I made good use of my day pass and played quite a few games in the Exhibit Hall. The first game I tried was HackMaster Basic by Kenzer and Company. I’m a sucker for Dwarven Forge setups, and their demo caught my attention right a way (ha, well that and it was right by the door).
HackMaster Basic made quite a stir with classic gaming fans when it hit the shelves and I was eager to try it. First off, I quickly learned that James over at Grognardia was right in that there is little “basic” about it. I’ve since learned that it’s called “Basic” because a more complete “Advanced” version is forthcoming.
Despite the classic look and obvious homage to classic D&D, it’s definitely its own game. For example, combat is counted off in seconds, not rounds. That is, player turns happen by the second rather than by the round. This is kind of cool because it can resolve certain questions rather easily. For example, how far can I climb in a second? The GM and the player should be able to agree on that pretty easily. “Sure, you can get on the table, but not climb that wall.”
So your initiative roll indicates at which second you start. The GM counts up and you act when the count gets to your roll result. The interesting spin thereafter is that you can act any second after that. So if you start at the 5th second, you can act on the 6th second, the 7th and so on, even if that second is someone else’s turn. If I recall correctly, ties are resolved by some kind of initiative score. I can’t recall exactly. Weapon speed determines how quickly you can attack again and you can’t necessarily attack on each turn. For example, if your initiative is 7 and your weapon speed is 5, you can first attack on the 7th second, but can’t attack again with that weapon until 5 seconds later (i.e., the 12th turn).
There were other intricacies too, such as how one’s shield comes into play, etc. In general, it was a very detailed system and it seemed to involve a lot of book-keeping. It was a neat system, but easily as complex as D&D 3.5. The combat rules made a lot sense, but seemed to aim at being so realistic that they would result in a very slow game. Kenzer has free quick-start rules, so you can decide for yourself (although they seem more about character creation than actual play). I have come to believe that less is more (hence the appeal of Castles & Crusades), so I can’t imagine playing this game regularly, or buying the rule book for that matter. I certainly would be up for giving it another whirl at a convention again, though.
Next up was Savage Worlds by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. I’ve been curious about this game for a while. Their booth was in the dead center of the hall and had two very spiffy demo tables. I saddled up to one and asked if I could play.
The guy running the demo did a great job (I wish I could remember his name) and I was quickly knee-deep in a Savage Worlds: Deadlands scenario, my gunslinger rushing up a cliff face to save his lady love from evil cultists.
I skimmed the free Test Drive rules a year or so ago, so I had a basic understanding of the system. Instead of attribute scores, characters assign a die to each attribute (from a d4 to the d12), with the larger the die, the better score. You have to love that the forlorn d12 gets its due and is sort of the “18” of the game. Combat and task resolution are straight forward: you roll the appropriate skill, which is based on an attribute die, and if you beat the target number, you succeed. Typically a 4 or better is a success (naturally, various modifiers apply).
What makes the game mechanic fun is that major players in the game, that is player characters and heavy duty NPCs, are “Wild Cards” and therefore get to roll an extra d6 for just about any roll (except damage, I think). The player can pick the better of the two dice (they don’t add up). Also, there is an “exploding die” mechanic, so if you roll the highest number on a die, you get to keep rolling it, adding the rolls together. If you beat a target number by 4, you get a “raise,” and extra cool stuff can occur (depending on the purpose of the die roll).
All of this adds up to a damn fun mechanic. I guess that is what sets it apart. The Savage Worlds’ dice mechanic is simply fun. There is something about the wild die, the raises and the exploding dice that gives Savage Worlds an extra oomph that makes you eager to see what you roll.
I enjoyed the demo so much that I bought the Savage Worlds: Explorer Edition book (hell, it is only $10). I’ve been giving it a good read-through. In some ways, Savage Worlds feels a bit like a d20 game without the d20. For a game that is known for being simple, it has just as many modifiers and such as d20. I was particularly surprised that the rulebook repeatedly emphasizes that miniatures and a battle-mat should be used. That being said, there are no attacks of opportunities and nothing really seems to slow down combat to the extreme that d20 mechanics can.
Savage Worlds has garnered a strong following and I can see why. [Christina Stiles is working on “savaging” her SpirosBlaak d20 setting into a Savage World one.] I would love to run a campaign that would really put this RPG through its paces. Since it’s a universal system, I would love to run some kind of time traveling campaign in which the each PC is from whatever time period the players wish and then run them through scenarios in the past, present, and future. Anyhow, I highly recommend it.
Showing posts with label Christina Stiles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christina Stiles. Show all posts
July 8, 2010
July 6, 2010
A Day Trip to Origins 2010: Part 1 – Meetin’ folks
On my way back from Chicago, my family stopped in Ohio for a bit of R & R at Lake Erie. I’d had been kicking around the idea of hitting Origins since it wasn’t all that far away from where we were staying. (Well, it was a 2 1/2 hour drive, but that seemed reasonable for game-starved me. Yes, yes, I had a good gaming fix at Games Plus in Chicago, but I didn’t actually play anything there.) So I woke up early on Saturday, packed a couple bologna sandwiches and headed out.
I arrived at the convention just prior to the Exhibit Hall opening. I debated getting a full-fledged day badge, which would have been $30 plus whatever event tickets I bought. The Pathfinder events were tempting, but, in the end, I opted to go on the cheap and spent $5 for a day pass (which provided access to the Exhibit Hall and open gaming). Besides, I figured I could get my fix in the Exhibit Hall and I wanted to keep my schedule open so I could meet up with some folks.
First off, I met the Tabletop Adventures crew. A couple years back, Vicki Potter (TTA editor) posted an open call for a proofreader on ENWorld and I responded. I helped proofread and edit the second printing of Against the Darkness, their Vatican horror RPG (a cool mix of action and The Exorcist-style horror). Check it out if you get a chance. It was nice to finally meet the TTA team in person, as we had communicated solely via email for the proofreading project. I myself picked up a copy of The Mother of All Treasure Tables, which they were kind enough to sign. This book is a true gem and I highly recommend it. It fits in well with the TTA motto of providing “help for the harried GM.”
I also meet up with some folks from the Troll Lord Games forums, namely Christina Stiles and Duke Omote (a.k.a. Derrick). Christina is the author of the excellent SpirosBlaak setting book and was kind enough to provide Omote and I with signed copies. SpirosBlaak is a great setting: 160 pages of lycanthrope and black powder madness. I originally came across it during one of Green Ronin’s sales and picked it up on a whim. It turned out to be my favorite item from that purchase and is definitely on my “to do” list of campaign settings. She also has written several adventures for The Crusader magazine and other goodies. Check out her stuff at Misfit Studios.
The three of us swapped gaming stories, chatted about C&C and Savage Worlds (Christina is a big fan and I’m coming around). It was great to actually meet these folks in person. Omote and I share a common passion for Rappan Athuk and we swapped war stories. Omote’s group actually finished it and hearing that was a shot in the arm. Time to kick my own campaign into high gear.
We talked a lot about other conventions and I hope to meet up with Christina and Omote, and hopefully more of the TLG forum crew, at Con on the Cob in the fall.
I know I’m a bit late to the game here on Origins, but I have more posts to come, including a general photo dump and a review of the few games I demoed.
I arrived at the convention just prior to the Exhibit Hall opening. I debated getting a full-fledged day badge, which would have been $30 plus whatever event tickets I bought. The Pathfinder events were tempting, but, in the end, I opted to go on the cheap and spent $5 for a day pass (which provided access to the Exhibit Hall and open gaming). Besides, I figured I could get my fix in the Exhibit Hall and I wanted to keep my schedule open so I could meet up with some folks.
First off, I met the Tabletop Adventures crew. A couple years back, Vicki Potter (TTA editor) posted an open call for a proofreader on ENWorld and I responded. I helped proofread and edit the second printing of Against the Darkness, their Vatican horror RPG (a cool mix of action and The Exorcist-style horror). Check it out if you get a chance. It was nice to finally meet the TTA team in person, as we had communicated solely via email for the proofreading project. I myself picked up a copy of The Mother of All Treasure Tables, which they were kind enough to sign. This book is a true gem and I highly recommend it. It fits in well with the TTA motto of providing “help for the harried GM.”
I also meet up with some folks from the Troll Lord Games forums, namely Christina Stiles and Duke Omote (a.k.a. Derrick). Christina is the author of the excellent SpirosBlaak setting book and was kind enough to provide Omote and I with signed copies. SpirosBlaak is a great setting: 160 pages of lycanthrope and black powder madness. I originally came across it during one of Green Ronin’s sales and picked it up on a whim. It turned out to be my favorite item from that purchase and is definitely on my “to do” list of campaign settings. She also has written several adventures for The Crusader magazine and other goodies. Check out her stuff at Misfit Studios.
The three of us swapped gaming stories, chatted about C&C and Savage Worlds (Christina is a big fan and I’m coming around). It was great to actually meet these folks in person. Omote and I share a common passion for Rappan Athuk and we swapped war stories. Omote’s group actually finished it and hearing that was a shot in the arm. Time to kick my own campaign into high gear.
We talked a lot about other conventions and I hope to meet up with Christina and Omote, and hopefully more of the TLG forum crew, at Con on the Cob in the fall.
I know I’m a bit late to the game here on Origins, but I have more posts to come, including a general photo dump and a review of the few games I demoed.
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