Hey guys! Missed ya a little :D
Haven't been on very often. Most of my gaming has been done with boardgames as well as playing in a 3.0 campaign. At the time I stopped looking regularly at RPGsite, 4th edition was the big thing. It seems it is still being discussed.
Are there other new games that have come out I should check out? Or that will soon come out? Big, small, indie, not indie, whatever. As long as it's not stupidly ultra-focused (you play japanese schoolgirls trying to throw parties or some shit).
Preferably looking for what's new in fantasy, supers and science-fiction of all kinds.
Oh, and generic engines! Last significant one I was aware of was the new BRP and that doesn't interests me, but I could really use a new one.
And lastly, I don't mind hearing about new .pdfs but I'm really looking for stuff that's in print (or will soon be) and at the LGS.
Thanks in advance!
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261079Oh, and generic engines! Last significant one I was aware of was the new BRP and that doesn't interests me, but I could really use a new one.
Margaret Weis Productions has released the PDF version of the
Cortex System Role Playing Game.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=58488&filters=0_0_0&manufacturers_id=116
In print, but not in the LGS: In Harm's Way: Dragons! (http://www.lulu.com/content/4642127)
Might interest you.
-clash
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261079Are there other new games that have come out I should check out? Or that will soon come out? Big, small, indie, not indie, whatever. As long as it's not stupidly ultra-focused (you play japanese schoolgirls trying to throw parties or some shit).
Preferably looking for what's new in fantasy, supers and science-fiction of all kinds.
Oh, and generic engines! Last significant one I was aware of was the new BRP and that doesn't interests me, but I could really use a new one.
4th Edition GURPS Thaumatology qualifies as a toolkit to create a whole new game.
Stolze has a new REIGN supplement that was up for ransom recently. If you haven't looked at "One Roll Engine," and "Token Effort," I recommend them.
Thanks for the responses, guys!
Not much that excites me here, or is available in print near me :(
But I am interested in learning why/how GURPS Thaumatology could be used as a toolkit to create entirely new games. Is it a sort of new effect-based system or something?
By browsing at various threads, I also found that Starsiege was released. That might be interesting!
Anything else? It's been a long time since I acquired a new RPG.
I'm looking to get Hellas (http://www.hellasrpg.com/joomla/). It'll hit the shelves of my FLGS...some year, I'm sure.
Seanchai
Oh, I'm liking the sound of Eclipse Phase (http://eclipsephase.com/), too.
Seanchai
FtA!GN! is now available (see my .sig for more info).
RPGPundit
Hellas is still on track? Fuckin' A!
I remember when I first heard about it, thinking this might be good material for the Fading Suns-inspired campaign I have had in mind for a long time. Plus, I like the OMNI system.
Eclipse Phase... now that one looks like one of the rare games I might play "as is". Awesome! Apparently, it's coming in 2009 so patience will be required.
Thanks Seanchai!
BTW, has anyone tried Desolation (http://www.desolationrpg.com/)? I've always been intrigued by the ubiquity system. Is this gimmicky? Average? Best thing since sliced bread?
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261354Hellas is still on track? Fuckin' A!
Kind of. It's out - at least to the folks who got it at GenCON. The rest of the run has apparently been printed and is being shipped to the US as we speak, from what I understand.
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261354Eclipse Phase... now that one looks like one of the rare games I might play "as is". Awesome! Apparently, it's coming in 2009 so patience will be required.
Best of all, it's being put out by a company that already has products on the market, thus lowering it's chance of being vaporware. Plus the art is sweet.
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261354Thanks Seanchai!
Are you sure you didn't mean to thank Seanachai?
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261354BTW, has anyone tried Desolation (http://www.desolationrpg.com/)? I've always been intrigued by the ubiquity system. Is this gimmicky? Average? Best thing since sliced bread?
I heard it was pretty average, so I skipped it. But that's just based on what I heard.
Seanchai
I'm reading the PDF of Hellas off and on as I have time.It's a HUGE book, and I can't wait for a print copy.
Beyond that there have been small things to look forward too but "not quite out.." like D&D's book of Martial Power, the Dragon Warriors new game and so on.
Recently got Cold City, Hot War, Resolute, EsoTerrorists, Colonial Gothic, Houses of the Blooded and Mortal Coil in PDF form.
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261354Hellas is still on track?
I picked up a copy at GenCon. It is a big, beautiful book! Lots of great art, ideas and, to me, it oozes cool.
Spione looks pretty good, but I'm told it's not an RPG.
In a Wicked Age has a lot of the indie world abuzz.
I'd like to play both.
Quote from: droog;261440Spione looks pretty good, but I'm told it's not an RPG.
Never been impressed with the author. I'd rather try
Wilderness of Mirrors.
Quote from: droog;261440In a Wicked Age has a lot of the indie world abuzz.
Does it still?
I thought
In a Wicked Age was the new
Red Box Hack and that
3:16 was the new
In a Wicked Age? Or in other words, that the new indie buzz was
3:16?
Actually, I haven't seen 3:16 but that's one indie game that intrigues me. Haven't had much luck with indie games since
Cold City, so I'm weary of purchasing it. My ass is still sore from having bought
Shock, which
almost justifies by itself all the contempt Pundit has for the scene.
Can you say anything about
3:16? Would help a great deal :)
On the old school front:
Rob Conley has released Points of Light, a very slim volume of four small Wilderlands-style sandbox areas. The product is system-neutral and packed with content. For 48 pages and $13, it's a whole lot.
Matt Finch has launched his OD&D simulacrum system, Swords & Wizardry. I have little interest in the game itself (although the cover art is a thing of beauty), but the ancillary products are very high in quality. There is Eldritch Weirdness, a brief five-page compendium of 30 magic spells, but for being a short product, it is also damn useful. The second one I'd recommend is City Encounters, which has a huuuuge table of 600 paragraph-length random encounters/events for adventuring in a large, sinful fantasy city. Finally, there is Tomb of the Iron God, a dungeon adventure -- a bit more meat and potatoes than I usually like, but definitely interesting.
Carcosa is a controversial alt OD&D supplement by long-time Dragonsfoot poster Geoffrey. It is in many respects the best old school material to have ever been produced (and better than many of the original greats); on the other hand, it goes waaaaay over the line in the gruesomeness of black magic. Approach with care, or purchase the expurgated edition in November.
Fight on! is now nearing the release of its third issue; the first was 32 pages, the second 88, and this one is going to be over that (and perfect bound). Another fanzine with a similar theme named Knockspell is also in the works, edited by James Maliszewski. Details have been sparse there, but I think it will release pretty soon. It will be interesting to see how the approaches differ. The final result could be fragmentation or healthy competition; we will see how it goes.
These have been the most interesting projects lately.
Quote from: Consonant Dude;261464Never been impressed with the author. I'd rather try Wilderness of Mirrors.
Oh, I quite like RE's games. I have them all except
Elfs. But I can see that you're actually more hip to what's going on in Indieland then me.
3:16, can't help, dude. It's way down the list for me; probably a genre thing.
Waiting to get my hands on Hellas. If I'm not mistaken Balbinus has taken In A Wicked Age for a spin. Another game which I'm gonna' get.
Edit : And what's 3:16 ?
Regards,
David R
I'm very interested in seeing the Mouse Guard rpg coming out.
You will find 3:16 here (http://www.boxninja.com/). It's about being Starship Troopers turned up to 11, as I understand it.
:evillaugh: Yes please.
Regards,
David R
You people need to get your priorities straight. Squirrels in Space :The Squirrel Cage just came out and Freedom Squirrels: Nuts to the 70s has been out for a month or so. Oh, and Roma Imperious True20 may fall in the realm of new for the OP but you don't play squirrels in it so...
Arise Squine!
Bill
Quote from: droog;261524You will find 3:16 here (http://www.boxninja.com/). It's about being Starship Troopers turned up to 11, as I understand it.
Wow, that looks pretty cool. Anybody play it yet?
I'm also interested in Hot War and 3:16. Someday I'll organize another IPR shopping trip...
Seanchai
Quote from: mhensley;261550Wow, that looks pretty cool. Anybody play it yet?
Yep, quite a few times.*
You are badass space marines out to
destroy all life in the universe. The mechanics are super-clear, super-easy to use and really do make the game zip along at a fair old pace.
One of the great things about 3:16 is that you can sit down with a bunch of people and be playing within a couple of minutes. The GM picks a planet name, picks an alien, picks and alien ability. The players select the Fight and Non-Fighting abilities for their trooper, make up names and reputations (or other people shout reputations at you) and away you go.
Great fun.
Cheers
Malc
*In the interests of full disclosure, I helped playtest the game and am also a close friend of the author. Regardless of that, it's a great game.
Quote from: Seanchai;261601I'm also interested in Hot War and 3:16. Someday I'll organize another IPR shopping trip...
Seanchai
Both quality choices. Totally different play experiences, but both excellent in their own ways. Of course, I would be guaranteed to say that about Hot War.
Cheers
Malc
Houses of the Blooded, Houses of the Blooded, Houses of the Blooded... I like it, it's fun and clever.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;261734Houses of the Blooded, Houses of the Blooded, Houses of the Blooded... I like it, it's fun and clever.
Another one I'm interested in...
Seanchai
Quote from: droog;261440Spione looks pretty good, but I'm told it's not an RPG.
In a Wicked Age has a lot of the indie world abuzz.
I'd like to play both.
I was disappointed by Spione in actual play, I felt it failed to deliver on a number of levels really, in particular it lacked support at the endgame and I thought left us pretty much unsupported in trying to achieve a satisfying end to the shared narrative.
IaWA I've not played, but I own and I think looks tremendous.
Quote from: Seanchai;261886Another one I'm interested in...
Seanchai
Really? I was put off by John Wick designing it as a reaction to his perception of D&D, which as best I can tell is based on nothing resembling the text of D&D as written or the experience of it as played by the vast majority of its fans.
Quote from: Balbinus;262254Really? I was put off by John Wick designing it as a reaction to his perception of D&D, which as best I can tell is based on nothing resembling the text of D&D as written or the experience of it as played by the vast majority of its fans.
To be fair, it's a small part of the intro chapter and pertains to the way he played one game at the RPGA. He also associates the D&D character with Conan and the HotB character with Elric, making many comparisons, etc.
The antagonistic D&D part of his design helps introduce mechanical differences between his game and the most popular RPG out there.
The PDF is well worth the $5 and getting past the intro (if you find it unsavory) is easy enough. Or try the preview PDF, which is what I've been using to introduce the game to my monday night group (which consists of avid D&D players, among other game systems).
Quote from: Balbinus;262254Really? I was put off by John Wick designing it as a reaction to his perception of D&D, which as best I can tell is based on nothing resembling the text of D&D as written or the experience of it as played by the vast majority of its fans.
John sent me a demo copy many months ago by email. It was unfinished but well fleshed out at this point.
I was very much impressed. For the people who dislike him or his work, what I'm about to say might not mean much but this is truly his best work ever.
I totally understand how the basis which inspired the creation of HotB can turn people off. As an avid, long time D&D player, I have to say his idea of D&D is extremely weird to me.
But if you look at the point of arrival (HotB) and ignore the seed of the idea, I think you'll find
at least an interesting game, which might or might not be your cup of coffee.
For me, it's game book I definitely want on my gaming shelf. A must buy. Which happens (literally)
maybe once a year in the last 5-6 years in my case. Can't wait to get it, especially since my main computer is kaput and I am deprived of the demo.
Despite the words of praise, I must say the game concepts have a strong flavor and some of the choices were odd to me. I kept on flipping opinion as to whether I would run this thing (as is) or not. But as a worse case scenario, I thought the ratio of great ideas per page, things you can lift off or adapt to other games, or get ideas from... was extremely high.
Hope you'll get a chance to take at least a quick look. I would be curious to know what you think.
Quote from: Balbinus;262254Really? I was put off by John Wick designing it as a reaction to his perception of D&D, which as best I can tell is based on nothing resembling the text of D&D as written or the experience of it as played by the vast majority of its fans.
Hasn't John Wick gone on record as despising D&D and the people who play it, multiple times?
If so, that's a pretty boneheaded thing to base an RPG on.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;262387Hasn't John Wick gone on record as despising D&D and the people who play it, multiple times?
If so, that's a pretty boneheaded thing to base an RPG on.
RPGPundit
Yes. It's expressly an anti-D&D.
That said, Consonant Dude says that despite it's origins it's actually turned out ok, which carries weight with me. But the background is that he created it as a response to his own frankly bizzaro idea of what D&D is which idea is based as best I can tell on pure prejudice.
The Barbarians of Lemuria is written, playtested and just awaiting the last of the artwork. It should be out in pdf by mid-November and in print by the end of the month.
The Barbarians of Lemuria is written, playtested and just awaiting the last of the artwork. It should be out in pdf by mid-November and in print by the end of the month.
The Barbarians of Lemuria should be out mid-November in pdf. and by the end of the month in print.
The Barbarians of Lemuria should be out in pdf by mid-November and in print by the end of November.
Simon W
The Barbarians of Lemuria should be out in pdf by mid-November and in print by the end of November.
Simon W
The Barbarians of Lemuria should be out in pdf by mid-November and at the end of the month in print.
Simon W
I wish someone knew something about The Barbarians of Lemuria.
:mischief[1]:
Methinks Simon was having trouble whilst posting... :D
-clash
Either that or he's really, really pleased that the pdf is coming out soon.
Quote from: Caesar Slaad;262667I wish someone knew something about The Barbarians of Lemuria.
:mischief[1]:
I have seen a free product by the same name; it was a neat system for playing sword&sorcery-style fantasy based on some Lin Carter (?) stories. It may be the same thing.
[edit]Link for the curious (http://www.geocities.com/barbariansoflemuria/)[/edit]
Quote from: Melan;262689I have seen a free product by the same name; it was a neat system for playing sword&sorcery-style fantasy based on some Lin Carter (?) stories. It may be the same thing.
[edit]Link for the curious (http://www.geocities.com/barbariansoflemuria/)[/edit]
Methinks Melan missed the point... :D
-clash
Quote from: Balbinus;262254Really? I was put off by John Wick designing it as a reaction to his perception of D&D, which as best I can tell is based on nothing resembling the text of D&D as written or the experience of it as played by the vast majority of its fans.
I'm uninterested in The Wick and his ideas about how he's going to make D&D better, make a better version of D&D, etc.. But I can ignore all that and just read and play the game I buy. It's possible it'll be good despite all the pseudo-intellectual wankery.
Seanchai
Quote from: flyingmice;262706Methinks Melan missed the point... :D
:heh:
Quote from: Caesar Slaad;262667I wish someone knew something about The Barbarians of Lemuria.
:mischief[1]:
I've just got back in from work and I see this!
I feel really stoopid.:o
Yes, Clash, I was really having problems this morning, I was not intending to take over this thread. Sorry if it looks like it.
Can we get back to normal please?
Goodbye and out.
Quote from: Simon W;262728I've just got back in from work and I see this!
I feel really stoopid.:o
Yes, Clash, I was really having problems this morning, I was not intending to take over this thread. Sorry if it looks like it.
Can we get back to normal please?
Goodbye and out.
No problem, Simon! It's a cool game, and worth a little extra boosting! :D
Of course I've never done dumb stuff like that... Wait! Does search work on this site! Crap! :O
-clash
Quote from: RPGPundit;262387Hasn't John Wick gone on record as despising D&D and the people who play it, multiple times?
If so, that's a pretty boneheaded thing to base an RPG on.
Does this mean we won't see a Pundit-written version of World of Darkness?
Because that might be funny. :D
Didn't Monte Cook already do that?
Quote from: droog;262815Didn't Monte Cook already do that?
Yes, he did.
RPGPundit
Quote from: droog;262815Didn't Monte Cook already do that?
Monte Cook didn't despise the people who played.
Rein*Hagen despised Monte Cook, and everyone else in the universe. Thus Rein*Hagen despised Monte Cook, Sam Chupp, and many other folks.
Monte Cook's introduction to his version of the WoD contains some good notes on why game designers who center their lives on contempt and hatred for others make for such an interesting world, and why Rein*Hagen became less fascinating to most of his former co-workers as time went on.
Quote from: riprock;263841Monte Cook's introduction to his version of the WoD contains some good notes on why game designers who center their lives on contempt and hatred for others make for such an interesting world, and why Rein*Hagen became less fascinating to most of his former co-workers as time went on.
That's first time I hear about that. Care to share any details? Or was this discussed in a thread I could find? :)
Quote from: Consonant Dude;263849That's first time I hear about that. Care to share any details? Or was this discussed in a thread I could find? :)
Long story, and I don't have the book handy from which to re-write it. I think I discussed this in some length on rpg.net.
It looks like I have a copy of the first draft:
Quite a lot of people seem to have gotten the impression that Mark Rein*Hagen had a big ego, no respect for others, and a propensity to use cults of personality whenever possible.
I speculate that Rein*Hagen managed to establish a particular design culture with these aspects at White Wolf, and that this culture, carried on by Brucato and others, limited the long-term goodwill that the company managed to accumulate. I speculate that Rein*Hagen found a considerable short-term payoff from the cult of personality, but had trouble in the long term.
I advance this speculation in the context of three areas of evidence:
1. A Cult of Personality Must Have a Hard-to-reach Leader
QuoteAnyway, Rob took me over to a little table with one guy behind it. On the table were arrayed a number of freshly printed Vampire books. Rob chatted with the guy behind the table and introduced me to Mark Rein*Hagen. I told him that I thought his new game looked amazing and gushed about it a little. He silently listened to me with an expression that spoke volumes: I wasn't telling him something he didn't already know.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rob give Mark a knowing look and motion with his head toward me. Mark sighed, and then said as condescendingly as I've even been spoken to, "Here you go, kid." He didn't need to add, "Now get away from me, son. You bother me," because it was already clear.
That was both my first and my last interaction with Mark. I did (and still do) love and appreciate the book. But because of that, it's not without a feeling of more than a little irony that I present to you Monte Cook's World of Darkness.
You see, today, I count most of the folks currently at White Wolf among my best friends in the game industry. I've worked with them for years as publishing partners for my own Malhavoc Press.
I was a little flabbergasted when Rich Thomas and Stewart Wieck approached me with the offer to take the World of Darkness...
--Monte Cook's World of Darkness, p.10
I suspect Rein*Hagen *had* to be snooty about it. If he had been willing to open up, he would have dissolved the cult of personality. In the short term this seems to have worked very well -- fans pored over his every scribble, trying to fit themselves to the Rein*Hagen vision.
If my analysis of the printed books is accurate, Wieck seems to have been resistant to the cult-of-personality culture at White Wolf. That's just an impression, however, not a textually supported argument.
2. Gaming Sadism Can Stimulate Player Imagination
Sam Chupp, a former employee, describes dysfunctional relationships between White Wolf designers in his essay "Birthing Death."
QuoteMark Rein*Hagen really wanted to do Wraith. He was hot for it. This is because he is a gaming sadist. He had already run a game-like *thing* at one point wherein all of the players had found themselves to be in Hell from the start, and their job was to fight their way up to the top of the food chain, or out of Hell, or whatever. It was very depressive, very much a mind-fuck, and not what I would call "fun gaming."
I suspect that Rein*Hagen was not a "sadist" simply to put people through the experience of imaginary pain, although of course the player characters usually suffer a considerable amount of pain in White Wolf games.
I suspect Rein*Hagen was experimenting with "sadism" in order to find new ways to *control* the game experience. If one reads Camus' essay on de Sade, (reprinted, if memory serves, in The Rebel) it reads like Rein*Hagen's design documents for Vampire. Camus even describes de Sade as having "the immortality of Cain."
And, lest this read as a deprecation of Rein*Hagen or of sadism in general, note that Rein*Hagen's "sadism" seems to have worked well for a huge number of fans and a long time. Players who imagine themselves to have no control are stimulated to imagine and speculate about how the game universe works.
3. Control the Language to Control the Discussion and the Imagination
White Wolf wrote its books in a jargon so florid that most books require a specialized glossary near the beginning. Just as wargamers are often math geeks who enjoy working the equations that determine wargame events, White Wolf fans are/were often vocabulary mavens who were thrilled to memorize a contrived, obfuscated vocabulary
Over the years I have seen many White Wolf fans become "true believers," endlessly reading the White Wolf canon and debating finer points of how the imaginary universe worked. Numerous outsiders were repelled because they could not even discuss game issues with the True Believers due to the contrived language barrier. The "cult of personality" had achieved a remarkable boundary between the faithful and the outsiders. This not only enhanced the loyalty of the believers, it prevented them from even conceptualizing criticisms that were clear to outsiders.
This kind of control of language is sinister when it is done from a position of real coercion. The propagandists who enforce "politically correct" terminology in totalitarian societies really are suppressing people. Domestic abusers sometimes train victims to use jargon in order to rationalize abuse. It is not uncommon to see socially isolated groups of actors fall under similar jargon-domination from a charismatic leader, such as a theatrical director. (Such actors are generally desperate for work in their chosen profession, and thus they are under pressure to obey.) What is remarkable is that a voluntary association of consumers embraced and enjoyed this kind of conformity. It is a marketing victory on par with the artificial language of Klingon, which is difficult and useless, but enthusiastically studied by those who enjoy it.
Clearly Rein*Hagen received tremendous success and cooperation until late 1996. I suspect the concentration of authority in one person limited the effectiveness of the organization as it grew. Whether he left White Wolf in a position of strength or weakness, the White Wolf "cult of personality" design culture continued without him. In particular, I suspect that Brucato elaborated on it, but other designers may well have been more important.
I suspect "cult of personality" game designs are unstable in the long run. However, while they last, they offer a very different gaming experience than cut-and-dried, easily audited systems such as GURPS. (IMHO, GURPS uses little jargon, can be readily compared with outside standards, and requires GMs to make more calculations than subjective value judgements. I speculate that Steve Jackson is the anti-Rein*Hagen and if the two men were ever to shake hands, they would annihiliate like an electron and a positron.) I speculate that the next evolution will be to replicate the florid, over-stimulated, elaborately interconnected fantasy worlds that can be produced by the "cult of personality" by means of a more stable system that does not tend to concentrate control in one authoritarian Storyteller. (Greg Stolze's In Spaaace! and similar systems might have the germ of this control-sharing.)