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Is this based on the video game? Because I'd totally play that. It was published in 1984, with revisions later on. The wiki page goes into better detail than I can provide. I have fond memories of my druas witch hunter.
Some more obscure than others... Arcanum by Bard Games
Probably a few that I am missing... I've played dozens of RPGs, but the above are all pretty good and not as known as D&D/Pathfinder, World of Darkness, GURPS, HERO System, Star Wars (every iteration from WEG to FFG), L5R, etc.
Thread Topic: Do bad players have the right to have fun? Query: What if you are DMing and your players are dumb or horribly uncreative? Scenario: Players overwhelmed by choice. I don't see the connection between the Thread Topic, your Query, and the Scenario given. The Scenario given doesn't demonstrate stupidity or lack of creativity. They were just, well, overwhelmed. The Paradox of Choice analogy seemed appropriate. On my days off, when I have a large number of choices of things I need/want to get done, sometimes I just shut down and do very little. I don't consider that stupidity or being uncreative. I just don't know where to start, so I don't. The players could have a brainstorming session where they weigh their choices with pros and cons. Not being there, it is tough to suggest the "right" course of action. As to your Query, I might get offended as a player if I find my DM is calling me and/or my friends dumb or horribly uncreative just because we couldn't make a decision based on a large number of choices with very little info. Your definition of dumb/uncreative seems to be subjective and based on your players not meeting your expectations. Players rarely do what the DM planned. (Just experienced this again last night in my Star Wars game). Players are wiley like that. Just my two cents. As to the Thread Topic, it depends. Social Gaming: Does a bad Monopoly player have a right to fun? Isn't the whole point of gaming to engage in an enjoyable social activity? So I guess it depends on your "social contract". Playing a competative game, for example, if I am a more experienced player I tend to offer suggestions. (My friend, don't trade away Park Place. He has Boardwalk and will then have the only Monopoly in the game. Two hotels later, we all suffer.) Competative Gaming: Being the guy that gets constantly ganked in a multiplayer FPS (like Unreal Tournament, the last multi-FPS I played) isn't much fun. Unless it drives you to improve, but that can be hard to do when you get 10 seconds out of respawn and are blown to bits. I would suggest setting a handicap for the less experienced players (UT had an adjusting handicap for losing players to scale damage and such). Or play on teams and balance the experience levels of the team. Otherwise the inexperienced player will probably get frustrated and quit, depriving you of a potentially more enjoyable social experience. Athletics: A lot of competative gaming applies here. But the "worst" players are often sitting on the bench and not getting much game play experience. As a youth, I was a bad baseball player. I accepted this. But my coach did his best to find a place for me on the field during game time. And I did assist in two double-plays that year. So perhaps a good coach can help turn "bad" players into good players. It's too bad youth sports nowadays are getting so competative that all the attention seems to be given to the "future stars", and the kids in it for the fun are just overlooked entirely (your experience may vary, but here in the midwest this seems to be the norm). TL;DR--In my humble opinion, if you all sit down to play a game, which is meant to be an enjoyable social experience (otherwise why play), everyone has a right to have fun.
Lestat.
Not sure I can be of help with your specific requests, but have you seen 13th Age? It streamlines a lot of mechanics, is fast playing, it seems very hard to "break" and the different classes are designed with different complexity levels in mind, so a player who wants to play something simple (yet effective) can choose a Barbarian. I am still running D&D 3.0, but I am strongly tempted to switch my campaign to 13th Age. I have been running 13th Age for about 4 months now, and I cannot recommend it enough. It took the best elements of D&D 3.x and D&D 4E (particularly Essentials) while keeping everything simple enough for players with varying RPG experience to enjoy. One core book contains everything you need to play from Heroic to Epic tiers. New stuff is in the works to expand upon that, but it is not needed.
I discovered the Neverwinter about a month ago. Since it is free-to-play, I gave it a go. I really like it overall. I can see how it used Star Trek and other MMOs as inspiration for this engine. I like that you only have a limited number of powers active at a time. The controls took some getting used to, but I find it intuitive. The targeting reticle is a fresh change from tab targeting, though it does make targeting at range a little tricky. I got a character maxed out to level 60 without spending a dime. I am not a huge fan of the crafting system. While it is easy to use and easy to get materials, I find I “out-level” the gear I can make. I.e. by the time I can make level 15 gear, I am close to level 30. The end-game stuff is a touch confusing at first, but I am not a big end-game player. I am just not into repetitive grinding and long instances. I wish we had more control over our companions. It would be nice to send the tank companion into combat before I start attacking so I don’t get aggro. I think the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO did all of these things better. Overall, IMO for a F2P game, it is really good. For an MMO game, it is average to above average. Does anyone else play?
Most of the baggage I take into a book is due to hype the book has. For example, I was told constantly by friends, gamers, and fantasy fans to read the Lord of the Rings. I tried to read it. Didn't care for it. I just didn't like it, though I bet some of it was that it didn't live up to the hype made over it. I did enjoy The Hobbit, however. Maybe it is just me as a gamer. Maybe I take all my RPG baggage into a fantasy or sci-fi book, and then I don't like it because it doesn't mirror the concepts (stereotypes?) I have about fantasy and sci-fi. I check out books at the library, start them, and lose interest. I really like Ender's Game, the same way I like 1984. The twist and the mind job are worth the read. I didn't care for any of the other Ender books. I also like Foundation by Asimov. I haven't read the others. Probably because of my experience with the Ender books.
I would have allowed it as well. Often I find scenarios in published adventures that, while an appropriate CL for the level range, the party can't handle for whatever reason. Sometimes it is not having the right weapon made out of the right material. Sometimes it is not having an arcane caster when one is really needed for the encounter. Sometimes you can't explain why it isn't working out. So it is not unreasonable for PCs with 18+ INT/WIS (which should be individuals with genius-level intellects or insight) to have a think about the situation and come up with an answer. Since player =/= character, you can't expect the player to brainstorm as if he were an actual experienced adventurer. The player has to use his own real-world resources, and then he has to explain how the character would do it. Yes, in this instance, the in-character explanation is lacking. But again with an 18+ WIS and a prior encounter with the golem, the cleric should be able to recall the fight, think about the tactics that were not working, and come up with a new tactic to try. It does sound like the GM took it all personally. It seems like a red flag that there is an adversarial relationship going on. If that is the case, perhaps an out-of-game discussion needs to take place among players or between players and the GM. (I tend to be the opposite of an adversarial GM. I am usually the PC's biggest fan, happy to see them succeed. The fights may be tougher at times, but that makes the success so much sweeter. I am also sympathetic when the PCs suffer a setback, especially if character death/maiming is involved.)
For fantasy, I am really enjoying 13th Age. It was designed by individuals who worked on both 3E and 4E D&D, and it combines good elements from both plus some new mechanics that make the game flow quickly and smoothly. Fights take half the time (or less) than typical 3E/4E combats. Minis are not needed, just useful. And the authors/designers encourage you to crib mechanics and ideas from other D20 games to use in 13th Age (or use such from 13th Age in your D20 game). I really like the new Star Wars RPGs from Fantasy Flight Games. I have raved about the game/system in many other threads, so I won't add much here. Other good RPGs... Castles and Crusades: Recreating "old school" D&D using OGL. Very much feels like playing D&D in the 80s, with all the positives and negatives. Also encourages tweaking the system to your liking. Legend of the Five Rings: Story rich, role-play heavy game set in a fantasy version of feudal Southeast Asia (primarily heavy in Japanese flavor). If you love Asian-themed games, this is IMO the best out there. Savage Worlds: Rules lite, can be used for any genre. Combat is quick and deadly, so be aware that it isn't like a D20 dungeon-crawler. Both big-bad monsters and PCs can be one-shotted on a (un)lucky roll. The system really shines in "modern" applications, like pulp settings and horror. I have also hear good things about FATE, but as I am invested in so many systems as it is I haven't picked it up.
Things I strongly dislike... Wall of Text: *Finding a Kickstarter cool enough to back after it has closed.
*Finding a cool TV series after it has already been cancelled (ex. Firefly, Dresden Files). *Other people's crappy driving. *Of time, money, and energy, never having all three and rarely having two at the same time. *Elitist jerks in general, but especially in gaming. *People who are offended by "foul language" yet seem indifferent to the injustices of life (ex. starving children). I am far more offended by the horrors we choose to let happen to one another than I am of any word. *Extremists, be they religious, political, etc. *People who present opinion as fact (and cannot tell the two apart). *Anti-intellectualism. *People who regard the expression of emotions as weakness. *The treatment of military veterans in the U.S. They are people who gave their life to defend our country, not disposable assets to be given the most substandard care possible. *The pay disparity between professional athletes and teachers, fire-fighters, law enforcement, etc. *Bigotry, racism, sexism, and all other -isms that are an attack on equality. *People who love to criticize but offer no constructive ideas or solutions of their own. *Cell phones. *The arrogance of the U.S. that the rest of the world should think it the best nation in the world and everyone other country should be just like it. *Clowns. *That tabletop RPGs seem to get less enjoyable the older I get. *Not being able to find a gaming group that is playing the RPG I want to play. *Being the default GM in most of my gaming history. *Anxiety disorder and depression. *How mental health issues are dealt with in the U.S. *Watermelons. *The fact that this list makes me seem like an old, bitter curmudgeon, when in fact I am happy and grateful for lots of things.
1. 13th Age Bestiary (pre-order, got playtest PDF with order)
My wife and I recently moved to Lincoln, NE and are looking for a Pathfinder group in the area. We are semi-familiar with the 3.5 system (through the most current iteration of Call of Cthulhu) but are still learning. Thanks ahead of time! Kevin Bienhoff is running a Rise of the Runelords Pathfinder campaign on Sundays. I'd drop him a private message and ask about joining in. If you don't mind other D20 systems, I am currently running 13th Age with a group. The system is a lot less tactical than Pathfinder/D&D. My group seems to enjoy it.
I'll agree that Eberron and Dark Sun are quite good settings. However, Dark Sun was a TSR-era creation. Most of that setting's flavor was established pre-WotC. Eberron was created via an online contest for a fan-created setting. While WotC has added some parts to it, WotC didn't lay the groundwork. To me, that doesn't make the settings WotC creations. The only setting that WotC created, that I can recall, was the "sandbox" points-of-light map in the 4E DMG. Even that wasn't totally original (ex. Keep on the Shadowfell was just an expansion of the D&D 3.0 Dungeon Magazine adventure, Evil Unearthed.) Plus they took their most popular "inherited setting", Forgotten Realms, and put it in a blender to create an arguably less popular setting. (Don't have hard stats to support my statement, mind you, just anecdotal experiences via conversations and forum posts.) But I agree with your statement that Paizo could create an alternative setting for Pathfinder. It might "dilute" their efforts to support their flagship setting (and product), but an alternative would be nice.
Two things Paizo has done right that WotC could learn from: 1. Quality adventures in quantity.
The first is so important because there are new DMs and/or DMs that don't have a lot of time for game prep. Quality adventures, put out on a regular basis, are needed to fuel the game to keep it appealing to a large audience. The second is often desired to bring flavor to the game. Sure you understand the nuts and bolts of the game, but what does the world look like? Paizo has bested WotC in both areas. While D&D Next needs the right balance in its rules design to attract a large, diverse player base, it will need these two things to keep the game going for the long haul (or at least for 5+ years until it releases the next edition of the game).
Looking for players or a group for any RPG. I really like the new Star Wars RPG(s) from Fantasy Flight Games, fantasy, and Pathfinder. Willing to play about anything.
I have been guilty of borrowing ideas from fictional characters from time to time. I think it is common for gamers to do so, especially when starting out. Most people I have encountered have done it and/or are cool with it. My most blatent ripoff was Spider-Man for a Champions game. I wanted to play a Spider-Man like character, but I didn't like Spider-Man's story or personality. So I built the character with similar powers (entangle, swinging, wall-crawling, etc.) but made hime of African origin and called him Anansi. He was far more brutal than Spider-Man towards villains, but still was wise-cracking. So he was an original character inspired by a literary figure.
I will agree that you can game at any age. It’s never too late to start or restart. All it takes is desire and imagination. That last bit is where I struggle. I am in my late 30s, starting RPGs at the age of 10 with the Moldvay/Mentzer Basic D&D game. Since my start, I have been primarily GMing. After 25+ years of being a GM with dozens of systems/genres, it is getting difficult for me to want to GM anymore. But no one else wants to GM; that’s pretty clear. If I don’t run something, my friends don’t play. So I am burned out. But it has nothing to do with age, just lack of ideas and desire. Add time to that list; being a full-time worker, husband and father really cuts into time to prep games. I am looking forward to a local gaming convention, where I can hopefully play a lot and GM very little. Hopefully that will recharge my batteries.
Some background: I picked up Dominion earlier this year. I really love the game and the expansions I have played. I wanted to get a second deck-building game, one with a fantasy theme and flavor. After reading reviews on several different ones, I went with Ascension. My LGS didn't have the first set, Chronicle of the Godslayer, so I picked up Rise of Vigil. I really like the game. It is simple enough to play, but has the flavor I am looking for. I am looking to expand beyond this set. Out of all the Ascension sets, which one should I get next? Should I pick up Chronicle next, or should I go with one of the other expansions?
I play both tabletop RPGs and MMOs. Right now, my choices are Star Wars: Edge of the Empire and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I am thankful for MMOs because without them I would never get any "player" time. I'd be stuck GMing 100%. It requires no prep on my part, save for the occasional homework on a class, a profession, or an "instance" (ex. dungeon, flashpoint, raid). I don't think MMOs are evil. They are just a different spin on things. Social Commentary/Rant: Are MMORPGs and Tabletop RPGs (TRPGs) related? Yes. They are just different means to getting the same end: an interactive immersion into a fantasy world, the primary purpose of which is entertainment. I am glad we have MMORPGs and TRPGs, and console/PC single player games, board games, card games, etc. They all make for a diverse hobby. It's just sad that people form up into groups and harshly judge other groups for their likes. Too much of that in the real world; why do we do this in our fantasy worlds?
In the end, they are both GAMES. It is amazing to see people get so worked up over a game, especially when [INSERT SOCIAL ISSUE YOU CARE ABOUT]. IMO, same goes for professional sports, comic books, or any other leisure activity. It's okay to have a gripe or discuss an issue. But getting all bent out of shape or starting some hobby-related holy war over any of these things is silly... perhaps even unhealthy. I like Coke. I dislike Pepsi. I wish no ill will toward Pepsi drinkers. Please do not call me names for liking Coke. Please do not try to convert me by telling me why Pepsi is superior. Change the colas to MMOs, RPGs, or what have you, and my general attitude remains the same. The end.
So regardless of whether or not McCulloch is convicted, he's already treated as a criminal? When is this witch-hunt climate going to end... I read the article on MCVUK, so I am not sure how the story differs. It sounds like the authorities executed a search warrant and found child porn in the house. In the legal system, innocence is presumed. However, Precursor Games has to look at the writing on the wall. The police found child porn during the execution of a search warrant as part of an ongoing two-month-long investigation. He is being charged with not only possession, but also making it available. Unless the defense comes up with some extraordinary explanation, it looks really bad. Damage control must begin immediately if they want to save their small company. (Small being relative to the video game industry.) Thus they distanced themselves immediately. If the evidence was more circumstantial, Precursor might have stood by their man. But that is speculation. Now, if it turns out that such an extraordinary explanation exists and Ken McCulloch is innocent, Precursor can issue an apology. Ken probably can’t seek legal recourse, as most companies have clauses in employment contracts about the image and conduct of its officers; merely being charged with a serious crime, regardless of guilt, can be grounds for termination. Regardless, all of it will be forgotten over time. It sucks, but that is the way of business.
I love Reaper minis, and Warlord is a pretty fun game. It is far smaller in scale than Warhammer, fairly akin to a skirmish game like Warmachine or Necromunda/Mordheim. Since the game is smaller, the units are more complex with lots of special rules. I haven't played in years, however, due to the fact that Warhammer/40K and Warmachine/Hordes dominate the landscape in my area (as it does in many).
For the advantages/disadvantages, if it is outside of combat I feel free to ignore the results if I can't think of anything applicable. For the hyperspace example above, the failure means that the jump will take much longer than anticipated. I could use the advantages to cut down how much longer, or I could ignore them altogether. But as a GM, don't feel you need to pay heed to every set of (dis)advantages for every roll. Sometime a routine check has routine results.
Those dice just removed the last shred of interest I had in this game. I used to think the same thing. Then I read some good stuff by Penny Arcade and others online. So I tried it. And it turns out the dice results and game mechanics are some of my favorites out there. It is cool to fail at a task but still have positive side-effects, either mechanically or flavor-wise. You can also succeed with negative side-effects. True, you can do this with any RPG, but I like the fact that it is built into the system. I am slowly losing my aversion to systems that use custom dice. I guess I am willing to pay a little more for custom dice as long as it makes the system fun to play. If it is just a gimmick, and the same result could have been done with standard dice, then I am not interested.
I own the beta book, the beginners box (2 actually) and the Free RPG Day module. I can list some of the more noticeable differences between "core" and "beginner". * The biggest is critical hits. In the beginner box, there is only one effect for a critical hit, which compounds with each hit. In the core rules, a critical hit causes a d100 roll on a chart for the effect (with modifiers for Vicious weapons, talents, etc). * Pilot is actually 2 separate skills: Pilot (Space) and Pilot (Planetary). This was simplified for the beginner rules. * Knowledge is actually six (IIRC) separate skills, again lumped together for the beginner box. * Obligation has been mentioned. The beginner box used the story to represent Obligation without introducing the rules. * Starships stats and rules were simplified for the beginner box. The biggest examples are starship speeds (i.e. you can change your speed; in the beginner box it is assumed the ships are always flying at max speed) and shields (ex. in the core rules you have zones of protection and you can “angle the deflector shields” to change the levels of protection in each zone). Overall, the rules system is the same. One won’t have to relearn the game. It is just a matter of adding more depth to the rules. As for the beginner characters, they were “built” with the beginner box in mind. Most have their points invested in stats rather than skills and talents. Since stats cannot improve with XP (unless you buy a talent that improves a stat), this could be seen as a wise move or as power gaming, depending on one’s opinion. There are a couple of threads on the FFG forum that discuss the “issues” with the beginner box characters (ie. too many XP spent, extra gear beyond normal), but again these characters were built to teach others how to play and to showcase the game. The pregens for the Free RPG Day adventure have some of the same “issues”, but they seem like “2nd or 3rd level characters” rather than “1st level” (to use a D&D analogy). Can any other (most likely more-experienced) SW:EotE players chime in?
We've just had two (and a half) editions drenched in jedi. I, for one, am more than happy to see Edge of the Empire return to the game's roots among the scum and villainy of the Outer Rim. This issue has caused a number of threads (one might call them "gripe threads") on the FFG Sw:EotE Forums. As for me, I harken back to the early to mid 80s, where all we had were the Original Trilogy and West End Games' version of Star Wars. Jedi were ultra-rare or nigh extinct. The game focused heavily on non-Force users. The only difference is that WEG genrally assumed in its adventures and scenarios that PCs would be Rebels facing off against the Empire. Edge of the Empire makes no such assumptions. I really like Edge of the Empire. I feel I can wait for Jedi (as I had to wait for Space Marines with FFG's Warhammer 40K RPG system). There is enough in the (Beta) core set to make effective Force users. Overall my group is having fun with "Firefly in the Star Wars Universe". If you really want Jedi now, there are a lot of fan-made supplements and ideas out there to make it happen.
I wasn't a huge fan of how they did multiclassing in 4E, but what you describe can be done. For example, what if I want to play a caster fighter, who uses protective and utility magic to augment her fighting but not generally using the magic as a direct attack? This is just a simplified example. Now I haven't been looking at 4e new stuff in a while so maybe they made this class, but I doubt it. Besides the mere fact that I need an option built into the game to play it is the restrictiveness I was talking about. A couple of options: 1. Fighter, multiclassing into wizard. It will look like a fighter, but you will have a handful of wizard powers. 2. Swordmage from Forgotten Realms is basically what you described. 3. Talk to DM, take an existing class, and reskin.
In my opinion, I liked 4E because... ● Easier to GM, IMO. XP budget made more sense than Encounter Level/Ratings of 3.x. Re-skinning and/or creating new monsters were a whole lot easier. Adventure building was easier for me. ● Casters, especially wizards, didn’t feel useless in low-level combats. No more “one-spell and I am spent” classes. ● Rituals freed up a caster’s allotment of powers/spells for things they commonly used. ● Fighters weren’t outshined by casters at higher levels. ● Parties without clerics were viable. Clerics could go in different directions without feeling like they were the party’s sole source of healing. ● Converting adventures from prior editions was fairly easy (though sometimes you had to get creative; Return to the Tomb of Horrors comes to mind). ● Monsters followed their own rules rather than be PC-in-monster’s-clothing. ● I prefer defenses (i.e. Reflex, Will, Fortitude) to saves. ● I loved the Essentials line more than the “original” 4E. Classes seemed less homogenized but still played in a similar manner. I really liked how fighters got “stances” and rogues got “tricks” instead of the usual At-Will/Encounter/Daily power suite. I also really liked the Slayer, a Striker Fighter class. ● The variety of classes and builds allowed for a lot of options for characters. ● I did not experience a lack of role-play in my 4E games. We ran several small campaigns, including part of Curse of the Crimson Throne, and there was plenty of RP to be had. Role-playing (i.e. pretending to be other people) doesn't even require a rules set; children and actors have been doing this for millenia. It wasn’t a perfect system, but I certainly liked it a lot more than not. I like other systems as well, each for their own reasons.
I normally would just work around his attendance, but it's hard to introduce four new characters (two new players and two replacements for dead PCs) when half of the remaining party never shows up. If he'd just show up for a week or so it wouldn't be a problem--the party would be synched up again and I'd be able to proceed. As is, introductions are awkward. Based on this, I deduce that you have 6 total characters: 2 new players, 2 "replacement" characters for existing players, 1 dedicated player, and the problem player in question. I think the solution to introducing these characters is that the 4 "new" characters are an adventuring party already; the 5th "reliable" character joins this party and they go adventuring. The "problem" character is now a spare wheel and need not be present every time. As for this "problem" player, he has stated that doesn't like the current game; thus it appears that he creates excuses to not be present. It seems like it is time for the adult conversation. The one where you calmly present your observations (i.e the cheating, the negative comments on RP, the lack of regular attendance, all suggest that you do not want to play this game) and get his side of the story. Then come to an amenable solution. Such as he chooses to bow out for now until you switch back to high-level play or to another game he likes. Meanwhile you remain friends (if you so choose) and socialize outside of gaming. Anyways, this was half rant, but I am looking for advice. How do I get this player to normalize? How do I get him to play the 'right' way? If neither is an option, how do I just keep him from making the game harder to run? You cannot force him to do anything. If the amenable solution above does not work and he continues to be disruptive, then I'd recommend creating and instituting a "social contract" among the gamers that lay out the ground rules, probably to include: 1. Contacting the group ahead of time if you will be absent. True emergencies are the exception.
Ratify this among the group to get buy in from all the other players. Then let the rules take care of the problem. One way or another, the problem goes away. That’s all I got. I’ve had my share of problem players in the past. If they are not dealt with, they will wreck the group (and possibly friendships). I’ve seen more than one gaming group dissolve in the past because of the actions of just one person.
My favorite has to be SWTOR (with a nod to LOTRO). Both of these have enough complexity to keep things interesting but are simple enough to get the hang of things quickly. I really like SWTOR in that you can be self-sufficient in your production crew skill... unlike LOTRO, WOW, etc. with require either raw or produced materials from other craft skills in order to produce usable items. In SWTOR, it is easy to pick your triad of crew skills and be able to produce whatever you wanted/needed without resorting to paying GTN prices. Sometimes you get the wrong class 3 gem from Treasure Hunting, but you could easily sell it on the GTN and use the funds to buy it on the GTN or to fund more Treasure Hunting. It irritated me to no end in WOW when I was trying to level leatherworking and needed a metal buckle or gem of some sort, which means I either needed to know (or have as an alt) a blacksmith or jeweler who would help me out in a trade or pay ridiculous auction house prices just to make a relatively low level item. LOTRO has some of this as well, but it doesn't seem as bad as WOW. I had several toons on LOTRO, so it didn't seem so bad. But on WOW I just gathered mats while I leveled and relied on instances for gear. Only once did I have a maxed out craft skill on WOW, and it was a bear to grind. I know it is more realistic to have the gathering/crafting skills interact, but given the nature of MMOs I just don't care for it. My time is limited, I play to relax and enjoy the time on the MMO leveling, and overly complex craft systems just don't do it for me. But I know I am not the typical MMO player and not the demographic game companies cater to.
Really, you cannot go wrong with many of the "30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time" (circa 2004). I’d purchase Dungeon 116 just for that article if you don’t own it already. Here are some of my favorites from that list: ● G1-3 Against the Giants: Massive dungeon crawls featuring giants. Play it off as an invasion into your campaign’s key kingdom. Lots of fun to be had. (I didn’t much care for the rest of the Queen of Spiders series.) ● I6 Ravenloft: a classic dungeon crawl turned into a horror/love story. ● Return to the Tomb of Horrors: better than the original, recommended only if your group loves a ridiculously difficult challenge. ● Temple of Elemental Evil: if you can get a hold of the PC game they made for this and incorporate elements from it, it runs much smoother than the mega-dungeon it originally was. ● I3 Pharaoh: turns from desert survival into an epic quest. Again, I liked it more than the rest of the series. ● Forge of Fury: I thought it was the best of the 3E modules produced by WOTC. It has a lot going on in just one adventure. ● X1 Isle of Dread: If you love pulp exploration adventures, it doesn’t get much better than this. ● U1-U3 Saltmarsh series: really well done for its time, and you can drop these in about anywhere in your campaign world. Here are ones I loved that didn’t make the list: ● UK7 Dark Clouds Gather: a very interesting adventure. I hate to say more without spoiling it, but it has “snow demons”, a cloud castle, and a flying ship. It is a lot of fun. ● Evil Unearthed: Dungeon magazine #82; basically it is the adventure that “inspired” Keep on the Shadowfell, but much shorter (and not 4E if that matters). Great for running at conventions as well. ● Night of the Walking Dead: A Ravenloft campaign module. It is pretty much a zombie survival game set in a Louisiana-style bayou setting, complete with French names and Vodou practitioners. Finally, one of my favorite “adventures” came from my very first Dragon magazine purchase, #127, entitled ”Tucker’s Kobolds”. It’s how to terrorize mid to high-level players using the lowliest of monsters in the Monster Manual. Good stuff.
There are some good comments on the product pages themselves: Here is where they say that the core book and accessories will be out in the first week of July. *fingers crossed* Be sure to check out FFG's forums as well. There are some good discussions as well as fan-made game aides and adventures.
I am usually leery of systems that use special dice, but after hearing good reviews of the game, I purchased the Beginner's Box in December. Since then, I have GMed the introductory game both for private groups and at a convention. I really like the new system. The feel is very much like Firefly meets the old WEG D6 system, in that it focuses on fringers making a go of things during the original trilogy. There are no rules for Jedi because they don't exist (for the most part). You can play a Force-sensitive individual with minor powers, but don't expect to be pulling off mad Jedi/Sith feats a la Episodes I-III or the video games. The rules are very smooth once you get used to the symbols and what they mean. Combat does not run on a grid, like D&D or Star Wars D20/Saga Edition. Instead it uses more abstract ranges, like Engaged, Short, Medium, and Long. It is easy to GM, as difficulties are fairly well defined. The basic rule is that you have positive dice in your dice pool based on your relevant attribute and skill. Then you add negative dice based on the difficulty or your opponent’s relevant attribute and skill. Roll the dice and count up symbols. Some symbols are basically successes and failures, which cancel each other. If you have at least 1 success left over, you succeed at your action. If not, you don’t. However, there are also “Advantages” and “Threats” that also cancel. These give perks or hindrances, even if you do not succeed in your roll. In 2014, they are going to release a core book focusing on Rebels and Soldiers. In 2015, they are going to release a core book for Jedi and other Force users. Their release plan looks akin to the Warhammer 40K material, where stuff will be compatible to a point, but starting characters in each core book will probably not be at the same power level. I believe they plan to release source material and adventures for each core book as well. Overall, I really dig the new system. It is a little frustrating that Jedi characters are two years out, but not so much that it detracts from the overall game. Even if you plan on getting the Edge of the Empire core book in July, I recommend getting the Beginner’s Box now. It gives you a set of dice (which are worth 1/2 of the retail cost of the set), a “lite” rule book, counters, and enough materials to start playing immediately.
It is a really good system, and I recommend getting the base game, the Civil War core book, and the Civil War X-Men book before they disappear. The others are needed only if you like the characters that appear in those books. I have the core book in print and PDFs of all the Civil War stuff. I didn't really care for the Civil War story, but I wanted all the datafiles for the heroes and villains. I now have enough to run about anything (non-cosmic) in the Marvel Universe. Plus I have enough character comparisons that making home-brew and custom characters is a lot easier. It's too bad about the game; I really like it. I am hoping they republish the rules (with all the Marvel stuff expunged) as a generic supers game.
So the Swordmage you are describing for 1st/2nd edition AD&D: * has Fighter THAC0 and HP (and presumably weapon proficiencies and saves) and * can use spells like a Specialist Mage (or even a Priest at a cost) The Swordmage is giving up some Fighter armor protection (though not much when considering +3 AC offhand bonus, which is a big bonus in 1st/2nd Ed) in exchange for moderate spellcasting power. When compared to a multiclass Fighter/Magic User, or even hybid fighter-caster classes like Cleric or 2nd Ed's Bard, it seems way too good. If you are playing 2nd Edition, I'd start with the Bard as an example. He has fighting, armor, HP, and casting abilities in between a fighter and a wizard. Just strip him of his music and legend-lore abilities, give him new spells akin to the Swordmage, and it's done. The other alternative is to reverse engineer Pathfinder's Magus to make a 1st/2nd Ed Swordmage.
It was no B5 or BSG, but it also wasn't horrible. As a commercial for a video game, it was awesome. As a sci-fi TV series, it was mediocre. Wicked Cool hit all the major points above; I can't add much there. I'd give it a C+.
This is something that's been on my mind for awhile... ...I just want to know how you tackle the situation in your campaigns in a mature manner. I'm late to the party, per usual, but to approximately echo what others have said: I handle homosexuality* the same way I handle heterosexuality. That is, like a mature adult. It can be part of the story, as much as the players choose for it to be. Now my players... some of them handle it very differently. When it came out, I wanted to run Blue Rose , a romantic fantasy RPG that was the precursor to True20. I figured this particular group, 3 guys, loved L5R. Blue Rose his would be, basically, an Occidental version involving similar themes: nobility, courtship, intrigue, etc. Plus I liked the look of what would become True20. However, they all read the section on homosexuality and bisexuality in Aldea (the campaign world) and said "no thanks" in the most homophobic way possible. They basically interpreted Blue Rose to be an erotic homosexual RPG, which it is not. They took one small facet of the world and blew it way out of proportion. It told me a lot about these players. Very sad. I guess the above tale can be a lesson: know how comfortable your players are before introducing mature topics like sex. *or bisexuality, transgender, etc.
I really enjoy the Marvel Heroic RPG by Margaret Weis Productions. It is pretty slick once you get used to the system. It is very easy to play and run. Making/converting characters is the tricky part, as there is no "hard and fast" character creation system. Beyond that, it has been really fun for myself and my players.
I am sure many will disagree, but as much as I like The One Ring by Cubicle 7 and Lord of the Rings Online, I feel that Middle Earth isn't the best setting to translate over to an RPG. Middle Earth is full of "big darn heroes" (BDH) that shape the course of the entire setting, including its history, so much so that PCs have little in the way to shine without being creative with the story line. Compare this to generic D&D/fantasy, where the PCs have the potential to be those BDH. Further, the GM can feel shoe-horned with a world that is largely scripted out with its history. It is hard to find room to be creative and generate adventures. This is how I felt as a GM. Star Wars can run into this, but the galaxy in Star Wars is so vast that PCs can be big heroes in their region without ever running into Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, etc. Plus Star Wars has several eras of play where either no canon or fiction has been written or the setting has been generated but has lots of room for awesome adventures to happen (ex. The Old Republic). Middle Earth has had almost all of its history penned somewhere; it's hard to find a "sweet spot" in history where the GM has a lot of creative freedom. I have played many Star Trek games, and they are quite fun. It translates very well into an RPG, as again the galaxy is a big place, and there is lots going on. I will concur with other posters that the main reason Star Trek, Star Wars, and other settings go out of print is the cost of the license. Without new, profitable products being constantly generated, the cost of the license outstrips the financial gain to be made by renewing the licence. Even WotC felt that way with Star Wars. Anyway, just my two cents as a GM.
If you like West End Games' Star Wars, they offer D6 Space and all of its supplements for free on DriveThruRPG. It is basically WEG Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off and updated rules.
Chambalam: Retroid's Dungeon (around 33rd and B St.) is a fairly new sci-fi, fantasy and gaming store that has been expanding its game room. It might be a place to check out as well. I am looking for a new group as well, as mine is on a (permanent?) hiatus. Kevin, I dropped you an e-mail. Your schedule for gaming looks mostly compatable with my schedule of free time. If that doesn't work out, I wouldn't mind starting a new gaming group. I know one or two others looking for a game. I am pretty open to any RPG system or genre. Send me a Private Message, Chambalam and/or Kevin, if you are interested.
Short Answer (to skip wall o' text below): for Tolkien-based works, I am not too picky. But I understand others' desire for authenticity.
Long Answer: Yeah, none of us are big Tolkien buffs. I know the most currently due to my research on the topic... and yet I have never read the LotR trilogy or any of the works after (and I only read The Hobbit for the first time recently with the help of supplementing it with the BBC Radio drama). Huzzah for compendiums and wikis... and for used book stores and the internet. It's great that some people really get into languages and culture, but it is just a story-telling game for us in the end. I won't expect my players to be 100% accurate for the sake of a (massive) work of fiction. But I don't judge others for it because of my own demands with other games and settings. [Ex. Legend of the Five Rings. I own "Name Construction in Medieval Japan" by Solveig Throndardottir, which I used for both the SCA and L5R for names. I also owned at one time a lot of material for both L5R, Sengoku RPG, and the "Sengoku jidai" period of Japanese history. I am (or was) to L5R/Medieval Japan what others are to LotR.] PS: That being said, because I play Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) on an RP-Encouraged server, I did do a bit of research on the name of my only elf character. It may not be 100% "correct", but it is in the ballpark. :)
My only complaints about the game thus far: 1. Delay in release of new material. (ex. Tales From The Wilderland)
Reading over the company's forum, the release of new material appears to be an issue across their product lines. Such is discouraging, but I am learning to be patient. In the meantime, they did give us a free adventure on PDF, so I am happy with that. I would really like some extra dice sets. Yes, I realize that regular D6s and D12s could be used, but the dice are an important part of not only the rules but setting the feel and atmosphere for the game. I may break down and purchase some from Germany for now. These two complaints aside, I love The One Ring. It may be my go-to fantasy RPG for now. I highly recommend picking up this game if you have not already.
I have helped make six characters, and once you get the hang of such it goes pretty fast. We start our campaign this Thursday. I plan to post details on my blog. Here is the Prologue Post. I look forward to running the game and writing about it.
Good thread on custom Cultures and character generation here.
While the flavor of the Cultures and Backgrounds seem like this, the actual mechanics could be fudged a bit to create characters from different geographical regions. You could, essentially, "reskin" a Barding to resemble a Breeman... or an Elf or Dwarf to represent their cousins elsewhere. Or you could reverse-engineer each culture and background to figure out an approximate point value for starting characters and go from there. Someone with a decent grasp of the lore could easily make rules for most Cultures. Some might be harder to do at this time, like a mounted rider of Rohan, but with some creativity it could be done. As for Hobbits, most are indeed sedentary in nature. However, a few become curious about the world around them and travel. A few may wander into the Wilderland. Those select few are the PCs. It would probably be fairly rare to find many NPC hobbits in the area, but one could pop up. And having an RPG that is focused around the events just after “The Hobbit” that does not have an option for playing a hobbit would seem rather off. :)
As a follow-up, if I do rum RttToH again it will be using Pathfinder. This might give the PCs a fighting chance. I believe I still have my 3.x notes. If anyone is interested in them, I can share.
I noticed a few people mentioned Tomb of Horrors - I always heard that was a TPK module but have never had a chance to play it. Has it been updated to PF by anyone? was it 3.0 or 3.5 rule system? I have DMed Return to the Tomb of Horrors a total of 3 times: once in 2E and twice in 3.xE. All games ended with a TPK, and there were several individual deaths during the games. TPK 1:
The first TPK was in a 3.x game. There is a door in the Tomb that leads to a hallway full of sleep gas. Only the wizard in the party made the spell save for the gas. Meanwhile, a juggernaut was hiding in the gas and began to rumble towards the party. Now, for whatever reason, a juggernaut in 3.X could cast wall of force. It blocked off the party's escape route. The wizard had no hope of fighting off the juggernaut in close quarters, so he stuffed the cleric/rogue into a trap door in the floor (banking on him to resurrect the party once he eventually woke up). The juggernaut pummeled the wizard and crushed the rest of the party. Time passes and the trap resets. The cleric/rogue awakens. He sees the party neatly flattened in the hallway. Being a CN cleric/rogue of Olidammara, he did the only sensible thing: looted the bodies for any surviving magic items and left the Tomb. TPK 2:
This was a 2E game, IIRC. The party finds Skull City, a village/college of necromancers located around the tomb itself. The found it by flying around in a chariot of Sustarre. They landed in Skull City, which is akin to shining a magical searchlight on the party and screaming “We’re the good guys! Kill us!”. For whatever reason, they don’t stick around until dark and leave. They decide to stealthily enter the next day.
The problem was that it gave the necromancer college an entire evening to prepare better defenses from an obviously powerful party. They animated a dozen wights and outfitted them with amulets that had continual darkness cast upon them. They then set up sentries throughout the city. When the party returned, they were spotted (the paladin stuck out like a sore thumb) by the naga living in the walls. They were immediately dealing with a dozen wights cloaked in darkness, two dozen necromancers of various levels, and the giant bone golem that guarded the front gate. The paladin failed his save versus the golem’s cackle ability, thus paralyzing him. The rest of the party was hampered enough to fall victim to the wights. The paladin had the privilege to watch the whole party die right before his eyes. I can’t remember how the paladin died, but it was not a good death. Individual Deaths:
*The rolling boulder in the mountain giant’s lair claimed one life. The wizard of the party cast wall of stone to stop the boulder. Too bad he did not ensure the entire party was on the right side of the wall. The paladin, same one as above, was literally squished between a rock and a hard place. One rez later, and the paladin was back... had he known then what would eventually happen, he probably would have stayed dead.
*The bony hands in the necromancers college claimed another. Everyone else survived the “entrance exam” (because none of them were good), even if they did take some electrical damage. A paladin (no, not the same one from above) placed her hands in the skeletal hands, thinking what could go wrong. One failed save and her soul was whisked away to Acererak’s phylactery. The player rolled a new character after that. My favorite moment, however... The Magic Lamp:
In the mountain giant’s lair, really the lair of a wizard who is the hook of the story, there is a room devoid of anything other than an oil lamp suspended at eye level by a chain attached to the ceiling. That’s all that was in the room. I described it in a very neutral fashion. But the players were convinced that this lamp was not only highly magical but very dangerous. (They did sense something from a detect magic, IIRC, but that was from the residue from all the wizard’s spells cast in this room.) They spent what seemed like a half-hour of real time examining this thing. Inside, I was laughing the whole time. After the game concluded, I had to break it to them about the mundaneness of the lamp. They had a good chuckle. It remains one of our favorite stories to tell. Someday I want to run this again... if I can bribe, er, convince a group to play it. Who knows, I might actually get someone through the tomb. My advice for anyone playing in the game... don't play a paladin. :)
The new One Ring RPG is semi-classless. You choose a culture and a "calling", but there is enough customization both initially and through experience. It is low magic, so that may be an issue. The "cultures" can be modified or home-brewed to taste. It's a good system.
I am a huge kolat fan... Of what do you speak? This lowly monk has never heard of this "Qolat". Here, samurai-sama, let us retire to this tea house and you can tell me more. *poisons Freehold DM's tea* First rule of the "independent merchants of Rokugan" is that you do not discuss the "independent merchants of Rokugan". ;) Anyway, I truly enjoyed my L5R experience as both a player and GM, in 1st and 3rd edition. I have yet to try 4th, but I have heard good things from other players. It fixes a lot of the issues of 3rd, such as b0Rken combos. Anyway... LOOK, A NINJA! *backstab*
I got my copy a week ago. After the initial read, I am in love with this game. I like how travel and combat work. It retains the flavor of fantasy RPG combat without a massive grid. The Endurance v. Fatigue and Hope v. Shadow mechanics are slick. It feels like the rules are there to SUPPORT the story and the game, not DOMINATE them. Once I have re-reread the rules and made a few characters, I plan on running this with my usual gaming group (who like D&D 4E, Pathfinder, Legend of the Five Rings, and a lot of other RPGS). I will post my own "Loremastering" experiences here.
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