6 April 2010: Warmer weekends

College chums David I.S. and Dexter V.H. didn’t visit the Boston area two weeks ago as each had hoped to at one point. In addition, I didn’t have time to run Shard for Sara F. & Josh C.’s group near Rhode Island, and although I didn’t get to the Pax East gaming convention or I-Con genre entertainment show, I’ve been busy enough lately.

At work, I’ve been juggling the usual editing with my first virtual trade show, testing a new invoicing and calendaring system, and looking ahead to conferences. I was lucky that the heavy rains didn’t affect my commute too much.

On Saturday, 26 March 2010, Janice and I drove to Hartford, Connecticut, for the Sugarloaf Craft Festival. As usual, we bought more food than art, and we had a hearty
lunch at a Cracker Barrel. I also browsed through the comic books and role-playing games at That’s Entertainment and Borders Books in Worcester, Massachusetts.

On Thursday, April 1, we went to the Route 128 station to pick up Amtrak tickets, but all the trains between Boston and New York had been canceled because of flooding in
Rhode Island. Interstate 95 was also obstructed. We got back in my car, turned around, and drove down to Virginia to see my family, fighting both Boston and
Washington, D.C.’s rush-hour traffic and getting rear-ended at a stoplight in New Jersey on the way. Still, we made decent time.

Janice and I stayed with my brother Peter, who recently acquired a Nintendo Wii. Although his wife Kelly had to work the next day, we enjoyed the sunny weather with nieces Ava and Lili. We browsed the shops and ate lunch at Madigan’s Waterfront in the historic town of Occoquan. On Saturday, we went to the Reston Zoo, which Janice and I had never been to before, even when we lived in the area a decade ago. We had lunch at Uno’s in Reston Town Center.

That night, Janice and I went to Corbin A.Y.’s cookout and informal reunion of alumni from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Corb and his wife Andria (whose birthday was Sunday) were gracious hosts as always, and their daughter Maia was calm and cute. I enjoyed catching up with Ben P.S., Steve A.L. and his son Nathaniel, John Z.G., Dana B., and Steve M.R., even though several spouses and children were unable to attend. We chatted about work, politics, relationships, genre entertainment, and of course, gaming.

My parents joined us for mass on Easter Sunday (Janice went to a nearby Lutheran church rather than the crowded Catholic service). Kelly’s mother Maureen arrived in
time for the Easter egg hunt and Peter’s grilled steaks. We played with our nieces and fought with Nerf N-Force Marauder swords before reluctantly heading home.

Unfortunately, traffic was even worse at the end of the holiday weekend than it had been driving south, taking us nearly eight hours to traverse a distance normally
covered in five. Most of the volume was in Maryland and southern New Jersey. We
stopped overnight at the recently remodeled Courtyard by Marriott in Tarrytown,
New York. The remainder of Janice’s and my trip went smoothly, and we stopped
for lunch at the Olive Garden in Natick, Mass., before dealing with errands at
home. I’m still catching up on work and e-mail, but I plan to blog more soon.

4 March 2010: Doctor Who RPG review

Friends, I’ve taken a closer look at the new Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space role-playing game (RPG). Rising publisher Cubicle 7‘s version is a good entry point for people into the hobby, and as I noted earlier, the production values are on par with other recent reference books. The boxed set includes softcover books with numerous photos of the David Tennant incarnation, plus some card-punched counters and other handouts.

The new “Who” RPG isn’t as granular in terms of rules as its predecessors, but it does a decent job of modeling the storytelling style of the recent
television reboot. FASA’s 1980s take worked better for Star Trek (which has its own history of adaptations), and the Time Lord game of the 1990s
caught the long-running franchise at a low point. Characters are created with the typical array of attributes, traits/flaws, and skills, resembling a
streamlined version of D20 or the point-buy system of GURPS.

The authors address the issue of anyone playing the good Gallifreyan or any Time Lord being more powerful than the typical human or alien by providing lots of alternatives and briefly discussing scale and balance with Story Points. This is similar to the problem of having Jedi in various Star Wars games or a Slayer in the “Buffy/Angel” universe. I could easily see a team with a UNIT member, a Time Agent, a few lucky (or unlucky) civilians, and no Doctor. I was pleased to see writeups of the Doctor and a few companions.

Unlike in many other RPGs, combat isn’t the point of Doctor Who, and
the face-to-face game rightly points out that fun, exploration, and team problem-solving are the primary challenges here. Although I haven’t yet played Adventures in Time and Space, I was inspired by the tone it tries to replicate.

The booklets could have used a better table of contents or index, and I
did miss some of the extensive setting and character-development material of previous editions (although, to be fair, Game Masters are pointed to the aforementioned reference books, which I have). For a $60 boxed set, this game did feel a bit incomplete, but books on aliens and organizations are coming.

Experienced gamers may want a more rules-heavy and customizable system, such as GURPS 4e Time Travel and Infinite Worlds, Temporality or Torg, or D20 Chronomancy. Thanks to my experiences with Steve M.R., Jim J.D’B., and Tim M.B. co-running GURPS 3e “Voyagers II: Adventures in the Dimensional Corps,” I know that a creative group can adapt nearly any set of characters and worlds to time/dimension-hopping!

Bottom line: If you liked the David Tennant portrayal of the Doctor, are
a casual tabletop gamer, or want to introduce people to role-playing, this is a good place to start. If you’re a hardcore “Whovian,” science-fiction gamer, or worldbuilding Game Master, you’ll probably want additional material.

I’m reposting this review to my blogs, since I’ve been writing
about other RPGs (and the “retro-clone” and “rules-light” movements) lately. I’ll also try to let you know my impressions of Starblazer Adventures soon, although it’s a hefty tome! Happy gaming, -Gene

>>Boston-area one-shots and miniseries of early 2010:

>>Already played:

-Greg D.C.: InSpectres (rules-light horror/humor scenario)
-Paul J.: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: “League of Vaguely
Interesting People — the Four” (superhero comedy)
-Brian W.: FATE 3.0: “Spirit of the Caribbean!” (swashbuckling pirates)
-Gene D.: D20 “Gaslight Grimoire” (steampunk/fantasy)
-Brian W.: Savage Worlds: Hellfrost (Nordic fantasy)

>>Coming soon:

-Greg D.C.: Dread (horror using Jenga)?
-Paul J.: Pathfinder: “Crossroads of Eternity” crossover with Gene D.’s “Vanished Lands” (fantasy)?
-Beruk A.: D20 “Rifts” (multidimensional homebrew)
-Beruk A.: Dragon Age (MMO-based fantasy)
-Brian W.: Spirit of the Century (pulp 1920s)?
-Brian W.: Dirty Secrets (G.M.-less noir storyteller)
-Brian W.: Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North (“rules-lite” mythic)
-Gene D.: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2e: “S.J.I.: Chrome City” (comic
book superheroes)
-Gene D.: “Vortex” (space opera using D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition,
Starblazer Adventures/Diaspora, or GURPS 4e Lite/Space)

27 February 2010: Rules-light and other RPGs

In my previous blog post, I discussed the one-shots and miniseries that I’ve participated in with other Boston-area gamers. As I noted, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D4e) is still the most popular role-playing game (RPG), but recent trends include the digitization of social games, the “retro-clone“ reaction, and the rules-light movement. Fellow blogger Ken G. has discussed similar phenomena in computer games.

Some hobby observers predict that emerging tools such as laptops, smartphones, micropayments, and modular programs will displace and replace conventional dice, miniatures, and Game Masters. Multiplayer online games (MMOs) have undeniably increased in popularity, but board games and face-to-face RPGs have retained their appeal, and grognards (old-school gamers) have kept up with Web publishing even as they look back to 25-year-old books.

To follow a software analogy, Wizards of the Coast’s D&D4e is like Microsoft’s Windows — ubiquitous, restrictively licensed, and overloaded with features. The “rules-lite” movement is an attempt to create and use rules sets like Linux that take less time to learn and teach (and being fan-written, often free). As with some retro-clones, the hope is to find systems that facilitate collaborative storytelling and evoke a certain mood or style.

Based on my own history with past editions of D&D, I like the retro-clones Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy RPG, and the rules-light MicroLite20, which is a condensation of the D20 Open Game License. Smart game producers often publish “quick-start” guides, such as GURPS 4e Lite, Savage Worlds “Test Drive v6,” and the upcoming D&D4e boxed set.

New and promising games are still being published in book form. Where D&D4e arguably took some terminology and concepts from miniatures skirmish, collectible card, and MMO games, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play Third Edition combines board games and role-playing. Unfortunately, its high initial price tag may discourage people from trying it.

I recently picked up the beautifully produced Shard fantasy game, which features anthropomorphic animals rather than the usual Tolkienesque races — not unlike last year’s award-winning Mouse Guard RPG — and Eclipse Phase, a “transhuman” science fiction game. While I don’t think I’ll be able to get my current gamers to try these rule sets (although Josh C.’s group just expressed interest in having me run Shard), I’m sure they’ll provide much inspiration for my campaigns.

Coming soon: Avatar review and science fiction RPGs!

24 February 2010: Winter games and retro-clones

Friends, I hope you’ve had a good fortnight. Janice and I have been busy watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, leaving me to catch up on recorded genre television on the weekends. In addition, I’ve been comparing notes on comic books and graphic novels with new fan David I.S. and playing various games.

Since wrapping up my “Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative” fantasy campaign, which used Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition (D&D4e), the current role-players have been involved in a series of one-shots. While I’m taking a break from serving as primary Game Master, I’m trying to encourage the Boston-area group of about eight people to try other genres, rules systems, and styles of games.

Wizards of the Coast’s D&D4e is still the most popular tabletop (or pen-and-paper, or dice-and-pizza) game on the market, thanks to 35 years of leading the hobby, brand recognition, and wide distribution. However, the boom of the past decade thanks to the D20 Open Game License has been replaced by economic recession, a move from print to online publishing of PDFs, and fragmentation of the market.

Locally, Greg D.C. has run InSpectres, a rules-light horror/humor game, and Paul J. used D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. for his “Vaguely Interesting People — the Four” comedic superhero scenario. Brian W. demonstrated collaborative storytelling with FATE 3.0 in his “Spirit of the Caribbean!” pirate one-shot. In addition to a “Paranoia” cyberpunk comedy one-shot, Brian ran Savage Worlds: Hellfrost, a Nordic-themed fantasy. So far, all of these games have gone well, although we’ve had some debates about what system would be the best fit for a longer-term campaign.

These “indie”-style games are good examples of the alternatives to D&D4e. I’ve already blogged about my ongoing Pathfinder: “Holy Steel” teleconferencing team and the “Gaslight Grimoire” steampunk/fantasy homebrew using D20 “Lite.” Another trend among face-to-face (F2F) RPGs is “retro-clones,” or games that emulate older editions of D&D and other games. I have fond memories of my early years as a role-player in the early 1980s.

Although I’d be the first to acknowledge that game design has developed since then, I’ve downloaded several retro-clones, which remind me of a time when magic was rare and mysterious, monsters were unpredictable and deadly to Player Characters, and the games tried to evoke folkore and literature rather than second-hand adaptations into other media such as movies or computer games (not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that if it’s your preference).

Coming soon: Space opera, the “rules-light” movement, and newer games!

11 February 2010: Snow, food, sports, and movies

Friends, I hope you’ve had a good week, despite the recent snowstorms that buried the Mid-Atlantic. New England was spared this time around, but winter is far from over for us. Work has kept me busy, as I deal with managing assignments, training on TT’s new intranet, and telecommuting. Janice and I hope to plan some vacation travel, but we may wait to see the results of our tax returns and must juggle conferences and family.

On Sunday, 31 January 2010, we went to the annual “Death by Chocolate” event at the Crowne Plaza (formerly a Sheraton) hotel in Newton, Massachusetts. As always, it was fun to sample the sweets offered by the competitors. We’ve also recently had good meals at Four Burgers in Harvard Square, Cambridge, and Minerva Indian restaurant and the British Beer Company in Norwood.

With my office soon to move from Needham to Newton, I hope to take advantage of its current proximity to home with staff lunches from/at Farm Grill, a Greek eatery; Mexican restaurants Acapulcos or Tu y Yo; and a pub such as Mick Morgans or Johnny’s Biltmore Café. My commute will get a bit longer in March, but I hope to avoid the traffic on Route 95/128, the inner beltway around Boston, by taking local roads.

In the past few weeks, former co-workers Ken G. and Brian F. and fellow blogger Thomas K.Y. had hoped to get together for genre movies, meals, or other outings, but gamer and family birthdays, rescheduled role-playing sessions, and the usual scheduling challenges prevented that. Still, I may belatedly screen James Cameron’s Avatar and the remake of The Wolf Man sometime soon. But first, there’s Valentine’s Day weekend!

I’m not a big fan of professional sports, but two events have drawn my attention: the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. I enjoyed the close football championship game but found this year’s commercials to be lackluster. I was most interested in the movie previews.

The remake of Clash of the Titans continues the recent trend of sword-and-sandals flicks (the bloody Spartacus is Starz’s TV entry), and Prince of Persia looks like the video games that inspired it rather than real-world folklore. Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood seems more focused on medieval battles than on the traditional legend of a swashbuckling highwayman.

Tim Burton’s surreal style should be a good fit for his adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, and I’m cautiously optimistic about M. Night Shaymalan’s take on Nickelodeon’s excellent fantasy anime Last Airbender.

I’m more interested in two films that won’t get as wide release: the animated Secret of Kells and the French steampunk Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec, from the director of The Fifth Element. Speaking of fantasy and steampunk, as part of the face-to-face gaming group’s period of one-shots and miniseries, I’ve been running my “Gaslight Grimoire” campaign using a stripped-down version of the D20 rules set. I’ll try to post more on that and recent genre television soon!