Monday 18 November 2013

RPG Games I am reading and like.

Interface Zero 2.

Got a pdf copy of the last draft of the rules and it is a big relief.  From some of the bits that had been leaking out, or released officially, I was growing concerned that the writer was going places I didnt like. Well he got back on track and the game looks very good.

The areas I was concerned with mostly were the Hacking rules and the Cyberware rules.

The hacking rules he finally decided to keep it simple, which I think was the right choice. So hacking in IZ2 occurs at normal speeds (not accelerated like in SR). There are 3 skills - Hacking, Know(Programming) and CyberCombat - that do most of the work. He has AI and Sprite rules that could be very interesting.

Cyberware may have actually been made too simple. The only restriction is cybertrauma, based on how much cyberware you have installed, essentially a Vigour roll that grows more difficult. But you have a free range upto your current Vigour score, it only becomes an issue if you exceed it.  What this means is that chrome will be pretty common in nearly all characters. The main limitation is actually money, good cyberware is expensive.  There are no rules for damaging cyberware at this time, but there may be some in the future.  I will probably use a roll vs total cyber stress levels, but not sure yet what the roll will be based on. Using Vigour again seems self defeating, so it may simply be a d6 roll, plus wild dice.  Maybe put in an edge to increase that roll? Maybe use Agility?

Other games that I have a liking for at present and would recommend you get.

Squawk: by Seth Galbraith and Benjamin Galbraith. 2010
I dont know how I found this game but it is very good - intelligent dinosaurs in space. Players play dinosaurs with technology, from small dinosaurs to really big ones (for pcs at least). There may be a new edition coming but not sure.  Great background story and concept.

Cog Wars by Amagi Games 2006.
You play young kids, old geezers or intelligent robots (cogs) in a huge metropolis that is plagued by Masterminds (the bad guys). The city is so big that many Masterminds can exist at once, each plotting to oppress everyone. Its NOT a kids game, even thou you can play a kid, this is a serious rpg. It is about overcoming oppression, and having hope.

Sixth World Digest Edition, based on Dungeon World engine (which is Apocalypse World engine).
A translation of Shadowrun into Dungeon World.  I really like the feel of Dungeon World and I like the feel of this game. I have always liked SR but found it a cumbersome game to play.

Technoir by Jeremy Keller
Another cybertech game, but with a unique mechanic. You needs lots of dice (ala SR) so that is a positive for me. Looks very promising.

Lonely World by Taylor White (based on Apocalypse World engine).
I both love and loath this book. Its really potentially "dark", as its a survivor after the apocalypse game, but it has an awesomely good tag - something (the enemy) destroyed the world and now doesnt care about the few survivors - unless you cause trouble.  And the enemy can be anyone you fancy, from Lucifer and his demons, to space aliens, to a virus or an AI computer. There is an option for an ending - happy or not.

Pandemonio by Rafael Chandler (new version of Dread and Spite).
I just loved Dread and Spite, brilliant concepts for a game, but suffered from differences between the two books. Pandemonio joins all the old books and gives you a solid system. Its very big 500+ pages, but one of the best concepts I have read for an rpg. Buy it just to have it.






Monday 30 September 2013

I'm overwhelmed and undertimed.

I have several rpg's I really like the look of, but really I don't have the time to play them all, let alone read them all. Lately it seems like I am buy/downloading/printing new games faster than I can read them.

Someone helped things along in G+ by posting their 100 indie games list, of which I had only seen about 15, so off I go looking at whole new game systems that might be interesting - Technoir and Donjon so far.

Currently I have a pile of books sitting around my bed that consists of the following:

Savage Suzerain: a multi-genre system of savage words that loads up the top end of the system (100+ xp) with new ways to continue playing - as demi-gods who can move between genres and times and worlds and realities.  With the base book I have the Dogs of Hades expansion and the Millensium Knights.  I will be getting the Noir expansion shortly.

Gumshoe: those bastids at humble bundle had a sale, so now I have Ashen Stars and Mutant City to read, and Ashen Stars is a big book.  I like the Gumshow system in theory, just not sure I am completely gestalting it.  I'm playing a Nights Black Agents game and its possible the GM for that may not be totally getting the point either, plus the game seems inherently frustrating as the vampires are so very powerful.

Fate (Core):  the Freeport Companion and the Ragnarok are out and I must say I really like the look of the Freeport adaption, other than the fact that they kept actual spell lists and didnt just do magic as an on the fly 'lets do magic' style.  As a conversion of D&D it stays a little too close to the structural limits of that game, which I dont want if I am playing Fate.  But the inspired idea of using the 6 traits as skills is awesome!

Streets of Bedlam Savage Worlds: wow~! This is an inspired rule set and use of the SW system.  I've quickly read it once but need to go back in and read it again.

Interface Zero and some Shadowrun books: I have started an IZ game, we have had our first session and it went pretty good. We are ironing out some house rules at present that I have thrown into the package. But we all liked the SR world better, so I decided to stay with that and convert it. The advantage of that is I can use the MASSIVE pile of SR books I have - including the two Renraku Arcology scenarios.  Why IZ? Because their Hacking rules work at the same time frame as the real world - problem solved.  Plus removing the mind bending illogicness (?) of the magic system and the astral plane frees my brain up a bit more.

Weird War Rome Savage Worlds: actually as little dissappointed with this book, I thought it would be more comprehensive, more of a Deadlands style book. However it has inspired me and my love of history to start work on an epic campaign using the Vesuvius explosion in 79AD as a starting point.

Thursday 19 September 2013

SR5 vs IZ2, Rules v Backgrounds.

I recently decided to try to re-start my roleplaying night, so I thought about what game would attract people. Shadowrun5 had just come out and I know one of my people adores that, so off went the offers. I posted to about a dozen people and got 4.5 bites, which is a pretty good result. So a date has been set and we are off.

In the next coupla weeks I picked up another player but lost the 0.5. At the same time I got back a 0.5 as a wife of one of the players has a little interest, but probably not everytime.

Then I actually thought about, and started reading the new ST5 rules... err thats a lot of reading and there's no way my people are going to read all that. So what normally happens is that I spend 2-3 sessions just explaining all the rules to sufficient level that we can play. Nahhh! Some of us are getting just a little too old, some of us have new kids, some of us can't be bothered.  The more I thought about it the more discouraged I became.

But, as fate (not Fate), would have it, Interface Zero 2.0 KSer came along using the Savage World rules, which all my players know. So because I had already used SR as a lure I compromised and announce that we will use the IZ2.0 rules (due out soon), but I would run it in Seattle using as much of the SR world as possible.  Everyone seemed ok with that, and a couple even said it was a great idea.

We won't be using Magic, we will use the psionics/zeeks rules instead and cut out all the complicated astral/spirit stuff. But where-ever possible we will retain the look and feel of the SR world, which is a really good background.

So what we will end up with is a "FFF" rule set that everyone knows (Savage) and a world background that everyone knows.  It actually sort of suggests to designers that it might be a good idea to break your background out of your game system as much as possible. Good backgrounds appeal to me regardless of the rule set they come with.

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Fate of the Norns Kickstarter rulebook


My Fate of the Norns (Kickstarter) rulebook arrived yesterday and I must say the book is BEAUTIFUL!

The colours and consistent art are brilliant, the pages are glossy and the cover awesome.

This book is sensuous (ok so I am a bit of a bookaphile).

No idea if the game is any good.

Thursday 13 June 2013

A Kickstarter Update.

A chart of how my KSers are running. Quite a few of them are still within their time frames and just because I have NO against them shoulnd be read in context.

I'm still feeling fairly optimistic about nearly all of them. The only one I have totally written off is the M.O.R.E game and that simply because they refuse to talk to their backers - you know, the people who gave them all the money.


PROJECT NAME
PROJECT STATUS
PROJECT ENDS
RECEIVED?
FUNDED!
Sunday Jun 9, 12:17pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Jun 13, 11:47am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Jun 6, 12:42pm EDT
NO
In Progress
Sunday Jun 30, 10:00pm EDT

FUNDED!
Saturday Jun 1, 11:59pm EDT
NO
In Progress
Sunday Jun 16, 2:00pm EDT

In Progress
Saturday Jun 15, 11:59pm EDT

FUNDED!
Thursday May 16, 12:08pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Jun 2, 11:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday May 30, 1:00am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Jun 13, 7:41am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday May 18, 3:32pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Apr 27, 4:14pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday May 19, 3:05pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Tuesday May 14, 11:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday May 22, 10:00pm EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Wednesday May 22, 3:00am EDT

FUNDED!
Friday Apr 26, 12:11pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday May 20, 11:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday May 13, 7:32am EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Wednesday Apr 17, 11:33am EDT

FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 14, 11:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday May 2, 9:00am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday May 1, 12:04pm EDT
PART
FUNDED!
Thursday Apr 11, 11:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Apr 8, 7:54am EDT
PART
FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 7, 10:30pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 31, 12:54pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 31, 10:04am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 31, 8:00am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Mar 30, 12:18pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Mar 29, 11:00pm EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Friday Mar 29, 12:37pm EDT

FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 14, 8:00pm EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Thursday Apr 25, 2:59pm EDT

Unsuccessful
Sunday May 5, 8:53pm EDT

FUNDED!
Wednesday Apr 17, 6:01am EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Friday Apr 26, 3:22pm EDT

FUNDED!
Thursday May 2, 6:36pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 28, 11:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 21, 8:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 31, 7:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 24, 11:59pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 31, 1:00am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 17, 9:41pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 17, 11:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Mar 18, 11:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Mar 24, 7:01pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Apr 5, 8:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Mar 20, 1:00am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Feb 28, 10:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Apr 8, 5:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Mar 16, 2:59am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Friday Feb 22, 7:50pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Mar 18, 12:00am EDT
PART
FUNDED!
Thursday Mar 14, 8:05pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Feb 26, 3:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Tuesday Apr 2, 2:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Mar 8, 4:57pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Wednesday Mar 13, 12:59am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Feb 20, 11:59pm EST
PART
FUNDED!
Thursday Feb 7, 9:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Feb 16, 7:36pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Jan 18, 6:32pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Mar 1, 8:53am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Tuesday Feb 12, 3:06pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Jan 12, 9:05pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Jan 20, 5:00pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Friday Jan 25, 2:11am EST
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jan 21, 12:59am EST
NA
Unsuccessful
Saturday Jan 19, 7:03pm EST

FUNDED!
Friday Dec 21, 12:50pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Jan 13, 9:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Jan 3, 3:00pm EST
ALPHA
FUNDED!
Tuesday Jan 8, 12:00am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Dec 19, 5:15pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Jan 21, 10:04pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jan 14, 4:44pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Jan 9, 8:26pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Dec 22, 12:00am EST
YES
FUNDED!
Thursday Jan 3, 4:33pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Jan 29, 11:00pm EST
PART
Unsuccessful
Wednesday Jan 2, 1:43pm EST

FUNDED!
Monday Dec 3, 7:00pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Wednesday Jan 2, 8:59pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Dec 29, 10:31pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Thursday Nov 29, 9:32pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Dec 19, 11:59pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Wednesday Jan 2, 9:17am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Dec 22, 1:35am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Dec 1, 4:37am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Dec 23, 11:35am EST
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Dec 4, 6:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Dec 19, 11:34am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Tuesday Dec 18, 8:01am EST
NO
Unsuccessful
Friday Dec 14, 11:58pm EST

FUNDED!
Tuesday Nov 20, 3:30pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Nov 21, 8:59pm EST
NO
Unsuccessful
Tuesday Dec 11, 8:10pm EST

FUNDED!
Wednesday Dec 5, 12:00am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Nov 14, 6:55pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Dec 7, 4:40am EST
NO
Unsuccessful
Friday Nov 30, 9:02am EST

FUNDED!
Friday Jan 4, 7:00pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Nov 17, 2:10am EST
ALPHA
FUNDED!
Monday Nov 26, 11:59pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Dec 2, 6:19am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Nov 11, 11:59pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Nov 19, 1:58pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Dec 1, 1:29pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Nov 25, 11:59pm EST
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Nov 16, 12:00am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Oct 28, 11:11pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Oct 28, 5:00pm EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Monday Nov 26, 3:01am EST

FUNDED!
Friday Oct 26, 7:47pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Nov 25, 1:59am EST
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Nov 1, 3:01am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Nov 12, 8:00pm EST
YES
FUNDED!
Friday Nov 2, 8:00pm EDT
NO
Canceled
Sunday Nov 4, 9:15pm EST

Canceled
Monday Nov 5, 1:59am EST

Unsuccessful
Sunday Oct 28, 6:19am EDT

Unsuccessful
Thursday Oct 18, 12:30pm EDT

FUNDED!
Thursday Nov 8, 6:19pm EST
YES
Unsuccessful
Wednesday Oct 17, 1:20am EDT

FUNDED!
Saturday Nov 10, 9:57am EST
PART
FUNDED!
Tuesday Oct 16, 9:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Thursday Sep 27, 11:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Sep 16, 11:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Sep 8, 8:36am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Sep 15, 2:50pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Sep 30, 11:59pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Friday Sep 14, 3:20pm EDT
ALPHA
FUNDED!
Monday Sep 3, 3:15pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Aug 19, 3:00am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Sep 9, 11:59pm EDT
ALPHA
FUNDED!
Monday Sep 17, 5:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Aug 4, 10:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Sep 4, 6:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Aug 11, 1:27pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Aug 1, 12:00am EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Aug 25, 6:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Aug 15, 6:52pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Sep 3, 11:59pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Jul 24, 11:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Thursday Aug 16, 4:04pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Thursday Aug 9, 1:00am EDT
NO
Unsuccessful
Monday Aug 13, 9:28am EDT

FUNDED!
Tuesday Aug 14, 5:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 9, 11:52pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Wednesday Jul 18, 9:15pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 2, 9:01pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Sunday Jul 22, 6:52pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 2, 2:01pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 2, 4:59pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 2, 10:36pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Wednesday Jul 25, 4:27pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jul 9, 3:54pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Jun 30, 5:00pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Tuesday Aug 14, 5:54pm EDT
YES
Unsuccessful
Wednesday Jun 20, 3:45am EDT

FUNDED!
Tuesday Jun 19, 4:31pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Monday Jun 18, 3:01pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Sunday Jun 17, 11:59pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Jul 14, 1:28pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Monday Jun 18, 12:00am EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Jun 16, 6:36pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Saturday Jun 30, 9:30pm EDT
YES
FUNDED!
Saturday Jul 14, 12:00pm EDT
NO
FUNDED!
Friday May 18, 11:59pm EDT
ALPHA
Unsuccessful
Saturday May 19, 12:02pm EDT

FUNDED!
Sunday Apr 22, 11:59pm EDT
PART
FUNDED!
Tuesday Apr 17, 8:05am EDT
NO