A Role Playing Games Blog
Archive for October, 2009
Necessary Evil
2October 22, 2009
The Savage Worlds game is not only known for its fast, furious and fun game play but also for the unique settings. Some of those settings may look quite ordinary on the first look but most of them have a least a certain twist that makes them different. One of those settings is Necessary Evil.
On the first look, NE looks like any other superhero background. There a super powered humans with flashy costumes, evil alien invaders, an iconic city where most of the action happens and all the other trappings of superhero comics. But on the second look you notice that things are not as you might expect them. The most obvious twist is that almost all superheroes have been killed during an alien invasion and now the super villains have to save the day! The former bane of humanity has formed small cells of resistance fighters that use their superhuman abilities to fight the alien invaders.
The Plot Point Campaign in NE sheds some light on some secrets of the NE universe and contains some more surprises, but I don’t want to spoil anything here. But it’s pretty obvious that the world of Necessary Evil is not your father’s superhero comic world.
GeekDo
5October 21, 2009
You probably already have heard about BoardGameGeek a website, that was founded somewhere in 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Soldo as a resource for the board game geek community. The site not only features a huge database containing games, expansion, designers but also includes numerous reviews, articles and forum discussions. Usually when I want to read a review about any boardgame I check on BoardGameGeek first.
In July 2009 geekdo.com was launched. This new website not only includes the existing BoardGameGeek site but also a new RPG Geek site. Although both sites use the same system, the databases are kept separate. When you log into geekdo.com, you can switch between the Geek and Boardgame section with a single click.
A friend of mine is a huge BoardGameGeek fan and used the site for quite some time now, I just recently signed up.
The contents of the database are already very impressive. Someone even added an entry for the Feuerwerk supplement for Dungeonslayers I wrote earlier this year! And my friend even added me as a designer! That’s very cool!
While this may probably old news for some of you, I definitely can recommend the new rpg.geekdo.com site to everyone even remotely interested in the RPG hobby!
The RPG Bloggers Network won’t die …
14October 20, 2009
… unless we let it die. The former RPGBN board members have announced today that they step down from their posts after there was some (sometimes very emotional) criticism of how the network was run. I have to admit that although I didn’t always agree with the decisions of the board, I am sad to see them go.
But we now need people to step up and continue what Phil, Dave, Graham and Danny started. The biggest challenge is probably the hosting of the RPG Bloggers main site which has some very high CPU requirements. But perhaps it could be worth looking into an alternative solution like a Planet software. But technical issues aside we need a few people (probably more than we had before) to step up and keep the RPGBN going. The network (and the people running it) helped a lot of us when we started out and a lot of readers rely on it.
I already offered to host the RPGBN forums in the future (if nobody objects of course) and I am willing to help out with other aspects of running the network. And I would be happy if a few more people who benefitted from the RPGBN in the past, will help us keeping the RPGBN running!
Thanks again to Phil, Dave, Graham and Danny for their hard work and dedication. I am sad thing turned out the way they did but I respect your decision. But it is my sincere hope that the RPGBN will not start dying today!
UPDATE: Since I posted this, a lot has happened and new developments make my initial offer more or less obsolete. So I’ve decided to just wait to see who gets to run the RPGBN in the future. If I am happy with how things turn out, I may stay as a member or even offer my help with the forums or even more.
Champions
13October 20, 2009
Recently I started playing the MMO Champion Online. Champions Online is based on Champions, Hero Games‘ award winning superhero roleplaying game. Although I enjoy the MMO very much so far, I don’t know anything about the pen & paper game it was based on. So I started to do some research.
I quickly noticed that although the MMO is based on the Champions Universe, it’s not using the HERO System! But Hero Games is planning to release a book to allow you to recreate your Champions Online characters for the pen & paper game.
The first edition of Champions was published back in 1981 and it was actually one of the first games to use a point-buy system for character creation instead of randomly generating stats by rolling dice. It also took a tool kit approach for power creation much like what you may know from the more recent Savage Worlds game.
In 1987 the Champions rules system were released as the generic roleplaying game HERO System that allowed play in all genres. Recently the 6th edition of HERO has been released.
The HERO System 
Characters in a HERO System game are described by Characteristics (like Strength and Intelligence), Skills, Perks (special resources the character has access to like money, contacts, etc.), Talents (unusual abilities and powers better than Skills but less powerful than actual Powers) and Powers. Powers are the superhuman abilities of golden age superheroes, magic of dark sorcerers or even psychic abilities. In the HERO System Powers are effect-based. So mechanically a superhero’s Flame Blast power may be similar to a wizards Magic Missile power. Powers can be customized by numerous modifiers, which effects not only how the Power works but also how much it costs during character creation.
Most check are made by rolling 3d6. A roll is successful if you get a result equal or less than some given difficulty. A roll of 3 always succeeds, a roll of 18 always fails. Although the basic mechanic is quite easy, the HERO System is notorious for the math involved in play and character creation.
The Champions Universe
The setting of the original Champions game (and its later editions) and the aforementioned MMO is the so-called Champions Universe. From what I’ve seen so far, the Champions Universe is a golden age superhero setting which reminded me a lot of what I know and love from classic Marvel and DC comic books. Alas there’s less information about the setting available on the internet than I hoped. If you have played in the Champions Universe before, feel free to post some more info in the comments below.
I have to admit I still haven’t read any of the Champions roleplaying game nor any of the HERO System books. The only sources I had were the internet (mainly Wikipedia and the official Hero Games site and a 5-paged introduction to HERO System 5th Edition). But I have to admit I am quite intrigued by the way this game handles superpowers. And I always had a soft spot for the Superhero genre, so I may give Champions a try.
Are there any Champions/HERO System veterans with us? Can you please share some of your thoughts on the system and what edition of the game would you recommend for new players? Any advice is appreciated!
Dungeonslayers 3.5 released
0October 19, 2009
Quite some time ago, Christian Kennig has updated his “”old-fashioned roleplaying game” Dungeonslayers to version 3.5. Aside from a new character sheet, the latest version of DS contains some bugfixes and minor updates. Don’t fear, DS 3.5 is fully compatible to DS 3.0!
Today Christan finally uploaded the English translation to the Dungeonslayers site, so English-speaking fans of the free RPG may finally enjoy the updated version! The 20-paged PDF can be downloaded here.
Stargazer’s World is now on Facebook
0It seems everyone has a Facebook account now. Heck, even my mom is logged into that site all day playing Farmville. 
So I decided to create a Facebook page for Stargazer’s World as well. Currently there’s not much to see on that page, since I am still fighting with some of the settings. But at least you can show your support by becoming a fan of my blog!
Stargazer’s World | Promote your Page too 
If anyone has already created a Facebook page for his or her blog, please let me know how you get your blog’s RSS feed to show as wall updates. Any advice is much appreciated!
Lazy Friday Video Post: Game Geeks #122
0October 16, 2009
It has really been a busy week and as you may have noticed I haven’t posted as regularly as usual. This lazy friday video post is featuring the latest episode of Game Geeks. This time Kurt Wiegel presents “Legends of Steel”, a Savage Worlds game by Evil DM Productions.Enjoy!
If you like Kurt Wiegel’s reviews your should consider subscribing to his YouTube Channel or order the Game Geeks DVD.
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