Apupunchau |
As with most people I like to reflect about what I've done the past year, and what I am looking forward to in the next year. For gaming I feel like I got a lot of good roleplaying in and I'd like to share with you what that was, and what I have upcoming in 2018. But more than that I'd like to hear about your great moments of 2017 and what you are looking forward to in 2018.
What games did you play? What were some of the most memorable moments during those games? Do you have any gaming regrets? What games are you looking forward to? Systems? Modules? Splat books?
DungeonmasterCal |
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We finished a campaign that went to level 20 for the first time ever. We also rented a cabin to finish the campaign over a weekend to celebrate the life of one our own passing away in September. It was a good weekend.
There are really so many memorable moments during that campaign that it's hard to find one. I guess the first one that comes to mind is when our Pugilist (3rd party class) used one of his Mythic abilities to increase his size and then put a chokehold on a dragon, keeping it from using its breath weapon. That was inspired.
No regrets that I can think of. It was a good year for our group.
As far as systems go, we primarily played Pathfinder, though we had the occasional Call of Cthulhu d20/Vampire: The Masquerade mashup. When we eventually finish that game we're going to start playing Blood of Heroes (the updated version of the old Mayfair Games' DC Heroes).
The splat books we mostly used were Mythic Adventures, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, the Advanced Player's Guide, and Ultimate Psionics.
I reckon I covered your questions!
Jiggy RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
DungeonmasterCal, your story really put a smile on my face (in a bittersweet sort of way). I'm happy for you, buddy. :)
As for me, 2017 was one doozie of a year, but I'll try to keep this gaming-related.
I got to try some RPGs I hadn't played before, like Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, Mutant: Year Zero, and My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria. (I only now realize that every new RPG I played last year had a two-part title; weird.)
2017 also included the pleasure of helping a good friend of mine introduce his wife to roleplaying for the first time. He'd always wanted to share the hobby with her, but she was put off by both the rules load and the tendency toward solving problems with violence that's so present in many RPGs. But when I offered Tails of Equestria, a game that explicitly cautions you against violence and is made to be approachable even for children, the three of us plus my own wife had a nice little three-hour "double date" of roleplaying that everybody really enjoyed.
Perhaps most significantly, I finally got the kick I needed to really shift into high gear in designing my own game (currently in playtesting; click HERE for more info!) and have made leagues of progress in the last few months. It's familiar fantasy roleplaying but in a way that solves huge numbers of the most common complaints you see here on the boards. Even in its rough, unfinished state I'm super proud of it. :D
Dire Elf |
The good:
We finally got back to our long-delayed Wrath of the Righteous campaign and we've been able to play it quite a lot. I'm enjoying mythic tiers so far, and our GM does a lot to tailor the AP to our characters and our play style. I get to play a slightly unusual Wizard build that I'm really excited about.
Among the highlights was our Brawler getting a boost from the Warpriest so she could leap into the air and punch out a nabasu demon who was trying to fly away.
We also started a Mummy's Mask campaign, and that's been fun, too. We had one great session in which the whole party used feather fall to jump down into a gorge from the top of a cliff, then hammered a giant and a gigantic monstrous snake, all while my Druid was flying overhead in falcon form blasting everything with lightning bolts.
In our Star Wars Saga campaign, we finished up one 'alternate history' campaign in which the heroes of the Rebellion who destroyed the Death Star were the PCs instead of Luke, Han, and Leia. We've started a new campaign 10 years into the future from that, where the New Jedi Order is busy trying to maintain peace and stability between the Empire, the Republic, and the Neutral Zone. And I get to play a Jedi who's higher level than the other PCs. This is the first time I've ever played in a campaign where all the characters aren't the same level.
I haven't been able to enjoy my hobby of painting miniatures for several years due to my living circumstances. But one of my friends offered to let me store all my painting supplies at his place and go there to paint. I've been getting lots of painting done the past couple of months.
The bad:
Our Kingmaker GM has been mostly unavailable this year, so we haven't been able to play that AP much. It's been running for 4 years now and we're still a long way from finishing.
We haven't been able to play our D&D5 campaign, because the GM has been busy completing a 5-novel series. It's good that he's finally publishing books, but I wish it didn't take away from our gaming time.
What I'm looking forward to:
Continuing to play, and hopefully being able to finish one or all of these Adventure Paths.
Maybe getting back to D&D5.
My friends all maintaining good health and financial stability.
Continuing to paint lots of minis.
Tim Emrick |
The bad:
- My Pathfinder campaign had to be put on hiatus because two players are moving away, and others (including me) had changes in job, school, and other scheduling headaches.
The good:
- I managed to keep my weekly blog going for another year.
- I started running "Tales from the Yawning Portal" (D&D 5E) for my wife and kids, and they're loving it. (We're in the second adventure now.)
- I'm still enjoying PFS, and now our kids have joined, too.
Mix of good and bad:
- Being employed again after several months out of work. But then developing carpal tunnel in one hand, which thanks to worker's comp, means I'm home on temporary disability. Overall, it's better than working insane amounts of overtime (which is a big part of how I got this problem in the first place). I have a LOT more time to run games, and write for my blog, and--most importantly--look for a better job.
What I'm looking forward to in 2018:
- A better job (I hope!).
- More D&D with the kids.
- Restarting my Pathfinder campaign, once all the holiday/post-holiday craziness settles down enough.
- I may get to be involved in a sizable project for a company I've freelanced for in the past.
And the downright scary:
- I have a daughter who will start high school in the fall. We just found out she got into the STEAM program she wanted.
Irontruth |
I got a little bored in the summer of 2017, so I wrote a complicated spy scenario for a game about thieves. I then ran it in a marathon weekend where we played for 17 hours of gaming over 3 days. I built a collection of fake CIA/FBI reports that largely drew off of real world events/facts, such as the names of actual Soviet agents, their approximate whereabouts and activities at the time. One report was actually real (I retyped it, because the original was difficult to read, but I didn't change anything), another I cobbled together and was completely legit on all info. The other 10 had elements of reality, but lots of fictionalized aspects too.
As a result of this research, I can now identify the remnants of the Moscow air defense system on Google maps.
In 2018, we're starting a game of D&D 5E based on the Dwarf Fortress PC game. It involves a lot of custom rules for building said fortress. I'm really looking forward to it.
I finish my AA this spring, and my application for the U of MN is in for this fall. Working on becoming a teacher, 3 semesters down, 5 more for my BA, then on to work on my license and masters.
I might get a dog.
Jiggy RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Pan |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A friend was laid off from our company a few years ago. His wife asked him what he wanted to do? He said he always wanted to do one of two things, open a restaurant, or become a tattoo artist. She told him to go for it. After an apprenticeship he is now a tattoo artist and doing well.
Good luck Jiggy!
Jiggy RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
Terquem |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The good
On LinkedIn of all places, a person contacted me who was a freshman when I was a senior in the same high school (almost forty years ago) and wanted to tell me that they were always moved by me sticking up for them when another senior started to pick on him. It was weird, at first, and then I was touched that he remembered me after all these years
The other good
Our daughter is getting married on February 9th, in two weeks, on Lanikai beach, Oahu. 25 invited guests, catering at the rental house after the wedding - I'm worn out from all the planning but so exited.
The bad
Uh, well, um, it's cold here, I guess, *shrug*