All posts by Darren

Update on planning session 7 #4

D&D, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

It’s that time in the run up to the session that I visit the library to print out the bits I need for the session. I dread this bit because it’s so painful using the library computers. They are sooooo slow.

Luckily I only had two or three campaign related things to print. Plus some one shot adventures for the Judge Dredd RPG, along with a couple of pages that help with traits and descriptions (that is also useful for the WOIN system), plus using a d10 instead of the d6 dice pool. Yep I’m getting a Judge Dredd (/Strontium Dog) GM folder ready. Just on the off chance I get to run a session or two. I also printed off the pages from the Genesys FAQ that give the new power level values for the adversaries from all three previously published books.

I am trying to keep the amount of printing to a minimum (due to being economically challenged). So like the previous session my session notes are hand written.

The cost is one side of being a DM/GM nobody really discusses. Printing costs, miniatures, tiles, handouts, etc all add up. Yes you can go digital. But that doesn’t work for me! Yeah I know a geek like me saying that is shocking. Instead of the dudes on a map (whether that’s tiles or a battle map of some kind) could be replaced with theatre of the mind combat. From my limited experience the dudes on a map has been more helpful and easier for the newer players to D&D in the group. It is also easier for me a DM/GM too.

I suppose the expense has been higher as a new DM/GM that doesn’t have a collection of resources to use. And that a lot of the stuff I have now is reusable.

One thing I printed out was a table I “borrowed” from a resource some-one did online for a fishing mini game for D&D. I wasn’t interested in the mini game. I’m happy with whoever wants to fish while at sea to just do a foraging action, and make a roll for it. But the hard bit was deciding what fish they caught. I’m not a fishing person. The nice thing is that the table they created works for sea and freshwater.

The two dungeon maps I printed out have saved me time creating my own. Once or even if used this session they can go into the back of the DM folder with other maps I have printed as an instant adventure resource if needed. All I’ve had to do is populate the dungeons.

Tomorrow is the big day. Getting excited now.

A mini look at Epic Card Game Digitial

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I’m totally enjoying my games of Epic Card Game digital against my friends. And that includes my losing streak of having never won against one of them.

Our format of choice is Dark Draft. Which I’ve said many times I think that this is my favourite format for the game. Unlike a regular draft, you have an idea what cards your opponent has but you don’t know exactly. Mainly because you know what four cards they were given but you don’t know which two they kept and which two were discarded. I like that mystery.

Sometimes though due to the nature of the game type, luck of the draw, etc. More time is spent drafting than actually playing.

Once it was an option to purchase (you only pay for cosmetic stuff like this and to enter official events/tournaments) using my credits I hit on my avatar for the game that won’t change.

I love the pack alpha art. It fits me as leader of my own “wolf pack”.

The other thing I’m currently spending my hard earned Kickstarter credits on are the foil versions of cards when they become available.

I like how foils work in Epic and Star Realms. For the concept works better digitally than in a physical version. Although they are pretty cool in real life.

I actually like how the actual game looks during play. Granted it doesn’t have those flash animations of the likes of MtG:Arena and Hearthstone. But you don’t miss them or need them. Unlike the two mentioned competitors this is completely free to play. And the bit I like a lot, just like Star Realms, when playing against friends you get 48 hours between turns. It means playing can fit in around what you are doing in the real world, and allow you to play with friends in different time zones.

Granted games take longer to play this way. But that’s a price I’m willing to play. Plus you can play in real time if you wish. It’s nice to have the choice.

This is definitely my preferred way of playing the game. It means I get to play it for starters. That’s always a good start.

You can find me on Epic and Star Realms as Whitespider.

What annoys me about Imperial Settlers

rant

After a day off writing for this blog. Which we all know was a welcome break for both parties, you the reader and me. I’m back looking at one thing about Imperil Settlers and 51st State that annoys me.

But first for the record I really do enjoy both games. It’s allowed to not love everything about a game. This post is about the one thing I don’t love about these two games.

What bought this all on? The imminent arrival of last years expansion for Imperial Settlers, Amazons. I finally got round to getting it. After all it was the only expansion that I didn’t own. There are a couple of promos I think I’m missing but they are less important (I bet that has surprised one or two out there).

It’s the expansions for Imperial Settlers that are the source of this annoyance.

Amazons is the third ‘big’ box expansion for Imperial Settlers. Like the other two it adds a new faction and mechanic to the game. There are also three ‘small’ box expansions that focus on adding a new mechanic.

When it comes to playing the game you have to decide what expansions to play with.

In the rules for the expansion they give you two options.

The first is what they call Open Play.

This allows you to “mix any Common and Faction cards from any expansions with the corresponding cards from the Imperial Settlers base game. Have fun, but remember that a deck constructed this way may not ensure balanced play.”

That last sentence is the important bit. You may not see a single card from an expansion, or get the card you need. Which is why I’m least likely to use this option unless it’s for a single expansion.

The other way is what Portal call Standard Play.

“This is the only format allowed in tournaments.

Common cards come only from the base game. To build your Faction deck, you may mix the Faction cards from the Imperial Settlers base game with the Faction cards from exactly 1 expansion.”

51st State has a similar thing with it’s expansions in that you can only chose one expansion and you shuffle those cards into the common deck. It has no equivalent to Open Play.

What I find frustrating is that you have to decide which expansion and mechanic you are going to play.

So if you want to play one of the ‘small’ box expansions you are limited to the base game factions. If a player wants to play one of the ‘big’ box factions then you are limited to the cards from that expansion.

The problem as I see it is that with a new faction there is a new mechanic, and cards for the other factions to make use of the new mechanic. Then if you want to also play with one of the mechanics from a ‘small’ box expansion you are obviously breaking the Standard Play rule of using just one expansion.

If the other players have to choose between the two is there an imbalance that favours the new faction?

I also think that deck building for new players is an additional thing for them to learn. Something that might put them off and find hard.

Unless you do the deck building before hand (additional time and making decisions in advance on what to play) time for players to deck build needs to be factored into the overall play time. The game also stops becoming something you can just grab off the shelf and play. Which the base game allows you to do.

The limitation to one expansion and mechanic is something that frustrates in both 51st State and Imperial Settlers. On one hand I like the focus and making sure you get to play that new mechanic. On the other having to chose one over the other, and having to play multiple times to try them all, is frustrating. Back to back games in a single session is a rarity (unless it’s one of the filler micro games). As is between sessions. It could be months and years between plays (the draw back of big collections and too many games to play).

So that’s the side of the game that frustrates me.

Update on planning session 7 #3

D&D, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

It’s a hard battle with inner demons, but I’ve nearly avoided being distracted from planning session 7. The current minor detour has been about how they handle planeswalking in D&D. Something that players and DMs will want to do once the new MtG/D&D Theros source book comes out. Between that, Ravnica and the Plane Shift pdf’s there are plenty of MtG planes to explore. But more about this in another post.

Yesterday I did share on Twitter what I thought was a handy tip for DMs that I stumbled upon (yes I’ve not got round to fully reading it yet) while looking at the Infernal Contracts section of the Descent into Avernus campaign book.

Why am I mentioning this here?

A copy of that page from the book will be going into my DM folder for D&D and will be used within the current campaign. The monster table that is rolled against for monsters round Baldur’s Gate is something easily updated to match the ecology round the town in your own campaign.

Although the original plan, or thought anyway was that the Infernal Contract for the player I mentioned in the previous prep post was not something that would or could be done soon.

After watching this D&D Beyond video and reading this encounter from the D&D Beyond encounter series they did leading into the Avernus campaign. I think I should have something prepared in case the appropriate opportunity presents itself.

The suggestion by Chris Perkins in the video of a devil appearing after two failed death saving throws making an offer to save the players life is a pretty cool idea. But the idea of an imp following the party around constantly trying to tempt the party and in-particular the character I had the idea for originally seems pretty fun too.

The encounter also has a pretty cool contracts table that can be customised to my needs for the campaign as well.

So you can see having this stuff prepared and readily to hand for the session and subsequent ones is pretty important now.

I do love how organic this homebrew campaign is. Being able to react to player decisions is pretty cool. It allows me to do stuff like the above.

Off to prep more.

Update on planning session 7 #2

D&D, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

With just over a week to go before session 7 is a thing I need to be more focussed in my prep and not get distracted by the other stuff I’ve been writing about.

To be honest I have been feeling that a couple of the group haven’t had the spotlight shone on their characters yet during our sessions.

So last night I started to rectify that by messaging them and asking them about their characters and how we can spotlight them.

From our conversations I got extra background information on both characters that did indeed spark ideas and how to spotlight them within the campaign.

One of those ideas I can use straight away in this next session.

Previously I had seeded stuff to the player that has just left the group. That character the party will be finding out this session has been kidnapped and taken to the Whale Bone Islands by the Red Robes of Thay. Originally this was going to be a kidnapping tied in with the kidnapped characters backstory. However none of the rest of the group know about the stuff I had seeded. So it’s pretty seamless to appropriate this new plot line for my needs to spotlight this other character. It also presents a quandary for the group. The character I’m spotlighting now mustn’t be caught by these Red Robes because they have something the Red Robes want, however they need to rescue their friend. What do they do?

I nearly didn’t have any idea for the other player until their last sentence of the conversation. Their character wants information, wealth, power and to survive. Then it hit me diabolical deals! There are rules for these in the Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus campaign book. This is going to take a bit more planning, but that character is going to be making a deal with the devil in the near future. Or at least have temptation put in their way.

This session is feeling like it will be seeding lots of stuff and advancing ongoing plots. For instance the group will also be hearing that Angrath has been in Mintarn looking for them. It’s going to be interesting to see how the party handle that bit of news. After all Angrath is probably the last person they want to run into.

Now to think more about the dragon liar.

Theros Coming To D&D

D&D, gossip, magic, MtG, news, RPG

The website Comicbook is reporting that once more WotC are dipping into the crossover pool between MtG and D&D.

This new crossover is called Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Which naturally going by that title takes D&D players to the plane of Theros. Which just so happens to be the current set. Although by the time this new campaign book hits your FLGS MtG players will have said their good byes to Theros and moved on to Ikoria.

Theros is heavily influenced by Greek mythology. So it will be interesting to see how they handle the themes and tropes such as heroes, monsters and gods. Plus will they pick up the theme of the current set of the under world?

I’d still like to see a Plane Shift release for Eldraine, and an art book. But now that is just wishful thinking.

Read the original story HERE. (If you want to see the cover of the book they have a link to the archived web page with it on also)

Genesys The Expanded Players Guide

genesys, RPG

It’s sad that my “light” reading these days while having a soak in the bath (yep had to return that image to your mind) are various RPG books.

I find them (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) a relaxing and inspiring read. After reading a few pages whether it’s about character creation, running combat or some campaign/world background, I can’t help but have ideas buzzing around in my head.

And if it’s a system I haven’t managed to play yet, yearn to get it to the table. You can tell when that happens because I will post a hopeful call for players to try the game on the clubs Facebook page. A day or two later that enthusiasm and excitement is turned into disappointment by the lack of responses.

My current reading has seen me diving in and out of the Genesys source books. With a lot of that time spent in the latest volume for the Genesys system the Expanded Players Guide (EPG).

I really, really like the EPG. It’s such a great addition.

Let’s look at what the EPG brings to the table and why I like it so much.

The EPG is broken into three parts. Those being New Settings, Expanded Rule Creation and Expanded Alternate Rules.

In the New Settings we get three new example settings, ‘Age of Myth’, ‘Monsterworld’ and ‘Post Apocalypse’.

Unlike the Core Rulebook settings these new settings are not mapped to FFG IP. Like the other settings though these are broad overviews and meant as a starting point for building your own game worlds.

The ‘Age of Myth’ is slightly different to traditional fantasy. You are looking at Greek and Norse mythology and how they viewed the world. If you want a good look at this setting watch this video by Dael Kingsmill on the subject. But be warned her focus is more for using the setting in D&D. However Dael does a great job of explaining the difference between a fantasy and myth setting. I also like the job the authors of the EPG did.

‘Monsterworld’ is the gothic horror, setting. So think Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

I think ‘Post Apocalypse’ speaks for itself. However reading and watching The Road by Cormac McCarthy would be a great piece to get inspiration from. Or playing the classic video game The Last of Us. Although if I was thinking of using this setting and it is covered by one of the four The End of the World books by FFG I’d be tempted to use one of them instead.

FFG also provide a handy table that maps skills and talents for the settings to those in the Core Rulebook.

Add these example settings to those in the Core Rulebook and I think FFG have now covered the majority of the genres that most people will ever want or need.

However if they have missed one, or you want to come up with your own based on one of the provided examples or some other source material, FFG have provided a whole chapter of Expanded rules for creating a setting.

For me this is an amazing chapter that is system agnostic. It has some great tables to roll against for the generation of ideas or you can just pick one of the entries. These tables cover common tropes, technology level, world structure, etc. There is an Expanded Setting Creation Sheet you can download off the FFG website to record things on.

In the second part of the EPG we get rules for creating our own vehicles. Additionally there are some stats for common vehicles for land, air and water. I’ve not gone through the creation part yet. But the new vehicle stats are useful, and can go straight into a lot of settings.

We also get rules for creating quick adversaries plus a new challenge level system in this section. I really like the quick adversaries creation. It was fun creating those dinosaurs in previous posts using these rules. The new challenge level system is a welcome addition for judging how balanced an encounter is.

There is also rules here for creating specialization trees aka skill trees using talents. I really like this and currently creating a specialization tree for a runner in the Android setting. This is very video game RPG like.

In the third and final section there are “…new talents and spells designed to work with our magic rules“. It also has “…some alternate rules for character advancement and social encounters, and new tones.”

I’ve not spent any time in this section apart from briefly skimming the new tones, Heist and Noir. Apart from the new rules they introduce for each tone. I think these are pretty applicable to any system, and also another great source of inspiration.

If you play using Genesys system then this book is a must have. It certainly ticks all the boxes for me.

Tales from the Loop Amazon Series

news, RPG

The trailer below dropped this afternoon. Took me a little bit by surprise because I wasn’t aware this was in production.

I believe this series is inspired by the RPG and it’s art with the same name.

Which is pretty damn cool.

We often see a film or tv series made into a RPG. But rarely do we see it going the other way. The only one that comes to mind are movies based on D&D plus the old cartoon.

The exciting thing is we don’t have that long to wait to see it. According to end of the trailer this will be dropping in 3rd April.

I think the trailer looks pretty cool. I’ve gone from zero awareness to totally excited for this.

Who knows there might even be an upturn in the sales and playing of the RPG.

Let me know what you think of the trailer in the comments below.

UPDATE: a twitter like person informed me apparently this is a book also. And that is the source of the inspiration. The Wikipedia page needs updating then.

Some timely twitter D&D tips via Sly Flourish

D&D, genesys, RPG, W.O.I.N.

On Sunday there were a couple of tweets by Sly Fourish that I found timely reminders and great advice for DMs/GMs. Although aimed at D&D (hence the hashtag) they were both applicable to any RPG system in my opinion.

So without any sort of permission I thought I’d share them here below.

The Sly Flourish tip I’m totally guilty of. I need to take this into account more within my session prep. At the moment if they get to showcase them it’s more by luck.

The DnDTweets tip is a great reminder that stuff still happens while the adventurers are doing their thing. Plots of NPCs advance, stuff happens. It reminded me what is Angrath the Minotaur pirate currently doing? I could even throw Vraska into this thought process. I’ll write more on this and what I think is going on in a session prep post with all the disclaimers for my party.

I hope others reading this find the tips useful.

The Death of Genesys ‘Confirmed’!

genesys, news, rant, RPG

It has been reported over the last few days that FFG are killing off their RPG department completely, and that they will no longer be producing RPGs.

The slight silver lining to the cloud is that already announced RPG products like the Keyforge campaign book will be published. But after the current commitments have been met, nada.

That means the Star Wars, L5R and Genesys RPGs will join the ranks of defunct RPGs.

It’s a shame that this is happening.

It kills off any hopes fans of the games had that FFG would be using outside contractors to produce new content for their favourite game.

There are other rumours or conspiracy theories floating around along with this news. These range from FFG are being sold off to Asmodee being sold off. But that’s just internet chatter trying to make 2 + 2 = 5.

I haven’t played the Genesys system but I do like it. Especially that it had the Android source book. The one drawback for me that applies to the whole group of FFG RPGs is the use of custom dice. Naturally these dice had the infamous FFG premium added on. They did produce a mobile app for the dice. Which was considerably cheaper than a physical set.

But we are about to get into the scenario I have for all modern board games that rely on an app for play. Support after the product is no longer published. It gets worse in this situation because the FFG software department went in the cleansing just after Christmas. So unless the Asmodee software team pick up the support and maintenance of the app. As soon as a future release of Android or iOS breaks it, that’s it. It’s a dead app. That’s assuming that FFG don’t pull the app.

The app was the only realistic option for players that want to use any of the RPGs going forward. The dice sets will get rarer and rarer, and more expensive because of this.

I suppose the only option left would be for players in the future to map the relevant custom dice to their regular versions. Not ideal, produces an overhead during play that could slow things down when doing checks. But still a work around.

The future of the licences that FFG have is an interesting one. I think some like the Star Wars one will be picked up. What the actual practicalities of that is I have no idea. Can a third party pick the RPG licence up? Can FFG sub licence those rights to a third party? I’ve no idea. But whatever the specifics we could be a few years off seeing a new Star Wars RPG.

As for seeing a L5R RPG. That’s a harder one to guess. I know it has it’s fans. But enough to warrant a third party approaching FFG about licensing it? I’m not sure.

I love the Android universe. An IP that it seems FFG are mothballing completely, joining Tannhauser.

I know Genesys is a generic system that players are meant to use to create their own worlds and adventures. However I felt it was under supported, especially the two source books they produced. Apart from the sample adventures they produced for conventions there was no other material produced for them. The Android source book was lucky that FFG had produced the Worlds of Android book for Netrunner.

I think Android and Terrinoth would both have benefitted from FFG producing adventures on a regular basis for them. As would the Star Wars and L5R games. They needn’t have been the multi adventure campaigns that WotC put out for D&D. But more single adventures along the likes that the Adventurers League gets, that form part of a season.

Yes FFG introduced the Forge for fan created content. But I’m not sure how popular that was or is. I do feel that was a little too late.

Regular official content helps sell a system. Not all GMs want to home brew. Some want to pick up an adventure and run with it. Being able to cater for both is important. Although you could argue that if that was the case then the Genesys RPG isn’t for them. But it should be.

I still hold onto the hope I can get an Android based campaign up and running. But the likely hood of it being Genesys based has taken a hit.