So here we are the big finale. The final post of this years hashtag.

Apart from starting a day late, it felt a little strange to be doing this at the correct time.

I do like the daily prompts to write something (no matter how half hearted the words are). I’ve treated each post as a longer format tweet than an in-depth well written witty take on that days theme.

I certainly don’t do this to generate traffic to the site. I barely promote my participation. I think maybe five or six times (if that) I shared a link to the entries on Twitter. There was no noticeable jump in page views or visitors from doing so. So it’s lucky I don’t do this blog for self promotion or to make a living from.

Let’s do this one last time…

This post has to be a thank you post really.

They won’t see this, but I think I need to say thank you to the likes of Matt Colville, Sly Flourish, Nerdarchy, Jim Murphy, Seth Skorkowsky, The Arcane Library, and The Secret Cabal’s Lords of the Dungeon for their inspiration and great content.

A big thank you to The Luxe for allowing our D&D group to play on their premises.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say thanks to my best friend Duncan for his friendship and printing 3D stuff for me to enhance the table top experience of my sessions.

An even bigger thank you for our D&D group, for their kindness, support and patience as I find my feet as a DM.

And finally a big thank you to you the reader for suffering my ramblings.

Normal service will now be restored until next time.

The penultimate hashtag post.

We’ll look at how I think this years has gone tomorrow.

In the meantime here you go…

Probably the hardest theme of them all.

However as I was thinking wtf am I going to write about this one it came to me.

I forgot to mention an RPG that I owned yesterday!

Yeah I know it’s weak. But it’s the best I could come up with.

So what RPG did I forget to mention?

Why Labyrinth The Adventure Game.

It’s a complete RPG with everything you need to play it in a single book.

Well almost. You still need to print out character sheets, and use pens or pencils.

You can read my first look at it in a previous post here.

Wow is there really only two more posts left after today? This years hashtag has flown by.

So here is today’s post…

For me today’s theme is straight out the different RPGs out there (and there are a lot).

Below is a list of the different RPG systems I own:

• Genesys (Terrinoth, Android, Keyforge)
• Judge Dredd and Worlds of 2000 A.D (Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper)
• Paranoia
• The End of The World (Zombie Apocalypse, Alien Invasion)
• Alien
• Cyberpunk Red
• Star Wars RPG 30th Anniversary edition
• Thunderbirds
• Judge Dredd RPG 1985
• Judge Dredd RPG 2002
• Elfquest
• D&D 5e
• Fate Condensed
• Twilight 2000 4e
• The One Ring 2e

I know, I know the last two aren’t officially out. But I do have the early pdf copies of the rules that they released to backers. After all I backed them, and shipping chaos allowing will have the physical stuff before the year ends.

What surprises me is how many of the ones I own are d6 based, and build a dice pool of some kind.

There is only one that uses custom dice, and that is the Genesys system. Although the dice app for it is now free. With those d6 systems some may have official dice with one or two of the numbers replaced with a symbol. That is a nice touch and doesn’t stop the game being played with regular d6. Unlike the Genesys system that is unplayable without its custom dice.

The only d20 based systems I have are the obvious D&D and the 2002 Judge Dredd RPG.

I also like how my RPG collection is more scifi leaning than fantasy. Although I love both genres.

After coming across the year zero engine in the Alien RPG from Free League I’m impressed how flexible the system is. It is used in all of there RPGs which cover a handful of genres. But I’m still impressed with how they used it in the Alien RPG and it’s stress mechanic. It sold me on the game. So it’s not a surprise that I have more than one of the Free League RPGs now.

It looks like I also skew to systems that are for an IP I like or love such as LoTR, Judge Dredd, Star Wars, Elfquest and Thunderbirds.

I’d love to know what you think my RPG collection says about me.

As life starts to move with tentative steps in the direction of “normal” I’m left thinking how much of the old “normal” do I want back? Now is the time to come up with a new “normal” and as the song says them times are a changin’. Particularly diet wise and eating less meat.

And here we go again…

Thought I’d go with a little dungeon delve today using The Deck of Many Dungeons to generate a little single level dungeon to explore for a low level party.

The end of another week, and the start of a bank holiday weekend. Which as a full time carer means diddly squat. Especially over the last 18 months plus because of world events.

But gaming sessions with friends has started to become a thing again. And that makes a big difference to things. Something to look forward to again.

This evening we have a test gaming session at The Luxe. If this is a success then gaming sessions for Fenland Gamers will start back up on a regular basis (assuming world events don’t conspire against us). So here’s hoping things go well.

One more time with feeling, here is today’s thing…

Taking the easy route out with today’s entry for the hashtag and going for one of the alternative themes, Group. Which will also be very very short, thankfully.

Having the right group of people around the table is so so important.

Not every group is made up of life long friends. Often it is a group of strangers who eventually (maybe) go on to become friends.

So that session zero before a campaign is so important for everyone. It helps bond the group (or hopefully starts the process), makes sure that players and DM/GM are on the same page when it comes to expectations (play styles, themes, direction of campaign) , and topics that are off limits.

I’m lucky I have a great group for our D&D campaign. Some are new friends, others are friends I have known longer. All I have met through our game group Fenland Gamers. And I’m looking forward to continuing our campaign with them and seeing where we take it.

After this post there are 5 remaining to struggle through, and then it’s over for another year.

Let’s get on with this thang!

I’m taking the easy way out on this one. What do you need to play an RPG?

• Some-one to be the DM/GM
• Players
• A copy of the rules for the system you are playing
• Pencils and paper
• Character sheets
• Dice

That’s the bare minimum. Everything after that such as:

• DM/GM screen
• Miniatures
• Terrain and scenery
• Battle map
• Published adventures
• Additional rule books
• Tablets/laptops
• Speakers and background music

Are just icing on the cake so to speak. They aren’t necessary but they do enhance the experience.

It’s even possible to play for “free” or more accurately very cheaply if you take into account having to purchase dice. WotC make the basic rules free to download for D&D, along with pre-made characters. Get the free Matt Colville adventure The Delian Tomb that he created in the very first Running the Game video. Watch the first three Running the Game videos whilst there for running the adventure.

If memory serves me right several other systems have free getting started adventures that you can download to try them out. The Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D. had one. These usually include a stripped down version of the rules, pre-made characters and a short adventure.

The next step up from these are starter kits. They usually have cut down rules, an adventure, a set of dice, and pre-made characters as a minimum. After that they might have maps, cardboard standees, a cardboard DM/GM screen, and cards. I want to say these are inexpensive but that’s a relative thing. But usually fall in the £20 to £40 range. And a great way to try out RPGs with your friends.

It’s never been easier to play an RPG, pick a system/theme you and your friends like, get the starter kit and play!

Today the latest campaign book for the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D., The Judge Child arrived. Along with the Rogue Trooper one shot collection.

I do love how EN Publishing are doing the major Judge Dredd story arcs. In the near future we will be getting the Apocalypse War. Which naturally will cover block wars.

I’m also hoping that EN Publishing will also release a one shot collection for Strontium Dog to complete the set for the three 2000 A.D. characters covered so far.

In the meantime let’s read today’s hashtag post…

“Welcome to my nightmare
I think you’re gonna like it
I think you’re gonna feel you belong
A nocturnal vacation
A necessary sedation
You wanna feel at home ’cause you belong
Welcome to my nightmare” Alice Cooper Welcome to my Nightmare

Is how I feel about my homebrew campaign.

There is always a bit of self doubt, insecurity nagging away that the players won’t like the way the campaign is going or the particular session.

You hope that they like it. After all you gave them options to choose from for the campaign setting. They chose the one they wanted. You gave them a one sheet about the campaign for the session zero.

But still there is that nagging sensation in a dark recess of your brain telling you they don’t like it, they aren’t having fun, they don’t feel part of the world you are weaving together.

It’s hard to overcome that feeling of imposter syndrome.

If only they knew your doubts and insecurities as they chuck their dice.

That DM screen hides so much more than just your notes, dice and miniatures.

Welcome to my nightmare…

We are entering the last week of this hashtag thingy bob. The home straight so to speak.

Here is today’s words scrambled up into nonsense.

One thing I recently found out was that the four books that make up “The End of the World” RPG books by FFG were “based on El Fin del Mundo, an RPG line originally created by Álvaro Loman and José M. Rey for Edge Studios.”

I have two out of the four books available, Alien Invasion and Zombie Apocalypse.

I’m tempted by the Revolt of the Machines. But the Wrath of the Gods doesn’t grab me. Although having the set does appeal to me. However one major obstacle to this is the fact that these books are “between printings”. Which means that if you can locate a copy they go for a premium.

It’s funny that these books may have been transferred to Edge Studios as part of the Asmodee restructuring of FFG, and the moving of the FFG RPG stuff to Edge Studios. Who it would appear are the RPG power house for the Asmodee empire now. Although nothing has been said about these books and whether they will be getting a reprint.

What attracted me to these RPGs was first the themes. I love the apocalyptic setting, and that these focus on one particular cause of that apocalypse, such as zombies or aliens. From there we get four different scenarios that each give a different set of events that caused that scenario.

Finally I love that the system is a rules light d6 system, where the players play themselves in whichever town you all live in. I love, love that a players starting equipment is the stuff they have on them at the table or can find in the room they are playing in when the session starts.

I’m glad these got translated into english and hope that Edge Studios keep them around.

I’m spotting a pattern with my purchases recently. Not in what I am purchasing but in being totally unprepared for how much bigger than I thought they were.

The most recent such example of this was a new dice bag I bought to store all the dice, tokens, and life counters that may or may not be needed whilst playing MtG.

I wasn’t expecting such a large dice bag. It’s nearly as big as a football! It could be a hat or wouldn’t look out of place hanging in the end of stick used by a hobo.

It’s way too big for using at store tournaments or when table space is at a premium. But damn it’s great having everything in one convenient place.

As you can see in the photos above I have a few spin down counters. That’s despite giving some to Gavin. The 16mm white d6 will grow in number soon. I have 120 in the post somewhere.

But enough of this, let’s get on with the hashtag.

Memory is something I’m going have to make good use of in the coming weeks. In particular when it comes to remembering where we were in our campaign.

Luckily I won’t have to rely solely on my failing memory. I have some great ramblings on here in my session planning and post mortem posts. Which I will be revisiting to refresh my memory. I have notes in the GoodNotes app on my iPad that I can also go back to.

I also have burnt into my memory the over arching story arc, and a couple of future plot points that could be hit.

As a DM I’m grateful now after such a long hiatus that I built into my routine note taking and recording my thoughts for the campaign. But even without a global event enforcing a long break, what I did in writing the posts here, or making notes in GoodNotes is good practice. I then have something to refer back to in between sessions to aid my memory and future planning.

Well I had fun with my guilt free gaming yesterday, and you can read about it in the previous post.

Heeeeeere’s today’s hashtag…

For me there is no substitute to gaming in person (you can read my thoughts on streaming here).

And I can not stress how much I am looking forward to it being a thing again.

Our gaming group is holding a test event next Friday at our regular hosts The Luxe. Depending on the outcome and how things are progressing in the real world we will hopefully be starting regular gaming sessions back up. And this means only one thing at that point our D&D campaign can start back up.

I’m pretty excited about that.