Monday, July 30, 2012

I am a middle of the road gamer...

Well, first off, I am feeling better than I did a week ago.  Not sure what is happened to the game tonight.  But, that is for later.

Two things have sort of been spinning around in my head.

One is the fact that I am both an old school and new school gamer.  And, there is nothing wrong with that.

What do I mean by this?  Well, the best way I cam describe it is thusly:

An old school gamer is content with starting off in some mega-dungeon then into the frontier, building up xp and treasure until they are high enough to raise an army and carve out a niche for themselves in the wild frontier.

A new school gamer wants to start off at first level with a complex backstory and a desire make the campaign his own from the start.  That the plot revolves around them.  That they are not merely part of the show, they ARE the show.

There is nothing wrong with either approach, and I think that I have been switching back and forth between the two camps for awhile now.  And, I have to say I think I need to realize I like bits and piece of both.

I was reading a few posts by Blackrazor about his musings on exploration, starting here.  It got me thinking about the old school movement.  Also, I have played in some of Evan's G+ Nightwick Abbey games as well.  The game was always fun.  And, it was mostly exploring, trying to survive and then getting the hell out with treasure.

Then, there are the games I have heard of in some actual play podcasts.  Most of these are 3E or higher and they are either more interaction with people with small planned out encounters or long encounters with powers and abilities that make me think I'm listening to a superhero game.  I have also played in a smattering of 3E and 4E games.  And, there is something to be said for having powers and being able to do amazing things.

I think that there is a middle of the road here.  That there is something that can be done to accommodate both the new and old school groups.  I'm not positive how as of yet, but it is something I am pondering.

I know I had a part two here, yet it has gone...oh well.  I'm sure it will come back to me at some point.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Stuff in the mail...

Well, today I got two things in the mail.  One thing I was surprised at, and the other I've been waiting for since Jan.

Yes, the second item was the reprints of the 1E AD&D books.  They are very nice.  I just pulled them out of the box.  Need some time to go over them, but they look really cool so far.

The first item was a surprise that it came as quick as it did.  The X-plorers box set.  Now, I got the single book version for free when I bought the boxes from Brave Halfling.  They are gorgeous boxes, and still trying to figure out what I want to put inside them.  But, they were a little late, and John threw in the X-plorers book as a freebie.  Which was cool.  But, I dig the box set and even though Brendan had some issues with it, he thought it was a neat box set.  So, I went to Noble Knights and purchased it.  They are quick and reliable.

(This is not an attack, simply a bitch)

And, now for a small bitch.  I know John is going through some issues right now and I completely understand.  The way of the world these days, many people are having the same problem he has.  (And, but for the grace of...well luck in picking who I was born to I suppose I would be in similar straights.)  The bitch is this...I bought a copy of his Delving Deep and have yet to receive it.  I am sure there is a perfectly valid reason for it not to be here.  I'm not asking for my money back.  I only want the product that I purchased.

I also hope that you land on your feet and continue to publish the products you do.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Thinking about Old School...

After a night of hanging with friend at the local Norms, while discussing Pathfinder, I came home and just felt like I had been discussing such a different game than the one I love.  The amount of options just freezes my brain.  Don't get me wrong, I think it fun to game and Pathfinder does have a certain joy that shines through in the writing.  But, I still feel like the overall concept is just to option heavy.

Then, this morning, far earlier than I usually get up, a friend called and asked, "Hey, what is that old edition clone where elves have to be magic-users or fighters?"  Groggily, I said, "Swords and Wizardry."  (I have some interesting friends.)

Ever since, I've been thinking about going back to that slim volume.  Yes, the reprints are on the way to my place and I am running a 1E and 3.5E game in my world, yet there is a tickle in the back of my head to go to something very simple.  If not maybe bashing together S&W and LotFP (but take out some of the "brutal" nature for some of my players...or not.)

Just been thinking about that recently.  And, thinking that M-W-F for the blog will be better.

Until next time...

Monday, July 23, 2012

A short post

I was perusing the blogosphere and caught this at Greyhawk Grognard.  It is an interesting way to look at the upcoming 5E.  And, it makes me think about some of the games I have run.  There are times to run, and there are times to try and negotiate.

Yet, the question becomes, "What happens if they refuse to negotiate or run?" I use to think the answer was, fudge some die and let them live.  Sometimes I think it should be death.  But, I'm thinking that now, the best thing is to fight them, get them close to death and capture them.

An example of my 1E game is I had the group surrounded by saughain(sic), about 300 of them.  The NPC captain tried to negotiate, yet the cleric refused to have anything to do with the devil fish.  I can't completely blame him, yet  I should have either had them get killed or captured.  Instead I had the NPC captain save them and that is a bad idea.  A better idea would have been to either just say, "They swarm the boat and kill you." Or, "You all fight bravely, but are taken out.  Hours later..."

(A short post I know, but feeling kinda sick still.  Should be better by Wed.)

Friday, July 20, 2012

Ahhh, those late posts...

I had every intention of writing a blog post about going to see Batman: Rise of the Dark Knight, and some other thoughts when I got home from watching a marathon of the three movies.  Yet, that was quickly squashed when I had to drive someone home and didn't get to bed until 6.  Now, I should be doing other things, but I'm going to post something about something...

After watching Batman Begins, while we had a break to go get more food and use the bathroom, two theater employees cam in and asked two trivia questions.  They promised more, but I don't remember them coming in, though I was gone for a lengthy period of time.  Anyway, the first question was, "Nolan has said he can break down the three movies to a single word.  Those are...Fear, Chaos and Pain."  I almost had it, but didn't know the third one, yet it was obvious once uttered.

This got me to think about gaming, as things usually do.  I wonder if there is a way you could break down your campaign into a single word.  Or even a single sentence.  I think I can, and for all of my players out there who read the blog, enjoy...

The way to sum up my campaigns that I am running, both the 1st edition game and the 3.5 one, as well as the possible third game I have been thinking about running for another group of gamers is to use one of the words that Nolan used.

"Chaos."

My players will find out, or not if they choose not to continue, what I mean by that and I will come back to this point later on once the campaign is closer to completion or dies in the water.  (I hope for the former and dread the latter.)

(And, I just got word that Paizo is sending out the 1E reprints!  Stoked to be getting those in the mail soon!)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

God heaven's what happened?

So, I just realized that I have been so busy with reading other blogs, trying to get some writing done and gaming myself I have neglected this blog.  MAN, that isn't cool...

Well, What have I been doing?
I have been running a 1E game on Sunday in a game world of my own design, a world called Sydell.
I also started running a 3.5E game on Mondays, in the same world, yet I think the best way to explain it is that the 3.5E game is that it is out of phase with the 1E game.

I have added things from TypeIV that I kind like, the Fey Wild and the idea of rituals.  I could go on about both for some time, but this is just an update so I will save them for later.

I've been working on trying to get the podcast back from the graveyard after Mac decided to suddenly drop MobileMe.  That hurt.  But, I think we will be getting it back within a few weeks and might even have a new place for it with more stuff to do thing.

Also, been trying my hand at learning the sword and shield, going through a friend who is part of the HEMA Alliance.  It is fun, swords are different, and, not an orc to be smote.  Yet, fun nonetheless.

Also, there was another push to get something up.  A fellow blogger Bat continues to blog even though he has had shoulder surgery and I realized I was being a bit of a wimp by saying I didn't have anything to write about.

More to come soon.  Going to try a T-Th-S post schedule.  See if it works for me.  Until next time!