Tara: 'Your One-Stop Spot to Shop for Lots of New-Age and Occult Items.' Catchy. Giles: Think so? Tara: Uh huh. In a... hard to say sorta way.

'Sleeper'


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.


Connie Neil - Jun 18, 2008 5:40:26 am PDT #986 of 26132
brillig

. . . then there was the D&D campaign where the DM thought he was the next Weis and/or Hickman, and we were working out his plot points and themes. He had us spend an entire session working out fully fleshed characters with backgrounds and all, then threw us through a dimensional warp where those backgrounds and relationships didn't matter and we didn't know anyone in the party. Plus he finally admitted that the monsters were designed to kill as many characters as possible and that "it will all make sense in a few weeks, when we get to the next stage." I went through 12 characters in 6 weeks and eventually stopped creating new ones, just cycling through three variants.

I stopped showing up, and so did everyone else not log after.


Miracleman - Jun 18, 2008 5:43:29 am PDT #987 of 26132
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020

. . . then there was the D&D campaign where the DM thought he was the next Weis and/or Hickman, and we were working out his plot points and themes.

I had a GM like that running a home-brewed system. Eventually we players were just adding witty banter and rolling dice on occasions. We got bored of his NPCs running things that we wouldn't even pay attention and be all confused when he would introduce the next encounter.

"And then the Kraken rears its head from the water..."

"Wait, what? In a desert?"

"You're on a boat. You've been on a boat for nearly a week."

"We have? Was I drunk?"


Sean K - Jun 18, 2008 6:12:38 am PDT #988 of 26132
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty

I think I'd have a hard time placing myself on a narrativist/gamist scale -- in general, I tend narrativist, preferring immersion in my character as a player, or for my players as a DM.

But the stories I like to immerse myself or my players in do tend to involve a lot of fighting.

I go back and forth on tactical minis combat, too. In general I dislike them. Or, that is....

....I like my combats to *be* tactical, but I like an immersive tactical. I want my (or my player's) tactics to be based on the combat situation, not the position of the minis. And sometimes, those two things are not the same. I think D&D tactical minis, combined with the rules for their use, produce unlikely, and even ridiculous tactics (and yes, I know the existence of magic changes things).

Hmm... I think I'm kind of rambling and unfocused this morning. I'll have to collect my thoughts and try again later.


Connie Neil - Jun 18, 2008 6:28:34 am PDT #989 of 26132
brillig

I have a hard time with combat when I DM, because I suck at combat tactics. "Umm . . . I charge?" Especially when I'm trying to run a monster/etc. that's supposed to be incredibly tough.

The problem is exacerbated because Hubby and/or his buddies are normally in the party, and they've all got military background, so they do things like "Oh, like hell we're marching up to the front gate! We're going around and climbing over the back wall after dark!"

Still, I got to catch one of them being stupid, because he wanted to change into the super-cool armor of badassness he'd found in the middle of a battle, and he thought hiding in a side room was sufficient. I did enjoy asking, "So what is your butt naked armor class, standing there in just your skivies?"


CaBil - Jun 18, 2008 6:34:11 am PDT #990 of 26132
Remember, remember/the fifth of November/the Gunpowder Treason and Plot/I see no reason/Why Gunpowder Treason/Should ever be forgot.

Hrm, I don't GM, but I have written adventures and I tend to fall into the Feng Shui (the RPG) design philosophy, where incidental combats I tend not to worry about, but story combats, combats that move the story/adventure along I tend to sweat over and try to have interesting environments/props for the players.

For a Shadowrun adventure I did a while back, the climatic scene was a fight in the Awakened Animal zoo with high level animal spirit. I ended up listing a dozen animals and the various tactics that they could use to mess with the players.

And for the Serenity adventure I just finished, I think that I have a pretty fun environment for the climatic combat, but I don't think I can talk about it. For people who play the game, all I can say is start beefing up your Zero-G skill...


Volans - Jun 18, 2008 9:22:17 am PDT #991 of 26132
move out and draw fire

then there was the D&D campaign where the DM thought he was the next Weis and/or Hickman

This is what you get for living in Utah.

Speaking of Hickman, I think my model is the original Ravenloft. Basically you got a (really cool) map and stat blocks for monsters. It lived or died based on what the DM and players brought to the table. If the DM really role-played Strahd, you could have some really interesting (occasionally nightmarish) fights.

In boardgame news, I just heard the best review of a game I've heard all week: We played El Grande at lunch (it comes with a black dildo as a playing piece, leading to a house rule involving positioning that piece and saying "They call me El Grande!" But that's not the point).

EG is a victory points game, so at each scoring round you tally up the points for each region. "Seville gives four to red and two to yellow. Valencia gives 9 to blue and three to yellow." etc.

One player said, "This game is Eurovision."


Connie Neil - Jun 18, 2008 9:30:13 am PDT #992 of 26132
brillig

This is what you get for living in Utah.

True, true . . .

re: Ravenloft, we were running Ravenloft II though no one knew it but me, the DM, and the entire table gave a lovely shriek when their courteous host said, "Oh, I am sorry, let me introduce myself, I am Strahd." (this being the same group that took him out in Ravenloft I with a natural 20 on the Hold Person and a natural 1 on the save, grr . . .)

Good times.


Tom Scola - Jun 18, 2008 9:37:24 am PDT #993 of 26132
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500

A "Eurovision Hero" video game would be fucking awesome.


Polter-Cow - Jun 18, 2008 12:16:35 pm PDT #994 of 26132
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

So I was at this awesome wedding this weekend, and I talked to a woman named Jane about The Wire.

It turns out that was Jane McGonigal, who appears to be quite famous in the ARG world.


Pete, Husband of Jilli - Jun 18, 2008 12:57:30 pm PDT #995 of 26132
"I've got a gun! I've got a mother-flippin' gun!" - Moss, The IT Crowd

Speaking of Hickman, I think my model is the original Ravenloft. Basically you got a (really cool) map and stat blocks for monsters. It lived or died based on what the DM and players brought to the table. If the DM really role-played Strahd, you could have some really interesting (occasionally nightmarish) fights.

Ah yes, Ravenloft. Good times, good times. I ran a few friends through the evil combined version of Ravenloft I & II a long time ago and the players' first encounter with Strahd was while they were holed up in the house of the woman the Count was after. There was a knock at the door, and player A answered it. The figure asked if he could come in, and the player said "sure". As one, all the other players turned and looked dumbstruck at player A who was like "What? We can totally take him in here! He's got nowhere to go!". Turns out Player A had never heard the folklore about vampires not being able to enter residences until they're invited. Yeah, he got call some choice names, all of them deserved.

They all survived that encounter - barely - but they didn't survive the adventure.