Bryant started this meme, and I am pathologically incapable of resisting a bandwagon. He originally specified you could take any ten RPGS (and all the supplements) to the proverbial desert island. I laugh at his puny, weaky ten game decimal fetishism, and instead elect to play under the true scientific realism of the Plomley Memorial Hard Mode rules (8 games. Core book only):
- Moldvay Basic D&D/Labyrinth Lord
- TNMT & Other Strangeness
- WFRP (either edition)
- LUGDune
- Pendragon
- Fading Suns
- Savage Worlds
- One BRP system (I'm torn between Runequest, CoC and Elric/Stormbringer. Don't make me choose!)
Honourable mentions: Ars Magica, Feng Shui, Mutants and Masterminds, Risus
Let's have a look then. No indie cred at all. A good few retro-stupid games. Also a surprising(?) amount of pretentious...
Nightmare mode (only one system): That's a toughie... WFRP for hilarity; LL for ease of use; Pendragon for theme and tone; Fading Suns for gonzo kitchen sinkery.
Tune in next week for Mornington Crescent: the Great Wheel Cosmology edition.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Bestiary of the Vaults: Mrotas
Mrotas (aka, Gibbering Cave Imps)
No. Enc.: 1-10 (5-40)
Alignment: N
Movement: 30', fly 180'
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 1/2
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-2
Save: T1
Morale: 5
Hoard Class: XI (in lair)
Mischevious, bulbous-headed imps of the underworld less than a foot tall, Mrotas are ugly little bug-winged humonculi that flit about the Vaults carrying messages and scavenging enough to feed their voracious metabolisms. If unable to find food anywhere else they will act in the office of crocodile birds or cleaning wrasse to the larger and more sedentary inhabitants of the Vaults.
Although of limited analytical intelligence Mrotas have a facility for mimicry, a knack for languages, and a wicked sense of black humour. Their high-pitched cackles and whoops of approval echo around the halls whenever some poor fool falls to one of the numerous traps of the Vaults. If their latest playmare proves boringly cautious Mrotas will helpfully bait swarms of bats, stirges, centipedes, or other larger creatures into his path to enliven his day.
Mrotas live communally in paper hives which look like oversized wasps nests. These are usually suspended from the arches of the Vaults and have rusty nails, faeces-stained barbs, broken glass and the like embedded into the outer surface to discourage predators. Mrotas rarely actively gather treasure, preferring to take their payment either in food, or in shiny things.
note: If using FrDave's weapon vs. armour type mod Mrotas are AC I, with a +5 DB from their excellent dexterity and tiny size. They're sneaky little devils, but they squish real good when you hit 'em.
No. Enc.: 1-10 (5-40)
Alignment: N
Movement: 30', fly 180'
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 1/2
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1-2
Save: T1
Morale: 5
Hoard Class: XI (in lair)
Mischevious, bulbous-headed imps of the underworld less than a foot tall, Mrotas are ugly little bug-winged humonculi that flit about the Vaults carrying messages and scavenging enough to feed their voracious metabolisms. If unable to find food anywhere else they will act in the office of crocodile birds or cleaning wrasse to the larger and more sedentary inhabitants of the Vaults.
Although of limited analytical intelligence Mrotas have a facility for mimicry, a knack for languages, and a wicked sense of black humour. Their high-pitched cackles and whoops of approval echo around the halls whenever some poor fool falls to one of the numerous traps of the Vaults. If their latest playmare proves boringly cautious Mrotas will helpfully bait swarms of bats, stirges, centipedes, or other larger creatures into his path to enliven his day.
Mrotas live communally in paper hives which look like oversized wasps nests. These are usually suspended from the arches of the Vaults and have rusty nails, faeces-stained barbs, broken glass and the like embedded into the outer surface to discourage predators. Mrotas rarely actively gather treasure, preferring to take their payment either in food, or in shiny things.
note: If using FrDave's weapon vs. armour type mod Mrotas are AC I, with a +5 DB from their excellent dexterity and tiny size. They're sneaky little devils, but they squish real good when you hit 'em.
Saturday, 18 July 2009
More on Gadget Madness
Mishlergate, Trollsmyth, Squaremans, Noisms, now Warren Ellis:
...she was thinking, "yeah, it plays music, but what else does it do?" She didn’t ask, but, knowing her, I wonder if that was going through her head. Whether that’s what goes through the heads of her Western generation, the third (?) internet generation. Where’s the controller? What else does it do?
This is what pen-and-paper gaming has to contend with.
The rising generation of the late noughties aren't any more ignorant then we were in our youth, nor do they suffer from a lack of imagination. They do, however, expect far more interactivity from their hobby materials than we ever did.
They are accustomed to instant feedback and intuitive operating systems, not the enigmatic blink of a command line cursor or obscure esoterica hived away in half-a-dozen different places. They want to poke it and see a response. They want to see what else it does.
Who says their way is wrong?
Just some brain fodder.
...she was thinking, "yeah, it plays music, but what else does it do?" She didn’t ask, but, knowing her, I wonder if that was going through her head. Whether that’s what goes through the heads of her Western generation, the third (?) internet generation. Where’s the controller? What else does it do?
This is what pen-and-paper gaming has to contend with.
The rising generation of the late noughties aren't any more ignorant then we were in our youth, nor do they suffer from a lack of imagination. They do, however, expect far more interactivity from their hobby materials than we ever did.
They are accustomed to instant feedback and intuitive operating systems, not the enigmatic blink of a command line cursor or obscure esoterica hived away in half-a-dozen different places. They want to poke it and see a response. They want to see what else it does.
Who says their way is wrong?
Just some brain fodder.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Gadget Madness - it is coming
(a 7E player, some years hence)OK, so first Rob of Bat in the Attic tweaks my Luddite nerve with his wild-eyed prophecies of Kindle gaming. And now Matt Colville of Squaremans is seriously talking about people using the next generation of iGadgets as the medium for enhanced reality RPGs.
That does it! I'm mining the lawn. Has the technophobic wisdom of Hollywood taught us nothing? Ain't no Skynet running my games for me!
*Dons tinfoil hat. Stocks tinned food, ammunition and lead minis*
"An intriguing game. The only way to win is not to play."
-- WOPR, Wargames
edit: And now James Mishler (who knows of what he speaks) predicts the inevitable doom of RPGs in terms more commonly heard from Dmitri Orlov, Jim Kunstler or the guys over at Coming Anarchy than from fun-loving game designers. Like Cold War armageddon docu-dramas Mr Mishler's thoughts are scary, but definitely worth your time.
link to James Mishler's prophecies of doom added 15/07/2009
Thursday, 9 July 2009
The Rake's Progress (gamer edit)
Nick Bielik, the lord of Castle Dragonscar commands that we reveal our gaming histories. Squishy-minded and prone to drone-like following as I am ("Will minion for food. Can provide own cult robe"), who am I to argue?
~ = magazine/comic
* = board/table top game
# = books
-- = related event
Primary School
Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harryhausen movies and fantasy films
# Greek and Norse myth, Arthuriana
# The Hobbit
Secondary School/Sixth Form
# Lord of the Rings
~ 2000AD comic (UK)
Fighting Fantasy
Lone Wolf
# Michael Moorcock
* Heroquest
* Space Hulk
Mentzer Basic D&D
~ White Dwarf (UK)
Dragon Warriors
AD&D1-2E (any setting; we weren't picky)
~ Dragon magazine
* GW Warhammer (FB/40K/Epic) + Dark Future
TNMT/Heroes Unlimited
MERP
WFRP
~ Game Master magazine (UK)
Elric, Runequest
WH40K Rogue Trader roleplay homebrew
~ Arcane magazine (UK)
Megatraveller
Rolemaster
University
Amazing Engine (TSR generic system - Bughunters, Once and Future King, etc.)
GURPS
-- discover internet --
Cyberpunk
Call of Cthulhu
* GW Necromunda
Vampire
Shadowrun
World of Work
-- LARPing --
Pendragon
Ars Magica
* GW Mordheim/Warmaster
* DBA
Fading Suns (longest campaign)
LUGTrek
Dune
D&D 3.5
WFRP 2E (like tonsil hockey with an old flame: familiar, but still exciting)
D&D 3.5 + Tome Series
-- discover grogblogs --
Castles & Crusades (briefly)
Labyrinth Lord
I am such an archetypal British gamer it's not even worth joking about it. I came up during the 80s NWOBCF (New Wave of British Cynical Fantasy), and it's marked me indelibly.
~ = magazine/comic
* = board/table top game
# = books
-- = related event
Primary School
Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harryhausen movies and fantasy films
# Greek and Norse myth, Arthuriana
# The Hobbit
Secondary School/Sixth Form
# Lord of the Rings
~ 2000AD comic (UK)
Fighting Fantasy
Lone Wolf
# Michael Moorcock
* Heroquest
* Space Hulk
Mentzer Basic D&D
~ White Dwarf (UK)
Dragon Warriors
AD&D1-2E (any setting; we weren't picky)
~ Dragon magazine
* GW Warhammer (FB/40K/Epic) + Dark Future
TNMT/Heroes Unlimited
MERP
WFRP
~ Game Master magazine (UK)
Elric, Runequest
WH40K Rogue Trader roleplay homebrew
~ Arcane magazine (UK)
Megatraveller
Rolemaster
University
Amazing Engine (TSR generic system - Bughunters, Once and Future King, etc.)
GURPS
-- discover internet --
Cyberpunk
Call of Cthulhu
* GW Necromunda
Vampire
Shadowrun
World of Work
-- LARPing --
Pendragon
Ars Magica
* GW Mordheim/Warmaster
* DBA
Fading Suns (longest campaign)
LUGTrek
Dune
D&D 3.5
WFRP 2E (like tonsil hockey with an old flame: familiar, but still exciting)
D&D 3.5 + Tome Series
-- discover grogblogs --
Castles & Crusades (briefly)
Labyrinth Lord
I am such an archetypal British gamer it's not even worth joking about it. I came up during the 80s NWOBCF (New Wave of British Cynical Fantasy), and it's marked me indelibly.
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