A Role Playing Games Blog
Ask The Readers
Ask The Readers: Can I use the Kindle as a GM tool?
6October 7, 2009
Amazon is finally shipping its Kindle ebook reader to Non-US customers, too. They still don’t offer localized versions, but at least people from all over the world can order the Kindle from amazon.com and access the Whispernet in 100 countries.
I have to admit I love gadgets. And I have been looking for a decent ebook reader for quite some time now and Amazon’s Kindle looks pretty decent if you ask me. But if I put so much money on the table I want to be able to use the Kindle at the gaming table, too. So, are there any RPG rulebooks available on the Kindle store? How easy is it to convert PDFs (I am thinking about the stuff I bought on RPGNow for example)? Can the Kindle handle graphic intensive books? If you have used the Kindle for this purpose before please share your experiences!
Ask The Readers: Web comics for gamers?
15October 5, 2009
I’ve been a fan of “Penny Arcade” pretty much from day one, and I was overjoyed when my favorite comics from the Dragon magazine “Nodwick” and “What’s New With Phil And Dixie” made the jump to the world-wide web.
Another great webcomic and (hopefully) soon a RPG setting for GURPS is Phil & Kaja Foglio’s Girl Genius. And last but not least I always enjoy reading the latest “Full Frontal Nerdity”. In many ways it reminds me of a modern version of “Knights of the Dinner Table”. And by the way, don’t you think that the bald guy looks a lot like our fellow RPG blogger Chgowiz?
What are your favorite gaming-related web comics? Are there any true gems out there that I missed? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Ask The Readers: What are your thoughts on the GUMSHOE system?
7September 21, 2009
Recently I have thought about running another horror campaign this fall/winter and two of the games I am currently considering are Esoterrorists and Trail of Cthulhu from Pelgrane Press.
Both games are using the GUMSHOE system, that focuses on investigative scenarios.
There are two kinds of skills in Gumshoe: Investigative Skills and General Skills. General Skills work much like skills in any other system. When you perform an action, you roll the dice and the result tells you if you have succeeded or not. Investigative skills never fail. When you have the right skills and if you can put them to proper use in a given scene you get the clues. Aside from that, Gumshoe is a pretty standard rules-light roleplaying system, but the automatic successes for Investigative Skills is what sets it apart.
I have to admit this sounds pretty interesting on paper but alas I haven’t been able to try Esoterrorists or Trail of Cthulhu out yet. So, I am asking my players if anyone has already played any GUMSHOE game and if he or she could share the experience with us. Does the system work as advertised? Or does the system make clue gathering too easy?
Just Say Yes
2September 14, 2009
Posted by Viriatha, the Bard of Valiant
Saying yes to players is something we all know we should do, whether it be a hard skill challenge or finding that unique cool item in a shop. Much has been written on this principle and how it works with game mechanics, and I’m not going into all of that here.
Instead, I want to ask, if we’re all saying yes why am I reading more about punishing players for not roleplaying? Isn’t that saying no?
I understand most people are on limited schedules, with families and kids. I understand that everyone is getting together for a small amount of time each week or even every other week for the very purpose of roleplaying and accomplishing in-game goals.
I also understand that this one night of the week might be the only time some of these people ever see each other.
So why are you saying no? Learn to say yes.
Balancing the social aspects of game night with the actual goal of playing the game can get tricky. We’re all just friends getting together to have a good time, after all. But is it a good time if we’re not actually playing the game?
One obvious solution is that instead of punishing players for not roleplaying, you consistently reward them for it instead. Say yes to good gaming instead of saying no to being a friendly member of the group.
At the end of the night, give them person who contributed most to keeping the game on track, while in character, some extra experience points. If more than one person did this, reward them both (or all three, etc. – whichever applies). Be careful not to reward a player who hassled the group. Don’t punish that but don’t reward it, either. Reward positive behavior with a positive reaction.
And be consistent. If you do this each game for the same behavior, the group will get the idea.
That’s why punishing social interaction that’s out of character can backfire so badly. Most players see this as positive behavior. If they get negative results, game night loses some of what makes it fun.
That’s the most obvious way to say yes. What are other ways you use in your game?
Ask The Readers: Running a Ultima campaign in S&W
3September 4, 2009
Inspired by Chgowiz’s Siege Perilous project I am tempted to run my own Ultima campaign using Swords & Wizardry rules. Alas he only covered the early parts of the series (Ultima I – III) that I never played. My favorite Ultima games were always Ultima VI and VII.
There are a few issues I am a bit unsure about, mainly how classes should work and what changes are necessary to the world and story to make it possible to run a compelling S&W campaign.
I’ve posted these questions in this thread over at the Swords & Wizardry forums. If you have any advice, please post your answers there, or use the comment section below. Thanks, any help is much appreciated!
Ask The Readers: What is your favorite D&D retro-clone and why?
7August 28, 2009
I have never played the original D&D from 1974 or any other version of D&D before AD&D 2nd Edition.
But then the release of several D&D retro-clones allowed me to explore what people call “old school” or “traditional adventure” (like in TARGA) roleplaying. I have to admit I still haven’t played a OD&D retro-clone, but I’ve run X-plorers which is a SF game heavily inspired by Swords & Wizardry and which is definitely old-school from its design.
I am currently pretty excited about running a Swords & Wizardry White Box game. So, why did I choose this game? There are mainly two reasons:
- Michael Shorten’s S&W Quick Start
Michael is my personal expert on all things old-school. When I have some questions regarding legacy D&D (especially OD&D) he’s the first person I ask. I also enjoy reading his blog, especially his solo game reports and everything about the Ultima sandbox game he’s working on.
Some time ago he has published a quick start booklet for S&W that is supposed to help new players and DMs get into old-school gaming using the Swords & Wizardry rules. I enjoyed reading this very much, so that’s one of the reasons why I slant towards S&W. - David Bezio’s X-plorers
Another game I had a lot of fun with was the aforementioned X-plorers. From David I learned that the game was heavily inspired by S&W and he also recommened me to give S&W White Box a try. In his opinion the Swords & Wizardry White Box stands out from all other retro-clones and is a game that pretty much can stand on its own. That definitely sounded interesting!
In the end my decision to use S&W is grounded on the fact that two people I hold in high regard have recommended the game to me. This doesn’t mean I am not open towards trying out the “competition” as well. 
So, what are your thought on that subject? What is your favorite D&D retro-clone and why should anyone pick that game over the others?
Ask The Readers:Dark Space
8July 17, 2009
In a recent conversation that I had with Rob Donoghue over Twitter I learned about Dark Space. Dark Space was a campaign setting that Monte Cook created back in the early 1990s for Rolemaster and Spacemaster.
Dark Space is a complete campaign setting well as a unique combination of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Contained within are detailed descriptions of twenty different worlds and the society that binds them together. Organizations, religions and governments of this fantasy/high tech society are included as well as a number of new races and beasts unique to the setting.
Source: RPGnet
That’s about as much as I could find about this campaign. But the combination of these different genres looks pretty interesting, alas Dark Space has been out-of-print for quite some time. So, does anyone know if there’s still a way to get a copy of Dark Space? Is there a PDF copy somewhere, is someone selling it on eBay? Your help is appreciated.
Aside from that, do you guys know the setting and can you give me a few more details about it?
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