A Role Playing Games Blog
Just my two cents
Converting the Spouse: An Ongoing Quest – Part 1
18July 29, 2011
So my friends, I come to you in the very odd position of being married to a muggle. I don’t mean the non-magical kind, but rather the non-RPG-interested kind. I got married a couple years ago and my wife has never shown any interest in roleplaying games, or virtually anything geeky whatsoever. Actually, now that I think about it, she probably would have been one of the kids in high school that thought people like me were particularly weird (it’s odd how the heart works sometimes). I have, in the past, made attempts at remedying this OBVIOUS character flaw. Last summer, before I moved to Japan, the wife and I, attended several of the D&D 4e “Encounters”; that was a moderately good time, but my wife could never really get into it. She never really understood what was going on and the constant focus on combat-focused roleplaying simply didn’t work for her.
Now, I am unfortunately stuck in an even bigger pickle. Most of my former gaming group has now left Japan, also, with my son and wife now currently living with me again, in our very, very small Japanese style apartment, I have very little ability to bring anybody over to my place to game (and going anywhere else is pretty much out of the question as well). So, what is the answer to my pickle? How in the world will I ever get to play any roleplaying games ever again??
I think it is about time for another conversion attempt! Let the quest begin!!
What about Might of the Magus? A review…
0July 21, 2011
When I reviewed the Complete Advanced Feats, and I wished I could see an Advanced Feats type book on the Magus, I had no idea that the awesome kobold crew at Open Design were working on this book. Maybe they had announced it and I missed it, but I was really happy to see my wish become a reality. Sigfried Trent worked his magic once again and produced a great and concise overview of the new class presented in the Ultimate Magic book for the Pathfinder RPG (and like I mentioned in this post available in the Pathfinder Reference Document) with 30 new feats and three character builds. This book is excellent for the new player wishing to explore a class that combines magic and might, or even an experience player wishing to explore all the new options, with concise practical advice, neat options for the player who enjoys tinkering with builds, and the sample builds are great NPCs usable in any campaign. Actually a great way to introduce the Magus into a game!
If some of you are scratching your heads and saying, “Well this isn’t exactly a timely review!” You are right, the gracious folk at Open Design had provided a review copy on PDF of this book some weeks ago and I had been unable to review it. I apologize to them, real life has just not let up, and I hope that this is a better late than never situation and I can do my part to spread the word of this excellent supplement. How awesome is it? Read on to find out…
What about Kobold Quarterly #18? A review…
2July 19, 2011
Ah the change of seasons, the passing of time. Maddening heat and unending rain have descended upon my tropical island paradise, but there is another sign that summer is here. The new issue of Kobold Quarterly is out. Michael posted about this here, and the publishers were so kind as to provide the blog with a review copy. Since he knows I love fantasy, and I’m in a very bad need of a fix since I’ve been playing supers for over six months now (and I love it, but I miss my wizards and dragons), he let me review it… Happy blogger!
I review a lot of Open Design books, and I make no qualms about admitting how much I enjoy their products. I am a Pathfinder fan true and true, and well they simply publish so many awesome books for my favorite fantasy RPG I can’t help myself. The 18th issue of Kobold Quarterly does not disappoint. This issue weights in at 100 pages with content not only for the Pathfinder RPG but to the other two big players in the fantasy RPG field, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Ed and the newcomer AGE system from Green Ronin. I am a fan of AGE as well and I am happy to see more options for fantasy RPG lovers out there and I applaud Open Design for supporting it. It’s chock full of goodies…
Want to learn more? Read on…
Digital Crits and Fumbles!
0July 12, 2011
If you are a Pathfinder RPG fan like me you might already know this, but just in case you missed it, Paizo launched applications based on their Critical Hit Deck and Critical Fumble Decks for your iPad or iPhone. The iCrit and iFumble (I’ve read some criticism of the names, but what the heck it’s an iWorld after all!) are digital versions of the real deal. If you own the decks they may not seem that useful, BUT they keep you from having to take the decks along to the game, and at $1.99 they are cheaper than the real thing.
I already do most of my GMing digitally so these are no brainers for me. I also own this Pathfinder SRD app which lets me plan for the game from my phone. That coupled with PDF readers and dice rolling apps make my life so much easier. With two iPhones and two iPads among me and my players I have a feeling these little apps will see a lot of use when we go back to playing Pathfinder.
A Non-Review of Mutants & Masterminds/DC Adventures
4July 6, 2011
This is not going to be an official review of Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition/DC ADVENTURES (M&M/DCA). It’s not going to be a review because after recently gamemastering my first game of M&M/DCA I still don’t have a firm grasp of all the mechanics. Once I do I will come back and do a proper review for this game. Till then think of this as a non-review review, of my first attempt at gamemastering M&M/DCA.I will say this about M&M/DCA, my party has never laughed so much during a single gaming session and I think that says something about the game itself. From my first attempt at running this kind of game it is clear that it is not as rules heavy as Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition is. My players where able to focus more on the story and worry far less about dice rolls. They all loved it.
As my gaming party showed up for our weekly game night know one knew which RPG we would be playing. No one had any prep and no one had any character sheets. I thought it might make for a better surprise if we just jumped in and I think that worked.
What about Street of Zobeck and Alleys of Zobeck? A pair of reviews…
5June 27, 2011
The folk at Open Design are kind enough to keep sending review copies of their excellent products, and I just cannot stop reading them. Are they trying to get me to read nothing but their stuff? Not that I am complaining. They produce some outstanding products for my fantasy game of choice (now let’s all say it together, the Pathfinder RPG) and I really enjoy their books. This time around I’m doing a pair of reviews of two related products.
They are part of the Midgard Campaign Setting, their campaign world (and current patronage product), and continue to flesh out what has proven to be a fascinating setting, full of interesting ideas, whether you want to run it as is or you want inspiration for your homebrewed campaign. I reviewed PDF copies of both books. Streets of Zobeck is a 94 page (90 pages of actual content) adventure anthology full of locations, NPCs and new rules of the gritty fantasy variety. I was impressed by the layout, art and tone; it all reeks of the seedier elements of fantasy. There are some adult topics here (prostitution for example), but nothing that seems gratuitous or uncalled for, it’s fitting, gritty and dark.
Want to learn more? Read on…
Gaming Disappointments: “Perry Rhodan – Das Rollenspiel”
2June 22, 2011
With the majority of games I bought over the years I was quite happy with. Of course not every game was up to my expectations but in most I didn’t feel totally disappointed. Heck, even though I criticize D&D 4th Edition from time to time, it was far from the most disappointing game I ever bought.
This questionable honor falls to the German roleplaying game “Perry Rhodan – Das Rollenspiel” which has been released in 2004. In order to understand why this game was such a major disappointment I have to start back in the early 80s.
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