I find myself in one of my moods where my thoughts turn towards games I haven't played in a very long time, or ideas I haven't had the chance to explore more fully. I'll dispense with mentioning Star Trek, as that's a given, and I will probably be getting the opportunity to run a one-shot of it for my bi-weekly group sometime in October.
I also want to get back into Superheroes in some capacity soon. A fill-in for the regular GM of the bi-weekly game or an online, Google + session would be just the thing to satisfy that itch.
What I am talking about here is a little different. It's a desire by Barking Alien to run some distinctly un-Barking Alien-like games.
Such as...
Alternative Supers
What I mean by this is not your typical cape and cowl, four-color/modern fare (though that is where my love truly lies), but rather something a bit more like Aberrant, the TV series HEROES, or the Wild Card novels.
Since DC Comics has been a real let down since the nu52 began, I've been getting back into Anime and Manga more and more (in addition to reading more Marvel). The Japanese creators have been doing a ton of work in a very American comics vein, although tweaked by Japanese culture and sensibilities.
Among the series I've found inspiring for this idea include (for one reason or another) Darker Than Black, Tiger and Bunny, Tokyo ESP, and s-CRY-ed, among others.
As I mentioned in a previous, recent post, the company Ver. Blue Amusement has licensed and translated a Japanese RPG exemplifying this subgenre called Double Cross. I am seriously looking into giving this a go.
Military and Espionage
While discussing elements of the various military and intelligence factions in our current Traveller game with my good buddy Dave, we somehow sidetracked to reminisce about various spy and commando type games like Top Secret, James Bond 007, Recon/Advanced Recon, Aftermath, The Morrow Project, and the greatest-game-that-never-was, MISSION.
This is so not my cup of tea normally, but I like the idea of a Tom Clancy, Bourne Identity thriller, possibly mixed with Sci-Fi or supernatural elements.
On a separate but related note...could the military or espionage activity be fighting off a zombie apocalypse or alien invasion? Could we mix a little The End of The World in here with this? Who knows, and why not!
Medieval Fantasy
Yeah, that pesky genre is more tenacious than a bed bug, and just as welcome I assure you.
The recent release of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons has caused a plethora of posts across the blog-o-sphere, all of which cause me to have European, medieval, fantasy ideas on the brain, and absolutely no interest in using D&D 5E to explore them.
It doesn't help that Noisms recently mentioned Ryuutama, a game I've been dying to try, and the recent Japan Game Convention showcased Grancrest, a new Japanese TRPG fantasy game that I have heard good things about (but few details sadly).
The two smaller books are core rulebooks 1 and 2 respectively.
The larger book underneath is a 'Super Campaign Book',
which details additional material on the world/setting.
As it stands I really have no time for another campaign. This is just my creative side shooting its proverbial mouth off, so to speak. We'll just have to wait and see what wins out, time, interest, or my inability to keep my mind quiet.
AD
Barking Alien
You're not kidding about the letdown in DC52. I feel like every issue of Justice League is a slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteI just saw some very interesting news today on the comic book information feeds and websites.
DeleteMark my words...a Crisis is coming.
It's like Winter, but with Parallel Earths and Anti-Matter.
I know what you mean - my regulars are in a "let's try out some stuff" phase right now with the intent to then pick a "main" game for next year. I know what's likely and what's a real longshot, but there are books for about 5 different game systems on my bedside table right now and a lot of options flowing through the brain.
ReplyDeleteAh, see, that's great to hear (OK read).
DeleteI love when people are willing to try something new and different. The main reason is because, you never know what the results will be. That games you've been eyeing but just haven't been able to pull the trigger on could be your next, best campaign.