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Post by Shelby on May 16, 2022 18:51:08 GMT -8
Busy busy busy, here's the gaming news update!
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: The party fought a mechanical hydra. They were very brave and bold. As a result they took a thrashing, and one member died. Since they have a holy artifact that should be strong enough to use attempting to bring him back to life within a few days, they remain hopeful and continue their dungeon-crawl.
- 1st ed Warhammer FRP, The Enemy Within: We had our last session. Joy and tears. A milestone in the history of the campaign, as well as what could've been a very deadly battle. We were very lucky and managed to overcome the odds. Then we sorted out what the fates of our characters would be. I became the Knight Eternal of Middenheim, and married the Emperor's sister. Not a bad story at all, and I'm looking forward to the book that our DM is writing about our adventures. Fingers crossed that we get to explore Lustria with a new party soon. In the meantime my Sunday afternoons will feel very empty.
- Cyberpunk Red: We successfully completed a mission against tough odds. Lots of characters had their moment in the spotlight. And then we were accosted by a street gang while trying to celebrate in a little neighborhood bar. Those gangsters were tough! After a few rounds we only managed to take one out. They're dodging and beating us up and grappling and holding and throwing us all over the place. And as we reached the end of the session we saw police cars approaching. We're all goin' to the pokey next time!
And that's the story, Cory. Contact me if you want to roll some dice!
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Post by Shelby on May 30, 2022 19:05:55 GMT -8
Time for another edition of gaming news...
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: Yes, that’s what I’ve changed my Tekumel campaign’s name to, as the characters leave behind any reference to Barker’s material. The party popped out of a pyramid amidst pink sand dunes. As two rival groups of four-armed humanoids fought below, the adventurers high-tailed it out and made for what looked like an orange tree-line on the horizon. After much hoofing through the sand they were targeted by a trio of blue spheres who dropped down from the sky. The party was sprayed with some sort of noxious gas, then the spheres floated away. They felt worse and worse as they struggled to the east, and their scout decided that the horizon was more like the view from inside a bowl than what they’re used to. Oh, and the unfamiliar reddish sun remained overhead for what seemed like hours. Finally they reached the line of growth, and it was a mushroom forest. They tapped a stalk and drank the milk, which seemed to help them recover from their various ailments. Tune in next time and find out what happens next!
- Cyberpunk Red: The police responded to reports of a disturbance outside the Trees Lounge, causing the gang to run for it. Sadly one of our party who was also running was snatched and held for ransom. My character is actually pretty ruthless, but while he was willing to pay for his friend’s return he also wanted to see the gang members wiped out. One of our members borrowed a helicopter and brought our fighter along to fire a rocket launcher at the gang once we’d made the exchange. As usual for this game system, we failed at just about everything while our opponents were hyper-capable. Most of them escaped, along with the ransom, and they shot the helicopter out of the sky. I’m going to work on my review of CP Red next, and it won’t be too favorable.
I’ll keep you posted on further developments. Please feel free to check my blog for reviews, and let me know if you’d like to join our games.
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Post by Shelby on Jun 13, 2022 19:50:45 GMT -8
And in local gaming news, an update on what’s happening in the games I’m playing! - 1st ed AD&D, Classic Dragonlance campaign: deep in the dungeon, the group squared off in an exciting fight against a stone golem and survived! They bypassed a number of magical traps, and even avoided waking up a sleeping evil that would’ve probably killed a good number of player characters. Fortunate. A bit more exploration and the retrieval of a key piece of information they’ve been seeking. Kudos! On the down side, some complaining, some downright cowardice, I had to kick a player from the game who kept canceling at the last minute, and another player said he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Add to that another player who was scheduled to work at the last minute, and one who’s tired of his character and wants to switch to his back-up. To balance all that, another player offered to run two characters and keep things rolling. Down to five players now, only three of which (out of eight) are originals in a campaign I stressed required a commitment to play out the entire fourteen modules. Please feel free to read my blog post on lack of commitment among gamers today: themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/consideration-commitment-dependability-what-is-wrong-with-gamers/- Cyberpunk Red: the session went well. We got away and got patched up. We had some down time to generate needed income. One of the characters got a lead on a simple job, which also went well. Different character archetypes got to do various things. Nice to observe the netrunning process in action again. I’m a little unclear on where we’re headed with this plot, but so long as the other players are happy, I’m happy. - A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: my latest project. Slated to begin sometime in September, this will be a re-written run-through of the original two Ravenloft modules, cast as more of a Call of Cthulhu investigative horror RPG. We’ll use a D&D-esque rules set called A Ghastly Affair as the base, probably streamlined. I’ll try to keep things low-powered and set in the equivalent of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In theory I have five players lined up to play, which should work out OK. I think I will have an “A-team,” plus a “B-team” of characters who are hangers-on, servants and so forth. That way when Lord Fauntleroy dies his Jeeves can step up to take vengeance on the ungodly horror that did his master in. And that’s where things stand for the moment. Keep in touch!
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Post by Shelby on Jun 27, 2022 13:31:41 GMT -8
Just dropping in for a moment to update you on one of the games I'm running!
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: So the team had hoofed it through the desert and camped in a forest of giant mushrooms. A band of humans came tearing by, apparently in fear, and ignored our heroes. Bounding after them came a group of giant, armed insect-men. One of the party's casters hit the leader with a "Madness" spell, and the bugs took off in a different direction. Meanwhile a very manlike ape who'd been hiding announced that humans can't talk, and proceeded to check for strings attached to the PCs lips. Turns out that the apeman was on an expedition to some ruins, but his pals were killed by the bugs. If the party will accompany him, then afterwards he'll take them back to his people. Sounds like a deal to our ex-pat adventurers. When they finally reach the tower in question they find it inhabited by a different kind of giant bug; these are more like bug-centaurs. So our caster Levitates to the top of the tower and drops a Cloudkill, which not only kills the bugs crouched below, but then sinks into the entrance to their presumable hive. Nice place to end the session!
We had a session of Cyberpunk Red scheduled too, but the GM cancelled since he didn't feel well. So, see you all next time! By the way I'm definitely in the market for a couple of new voices to join the game I mentioned above. Give me a shout!
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Post by Shelby on Jul 25, 2022 14:06:41 GMT -8
And we're back. I've been a little busy recently, so not as much gaming as usual. But here are the updates!
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: The gang has descended beneath the rusted tower in the midst of the desert. The complex underneath is abandoned high tech. They fought more bug-centaurs, and the party's greatest warrior was killed by a critical hit. They'd recently voted to continue using critical hits (and fumbles), so there you have it. Coincidentally it's the same result on the table as we rolled in my Dragonlance game a while back, which caused that group to vote against criticals / fumbles in future. Anyway, this party has access to Raise Dead, so they camped out and waited for the victim to recover, then went on. More high-tech hijinks, as well as strange visions. Next time they'll descend even further!
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: I had to cancel the latest session of this game, since demands on my time prevented me from getting enough prep done.
- Cyberpunk Red: We decided to blow up the building where this cyber-guy resides, because he took out a "hit" contract on several of us. We can't fight our way in there to the room where his body-appendage resides, and besides his "brain" might be in the basement or something. Sadly the next session was cancelled due to two real-life emergencies, so we'll have to wait and see how Operation Bada-Boom goes.
- 1st ed Warhammer FRP, The Enemy Within: Here's the sad update, I'm afraid our GM is no longer in the mood to run this game. So no expedition to the steaming jungles of Lustria. I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed I am. If anyone out there wants to run some WFRP, please get in touch!
- A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: I'm still working on this. Actually the Ghastly Affair rules allow for more fighting than I'd expected, but I still think I'll tone it down and make it more of a role-play / investigative experience. On target for a mid-September start date.
- Emperor of the Fading Suns: Remember this old PC title from 1996? They're in beta on a revision to the game, and I was able to assemble a group of four other players to play-test the multiplayer version. I took my first turn, and now I'm anxiously waiting for everyone else to go so I can continue. Damn, this delayed-gratification thing is overrated!
So that's all the news that fits. Let me know if you want in, or if you can use another player! Until then.
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Post by Shelby on Aug 8, 2022 19:16:39 GMT -8
OK then, it's time for an update on gaming activity! Without further ado...
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: Oh my, we finally exited the dungeon. It was a little touch and go there, but the party avoided agitating the ultimate evil thing that would've resulted in a TPK. Whew. Not without another level drain. We reunited the group with some civilians, and ended the session with heading for the next location, hopefully the lost city of the mountain dwarves. Should be pretty exciting!
- Cyberpunk Red: Operation Bada-Boom has hit a snag. We got into a demolition company's warehouse, but the last surviving security guard is escaping with our stolen truck, and our fighter scanned the goods and it doesn't look like there are explosives here! What the hell are we gonna do next time? Tune in to find out.
- Emperor of the Fading Suns: The beta testing of the PC game patch hit a major snag when we experienced impassible crashes in turn six of our multiplayer game. Apparently we aren't the only ones. So things are on hold while the programmers do their thing. Fingers crossed.
- A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: Yeah, AD&D Module I6 Ravenloft seems to be a real hack and slasher. Not what I envisioned for an investigative 19th century gothic romantic horror experience. This is gonna take quite a bit of rewriting. I dug up some new castle floorplans, and things are going apace. Just over a month to go.
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: Game is in two weeks, I'll review my notes in a week.
So if all this sounds exciting, and you'd like to get involved, please get in touch with me.
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Post by Shelby on Aug 23, 2022 15:15:28 GMT -8
A little update for you all on gaming over here at the Guild.
- Emperor of the Fading Suns playtesting: more fabulous snafus at Holistic. We keep breaking the game, which I guess is what playtesting is for. Frustrating for our little group though, who still want to have fun too. We're currently down but there may be a fix so we can resume today or tomorrow. When the game is down, it's down for about a week...
- A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: Moving right along with the prep work, with flashes of inspiration hitting me now and then. Lost one player to scheduling issues, but managed to land a replacement. All systems go, with less than a month before the first session! I'm really getting into this.
- Cyberpunk Red: In spite of all expectations we managed to accomplish our goals and get out with only one casualty, my NPC bodyguard. Looks like a win, especially since we earned enough points to finally rise in Rank! Which reminds me to spend those points...
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: I spent so much time in prep for this game, and as usual the party got all bogged down in one room for most of the three-hour session. LOL I guess that's half the fun of the game. We also had a terrible, TPK-type critical fumble on spellcasting in the last few minutes of the session when our spellcaster tried casting a Cure. We were all horror-struck until the player realized what I had dimly remembered, that he had the ability to make one re-roll per day. He did, and thus the fumble never happened. Whew!
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: we won't be playing this for another two weeks, and I did tons of prep work for the last session that we got nowhere near using. Therefore I'm all set for this. I'll review a couple of days in advance.
So in the meantime I have time to work on Ghastly Affair. I can sure use the free time!
As usual, let me know if you want to get involved in any of this, or have a game you'd like to run for us. Be seeing you!
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Post by Shelby on Sept 5, 2022 10:02:53 GMT -8
We're currently in a heat wave on a holiday weekend, what better time than to do a gaming update?
- Emperor of the Fading Suns playtesting: our multi-player test group has resumed as testing nears its close. I've concluded that the designers' vision is a little distant from my own gaming preferences though. Frustrating, but it's their project, not mine.
- A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: We're drawing close to the start line. I have to work on this between other things, so it gets short shrift sometimes. However we have a group character generation session scheduled in one week, and the game itself starts in two.
- Cyberpunk Red: today's session cancelled due to holiday absences.
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: yesterday's session covered a lot of ground. It's all dwarves, all the time! The team is a little abrasive, but so far they're getting the job done and enjoying the journey. I'll need some prep time for next session.
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: game isn't for two more weeks. I won't need any prep for that, but there's rumor of a potential new player who I might have to work with.
And that's the news that fits. Happy Labor Day, get out there and roll some dice!
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Post by Shelby on Sept 19, 2022 13:49:16 GMT -8
The heat wave is history, and we're good to go once again here at the Gamers Guild. Here's the skinny.
- 1st ed AD&D in the “Crystal Spheres” campaign: We had another session of "dungeon crawling" in the underground complex of the insect-men. Eventually the party hit a room filled with a swarm of larvae, and retreated quickly. But as they retreated their heads were struck with severe pain, and the curtain fell until next time. What gives? Tune in to find out.
- 1st ed AD&D in Dragonlance: Session is still two weeks away, but pre-prepped.
- Cyberpunk Red: Cancelled again due to unavailable players.
- A Ghastly Affair in Barovia: Also cancelled due to unavailable players.
- Zaibatsu: I announced my intention to run this cyberpunk game based on Classic Traveller some time after we've finished the Ghastly Affair game.
- Emperor of the Fading Suns playtesting: Patch 1.5 is due to be released tomorrow, so we're done. I'm bowing out due to creative differences.
And that's that. Keep in touch!
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