New Year...End of a game, beginning anew...

Well, I haven't written anything in almost a year.  I am not really surprised, life pulled me away from the blogshpere for awhile.  Happens.

Well, I did start a game last year, 5e, might have spoken about it, might not.

Two of my players had characters that were part of a game a few years back.  They loved the interaction between them two of them and wanted to sort of "reboot" the game.  We had a few new players since then and I decided, why not.  I de-leveled them to 5--which is good since they were pretty powerful at 8 and 9 in 2e.  Had a monk and a thief swashbuckler.  At this point, WotC had just recently come out with rules for the swashbuckler path of the rouge.  (I think it is a bit broken, yet I let the guy play.  He was a human ginsu for most of the game.  Might have to change a few of the things if I use it again.)

Overall, I loved the game.  We had some high points and low points.  There were times I wanted to toss the game and do something else.  But, I pushed on and avoided gamer ADD.  The game survived the holiday collapse that many games go through and made it until last night.

It was a bit rushed, I felt that I could have done several things differently, yet in the end a good game.

And, because of that I feel a bit sad.  I am sure most of you out there have run and completed most of your games.  Yet, this was a first for me.  Most of my games have always ended half way done, or a false start and never played again.  There is a sense of accomplishment, a sense of loss and under it all there is the knowledge that I ran a halfway decent game.

It isn't as if I am going to stop prepping for the next game.  I have some great ideas for the next one.  Yet, I will be sitting back and letting someone else run for awhile.  Been some time since I have let someone run for any length of time.  A time to recharge and experience the game from the other side of the table.

Going back over the campaign in my head I am struck by some of the flaws and mistakes I made.  And also some of the things I just pulled from thin air that my players loved.  And I know that going onward to the next game; a diesel punk D&D, think Rocketeer, Sky Captain and a touch of Bio-Shock all thrown together.  But, it is in the early planning stages and we will see how things shake out.

But for now, I will sit back and play.  Been some time since I did that.  And I know I need it.

Been some time...

It has been awhile since I have written in this blog.  I still game, still have my own rants and raves, and I hope to resurrect the podcast at some point in the near future.

As for the games that are currently being played, there is one.  A friend has made a home brewed Dragon Age game, using the White Wolf system.  I am playing an Apostate Elf Mage with a Templar and a Qunari.  We should have more people the next time, one of them being the Circle Mage I am impersonating...so that should be fun!

Also, this.

As for games I was running.  Well, I have been bumbling and stumbling my way through a few 5E games.  I really like the system, though I have some minor gripes about magic and want to tinker with it, which isn't a shock to pretty much anyone who has gamed for any amount of time.  At the moment, I have taken a step away from the DM spot just for a little while to recharge, play a few games and work on my own games and the world of Sydell.

And, there is a new passion in my life.  A new game system that I have heard very often, yet never had a chance to sit down and read it until recently.  It is called Savage Worlds and I am really digging it.  There is a chance I will try a few games with this new system, already trying it out with a friend doing an online game on roll20.  Which is an interesting site for web-based games.  I recommend it for those who want to game but can't due to distance, illness or just wanting to game with some people online.

Anyway...I should wrap this up, not feeling wonderful but I felt like I had to start writing this blog again.

Busy, sorta...

I have been busy and haven't had much time for the blog, which does suck.  I loved blogging and I will get back to it in the new year.  And there might be a return of the podcast int he year ahead.

5E is starting to become the game of choice for me.  Love the books and I have found some rules to tinker with.  There is currently a strange mash-up of MERP and 5E D&D that my group is playing.  Yet, I can feel DM burnout coming and I might step aside so another friend can run a Stars Without Number game, which I am really looking forward to.

Catch you all next year.

5E goodness and random thoughts...

I recently got the 5th edition D&D handbook.  It is a great handbook.  I love the art, the rules are pretty easy to understand and the group I play with have taken a shine to it.

Yet, because I like to tinker with the rules, I want to change things.

Let me start by saying awhile back, I got the reprinted Original White Box of D&D.  Though I was pissed because it took so long to get it in my hot little hands, I did love it when I finally got it.  One thing from the original texts I started to like was the idea of race-as-class.  Dwarves being tough fighters, elves being fighters that can cast magic, though in some rule variants the PC elf had to choose one class and stick with it for a day, and halfllings being sneaky fighters with a chance to hide away in forests and surprise people.

Now, combining that with some of the things I love about 2E, weapon and non-weapon prof. and how they are given out and then add on the 5E rules sets and I that is the basics of what is going on in my head.

Yet, what to do with some of these races that have come out since the white box?  Would they have to be pushed aside?  I don't think so.  I could see the gnome, the half-elf, half-orc, even the tiefling being allowed in as race-as-class.  I have some doubts about the dragonborn, yet I cold also bring in something from Dragonlance and the draconians.  Maybe...

Just some random thoughts I am throwing down here.  And, I seriously doubt I am ever going to try and make a campaign book or some type of game out of this, to publish at least.

Why weapon prof?  To me, I have always felt that this 3x stuff about "knowing all simple and martial" or "knowing all simple" weapons is kinda silly.  You might know how to use it, but to be proficient with it means you have had some training, you aren't going to cut your foot off, smack yourself in the head with your hand when you pull back the bowstring or know how to hold a flail and how to slow it down...FYI, I have one and those things are NO JOKE!  Hence, in 2E, you had to select which weapons you knew how to use.  For a fighter, that was up to four different weapons.  For a wizard, one.  It just fits better in my mind that characters can't pick up a short sword and know how to use it as well as a long sword.  Very different fighting styles, I have found.

But say the PC wants to pick up the glowing blue short sword of +2 glowing, if he commits to learning it, using it and maybe some instruction from someone who knows how to use it, in a level or three, that PC could mark it as a proficient weapon.

There is more, but I must go to bed, since I need to take a friend to the airport early tomorrow...technically today.

Well...might as well jump on the 5e "talky thing"

Well, the plan was to get on here and try to do this blog three days a week, and we see how well that turned out.

Anyway, I want to add my own voice to the uproar of 5e.  I downloaded the rules the day they came out, I even went out with a friend to look for the Starter Set that was suppose to drop on the 3rd of July.  That venture yielded a few finds of 2E fun, and another copy of the Temple of Elemental Evil for a very good price, yet no Starter Set.

However, my friend and I did pour over the rules from the download.  Is it a complete system, hell no!  I know some blogger with many proponents and opponents have claimed that Mike Mearls was saying THIS would be it, comparing it to the RC or B/X.  Yet, it is my thought--and take this with a fifty pound bag of salt--Mike was talking about what this online document WILL BE once the hard copies of the books come out and the online rules updated as things go.

I have also gotten my hands on the Starter Set, and I like what they have in there  Is it as rules crunchy as 3/.5?  No.  There is a departure from 3/.5 and 4E crunchy crunchy stuff.  Which I like.  As for those who don't know, when it comes to D&D, I like the older versions.  2E is my wheelhouse.  Granted, there can be ALOT of crunch there as well.  One need only look at the amount of splat books for 2E that some consider "core" and you can drown in a sea of rules and fiddly bits.

Back to 5e.  I have my own gripes with it.  Small ones that I think can be fixed by houseruling and using older versions ideas instead of the current ones.  At least certain things.  Many of the rules I do like, at least the ones that are there.  The advantage/disadvantage is a very good and simple mechanic.

I am also looking forward to trying to start a 5e campaign of my own soon.  The gaming group has one game going on on Monday, a 3.5 Ravenloft game which I am really liking.  I am playing a sorcerer from Faerun.  There is more but I will write that up later.

The other game slot is Friday.  There are two possible games that will occur.  One is my friend's own creation of Dragon Age.  I will be playing an Apostate Elf, should be fun.  The other idea is for me to run a campaign with the 5e rules.  I will be using the adventure in the Starter Set, but I have already plumbed the interwebz for other resources and even borrowed something from the DCC to use in this game.  It should be an interesting.  And, I just found something from Gygax Magazine that I want to use as well.  I will keep you all posted on what happens.

I just hope I post a little bit more often.

Long time no writing...

I know, the need to write and work on this blog faded for some time.  I haven't stopped gaming, and still looking forward to 5E D&D dropping soon.  I will try and come back to this when I can.  I think the best thing to do is to do it three times a week.  Monday, Wed. and Friday.  Make sure I put down something those days.  And, since today is Wed, seems like a good place to start.

Tomorrow, I should be heading out to get the new Starter Kit that is dropping for 5E.  I am really looking forward to it.  I was part of the beta test, though that fell by the wayside with others wanting to try other games.  And I also grew a bit bored with it.  But, I am also thinking of trying to restart that game or at least attempt to get the group to try it again.

We shall see.

Back again to it!

Ah, it has been awhile since I have blogged.  I think I have missed a milestone somewhere.  Doesn't matter much, just haven't been in the mood to write much out on here.

However, I decided that today, I would sit down and try to write up something...

Why?  Well, first off, I had a great experience last night with my gaming group.  We are doing something really odd and a bit old school.  I am rolling all of the dice.  Yes, to some, that is kind of annoying and prefer to roll it themselves.  My players do get to roll something, initiative.  And, once and again, I will have them roll a die for a random encounter check.

I find that without really working with a written out "rule system," though there are elements of 2E and 3E I am using, there is little arguing and more interaction with the players and some of the NPCs.

Apologizes, my mind is all over the place.  I was reading one of Zak's posts and that made me try and find the rpg he was talking about.  Can't find it at all.  Then, I was reading Hack& Slash's posts here and here.

I will try and readjust and work on the next blog to talk more about the game.  Though, I will say that towards the end of the night, I thought I would have a TPK when the dwarf attacked the leader of a bunch of cultists.  It was four PCs, against nine cultists.  In the end, they were broken, battered and bruised, but survived.