One of These Days.....

I think all of us have some games in our collections that we have never played for one reason or another.  I'm listing my top four games.  Some of these games are new and some are old.  I'm leaving out games that are similar to other games but vary in how they handle some aspect of the game system. Without further delay, let's look at the games. 

ALIEN The Role-Playing Game: I have the starter set and the core rulebook so far and I would buy more books.  I've been a fan of the original Alien movie and Aliens for many years.  I have all 6 of the movies on DVD and I've read 10 of the novels so far.  While opinions on later films differ, I find something of interest in all of them.  

Ars Magica Third Edition: I bought a copy of the core rulebook and Mythic Europe last year from a friend that was thinning out his collection.  I was intrigued by the focus of the game being on wizards when it was originally released, and I always intended to buy a copy.  Years later and I finally own a copy.  The reading has been interesting so far.

The Dark Eye: I have the three main rulebooks.  I picked up the digest-sized versions because I could buy all three of them for basically the cost of the standard sized core rulebook.  TDE fascinates me because it's basically "Germany's D&D" and the world is open and growing with fan contributions.  

Lejendary Adventures: I bought the three main books upon release.  I know some complain about this game because it is so different from D&D in the rules, but I actually like the differences because it makes the game unique.  I admit that it was a little challenging upon my first reading, but I did get it figured out when I changed my approach.  I started with the definitions at the front and expanded out from there and everything clicked.  I would have to refresh my memory, but I would play the game if the opportunity came.

The reason I havne't played these games is simple.  I don't currently have a group and I haven't had one for years.  I'm sure there are games that you have but you have never played so what are they?

Crafting Ultima-inspired Runes

Continuing on with crafting inspired by the Ultima series of role-playing games, The old boxes used to come with all sorts of little extras in them.  I remember getting cloth maps, a coin, an ankh, and other stuff. I thought it would be cool to have some of these props to use in my games. 

I decided to try using Crayola Model Magic for some Runes.  After a few attempts I stumbled upon the method to use to get the desired results. I started with a piece that was approximately the size of a ping pong ball.  I flattened these pieces until they were about half their original thickness. Then I turned the clay with the thin sides up and down and flattened it down to approximately one-quarter of the original ball size.  Crayola Model Magic takes a while to dry, so I let the pieces sit while I searched for the Ultima Runes.  I cut these Runes into the flat side of each piece and primed the entire piece with basic grey craft paint.  I put a Strong Tone wash over the pieces of clay and let them dry.  I used basic black to fill in the symbols.  After they dried, I coated all of them with matte varnish.  Now I can pull these out if the player character characters visit a fortune teller and use them as a prop.  I ran out of Crayola Model Magic and need to buy some more to complete this set of Runes, but the stores around here have been sold out lately.