I finished "Of Dice and Men" a few weeks ago. I enjoyed learning about the back story of D&D and TSR. Its principle failing is in the lack of discussion of the Open Source release and the resulting blossoming of clones. I think any truly objective discussion of D&D's history must include the release of the SRD and all that grew from it. Pathfinder is currently the major path for D20 enthusiasts. Its success is a strong indictment of the mistakes made by TSR/WoC, their misreading of the des
...More
I finished Gygax's "Role Playing Mastery". Worth the read. I enjoyed reading his thoughts on the matter. Good advice. Not Gospel.
Ordered the Mindjammer book/pdf today. I've been reading Sarah Newton's book of the same name. I already have her "Future Earth" BRP supplement and am looking forward to the release of the new RQ6 version of same. She's a talented author with some good and interesting ideas. Fate Core interests me. I look forward to seeing what it feels like in play. So
...More
Getting deeper into Pathfinder. It is good to be able to use multiple systems. It is what is being played by the folks available to play. The story telling aspect is key, what transcends and gives life to any rules set. Existing play base will afford opportunity to get back into GMing and build trust (if I deserve it) when I offer different styles of play (Traveller, RuneQuest, Bethorm). D20 still kind of makes my skin crawl, but the play is fun and that is what counts. Also, I continue
...More
I am currently reading and enjoying "Of Dice and Men", the story of how D&D came to be and has evolved over the years. I found it hard to put down last night.
Come next month, I think I will buy the Classic Traveller CD-Rom from FFE. Perhaps it is the nostalgia invoked by reading about the origins of the hobby. Perhaps it is my dissatisfaction with the several incarnations that came after it. I seem to have missed out on being able to by the reprints from FFE. So it goes.
I've been immersed in "all things" RuneQuest of late. The "fantasy" genre holds sway in my imagination. With the completion of my desired library of Tekumel material, I will now work to master MRQII/Legend/RQ6 through the RQ6 sandbox "Monster Island". Eventual plan is to run a RQ6 campaign in Tekumel. I think the RQ6 system will nicely support Tekumel's combat and magic, certainly the importance of religions and clans to social position and survival.
I recently dug up a couple of old dungeons that I designed back in the day. Was still flush with the excitement of the Little White Box of D&D books. The first was four levels. The second was six. Even found some player character sheets that prove I actually did GM them. Those were fun days...er, nights, actually. No worries about context or big campaigns. Just bizarre dungeons into which we waded and hoped to survive long enough to reach that lofty third or fourth level. Slimes, traps,
...More
ThornPlutonius's Blog
June 1st, 2014 09:32 AM 