One of the few things I end up doing in my spare time is play and
collect games. Since 1979 one of the dominating game types in my life
has been role playing games. It all started that Christmas with
Traveller, by the now defunct Game Designers Workshop.
This
gave me a chance to play the characters in my favorite science fiction
books and movies. I could also make my own stories and adventures,
bringing my friends along to be a part of the epic adventure. Over the
years I have played dozens of role playing games, and owned more that I
never played. Dungeons & Dragons; Boot Hill; DragonQuest; Gamma
World; Top Secret; Man, Myth & Magic; The Morrow Project; Villains
& Vigilantes; Marvel Superheroes; GURPS; Mercenaries, Spies &
Private Eyes; Call of Cthulhu; Paranoia; Bunnies & Burrows;
Champions; Gangbusters; Empire of the Petal Throne; and the list goes on
and on.
Lately, during a great deal of the 1990s, I concentrated on just a few game systems for RPGs. First was GURPS from
Steve Jackson Games. I played or ran a great many GURPS games in all
sorts of genres. That is what made the game system so useful. At one
point I was so involved with GURPS that I was playtesting game books and
even wrote some new material for one. Then I sort of burned out on
gaming and had a bit of a falling out with one of my gaming group
members. Just a tip: gaming with a girlfriend is fun, but potentially
dangerous. Gaming with an ex-girlfriend is subject to all sorts of bad
things. I could take days describing this.
So, after
several years of no gaming, I had a group of people interested
in playing the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. The third
edition of the game was just coming out, so I bought the core books,
read them, and started a campaign. That lasted for a couple of years,
until scheduling conflicts just made it impossible. It was a lot of
fun, and I would gladly start that campaign up again with all the quirky
characters it contained.
Then a group made up of my
roommates and a number of friends from the Minnesota Renaissance
Festival asked me if I would be interested in taking over the DM role
for their group. They had burned out on their other DM, who I feel was
also needing a long break from DMing. So once again I took up the reins
of DMing with gusto.
I bought and read a great many
D&D and d20 related books, and even started playtesting again. One
playtest, for a game about Robin Hood, lead to an offer to be the editor
of the game. It was a couple of years in the making, but Sherwood: The Legend of Robin Hood from Battlefield Press is now out and we are even thinking of revising it for a second edition.
Since then my focus seems to have been on a game called Gaslight: Victorian Era Campaign Setting, also from Battlefield Press. I could go on and on about it now, but I think I will wait till next time to talk about game writing, playtesting, and imposing deadlines.
Also, let me know what you would like me to talk about. Would people like a contest? Is anyone actually reading this? Comments are welcome, and will actually be read. Even the bad ones.
Games and Geekery
Games, Science Fiction,Fantasy, and a host of topics of a geeky nature.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
I often wonder
I read a lot of different things online, from news to various gaming forums and many stops in between. One of the things they all have in common are comments that should never be read. For some odd reason people seem to feel that comments are the place to be rude, vulgar, excessively biased, and generally not nice. What I wonder about, and what really baffles me, is why people seem to think that is it okay to be a real jerk while commenting on things. Is it because you are not face to face with this person? Is it because the person is generally a jerk to begin with? Are there things I am just not seeing?
I am going to try and read any comments that are left here, and try my best to not take them personally. I will honestly be surprised if I see any, but I will read the ones I do.
Now if I can just find those reviews I was writing when I first started this thing...
I am going to try and read any comments that are left here, and try my best to not take them personally. I will honestly be surprised if I see any, but I will read the ones I do.
Now if I can just find those reviews I was writing when I first started this thing...
Friday, August 12, 2011
And so it begins
You may be asking yourself, do we need another blog about games and assorted geekery? I would have to say yes. I want to give a different view of games of all types; science fiction TV, movies, and books; fantasy TV, movies, and books; and just about anything else that strikes my geeky heart.
At least one interview is in the works, two game reviews are being written, and comments about the biggest gaming convention in the United States.
Stay tuned, or stay tooned, if you are so inclined. A new post will arrive as soon as I stop trying to cough up a lung.
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