By Duncan on 11 November 2009 19:03

When Fantasy Flight Games announced the 3rd edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP), I was a little surprised. The second edition had only been around for 5 years and was a superb game, so it seemed a tad strange to develop a new edition.

My initial thoughts on the previews was a mix of good and bad. Mostly, I didn't know what to make of it at all. The RPG is being packaged in a box, and many of its rules and mechanics are represented through cards and tokens. Being known for its board games, many feared FFG were taking out roleplaying elements of the system and changing its basic nature.

Having seen more of the previews and read bits and pieces from people who have play-test copies, I am a bit more confident now. There are certainly some innovative and interesting elements to the RPG, and I look forward to trying out the following:

Dice pool, with different types of dice to represent different elements affecting a task The party sheet, which is a mechanical representation of the interaction of the characters...

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By Duncan on 24 September 2009 18:47

I ran two short campaigns of D&D 4th Edition in the Summer of 2008 (when it came out), to see what it was like and give it a proper go.

After the first campaign, running through the Keep of the Shadowfell (levels 1-4), we were still fairly positive. We'd enjoyed it, and although some parts felt slightly strange, it had been the first time we had encountered the system, with pre-made characters and a pre-written module (not always my favourite).

For our second campaign, my players generated 15th level (Paragon tier) characters and I ran a campaign in my Homebrew, which had been updated to reflect the default 4th Ed assumptions (Points of Light, Empires that were mentioned, gods available).  They had an interesting party of a halfling warlock (later replaced by a minotaur warlord / paladin), tiefling wizard, dwarf cleric, drow rogue, bugbear fighter, halfelf cleric and dwarf ranger. They were fairly well organised and worked reasonably well as a team.

I found the game fairly easy to prepare...

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By Duncan on 20 September 2009 10:21

 

Hey, it  has been a while. (Not that its likely anyone reads this anymore)

I'm still around, still gaming and dancing and doing all the usual things I do. And I've updated the website.

Its all gaming now.

The other random sections (forum, fiction, dancing) have all been removed (unless gaming related), and a smaller site has emerged. From now the website will be focused on my creative gaming endeavours, whatever they should be.

Much has happened since last I blogged in the gaming world. My group abandoned D&D 4E after trying a 15th level campaign, Hackmaster Basic and Pathfinder have been released, Rogue Trader is on the verge of being released WFRP 3E has been announced (more on that soon), more great board games have been released, I've taken up Magic the Gathering again (mostly multiplayer) and I've been involved in campaigns in other games systems (Savage Worlds, All Flesh Must be Eaten, Mutants & Masterminds).

There will be more updates to the site, as I update various bits and pieces, experimenting with WFRP and True 20.

For now, Happy Gaming

 

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By Duncan on 03 August 2008 08:05

I've added the first of my articles for Stirhauf. This one focusses on the Piemakers' Guild, a new power in the town backed by the mayor and the halflings of the town.

It has developed mostly from several one-off adventures I have run ifor WFRP involving pies and a player character known as Dieter. Possibly one of the most infamous characters to have graced our gaming table, he has now made it to the internet as well.

So I give you The Piemakers' Guild and Dieter of Marienburg.

 

By Duncan on 25 July 2008 17:23

I've added a new section to the Gaming area, a resource for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in the form of Stirhauf.

This is the town of the Empire in which I run many of my WFRP adventures, whether it be folk running tasks for the Miller, finding pie recipes for Crumbly's Bar or searching the nearby hills for elven tombs. There is nothing particularly unique about Stirhauf, but it is a place that is uniquely mine (and my players). A blend of pie sellers, dwarfen miners, various crooks and scum from all over the place (also known as the PCs).

It can be used as a resource by players in my WFRP campaigns of any GMs who want to nick pieces of it. I'll be adding articles and information as the summer continues into autumn.

 

By Duncan on 24 July 2008 17:39

Last weekend we started a new short campaign for 4E D&D. We wanted to try out the higher levels (15th in this case) before embarking on a proper campaign (assuming we do). One of the much vaunted improvements of 4E was that it played faster at higher level and required less DM preparation.

To me, it felt and ran a lot like the lower-level games we had played. The rounds ran quickly, and although there were more of them, no-ones turn took very long and we were back around to people fairly promptly. There was some delay as people got to grip with characters and abilities which were new to them, having not played them up from 1st level. The aboleth lasher was probably the most feared monster of the day, but the party coped with the encounters without too much trouble.

In contrast to 3rd Edition, the first thing that became apparent was the lack of "buffing" spells. No mage armour, bull's strength, protection from elements, haste, hero's feast, heroism, barkskin, enlarge person, stoneskin, false life,...

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By Duncan on 22 July 2008 18:08

Having done little to my site for a while, I did some reorganisation.

I added a section for dance and some more links to the comics section, moved the Troll: the Rending and DnD Ironman sections to an archive, ready for 4th Edition versions to replace the 3rd Ed versions, and reduced the number of forums in the Forums section.

Who knows what wacky things will happen next!

By Duncan on 08 July 2008 17:46

One of my dances is salsa, at which I'd love to be a lot better. At the moment I make most of it up as I go along, pulling moves from years of other dances and attempting them to the basic beat of salsa. I attend the odd lesson, but not enough. This is talking about the Cross body style (or New York, or LA, or...).

So when I heard someone was starting cuban salsa classes for complete beginners in Exeter, I went along to have a look.

Cuban style is a lot looser, instead of dancing in a slot, its a more circular pattern and is more about feeling the music. We've concentrated on isolating head, shoulders and chest, trying to move them in time to the cuban rhythm. We've learnt some basic steps but have yet to actually do any partner dancing. Its been hard, but lots of fun and well worth it.

If anyone wants to come along, lessons are 7.30-9 at Gino's (by the Iron Bridge) in Exeter, with a freestyle afterwards.

 

By Duncan on 07 July 2008 18:17

4th Edition D&D has arrived, and we started out with Keep on the Shadowfell, the introductory adventure. I am not always the best person to run preset adventures, often growing fairly bored partway through. I made it to the end of The Keep, however, mostly because it was a new system.

The adventure itself was nothing special, mostly showcasing the new combat mechanics of the new edition. During the course of play we saw all eight classes and races in play, with differing opinions on all of them. There were two character deaths, one party capture and one monster humiliation (goblin chief swept into the pit of rats). The traps weren't particularly well implemented and we pretty much ignored the town.

As for the game itself, after initial reservations I've warmed to it. It plays like D&D and feels like D&D. Focused mostly on combat, but with the skills and rituals (and the bits in the DMG) providing enough of a framework for outside of combat. Hopefully high-level play will be much quicker and adventure...

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By Duncan on 19 May 2008 16:19

Last night I went to see a band with a friend. I'm not normally a great one for going to see bands (unless you can jive or salsa to them), as I would rather spend the evening dancing or rolling dice. But a change is good [usually, but not always].

Skindred at the megacomplex known as the Phoenix Arts Centre in Exeter. Fits 300 at least . Lots of tattoos, piercings and black clothing on display.

There were three warm-up acts, which got progressively better. The lead-singer of the second band actually had a fairly good voice, at least when she stopped screaming. The third was an Exeter band, Idiom, which I quite liked too.

And then Skindred came on. I hadn't heard any of their stuff until I borrowed their albums, and they are definately better live than through an ipod. The change in atmosphere was quite noticable, with everyone up and jumping but sadly ruined by some fool setting...

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