(Adam goes
spinning through the flotsam and jetsam of multiple realities and alternate
cosmoses...cosmosi...more than one cosmos. As he travels, various strange and
wonderous realities and concepts float by, each more amazing and disturbing
then the next...)
The Storyteller with Ars
Magica
Do this. Watch all the Storyteller episodes and then play Ars Magica. You'll
thank me.
Labyrinth with
Changeling: The Dreaming
Is it just me or is this combination just so obvious?
The Dark Crystal
So many ways you can go. Erin Palette suggested Unknown Armies. I feel I could
go with a modified Faery's Tale Deluxe. Most people would just as soon D&D
it but I think that's like using a hammer to screw in a nail.
In Nomine
Do doo bee-do-doo
In Nomine
Do do-do-doo
In Nomine
Do doo bee-do-doo bee-do-doo bee-do-doo bee-do-do-doodle doo doo do-do-doo*
Sam and Friends
The first prime time television series to feature the Muppets was a Washington
D.C. local show called Sam and Friends that ran twice a day for five minutes
each episode. While most of its characters have faded into obscurity, the
program did feature the earliest version of Kermit, then a lizard like
creature.
I've often considered what a remake of this show would be like or how to make a
cool Muppets campaign using the look and feel of Sam and Friends. Having aired
from 1955 to 1961, the idea of giving the game a film noir or 'Mad Men' quality
is very intriguing. As yet the concept is largely undeveloped.
The Hoobs, Mopatop's
Shop and Bear in The Big Blue House
While 'Bear' is best
served using a trimmed down version of the Sesame Street rules, the Hoobs and
Mopatop are a little Sesame Street and a little Fraggle Rock in some ways. I
may have to think on them a bit more to get a more definitive idea.
"OK, my friend, we see you need some help. Being the enlightened higher
beings that we are, we're going to do you a solid."
"Thanks..um...Cosmic Fish."
"No problem my karmic castaway. You need to focus on something or someone who will act as an anchor in the reality you wish to go to."
"An anchor huh? Hmmm...wait...I'm got it. In regards to my last set of ideas, I may have to think more on them..."
To Be Concluded...
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Barking Alien
*Credit for the In Nomine joke goes to Pete Hernandez, a talented artist who I used to be good friends with and who I gamed with all throughout high school. This was the first thing that came out of his mouth when I told him about In Nomine. The title of this post refers to a proposed TV series featuring Tim Curry as the exiled ruler of a small fictional national, now forced to live in America (New York City to be precise). Both Human and Muppet characters represent members of his formerly royal family.
As someone who enjoys many different rules systems and game settings, I often get very frustrated with playing the same old thing again and again. While I would love to be part of a long term campaign that lasts for years and years, at this point in my life I'll be lucky if my friends and I can get together a few times a month for a whole year. If this is going to be the case (as it has been for some years now), I want to expand my gaming horizons and try some new flavors instead of the same old vanilla.
It seems however that when a campaign ends and/or something new is called for, the vast majority of players and GMs default to the same games. Usually its some incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons or the D20 System. Superheroes games see a lot of activity in the circles I travel in and I am a big fan but even then too much of a good thing can lead to boredom with the genre. World of Darkness used to be a common default but not so much for my groups over the past few years and rarely the one I find to be the most intriguing of the series, Changeling: The Dreaming.
I long for someone other then myself to run something strange, different and new. Mouse Guard, Faery's Tale Deluxe and Spirit of the Century would all be a welcome change. Alternatively, something ol' school and classic would be nice too. I haven't played Call of Cthulhu in forever. Nor have I had the opportunity to play Cyberpunk, Shadowrun (any edition) or Gamma World in recent memory.
Now, what I would like to point out if it was not particularly clear is that these are games I'd love to play. I consider myself about 90% Gamemaster and 10% Player, prefering to GM the vast majority of the time. In part, it is because I know I will run something different from time to time. This is occaisionally met with a little initial resistance. Many players my age don't want to learn a new system. A lot of my current players are GMs as well and seem to prefer games where this fact gives them an advantage during character creation (yes, for the first time in 25-30 years I have min-maxers and powergamers - slay me).
Also, many of the game ideas I enjoy and have run for full on awesome campaigns in the past are viewed as not 'serious' enough by my current peers (Faery's Tale Deluxe, Mouse Guard, Oz) without really giving them a chance. So my thinking is, if my ideas are too 'goofy' for you, please come up with something yourself. Unfortunately, at least for me, the response to that is usually, "OK. I've got an idea for D&D...". To which I often reply, "Zzzzz..."
Well, my hope is that things will improve as I try to introduce new ideas to the groups and see if anything sticks. Already a few of my players and fellow GMs are looking at games they may not have looked at before. The chance to run something truly unusual may still be a ways away but at least I can look forward to more variety in the future instead of 31 flavors of vanilla.
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Barking Alien
