Playtest Results

So, somewhat surprisingly (given that I provided incredibly short notice to people) I had several players show up to last night's playtest.

Vance, Shaina, and Matt were all "older adults" (read: my age, give or take a decade) who were familiar with AD&D. No 5E players sat down at my table but, to be fair, I was a little late getting to the shop and by 6:20 (when I arrived) a lot of tables were already "full up." Matt, bless his heart, was there early waiting with beer in hand for my arrival. As soon as I pulled my 1E tomes from my backpack, he sauntered over to introduce himself.

Vance and Shaina arrived a few minutes later, having just seen my blog post about 20 minutes earlier (!!). I'd actually met them before, at the last DragonFlight convention I attended (2019, I think? Yep)...we'd all sat in on several games together. Anyway, it was both flattering and impressive that they'd show up at the drop of a hat, so I hope I gave them a good game.

[they did say they had a "fun time"]

The adventure was written for six to eight players, as that's the usual number to expect at a Cauldron table, so it was going to be a bit tougher for three. I made adjustments to one or two encounters, but for the most part they handled things in a fairly clever and cautious manner, successfully navigating some 15 out of 24 encounter areas (by "successful" I mean "surviving"). Vance lost two characters over the course of the session, including Bruti the dwarf (a pre-gen from Dwellers of the Forbidden City that I have made a staple of my pre-gens since Cauldron I)...the first time I've seen that character fall in battle. Unfortunately, Bruti was carrying most of the treasure they'd found so when they did decide to retire (being low on hit points and out of healing magic) the party ended up with little to show for their efforts; maybe something like 20,000 gold pieces worth? Out of a potential 500K+.

[due to "circumstances" Bruti's body...and the treasure...were unrecoverable. Mainly because the other party members fled the scene as quickly as possible]

SO...good times. A 40% mortality rate is, perhaps, a little higher than I'm looking for (20-30% is about right) but, again, they were working with a smaller party than expected. Over all, I'd say the group played competently. It will be interesting to compare their results with my own play group (the kids) next Friday; they'll have four players, including one complete newbie (a never-played-before friend of Sofia's). 

Should be fun. Or a bloodbath. Or both.

ANYway...I am slightly (slightly!) disappointed that I didn't get any 5E players at the table; I was expecting to have to give my "conversion spiel" to folks, and missing that opportunity feels, in retrospect, somewhat like...well, like a missed opportunity.  But, yeah, that was my own fault for not giving enough notice (on the shop's discord channel and elsewhere). I was contacted by more than a few people (via email) who had interest in playing but already had other plans for the evening.

I promise that NEXT TIME I'm running a public game (and I hope to run at least three more playtests before the con in October) I'll let people know a couple weeks in advance. 

Now I just need to finish writing those three adventures.

; )

Thank you very much to Matt, Shaina, and Vance. I really appreciate you folks coming out and playing...it made my evening!

Playtest

Tonight I'll be running D&D for (presumably) random strangers.

I've finished writing the tournament module for the 2025 Cauldron convention and need to test it. Around the Table Game Pub in Edmonds has an open table "D&D" night on Wednesdays from 6pm till close, and they've told me there's space for me to run a game. 

We'll see if anyone shows up.

[I am suddenly reminded of the first time I tried to run a B/X game at my...now defunct...local game shop and having no one appear. When was that? Oh, yeah: August 8th, 2010, almost 15 years ago. Perhaps history will repeat itself...at least this time I was able to leave a couple messages on the shop's discord channel]

My own players (my kids) want me to run the game for them next Friday (when we have their friends over for a sleepover) and I will, but as this is the tournament adventure for the con -- and will be run by more DMs than just myself -- I'd like to get it tested as early and often as possible before I release it 'into the wild.' 

One VERY interesting thing: the "open D&D night" is open to all editions of the game but MOST people that show up are running/playing 5E. Taking a 1E adventure to Cauldron (where the people are expecting 1E) or running the game for my players (who know what to expect) is going to be a different experience from having to "re-train" 5E players on the fly. Yeah...I'm very interested to see how this turns out.

Hopefully, people will show up.

Regardless, I'll post a follow-up telling how things went.

; )

"Dear JB" Mailbag #30

This one is just so ridiculous I couldn't resist...

Dear JB:

If you had $100 to spend on a single game/system and 4hrs of prep time for a session this coming weekend, what would you buy? (Assume you own no ttrpgs at this point, but have all of your existing knowledge about them)

$100 And 4Hrs

Dear DM:

If my house burned down tomorrow and I needed to restart my game collection from scratch with only $100, here's what I would purchase:

AD&D Players Handbook (standard hardcover): $19.99

AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide (standard hardcover): $27.99

AD&D Monster Manual (standard hardcover): $21.99

There is no way these would reach me by the weekend, unfortunately, but sent via "media mail," I could get all three for $87.45, leaving enough left over for a set of dice ($5.99 from Amazon, free delivery thanks to Prime), an 80-page pad of graph paper ($3.59, again from Amazon) and a box of a dozen, pre-sharpened #2 pencils ($2.79 from Amazon...what a store!).

Grand total: $99.82.

With only this...plus a free library card to access books and the internet (probably necessary to complete my on-line ordering), I could restart my AD&D campaign with zero problem; that graph paper can be used for character sheets and note writing as well as for making maps.

Now, if I absolutely NEEDED to be ready for the next weekend (because my life or job depended on it), and I had literally only four hours to prep, I could probably get it done...IF I was able to beg, borrow, or steal a laptop computer. With a laptop, I could download PDFs remarkably fast and cheap, and here's what I'd get:

All the books listed above (though now as PDFs) as well as the Amazon order (pencils, dice, paper) for a total of $42.34, plus the following:

Fiend Folio (watermarked PDF): $5.99

I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City (watermarked PDF): $4.99

For a grand total of $53.32.  The leftover money would be used for printing hardcopies of I1 at the local FedEx Office and (probably) select pages from the books to use as reference sheets at the table (for example: equipment lists, combat matrices, and spell lists). Heck, I'd probably print up anything that I felt I'd need to run the game, because I vastly prefer to NOT be using computer devices in play...for me, it would be totally preferable to print the spells (that the PCs would be able to access) and the monster entries (for the adventure scenario) and have them in stapled packets for use during the session.

Dwellers is a great adventure module that I've used multiple times in multiple ways. It has the great benefit of an extensive list of pre-gens in the back...most of my "four hour prep time" (other than placing on-line orders and printing reference materials) would be spent writing up character sheets using these pre-gens for play. If the laptop has a word processor on it (heck, I suppose I could just use Google Docs...that's free, right?) I'd do the character sheets on the laptop and just make one trip to the printer. 

Self-serve printing at FedEx is $0.21 per page for single-sheet, B&W.  My remaining budget would allow me to print some 200+ pages...way more than I need.  I'm thinking more like 60 (including pre-gens); call it 70 which would cost me $16.17 (including Seattle's 10% sales tax). 

With the $30 leftover, I could buy a couple six-packs for the game. What else do you need?

Sincerely,

JB

Mystery Dice Goblin

Sometimes people ask me to review their products. Sometimes they send me their products. My time is limited and my bandwidth for a lot of these things is...even more limited.

Mystery Dice Goblin is a group that sells dice and dice accessories (bags, etc.). Like all gaming nerds, I've purchased plenty of such things over the years, to the point that I'm a bit jaded: if I'm going to buy a dice bag or box, it better be some sort of hand-crafted, artistic nonsense, and better be in a price point that doesn't make me feel like an idiot (or is just so cool that I can't live without it). Usually, I'm a "pass" on most such things.

And dice? I have enough dice. 

But they sent me some of their signature product: their "mystery dice" bag: a small, resealable bag with a full set of seven dice. They sent me three such bags, which my kids and I quickly divided up.

And what do you know...the gimmick works! It's kind of cool to rip open a mystery bag and 'oo' and 'ah' over the dice inside. All three of the sets were different, with gemlike finishes and inset, colored numbers. Of the three sets, two of them were nice enough that they might have been worth purchasing even had they been visible (sadly, my set was not to my taste...but two out of three ain't bad).

Pic is from their web site...

As a stocking stuffer, or birthday party gift bag or similar, these are great little packets for handing out to kids (or adults) who are into geeky dice games. And the price is good: a six pack of mystery bags is only $40, which is cheaper than a standard $8-10 box. And, as said, the gimmick's fun. Like ripping into a Cracker Jack box to get the prize. Dig it.

All right: Friday commercial done.

In other news: disappointing Seahawks game last night, but we've watched a lot of disappointing Seahawks-Niners match-ups the last couple years. Two dwarf teams in a row (Giants, too)...and dwarves are rough for orks. Especially when the dwarves are GOOD (which is the case with San Francisco, injuries or not). *sigh*

Watched The Spine of Night the other day. Not bad. But not great. The story felt very post-apocalyptic up until the end when it gets all mythical, fallen gods, and blah-blah-blah. Would have preferred fallen space men in a 50th century Earth, but oh well (AND, if one is looking for inspiration for a PA, warring city-state campaign world, the first hour or so is pretty groovy). Some of the (still) art was great. Some of the animation was pretty...mm..."pedestrian."  In other words, the movie was a mixed bag and uneven. However, for what is (basically) a 90 minute film that would have been par for Heavy Metal magazine, it wasn't terrible. 

And...this ain't the greatest blog post. But it's Friday and I'm busy. Later gators!

Space Wars

So the Seahawks season is over and, despite yet another close win (against a 4-13 halfling team...big whoop), the orks are out of the playoffs (*sigh*). I may discuss that in later post (or the playoffs in general), but at the moment I'm not in the mood for Blood Bowl.

[not that Blood Bowl hasn't been on the mind a bit...the kids have been clamoring for it in recent days and are in the process of painting up a couple BB teams (wood elves and amazons; Christmas gifts from last year, if I remember correctly)]

It should come as little surprise that in MY household, there's been plenty of game playing that's been going the last couple weeks (during the holiday vacation season). What might be surprising is that almost none of it has been D&D related. Instead, it's been card games, board games, and war games...specifically a new war game that was on the boy's Christmas list: Star Wars Legion. Prior to New Year's eve (when we had to clean the table for a dinner party) our dining room was dominated by battlefield detritus and unpainted models. Now...well, the battlefield hasn't returned (yet) but the table is once again dominated by scores of miniatures...primed miniatures that are in the process of being painted.

Since it IS game related and it's been the main thing occupying my attention lately (at least, the bandwidth I reserve for gaming), I figured I might as well write something about it.

Under the tree this year.

Star Wars Legion is a miniature war game; the core box set comes in two varieties Republic vs. Separatist or Empire vs. Rebels. The rules for both are the same, but the models included in the box are different. We, of course, have the latter set because...duh. 

I find the game VERY reminiscent of 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000. Not necessarily in game play (initiative and turn procedure is NOT 40K-esque, and the thing uses custom dice rather than standard d6s), but in terms of army construction and general paradigm. Each player picks up a faction. Unit types are given "rank" categories, which limits how many of each type can be included in the army list. There are normal generals and whatnot or "special" (Unique) figures based on film characters. There are "upgrade" cards that can purchased for specific points...very much like 40K's "war gear" and "psychic power" cards. And just like 2E 40K, the special characters, can punch above their point value, absolutely dominating the battlefield...something that the 40K designers endeavored to rectify between 2E and 3E.

[when it comes to 40K, I logged the most "game time" playing 2E, though I spent more years collecting & building 3E and/or 4E, before chucking the thing around the time of 5E]

Which is FINE...it is very Star Wars. Luke Skywalker should be able to carve his way through a unit of stormtroopers. Vader should be a big, menacing presence on the moving (slowly) about the battlefield. Mandalorians with jetpacks should be highly mobile, elite units. Etc.

The game has a LOT of fiddle to it: a lot of special rules and spot mechanics and tokens, reminiscent of Magic cards...a fairly obvious influence on the design of Star Wars Legion. But I like the game...a lot. For a NUMBER of reasons:

1) Star Wars is fun. Star Wars as a war game (stormtroopers vs. rebels) is a blast. The models are all recognizable by anyone with even a passing knowledge of the films, and their capabilities are well-modeled by the game mechanics.

2) Really quality components (easily stored in a nice box) and fairly straightforward rules that, after a couple play-throughs, are fairly easy to grok. No issues for the 12 year old, despite being for ages 14+.

3) Dirt-cheap investment. Anyone familiar with GW stuff knows how much money can be spent on the miniatures hobby. I remember when a single rhino tank was $35 or a landraider was an "outrageous" $50ish. Just checking Amazon this morning, the prices on these are up to $89 and $140. 

Holy. Crap. 

Star Wars Legion, by contrast, are cheaper to buy BUT (more importantly) have an 800 point structure limit. The core box provides two forces of circa 500 points...you can customize a legal army with the purchase of 2-3 extra units, probably with less than $70ish total in extra expenditure.  They're cheap enough you can outfit multiple "800 point armies" of the same faction for little money (the core box is currently available on-line for $95...compare that to 40K!). I bought myself a late Christmas present of the "Blizzard" box: three snowtrooper units (21 models), 2 speeder bike units (4 models), another Vader, and an AT-ST (!!) all with associated cards, upgrades, and extra tokens. Total price: $105. Scheduled to arrive tomorrow. One of these days I'll throw down the extra $13 to buy General Veers, and my "Hoth assault" army will be complete. 

[never mind...just took 2 minutes to place the order. It's still only $15 with tax...arrives tomorrow, too]

Arriving tomorrow.

Back in 1996 I paid $18 a pop for each two-pack of space marine terminators. I got six (total), all with thunder hammers and painted them up to be Khorne berserkers. Less than a year later, they were outlawed by 40Ks new rule set and (so far as I know) have never since been a legal 40K unit. Screw you, Games Workshop.

4) Easy assembly. The kids have been doing (most of) the cutting and gluing...I just do all the priming, out in the garage (to save on their young lungs). Even the really fiddly models (the AT-RT, the Mandalorians)...the kid put them together no problem, without adult help.

5) Lego compatible. Over the years, my kids have acquired quite the collection of Lego sets, many of which are Star Wars themed. While these have been used for plenty of "Lego wars" in the past, they are pretty close to the same scale as Star Wars Legion...which means that we have ready-made "terrain" for our battlefield. Who needs plastic forests and spray-painted "hills" when you can battle in the Tattooine cantina? Plus, I just like repurposing toys...or anything...in ways that make it useful. 

6) Fast gameplay. The game plays quite fast...once you get a handle on how each unit's special rules and instructions work. That part is kind of a pain, as each unit generally has at least 1-2 special rules associated with it (even before adding various "upgrade" cards), and you're bound to make mistakes in the first battle or two (we did). However, the limited NUMBER of units (that 800 points is only enough for 6-7 groups), combined with fast turn sequence means you get ramped up pretty quick. The whole "issuing orders" phase (a card drawing mechanic that takes the place of initiative rolling) allows for interesting tactical maneuvering, and the quick attrition means game play speeds up substantially as the game goes. Six turns (again: memories of 2E 40K) goes VERY fast, but battles are tight right to the end. We dig it.

7) With regard to rules, I'm generally fine. Yes, Luke is a beast. He's also been shot to death in every battle we've played. Same with Vader. The only mechanical issue that bugs (or that I'm not used to) is that troop models cannot be screened by other troop models. So, even though the stormtroopers advance in front of DV (because Darth is Sooo Slooow), rebel forces can ignore the troopers, focusing fire on the commander behind. In practice it hasn't been a big deal...but it does feel odd.

Anyway. War gaming is fun. War gaming in spaaaace is also quite fun. Even the nine year old is into it (she's currently painting her Amazon team, but has a Chewbacca and Leia for SWL and plans to get in on the next battle). The kids are getting to an age when I can fo this kind of thing with them...an age where I can unpack my old crates of 40K minis and not worry about them smashing them crazily, or pitching one in a tantrum of frustration (always a possibility with young or immature players). 

But I'm kind of over 40K. I mean, there's a lot of sly Star Wars references in the original 40K game (which I own, but have never played), and I'm tempted to run some first edition 40K using the SWL miniatures in place of GW stuff (now that would be a hoot!). I thought about introducing them to 40K proper, but even though I've got the stuff for it...what edition would I teach them? I mean...how many editions are there now? Eight? Nine? I've got rule books for the first four (five? Maybe) editions. But do I have a favorite? Not really. It's such a simple system, but there are changes to every version that changes the game in significant ways. 

Nah. I think I'll stick with the new Star Wars game for a bit. I'm sure 40K will still be around in ten years...in a twelfth edition with $300 tank models...if the kids want to try it out.

*** EDIT: Sorry, almost forgot: Go Dawgs! ***

Diving Into The Inelegance

For those who come here for the D&D posts: apologies. Until the last couple days, I’ve had a bunch of Palladium rulebooks, several sets of dice, and piles of paper and pencils covering my kitchen counter (now everything's been moved to the coffee table in the living room). Even if I hadn’t originally planned on doing a deep dive exploration of Kevin Siembieda’s work...well, it’s kind of ended up happening.

It started off...hmm, let’s see...last Friday. After taking the kids to mini-golf in Edmonds, they decided we should go to our favorite game store (“since we’re in the neighborhood”), Around the Table Games. While poking around a bit, I was somewhat amazed to find no more than TWO Palladium books gracing the shelves (not two product lines...two single rule books): a used copy of Heroes Unlimited Revised and an equally used copy of Ninjas & Superspies. While I do own both of these and have in fact had HU sitting on my bedside table the last couple weeks, my son appeared to have been oblivious to this fact, asking if we could get one or both to play.

So we've been playing Heroes Unlimited.

*ahem* Kind of. Let's back up a few hours earlier in the day when I had a chance to futz around on my computer with everyone else still asleep in bed (kind of like this morning). Having just written a post about HU a couple days prior, I decided to actually go through the chargen as written in the ORIGINAL game, and create a handful of characters. One thing I've continuously had to learn and re-learn over the years: there are reasons a game is designed the way it is, and it's best to try it out before trying to "improve it."

And of course, with a laptop it's a lot easier to generate random characters than it was back in my youth. Armed with an Excel spreadsheet and the "randbetween" function, I was able to quickly generate four PCs using original HU's near-100% random system. And guess what? It worked pretty darn good! Each character came out with enough pieces that I could form an adequate picture of the character and their backstory with relative ease. I had the bullied Australian scholar from the poor background who'd ended up working for a private company and stealing their robotic exoskeleton; the silver-spoon Frankforter who'd joined the German military at a young age and built himself into a brick outhouse; the shy professor who wears hats to hide her small horns, and prefers to use her own academic prowess over her mutant psionic abilities; and the Canadian farm boy who volunteered for experimentation and was only (grudgingly) allowed to leave only after the installation realized they had no real way to hold a person with the ability to teleport.

That's some cool stuff right there.

Of course, it all falls down when it comes to the first non-random part of chargen: skill selection. I only took the time to go through the whole process for the Physical Training character...partly because skills are the WHOLE of his "power suite;" partly because, as a guy with an enlisted military background (rolled randomly) he had a lot fewer skills to bother worrying about than the guy with the Masters degree or the lady with a Doctorate. And even knowing that I was just going to take as many physical skills as possible, it took a loooong time. As such I didn't bother finishing up the other characters, let alone spend the time buying their equipment (Palladium, unlike most supers RPGs, doesn't have an "abstract" system for modeling the economy...instead you're counting individual dollars and buying every piece of equipment (even your costume, in the original rules!) from the budget that is your character's life savings).

Anyway, it wasn't just "inelegant;" it was ugly. So I set aside the HU figuring I'd come back to it in another six months/years...and then my kid encountered the books later that same day and wanted to play.

SO...we ended up going through the entire character generation process for him (by hand). After some discussion we decided to play HU (first edition) instead of N&SS. He also ended up with a German; a mutant with the power of shrinking (no change in mass). We did all the skill selection (I provided him with no hints or nudges except to explain that didn't need more than one hand-to-hand skill), just walking him through the process. He spent his fairly ample life savings buying guns and ammo out of the equipment section. It took probably close to two hours to complete the process of making "Dave Dangerfield" AKA "DD." And while that time probably could have been cut down quite a bit with system familiarity, keep in mind that a mutant is probably the simplest of the character types to create, and that we were using the un-Revised HU rules (only one superpower, everything random, choices limited).

[my original idea was to create a character at the same time, a fellow adventurer who would act as an NPC companion; however, I gave up the idea when I rolled Hardware character with a $500K budget to spend. Even without the super-vehicle design of later editions, that's just too much work for the quickie game I wanted to run]

It really emphasized Kevin Siembieda's philosophy with regard to the game's design: HU is supposed to be a "thinking man's game." It is not supposed to be all four-color action and superhero cliches (though what's more cliche than super-powered individual's saving conflicts with their fists?). The time spent in such an elaborate chargen system represents an INVESTMENT in the character; yes, it's also a part of play, too, but in spending so much time building, your identification process (with the character) starts early in the game.

I also think that Siembieda has made very interesting (and astute) choices with what parts are random and what parts are not. A person's education CAN be effected by a host of random elements: opportunities provided by accident of birth, changes in a family's fortune, a person's approach to academic life and standardized testing and how that balances with other aspects of the character's life (social, familial, economic). Codifying that into a random table to determine one's final opportunity at skill selection is appropriate...just as allowing the player to select skill packages based on that (random) opportunity is appropriate. There are things within your control and things outside your control. It really takes the "meta" out of character generation.

[yes, I realize long-time Palladium players will say there's still "meta" involved in selecting physical skills that will optimize a character for combat. Siembieda looks at it differently, writing (in 1E) that players should OF COURSE be optimizing themselves as part of their "training" for a career in hero work. That's not "meta;" it's putting yourself in the mind of your character, deciding whether you should be learning gymnastics or how to speak Russian or how to fly a helicopter]

Yes, I am really starting to become a Palladium system apologist (if I wasn't one already), at least with regard to the HU line of games. The problem is, that such an elaborate, granular system REALLY requires some simplification in order to run the game effectively. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, for all the "fiddly" it adds to player characters, still maintains a simpler way of codifying bugbears and goblins. A DM might care about every coin of encumbrance and the location of every belt pouch for a particular PC wizard or fighter, but NOT for individual monsters. And yet HU wants me to figure out skill packages and equipment lists for every NPC the heroes might encounter? Ugh! No way!

There are other good concepts in the game that fail in execution. Combat is still kind of a mess, as well as over-emphasized in this "thinking man's game." Some of what appears to have been "corrections" to (what was originally) a D&D chassis are over-thought, convoluted, or impractical in practice. Why bother splitting Charisma into "mental affinity" and "physical beauty?" Why bother having both "hit points" and "structural damage capacity?" And the firearms combat rules are just so...aaaaaRRRGH. I understand why they were revised (and why they were later re-revised), but going more abstract just doesn't jibe great with a combat system that was already over-specific, what with counting individual strikes and parries. The whole thing needs an over-haul.

Anyway...

Adventure setting.

The boy and I did get through the whole process of creating a character and had a chance to play an adventure; I used the "One Dam Thing" introductory adventure from Revised HU. While we didn't bother worrying how his German, rifle-toting mutant had ended up in Nevada, the nice thing about having the internet these days is that it's fairly easy to pull up specs for something like Hoover Dam (where the scenario takes place). I figured I'd saw the Revised NPCs down to 1E size (limiting Golden Eagle to just "gliding," for example).

But we never got that far. Danger Dave decided to set-up a hunting blind in one of the powerhouse outlets to the Colorado River a couple days before the projected sabotage was to take place. Failing a prowl roll and encountering a security guard, the PRINCIPLED character's first reaction was to blow him away with his .44 auto-mag, and did so with a natural 20 (critical) roll. After dumping the body in the river, he set up shop to ambush the other security guards (investigating the gunshots) with his H&K sniper rifle. Eventually this led to a bunch of State Troopers from both sides of the Arizona-Nevada border being called to the dam, where a melee ensued along the top of the structure. DD managed to dispatch maybe half a dozen troopers before being thrown off the top and plunging 762' to the concrete powerhouse below (while he succeeded at his "roll with fall" attempt, he still ended up taking 110 points of damage and splattering like a bag of blood and gristle).

A fitting end to our "hero."

Which just goes to show: Palladim games end up looking much the same whether you're eight, eighteen, or twenty-eight years old (at least, mine always have).

My boy immediately wanted to play again by the way, and has since created a new character: this time a Dedicated Martial Artist (ninja) using the Ninjas & Super-Spies set. More later, perhaps.

The Weekly Rant

Just picking up where I left off...

Damn, I drink too much. It's a fact (I booze more than I need to, certainly more than I should), but so far it hasn't destroyed my life yet as it has with so many of my family members. I'm a stubborn son-of-a-bitch, I suppose, and I have the gift of being able to observe myself with an objective perspective, "bucking up" as necessary to keep my life on track. Still...an IPA with "lunch," a strong stout at my favorite game shop, and now I'm close to finishing off a bottle of white that I opened while cooking the kids dinner (fresh trout, pan fried, with a side of steamed green beans, the latter tossed in olive oil and salt...organic raspberries for dessert). The kids are in bed so I can "shnocker" myself as I blog.

But I realize it's not good.

I'm angry tonight, and it has nothing to do with my lot in life. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm blessed. My back even feels fine this week. Wife's out of town and kids are a little melancholy, but she'll be back in nine days...and then there's our plans to travel to Oaxaca over Spring break which, if memory serves, may have actually been MY idea (remarkable, because I'm the homebody who would rather stay in Seattle, waiting out the rainy winter). Sure I should be saving for my kids' college tuition, but why not enrich their life experience while Mexico is still affordable and we have some extra cash? My parents never paid a dime for my college tuition, and I still managed to muddle through Jesuit university and pay off the loans.

[that's one of the secrets of life, youngsters...it's actually fairly long and those giant bills DO eventually get paid, even though it might take a decade or two]

No, I'm not angry about my life (at least, I don't think I am; if it's a subconscious thing then shame on me). No, I'm angry about Dungeons & Dragons. Probably for stupid reasons (if being "angry about Dungeons & Dragons" wasn't stupid enough).

The kids and I drove out to the game shop tonight...not exactly local (it's in Edmonds), but certainly my favorite. D had received a Pokemon set for Christmas that he'd been wanting to exchange, and I was looking for a copy of the One Ring RPG, or the Adventures in Middle Earth game setting for 5E, both of which had been suggested to me by a Mr. T in the comments of my last post. I found the latter (both the "player guide" and the "loremaster handbook") and was fairly unimpressed...though they're nice books, they're fairly limited in scope, all things considered (I've spent a lot of the last couple days re-reading The Silmarillion, which I find simultaneously inspiring and disheartening).

Still, I was able to pick up a copy of the 4th Edition of Shadowrun (used) for ten bucks...not bad considering its $40+ hardcover price tag...which might just be the kick in the head I need to get back to Cry Dark Future (every time I see a new iteration of the game...and I realize it's on version five...I see how useful my game would be). So...definitely not a waste of time (in my opinion), making the drive to Edmonds.

Then...

As we were leaving...

Found some kids setting up for a game of 5E D&D.

"Kids," I say, but I did ask the DM her age and she claimed 24, and they all looked to be in the same ballpark. Three or four young women (I was wrestling coats onto small children at the time so my headcount might not have been accurate), ready to explore and adventure (I presume) in some...

Okay. Enough with the flowery prose.

Last week I was down at a different shop, solo, talking with an acquaintance who happens to have an "insider's view" of the workings of the industry. Let's call him "Bill" for the sake of protecting the innocent (just in case). The thing about Seattle is there are a LOT of industry (RPG industry) folks residing out here by dint of WotC's vicinity. Lots of Big Industry Names live out in this neck o the woods, even those NOT associated with WotC...and there's plenty of dirt to dig up, if one's into that kind of thing. Anyway...

I was talking to "Bill" about some o these idea I've been having lately: like how RPGs' greatest strength may be in what they offer "experientially" and how maybe the old fable of "good GMs making for good games" isn't so terribly far-fetched and that perhaps the thing we should be doing (and the thing we're failing at the most) is in teaching folks how to BE good GMs, and how the biggest names in the industry seem far less concerned with teaching new folks how to run games and far more concerned with making them dependent on sucking the corporate tit for adventure ideas.

And Bill did nothing to dispel my fears. There has been a (small to medium) resurgence in the game; more people are playing now than had been for...well, recently anyway (like, since the 80s). But the industry's response to a growing NEW fan base has been to harness technology, making "apps" that teach folks how to use the game. Because my question for Bill was: what the hell is the plan here when it comes to teaching new folks how to run games? You know what I mean: how do the publishers intend to create competent Dungeon Masters (or whatever the term is used with regard to Pathfinder, etc.). And their basic plan is: not to do so. The opposite, in fact.

Back to the kids at the game shop. After (politely, I think) interrupting them, I asked if they'd be willing to answer a few questions I had. They were (perhaps a little flustered, surprised) amiable enough. I asked how they'd learned to play D&D; they gestured to one of their group and said it was due to "her boyfriend." I asked who was acting as their DM. This particular evening it would be the same girl indicated, though they explained their campaign had co-DMs, the boyfriend being the other. I asked the DM her age (24) and asked her if 5E was her first edition of D&D? No, she'd started with 3.5.

Then I asked the young woman how she'd learned to DM. Slightly embarrassed, she explained she'd listened to a podcast (the name escapes me...I'm on my final glass of wine) about a father's game for his children. She said the "story arc" he'd described was so inspiring that she "really wanted to become a DM" to tell similar stories. She stated that she'd never DM'd in her earlier 3.5 edition experiences, but that 5E was so "streamlined" compared to 3.5, that it was "a lot easier."

I thanked them for their time and information and left. I have never wanted so much to punch an edition of Dungeons & Dragons in the face.

I find myself wanting to run a game of 5E just to rip its balls off. Really. Just to maim that motherfucker, pull pieces off it and show some young folks how stupid and insipid it is. I realize this is very tonto...very silly of me. That I am being an old curmudgeon, pissing all over the fun of people enjoying themselves (and, just for the record, I said nothing negative or untoward to these 5E players, now did I wax on about the "glories" of older editions or retro-clones or anything...I simply asked questions and listened to answers). BUT...

But...

Those girls, those young girls (adults, sure, but I'm not sure I felt fully "mature" till age 30)...they were, well, not quite embarrassed in demeanor, but certainly apologetic. Like they felt bad about their enjoyable pastime or the way in which they'd come to it. Not just the DM, but the players as well. Like the whole thing was contemptible.

Because we hold it in contempt.

In the United States of America the greatest, most popular, most beloved sport of our nation is American Football. More Americans watch the Super Bowl every year than any other television program (not just sporting event...any program). For the rest of the world, it might be the World Cup championship...but that's only every four years. The Super Bowl is dominant in my nation. and it's growing in prominence around the world.

But did you know that professional football in the United States was once held in contempt? That it was deemed sleazy and uncouth and a terrible "profession" for any right-minded, clean-living individual? That only the lowest of the low would stoop to playing for pay (or, presumably, paying to watch paid players)? In the early decades of the sport, only the college game was revered and worthy of being lauded...until such college players as "Red" Grange started deciding to go pro.

[this, just by the way, had nothing to do with being a paid athlete. Professional baseball players, wrestlers, and fighters...including fencers in Europe!...had been around for decades before individuals decided to "professionalize" American football, and those figures were held in esteem]

American football...yes, the NFL (for it had already acquired those initials by 1922) was held in contempt by the majority of Americans for decades, even by many of those whose home town fielded a professional team. Pro players worked side-jobs and lied about their gig, despite loving the game and giving their blood, sweat, and tears to it. Despite being broken upon the gridiron and carrying debilitating injuries into their later lives. They played for love of the game...and possibly because they were (or felt they were) unsuited to better forms of employment. I would imagine that some D&D players can draw an analogy there with regard to their creative expression.

[why don't I write a novel? or poetry? why do I draw dungeon labyrinths instead of seeking employment as an actual architect? etc.]

But while I can grok that role-playing may be held in contempt by the layperson who hasn't yet been exposed to the game, what I find myself increasingly unable to abide is the contempt in which the industry holds itself.

The NFL was grown and cultivated, developed and marketed, and within about 30 years had become, if not totally respectable, at least financially stable. By the end of the 1950s, it was well on its way to becoming the most popular sporting profession in the United States.

And where is role-playing after four and a half decades? Where is the careful cultivation of our industry's leaders? What is our projected destination for this thing we call (tabletop) gaming?

Thinking about those young players at the game shop stuffing money into the pockets of a company to play a game they find "easy and streamlined" (because their only exposure has been to 3E+), who learn how to run games through random internet podcasts (because they can't figure it out from the mammoth texts), who have a desire to play, but who haven't been given the understanding or information on how and why and what makes the game so damn good, instead being fed a diet of packaged "story lines" published by a faceless corporation who holds them in contempt (save for the buying power of their wallets)...

Well, it's enough to drive me back to the bottle.

This is not another shot fired in the "edition wars," by the way. It's not a rant against 5E or Pathfinder. This is a rant against the publishers: the Wizards of the Coast and Paizos and Hasbros of the world. The folks who control the largest marketing share of the industry and thus should be held accountable as industry leaders.  Perhaps they would tell me, "hey, we're just giving players what they want...they don't know how to play, and they are crying out for new, creative adventure paths and pre-made campaigns for exploration! And our fans are voting with their wallets, buying it, and so we will continue to give it to them."

To which I'd reply: you are giving them no other choice.

It makes me angry. It really, really does.

[side note: most of this rant was written last night while deep in my cups (in case you couldn't tell). I dozed off before I could finish writing it. Welp, this morning I'm awake, sober, and coffee'd up and my mood is still pretty fiery. Sorry to any I might have offended. I will be getting back to the Middle Earth thing pretty soon...today or tomorrow, I hope]

Just trying to capture my mood...

RPGaDay 2017 #20

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

What is the best source for out-of-print RPGs?

In PDF? The internet. For a singular particular source? DriveThruRPG.com. Of course, I prefer books in print (even out-of-print books) and rather than using eBay or Amazon, I prefer to shop in person. Now that I don't make it out to Missoula as often as in my childhood, the best place to pick up  old books is my local game shop...same one I wrote about in my Day 10 post.

Huh. That one was pretty easy. Perhaps I should write about something else.

RPGaDAY 2017 #10

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Where do you go for RPG reviews?

Well, in this case it really depends on the game. The easy answer is "Google;" I run a search with the name of the game and "review" and see what the Google-machine returns.

However, that's usually not enough for me. I enjoy reading multiple reviews on a product, attempting to get different perspectives. A lot of reviews these days (unfortunately) spend a bunch of time discussing "production values," something I could care less about. Yes, a nice looking game looks good on the shelf, but (in theory) I'm buying these things to play.

RPG.net used to be my go-to for RPG and reviews...and still is when it comes to older games. But older reviews tend to disappear off the site and the things that actually get reviewed tend towards only the most popular or buzz-worthy games and supplements. It's become kind of a wasteland over there (I never bother reading the comments on reviews).

Furthermore, while I do purchase things off DriveThruRPG (and its sister sites) I pay little attention to the reviews posted to products. Usually, I'm going there to pick up something I've already decided to purchase (same with products on LuLu), so it doesn't matter to me whether some anonymous user posted they like or dislike something. When I want a review I prefer something a bit more "in depth," hopefully with some actual experience playing the thing.

To this end, blogs are probably the most informative places to find on-line reviews...hence the necessity of Google (as different blogs have different systems and genres on which they focus).

However, Google is the EASY answer...the one I can give you, dear readers, if you're looking for an easy way to get reviews (and it is easy, and I do utilize it). But my best answer is to get actual word-of-mouth reviews from people with direct exposure to a game. And in my case, that means talking to the folks at my favorite local game shop, Around the Table Game Pub in Lynnwood. When I'm browsing the shelves and come across an interesting, unfamiliar game, it's the folks behind the counter who I'm first to talk to: usually Tim (Morgan) the co-owner/manager, but Nick, Josh, etc. are usually pretty knowledgable. They're generally pretty knowledgable, able to tell me about the system, the setting, the designers (especially if they're local), and the gameplay. They can tell me if a game is selling, if it's popular, if they see people playing/enjoying the thing, because the game pub is open to folks gaming all week long. And even if they don't have any info on a game, they can sometimes direct me to someone else who knows more about it (even if it's one of their colleagues who's not in the shop that particular day).

These "interactive reviews" are often more helpful than anything I read on-line, if only because I can ask questions (and follow-up questions) specifically pointed at the issues that meet MY needs as a potential customer. I should mention I do this in other shops as well, but the folks at Around the Table are the best.

Plus they serve beer.
; )

Just what it says.

[for folks interested in my "Day 1" post for the #RPGaDAY, check out this link]

Confessions of an Insecure Game Designer

Hi, allow me to re-introduce myself.

I’m JB…at least, that’s my handle in the blog-o-sphere. I live in Seattle. I have a regular 40 hour job that gives me very little stress and makes zero demands on me outside the office. I have a wife and child that I love a lot, though we don’t always get along as well as we should. I have two beagles who wake me up between 4 and 5 every morning and who contribute to my general state of endless fatigue…on the other hand, I am probably their favorite person in the world (I feed them, more often than not), and despite their idiosyncrasies, I have immortalized them by naming my game company for them.

Game company? Well, that’s kind of a stretch but I needed some type of title for this hobby thing I do in my spare time. I’m a gamer…I enjoy playing games. My preferred types of games do not involve 21^st century technology. Cribbage is good, as is Hearts. Yahtzee is good. I like cards and dice…I’ve got a streak of the degenerate I guess. I used to smoke, too, but I decided I liked life too much to keep that particular habit.

Role-playing games are good because I have a pretty active imagination and most RPGs are “adventure oriented” and I like adventure. In fantasy anyway. I’m not much for heights, or extreme-type sports, or enlisting in the military, which cuts out a lot of “real life” adventures I might have.

A good RPG (to me) has a rich fantasy world to fire my imagination, a slim and/or easily managed set of rules, and a few objective means of system resolution (things not requiring a whole lot of GM fiat). Dice rolls are good for this type of thing. And I like dice.

["rich fantasy world" does not necessarily mean "complex setting." Boot Hill has a rich fantasy world because A) there's a LOT of history/fiction available on the "Old West" and B) pretending to play a cowboy is an obvious fantasy!]

I have a lot of opinions on games. It comes from liking them, playing them, thinking about them. The advent of the internet and free blogs (like this fine blogger machine here), allows me a platform to vent my opinions into the internet world. Sometimes those opinions have been bounced back by others. Sometimes those opinions have been changed or transformed by things I’ve read. Over time and life, I continue to evolve…or rather refine…my point of view. Somewhere along the line, I got the idea to start contributing to this thing I liked – gaming – in a way more than simply venting opinion. Creating something…something folks could hold and enjoy, something folks could use for their own amusement…became not just an interesting idea, but something important.

I have called myself an “artist” in the past with regard to music and acting. But I’ve never created anything lasting, unless you count the occasional fond memory. That’s nice, of course (nice to have your ego stroked by someone 10-20 years after the event happened)…but that memory will die with that person. An experience can’t be truly shared with a person who wasn’t present at the time. It can be described, it can be used to teach or amuse, but in the end it’s all just hearsay mixed with the jumbled thoughts and memories of the person telling the tale.

A book, though, is different. It can be held, it can be kept, it can be shown, it can be lent. It can be bought and sold and traded. It can be mined for ideas (like an experience), but it exists independent and concrete of the person doing the mining…it can benefit more than just a single person. And yet it is still an expression of one’s creativity – like a song or a performance – as well as a physical commodity.

And so I’ve discovered a deep satisfaction in the act of publishing. Self-publishing, of course, because I’m a bit of a control freak, not to mention shy with my creativity. On stage, there is a distance between yourself and an audience. Working closely with other people in the act of collaboration? That’s tough.

[hmmm…now that I think about it, it’s always been tough for me to collaborate with my stage-mates as well – whether you’re talking about a band or the cast of a production. Maybe I should have studied painting instead…]

Anyway, that’s me. I understand that I’ve embarked on a different type of artistic endeavor in writing and publishing books…even game books. I understand there’s a honing and refining of one’s craft that’s needed if I’m going to continue and hope to create useful, constructive art. I also understand that there is much I have to learn and that the best resource for that learning is from others who have gone before me.

That being said…

There were a LOT of game designers present at Dragonflight this year. Much more than I remembered from my last stint (in 2010), but it’s possible I was just overwhelmed by the entire experience previously. It was, after all, my first gaming convention (or “fun-type” convention of any type). This time I was much less whelmed by the venue, and was able to concentrate on observing my surroundings. I met and had the opportunity to speak with several designers. Some offered me advice. Some offered me information. Some offered me encouragement. Some just desperately, desperately wanted me to buy or play or support their pet game. Those were the toughest ones to deal with.

I saw a lot of games in binders…binders with a nice illustrated title page tucked in the front of the binder. Huge-ass binders, each one representing someone’s fantasy opus. Some of these had many players at their tables. Some of them had none. One person waved a handful of loose papers at me as I was leaving (early) Saturday evening. “I have pre-gens!” he cried.

I looked at a lot of character sheets. A LOT of character sheets. Instead of sitting down at tables, I’d just circle the groups while the young (or not-so-young) designer was giving “the spiel” and I’d look over shoulders at character sheets. I saw archetypes like “cleric.” That particular game actually had quite a few players at the table.

I saw a LOT of new games I’d never heard of: ones that had no connection to the OSR as far as I know. I might be considered a part of the “Old School Renaissance,” but my game is a lot farther from D&D than some of these games. I saw a lot of games that incorporated phrases like “D20 sensibilities” in their description.

This might be a good time to talk about Pathfinder, as I’ve had (what I think is) a profound change of opinion on that game based on what I saw at Dragonflight XXXIV. On Sunday, during one of the several breaks in my activity, I wandered into the 2^nd floor hall that had been set aside for the Pathfinder Society. The hall was too big for the number of people actually present…at the last convention it had been used for Warhammer (and 40K) matches and it seemed fuller because each table was usually only occupied by a pair of combatants. Even so, there were at least as many people playing Pathfinder as all the people in the downstairs “role-playing hallway” combined. Each table was round and had anywhere from six to eight players. Each table had a pile of books and a battlemat in the center occupied by a number of miniatures. The participants (both players and DMs) were from a wide range of ages, young and old. All (as far as I could tell) were having a great – or at least pretty good – time.

Pathfinder is not the devil. Pathfinder is a fun and popular game. As long as it remains well-supported by its publisher (as it is currently), I believe it will enjoy a long and fruitful life and bring great joy to a number of people. I don’t know if I call it role-playing or not…heck, I’m personally inclined to give up that term altogether [the only reason I was running 5AK in the “RPG” section is that it didn’t seem to fit anywhere else]. But regardless, Pathfinder's grown into its own self-sustaining entity…one that I don’t begrudge in the slightest. That is to say, NOT ONLY am I not going to fight Pathfinder (i.e. take a “live and let live” attitude), but I’m not going to actively discourage folks from playing Patherfinder, either. By which I mean, I’m not going to denigrate the game or its designers or attempt to “show it up” with regard to other D&D editions or OSR clones, including my own. In the past, I was inclined to do this because I was of the opinion (rightly or not) that Pathfinder was, well, bad somehow. And I’ve decided it’s not. It’s just a game…a game that plenty of people like and enjoy playing. I myself played a lot of 3^rd edition D&D which I consider to be about the same thing as Pathfinder.

Having said that, I’ve also come to the conclusion that I have absolutely zero interest in Pathfinder. The people who enjoy the game are getting an enjoyment of a type I’m not interested in having. It’s like Settlers of Catan or Axis and Allies or Magic the Gathering. These are popular games that plenty of people have plenty of fun playing and with which I’ve had fun with myself (save for Settlers which I’ve never had much interest in trying). But I don’t have any desire or interest to take part in those games. That’s the main thing I realized as I wandered through the Pathfinder tables. All these people having a great time, thoroughly enjoying their game play, and registering absolutely zero on my “interest scale.” And I’ve played the game! It’s like when I walk into Gary’s Games or Café Mox/Card Kingdom and people are playing Magic at the tables…it doesn’t bug me at all. It just doesn’t pique my interest.

SO: no more raining on the Pathfinder parade. For me, they’ve entered the realm of GURPS players. I just stand in wonderment that I had any real resentment towards the game at all.

Back to the basement where “the other role-playing” was taking place…here was a land that, in contrast to the “Pathfinder Society,” seemed to have some type of shame or sadness attached to it. Maybe it was just the area they set aside for us. Maybe it was the number of tables that had scheduled to host events and that had zero players (I wasn’t the only person getting stiffed at the convention). Or perhaps, this is just me looking at the event through the lenses of my own self-consciousness.

As I wrote in my other post, I spent a lot of time in the Story Games Lounge, playing indie-games. Not indie in the sense of “independent designers;” there were lots of those on display in the RPG dungeon, as noted. No, I’m talking about the Forge-type, Story Now games: non-traditional “RPGs” designed to explore premise, or do something other than “fantasy adventure,” or do fantasy adventure in an unconventional fashion.

Sitting in those games…whether as a participant or as a quiet observer…I found myself feeling incredibly self-conscious. It’s not just that the people playing were intelligent individuals (plenty of gamers have the high IQ thang). No, they weren’t just smart: they were clever. And quick-witted. And funny. And creative. And incredibly UN-self-conscious about their own geekiness or their gaming hobby. They were completely good natured and un-judgmental.

I found them disconcerting. Being in their presence, I found me judging myself. Even if they would not.

Ridiculous. I’m the guy who likes to bring non-gamers into the hobby and put them at ease. I’m the guy who runs the game that tries to get everyone involved without judging their choices (with regard to character or action)...at least at the table. I’m the dude that likes to create an open, safe environment for players to imagine and “role-play” and have a good time in the imaginary, virtual world.

I felt small. With those folks, I didn’t even bother to bring up the fact that I’d just published Five Ancient Kingdoms or anything about it. These people didn’t give a shit about deconstructed Dungeons & Dragons…why waste their time?

*sigh*

This kind of thing is my personal hang-up, I realize. We all have our foibles…mine is a combination of “not recognizing my own self-worth” (in more than a couple categories) as well as “thinks he’s smarter than most people.” Maybe I’m an intellectual bully. No one’s ever accused me of that, and maybe that’s too harsh anyway, but perhaps that describes something of my make-up. Gaming with people who do a helluva’ lot more gaming than myself, and who couldn't care less whether or not there’s a new edition of D&D on the horizon (and are too busy having a fun to worry about spitting in someone else’s good time anyway) and just, well…*sigh* (again).

Yeah, I’m probably being too harsh. Like I said, the people who’d come into the Story Games Lounge (a constantly rotating cast of characters) were all very nice, and seemed perfectly happy and encouraging of my “showboating” play style (I’ll talk about Dresden in a separate post…perhaps). There was certainly no undermining that occurred and the facilitator asked me to hit him up on Facebook sometime. Who knows if I will or not. Certainly, I’ve yet to even email the folks who gave me their email addresses with a request to forward them my “web site information” so that they could check out my games. I mean, what am I supposed to do…give ‘em my blog? That’s the only “web site” I have besides a couple gmail accounts.

Ugh…self-conscious game designer. Did I mention that yet?

Actually, as I wrote yesterday I already had a chance to “decompress” a bit with Tim during our rides to and from the convention (Mr. Morgan is a self-published game designer himself, in addition to the long-time manager of Gary’s Games in Greenwood). Tim, bless his heart, talked me off the ledge I’d (mentally) worked myself into after two days of stress, foul-ups, and “semi-professional" failure. I DO have some faith and confidence in myself (duh), and I fully intend to press on and all, but man-o-man sometimes I really get the shakes…at least internally.

Self-respect. That’s what I’m currently learning.

And publishing, of course…creating that concrete thing that can be passed on and shared with others. A tangible creative expression designed to help others find creative self-expression in game play. That’s what I’m shooting for. And as long as I keep my focus on the objective, the shakes seem to subside to a negligible level.

Eyes on the prize. Don’t look down. All that jazz.

So regarding the publishing thing…or rather, the marketing thing…I did pick up a couple-few useful ideas from Dragonflight, which I’ll be sharing in my next post. Maybe a little bit of “what not to do” but…well, you folks will have to decide whether or not it’s useful to you. It’s stuff that’ll be useful to me, assuming I’m able to keep my shit together and make it out to another of these things!

; )

Cheers!

Free RPG Day - The Haul

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, step-dads, grandfathers, etc. out there! Without our fathers...um, pretty much none of us would be here. We should all feel grateful for that.

On the other hand, being as this is my second Father's Day as a father, I feel most grateful for my own son, who allows me to celebrate the day as a "dude of honor." He's just such a joy!

Taking a break from my magical musings for the nonce...yesterday was Free RPG Day and I was down at Gary's Games bright and early (9am) to pick up the latest-greatest. Skipped the Pathfinder and 4E offerings as I'm totally uninterested in those games (to put it mildly). Here's what I DID get:

ConspiracyX Introductory Game Kit (think of a mash-up between Men In Black and the X-Files): if you're into alien conspiracies as entertainment, this might be an RPG to check out. If you're not whole hog on the idea, the pedestrian plot and fairly boring mechanics might not be enough to juice you on it. I found the ESP mechanics/concept to be the most noteworthy think in the kit; definitely an interesting and cool design choice.

Battletech: A Time of War Quick-Start Rules: This appears to be Catalyst Games' attempt at remaking Mechwarrior (the original outside-the-mech RPG of the BT universe. As far as I'm aware, this would be the first official remake of MW since FASA's original went out-of-print. The mechanics are a little jazzed up (i.e. "more complex") as might be expected as they are based on the latest version of BT: Total War, and yet some things (like the damage monitor) seems stream-lined (no hit locations) even as they add a separate "fatigue track" (something I've always found problematic in practice with multiple RPGs). I don't know...I liked MW but could never get around to playing it because, well, if you're playing BattleTech then you generally want to be stomping around in giant robots. However, I will say A) the mechanics are fairly close to the original (which is a plus), B) the "Edge" mechanic (an additional attribute that acts as a drainable "luck" resource pool) is cool, and C) all the sample characters are neat and look like fun to play, i.e. role-play. The adventure's kind of neat, too, as a one-off.

Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules (on the reverse side of the Battletech QSR): Since I've heard nothing about Shadowrun coming out with yet another edition, all I can figure is this a promotion for the current (4th Edition) game from Catalyst...something to get the word out, and get people to come on board. So it's pretty much the same-old-same-old with the addition of "complex actions" versus "simple actions" and yadda-yadda with a lot of recycled art (all stuff from the basic book or prior adventure supplements). For me, the most interesting thing about the QSR is its length: 19 pages (not counting a 6-page adventure and 8 pages of pre-gen archetypes). I wrote whole game dealing with a lot of the same subject matter with little more than 3x that many pages.

Cosmic Patrol Quick-Start Rules: The Kahn Protocol (also, surprisingly, from Catalyst): Cosmic Patrol actually has all the look and flavor of an indie-game, in that it is whimsical (1930-60s pulp sci-fi...you know, bubble helmets, rocketships, Martian axe-women, etc.) and story oriented. Traditional GM duties are shared between all players in a rotating "Lead Narrator" role, the game works in rounds (my term) where everyone contributes to the story at hand while attempting to hit plot points and accomplish mission objectives to create a coherent narrative. At the same time, the game can't get away from "standard" RPG tropes: each player has a character, with standard attributes (brawn, brains, fighting, luck), health points, weapons, armor points, and equipment (though that last one is actually more of a metagame mechanic than actual "gear").

The funny thing about Cosmic Patrol is it is extremely similar to my first attempts at a "story now" game, even down to the subject matter (spaceship crew), when I was first introduced to the concept a few years back. As with so many of my projects, this one never quite achieved "lift-off" and part of the reason was difficulty finding a way to reconcile a narratavist agenda with typical RPG systems. I'm not sure Cosmic Patrol pulls this off (in many ways, it reminds me more of a story-telling game say, like Once Upon A Time, than an actual RPG), but it's pretty ambitious that they'd put this together, and I wouldn't mind giving it a whirl and seeing how it works.

Only War: Eleventh Hour (an intro to Fantasy Flight's latest WH40K-themed RPG): This appears to be the game I thought Deathwatch was supposed to be...basically, the 40K version of WHFRP but with non-space marines. I don't know...maybe that's what it is. The pre-gens are Catachan Jungle Fighters and Ogryn (i.e. Imperial Guard troop types for those who know WH40K) with all the usual ability scores (including Fellowship) plus skills. Yay, skills. In all seriousness, I know I have a hard time being impartial with games like this because I love the idea of playing military sci-fi RPGs...but I could only wish the character profiles looked a little simpler to put together, as I would hope that any 40K RPG makes it exceptionally easy for PCs to meet horrifying, messy, and/or grimly amusing death. Look, the armies of the 40K universe are terrifying warmongers...as individuals, they're even less "heroic" than an old school D&D adventurer. That doesn't mean they can't attempt...or even succeed...at missions of "heroic" proportion. But let there be no tears shed for the fallen members of the Imperial Guard...and certainly no tears shed by players forced to go through a drawn-out chargen process to create a new Guardsman.

Dungeon Crawl Classics (that's the title of the Free RPG Day offering, but it's not the RPG itself): This is a pair of single-session adventures for use with the DCC system, plus an adventure design competition (and a chance to win some money). The adventures are titled The Undulating Corruption and The Jeweler that Dealt in Stardust and I've yet to read either (my playtesting of the DCC Beta convinced me that DCC isn't a game I'm interested in playing). So why bother picking up a copy? Actually, I picked up TWO - first because, though I don't like the DCC system, I love the game's style and themes (very pulp sword & sorcery) and want to see if anything here could or should be translated into my D&D Mine system (which I hope to run in a very S&S fashion myself...once it's at the point of running anything). Secondly, a buddy who was in Eastern Washington over the weekend asked me to pick him up a copy since he wasn't able to make it to the shop.

Aaaaand that's about it. Gary's took the opportunity of Free RPG Day to clear some shelf space and so I was able to pick up a copies of Agent X (free) and Coyote Trail (half price), but those are full RPGs that I haven't had the chance to read; if I have anything useful to say about 'em later I will, though I believe both are out-of-print as of this date. It was quite a pile of goodies I brought back from the store Saturday...a good way to kick off the weekend and Solstice.

Have a good week, folks!

; )

***SOLD OUT!!!***

Well, just about.

I've got three orders in the ol' InBox for The B/X Companion and four copies of the book left...and I think I'm going to hang on to that last one for right now.

Thus Endeth the Third Print Run.

It appears there are still some copies left over at Noble Knight Games, and I know Gary's Games still had one copy in stock (for those Seattle locals looking to get one). But otherwise, they're gone and that's the end of that for the foreseeable future.

Yeah, I know...a real bummer. Unfortunately, my printer did not renew their lease on the machine that makes this kind of book possible. That may sound silly (it's just stapled down the middle, right?) but the onward march of technology means there isn't a call for that kind of product. They could subcontract the job to a specialist, but it would cost more, and...well, I'm not sure there's still the same amount of interest there to warrant a fourth printing, and I really don't want to do this thing perfect bound.

So, yeah...I'm sold out. At least until further notice.

However, there are a couple pieces of good news for folks who are interested in the product being churned out over here at Running Beagle Games:

1) The fact that I don't have any print copies (and don't expect to have any anytime soon) means I'll probably start working on a PDF copy of the book. Yeah...in all my spare time, right (notice I haven't even thrown up a blog post since Monday? And stuff has been happening)? Hmm...maybe #1 is kind of a pipe dream.

2) We are closing in on completion of the NEW book, a supplement for the B/X game: The Complete B/X Adventurer. There's been some mention of that here on the blog, like O back around here; welp, the writing's been done for awhile and now the cover is just about complete, AND my surly, work-shirking artists are finally getting their pieces in to me (well, except for Kelvin...he had his stuff complete months ago). In some ways, it's not as ambitious a project as the B/X Companion...a lot of the ideas in TCBXA have been culled directly from the blog. On the other hand, some of it IS a little "thick and meaty" - the spell list for the Witch class, for instance. Now that was just nutty of me.

; )

Mmm...well, more on that in the next week or two for sure. Right now, I need to get to bed. There's stuff I want to blog about (especially my D&D Mine project and some other B/X-stuff), but I am dog tired and it's almost 1am. It has been a rough week, folks, on a LOT of fronts.

Later, Gators.

Another Busy Weekend

But what else is new?

Holiday parties, birthday parties, shopping forays, and (of course) football...all the usual distractions that make getting things done (from a blogger's perspective) such a chore.

And (also as usual) it ain't over yet: my day off means spending quality time with my boy (now napping) and then chores around the house, etc. I will also be attending tonight's Monday Night Football extravaganza between the Seahawks and the Rams (which promises to be a cold, cold evening...especially for St. Louis fans) followed by a loooong bus ride home. So expect the "regular blogging" to commence manana (assuming I get a bit o sleep tonight with my teething infant).

I will say I had a chance to read up the entire blog of How Not to Run a Game Business (thanks to Greyhawk Grognard for pointing me to this site) and its overflowing negativity towards amateur designer/publisher monkeys like myself. I know I've seen similar blogs (or blog posts) in the last couple years discussing how terribly terrible it is for OSR folks (or proponents of the pen-and-paper RPG industry) to continue to cling to the past when the future is so obviously video games or social media-network games or WotC 4E style box sets...and, well, I'm sorry, sometimes I do feel like a dinosaur with my interest in this kind of stuff. But then I sometimes feel like a dinosaur for reading books instead of Kindles (or whatever) or listening to music that doesn't include sampling from past musicians who made music (instead of sampling). Hell, I've accepted I'm an anachronism, and I fully intend to instill the same weird, anachronistic values in my offspring. Hopefully he won't be laughed at too much by his Call of Duty-playing buddies in school.

Besides as Casey down at Gary's pointed out to me, if it wasn't for "amateur independent designers" we'd be missing a lot of cool RPGs that currently stock the shelves of the game store.

[though I suppose brick-and-mortar stores are an anachronism, too]

Anyway, enough weepiness from moi...I've got some things to do before the hijo wakes up. Cheers!

Intimidating Artwork

[saw the Captain America movie last night...sorry, Josh!...and will be posting about it later today after I've reflected on it a bit. This little "tide you over" post is somewhat related]

I just want to say a brief word or two about visual artists...you know, folks that draw and paint and sketch and whatnot. I throw around the word "artist" a lot in reference to any creator or undertaker of creative endeavor, but for this post I'm discussing those guys (and gals) that make pictures using something other than a camera.

There is a huge amount of talent floating around right now.

I mean, the overall quantity of quality art to be found on the market today is just astonishing. To me, anyway. I've read comic books since I was a small child, I've seen masterworks in Italy and Spain and France and London (not to mention the museums of the good ol' US of A), and the stuff in-between (I like to go to art showings or peruse the paintings on the walls of coffee shops and cafes or the prints at sidewalk-street vendors)...and I am AMAZED at the sheer amount of high quality artwork that can be purchased all over the place.

Where do all these folks come from?

Lil' D and I stopped into the local comic shop the other day to get the proprietor's take on the recent comic book movies...

[yes, yes, I read film reviews, too, but you know the quality of your average superhero flick is generally less-than-Oscar-worthy. I'm not going to see 'em for quality cinema, and I want the comic-quality-control opinion of a Subject Matter Expert on the subject. Jeez!]

...and as usual I am blown away by much of what I see. Rows and rows and pages and pages of high quality artwork for sale. More than any one person could read in...well, perhaps ever. Certainly one person couldn't subscribe to ALL those mags!

I even picked up a little something-something: a compilation of Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales (something for which I've been searching about two years...). More on that particular find later. Yes, I know it is not recently drawn (artwork from the 80's), but it's still excellent art in addition to being well-written.

[I'm kind of on the same page as Jim Shooter regarding the state of today's comics and the lack of story-telling ability]

But of course, my passion isn't comics (or movies) anyway...it's GAMING and the sheer amount of incredible artwork used in recently released games is simply astounding.

Card games. Man, I'm not even talking collectible ones (like Magic, etc.)...just one-off card games by a variety of companies, all with different themes and rules, all with gorgeous artwork. $30 and $40 card games...hoo-boy!...that are so beautifully illustrated, who cares if the game is as playable as Uno. Mad Zeppelin really caught my eye for its artwork (I was browsing Gary's today also), even though the game itself didn't sound all that great.

I was talking to Casey (an artist and gamer herself) who was working the counter and asked "where do these companies get all these fantastic artists?"

Well, that's where the money is these days if you're an artist, she replied.

She went on to explain that, tough as ever as the graphics biz is, for some steady pay one can do illos for card and game companies, although there's a catch: companies only pay you if they actually use your artwork in the game and if they don't use the artwork they still own the rights (!!!) to the stuff you've created.

Apparently companies will commission 10 or more illos, but the terms of the contract (all illos submitted are owned by the company and artist only gets paid for illos published) is fairly standard.

Why the hell would anyone sign a contract like that?!

What part of "that's where the money's at" don't you get, pal.

Ugh. At least when I've exploited artists (er...got people to give me stuff for free), I've said they retain their rights to said art and are welcome to re-sell and re-use it. But perhaps that's not enough. Maybe I need to pay people in the future, too.

*sigh* I don't have a business right now. I have a hobby. And if it were to ever turn into a "real business" (a la one of the large scale game companies), I'd probably have to start running it like one (i.e. cutting costs and exploiting starving artists as much as possible). Only if I wanted to keep afloat that is.

Shoot. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the pretty pictures.