ALIEN VACATION...REIMAGINED

My ALIEN VACATION theme for this month's A-to-Z Blog Challenge? Well...

I'm reimagining it.

The truth is, I reimagined it starting from the very first post.

What I actually want to do is go back to my original idea. For some reason that I can't explain, for the first post of this series I wrote something that was not really what I wanted, or intended to write.

Unfortunately, once I wrote it, and posted it, it soured my enthusiasm for continuing. I knew what I wrote was not what I'd originally envisioned, and [honestly] I kind of hated it. As a result as I put off the project. I lost my focus, and my excitement over the whole thing. I'm sensitive that way.

To fix this situation I am declaring a do-over.

The old 'first entry' has been deleted.

What follows is the new first entry, and my proper attempt at completing the A-to-Z Blog Challenge for 2016.

Thank you for your time, and sorry for any confusion.

AD
Barking Alien

The A-to-Z Blog Challenge: GALACTIC LAMPOON'S ALIEN VACATION!

It's April again, and you know what that means don't you? It's time for me to fail the A-to-Z Blog Challenge.

Yep, this time every year for the past few years I attempt to join the long, and varied list of bloggers who partake in the A-to-Z Challenge, only to find I am unable to complete it. Repeatedly. You'd think that after a while I would give up, not bother, and save myself the hassle.

You'd think.

Well, the fact of the matter is...

The fact of the matter is we're out of here!

Barkley? Where've you been lately? I was just making a post introducing this year's A-to-Z Challenge.

Yes, I heard as much. Sounds like a hoot. Luckily, it's not a concern. You my dear friend, and I, are going on vacation!

Vacation?

Vacation! I took the liberty of packing your bag for you, I have the blog on standby, the Emergency Holo-chronal Adam has been activated, my cousin has promised to come by three times a week to feed the unnamed horror living on Level 25M, and we are good to go!

What?...I can't. I have to...

Non-sense! One month, that's thirty days or so, traveling the galaxy aboard a Happy Hunting Tours star cruiser. I've rented us a personal exploratory saucer which can launch from the mothership, fly around for a closer look, or even land on any of the various planets the tour will visit.

We...we're going to other planets?

Yessiree! It's going to an incredible adventure! Just you,and me old chum (and the hundred or so other passengers on the star cruiser)! We're going to go to different worlds, see the creatures there, sentient life if there is any, and maybe check out some ancient ruins from bygone civilizations. That's more for you. I know you love that stuff.

Plus, the Happy Hunting Tours vessel has over a dozen restaurants from around the cosmos, at least five cantinas, three nightclubs, a zero-gee handball court, three swimming pools (although only one has Human safety compatible conditions), and much, much more. You are going to see, and do so many amazing things...

That I'll have tons of material for the A-to-Z Challenge! Barkley, you're a genius!

Well, I don't know about being a genius. Smart yes, and dashing for sure. I...wait a second. No, no, no! This isn't about...

This is perfect! It shows here on this computer pad that I can alphabetize the trip's itinerary. That means an A-to-Z listing of all the aliens, sites, food, EVERYTHING!

  "Not what I had in mind..."

Oh boy...

Barkley my friend, I don't know how to thank you.

Neither do I.

I can't wait to get started!

A-to-Z Blog Challenge across the Milky Way, here we come!

*sob*

AD
Barking Alien

Wait...Happy Hunting Tours? Hmmm...

Oh, by the way...

This is the 1000TH POST ON BARKING ALIEN!!! WOOHOO!

In The Works

Whoah. I got a lot to talk about.

I'm not going to dump it all into this one post, but suffice to say there are some interesting games on my horizon. Let's cross our fingers, and hope they work out.

Coming down the pipeline we've got...

The Masked Age '66

Bell-Bottoms, Tie Dye, The Beatles, Vietnam, Gemni 8, Luna 10, Star Trek, The Monkees, Capes, Masks, and Superpowers!

Using a doujinshi (self-published small press) Japanese tabletop RPG about Western-style Superheroes, I am going to run a campaign for 'Dan's Group' set in New York City, NY with an in universe starting date of March 11, 1966!

The premise will start out as a classically Silver Age Superhero romp, with spandex clad villains and crazy capers, then slowly introduce the trials, tribulations, and turmoil of the late 60's.

I'm really looking forward to this and already think the [PC] characters are fantastic. They lend themselves easily to both action packed comic book adventures and the possibilities of deeper pathos.

Next...

I have two ideas for my next RPG project with my Barking Alien Gaming Group. Before I talk about them, I need to update you all a little on what's been going on with them.

As it stands, I haven't run anything for them or with them in over a month. I ran a one-shot/test game of Star Wars Traveller* and while it went over pretty well and I definitely felt the system worked, it didn't really inspire me the way I was hoping it would.

I could fall back on regular Traveller again and honestly a part of me is tempted to do so, another stronger part of me wants to do something different.

Different, as readers of this blog may know by now, is difficult with the Barking Alien Group. Everything is a little harder to run with this group than I feel it should be. Many, many times I've assumed that it's me but I know it's not only me. As a matter of fact, one of the players let me know quite clearly it definitely isn't just me.

Anyway...I've taken enough time off from the group and I really want to get back to a regular game with them so I've come up with two concepts...

Wares Blade

You want different from Traveller? I got different from Traveller!

Wares Blade, the Japanese TRPG set in a world of Medieval Fantasy and Giant Robots is a favorite of mine that I have not run in a long time. I'd love to get an ongoing campaign of Wares Blade going and I think the group is a good fit as many of them are into Anime/Manga (though not necessarily Mecha Anime/Manga)**.

Space Opera Adventure / Comedy

I have a really fun idea I'm having trouble locking down.

I am seeing a game heavily inspired by the French comic book krrpk, the Anime Space Dandy, and the games Hunter Planet, Star Frontiers, Starships and Spacemen, and Teenagers from Outer Space.

I'm thinking of a group of space adventurers who perform some sort of job (maybe explorers, maybe salvage, maybe they're Galactic Patrol) with a slight tongue-in-cheek nature to the whole thing. Kind of like my old Galaxy Quest game but not exactly.

I can see it clearly but I'm having a little trouble putting it into a pitch. I think once I can explain what the PCs will be doing I will have a better idea of how to 'sell it'.

OK, off to work. Expect to see more on these and other subjects very soon.

Ta-ta for now!

AD
Barking Alien

* More Star Wars Traveller posts are going to be dropping out of hyperspace in the very near future. I am also hoping to incorporate material from the upcoming Rogue One film when more information on it is released.

** Which in my opinion is un-Japanese the way not liking Superheroes is un-American. That's the most political any post of mine will ever be

RPGaDay Challenge 2015 - Day 27

Now this one is interesting...

Favorite idea for merging two game together, huh? Favorite idea.

I like the wording here for once. This is not necessarily the best merging of games you've ever done, but rather the best idea you think you've had for doing so.

Nice.

A tough question too. I've merged many ideas together, crossbred some games from story to system, and at the same time, I'm not a fan of subjects that seem to hodge-podged, and thrown together needlessly.

As a genre junkie, I feel one must be careful when mixing together two very strong ingredients. What seems like chocolate and peanut butter could in reality be oil and water, or worse, acid and bleach.

With that, there is still the desire to combine two of my favorite ideas together, like Space Adventure and Superheroes (Did that), Space Adventure and Mecha (Done), or Mecha and Superheroes (Yeppers).

These are genres however, not 'games'. For two games I'd most like to merge, things definitely get a bit trickier. I've had the idea of the Traveller universe with giant robots a la' Mekton, which I dubbed 'MechaTraveller', That's one I particularly like.

Favorite idea though, hmmm..

I think I'd have to go with an idea I came up with about a year ago, but haven't had the chance to do anything with. Attack The Block, The Role Playing Game. Combining Japan's Asian Punk. Tarantino-esque Crime RPG SATASUPE Remix, with the All-Australian Sci-Fi Comedy game, Hunter Planet, and based on the awesome film of the same name, I think this thing would rock as a one-shot, or maybe even a short campaign.

Well, that's my answer for Day 27.

"Are we there yet?"

Almost kids. Almost.

AD
Barking Alien

Thrill of The Hunt

Reading through Hunter Planet is both a joy, and gives me the the odd feeling of being dislodged in time.

 Hunter Planet, First Edition-1985

Front and Back Covers

That may have something to do with some of the background color in the game itself (more about that below), but moreover it's because, upon completely going over it, I remember why I love(d) this game, and why I think we felt it necessary to make changes to it way back when to make it work for us.

Some of the reason for this is us, that is, my friend who ran this at a local game convention, and I. We loved to tinker, especially with simpler, more rules-lite games. I still do. I find it a lot more enjoyable to add bits to a low crunch game than to need to cut whole chunks out of complex, heavy crunch game.

Another reason for the changes we made may have to do with Australian versus American sensibilities. I can't say for sure. I've only known one or two Australian nationals well as friends, and they were so American I didn't get a feel for any differences, or specifics of culture.

By contrast, as a bit of an Anglophile, I can easily identify the differences between British and American humor. I am an avid fan of British TV shows such as Red Dwarf, Are You Being Served, and Black Adder, as well as the brilliant work of the Monty Python comedy troupe. I get a good deal of the idiosyncrasies of British living.

Likewise, years of watching Anime, reading Manga, and spending time among Japanese people (friends, girlfriends, and co-workers) around my age have given me a fairly good idea of the particulars of their pop culture.

I think I might need to watch some Australian made TV shows, or movies. Are there any anyone would recommend? I concede to being woefully ignorant on the subject.

I suppose what I am saying is that my buddy, and I took Hunter Planet, and made it more American. Not with that particular idea in mind (I don't think), but I think we just trimmed here, and added there, and ended up with the 'U.S. Adaption of Hunter Planet' more so than actual Hunter Planet.

One of the interesting things I discovered reading Hunter Planet is that it shares an attitude (as well as some other features) with another game I love from roughly the same era, Teenagers from Outer Space. Not only do both games have rules-lite systems, great senses of humor, and the 'Aliens-Humans-Culture-Clash' vibe, but they both strongly advocate making up your own stuff.

Although 'these-rules-are-only-guidelines' has been part of RPG gaming since the very beginning (or close to it), Hunter Planet takes the time to point this fact out very clearer, and more than once. Considering the relatively short page count of the book (approximately 30 pages not counting the front, and back covers) it is interesting to note how much attention is paid to using your imagination, ad libbing, not adhering too strictly to the rules, and of course, downright cheating (highly recommended).

Without further adieu, lets get right to an actual review (or what passes for it on Barking Alien):

The Good

The core concept of this game is just plain fantastic. There is nothing else I can really say about it.

'Aliens on a Hunting Safari Vacation try to shoot the primitive, indigenous life forms of a world called 'Dirt'. The natives are stupid, savage, and dangerous. They think cell phones are cool, and watch golf. Seriously. Barbarians.'

What's not to love?

The game mechanics, while crunchier than I remember (only barely), are still incredibly simple.

The writing style is simultaneously humorous, personable, and a bit authoritative. Rules are referred to as 'Principles', such as The Principle of Landing, the Principle of Getting Beamed Up, and The Principle of Firing (How to shoot something). The author's voice is a commanding one, even when just telling you to have fun.

The game was made on a Macintosh Computer in 1985. It's on pale yellow paper. The fonts are wonky. These are features I tell you, features!

Lastly, there is a funny bit where David Bruggeman, creator of the game, is insinuated to be a time traveler from the distant future. He is first introduced in the games' background as a Cadet in the future, remarking how the game of Hunter Planet was found as an ancient relic, or some such, and written by a man with his very same name. While pondering this he experiences some sort of accident, and disappears.

Heheh.

The Bad

What is bad in the book, isn't really bad per se. It's more a question of, hmmm, how to put this...

Hunter Planet, at least this first edition book, is a book that was made by a guy with a great idea, in Victoria, Australia, on a Macintosh, in 1985.

It's clever, funny, and best of all, inspires all kinds of crazy ideas.

It is also oddly, if not poorly, organized, and lacks the slick, professional look of other games (even ones of the time).

But there is beauty in its rawness. There is a charm to its imperfections. It is great, and odd, and a little broken, and wonderful.

The Ugly

OK, so there is one bit about the game I find fault with. This is purely my opinion, and not a testament to anything truly ugly, or badwrong about Hunter Planet. This is simply my preference, and the reason, in retrospect, we made the changes we did oh those many years ago.

The game comes with a background to explain the universe the alien PCs are from. It has an interstellar government called the Federation of Planets, and has the people on Earth/Dirt, at some point, aware of the Federation's existence.

Furthermore, it describes a war at some point in the future in which the Earth is fully invaded by the FOPs (Humans refer to Federation of Planets citizens and military as FOPs). At some point following this, the universe is ruled by The Empire of Man, although I can't tell if that means the Humans won. It seems like they didn't and yet 'Empire of MAN' so...

I found this background very confusing and completely distracting to the main idea of the game.

I get that there needs to be some kind of government out there, some organization that sponsors and/or authorizes the Hunts but I wish it had been much more vague. I don't think so much emphasis or page count should have been devoted to it and it's future history.

I would also prefer if the people of Dirt had very little idea of what was going on. Sure, there may be some secret Men-In-Black type group that has picked up some data over time but it shouldn't be a commonly known thing. To put it another way, I'd prefer a Men-In-Black, X-Files, possibly even Close Encounters approach. The game's 'canon' (if you can call it that) implies it started that way then gives you the diary of a Human freedom fighter fighting against the aliens.

Why? Aren't the PCs the aliens? Aren't the aliens the 'good guys' or at the very least the blue collar everyday joes? So much focus in the text regarding Humans holding out against the aliens really threw me off. I started to wonder who I am supposed to be routing for. When you create a game like this, it's best to have Terra Incognita, portray Whoomuns in a satirical light as bumbling Neanderthals to your 'far superior' advanced society, then show that the aliens have all the same flaws and quirks, though even more exaggerated.

That's my two credits.

***

 

In conclusion, I love that I have this, I can't wait to run it, and yes, I am going to modify the crap out of it when I finally do so. I want to add alien species abilities, more weird technology, a bit more info on the Hunting Tour company (not a lot though), and find a way to make the locals (us) dangerous because they don't know what's going on, not because they do.

Thank you once again David for sending me this.

The Hunt is on...

AD
Barking Alien

The Hunt Is Over

I am beside myself with happiness today, and both of us are speechless.

I received, in the mail, a First Edition Copy of Hunter Planet, The All-Australian Role Playing Game, from none other than the game's creator, David Bruggeman.

One of only 500 copies produced, written on a Macintosh in 1985, this thing is a sickly pale yellow, has weird font issues, and is absolutely, positively GLORIOUS!

I have been trying to find this game for what feels like forever. Ever since I played it once at a game convention run by a friend of mine, I'd hoped to revisit the awesome that is this game.

I've talked about the game, and my love of it, quite a few times in the past...

Game You'd Like to See A New/Improved Edition of
Game You Wish You Owned
Hunting for Hunter Planet

Uniquely Australian, yet fundamentally funny regardless of where you're from, I simply can not wait to read this bad boy. Better yet, I can't wait to run it.

As it turns out, Mr. Bruggeman, or David (Can I call you David?), read of my long quest to obtain this game, and my obsession with it even after only playing it once. He made a comment on my blog not long ago, and that was followed by an email requesting my address.

I checked the mail today, and low and behold, there is was.

I want to thank David Bruggeman, my blog (Heheh), and everyone who has tried to help me in my search for this holy grail. David tells me a new edition of the game is in the works! You heard it here first Barking Alien fans - Barkley and I will keep you posted as news develops.

AD
Barking Alien

RPGaDay Challenge - Day 27

Day 27 - Game You’d Like to See a New / Improved Edition of…

Now here's a question I can really get into. I know exactly which RPG fits this bill.

HUNTER PLANET

 

Left: First Edition Cover
Right: Second (Executive) Edition Cover

 

And someday...

 

 

 

Oh yeah baby!

 

On a parallel Earth, David Bruggerman, the entire TAGG team, and I are wallowing in money 'cause we just sold the movie rights to the same people who made Galaxy Quest.

 

Yeah.

As noted by some of the other participants of the RPGaDay Blogfest, a lot of the answers to these questions, and therefore the posts regarding them, seem like repeats. The same games will come up on a given bloggers posts again and again.

 

AD

Barking Alien


 

  

RPGaDay Challenge - Day 16

Day 16 - Game you wish you owned

Whoops! A little late. Sorry gang. Anyway, a game I wish I owned, but don't, eh?

No question or contest.

Hunter Planet.

Original, First Edition Character Sheet.

 

 

Hunter Planet is my holy grail, though often it feels more like The Questing Beast. I always almost manage to find it, just miss it as it sells out at Noble Knight Games, or I nearly win it on ebay, but never do.

I can't stop thinking about this game, even though I've only ever played it once. I have so many ideas of what I could do with it. I just...just...grrr...need a damn copy!

I honestly can not think of another RPG I don't already own that I would want. Seriously. Of the games that have already come out, that I like and play, I own them all.

That's a very satisfying feeling. It also sort of sucks.

Gaming industry...make some new games I actually want please.

Thanks,

AD
Barking Alien

Inner City vs. Outer Space

I haven't had a gaming epiphany in a long while.

Had one today.

You start with SATASUPE REmix, the Japanese 'Asian Punk', Crime/Action RPG.

You add Hunter Planet, The All-Australian, Sci-Fi Comedy RPG.

You get:

Truth.

(Drops the mic).

AD
Barking Alien

You Can't Always Get What You Want

I am a little disappointed that my last post didn't get as many comment responses as I was hoping for. Perhaps I didn't quite pitch it correctly. The idea was 'What game would you want to run if it was strictly your choice without having to worry about your players' interests, opinions, tastes, etc.'

Since I run games to entertain my audience as much as myself, this question has a fairly large impact on my thinking. I'm always concerned about what my group will like and what kind of campaign best suits their preferences. As I've stated elsewhere, player input has a major effect on my plots and subplots as well as the type of adventures I design.

In the case of my running Hunter Planet for example, I don't think that game would go over well in NY. My New York crew is a bit 'too serious' and has trouble getting behind games whose premise is humorous from the start. It addition, I can't see them all playing weird aliens. Most likely you'd get very Human looking Star Trek types.

My NJ group could play this in a heartbeat. My lord it would hit the ground running and never look back. The issue here is I've promised them a serious game as a 'change of pace' from our usual comical endeavours.

So Hunter Planet, like so many other crazy Barking Alien ideas, goes back into RPG limbo for now. I will continue to tweak it and add to it and when the time comes I will unleash it on an unsuspecting world. For the time being however, I'll put it aside with my OZ campaign, FIENDish, and the like. I'm sure they all have much to discuss.

AD
Barking Alien

What I Want To Run

The past two posts have eluded to a very special post I've been wanting to put up and this is it. The idea for this came to me in a rare moment of quiet clarity while I was walking a dog through the hauntingly beautiful snow that came down in the early hours in New York City on Wednesday.

What do I want to run?

Let's say that player input or interest wasn't a factor. That is, assume for this excercise that your group of players would be overjoyed to play whatever you come up with. Its all you, the GM.

What would you run? What is your dream campaign or even, to pull it back closer to the doable, what do you really want to run next more than anything else if all the parts fell into place. You have the time, the system, the players, etc.

For me, it's actually Hunter Planet.



I want to run a Science Fiction, Space Opera Action/Adventure game with a touch of Comedy thrown in. The Player Characters are all Aliens who've come to Earth ('Dirt') on a Safari Vacation. Some are photographers, some are hunters out to shoot and mount trophie kills of the indigenious life (i.e. Us) and others might be campers, writers, artists or even a married couple on their honeymoon.

That's when it all goes to Roswell in a handbasket.

Whenever I think of this idea for a campaign, and I have had it pop into my head many, many times over the years, I see it as a reverse Men In Black, a Redneck Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Predator Sitcom all mixed together. I think this game would be, pun irresistable, out of this world.

Will it ever get run? I don't know. I hope so. I really, really want to run this.

I don't want to GM anything as badly as I want to GM this.

What about you? What do you want to run?

AD
Barking Alien

Storm Before The Calm Before The Storm

So, in about 15 minutes or so I'm going out into New York City's winter wonderland once more. When I return I have a very cool post I want to make. But before that I want to make this somewhat less cool, slightly snarky post. Teasing and humor is involved. If your Wisdom and Constitution do not add up to at least 22 you may want to avoid this post.

I periodically mention various RPGs I've played, run and loved on my blog. These are not quite reviews and not quite retrospectives but they come close to both. Some are obvious discussions of a particular game like Mekton, Teenagers from Outer Space, Star Wars or Star Trek. Some are mentions of lesser known but very cool games and how I'd like to play them more than I have. Examples include Faery's Tale Deluxe, Hunter Planet and Apocalypse World.

When it comes to the comments section of these entries I often see things like...

"I never picked up TFOS as I knew there was no way it would ever get run in my rather hardcore gear-headish group."

"Never played Mekton, but I do remember the ads for it"

"Star Trek is always something I wanted to play. Way back in teh day Dragon ran an article on GMing tips for FASA's Star Trek and I was all inspired. Perhaps someday..."

And its not just here on my site but on other sites as well. People mentioning cool, not-so-obscure games and others going, "I always wanted to check out that game that was really popular 10-20 years ago but I never did."

Now comes the snarky part, purely in jest (if you are an immature dipstick with no sense of humor who thinks I'm somehow mocking you personally, please look away from my blog site now and go read the nutritional information on the side of a cereal box or something equally non-antagonizing)...I have to ask...

What the Hell were you People Playing?!?

Are you seriously telling me you've only ever played one game? Has it been D&D or the highway since 1976? There's a whole wide world out there my friends, just waiting for you to explore it. It won't bite. And if it does that'll be a learning experience. Come out now...don't be shy.

OK. Snark Wave Generator deactivated.

I'm just teasing but seriously, has anyone been playing RPGs for 15 years or more played fewer than 3 games? I'm just curious.

AD
Barking Alien

50 Sense

A couple quick notes...

First, I have 50 followers! Great Galactic Green Dog that's cool!

Thanks to everyone who has decided that reading my mad attempts at creativity and storytelling are some form of entertainment. Tell a friend.

Second, I've been trying to locate an out-of-print game for a while now and have been unable to do so. With 50 of you I'm thinking someone can find it. I'm speaking of course of Hunter Planet (either edition/version). Also, check out my Hunter Planet request and notes on the EN World post, Hunting for Hunter Planet.

Third, and lastly for now, I'm putting together a Meikyuu Kingdom inspired set of rules for my players and I. Not very accurate to the original by any means I am none the less trying to build something we can use to play a similar game on a regular basis. I am so in love with this idea it borders on my obession with cute, geeky, brunettes with glasses who...and I'm entering TMI space so I'll stop right there.

AD
Barking Alien

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

So I've finally decided on what I'm going to run next year.Star Wars. The West End Games D6 Role Playing Game.

Now wait...hear me out...

Yes I do feel a bit like I'm selling out but at the same time I realize that this is really the best compromise for my group and I. We both want Sci-Fi/Space Opera. While I originally wanted to go a bit more gonzo (Hunter Planet), I know now that what I had it mind was a bit too wacky for this crowd. Traveller is the other end of the spectrum and as I discussed with a few members of the group recently, not quite fantastic enough.

Star Wars is a nice middle ground. Its also big and familiar but with easily enough room for me to add practically anything I want to it. While I was always more of a Star Trek fan, I love Star Wars too, though the prequels made me forget that for a while. Thank goodness for Cartoon Network's Clone Wars series ( both of them).

I started playing RPGs in 1977, the same year and only a few months after Star Wars came out. At the impressionable age of 8 that film did indeed rock my world and shaped how I would GM for years to come. While my love of literature has given me a love of character, my interest in science an attention to detail and my exposure to classic comedy a sense of timing, it is Star Wars that gave me a sense of scale and grandeur.

I've probably run the D6 Star Wars game more than any other RPG save Star Trek. I have no doubt that this will be a fun campaign. In addition, I will be handing the reins of the game over to another GM periodically and have discussed with them the possibility of taking over the campaign at some later point.

So for now the art films are on hold while I put out a blockbuster. Hopefully I won't lose my street cred.

AD
Barking Alien

*The illustration above is by my extremely talented friend Keith Conroy and depicts the PCs, NPCs and ship from one of our old Star Wars campaigns. Check out more of Keith's RPG awesomeness at his website. Sadly the image above was colored in by me but never really finished. I'll have to get back to it sometime soon.

Mountains In My Mashed Potatos

I'm freaking out a little here.

All of my experience as a GM, combined with numerous analytical observations and applied logic is telling me that Traveller is the right game to play next year with my new group.

In addition, I love Traveller and haven't played it in a while. I look forward to trying to put another campaign together as awesome as some of my older ones if not better.

So Traveller it is...right?

Hunter Planet, at least my personal take on it, gnaws at the back on my mind. Its creative and bizarre idea eats its way through the logic of running an easier, more sensible game like the ear eels of Ceti Alpha V. My heart is there in that universe, pounding like thunder as I imagine unleashing it upon unsuspecting players.

No...relax...reign it in. They won't get it. Its too weird. It will be seen as too humorous and crazy. Traveller will be taken more seriously. Traveller is an institution, an enduring legacy.

Yes. I will run Traveller. Now I'll just finish my lunch and...

Hmmm...why does this plate of mashed potatos make me want to go to Wyoming?

AD
Barking Alien

Turns Out It Was A Weather Balloon

Yesterday, while working on some ideas for the game I intended to run next year, I had to sit back for a moment and look at what I'd done. As I checked over my notes and the artwork, I thought to myself, "Wow, this is some crazy stuff." Then the thought occurred to me that perhaps, just perhaps, it was too crazy.

One of the things I've come to realize is that a lot of my ideas are considerably left of center. I tend to try running RPG campaign ideas that sound great in my head but in practice, no sane GM in his or her right mind would go anywhere near.

I once ran a time travel game backwards (I started at the end and each subsequent adventure was earlier in the timeline). I ran a Victorian fantasy set in the Land of Oz that was a musical. I ran a game of Skyrealms of Jorune over the course of 7 days real time that focused on 7 days game time in which the PCs searched for the meaning of life.

I've run 30 years of weird.

Once I decide that the bizarre idea in question is as good as it is strange, I put my all into trying to make it work. Luckily in the past I've been privileged to have players in my old groups who put up with my madcap schemes and are willing to try anything once. In return for their loyalty and intrepid spirit I do my damnedest to make the campaign as awesome as possible.

The idea I had for next years game was just such an idea. Unfortunately, I'm wouldn't be playing it with my old groups but with my new one.

My new group is a bit more traditional and has a lot more distinct likes and dislikes. They also play the rules of a game a bit more then the characters and the plot. This doesn't work so well with my wackier ideas as they tend to be rules lite and character and plot heavy.

Now in their defense, they know what they like and they are very serious players when they get involved in the game. They game in a very tactical, action oriented style of play and when presented with difficult challenges of a strategic nature, the group tends be very effective at kicking butt and taking names.

So what does all this mean? Simple...

The original idea for my 2010 campaign at the Compleat Strategist was going to be Hunter Planet. I am still going to work on the concept in my spare time as I feel my take on it would be very fun. For now however, I am not going to run it with the Strat group. Instead I'm going with a tried and true Sci-Fi RPG classic. Traveller.

Now Entering Jump Space...

AD
Barking Alien