tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20600413406451982252024-03-05T04:50:40.148-08:00Powergaming for DummiesA friendly exploration and exposition of the wonderful world of role-playing.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-27967092297772486972011-04-29T17:53:00.000-07:002011-04-29T17:53:36.843-07:00As a side note...As I operate from my (mostly) complete hiatus, I find myself<br />
contemplating whether to make the jump from blogger to Wordpress.<p>Can anyone advise me on this decision, or will I be making it blind?Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-14113695522669954362011-04-29T13:23:00.000-07:002011-04-29T13:23:15.082-07:00The TARDIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2009/12/18/1225811/817176-tardis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="421" width="316" src="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2009/12/18/1225811/817176-tardis.jpg" /></a></div>Using the M&M 3e headquarters rules, I offer the following TARDIS...<br />
Headquarters Traits:<br />
<br />
Size: Interior: Huge (Like, say, a castle). Exterior: Miniscule (Blue police box). 3 points<br />
<br />
Toughness: 20 (Base value 6). 7 equipment points. <br />
<br />
Features: Time Travel, Space Travel, Teleportation, Dimensional Travel, (2 points each to affect both the TARDIS and its occupants). Dual Size, Communications, Computer, Library, Secret (it looks like a strange blue box), fire prevention system, gym (complete with swimming pool!), laboratory, living space, power system, self-repairing, security system (locks and alarms. Good luck getting in the door without a key). 20 equipment points. <br />
<br />
Total cost: 30 equipment points, 6 power points. Surprisingly cheap!Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-73003356199572891132011-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:002011-04-10T10:45:15.381-07:00Just Passing Through: Doctor Who as InspirationOnce again, I've been doing a lot of thinking (and not enough playing!) about my game of choice, and I decided that it was about time that I started finding solutions instead of problems.<br />
<br />
So. Let's just dash through this for a moment.<br />
<br />
Problem: not enough experience as a GM.<br />
Solution: GM a lot. (DUH.)<br />
<br />
Problem: I have a lot of ideas about weird and wonderful games and settings.<br />
Solution: Find a setting where I can use all or any of them, or define characters who can travel between settings regularly so I have an excuse to throw lots of different things at them.<br />
<br />
Problem: Such a setting may not exist!<br />
Solution: Yes, it does. Just ask The Doctor.<br />
<br />
I'm stepping out on a limb, here. I want a game like the ones I remember when I was a kid, the ones where I could go anywhere and do anything with just about anyone. I'm reasonably confident now that there's an easy way to do that. See, I've grown up too much. I've become too accepting of rigid boundaries between things like fantasy and science fiction, between past and future and present; too accepting of the notion that time travel (or travel through the multiverse) is somehow hard to control.<br />
<br />
And it is, sure. If you're trying. What if you make it front and center instead?<br />
<br />
Enter the TARDIS. (Time And Relative Dimension In Space). Well, maybe not exactly the TARDIS, but something very much like it. Something off the wall and innocuous that serves as a common thread between the players and . . . well, anywhere and everywhere. The point here is that the TARDIS is just about the most brilliant storytelling engine imaginable, because it gives you a built in excuse for everything from, say, meeting Charles Dickens and helping him solve a ghost story in Victorian England, bumping into Sherlock Holmes one universe over, changing history in one world, forcing it to go as expected in another, an encounter with the Borg next week, adventuring in the Old Republic (in a Galaxy Far, Far Away), or, say ... meeting Arthurian knights with laser guns. IN SPAAAAAAAACE!!!! Anything and everything, right up to and including Godwin's Law. <br />
<br />
It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to give them one. Build it as a Headquarters using Mutants and Masterminds, and give it to the players as a free (shared) resource. Make it very very tough, (nearly) impossible to get into uninvited, and significantly bigger on the inside than the outside. Make it able to travel through space, time, and between dimensions . . . with one little catch, again, borrowed from The Doctor. When the players stop anywhere, they become (potentially) part of events. And once they become part of events, they can't leave until events play out. I'd call that a good enough limit to time travel in this case. . . Oh, and a general rule against lethal force wouldn't hurt matters too much either. Just in case. I don't think my players are severely trigger happy, but you never know.<br />
<br />
Right now, I'm torn between giving them a blue police box, straight out of Doctor Who, or something out of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Infinite Improbability Drive, perhaps, or something running on Bistromathics (the principle that math operates differently within a restaurant than it does anywhere else in the universe). Something off the wall that doesn't <i>really </i>fit in anywhere, but that most people will pass over and say, "oh, how ordinary."<br />
<br />
The idea from my perspective is that I'll wind up with flexible characters who can drop into a wide array of settings and situations, providing a common thread to a number of... well, one-shots, basically. Episodic structure rather than a linear campaign with a massive end goal.<br />
<br />
So, right then! Campaign notes:<br />
<br />
<i>Just Passing Through: Travels in the Greater Multiverse</i><br />
PL 6-8, for 2 or more players.<br />
Setting: Anywhere I can imagine (and some places I haven't yet) from dungeons to skyscrapers to the stars and beyond; better known as The Greater Multiverse itself.<br />
Headquarters: The TARDIS (probably; or at least something very much like it).<br />
<br />
I'll try and put together some stats for a TARDIS later, when I have a few minutes to spare. Sounds like fun, and Zod willing I'll actually get to run this one.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-43010101998085849672011-03-31T22:05:00.000-07:002011-03-31T22:05:46.302-07:00So, Who Was That Doctor, Anyway?<a href="http://joelnickel.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/pp30699-doctor-who-tardis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://joelnickel.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/pp30699-doctor-who-tardis.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As you may have gathered, I've been watching Doctor Who lately. I've been watching my way through the new ongoing series for the last few weeks. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been getting the odd feeling that familiarity with Doctor Who is somehow a prerequisite to being a "proper nerd," lately - at least around here. A year or so back, at my last school, it seemed like every day in Shakespeare class, nearly everyone (or at least all the good Nerdfighters) was talking about Doctor Who, the "Tenth Doctor," and some guy named David Tennant, and the TARDIS this and so on and so forth and all this stuff that I wasn't familiar with (or at least not more than in the vaguest sense). It was like Harry Potter all over again, and I added it to my list of "Things I must See Eventually."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks in part to having spring break, I've had a bit of time to spare, so after finishing Lois and Clark again, I started running through Doctor Who from the beginning. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This has been my first real exposure to the Doctor Who mythos, and I have to say, I've enjoyed it tremendously. It's like a weird and wonderful romp through everything I love about Science Fiction, touched with everything I love about good British humour. (You must spell Humour with a "u" when speaking of the British. ^^) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, I would go so far as to say that I find it <i>fantastic. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's like . . . I don't know how to describe it, even, it's brilliant. A little dark at times, I will admit, but the lighthearted sense of humour it shows constantly keeps it from becoming oppressive. The Doctor (I've seen the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's at work, now, I gather) keeps me laughing almost <i>constantly</i>, and the show has done an excellent job of reminding me of something very, very important. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sure, life gets hard sometimes (as Voltaire would say, "Compared to what?"). But that's no cause to stop smiling. The world is really a pretty fantastic place. Give it a smile, a laugh, and do your best to do some good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, thank you, Doctor. I'm happier now than I've been in weeks, and I owe that (in part) to Doctor Who reminding me to keep a positive attitude (though it's been murder on my accent. I caught myself pronouncing lever as "LEE-ver" the other day. At this rate, I'll sound like a Londoner within a month...)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sfsignal.com/mt-static/images/doctorWho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.sfsignal.com/mt-static/images/doctorWho.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But there's more to it than that, and I've been trying to decide what it is that I really like most about the show, the characters, the major themes. . . and I think this sums it up best. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Doctor Who is about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maybe that's what I find so appealing about it. Maybe it's that (even amid some of the bittersweet moments and endings) the core identity of the series and the mythos resonates strongly with my own beliefs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or maybe it's the brilliant storytelling engine (wait, so they travel anywhere they like through time and space ... in a blue box? As long as he doesn't cross his own lifeline? Okay, cool, I can roll with that.) combined with the fact that it's just very funny and cool (Time Lords? Did you say, "Time War?" <i>Fantastic</i>!) and British (Wait, why do the most feared beings in the universe look kind of like trash cans? Oh, just go with it). Maybe it speaks to me the way that <i>Hitchhiker's Guide</i> does.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In any case, The Doctor has been added to my list of personal (literary) heroes. I highly recommend checking the series out, if you haven't already. And if you have, feel free to talk about it in the comments. </div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-11769861246189645332011-03-30T20:25:00.000-07:002011-03-30T21:30:41.794-07:00Followup on Wonder Woman's Costume: They Fixed It!Well, sort of. It's definitely better, though.<br />
<br />
In an astounding case of what I'd like to call, "actually doing something intelligent," NBC has apparently fixed nearly everything I disliked about the original Wonder Woman costume shots. You can find the full story (and gallery) <a href="http://io9.com/#!5787224/see-the-new-and-improved-wonder-woman-costume-in-action/gallery/1">here,</a> but here's one of the photos to give you the idea:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://betacache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2011/03/wonderwomanfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://betacache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2011/03/wonderwomanfront.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Note that these are set photos, rather than the early concept/promotional shot we looked at last time. I suspect that they may have leaked that photo deliberately, and that it was an early design that was intended to provoke feedback. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">If you look closely, you'll notice that they answered nearly all of my specific issues, including: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><ol><li>They got rid of the horrible shiny blue for the pants.</li>
<li>They brought back the iconic red boots (yay!) and restored the balance to the design. </li>
<li>They added the stars down the side, and it looks about as good as I'd have thought.</li>
</ol><div>All in all, it's not <i>bad. </i>In fact, it's pretty darn good. I don't think that costuming will be killing this show, after all. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So, that leaves scripting and tone as possible dangers . . . Heh. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I'll admit, I'm still a little worried, but less worried now that I've seen these. Head over to <a href="http://io9.com/#!5787224/see-the-new-and-improved-wonder-woman-costume-in-action/gallery/1">io9</a> for the full gallery.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at another concept, though, just for fun. Something like, maybe . . . this.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/8/2011/03/82b40521a15b59b49d7b1462a16a278b/original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/8/2011/03/82b40521a15b59b49d7b1462a16a278b/original.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This image is not mine. Someone else <br />
very clever designed it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Just a thought. But of course, this has its own problems. Specifically, it's far enough from the iconic costume that it wouldn't be able to pass muster from large chunks of die-hard comic fans (the same thing that plagued Jim Lee's redesign (which, by the way, I loved)). Secondly, it's a little . . . Xena? I think it's a little too Xena. I think it's the brown quality to the red.<br />
<br />
The skirt, though, is perfect. In my mind, if Wonder Woman isn't going to be wearing pants, that skirt would be awesome. Very "Golden Age," or <i>Justice League: New Frontier. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
At the very least, it eliminates the problem of the outfit looking like a bathing suit.<br />
<br />
Of course, if I recall, the skirt was ditched in the first place for reasons of political correctness (though how replacing it with short shorts was a step up for feminism, I have no idea). Maybe now would be a good time for it to make a comeback?</div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-23136878077962232282011-03-27T10:01:00.000-07:002011-03-27T10:04:34.048-07:00Costume Critique: NBC's new Wonder Woman<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://actorguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Adrianne-Palicki-Wonder-Woman-NBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://actorguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Adrianne-Palicki-Wonder-Woman-NBC.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The official version...<br />
If it is, in fact, official.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">I realize that I'm jumping on a bandwagon here, but I had to say something. Assuming that this is, in fact, the real costume, I can't keep my mouth shut. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The new costume isn't horrible . . . but it's not great, either. It has a number of problems. The first (and biggest one) is that it looks like it's made of cheap materials, like a Halloween costume. Of course, part of that is the lighting. The lighting on this is just dreadful - it's too harsh and too bright. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And while I'm in favor of Wonder Woman getting to wear pants . . . those pants would not be my first choice. And combining blue pants with blue boots is begging for trouble. The balance of colors is all wrong. There's too much blue! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm starting to see the perspective of the people who shouted and complained about Jim Lee's redesign. Wonder Woman is an icon; you have to be very, very careful about what you do with something iconic. Changing Superman's costume would be similarly problematic; remove the red trunks, for instance, and you have too much blue. Ditch the boots and you have the same problem. The most you could do with it is add some detail work in yellow in a few places, and maybe adjust the logo slightly (it's the thing that's probably changed the most over the years) - though the current logo has become so iconic in its own right that changing now would be a disaster. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7x47eR_gvUoLn-ko-UUIwhYk_rpXsLfTGkgQSnECAq5TN-_0wnDHMbLrw35gsyrE5zVpGzi57V3jJbT0DOWqV6xbVurNKo_zNjMc5t7voZHdtZdrqRfHT8ktAdHoUjRtUzmF4wr2pGLx/s1600/WonderWoman+-+Fixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7x47eR_gvUoLn-ko-UUIwhYk_rpXsLfTGkgQSnECAq5TN-_0wnDHMbLrw35gsyrE5zVpGzi57V3jJbT0DOWqV6xbVurNKo_zNjMc5t7voZHdtZdrqRfHT8ktAdHoUjRtUzmF4wr2pGLx/s320/WonderWoman+-+Fixed.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post adjustments.<br />
Boots have been recolored, and <br />
the lighting has been altered.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">I made a few tweaks when I first saw this in an attempt to correct my perceived problems. It still suffers a little (the pants still wind up looking a little too "tight latex," for my tastes, and I suspect they'd be hell to fight in), but in a little less harsh lighting I think the blue would look okay. But something less plastic looking would be preferable. It would also be nice if the gold looked more . . . golden. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd also issue a mild complaint that it's missing some of the more . . . "patriotic," elements. Some white stars (well placed) wouldn't be amiss. Perhaps on the outside of the pant legs, where they would be the least . . . suggestive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, granted. Wonder Woman is a difficult costume to translate to the real world and the screen (harder even than Captain America, though it looks like they've managed that one pretty handily). But basic issues of balancing the colors out should not be the thing that kills it! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I guess we'll see if the show can succeed where The Cape failed . . . but if this is any indicator of the overall quality, I fear greatly. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll get back to that session recap later. Just wanted to give my two cents on this now. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-19170360091805147032011-03-26T20:02:00.000-07:002011-03-26T20:04:53.357-07:00Back in the Saddle<div style="text-align: justify;">So, it's been awhile since I was able to practice what I preach in the slightest; games spend more time falling apart for me than coming together. However! Finally, finally, finally, in spite of all the rough stuff that's happened lately, I managed to run a quick solo game of DC Adventures for my buddy (and sometimes Dm) Vincent. We'd had it on the books for awhile; I told him I needed to get more comfortable running games in front of people, and to make it as fast as possible I just gave him something we could both connect with instantly. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/batman33009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/batman33009.jpg" width="262" /></a>I handed him the character sheet for Batman. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The setup: Joker has captured Catwoman and he's holding her in an abandoned candy factory on the south side of Gotham. Go. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, I know; it's a tad cliche. Truth be told, I wanted it to be - a well used cliche creates an instant sense of familiarity, and for a one-shot session like this one it worked pretty well. I set the scene (<i>It's night. In Gotham, is there any other time?</i>) briefly, and just for fun I throw in some Batman-centric music the minute my player utters the immortal words, "<i>I'm Batman."</i> It is probably more a testament to how lighthearted I want this to be than anything else, but we're both laughing by now, despite the seriousness of the situation. Batman, of course, is not laughing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would also like to point out for the formal record that this is the only part of the session that I had preplanned. It showed a little bit later, I think (more than I would have liked) but everything still ran very smoothly. I was impressed!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Batman opted to park the Batmobile at a small distance from the factory, where it would be well out of sight of any of Joker's thugs. Using his grapple gun and some agility, he easily navigated the rooftops to reach his destination. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My player asked me what he could see, and I told him that there were about four thugs outside the candy factory (<i>"Typical of the Joker to so utterly corrupt something once associated with mirth and the joy of children,"</i>) and that it was a large, warehouse-like structure. I was still sketching broad strokes, and while I'd have liked to provide more detail (I did once have to prompt, "You should be asking me questions about the area, not waiting for me to provide answers,") it seemed to work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"I'm going to try getting one of them alone." </i></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3898947628_d7bce6969b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3898947628_d7bce6969b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard to empathize with this face, isn't it?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Applauding his thinking (very Batman like), I informed him that one of the thugs was around the corner from the others, and could probably be caught unawares. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Player: "Okay, can I swing down with my grapple gun and hit him?" </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>GM: "Heck yes, you can! Would you like to make a routine attack?" </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Player: -Gleefully- "Of course."</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ah, minions. Meant solely to make the hero look good, they go down fast with hardly a dice roll necessary for the hero. After all, this isn't the part of the story that's supposed to be hard. We're saving that for the big showdown with the boss, right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little more negotiation, and two of the remaining three thugs go down from well thrown Batarangs. The third winds up being a bit more troublesome (a particularly lucky roll on the part of the minion meant that he didn't go down in a single hit), but Batman was unscathed. I was treated to a few lovely descriptions of Batman's brutal finishing moves, which was a blast for both of us. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Grappling up to the rooftop stealthily, Batman looked about. Amid the smokestacks and a pair of skylights, he noticed two more thugs facing the other end of the building. A well thrown Batarang took them each down before either could react to his presence; as they slumped to the roof, Batman slipped over to the skylights and checked out the situation inside. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/catwoman.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/catwoman.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The main factory floor was crawling with minions, while the second skylight opened into an office suite. Inside was The Joker, taunting Catwoman, who was tied to a chair. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, corny, I know. In my defense, I was winging it, and it's been a pretty long time since I had to make up the details as I went (an important skill for me to master, in my own estimation). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>After a bit of thought, Batman opted to quietly open the first skylight and bomb the factory floor with tear gas pellets. Once he felt he'd distracted the Joker, he leaped through the skylight to flatten his old enemy. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Which he did. Easily. Odd. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Nice move, Bats. Too bad it wasn't the real Joker." </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Batman moved to free Catwoman as the Joker's maniacal laughter rang out over the loudspeaker. "Come on, Batman, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you? AhaahahaAHAAAAAHahahaaa. . . Come find me, Bats-- I dare you." </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
I have to admit, this was one bit I felt pretty good about - I was complemented afterward for, as he put it, "doing the voices." Sometimes, it's the little touches that make or break a performance . . . </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>NEXT: THE JOKER!</i></div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-54309983307956543132011-03-17T12:10:00.000-07:002011-03-17T12:39:47.888-07:00Recommended Reading: D&D Kids<div style="text-align: justify;">I know, I said less time spent on D&D, but this one was good enough that I don't care.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I don't know if anyone else here bothers to follow the blogs over on Wizards.com, but they've had a particularly excellent ongoing series for awhile now called D&D Kids - in which the author shares his experience of running D&D for a few groups of kids ranging from <i>about </i>8-11 years old, give or take. You can find the latest one <a href="http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4tut/kids3#73561">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's what I want to know: <i>why does this guy's game sound more fun to me than any other D&D game I've ever been involved in, ever? </i>And why can't the DMs I know roll more like this guy?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I guess it goes back to the old truth: there are no bad games, only bad gamemasters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the flip side, gaming with kids sounds absolutely awesome, and it reinforces my own goal of being able to play with <i>my </i>kids someday. I want them to have this kind of fun, and I want to share it with them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, that's a long, <i>long </i>way off. . . but I digress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other thing it reminds me of is one of the best things about 4th Edition as a game system (and indeed, about most of the games that I've kept in my personal library): it's very, very, very hard to break it. If someone says, "hey, I want to play this thing out of the Monster Manual that looks really freakin' cool," you could probably eyeball a level equivalent and say, "Sure -- if you earn it." Make a few minor tweaks, devise a level progression (the way that he does in his article, see above) and you've given them what they wanted without seriously breaking "teh mathz." And, since you're making them earn it, and incorporating <i>how </i>into the story. . . you've kept the player's interest. (If my DMs had been this cool, I probably wouldn't be so burned out on D&D).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mutants and Masterminds makes it even easier: if someone wants to play a monster or some oddball thing, cool; just find a way to stat one using the number of points everyone starts with. No problem! Or, alternately, do the same thing; make them earn it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, it's a great read, especially if you've ever gotten the idea that D&D is "hard," or something . . . or if you've ever had any interest in doing stuff with kids. And I think there are a few general principles that apply well regardless of your game of choice.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-65348906457957670812011-03-14T10:16:00.000-07:002011-03-14T10:16:20.885-07:00π day: Honestly, It's Kind of Like Columbus Day<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jG7vhMMXagQ" title="YouTube video player" width="320"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Because <b>π </b>is still wrong. And I'm a nerd. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, it's delicious... and now I'm hungry.</span>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-16158988379257483352011-03-14T00:24:00.000-07:002011-03-14T00:24:26.890-07:00In Which I Do Not Regret Giving Up on PathfinderI was over at my buddy's house this weekend, and got to overhear the details about their regular Pathfinder game that they play with their Granddad. They played Saturday night. Now, some of you may wonder why I did not join them; I've already written enough about just how much their DM (and half their player base) frustrated me, and why I would not sit down at that table if they paid me at this stage. Not that I have anything particularly <i>against </i>Pathfinder, you understand. The players I've had the pleasure of meeting online are all very nice people, and some of them even make it sound like fun.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately this group seems big on the parts of the game that make it sound like work, rather than play, and remind me of the fact that these are people who <i>like </i>World of Warcraft, and who think that it's great fun, even the parts that involve running around and digging up rocks and gems and plants so that they can craft stuff (Which is a lengthy way of saying that if 4th Edition D&D HAD been like WoW on paper I probably would never have played it. Again, no offense intended to WoW players; it's just not my kind of fun).<br />
<br />
They sat down and attempted to start playing around 6. The game ended at 10 or 11, I'm not sure which, and I was told by my buddy that they'd spent only 2 hours of that playing - because they had to finalize their characters and finish leveling up, which they'd already spent a good chunk of the day doing ...<br />
<br />
It was at this point that any regrets I'd had about giving up Pathfinder flew out the window, and I gave serious thought to giving up D&D as a whole. Of course, it's hard to give up something you're already not doing. But really. I want to focus on games that demand less of me <i>outside of the game. </i>Because when I get to the table, I just want to <i>play! </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
D&D 4th Edition isn't bad, but it can get a little intensive in that regard. I don't know if I'll quit entirely, but I won't be spending as much time or effort on it in the future - especially since I have few enough people to play with! The irony being that I've been following the blogs on Wizards.com, and they're pretty fantastic - if you're into that kind of thing.<br />
<br />
Mutants and Masterminds: a premium spent on the initial character creation process, well worth it when you can basically KEEP mostly the same character for the duration of a campaign with relatively few major changes. Gameplay is streamlined, the resource management element is out of my hair, narrative focus... This system will likely keep the majority of my attention. It has the most of what I want with the least effort spent on the parts I don't enjoy. Oh, and the new random generator from the GM toolkit makes creating a quick character an easy breeze.<br />
<br />
ICONS, Fate, and Risus will likely make up the rest. Fate, in particular, needs a bit more of my attention - I need to give it a proper RPG week at some point, now that I've got my hardcover copy of Strands of Fate.<br />
<br />
Don't worry, D&D fans: I'm not going to abandon you entirely.<br />
<br />
My biggest problem related to this blog has always been that I have too much time spent <i>reading </i>about games, and not nearly enough time spent <i>playing </i>them (a problem that I gather a lot of RPG bloggers run into), so in the immediate future I'll be taking steps to remedy THAT problem. After that, we'll see.<br />
<br />
Thanks for listening.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-24928744599070811942011-03-04T10:17:00.000-08:002011-03-04T10:17:49.941-08:00Remember GaryA few years ago today, Gary Gygax, founder of our hobby, passed on. Hiatus or no, I can't let that pass without acknowledgment. The world lost something important that day, and we all honor his memory whenever we play; whenever we roll the dice to see if we're getting drunk, whenever we cast Magic Missile, whenever two elves, a human, and a dwarf walk into a tavern to see a halfling about a job and someone says, "This sounds like a joke"; wherever Dragonborn or Eladrin do battle; heck, even when we turn our eyes to other games like Call of Cthulhu or Mutants and Masterminds, we thank the guy who first looked at a wargame and thought, "hey, what if we just played <i>one </i>guy? What if we used that to tell stories with our friends? Wouldn't that be fun?"<br />
<br />
So, thank you, Gary Gygax. Rest in peace.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-14549532588097538072011-03-03T23:33:00.000-08:002011-03-03T23:33:27.141-08:00On Hiatus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thewordguy.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blogging-hiatus-mode.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://thewordguy.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blogging-hiatus-mode.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'm taking a break from the blog to focus on decreasing the entropy level in my life.<br />
<br />
Plus, you know, finals are coming up shortly. So, there's that. Which mostly makes me feel like this.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/lolcat-brain-today-415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/lolcat-brain-today-415.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'll be back when I have my house in order, and when I'm feeling inspired by RPGs again (I'm sure it happens to all of us).Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-54907862924526546892011-02-24T10:38:00.000-08:002011-02-24T10:39:08.243-08:00Science... Fiction?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/flying_cars.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/flying_cars.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Courtesy of <a href="http://xkcd.com/864/">xkcd</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's occurred to me only recently that there's probably a reason why we haven't seen the next big "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" in recent history - speculative fiction has officially reached a point where it's significantly harder to imagine what the future might be like with any real chance of impressing the viewer. Or, for that matter, demonstrating advancement that makes a practical difference ("Is Better") without being advanced for the sole sake of being advanced (What makes energy weapons better than traditional guns? Sci-fi writers have to think about these things).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why? Well, frankly, because any number of the gadgets I carry with me to school every day is practically something out of Star Trek as it is. My jailbroken iPod already feels more advanced than the PADD (Personal Access Display Device, unless I've forgotten my Trek-isms) both in terms of interface and in terms of information retrieval. 50 years ago, it would have looked absolutely magical; even knowing that the underlying technology is already obsolete, it's still pretty impressive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(On the other hand, that paper-thin touch based computer display featured on Andromeda still looks awesome - but we're probably only a year or two away from it now.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was out with a friend a month or two ago, and we were using the GPS on his Android phone to figure out where we needed to go for ice cream, and it was about then that this clicked for me. I turned to him and said, "When exactly did we go to bed and wake up in the future?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oddly enough, this realization hasn't soured me on Sci-fi in the least - though it has heightened my appreciation of "plausible" sci-fi, like Stargate. The "world behind the curtain" approach to fantasy and science fiction works wonders with its feeling of, "this could be happening <i>right now, </i>and you wouldn't know." Harry Potter did the same thing, and it was (for lack of a better word) fantastic. Even Star Wars saves itself through clever use of, <i>"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...." </i>but as I've said before, Star Wars isn't actually science fiction - it's a fantasy story set against a science fiction backdrop.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That said, there's still a lot to love about Star Trek and its vision of a future where Earth has learned that we all should just get along, where we've overcome all our stereotypes about race, creed, or gender and crafted our own little utopia - freedom from disease, plenty of peace, prosperity, work for everyone and (thanks in part to holodecks, replicator technology, and abundant free power) a world where no one really wants for anything. . . except maybe adventure. Hence, Starfleet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But then, I'm an idealist. It's one of the reasons I like comic books.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sorry for all the non-RPG content lately; I've been having so much of my attention pulled away by school and all the "real world" stuff that I can't focus when I sit down for the fun stuff. I hope you won't mind if I wax a little philosophical rather than skip out on writing altogether; I'll be back to the game stuff again, soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for putting up with me.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-27949597248326390342011-02-17T21:13:00.000-08:002011-02-17T21:13:30.793-08:00Just played Portal...Man, now I want to work Aperture Science into my next campaign... for now though, enjoy this kinetic typography featuring GLaDOS.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="299" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NCt2nZF2nLk" title="YouTube video player" width="375"></iframe>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-14975857257400274972011-02-13T22:10:00.000-08:002011-02-13T22:12:45.045-08:00Steal This Agency: Department M<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndtqBwtMS92DE6Oj9Th4wUHELXtWt24rlhY3MaqfZ_oD6KwHY5GxsVmidkZXT4saWr22NffN_o9NAIP4xnbIMSVwnux6CXwhx5zTcO4Zyr72q41I17bb-30-F2-mK7zI3lBqBEH-JM51p/s1600/DeathlyHallows.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndtqBwtMS92DE6Oj9Th4wUHELXtWt24rlhY3MaqfZ_oD6KwHY5GxsVmidkZXT4saWr22NffN_o9NAIP4xnbIMSVwnux6CXwhx5zTcO4Zyr72q41I17bb-30-F2-mK7zI3lBqBEH-JM51p/s320/DeathlyHallows.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There have always been things that humanity doesn't need to know about. The world that they live in, the comfortable world with the white picket fences and the people who have no secrets - that world is, quite simply, a lie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Behind the scenes, off the edges of the map, monsters lurk. Vampires, werewolves, demons and ghosts, orcs and dark and twisted fey creatures - you name it, it's out there, and someone has to hold them in check and keep humanity at large... off the menu. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mages, Wizards, Sorcerers, Witches and Warlocks of <i>Department M</i> have served and protected the people of the world for thousands of years. As long as monsters have walked the Earth, Department M has been there to keep them in check, and to make every effort possible to keep things nice and diplomatic as long as they stay. They regulate extra dimensional visitors, slay vampires or werewolves who get out of line, exorcise demons, destroy or confiscate evidence, and investigate any infractions. And of course, their existence remains a secret from the world at large. Despite ties to every known government, Department M simply doesn't exist. But if you're a visitor from another dimension, or a monster in the dark corners of the world, you know they're out there, doing everything they can to make your visit a peaceful one. Whether you like it or not. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's just one complication. The civilized monsters have governments, too, and in order to keep things civil, working together and sharing information is vital. So, Department M has instituted a sharing program. The inhuman candidates are screened and subjected to any number of psychological tests - and magical restraints, if necessary. To keep things equatable, agents are formed into teams of two; the creed is <i>One of Us, One of Them. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Department M as a setting is a cross between <i>World of Darkness </i>(especially <i>Mage: The Awakening</i>)<i>, Men in Black, </i>and just a touch of <i>Heroes. </i>And with any luck, I'll be playing in it soon. Stay tuned for details. </div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-2236465558824190292011-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:002011-02-11T10:34:54.519-08:00Why things have been slow lately<div style="text-align: justify;">The answer, my friends, is that word dreaded by all who frequent the <i>campus collegiate</i> - the dreaded <i>midterms</i>. Horror! Terror!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, that, and I'm honestly just feeling really burned out on pretty much everything right now, and the sudden flareup of a rather nasty cold right before both a) midterms and b) my plans for Valentine's Day weekend with the girlfriend have not helped matters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://mentalist.informe.com/gallery/173-2/Patrick-Jane-Simon-Baker-patrick-jane-5389727-1204-1500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://mentalist.informe.com/gallery/173-2/Patrick-Jane-Simon-Baker-patrick-jane-5389727-1204-1500.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My DM has kindly offered to run a game of M&M 3e for me if I can write up a character, and while I have a pretty good idea of roughly what I'll wind up playing (some kind of arcane blend between John Constantine, the new Dr. Strange, and Patrick Jane from <i>The Mentalist </i>(not that the idea of Patrick Jane with superpowers isn't kind of a God-mode Sue - with that many ranks in Deception and Insight, he can pretty much bend reality as it is!)<i> </i>in a kind of pulp detective/police drama/<i>World of Darkness </i>sort of setting) my brain is far too shot to actually focus on the idea long enough to generate mechanics for it. At this rate, I'll wind up playing a re-skinned Batman instead. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or, heck, just actually playing Batman. That could be fun. I <i>have </i>always wanted to take that Batmobile for a spin... </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, even the Adam West, "Atomic Batteries to Power" Batmobile. Come on, doesn't it look a <i>little </i>awesome?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://the-adventurers-club.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/batmobile_number_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://the-adventurers-club.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/batmobile_number_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Turbines to speed! Holy bubble-windows, Batman!<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">So yeah, there it is. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to asking deities for healing. I could sure use some of that, "healing light of Pelor," right about now... </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-22158020180546583642011-02-09T18:21:00.000-08:002011-02-09T18:21:52.326-08:00Superman Classic by Robb Pratt<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="329" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T2WVlmNqMMs" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe><br />
<br />
It blows my mind what someone can do in their spare time with a little inspiration and a lot of talent. Am I the only one who wants this guy (Robb Pratt) put in charge of the next DC Animated Superman feature?Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-41630892099917590372011-02-06T19:39:00.000-08:002011-02-07T12:31:19.118-08:00"What is Roleplaying?" Revisited<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ozsticker.com/312-662-large/dont-panic-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ozsticker.com/312-662-large/dont-panic-thumb.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is cooler than you think.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">I remain convinced that - regardless of your system of choice - that there is a right way and a wrong way to create a character. And that there is a right way and a wrong way to explain and defend this hobby. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am further convinced that I've seen that wrong way done over, and over, and over again. And I've been guilty of it just often enough that I need to smack myself in the forehead a few times. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Usually that wrong way starts off something like this: "I want to play [name of class or type of character]. They get to do [cool thing] and [really cool thing], and sometimes they even get to do [really, <i>really cool thing!</i>]. Not to mention [quality a] and [quality b], which combine wonderfully with [numerical advantage c] and [insert munchkin speak here]." Or even, "This game is fun. You get to roll <b>a lot</b> of dice!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">... Okay, I don't actually have a problem with power-gaming as such, but it's not my motivation ... and I really hate having people expect it to be, and then have those same people complain about power-gamy things other people do, and then the absurdity magnifies in on itself in a black hole of head-aesplode-ness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not here for that. I don't have the patience for it. For me, that's not where the "power" is in gaming, and that's not what this blog is supposed to be about. If you want character optimization tips, you'll have to go elsewhere. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm here for something else. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm here for the <i>awesome.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm here for all the <b>star-crossed farmboys</b> who save the universe. I'm here for <b>every kid</b> who ever picked up a stick and <b>pretended</b> it was a lightsaber. I'm here for <b>every guy</b> who ever looked out at the traffic and <b>wished he could fly</b> instead of taking the bus. I'm here for everyone who ever <b>wrapped a sheet or a towel around their shoulder</b> and <b>pretended to be Superman</b>. I'm here for the <b>elven archers, dwarven fighters</b>, and every other <b>fantasy cliche</b>. I'm here for the <b>resurrected warriors of ancient times</b>; the <b>reincarnated heroes</b>; the <b>mad scientists</b>. I'm here for the <b>fire</b>, the <b>glory</b>, the <b>friendships forged and won and strengthened</b>. I'm here for the <b>college students</b> who wondered if their <b>roommates</b> were <b>vampires</b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm here for the heroes who want to look that undefinable and indescribable <i>evil </i>in the face, and then <i><b>punch it</b></i>. Or possibly have tea with it instead, I'm not picky. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I'm here for the girlfriends who want to understand what the hell their boyfriends have been trying to explain to them all this time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Role-playing games can be many things to many different kinds of people. They can be an escape; they can be a social outlet; they can be an acting exercise. But above all else, they can be <i>fun. </i>That's something anyone can understand, right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I was a kid, I hung out with a family of older home-schoolers. Yes, I was a home-school kid. Yes, I play role-playing games. Yes, those two things are probably connected. Laugh it up all you want. Move along. These are not the droids you're looking for. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With this family, before I learned about dice or character sheets or actions or what have you, I learned about role-playing. I learned about collaborative story telling (And I learned a lot of important lessons about being skeptical of what a game-master was telling me, but that's another story). Most of my characters were a little Gary-Stu, carbon copies of other character archetypes that I found appealing at the time (this improved significantly by the end of things) and constantly interfered with the "main characters" of different universes ("Point that canon somewhere else!"); but I'm not here to talk about that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm here to talk about how much <i>fun </i>it was. I got to feel like a hero just enough of the time that I kept wanting to come back for more, and considering how I usually wound up wanting to spend time playing video games or reading at that age, that's bloody impressive. I wanted to be part of the story. And what a story it was! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.iphonewallpaperblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Travel-Universe-iphone-wallpaper-320x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.iphonewallpaperblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Travel-Universe-iphone-wallpaper-320x480.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">See, I took part in this massive, sprawling, multiversal sci-fi campaign where pretty much anything could (and did) happen. Jedi fighting Borg, importing phaser technology to fight the Galactic Empire, a Universal Protectorate, some kind of terrorist resistance group, nearly godlike artificial intelligences, lightsabers, magic, Goa'uld, Yuuzhan Vong, Klingons, Nietzschians, 'Droids, Magog, Zerg, Terrans and Protoss, Stargates and hyperspace, you name it, it was out there, no more than a universe jump away ... and then some. It was a rough multiverse, but I had the tools for the job. Most of the time. The real complication I remember was paradox; science and things like "the Force" tended to not work precisely the same way in different universes - without special technology, you couldn't just <i>use </i>a lightsaber against, say, the Borg. The "super-science" hand-waving was all different, after all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That, and the Universal Protectorate tended to feel very totalitarian to me at the time. . . </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are moments when I really miss that story, that wild and varied multiverse, and I wish I had a group I could try and recreate parts of it with. I wouldn't be confident doing it system free ("That way, chaos lies") but I don't think it would be any less fun with dice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Role-playing is all about having fun, and more importantly, the fun of creating great stories with your friends that you'll talk about years later as if they'd actually happened to you instead of your characters ("Remember when we slew the many fanged red dragon of Angenor, and stopped it from eating all those villagers? And you made that incredible, one-in-a-million shot? Yeah, man. Good times" "Remember when we stopped a time traveling Lex Luthor from destroying the world with his teenage science project aided by robot Nazi's and twin clones of Adolf Hitler? Awesome." Hey, it may be silly, but I'd rather take that than, say, "Hey, remember when we got drunk out of our minds and you jumped up on the table and started dancing like a moron?" "No, but I wondered why I woke up with a phone number written on my back.") Seriously, if you don't believe me about the 1st person thing, ask Vi's dad to tell you one of his stories about Tommy Took.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I want this kind of thing. I crave it. And I know I'm not the only one. Anyone who has ever thought while reading a book about teenaged wizards and witches, "where's <i>my </i>wand/owl/sword/magical powers?" will know what I'm talking about. And yeah, I want to do awesome stuff in real life, too, but until you can show me a way that I can <i>actually </i>shoot lasers out of my eyes and fly through space under my own power, then you have no legitimate way to argue against my role-playing habit. But that won't stop me from taking the occasional hike up a mountain any more than taking said hike will make me want to stop telling and being part of epic stories. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I want this. I want it to be part of my life; I want to share this with my kids, and (God willing) my wife. I want weekly (or at least regular) game nights, and I want them to be more than just playing Monopoly. I want my kids to know what that's like, and to know that this strange and sometimes silly hobby doesn't make their dad any less cool. I want them to learn about themselves through the stories they help create; I want them to learn teamwork and heroism firsthand (after a fashion), instead of just reading about them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And yeah, thinking about all that makes me feel weirdly sentimental. Some of the guys out there are lucky enough to have that, and you know what I'm talking about. You're living the dream. My hat is off to you. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I never got that with my own family. The most gaming we ever do together is the occasional game of go-fish or rummy or chess. Every time I write about role-playing I wish I could have done more... but there was never any interest in that in my house. I wish it could be different, and maybe that's why I'm so adamant about wanting to make things different when I have my own home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tone of this piece has evolved quite a bit from my original message, but I hope you've been able to roll with it. Thanks for reading; for those of you who care, I'll do my best to start writing about actual game stuff again soon. </div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-5513324227100351292011-02-04T11:03:00.000-08:002011-02-04T11:06:22.473-08:00Strands of Fate: The Short Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://voidstar.squarespace.com/storage/Strands%20of%20Fate%20Cover.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1286997486320" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://voidstar.squarespace.com/storage/Strands%20of%20Fate%20Cover.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1286997486320" width="207" /></a></div>I love. Love, love, LOVE a good universal role-playing system. Key words: good, universal.<br />
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So far, I've encountered about three, one of which made no claims (officially) toward being universal.<br />
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The first was <i>Mutants and Masterminds. </i><br />
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</i><br />
The second, <i>Risus. </i><br />
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</i><br />
The third: well, that's what we're here to talk about right now.<br />
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There are other universal systems, of course, but I tend to use the following rule of thumb; if I can't grok roughly how a system functions in about 10 minutes in the Friendly Local Game Shop, I'm probably not going to want to explain it to my friends (I'm looking at you, GURPS).<br />
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<i>Strands of Fate </i>is an independently produced, <i>self published </i>RPG using the Fate system - the same system that <i>Icons </i>is loosely rooted in. And it's pretty remarkable, all told. As an added bonus, the creator is running a promotion right now; purchase the hardcover, and get a free PDF copy. Why don't more RPGs do this? It really makes buying the hardcover more attractive, and they'd probably sell a lot more books as a result!<br />
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Heck, it worked on me. Smart move, Mr. McConnell. Very smart indeed.<br />
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I don't know if I'll be spending a lot of time writing about Fate here, but I'll say this right now; everything I've seen so far, I've liked, and Strands of Fate is well on its way to being the best, most flexible variant I've encountered. I definitely would love to run a game some time. . . and more importantly I'd like to play in one.<br />
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<i>P.S. I'm experimenting with the header for the blog a bit to see if there's something I like more than just the plain text I've been using. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.</i>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-38640400047123832892011-02-02T09:45:00.000-08:002011-02-02T09:45:08.678-08:00What it's all about:Dixon Trimline recently posted an editorial on Stuffer Shack that really spoke to me. You can read the whole thing <a href="http://stuffershack.com/why-i-play/">here</a>; what follows is a brief excerpt.<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">If I may speak for my group, you should know that we introverts wouldn’t mind being the friendly, chatty, genial life-of-the-partiers, but we just can’t. We lack that gene. And I had the added benefit of suspecting that maybe, just maybe, all those people didn’t really want to talk to me anyway. Finally, I had a found a forum where I could be better, different, clever, funny, charismatic, witty, and important. [...]</span> </blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">[...] Forever, I’ve been looking for the game that not only allowed me to be someone better than I am, but also afforded me the opportunity to develop relationships that were formed and forged in fire and blood. I’ve never wanted the center stage, because it’s way too lonely out there under all those lights. I want to be part of a unit, a unit where the individuals rely and depend on each other completely, where success requires everyone giving everything they have. My favorite memories from any of the games I’ve ever played were the <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">back-to-back</em> scenes, the <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">we’re-in-this-together</em> scenes, the <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">lean-on-me-and-we’ll-get-out-of-here</em> scenes.</span></blockquote>That, right there, that's what this hobby is all about. Thanks, Dixon, for summing it up so perfectly.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-72088481693425263182011-01-28T07:56:00.000-08:002011-01-28T07:56:22.320-08:00Lazy Teenage Superheroes<i>Masterpiece YouTube Presents: Lazy Teenage Superheroes</i><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rN4JIz7uq40" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
I stumbled on this earlier today - since design is one of my chief areas of interest (and more importantly, so are superheroes) I thought I'd share it here. This film was made on a budget of $300. 13 minutes long, and I really, really, <i>really </i>want someone to pick Michael Ashton up and give him a bigger budget to play with. I mean, <i>daymn. </i><br />
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It's a fun watch if you've got a few minutes to spare. Enjoy!Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-75640122380726683322011-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:002011-01-25T10:20:19.391-08:00Recommended Reading - DC Adventures NotesWizard's of the Coast has started their new series of blogs already; I've been paying loose attention, but this article about teaching children D&D was pretty interesting: <a href="http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4tut/kids1#72698">click here.</a><br />
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I'm starting to think that my attempts to "teach" role-playing concepts have suffered partly because I put too much emphasis on the details that really don't actually <i>matter </i>until you sit down at the table. So. We'll see if I can adjust my paradigm a bit on that front for the new players in my audience (and to avoid boring those of you who already know the rules, anyway).<br />
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And, for those of you who may be playing in my DC Adventures game later ... you may find this a useful resource. The <a href="http://www.mutantsandmasterminds.com/dc_adventures/2010/08/dc-adventures-quick-start.php">DC Adventures Quick Start PDF</a> contains all the basic rules necessary to play the game boiled down into a few pages, as well as a pair of sample characters and an adventure to mess around with. I'd recommend reading page 1, and skimming pages 2 and 3. Pages 4 and 5 are the sample characters, and the rest of it is the sample adventure - just take a look at the first few pages, it'll explain a lot and give you a solid background. The rest will be easy to pick up when the game starts.<br />
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If you really couldn't care less about reading through it ahead of time, just come to the game and you'll figure everything you need to know out as you go.<br />
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The game isn't yet scheduled, but the plan (as mentioned previously) is to play iconic DC Comic's characters. If you'd like to find a few ideas, I recommend taking a look through the <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page">DC Comics Wikia</a> - check out <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(Diana_Prince)">Wonder Woman</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Kara_Zor-L_(Earth-Two)">Power Girl</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna_Zatara_(New_Earth)">Zatanna</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Helena_Bertinelli_(New_Earth)">The Huntress</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batgirl">Batgirl</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Kara_Zor-El_(New_Earth)">Supergirl</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Dinah_Laurel_Lance_(New_Earth)">Black Canary</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Shiera_Sanders_(New_Earth)">Hawkgirl</a>, <a href="http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Barda_(New_Earth)">Big Barda</a> - just a few of my favorites. (I'd list male heroes, too, but I only have one guy playing and he's already declared his preference.) There are many, many, MANY others, but these are just the ones that pop into my head at first thought.<br />
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I'd apologize for the way women are drawn in comics, but honestly, considering what's featured on television these days I don't think comics need to apologize anymore (the only reason that they've ever had anything to apologize for is a mistaken assumption on the part of governments that comic books are "for kids.") But that's an issue for an editorial post, which this is not.Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-50030754200443977762011-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:002011-01-18T09:55:55.289-08:00Icons Update - Testing in Progress, ConfessionsI ran <i>Icons</i> through its second round of tests yesterday, and while I still haven't tested the combat system I think it's safe to say that the game still looks very fun and probably fairly easy to grasp. It's definitely very much derived from Fate, right down to the presence of Aspects, one of the mechanics Fate uses to encourage role-playing.<br />
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What I <i>want</i> and <i>need </i>to test is whether <i>Mutants and Masterminds</i> offers a comparable experience if it's GMed well - and, well...<br />
<br />
... Whether I'm capable of GMing well. I must admit to having no small level of anxiety about this. I love role-playing, but I can count the number of game sessions I've actually run on one hand (the list I've played in being only somewhat longer), and I'm genuinely not sure how well they went, or whether the players were lying when they said how it went to preserve my feelings.<br />
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Admittedly, if they were, they probably wouldn't have been nearly as open to the idea of having another game later, but these are the kinds of things my brain thinks about when it's busy panicking.<br />
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I'm not an expert GM, I'm just a guy who loves the game like anyone else and wants to create a positive experience for people. That's the true story, here. I get nerdy, long winded, and overly technical sometimes, and to at least some of my readers I have to apologize for that: I know that for some people, that technical/mechanical side of things can look scary. It really isn't, once you've learned, but not everyone here has learned. Not everyone here has played much in the way of an RPG, and I started this blog in a semi-misguided attempt to initiate the uninitiated.<br />
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Now, for those of you who haven't, or who are confused when I get technical, let me ask you a question.<br />
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Have you ever tried to explain a game YOU play to someone who hasn't played it?<br />
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Seriously, try explaining how <i>Monopoly</i> is played to someone who's never seen the board, rolled a d6, or even looked up the dictionary definition of "<i>Monopoly</i>"? I have; it's really hard. Try explaining a card game to someone who's never seen the deck of 52 playing cards. Or for that matter, even if they have, try explaining the game without <i>using </i>the deck. . . it's very difficult. Heck, <i>football </i>STILL doesn't make any sense to me without the use of complicated diagrams, and I've <i>played </i>that.<br />
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Now, I could try and capture the essence of a game for those who haven't played; say, for instance, I could say of Monopoly, <i>the object of the game is to collect all the properties and make as much money as possible, </i>but a potential player might respond with, <i>that doesn't sound like a game, that sounds like a job. </i><br />
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</i><br />
In fact, I'd suggest that at some point you'd just give up and start telling people about your game-of-choice as follows:<br />
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<i>You've never played? Oh, man, you've been missing out. We should get together sometime and play - I'm trying to get some people together on X, why don't you come over? Bring a snack, we'll make it a party. It'll be so much fun! </i><br />
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Which, I suppose, is what I should have gone with ages ago. Now, granted, when explaining an RPG, you can provide a few more details that will make sense to a non-player: details like, <i>You get to play the hero of a magical world, </i>or, <i>we use dice. And sometimes other things. </i>But it still won't make a ton of sense if you don't revert back to, <i>come play it with us and you'll see what it's actually like. Leave your Master's Degree at home, you won't need it. </i><br />
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</i><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">That's it. If you really want to understand the game . . . you have to play.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">So, those of you who haven't played, and who live nearby (relatively speaking), who know who you are because I've talked about this in person . . . let's play sometime. Please, try not to be scared off by the parts you don't yet have a context for: that'll come through play. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span>To the rest of my audience; thanks for putting up with me. I'll continue to do my best to write for everyone, at all levels, new player and GM alike - though I may have to start tagging my articles better.</div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-57989610518945731862011-01-15T17:52:00.000-08:002011-01-15T18:11:03.017-08:00Icons Character Generation: Another Mini-game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adamantentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/icons_ipad.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.adamantentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/icons_ipad.png" width="320" /></a></div>Well, I finally got around to cracking open my Icons PDF (Hooray for Adamant, again, for changing their pricing model; happy I can support it!) and thought I'd share a few things. In accordance with my guidelines for learning a new RPG, let's talk about the first 2 steps.<br />
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<ol><li><b>The Core Mechanic: </b>Icons uses 2d6 for all its rolls, with one die being positive and one being negative to generate a number between +5 and -5, added to modifiers and compared to the target number. So, that's: 2d6, Positive minus Negative, + Modifiers vs. Target.<br />
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Fairly simple, and clearly enough derived (loosely) from Fate.<br />
</li>
<li><b>Creating a Character: </b>Icons uses a random character generation system as its default with a point-buy system offered as an afterthought. The random generation isn't quite as dangerous as, say, Traveller, but it's definitely fun. In fact, it's so fun that I'm going to run through it here. </li>
</ol><div>Basically the process boils down to rolling 2d6 a lot and consulting a chart; for these rolls we just use the total normally, there's no + or -. </div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Phase 1: Origin</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>I roll the dice first to determine the origin of my character's powers. I roll an 8, which, according to the related chart, gives me the following result: <i>"<b>Gimmick:</b> The character’s powers all come from devices of some kind. One of the character’s mental abilities (your choice) is increased by +2." </i>Interesting. Let's see what happens next, shall we? I make a note of this and opt to make the decision after I roll for my abilities. </div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Phase 2: Abilities</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>I roll 6 times on the "<b>Level Determination</b> table" to get a level for each of my abilities: </div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Prowess 7</b></div><div><b>Coordination 4</b></div><div><b>Strength 4</b></div><div><b>Intellect 6</b></div><div><b>Awareness 2</b></div><div><b>Willpower 4</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>I decide that an intellect of 6 is probably good enough, but I'm not all that happy with the Awareness of 2: I raise it by 2 with my bonus to make my hero a little quicker on the uptake. <b>Awareness 4. </b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><i>Phase 3: Powers</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>I roll a 7 here, which the chart tells me means that I get 3 superpowers, each of which will be randomly determined as well. I generate levels for them in advance: I get a 4, a 6, and a 5 to assign to each power in order. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I roll to determine which kinds of powers I will have: I get one Sensory, one Alteration, and - thank goodness - an Offensive power. At this point I can only guess what I will be getting from each. </div><div><br />
</div><div>First, I roll to generate my Level 4 Sensory power: I get lucky! A first roll of 4 puts me on the second half of the table, and a 5 afterward nets me Precognition. I can only BET that will be as useful as it sounds. I put down <b>Precognition 4 </b>on my character sheet. </div><div><br />
</div><div>My Alteration roll gets me <b>Chameleon 6 - </b>letting me blend into my surroundings. I picture a costume that has camouflage screens built in using e-ink to display images of whatever's behind my hero. It's not perfect invisibility, but it'll make him fairly stealthy, which is always a plus. Maybe he's a former spy?</div><div><br />
</div><div>For my last roll, I luck out on Offenses - while I don't get the ranged attack I was really hoping for, I wind up with <b>Fast Attack 5</b> - letting him attack twice per turn. With my character's high Prowess score, I start to picture the suit as spiking his nervous system to give him the speed for that extra punch; he may not hit as hard as some, but he'll hit often. </div><br />
<i>Phase 4: Specialties</i><br />
<br />
<i></i>I get to choose 3 Specialties, and I opt to go with <b>Electronics, </b>and <b>Acrobatics Expert </b>(which counts as two choices for the extra level).<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Stage 5: Stamina and Background</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
I total his Strength and Willpower to get the stat called Stamina: 8.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I decide that he's a former industrial spy who went Super Hero after learning that crime doesn't pay (or after deciding that it had paid well enough already - either way, this is his idea of an early retirement). His precognition comes from his helmet in the form of a <i>"Temporal Oscillation Monitor/HUD"</i> - basically it monitors particles that move back and forth through time in order to learn about the state of matter as it exists in the future. All of which is comicbook babble for, "see future, do awesome things." :D His suit, of course, provides him with the ability to blend into the background and raises the speed of his punches by electronic stimulation of the nervous system. </div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="font-style: normal;">I think I'll call him <i>Feedback. :D</i></div><div style="font-style: normal;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-style: normal;"><i>Stage 6: Determination: </i></div><div style="font-style: normal;"><i><br />
</i></div>My 3 powers and 1 ability over 7 mean that I'll be starting with a <b>Determination of 2</b>. (Determination is a way of bending the rules to make your character more heroic when the action calls for it).<br />
<br />
I opt for the option of choosing Aspects while playing, because I don't really want to take the time to figure them out just yet. <b>"Former Criminal"</b> would probably be an excellent one to start with, though, so I note it down on the sheet..</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And there you have it: Icons character creation. I have no idea how he'd function in actual gameplay, but he sounds like fun! </div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060041340645198225.post-3045912438140008042011-01-15T09:35:00.000-08:002011-01-15T09:36:23.490-08:00Mutants and Masterminds: Let me Tell you About it<a href="http://roleplayerschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GRP-MM-Heros-Handbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://roleplayerschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GRP-MM-Heros-Handbook.jpg" /></a><br />
The new edition of Mutants and Masterminds somehow took something perfect and made it even better. A lot of streamlining and a few fine-tuned tweaks make it <i>still </i>the greatest Superhero RPG on the market.<br />
<br />
<br />
Okay, so that's just my opinion. But it IS really good. Let me tell you why.<br />
<br />
Mutants and Masterminds IS:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>d20 based. </li>
<li>Story driven. Even combat places a big emphasis on narrative description and making cool stuff happen.</li>
<li>A cross between the best elements of d20 and the best elements of rules-lite game systems like Fate.</li>
<li>Simple, in that it uses one die for every roll, so that the core mechanic really IS core, and that the most complex things a player will ever need to reference in game-play boil down to a single, elegant chart.</li>
<li>Fast, fun, and flexible.</li>
<li>A game of imagination, mystery, wonder, and everything else that has ever fit between the pages of a comic-book, which basically means everything from Superheroes to Conan the Barbarian to every Anime ever. </li>
<li>A game of heroes.</li>
<li>Easy to jump into and start playing, even if you don't want to go to the trouble of building a character yourself; thanks to the offered <i>archetypes.</i></li>
<li>A game in which not only can Superman and Batman stand next to each other and be equally useful and good (in very different ways); or for that matter, Indiana Jones and Han Solo. Or Captain America and Thor.</li>
<li>A game that really lends itself to crazy comic-book style crossovers just so you can try and answer the question of, "who would win if Harry Potter fought Darth Vader?"</li>
<li>A game that can be as serious or as absurdly over-the-top as you want it to be, just like the comics it's based on.<i> </i>That means everything from <i>Watchmen</i> to <i>Nextwave</i> to <i>X-men </i>to <i>Justice League </i>to <i>Batman </i>and everything in between.</li>
<li><i>Too awesome for words. </i></li>
</ul><div>Mutants and Masterminds is <i><b>NOT: </b></i></div><div><ul><li>D&D; though it could be used to tell the same (or similar) stories. </li>
<li>Overly complicated to play; it's easily simpler than D&D once the game starts.</li>
<li>Designed to simulate real physics. Mutants and Masterminds <i>is not the game for that</i>; as one signature put it on a forum, Mutants and Masterminds is the kind of game that ties physics to a chair, taunts it mercilessly, and then flies around the room blasting things with its laser vision (Not unlike the comics it's based on...). Though it IS well equipped to handle the vast differences between, say, Lois Lane and Superman. </li>
<li>This is <i>not </i>a tactical miniatures game. Who needs miniatures? And what good would they do if you're playing someone who moves at 2000 mph or more? You play this game in your head and your words.</li>
<li>A game that will imagine itself for you. <i>You need an imagination to play this game</i>. If you don't have one, borrow one from a passing imaginary invisible person. </li>
<li>A game that lends itself to kicking down the door, killing monsters and taking their stuff. Instead, Mutants and Masterminds is the game where you stop the monsters from kicking in the door, tie them up, and turn them over to the local authorities, praying that they (the local authorities) don't hit you with the bill for all the cars and lampposts that you broke in the process of subduing space-army-Tuesday. </li>
<li>A game in which the image below is viewed as anything other than perfectly plausible:</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dinosaurcentral.com/images/wild_west_dinos/Robot_Pirate_Vs._Zombie_Ninja_On_Dinosaur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dinosaurcentral.com/images/wild_west_dinos/Robot_Pirate_Vs._Zombie_Ninja_On_Dinosaur.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Robo-pirate versus Zombie-ninja riding a dinosaur?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Okay, so it might warrant a raised eyebrow. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">For me, this system is as close to perfect as it gets. It's my default-go-to for just about anything. And yet I have almost no-one to play it with! Curse my lack of connection with the greater gamer community. . . my only hope is to convert the other gamers I know by becoming a kick-ass game master and bring in new gamers to the hobby at the same time. Please cue the worlds smallest violin for my sad yet strangely dramatic solo! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So, yes, this is my true mission. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I'll be writing about M&M for awhile, but also about Icons and Risus as I finally, FINALLY give them the chance they deserve to shine in upcoming play tests. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading. </div></div>Jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09769260982047258603noreply@blogger.com2