I really enjoy the Castle Ravenloft boardgame. It is a really great way to boil 4ed down into an hour of play. Almost right away I wanted two things: more character options, and campaign play. I’m working on that campaign play bit, but this morning I tried my hand out on creating some new character classes and I want to share them with you. read more »
I just ran the first session of a Ravenloft campaign last night. If anything, Ravenloft thrives on mood. I had a table full of seven players, so I knew I had to step up my game to keep them on-task and in the mood. Luckily (or perhaps expectedly,) I am also an amature haunter during the Halloween season, so I like to pretend that I know at least a couple things about creating a mood. read more »
I was fairly disappointed that the Aarakocra didn’t get a player race write-up for the new edition of Dark Sun so I went ahead and started making my own. Below is my 100% not play tested idea. Explanations of why I picked certain traits included.
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Games I Purchased:
Outbreak: Undead (Hunter’s Books) – I’m a sucker for anything zombie related. After a quick read through, this RPG has some neat little kernels of game mechanics, but I’m not sure I would use the system whole-sale. I very much enjoy the exploration of building your own safe zones after the apocalypse–something most other zombie games don’t delve into too deeply. The book is $45 and feels like a high-quality hardback, but the interior layout and art doesn’t match the price (for $10 more I can get core books from companies like Fantasy Flight, which are at the head of the industry as far as art and layout.) I realize this is a small-scale company trying to make a good impression with their product, but they might benefit from cheaper soft-cover versions.
I am no stranger to cons. I’ve been going to Origins every year since 2000. Because of scheduling conflicts, I’ve eschewed Origins this year for GenCon. I’ve read lots of posts over the years talking about people running or getting into pickup games. In all of my con experience, I have never been offered nor got involved in a pickup game. My questions are two-fold:
I’m weighing in on this whole “what is D&D?” trend. I think this differs pleasantly from edition/OSR wars in that it is a philosophical exploration of a concept, rather than dirt-slinging.
I was recently reading articles about megadungeons. The portion of my brain constantly dedicated to worrying about zombies managed to bring up an interesting proposition: Could one run a modern day zombie apocalypse game like an old-school megadungeon? Here are my points of thought:
I did a precursory scan (read: “I googled it”) and did not find any gritty, simulationist rules of dehydration or starvation. I’m looking for something that is not too complicated to keep track of on the side, but realistic enough to motivate the players to pay attention.
Burning Brightly is a game about playing angels and demons. It is a completely home brew system (although it takes plenty of influence from games that have come before.) In this game players take on the role of spiritually empowered beings that have the means to directly alter creation. read more »
Burning Brightly is a game about playing angels and demons. It is a completely home brew system (although it takes plenty of influence from games that have come before.) In this game players take on the role of spiritually empowered beings that have the means to directly alter creation. One of the goals of this game was to introduce a simple system in which a player could dream up any sort of effect or miracle and there would be a mechanic to enact it with minimal effort. read more »
