I have been in a mood lately where I want to experiment with different systems. Most notable system I've been discussing lately has been Dragon Age. And with that the AGE system in general. I've also been toying with sci-fi settings and adventures. There are a few systems available out there now that I could use, but I've been using a basic system so far. If I got serious enough about it I would use White Star. Or Stars Without Numbers which I've never had the chance to play. The only sci-fi game I was in was a Traveller game where I had the most useless character for the mission and my job was to pretty much stay out of the way. So that was fun.
The other system I've been toy with is Pathfinder. I don't see myself running a game of it. There are too many do-dads for my taste, but there is a lot of good stuff I've been wanting to transform into a system of my own choosing. I love some of the adventure paths and how they set up the books. I could see someone in the OSR run with that model.
A few months ago I was running Esoterrorists on Wednesday nights. I think we enjoyed the GUMSHOE system for that kind of setting. And with a few copies of Silent Legions in my hands I of course have been tempted to create a few occult adventures set in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. We've taken a break from it and one of the other guys on Wednesday wants to run a Pits & Perils game. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but I have heard that it is reminiscent of early 70's rpgs. He wants to run a one-shot. I like that we can jump right in and game only knowing a little about system.
Monday nights we continue on with our D&D 5E game. Tonight I think we finish our assault on a dragon lair/corrupt elven taig. My initial liking for 5E has definitely lessened as we continue.
A few weeks back I played in a 4e GURPS game where we delved into an amazing game prop and explored the graveyard of Sanctuary and its first of two levels of under-crypts. It was a lot of fun and I'm always glad to play in a GURPS game, but I don't think I would want to try to GM a game.
And I almost forgot that the B-Team has switch gears a bit and last time we played it was Far and Away Land. I remember having fun, but can't remember any details.
Some of the other systems I've tried throughout the year were Dungeon Crawl Classics, Crypt Masters, Blood & Treasure, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry Complete and Core.
And games I want to try, but haven't had a chance to really get into yet are, Hillfolk, Torchbearer, Dungeon World, Hackmaster and The Strange.
While I enjoy trying out new games, I love nothing more than getting into a committed campaign that may last for a year or longer. Which we do often. And one of the reasons why I added some Wednesday nights to play different systems. Mondays are committed to campaigns.
I admit gaming ADD is something I struggle with at times. But I like bringing in elements from different systems or someone else's game, into my own game.
Showing posts with label Gaming Systems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaming Systems. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2015
PDF
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Modernizing a Fantasy Adventure
I was happy to see +Erik Tenkar reported he'd used my adventure from The Manor #3. I'd playtested that adventure a few times and liked it. It is the first of a three part adventure series. But I've only completed the first one. Any way, +Douglas Cole wrote a post about the game over at Gaming Ballistic. A concise retelling of the adventure. It sounds like the players had smoking hot dice. Usually its the GM that clobbers the players. And I just saw that +Peter V. Dell'Orto posted a recap on his blog, Dungeon Fantastic.
The one thing from the report is I need to include an on-line friend map with the PDF versions. A map that is not labeled with numbers or shows where the secret doors are. When you know where a secret door is then it's just a door.
Douglas mentioned that he wanted to take the adventure and modernize it. I'd been thinking of redoing another adventure of mine in the same way. I think that would be a cool exercise. And being Douglas is a GURPS guru and I'm not to shabby myself, recreate it for a different system. I hope I get a chance to do this.
The one thing from the report is I need to include an on-line friend map with the PDF versions. A map that is not labeled with numbers or shows where the secret doors are. When you know where a secret door is then it's just a door.
Douglas mentioned that he wanted to take the adventure and modernize it. I'd been thinking of redoing another adventure of mine in the same way. I think that would be a cool exercise. And being Douglas is a GURPS guru and I'm not to shabby myself, recreate it for a different system. I hope I get a chance to do this.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Burn it to the Ground, Burn it All
In every group there seems to be a pyromaniac. He's the guy who has more flasks of oil than healing potions. A dedicated lot. Zealots of the flame. Fire freaks. Combustible mamas. Whatever you want to call them, you'll find one in the group somewhere.
We have our pyromaniac, Chris from Clash of Spear on Shield, is ours. He plays Dante...hmm, I wonder if that's a coincidence? Anyway. His guy has kegs of oil. He doesn't piss around with flasks. Flasks are for sissies and people who like to drink with their pinky sticking out. Dante likes to burn things. Dante likes to burn people. Dante likes to watch the flame crawl over and envelop and feed. He's a flame psychopath and I approve.
Because of his passion for the flame and our constant need to look up the flaming oil damage rules I went through a bunch of rulebooks and collected the different rules for systems I could find. If you know of another rule for another system please put it in the comments so I can add it. And please add any house rules you use in your game.
Adventurer, Conqueror, King: Dealing 1d8 points of damage for 2 rounds.
Adventures Dark & Deep: Roll d20, 18 or less breaks. If it bursts on the target, 2d6 first round, 1d6 on the second, then burns out. If it bursts on the ground, 1d3 to everyone in 3' radius. All assuming that the vial breaks as above, and if the oil is ignited. Pg 92-93
Ambition & Avarice: 1d8 damage to anyone directly struck and 1d4 splash damage
Bare Bones Fantasy: three damage grades: mild (1D), moderate (2D), or severe (3D). Flammable objects have a 50% chance to catch on fire and continue to cause 1D damage each turn 9(...) Factors such as (...) dousing in oil may modify the roll. (p.33)
Basic Fantasy: Oil does 1d8 for two rounds (p. 49).
Blood & Treasure: Burns for two rounds and
deal 1d4 points of fire damage.
Castles & Crusades: Could not find information about oil damage.
Castles & Crusades: Could not find information about oil damage.
Crypts & Things: Could not find information about oil
damage.
Dragon Age: Could not find information about oil damage.
Dragon Age: Could not find information about oil damage.
Dungeons & Dragons, 1st Ed: 2d6 damage the first round,
1d6 damage the second round.
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Ed: 1d6 on a direct hit, 1hp of damage for splash damage.
Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Ed: Oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 1d3 points of fire damage to each creature in the area.
Five Ancient Kingdoms: A flask of oil may be set alight or hurled at an opponent with a normal missile attack roll (a hurled flask cannot achieve a "bulls-eye" result). Success indicates the target takes one hit of damage, and an additional hit every round thereafter until the flames are extinguished. A flaming torch may be used as an improvised melee weapon (see Brawling) but will not set a target aflame unless extremely flammable (for example, already covered in oil).
GURPS: If it bursts on the target, 3d burning, then 1d burning per second. If it hits the ground, 1d-1 burning per second to everyone in a 1 yd radius. Either way, it lasts 10d seconds and DR protects at 1/5 (unless sealed). p. 411
HackMaster 4th Ed: Oil causes damage only when it is lit. Sometimes this requires a two-step process, such as when tossing oil into melee with allies. Step one is soaking the target in oil. Step two is hitting him with a torch, candle, open lantern, Fireball or the like. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks. Another method is to light a soaked piece of cloth tied to the oil flask. . . Use this method when there are no friendly troops involved or when you dislike your allies. A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage the first round and 1d6 points of damage in the second" Page 137
HackMaster Basic: Oil cannot be used as a weapon.
Labyrinth Lord: 1d8 for 2 rounds.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess: 1d4 points of damage. If the damage roll is 4, make a save vs. breath weapon or take 1d4 more damage on next action. If that roll is a 4 as well, character is engulfed in flame, taking 1d8 damage per round. (p. 61)
Neoclassical Geek Revival: Could not find information about oil damage.
OSRIC: "A mummy is susceptible to fire as follows: a hit from a torch will deal 1d3 hp damage, a flask of burning oil causes 1d8 hp on the first round and 2d8 hp on the second round, and magical fires deal +1 for each die of damage." (p248 OSRIC - A5 2013 Version)
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Ed: 1d6 on a direct hit, 1hp of damage for splash damage.
Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Ed: Oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 1d3 points of fire damage to each creature in the area.
Five Ancient Kingdoms: A flask of oil may be set alight or hurled at an opponent with a normal missile attack roll (a hurled flask cannot achieve a "bulls-eye" result). Success indicates the target takes one hit of damage, and an additional hit every round thereafter until the flames are extinguished. A flaming torch may be used as an improvised melee weapon (see Brawling) but will not set a target aflame unless extremely flammable (for example, already covered in oil).
GURPS: If it bursts on the target, 3d burning, then 1d burning per second. If it hits the ground, 1d-1 burning per second to everyone in a 1 yd radius. Either way, it lasts 10d seconds and DR protects at 1/5 (unless sealed). p. 411
HackMaster 4th Ed: Oil causes damage only when it is lit. Sometimes this requires a two-step process, such as when tossing oil into melee with allies. Step one is soaking the target in oil. Step two is hitting him with a torch, candle, open lantern, Fireball or the like. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks. Another method is to light a soaked piece of cloth tied to the oil flask. . . Use this method when there are no friendly troops involved or when you dislike your allies. A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage the first round and 1d6 points of damage in the second" Page 137
HackMaster Basic: Oil cannot be used as a weapon.
Labyrinth Lord: 1d8 for 2 rounds.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess: 1d4 points of damage. If the damage roll is 4, make a save vs. breath weapon or take 1d4 more damage on next action. If that roll is a 4 as well, character is engulfed in flame, taking 1d8 damage per round. (p. 61)
Neoclassical Geek Revival: Could not find information about oil damage.
OSRIC: "A mummy is susceptible to fire as follows: a hit from a torch will deal 1d3 hp damage, a flask of burning oil causes 1d8 hp on the first round and 2d8 hp on the second round, and magical fires deal +1 for each die of damage." (p248 OSRIC - A5 2013 Version)
Pathfinder: Oil burns for 2 rounds and deal 1d3 damage to those
within the area.
Swords & Wizardry Complete: 1d4 damage on a successful
hit, and 1 more point of damage per round for the next 2 rounds.
Swords & Wizardry Core: see S&W Complete
Tunnels & Trolls: Could not find information about oil damage.
As you can see there are a lot of systems I couldn't find the damage or it there was a ruling on using oil. If you know it let me know. One of the more surprising things I found was how HackMaster didn't allow it. The game that has 142 different fireball spells. All of a sudden wanted to go realistic with the oil. Thought that was a bit amusing. The deadliest is still AD&D. Devastating weapon. Tunnels & Trolls: Could not find information about oil damage.
These are all the systems I had available on my shelf. I'm not sure which version of T&T I have. So if you play and know the rule for another system let me know. I want to be the definitive place where you can whip a flask of oil and know what to expect.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Neoclassical Geek Revival, a True Old School System
Here's the link, Neoclassical Geek Revival. It will ask you to allow Adult Content so you can look at the naughty bits.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Finding the Right System
We are on a break (not the Ross and Rachel kind) from our Monday Night game that will resume after the Labor Day holiday. I am currently using 4th edition GURPS and while I do love the system and all of its options and flexability, but I'm not feeling it. I've been reading and writing for S&W, OSRIC, LL and my new renewed interest is in Hackmaster Basic. It has a little of mix of some GURPS and AD&D.
I plan on asking my group to switch systems. Most of them will have no problem, but if some do I can understand. What I plan to purpose is a AD&D game using the orginal three books. No retro clones, no numbered editions just the game we played for countless hours. I don't plan to change anything. I want to play it with warts and all. I'm interested to see how much different we view the game so many years later.
I plan on asking my group to switch systems. Most of them will have no problem, but if some do I can understand. What I plan to purpose is a AD&D game using the orginal three books. No retro clones, no numbered editions just the game we played for countless hours. I don't plan to change anything. I want to play it with warts and all. I'm interested to see how much different we view the game so many years later.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Mining the OSR for GURPS
So last night was a last game with Rusty for a while. Our party managed to find the important things. Though the adventure was built for six to eight players and three of them being fighter we did okay with four of us, with one NPC fighter who got beat up pretty bad by a ghoul. I won't go into much detail as not to spoil the plot for the beginning of the Splinters of Faith series, but be prepared for a lot of round rooms.
The group discussed what we wanted to do next. Everyone seems to have d20 fatigue so we are going back to GURPS. I think for our group its always been the system of choice, for better or worse it fits us. I will be GMing this time around which I am excited about. Wasn't sure if I would be, but the more we talked about it the more ideas that came to my head.
Now just because we are playing GURPS does not mean I am not going to mine the shit out of OSR products. Oh no, I plan on having a large pick-ax going to town. Plus, Rob runs another Swords & Wizardry game on the side so I might do a few pick-up games there so I can throw a d20.
While GURPS is a great system and has some of the best historical supplement books, the one thing it lacks, nah, I will even say sucks at is adventures and creatures. Though they are making head way in this area SJG isn't about to expend resources on an ehhh selling product right now when they are riding the baloney pony of Munchkin all the way to the bank. But with the Dungeon Fantasy series and recent release of Low Tech (which is interesting, but it makes me think too much) and Monster Hunters at least it doesn't feel abandon.
This week the guys will make their characters. Rob I think will be playing a city guard/mercenary spear man. Dwayne has not unveiled his guy yet. As a GM all I asked was they make the characters and figure out some back story on how they know each other and make them compatible. Two man adventuring party leaves little room for error.
I'll be using the Majestic Wilderlands as a setting. I always tell Rob that think of it as a alternate universe from his own. Since it was such quick notice it works out because of the history we have with it and there are several threads we can pick up on and get into depth without putting too much effort into it. All of us know the Majestic Wilderlands, cultures, politics and legends. So no need to feed the players information the only thing that needs monitoring sometimes is knowledge they would not know.
Back to the OSR connection, I plan on going through some adventures, supplements and blogs and getting some good information gathered I can use. Good gaming stuff doesn't have a system boundary, it'll work anywhere.
The group discussed what we wanted to do next. Everyone seems to have d20 fatigue so we are going back to GURPS. I think for our group its always been the system of choice, for better or worse it fits us. I will be GMing this time around which I am excited about. Wasn't sure if I would be, but the more we talked about it the more ideas that came to my head.
Now just because we are playing GURPS does not mean I am not going to mine the shit out of OSR products. Oh no, I plan on having a large pick-ax going to town. Plus, Rob runs another Swords & Wizardry game on the side so I might do a few pick-up games there so I can throw a d20.
While GURPS is a great system and has some of the best historical supplement books, the one thing it lacks, nah, I will even say sucks at is adventures and creatures. Though they are making head way in this area SJG isn't about to expend resources on an ehhh selling product right now when they are riding the baloney pony of Munchkin all the way to the bank. But with the Dungeon Fantasy series and recent release of Low Tech (which is interesting, but it makes me think too much) and Monster Hunters at least it doesn't feel abandon.
This week the guys will make their characters. Rob I think will be playing a city guard/mercenary spear man. Dwayne has not unveiled his guy yet. As a GM all I asked was they make the characters and figure out some back story on how they know each other and make them compatible. Two man adventuring party leaves little room for error.
I'll be using the Majestic Wilderlands as a setting. I always tell Rob that think of it as a alternate universe from his own. Since it was such quick notice it works out because of the history we have with it and there are several threads we can pick up on and get into depth without putting too much effort into it. All of us know the Majestic Wilderlands, cultures, politics and legends. So no need to feed the players information the only thing that needs monitoring sometimes is knowledge they would not know.
Back to the OSR connection, I plan on going through some adventures, supplements and blogs and getting some good information gathered I can use. Good gaming stuff doesn't have a system boundary, it'll work anywhere.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What I Look for in a Gaming Product
Let me say this is just an off the cuff blog and not much has gone into this, but with so many people putting out their own products, including myself, I thought I would discuss a little of what I look for. There are three main categories of products, rule sets, supplements and adventures. At least that's how I break them down.
Rule Sets:
I usually only purchase fantasy setting products. I will on occasion by Chthulhu and some mystery, but both of these are to add elements into my fantasy settings. I am not a huge fan of sci-fi or modern or historical warfare. They don't float my boat, peel my banana or get my cookies off. I'm not sure if I have a 'type' of fantasy rule set I like since I love rules light retro clones, but I also love the details of GURPS. I will buy rule sets that I love to read if I find the material interesting enough, but never play such as Pendragon and Hackmaster 4th edition.
Supplements:
These products tend to be my biggest section of purchases. I love to read monster manuals and the one thousandth take on an orc or troll. I love reading those specialized ecology books that goes into minute details about a critters bowel movement. World building, city building, village building, building buildings books are almost an automatic buy. Same as class construction or handbooks focused on a single class. These are hit or miss. Some are excellent, but a lot just suck and are just retreads by nothing new publishing. Meta gaming stuff like publishing advice and artwork are great. What I don't like is a lot of crunch in these. The main reason why I disliked 3.5 so much was because of all the space stat blocks took. It s 100 page book, but stat blocks take up 60 of those pages. Hit the snooze button and I'll pass.
Adventures:
I buy a handful of these even though I write a bunch myself. Tell me a good story with the adventure. Don't just randomly roll on a table and plop it in the numbered room. Take the time to tell a story and how its fits within it. When I finish a module and feel dissatisfied I will take another look to see why I didn't like it and most of the time the adventure feels forced or like I said above, someone got happy with random tables, but didn't put the effort into smoothing out the edges and telling a story. Its what I look for an adventure. Without a story its not an adventures its just encounters.
When I write my own products I write adventures and supplements I would want to buy. I don't think you'll ever see an adventure of mine full of stat blocks or non-story driven. I almost cringe when I say that because I think WoD gave being storyteller a bad name. I always preferred story arcs over episodic encounters.
Speaking of gaming products I got two more scenarios done tonight for my new Starter Adventures. The artwork is coming in and I'm very happy with it. This is the first product I will have with original artwork so I am excited to see what it will look like when its done. Have a great night. I am exhausted.
Rule Sets:
I usually only purchase fantasy setting products. I will on occasion by Chthulhu and some mystery, but both of these are to add elements into my fantasy settings. I am not a huge fan of sci-fi or modern or historical warfare. They don't float my boat, peel my banana or get my cookies off. I'm not sure if I have a 'type' of fantasy rule set I like since I love rules light retro clones, but I also love the details of GURPS. I will buy rule sets that I love to read if I find the material interesting enough, but never play such as Pendragon and Hackmaster 4th edition.
Supplements:
These products tend to be my biggest section of purchases. I love to read monster manuals and the one thousandth take on an orc or troll. I love reading those specialized ecology books that goes into minute details about a critters bowel movement. World building, city building, village building, building buildings books are almost an automatic buy. Same as class construction or handbooks focused on a single class. These are hit or miss. Some are excellent, but a lot just suck and are just retreads by nothing new publishing. Meta gaming stuff like publishing advice and artwork are great. What I don't like is a lot of crunch in these. The main reason why I disliked 3.5 so much was because of all the space stat blocks took. It s 100 page book, but stat blocks take up 60 of those pages. Hit the snooze button and I'll pass.
Adventures:
I buy a handful of these even though I write a bunch myself. Tell me a good story with the adventure. Don't just randomly roll on a table and plop it in the numbered room. Take the time to tell a story and how its fits within it. When I finish a module and feel dissatisfied I will take another look to see why I didn't like it and most of the time the adventure feels forced or like I said above, someone got happy with random tables, but didn't put the effort into smoothing out the edges and telling a story. Its what I look for an adventure. Without a story its not an adventures its just encounters.
When I write my own products I write adventures and supplements I would want to buy. I don't think you'll ever see an adventure of mine full of stat blocks or non-story driven. I almost cringe when I say that because I think WoD gave being storyteller a bad name. I always preferred story arcs over episodic encounters.
Speaking of gaming products I got two more scenarios done tonight for my new Starter Adventures. The artwork is coming in and I'm very happy with it. This is the first product I will have with original artwork so I am excited to see what it will look like when its done. Have a great night. I am exhausted.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Labyrinth Lord & other Systems
I'm taking advantage of Lulu's summer of free shipping (for orders over $19.95) and I believe finally completing my collection of retro clones. I placed my order for Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Companion. Oh and then I threw the Monster Listing on top of the pile. Why not. Yes, I know the downloads are free, but I dislike reading that much on PDF. I like PDFs to refer to not to read. Plus I had no reason to get LL before because our group has been playing mainly Swords & Wizardry. I'm looking forward to checking it out, seeing the subtle difference all these games seem to have. The reason I buy these game systems is first I love reading about them, second I always like to read about how others do it and third I have my own way of doing things so I am always on the look out for a good idea, tearing it out and pasting it into what I do.
Hey it is Friday! I'm going to churn and burn this day while I wait for my books to come in. I will place it beside the following systems I have on the shelf beside me;
OSRIC
HackMaster Basic
HackMaster 4th Edition
Castles & Crusades
Swords & Wizardry
Pathfinder
OD&D
AD&D
D&D 3rd edition
D&D 4th edition
Pendragon 4th and 5th edition I believe
Dragobn Age
Tunnels & Trolls
Judges Guild (I guess not so much a system but something that stands out for me)
Palladium Fantasy
and a crapload of GURPS
There are bits and peices of others like Vampire the Masqurade, Shadowrun 1st ed, Talasman (sp?), and Ares Magica. As you can see I spend way too much money on gaming, but I enjoy it.
Have a great Friday everyone!
Hey it is Friday! I'm going to churn and burn this day while I wait for my books to come in. I will place it beside the following systems I have on the shelf beside me;
OSRIC
HackMaster Basic
HackMaster 4th Edition
Castles & Crusades
Swords & Wizardry
Pathfinder
OD&D
AD&D
D&D 3rd edition
D&D 4th edition
Pendragon 4th and 5th edition I believe
Dragobn Age
Tunnels & Trolls
Judges Guild (I guess not so much a system but something that stands out for me)
Palladium Fantasy
and a crapload of GURPS
There are bits and peices of others like Vampire the Masqurade, Shadowrun 1st ed, Talasman (sp?), and Ares Magica. As you can see I spend way too much money on gaming, but I enjoy it.
Have a great Friday everyone!
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