Something Wicked This Way Comes

A funny thing happened on the way to our most recent session of Hunter X Hunter...

First, about a week or so ago, Marcus, who is a part-time actor, let us know he hadn't been able to make it to the game regularly because he got a part in an indie film and would be shooting for the next few weekends.

Next, a few days before Game Day (almost always Saturdays), Lee (one of the players) stopped by Ray's job (Ray is our GM and works at our FLGS) to tell him his work schedule had been changed. Lee, for the foreseeable future, will not be able to attend our games.

Lastly, the night before Game Day, Dave sent me a text saying he had been called into work at the last minute and wouldn't be able to make it for the game either.

So that left just Ray and me.

We had a great time just hanging out and talking, something Ray and I rarely get to do because of our schedules. If we aren't gaming or I am not stopping by the store (which I don't get to do very often anymore as I am working uptown during the hours this midtown store is open), it's pretty much impossible for us to get together.

We didn't play anything, but instead we ended up talking about a lot of things including, of course, gaming.

That's when Ray gave me the big reveal...

He didn't really know where to go with or what to do with his campaign. Not because he didn't have any ideas per se but rather because he felt (and still feels) it is unfinished, a work in progress. What he had created so far was a homebrew no where near the fermentation and bottling stage.

Ray suggested that the next session of Hunter X Hunter be the last...of Part 1. We (our gaming group) will then skip a week (since the following weekend is New York Comic Con anyway) and the following Saturday I will start a new campaign to run for a while. Twist my arm why don'tcha!

This 'season off' hiatus will enable Ray to put more work into his game and then he will come back to run it at a later date. I am totally down with this and he feels it's the best way to go. We're all good.

Alas, we are left with that age old question...what should I run?

I know I said my next game would most assuredly be Star Trek but I do not feel that is the right game at the right time at this juncture. Our group seems to be in flux once more and I want something simple and flexible that will appeal to everyone while still appealing to me and giving this particular group a taste of something they may not have played before.

I've narrowed it down to Traveller and Ars Magica.

Traveller because we've had numerous one-shots, half-arsed attempts and false starts but we have yet to actually run a full on campaign. I think we are overdue.

Ars Magica is a possibility because the lot of us share that, "I wish Medieval Fantasy gaming didn't have to be just D&D". Of course the actual interest in the genre ranges from Marcus' "No Doubt! I love Fantasy!" to my, "I would rather gargle live hand grenades then play that." That said, there is one type of Medieval Fantasy I do like, Folkloric Fantasy. I love mythology, folk tales and fairy tales and Ars Magica is all that and a side order of history.

Stay with me and I'll keep you posted.

Oh and one more thing...

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Barking Alien

Freaky, awesome illustration by Keith Thompson.