12 posts tagged “rpgs”
Wizards of the Coast has done the inevitable by dropping the first press release announcement for 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
What do all you D&D players out there think? Will you upgrade to the latest and greatest(?) when it hits store shelves next year? As for myself, I think that D&D 4th would have to offer substantial improvements over D&D 3.5 to make me even consider moving up. I've already sunk a fair bit of cash into purchasing books and supplements for 3.5 and I'd be really loathe to do it all over again (unless the improvements are really, really good).
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August 16, 2007 (Renton, WA) – Whether you storm a mad wizard’s tower every week or haven’t delved into a dungeon since you had a mullet and a mean pair of parachute pants, one thing is certain - millions of D&D players worldwide have anticipated the coming of 4th Edition for many years. Today, Wizards of the Coast confirms that the new edition will launch in May 2008 with the release of the D&D Player’s Handbook. A pop culture icon, Dungeons & Dragons is the #1 tabletop roleplaying game in the world, and is revered by legions of gamers of all ages.
The 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons game includes elements familiar to current D&D players, including illustrated rulebooks and pre-painted plastic miniatures. Also releasing next year will be new web-based tools and online community forums through the brand-new Dungeons & Dragons Insider (D&D Insider) digital offering. D&D Insider lowers the barriers of entry for new players while simultaneously offering the depth of play that appeals to veteran players.
The 4th Edition rules emphasize faster game play, offer exciting new character options, and reduce the amount of “prep time” needed to run the game. D&D Insider includes a character creator that lets players design and equip their D&D characters, dungeon- and adventure-building tools for Dungeon Masters, online magazine content, and a digital game table that lets you play 24/7 on the internet — the perfect option for anyone who can’t find time to get together.
“We’ve been gathering player feedback for eight years,” said Bill Slavicsek, R&D Director of Roleplaying and Miniatures Games at Wizards of the Coast. “Fourth Edition streamlines parts of the D&D game that are too complex, while enhancing the overall play experience. At its heart, it’s still a tabletop game experience. However, D&D Insider makes it easier for players to create characters, run their games, and interact with the rest of the D&D community.”
Wizards of the Coast will release two 4th Edition preview books in December and January — Wizards Presents: Classes and Races and Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters. The first live demos of 4th Edition will happen at the D&D Experience gaming convention in Washington D.C. in February 2008. The full scope of 4th Edition books, miniatures, and adventures will be available in the spring and summer of 2008.
Since its first release in 1974, the fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has taken millions of players on imaginary adventures of epic scale. Today, D&D is universally regarded as the original game that created the roleplaying game category, and the inspiration for generations of game designers. D&D is enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, while countless more remember it with fond nostalgia.
ED: It's a gazebo, Eric, a GAZEBO! If you really want to try to destroy it, you could try to chop it with an axe, I suppose, or you could try to burn it, but I don't know why anybody would even try. It's a @#$%!! gazebo!
ERIC: (Long pause. He has no axe or fire spells.) I run away.
ED: (Thoroughly frustrated) It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo. It catches you and eats you.
ERIC: (Reaching for his dice) Maybe I'll roll up a fire-using mage so I can avenge my Paladin.
In lieu of a "real" update, definitely enjoy The Tale of Eric and the Dread Gazebo. (It also brought to mind Ernie's post about ga... loshes and other fun to say words, like gazebo.) It's almost as good as trying to save against a scene change. (Ask Matt or Anthony to post about that one!)
(Via DM of the Rings CXV: Misunderstandings Abound on Twenty Sided.)
L pointed out to me last night that I've been neglectful of my blogging, so I'm going to do my best to remedy that! I've already got a few post topics in mind, including an exciting conversation I had with Nintendo of America about the library's video game programs and thoughts about Living La Vida Facebook. Stay tuned!
Last Friday, dOrange wrapped up another campaign, delivering Ghostwalk a fitting finale. For posterity, the list of major players and their characters in this campaign were:
Having been the third dOrange campaign I've finished (and the first pure D&D campaign under my belt), I can say I definitely learned a lot by trying new things. I discovered that I could stand to keep much better notes (on everything from the PCs leveling up status to the facts of my ever-evolving storyline). As a group, we learned that trying to run four campaigns simultaneously was just a little too schizophrenic and we needed to pare it down to keep everything straight.
Lessons aside, I feel really good about how Ghostwalk began and ended. Kudos to all the players for all your effort and enthusiasm, because it's absolutely true that the success of any campaign depends on you. Extra kudos to Anthony and Leslie, for developing such rich backstory for their characters (which greatly influenced the campaign) as well as for their admirable dedication from start to finish.
As you all know, I'm taking a GMing "vacation" for awhile, while we enjoy the fruits of Anthony's Paragon and Nate's Genesis. However, when the time is right, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be itching to get back in the saddle to run Next-Gen Moreau (which is only a working title). So it's never too early to start thinking about your character concepts! (That means you, Anna!) Keep rolling, my friends!
Although we celebrated two years of dOrange back in April, the origins of our little gaming group actually go further back. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, the earliest history of our group can be traced to a New Year's Eve Party back on December 31st, 2004 where Jeremy, Sarah, Leslie and I played our first tabletop RPG adventure. The shameful part of the story is that the adventure was none other than the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game.
Consider the cheesy text on the back of the box:
Enter the world of adventure!
There's something moving behind that door...
Perhaps it's a vicious ogre waiting to tear you limb from limb.
Or a horde of zombies thirsting for blood.
Or maybe a terrifying dragon ready to engulf
you in a maelstrom of fire.Problem?
Nope. Not for you.
You're a hero--a powerful wizard, a strong fighter, or a sneaky rogue.
You can handle whatever comes
at you in this introduction to the greatest fantasy
game of all time.
I'm surprised we weren't turned off by this blatant dumbing down of a rich roleplaying game, but somehow we persevered. (Since when zombies thirst for blood? Isn't that a vampire thing?) Even when the very first adventure had us saving a lame-o unicorn from a bunch of goblins, we still wanted to know if we could kill the unicorn for extra XP. (Instead, all we were told was that, Alabern the unicorn, "can touch wounded characters with its horn.")
We've come a long way since then. It's a Paragon night tonight and I'm itching to get back into it after Squibblequick smote Anthony's computer last week, forcing us to delay the session. And then we're kicking of Matt's newest "evils" campaign, Anathema, on Saturday, granting us a double dose of gaming. Who knows? Maybe we will finally get to kill a unicorn this time!
That's right, Erin. You're gonna have to start asking, "Let me see your ur Pokemans," each time you see me, because my copy of Pokemon Diamond has arrived.
Of course, my response will be totally like that gray cat on the right. Except way more snarky. Way.
But if any of you non-Erin people have Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, then I guess I'll show you my Pokemans. (My friend code is 0902 9257 8247; leave yours in a comment.)
But you have to promise not to show them to Erin. And you can't let Bilbo snuffle them either. (Even if he is way cuter than Pikachu.)
L recently observed that her and I have more or less swapped the standard gaming stereotypes. She likes first-person shooters (like Halo) and "adult" RPGs (like Oblivion, Jade Empire, KOTOR) more than I do, which are traditionally thought of as "male" games. On the other hand, I prefer cutesy, simpler "E" rated titles (like Pokemon) far more than she does.
In that vein, I recently picked up a new game so sugar-coated and sickeningly cute that Ernie and L couldn't help but make cooing noises when I showed it to them. I'm talking about Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, which has all the trappings of a real winner for me:
- Minigames? Check!
- Microgames? Check!
- Trading Card Game? Check!
- Final Fantasy themed? Check!
- A splash of humor and plot? Check!
In related news, I gave in further to my weakness for cute, addictive games and placed an order for the brand spankin' new Pokemon Diamond. (Ernie's already insisted that she'll disown me for as long as the game's in my DS.) I haven't played a true Pokemon game since Pokemon Blue, so I'm already anticipating that 350+ of the poke-critters will be completely unfamiliar. At least I might finally be able to keep up with the kids at work!
So who cares if I'm not playing a bunch of traditionally macho games? I'm secure enough in my masculinity to love the cutesy games and not be ashamed. (Besides, my wife kicks my ass at any of the shooters, so I've got to have at least one niche, right?)
In dOrange, we're nearing the end of my third homebrew tabletop roleplaying campaign and it's gotten me to thinking about what sorts of things I've learned throughout the process. Looking back over the course of two years, I've definitely level-busted as a game master (and to a lesser degree as a player, since I've had less opportunity for that).
Certainly, there's a lot of things I've learned that I could riff on, but if I had to pick only a single concept, it would be this:
It's a bit of a simplification, but I do believe that a game's success depends hugely on how good or bad communication is between players and the game master (as well as the quality of communication amongst players).
A big part of this is communicating the expectations of everyone who participates in the game (whether player or GM). If one player wanted a game with lots of crunchy, complicated combats but they end up with a game of political intrigue and conversation, it's up to that player to be honest with the rest of the group about their unsatisfied expectations. Otherwise, how else are the rest of the players and the game master supposed to know? (Ruling out things like telepathy, as per the spell.)
Communication also dovetails nicely into one of my game mastering pet peeves: honestly communicating the ability to commit to any particular campaign. Unless a player says otherwise, I believe most good game masters will assume everyone is as committed to a campaign as they are. They probably will spend a great deal of time and creative effort trying to find ways to excite and engage each player (at least insofar as they understand each player's expectations). Therefore, they are at least a little put out when it turns out that all this work for a player is for naught because either:
- the player ignores the efforts of the GM on their behalf, or
- doesn't show up at all (with little or no advance notice to the GM).
I've waxed on long enough for now, but this is certainly a topic worth revisiting. With all the gaming seriousness done, how about a little gaming silliness? A D&D Fan Film finalist awaits!
I have many names. I am the Prince of Perversion, the Pontiff of Paraphilia, the Lord of Lechery, the Sultan of Sodomy, the Kangaroo King. I am... SQUIBBLEQUICK!
--Squibblequick
On Sunday, April 15th, we celebrated two gaming-goodness-filled years of dOrange with myself, L, Anthony, Erin, Anna, Nate and Colleen.
We started by hitting our "Waffle Haus" (a la Dead Like Me) at Shari's for appetizers. The main course was Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse, where Tony the Tiger cooked us a delicious dinner, dubbed Colleen with the new nickname "Miss Caldwell", and threw shrimp at Anna's eye.
Following the dinner escapade, Anthony brought his homemade dOrange dessert back to our place, where we hung out watching YouTube clips and reading old gaming quotes. Colleen and Nate managed to make their escapes before Anthony dropped us into his ambitious dOrange All Stars session, featuring characters from our older campaigns. The cast included:
- from Moreau: Mithran (me), Aurelia (L) and Marcus (Anthony)
- from Lathe: Remy (Erin) and Wu Jiao (L)
- from Shackled: Thea (Erin)
- from Treasure Hunters: Ilka (Anna)
All in all, this two year celebration really was a critical hit! I'm sorry we couldn't have the whole awesome group present, but there's always next year, right? Whether you were present or not, many kudos to all of you that have made dOrange the shiny, crazy delicious gaming group that it is. Raise your d20s and join me in bringing forth another year of fantastic gaming goodness!
I'd like to take an Attack of Opportunity to talk about one of the most frickin' awesome dOrange campaigns that I am not GMing, namely Anthony's Paragon. We just got back into the thick of it last Friday after a few months of hiatus and boy, am I stoked.
You see, Paragon has a lot going for it. Not only is it extremely crunchy with high-level monster PCs and super-customizable house rules for action points and magic points, but it also is full of creamy character development and a rich plot that we're only beginning to unravel. Coupled with the fact that this all takes place in a completely home-grown fantasy world that rivals (if not surpasses) most published campaign settings, you can probably start to see why I'm so impressed with this campaign. (Particularly because it's the first Anthony has ever run for our group!)
Of course, all of this planning and campaign design of awesomeness would be wasted if I didn't have a PC I cared about, but in this campaign, I get two rich and complex characters to play with for the price of one. Celeres Altimar, the marshal / legendary leader gryphon crown prince turned bronze dragon, is an incredibly exciting character to play, both in and out of combat. I'm starting to realize I need to make him a little less long-winded and a little more a dragon of action, but I can't think of many other faults. His cohort, Taliana Starke, the human evoker / cleric / mystic theurge, has worked out to be a good foil and it's been a riot to be able to sling spells with magic points. I'm looking forward to her next level (which is unfortunately a while off), so she can make use of the Displacer Form spell (since, aside from gryphon and dragon, displacer beast would have been my next choice for a monster PC).
Thus, I'm definitely looking forward to this Friday and the next as we continue the Paragon goodness. Many, many kudos to Anthony for designing and running such an epic campaign, for not only do I love playing in it, but I also love the break it gives me from GMing my campaigns. (Also, kudos to Diana for the striking commissioned artwork that graces the top of this post.) Thanks to Paragon, the DC for campaigns has definitely been raised for dOrange.
