RPG A Day 2017 Blog Day 19

The Best Writing?

I will give you three books that I enjoy:

Spirit of 77 by David Kizza and Bob Richardson:

The writers at Monkeyfun Studios are quickly becoming my favorites. They have a great sense of humor and fun, but also explain the gameplay mechanics in a way that is easy to understand. The setting is in a wild version of the 1970s, and the game is powered by Apacolypse. I have only run one session but everyone was into it, and I could see myself running a few one-shots or a short campaign with what is provided.

7th Sea 2nd edition by John Wick and various:

The 2nd edition series has so much good stuff in it that it becomes overwhelming. The core book has everything that you will need to play and run campaigns. I would like to credit the other writers, but my books are not with me, and Wick is captain of the ship anyway. I really enjoy reading the various books that have been released, but in this case there may be a bit too much of a good thing.

Ryuutama by Okada*Sanchez*Kitkowski

My favorite *newish* RPG to read. The layout is nice and fun to read, the rules are explained in a way that is easy to understand, and the flavor that is there will open your mind up to many ideas that you may overlook in the traditional American RPG. The book has been translated from Japanese, but is more a Japanese take on Western fantasy than Asian mythology, but if you do decide to read the book you will see immediately that there is something different--I say special--about it.

That is it for today. I know I am preaching to the choir--a small choir when it comes to my blog entries--but, I know I am not the only one who reads these rulebooks for pleasure. Sometimes I read books and I know right away that I will never be able to find players, but I keep reading them anyway....that is how good some of these writers are.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog (Day 3, 4 and 5 catch up)

Easy answers on these topics.

How do I find out about new RPGs?

Mostly on Kickstarter for brand new stuff and on the company official sites for product continuation. Last year I backed far too many projects. I hope to slow down on that this year.

What have I played the most since August 2016?

Gotta be a toss up between D&D 5E and 7th Sea 2nd. The live table for D&D and running an online Roll*20 game for 7th Sea. We played at least once a week aside from holidays in both campaigns. My DM managed to finish our D&D campaign on time before the big summer break...I very nearly completed my 7th Sea run just missing a couple of side quests and a treasure hunt before the group finally imploded....who knows what will happen 2017-2018 after summer break I will have to sift through the ashes.

Which RPG cover best captures the spirit of the game?

I am going to go with 7th Sea 2nd for this one. The cover artwork is very cinematic and makes one want to play in a swahbuckling adventure. The covers for most of D&D 5E material are pretty good too.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog Day 18

What RPG Have You Played the Most in Your Life?

Wish it was not the easy/boring answer, but it has to be Dungeons and Dragons. As far as editions go--2nd edition and 5th edition have gotten the most playtime. I was on a bit of a hiatus during 3rd and a bit too young for the earlier editions of the game, but no doubt D&D has been the go to game throughout my life. I have tried other systems, ran other systems, and in certain ways found them to be superior to old reliable, but at the end of the day--unless you get lucky--most players can find common ground in D&D. Almost everyone has a PHB...not everyone is going to pick up a Ryuutama or a Spirit of 77 nor be inclined to learn a new rule-set even if they have access to the games. Is this a bad thing? It sometimes keeps me from getting to try something new, but quite frankly, I am always glad to get in gametime no matter how well-worn the game may be.

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RPG a Day 2017 Day 2 (catch up)

What RPG would you like to see published?

I backed too many kickstarters this past year. I am anxiously awaiting the publication of:


Goodman Games: Mutant Crawl Classics
Monkeyfun Studios: Bedlam Hall
Journey to Ragnarok--forgot the company, but it is Norse based campaign for D&D5E

This year I have vowed to stop backing theRse things...but only time will tell.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog Day 1 (catch up)

I plan to catch up on questions that I missed this month and there is no better place to start than with Day 1:

What published RPG do you wish you were playing right now?

I have the feeling that I will be mentioning this game a lot over the upcoming blog entries. The game is Ryuutama. I was able to half-way run a one-shot back at Roll20 Con a couple of months ago. I wouldnt call it my finest hour as GM, but it was still a lot of fun. The game comes from Japan originally, but the setting is fantasy ala D&D. The journey from land to land is highly emphaised--and quite dangerous for the light-hearted tone of the setting overall. The combat/journey/character creation/city creation/world creation give opprotunities for both players and the gm to be as creative as they want to be. It gives the players agency, but not in an annoying way. I am giving serious though to running a full campaign using this system as the cornerstone for my next Roll*20 endeavors...that being said, I am not sure what my RPG schedule is going to look like for the 2017-2018 season, but I have the feeling I will be cutting back a bit, but that is possibly a discussion/opinion for another entry.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017 Day 17

Which RPG have you owned the longest but have not played?

With all the downloadable PDFs available today, I have virtual stacks of games that I have never been able to play. There is one game from the late 90s--if I remember correctly--that I still have around the house and still want to play. The name of the game: Tinkers Damn. It was/is a very open-ended rules light game that took place in an anime style setting. The book--independent publisher obviously--went for their own system and featured anthromorphic animal type characters the drawings of which were fairly decent, cute style. Generally speaking, the game was a bit unpolished leaving the players and GM plenty of room for improvisation and rule clarification. That might be the main reason we never played it. I would still like to give it a try someday.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017 Day 16

Just realized I was late to the RPG a day party. Running around on vacation in my home state of Georgia and various other venues as far away as Quebec has kept me away from my keyboard--not to mention that I am stuck using a little mini-tablet that I do not fully understand how to use--say goodbye to contractions. I will probably go back and address the previous topics as I have time, but for now it is day16 and--Which RPG do you enjoy playing as is?

I can play 5th edition as written with very little alterations needed. Nothing wrong with it. That being said, in every group I have ever run or played with every game we have ever played has been altered in one way or another. We often bring in rules that have worked well in previous editions--when it comes to D&D--and even from diverse systems. I do not remember a time--even playing straight board games as a kid with my brother--when we have not made an alteration of some kind.

Alright, feet are wet again. I will look over the list and see if I missed anything particularly interesting.

Mark

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