Well, after being sick all weekend, (and still managing to get a session of The Road in with my local group), I've finally got my Dragoncon audio up.
I also am almost all caught up on new sessions of The Road: Tales from Route 66.
More to talk about later.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
What a week!
Well, I didn't update before I left but I'm back from Dragoncon.
Thanks to some good friends, I was able to make the trip. It was a great time and I ran some games for some wonderful folks. There were some familar faces and some new ones and once again I was just blown away by the creativity that these fine gamers could cook up with just a few minutes to think about a pre-made character just handed to them.
I ran one session of Call of Cthulhu, a tie-in to my current campaign; Route 66. I'm still trying to cook up a catchy name.
I also ran two sessions of Mutants and Masterminds.
Aaaaaand I finally got to play Spirit of the Century. The game was Ghostbusters 1884 and it was an absolute blast. There were some battery issues with the recorder on that one but nothing was lost.
I've had a bit of con crud the last couple of days but I should have the audio of my games up tonight.
I'll post when they're ready.
Thanks to some good friends, I was able to make the trip. It was a great time and I ran some games for some wonderful folks. There were some familar faces and some new ones and once again I was just blown away by the creativity that these fine gamers could cook up with just a few minutes to think about a pre-made character just handed to them.
I ran one session of Call of Cthulhu, a tie-in to my current campaign; Route 66. I'm still trying to cook up a catchy name.
I also ran two sessions of Mutants and Masterminds.
Aaaaaand I finally got to play Spirit of the Century. The game was Ghostbusters 1884 and it was an absolute blast. There were some battery issues with the recorder on that one but nothing was lost.
I've had a bit of con crud the last couple of days but I should have the audio of my games up tonight.
I'll post when they're ready.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A hiccup and dissapointments
Well, I ran over a curb and bent a control arm under my car. Hello six hundred bucks in repairs, and goodbye to Dragoncon. Just no way I can swing it. So, I have my vacation scheduled for me to go and I have to spend all my con funds on auto repairs.
I'm going to be sitting at home without my car and not working while Con is going on. Bleah.
I haven't missed one in a dozen years and I am, of course, upset, but I was a bit doubtful about how good a time I was going to have.
This was going to be the first year I was going alone and I was just not sure I'd have a good time by myself.
Well, next year I'm thinking of trying Gen-Con, and I'll try to get a group of folks to go too. Here's hoping.
I'm going to be sitting at home without my car and not working while Con is going on. Bleah.
I haven't missed one in a dozen years and I am, of course, upset, but I was a bit doubtful about how good a time I was going to have.
This was going to be the first year I was going alone and I was just not sure I'd have a good time by myself.
Well, next year I'm thinking of trying Gen-Con, and I'll try to get a group of folks to go too. Here's hoping.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Fun Television
Its weird to say it, but FUN is my number one qualification for a good show. Gripping is nice, Thrilling is also good, but Fun is what'll bring me back.
Its why so many of my favorite shows are comedies. Sure, they're sometimes pretty black or bleak comedies, but its almost always got this sense of fun.
Two of my favorite shows on TV are about this aforementioned word: Leverage and Burn Notice.
Leverage stars Timothy Hutton as an ex-insurance agent that leads a team of thieves to help folks. I like that there's layers to each job, the characters are great, and you can tell there's a great time to be had just making the show.
Burn Notice, starring Jeffery Donovan and geek media staple Bruce Campbell, well, its a great show about a burned spy. And, blah-de-blah, looks like a lot of fun to make and its great fun to watch.
I'm typing this and I realize that these shows have a lot in common with another show from a long long time ago that I loved and its for the same reasons. The show was the Rockford Files. Its available on Netflix streaming and I highly recommend it.
Its why so many of my favorite shows are comedies. Sure, they're sometimes pretty black or bleak comedies, but its almost always got this sense of fun.
Two of my favorite shows on TV are about this aforementioned word: Leverage and Burn Notice.
Leverage stars Timothy Hutton as an ex-insurance agent that leads a team of thieves to help folks. I like that there's layers to each job, the characters are great, and you can tell there's a great time to be had just making the show.
Burn Notice, starring Jeffery Donovan and geek media staple Bruce Campbell, well, its a great show about a burned spy. And, blah-de-blah, looks like a lot of fun to make and its great fun to watch.
I'm typing this and I realize that these shows have a lot in common with another show from a long long time ago that I loved and its for the same reasons. The show was the Rockford Files. Its available on Netflix streaming and I highly recommend it.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Third Edition
When FFG took over WFRPG from Black Industries last year, I was hopeful. I enjoy all of the boardgames I've ever purchased from Fantasy Flight Games and, as it looked like they were continuing the wonderful 2nd edition game products, this was going to be great.
Well, they produced two books and they were good.
Then, last week, I read about third edition.
Cards, custom dice, stances...
I was and am a bit scared that they are DnD 4e'ing my favorite game.
read a bit here
Today, I watched a video seminar about it. My opinion is more open than before. I don't like the game supplies limiting the number of players to three plus the GM or needing to buy an expansion to add a fourth one.
I also don't like that halflings are not in the basic game.
That said, it seems interesting and I do like that it seems to give focus and guides to roleplay through the mechanics. Whereas I've felt that the mechanics in DnD 4e are almost actively opposed to deep character interaction or story.
Link to the seminar
So, depending on finances, I might just pick it up. I hope the price point breaks down a bit cheaper than previous WFRP products and that the game doesn't become too larger than life. The darkness and everyman nature of the player characters is what always attracted me to the game before.
Well, they produced two books and they were good.
Then, last week, I read about third edition.
Cards, custom dice, stances...
I was and am a bit scared that they are DnD 4e'ing my favorite game.
read a bit here
Today, I watched a video seminar about it. My opinion is more open than before. I don't like the game supplies limiting the number of players to three plus the GM or needing to buy an expansion to add a fourth one.
I also don't like that halflings are not in the basic game.
That said, it seems interesting and I do like that it seems to give focus and guides to roleplay through the mechanics. Whereas I've felt that the mechanics in DnD 4e are almost actively opposed to deep character interaction or story.
Link to the seminar
So, depending on finances, I might just pick it up. I hope the price point breaks down a bit cheaper than previous WFRP products and that the game doesn't become too larger than life. The darkness and everyman nature of the player characters is what always attracted me to the game before.
More Route 66 soon.
I have two more sessions in the can, just have to upload 'em to the site.
I don't do a lot of editing of the sessions. Heck, I don't know if I've ever done much to them. I don't know if its laziness or if I feel that editing them seems like cheating.
When I say cheating, I mean, well, another word for it would be produced. That you're not hearing the actual gameplay, warts and all, but an idealized version of it.
Anyway, the game gets more fun for me to run with each session and I'm firmly decided to keep the chip mechanic.
Its a work in progress but the way it works now is that at the beginning of each session, each player is given one black chip and three reds. The black chips are for plot points or direct statements that change what I've said about what they see or know, subject to GM approval. The red chips are used for rerolls.
At the end of the session, the chips become akin to experience points, with the red chips allowing rerolls on skill improvement checks and the black chips allowing the player to select a skill that wasn't used this session to attempt to improve it, even including skills they don't have, subject to GM approval. Well, except for Cthulhu Mythos, of course.
I still weep at the lack of new players, gnashing my teeth and despairing at finding folks that don't want to just play DnD 4e. Not that I am an ardent hater of it, just that its not something I want to run.
Dragoncon is just over a week away. I hope to meet a lot of new folks there and record some game audio as well as maybe get some interviews or audio spots for the podcast which I'm still trying to get off the ground.
Hope to see you there!
I don't do a lot of editing of the sessions. Heck, I don't know if I've ever done much to them. I don't know if its laziness or if I feel that editing them seems like cheating.
When I say cheating, I mean, well, another word for it would be produced. That you're not hearing the actual gameplay, warts and all, but an idealized version of it.
Anyway, the game gets more fun for me to run with each session and I'm firmly decided to keep the chip mechanic.
Its a work in progress but the way it works now is that at the beginning of each session, each player is given one black chip and three reds. The black chips are for plot points or direct statements that change what I've said about what they see or know, subject to GM approval. The red chips are used for rerolls.
At the end of the session, the chips become akin to experience points, with the red chips allowing rerolls on skill improvement checks and the black chips allowing the player to select a skill that wasn't used this session to attempt to improve it, even including skills they don't have, subject to GM approval. Well, except for Cthulhu Mythos, of course.
I still weep at the lack of new players, gnashing my teeth and despairing at finding folks that don't want to just play DnD 4e. Not that I am an ardent hater of it, just that its not something I want to run.
Dragoncon is just over a week away. I hope to meet a lot of new folks there and record some game audio as well as maybe get some interviews or audio spots for the podcast which I'm still trying to get off the ground.
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Mercury Man
I love Netflix, I really do.
Its an innovative idea that seems so simple in concept you wonder 'why didn't I think of that'.
But what makes my subscription great is the streaming content, especially in conjunction with my Xbox 360.
The movie I'm going to talk about came out last year and its a Thai film, an area of films I haven't been exposed to til very recently.
Brian and I sat down last week and started through a few. This one caught our interests because, well, I love superhero movies and Brian was willing to follow along as he rightly assumed that there would be tons of martial arts action.
Well, we were both satisfied with Mercury Man.
It was a big, fun train ride of an action film with the now somewhat common trope of the baddie being a middle-eastern terrorist. It was a bit of a twist, the film trying to make the viewer somewhat sympathetic to his cause.
I might have found it easier if he wasn't wearing eye-shadow and lipstick..
The hero's powers are somewhat vaguely defined and that's okay, because what its really about is the smackin' and whackin' and this movie has this in spades. Men fighting Men. Women fighting Women. Men fighting Women. And big explosions for all.
I don't want to give away too much so I'll end it here by saying its a fun thrill ride that any action fan will get a kick out of.
Three Stars of Five.
Its an innovative idea that seems so simple in concept you wonder 'why didn't I think of that'.
But what makes my subscription great is the streaming content, especially in conjunction with my Xbox 360.
The movie I'm going to talk about came out last year and its a Thai film, an area of films I haven't been exposed to til very recently.
Brian and I sat down last week and started through a few. This one caught our interests because, well, I love superhero movies and Brian was willing to follow along as he rightly assumed that there would be tons of martial arts action.
Well, we were both satisfied with Mercury Man.
It was a big, fun train ride of an action film with the now somewhat common trope of the baddie being a middle-eastern terrorist. It was a bit of a twist, the film trying to make the viewer somewhat sympathetic to his cause.
I might have found it easier if he wasn't wearing eye-shadow and lipstick..
The hero's powers are somewhat vaguely defined and that's okay, because what its really about is the smackin' and whackin' and this movie has this in spades. Men fighting Men. Women fighting Women. Men fighting Women. And big explosions for all.
I don't want to give away too much so I'll end it here by saying its a fun thrill ride that any action fan will get a kick out of.
Three Stars of Five.
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