Thanks for the visit, Joe. Reminds me I'm not alone here. I'll have to stop hanging out at my blog in my boxers from now on....
For better or for worse, I'm starting a new game tomorrow. It is likely a one shot. Two of the three couples playing have an infant, and I've been killing myself just getting material for one adventure together. Part of that is I love to keep things open ended and sandboxy, so I actually have three possible adventures they might embark on. Likely they will finish none of them, but it made me happy for a bit, nonetheless. I couldn't have even cobbled together the effort I did manage without a lot of work I did on a world prior to this while I was inactive before Lily was born.
I don't think there's anyway I can get back into world building until Lily is much older. I barely got my minis and maps together between feedings, changing, and entertaining a bored 5 month old (she's peacefully sleeping now, so I've got about 20 minutes).
Lily's baptism was just two weeks ago (for any of you not there in person). It was truly lovely. Lots of friends I hadn't seen for months (some of them decades) showed up, and my cousin flew in from Los Angeles to be Lily's godmother. It really was a perfect day, including Lily's three hour tantrum right up to (and some during) the church service. Thanks to all who came. I don't thank my friends enough for all they do for us.
That's all for now.
"I wonder if that was from the pastrami rueben I had yesterday?"
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
My thoughts on GURPS
(After reading the basic ruleset for 3rd edition)
I like it! I'll never find anybody to play it! I found the basic ruleset for $6 at a used book store. I think it's an ingenious system, in that each new genre is a potential sale for the game designer. Wanna play a Cthutlu campaign? There's a book for that. Like space opera? There's a book for that. Wanna start a campaign with the diseased offspring of Kermit and Miss Piggy called Muppet Rabies? Okay, that hasn't been written yet, but there's no reason you couldn't write it yourself using this system.
That being said, I think the mechanics, being that they are streamlined to fit many different possible genres, are a bit too simplistic for my taste. Granted, this is based purely on a single reading of the rules and a few other sourcebooks, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. But it seems like combat has far fewer options than, say, a game like Pathfinder. Now, I'm sure that options multiply with each supplement I buy (or a compendium, were I inclined to pick one up), but I'm talking about pure mechanics in play during battle, not the number of weapons, skills, vehicles, spells or powers I might utilize with a given character. I think I like variety in my dice and in my rolling options.
One of the things I've heard proponents of GURPS tout is its vaunted realism. 'Realism' in this case seems to refer to player mortality. This could potentially appeal to the OSR crowd, possibly, if they weren't busy churning out their own retro clone kickstarter projects at the moment. While I do applaud the fact that a fall of 50 ft would kill the average, or even considerably above average player, it's simply not my own style of play, nor would it have appealed to the group I was playing with up until Lily was born. Although the way things are going now, I may be looking at waiting until Lily's of gaming age before I get to bust out my DM'ing skills again.
In conclusion, I think my previous group is a bunch of poo-heads for not asking me to DM for them by now even though I'd have to tell them I'm much too busy at the moment. What? Oh, GURPS, right. Good game. Wish I'd get the chance to put it into practice.
I like it! I'll never find anybody to play it! I found the basic ruleset for $6 at a used book store. I think it's an ingenious system, in that each new genre is a potential sale for the game designer. Wanna play a Cthutlu campaign? There's a book for that. Like space opera? There's a book for that. Wanna start a campaign with the diseased offspring of Kermit and Miss Piggy called Muppet Rabies? Okay, that hasn't been written yet, but there's no reason you couldn't write it yourself using this system.
That being said, I think the mechanics, being that they are streamlined to fit many different possible genres, are a bit too simplistic for my taste. Granted, this is based purely on a single reading of the rules and a few other sourcebooks, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. But it seems like combat has far fewer options than, say, a game like Pathfinder. Now, I'm sure that options multiply with each supplement I buy (or a compendium, were I inclined to pick one up), but I'm talking about pure mechanics in play during battle, not the number of weapons, skills, vehicles, spells or powers I might utilize with a given character. I think I like variety in my dice and in my rolling options.
One of the things I've heard proponents of GURPS tout is its vaunted realism. 'Realism' in this case seems to refer to player mortality. This could potentially appeal to the OSR crowd, possibly, if they weren't busy churning out their own retro clone kickstarter projects at the moment. While I do applaud the fact that a fall of 50 ft would kill the average, or even considerably above average player, it's simply not my own style of play, nor would it have appealed to the group I was playing with up until Lily was born. Although the way things are going now, I may be looking at waiting until Lily's of gaming age before I get to bust out my DM'ing skills again.
In conclusion, I think my previous group is a bunch of poo-heads for not asking me to DM for them by now even though I'd have to tell them I'm much too busy at the moment. What? Oh, GURPS, right. Good game. Wish I'd get the chance to put it into practice.
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