My next post was to be highly amusing and of great interest I assure you.
Sadly, I am too pooped to pump out any of my unique brand of gaming oddity ideas this evening. I am also hot. Very hot. It wasn't even that hot today but because of how much running around I did it felt a lot worse then it actually was.
Tomorrow looks to be extremely busy as well but I will have a bit more time to get my barings, so hopefully I can astound you with my GMerrific prowess.
Next up on my Blast From The Past entries...Traveller.
Seeya soon,
AD
Barking Alien
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Blast From The Past - My First Gamma World Character
My first Gamma World PC was...um...Honestly? No clue.
About the only thing I remember about my first Gamma World character was that he may have been a mutated raccoon or posseum and he was killed by a plant monster of some kind.
Yeah.
See, Gamma World characters, especially 1st Edition Gamma World characters, were not meant to be memorable 34 years later. They were not that important. The system that created them was meant to generate a freaky, super creature with bizarre, acid trip powers and weaknesses that would fight other freaky super creatures and most likely perish. Nine times out of ten when I talk to people about Gamma World they can't remember their characters but they can almost always remember how they were killed.
While I do wax nostalgic on GW every once in a while, it's not one of the games I really want to play again or miss playing. Perhaps as I one shot, yes, that would be fun but it's just not the kind of thing I want to pull out for a campaign.
My longest lived guy was from the second or third edition (I forget exactly) and he lasted the entire campaign (some 12 sessions or so). He was a mutant ram with spine/quills like a porcupine. He was pretty bad ass.
AD
Barking Alien
About the only thing I remember about my first Gamma World character was that he may have been a mutated raccoon or posseum and he was killed by a plant monster of some kind.
Yeah.
See, Gamma World characters, especially 1st Edition Gamma World characters, were not meant to be memorable 34 years later. They were not that important. The system that created them was meant to generate a freaky, super creature with bizarre, acid trip powers and weaknesses that would fight other freaky super creatures and most likely perish. Nine times out of ten when I talk to people about Gamma World they can't remember their characters but they can almost always remember how they were killed.
While I do wax nostalgic on GW every once in a while, it's not one of the games I really want to play again or miss playing. Perhaps as I one shot, yes, that would be fun but it's just not the kind of thing I want to pull out for a campaign.
My longest lived guy was from the second or third edition (I forget exactly) and he lasted the entire campaign (some 12 sessions or so). He was a mutant ram with spine/quills like a porcupine. He was pretty bad ass.
AD
Barking Alien
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August Twists and Turns
I need a twist.
I've come up with what I think will be a cool, new RPG campaign for my FLGS group but it's missing something. It's just not 'speaking' to me for some reason. I love the idea and I know what I want to do with it but I need an angle to get it jump started.
The concept is basically Bureau: 13: Stalking The Night Fantastic. The PC's are agents of a shadowy, government organization that investigates, assists and, if necessary, battles the paranormal, supernatural and extraterrestrial in a modern day, 'real world' setting. It's a very B.P.R.D. meets Men In Black type game. The premise and setting will be taken seriously however with just a touch (only a touch) of the original game's tongue-in-cheek humor.
I've come up with what I think will be a cool, new RPG campaign for my FLGS group but it's missing something. It's just not 'speaking' to me for some reason. I love the idea and I know what I want to do with it but I need an angle to get it jump started.
The concept is basically Bureau: 13: Stalking The Night Fantastic. The PC's are agents of a shadowy, government organization that investigates, assists and, if necessary, battles the paranormal, supernatural and extraterrestrial in a modern day, 'real world' setting. It's a very B.P.R.D. meets Men In Black type game. The premise and setting will be taken seriously however with just a touch (only a touch) of the original game's tongue-in-cheek humor.
My obstacle in this is the group. Some of it's members are a tad less flexible than others. I can't fault them for it. They like what they like and that's cool and all but it makes some of my preferred ways of shaking things up difficult. For example, I could go more humorous, even darkly so and I've always wanted to try a Peek-A-Boo Horror game where the players play kids trying to investigate this stuff. In Peek-A-Boo Horror, each PC is haunted by a supernatural entity, be it a creature, ghost or whathaveyou, who is connected to them but controlled by another player. Awesome no? I think awesome.
If anyone has any ideas on how to make this campaign idea atypical while still sticking with the heart of the premise please let me know.
On to other subjects...
GenCon is on! And sadly...I couldn't care less. Usually the fact that I miss going to GenCon bums me out but it's bumming me out more that I didn't really want to go this year. There is little to nothing I am interested in purchasing or hearing about. That's unfortunate to say the least.
Part of it stems from last years GenCon when, since I couldn't go then either, I poured over all the live feeds and news coming from the show...and nothing interested me. Nothing. Green Ronin having the DC Adventures rights was something I already knew. No other bit of info mattered to me at all.
Anyway, as you might be able to tell from this post, I am feeling creatively down. I was also reminising with a friend last night about Star Trek and kind of feeling the erge to run that again.
We'll see. Lots and gaming twists and turns this month.
AD
The problem, one I face time and time again after gaming for 34 years, is an overwhelming feeling of 'been there, done that'. As I've stated many times before I don't know how you guys and gals out there do it. I have trouble staying interested in the same thing for 6 months let alone always running one game campaign after campaign. Aside from Star Trek and Superheroes, which I will always return to at some point or another, I need something to spice up old game ideas to make them feel new and intriguing.
The situation wasn't really helped by the fact that the gaming blogosphere mostly consists of people who (surprise-surprise) are primarily interested in D&D, Pathfinder (D&D Extra), OSR D&D (D&D Lite) and/or 4E (Nasty Aftertaste Diet D&D). Even if something indie cool popped up, would is get coverage?
Barking Alien
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Blast From The Past - My First D&D Character
My very first D&D character was Gobbo Pepperthorn.
Nicknamed "Gonzo" by friends and foes alike for his harebrained schemes and wild antics, Gobbo was a Halfling (Race as Class of course) and the son of a prominent farmer in the Halfling lands (which never got a name aside from 'Halfling Lands').
As mentioned in an old post, Gobbo's adventures began when he was given the task of transporting a case of the Pepperthorn family's secret recipe super-spicy hot sauce (six bottles in total if I recall) to The King of the Human Lands (who lived, as I remember it, in 'The Great Kingdom'). Gobbo's father had gone missing a year before performing the same duty. The Human King liked himself some spicy food it would seem.
Not so! Apparently the hot sauce, if a saving throw vs. poison was made to avoid spending the next 1D12 hours in the outhouse, granted Humans super strength for a limited time (+2 Strength even if it went over 18 for 1D4 hours). The Human King needed the advantage in his battles with an Evil Priest who, it turns out, had kidnapped Gobbo's father to prevent the King from getting his shipment. Most of the Evil Priest's forces were undead and couldn't use the spicy potion themselves.
I don't recall what level Gobbo reached but I do remember that he had over a dozen or so adventures before his happily heroic death. In order to protect another PC who I had discovered was secretly the lost prince of the Elf Kingdom, Gobbo leaped in front of a blast of Dragon Breath. So heroic was his action that the GM let me have a short death speech in which I told the Elf of his true heritage.
Part of the reason for Gobbo's demise was, honestly, I was growing bored of him. I knew he was probably not going to live through the Dragon battle anyway as he had already been injured and I wanted him to go out a brave hero who would be remembered.
Over time I've developed a feeling that if a PC dies, it should be tragic, epic, meaningful and/or, at the very least, loud and colorful. If you can't go with dignity, go BOOOM! That largely stems from this very first character.
Actually, a lot about my style and outlook as a gamer can be traced back to Gobbo and this first campaign. How I feel about treasure, what makes a hero, how 'Halfling' sounds derogatory and they would probably call themselves something else (Wilders in my homebrew world) and many, many other elements.
This is the first of what I hope is a series of first characters from the various games I've played over the years as part of my August Anniversary celebration. Sadly, there probably won't be a lot of these. I tended to GM much, much more often then I play (still do) and I don't really remember many of my first characters when either they or the game didn't last that long. I remember the ones that matter to me is perhaps the best way to put it. Still, expect Star Trek, Star Wars, World of Darkness, Mekton, Teenager from Outer Space and a few surprises...
AD
Barking Alien
Nicknamed "Gonzo" by friends and foes alike for his harebrained schemes and wild antics, Gobbo was a Halfling (Race as Class of course) and the son of a prominent farmer in the Halfling lands (which never got a name aside from 'Halfling Lands').
As mentioned in an old post, Gobbo's adventures began when he was given the task of transporting a case of the Pepperthorn family's secret recipe super-spicy hot sauce (six bottles in total if I recall) to The King of the Human Lands (who lived, as I remember it, in 'The Great Kingdom'). Gobbo's father had gone missing a year before performing the same duty. The Human King liked himself some spicy food it would seem.
Not so! Apparently the hot sauce, if a saving throw vs. poison was made to avoid spending the next 1D12 hours in the outhouse, granted Humans super strength for a limited time (+2 Strength even if it went over 18 for 1D4 hours). The Human King needed the advantage in his battles with an Evil Priest who, it turns out, had kidnapped Gobbo's father to prevent the King from getting his shipment. Most of the Evil Priest's forces were undead and couldn't use the spicy potion themselves.
I don't recall what level Gobbo reached but I do remember that he had over a dozen or so adventures before his happily heroic death. In order to protect another PC who I had discovered was secretly the lost prince of the Elf Kingdom, Gobbo leaped in front of a blast of Dragon Breath. So heroic was his action that the GM let me have a short death speech in which I told the Elf of his true heritage.
Part of the reason for Gobbo's demise was, honestly, I was growing bored of him. I knew he was probably not going to live through the Dragon battle anyway as he had already been injured and I wanted him to go out a brave hero who would be remembered.
Over time I've developed a feeling that if a PC dies, it should be tragic, epic, meaningful and/or, at the very least, loud and colorful. If you can't go with dignity, go BOOOM! That largely stems from this very first character.
Actually, a lot about my style and outlook as a gamer can be traced back to Gobbo and this first campaign. How I feel about treasure, what makes a hero, how 'Halfling' sounds derogatory and they would probably call themselves something else (Wilders in my homebrew world) and many, many other elements.
This is the first of what I hope is a series of first characters from the various games I've played over the years as part of my August Anniversary celebration. Sadly, there probably won't be a lot of these. I tended to GM much, much more often then I play (still do) and I don't really remember many of my first characters when either they or the game didn't last that long. I remember the ones that matter to me is perhaps the best way to put it. Still, expect Star Trek, Star Wars, World of Darkness, Mekton, Teenager from Outer Space and a few surprises...
AD
Barking Alien
Monday, August 1, 2011
A Most August Anniversary
Do you remember you first time? Gaming that is! Share in the fun... AD *Hey, is it 34 years of gaming or 35? This always confuses me. Wouldn't the day after commemorating my 34 years immediately begin my 35th? Right? Math was never my strong suit. 
August commemorates a very special event for me...my first time playing a role playing game.
August 25th, 1977.
This August I celebrate 34 years of gaming.* That's a lot of games brothers and sisters. And it is a celebration. I am happy to say, "I've been gaming since 1977."
Those of us who've been with the hobby since the early days sometimes lord our time spent throwing dice over younger players as if it implies some sort of superiority over less experienced gamers. That's unfortunate. It's true, we are better at it than you but lording it over you is wrong. On behalf of all those as awesome as I am I want to apologize to you inferior lot.
I'm kidding. I kid. I kid because I love.
Seriously folks, you'll find that as old schoolers go, yours truly is as new as he is old. I love trying different game genres and systems, am fascinated by a lot of the indie press RPGs and not especially enamoured with random charts. At the same time, I think I would be hard pressed to identify myself as purely new school. I still hold many basic sensibilities from the old days as truisms when I run my campaigns. I do love a good exploration of a sand box world for example.
I have noted in previous posts that we (my friends and I) have always played a bit differently then what seems to have taken place as most kitchen tables throughout the U.S.. To that end, even my new school elements are old school. Or is that...hmmm.
Maybe I'm non-school. Or all school. Neat.
This month I intend to do what I do best. Talk outta my a** about nutty ideas and things most people could care less about. Ah...but with flair!
August will feature all the usual Barking Alien wackiness but in honor of my 34 years, I am going to get back to posting more often and (hopefully) with more substantial articles. I am also starting my new Compleat Strategist campaign on Saturday, August 20th. Those in the New York area who are interested in joining in, feel free to pop by and check out the Strat Group in action. Conversate with me and the boys and we'll see if we can squeeze you in.
Do you know the date? Do you celebrate it?
How do you celebrate it?
Barking Alien
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)