Tag: RPGs

Gene’s posts about role-playing games, mostly tabletop, but also including some computer games.

Dungeon Crawl Classics Game 1: the Goblin keep

Fellow role-players, here are my notes for the first part of Brian W.‘s Dungeon Crawl Classics demonstration, which he hosted and ran at his home in Newton, Mass., on Monday, 30 July 2012.

In one world, there was a region where magic and nonhuman races thrived. At the edge of the human kingdom of Hifalendor, the town of Plegmsad (once known as Pledwilt) suffers from raids by barbarians and humanoids.

In the new barony of “Kurick Stormborn” [Dave S.C./Non-Player Character], a call goes out for brave adventurers to help the frontier farmers. The following [zero-level] people meet in the market square:

>>[Gene D.:]

  • “Nails“-male Hifalendorin human armorer; Alignment: Neutral
  • “Burdik“-male Hill Dwarf herder; Align.: Lawful
  • “Lem“-male Barbari human former slave; Align.: Chaotic
  • “Sal“-male Hifalendorin human grave digger; Neutral

>>[Josh C.:]

  • “Rayang“-male human gong farmer; Lawful
  • “Cerban“-male Halfling mariner; Lawful
  • “Ingsay“-male human guild beggar; Neutral
  • “Nyhit“-male Halfling glovemaker; Lawful

>>[Bruce K.:]

  • “Random Happenings“-male human cutpurse; Chaotic
  • “Dykwyk“-male Elf sage; Neutral
  • “Joe Jonas“-male human, singing turnip farmer; Neutral
  • “Oscar the Grouch“-male Halfling vagrant; Chaotic

>>[Rich C.G.:]

  • “Asura Questinar“-female human astrologer; Neutral
  • “Axebeard Beardaxe II“-male Dwarf mushroom farmer; Chaotic
  • “Elijah Rumbletummy“-male Halfling dyer; Lawful
  • “Hobnar Grudgebearer“-male Dwarf herder and heir to the “Book of Grudges,” with sow “Maisy Dukes”; Neutral

Kurick’s accountant, a strange gentleman named “Val Shriboe” [Brian/N.P.C.], explains that local peasants have been paying a tribute of goats to a nearby band of Goblins. As his Halfling assistant collects the names of those assembled, Val notes that Elmer, the son of innkeeper Hamfast Rabbit, has been kidnapped.

Val offers a bounty of 15 crowns (gold pieces) total for Elmer’s safe return. In addition, he says he won’t levy taxes on any booty found in a raid on the Goblin camp, which is in an abandoned temple about a day’s march to the east of Phlegmsad.

Lem just wants to leave his life of bondage, and Dwarves Burdik, Axebeard, and Hobnar have no love of sneaky Goblins. Rayang’s odor keeps others at arm’s length, and Ingsay and Oscar are eager for any coin.

Dykwyk and Asura are less certain about getting dirty in the wilderness, but Nails and Random are confident that they can rescue the child. Sal expects business no matter what happens.

The large and motley crew hikes across the borderlands until it sees the stone walls around a onetime temple to Urda, lord of the sky. Smoke from the central tower and outbuildings proves that the Goblins have taken up residence.

Goblin fort
Goblins occupy ruined temple of Urda

As the afternoon sun begins to set, the would-be heroes discuss tactics in the absence of heavy weapons or armor. A stealthy squad, including Rayang, Ingsay, Random, Oscar, Asura, and Elijah, will sneak up to the ruined front doors.

Meanwhile, a larger group — Nails, Burdik, Lem, Sal, Cerban, Nyhit, Dykwyk, Joe, Axbeard, and Hobnar — enters through a breach in the outer wall. The brave band circles the central keep, and Joe opens a back door to the chapel. A wooden pew crashes down, but nobody is hurt by the boobytrap. A dozen Goblins emerge!

Nyhit squeezes past the bench and kills a Goblin with his awl. Cerban charges in and smashes another. Axebeard swings a bag of rocks (which normally holding mushrooms) into one humanoid, as Hobnar throws a flask of oil.

Lem pulls out a blackjack and Burdik wields his shepherd’s crook as a staff. Joe and Dykwyk wait for a chance to follow. Axebeard and Hobnar fight back to back until they are joined by fellow Dwarf Burdik.

Axebeard wounds another needle-toothed Goblin, and Hobnar finishes him off. The nasty critters miss Axebeard and Burdik, but they impale Cerban, killing the Halfling. Enraged, Joe spikes and throws a foe with his pitchfork, as Dykwyk’s dagger misses.

Lem almost hits himself with his makeshift club, and Burdik smites a Goblin with his staff. However, more Goblins arrive and start throwing stones from the rafters and balcony. Joe dodges the rocks, and Axebeard is slightly injured. Burdik is less fortunate and is also slain. Nyhit responds by also hurling stones.

The Goblins miss the surviving Dwarves and Halflings, but Dkywyk is also hurt. Axebeard ducks behind a bench for cover, and Hobnar charges the far wall, behind which wait the stealthy reinforcements.

Joe kills a Goblin facing Hobnar while Dykwyk throws rocks. Lem smashes his opponent in the knee, but Sal misses with his shovel. Nails hits another with his hammer. Nyhit and Cerban chase the last Goblins into the stealthy squad, which finishes them off.

The reunited explorers quickly search the chapel. They collect goat hides for armor, clubs, pointy sticks, and a sack of colorful pebbles. Asura retrieves a tarnished brass holy symbol of Urda from the neglected altar.

Axebeard and Hobnar swear vengeance on behalf of fallen comrade Burdick, but Sal and Asura note that there’s no time to properly bury him or Cerban as long as other Goblins — and captive Elmer — can be found in the temple complex.

The 14 infiltrators descend and find a row of monks’ cells. They also find an ossuary and an astrological symbol that Asura recognizes. Rayang urges his companions to leave immediately rather than disturb the graves. They agree.

At a building in one corner of the palisade, Nyhit opens a door and is nearly overcome by the smell of rotting carcasses. He runs, and Random quickly closes it. Rayang, Joe, and Nyhit lead the way to one of the front towers, but the wooden stairs and walkway are rotten and rickety.

In the other tower, the group finds a Goblin that has been dead for a while. Apparently, the squatters weren’t expecting to need to keep watch for attack from Phlegmsad. Rayang is swarmed by fist-sized spiders, and Oscar nearly closes the door on him.

The others brush some spiders off manure spreader. At the main tower, Hobnar finds that the door is trapped with a magical rune. Sal tries to open it from a distance with a chain, but he gets a nasty shock.

While the wounded party members wait outside, the others go up to the second story. They find a workshop and laboratory. Elmer calls from a cage, which Ingsay unlocks. Lem eyes beakers and books but has no idea what they are for.

An evil Wizard named Otto descends from the third floor, carrying a crystal globe. Asura wears a robe with similar stars embroidered on it. The spellcaster smashes the sphere, which emits a green smoke. The gas begins to coalesce into a bestial form, forcing the group back.

Random grabs Elmer, and Sal tries to torch the lab. Nails throws a beaker at the cloud, and Rumbletummy throws a cloth over it. Outside, hordes of skeletal goats and Goblins emerge from the building with the bad odor.

Hobnar calls for a retreat rather than fighting through Otto’s charnel house. Joe stabs the cloud with his pitchfork and sees snake heads and eyes that glitter with dying stars. Otto retreats as his skeletal constructs advance.

Rayang and Asura observe that the constructs have some sort of sack in their ribcages and aren’t “true” Undead. The rescuers head back to the town, avoiding Otto’s automata on the way. Nails, Rayang, Random, and Asura use their reward money to buy equipment and training as a Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, and Cleric of Urda, respectively….

Brian, I enjoyed our first old–school Renaissance session, and I look forward to our Level 1 adventure in just over a week. In the meantime, I also look forward to the next FATE 3e “Vortex” telecom space opera and Jason’s final “Glassworks” superhero game.

Also, don’t forget to reply to the discussions on the Yahoo/eGroups message board about which retro–clone to use for my upcoming “Vanished Lands” fantasy campaign and about Josh and Jason’s proposals. Later, -Gene

Ennies and recent favorite RPGs

Fellow role-players, as we continue to discuss our current games and what we might play next, don’t forget to vote for this year’s Ennies! Here’s how I voted:

While I haven’t played many of these, I own several, and I’ve looked at many more products and Web sites. I explain why I chose what I did below.

RPG dice
A pile of polyhedral dice — most tabletop role-players’ fancy

Fantasy

Standouts include Paizo and others’ continuing strong support for the Pathfinder system (a.k.a. “D&D3.75”) and Obsidian Portal, whose wikis our current face-to-face and telecom groups have been using.

I haven’t yet played The One Ring, but it has impressive production value, as do supplements such as DungeonMorph’s cards and the “Mass Transit” series of maps. Many of you have received the news and Game Mastering advice I’ve forwarded from Gnome Stew and EnWorld.org. I enjoyed Rich’s “Way of the Wicked” one-shot.

Modern and superheroes

I voted for DC Adventures: Heroes & Villains Vol. 1 (using D20/OGL Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Ed.) over the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game even though we’re using the latter in Jason‘s “Glassworks” superhero miniseries. I thought Green Ronin’s relatively timeless approach to DC’s iconic characters was better than Margaret Weiss Production’s dice-intensive take on recent Marvel continuity. I’ll leave the various Cthulhu supplements to the horror authorities among us.

Science fiction

I’ve used various SFRPG supplements in developing the “Vortex” space opera, including Ashen Stars: Dead Rock Seven, Eclipse Phase: Panopticon, and Star Hero. Even though FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer has been our baseline, Bulldogs! is a much clearer presentation of similar rules.

Publishers

I’m not sure that Wizards of the Coast’s polls are the best way to get feedback for “Dungeons & Dragons Next” (5e), and Mongoose still has too many errors in its rulebooks, even if I like that it’s keeping Traveller going. Cubicle 7 has let support for Starblazer Adventures and Legends of Anglerre slip, so I voted for the publishers of my other favorite supplements of the past year.

What were your favorites? In addition, don’t forget to vote for which of my campaigns you’d like to see for the face-to-face groups in the coming year! Happy gaming, -Gene

“Glassworks” Session 4: Disco roach motel

Fellow role-players, here are my notes for Jason E.R.‘s latest superhero session, which Brian W. hosted at his home in Newton, Mass., on Monday, 9 July 2012:

>>Player Character roster for Jason E.R.‘s “Glassworks” Bronze Age/noir superhero scenario, using the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game (based on Margaret Weis Productions Ltd.’s Cortex system, originally using DarkPages), as of spring 2012:

  • “Kyle Martins/The Cloaked Quarrel” [Gene D.]-male human college student and legacy crime fighter with mystical crossbows
  • “Eli Wasserman/the Amazing Mr. Fantastic” [Brian W.]-male metahuman with shadow manipulation, semi-retired superhero and private investigator
  • “Rain Tomotowa/Thunderbird” [Sara F.]-female Native American metahuman park ranger, able to change into an eagle
  • “Matthew Shanks/Merlin” [Josh C.]-male incubus sorcerer and occultist with an ancient family legacy
  • “Tim Gray/DarkStorm” [Bruce K.]-male metahuman super soldier, experimented upon by the government, amnesiac weapons designer for Oryx Industries, and armored vigilante
  • “Summer Winters/Santanica Pandemonium” [Rich C.G.]-female human nurse and mother/demon with flame powers, newly aware of her dual nature
  • “Ezra Goldman/Daedalus” [Beruk A./absent]-male metahuman with the ability to temporarily imbue machines with personalities
Kyle and Eli
The Cloaked Quarrel and the Amazing Mr. Fantastic in a fight (image from “Archer and Armstrong”)

As an impromptu band of metahumans and crime fighters reviews its cases in Eli’s office, the semi-retired vigilante gets a distress signal from his Seventh Legion communications device. Fanboy Kyle recognizes the “VII” symbol and 1960s technology.

The “Amazing Mr. Fantastic” recognizes the signal as coming from John Getz, a.k.a. “Red Planet.” The group goes to the Indian Beach neighborhood of Hamilton, Del., and finds Getz’s apartment trashed.

Merlin identifies members of the Coven, a New York-based rival to Hamilton’s mystical Conclave, who lie sprawled amid the wreckage. DarkStorm is impressed that Red Planet, a “brick” or “tank” of the Seventh Legion, didn’t go down without a fight.

Eli attends to Getz, who is mortally wounded and gives him a burned-out cintomanni (also called a dragon pearl or philosopher’s stone). Red Planet notes that it was a trophy from King Naga, who disappeared years ago. The costumed villain’s breastplate was part of the jade warrior’s panoply that various parties are seeking.

The rocky brawler says with his last breath that “He was always her white knight.” The mournful Amazing Mr. Fantastic notes that Richard, the White Magus, was once known as the “White Knight.” His partner Eva Ball, who was recently entangled in the Devil Doll arsons, was known as “Damsel.”

Santanica Pandemonium keeps an eye out for Erechtho, Shard, or other members of the Coven. Thunderbird and the Cloaked Quarrel search Getz’s apartment for clues and find an old subway map with an extra line. Apparently, a Metro line to the Annex was built in the late 1960s but was never used — the project’s funds were diverted to the Annex’s infrastructure. The team leaves before the police arrive.

Back at Wasserman’s office, Daedalus keeps watch on prisoner Rasayana, who with Erechtho attacked the estate of industrialist James Orex. Merlin hides the cintomanni in his extradimensional library.

Thunderbird observes that the stations on the train map correspond with the arson sites leading toward Glassworks. The assembled heroes agree to go to the crystal factory at Inneman Station.

DarkStorm makes sure to park his vehicles a safe distance away, and the Cloaked Quarrel shoots a nylon line to lower himself into the disused tunnels. Santanica Pandemonium unfurls her demonic wings and creates a whirlwind to lower the others.

Flashlights in hand, the investigators don’t go far before they meet four cockroach-themed malefactors! Palmetto, whom the Cloaked Quarrel had humiliated in their first encounter, praises “the glory of the mother.”

Death’s Head engages Santanica Pandemonium, who erupts into an infernal blaze. Discoid readies his disc shooter, as Palmetto dodges crossbow bolts. Hisser and Thunderbird trade sonic attacks.

The Amazing Mr. Fantastic misses Discoid, and Thunderbird slams Palmetto into a wall. Death’s Head and Santanica Pandemonium grapple. Merlin conjures up an illusion of a giant can of insecticide, but it’s too dark for his foes to see.

DarkStorm uses his staff to parry shots from Discoid, while Merlin casts Chain Lightning. A muscular man wearing a mask watches the conflict from the sidelines. Santanica Pandemonium later identifies him as Ilya Petrovich, or “Tarakan,” the bodyguard of Russian mob boss Ozerov.

Cloaked Quarrel misses Hisser, who responds by inflicting horror on the young hunter. DarkStorm drives off Hisser, and Santanica Pandemonium tackles Death’s Head. Thunderbird disrupts Hisser’s sonic scream with a thunderclap.

Palmetto blasts his stink guns at Cloaked Quarrel, who narrowly dodges. Discoid and DarkStorm maneuver, while the Amazing Mr. Fantastic blinds Palmetto with darkforce manipulation.

Death’s Head pummels Santanica Pandemonium, but superior Thunderbird saves her winged ally by knocking him out. Discoid’s weapons find their mark, wounding DarkStorm, and the do-gooders stumble about in the dark.

Santanica Pandemonium ends the battle by blasting the area with flame. Three of the four roaches scuttle away, but Petrovich apparently broke Death’s Head’s neck rather than allow him to talk. DarkStorm and Santanica Pandemonium take his mask as a trophy and for further analysis.

The subway spelunkers continue on toward Inneman Station. Music from the ’60s emanates from speakers, and inside a wall, they find the skeleton of King Naga. According to the Amazing Mr. Fantastic, he had fought Harrier back in the 1950s before reforming.

Merlin takes the jade breastplate, and the Cloaked Quarrel tracks wires from a speaker northwest to a strange vending machine in Stevens Station. It dispenses Indian-brand candy, which was manufactured at the factory where the group recently encountered Devil Dolls and a mystic dragon cage.

Santanica Pandemonium knocks the dispenser over, exposing elaborate machinery and more wires spreading through the tunnels. The women who were turned into masked, wrapped pyromaniacs must have each placed a quarter in this machine, even though it’s in an unused station. More mysteries.

Back on the surface, the super friends continue their many inquiries. DarkStorm finds out that Mora Burch, the wife of a missing scientist found turned into glass, was originally entomologist Mora Petrovich, tying her to both the Russian mafia and Oryx Industries. She must be the “mother” Palmetto referred to.

Santanica Pandemonium interrogates Rasayana, whose real name is Keith Lucido. The goon says that Erechtho merely hired him and gave him alchemical armor (with some invisibility). Eli then turns Lucido over to the police.

Thunderbird and Merlin consult seer Kittaguka. The old woman tells them that Dream Hunter and the Coven have the helmet of the jade warrior. The Cloaked Quarrel has his bow, Santanica retrieved daggers, and King Naga had the breastplate.

DarkStorm and the Cloaked Quarrel go to meet the Red Right Hand at the Forcements. The violent vigilante tells the armored wonder and crossbow-wielding kid that “everybody’s looking for a warehouse in the South Market — the Russians, the Italians, the Coven, and the Conclave.”

The Amazing Mr. Fantastic recalls that D.J. Sharrif hired him to find missing chemist Boyd Burch and believes that he may be tied to dragons. Burch had gone to Ozerov for protection against the Galati crime family because of his gambling debts. He and the roaches apparently sought the dragon pearls for glassified Mora.

Kittaguka tells Thunderbird that King Naga, like her ancestors, was a dragonslayer. Merlin says the package that everyone is looking in the South Market could be the last cintomanni, the helmet, or even a dragon.

Merlin goes to the White Magus to share what he has learned so far and to ask about the Devil Dolls and Red Planet. The Cloaked Quarrel wonders why so many people are seeking the pearls and the related jade warrior’s panoply.

After dropping off Lasido, Eli finds Faisal Marzug in his office. On behalf of Ms. Sharrif — who wants to rename Hamilton’s Annex sector as “Fatima” — Marzug gives Eli a check for $25,000 and says that his services are no longer needed.

Late one night, Santanica Pandemonium receives a shadowy visitor. The “independent interest” offers to lead Summer to her son Timmy (and presumably, ex-husband Bobby Galati) in return for the inactive dragon pearl.

DarkStorm learns about Todd Klucas and that the Hamilton Candy Co., which produced the Indian Head brand, was bought by D.J. Sharrif. This connects back to the strange machinery and the mystic dragon cage….

While I’m sorry that we were unable to meet for Brian’s Dungeon Crawl Classics demonstration this past Monday, I look forward to the penultimate “Glassworks” game next week!

In the meantime, it was good to see The Amazing Spider-Man with some of you, and I look forward to The Dark Knight Rises and the FATE 3e “Vortex” telecom space opera this Sunday. Please remember to vote in the poll about upcoming face-to-face games at the Yahoo/eGroups Web club when you get a chance.

“School Daze” one-shot: Taco surprise!

Fellow role-players, here are my notes for the School Daze one-shot that Rich C.G. hosted and ran at his apartment in Waltham, Mass., on Monday, 2 July 2012:

>>”School Daze” Player Characters:

-“Lars ‘Weedy’ Wiedermeyer” [Gene D.]-male human senior at Trowbridge High School in Iowa; chemistry whiz, “crank” (small-time drug dealer) looking for a girlfriend for the summer before college

-“Vincent Marsocchi, a.k.a. ‘Vinny Mars‘” [Brian W.]-male human junior at Trowbridge H.S.; resourceful “jank” (mechanic) trying to avoid bullies and pull a prank at the prom

-“Frank Thomas” [Josh C.]-male human student at Trowbridge H.S.; corn-fed hockey player and romantic drunk looking for a prom date

'80s Redux collage 2
Comedies of the 1980s directed by John Hughes

>>Nerds and jocks

Students arrive in the parking lot of Trowbridge High School for classes a few days before the prom. Weedy parks at the edge of the lot and meets with Clark/”Speedy,” a budding journalist and customer. He’s also nervous about getting a date.

Vinny drives up in his vintage Chevy Nova and immediately gets egged by Biff Thompson, captain of the hockey team. Fortunately, Frank shows up. Since he’s friends with both the jocks and nerds, he defuses the situation — this time.

Weedy scopes out passing cheerleaders while Vinny tells him about his plans to pull a prank at the prom. Frank reminds his pals to watch out for the “Monkey Squad,” three A/V geeks who are loyal assistants to Mrs. Moore, the prom organizer.

All eyes at the parking lot and nearby athletic field turn to wealthy heartthrob Lance Ingbert, who is pursued by Morgan L. Fay, a choirgirl, cheerleader, and skank.

Cynthia Hoskins, a reporter for The Sensible Squid, watches as Lance chats with “Fighting Octopi” teammates Troy Vanderbilt and Biff. Morgan isn’t happy when Lance walks off to talk to others.

“Stealth babe” Hoskins also catches the attention of Weedy, Frank, and Speedy. They each vow to try to get her as their prom date. They reunite in homeroom, where Mrs. Moore drones on about the prom and the musical Spring Awakening.

Cynthia delivers a televised report on how the cafeteria’s taco meat contains carcinogens, and she ambushes the lunch lady. Doris is too surprised to say anything.

Weedy goes to Chemistry, one of his favorite classes. Flaky lab partner Stacy Felicity asks him if he can find out if Frank has a prom date. She and Frank have been friends since childhood. Weedy slips a Bunsen burner into his bag to deliver later to his supplier Carlos.

Vinny tries to stay awake in Mr. Buckson’s Algebra class, since he’d rather be in Shop with Mr. Durgin. Frank goes to Mr. Burlaney’s American History class, where he daydreams about Cynthia.

Speaking of which, Cynthia pulls Weedy and Vinny aside and asks them to wear and distribute T-shirts saying, “Taco meat is murder” at the prom. She explains that she has contacted Chet Carlson of Channel 5 News. Smitten — and already intoxicated — they readily agree.

Weedy later gives out shirts to his customers, including Speedy, Otis, football player Brock, preppy journalist Zack, and Beth. They are impressed with his wares and reluctantly agree to wear the shirts briefly at the prom.

Alvin, Simon, and Ted, a.k.a. the “Monkey Squad,” almost corner Vinny into helping them. He begins hatching a plan, with Troy’s encouragement. In the lunch room, Vinny gets an extra helping of tacos from Doris and avoids bully Biff and dreamy Lance. He boldly asks Amy Kwan to the prom, and she surprises everyone by agreeing!

However, Amy has one condition: Vinny must meet her father, Baptist minister Bishop Parsons, for dinner. Frank tries to talk to Cynthia, but she is busy trying to track down Chris and Lance.

Discouraged, Frank ducks into the lavatory. Troy gives him a pep talk. Weedy and Frank are almost caught smoking by security guard Franz, nicknamed “Col. Clink” by some reprobates.

Inspired by Amy, Vinny excels at poetry about butterflies in Daisy Pfeffeneusen’s English class, but Weedy cuts Phys Ed, which is Frank’s favorite. Frank earns praise from Coach “Bullhorn” Lewis.

Weedy does attend Mrs. Iris Carbuncle’s Economics class, one of the few he aces, thanks to his small-business experience. He pays little attention to exchange student Inga, figuring that she’s out of his league.

>>Coming together and falling apart

Wallpaper for Judd Apatow's comedy TV series
Judd Apatow’s landmark high school TV series

After classes, Vinny drives his heap to dinner at Amy’s house in a respectable suburban neighborhood. He is surprised when Doris answers the door. Apparently, the lunch lady is Mrs. Parsons as well as Amy’s stepmother!

Frank practices with Biff, Lance, and Troy on the field, while Weedy conducts business on the sidelines. Weedy draws skulls and crossbones in his notebook because his romantic plans have gone awry. Stacy was heartbroken to learn that Frank expected to go to the prom with Cynthia rather than her. Cynthia, meanwhile, barely acknowledges Frank and Weedy.

At the Parsons-Kwan household, Vincent tries to make small talk over an elegant meal. Bishop Parsons questions his intentions toward Amy, invokes the wrath of God if he should deliver her home later than 2:00 a.m., and invites him to Sunday services. Fortunately for Vinny, Amy is the apple of her parents’ eyes.

Weedy is shocked to learn that Lance shares an interest in unicorns with Stacy, whom he had started to consider as a backup date. With Vinny securing Amy and Frank still pursuing Cynthia, what is Weedy to do? He confronts Morgan after cheerleading practice and tells her about Lance.

Morgan is disgusted. She storms off, but not before telling Weedy that Cynthia has been playing him and Frank all along. Not only will she embarrass Doris — and, by extension, Amy and Vinny — but she’s actually working on an expose of the drug and alcohol dealers in the school, directly endangering Weedy and Frank’s graduation chances!

Weedy goes home to his long-suffering mother Delores and tries to call his friends. They want nothing to do with him as they get tuxes ready for the prom. In homeroom the next morning, Weedy pulls Vinny and Frank aside and tells them everything.

Vinny agrees to turn the “Taco meat is murder” shirts inside-out and stencil “We heart tacos” on them in shop class. Frank is distraught and vows boozy vengeance on Cynthia, who may actually be pursuing Clark. However, before Weedy and Frank can find new dates, they are distracted by a fight in the lunch room.

Handsome Lance and bully Biff brawl among the linoleum tables. Frank and his hockey mates dive in and separate them. Weedy asks Lance and Stacy, who attends to his wounds, what’s going on, but they are reluctant to open up to him.

Vinny happily goes to shop, ready for his unlikely date and to make mischief for the prom….

We all enjoyed this one-shot, which reminded us of John Hughes’ movies in the 1980s or Freaks and Geeks. Character creation is easy for School Daze, which is a rules-light storytelling game somewhat similar to Fiasco. Just jot down your character’s favorite subject, “ranks” (specialties), motivation, and relationships, and you’ll have a recognizable archetype from high school.

I could easily see this game being good for horror (Buffy: the Vampire Slayer), fantasy (Harry Potter), noir mystery (Brick), superheroes (Spider-Man) or science fiction (Teenagers From Outer Space and lots of anime). I’d recommend School Daze for miniseries and pickup games like this past Monday, when we didn’t have quorum for the Way of the Wicked adventure path.

Rich, let me know if I left anything out, and I look forward to upcoming sessions of the FATE 3e “Vortex” telecom space opera and Jason E.R.’s “Glassworks” superhero scenario! Have a good weekend, -Gene

Free RPG Day 2012 report

Happy summer solstice! While I’ve missed some movies and local events lately because of travel and crowded schedules, I did get to Free RPG Day. On Saturday, 16 June 2012, Janice and I drove into Boston to visit the Compleat Strategist.

Retro RPG wallpaper
Retro role-playing rules!

The staff at the small game shop was friendly as usual, and I declined an invitation to participate in a Pathfinder tabletop role-playing session. I did pick up the following free items:

I also bought some Lord of the Rings HeroClix and Giants Revisited for Pathfinder (my Advanced Race Guide hardcopy is coming in the mail). I looked at the thick core rulebooks for Dungeon Crawl Classics and Adventurer, Conqueror, King because of fellow Game Master Brian W.‘s recommendations. I didn’t purchase either of these retro–clones yet, because I want to see what my current face-to-face groups are willing to try after various miniseries and our D&D Next playtest.

I didn’t see any of the planned books for FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer (for “Vortex“) or Legends of Anglerre (for the “Vanished Lands“) but at least the FATE version of Bulldogs has gotten some good science fiction support online. I’m more inclined to stick with rules-light systems than invest in yet another potentially expensive, complicated game with a limited fan base.

Unfortunately, the staff at Pandemonium Books & Games in Cambridge, Mass., was surprisingly ignorant of Free RPG Day and seemed to be more interested in hosting collectible card tournaments than serving role-players. It seemed like a missed opportunity to get people into the store. It’s a shame that the larger shop has focused less on traditional RPGs lately.

Janice and I later enjoyed lunch at Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage and visited our usual book shops in Harvard Square. We missed Josh C. & Sara F., who were at the Compleat Strategist sometime after us. I look forward to looking more closely at my Free RPG Day swag. So many games, so little time!