This post is almost two months late. I rely on the notes I made and the vague memories that still haunt me of the one of the most successful horror scenarios I have ever participated.
For during Saturday of this year’s Ropecon I was lucky enough to get a seat in a game I have been itching for ages to try out – Dread.
Some time ago I wrote about my ideas of creating the fronts for Dungeon World. Since then we have managed to squeeze in only one gaming session but still it inspired me to talk more about the fronts. As the game went on I knew that I had to get creative of how I interpret my plans. So this time I’m going to share my ideas about how to let the Fronts live with the game.
Couple of weeks ago I was in Utrecht for the Magic: the Gathering Grand Prix, which is the highest level open tournament in the game. As usual, I regard these more like excuses to visit certain cities, so why not stay a full week at the former capital of the Kingdom of Holland.
One of the points of interests in the city for me personally, was Oudegracht (the Old Canal), as for some peculiar reason, there are seven shops dedicated to all things geeky (although, I seem to have missed one).
We started this summer with the session of Sailors at the Starless Sea and ended it during last weekend with a quickly made “hack” of Apocalypse World. As it was in the beginning so it was in the end and Sami was the one who orchesterated this mayhem.
In this post I’m going to discuss our methods of turning Disney’s loveable characters into whack-jobs that destroy all that we love in Duckburg. And I’ll do it in the Apocalypse Way. So it will not be for all (I’ll give you another warning when the sick stuff begins). Continue reading
I played AstraTerra at RopeCon. Its a game intended for children from five and up. There’s money within the game, but I don’t think its needed.
I’ve shared my general ideas on the subject before, as well as abandoned idea. This is building on that.
You can find the scenario itself under Resources on top of the page, or here: Elämäni supersankarina (in English: MyLifeasaSuperhero – there’s a proofread version coming when I have the chance).
An essay on the session of Trail of Cthulhu I played at Ropecon, being a rather lengthy treatise on what made it work and on the merits of the rules and the GM, and on the responsibilities of the players in horror roleplaying games, and by extension, in other sorts of roleplaying games that try to engage the participants’ emotions.
I’ve loved Trail of Cthulhu ever since I read it. The art is perfect for a Cthulhu book, Kenneth Hite—the author—really knows his Lovecraft, and the system is trimmed down to the essentials and really suits my playstyle. There are some bits that I don’t like, but are really easy to hack; overall, it’s very versatile beginning from the system right down to the Mythos monsters, so that every Keeper can make it their own. One year at Ropecon, I ran my ass off of Trail—25 hours within 48 hours—but now was my first opportunity to play it. Bonus: it was run by a woman, which I don’t get too often. This was also my first opportunity to play Cthulhu (and horror) after reading Kenneth Hite’s Nightmares of Mine (which has been updated to GURPS Horror) and his terrific essay on Cthulhu in his Dubious Shards. Continue reading
As I wasn’t at the ceremony, it took a bit of wrangling to find someone who was going to be there, which in turn lead to me not getting this until today.
On the right, you have the fuzzy dice given to me by Lauri on behalf of the Guild for winning.
BTW, I don’t know if the scenario is available on the RopeCon site yet, but its available here both in Finnish and English. The latter has not been proof-read, but it shouldn’t have any major problems. You can also find both under the Resources on top of the page.
I’ll be back later to discuss the whole thing in length.
(Above: One of the reasons why RPGs are awesome, by Luke Crane.)
This was the first time in years that I didn’t run any games. My old friend got wed on Saturday and I wanted to see Luke Crane, so there was little time. It turned out to be a good decision: I got to play in very good games, talk with people (some of them new), and hang out with no tight schedule to keep. This is an overview post, and more thorough analyses of interesting stuff will follow. Continue reading
This year’s agenda: Trying stuff I’ve never tried before, for your benefit, my dear reader.