Jawas Gone Wild!!

Well this weekend has brought about a very unexpected turn of events ... our 3.5 group lost a couple members due to changing work schedules (Saturday no longer an option for them) ... and rather than not game on that day we decided to bring in a few new players and fire up a Saga Edition Star Wars game! I haven't played in a Star Wars game since the 3.0 version. So we rolled up characters and I was surprised you could play as a JAWA!! Well at that point I was all in!

Thus far the party includes a hero droid (revived by the exiled Jawas in the party) and a yet to be determined character. I'm looking forward to the game for however long it lasts ... I'm sure it will be hilarious. A little departure from D&D will be nice too ... as I've had two ongoing D&D games running since last fall ... so a little break from that will be nice.

Mazes and Minotaurs

This might be way old news for many of you out there ... BUT ... I feel it is timely to mention this game with CLASH OF THE TITANS just around the corner.  Also when I myself checked the page I was very surprised to see that good ole M&M is still being  very well supported by its creator who is still putting out new material for it. A few years back I had a chance to play this game with a master old school DM. It was one of the best RPGs campaigns I've ever played in.

The premise for the game is very simple, its a what if ... what if the inspiration for original D&D wasn't Conan and Sword and Sorcery fantasy ... but rather classic Greek mythology.  The game is extremely close in play style and rules mechanics to classic 1st/2nd edition D&D with some really awesome twists and additions (like smooth small squad based combat rules, streamlined naval combat, etc.).  The best thing about the game is it is ENTIRELY FREE.

The creator of the game to sum him up quickly ... an avant-guarde French punk rocker type with a knack for game design (from what I've heard of him ... never met him nor did I find extensive biographical info on him ... this is just what I've heard from fellow gamers). At any rate he was inspired by this article to write a game as though D&D had in fact been based on Greek mythology. What he came up with is in my opinion a very pure, old school game that is sleek and elegant ... but most importantly captures a level of authenticity in terms of being faithful to the old school style game and to the genre of Greek mythology (without being dry and boring). You get a very classic Hollywood style Greek Mythology  feeling game. That said however the game can be slavishly faithful to history if the DM and party would like its just a matter of what the DM wants to have in their story ... or it can be cinematic, heroic and over the top.

Again with Clash of the Titans just around the corner it seems like this title might be worth checking out for anyone out there who hasn't seen it ... if nothing else people ... download the stuff ... its free from the game designer himself (who has vowed never to make a penny from it) with his express consent and encouragement to do so ... he made it for us to enjoy. Here is a more detailed review.

Dreaming the Impossible Dream ...

Decisions decisons decisons ... a choice of three ... hrmmm ... 4 ... 5?

Ok ... I think what I'm going to talk about here might be A) offensive and B) impossible ... but here goes. Is this a quest for a holy grail that doesn't exist? A system that nicely blends the old classic fantasy hack and slash RPG with the new?

I have everything I could ever want in terms of RPG source materials, old settings, etc. I have a veritable bookshelf filled with 1st, 2nd (a massive amount of 2nd ed actually), White Wolf, Rifts, Heavy Gear and on and on. What I'm really hoping to add to my gaming library is a classic style fantasy RPG system that can provide some continuity to 2nd edition D&D. First I won't run 2nd edition D&D ... I believe I am like 3 or 4 books short of a complete collection of 2nd ed D&D.

Its obscene how much stuff I still own. I really have a huge nostalgic feeling for 2nd ed ... but I know the rules are very broken and my player base would not enjoy Thaco, negative AC, etc. I know that is ultra anathema to say to most old school fans ... but those things are just annoying. They get in the way of the game ... if you've played those systems for 20 years its second nature. If you've played 3.x and 4E only and then get tossed into the Thaco, negative AC style games ... its shocking and mildly frustrating ... is the math that hard .. of course not its elementary school level stuff ... yet it just turns some players off and that is the last thing I want.

The worst aspect of old style fantasy RPGs in terms of my current players reactions would also be extremely weak starting characters. When the party has to fear common beasts of the forest ... that is going to be an issue for my current players. 4 hitpoint mages who cast a single spell and stand at the back missing with their sling or darts.  On this point I don't need to hear about strategy for dealing with that ... it can be done I'm not disputing that ... but I know with certainty that it is going to piss off my players and make them really not want to play ... they are used to somewhat robust starting characters without having to cheat and start at lvl 5 or something. I know this and don't care what people have to say about that aspect of my dilemma ... I simply would like a system where starting characters aren't as weak as a house cat or your average 80 year old homeless guy.  The more I look at the classic games I'm slowly resigning myself to the reality that in the near term I'll probably only ever be playing 4E or Savage Worlds modified to run old school style fantasy games. My true preference is a FATE based system ... but that is another matter ... and FATE doesn't do what I'm wanting to do with a classic feeling fantasy game. I'd also never be able to do it with 3.X or 4E (and I like 4E for tabletop videogame style hack and slash but it doesn't have the old school feel and I don't want to get into version wars debate here) clearly as those games have a very different pace and feel to them. I keep hoping to find a modified classic fantasy RPG that feels authentic but is cleaner and more modern in design in terms of being familiar to players who have primarily experienced D20 style RPGs.  In addition to a hybrid between the classic and the new I'd love to be able to utilize some classic D&D content ... perhaps even an entire 2nd edition setting (Birthright ... and before anyone knocks it ... I like it and have immense nostalgia for it) without insane custom conversion issues. 

Right now I've looked briefly at a few systems, Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry and Osric (though I guess technically its not a "rule set") ... and all three of those systems are simply cleaned up 1st/2nd ed D&D. I've also strongly considered Tunnels and Trolls ... but I have issue with the balance of the game and really don't care for how magic works in the game ... its actually too simple and streamlined. I'm a huge fan of that system for beer and pretzel style one shots ... but wouldn't use it for a long campaign.   Dragon Age, Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry ... are all systems I'd consider if someone could show me the light with any of them. Also the boxed set is so appealing to me ... they just conjure up such strong memory of my first exposure to D&D ... its really hard for me not to just rush out and buy them all just for the sake of owning them. As for Dragon Age specifically I was supposed to get a demo in at the last con I attended but we ran late on the first day and didn't make it in time. So I've heard very little about the system other than just the very basics. Spellcraft and Swordplay is another system I've heard a little about here and there. Any other systems out there that I'm missing?

So is this just a lost cause or what?

D&D Plus Porn = Bad? In what universe! Not mine!!!

Ok I'm way late to this topic and I'm not doing it because I think I'm anyone in the geek-blog-o-sphere cares about my opinion. I do this blog to vent, and enjoy catharsis about games and basically to place-hold thoughts, put down ideas for friends to view at their leisure, etc. if anyone else out there cares enough to read any of my crazy gonzo ... awesome.

 Anyway apparently there is a blog called Playing D&D With Pornstars and apparently the proprietor of said Blog has done a cool video blog/webisode of a D&D game at the escapist. That in and of itself would be cool ... anything that promotes tabletop gaming is great in my book. Apparently though (as the name of the blog denotes) this guy happens to have some really cool friends from the porn industry (what a lucky bastard I say) who are playing in his game ... INCLUDING SASHA GREY and other notable porn actresses. Apparently this has caused some negative commentary by geeks ... what??? Huh??? I'm in shock ... how??

Perversion aside ... how is this bad? A) its free publicity in the geek realms for tabletop gaming B) There are plenty of connections between segments of the gaming industry and erotica already ... and has been since the early days. So whats the problem?

I applaud Zak's blog in all its forms and the escapist for doing this and everyone involved. Kudos to them all! I've also signed up as a follower of Zak's blog as its a damn good one as far as I'm concerned ... porn stars or no porn stars. Also as a warning if your a moral christian who is into judgment you might not want to read my blog. I'm a very happy atheist who reviles all organized religion and all right wing bigotry and censorship! You've been warned :)

TIME BANDITS!

Ok ... a sleep deprived inspiration ...  I'm going to run a one shot old school game based on a very classic film that I haven't seen for a very long time ...

TIME BANDITS! 

Phantom Menace Review

I'm sure many of you have seen this stuff ... but I just had to share it again. The gaming group has been talking about firing up a Star Wars game again and for whatever reason it just brought this review to mind ... hilarious stuff.  Here it is: HILARIOUS PHANTOM MENACE REVIEW.

Are MMOs potentially as social as table top games?

Alright I've been hearing people out there on this series of tubes claim that MMOs can be as social as face to face gaming. I feel compelled to discuss this and generally take an offensive urination on this assertion.  People do say that one can be "just as sociable" as one can with face to face games ... via WoW ... you hear it as justification by MMO players all the time. Having played, raided, PVP'd, power-lvl'd, yada yada for years (again before I came to my senses) in various MMOs from Ultima Online to World of Warcraft to Lord of the Rings Online to Warhammer Online (hell I have even played Second Life for a few weeks). 

In my experience  I can unequivocally say that is a very big exaggeration. For example in WoW you can interact with players via a very poor in game voice chat system or by using a third party application like ventrilo, skype, etc. which most people do. Most reasonably sized guilds have a ventrilo server with an open channel or two for chat. But that is it ... the "social" people get is like a chat room on the internet, sometimes with a voice chat option. How is in any sense of reality ... that as social as ANY real face to face game. That is normal human social interaction. A chat room is NOT normal human interaction ... its the worst kind of bubble to live in and I hate it. There have been some detailed full on scholarly studies that have come to similar conclusions (Sherry Turkle and Richard Bartle have both conducted some groundbreaking research on this stuff) regarding social interaction in MMOs ... if your interested just do a google search.

Lets talk face to face gaming ... I know this entire post is simply stating the obvious (as most of my posts ... lol). but seriously it seems that in this case for many people playing MMOs hardcore ... this isn't that obvious. In face to face gaming of any kind you have to do what we humans are best at, what we humans need more than anything ... be social. There are many anti-social folks out there though ... many people who are shy, embarrassed, nervous of meeting other people and for those reasons alone live a lonely life where they are essentially pretending to be social via the internet. I'm not saying all WoW players do that ... again I played MMOs and I'm many things ... but anti-social is not one of them. I'm a loud, boisterous person who has to have group interaction to survive ... and in addition to having an active non-gaming related social life since 2000 I've had a continuous face to face gaming group of some kind (with about a six month exception due to a move). My current gaming includes 3 weekly RPG games (mostly different groups comprised of about 12 to 15 players) and various board game nights, etc. I've started a gaming club (Wasatch Gamers Club) so I can find even more local gamers and help our local community. Really I wish people who are in the "anti-social" category realized how easy it is to just get out there and find people to game/hike/collect rocks/discuss 11th century wine making/*insert activity of ones choice here* ... with.

I mean you have to clean yourself up a bit right, get in your car (or for you lucky Europeans ... take some cool mode of mass transit) drive to the gaming location. Go in talk to other humans in a face to face fashion ... perhaps even eat dinner with the group. The benefit of this is you get normal human face to face interaction ... over time you form friendships with the people you game with and then you don't just have to game with them. Oh sure there are risks ... for example I tend to host ... I've had a few bad game group members over the years. I've had a loaded gun dropped on my garage floor by a drunk game group member who apparently had it tucked in the back of his pants. I've had someone leave the little airline bottles of booze in my front room only to discover them the next day (I have small children .. had one of them got ahold of it ... it could have been bad), I've had a minor theft or two occur.  I've even had someone toking away in my bathroom (I am not against the use of cannabis per say .. heck I think it should be legal ... BUT ... I don't use it and would want someone to ask before firing it up in my house).

So ya ... I've hosted gaming for ten years running and I've had well over 300 people cycle through my gaming groups at times I've had 20 people over on Friday and Saturday evenings ... a group doing an RPG in one room ... mini games in the rec room and a board game at the kitchen table.  I'm not citing this stuff as a brag ... many non-gamer friends and family members think its kind of crazy ... I mention it as reference to A) my experience with forming social gaming groups and B) to demonstrate how easy it is (hell if I can do it anyone can). I think the fun and awesomeness I've gotten out of it has so far outweighed any bad. Many of the people I've met along the way have become life long friends whom have truly become family. Most of the game group members remain more acquaintances than friends ... but that is totally ok with me. You play a board game or do some RPGing with someone a couple times a month ... you don't have to like them or have things in common with them and yet you can still have fun. There are so many cool and wonderful experiences I've had thanks to face to face gaming ... that I will always remember. I can't say the same thing about MMOs ... I've done things in MMOs ... achieved very difficult things within the games themselves ... but I really am not proud of that and really feel like that was a waste of time. Its sort of embarrassing really to even admit that I did play MMOs so extensively.

Now does this mean I will never play another MMO as long as I live? Or that anyone who does play MMOs is an idiot or a deviant of some kind? NO and NO. That genre of game is here to stay and clearly is a large part of the future of video games and virtual interaction. I will undoubtedly take the plunge again at some point in the future ... but what I will not do is ever let my own  life in general (including gaming)... suffer as a result of playing any type of video game. If everyone who played MMOs would make that same vow and stick to it ... the world of reality ... would be a better place.

Down with MMOs and up with FACE TO FACE games of all kindsViva La Revolución!!

Is it fair to HATE THE WORLD OF WARCRAFT!!??

World of Warcrack ... erm Warcraft. What do people feel about it?? I know that following up a "can't we all just get along .. to each their own" gaming rant with a BUT THIS GAME IS EVIL ... post would be hypocritical in the extreme. No one ever said I wasn't a hypocrite ... but really people ... aren't we all. I feel that gaming is indeed under assault more than ever. I think face to face gaming has both more opportunity now than maybe it ever has (as the internet facilitates finding fellow gamers) and more challenge. In my own life at least and in the two gaming communities I've been a part of over the past 10 years (I've also dabbled in So. Cal ... have many friends down there and attend Strategicon/Orccon/Gateway) it seems that WoW has had quite a negative impact. I myself played off and on over the past 5+ years of the game. I have 5 lvl 80s and have experienced most aspects of the game from high end raiding to high end PVP and spent an extraordinary amount of time grinding levels, forming guilds, yada yada. It was indeed fun and it was nice when I had little screaming infants waking me up at 2 AM ... I could sit there doing something in the game while I fed them and rocked them back to sleep.

But I'm seeing some very sad impacts on face to face gaming (again from my own personal perspective). I've had many players in gaming groups and clubs just literally drop off the face of the planet ... only to find out that they didn't have a horrible car accident, they didn't move, didn't get a job as an oil rig worker ... no no ... they were horribly crack hooked on WoW. Some of these folks have come to their senses (as I feel I did) and others have not. I'm just curious if others out there have had similar experiences and how people feel in general about WoW and even MMOs in general. Clearly they are the future of a big segment of video games ... do others feel they pose a threat to face to face gaming??

WARNING WARNING ... anti Hermit-nard rant!!

I want to introduce a term to the gaming vernacular ... don't forget you heard it here first! 

Hermit-Nard- Definition: Based on Grognard. A hermit-nard is someone who becomes stuck on an out of print game system and endlessly proclaims it as superior to all future game systems and any other form of game. They are irrational, dense, stupid and stubborn and have been known to suffer from delusions of being correct.

Grognard, which   is French for "grumbler".^[1] It is not necessarily pejorative and is sometimes used as a compliment. Historically it meant a soldier in Napoleon's army, particularly a member of the Old Guard.^[2] "Grognard" came to mean a veteran wargamer in the early 1970s.^[3] It was first used by John Young, at that time an employee of SPI, and subsequently popularised by Strategy & Tactics magazine.

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Ok ... lately I've been reading many "classic" D&D game blogs and comments regarding posts on those blogs and I'm somewhat dismayed. I'm really honestly upset and displeased at how many grumpy old jerk gamers there are out there who just don't get it. They apparently have their nerd-beard gaming groups that have been gaming together for 30+ years and are basically gaming hermits who are entirely out of touch with gaming. (Also there are many dyed in the wool Grognards out there who DO get it and I'm following their blogs and really enjoy hearing what they have to say).

Do people realize that face to face gaming is under assault?? More than ever! Video games from the dreaded World of Warcrack to console gaming to other forms of PC gaming are siphoning off players and interest ... away from face to face gaming in all of its forms. SO being stupidly critical of gaming companies that are doing whatever they can to stay afloat in these tough times (not to mention these tough economic times) is just dumb. I got fired up about a post on one of these blogs from one of these gamer hermits living in a Gary Gygax world that never existed ... refusing to see reason and refusing to use logic. Its worse than the crazy right wing Palin fans or the Tea Party fools ... bah!! So this is a reply to those types of anti-4E people out there and those people who think old D&D is superior. Old D&D was great in its time and its fun to be nostalgic about those old games and even play them sometimes ... but they are not better. They do not do a better job of delivering RPG fun than many, many other newer systems INCLUDING 4E.

First I agree that classic D&D from White Box to 2nd edition are just that "classics" and those games deserve some reverence and nostalgia. Does 3.0 and 3.5 ... no ... not now ... maybe in 5 or 10 years time and besides Pathfinder is still being supported so there is an outlet for people who actually like 3.5 and think its worth playing (more power to you ... I don't but if it floats your boat have fun).  My own gaming groups have all come to the conclusion collectively that if you have a good group and GM/DM ... you don't even need rules. You can just sit and collectively weave an interactive story. One could sit cross legged in a circle with other players ... passing the water pipe ... incense burning in the background ... seeking RPG nirvana. Yet with our busy lives, variable quality of players and GM/DMs that rarely happens. What you often end up with is a DM who doesn't have enough time to give you nirvana and players who are either nubs, or are unemployed and stressed out or going through a divorce or just jerks ... and people don't bring 100% of what they can to the table. So you need rules and systems that  in spite of all that facilitate reasonably fun gameplay and weave cool and interesting authentic feeling storylines that the group enjoys. That is what an RPG should do.

Talk to game designers and people who aren't afraid to try other systems and really get into the nuts and bolts of game design elements. Guys like John Wick, Monte Cooke, Jared Sorensen, etc. etc. Any of them will tell you there is a world of RPGing out there and I'm not talking about 4E. Games like Spirit of the Century, Dogs in the Vineyard, Savage Worlds, Houses of the Blooded, Sorcerer, In a Wicked Age, Burning Wheel, Mouseguard, etc. that are new and fresh and cool. Don't get me wrong I've been playing D&D since around 1984ish and before people jump around with oh well I actually inspired Gary Gygax to create D&D ... I don't care!  I didn't make that statement as a brag ... I'm sure many of you are older and more Grognardian than I am ... just saying I've been playing for more than a few years and I haven't been afraid to jump right in on new types of games. I see that there is a segment of the "classic" D&D fans out there who are  acting like cranky old farts who don't care about the continuation or growth of the hobby of role playing. They choose to bury their heads in the sand and rant and rave about anything new. To me that is as distrubing as the people who won't pry their nearly cold dead fingers off of WoW.

New products with new approaches bring in new players ... period. I don't like WoW it is a drain on the gaming community in general ... I have to admit I've played hardcore though in the past. I play 4E but I also play 3.5 and occasionally 2nd and even 1st Ed D&D. 4E has an appeal for new players ... I'm 35 ... been there done that with every version of D&D since 1st (Basic, 2nd, 3.0., 3.5). I own a small used bookstores worth of stuff from TSR to White Wolf to Hogshead (GW), etc. etc. and have a nostalgia for the classic stuff. Yet I am not a hater of new products that bring new younger players into the hobby. I want to be playing RPGs when I'm 80 and I like playing with a diverse group ... I agree WoW is evil but I think its really stupid to say 4E is as bad as WoW. Its idiotic in fact. 4E is a pen and paper face to face RPGing ... PERIOD. Once you get people to love pen and paper RPGs and get it into their blood ... you have a new RPG fan. Many of them will inevitably seek out other RPGs and learn about the history of D&D and maybe one day they'll turn in up one of your 1st ed games. How can an 18 year old who doesn't have a parent or relative who raised them on D&D be expected to automatically find some old out of print game and immediately declare it superior??? You think they are going to take some cranky old guys word for it?? I doubt it. This rational is like being a fan of classic cars from the 50s or 60s and being angry at any new car ... your justified in your belief in your own mind ... but your very unrealistic. 4E is here to stay and its been popular, its bringing new players to the game and providing existing D&D fans with continued entertainment via a PEN AND PAPER RPG ... therefor .. love it or hate it ... you need to learn to deal with it and accept that it will not go away. I think that many of the people out there bashing and hating would be better served in seeking the best revenge and that is to lead by example. Talk about the old games and what is good about them, don't tear down, don't hate, don't rant. Keep what you love alive. I like reading blogs that do that ... I'm not a fan of the endless D&D vs. 4E ranting ... its pointless.

There was a time when I loved GURPS and RIFTS and Shadowrun and 3.5 D&D. I loved big robust simulator games that "could do anything" ... and had a complex detailed rule for every occasion. Back when I was in my early 20s ... wasn't married ... didn't have kids ... and had a gaming group that wanted and could handle games like that. Now that I'm 35, married, 4 kids, big mortgage, car payments, stressful work, yada yada ... I find myself wanting fun, light, low DM prep, low player prep (i.e. you don't need an IQ of 160 and committed study time to learn the rules), etc. So I now find myself having most fun with Savage Worlds and some of the FATE system mod ups. Yet I still play D&D in whatever form I can get a group together in. Finding people who want to play 1st edition D&D on a continual basis in my area has been a non-starter ... new players don't like Thaco, they don't get negative AC ... and old modules have a sometimes kooky, crazy ecology that one has to appreciate in order to get.  I own everything I'd ever need to run said game ... also for 2nd and basic if there was a desire ... yet I never have any takers. So I play what I can get and I have played and currently am playing 4E. I find that most of the critics who refuse to play 4E and thus have no idea what they are talking about. Most of the 4E haters draw their criticisms mainly from their reading of other grumpy, smug people who also haven't really played. Its easy to tear down systems ... every version has its flaws. Is 4E the best D&D ever? No. Is it so bad its unplayable. No. Is it WoW on paper. It can be ... but then again its all in how the DM runs their game. Is it enjoyable and does it provide great hack and slash type RPGing. Yes ... again if run properly. Is it the death of all life on earth? No. I'd argue that it is bringing new players to RPGing and therefor it isn't all bad. Am I selling all my other RPG stuff and going all in on 4E? No. I still own all my classic stuff and hope to get all that out from time to time too. I also actually like Savage Worlds and Spirit of the Century tremendously (even more than any version of D&D ... GASP ...) and try to play those whenever I can.

I anticipate that there will be a 5E sometime in the next five or so years and people will hate it too ... and others will love it ... and new people will try it. I will be playing RPGs then I hope and I'll probably try 5E too. What I will then do is take the 5E players (like I have with 4E) and get them to try stuff like Savage Worlds ... then maybe do a one shot of Tunnels and Trolls ... then run one of the cleaned up versions of 1st ed D&D.

My current gaming groups have players in them from a player who is nearly 70 to 18 and 19 year olds. I have four kids that I do modified RPGing with basically I give them 3 stats, Smarts, Strength and Personality and run fairytale type adventures more akin to choose your own adventure books than D&D. There are actually systems out there tailor made for young players that I have looked into but haven't picked up yet.

To me the bottom line is players and DMs can flame and swear and rant about the "evil" companies that are making money from gaming (OMG how dare they!!) ... and as someone whose personal politics are something along the lines of Socialist-Anarchist ... I hear ya! Power to the people!! Yet ... as a greedy gamer who likes new shiny stuff and who likes to have lots of different people to game with ... I support companies like WotC in their continued efforts to attract new players to role playing games. I'm also a mini game fan (GW mainly) and a board game fan. Game companies like Games Workshop, Fantasy Flight Games and Privateer Press are engaging in many of the same practices that WotC are and that is bad and good. To me any efforts to pry people away from WoW ... to ANY type of face to face gaming ... is good and I will do what I can to support such efforts. This same argument can be applied to the GW games ... you hear the same stuff with 4E 40K fans vs. 5th ed. etc. etc. and its the same situation ... ANYTHING that keeps new players coming to the hobbies we know and love should be applauded and supported ... if you really like older games ... fine get a group together and do that on the side ... but don't smack new people over the head and drive them away from the hobby!! Besides people your never going to find large numbers of non-European gamer girls who are going to play 1st edition D&D!! FFS!!! If you want the % of female gamers to increase you have to have new systems that cater more to their interests!!

DEATHWATCH???

What!! Do my eyes deceive me!

Fantasy flight games IS going to add a Space Marine role playing game to the Dark Heresy line!  WHOA!! Looks really hot! The release is "this summer" ...  It looks like the price will be 59.95 for the core book and I'm assuming it will be similar in size and scope to the Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader books. I'll be pre-ordering this one!!

ORKS! Weirdboys or not??

YA YA ... I know ... I've been inexcusably remiss in posting pictures, etc. of my ork project. Well one of these days mon ... one of these days ...

Anyway this mostly a request for advice.  Recently I've noticed that at least on paper it looks like weird boys (warpheads in particular) appear to be just what a boy heavy ork army could use. The possibility to get a second or even third waaagh! in during a game seems really nice ... and the other weirdboy abilities seem to have some amazing vehicle destroying, unit moving potential as well. If I took 2 in a list would that be over the top? I'm already running Ghazghkull Thraka and I care not a fig for any "special characters are cheesy" ... with the way 5th edition plays the orks need to use their strengths and in my opinion their main strength (and really its very fluffy as well) are the boyz and lots of them. The only way a big mostly on foot list is viable is by maximizing that waaagh! special rule and Ghaz does that. All in all ya he is brutal but he is pretty expensive ... his main use to the list is giving the foot troops a guaranteed full waaagh! move ... that is it. If I wanted to min max I wouldn't take him.

STRATEGICON

Well I had a somewhat safe return from Strategicon ... only one minor vehicle malfunction on the way out of LA which delayed us about 5 hours or so. It wouldn't be a con road trip without something like that happening. At any rate I had an absolute blast!! It was huge fun ... I saw old friends and had a chance to play some great indie RPGs. I managed to wander around and BS with some of the attendees at the 40K/WHFB tourney as well. They seemed to have a decent turnout . Overall it was again well worth the trip down. I managed to do the con (including travel, room, food and spending money) for around $300.00. For a raucous four day game romp ... in my book that is money well spent.

I played:  

Friday at 8 PM

House of Cards: The Russian Mafia is sending $500 million to Beijing on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Your crew is going to steal it. You'll either end up rich or dead - it's a no risk, no reward proposition. Come playtest my quick-play heist game. GM: Eric Boyd (actually he is the creator of the game).

Ok this was a really interesting concept for an RPG. We played with the creator of the game as this game is still in playtest but should be out this year sometime. The game uses a standard deck of cards in place of dice for all game resolution.

Saturday at 9 AM:

4th Edition D&D, DOGS OF WAR: The paladins of Elturgard cannot tolerate a threat from the gnolls of the Reaching Woods at this time. Will heroes step forward to undertake a risky mission to foil the gnolls and their demon allies? A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in Elturgard for characters levels 4-7.

This one was a "Special" mod which means more loot, etc. again ... next September there will be NO LFR mods for me ... in my book at strategicon its a waste of time with other really good GMs running indie games, rare board games, gamer flea market, etc. etc. its just a waste of time. However playing this one mod sold me on attending Neoncon this next year in Vegas because I had a blast playing it, but again there are just too many other cooler activities at Strategicon going on for me to waste my time playing D&D again. To give a quick recap I was playing a tooled up Paladin who my friend Scott built for me right before the con. He was combo heavy and did alot of damage for a defender, I really enjoyed playing that chr. The mod itself was interesting our group managed to overcome the skill challenges which allowed us to avoid several minor encounters thus enabling us to get to the end boss fight where we had to stop a demon summoning in progress. We managed to save the captive who was about to be sacrificed and kill the boss ... just barely ...

A game that I missed playing at that time but wish I would have played in was one by a great GM named Mike Olson called Leftovers which is "a roleplaying game of post-apocalyptic survival in a horrific world but with a heart. More Information: http://rollsomedice.blogspot.com" That is my only regret of the con is that I didn't play in this game instead of D&D. Again I had fun playing D&D but Mike is an amazing GM and this is his own system. I really didn't pay enough attention during registration in terms of this game. I'm hoping to make it down to Hyphen-Con this year so I can play in a session of it run by Mike.  

Saturday at 2 PM:

A cool Savage Worlds game run by Andy Blanchard who is someone that I've played in games run by and as a fellow player with for several strategicons in a row now.

"Fan of Jim Butcher? Love his Codex Alera fantasy series? Dream of playing an element-controlling furycrafter? Well then join the fun! Playtest the Savage Worlds tweak for the Codex Alera fantasy setting, and maybe even save some slaves from cruel and uncaring bastards while you're at it!"

Andy did a great job combining the awesomeness of Savage Worlds with what seems to be perhaps an even better series of Butcher novels than the Dresden files. The backstory for the world is pretty interesting and it has  a  Roman feeling combined with sort of a Last Air Bender twist.

Basically the PCs are elemental casters who draw upon the elemental powers of the world in order to cast their spell like abilities, heal, and generally manipulating their environment. The party was balanced and though everyone is a "caster" ... the classic RPG party roles can be filled as in addition to the four elements there is a wood bender and a mental bender. The metal bender in particular is a melee damage and/or tank class, the water bender is the healer, air controller, fire ranged damage, wood ranged damage with a bow, etc.

Andy's Savage Worlds mod is awesome and I had a blast.

Saturday at 8 PM:

Fate: Final Exam Crisis

"Are you ready for some exciting but essentially non-lethal Silver Age-type action? When supervillainy threatens Pacific City, it's up to Seaside High School's motley assortment of teenage superheroes to put a stop to it. And during finals week, no less! Come playtest this new superheroic version of FATE, the ruleset that powers Spirit of the Century, Diaspora, and the upcoming Legends of Anglerre.

More Information: http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com" GM: Mike Olson

The game was hilariously awesome!! It had a classic silver age teen comic hero spirit with an edge to it. The player builds were: Brick, Multiplier, Speedster, Empath/Telepath, Sonic Blaster. I won't go into the other characters but the character I played was named Clique and she was basically the hot mean girl from high school who always managed to start the rumors, maintain her domination of the in-crowd, etc. etc. and that personality blended with a multiple-girl hero had some hilarious and fun application potential. Really having played this game I have realized that for my tastes FATE does supers better than anything. Mike managed to build a mod for SoTC that captures the feel of comic super heroes with the open cinematic potential of FATE. Its an awesome combo and I'm really inspired by it. I'm hoping to get more info on this from Mike so I can run it in a home game. I just can't say enough good about this game ... but honestly I'll save that for another post later when I attempt to break this out for my home game group.

Sunday at 9 AM:

We were registered for a West End Games classic star wars RPG game where we would have been playing as Jawas .. the game description was: "You are the renegades which no clan wanted... you drink, you carry weapons, you look for trouble. An imperial shuttle has crashed in the dune sea and everyone wants it..." it sounded hilarious but the GM canceled all his sessions for the con. So we ended up with a free slot on Sunday which actually was rather nice it gave us a chance to walk around and recover. 

Sunday at 2 PM

The Collapse of Villengard, Burning Empires

"The leaders saw the warnings but were too distracted by their petty concerns. Even when the Vaylen began landing troops they tried to maneuver things to their advantage. Now all that remains is a choice save yourself, take some Vaylen with you as you die, hold onto the slim hope for reinforcements, or evacuate as many people as you can." GM: Will Huggins

Ok I'm going to be somewhat blunt here. This game is really a steep learning curve and running it at a CON is not a good idea. The description said familiarity with the burning wheel mechanics was preferred and I didn't see that until after we'd registered. I really didn't have a good time in the game. The GM knew two of the other players and the banter focused on them. I did set a few scenes and had a chance to see how the game worked but overall the experience was pretty dry. It was a good kick the tires type experience though for the game, and I know fully appreciate the utter complexity of this system. If people want to play it they need to study the rules like its a final exam in a college capstone course ... this is RPG quantum mechanics or calculus IV.

Sunday at 8 PM

Spirit of the American Hero! (Read CLASSIC GI JOE PEOPLE!! YES GI JOE!!)

"SWORD-ARM is the code name of America's daring, highly trained special mission force. Its mission to defend human freedom against CHIMERA a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world! Join the Top-Secret, covert, military operatives of SWORD-ARM in this high-octane game of modern military action. A GI Joe and modern Military & Adventure fiction inspired Spirit of the Century game." GM: Morgan Ellis.

Ok now my two favorite GM's of all time are Morgan Ellis and Mike Olson ... these guys are masters of pacing, game flow and generally maintaining fun and hilarity in a game without letting the pot boil over. I aspire to be half as good a GM as either of them one day. Anyway Morgan managed to capture the spirit of classic GI Joe in a mod of Spirit of the Century.

The pre-gen characters were hilarious mods of Duke, Snake Eyes, Gung-Ho, Airborne, Scarlet, The Baroness, Destro, Cobra Commander and on and on.  I played the Spirit character named "Geronimo." Morgan left two aspects blank for us so we could select two custom pieces of whatever we wanted. I selected a peace pipe and an animal companion (a bald eagle named Freedom!).

The game was a hilariously raucous, over the top romp ... we killed ... yes this wasn't the parachute out of the plane style GI Joe this was ADULT FUCKING SWIM (we used that as a table aspect in the game) style GI Joe ... at least 100,000 Cobra ... *cough* ... I mean Chimera operatives ... blew up their base and sent Cobra Commander .. *cough* ... I mean The Golden Pharaoh fleeing in his escape pod away from a self destructing Egyptian sphinx base.

After a horribly funny, yet unavoidable GI Joe testimonial by nearly everyone at the table (seriously there was a 45 minute GI Joe BS session ... which wasn't Morgan's fault) ... the game got rolling and again I can't use hilarious enough ... it was so god damn funny. I'm very glad I got a chance to play.

On another note I had a chance to glance over a game that is a leading candidate for my SPACE MARINE RPG mod ... Diaspora ... it has alot of promise. What I like about using that game is that if the mod worked out I could run a full campaign not just a con one shot. I also picked up an out of print game that I meant to buy years ago Railroad Tycoon.

A jump to be remembered ... WHFRP 3rd Edition

Ok ... the UPS fairy did arrive last week with lots of goodies ... but what I want to focus on right now is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition

It looks to have the makings of an awesome game .. so far (again had the thing for a week and have voraciously read through it but have yet to play a session). Ok I'm going to complain a little (it wouldn't be my blog if I didn't eh!) ... while I found the game online around 65 bucks the MFRP is 99 bucks. For that kind of money ... while the books yes ARE full color ... they are of a cheap board game instruction/video game manual quality. They are not bound for the wear and tear of long term RPG use. The cards are great, the dice are great ... BUT ... its ALOT of stuff that people are going to have to pick up and fumble around with. I'm an old, old school RPG player and yes I remember the old red box D&D days. I will say those books used a heavy stock page and had a soft cover book cover ... this stuff is the quality of a brochure/game manual/board game rulebook ... they WILL NOT withstand constant use. The cards will have the same problem and therefore I will probably use card sleeves with mine.

The next basic observation I have is the way the rules work. The core mechanic is super easy, declare what you want to do, calculate the dice pool ... roll. The complexity lies in calculating the dice pool ... which is pretty simple. But having the rules for the game and the rules for the classes broken up between books and cards is sort of difficult. The way this is set up is ... realistically ... one person will buy in on the system and people will just show up and play. Like a board game. Now I have played in RPG campaigns like that, but even in those ... the players generally showed up with their own dice, a players handbook and their character sheet. WHFRP 3E is going to be ... one person owns the board game ... people show up ... play. Is that a show stopper? I don't think so ... but its a somewhat different model if your a hardcore RPG player.  So again ... if your a hardcore board gamer who dabbles with RPGs ... this will probably rock ... if your a hardcore RPG player who is used to dice and players handbook with a chr sheet ... get ready for a entirely different style of game. 

I bought the game, I'm a super hardcore GW fanboy who buys and plays all of their games ... yet I am reserving cautious optimism. I think that due to the barrier of entry vs. most other RPGs (lets face it most people torrent the PDFs these days and the GM is the only person with real books) coupled with a slightly more complex way of playing an RPG physically in some ways ... could turn some people off. I will say in some ways this system is a paradigm shifting game that could be harkening the future of RPGs. Its easy to see how FFG will make money on this, torrenting the rules will do you no good ... you'd have to torrent the rules  and the cards ... then print them out ... etc. by the time you do that you just might as well buy the game. BINGO! That is the ONLY reason this game has been designed this way ... screw FFGs fluffy designer note BS ... this entire game system is DESIGNED as an anti-theft device. Its like a whole game designed like the old video games were with a single code page in the box that was on hard to photo copy paper (anyone out there remember those days). FFG will make as much money or more on this game than they do on their board games ... and that is ALOT more than your typical RPG is netting these days. 

I think it will either catch on and become somewhat popular in the same circles that partake in FFG board games and GW based mini games, RPGs, etc. OR it won't sell very well and just sort of limp along until the license expires between GW and FFG and then just die. Again I'm reserving cautious optomisim and I'm going to be running a test/demo game of it next Monday evening down in Las Vegas for a group of friends as I return from attending Strategicon (Orccon) down in Los Angeles and I'll grab some pics and do a little actual play review of the game.

Incidentally I'm going to try to grab some pictures and do a recap of what I'll be doing at the con. I'm registered for all RPGs as usual and I'll be playing everything from classic West End Games D6 Star Wars to 4E D&D to Savage Worlds to FATE based games etc. with some of the best GMs on the west coast!

Warhammer 40K MMO

Ok there has been an "announcement" regarding a Warhammer 40,000 MMO. On one hand I have to say this has been a dream of mine for years and years ... so I should be excited eh? Sadly the game company that the game would be developed under is one of the worst on the planet THQ. If THQ is going to be making the game .. I'll take a pass ... and I'm as much of a FANBOY of 40K as one can be. THQ makes bad games. Dawn of War (the original Relic PRE-THQ buyout) was great ... but the sequels have been some of the worst games of all time.  Anyone remember a game called "Fire Warrior." THQ makes bad games and they have ZERO MMO experience. Mythic and EA couldn't even pull off a game that could draw huge numbers of players and with a MMO player base is very important. Bottom line is if GW lets THQ make  40K MMO ... it will suck and it will fail. If Mythic/EA ends up developing the 40K MMO ... that would excite me. Despite Warhammer online not knocking WoW down ... the game was a solid effort and for the most part well done and enjoyable to play.

IT LOOMS ON THE HORIZON LIKE A FAT WHEEL OF GLORIOUS CHEDDAR

Alright first of all anyone planning on taking a similar plunge ... I'd advise you look to a source like The Warstore as the retail price of the new WHFRP set is 99.00 United States Dollars. You can pick it up at the warstore for around 70.00 United States Backs of Green as of the authoring of this blog entry.

As stated in previous entries here ... I am torn about the revision of the WHFRP system. (for a very detailed review check this out ... thank you for the link Scott!)  The 2nd edition of the game was based in no small part on the classic 1st edition of the game which was in publication in one form or another from 1986 until around 2002 or 2003 (ish). It had a tremendously long run. In 2005 Second edition was published by Black Library directly and the game preserved much of the first edition mechanics. The game continued to be one of high player mortality, dark, dark old world fantasy that any true lover of the Warhammer universe craves.

Fantasy  Flight if they do nothing else well ... seems to be adept at adapting licensed products in a satisfying manner. Over the past five years I've gone from being a naysayer to a fan. I know that capitalism demands all that is good and pure must be periodically recast in a shiny new package ... especially in the RPG industry where the average lethargic, basement dwelling, be-gutted denizen ... spends a whopping ZERO dollars a year on their hobby.  Don't take my word for it ... RPGs are a dog in general in terms of game company profit but its neither here nor there if your interested in that topic delve into it yourself and on that note there is another blog post which really delves into that issue (along with massive numbers of other similar posts, board discussions, etc.). Suffice it to say that I believe this is potentially a new RPG model, is it the first attempt to break the mold on the old pen and paper RPG .. hell no ... I think 1977 had witnessed dozens of attempts. Everything from MTG to Dragon Dice to Video Game RPGs and MMOs can be seen as offshoots, but this is a board game/RPG hybrid being produced by one of the more successful board game manufacturers in the US market. Not just that ... but using one of the more successful gaming brands with decades of history and a legion of very loyal fans. At this point all I'm saying is perhaps this hearkens more either good things or bad things to come.  I must however ... check this stuff out for myself and therefore I ordered my copy and shall be DMing a game of it myself in the very near future. I will do my best to chronicle my assuredly haphazard, certainly half-assed ... foray into the world of board-role-play-games. I hope I receive my wondrous package before this weekend. One can only hope the UPS fairy is kind ... (ah yes she is also bringing me Invasion, Chaos in the Old World, Marauder and ... way behind the times here ... Battlestar Galatica the FFG board game ... which I have yet to play ... tisk tisk ... so 2008 .. I know).

Potpouri O' RPG ... look at the hot girl with dice ... woot ... random ... SPAM SPAM

Ok ... I realize I haven't posted for awhile and I also realized that my original intention for this blog was to discuss my personal thoughts on the games I'm playing in/running/etc. Yes yes I've made unfullfilled promises pertaining to 40K army pics, etc. no good excuse other than I've been working on the armies yet too lazy to take pics ... at some point ... in the future ... I will indeed post such fabled pics.  Until then I've been playing in two D&D games, adding many new members to the home gaming group and still tilting at the windmill of forming an actual gamers club for my area.

One thing that came up on my home game board was a discussion about RPGs. Now to preface what is largely a re-post, I'll say that I've been looking at A) picking up with full intention of running the new WHFRP system from Fantasy Flight Games. In fact I put the order in to the Warstore for it today. B) I'm still in the formative (Bullshitting, almost to a point of commitment) stages of coming up with a SPACE MARINE RPG. Dark Heresy is not designed in any way shape or form to handle an actual Space Marine game. So using Dark Heresy without large amounts of alteration to that rule set isn't possible I'd prefer to just find a rules lite, ultra cinematic system to use. That need sparked a discussion regarding what system(s) would be the likely candidate for such an undertaking.

Out of some of these discussions regarding what system to use for such a game the larger, much more broad discussion of what RPG systems people in my gaming group like came up. I thought I'd post my response to that.  Basically the earlier posts in the thread sort of trashed the Savage Worlds system which I took a little umbrage with.  But really this mindset that I'm laying out here is where I'm at in terms of selecting a system for a Space Marine game. I'm really leaning towards Awesome Adventures, Sorcerer, In a Wicked Age, or a game like those. Burning Galaxy would be a dream to do such a game ... but I don't think I have the GM chops to pull that off yet (if ever) and I don't have a group with the desire/wherewithal at the present to handle such an undertaking either. 

At any rate this repost picks up in response to a post that basically stated Savage Worlds is a blah game system ...

While from a hardcore indie game fan perspective I understand perhaps not liking SW as much as other systems. But I do have to tout its utter versatility. It is the Swiss army knife of RPG systems IMO. You can do anything with that system. There are simpler systems that you "could" do anything with ... but for me things get to generic at a certain point. If your fortunate enough to play with a group of improvisational actors who are witty and really get indie RPGs ... well there is no reason to play anything but open ended rules-lite games. But your average game group is not comprised of such folks. I've experienced those uber, witty, high-IQ groups and its rockingly good fun ... but for me mostly that has been a conventions. My home games tend to be your standard D&D groups with a variety of players with variable RPG skills, interests and attention spans. That isn't a criticism of those groups ... I myself tend to be more distracted in my home games. At a convention I'm all business and really focused, at home I tend to be more casual. Its hard to pull off hardcore, ultra in character, role playing week after week. That is where a game like Savage Worlds shines I think and that is why games like 3:16, Tunnels and Trolls and InSpectres are AWESOME for one shots ... but will never make my top ten list.

To me those games and many indie RPGs are akin to a board game, something to run at a convention or to keep on the back burner for the times when a few people can't make your D&D night that week or as a special one shot, yet not as a long campaign. Savage Worlds could be run as a one shot or as a longer campaign it has that depth and versatility. Anyway what I like about Savage Worlds is it has the crunch and mini-pushing-around-ness of a 3.5 or 4E .. yet its not an overwhelming powergamer susceptible rule set. It has the low DM prep and plot point oriented focus of your standard indie RPG. Last but not least there are some great settings with many modules in print. The overall package of SW is hard to beat. Now game design, game mechanics, etc. etc. I have yet to play anything that knocked FATE/Spirit of the Century of f its pedestal in my all time favorite RPG system ranking.

Larry's (entirely opinion folks) Top Ten RPG list ...

Spirit of the Century/FATE
Mazes and Minotaurs
Arabian Sea Battles (insanely hard to find ... ultra out of print and I have been trying in vain to track down the rules which were printed in a small gaming magazine back in the early 1990s).
Dogs in the Vineyard
Savage Worlds
Warhammer Fantasy Role Play (2nd Edition)
Dark Heresy
4E D&D (Yes I like it this much)
3.5 D&D (I'd likely prefer pathfinder but I still haven't played it).

I have yet to experience Mouseguard/Burning Wheel and I'm sure if I ever experienced it in its full glory it would be on this list. I still haven't played many many critically acclaimed indie RPGs and I'm eagerly awaiting the chance. I love both the Rifts and Shadowrun universe ... hate the rules ... I think GURPS is cool ... but its an antiquated overly complex game system that is very much a product of the late 80s early 90s. D20 Modern, many Call of Cthulhu supplements, games and settings are cool. There are some really awesome games like Montsegur 1244 and Houses of the Blooded ... but it would just be pretentious to put those on my list. I've played them at conventions with game designer types ... and they are amazing ... but really unrealistic for your average home gaming group ... and therefore not really a top ten game. Overall though I was talking about RPG engines not really settings or genres ... that is my list as today ... now if you ask me next year at this time its likely to be different.

WARNING ... WARNING ... DANGER ... DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!

Ok ... my first rant of the year. I will preface this by saying that hobbies are expensive. Whether gaming, antique cars, hot rods, maintaining hot women, vintage clothing, beer stein collecting, taxidermy, hunting, bird watching, hiking, etc. etc.  ... all hobbies are expensive in some way or another once you really get into them. Miniature games, RPGs, Video Games, Board Games, CCGs, etc. etc. can all become rather spendy. But if one is mindful of their spending and they target their spending ... one can really maximize what they get for what they spend (trust me I'm still working on this, but its logical ... remember attack the argument not the person ... that's logic!).

The DANGER DANGER ... rant is against army transports. Now I will not deny that BATTLE FOAM is an improvement over some of its predecessors, from the looks of it ... awesome stuff. My question is simply, do we need battle foam or any army transports? Or are there perfectly acceptable alternatives, that are much cheaper. Are these fancy carrying cases simply (and I've owned my share of spendy army transports people ... just posing the question) another status symbol? I know if you spend 1,000 hours painting an army its your baby and you want to protect it, yes indeed. If you have a golden demon quality painted army with tediously done, super fragile conversions ... ok ok ... maybe for you a $400.00 carrying case is in order. However for the average hobbyist out there ... come on people ... admit it ... the vast majority of us are not in the catagory of needing such an extravagance. There are alot of options that would do the job just as well yet cost 1/10 as much ... ranging from magentizing all the bases, to tackle box trays to cheap gun cases, to just buying the foam and making the trays and using an old suitcase. Are these alternatives as pretty or as trendy ... well depending on the amount of time you want to put in ... probably not. But even here if you want to get creative ... you might come up with an even cooler way to protect your minis and transport them ... yet at a much lower cost. Just food for thought ... before you take the expensive plunge into designer mini transportation.

The Return of the King ... AKA ... THE LORD OF EXCESS

FREEDOM ... from the tyranny of the all consuming holiday season!

Yet such freedom comes with a heavy price ... the ravages of xmas have ended ... the feasting has subsumed. The hearkening of a new year, rather a new decade has come and gone and what order there was is returning to my world. As the illustration aptly denotes ... I am the true master of all that I survey, lord of my manor, etc. etc. and as such I have complete control over all that stands before me ... indeed :)

Well the reality of the matter is as all kings and tyrants before me, the power of the purse strings as well as those pesky heirs to the throne seem to thwart me at every step. If only I had more funds in the warchest, and if only those heirs would mind their manners.

TYRANIDS!! They loom upon the horizon and my Orks are still on the bench (well phase II). Speaking of which!! I have a new camera (its nothing fancy ... as low quality as its predecessor) on the way and once it arrives pictures shall be uploaded of the orks, including the beginnings of phase II. I'm also going to desperately try to finish off some terrain before the bugs arrive. My camera will simply not work I thought it was the batteries, nope ... then maybe the flash card ... nope ... apparently its just done (either that or one of the kids dunked it in the potty while I wasn't looking). We luckily had several relatives over on xmas morning to capture the carnage on film. 

Anyway back to the bugs ... I have something on the order of 5k bugs sitting in a box, 6 carnies included. The new Trigon model is a must have ... I want 2 .... (really I'd love 10, *see purse strings comment above) ... I think I'll also pick up one of the new biovore models as well as 2 regular tyrant guards and 2 of the new shooty variants. Maybe a venomthrope or two and the death leaper ... other than that though I'm pretty solid on my endless swarm. I have a separate genestealer army that my wife has actually been working on with me that I'm also hoping to have in a playable state in the next month or two so I can take advantage of the new codex and the wave of excitement :)

Seasons Greetings! Also .. I'm not dead!

Ok first I want to explain that I have four children all five and under. So I have been extraordinarily busy for the holidays ... hell just shoping for that many kids is an adventure ... let alone all the activities that we have had going. I've had more time this year to do that sort of thing than I ever had with them and I'm taking advantage of it. So that is my excuse as to why I've not been very active posting here. My own projects have gone on the back burner and making the holidays magical for the kids has become all consuming. After the holidays I get to go back to being my grumpy old gamer self :D  Until then ... may from the bottom of my heart (and that's a long way down) I wish you all a splendid, wonderful, truly fulfilling holiday season ... perhaps I'll post before the end of the year but if not ... see ya'll in 2010.

I plan to fullfill my Ork promise I'll get picks up of where I am at and picks of what I have lined up for phase II. Also I plan to do some more board game reviews of some of the games I've picked up.

One last thing to give folks a heads up on is that Fantasy Flight Games is releasing a HORUS HERESY GAME ... WOOT!! Also they had a sale on 2nd edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay books (five bucks each vs their old 30 and 40 buck prices) and I bought a bunch ... but now the prices are back up so I don't know what is going on anyway you still might want to check it out.

Peace on earth and good will towards man!!

Another GW oriented FFG offering and quick updates

I know this system has been out for awhile however I thought I'd post about it because recently I was half tempted to start up Magic again ... but fortunately stumbled upon perhaps a less potentially destructive alternative over at Fantasy Flight Games.

I plan to pick up the core set and the first expansion. The way FFG has it laid out ... you could use it as a board game essentially ... so unlike Magic which is hard as hell to get your old cards out and use with other people ... years after that set has grown obsolete. This game looks like even if it doesn't become collectible for someone (and I hope it doesn't for me honestly) its a nice "board game" style purchase that can go on the shelf and be used years later. So I'm all in on this one instead of jumping back on the tired old magic bandwagon.

Quick updates on a few other projects:

Warhammer Online ... du duuu duuuuuuuhnnnnnn ... I'm done. It was somewhat fun but I just couldn't stay focused on the game itself due to extremely low player populations, poor community for new players and a really rather glitchy, half-done looking game. I wanted to love it, I wanted to be able to tell everyone its better than World of Warcraft ... but alas I can not. So I bid a fond farewell to Warhammer Online and likely forever (unless they did some amazing revamp of the game with a huge expansion).

ORKS!!  I AM DONE DONE DONE!! With Phase I ... just lazy about getting pics up (sorry). Actually I've been having trouble with my camera and might need to replace it. Hopefully I can get some completed phase one pics up by next week and some shots of my phase II stuff.