I'm going to celebrate my birthday today (which just happens to be Gygax's birthday, as if I need any more reasons to be depressed) by honoring Mr. Dave Arneson, inventor of role-playing games and co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons.
While Arneson's contributions to the industry may be few, there is no doubt that his greatest contribution was giving that thieving scumbag Gary Gygax his career. You see, the one-time insurance salesman realized Arneson had captured lighting in a bottle with his Blackmoor campaign and quickly did everything in his power to wrest that bottle from Arneson's grasp, which, for a time, he successfully pulled off with the creation of AD&D.
Until the lawsuit, that is. Arneson won, but the public continues to think that Gygax created the game, thanks to him never mentioning Dave's name in regards to D&D. It's like he took a page or two out of Stan Lee's 'Fuck You, Jack Kirby' Playbook. When you run the company and edit the magazine you get to revise history as you see fit.
So, what we're left with now is the few remaining Gygax ass-kissers and coattail riders occasionally shitting on Arneson's name over at Dragonsfoot.org. Classy lot, they are.
Here's to you, Dave Arneson, sole inventor of role-playing games. Some of us know the truth and appreciate your fine work.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
XXVc Notebook - More Random Stuff
Tried to run a bookless, diceless and, ultimately playerless game of XXVc last night and you can probably guess how that went.
In the absence of anything to say about that, I do want to share some flavor ideas and a quote from a fellow XXVcers web log.
I got to thinking about how people refer to their tech gadgets and decided that common usage would continue into the future. Case in point the fact that people will refer to their mobile communication device as a phone, no matter how advanced the thing is or what all its functions are. Applying that to other gadgets I've decided that anything one might wear on their wrist (that isn't a weapon) is called a Watch; any small hand-held comm device is, as I said, called a Phone. This replaces my earlier, clumsier term "celcomp"; Any portable computing device (no matter what it can do) is called a Book. This assumes that, in the future, most or all personal computers will resemble in some way today's tablets. This term would apply to devices that are more rugged than something you might find in an office or library.
I've used the term Scroll for a fancier version of the Book; one that kind of rolls up into a kind of short rod, but I think I'll go with Flat, which is a very far-sighted gadget seen on the sci-fi series Andromeda. This is where I actually see computers going in the future- a thin, flexible touch-screen computer, roughly the size of a sheet of typing paper and maybe 3mm thick. I can see these as being more common than the Book, but perhaps unsuitable for use in the field. I guess I should include Glasses now, as well, which could potentially replace the Watch. Maybe Glasses are a strictly Martian thing.
UPDATE! - Televisions--anything from a simple home entertainment box to a giant Diamondvision type screen--is now called a TV in the common vernacular, although the term Palantir is finding some footing among the hoi polloi, particularly on Mars and Venus, where the entertainment conglomerate of the same name dominates.
Here's a portion of a post by+ DerKastellan (I think. I don't read German) that provides a little more variety to weapons-
In the absence of anything to say about that, I do want to share some flavor ideas and a quote from a fellow XXVcers web log.
I got to thinking about how people refer to their tech gadgets and decided that common usage would continue into the future. Case in point the fact that people will refer to their mobile communication device as a phone, no matter how advanced the thing is or what all its functions are. Applying that to other gadgets I've decided that anything one might wear on their wrist (that isn't a weapon) is called a Watch; any small hand-held comm device is, as I said, called a Phone. This replaces my earlier, clumsier term "celcomp"; Any portable computing device (no matter what it can do) is called a Book. This assumes that, in the future, most or all personal computers will resemble in some way today's tablets. This term would apply to devices that are more rugged than something you might find in an office or library.
I've used the term Scroll for a fancier version of the Book; one that kind of rolls up into a kind of short rod, but I think I'll go with Flat, which is a very far-sighted gadget seen on the sci-fi series Andromeda. This is where I actually see computers going in the future- a thin, flexible touch-screen computer, roughly the size of a sheet of typing paper and maybe 3mm thick. I can see these as being more common than the Book, but perhaps unsuitable for use in the field. I guess I should include Glasses now, as well, which could potentially replace the Watch. Maybe Glasses are a strictly Martian thing.
UPDATE! - Televisions--anything from a simple home entertainment box to a giant Diamondvision type screen--is now called a TV in the common vernacular, although the term Palantir is finding some footing among the hoi polloi, particularly on Mars and Venus, where the entertainment conglomerate of the same name dominates.
Here's a portion of a post by
In fact so limited that the designers of the computer games tried to introduce magical items through the back door by establishing +1 up to +4 bonusses on THAC0 and damage for weapons according to their quality of manufacture - Terran or regular would receive no bonus, Martian +1, Venusian +2, Mercurian +3 and finally Lunarian +4True, it's not a exactly glowing endorsement for the game, but this uncovered nugget is at least an attempt on someone's part at TSR to make the game better. For more on XXVc (not all of it happy) and Space: 1889, have a peek here.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Lazyass Summer Post
I hate summer. I want to do things even less than I normally do in summertime. However, that doesn't keep my swelling, itching brain from annoying me with ideas and new interests.
Case in point, Hulks & Horrors.
When I first read about it, I thought it sounded kinda pointless and a little stupid, but after grabbing the free version and giving it a scanover, I change my view on it. Now, all I can picture when I think about that game are those shitty 80's sci-fi horror movies like Galaxy of Terror and Inseminoid. Now that has my attention. Not that slick, oh-so-serious transhuman nonsense of Eclipse Phase or the wanna-be Travellerness of Stars Without Number.
No, Hulks & Horrors makes me wanna crawl through dark, greasy access tunnels that are dripping with alien mucous to track down some mythical high-tech McGuffin. The idea that the galaxy has become an endless graveyard waiting to be robbed by opportunistic scumbags has a great appeal to me. I could go on, but I think I'll let this amazing movie trailer wrap up why H&H took such a hold on me.
"Struggling for survival in the infected remains of a diseased universe." I'd say that sums up Hulks & Horrors rather nicely. Also, FUCK YEAH GREEN SLIME! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
Everything else is just the usual shit I've been shoveling here for a while- XXVc; Traveller has reared it's ugly head once again (and, no, I don't mean that trainwreck Traveller5) and, new to the roster, but less new than H&H, Star Frontiers.
So, I got all cylinders firing for some hot, wet summer sci-fi action. Whether or not I can complete even one of these goals remains to be seen.
Case in point, Hulks & Horrors.
When I first read about it, I thought it sounded kinda pointless and a little stupid, but after grabbing the free version and giving it a scanover, I change my view on it. Now, all I can picture when I think about that game are those shitty 80's sci-fi horror movies like Galaxy of Terror and Inseminoid. Now that has my attention. Not that slick, oh-so-serious transhuman nonsense of Eclipse Phase or the wanna-be Travellerness of Stars Without Number.
No, Hulks & Horrors makes me wanna crawl through dark, greasy access tunnels that are dripping with alien mucous to track down some mythical high-tech McGuffin. The idea that the galaxy has become an endless graveyard waiting to be robbed by opportunistic scumbags has a great appeal to me. I could go on, but I think I'll let this amazing movie trailer wrap up why H&H took such a hold on me.
"Struggling for survival in the infected remains of a diseased universe." I'd say that sums up Hulks & Horrors rather nicely. Also, FUCK YEAH GREEN SLIME! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
Everything else is just the usual shit I've been shoveling here for a while- XXVc; Traveller has reared it's ugly head once again (and, no, I don't mean that trainwreck Traveller5) and, new to the roster, but less new than H&H, Star Frontiers.
So, I got all cylinders firing for some hot, wet summer sci-fi action. Whether or not I can complete even one of these goals remains to be seen.
Monday, June 10, 2013
The Return of the Venture Bros!
This is a show that I love dearly and have been with since I accidentally saw the first episode in a bar, lo those many moons past (fuck me- ten years ago!) and so was thrizzled when my dvr* unwittingly snatched it out of the aether this past weekend.
I've been fine with the changes they put the show through in season 4, even the death of Number 24 didn't really hit me (maybe the idea of an "evil" analogue to Rusty and Sons (Monarch, 21 & 24) seemed redundant) like it did a lot of people, but the premier of season 5 really unloaded a ton of new stuff in our laps. Some of it seemed simply irritating, and really, the first 30 minutes were less than spectacular viewing, but once all the groundwork was laid, the rest of the show was mostly entertaining.
Even without the new changes, everything seemed a little off. Some of the voices seemed, I don't know, strained and the designs, the artwork, was definitely on the crude side compared to the early days of the show. I suspect that the new production company, Titmouse, Inc. (tee hee,) was the culprit there. The animation was pretty tight, for the most part, but too many characters were kinda... crusty. Dr. Girlfriend, in particular, seemed to suffer from the new production and just looked sloppily drawn. Hopefully things'll straighten out as the season progresses. I really don't like those CG cars, though.
In the end, it wasn't a heartbreaker. I can live with the changes as long as good stories come out of them, as they did last season. The little, grey, atrophied optimist inside me has his fingers crossed.
[One last thing- I've noticed some SDCC hipster douchebagness creeping into the show in recent years, which can be a real funkiller. McCulloch & Hammer have, in the past, jokingly embraced this with the humor they're known for, but lately... I dunno. It seems like they wear sunglasses all the time now and, if it's all a joke, it's one that is getting old. I guess you can only fuck so many Molotov Cocktease cosplayers before it goes to your head. I sure hope I'm wrong.]
*I had set the thing to record new episodes sometime last winter, not knowing when or if there would be new episodes any time in the future.
I've been fine with the changes they put the show through in season 4, even the death of Number 24 didn't really hit me (maybe the idea of an "evil" analogue to Rusty and Sons (Monarch, 21 & 24) seemed redundant) like it did a lot of people, but the premier of season 5 really unloaded a ton of new stuff in our laps. Some of it seemed simply irritating, and really, the first 30 minutes were less than spectacular viewing, but once all the groundwork was laid, the rest of the show was mostly entertaining.
Even without the new changes, everything seemed a little off. Some of the voices seemed, I don't know, strained and the designs, the artwork, was definitely on the crude side compared to the early days of the show. I suspect that the new production company, Titmouse, Inc. (tee hee,) was the culprit there. The animation was pretty tight, for the most part, but too many characters were kinda... crusty. Dr. Girlfriend, in particular, seemed to suffer from the new production and just looked sloppily drawn. Hopefully things'll straighten out as the season progresses. I really don't like those CG cars, though.
In the end, it wasn't a heartbreaker. I can live with the changes as long as good stories come out of them, as they did last season. The little, grey, atrophied optimist inside me has his fingers crossed.
[One last thing- I've noticed some SDCC hipster douchebagness creeping into the show in recent years, which can be a real funkiller. McCulloch & Hammer have, in the past, jokingly embraced this with the humor they're known for, but lately... I dunno. It seems like they wear sunglasses all the time now and, if it's all a joke, it's one that is getting old. I guess you can only fuck so many Molotov Cocktease cosplayers before it goes to your head. I sure hope I'm wrong.]
*I had set the thing to record new episodes sometime last winter, not knowing when or if there would be new episodes any time in the future.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The Fall of the House of Orbus
Well, not quite but close. My venerable old Macintosh desktop may have finally given up the ghost and until I can get it into the shop to have it looked at it may as well be dead. So, I just wanted to let that one guy that sometimes reads this web log that I'll be posting even more sporadically than usual.
In the meantime I have a few ideas that I was about to pounce on, but kinda can't right now as a lot of the initial ideas are trapped in that infernal machine. The last thing I was working on was a Traveller interpretation of Howard Chaykin's early sci-fi effort "Ironwolf", originally published by DC Comics in Weird Worlds, then about 25 years later as a new hardcover graphic novel (with art by Mignola and Russell). It's essentially a cynical 70's take on the Planetary Romance genre complete with swordplay and feudalism and .45 Automatics and some odd ideas about space travel. I'll probably include Chaykin's lively three-issue "Twilight" comic as well, since it relates to the later Ironwolf one-shot.
The other thing I wanna work on is maybe overhauling XXVc's rocketship combat rules. I never used them, but I understand they are lacking. Hopefully it won't involve more than a few new rules inserted at strategic points, rather than having to start from scratch.
Ettin of Hexen (see my web log roll) has vanished and so his Care Bears rpg is on hold, I guess. A shame, too, cuz I happen to think that was a really cool idea, despite having no real interest in Care Bears or anything closely resembling them.
Hopefully, he didn't get eaten by hogs. Cuz hogs will totally eat you, given the opportunity.
Always a pleasure,
OO
In the meantime I have a few ideas that I was about to pounce on, but kinda can't right now as a lot of the initial ideas are trapped in that infernal machine. The last thing I was working on was a Traveller interpretation of Howard Chaykin's early sci-fi effort "Ironwolf", originally published by DC Comics in Weird Worlds, then about 25 years later as a new hardcover graphic novel (with art by Mignola and Russell). It's essentially a cynical 70's take on the Planetary Romance genre complete with swordplay and feudalism and .45 Automatics and some odd ideas about space travel. I'll probably include Chaykin's lively three-issue "Twilight" comic as well, since it relates to the later Ironwolf one-shot.
The other thing I wanna work on is maybe overhauling XXVc's rocketship combat rules. I never used them, but I understand they are lacking. Hopefully it won't involve more than a few new rules inserted at strategic points, rather than having to start from scratch.
Ettin of Hexen (see my web log roll) has vanished and so his Care Bears rpg is on hold, I guess. A shame, too, cuz I happen to think that was a really cool idea, despite having no real interest in Care Bears or anything closely resembling them.
Hopefully, he didn't get eaten by hogs. Cuz hogs will totally eat you, given the opportunity.
Always a pleasure,
OO
Sunday, May 5, 2013
...And to Every Overlord, a Mutant.
A couple of years ago I was working on a Gamma World 1e game that involved a marauding army of mutants. The mutants were the Friends of Entropy, lead by Jim Ward's own munchkin Mary Sue, Blern the Stranger. Anyone who has played GW should know what the F.O.E. is. The very obscure Blern, on the other hand, comes from a story written by Ward and of whom I'll write more about in a later post.
Long story short, I needed some generic mutants to fill out large groups of opponents as you would find in the army of Blackwolf, the villain of Ralph Bakshi's post-nuke epic Wizards. Orcs, basically. Cannon fodder.
These humanoids make up troops for evil mutant overlords. They are all essentially the same save for their respective mutant powers. They should all supplied with the same weapons, usually Tech Level II or III, for ease of implementation. Since these guys are fodder they shouldn't have high hit dice, except for the Toughs. I would recommend adjusting the number appearing rather than AC, HD, etc for more powerful parties. The mutations need not be applied to every single mutant of that type. Maybe just give them to the squad leaders or whatever.
After that, just add visual touches (horns, weird skin colors, etc) and you should be good to go.
 |
| From left to right: Strong mutant, Agile mutant, Tough mutant. The guy behind them is obviously a demon, so he doesn't count. |
These humanoids make up troops for evil mutant overlords. They are all essentially the same save for their respective mutant powers. They should all supplied with the same weapons, usually Tech Level II or III, for ease of implementation. Since these guys are fodder they shouldn't have high hit dice, except for the Toughs. I would recommend adjusting the number appearing rather than AC, HD, etc for more powerful parties. The mutations need not be applied to every single mutant of that type. Maybe just give them to the squad leaders or whatever.
TOUGH MUTANT
No. Appearing: 1-10
Armor Class: 5
Movement: 8
Hit Dice: 18
Mutations: Heightened Constitution
STRONG MUTANT
No. Appearing: 1-10
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 10
Hit Dice: 12
Mutations: Heightened Strength
Strong mutants add three dice to melee weapon damage
AGILE MUTANT
No. Appearing: 1-10
Armor Class: 7
Movement: 12
Hit Dice: 8
Mutations: Heightened Dexterity
Exaltation of the Gargoyle King
I just got done playing the first enjoyable night with my DC Universe Online supervillain, the nefarious Gargoyle King, in a very long time. I'd been focussing on my two main characters, modern-day Pulp avenger Downright and jingoistic Bush-era superpatriot scumbag Rockets Redglare, but have gotten pretty burned out on them of late. It happens.
Luckily, I have 14 other characters on my account to help alleviate my ennui (that's such a douchebaggy word. makes me laff) and so, enter The Gargoyle King. In DCUO fortune favors the bold- sometimes you have to fight through grueling, shitty adventures (which usually involves Batman to a large degree) in order to get the Big Bucks. Problem is, you usually get burdened with at least a couple of crappy players, who will defenestrate at the first sign of real heat, leaving everyone else with their dicks in the dirt, unable to move forward.
This happens entirely too often in the game and can turn a 45 minute raid into two hour-plus marathon of repetitive, agonizingly dull gameplay.
Anyway, that all ended tonight, when Fortune finally started to show some interest in the old boy and things finally started going my way. Nothing too spectacular, but I'll take what I can get. So, I decide on one last mission before logging off and end up in yet another of what seem like an endless series of battles against Brainiac. Thankfully, I drop into an "instance" already in progress (the final boss fight as it turns out,) and wail on that motherfucker like nobody's business, putting the kibosh on him in record time (for me, anyway.)
Long story short, one of the other players tossed a nice bit of praise my way which actually made me happy for a few minutes. Sadly (ha ha), the late hour and fog of war prevent me from quoting said praise accurately. Suffice it to say I got a big thumb's up. This puts me very close to completing a short-term goal I set up (two goddamn weeks!) which should come to a close tomorrow.
I hope so, anyway. I hate this fuckin' game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)