The holiday pushed off this week's NEWS:
Spiel des Jahres 2013 nominees announced [Link] Definitely some surprises on the nominee list this year as two games nominated for the award are small-box games. The choices seem a bit eccentric, but not having played many of the nominees, I will allow others to hold forth on their worthiness.
Showing posts with label rpg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rpg. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Down in the Depths (A Review of Dungeon)
Role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are enjoyable because they give you a chance to take on the role of a hero and go on adventures to fight monsters and find some treasure. Unfortunately, they usually take lots of preparation and many hours.
In Dungeon!, a recent rerelease of a classic game, players are given the opportunity to snatch up a quick hero, dive into a winding maze of a dungeon, kill a stack of monsters, and snatch up some treasure, all in a game that should take about thirty minutes. Does this game succeed in condensing RPG combat into a simple, quick system that is still enjoyable to play? Read on!
Monday, January 28, 2013
News Bits: 1/28/2013
Big news this week. Read on!
Toy Vault acquires Firefly license [Link] Geek worlds converged last week when Toy Vault announced that it had acquired the Firefly license to create tabletop games in Joss Whedon's 'verse. I'm not terribly excited about this news, but only because licensed games don't excite me much. (This is the themeless, soulless Euro part of me coming out.) And I'm especially not too excited when the tabletop games announcement came in the same breath as novelty plush figures and pillows based on the characters. Still, time will tell.
Toy Vault acquires Firefly license [Link] Geek worlds converged last week when Toy Vault announced that it had acquired the Firefly license to create tabletop games in Joss Whedon's 'verse. I'm not terribly excited about this news, but only because licensed games don't excite me much. (This is the themeless, soulless Euro part of me coming out.) And I'm especially not too excited when the tabletop games announcement came in the same breath as novelty plush figures and pillows based on the characters. Still, time will tell.
Monday, October 15, 2012
News Bits: 10/15/2012
Today is @Futurewolfie's birthday, so be sure to wish him well on Twitter (or in the comments). And with that bit out of the way, here is this week's news!
Essen Spiel Convenes in Germany
The big news this week is that the annual Spiel convention will take place in Essen, Germany (sounds tasty). For those of you who, like me, are unable to attend, Board Game Geek has a preview of what to expect up on their website. Honestly, it's a lot to wade through, and I'm just waiting to follow what those who attend the fair will vet for me.
Essen Spiel Convenes in Germany
The big news this week is that the annual Spiel convention will take place in Essen, Germany (sounds tasty). For those of you who, like me, are unable to attend, Board Game Geek has a preview of what to expect up on their website. Honestly, it's a lot to wade through, and I'm just waiting to follow what those who attend the fair will vet for me.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday QOTD: Do you play more RPGs or Board Games?
So what is it? Which hit the table more often, RPGs or Board games? Do you have a preference?
For me, my group's kinda gotten out of sync with our RPG nights and we've been doing a lot more board gaming lately, which is fine by me. Sometimes I don't know which I prefer more. I love the epic adventure feeling of participating in an RPG, but I love the simpleness and wide variety, as well as the pick-up-and-play abilities of board games. I also have a significant amount of success in getting my wife and family to try board games where I have absolutely none with RPGs. And that's okay.
Your thoughts? Leave a comment or tweet me! @futurewolfie
-w
For me, my group's kinda gotten out of sync with our RPG nights and we've been doing a lot more board gaming lately, which is fine by me. Sometimes I don't know which I prefer more. I love the epic adventure feeling of participating in an RPG, but I love the simpleness and wide variety, as well as the pick-up-and-play abilities of board games. I also have a significant amount of success in getting my wife and family to try board games where I have absolutely none with RPGs. And that's okay.
Your thoughts? Leave a comment or tweet me! @futurewolfie
-w
Friday, March 18, 2011
It's friday. How about a question for y'all!
In the spirit of "expanding the conversation" and all those fun marketing terms, today's question is:
What is your most memorable encounter in any RPG?
For me, it could be that time when our party was out to recover some sort of orb, which was guarded by a mindflayer, which was way beyond our characters to handle. But then Bryan's character (name forgotten, sorry bryan!) managed to kick the mindflayer out the window... sending him falling to a much simpler death. Phew!
Or it could be that time when the party was out to rescue the wife of my character, Obre, from a big ol' fortress. The climactic scene involved Obre teleporting from room to room to escape Lord Krugdhaxal who was trying to steal some knowledge from Obre's brain, while the rest of the party battled guards in the underground prison that was, incentally, protected by rows and rows of towers casting magic missile every turn. Eventually we figured out that there were amulets being worn by the guards that protected from the towers, and we all managed to regroup and Obre teleported everyone away from the fortress, one by one, before an entire army of guards overwhelmed us all.
Leave your story in the comments!
-w
What is your most memorable encounter in any RPG?
For me, it could be that time when our party was out to recover some sort of orb, which was guarded by a mindflayer, which was way beyond our characters to handle. But then Bryan's character (name forgotten, sorry bryan!) managed to kick the mindflayer out the window... sending him falling to a much simpler death. Phew!
Or it could be that time when the party was out to rescue the wife of my character, Obre, from a big ol' fortress. The climactic scene involved Obre teleporting from room to room to escape Lord Krugdhaxal who was trying to steal some knowledge from Obre's brain, while the rest of the party battled guards in the underground prison that was, incentally, protected by rows and rows of towers casting magic missile every turn. Eventually we figured out that there were amulets being worn by the guards that protected from the towers, and we all managed to regroup and Obre teleported everyone away from the fortress, one by one, before an entire army of guards overwhelmed us all.
Leave your story in the comments!
-w
Friday, February 11, 2011
RPGs: The Readied Action
The other day on twitter, I found myself (read: violently broke into) in a conversation about Readied Actions and their appropriate usage, with a few other players of various DnD brands. A particular frustration expressed was when players used a readied action to constantly get a jump on baddies, trying to achieve surprise round after surprise round.
Being that I am somewhat of a blogger on RPG topics, I decide to dig into the readied action a little bit, and share my thoughts with the world, AKA "you guys."
Being that I am somewhat of a blogger on RPG topics, I decide to dig into the readied action a little bit, and share my thoughts with the world, AKA "you guys."
Monday, February 7, 2011
Fallen Heroes, Chapter 5: This Might Be Harder Than We Thought
This session of my Fallen Heroes campaign was possibly the most interesting. This session focused not so much on combat, or even overcoming challenges. This chapter really brought out character backstories, and some of their conflicting natures. Players darkest secrets were blasted in their own faces. Surprisingly, a lot of the conflict that arose centered around the secret alternate identity of one of the characters, which I did not plan or expect to be fully revealed at this point. The mechanics of this session? Almost entirely just telling a story. The challenge wasn't dice rolling. It was presenting situations that dug deep into characters feelings. And it was awesome. I'm basically just going to tell the stories because I'm pretty happy with what happened.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Fallen Heroes, Chapter 3: Flying Heroes
Picking up right where we left off, our heroes were taking a leisurely ride on an eccentric old dwarf's airship. It was, perhaps the calm before the storm, as they were heading towards the ominous "Fortress of Souls." As far as they knew, this was the only airship in existence in the entire world.
Not too long after resting up, the players find themselves on some floating mountain islands. In the sky. Why the detour? Gakkeren, the dwarf, had visited those mountains many times before, and their friendly Skypeople inhabitants. But something was wrong.
Not too long after resting up, the players find themselves on some floating mountain islands. In the sky. Why the detour? Gakkeren, the dwarf, had visited those mountains many times before, and their friendly Skypeople inhabitants. But something was wrong.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Fallen Heroes, Chapter 2: Frozen In...
This week, in Fallen Heroes...
Our heroes set out after resting at the Wizard's tower, heading for the Dwarf's keep. The journey was almost incident free, except for a strange, mysterious, and apparently incorporeal person appearing along the way. After babbling a few nonsense sentences about everyone being so small and how tiny it was in here (this encounter occurred in the great outdoors, in a wide-open field) he made some remarks about each player, hints at their true backstory, causing players to question each other temporarily.
Our heroes set out after resting at the Wizard's tower, heading for the Dwarf's keep. The journey was almost incident free, except for a strange, mysterious, and apparently incorporeal person appearing along the way. After babbling a few nonsense sentences about everyone being so small and how tiny it was in here (this encounter occurred in the great outdoors, in a wide-open field) he made some remarks about each player, hints at their true backstory, causing players to question each other temporarily.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
RPG Reflections Part 3: Truly, a Role Playing Game
Check out Part 1 here: RPG Reflections Part 1: The Story So Far
and Part 2 here: RPG Reflections Part 2: The Bad, The Ugly
In the initial scene, players were tasked with fighting off Kobolds in an unfamiliar town. They had not yet met each other, so each player started in a separate part of town. In addition to this, the characters would have had no knowledge of the other player's presence, and thus would have no reason to intentionally search them out.
and Part 2 here: RPG Reflections Part 2: The Bad, The Ugly
In the initial scene, players were tasked with fighting off Kobolds in an unfamiliar town. They had not yet met each other, so each player started in a separate part of town. In addition to this, the characters would have had no knowledge of the other player's presence, and thus would have no reason to intentionally search them out.
Monday, January 17, 2011
RPG Reflections Part 2: The Bad, The Ugly
See Part 1 of this post here: RPG Reflections Part 1: The Story So Far
and Part 3: RPG Reflections Part 3: Truly, a Role Playing Game
In the first encounter of this session, players began in a town without knowing each other. To simulate the idea of the players not having any idea where the other players were, I drew a large map on gridded paper of the entire town, then cut it up into small 8x6 areas. Each player had their area in front of them, and the surrounding areas were only placed when the players wanted to move into them. This way, as the battle slowly went on, the players could explore freely, not knowing where they were relative to the other players. The town map slowly assembled and two players actually found each other before the battle ended.
and Part 3: RPG Reflections Part 3: Truly, a Role Playing Game
In the first encounter of this session, players began in a town without knowing each other. To simulate the idea of the players not having any idea where the other players were, I drew a large map on gridded paper of the entire town, then cut it up into small 8x6 areas. Each player had their area in front of them, and the surrounding areas were only placed when the players wanted to move into them. This way, as the battle slowly went on, the players could explore freely, not knowing where they were relative to the other players. The town map slowly assembled and two players actually found each other before the battle ended.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
RPG Reflections Part 1: The Story So Far.
Last night, I started my new, original DnD/Pathfinder campaign, entitled "Fallen Heroes." I should also note that this is my first time ever hosting a DnD style roleplaying game. It went fairly well, I think, but not perfectly and I thought I'd take an honest look back while the memories are fresh, so that I, and maybe some of you as well, can learn a little something.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Let's Make 'Em Dance!
It's been on hiatus during the holiday season, but this weekend my DnD group is starting up a new adventure, with myself at the helm as GM. As a result, RPGs have been on my mind in the past couple of days as I work on the last details of my next session. I'm actually running a Pathfinder campaign, which for those of you who don't know, is an update /offshoot of Dungeons and Dragons version 3.5.
A lot of what I've been focusing on, aside from updating character sheets to the right stats and abilities, is not really system-specific. As I create my plot, I'm working not just on story advancement, but ways to give the players some unique choices, as well as ways to make combat and non-combat encounters unique.
A lot of what I've been focusing on, aside from updating character sheets to the right stats and abilities, is not really system-specific. As I create my plot, I'm working not just on story advancement, but ways to give the players some unique choices, as well as ways to make combat and non-combat encounters unique.
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