System Spotlight: DC Adventures

One week, my roleplaying group and I were looking for a system to play as super heroes.  My father suggested we avoid Champions, as he played it back in the 80s and said it was ridiculous.  Granted, that was first edition, but we decided to heed his advice.  My friend suggested Mutants and Masterminds, but our local gaming store didn't have it at the time.  Then we spotted DC Adventures, which was published by the same people that publish Mutants and Masterminds, Green Ronin.

Creating a super hero is fairly complex, and this system is no exception.  After reading over the book again and again, I was able to (I think) determine how the system worked.  However, I found it extraordinarily difficult to teach over the course of rolling characters.  Also, the world of DC Comics has some ludicrous powers that can be quite game breaking, like the ability to immune to all physical everything.

Video Games & Immersion

I don't know about you, but I love turned-based tactical games.  I would say I love isometric turned-based tactical games, but this upcoming game is changing the format.  The game is XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Now, I realize that this is a remake, and I'm not the greatest fan of reused content, however XCOM: Enemy Unknown looks like an awesome game.  I've been watching interviews and gameplay footage, etc, etc, and here are some things I really like in this upcoming remake, and why this game stands out to me.

DragonQuest - Session 4

(GM Commentary: This week has been quite busy for me.  My wife and I were moving into our house, with the big move in day being the same day as our roleplay.  I had very little time to detail elements of our game this week, however I had a relative idea of were the session was going to go.  Fortunately, I didn't need any on-the-fly statistics, except for, you know, the barfight.)

Two party members down, the remaining group, with their three tag-along adventurers (I actually don't remember how many died, and again I had no material to reference - aka my computer wasn't set up yet - so there are three alive adventurers)m and the perserved corpses of Elenya Lindale and two of the adventurers set off to find a healer of sufficient ability to bring back the dead.  They sail along and encounter a merchant vessel that tells them there is a temple to the High God a few days journey from their location.  They set off, hoping the temple will have a powerful enough healer.

System Spotlight: Dungeons and Dragons (4th Edition)

I have had fairly poor experiences with Dungeons and Dragons.  My generation was all about 3.5 Edition, and I found it to be dreadful.  The overwhelming nature of D&D 3.5 was that you were either in, and bought all the damn books, or not, where you maybe owned a player's guide.  Every time I tried to play it, mostly for the sack of hanging out with a body or two on a given day, my mind was so bobbled by how many rules there were for every damn thing, it seemed.  My first couple of experiences I tried to keep simple, so I tried to play a fighter.  Navigating the feats was like researching for a thesis paper, especially when I was handed more books than one.  The multiple times I tried to play a fighter, I ended up with some generically deceit feats and hoped for the best.

The last game I tried, I wanted to be something, oh, I don't know, useful.  So, I tried to be a cleric.  We finally encountered our first undead, and I shouted "I turn undead!" having seen this before.  The rules for turn undead are a page long, and neither myself, my rule-nazi friend (at the time), nor the dungeon master could derive a clear understanding of what the hell I was suppose to roll, or not roll.  Anyone who knows about D&D 3.5 knows that a cleric can turn undead.  It's like milk if clerics were cereal.  And yet, we couldn't, for the life of me, figure the damn thing out.  "I'm sure it's clarified in another book," they said, and let me just turn the damn thing and move on.  Another book?  What bull.

So, when I tell you I decided to pick up Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, you know how I feel about the franchise already.  First, let me explain (perhaps again, as I tend to repeat myself) that I love picking up systems and just reading them, cover to cover.  Even if I hate the system, I want to learn from it.  I take everything I hate and everything I love and then move on if the bad out weighs the good, and keep the good in mind when making my system, and remember the bad as well.

What finally got me to purchase 4e was that everyone was complaining how simple it was.  After thinking back on my experiences in 3.5e, I thought maybe simple was better.  The D&D crowd is so large in the roleplaying scene, I just wanted to reach out and maybe find some more gamers with it.  So, my brother and I bought the Dungeon Master's Kit, the Monster Vault, and the Player's Handbook.  I read the rules, and we got a game together.

When New Was New

So, I'm watching some videos over at Rooster Teeth and I come across this ad.

Let me stop right there.  I hate ads.  They make me want to buy things less.

Back to the story.  So, this ad was for a new game coming out.  It's called Guardians of Middle-Earth, and for you Lord of the Rings fans out there, this is basically taking the entire concept of LOTR and going "meh."  Let me save you the trip to their website.  It's League of Legends.  With LOTR characters.  It's LOLLOTR.

This got me thinking about Halo 4.  Halo 4 is taking everything I liked about Halo, and replacing it with everything I hate from Call of Duty.  And then there is an entire genre nicknamed "Diablo-clone." I decided to look at some lists of upcoming video games, just to see what was in store in the near future.  Sequel, sequel, sequel, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (AKA Super Smash Bros), sequel, sequel, Dishonored (read a previous post to see why I don't care to look this up), and more sequels.

DragonQuest - Session 3

"Land ho!" the sailors cried.  The party made their way to top deck to prepare themselves to disembark.  When they arrive on top deck, they realize the captain is making orders to have the ship drop anchor, but they were still some ways away from the fort, which they could see in the distance.  They inquire why the ship is stopping, and the captain hands them a spy glass.

When they look upon the fort, they see it is in ruins.  No flags fly over head, and the walls and towers have been chipped away at and the entire fort lies still.  They survey the nearby shore and spot a ten-foot sail boat pulled to shore a mile or so away from the fort.  They decide to investigate.

The Longsword, a Common Misconception

Two posts, back-to-back, in one day!!

Time for me to get all POE.  That's "Pissed-Off Expert" for you Ren-Fest goers.  A lot of people playing fantasy RPGs don't really know what a longsword is, and, well, it bothers the crap out of me.  Even some RPG systems don't know what a longsword is, and that bothers me even more.

So, I found this collection of supplement material for DragonQuest one day while searching for... supplement material for DragonQuest.  I wanted to see what was out there.  I found multiple supplements for "new" weapons, including the "longsword" and "bastard sword."  I thought back on the Song of Ice & Fire RPG, and how they, too, had a longsword and a bastard sword.

Get It Together, Internet / Daggers Galore

Today, I am working hard on one of my homebrew systems.  This particular system has evolved from my very first roleplay over ten years ago, using a system I designed myself.  It is also the system for the world in which we are currently playing within in our DragonQuest campaign.  I decided to use DragonQuest while I design my next edition, which is modelled heavily on DragonQuest, as its the best damn system I've ever played.

Anyway, for some reason I decided that I was going to design weapons first.  I have no idea why, really, except that game balance always seems to come down to how much damage weapons deal, so I suppose its a good place to start.

Although the game exists in a fantastical setting, I am trying to come as close to real medieval weaponry as possible.  Obviously, assigning damage values cannot truly equate to realism, as being cut with a sword of one type is probably exactly the same as being cut by a sword of another type.  Unfortunately, I've only ever been cut with one sword in my life, and it wasn't from a swing, so I can't use personal knowledge in this regard.

If You Have Thirty Seconds...

So, I'm over at the Escapist Magazine website to watch Loading Ready Run.  If you don't know what Loading Ready Run is, I suggest you look it up.  Anyway, the Escapist has these terribly annoying commercials before each of their videos, and one made me pause the video when it actually start, open a new tab, and start typing this.

It was a trailer for the game Dishonored.  I've actually seen this thirty-second spot twice now, and I can honestly say that the only thing I know about this game is that it plays in the first person.  Maybe.  It was a dreadful commercial.  There was a dog, and a robot, and I think a girl died.  At the end of the trailer, it tells me to go somewhere to watch the whole trailer.

Twilight Imperium Game Night, Conculsion

Well, we got back together today and wrap up the game.  In the end, I was able to win, and not a moment too soon, either.  Green fielded both War Suns and was starting some serious aggression, and he thought about aiming at me before my victory was assured.

DragonQuest - Session 2

Our session begins with Silvertooth Dreadwind and Acealos Moonbow.  The day before, they had both found a bounty listing for a naga named Silverfin One-eye, and had decided to get the bounty and split it, fifty-fifty.  Directly north of Southmost is forest.  Silvertooth's skill as a navigator kept them facing north, and they headed for the side of mountain that the center of the island.  Silvertooth informs Acealos that since he is joining him, he has officially joined his crew.

Sibyll Demier decided to get a head start on the main party.  She made good time in the forest, and caught up with the Haven elf and gremlin companions.  She decides to follow them, hiding her presence.

The main party, Elenya Lindale, V2Z4, Bayson Mogul, and Thourin Stonefist, start through the forest. Bayson's elephant, Infant, takes the occasional break to knock down a tree, and eat as much as he could.

DragonQuest - Session 1

Commentary: Alright, so, truth be told, we actually got an hour or two of game time last Friday.  I thought it wasn't enough to post about, but after writing it all out, I realize that combining it with our next session would be a huge read.  So, I decided to post this ahead of time, however because of my set schedule, I held it back for a few days.  Enjoy. (/Commentary)

Our story begins on the merchant ship Southern's Fortune.  Three passengers are heading north, Elenya Lindale, V2Z4, and Bayson Mogul, in search of adventure.  When they arrive at the port of Southmost, they each over hear the crew of the Southern's Fortune talking about how they were robbed at sea, and without anyone's knowledge.  This intrigues them, but they go their separate ways.

DragonQuest - Further Introduction

This will be abrief post, but I wanted to introduce the final two characters of my DragonQuest game.  On, then.

The first new member of the party is Marvin Silvertooth Dreadwind, a green gremlin pirate captain, recently robbed of his ship after a mutiny.  He was the bastard child of a merchant sailor, and he spend his youth aboard a ship, but never in high standing.  When he was old enough, he got a crew of his own and began his days of pirating.  He had just scored the booty of his life when his first mate, Scarface, a plump blue-skinned gremlin, turned his crew against him.  Now, he's a captain without a ship, and he has sworn vengeance on his mutinous first mate, and will reclaim his vessel!

Battle of Westeros Beat-down

So, I forgot why I don't like playing my friend at Battle of Westeros.  So, we set up the scenario "Breaking the Siege," which already implies that I, the Lannisters and the one sieging Riverrun, am going to lose.  But, I was okay with that.  We have played a total of four games prior, and I have only one once, by the skin of my teeth.

So, I got the play-by-play.  Let it begin!

Agon - Introduction, Part I

I found this nifty system, called Agon, while looking for a random name generator (long story).  I was intrigued by the preview, and the PDF was only ten dollars.  If I haven't mentioned this before, I'm always on the lookout for new systems to tinker with.  So, I bought it.

I flipped through it, and I realized it would make a great sub-game.  Not really a full-on roleplay, but something a handful of friends and I could throw down, kill some monsters, and have a good time at the drop of a hat.  So, I got four players, under the idea that we would play this whenever we could, and it wouldn't take over our Friday game.

In Progress: "Gladiators" Development

I've recently decided to try and make some games, mostly in a team with a good friend of mine.  One game I'm working on, solo, is a game I'm calling "Gladiators."

Twilight Imperium Game Night

So, on a whim, I got some friends together and played a game of Twilight Imperium.  If you don't know what it is, then check it out here: Fantasy Flight's Twilight Imperium.

This game is a friggin blast, if you and your friends are in to long board games.  What I love so much about it (aside from the fact that I have won every game thus far) is that it feels like a roleplay.  Each player takes on a faction in the galaxy, all competing for power.  The game offers a variety of ways to achieve victory, including politics, war, and bargaining.

A New Campaign

After much thought, I decided that the Star Trek campaign and I won't mix.  I had an extra week to plan our next adventure, and I came up with nothing.  I thought back to my more successful campaigns, trying to find a suitable replacement for my players.  If you've read my System Spotlights, you'll know how much I love the 1980's DragonQuest system.  So, I decided it was time for me to run another game using that system.

I was happy to see the positive reaction from my players, as my DragonQuest games are often quite entertaining.  So, we spent last Friday rolling up new characters.  I would have posted yesterday, but I ended up spending the entire day at the beach, so there's that.