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 28 February 2008 15:19

My gaming group has got a lot better at table football in the last 2 months, not least due to regular practice. A lot of this regular practice comes at the start and end of our gaming sessions, and any time there is a break. Last night we even played a game or Runebound in sync with the table football, with four of us on the football while the other completed their turn before the replacing a player at the table.

We still score the odd home goal or two, and some of the taller members of our group suffer from prolonged periods of play, complaining of back pains. Sadly I don't have that problem :)

Soon the table moves out into the shack on the end of my house which is occasionally called a "conservatory". It's a little colder out there, so we shall see if people are as keen to take a turn at the football in its new location.

By Duncan on 27 February 2008 15:19

Fantasy Flight Games has come to the rescue of Dark Heresy and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. The press release can be found at www.fantasyflightgames.com. No comments have been made by FFG about their plans for these lines, but at least we now know they have a good home.

FFG already produce my favourite boardgames (Warrior Knights, A Game of Thrones), so I have confidence that my favourite RPGs have also found a place to grow.

Interestingly, the deal with Games Workshop also indicates the rights for (non-miniatures based) board games based on GW properties from the last 25 years. Which could turn out to be the source of some more quality games :)

By Duncan on 29 January 2008 12:17

Just read some news which is gutting to me. Black Industries (http://www.blackindustries.com/) have posted an announcement that they are to stop producing new material beyond September. Black Industries produce what is currently my favourite RPG, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and also our newest on in the form of Dark Heresy, set in the universe of Warhammer 40K.

What makes this stranger is that Dark Heresy was only released last Friday!

Now admittedly I do have enough WFRP material to run for several years, but it is still a shock for a growing company like BI to just stop, especially when it has produced consistently high quality and useful products.

More frustrating is that Dark Heresy was supposed to be the first part of three sections expanding the universe of 40K. Maybe someone else will take over the production of the RPGs.

I'll have to wait and see .

...

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By Duncan on 04 January 2008 17:58

So with a view to running or playing in it, I've been looking at the previews to Dark Heresy - an RPG set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000. There is a demo adventure, previews on the guardsman career and cybernetics, and information on the setting. In addition, fragments of info have been spoilered on the forum.

The setting is dark and gritty, and I have never played in a proper sci-fi campaign (though some would call this fantasy in space). The 40K universe is well-defined and vast, with room for pretty much any type of campaign. The default premise of Dark Heresy involves the PCs working for an Inquisitor, one of the most powerful people in the Imperium of Man, dedicated to rooting out threats to the civilisation of mankind.

 

Its out end of this month and looks really good. Based on my favourite system at the moment (WFRP) and taking it a little bit further. No doubt we'll have a trial mini-campaign before making any decisions on longer campaigns.

With luck someone else will volunteer...

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By Duncan on 05 September 2007 11:29

As always when a new university term starts, I'll be running a new roleplaying campaign. But this year I'm running for an experienced group who have been players of mine for years, although some haven't been in a campaign for a while.  My players voted for a more intrigue based campaign, this time around, playing part of a diplomatic embassy as a prelude to an invasion.

On Sunday we got down to character creation, with a good mix of concepts and interesting ideas. Not a combat heavy group, the initial four characters are skilled at Diplomacy and stealth, joined by a fifth on Monday, with one more yet to be made.

Which means I get to the best bit for me, plotting out the campaign arc and how things may happen. Planning encounters, populating the characters of the world, working out interesting events and storylines. Knowing these players, much of what I plan will get turned on its head, but that's the way it should be.

And yes, I will be writing this campaign up as a story hour.

...

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By Duncan on 26 June 2007 11:54

On Sunday I ran the first part of our summer roleplaying campaign, based in an alternate version of the Wild West.

For my Deadlands campaign, I haven't really bothered writing much background (ie, any), just basing what happens from Westerns in my DVD collection. This seems to have worked quite well so far, with most characters being Western stereotypes

In our first session, the character tried to run some prospectors from their land, facing off against a preacher who looked much like Clint Eastwood. We ended with two characters down and the last fleeing town with the Preacher in pursuit, a few hours behind after having his horse shot from under him.

Having run only fantasy for the last seven years or so, Its nice to have a change of scene. The Savage Worlds system is quick and simple, a great diversion from our usual games. So far it has been easy to create distinctive characters...

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By Duncan on 11 June 2007 15:06

I had a quick look at the newest version of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game from Wizards of the Coast, and was quite impressed with what I saw. A lot of work has gone into the design to streamline and speed up the workings of the d20 system. I liked what I saw so much that when we come to play a futuristic game, it will become a hard choice between Warhammer 40k and Star Wars.

And when the next edition of D&D comes along, I fully expect a lot of the elements of Star Wars - Saga Edition to be in it.

By Duncan on 26 May 2007 15:27

We started a new monthly board games session at my local game shop, and although numbers were low, we got the game off the ground.

The idea is to focus on "Proper" games for this monthly meet. Not the really short or simple games, but the strategic ones which take at least an hour. Considering we were sharing with wargamers, had a group who were distracted by cards, had more distractions from family and non-gaming friends, and lacking people from the Bank Holiday, we actually got some fairly decent games in. Although we didn't get to play the Buffy board game.

Next step is next month.