$40 for a big boxed set didn't sound crazy at all, and I ALMOST splurged on it yesterday...but I just didn't.

It was mostly the booster pack thing that unsold me, honestly.

Still, it was darn tempting.

No other point to this post, really...=P

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;412927$40 for a big boxed set didn't sound crazy at all, and I ALMOST splurged on it yesterday...but I just didn't.

It was mostly the booster pack thing that unsold me, honestly.

Still, it was darn tempting.

I played the Gamma World game day module two Saturdays ago at a nearby gaming store.  I was tempted to buy the box set, but didn't in the end.

I knew that it would most likely end up sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust, without ever being played again.  Over the last while, I've been trying to avoid buying gaming stuff which ends up collecting dust on my shelves or in storage.

As another old time Gamma nut, I too am still holding off.  I'm Glad to see the game back in print and I don't feel the booster card are an issue for me. It's just that I already have various editions of Gamma World.  If I do feel the urge to run Gamma World it's just easier to stick with waht I already know and which sort of works. The time I would have to spent learning the new rules I could spend on the campaign itself.

If I really wanted to explore a new system for Gamma World, I'd be more tempted by the unofficial Savage Worlds version. I think that would make a good match.

That said, you never know.

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;412927It was mostly the booster pack thing that unsold me, honestly.

Don't let that stop you. Honestly. These are completely optional. Read my first impressions by checking out the link in my sig (pics included). I'm reading through it right now and I'm really, really liking what I see.

For the Gamma World game day thing, we played it without any additional booster packs.

Quote from: Benoist;412931Don't let that stop you. Honestly. These are completely optional.

Gabe at Penny Arcade addressed the "booster packs" issue on the PA site here. This is the specific portion of the post:

Quote from: Gabe at Penny ArcadeI've seen this sentiment echoed in other places as well. People seem to think that Gamma World is a CCG and that's simply not the case. You do not ever need to buy a booster pack to play the game. Like I said it comes with two decks full of mutations and tech cards. If you decide that you would like to build your own decks to draw from then yes, you can go and purchase booster packs. You are not at a disadvantage if you don't though because this is not a competitive game.

Hm.

Honestly, the moment has probably passed now, as I was in the store, with it sitting right there, and had cash in hand...and said store is an hour's drive out of my way now...so we'll see.

Good to know the boosters aren't so bad...and don't get me wrong, it's not the "booster" aspect that bothers me. It's the part where they are sealed and random that does it...(I've never complained about supplements, that I can recall).

For me the cards are a turn off, people keep saying you don't need them, so why the boosters?  Confusing and unecessary.  

There is something else that puts me off though, in everything I've read about this it seems to revel in the fact that you will die, a lot.  I played GW a lot back in the day and I don't remember death being a big part of the game.  I mean PC's died but it wasn't a core part of the game.  The level of mortality in this new version coupled with the max level of 10 seems doomed to give a type of playing experience which doesn't allow the player to get to know his character.  Sure you can roll up another PC quick but whats the point?  If the character is going to die again next session it's just a set of numbers who cares.  It sounds more like Paranoia without the handy clones waiting in the wings.

The whole thing about powers changing all the time as well!  WTF is that about?

I would like to buy this as although I don't like 4th ed as a D&D game I've said from day 1 to my group that it would make a kick ass superpowers type game.  Which is what this new version of GW appears to be.

Please correct me if anything I've said is not your experience of the game as I would like to buy it!  

Based on everything I've seen and heard so far though it doesn't sound like our cup of tea...

Quote from: Benoist;412931Don't let that stop you. Honestly. These are completely optional. Read my first impressions by checking out the link in my sig (pics included). I'm reading through it right now and I'm really, really liking what I see.

I'll be reading your future posts on this with great interest.

Quote from: Tommy Brownell;412936Good to know the boosters aren't so bad...and don't get me wrong, it's not the "booster" aspect that bothers me. It's the part where they are sealed and random that does it...(I've never complained about supplements, that I can recall).

I understand. The thing to clearly point out is that you've got 80 non-random cards included with the game itself, and that it is entirely fine to just use this deck in your Gamma World game without ever buying a single booster pack or building custom decks for each player. At all. Ever.

You can also completely house rule the use of the cards in the game out by simply stating: "we do not use the Alpha Mutation and Omega Tech cards at this game table." Boom. Done. Then, either you use the Mutation effects whenever and however you feel like it at your game table as DM, and/or use the Omega Tech cards basically as equipment fodder for your game. I'll be going more into alternate uses for the cards in the game on the Gamma Whirl blog I just created.

Quote from: EBM;412942I'll be reading your future posts on this with great interest.

Excellent! Duly noted, and very glad to be of service.

Quote from: EBM;412941For me the cards are a turn off, people keep saying you don't need them, so why the boosters?  Confusing and unecessary.  

There is something else that puts me off though, in everything I've read about this it seems to revel in the fact that you will die, a lot.  I played GW a lot back in the day and I don't remember death being a big part of the game.  I mean PC's died but it wasn't a core part of the game.  The level of mortality in this new version coupled with the max level of 10 seems doomed to give a type of playing experience which doesn't allow the player to get to know his character.  Sure you can roll up another PC quick but whats the point?  If the character is going to die again next session it's just a set of numbers who cares.  It sounds more like Paranoia without the handy clones waiting in the wings.

No, it's not really like Paranoia. Bear with me: there's a completely different approach to mortality in the GW game. Basically your HP total (which does NOT represent Health at all but a combination of skill, endurance, and such) replenishes itself after each encounter in the game. So the PCs can get killed for sure, but more by really mishandling an encounter or really getting piled on than just not having access to healing or whatnot. The logic's just different.

Quote from: EBM;412941The whole thing about powers changing all the time as well!  WTF is that about?

At the beginning of each encounter the players are supposed to draw an Alpha Mutation card from a deck. The effects are stuff like adrenaline rushes, layers of carapace spontaneously thickening your skin, that kind of thing. It keep things dynamic and changes the circumstances of each encounter you face, so no fight against a bunch of Porkers will ever feel the same.

I think it can be fun to play the game that way, but then again, maybe you'll want to ration the use of Mutation cards just houserule them out completely, both of which seems completely fine in the game. That is, you can for instance state that drawing cards from the Alpha Mutation deck is triggered by specific mutagene zones in the game. If the PCs don't get close to the mutagene element, they don't draw cards. Or maybe the mutations are triggered by the players' emotions, like "HULK ANGRY" effects you judge on the spot as a GM.

There are different ways of handling it. Now the "draw a card per encounter" is the base paradigm of the game, but it's really not hard to modify this in the game.

Quote from: Benoist;412948There are different ways of handling it. Now the "draw a card per encounter" is the base paradigm of the game, but it's really not hard to modify this in the game.

Or take different approaches in different games. In a more serious, longer term game, I plan to house rule the cards. In a one or two night get together, I plan to go with the rules as written.

Seanchai

Quote from: Seanchai;412952Or take different approaches in different games. In a more serious, longer term game, I plan to house rule the cards. In a one or two night get together, I plan to go with the rules as written.

Seanchai

That's what I'd do too. Different approaches for different games and players. Starting with the rules as written clearly seems to be a good way to start, especially to figure out how the game plays, as opposed to the way it looks on the page, to then adjust whatever specifics needs adjustments to the group's tastes and play style.

As mentioned elsewhere, the PvP comic tempted me; news of how mutations are handled un-tempted me.