I've really got to learn to just do the damage and get out of town. It's the 'stay and gloat' that gets me every time.

Ethan Rayne ,'Potential'


Gaming 1: You are likely to be eaten by a grue

A thread for the discussion of games: board, LARP, MMORPG, video, tabletop RPG, game theory etc. etc. and all attendant news, developments and ancillary subjects thereof, as well as coordinating/scheduling games either online or IRL. All are welcome to chime in, talk about their favorite games or learn about gaming of any sort.

PLEASE TO WHITEFONT SPOILERS for video games, RPG modules or anything for which foreknowledge of events might lessen one's enjoyment of whatever gaming experience.


CaBil - Jun 26, 2008 5:28:04 pm PDT #1079 of 26133
Remember, remember/the fifth of November/the Gunpowder Treason and Plot/I see no reason/Why Gunpowder Treason/Should ever be forgot.

Yeah, it looks like the book retail in Japan for @$15, which isn't that bad, but not that cheap either. Considering some of the additional merchendise (model kits, a phone based version of the game) it is probably more an art thing (with a game attached)...


Volans - Jun 27, 2008 12:46:59 pm PDT #1080 of 26133
move out and draw fire

Quick quoting:

A rule is a function of [game] mechanics. A role is a function of theater. Rules frame interaction with the game, roles frame interaction with the players.

This got me thinking about role-playing games, and how they are also rule-playing games. And chess.

In chess, each player has 6 possible roles each move (pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, king). These are mostly perceived as rules (bishops can only move diagonally), but they are also roles, having to do with how each piece controls lanes on the board and supports or threatens other pieces.

That applies to games like D&D also. If I'm playing a cleric, I have to follow the system rules for cleric, which in turn direct the role I will play for my party.

But not totally - I can be a healer or a harmer, the player who increases the combat-readiness of the warfighter, or the warfighter himself.

And even if I'm a healer, I can play that character as a total dick, which will color both my character's relationships within the party, and possibly the outcome of the whole game (depending on what effect my dickitude has on the NPCs, etc).

D&D is overarchingly structured around combat. The vast majority of adventures are lost or won by combat. That makes it more like chess (which all mini wargames descend from); more focus on the rules/game system, less on the roles/theater. But those still have an effect; how great an effect is largely up to the gaming group, I think.

Anyway, I thought it was a neat way to build a spectrum of gaming. I'm all about the gray area.


Frankenbuddha - Jun 28, 2008 5:21:59 am PDT #1081 of 26133
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"

I also enjoyed playing Ace of Aces, a similar kind of game about WWI biplane combat.

I used to LOVE playing Ace of Aces. I always meant to pick up a set, but never did.


CaBil - Jun 28, 2008 7:46:14 am PDT #1082 of 26133
Remember, remember/the fifth of November/the Gunpowder Treason and Plot/I see no reason/Why Gunpowder Treason/Should ever be forgot.

I think they share the same designer but are not directly related, design wise.


billytea - Jun 30, 2008 4:26:15 pm PDT #1083 of 26133
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

Going back to the discussion about the 4E DMG, and its usefulness or lack thereof. There's an article on the WotC website about the design philosophy behind the DMG here: [link]

There are people out there who think the new DMG's fantastic, I personally (like others here) didn't get much out of the Role-Playing 101 sections. I actually found it more interesting reading about the designers' motivations for doing things the way they did. One quote in particular cught my eye:

t "The 3rd Edition Dungeonscape book included an extensive -- one might say exhaustive -- discussion of adventure setting, detailing the many kinds of dungeon rooms and features. Our first inclination in putting this section of the DMG together was to draw on that excellent material. Ultimately, though, I decided that it lacked focus, and it was too much information for the first DMG."

I expect future PHBs and MMs to be pretty similar in structure to the first ones (just with different classes, feats, monsters etc). Sounds like that may not be the case for the DMGs. (Which, good, I didn't really need one primer on role-playing, let alone several.)


billytea - Jul 04, 2008 1:58:06 am PDT #1084 of 26133
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

Check this out: D&D origami. [link]


DavidS - Jul 06, 2008 9:47:58 am PDT #1085 of 26133
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Joey Ramone Video Game Reviews - circa early 80s.


Volans - Jul 07, 2008 12:58:26 pm PDT #1086 of 26133
move out and draw fire

Weekend Gaming Report:

Tigris & Euphrates. Still excellent. I won the first game handily, then got my ass handed to me twice.

Kingdom. Reiner Knieze is still a god. (God of Sticking Random Themes on Clever Designs...it's a niche). Kingdom is basically tic-tac-toe on steroids, for multiple players and with winning as a possibility.

Inkognito. Meh. Clue for grown-ups. Other people liked the new "Carnivale in Venice" theme; I missed the little props from Clue. Best quote, following an information exchange: "These cards do not have four asses."


billytea - Jul 07, 2008 3:40:51 pm PDT #1087 of 26133
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

Kingdom. Reiner Knieze is still a god. (God of Sticking Random Themes on Clever Designs...it's a niche). Kingdom is basically tic-tac-toe on steroids, for multiple players and with winning as a possibility.

I understand he took out the Spiel des Jahres award this year, though really he should've won the year he released T&E.


Ailleann - Jul 15, 2008 6:37:15 am PDT #1088 of 26133
vanguard of the socialist Hollywood liberal homosexualist agenda

The track listing for Rock Band 2 is out.