I'm Still Around...

Just a quick post to say that posting will resume shortly.  Putting it bluntly, the summer college semester is eating up my time since I also have work and family responsibilities.  Even thought it's been basically two weeks since I last posted, look for posts on the following subjects soon:

1. Adventures in Fantasy: I still have the read through of Book 3 to complete the rules.
2. D.O.T.T.: The Death of the Territories wrestling game by Eric Baker.  I have messed around a little bit with it but I need to investigate further.
3. Quest Card: A neat little card game by Liam Thompson that has a lot of promise and potential.
4. Perilous Journeys: I dig the crap out of this game because it makes the Lejendary Adventure rules a lot more accessible.
5. RIFTS or Palladium Fantasy: I get the itch to run these two games every so often and the itch is coming on strong again.

Basically, I have several plans for new posts BUT real life stuff has just kept me busy.  Posting will resume soon.

A General Update and Assorted Ramblings...

Between life in general, an increased work schedule at my job, two kids, and the significant other about to start on her summer semester of college it has been busy around here.  I slacked off on the easiest place to slack off - my blog - but things seemed to have slowed down somewhat and returned to "normal" so I should be posting somewhat regularly now.  My general thoughts about moving forward with this blog are presented below.

I started this blog for topics of various role-playing game interests and have stuck to that for the most part.  I have dipped into other areas such as movies, comic books, music, and professional wrestling just to name a short list.  I thought about tightening the focus of this blog to nothing but role-playing related posts and banishing the "off-topic" posts to another blog somewhere.  I really do not want to maintain two blogs and Eric over at Memories of the Mayfly pointed out that these "off topic" posts give a better picture of the blog author and their interests.  Put simply, from this point on this blog will be focused on gaming BUT I will also post about my other interests including sports, movies, professional wrestling, and just about anything else.  I will probably not post anything resembling politics or religion just because they can be so divisive and I would rather have a fun dialogue here without real world conflicts that so often turn into something resembling blind allegiance.

Some of the gaming posts to look forward to include the continuation of my read through of both Adventures in Fantasy and Perilous Journeys, a continuation of posting information from my old gaming notebooks, and information on my home campaign world of Toldara.  AiF is cool just from a historical perspective and Arneson's involvement while PJ is basically Lejendary Adventures done right.  That is why I want to finish my posts about them.  My old gaming notebooks were full of ideas and I want to get them uploaded and updated so I can expand on them in the future.  I have already posted some of this information and will continue to update them in the future to offer them for download once they are completed. 

 My attempts to get some of the old gaming group together to game again has not been completely in vain.  Jamie, my friend of over 30 years, is definitely going to participate.  He is planning on getting his girlfriend to try it out and I am planning the same thing.  That should be interesting.  I hope both of them like it so that will be four dedicated players.  I met another old school player, Ed, through Jamie.  That brings our total up to 5 participants.  That is a good sized group and will give us some variation among styles and characters.  As Jamie and I are the only players from the old group this group will not be a reunion game but it will definitely work.  All that is left is to come up with a game system to use.  So far, the systems proposed are B/X D&D, Castles & Crusades, or RIFTS.  It really does not matter to me what we play, just that we play.

I am now half way through the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy.  The first book was a very quick and easy read.  I am enjoying the books so far.  Katniss is a strong female lead character and not a damsel in distress that constantly needs rescuing.  It is a very refreshing perspective and take on the action and adventure genre.  I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.    I still have not seen the movie but I am sure that we will see it on DVD soon enough.

I just started watching the Game of Thrones season 1 DVD set.  I actually already watched the first two episodes because we had a free HBO preview for a week or two and was able to see catch them when they originally aired.  I was pretty disappointed that I would be unable to watch the other episodes as they aired but I knew that I was going to get the DVD as soon as I could.  As I am a book person, I wonder if I am missing a lot by not having read the books yet.  Anybody got any opinions?

I have lost 13 pounds in the last month - all thanks to eating better.  I have done nothing fancy like joining the gym, signing up for Weight Watchers, or anything like that.  I am not currently in horrible shape but I just would like to "drop a few pounds" to feel better about me.  It's all been done with portion control and better decisions.  I am happy that my available wardrobe is expanding to include pants that would not fit comfortably a month ago.  :-)

That should just about cover everything.  I could probably go on and ramble for a while but I know when to turn the faucet off.

   

        

   

Check Out Project BTR

One of my favorite blogs to read is Project BTR by Doug Wall.  The "BTR" in the title stands for Better Than RIFTS.  In his blog, Doug examines the RIFTS rules and setting with the intent of designing a new system and setting that is inspired by RIFTS but "better".  Sure, "better" is a subjective term related to opinion and all that but this guy is doing some serious examination of the rules, setting, and assumptions of RIFTS.  I have not been a long time follower but I look forward to new posts there because Doug is not just another RIFTS-hater but a fan of the game that wants things (rules, setting, etc.) improved.  If you have ever been frustrated with the rules or setting of RIFTS, I highly recommend that you head over to Project BTR and give it a look.  Doug has my attention and I hope to hold his printed game in my hands some day.    

RIFTS: Generating Attributes & Exceptional Attributes

I dug out my copy of RIFTS: Ultimate Edition earlier and started flipping through it.  I should have known better because it always makes me want to start up a new RIFTS campaign.  I have been a long time Palladium fan and player so I am comfortable with the rules.  I do, however, have ideas for some changes to the rules.  I have given some thought to Attribute score inflation over the years and what would be the best way to avoid it. I came up with some complicated methods of attribute generation that would work but they turned out to be more trouble than they were worth.  This morning a possible answer just came to me out of nowhere while scanning through the color plate section of RUE.  

Standard Rules

Each of the attribute scores are generated by rolling 3D6.  If a score of 16, 17, or 18 then that attribute is considered exceptional and an additional 1D6 is rolled and added to the score.  If another 6 is rolled then an additional 1D6 is rolled and added to the score.  End of process.

My Issue

I like the possibility of rolling an exceptional attribute BUT I do not like the fact that it is impossible to generate a score of 16.  Once you roll a 16, the attribute is considered exceptional and will be added to.

Possible Solutions

I came up with several different methods that would be similar to the original rules, keep a possibility of an exceptional attribute on a roll of 16 - 18, and would not add a bunch of unnecessary complication to the rules.

Method 1: 3D6 Roll Again

This method generates scores by a roll of 3D6 and then roll 3D6 again if the total is 16, 17, or 18.  If you meet or beat your score, then the attribute is considered exceptional and you follow the standard rules from this point on. 

I think this method is okay but it makes the chances of getting an exceptional attribute more difficult with the higher score you roll.  I know many players will not like this and I am not so sure that I like it either.  

Method 2: 3D6 + 1D6 (different colors)

This method  generates scores by rolling a total of 4D6 for each attribute but you roll 3D6 of one color with 1D6 of another color. If the total of the 3D6 is 16 -18 then there is a chance the attribute in question is exceptional.  At this point, look at the results of the other D6 and consult the following table:

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 16, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 3.

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 17, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 4. 

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 18, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 5.

(This additional D6 is the only additional roll that gets added to the attribute score.)

I like this method because you can generate scores of 16 - 18 that give you the possibility of an exceptional attribute.  Plus, the higher the score then the likelihood of an exceptional attribute increases.

Method 3: 3D6 + 1D6 (different colors) [take two]

This method  generates scores by rolling a total of 4D6 for each attribute but you roll 3D6 of one color with 1D6 of another color. If the total of the 3D6 is 16 -18 then there is a chance the attribute in question is exceptional.  At this point, look at the results of the other D6 and consult the following table:

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 16, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 5.

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 17, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 4. 

*  When the score generated by 3D6 is 18, you add the score of the other D6 when the results are 1 to 3.

(This additional D6 is the only additional roll that gets added to the attribute score.)

This method is similar to method 2 and shares much of the same appeal to me.  I kind of like the fact that if you reverse the table then no one can generate an attribute score through rolling alone that is higher than 21.  This method may be the way to go.  

There are my thoughts on attribute scores and exceptional attributes under the Palladium Megaversal System rules.  I do not like method 1 but included it for completeness.  If anybody has any experience with altering this part of the Palladium rules, feel free to give me any input at all. 

------------------------------------------------
edited for clarity in method 1.

Taking Care of Business...

In a continued effort to get all of my ducks in a row here is a list of goals that I would like to accomplish with this blog:

Short Term Goals

• Complete my examination of Adventures in Fantasy.
• Complete the entries from my Old Gaming Notebook.
• Make one post every day in a single month.
• Post more of my house rules & ideas for AD&D, 3E, Microlite20, RIFTS, and more.
• Post about my campaign world, Toldara.
• Offer draft 2 of MicroToldara for download.
• Offer draft 1 of Classic Fantasy Role Playing for download.

Long Term Goals

• Post about actual play with Adventures in Fantasy.
• Develop ideas from the Old Gaming Notebook into complete games.
• Decide on a set posting schedule and stick to it.
• Get my Toldara co-author (Alex) to participate in some of the blogging.

That's a good start.  This list will be modified and re-posted when appropriate.

Praise for Palladium Fantasy & Thoughts on Palladium Books

I have read several rants on a few message boards that stated the writer would welcome the demise of Palladium Books.  I am not a fan boy nor do I turn a blind eye to any mistakes on the part of Palladium Books but I would like to see them not only recover but make a big comeback.  Their products always felt like the company that made them were a group of fans that got lucky and hit the big time.  I think an RPG industry without Palladium would be worse by their absence.

I started playing Palladium RPGs sometime around the mid to late 80's to the best of my recollection.  My buddy Jamie and I noticed a copy of Palladium Fantasy Role Playing Game that looked really cool so we pooled our money and bought it.  Of course, we rushed back to his mother's house and started checking it out immediately. We literally spent hours flipping through the pages and taking turns passing the book back and forth between us.  There were two teenage role-players really excited that summer day about the contents of that one book.

As we flipped through the pages of Palladium Fantasy, there were several things that caught our attention.  First, we noticed the rules were somewhat similar to AD&D so it would make learning this game much easier; unlike AD&D, we played using all of the rules.  Second, there was also an abundance of "official stats" for playing many more races and classes than in AD&D.  Who would not want to try something different from the typical player character options?  Third, the alignment system was a nice touch in my eyes.  There were lists of actions in each alignment description that guided players in the actions of their characters.  Fourth, Palladium had a full blown percentile skill system in contrast to the AD&D secondary skills.  Fifth, Palladium had many small details such as the illustrations of the money.  There wasn't just a listing of the generic gold piece, silver piece, etc. as in AD&D but there were actual names for the coins with illustrations of the respective currency.  Finally, there was the biggest difference between the two games - you only needed one book to play Palladium Fantasy.  It was great to have all of the information required in one rule book.  Granted, supplemental books would add further options and adventures in the palladium world but the fact remained that you only needed one book to play the game.  In contrast, when RIFTS would hit years later we would buy up the latest source books as soon as possible.

 After learning the rules, we played quite a bit of Palladium Fantasy.  We continued to play AD&D but for a time the focus was clearly on Palladium Fantasy.  In fact, our Palladium group was bigger than our AD&D group and shared some of the same players.  One funny fact is that we never bought any of the supplemental material.  I don't know why but we just didn't feel it "necessary" the same way it did for our AD&D game.  This isn't a judgement about either game, just a noted difference in our perspective on the necessity of further material within our group.  That isn't to say that we didn't use any expansion material in our games, though.  We shared ideas and adapted rules between AD&D and Palladium Fantasy and even developed some custom Occupational Character Classes.

We had many successful sessions of Palladium Fantasy over the years.  Eventually, we moved on to play other games. Palladium Fantasy was one of the few besides AD&D and V&V that we would return to play again.  I know many people think D&D when it comes to fantasy adventure gaming but I always think of Palladium Fantasy in the same instant.  I do have the second edition of Palladium Fantasy but I have yet to do any actual play using the rules.  It seems the rules have become a little bloated from first edition but that's just a general impression.  I also noticed that it looks like the complete line of Palladium Fantasy first edition is available on DriveThruRPG.  I may have to buy them and get another Palladium Fantasy campaign up and going.

That's my experience with Palladium Fantasy and why I remember it so fondly.  The other Palladium products I have played include Chaos Earth, Heroes Unlimited, RIFTS, and Robotech; I am interested in picking up Dead Reign to see what they have done with the Zombie genre.  I know that many people have problems with Palladium due to their release schedule snafus and the stories of board room politics that have taken place at their offices.  I understand the release schedule irritation and have no defense for the delays and cancellation of products.  As far as the politics go, all I can say is that there are two sides to every story and I did not witness any of the drama so I have no opinion on that.  The one thing I am sure of is the feeling of creativity that I get when I crack open a Palladium book.  There might be problems with the rules themselves but the story and background seems to be top notch every time.

I admit it - I'm a big time Palladium Fantasy fan even without playing in years.  I also enjoy their other products that I have picked up; mainly Chaos Earth and RIFTS.  While I do enjoy their products and want them to make a comeback, I think there are several things Palladium must do to thrive:

Revision
The Palladium system has been around since the 80's. Having been revised and expanded over the years, it is time to consolidate, clean up, and clarify all the rules.  The rules don't have to be completely overhauled but putting all references on a related topic together would be a good starting point.  A further re-organization to the rules would probably helps also.  I've heard that Kevin Siembieda does not even use the rules as published, so why not a look at the rules he does use?  All of these thoughts tie into the thought of a unified main core rule book.

Megaversal Rule Book
After a thorough revision of the rules, they should be consolidated into a nice hardback rule compendium.  I know some of the fans are very vocal about not wanting hardback because of increased prices but I think this is one expense well worth it.  With the Megaversal rules in one rule book then the core book for each game line could include a small section at the beginning about rule differences for that game.  The core rule book for each game could then focus on that game instead of reprinting the entire rule system in every time.  Yes, it would take two books to play a Palladium game but each core book would just be about that game instead of half the rule book being a reprint.  While you're at it, make the core books hardback also and leave the softbound books for source books.

Release Schedule
I completely understand the excitement about a new product and wanting to share the information with your loyal customers.  In doing so, there is no reason to give a firm release date until the actual release date is a short time away.  There are several books that have been announced at several different times with the release date getting pushed numerous times.  Eventually, the book is taken off the release schedule again.  It seems that this is currently happening with RIFTS Lemuria once again.


Support
Simply put, support ALL of the game lines - not just RIFTS.  I know RIFTS is like their stallion product at the moment but you can not grow a game line without supporting it by releasing new products.  It doesn't have to be a flood of new products but just throw a bone to fans of Chaos Earth, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Palladium Fantasy and the rest of the game lines several times a year.




    



    

Getting the Band Back Together?!

If everything goes right - planets aligning, etc. - and we can clear a night on everyone's schedule there's a good chance that two of my buddies from my high school days (1987-1991) will be doing some role-playing with some other guys rounded up by my cousin.  Technically, it's not the whole "band" - it will only be Jamie and Travis - but it should be cool anyway.  We used to play all sorts of rpg's and video games together back in the day.  It would be cool to game again with these guys.

I met Jamie in the second grade - that's a looooonnnnnngggggg time ago - and we discovered D&D together with the Basic Set.  We played as much as possible and missed a lot of sleep growing up...lol.. We moved on to other games including Car Wars, Gamma World, GURPS, Palladium Fantasy, & Talislanta. 

I met Travis through Jamie.  Travis introduced us to RIFTS.  I still remember looking through the rulebook that first time.  I couldn't help but think of Gamma World and all the fun Jamie and I used to have with that game. 

I'm not sure what we are going to play once we do get a game night organized.  Jamie and I have talked of trying out Castles & Crusades because it would be both familiar to AD&D but the rules are streamlined; I'm not saying the rules are better but they are easier to understand. Of course, we might just dust off an old favorite like RIFTS. I have the RIFTS Ultimate Edition that I have yet to run.  I'm also considering really rules-light such as Microlite74 or something similar.  To tell the truth, the game system really isn't that important but getting the chance to game with some old buddies is what's really important.  Regardless of the system used I'm sure we'll have fun.  First, we all just have to get a free night.

Fingers crossed...

[Rant] My Experience Using D&D Meetup

*Note: this is just my experience with using the local D&D Meetup service one time. I'm sure some others have had similar experiences but I'm also sure that many others have had a good experience using this same service. Put simply, the experience was pretty lame but it was the person encountered that was the source of my disappointment and not the service itself. ****

I used to play a ton of RPG's.  I started with D&D/AD&D back in 1980.  Over the years, I tried many other games from DC Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes, Champions, Fantasy Hero, Villains & Vigilantes, Super World, Car Wars, GURPS, RIFTS, Talislanta, Palladium Fantasy, and many other numerous titles.  The old faithful lineup of RPG's that I continuously played through the 1980's until I graduated high school in 1991 consisted of AD&D, RIFTS, Talislanta, Villains & Vigilantes, and Palladium Fantasy.

A month after I graduated from high school I left for the Army.  I didn't play a lot while I was in the military but I did keep up with gaming in general, discovered Magic: The Gathering, and did actually play a few sessions of AD&D.  I left the Army in 2000 and returned home.  Most of my old gaming buddies had either left the hobby or moved out of town.  I had virtually no face to face gaming available.  One bright spot is that I did introduce my cousin, Alex, to 3E and we still hook up to play occasionally. We have also been developing a shared campaign world, Toldara, for several years.

I tried to overcome this absence of face to face role-playing by finding other outlets.  After some internet searches, I ran across some PBP games, message board games, PBEM games, and also heard of MEETUP. I don't know the exact time frame but I registered for the local D&D meetup around the time of 4E's release.  IIRC, the Pathfinder Alpha was out but the completely playtested Pathfinder Core Rulebook was not released yet.

I was on the D&D Meetup site for only a short time before I got contacted.  It sounded pretty good to me because the people were in Tulsa; about 25 miles from my location. We agreed to meeet halfway between our locations at Panera Bread.  We ordered some drinks and discussed our RPG experience and what kind of gaming we enjoyed.  It seemed like a really good match so we decided to meet again and try to gather some more people.

The next meeting took place at their house.  I brought my cousin, Alex, with me as a recruit.  At this point, there were 4 of us - Alex, me, and the two players we met.  The guy - I'll call him "Dick" - was interested in being the DM. He had all sorts of ideas for a campaign world, some adventures, and even some house rules.  Dick mentioned that his girlfriend - I'll call her "Jane" - would be playing her first game with us so it might be slow going at first.  No problem there. Dick also mentioned that he was talking to 2 other players about joining the game.  At the end of that meeting, we had decided on the rules system (3.5E with some early Pathfinder stuff), made characters (Alex, Jane, & me), and decided to meet again in 2 weeks for our first game session.

Two weeks pass and we (Alex & I) show up at Dick & Jane's to play.  The other two players - I'll call them "Will" and "Wendy" - had showed up earlier so they could create characters with the house rules available to them during the process.  I remember that Will and Wendy had printed out some really cool character sheets from some website.  It was nice to see everyone was ready to start playing before the start of the game.  We introduced ourselves, had some idle chit chat, and then got ready to play.

The game session lasted for approximately 4 hours.  The length was just about right. It wasn't too short for the drive involved. It also wasn't too long and drawn out either.  The session was fun with no rules lawyering or any of that silliness.  Everyone appeared to have a great time.  We ended the session and then agreed to have another meeting in two weeks again. 

One week passed and I was looking forward to another game session.  I checked my email and received a message from Dick.  He explained that the group "just wasn't working out for him" and decided to tell Will and Wendy they would not be invited back.  I tried exchanging messages with him and getting a good reason but he wouldn't give one.  Eventually, I got pretty irritated because he didn't give a group of strangers a chance to gel and didn't even give the other 4 of us a chance to continue playing with a new DM or one of us taking over as DM.  I promptly unregistered from the D&D MEETUP group and have yet to take another chance on gaming outside my circle of friends.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit - some text got erased when posting - d'oh!