circles.  Not exactly a mind blowing idea, but one that handled well allows you to get information to people that actually want to hear it.  Instead of everyone.  You know what I mean.  Say you are a movie buff, but you have friends that just don’t care to hear it.  You create a circle called movie buffs and ask people if they want to be involved in it.  Or for me, I am a gamer, so I have a group called rpg people, which is just growing by the day.  But when I want to talk about gaming, I only send it to them. 

Facebook never really handled this well, if you ask me.  Which is why I don’t have different groups on there, but all of my stuff gets sent to everyone.  Even those that don’t give a damn about my writing, gaming, or geekery I am into. 

I now have circles for.  My friends, newbies, acquaintances, rpg people, indie games, Dresden Files rpg, readers, people I follow, authors, and game design. 

I have already met, and had conversations with some very awesome people.  G+ is a networker’s wet dream.  Especially as a gamer and a designer.  I want to meet people and hear their own gaming and designing stories.  You can learn so much from other people’s experiences if you are just willing to shut up and listen.   G+ is so easy to do, and when you have people that are actually willing to talk about things you both love…it is an amazing thing.  A bit addictive, but amazing none the less. 

Then you have the free hangout feature that allows people to chat via webcam.  Kind of cool, especially since so many people are already using it to game.  I have not done that yet, but I get the feeling I will at some point.  Especially with good friends of ours that live in Pittsburgh. 

But it goes beyond that, into something I not sure I can explain well.  A sense of community is already starting there.  Do I know most of these people very well?  No.  But I want to, and that to me is an amazing thing to behold.  It isn’t that I am an a anti-social person, but it is amazing how just a last week I was content (reluctantly) with Facebook, and now I have been introduced to over 75 new people.  That has been without even trying.  I am sure that number is going to go up as I continue reading all of the posts from other people that are in their circles. 

For some reason, this blows my mind…but in a good way.  

Now I do hope they pull their heads out of the asses about the pseudonym thing.  I get why a lot of people don’t want to give their first and last names. Those people should not be punished for wanting the anonymity.  From what I hear, they are backing off a bit, but actions speak louder than words.

But overall, it has been a rousing success.  I have enjoyed meeting people that share my interests.  I have enjoyed having conversations that were not possible two weeks ago.  This has been pure win thus far, and I can only hope they will continue making changes to it…to make it better.  Will it kill Facebook?  Probably not, but I would not mind to see fb go down the way myspace did.  :)

Oh, and I created a poll that I would like people that game to answer.  :)

Games I want to play...

It has been a while.  Almost exactly a year since I ran a game, and a little over since I have actually played anything.  That is way too damn long and it is something that is going to change in the next month.

So, with that being said...what do I want to play?

The first group are games we are going to play soon.

• Dresden Files Rpg.  I am playing it, but I am running it. Although I am going to ask one of the other players if they could run it at some ponit (so I can play too).
• Don't Rest Your Head.  I have wanted to play this game for a few years now.  I love the thought behind it and how madness can really affect gameplay.
• The Dragon Age rpg.  I loved Dragon Age the video game so much, it was a little frightening.  I think I fiinished that game four times. 
• Misspent Youth.  I have played this, but a few of my players are bit sci-fi fans, so I think this would be a great game to play.

This group is one that I may have to go outside of my group to play.

• Trail of Cthulhu.  Call of Cthulhu is still my favorite game of all time, and I like what Gumshoe brought to this system.  This game is fun.
• Dogs in the Vineyard.  Played it once at a Nerdnyc event, and it was so much fun. 
• Spirit of the Century.  One of my favorite games of all time and yet I have only played it once.  I alwasy get suckered into running it.