We reconvened this morning for an epic tale of love and questing across the breadth of Brightwood. Jennifree and Sarah continue their adventures and we see a little more of what lies beyond the borders of their forest. We had a little talk beforehand, reprising the second session and talking about which flower they represented as 'Lady of Flowers'. It was decided that Sarah the Pooka would be Lady of Bluebells and Jennfiree the Pixie would be Lady of Snapdragons.
The adventure began in mid-Spring with the announcement throughout Brightwood that Queen Leanan was holding a spring ball in honour of all Ladies of Flowers. J&S prepared for the ball, making sure they had the correct flower hat, contributed some decorations and had a gift for the Queen. Soon, an escort arrived and took them to the castle where the party was well underway. All of the Ladys of Flowers were there as well as a load of noble Sprite knights. Some of the knights asked them to dance. Jennifree did but Sarah was more interested in launching into some more ... boisterous dancing and was soon rocking the party!
The festivities were brought to a close by the arrival of the Knight of Spiders (remember him?) escorting the Lady of Firelilies (the only flower that can grow in Darkwood). She presented the Queen with a fiery rock which burst into an image of animals and faeries performing the solemn act of trading a boon. The Knight of Spiders announced that through a great deal of trading, the Goblin King had secured that most precious of commodities - a boon over Queen Leanan. In enacting it, he has requested a tournament be held in one month. Knights alone could enter the tournament (barring his enemies, J&S) and the winner would have the hand of the Queen's guest of honour - who was then introduced as Gossamer, the Lady of Orchids from Silverwood, the third of the four woods in the Great Forest (the fourth being defined as Greenwood)
Leanan was furious with this, and the ball ended there and then. J&S were approached as the party disipated by the Captain of the Guard. He revealed that he was in love with Gossamer and desperately needed to win the tournament. However, he would need many magical items to defeat the Knight of Spiders but his duties here at the castle prevented him from getting them. He therefore wished to use the boon that he gave Sarah in the last adventure to request she get the items for him. She accepted and he gave her the list of items, a golden star that would pay for any travel they needed and a flower with thirty petals - one of which would drop off each day until the tournament.
Under the clock, they headed off to retrieve the first item - a coat of Golden Leaf Armour from the Hall of the Mountain King. They walked for days towards the Middle Mountains, which sit between the four forest kingdoms. As they scrambled up the rocks they saw evidence of goblin battles. Negotiating entrance with the rock spirit that guarded the massive golden doors to the Dwarf lands under the mountain, the continued in the dark. They were then aware that they were being watched by hundreds of small goblins. What were they doing in the dwarf lands? The goblins began pinging at them with dart-like arrows and soon they were surrounded with slavering, hungry goblins arguing about which spice to use when they ate them! Drums began to sound and horns and loud banging. S&J were convinced that they were facing trolls, but then dwarfs appeared and rescued the faeries, putting shields of iron between them and the goblins that ran off into the darkness. Taken to the old dwarf king, who remembered Leanan fondly, it was revealed that the goblins have been tunnelling into the dwarf lands and some of their tunnelling had caused some rock collapses. These had trapped some of the rabbits that the dwarfs used as friends. The dwarf miners had informed them that any further digging would cause more collapse. What they needed was something small that could rescue the rabbits. If the faeries could do it, he would grant them the armour. Jennifree is small enough to fit through the gaps between the rocks and Sarah turned into a mouse, slipping through. Jennifree then (after spending an essence point for a clue) used her pixie dust to shrink the rabbits down, leading them home whilst Sarah watched for further rockfalls. Delighted, the King granted the faeries the gift of the armour (golden armour coat made of tiny golden oak leaves, ala scale mail) and performed a ritual informing the spirits under the mountain that J&S would be allowed free and easy passage through the mountain in the future.
The next part of the mission was to find a suitable mount for the Captain of the Guard. The Knight of Spiders has a giant dragonfly. The Captain wanted a specially trained Hummingbird from Bobbit, a Pooka who lives in the fetid swamp known as the Stinking Meadows. The faeries travelled by boat down river from Brightwood Village along the boarder between Brightwood and Darkwood, to the small rivertown of Stench. There they heard the story of Stinking Meadow, a once beautiful field that was filled by the Goblin King with sewage, mud, slurry and effluent so that he could have somewhere to grow his Smelly Things - the spies of his dark army. J&S punted out into the swamp, incredulous that the locals had grown accustomed to the smell. The crossing was problematic because the smelly things tried to drag the punt down, slap the faeries with mud and drag Sarah under into the mire. They nearly succeeded but Jennifree performed a feat of strength and determination that would be more likely to come from her companion and rescued her. Jennifree also used her pixie dust to get rid of the smell from Sarah.
On meeting Bobbit, a rather pompous and self important pooka waxed lyrical about the value of his highly trained and expensive hummingbirds. Did they realise how long it took to train one? How difficult it was to get nectar into the swamp? How it was necessary to train the hummingbirds in the swamp so that they could handle the nastiness of facing the Goblin Kings forces? Did they have anything worthy of trade for such a magnificent beast? After some attempts with mundane items like swords and flutes, they remembered that they had acorns holding magical lucky nectar, given to them by Queen Leanan after their first adventure. They surrendered this nectar to the pooka and he handed over a blue hummingbird, that was soon delivered back to Brightwood.
Finally, and most difficultly, they needed to get the Captain a sword from a old sprite called Flynn who lives at the end of a moonbeam far to the west!! Luckily, Brightwood Village has a moonbeam express station - a massive toadstool that sits in the middle of the town (a town which now has a small port, a castle and a toadstool in it - rapidly growing!!) At it's base are shops selling goods from all Four Kingdoms, further up are the perches for the mounts of the Sprite Knights and at the top a family of Brownies runs the moonbeam transport. Once per month, on a full moon, faeries can travel on a moonbeam to anywhere they want. However, they only have until sunrise to catch the beam back, or they will have to wait a month for the next one! If J&S were tardy in this mission, they would never get the sword back in time.
After some comedy lean forward-lean back 'fast travel' stuff and some shaking off the moondust they find themselves on a series of floating islands in the middle of nowhere, far far to the west of the Great Forest. J&S discovered Flynn at his forge. Apparently they are not the first faeries to have come here asking for a weapon. The Knight of Spiders had already been, having his thorn sword enchanted. Flynn then produced a slender rapier which he said he would happily contribute to the cause of love if J&S could get him the liquid to temper the final heating of the blade - the water that collects in the starcup plants that bloom on the highest island in the chain. Jennifree takes a waterskin and flies up to get the liquid but when she is out of sight, Flynn remembers that he should have warned her about the dragon. Doh!
Jennifree collects the liquid but she also disturbs the dragon. Lots of bellowing and growling and blowing of smoke as the dragon demands that she leaves his sweet water and gets off his island. On hearing this below, Sarah changes into a swallow and speeds to her friends side, just in time to get her shield (which Jennifree makes fireproof using pixie dust) between a massive gout of flame and her friend. The dragon decides he is going to eat them and Sarah looses her temper with the dragon bully and smacks it on the nose. Hard. No really very hard. Hard like only the luckiest person I have ever seen with open ended rolling can smack. Blinking back tears, the dragon is confused as to why it is being attacked by such a small thing and tells them to take the water and go! And they do! The sword is forged and they make it back on the correct moonbeam, fulfilling their mission with almost a week to go.
The day of the tournament came about and the forces of the Goblin King arrived to be met by the shining horde of Leanan's sprites and their Captain (resplendent in his golden armour, shimmering blue hummingbird and star-touched rapier). At the end of the tournament it came down to the Knight of Spiders against the Captain of the Guard. The Knight drew his thorn sword, dripping with green poison from the enchantment by Flynn. The Captain whips out his star rapier and slices across the Knight of Spiders, shattering his thorn sword. Knowing when he is beat, the Knight and his retinue beat a hasty retreat, foiled again by Jennfiree and Sarah.
The Captain of the Guard and Gossamer, Lady of Orchids are reunited and she is so pleased that she grants each of the faeries a boon. Sarah returned home to find one of the rabbits she had rescued had followed her home, and now wanted to live with the kindly pooka, under her vegetable garden.
They are then summoned to see Queen Leanan, who reveals to them through her scrying mirror, a Queen in the Lands of Man, holding her stomach as she is with child. The child will need guardians when it is born... faerie godmothers. Are J&S ready for the responsibility?
To be continued...
The session was delayed a couple of times due to wholly adult pressures and this caused it to take quite some time to get them settled down. Emma (Sarah) was particularly excitable during the entire session. I tried to make the session as cohesive as possible, linking back into the actions of previous adventures. However, one of the joys of playing with kids is that they are a lot more forgiving with some more out-there plot elements (like hummingbirds in swamps). And by way of explantion - the damned rabbits. Emma wants a rabbit but cannot have them because of the two dozen cats living in the street. Not a great place for a rabbit. So she wanted a rabbit friend in the game but she thought she could just have one by asking (which was what Lara did with her squirrel companion, but that was authored in, rather than as a whim). So this was a way to get her a rabbit (no reason why she should not have one) but making her work a little for it. No silver platter.
Another thing came up in talking during the game. The characters have no apparently family which both girls find quite bizarre and want something doing about. Oh and they want a map too. Looks like I have my work cut out for me....
Neil
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Why I Love/Hate SotC!
One week on from CottageCon and my gaming group is picking the bones out of the various experiences we had there. For me, there were two direct revelations. The first was that Duty and Honour worked as a system and is worth pursuing into further development. Thats the minor one. The second however, is more wide-ranging and that was the experience of playing Spirit of the Century.
In Ian's Blog he's been talking about the game and the various things that it revealed at the table, as well as the coming of fruition of one of his gaming journeys. In some ways, I feel that it was the same for me too, in a less stated fashion, because SotC pulled together a lot of the styles, theories and practices that I have been reading about, talking about and blogging about over the last year. In my reply to Ian's post today, I said that it acted as an ink and paper lens that focused some of the things we have done as a group since we formed in 2001. It was a great game.
Since then however, I have got my hands on the pdf version of the SRD and printed and bound myself a copy. In a plain format without the 'flavour' I actually find the system far easier to absorb and appreciate. It was during this appreciation that I realised the most damnable thing - this game is echoing so much of my own desires about games, it's actually annoying. For example, it's long been a source of curiosity that I like to use the system of chargen to form the character that I play rather than the other way around. I see a STR 16 on my Pendragon character sheet and I think 'OK, I wanted him strong, but what else does that strength say about the knight? What about his attitude? What about his relationships etc.' Oh look at SotC and it's wholly character developing character generation system, all sat there, on paper, in front of me! Its great and yet it's distressing. And the ability to form that strength into an Aspect and then impose that strength on the game in a special manner, unique to your character is just so correct in my eyes. I could go on, but that SRD is really quite an inspirational read for me.
So why the hate? Well, three things. Firstly, I can think of about a dozen games I could run NOW based on those rules (or a very quick and easy mod) but I know we just don't have the time in the gaming schedule to do it nor are we likely to soon. The freeflowing combat and open minded character generation system just scream 'fantasy' game to me - pulpy fantasy heroes and dastardly sorcerous villains. Ah, happy days.
The second thing is that I spent the afternoon dissecting Pirates of the Caribeean III through the bloody lens of Aspects, Invokes, Compels and 'Escalate! Escalate! Escalate!'. Pleasant but distracting fun.
Sadly the final thing is that I am rapidly coming to an unfortunate conclusion regarding my own Omniverse system. I think it might be superfluous and in some ways rather accidentally derivative. This came up when we first did SotC chargen and Aspects came up. My system uses virtually the same thing, albeit in a slightly more abstract manner. And my Flux is a less elegant version of Fate points (especially seeing some of the more mundane uses for Fate points from the SRD). Barring the stress track and the inbuilt 'progression' my game uses, the two are pretty damned close. Moreover - and I take some cold comfort in being big enough to admit it - that game is written really well, in a way that I wish I could actually put the words down on the paper. It's become apparent to me that there is a great difference between being able to think up a system, writing the crunch and actually transcribing that crunch onto paper in a way that is understandable by someone who isn't called Neil and doesn't have Neil at the table!
I hate being a fanboy and I know that in some circles SotC is seen as the newest fad, the next so-called big thing and something that is just having it's time in the spotlight. However I am genuinely entranced by the bloody thing and thats not something that I have been used to from game systems. How can I put it? Where some games are great despite the system and some are great and the system facilitates this by not being crap, SotC is the second game I have ever found that really powers a great game through the system itself. Pendragon is the other one but I am a self-confessed Pendragon fanatic, so thats a given.
Hey, and I'm playing Pendragon and SotC at the moment. Woot!
So yes, love SotC because it has pushed all of my buttons. Hate it for coming at an unfortunate time and possibly deep sixing my own game. Well, one of them. Duty and Honour ftw!
Neil
In Ian's Blog he's been talking about the game and the various things that it revealed at the table, as well as the coming of fruition of one of his gaming journeys. In some ways, I feel that it was the same for me too, in a less stated fashion, because SotC pulled together a lot of the styles, theories and practices that I have been reading about, talking about and blogging about over the last year. In my reply to Ian's post today, I said that it acted as an ink and paper lens that focused some of the things we have done as a group since we formed in 2001. It was a great game.
Since then however, I have got my hands on the pdf version of the SRD and printed and bound myself a copy. In a plain format without the 'flavour' I actually find the system far easier to absorb and appreciate. It was during this appreciation that I realised the most damnable thing - this game is echoing so much of my own desires about games, it's actually annoying. For example, it's long been a source of curiosity that I like to use the system of chargen to form the character that I play rather than the other way around. I see a STR 16 on my Pendragon character sheet and I think 'OK, I wanted him strong, but what else does that strength say about the knight? What about his attitude? What about his relationships etc.' Oh look at SotC and it's wholly character developing character generation system, all sat there, on paper, in front of me! Its great and yet it's distressing. And the ability to form that strength into an Aspect and then impose that strength on the game in a special manner, unique to your character is just so correct in my eyes. I could go on, but that SRD is really quite an inspirational read for me.
So why the hate? Well, three things. Firstly, I can think of about a dozen games I could run NOW based on those rules (or a very quick and easy mod) but I know we just don't have the time in the gaming schedule to do it nor are we likely to soon. The freeflowing combat and open minded character generation system just scream 'fantasy' game to me - pulpy fantasy heroes and dastardly sorcerous villains. Ah, happy days.
The second thing is that I spent the afternoon dissecting Pirates of the Caribeean III through the bloody lens of Aspects, Invokes, Compels and 'Escalate! Escalate! Escalate!'. Pleasant but distracting fun.
Sadly the final thing is that I am rapidly coming to an unfortunate conclusion regarding my own Omniverse system. I think it might be superfluous and in some ways rather accidentally derivative. This came up when we first did SotC chargen and Aspects came up. My system uses virtually the same thing, albeit in a slightly more abstract manner. And my Flux is a less elegant version of Fate points (especially seeing some of the more mundane uses for Fate points from the SRD). Barring the stress track and the inbuilt 'progression' my game uses, the two are pretty damned close. Moreover - and I take some cold comfort in being big enough to admit it - that game is written really well, in a way that I wish I could actually put the words down on the paper. It's become apparent to me that there is a great difference between being able to think up a system, writing the crunch and actually transcribing that crunch onto paper in a way that is understandable by someone who isn't called Neil and doesn't have Neil at the table!
I hate being a fanboy and I know that in some circles SotC is seen as the newest fad, the next so-called big thing and something that is just having it's time in the spotlight. However I am genuinely entranced by the bloody thing and thats not something that I have been used to from game systems. How can I put it? Where some games are great despite the system and some are great and the system facilitates this by not being crap, SotC is the second game I have ever found that really powers a great game through the system itself. Pendragon is the other one but I am a self-confessed Pendragon fanatic, so thats a given.
Hey, and I'm playing Pendragon and SotC at the moment. Woot!
So yes, love SotC because it has pushed all of my buttons. Hate it for coming at an unfortunate time and possibly deep sixing my own game. Well, one of them. Duty and Honour ftw!
Neil
Friday, May 25, 2007
Reviews Beware - It's Rant Time!
It's Pirates 3 weekend and the kids are literally chomping at the bit to see what happens to Captain Jack and the crew next. They have been running around the house, all hyper (two plates and one cup down) and ready for the weekend. Even me and Mrs G. are quite looking forward to it. However, I have to say that I always find my enjoyment of these things marred by my nemesis... the film critic. I know, I should just look away. Turn the page in the newspaper. Walk on by and let them do their job. But I can't. They just make my blood boil.
I've never really forgiven them for the condemnation of Pirates 2. You see, I quite liked it. The kids LOVED it. We watch it on DVD pretty regularly, probably more than Pirates 1. However, it is universally condemned as being too complicated, too slow and coming to an abrupt end with no conclusion.
Hello? Are we all a little too young or too cool to recognise a direct Empire Strikes Back rip off?
To summarise, Will Turner is Luke Skywalker (common lad drawn into adventure by beautiful woman with a hidden (pirating) past). Elizabeth Swan is Princess Leia (aristo lass in love triangle and not afraid of a fight). Captain Jack is Han Solo (swashbuckling buffoon with a heart of gold, in the end.). Barbaosa is Lando Calrissian (Former owner of ship, appears at the end of the second film to fly... sorry, captain it). The First Mate is Chewbacca. The comedy pirate duo (the bloke from the office) are R2D2 and C3P0. The guy from the East India Company is the Emperor, Davy Jones is Darth Vader, Jack Davenport's English officer is Boba Fett and the Voodoo Momma woman is friggin' Yoda!!
Put it this way - if P3 doesn't have Ewoks, I will be mightily disappointed! Criticising Pirates 2 for not having a conclusive ending is like pulling the various Harry Potter movies apart because the scamp hasn't graduated, boned Hermione and WTFPWNd Voldemort at the end of each one! They are set-ups, cliffhangers, steps through a larger story. A long winded throwback to the old days when every weekend kids would see the Flash Gordon cliffhanger at the flea pit theatre on the corner.
No, they are not arty. No they do not tackle subjects like a orphaned half Liberian victim of dissentry trying to make their way in life as a plumber in darkest Kyoto, through the lens of a passing caterpillar (which, btw, is apparently the touchstone for a five-star review in Metro). And yes, they do use .... CGI!!
Now, here's a thing. Did I miss a memo? When has the use of CGI suddenly become a heinous sin, contributing, apparently, to the downfall of the worlds eco-system, racial tensions in sub-saharan Africa and the lamentable state of Newcastle's defence? Some of us were talking recently about the propensity of films nowadays to do 'real time' superfast action scenes (eg the Transformers Yahoo trailer) which make it very difficult to see whats happening. We realised that 'bullet time' had become almost extinct as a photography method now because of over-use. However sometimes a little bit of slow-mo is a good thing. Similarly, you simply CANNOT film a massive fleet on fleet battle of crusty, fantasy ships blowing seven colours of crap out of each other without the aid of the computer. Well you could, but it would either look dreadful or cost an even more obscene amount of money.
All of this leads me to my final rant, to the editors of these drivelling pieces of shite called reviews. Please PLEASE stop sending arts critics to summer blockbusters?! Please PLEASE stop sending people who have no children along to see animated movies aimed at .... kids! It hurts me, physically, when I see what is probably a perfectly decent movie being shredded in the papers by somebody who appears to have a marking scheme of 'I start at Citizen Kane and work down....'. Indeed, I wonder if anyone can truly enjoy a film if they have been sent to find holes in it and write something interesting about it - we all know that bad news sells better than good. No incentive to like things too often.
Right. Sated. Phew.
Neil
I've never really forgiven them for the condemnation of Pirates 2. You see, I quite liked it. The kids LOVED it. We watch it on DVD pretty regularly, probably more than Pirates 1. However, it is universally condemned as being too complicated, too slow and coming to an abrupt end with no conclusion.
Hello? Are we all a little too young or too cool to recognise a direct Empire Strikes Back rip off?
To summarise, Will Turner is Luke Skywalker (common lad drawn into adventure by beautiful woman with a hidden (pirating) past). Elizabeth Swan is Princess Leia (aristo lass in love triangle and not afraid of a fight). Captain Jack is Han Solo (swashbuckling buffoon with a heart of gold, in the end.). Barbaosa is Lando Calrissian (Former owner of ship, appears at the end of the second film to fly... sorry, captain it). The First Mate is Chewbacca. The comedy pirate duo (the bloke from the office) are R2D2 and C3P0. The guy from the East India Company is the Emperor, Davy Jones is Darth Vader, Jack Davenport's English officer is Boba Fett and the Voodoo Momma woman is friggin' Yoda!!
Put it this way - if P3 doesn't have Ewoks, I will be mightily disappointed! Criticising Pirates 2 for not having a conclusive ending is like pulling the various Harry Potter movies apart because the scamp hasn't graduated, boned Hermione and WTFPWNd Voldemort at the end of each one! They are set-ups, cliffhangers, steps through a larger story. A long winded throwback to the old days when every weekend kids would see the Flash Gordon cliffhanger at the flea pit theatre on the corner.
No, they are not arty. No they do not tackle subjects like a orphaned half Liberian victim of dissentry trying to make their way in life as a plumber in darkest Kyoto, through the lens of a passing caterpillar (which, btw, is apparently the touchstone for a five-star review in Metro). And yes, they do use .... CGI!!
Now, here's a thing. Did I miss a memo? When has the use of CGI suddenly become a heinous sin, contributing, apparently, to the downfall of the worlds eco-system, racial tensions in sub-saharan Africa and the lamentable state of Newcastle's defence? Some of us were talking recently about the propensity of films nowadays to do 'real time' superfast action scenes (eg the Transformers Yahoo trailer) which make it very difficult to see whats happening. We realised that 'bullet time' had become almost extinct as a photography method now because of over-use. However sometimes a little bit of slow-mo is a good thing. Similarly, you simply CANNOT film a massive fleet on fleet battle of crusty, fantasy ships blowing seven colours of crap out of each other without the aid of the computer. Well you could, but it would either look dreadful or cost an even more obscene amount of money.
All of this leads me to my final rant, to the editors of these drivelling pieces of shite called reviews. Please PLEASE stop sending arts critics to summer blockbusters?! Please PLEASE stop sending people who have no children along to see animated movies aimed at .... kids! It hurts me, physically, when I see what is probably a perfectly decent movie being shredded in the papers by somebody who appears to have a marking scheme of 'I start at Citizen Kane and work down....'. Indeed, I wonder if anyone can truly enjoy a film if they have been sent to find holes in it and write something interesting about it - we all know that bad news sells better than good. No incentive to like things too often.
Right. Sated. Phew.
Neil
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
100 Not Out
18 months ago, if you had said that I would be a dedicated blogger now, I would have laughed in your face. I was adamant that blogs were a pointless affection of people who feel they are more important than they actually are and need to tell the world about it - but cannot tell the world everything because of the people that might read their inner feelings. It all seemed very hollow to me. However, at the time, I needed somewhere to get my thoughts and stresses worked out in a place that allowed me some chance for reflection. It was either a blog or a diary and I am a geek so blogs win!
Of course, now I see it as so much more. It's my corner of the web for me to wank on about whatever fills my mind. Usually roleplaying but not always. Its a place for my friends to contact me and keep in touch with me and how I'm thinking at the time. It's almost becoming a homepage for me as I add my essential links to it and some other stuff soon. The question is, has it sorted out my issues that caused the launch? Have I settled my hobbies.
Yes. Absolutely.
Indeed, in this 100th post to the Bottom of the Glass I would like to announce that any pretense of this being some sort of self-help tool is now being retired. My self has been helped quite nicely thank you. How, you ask?
- All the Raw Deal obligations have blown away on the breeze as has any real active participation in the game for me. I still 'play' but only socially on the very odd occassion.
- World of Warcraft was indeed, the great villain of the piece. It ate my time, it soured my relationships, it cast a shadow over everything I did. It's gone now and after a short period of mind fuzz I am open to a whole new world of opportunities.
- Fanfic is a gogo again, but on a nice low-key venture. I write when I can get the focus and it's good stuff when I do. It's fun rather than a task, which is the point.
- Which brings me to the big winner and thats ROLEPLAYING!!! (Hey, you'd never have guessed eh?) I'm reaching greater gaming heights with my current group and soon will start properly with a secondary group. I have started writing not one, but two games. I'm going to freakin' GenCon (!!) and I'm even roleplaying with my kids. The RP life is very sweet at the moment.
For the first time in literally years, I have spare time. Its a bizarre new concept to me, one that I am still growing used to. Moreover, for the first time EVER I am not in any hurry to fill up that spare time with responsibility or new stuff. It's quite intoxicating! I may even be having a holiday and the laptop will be staying at home. Yes, I know, I'm breathing slowly.
So, in this Happy One Hundred address, I would just like to thank everyone who has helped me along this road over the last 18 months. Whether you are the old friends I see every week, the new/old friends I see very occassionally or truly new friends I have never met yet, whatever you have done, it's helped me and I truly appreciate it.
So goodbye introspection and hello to The Bottom of the Glass, the non-emo angst years!!!!
Neil
Of course, now I see it as so much more. It's my corner of the web for me to wank on about whatever fills my mind. Usually roleplaying but not always. Its a place for my friends to contact me and keep in touch with me and how I'm thinking at the time. It's almost becoming a homepage for me as I add my essential links to it and some other stuff soon. The question is, has it sorted out my issues that caused the launch? Have I settled my hobbies.
Yes. Absolutely.
Indeed, in this 100th post to the Bottom of the Glass I would like to announce that any pretense of this being some sort of self-help tool is now being retired. My self has been helped quite nicely thank you. How, you ask?
- All the Raw Deal obligations have blown away on the breeze as has any real active participation in the game for me. I still 'play' but only socially on the very odd occassion.
- World of Warcraft was indeed, the great villain of the piece. It ate my time, it soured my relationships, it cast a shadow over everything I did. It's gone now and after a short period of mind fuzz I am open to a whole new world of opportunities.
- Fanfic is a gogo again, but on a nice low-key venture. I write when I can get the focus and it's good stuff when I do. It's fun rather than a task, which is the point.
- Which brings me to the big winner and thats ROLEPLAYING!!! (Hey, you'd never have guessed eh?) I'm reaching greater gaming heights with my current group and soon will start properly with a secondary group. I have started writing not one, but two games. I'm going to freakin' GenCon (!!) and I'm even roleplaying with my kids. The RP life is very sweet at the moment.
For the first time in literally years, I have spare time. Its a bizarre new concept to me, one that I am still growing used to. Moreover, for the first time EVER I am not in any hurry to fill up that spare time with responsibility or new stuff. It's quite intoxicating! I may even be having a holiday and the laptop will be staying at home. Yes, I know, I'm breathing slowly.
So, in this Happy One Hundred address, I would just like to thank everyone who has helped me along this road over the last 18 months. Whether you are the old friends I see every week, the new/old friends I see very occassionally or truly new friends I have never met yet, whatever you have done, it's helped me and I truly appreciate it.
So goodbye introspection and hello to The Bottom of the Glass, the non-emo angst years!!!!
Neil
Monday, May 21, 2007
Whats that coming over the hill? Is it a Panzer?!
Spirit of the Century was the real new game for the weekend. We had already generated some awesome characters in a chargen that has influenced a lot about how we look at things. Ian took his seat and probably the most anticipated game of the weekend began.
The set-up was magnificent. Ian gave Matt's Scientist's 'Greatest Show on Earth' as much room as it needed to allow the characters to mingle and grow into each other. Sometimes you don't need an 'in media res' orgy of violence and 'sfx' to kick start a game. Sometimes you just need a truly evocative setting. Everyone had a little moment when they could interact and some had some scene setting flashbacks. And then Matt did his 'performance' which was masterful. Honestly, you had to be there to believe it. Everyone was rapt as he explained how he was wowing the audience with his show of 'tomorrows science, today' and extolling the virtues of learning and logic.
And then the shit hit the fan, energy started arcing around the room, a woman was killed and a woman appeared - the princess of the Hollow World! Aha! I disposed of the dead womans body for my Gentlemen and we discovered tales of a civil war and coup in the Hollow World, a crystal that could jump between dimensions, Cthonic entities, lost Lemuria and then BATTLE GOLEMS!! All great stuff, all dispatched with aplomb. The Doctor created a scanner (a massive one that drained the power from half of London and then a man-portable one) to find the missing crystal. As a result we were off to Iraq and chugging around the desert in an airplane, finding the crystal in .... a nazi camp!
However, we were all a bit tired and it was getting late so we decided to adjourn until tomorrow morning. We had a very important conversation first however. We talked in depth about the way that the system worked and what we thought we were doing right, and what we were doing wrong. We decided that we needed to make Compels truly negative, we decided it was fully expected for everyone to suggest compels to other players. We really got our head around what made the game kick. And then we slept.
The next day we reconvened and the MADNESS began. This was more like it in a very chaotic yet hugely pleasurable way. Of course, the scouting party looking at the base was ambushed by a nazi patrol. The rest of us moved in the truck to intercept but our axle broke and then a truck of Nazis arrived - and one of them was an officer. There was all manner of chaos going on. The Doctor unleashed a gas propelled spare tire at the truck, which was shot by Hollow World rayguns. Someone shot my butlers teapot which sent him into a considered paddy and had him storming their ranks. Ms Ashcroft, the angel of vengeance was shot to pieces but carried on. And then I compelled my 'Out of the Fat, Into the Fire' and a tank appeared. Ian's face was a picture. He handled it magnificently however, and after we dispatched that as well, those of us who were not 'Built like a Brick Shithouse' dressed in nazi uniforms and bluffed our way into the camp, finding the crystal in a typically pulpy cavern avec abyss, being used by Lord Chatham (a former Gentlemen of mine who had betrayed my trust - a true no-no for my character) to open reality to the aforementioned Cthonic entities.
Battle was joined, Nathanial was a hero and then a villain as he succumbed to his dark side. The Doctor unleashed his ornithopter and I squared off against Lord Chatham. Ms Ashcroft tried to stab him but I took the blow, compelling my 'Get Behind Me Sir!' to instinctively protect even a former Gentlemen. And then the bounder stabbed me in the back! I punched him into the abyss and narrated that he was hanging off the edge. He swore I would never defeat him and I offered him my hand to raise him up. He took it and I smiled. "You're a cad and a bounder. You cheat sir, you die!' and I let him fall into the ravine. (You Cheat, You Die! is another aspect of mine) Thats two Gentlemen I have killed for being cheaters....
There was a mad scramble for the crystal between all of the other characters, trying to keep it away from the possessed Nathanial. The Doctor performed some sleight of hand and had them chasing a bag of stone instead of the crystal. I hoisted the madman over my shoulder and we escaped. It may have been the end of the session, but we knew that the matter in the Hollow World needed to be dealt with.
I have to say, this was just skimming some of the stuff that was going on with the characters. The game was THICK with issues and story and character THERE, NOW, all over the table like a rash. It was a smorgasbord of potential. A truly memorable game with some great moments that will live with us forever. We will be playing it again.
Pendragon followed. Its hard to write about Pendragon in the same way as the other games because we have been playing the game for 9 months now! It was 501/2 and we finally dispatched the last knight from the county of Marlborough and claimed it for the grey shading of Salisbury. We told the saxons to bugger off again and then faced some personal issues early in the next year. Sir Aeryn the Elder had to face his father in mortal combat, winning (just) but suffering a terrible wound that crippled him (losing 2 SIZ) now and later in the year (losing another to aging). Sir Guillame faced Aggric the Black, the druid tormentor of his family and killed him. I was challenged by The Falcon, the faerie betrothed knight of my beloved wife Epona. After a terrible attempt to bluff him (which failed magnificently with a critical Honest role - trule Brions love for Epona shines through) we were due to meet on the field of battle. I was told to retrieve my sacrificed sword from Morrigan, via my son (who is 17 and virtually an alt now) who met with both her and her flower goddess aspect. I met the knight and we parried a number of times before he ran me through... only for the power of my love for Epona to make his sword explode!! I threw him a new sword but he was too injured so I went to help him up when he told me I had passed (whatever that meant?) but that Morganas child (oh dear... ) will be terrible for my family. Thats not good. That little daliance with the teenager will come back and bite me in the bum!
Pendragon was a truly fitting end to the weekend because it was like some sort of sweeps week episode. We know that we are rapidly approaching The Sword in the Stone. The characters are beginning to age. Its the endgame for these characters and it's time to clear off their storylines before the big finale. The quality of the game is testimony to Nigels ability to come back again, time after time with an engaging story and managing a game which has grown to magnificent proportions.
And thus the weekend ended. I will no doubt have missed a load of things from each of the games, but Andrew is doing a full Actual Play thread on rpg.net which I expect to be far more accurate.
As I said, the weekend was an unqualified success. We had some great gaming. It was knackering but well worth the money and the effort. We also learned a lot about how we game and what we can do with games when we put our minds to it. Is it too much to suggest that we may have moved from a group of friends that do roleplaying games to a gaming group who use that friendship and respect to power better games? Maybe, maybe not. However I will say this. This last year or two has been the best gaming experience I have had ever. It has grown RPGs from something I do because I do them to my #1 hobby and that is in no small part due to the amazing people that I get to game with. You couldn't ask for a more considerate, respectful, generous and thoughtful group of people to game with.
Roll on CottageCon II!!
Neil
The set-up was magnificent. Ian gave Matt's Scientist's 'Greatest Show on Earth' as much room as it needed to allow the characters to mingle and grow into each other. Sometimes you don't need an 'in media res' orgy of violence and 'sfx' to kick start a game. Sometimes you just need a truly evocative setting. Everyone had a little moment when they could interact and some had some scene setting flashbacks. And then Matt did his 'performance' which was masterful. Honestly, you had to be there to believe it. Everyone was rapt as he explained how he was wowing the audience with his show of 'tomorrows science, today' and extolling the virtues of learning and logic.
And then the shit hit the fan, energy started arcing around the room, a woman was killed and a woman appeared - the princess of the Hollow World! Aha! I disposed of the dead womans body for my Gentlemen and we discovered tales of a civil war and coup in the Hollow World, a crystal that could jump between dimensions, Cthonic entities, lost Lemuria and then BATTLE GOLEMS!! All great stuff, all dispatched with aplomb. The Doctor created a scanner (a massive one that drained the power from half of London and then a man-portable one) to find the missing crystal. As a result we were off to Iraq and chugging around the desert in an airplane, finding the crystal in .... a nazi camp!
However, we were all a bit tired and it was getting late so we decided to adjourn until tomorrow morning. We had a very important conversation first however. We talked in depth about the way that the system worked and what we thought we were doing right, and what we were doing wrong. We decided that we needed to make Compels truly negative, we decided it was fully expected for everyone to suggest compels to other players. We really got our head around what made the game kick. And then we slept.
The next day we reconvened and the MADNESS began. This was more like it in a very chaotic yet hugely pleasurable way. Of course, the scouting party looking at the base was ambushed by a nazi patrol. The rest of us moved in the truck to intercept but our axle broke and then a truck of Nazis arrived - and one of them was an officer. There was all manner of chaos going on. The Doctor unleashed a gas propelled spare tire at the truck, which was shot by Hollow World rayguns. Someone shot my butlers teapot which sent him into a considered paddy and had him storming their ranks. Ms Ashcroft, the angel of vengeance was shot to pieces but carried on. And then I compelled my 'Out of the Fat, Into the Fire' and a tank appeared. Ian's face was a picture. He handled it magnificently however, and after we dispatched that as well, those of us who were not 'Built like a Brick Shithouse' dressed in nazi uniforms and bluffed our way into the camp, finding the crystal in a typically pulpy cavern avec abyss, being used by Lord Chatham (a former Gentlemen of mine who had betrayed my trust - a true no-no for my character) to open reality to the aforementioned Cthonic entities.
Battle was joined, Nathanial was a hero and then a villain as he succumbed to his dark side. The Doctor unleashed his ornithopter and I squared off against Lord Chatham. Ms Ashcroft tried to stab him but I took the blow, compelling my 'Get Behind Me Sir!' to instinctively protect even a former Gentlemen. And then the bounder stabbed me in the back! I punched him into the abyss and narrated that he was hanging off the edge. He swore I would never defeat him and I offered him my hand to raise him up. He took it and I smiled. "You're a cad and a bounder. You cheat sir, you die!' and I let him fall into the ravine. (You Cheat, You Die! is another aspect of mine) Thats two Gentlemen I have killed for being cheaters....
There was a mad scramble for the crystal between all of the other characters, trying to keep it away from the possessed Nathanial. The Doctor performed some sleight of hand and had them chasing a bag of stone instead of the crystal. I hoisted the madman over my shoulder and we escaped. It may have been the end of the session, but we knew that the matter in the Hollow World needed to be dealt with.
I have to say, this was just skimming some of the stuff that was going on with the characters. The game was THICK with issues and story and character THERE, NOW, all over the table like a rash. It was a smorgasbord of potential. A truly memorable game with some great moments that will live with us forever. We will be playing it again.
Pendragon followed. Its hard to write about Pendragon in the same way as the other games because we have been playing the game for 9 months now! It was 501/2 and we finally dispatched the last knight from the county of Marlborough and claimed it for the grey shading of Salisbury. We told the saxons to bugger off again and then faced some personal issues early in the next year. Sir Aeryn the Elder had to face his father in mortal combat, winning (just) but suffering a terrible wound that crippled him (losing 2 SIZ) now and later in the year (losing another to aging). Sir Guillame faced Aggric the Black, the druid tormentor of his family and killed him. I was challenged by The Falcon, the faerie betrothed knight of my beloved wife Epona. After a terrible attempt to bluff him (which failed magnificently with a critical Honest role - trule Brions love for Epona shines through) we were due to meet on the field of battle. I was told to retrieve my sacrificed sword from Morrigan, via my son (who is 17 and virtually an alt now) who met with both her and her flower goddess aspect. I met the knight and we parried a number of times before he ran me through... only for the power of my love for Epona to make his sword explode!! I threw him a new sword but he was too injured so I went to help him up when he told me I had passed (whatever that meant?) but that Morganas child (oh dear... ) will be terrible for my family. Thats not good. That little daliance with the teenager will come back and bite me in the bum!
Pendragon was a truly fitting end to the weekend because it was like some sort of sweeps week episode. We know that we are rapidly approaching The Sword in the Stone. The characters are beginning to age. Its the endgame for these characters and it's time to clear off their storylines before the big finale. The quality of the game is testimony to Nigels ability to come back again, time after time with an engaging story and managing a game which has grown to magnificent proportions.
And thus the weekend ended. I will no doubt have missed a load of things from each of the games, but Andrew is doing a full Actual Play thread on rpg.net which I expect to be far more accurate.
As I said, the weekend was an unqualified success. We had some great gaming. It was knackering but well worth the money and the effort. We also learned a lot about how we game and what we can do with games when we put our minds to it. Is it too much to suggest that we may have moved from a group of friends that do roleplaying games to a gaming group who use that friendship and respect to power better games? Maybe, maybe not. However I will say this. This last year or two has been the best gaming experience I have had ever. It has grown RPGs from something I do because I do them to my #1 hobby and that is in no small part due to the amazing people that I get to game with. You couldn't ask for a more considerate, respectful, generous and thoughtful group of people to game with.
Roll on CottageCon II!!
Neil
Now, Thats Soldiering... and Devilling and Solaring
It's the CottageCon report, part the first.
Lets get the operational stuff covered first. Drive down was miraculously clear of traffic and had rather good weather, the venue was wonderful and very clean and spacious and everyone arrived on time with muchos awesome pizza. We watched an episode of Sharpe to get us in the mood for Duty and Honour. OK, it was also to allow me to write something approaching an adventure as my ability to time manage was wtfpwnd by a Girls Aloud concert and 28 Weeks Later earlier in the week.
Duty and Honour was the first fix playtest of a new system I have been fiddling with to emulate Sharpe and other such Napoleonic properties. It uses a career progression based character generation system and a playing card based resolution system (because gentlemen don't play dice!). It's very much a bare bones system at the moment and it needs a lot of depth put into it.
The premise was to take the action away from the 95th Rifles, Wellington and Sharpe and focus on the much maligned (and if fact totally fictional) actions against the French in the south of France. In prepping the game I had to focus on three things. The first was a story problem in that the players all belonged to seperate regiments! The second was that I needed to keep it quite simple as everyone had come from a day at work and needed some mindless fun. The third was that I needed to give the systems a thorough work out.
The set-up was that the British army had recently taken heavy casualties in the South and the players were part of a rag tag group being reassigned to the 70th Glasgow Lowlanders - a scum ridden band of ne'er do wells, known for their infective storming and general uselessness. Quickly we established the pairing of the Sergeant (who is a rogue pretending to be company man) and his Corporal (who was a sergeant in the militia and is a stickler for discipline) causing chaos in the ranks and providing no small amount of humour for the former priest Grenadier who has been watching them from the ranks. Their new officer, a member of the Kings German Legion, gets into a squabble in the Officers Mess and refuses to bet his men's behaviour with a fellow officer 'as I don't gamble about army service, it is my job!'. However, his commanding officer believes that it would do the regiments morale good to see the offending annoyance of an officer taken down a peg or two so he requests that the KGL officer undertakes a mission. Go to a village and blow up some Moorish cannon emplacements before the French take them. A simple job for a group including a sapper.
Of course as the small group sets off, things are never that easy. They are harried by French cavalry, which to be fair, they decimate with some rather fruity firing. They discover that the French have already entered the village! A peasant girl reveals that they are being sold to an Algerian slaver who is holding the women and children in the church! (Watch the burly former priest spring into action!). At night, following an old goat path, the small company descend in almost silence into the village, dispatch the picquets and begin to plant the explosives. The French rally, and the units that have been disembarked down in the bay take notice of the small arms fire and start to investigate. The corporal, a rifleman, takes a position in the church tower and acts as a sniper of sorts, saving the Lieutenant who was shot down by a Frenchman. HEADSHOT indeed! The private, leaving his charge laying duties, deals with the Arab slaver with cold hard steel. As the gun emplacements explode, the mostly intact company make double time back to their ranks and the praise of their new found regiment.
OK, it wasn't the greatest of storylines and given more planning there could have been so much more done with it. However it did show that the system worked almost invisibly and seemed to please the players. There were some suggestions about things that could be added to chargen related to rank, which were very good. Oh, and some of the talents need to be tweaked and beefed up as well. All in all though I was very pleased.
The next day, Ian arrived and we commenced our E-P-I-C D&D 3.5e session. This was a completely new venture for all the players. 18th level characters in all their glory are something we have never even contemplated. They really are more like superheroes than fantasy characters. It was a game that I personally was dreading. Whilst the characters were great, they seemed just so smothered in the claustrophobic crunch of the D&D system. I had foolishly taken the Sorceror Summoner route and thus HAD to take my laptop to be able to moderate the madness that was ensuing with my small army of devils. I detest overt non-story related crunch and I was convinced that this was going to become a festival of dice rolling direness.
Oh how wrong I was. And I raise my hands and say 'sorry' to Andrew for ever thinking this. What a fucking AWESOME game that was. The plot was basically a cross between World War Z and Star Wars. The planet was ravaged by a zombie plague caused by the God King Ozymandias and we, the gathered powers, were charged with stopping him in his ziggurat of Doom whilst the armies of Good distracted him. Andrews narration of this was brilliant, conjuring exactly the correct images whilst littering enough Star Wars references so subtley that we knew what he was talking about without him having to be explicit. The twist, for me, was that my PC was a servant of The Nine Hells and I had some agendas of my own.... Group conflicts ahoy!
Want to know how good it was? The GM even made a Gelatinous Cube a viable threat!
We moved through the pyramid (with attendent undead beholders, Vrocks and other nastiness) and then passed into the Suul Land of the Dead. There we confronted Sokar, the Bloody Angel of Doom. Oh that was fun. He tried to tempt us, we had none of it and kicked his ass. He teleported away, so we Miracled him back and kicked his ass some more. I got his sword. Mission One complete. Then we travelled to The God Kings demi-realm where we discovered that Dave's character was seen as a Goddess, the GK wanted me as an advisor and all manner of other stuff. Then Dave summoned a Solar to judge the actions of Ozymandias and all Hell broke loose - literally in my case. We had pit fiends, horned devils, ice devils, solars, Greater Air Elementals, ultra hard undead things, a pseudo-God and his bint. It was amazing. Actually, beyond the amazingness of the setting and premise was the ability of Andrew to make the crunch just disappear in a gentle puff of narrative. God, does he know his D&D stuff!!!! In the end, we won but it was a bit of a pyyric victory as we released some Demon King in the process.
Is it something I would want to do again? Possibly not - but 100% from the angle of not wanting to try (and fail) to recapture that lightning in the bottle. What we had was an exceptional session - and the first one EVER that I have spontaneously clapped at the end of.
And now, onto Spirit of the Century and Pendragon!
Neil
Lets get the operational stuff covered first. Drive down was miraculously clear of traffic and had rather good weather, the venue was wonderful and very clean and spacious and everyone arrived on time with muchos awesome pizza. We watched an episode of Sharpe to get us in the mood for Duty and Honour. OK, it was also to allow me to write something approaching an adventure as my ability to time manage was wtfpwnd by a Girls Aloud concert and 28 Weeks Later earlier in the week.
Duty and Honour was the first fix playtest of a new system I have been fiddling with to emulate Sharpe and other such Napoleonic properties. It uses a career progression based character generation system and a playing card based resolution system (because gentlemen don't play dice!). It's very much a bare bones system at the moment and it needs a lot of depth put into it.
The premise was to take the action away from the 95th Rifles, Wellington and Sharpe and focus on the much maligned (and if fact totally fictional) actions against the French in the south of France. In prepping the game I had to focus on three things. The first was a story problem in that the players all belonged to seperate regiments! The second was that I needed to keep it quite simple as everyone had come from a day at work and needed some mindless fun. The third was that I needed to give the systems a thorough work out.
The set-up was that the British army had recently taken heavy casualties in the South and the players were part of a rag tag group being reassigned to the 70th Glasgow Lowlanders - a scum ridden band of ne'er do wells, known for their infective storming and general uselessness. Quickly we established the pairing of the Sergeant (who is a rogue pretending to be company man) and his Corporal (who was a sergeant in the militia and is a stickler for discipline) causing chaos in the ranks and providing no small amount of humour for the former priest Grenadier who has been watching them from the ranks. Their new officer, a member of the Kings German Legion, gets into a squabble in the Officers Mess and refuses to bet his men's behaviour with a fellow officer 'as I don't gamble about army service, it is my job!'. However, his commanding officer believes that it would do the regiments morale good to see the offending annoyance of an officer taken down a peg or two so he requests that the KGL officer undertakes a mission. Go to a village and blow up some Moorish cannon emplacements before the French take them. A simple job for a group including a sapper.
Of course as the small group sets off, things are never that easy. They are harried by French cavalry, which to be fair, they decimate with some rather fruity firing. They discover that the French have already entered the village! A peasant girl reveals that they are being sold to an Algerian slaver who is holding the women and children in the church! (Watch the burly former priest spring into action!). At night, following an old goat path, the small company descend in almost silence into the village, dispatch the picquets and begin to plant the explosives. The French rally, and the units that have been disembarked down in the bay take notice of the small arms fire and start to investigate. The corporal, a rifleman, takes a position in the church tower and acts as a sniper of sorts, saving the Lieutenant who was shot down by a Frenchman. HEADSHOT indeed! The private, leaving his charge laying duties, deals with the Arab slaver with cold hard steel. As the gun emplacements explode, the mostly intact company make double time back to their ranks and the praise of their new found regiment.
OK, it wasn't the greatest of storylines and given more planning there could have been so much more done with it. However it did show that the system worked almost invisibly and seemed to please the players. There were some suggestions about things that could be added to chargen related to rank, which were very good. Oh, and some of the talents need to be tweaked and beefed up as well. All in all though I was very pleased.
The next day, Ian arrived and we commenced our E-P-I-C D&D 3.5e session. This was a completely new venture for all the players. 18th level characters in all their glory are something we have never even contemplated. They really are more like superheroes than fantasy characters. It was a game that I personally was dreading. Whilst the characters were great, they seemed just so smothered in the claustrophobic crunch of the D&D system. I had foolishly taken the Sorceror Summoner route and thus HAD to take my laptop to be able to moderate the madness that was ensuing with my small army of devils. I detest overt non-story related crunch and I was convinced that this was going to become a festival of dice rolling direness.
Oh how wrong I was. And I raise my hands and say 'sorry' to Andrew for ever thinking this. What a fucking AWESOME game that was. The plot was basically a cross between World War Z and Star Wars. The planet was ravaged by a zombie plague caused by the God King Ozymandias and we, the gathered powers, were charged with stopping him in his ziggurat of Doom whilst the armies of Good distracted him. Andrews narration of this was brilliant, conjuring exactly the correct images whilst littering enough Star Wars references so subtley that we knew what he was talking about without him having to be explicit. The twist, for me, was that my PC was a servant of The Nine Hells and I had some agendas of my own.... Group conflicts ahoy!
Want to know how good it was? The GM even made a Gelatinous Cube a viable threat!
We moved through the pyramid (with attendent undead beholders, Vrocks and other nastiness) and then passed into the Suul Land of the Dead. There we confronted Sokar, the Bloody Angel of Doom. Oh that was fun. He tried to tempt us, we had none of it and kicked his ass. He teleported away, so we Miracled him back and kicked his ass some more. I got his sword. Mission One complete. Then we travelled to The God Kings demi-realm where we discovered that Dave's character was seen as a Goddess, the GK wanted me as an advisor and all manner of other stuff. Then Dave summoned a Solar to judge the actions of Ozymandias and all Hell broke loose - literally in my case. We had pit fiends, horned devils, ice devils, solars, Greater Air Elementals, ultra hard undead things, a pseudo-God and his bint. It was amazing. Actually, beyond the amazingness of the setting and premise was the ability of Andrew to make the crunch just disappear in a gentle puff of narrative. God, does he know his D&D stuff!!!! In the end, we won but it was a bit of a pyyric victory as we released some Demon King in the process.
Is it something I would want to do again? Possibly not - but 100% from the angle of not wanting to try (and fail) to recapture that lightning in the bottle. What we had was an exceptional session - and the first one EVER that I have spontaneously clapped at the end of.
And now, onto Spirit of the Century and Pendragon!
Neil
Knackered!
Thats the only phrase that comes to mind when I describe my post Cottage-Con state. Well, knackered and elated as the entire event was an unqualified success. The organisation was nigh-perfect, the venue was stunning, the food was great, the gaming was thrilling and memorable, the beering was pleasant yet restrained and the banter was, as always, second to none.
However, it does suggest that we are going to have to put in some 'training' before GenCon to get our long-session playing muscles toned if we are going to squeeze the most out of that gamefest on the back of a transatlantic flight!!
I'll wax lyrical later about the games themselves, because they deserve time for some contemplation and rememberance. However, as a plan that has been brewing for some years now and was triggered virtually on a whim in the aftermath of the first Steak and Cinema weekend, I have to say I am a very very happy gamer at the moment!
Neil
However, it does suggest that we are going to have to put in some 'training' before GenCon to get our long-session playing muscles toned if we are going to squeeze the most out of that gamefest on the back of a transatlantic flight!!
I'll wax lyrical later about the games themselves, because they deserve time for some contemplation and rememberance. However, as a plan that has been brewing for some years now and was triggered virtually on a whim in the aftermath of the first Steak and Cinema weekend, I have to say I am a very very happy gamer at the moment!
Neil
Sunday, May 06, 2007
AP: A Faery's Tale, Part Two
And so we settled down for our second installment of 'A Faery's Tale'. I have to say that I was a little concerned as the girls were exceptionally hyped for this session and I was a little tired. Second Session Syndrome is bad enough with adult games - I was desperate not to have it happen here. Of course I could have called it off, but in the end that isn't applicable when its playing with kids, especially when they are hyped like that. It would be like kicking them in the gut. So onwards!!
Of Trolls Noses and Fire Lilies
A little bit of consequences being played out today. The adventure begins near Jennifree's tree, at night, as she hears some shuffling and grunting outside. Inspecting the disturbance with her reluctant squirrel friend Knakfree, they find a baby troll (called Rocknose, on account of his rocky nose, natch) who has lost his family! Apparently he is the son of the Goblin King's Troll Champion. He hasn't returned home and his children didn't know where to find him. The other child trolls went into the forest and never returned, so he wandered and managed to find this tree with it's faerie resident.
(Astute readers will remember that the last time we saw the Troll Champion he was sound asleep under the power of Jennifree's magical pixie dust)
Despite the protestations of Knakfree that helping a troll was folly, Jennifree decided to help him (earning herself a point of Essence) and went to get Sneaky Sarah (who also agreed). Sarah went beyond that, determined that Rocknose should not come to any harm. She petitioned the Captain of the Guard in Brightwood Village, asking whether Rocknose could stay at her cottage. After granting the Guard a boon (the currency of the game and a new rule for this session) she secreted the troll with some tasty rocks and the two faeries went into Darkwood, looking for trolls.
They started at the last point Rocknose had seen his family, Crow Rock, a clawed edifice topped by a gnarled tree with a wooden crow on it. The crow, naturally, can talk and generally bad mouths the faeries for daring touch his branches. He also hates trolls because they eat the rocks around his trees base and confirms that he scared a bunch of them earlier that week, down towards the cottage of Griselda the Hag.
Bravely, the faeries continued to the cottage where they saw a beautiful presentation of folliage and rock gardens but no flowers. They met the pepper-addicted Griselda adding her favourite condiment to frog-eye stew. She confirmed that she did indeed have the trolls and she had planted them, nose up, in his soil to form a rock patch!! (this all comes from a tale I used to tell the kids about a local park, saying that the rocks along the pathways were troll noses...). She said that she would give them the trolls back if the faeries could get her some flowers that would grow in her garden. The only ones she knew of were fire lilies and the only way to get them was to win a contest at the Tournament of the Knight of Spiders - a redcap prince who lived not far from here, and held regular tournaments.
They travel, bravely in my opinion, into the rocky lands of the Knight of Spiders and face the mockery of the ogres, goblins, boggarts, snoggins, phookas and smelly things that are gathered there. The Knight of Spiders mocks them at first and laughs at the idea that they might be considered to take part in the tournament, but one of the goblins that they fought when they were freeing the cygnet in the previous adventure vouches for their bravery.
Jennifree takes part in the music making tournament, but quickly realises that in Darkwood, good is bad and bad is good. So she purposefully plays the worst music she can and wins the contest.
Sneaky Sarah enters the rock-hurling contest and has to defeat an Ogre! The ogre wins the first round easily but Sarah wins the second round. In the final round she makes a massive throw whilst the Ogre pulls off one of those amazing statistical improbabilities of scoring no even numbers on 6d6!
The Knight of Spiders is furious and taunts the pair into entering the Dragonfly racing against him. They agree, but then he asks where their dragonfly is? If they cannot find one, they forfeit the race, their prizes and will remain his prisoners forever! Sneaky Sarah uses her power to turn into a dragonfly and Jennifree rides her to victory (I believe Emma has realised that she has inadvertently created a nigh unstoppable physical character and she loves it!!)
The Knight begrudgingly hands over the three Fire Lilies which are hastily deposited with the Hag who in turn releases the buried trolls. While Jennifree reunites the brood and their brother, Sneaky Sarah finds a load of goblins searching for the children. They arrange the exchange and are met by the goblins and Granite, the Troll Champion of the Goblin King. He is passingly unfriendly with Jennifree for leaving him sleeping but is very thankful that his 'chips of the old block' have been returned and gives a Boon to both faeries as a reward.
The girls talked through a recap of the tale and commented that it was about actions having consequences and the value of helping others even when some people don't want to. They were buzzing again by the end of it and seemed quite pleased that they have made a stauch enemy in the Knight of Spiders!
When we all got going things were just as good this week as last. There were some issues with Emma (the younger of the two) simply wanting to narrate the story away right from the beginning as well as wanting to make the trolls her cousins...(!) but that soon dissipated. The two faeries are even beginning to develop distinct characters - the very sociable, clever and cautious Jennifree guiding the far more emotionally charged and morally absolute Sarah.
Next week, who knows where the winds will take us!
Neil
Of Trolls Noses and Fire Lilies
A little bit of consequences being played out today. The adventure begins near Jennifree's tree, at night, as she hears some shuffling and grunting outside. Inspecting the disturbance with her reluctant squirrel friend Knakfree, they find a baby troll (called Rocknose, on account of his rocky nose, natch) who has lost his family! Apparently he is the son of the Goblin King's Troll Champion. He hasn't returned home and his children didn't know where to find him. The other child trolls went into the forest and never returned, so he wandered and managed to find this tree with it's faerie resident.
(Astute readers will remember that the last time we saw the Troll Champion he was sound asleep under the power of Jennifree's magical pixie dust)
Despite the protestations of Knakfree that helping a troll was folly, Jennifree decided to help him (earning herself a point of Essence) and went to get Sneaky Sarah (who also agreed). Sarah went beyond that, determined that Rocknose should not come to any harm. She petitioned the Captain of the Guard in Brightwood Village, asking whether Rocknose could stay at her cottage. After granting the Guard a boon (the currency of the game and a new rule for this session) she secreted the troll with some tasty rocks and the two faeries went into Darkwood, looking for trolls.
They started at the last point Rocknose had seen his family, Crow Rock, a clawed edifice topped by a gnarled tree with a wooden crow on it. The crow, naturally, can talk and generally bad mouths the faeries for daring touch his branches. He also hates trolls because they eat the rocks around his trees base and confirms that he scared a bunch of them earlier that week, down towards the cottage of Griselda the Hag.
Bravely, the faeries continued to the cottage where they saw a beautiful presentation of folliage and rock gardens but no flowers. They met the pepper-addicted Griselda adding her favourite condiment to frog-eye stew. She confirmed that she did indeed have the trolls and she had planted them, nose up, in his soil to form a rock patch!! (this all comes from a tale I used to tell the kids about a local park, saying that the rocks along the pathways were troll noses...). She said that she would give them the trolls back if the faeries could get her some flowers that would grow in her garden. The only ones she knew of were fire lilies and the only way to get them was to win a contest at the Tournament of the Knight of Spiders - a redcap prince who lived not far from here, and held regular tournaments.
They travel, bravely in my opinion, into the rocky lands of the Knight of Spiders and face the mockery of the ogres, goblins, boggarts, snoggins, phookas and smelly things that are gathered there. The Knight of Spiders mocks them at first and laughs at the idea that they might be considered to take part in the tournament, but one of the goblins that they fought when they were freeing the cygnet in the previous adventure vouches for their bravery.
Jennifree takes part in the music making tournament, but quickly realises that in Darkwood, good is bad and bad is good. So she purposefully plays the worst music she can and wins the contest.
Sneaky Sarah enters the rock-hurling contest and has to defeat an Ogre! The ogre wins the first round easily but Sarah wins the second round. In the final round she makes a massive throw whilst the Ogre pulls off one of those amazing statistical improbabilities of scoring no even numbers on 6d6!
The Knight of Spiders is furious and taunts the pair into entering the Dragonfly racing against him. They agree, but then he asks where their dragonfly is? If they cannot find one, they forfeit the race, their prizes and will remain his prisoners forever! Sneaky Sarah uses her power to turn into a dragonfly and Jennifree rides her to victory (I believe Emma has realised that she has inadvertently created a nigh unstoppable physical character and she loves it!!)
The Knight begrudgingly hands over the three Fire Lilies which are hastily deposited with the Hag who in turn releases the buried trolls. While Jennifree reunites the brood and their brother, Sneaky Sarah finds a load of goblins searching for the children. They arrange the exchange and are met by the goblins and Granite, the Troll Champion of the Goblin King. He is passingly unfriendly with Jennifree for leaving him sleeping but is very thankful that his 'chips of the old block' have been returned and gives a Boon to both faeries as a reward.
The girls talked through a recap of the tale and commented that it was about actions having consequences and the value of helping others even when some people don't want to. They were buzzing again by the end of it and seemed quite pleased that they have made a stauch enemy in the Knight of Spiders!
When we all got going things were just as good this week as last. There were some issues with Emma (the younger of the two) simply wanting to narrate the story away right from the beginning as well as wanting to make the trolls her cousins...(!) but that soon dissipated. The two faeries are even beginning to develop distinct characters - the very sociable, clever and cautious Jennifree guiding the far more emotionally charged and morally absolute Sarah.
Next week, who knows where the winds will take us!
Neil
Thursday, May 03, 2007
OK, So I Cried...
Tonight, I took my WoW characters on what was likely to be their final journey. Likely, not definitely. It was actually quite an emotional experience. I felt I should tell the girls that 'Daddy wouldn't be playing WoW anymore' because they really enjoyed parts of me playing the game. At first they were laughing and joking about it but then they became quite concerned about the fate of Kylea and especially Gorthaal.
It's strange, because those are the two characters that I have really grown attached to. Indeed, the first thing I did tonight was clear out some of the chaff from my account. So goodbye to Barklee (my bank alt, made utterly useless by the enchanting nerf in the expansion), Madusa (my warlock experiment) and Gorthadin (a paladin, if you didn't guess). I was going to delete Swallow and Spit, but I thought better of it. She's a babe. Not one flicker of emotion crossed me when I typed 'DELETE' into the box. They are nothing.
Gortessa was my shaman, a figure of much mockery from me. At the time, I loved levelling her but she was such a pain to play - I simply fell out of love with her. She became the worlds best equipped bank alt. So it was fitting that she donned her armour and took vigil above the Orgrimmar bank.
Kylea used to be my alt, but she increasingly became my main. For someone that levelled as a resto druid for 60 levels, the sheer unbridled power of a mage was intoxicating. As a toon she really kicked ass, but she never really clicked with me as a character. She is now sitting on a flying oasis high above Nagrand, with her feet up, relaxing.
Gorthaal however, is another matter all together. Maybe the Tauren 'nature' connected with me somewhere hidden and deep? Maybe the role of the healer that I did for so long was my true calling? Maybe it is just because Gorth is my first character and my memories of his adventures are so vivid, even from Day One, EU Opening. He's been the workhorse character, slow and steady winning the race. He's the toon people associate me with. In essence, in WOW, Gorth is me. I wanted him to, in a very soft 'Toy Story' style ending, to have a peaceful place for his digital retirement. Little was I to know what would happen.
I was hijacked by Nathanial, aka Mark, my mate from the pub and the guy who took over the GM-hood of the Dungeoneers from me and he said 'You didn't think you were going there alone'. I nearly cried. In fact I did have a tear in my eye. In near silence we flew to Thunder Bluff and then rode through Bloodhoof and into Red Thingy Mesa. I found my hill and sat down. We chatted for a moment about my quitting and then with a /salute and a/sleep, Gorthaal finally got his rest. And yes, I found it sad. And that was really strange - it is just a game after all? No, it's more than that, it's a community and a representation of you within that community. It is more than just a game.
And so it ends. Just over two years of a wonderful gaming experience. I spoke at length with my wife about my cancellation and why I had chosen to do it. I think I might just not have the time or rather the regularity of time to be able to really PLAY another MMO ever. However I do not regret the experience one iota. It's been a fantastic experience, with the highest highs and the lowest lows. The worst bit? That has to be the split in the Dungeoneers and the seismic changes that made to so many people's games. The best bit? It's hard to say - seeing Ragnaros and Ossirian dead was great, being able to take part in taking down Azuregos and Kazzak was cool. No, the best bit was probably when Dave, Andrew and I took PAIN to the Alliance in Arathi Basin. Great pvp memories.
Now, it's time to concentrate on my writing - fanfic and roleplaying games - and to squeeze every drop of fun out of the kids before they grow too old to care.
One last time though.... FOR THE HORDE!!!!
Neil
It's strange, because those are the two characters that I have really grown attached to. Indeed, the first thing I did tonight was clear out some of the chaff from my account. So goodbye to Barklee (my bank alt, made utterly useless by the enchanting nerf in the expansion), Madusa (my warlock experiment) and Gorthadin (a paladin, if you didn't guess). I was going to delete Swallow and Spit, but I thought better of it. She's a babe. Not one flicker of emotion crossed me when I typed 'DELETE' into the box. They are nothing.
Gortessa was my shaman, a figure of much mockery from me. At the time, I loved levelling her but she was such a pain to play - I simply fell out of love with her. She became the worlds best equipped bank alt. So it was fitting that she donned her armour and took vigil above the Orgrimmar bank.
Kylea used to be my alt, but she increasingly became my main. For someone that levelled as a resto druid for 60 levels, the sheer unbridled power of a mage was intoxicating. As a toon she really kicked ass, but she never really clicked with me as a character. She is now sitting on a flying oasis high above Nagrand, with her feet up, relaxing.
Gorthaal however, is another matter all together. Maybe the Tauren 'nature' connected with me somewhere hidden and deep? Maybe the role of the healer that I did for so long was my true calling? Maybe it is just because Gorth is my first character and my memories of his adventures are so vivid, even from Day One, EU Opening. He's been the workhorse character, slow and steady winning the race. He's the toon people associate me with. In essence, in WOW, Gorth is me. I wanted him to, in a very soft 'Toy Story' style ending, to have a peaceful place for his digital retirement. Little was I to know what would happen.
I was hijacked by Nathanial, aka Mark, my mate from the pub and the guy who took over the GM-hood of the Dungeoneers from me and he said 'You didn't think you were going there alone'. I nearly cried. In fact I did have a tear in my eye. In near silence we flew to Thunder Bluff and then rode through Bloodhoof and into Red Thingy Mesa. I found my hill and sat down. We chatted for a moment about my quitting and then with a /salute and a/sleep, Gorthaal finally got his rest. And yes, I found it sad. And that was really strange - it is just a game after all? No, it's more than that, it's a community and a representation of you within that community. It is more than just a game.
And so it ends. Just over two years of a wonderful gaming experience. I spoke at length with my wife about my cancellation and why I had chosen to do it. I think I might just not have the time or rather the regularity of time to be able to really PLAY another MMO ever. However I do not regret the experience one iota. It's been a fantastic experience, with the highest highs and the lowest lows. The worst bit? That has to be the split in the Dungeoneers and the seismic changes that made to so many people's games. The best bit? It's hard to say - seeing Ragnaros and Ossirian dead was great, being able to take part in taking down Azuregos and Kazzak was cool. No, the best bit was probably when Dave, Andrew and I took PAIN to the Alliance in Arathi Basin. Great pvp memories.
Now, it's time to concentrate on my writing - fanfic and roleplaying games - and to squeeze every drop of fun out of the kids before they grow too old to care.
One last time though.... FOR THE HORDE!!!!
Neil
Breaking News: WoW Cancelled
I cancelled my WoW account this morning, with 1 day left on my subscription. More on this later.
Neil
Neil
Sunday, April 29, 2007
AP: A Faery's Tale
While Mam is away, Dad and the girls shall play. Yes, finally I had the chance to try A Faery's Tale out on my daughters - Lara (9) and Emma (7). We'd been talking about it for a while and it proved the perfect opportunity to fill in a Sunday afternoon.
So we all sat down in the conservatory, with some dice and beads and pieces of paper. I explained to them what a roleplaying game is and how it differed from make-believe. We looked at rolling dice and how AFT handled successes. We then wrote out the basic character sheet so I could answer their questions about the stats and gifts etc.
Emma created 'Sneaky Sarah', a B5/M2/S2 Pooka with Agile, Hardy, Sneaky and Strong gifts. She lives in a tiny cottage, which she described in the faery village. She also insisted that Sarah was naughty but brave.
Lara created 'Jenifree', a B3/M3/S3 Pixie with Charming, Fortunate, Magical and Musical gifts. She lives in a tree in the forest outside of the faery village, with her squirrel friends.
Naturally the two faeries are best of friends.
The Mystery of the Missing Cygnet began!
It was the day before the Faery Queen made her spring procession down the river from her castle and through Brightwood Village. Riding her beautiful swan, she visited each of the children in the village and have them an acorn shell full of nectar, which granted them good luck through the next year.
A guard from Queen Leanan's palace arrived at Sarah's house and told her that one of the Queen's handmaidens needed her help! Being a good faery she went straight away and was met by an elfin handmaiden called Goldpetal. The handmaiden explained that the Queen's swan was upset and ill with worry because one of it's cygnets had gone missing. Sneaky Sarah was the best person they could think of to find the missing bird! Emma decided that the swan pond was on the same path as Jennifree's Tree! She also decided that she would need a weapon (a small buckler shield and a stabbing sword) and a pack with some water and cheese to eat. She went to get her friend.
Explaining the dilema to Jennifree, the pixie decided to press home her natural resources and persuade her squirrel friends to take part in the search. She decided that the father of the squirrel family was called Knakfree and she successful got him looking - even though he was reluctant because he didn't like getting wet!
They went to the pond and Sarah changed into a fish to investigate under the water, whilst Jennifree looked around the pond. They found some goblin arrows, a cart track and some feather down - a sure sign that the cygnet had been abducted by goblins!
Following the tracks, they realised that they were leaving Brightwood and entering Darkwood, the realm of the Goblin King. Soon, they realised that they were being followed by two four-armed spider goblins, who challenged them and told them to give up this silly search. The girls were tentative on whether they should be using magic, violence or talking to get around the situation (which was kind of cool in itself) until one of the Goblins started trying to stab at the flying pixie and we saw POOKA POWER for the first time. Sarah stabbed at one goblin when it stabbed at her. They both defended and then she asked whether she could have shattered the Goblins spear on her shield. I explained that she would have to spend an Essence which she did. Meanwhile, Jennifree used some of her Pixie Dust to turn the other goblin into a puppy! Needless to say, they retreated.
The pair found the day drawing to a close and needed somewhere to camp, in the depths of the horrid forest. Emma decided that Sarah had built her own house before and she would gather some sticks, if Jennifree would help, and build a camp 'like Ray Mears does'. Well, that was worth an Essence point! She then, thoroughly getting the hang of this, spent said Essence point to have one of the Faery Queen's falcons appear above them in the night, watching and making sure they had a good nights sleep. After some food and drink they slept.
The next morning they continued their journey and finally came to a swamp, infested with goblins and a black iron cage, holding the missing cygnet. They concocted a plan where Sarah would distract the goblins by hurling huge rocks whilst Jennifree swooped down and popped the lock using her Pixie Dust. Sarah also decided that some of the swamp would be icky mud like quicksand and if she did really well, some of the Goblins might fall into it. She threw her big rock (on the back of 7 dice and 6 successes!) and scatted the Goblins whilst Jennifree freed the weak and feeble cygnet.
And then the Goblin King arrived with his troll champion!
In true villainous style he revealed his plan. If the Queen could not ride her swan she could not give out the gift of luck to the children of Brightwood and therefore his goblins and wolves and smelly things could pick them off in the forest throughout the next year and Leanan's magic could not save them.
Throughout his monologue the two faeries were adamant that the cygnet was not his, and it belonged to the swan and that he would have to give it back. He laughed at the concept of them taking it back and Sneaky Sarah drew her sword and squared up to the massive troll!!! I explained the disparity in power and size and she thought about it for a second and then said that she had to protect the cygnet (and earned another Essence point for bravery). Jennifree, in the meantime had concocted a cunning plan (they had also been talking about what to do, working out that Troll vs Bear might not work, Troll vs Mouse was too risky and a plain tickling defence was also unlikely - I kid you not).
Using her Musical talent, Jennifree started to sing a lullaby (which Lara made up on the spot) to make the troll fall asleep. Lots of successes followed and the Troll fell into a deep sleep. The Goblin King roared in impotent fury and the two faerys and their swan friend made a run for it, pursued by Goblins. Sarah used her Travel Magic to create a path in the forest that lead STRAIGHT HOME and they escaped.
The cygnet was returned to it's mother who perked up no end and the Queen was able to do her procession. Knakfree did do a search and found a load of old nuts which Jennifree offered to cook up into acorn stew as a show of thanks. Both of the faerys were summoned to the Queen's Palace and she thanked them for the great task they had done for her. She noted the bravery of Sarah's stand against the trolls and goblins and the beauty that Jennifree's voice had. She said that Sarah would no longer be called Sneaky Sarah, but now Sneaky Sarah The Brave, Lady of Flowers. Jennifree became Jennifree the Beautiful, Lady of Flowers and both were welcome in her court. She also gave them a drink from the children's nectar, giving them a one-shot +2 success to any roll made in Brightwood Forest, to be used in the next year.
And that ended the tale.
The aftermath was a cacophony of excited kids, all very enthusiastic about playing it again next week! They loved the idea that they would be playing the same characters and that they could become better etc.
For me, it was simply amazing. If I was to look at it from an analytical POV, even though it was very rudimentary they thought around problems, didn't use violence as an answer to everything, performed in character when needed, owned their own environments and edited mine to make the game more exciting and added their own NPCs etc. as needed. Not bad for a first stab at rpgs!
Apparently the mission next week is to get Mammy to play. I'll believe it when I see it!
Neil
So we all sat down in the conservatory, with some dice and beads and pieces of paper. I explained to them what a roleplaying game is and how it differed from make-believe. We looked at rolling dice and how AFT handled successes. We then wrote out the basic character sheet so I could answer their questions about the stats and gifts etc.
Emma created 'Sneaky Sarah', a B5/M2/S2 Pooka with Agile, Hardy, Sneaky and Strong gifts. She lives in a tiny cottage, which she described in the faery village. She also insisted that Sarah was naughty but brave.
Lara created 'Jenifree', a B3/M3/S3 Pixie with Charming, Fortunate, Magical and Musical gifts. She lives in a tree in the forest outside of the faery village, with her squirrel friends.
Naturally the two faeries are best of friends.
The Mystery of the Missing Cygnet began!
It was the day before the Faery Queen made her spring procession down the river from her castle and through Brightwood Village. Riding her beautiful swan, she visited each of the children in the village and have them an acorn shell full of nectar, which granted them good luck through the next year.
A guard from Queen Leanan's palace arrived at Sarah's house and told her that one of the Queen's handmaidens needed her help! Being a good faery she went straight away and was met by an elfin handmaiden called Goldpetal. The handmaiden explained that the Queen's swan was upset and ill with worry because one of it's cygnets had gone missing. Sneaky Sarah was the best person they could think of to find the missing bird! Emma decided that the swan pond was on the same path as Jennifree's Tree! She also decided that she would need a weapon (a small buckler shield and a stabbing sword) and a pack with some water and cheese to eat. She went to get her friend.
Explaining the dilema to Jennifree, the pixie decided to press home her natural resources and persuade her squirrel friends to take part in the search. She decided that the father of the squirrel family was called Knakfree and she successful got him looking - even though he was reluctant because he didn't like getting wet!
They went to the pond and Sarah changed into a fish to investigate under the water, whilst Jennifree looked around the pond. They found some goblin arrows, a cart track and some feather down - a sure sign that the cygnet had been abducted by goblins!
Following the tracks, they realised that they were leaving Brightwood and entering Darkwood, the realm of the Goblin King. Soon, they realised that they were being followed by two four-armed spider goblins, who challenged them and told them to give up this silly search. The girls were tentative on whether they should be using magic, violence or talking to get around the situation (which was kind of cool in itself) until one of the Goblins started trying to stab at the flying pixie and we saw POOKA POWER for the first time. Sarah stabbed at one goblin when it stabbed at her. They both defended and then she asked whether she could have shattered the Goblins spear on her shield. I explained that she would have to spend an Essence which she did. Meanwhile, Jennifree used some of her Pixie Dust to turn the other goblin into a puppy! Needless to say, they retreated.
The pair found the day drawing to a close and needed somewhere to camp, in the depths of the horrid forest. Emma decided that Sarah had built her own house before and she would gather some sticks, if Jennifree would help, and build a camp 'like Ray Mears does'. Well, that was worth an Essence point! She then, thoroughly getting the hang of this, spent said Essence point to have one of the Faery Queen's falcons appear above them in the night, watching and making sure they had a good nights sleep. After some food and drink they slept.
The next morning they continued their journey and finally came to a swamp, infested with goblins and a black iron cage, holding the missing cygnet. They concocted a plan where Sarah would distract the goblins by hurling huge rocks whilst Jennifree swooped down and popped the lock using her Pixie Dust. Sarah also decided that some of the swamp would be icky mud like quicksand and if she did really well, some of the Goblins might fall into it. She threw her big rock (on the back of 7 dice and 6 successes!) and scatted the Goblins whilst Jennifree freed the weak and feeble cygnet.
And then the Goblin King arrived with his troll champion!
In true villainous style he revealed his plan. If the Queen could not ride her swan she could not give out the gift of luck to the children of Brightwood and therefore his goblins and wolves and smelly things could pick them off in the forest throughout the next year and Leanan's magic could not save them.
Throughout his monologue the two faeries were adamant that the cygnet was not his, and it belonged to the swan and that he would have to give it back. He laughed at the concept of them taking it back and Sneaky Sarah drew her sword and squared up to the massive troll!!! I explained the disparity in power and size and she thought about it for a second and then said that she had to protect the cygnet (and earned another Essence point for bravery). Jennifree, in the meantime had concocted a cunning plan (they had also been talking about what to do, working out that Troll vs Bear might not work, Troll vs Mouse was too risky and a plain tickling defence was also unlikely - I kid you not).
Using her Musical talent, Jennifree started to sing a lullaby (which Lara made up on the spot) to make the troll fall asleep. Lots of successes followed and the Troll fell into a deep sleep. The Goblin King roared in impotent fury and the two faerys and their swan friend made a run for it, pursued by Goblins. Sarah used her Travel Magic to create a path in the forest that lead STRAIGHT HOME and they escaped.
The cygnet was returned to it's mother who perked up no end and the Queen was able to do her procession. Knakfree did do a search and found a load of old nuts which Jennifree offered to cook up into acorn stew as a show of thanks. Both of the faerys were summoned to the Queen's Palace and she thanked them for the great task they had done for her. She noted the bravery of Sarah's stand against the trolls and goblins and the beauty that Jennifree's voice had. She said that Sarah would no longer be called Sneaky Sarah, but now Sneaky Sarah The Brave, Lady of Flowers. Jennifree became Jennifree the Beautiful, Lady of Flowers and both were welcome in her court. She also gave them a drink from the children's nectar, giving them a one-shot +2 success to any roll made in Brightwood Forest, to be used in the next year.
And that ended the tale.
The aftermath was a cacophony of excited kids, all very enthusiastic about playing it again next week! They loved the idea that they would be playing the same characters and that they could become better etc.
For me, it was simply amazing. If I was to look at it from an analytical POV, even though it was very rudimentary they thought around problems, didn't use violence as an answer to everything, performed in character when needed, owned their own environments and edited mine to make the game more exciting and added their own NPCs etc. as needed. Not bad for a first stab at rpgs!
Apparently the mission next week is to get Mammy to play. I'll believe it when I see it!
Neil
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Who's Fun Is It Anyway?
In my previous post I stated a sort of manifesto that defines a 'good game' for me:
I want a game where vital and active characters come up against personal and dangerous plots with relevant bad guys and epic monsters. I want the players and the GM to engage with a plot that weaves them all together - forestory and backstory - against a common foe. I want the game to reflect the desires of the players rather than the ego of the GM. Rather than saying 'I will entertain you, this is how, enjoy!' I want to say 'How do we want to be entertained? Cool - right, we can all help make this happen, lets go!'
Reflecting on this, I realised that I had missed out one aspect - fun. Fun is paramount for me as part of the roleplaying experience. Like many people of my age I have limited spare time between work and family commitments and I like to use it wisely. Therefore I seek to maximise my 'fun' whenever possible. Sometimes this drives me to almost maniacal degrees of activity but hey, thats half the enjoyment!
So I was ruminating on how we bring 'fun' to the table and indeed, what 'fun' is?
I settled on a reasoning that 'fun' was when a game delivered the groups expectations. Even this answer, in my mind, was a little surprising as I naturally disassociated my personal fun from the groups fun - which I placed as paramount. If the group is not having fun, then an individual (unless possessed with some sort of egocentric issue) cannot be maximising their fun.
Of course, this suggests that the group needs to be aware of their expectations, have the ability to communicate them and to measure fairly whether they have been met. That all sounds very academic but in the end it just means being able to be honest at the start of a game about the sort of game you want to play, what you think would be cool to feature in the game and having a sound feedback mechanism - fora, blog, phone, email, pub, whatever - to let the GM know whats what. Oh, and having a GM that can take that feedback and channel it constructively rather than having a stroppy diva moment.
So therefore, how we 'bring the fun' to the table relies on us all being clear about what we want and also buying into the idea that we can make that fun ourselves but we can make it far better as part of a group.
The question is, how do we 'bring the fun' in practicality, as players? Two things spring immediately to mind.
1. Use the Knowledge to Press the Button
If you know that someone has a certain agenda for their character and you are in a position to offer them a route to advance that agenda in a fun manner, then press that button for them. In Pendragon I knew that Ian needed an 'intervention' to turn Aeryn from the path of unintended evil and back to the path of righteousness. Ian knew that Brion needed someone to focus his rage into some constructive (well, destructive really) weapon. Both of us needed that moment when our pain and our confusion could be rallied into one point and then moved on. An email to Nigel and voila! Two knights braying seven colours out of each other in a forest in the tradition of many an action film. It moved the game on for the characters in a fun and appropriate manner.
2. Share the Limelight
I'm aware that the concept of niche protection in RPGs is a little bit of a hot potato but in a long running campaign 'niche at the table' is a palpable sign of players identifying their own fun. Again in Pendragon we have players who are quite blatantly angling their characters towards certain areas - Guillame is 'the Courtier', Brion is 'the Warlord', Merrin is 'the Manipulator', Aeryn the Younger is 'the Warrior' and Aeryn the Elder is 'the Pious'. By recognising this we can guide our play and give each other room to shine. So when we are at Court, barring a few angry outbursts Brion shuts his mouth and lets Guillame and Merrin do their thing. On the battlefield however, everyone has been gracious enough to allow me to 'be the Warlord' - not just as a matter of fact by title in the game, but also in that I get to write the troop lists and lay out the field of battle etc. That willingness not to just scream 'me! me! me!' all of the time and take pleasure from other peoples gaming pleasure is something I believe is crucial.
There are indeed more - feel free to add more as comments!
Of course there is always the flip side of this and thats when players suck the fun out of the game or worse, steal fun from other players. This is an area of the game that I think rarely gets a mention because it lends itself to direct criticism of the play style of other players in your group and sometimes that can be a little spikey! However, nothing loathe, I am always willing to be the first to cast stones at myself!
Impatience is something that I think comes from my background as a serial GM. Obviously one of the things that is pretty idiosyncratic to any GM is their idea of good pacing and how to manage the ebb and flow of a game. As a player, I naturally have a lot of sympathy with any GM I am playing alongside and I do find myself having to bite my tongue a little if I try to push the game along if I sense it getting slow, or worse being slowed by a player who maybe isn't quite firing on all cylinders. The need to recognise when someone else is enjoying their fun is paramount here. Sit tight, shut mouth and enjoy their good times.
Stepping back is also I problem for me sometimes. I has been said, occassionally, that I have quite a forthright attitude. Not backward in coming forward. Quite opinionated. Maybe even a little gobby (for those not from the NE of England - mouthy and loud.) As such, on occassion I recognise that sometimes I can force myself onto a game and a style of play and despite the intent of my character, become a defacto mouthpiece. I saw this in Ian's Mistridge game when my bard (an arab teacher on the run in drizzly West Yorkshire - you had to be there, it made perfect sense) almost acted as party leader despite being the lowest of the low, barely speaking the language and generally not having any business to do that. I don't think that was good roleplay and it is certainly something that made me aware of this issue even though I haven't mentioned it before! Indeed, in SotC @ Cottagecon, my character is absolutely NOT the mouthpiece and by design never can be, and thats quite on purpose!!
So, there you go - some initial thoughts on fun and how we can make it, and how we can harm it.
Neil
I want a game where vital and active characters come up against personal and dangerous plots with relevant bad guys and epic monsters. I want the players and the GM to engage with a plot that weaves them all together - forestory and backstory - against a common foe. I want the game to reflect the desires of the players rather than the ego of the GM. Rather than saying 'I will entertain you, this is how, enjoy!' I want to say 'How do we want to be entertained? Cool - right, we can all help make this happen, lets go!'
Reflecting on this, I realised that I had missed out one aspect - fun. Fun is paramount for me as part of the roleplaying experience. Like many people of my age I have limited spare time between work and family commitments and I like to use it wisely. Therefore I seek to maximise my 'fun' whenever possible. Sometimes this drives me to almost maniacal degrees of activity but hey, thats half the enjoyment!
So I was ruminating on how we bring 'fun' to the table and indeed, what 'fun' is?
I settled on a reasoning that 'fun' was when a game delivered the groups expectations. Even this answer, in my mind, was a little surprising as I naturally disassociated my personal fun from the groups fun - which I placed as paramount. If the group is not having fun, then an individual (unless possessed with some sort of egocentric issue) cannot be maximising their fun.
Of course, this suggests that the group needs to be aware of their expectations, have the ability to communicate them and to measure fairly whether they have been met. That all sounds very academic but in the end it just means being able to be honest at the start of a game about the sort of game you want to play, what you think would be cool to feature in the game and having a sound feedback mechanism - fora, blog, phone, email, pub, whatever - to let the GM know whats what. Oh, and having a GM that can take that feedback and channel it constructively rather than having a stroppy diva moment.
So therefore, how we 'bring the fun' to the table relies on us all being clear about what we want and also buying into the idea that we can make that fun ourselves but we can make it far better as part of a group.
The question is, how do we 'bring the fun' in practicality, as players? Two things spring immediately to mind.
1. Use the Knowledge to Press the Button
If you know that someone has a certain agenda for their character and you are in a position to offer them a route to advance that agenda in a fun manner, then press that button for them. In Pendragon I knew that Ian needed an 'intervention' to turn Aeryn from the path of unintended evil and back to the path of righteousness. Ian knew that Brion needed someone to focus his rage into some constructive (well, destructive really) weapon. Both of us needed that moment when our pain and our confusion could be rallied into one point and then moved on. An email to Nigel and voila! Two knights braying seven colours out of each other in a forest in the tradition of many an action film. It moved the game on for the characters in a fun and appropriate manner.
2. Share the Limelight
I'm aware that the concept of niche protection in RPGs is a little bit of a hot potato but in a long running campaign 'niche at the table' is a palpable sign of players identifying their own fun. Again in Pendragon we have players who are quite blatantly angling their characters towards certain areas - Guillame is 'the Courtier', Brion is 'the Warlord', Merrin is 'the Manipulator', Aeryn the Younger is 'the Warrior' and Aeryn the Elder is 'the Pious'. By recognising this we can guide our play and give each other room to shine. So when we are at Court, barring a few angry outbursts Brion shuts his mouth and lets Guillame and Merrin do their thing. On the battlefield however, everyone has been gracious enough to allow me to 'be the Warlord' - not just as a matter of fact by title in the game, but also in that I get to write the troop lists and lay out the field of battle etc. That willingness not to just scream 'me! me! me!' all of the time and take pleasure from other peoples gaming pleasure is something I believe is crucial.
There are indeed more - feel free to add more as comments!
Of course there is always the flip side of this and thats when players suck the fun out of the game or worse, steal fun from other players. This is an area of the game that I think rarely gets a mention because it lends itself to direct criticism of the play style of other players in your group and sometimes that can be a little spikey! However, nothing loathe, I am always willing to be the first to cast stones at myself!
Impatience is something that I think comes from my background as a serial GM. Obviously one of the things that is pretty idiosyncratic to any GM is their idea of good pacing and how to manage the ebb and flow of a game. As a player, I naturally have a lot of sympathy with any GM I am playing alongside and I do find myself having to bite my tongue a little if I try to push the game along if I sense it getting slow, or worse being slowed by a player who maybe isn't quite firing on all cylinders. The need to recognise when someone else is enjoying their fun is paramount here. Sit tight, shut mouth and enjoy their good times.
Stepping back is also I problem for me sometimes. I has been said, occassionally, that I have quite a forthright attitude. Not backward in coming forward. Quite opinionated. Maybe even a little gobby (for those not from the NE of England - mouthy and loud.) As such, on occassion I recognise that sometimes I can force myself onto a game and a style of play and despite the intent of my character, become a defacto mouthpiece. I saw this in Ian's Mistridge game when my bard (an arab teacher on the run in drizzly West Yorkshire - you had to be there, it made perfect sense) almost acted as party leader despite being the lowest of the low, barely speaking the language and generally not having any business to do that. I don't think that was good roleplay and it is certainly something that made me aware of this issue even though I haven't mentioned it before! Indeed, in SotC @ Cottagecon, my character is absolutely NOT the mouthpiece and by design never can be, and thats quite on purpose!!
So, there you go - some initial thoughts on fun and how we can make it, and how we can harm it.
Neil
Monday, April 23, 2007
Seeking Games Without Frontiers?
I am preparing to run a game of Scion, the new offering from White Wolf. The premise is about as 'up my street' as you could possibly get. The Elder Gods have left this plane, leaving behind their children (the titular Scions) in their wake. The Titans have escaped their Underworld prison and are now trying to invade the Overworld via their children the Titanspawn. All that stands between humanity and the decimation at the hands of these monsters are - The Scions! Magically enhanced beings who twist fate and perform legendary deeds. Sounds rather super doesn't it? Well, it is - it draws from everything that gets me hot under the collar - modern urban fantasy, mythic storytelling, mythology and pantheons in general, pseudo-superheroes and OTT action.
So whats the issue?
Well, and after that above paragraph, it seems silly to say this - it all seems a little ... dry? Basic? Ill-defined? When I look at the character generation, it seems rather one dimensional. You have a demigod. He or she has great power. They are the Scion of a Deity. They have skills and a human life. They are drawn by Fate into the battle. But??
In Scion I have seen where my gaming 'voyage' over these years has taken me. I don't want a game where cookie-cutter PCs come up against cookie-cutter plots with cookie-cutter villains and cookie-cutter monsters. I don't want a game where the players engage with a GM-generated plot to thwart a GM-generated nemesis. It just doesn't seem right anymore.
I want a game where vital and active characters come up against personal and dangerous plots with relevant bad guys and epic monsters. I want the players and the GM to engage with a plot that weaves them all together - forestory and backstory - against a common foe. I want the game to reflect the desires of the players rather than the ego of the GM. Rather than saying 'I will entertain you, this is how, enjoy!' I want to say 'How do we want to be entertained? Cool - right, we can all help make this happen, lets go!'
This is the design brief I have used when I have created Omniverse and MI:666 and I have realised that it is the design features that make games like Burning Empires (moreso than Burning Wheel imo), Spirit of the Century and Primetime Adventures seem so appealing to me.
It's also what makes the initial presentation of Scion look so damned bland. Which leaves me in a dilema - well, actually it doesn't. The dilema would be what to do as I like to play games 'out of the box' on first showing. However, that sort of thing is going to have to go by the wayside now as I am going to have to do some more extensive campaign 'creation' with the players to satisfy my need for a more modern approach to the games we play.
So, Scion - awesome idea, well executed but really, 1998 is calling and they would like their model of roleplay design back please!
Neil
So whats the issue?
Well, and after that above paragraph, it seems silly to say this - it all seems a little ... dry? Basic? Ill-defined? When I look at the character generation, it seems rather one dimensional. You have a demigod. He or she has great power. They are the Scion of a Deity. They have skills and a human life. They are drawn by Fate into the battle. But??
In Scion I have seen where my gaming 'voyage' over these years has taken me. I don't want a game where cookie-cutter PCs come up against cookie-cutter plots with cookie-cutter villains and cookie-cutter monsters. I don't want a game where the players engage with a GM-generated plot to thwart a GM-generated nemesis. It just doesn't seem right anymore.
I want a game where vital and active characters come up against personal and dangerous plots with relevant bad guys and epic monsters. I want the players and the GM to engage with a plot that weaves them all together - forestory and backstory - against a common foe. I want the game to reflect the desires of the players rather than the ego of the GM. Rather than saying 'I will entertain you, this is how, enjoy!' I want to say 'How do we want to be entertained? Cool - right, we can all help make this happen, lets go!'
This is the design brief I have used when I have created Omniverse and MI:666 and I have realised that it is the design features that make games like Burning Empires (moreso than Burning Wheel imo), Spirit of the Century and Primetime Adventures seem so appealing to me.
It's also what makes the initial presentation of Scion look so damned bland. Which leaves me in a dilema - well, actually it doesn't. The dilema would be what to do as I like to play games 'out of the box' on first showing. However, that sort of thing is going to have to go by the wayside now as I am going to have to do some more extensive campaign 'creation' with the players to satisfy my need for a more modern approach to the games we play.
So, Scion - awesome idea, well executed but really, 1998 is calling and they would like their model of roleplay design back please!
Neil
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Three Fears
Another gaming session rumbled through tonight and we experienced three 'fears'
The Fear of Evil
We created our D&D characters for CottageCon. These are not your normal characters and it was not your normal character creation. These are level 18 constructed characters of EPIC proportions. My Sorceress has a Charisma of 28 (!). The last hope for a dying world, they are suitably uber. They wield items of ... significant power. So where's the fear? Well, in a move that shocked me as much as it shocked the others, I created an evil character. Not just any evil character either, the daughter of an Infernal Lord, defacto General of his army and Queen of her own empire (which one of the other characters has attempted to destroy!). She wields a 'dark' version of the Staff of the Magi, has intangible armour woven from trapped souls and wears a demonic claw on her left hand that can drain the life of her witless foes. And in my minds eye she looks like the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls!
The strange bedfellows aspect that this brings to the game has filled me with interest in something that I felt might be more like a competitive convention scenario rather than a game of high drama. In the rest of the party we have a Cleric of the Sun God and a full blown Paladin - you know what there's going to be some fireworks at some point in time! Fear? FEAR ME!
The Fear of Success
Pendragon saw us finish off 499 with a great romp. We returned from our smashing of the Saxon army to find that our lands had been raided and Sir Merrin's wife (and some peasants) had been taken captive. Nothing loathe, we saddled up disguised as mercenary knights and travelled deep into the saxon King Cerdic's territory, infiltrated his capital, experienced anti-Briton prejudice, rescued the slaves, stole two boats, crippled the others and escaped. It was truly like an episode of Robin Hood and a smashing change of pace! We quickly moved into 500 and discovered that Bloody King Idris has moved to border us and is attacking Dorset - our ally. We gathered an army and marched to reinforce him. We gathered easily over 300 men and knights which was a bit of a shock. However, we have invested substantial monies into Salisbury and it has some pretty advanced defences. Anyway, we found ourselves inside a siege for once but our old campaigning ways worked well and for once we repelled King Idris' army. Ha! Back to Sarum it dawned on me how far we have come. We really have evolved into 'proper knights' rather than just jumped up footmen. With that success comes the responsibility of fulfilling our pledges and oaths and riding into battle again and again. Can we continue our winning streak?
Fear of ... Time!
Two inevitable things happened in Pendragon. The first was that finally, after so many rolls, one of our wives - the beautiful wife of Sir Merrin who we rescued from the Saxons - died in childbirth. None of us have lost a wife before so it was a strange moment, made even more potent by the knowledge that Merrin has pledged to marry the (evil, misunderstood, demonic - delete as applicable) Rhiannon, making him the defacto father of Aeryn the Youngers illegitimate child. Oh thats just going to go down SO well!
The second thing was ..... aging rolls! It became apparent, as Sir Guillame was RAVAGED by the savage nature of old age, that we have met our final foe. We can defeat massed armies, we can battle with giants, trolls, hellhounds and all manner of unearthly foes. But in the end, age will kill us if the battle field does not. We have nothing to fear except time. Inevitable time.
Neil
The Fear of Evil
We created our D&D characters for CottageCon. These are not your normal characters and it was not your normal character creation. These are level 18 constructed characters of EPIC proportions. My Sorceress has a Charisma of 28 (!). The last hope for a dying world, they are suitably uber. They wield items of ... significant power. So where's the fear? Well, in a move that shocked me as much as it shocked the others, I created an evil character. Not just any evil character either, the daughter of an Infernal Lord, defacto General of his army and Queen of her own empire (which one of the other characters has attempted to destroy!). She wields a 'dark' version of the Staff of the Magi, has intangible armour woven from trapped souls and wears a demonic claw on her left hand that can drain the life of her witless foes. And in my minds eye she looks like the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls!
The strange bedfellows aspect that this brings to the game has filled me with interest in something that I felt might be more like a competitive convention scenario rather than a game of high drama. In the rest of the party we have a Cleric of the Sun God and a full blown Paladin - you know what there's going to be some fireworks at some point in time! Fear? FEAR ME!
The Fear of Success
Pendragon saw us finish off 499 with a great romp. We returned from our smashing of the Saxon army to find that our lands had been raided and Sir Merrin's wife (and some peasants) had been taken captive. Nothing loathe, we saddled up disguised as mercenary knights and travelled deep into the saxon King Cerdic's territory, infiltrated his capital, experienced anti-Briton prejudice, rescued the slaves, stole two boats, crippled the others and escaped. It was truly like an episode of Robin Hood and a smashing change of pace! We quickly moved into 500 and discovered that Bloody King Idris has moved to border us and is attacking Dorset - our ally. We gathered an army and marched to reinforce him. We gathered easily over 300 men and knights which was a bit of a shock. However, we have invested substantial monies into Salisbury and it has some pretty advanced defences. Anyway, we found ourselves inside a siege for once but our old campaigning ways worked well and for once we repelled King Idris' army. Ha! Back to Sarum it dawned on me how far we have come. We really have evolved into 'proper knights' rather than just jumped up footmen. With that success comes the responsibility of fulfilling our pledges and oaths and riding into battle again and again. Can we continue our winning streak?
Fear of ... Time!
Two inevitable things happened in Pendragon. The first was that finally, after so many rolls, one of our wives - the beautiful wife of Sir Merrin who we rescued from the Saxons - died in childbirth. None of us have lost a wife before so it was a strange moment, made even more potent by the knowledge that Merrin has pledged to marry the (evil, misunderstood, demonic - delete as applicable) Rhiannon, making him the defacto father of Aeryn the Youngers illegitimate child. Oh thats just going to go down SO well!
The second thing was ..... aging rolls! It became apparent, as Sir Guillame was RAVAGED by the savage nature of old age, that we have met our final foe. We can defeat massed armies, we can battle with giants, trolls, hellhounds and all manner of unearthly foes. But in the end, age will kill us if the battle field does not. We have nothing to fear except time. Inevitable time.
Neil
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Wiki-phobia
I was browsing through some stuff on rpg.net recently and I came across this (which I have parphrased)
"But of course he got the information from Wikipedia, which naturally discounts it's validity"
I've seen this a few times now - the casual discounting of anything sourced from Wikipedia as being fatally flawed and almost certainly wrong. I've never really thought too much about it, but recently it has really gotten under my skin.
Our knowledge is the product of the inputs we receive from a variety of sources. We are assured that things happen, places and people exist etc. not by having experienced them ourselves but trusting in the words of others. That could be the words of our friends, the media or printed libraries.
Of course, we don't always believe the context of what we are told. We are nowadays veterans of a war against spin, bias and vested interests. Even as children we are filled with the dictum 'history is written by the victors' and then told to question it, as it might not be exactly what happened.
Of course, we cannot go to far in this pursuit of the truth. There are some areas that we hold such a powerful collective conscious belief in the absolute objective truth of the matter that their validity is unquestionable. And yes, I'm looking at holocaust revisionists here!
As I understand, Wikipedia is like a moderated collective work, yes? So if there is an inaccuracy in the presented facts, you can challenge it, assuming you know for absolute certain that they are wrong and you are right? So whats the problem? I have to listen to so-called experts talking utter utter bollocks about a load of subjects every morning on Radio 4 but that doesn't mean that I discount everything that the BBC presents as ill-informed misinformation! (Although if someone can retroactively edit the recent England cricket scores with new, better versions I would be most grateful)
If we discount Wikipedia as an invalid form of information, then we have to discount all of the information provided on the internet and indeed, everything in books too! Why? Because they are written by one person - without the rigour of the panel of thousands of know-it-all critics either! Totally useless in our objective world of knowledge.
Wikiphobia, I think, is just a sympton of a greater malaise and thats an inability to divine the trurth of a situation from the frenzied hyperbole of the twenty first century media driven society. It's an easy target for a society that is maybe coming around to the realisation that many of us walk around with the wool voluntarily pulled over our eyes for most of our lives. A society that is happy to live being force fed one point of view, without analysis or doubt, because it makes life easier. Force fed so that we can be farmed for the fois gras of acceptance and cooperation.
I have waited for someone, in response to the horrific killings at Virginia Tech (although don't get me started about how those killings command so many column inches and yet the same number of deaths, to the multiple of 10s and 100s in Africa and the Middle East are passing soundbites) to ask for 'pix pls or it didn't happen'. You know it will come sometime...
Sorry for that little bit of politics. Back to the gaming!
Neil
"But of course he got the information from Wikipedia, which naturally discounts it's validity"
I've seen this a few times now - the casual discounting of anything sourced from Wikipedia as being fatally flawed and almost certainly wrong. I've never really thought too much about it, but recently it has really gotten under my skin.
Our knowledge is the product of the inputs we receive from a variety of sources. We are assured that things happen, places and people exist etc. not by having experienced them ourselves but trusting in the words of others. That could be the words of our friends, the media or printed libraries.
Of course, we don't always believe the context of what we are told. We are nowadays veterans of a war against spin, bias and vested interests. Even as children we are filled with the dictum 'history is written by the victors' and then told to question it, as it might not be exactly what happened.
Of course, we cannot go to far in this pursuit of the truth. There are some areas that we hold such a powerful collective conscious belief in the absolute objective truth of the matter that their validity is unquestionable. And yes, I'm looking at holocaust revisionists here!
As I understand, Wikipedia is like a moderated collective work, yes? So if there is an inaccuracy in the presented facts, you can challenge it, assuming you know for absolute certain that they are wrong and you are right? So whats the problem? I have to listen to so-called experts talking utter utter bollocks about a load of subjects every morning on Radio 4 but that doesn't mean that I discount everything that the BBC presents as ill-informed misinformation! (Although if someone can retroactively edit the recent England cricket scores with new, better versions I would be most grateful)
If we discount Wikipedia as an invalid form of information, then we have to discount all of the information provided on the internet and indeed, everything in books too! Why? Because they are written by one person - without the rigour of the panel of thousands of know-it-all critics either! Totally useless in our objective world of knowledge.
Wikiphobia, I think, is just a sympton of a greater malaise and thats an inability to divine the trurth of a situation from the frenzied hyperbole of the twenty first century media driven society. It's an easy target for a society that is maybe coming around to the realisation that many of us walk around with the wool voluntarily pulled over our eyes for most of our lives. A society that is happy to live being force fed one point of view, without analysis or doubt, because it makes life easier. Force fed so that we can be farmed for the fois gras of acceptance and cooperation.
I have waited for someone, in response to the horrific killings at Virginia Tech (although don't get me started about how those killings command so many column inches and yet the same number of deaths, to the multiple of 10s and 100s in Africa and the Middle East are passing soundbites) to ask for 'pix pls or it didn't happen'. You know it will come sometime...
Sorry for that little bit of politics. Back to the gaming!
Neil
Monday, April 16, 2007
Finish it!
For those that care, I used to work in corporate training with the HE sector and one of the models that was constantly flung around was Belbin's theory of key roles in teams. I've done the various tests numerous times and the same answer always comes. Happily, for someone who now works in marketing, I score really highly as a Shaper ( dynamic team-member who loves challenges and thrives on pressure. This member possesses the drive and courage required to overcome obstacles) and as a Plant (A creative, imaginative, unorthodox team-member who solves difficult problems). However, I think if I could score any lower in one category, the trainer would probably suggest I was trying to flunk the test! That category?
Completer/Finisher
I'll have, over the years, readily accepted that my ability to fulfil the role as an 'ideas' man, or to deal with complicated problems in a conceptual nature outstrips my ability to carry things through to their absolute conclusion. At work, it's something I have to really concentrate on and develop those finishing skills and the diligence to apply them.
To the same extent, I have had to work hard in my gaming to develop some finishing skills too. Believe it or not, before I met my current group, I had NEVER taken a campaign to a finite conclusion. This was a combination of running games that simply ran out of steam (as open ended games tend to do) or just losing interest altogether. Crescent Sea (our initial 3e adventure) was the first campaign I have ran with an eye to a definite conclusion, although even that for the first two-thirds of the campaign was pretty much open ended. Slaying Days Seasons 1 & 2 offered something new in that I could say very early on exactly how many episodes each season would have and this allowed for the inclusion of TV tropes such as 'sweeps week' two-parters mid-season.
Pulsars and Privateers sits in my gullet as a campaign that I never saw through to a conclusion. Whilst the campaign saw the end of it's first 'movement' when the crew of the Khanjar defeated One-Eyed Elijah and got their own moonbase. Behind the scenes, hinted at through the episodes, there was something happening in hyperspace and eventually the aliens that lived there would invade and cause the chaos that would make the Khanjar famous. Tales that never happened as work took its toll on the campaign. Its very hard to leave something like that and it annoys me.
Omniverse is currently at a crossroads. I've shelved it for a month or so. One reason is that I wanted to get my head around some of the concepts and judge whether I had honestly just recreated Fate. Another was that I wanted to get the work finished on Duty and Honour in preperation for CottageCon. And if I am honest, another was because after the short formal playtest that we did, I sort of mentally relegated the game to partially done.
Thats bullshit really and deep down, I have known it for a while.
I challenged myself today, in one of my Metro thinking sessions to consider Omniverse as an unfinished work. To think of myself going to GenCon with it unfinished. I was horrified. Thats not something that I am prepared to do. Then I wondered what I really wanted to do with it. Did I really want to present a generic system, with all of the generalities that it brings.
And in the end, I decided I didn't. I need to do something more focused. The generic system that I love can exist within another game (and another and another) but it needs some structure. It needs to be a Crescent Sea or a Buffy and no some adolescent campaign that drags on and on without any purpose.
The best idea I have ever had for a game setting has been MI:666 - it compels me and it enthuses me. So Omniverse will become MI:666 and it will be finished. And then... well, Pulsars and Privateers is unfinished business.
Neil
Completer/Finisher
I'll have, over the years, readily accepted that my ability to fulfil the role as an 'ideas' man, or to deal with complicated problems in a conceptual nature outstrips my ability to carry things through to their absolute conclusion. At work, it's something I have to really concentrate on and develop those finishing skills and the diligence to apply them.
To the same extent, I have had to work hard in my gaming to develop some finishing skills too. Believe it or not, before I met my current group, I had NEVER taken a campaign to a finite conclusion. This was a combination of running games that simply ran out of steam (as open ended games tend to do) or just losing interest altogether. Crescent Sea (our initial 3e adventure) was the first campaign I have ran with an eye to a definite conclusion, although even that for the first two-thirds of the campaign was pretty much open ended. Slaying Days Seasons 1 & 2 offered something new in that I could say very early on exactly how many episodes each season would have and this allowed for the inclusion of TV tropes such as 'sweeps week' two-parters mid-season.
Pulsars and Privateers sits in my gullet as a campaign that I never saw through to a conclusion. Whilst the campaign saw the end of it's first 'movement' when the crew of the Khanjar defeated One-Eyed Elijah and got their own moonbase. Behind the scenes, hinted at through the episodes, there was something happening in hyperspace and eventually the aliens that lived there would invade and cause the chaos that would make the Khanjar famous. Tales that never happened as work took its toll on the campaign. Its very hard to leave something like that and it annoys me.
Omniverse is currently at a crossroads. I've shelved it for a month or so. One reason is that I wanted to get my head around some of the concepts and judge whether I had honestly just recreated Fate. Another was that I wanted to get the work finished on Duty and Honour in preperation for CottageCon. And if I am honest, another was because after the short formal playtest that we did, I sort of mentally relegated the game to partially done.
Thats bullshit really and deep down, I have known it for a while.
I challenged myself today, in one of my Metro thinking sessions to consider Omniverse as an unfinished work. To think of myself going to GenCon with it unfinished. I was horrified. Thats not something that I am prepared to do. Then I wondered what I really wanted to do with it. Did I really want to present a generic system, with all of the generalities that it brings.
And in the end, I decided I didn't. I need to do something more focused. The generic system that I love can exist within another game (and another and another) but it needs some structure. It needs to be a Crescent Sea or a Buffy and no some adolescent campaign that drags on and on without any purpose.
The best idea I have ever had for a game setting has been MI:666 - it compels me and it enthuses me. So Omniverse will become MI:666 and it will be finished. And then... well, Pulsars and Privateers is unfinished business.
Neil
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Indie? Pah!
I was chatting to my friend from school at the weekend and he commented how, even back then, I have never really been part of any 'group'. At school I was neither a trendy townie nor one of the introvert theatre group nor a sporty type or a (shudder) Venutre Scout. I sort of existed, by myself, shuttling between them all. I've always hated the concept of tribalisation and in my adult life it's been something that has annoyed me about all manner of things .... indie.
Oh how I hate the term. In every incarnation I have encountered it, it - and it's attendent antithesis - has created up the same elitist, isolationist, tribal divisions.
In the late 80s it was 'Indie Music' - the logic went like this: all chart music is crap and therefore not proper music. Therefore the only proper music was stuff that was not in the charts. The so-called 'indie music'. The more popular this music became, the less 'indie' it was until eventually the band would disappear or /shock/ they would chart - therefore instantly moving from 'indie' to 'commerical sellouts'. Oh the fun I had watching people at Uni trying to out-obscure each other. Nowadays it's like something from a surreal sketch show but it was very real then. And the looking down the nose at anyone who liked yesterdays sweetheart group or, God help them, the more serious crime of .... bandwagon jumping! Oh yes folks, worse than being a trendy chart zombie was being an indie kid who didn't know about the obscure band and then started to like them as they were getting noticed! Find your own niche group to obsess over... this one is mine. I mean, honestly, what was going on there?
After Indie Music came 'Indie Comics'. Once again, the same riff applied. If it was made by Marvel or DC, it was pretty much dead in the water, derivative, mass produced rubbish churned out for the braindead masses. What you need to be reading are 'indie comics'! Obscure, badly drawn pieces of tatt which come out less regularly than a decent Boyzone single mustering a storyline that you can barely follow. Oh but they are so good, oh but they are written by writer such-and-such and he's great and ... GAH! Thankfully, I had my mate Stephen to guide me towards 'decent' indie stuff (although I suspect he still couldn't fathom my X-Men habit) but from other fans I got the same old litany. What made it worse was that the indie snobbery was coming from the comic shop owners themselves. I distinctly remember being virutally laughed out of Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham once because of my rather mainstream comic selections.
Of course, nothing generates quite the indie tribalism as 'Indie Wrestling'. Yes folks, none of the shine and showbiz of the WWE for the Indie Wrestling fanatic! If it isn't done in grainy film, shown in an old bingo hall or sports centre and features two or more men you have never heard of before then it simply must be bad. Now, I will admit that the difference between the punch-kick-finisher style of the WWE and the more technical/high risk style I have seen at many indie feds makes the two things almost different products, but essentially they have the same basis, require the same suspension of disbelief and aim to entertain within the same medium.
Indie Music, Indie Comics and Indie Wrestling - three things where the ability for people to create false divisions has plagued me. I simply cannot understand the reasoning behind the split? Is it because these people are seeking individualism in the arms of the obscure? Well, that would have accounted for the music at the time, but the others? Is it because of a deep seated hatred of the monolithic structures behind the big players - the EMI's, Marvels and WWEs of this world? Maybe it's because there is a degree of fairness that has been breached with regard to these properties. They are seen as equally as valid, equally as good as the more mainstream offering but the latter has far more promotion and exposure than the former and therefore is seen as superior by the un-exposed masses? That could well be it but I don't think I have ever seen the tribalism portrayed with that degree of analysis before. Snobbishness powered through a sense of social justice and anti-capitalistic zeal. Hmmmm....unlikely!
I love my (formerly) 80s (formerly) indie music and I still listen to it now. I'm also going to see Girls Aloud next month with my daughter and quite looking forward to it. I picked up my first ever Dark Horse comic last month - the company that was once the epitome of indie comics is now publishing the Season Eight comic of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I bought it alongside my Justice League and Avengers comics. I still mark out like a little girl when I watch the WWE and yet find it possible to catch Ring of Honour sometimes on the Wrestling Channel and enjoy it. Just like at school, never in one group or another. Just floating.
Which brings me to the phenomenon of 'indie roleplaying games'. Naturally my nerves are jangled by the continued use of that phrase. Coming from a city with one games shop which is very well stocked by still rather mainstream, these things come slowly into my world and I have come slowly into theirs. What I see are games made by people who clearly love their hobby, have some interesting innovative ideas and the know-how to self-publish and promote them. Hey, thats great and indeed it has inspired me to do similar things. However, what I also see are the same smoldering embers of internal division and tribalisation. Those that 'get' indie or story games and those that are happy to stay with 'traditional' games. Theres even an air of intellectual snobbery that runs through some of the conversations.
What I find comical about these things is that they seem to be the failings of all hobbies, large or small. I regularly hear football fans talking about Division Two football as 'proper football' as if they Champions League matches we have seen over the last couple of weeks were somehow all the more fake because of the lights and big-name players and lack of half-cooked pies on terraces at half-time. It also seems the smaller the hobby the more ludicrous the nature of the tribalisation. Take reading comics, for example? Hardly the biggest hobby in the world is it? A good selling comic might clear 70k copies WORLDWIDE. A comic on the brink of doom from Marvel/DC might get 20k copies. An out-of-this-world indie comic might clear 10k. Those aren't massive numbers. For RPGS, I guess you can knock a zero off those numbers!
I think thats my point as a whole. There is no one-true-musical-taste, no one-perfect-comic, no one-true-wrestling-style, no one-best-football-team and no one-godlike-roleplaying-game. They don't exist. What does exist is a wide variety of music that makes people happy, comics that allow a wide variety of people to thrill, numerous federations that scratch the wrestling itch for many and football experiences that match what the watcher wants. And a large and bountiful array of roleplaying games that we can enjoy - whether they are the product of a division of Hasbro or the maniacal brainchild of some teenagers computer in Wisconsin. If they entertain, theres really no problem.
So I say 'pah!' to 'indie' and tribalisation and 'hurrah' to fun and inclusiveness!
Neil
Oh how I hate the term. In every incarnation I have encountered it, it - and it's attendent antithesis - has created up the same elitist, isolationist, tribal divisions.
In the late 80s it was 'Indie Music' - the logic went like this: all chart music is crap and therefore not proper music. Therefore the only proper music was stuff that was not in the charts. The so-called 'indie music'. The more popular this music became, the less 'indie' it was until eventually the band would disappear or /shock/ they would chart - therefore instantly moving from 'indie' to 'commerical sellouts'. Oh the fun I had watching people at Uni trying to out-obscure each other. Nowadays it's like something from a surreal sketch show but it was very real then. And the looking down the nose at anyone who liked yesterdays sweetheart group or, God help them, the more serious crime of .... bandwagon jumping! Oh yes folks, worse than being a trendy chart zombie was being an indie kid who didn't know about the obscure band and then started to like them as they were getting noticed! Find your own niche group to obsess over... this one is mine. I mean, honestly, what was going on there?
After Indie Music came 'Indie Comics'. Once again, the same riff applied. If it was made by Marvel or DC, it was pretty much dead in the water, derivative, mass produced rubbish churned out for the braindead masses. What you need to be reading are 'indie comics'! Obscure, badly drawn pieces of tatt which come out less regularly than a decent Boyzone single mustering a storyline that you can barely follow. Oh but they are so good, oh but they are written by writer such-and-such and he's great and ... GAH! Thankfully, I had my mate Stephen to guide me towards 'decent' indie stuff (although I suspect he still couldn't fathom my X-Men habit) but from other fans I got the same old litany. What made it worse was that the indie snobbery was coming from the comic shop owners themselves. I distinctly remember being virutally laughed out of Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham once because of my rather mainstream comic selections.
Of course, nothing generates quite the indie tribalism as 'Indie Wrestling'. Yes folks, none of the shine and showbiz of the WWE for the Indie Wrestling fanatic! If it isn't done in grainy film, shown in an old bingo hall or sports centre and features two or more men you have never heard of before then it simply must be bad. Now, I will admit that the difference between the punch-kick-finisher style of the WWE and the more technical/high risk style I have seen at many indie feds makes the two things almost different products, but essentially they have the same basis, require the same suspension of disbelief and aim to entertain within the same medium.
Indie Music, Indie Comics and Indie Wrestling - three things where the ability for people to create false divisions has plagued me. I simply cannot understand the reasoning behind the split? Is it because these people are seeking individualism in the arms of the obscure? Well, that would have accounted for the music at the time, but the others? Is it because of a deep seated hatred of the monolithic structures behind the big players - the EMI's, Marvels and WWEs of this world? Maybe it's because there is a degree of fairness that has been breached with regard to these properties. They are seen as equally as valid, equally as good as the more mainstream offering but the latter has far more promotion and exposure than the former and therefore is seen as superior by the un-exposed masses? That could well be it but I don't think I have ever seen the tribalism portrayed with that degree of analysis before. Snobbishness powered through a sense of social justice and anti-capitalistic zeal. Hmmmm....unlikely!
I love my (formerly) 80s (formerly) indie music and I still listen to it now. I'm also going to see Girls Aloud next month with my daughter and quite looking forward to it. I picked up my first ever Dark Horse comic last month - the company that was once the epitome of indie comics is now publishing the Season Eight comic of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I bought it alongside my Justice League and Avengers comics. I still mark out like a little girl when I watch the WWE and yet find it possible to catch Ring of Honour sometimes on the Wrestling Channel and enjoy it. Just like at school, never in one group or another. Just floating.
Which brings me to the phenomenon of 'indie roleplaying games'. Naturally my nerves are jangled by the continued use of that phrase. Coming from a city with one games shop which is very well stocked by still rather mainstream, these things come slowly into my world and I have come slowly into theirs. What I see are games made by people who clearly love their hobby, have some interesting innovative ideas and the know-how to self-publish and promote them. Hey, thats great and indeed it has inspired me to do similar things. However, what I also see are the same smoldering embers of internal division and tribalisation. Those that 'get' indie or story games and those that are happy to stay with 'traditional' games. Theres even an air of intellectual snobbery that runs through some of the conversations.
What I find comical about these things is that they seem to be the failings of all hobbies, large or small. I regularly hear football fans talking about Division Two football as 'proper football' as if they Champions League matches we have seen over the last couple of weeks were somehow all the more fake because of the lights and big-name players and lack of half-cooked pies on terraces at half-time. It also seems the smaller the hobby the more ludicrous the nature of the tribalisation. Take reading comics, for example? Hardly the biggest hobby in the world is it? A good selling comic might clear 70k copies WORLDWIDE. A comic on the brink of doom from Marvel/DC might get 20k copies. An out-of-this-world indie comic might clear 10k. Those aren't massive numbers. For RPGS, I guess you can knock a zero off those numbers!
I think thats my point as a whole. There is no one-true-musical-taste, no one-perfect-comic, no one-true-wrestling-style, no one-best-football-team and no one-godlike-roleplaying-game. They don't exist. What does exist is a wide variety of music that makes people happy, comics that allow a wide variety of people to thrill, numerous federations that scratch the wrestling itch for many and football experiences that match what the watcher wants. And a large and bountiful array of roleplaying games that we can enjoy - whether they are the product of a division of Hasbro or the maniacal brainchild of some teenagers computer in Wisconsin. If they entertain, theres really no problem.
So I say 'pah!' to 'indie' and tribalisation and 'hurrah' to fun and inclusiveness!
Neil
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A Game of Two Sessions
This Sunday we played what was effectively the first of three 'double sessions' in the run up to CottageCon. This Sunday we teamed up our normal Pendragon game with character generation for Spirit of the Century.
SotC looks like a great game and the character generation was definitely an event. I'm a fervent advocate of group character design and that character design walking hand-in-hand with the flavour of the campaign. Not only does it build deeper, richer characters but it also welds the issues of the characters to the campaign setting and the adventure. It totally bypasses the old 'Patron meets you at an Inn (and associated variations)' stereotype and plunges fully flegded characters into their own action. SotC does this magnificently, especially with the 'guest novel' section.
Of course, muggins here had to make it a little more complicated by creating a character that is essentially a support character rather than a square jawed hero type. He (for he has no name yet, although it will no doubt be something alliterative) is a butler-par-excellence, a member of the League of Gentlemen's Gentlemen. Unflappable, immensely resourceful, contacts around the world, impeccably English with a thick streak of working class sensibility. Like The Rescuers, the LoGsG are dispatched to ensure that some irrational explorer isn't gobbled up by zombie pygmies in a creased suit during his sojourn to the depths of the Amazon.
The game threw up a definite African theme, with the main villain appearing to be the nefarious Zo Khath Ra! I'm thoroughly looking forward to serving up cucumber sandwiches and delivering stiff right hooks in defiance of the bounder.
One thing I find saddening about SotC however, and I have seen this of a number of so-called indie games, is that they do seem to have low repeat play value. I think we virtually covered every pulp base we could think of with our characters and whilst it would take many sessions to drag every thread out of that, if we were to run another game, I wonder how much variation we would see. I don't know why I feel that way - as opposed to say D&D - but its a possibility.
Then after the obligatory pizza break, we moved onto Pendragon and the climax of my feud with the Black Bear Clan. For those who haven't been keeping track, my knight Sir Brion, has been making quite the reputation for himself killing saxons since Day One of the campaign. As a result the Black Bear Clan declared a blood feud on him. Now, in the early days, this was simply an excuse for me to kill yet more saxons in exciting and bloody ways, but later they started playing things a little more canny. First, they attacked me directly in battle and *shock* went for the horse! And then they sent a raiding party to attack my homestead and killed two of my horde of children. Now, Brion is renowned for his Love (Family) so he went a bit mental, was shook out of it by Sir Aeryn the Elder and then progressed to enact a grand plan of revenge that included being blessed by Morrigan, travelling back to Ireland and invoking family law to raise his clan and enlisting the aid of his father-in-law, the King of the Forest Sauvage.
So, it came to pass that around 300 knights, bowmen, spearmen, mercenaries, swordsmen, hobgoblins, spriggans and elf-hounds met 260 Black Bear clan, Boar clan, trolls and turncoat BASTARDS from Huntingdon.
Now, we have a saying in our group - dramatically appropriate dice - and this session they were at home and having a party! Prior to the battle, Sir Aeryn the Younger (he who wants to be me) tried to lead the lifting of a siege and managed to fail around 75% of his battle rolls. The young pretender won the day, but his losses were grave and all of the enemy knights escaped intact. He still has a lot to learn about the art of war.
The old master however, warlord of the Countess' armies, lead his men to a total victory, with the mercenaries (and Aeryn the Elder) seeing off the men of Huntingdon, the main body of spear and sword (with Sir Merrin) decimating the Boar clan and myself, Aeryn, Guillame and my Irish horde laying waste to the Black Bear. It was a bloody affair - for them - with our side only suffering 9 casualties! The corn from that field will grow red with their Saxon blood for a long time.
The downside? I sometimes wish there was more room for roleplaying and showboating in the Pendragon battles. They are excellently executed representations of dark ages battle - random, visceral affairs - but in the end, my confrontation with the Black Bear Chieftain was simply a two round battle. He scratched me, I criticalled and gutted him. Maybe the denouement will come next session. Almost certainly I think that it is my responsibility to make more of it.
Next session we move from the sublime to the ridiculous, and the generation of 18th level D&D characters. I shudder to think....
Neil
SotC looks like a great game and the character generation was definitely an event. I'm a fervent advocate of group character design and that character design walking hand-in-hand with the flavour of the campaign. Not only does it build deeper, richer characters but it also welds the issues of the characters to the campaign setting and the adventure. It totally bypasses the old 'Patron meets you at an Inn (and associated variations)' stereotype and plunges fully flegded characters into their own action. SotC does this magnificently, especially with the 'guest novel' section.
Of course, muggins here had to make it a little more complicated by creating a character that is essentially a support character rather than a square jawed hero type. He (for he has no name yet, although it will no doubt be something alliterative) is a butler-par-excellence, a member of the League of Gentlemen's Gentlemen. Unflappable, immensely resourceful, contacts around the world, impeccably English with a thick streak of working class sensibility. Like The Rescuers, the LoGsG are dispatched to ensure that some irrational explorer isn't gobbled up by zombie pygmies in a creased suit during his sojourn to the depths of the Amazon.
The game threw up a definite African theme, with the main villain appearing to be the nefarious Zo Khath Ra! I'm thoroughly looking forward to serving up cucumber sandwiches and delivering stiff right hooks in defiance of the bounder.
One thing I find saddening about SotC however, and I have seen this of a number of so-called indie games, is that they do seem to have low repeat play value. I think we virtually covered every pulp base we could think of with our characters and whilst it would take many sessions to drag every thread out of that, if we were to run another game, I wonder how much variation we would see. I don't know why I feel that way - as opposed to say D&D - but its a possibility.
Then after the obligatory pizza break, we moved onto Pendragon and the climax of my feud with the Black Bear Clan. For those who haven't been keeping track, my knight Sir Brion, has been making quite the reputation for himself killing saxons since Day One of the campaign. As a result the Black Bear Clan declared a blood feud on him. Now, in the early days, this was simply an excuse for me to kill yet more saxons in exciting and bloody ways, but later they started playing things a little more canny. First, they attacked me directly in battle and *shock* went for the horse! And then they sent a raiding party to attack my homestead and killed two of my horde of children. Now, Brion is renowned for his Love (Family) so he went a bit mental, was shook out of it by Sir Aeryn the Elder and then progressed to enact a grand plan of revenge that included being blessed by Morrigan, travelling back to Ireland and invoking family law to raise his clan and enlisting the aid of his father-in-law, the King of the Forest Sauvage.
So, it came to pass that around 300 knights, bowmen, spearmen, mercenaries, swordsmen, hobgoblins, spriggans and elf-hounds met 260 Black Bear clan, Boar clan, trolls and turncoat BASTARDS from Huntingdon.
Now, we have a saying in our group - dramatically appropriate dice - and this session they were at home and having a party! Prior to the battle, Sir Aeryn the Younger (he who wants to be me) tried to lead the lifting of a siege and managed to fail around 75% of his battle rolls. The young pretender won the day, but his losses were grave and all of the enemy knights escaped intact. He still has a lot to learn about the art of war.
The old master however, warlord of the Countess' armies, lead his men to a total victory, with the mercenaries (and Aeryn the Elder) seeing off the men of Huntingdon, the main body of spear and sword (with Sir Merrin) decimating the Boar clan and myself, Aeryn, Guillame and my Irish horde laying waste to the Black Bear. It was a bloody affair - for them - with our side only suffering 9 casualties! The corn from that field will grow red with their Saxon blood for a long time.
The downside? I sometimes wish there was more room for roleplaying and showboating in the Pendragon battles. They are excellently executed representations of dark ages battle - random, visceral affairs - but in the end, my confrontation with the Black Bear Chieftain was simply a two round battle. He scratched me, I criticalled and gutted him. Maybe the denouement will come next session. Almost certainly I think that it is my responsibility to make more of it.
Next session we move from the sublime to the ridiculous, and the generation of 18th level D&D characters. I shudder to think....
Neil
Saturday, April 07, 2007
CottageCon is On!
And after more than a little wrangling with the lovely people at (Ho)seasons, it's great to confirm that CottageCon is on! Now some people don't like me calling it CottageCon because it makes it sound like some sort of sleazy gay outdoor sex gathering. And if you listen to the people at Hoseasons, it might well be!
After all five men sharing a cottage, and two of them sleeping in the same bed? There must be something going on! I had to endure quite a grilling from the nice lady from Hoseasons about who we were, what we did as work, why we were going to that place, what we were intending to do. If I hadn't predicted it, it would have been quite disconcerting. I can understand the possible reasons why as well, but it would have been nice to have had it explained to me, as a courtesy.
So anyway, we have a nice 5-man cottage just outside Robin Hoods Bay nr Scarborough. It looks absolutely delightful and just what we were looking for. We also have an itinerary of games lined up that makes the mouth water.
On Friday, I will be running the first - and maybe last - session of Duty and Honour. This is my adaptation of Pendragon to emulate the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell. I worked on the conversion document for a couple of nights and it has come out rather well so far. Its still a little rough around the edges and has absolutely no real gameplay direction within it, but it does allow you to make good Sharpe-style characters. As this is the first session I expect that it will start relatively late and probably finish late too. I'm hoping to keep it pretty light and have a fair bit of swashbuckling action involved.
On Saturday morning Ian is joining us and Andrew will be running a very high level Dungeons & Dragons one shot! It's Sword and Sorcery meets World War Z as we jump in at the climax of a battle against the creeping dead and their evil dark Lord. This is an intriguing prospect as it will be paramount for the players to REALLY bring the characters to the table and almost retcon in a whole swathe of stuff whilst we are tackling some of the big bad monsters that you rarely see coming out of the Monster Manual. Oh at first glance this should be a load of fun but I think it has a lot of potential to stretch our gaming if we go beyond the stats and spells technique of D&D.
On Saturday afternoon we will be playing the remarkably hyped Spirit of the Century ran by Ian. This is 1930s Pulp ran using a system that is very different from our usual fare (but far too close to my Omniverse for my liking!!). Without putting too much pressure on Ian, I think this is the most important session of the weekend. Not only does it see his return to the GMs chair for the first time in ages, but it is with a game that I believe he can undoubtedly shine with and in an atmosphere that has to be made for what is undoubtedly a weekend of experimental gaming. I think if SotC succeeds, we could see these characters appearing again at some point in time and thats always good, and maybe it brings us a little closer to playing something like Burning Wheel etc.
Saturday night is set aside for a long, possibly drunken, session of Diplomacy. Now I will admit here and now that I am utterly shite at these games. There is a rather shocking irony there because my workmate laughs at my ability to conjure work related 'inexactitudes' to clients when needed, but with my friends I couldn't even lie about the time of day. The last time we played I was totally and utterly stitched up and I thoroughly expect the same to happen this time too. Still, we shall see....
When we arise again on Sunday, Ian returns and we settle down for a nice relaxed game of Pendragon. Well, I say nice and relaxed but things are getting very interesting in the world of Pendragon at the moment and I think that by then we could be knee deep in all manner of saxon mess. The campaign is moving on now, the characters are getting older and more powerful and the time of Arthur is slowly creeping nearer. The intervening years are painful though and some of the decisions are pretty tough. I'm sure Nigel will have something cooked up for us to make us sweat just that little bit more.
Thats whats officially happening, but I suspect there might be more as well. More boardgames maybe, definitely a lot of gaming conversation, maybe the odd DVD, some sightseeing (theres a tall ship at the bay apparently). Theres going to be some good food and good beer too. It just sounds like a really great weekend. Many years in the making, but it's happening on May 18th!
Neil
After all five men sharing a cottage, and two of them sleeping in the same bed? There must be something going on! I had to endure quite a grilling from the nice lady from Hoseasons about who we were, what we did as work, why we were going to that place, what we were intending to do. If I hadn't predicted it, it would have been quite disconcerting. I can understand the possible reasons why as well, but it would have been nice to have had it explained to me, as a courtesy.
So anyway, we have a nice 5-man cottage just outside Robin Hoods Bay nr Scarborough. It looks absolutely delightful and just what we were looking for. We also have an itinerary of games lined up that makes the mouth water.
On Friday, I will be running the first - and maybe last - session of Duty and Honour. This is my adaptation of Pendragon to emulate the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell. I worked on the conversion document for a couple of nights and it has come out rather well so far. Its still a little rough around the edges and has absolutely no real gameplay direction within it, but it does allow you to make good Sharpe-style characters. As this is the first session I expect that it will start relatively late and probably finish late too. I'm hoping to keep it pretty light and have a fair bit of swashbuckling action involved.
On Saturday morning Ian is joining us and Andrew will be running a very high level Dungeons & Dragons one shot! It's Sword and Sorcery meets World War Z as we jump in at the climax of a battle against the creeping dead and their evil dark Lord. This is an intriguing prospect as it will be paramount for the players to REALLY bring the characters to the table and almost retcon in a whole swathe of stuff whilst we are tackling some of the big bad monsters that you rarely see coming out of the Monster Manual. Oh at first glance this should be a load of fun but I think it has a lot of potential to stretch our gaming if we go beyond the stats and spells technique of D&D.
On Saturday afternoon we will be playing the remarkably hyped Spirit of the Century ran by Ian. This is 1930s Pulp ran using a system that is very different from our usual fare (but far too close to my Omniverse for my liking!!
Saturday night is set aside for a long, possibly drunken, session of Diplomacy. Now I will admit here and now that I am utterly shite at these games. There is a rather shocking irony there because my workmate laughs at my ability to conjure work related 'inexactitudes' to clients when needed, but with my friends I couldn't even lie about the time of day. The last time we played I was totally and utterly stitched up and I thoroughly expect the same to happen this time too. Still, we shall see....
When we arise again on Sunday, Ian returns and we settle down for a nice relaxed game of Pendragon. Well, I say nice and relaxed but things are getting very interesting in the world of Pendragon at the moment and I think that by then we could be knee deep in all manner of saxon mess. The campaign is moving on now, the characters are getting older and more powerful and the time of Arthur is slowly creeping nearer. The intervening years are painful though and some of the decisions are pretty tough. I'm sure Nigel will have something cooked up for us to make us sweat just that little bit more.
Thats whats officially happening, but I suspect there might be more as well. More boardgames maybe, definitely a lot of gaming conversation, maybe the odd DVD, some sightseeing (theres a tall ship at the bay apparently). Theres going to be some good food and good beer too. It just sounds like a really great weekend. Many years in the making, but it's happening on May 18th!
Neil
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Years in the making; 'CottageCon 07' is nearly on!
Ask any group of mature gamers what their three big problems are and I bet these three will pop up more often than not:
1. The radical reduction in time to prepare for games - you simply cannot dedicate the same amount of time to campaign creation that you could when you were 17.
2. The headache of getting a group of people together in one place, at one time, semi-regularly.
3. Not being able to have those mammoth gaming sessions that were so prevalent when we were young. No all-nighters when you have parents evenings and split shifts to worry about.
One thing I love about my gaming group is that we have worked, over the years, to overcome these problems. The first - planning - has been mitigated by using the internet as a means for coordinating planning and adopting, to a degree, a shared burden of creativity and a penchant for shared world building. Through messageboards, emails and blogs (and admittedly some time over a pint in the pub) we put in a fair bit of collective effort for our gaming and that helps. The second - coordination - has again, come around over the years by massaging our playing style to allow a player to occassionally be missing and to embrace some flexibility in dates.
The last one - the massive session - has been the elusive one. For our group, three hours is a normal session and sometimes we manage to squeeze out an extra hour of fun for something special. The return of the mammoth session is simple a pipe dream and has been for years.
But now, fair readers, we have a solution. We may not have as much time as we used to have as kids, but we have far more money - and money can buy you time if you are creative. So, this May, as long as things go to plan, we will be going on a little holiday. A gaming holiday. A weekend away from everything else with the specific aim to game our little socks off. We've got a provisional date (Weekend of May 18th) and we have a number of possible venues (from a large caravan to a yorkshire cottage to a log cabin near Kielder). It's all coming together nicely.
I have to say, I'm thrilled at the prospect. A number of us will have a chance to flex our GMing muscles which means that some of those long lost ideas, or games of a more fringe nature might see the light of day. Hopefully we can coincide something impressive for Pendragon in the weekend as well and give it the room that it requires. Boardgames will see the light of day as well which should be fun too.
Throw in a few choice DVDs, some good wine and spirits and (because it wouldn't be us if we didn't have it) some really good homemade food and it almost has a mini-con feel to it. Almost. Maybe not a minicon - a microcon!
We've talked about it on and off for years but it looks like it will happen. CottageCon. Who'd have thought?
Neil
1. The radical reduction in time to prepare for games - you simply cannot dedicate the same amount of time to campaign creation that you could when you were 17.
2. The headache of getting a group of people together in one place, at one time, semi-regularly.
3. Not being able to have those mammoth gaming sessions that were so prevalent when we were young. No all-nighters when you have parents evenings and split shifts to worry about.
One thing I love about my gaming group is that we have worked, over the years, to overcome these problems. The first - planning - has been mitigated by using the internet as a means for coordinating planning and adopting, to a degree, a shared burden of creativity and a penchant for shared world building. Through messageboards, emails and blogs (and admittedly some time over a pint in the pub) we put in a fair bit of collective effort for our gaming and that helps. The second - coordination - has again, come around over the years by massaging our playing style to allow a player to occassionally be missing and to embrace some flexibility in dates.
The last one - the massive session - has been the elusive one. For our group, three hours is a normal session and sometimes we manage to squeeze out an extra hour of fun for something special. The return of the mammoth session is simple a pipe dream and has been for years.
But now, fair readers, we have a solution. We may not have as much time as we used to have as kids, but we have far more money - and money can buy you time if you are creative. So, this May, as long as things go to plan, we will be going on a little holiday. A gaming holiday. A weekend away from everything else with the specific aim to game our little socks off. We've got a provisional date (Weekend of May 18th) and we have a number of possible venues (from a large caravan to a yorkshire cottage to a log cabin near Kielder). It's all coming together nicely.
I have to say, I'm thrilled at the prospect. A number of us will have a chance to flex our GMing muscles which means that some of those long lost ideas, or games of a more fringe nature might see the light of day. Hopefully we can coincide something impressive for Pendragon in the weekend as well and give it the room that it requires. Boardgames will see the light of day as well which should be fun too.
Throw in a few choice DVDs, some good wine and spirits and (because it wouldn't be us if we didn't have it) some really good homemade food and it almost has a mini-con feel to it. Almost. Maybe not a minicon - a microcon!
We've talked about it on and off for years but it looks like it will happen. CottageCon. Who'd have thought?
Neil
Monday, March 26, 2007
Review: 300
OK, how on Earth do you pick the bones out of this one? Well, lets preface it by saying that the night before I saw this, I finally, after many years, got to watch the Shawshank Redemption. This was a film that I had studiously avoided as something that is renowned as being so absolutely wonderful was bound to be crap. It wasn't - it was a mighty fine film which locked me to the screen for it's full length.
So I come to 300 and I have to say that on approaching the film I was more than a little trepedatious. I have, in the past, been quite outspoken about people who deride something just because it is popular or indeed who feel the need to pick minute holes in something like they are plucking the threads from the Kings New Clothes. 300 is made to be one of those films that will be derided and plucked. Essentially a suicide war flick it suffers from most of the audience knowing what will happen at the end and the trailer, rather than showing all of the good bits, being a rather neat condensed version of the film, like a 60 second Shakespeare. Add onto this the growing tide of 9/11-linkage bullshit that is rumbling towards the film and it is heading for a fall.
What I got was one of the most well realised visual spectacles I have seen on the big screen. Someone, somewhere, has really hammered home that there is a method to make comic adaptations look like comics and that it works. Sin City did it, Spiderman 2 did it, Superman Returns and Batman Begins did it and now 300 is all about it. The side-on representation of many of the scenes renders them in virtual 2-d, not wholly unlike the traditional greek art we see on cliched urns etc. It works really well.
The story itself is simple - and in some ways too simple - with the God King coming to crush the plucky Greeks and Leonidas going to standing in his way, against all odds. There are some side stories - the Captain and his son, the Hunchback, the reluctant Survivor, the pitiful Arcadians and the machinations of the Senate against the Kings (well fit) wife. Essentially it is, however, a case of 'next wave of soldiers/monsters please!'. At one point I had to physically restrain myself from shouting in my best Sean Bean voice 'They've got a Cave Troll!'
Looking at the criticism that the film gets, I wondering whether I'm simply being a little dim? Homophobic? In what way? Because they omitted the rampant man love in favour of some rather graphic woman love? Racist? Sorry critics but the Greeks are greek and the Persians were just about everyone else - you can't multicultural history to make it fit your holier-than-thou leftist sensibilities. Facist? Maybe...if you want to reclassify history to say that all warrior cultures who discarded the disabled were inherrently evil, then yes. However, you maybe missed out all of the other bits about fighting to defend liberty and freedom etc. as you were flagelating yourself with your well worn copy of Das Kapital?
There are some parts of the film that simply don't work - the witty 'winking at the 21st century audience' one-liners act to jolt you from your seat like a slap to any immersion that might have happened. You also need to be in the absolute correct frame of mind to let yourself drift into accepting the more fantastical elements of Xerxes entourage - but reminding yourself that this is the story of the battle as told by the Survivor as a rallying cry to his troops gives you the mental space to allow for some gilding of the storytelling lily.
There is, however, a great deal to love about this film. From a gaming point of view it adds another film to the growing lexicon of mass combat reference. Now in Pendragon when I reference a 'shield wall' everyone will know exactly what I mean! Some of the set pieces and little details within the combat were excellent. Got to love fight scenes where the shield kills as many people as the spear! I found the character of Leonidas likeable although I felt there was so much more to be done with him (and it's highly unlikely there will be a sequal...hehehe). Personally I loved the scenes back in Sparta because it undercut the classic view of Sparta being a warrior culture and illustrated that, when it counted, they were just like any other classical greek 'democracy'.
And finally, the film had what I absolutely require of a good picture - denouement. That was the payoff that mays the sacrifice of the 300 more than just the arrogant conceit of a ego-blown king. Thermopylae is one of the great 'battles against the odds' in human history, like Rourkes Drift and the Battle of Britain (and probably some non-British ones as well...) and the film paints it as such. I've had a quick scoot around Wikipedia (normal disclaimers about that as a source of accurate knowledge apply) and the film gets a great deal of the historical detail dead right.
So whats my final verdict?
As I was watching the film, I was thinking to myself - 'I should be getting more excited than this?'. I suspect that my expectations may have been a little too high for something which was a pretty simple proposition. However, in the cold light of day, I find myself endeared to what I saw more as a cinematic event rather than a rollocking good film.
300, it's good, but it's not the Shawshank Redemption! 7/10
So I come to 300 and I have to say that on approaching the film I was more than a little trepedatious. I have, in the past, been quite outspoken about people who deride something just because it is popular or indeed who feel the need to pick minute holes in something like they are plucking the threads from the Kings New Clothes. 300 is made to be one of those films that will be derided and plucked. Essentially a suicide war flick it suffers from most of the audience knowing what will happen at the end and the trailer, rather than showing all of the good bits, being a rather neat condensed version of the film, like a 60 second Shakespeare. Add onto this the growing tide of 9/11-linkage bullshit that is rumbling towards the film and it is heading for a fall.
What I got was one of the most well realised visual spectacles I have seen on the big screen. Someone, somewhere, has really hammered home that there is a method to make comic adaptations look like comics and that it works. Sin City did it, Spiderman 2 did it, Superman Returns and Batman Begins did it and now 300 is all about it. The side-on representation of many of the scenes renders them in virtual 2-d, not wholly unlike the traditional greek art we see on cliched urns etc. It works really well.
The story itself is simple - and in some ways too simple - with the God King coming to crush the plucky Greeks and Leonidas going to standing in his way, against all odds. There are some side stories - the Captain and his son, the Hunchback, the reluctant Survivor, the pitiful Arcadians and the machinations of the Senate against the Kings (well fit) wife. Essentially it is, however, a case of 'next wave of soldiers/monsters please!'. At one point I had to physically restrain myself from shouting in my best Sean Bean voice 'They've got a Cave Troll!'
Looking at the criticism that the film gets, I wondering whether I'm simply being a little dim? Homophobic? In what way? Because they omitted the rampant man love in favour of some rather graphic woman love? Racist? Sorry critics but the Greeks are greek and the Persians were just about everyone else - you can't multicultural history to make it fit your holier-than-thou leftist sensibilities. Facist? Maybe...if you want to reclassify history to say that all warrior cultures who discarded the disabled were inherrently evil, then yes. However, you maybe missed out all of the other bits about fighting to defend liberty and freedom etc. as you were flagelating yourself with your well worn copy of Das Kapital?
There are some parts of the film that simply don't work - the witty 'winking at the 21st century audience' one-liners act to jolt you from your seat like a slap to any immersion that might have happened. You also need to be in the absolute correct frame of mind to let yourself drift into accepting the more fantastical elements of Xerxes entourage - but reminding yourself that this is the story of the battle as told by the Survivor as a rallying cry to his troops gives you the mental space to allow for some gilding of the storytelling lily.
There is, however, a great deal to love about this film. From a gaming point of view it adds another film to the growing lexicon of mass combat reference. Now in Pendragon when I reference a 'shield wall' everyone will know exactly what I mean! Some of the set pieces and little details within the combat were excellent. Got to love fight scenes where the shield kills as many people as the spear! I found the character of Leonidas likeable although I felt there was so much more to be done with him (and it's highly unlikely there will be a sequal...hehehe). Personally I loved the scenes back in Sparta because it undercut the classic view of Sparta being a warrior culture and illustrated that, when it counted, they were just like any other classical greek 'democracy'.
And finally, the film had what I absolutely require of a good picture - denouement. That was the payoff that mays the sacrifice of the 300 more than just the arrogant conceit of a ego-blown king. Thermopylae is one of the great 'battles against the odds' in human history, like Rourkes Drift and the Battle of Britain (and probably some non-British ones as well...) and the film paints it as such. I've had a quick scoot around Wikipedia (normal disclaimers about that as a source of accurate knowledge apply) and the film gets a great deal of the historical detail dead right.
So whats my final verdict?
As I was watching the film, I was thinking to myself - 'I should be getting more excited than this?'. I suspect that my expectations may have been a little too high for something which was a pretty simple proposition. However, in the cold light of day, I find myself endeared to what I saw more as a cinematic event rather than a rollocking good film.
300, it's good, but it's not the Shawshank Redemption! 7/10
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
A Tingling on the Palette
I had all but given up on Game Chef. Something about the ingredients and the way that the contest works just didn't sit right with me. I couldn't fire anything that was 'good enough' - every idea that I came up with was derivate of something else, or I would rather run using another system. I was generating ideas for games rather than games themselves.
It was this morning, on the toilet at work (prime thinking territory btw) that I had the smallest spark of inspiration. It ran something like this:
I was trying to work out how some of these more high concept indie games could exist alongside simple games like A Faery's Tale. One of the puzzles in the world of indie games for me has always been that the games themselves are not usually designed for extended campaign play, which in my eyes is one of the best bits of RPGing. Whilst thinking about this, it suddenly hit me that what I was trying to write was a 'proper' RPG rather than one of these head-up-the-arse indie thinking ones. EUREKA!!
Newly aligned, I could now see where my game could go. It could be something that was played over one sitting. It could have very simple mechanics. I could really have one central situation. It wasn't something that needed to be complex.
So I have my idea - using Sacred, Rose and Threads. It's a game of monastic suicide and hidden passions, guilt and betrayal. And it is played in one session.
Now I just need to write it.
Ha!
Game on!
Neil
It was this morning, on the toilet at work (prime thinking territory btw) that I had the smallest spark of inspiration. It ran something like this:
I was trying to work out how some of these more high concept indie games could exist alongside simple games like A Faery's Tale. One of the puzzles in the world of indie games for me has always been that the games themselves are not usually designed for extended campaign play, which in my eyes is one of the best bits of RPGing. Whilst thinking about this, it suddenly hit me that what I was trying to write was a 'proper' RPG rather than one of these head-up-the-arse indie thinking ones. EUREKA!!
Newly aligned, I could now see where my game could go. It could be something that was played over one sitting. It could have very simple mechanics. I could really have one central situation. It wasn't something that needed to be complex.
So I have my idea - using Sacred, Rose and Threads. It's a game of monastic suicide and hidden passions, guilt and betrayal. And it is played in one session.
Now I just need to write it.
Ha!
Game on!
Neil
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Hell's Kitchen Opens
Game Chef has begun and well, I'm a little disappointed.
The ingredients are as follows
Group A: MEMORY, DRUG, PALACE, CURRENCY
Group B: SACRED, ROSE, THREAD, INCONSISTENCY
You select THREE from EITHER Group A or Group B.
Additionally there are no other set themes or restrictions.
You see, it's the last bit thats disappointing. In an open competition how can having an open competition be a parameter?
ANYWAY, that slight gripe aside, I now have until April 1st to realise a fully playable RPG based on this little lot. I'm leaning towards Grp A rather than Grp B but I really haven't given it that much deep pondering yet.
More later..
Neil
The ingredients are as follows
Group A: MEMORY, DRUG, PALACE, CURRENCY
Group B: SACRED, ROSE, THREAD, INCONSISTENCY
You select THREE from EITHER Group A or Group B.
Additionally there are no other set themes or restrictions.
You see, it's the last bit thats disappointing. In an open competition how can having an open competition be a parameter?
ANYWAY, that slight gripe aside, I now have until April 1st to realise a fully playable RPG based on this little lot. I'm leaning towards Grp A rather than Grp B but I really haven't given it that much deep pondering yet.
More later..
Neil
Monday, March 12, 2007
Cooking Up A Storm
I think I have finally got in over my head.
Browsing some of the gaming fora, I came across mention of something called Game Chef. Vaguely, in that reptilian part of my brain that remembers crap like this, I recall it being some sort of game design competition - a bit like 24 Hour RPG. I investigated a little, looked at the format and then in a fit of confidence and upward mobility, slapped by name on the 'tag in' list on the site.
I am now going to be part of Game Chef 2007!
So whats the deal. Well, on Friday the 'ingredients' will be announced. I have no idea what these could be, but it looks like it is 'choose one from list A, one from list B and two from list C' style affair. I then have until April 1st to design a game based on the ingredients. It has to be written up and everything. The games are then peer scrutinised and some will pass on to a finals and for the winner, fame and glory awaits.
In all honesty, I don't expect to get past the first stage. I highly suspect that there are a lot of people who know people within the set-up but I'm looking forward to being proved wrong. It will however be a very interesting little challenge and I'll keep everyone up-to-date on my progress.
Neil
Browsing some of the gaming fora, I came across mention of something called Game Chef. Vaguely, in that reptilian part of my brain that remembers crap like this, I recall it being some sort of game design competition - a bit like 24 Hour RPG. I investigated a little, looked at the format and then in a fit of confidence and upward mobility, slapped by name on the 'tag in' list on the site.
I am now going to be part of Game Chef 2007!
So whats the deal. Well, on Friday the 'ingredients' will be announced. I have no idea what these could be, but it looks like it is 'choose one from list A, one from list B and two from list C' style affair. I then have until April 1st to design a game based on the ingredients. It has to be written up and everything. The games are then peer scrutinised and some will pass on to a finals and for the winner, fame and glory awaits.
In all honesty, I don't expect to get past the first stage. I highly suspect that there are a lot of people who know people within the set-up but I'm looking forward to being proved wrong. It will however be a very interesting little challenge and I'll keep everyone up-to-date on my progress.
Neil
Monday, March 05, 2007
Brraaaaaiiiinnns!!!
As a young man, I was a bit different.
No, really! See, I wasn't one of those kids that simply had to see the allegedly 'illegal' copy of Evil Dead II that Paul had. Nor was I the sort of kid who used to try to get one of the older kids to get a copy of Bad Taste from the video shop. Gruesome horror was never really my thing. Indeed 'horror' - in it's current teens-in-peril style is about the bottom of my cinematic radar.
However, I have began to develop a rather curious interest in zombies and the classic zombie flicks. I'll be very specific here - what fascinates me about them is not the zombies, but rather the portrayal of the degeneration of humanity when faced with the living dead. So in the remake of Dawn of the Dead comes on, I'm there to see the man refuse to accept that his pregnant girlfriend is a zombie. To me that denial and inability to handle the terrible facts before you is true horror because it is something that can have resonance in real life. You can easily put yourself in that situation and wonder how you would react. I simply cannot do that when 'generic skinny blonde#3' decides she just HAS to go into the cellar without a torch at the dead of night....
So, when Ian recommended 'World War Z' on fandomlife.net it was naturally going to be high on my reading list. It is, apparently, high on a number of other peoples reading lists too because getting my hands on a copy of the bloody thing has been a nightmare. The wait, however, has been more than worth it.
The premise of the book is that it is an oral history of a world wide conflict between humanity and zombies, written as a series of interviews with the survivors. It is an amazingly gripping read for a fictional non-fiction book. I've read about half of it and some of it has chilled me to the bone. One of the passages that had particular resonance was the flight of the refugees from the west coast of the US and the subsequent traffic gridlock. It told of people literally trapped in their cars, only able to sit and watch as the zombies ate their way up the traffic jam. Horrible - especially as I was in a traffic jam at the time!!!
The book has been rammed with those moments when you can, almost involuntarily, put yourself into the place of the people and wonder - what would I do? how would I react? would I be one of the people that would be saved? would I be zombie fodder? The answers are NEVER pleasant.
This I consider to be true horror and this book is truly horrific. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Neil
No, really! See, I wasn't one of those kids that simply had to see the allegedly 'illegal' copy of Evil Dead II that Paul had. Nor was I the sort of kid who used to try to get one of the older kids to get a copy of Bad Taste from the video shop. Gruesome horror was never really my thing. Indeed 'horror' - in it's current teens-in-peril style is about the bottom of my cinematic radar.
However, I have began to develop a rather curious interest in zombies and the classic zombie flicks. I'll be very specific here - what fascinates me about them is not the zombies, but rather the portrayal of the degeneration of humanity when faced with the living dead. So in the remake of Dawn of the Dead comes on, I'm there to see the man refuse to accept that his pregnant girlfriend is a zombie. To me that denial and inability to handle the terrible facts before you is true horror because it is something that can have resonance in real life. You can easily put yourself in that situation and wonder how you would react. I simply cannot do that when 'generic skinny blonde#3' decides she just HAS to go into the cellar without a torch at the dead of night....
So, when Ian recommended 'World War Z' on fandomlife.net it was naturally going to be high on my reading list. It is, apparently, high on a number of other peoples reading lists too because getting my hands on a copy of the bloody thing has been a nightmare. The wait, however, has been more than worth it.
The premise of the book is that it is an oral history of a world wide conflict between humanity and zombies, written as a series of interviews with the survivors. It is an amazingly gripping read for a fictional non-fiction book. I've read about half of it and some of it has chilled me to the bone. One of the passages that had particular resonance was the flight of the refugees from the west coast of the US and the subsequent traffic gridlock. It told of people literally trapped in their cars, only able to sit and watch as the zombies ate their way up the traffic jam. Horrible - especially as I was in a traffic jam at the time!!!
The book has been rammed with those moments when you can, almost involuntarily, put yourself into the place of the people and wonder - what would I do? how would I react? would I be one of the people that would be saved? would I be zombie fodder? The answers are NEVER pleasant.
This I consider to be true horror and this book is truly horrific. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Neil
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