Tag: RPGaDay

RPGaDAY 2022 catch up #5

Written by TardisCaptain September 3, 2022September 4, 2022

You can find my past RPGaDAY2022 catch up posts here in Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four. The last week of August was just as equally busy. In fact this whole summer has been extremely busy or extremely crappy. I have been grateful for the distractions when I get to blog about geeky subjects such as the #RPGaDAY2022 challenge. I’ve got several projects in mind that I want to get put up on this blog to share with my fellow geeks. I look forward to posting them soon. Here are my entries for Days 29-31 and a bonus question.

Day 29: Who would you like to see take part in #RPGaDAY?

I’d love to see what my wife would post in such a challenge. I would also be very interested in how a friend and gamemaster Jeff Sullivan would fair with these questions.

Day 30: What should #RPGaDAY do for its 10th Anniversary next year?

Perhaps run a “Best Of” with subjects from the past ten years? I haven’t ready any of the earlier years.

Day 31: When did you first take part in #RPGaDAY?

2021 was my first year after I had read about the challenge on other gaming blogs. You can read all of the posts from this year and last year here. Specifically from 2021 I was quite proud of these entries: Origin, Memory, Challenge, Flood and Weapon.

Bonus: Anecdote Alternative: Roll 1d8+1, tag that many friends and tell a gaming story about them.

The recent Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 campaign that ran from 2013 to 2019 had many different adventures. But one of the things that probably frustrated our Dungeon Master. If he set up a big bad guy, our party worked like a well oiled machine and quickly defeated the final challenge. However the smallest of opponents would sometimes come up with the biggest threats. I’m not certain what the creature was called, but there were these creatures that looked like gold coins. When they were disturbed, they started to come to life and attacked us. I don’t think we were in danger of a total party kill, but it took quite a while to get the battle under control. Just before they revealed themselves as alive, one of the player characters had picked up a coin and licked it (for reasons I can’t remember now). I think the fact that the coins came to life may have scared that player. This was early in our campaign so she was cautious when we recovered treasure after future victories.

And with that final post, I’m considering myself done with the #RPGaDAY2022 challenge. My second year was a little different than last year. With real life issues, I could not post once a day. While it may not have stayed with the spirit of a once-a-day challenge, I felt like I was participating in the event with what I could. Since next year is the 10th anniversary, I’ll be interested to see what questions/options are presented. Thank you, I hope you enjoyed reading these entries.

Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Star Trek

RPGaDAY 2022 catch up #4

Written by TardisCaptain August 27, 2022August 28, 2022 1 Comment

You can find my past RPGaDAY2022 catch up posts here in Part One, Part Two and Part Three. Another busy week in another busy month in another busy summer has come and gone. Again I’ve been very grateful to the family members who came to help out with our summer projects. With how things have been things are starting to look up. I can’t wait to get this cast off of my foot so I can start doing normal things again. I’ve been enjoying reading the #RPGaDAY2022 posts that I’ve come across. It makes me wish that I could get a bunch of friends around a table to actually game. When some of these time-sink projects are done, I may be a step closer to actually hosting again. Until then, here are my RPGaDAY2022 entries for days 22-28.

Day 22: Who is your current character?

This is Dr. R’imr, the Caitian Lieutenant CMO of the Saladin Class USS Acrux. This is in an online Far Trek game that is being run on the Roll20 virtual tabletop website. So far none of the other players have noticed that the character name came from Red Dwarf.

Day 23: What situation is your character currently in?

We were sent to find out why a colony was not responding to Starfleet. When we arrived we discovered Klingons on the scene who were looking for a weapon. What’s really interesting is that the adventure was written by my friend Roger Taylor and adapted to Far Trek. I’ve been on my honor to not pull up the adventure and look at the notes.

Day 24: When did you start playing this character?

At the beginning of 2022. If we are lucky we get a chance to play once a month. Even then, I’ve had to miss a few sessions due to real life getting in the way. Yes the eternal struggle of gaming.

Day 25: Where has that character been?

Boldly going. Oh, more specific than that. The colony is named Tannos IV with “Madsen’s Hope” being the main colony population center.

Day 26: What does your character do what they do?

R’imr studied medicine and joined Starfleet to get away from the homeworld of Cait. He didn’t feel like he was making a difference there so he decided to leave and offer his services to Starfleet. He loves dispensing wisdom when he uses his catchphrase “Now listen to your doctor when he says…”.

Day 27: How has your character changed?

I’m still exploring this. As I noticed changes, I’ll try to report them here.

Day 28: Style Sunday: Roll 1d8+1, tag that many friends with your favorite RPG cover art.

Well once again I can’t really tag anyone in this format. So here is my favorite cover art.

Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Star Trek

RPGaDAY 2022 catch up #3

Written by TardisCaptain August 20, 2022August 21, 2022 1 Comment

Here is my catch up post for #RPGaDAY2022. Links to Part One and Part Two. It has been a very busy week for me and I am eternally grateful for all of the friends and family that came over to help sheetrock a wall in my garage while I was out with my broken foot. This blog post covers days 15-21.

Day 15: Who would you like to Gamemaster for you?

I noticed a lot of people were listing celebrity GMs that they would like to try out. For myself, I’d like to have my friend Jeff Sullivan return to the GM chair. He did such a wonderful job with the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 campaign that lasted several years with a group of friends. You could see his love of the game, skill in being a referee and how he used the game to make teaching moments for both experienced and new players. Some of his house-rules I’d like to use in my own campaigns.

Day 16: What would be your perfect game?

The game that is so enjoyable that we talk about it afterwards and can’t wait to return to the table. I know that I’ve mentioned some of my past gaming exploits in various blog posts, but I’m going to talk about another one again. We had a FASA Star Trek RPG session where the night ended on a cliffhanger. All of the players kept in contact with each other during the break talking about how we were going to pull our fat out of the fryer. And this was in the days before text messages, instant messages or even the common use of email. We did this all by various phone calls between the individual players. I’ve also noticed that I’ve done the same with computer or card games. If I’m thinking about strategy or how I can improve my gameplay, then I must be enjoying the game.

Day 17: Past, Present or Future? When is your favorite game set?

This is a hard one because I can play in all three settings. Some specific things, like horror, don’t appeal to me. Not because I don’t like that genre, but I had a hard time seeing it translated into a theater of the mind style RPG. If I really had to pick one setting, I think it would be future.

Day 18: Where is your favorite place to play?

At my house. My snacks are there. I’m comfortable. I didn’t need to travel far. Sure I had to prep the house for guests, but that’s a good thing. I also wouldn’t mind playing at a friends house as well, but I worry about games that go into overtime. I wouldn’t mind playing at a convention or a gaming store, but I worry about the noise and distractions.

Day 19: Why has your favorite game stayed with you?

As most of my readers know, it’s the FASA Star Trek RPG. This is because of several reasons. 1- It’s a licensed Star Trek game. 2- The character creation process fascinated me. 3- I thought the percentage system gave us more unique characters. 4- Starship construction rules helped fueled my imagination and creativity. 5- It inspired other Star Trek media and episodes. There are FASA Star Trek references even in Star Trek Discovery episodes and recently released IDW published comics.

Day 20: How long do your games last?

Playing a game, that’s up to the GM and other players. On games that I have run, I try to limit a gaming session to 3-4 hours. If we can’t get at least two hours of game play in, then we need to try again. We get so little time to actually sit down that we need to make sure we get value out of our time.

Day 21: Setting Sunday: Share an intriguing detail from a game setting you enjoy.

I had to think about this one. The answer that I finally decided was the exploration of the unknown. I don’t know what is behind that door, over that hill, across that ocean or on that planet. There are new things out there and I get to discover them with my friends.

Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek

RPGaDAY 2022 catch up #2

Written by TardisCaptain August 13, 2022August 14, 2022 1 Comment

So after completing the RPGaDAY catch up #1 last week, I knew that I was going to try for a second week. So here are my entries for days 7-14.

Day 7: System Sunday- Describe a cool part of a system that you love.

I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. There have been quite a few cool features in a few different role playing systems. Some I’ve actually tried, some I’ve only read about. I think I’m going to talk about the first cool thing that stood out to me in a system. The Star Wars RPG by West End Games had a feature where each character had a quote that helped define that character. Even in all of the different supplements, if there were stats for a non-player character, they had a quote. It helped make the characters seem like more than just a set of numbers on a piece of paper.

Day 8: Who introduced you to RPGs?

I really wish I could remember the names of the people I played with over thirty-five years ago. I would like to thank them and ask if they are still playing now. I remember a lot of other names and faces from over the years, but I couldn’t tell you who first showed me that Dungeons and Dragons book back in elementary school.

Day 9: What is the 2nd RPG you bought?

This one was easy. While I cut my teeth on Dungeons and Dragons like most players at the time, I was also a big Star Trek fan. When I finally had the money to get the Star Trek Role Playing Game by FASA, I picked it up. While I didn’t get a chance to play it until later, I’ve still be a fan of this system even today.

Day 10: When did/will you start Gamemastering?

While I may have run a few friends through a session, my first memory of being a Dungeon Master was an attempt to introduce my bothers to the game. An attempt that became a complete disaster. You can read about it in my RPGaDAY2021 entry here. I have several other memories of running Star Trek sessions later.

Day 11: If you could live in a game setting, where would it be?

Another question I had to seriously think about. The fantasy setting of Dungeons and Dragons would be interesting with the wonderful magic and the variety of creatures that are found there. But when it comes down to it, I’d really love to be in that brave new worlds that we see in Star Trek.

Day 12: Why did you start RPGing?

Friends. Pure and simple. I got to hang out with friends and laugh with them. We had to scheme, we had to work together, we had to be creative, we had to use our imaginations. I heard someone call RPGing a drug-free group hallucination. I actually believe this as a good thing.

Day 13: How would you change the way you started RPGing?

That was so long ago, I’m not even certain. Perhaps introduce my father to the game so that he would understand my interest in it. I inherited a lot of my geeky interests from him. It would have been nice to share one back.

Day 14: Suggestion Sunday- Roll 1d8+1, and tag that many friends and suggest a new RPG to try.

Well any chance to roll a die. I rolled a six. I can’t really tag anyone in this format so I’ll just list some names.

Erica Abner
Jeff Sullivan
Dave Stock
Stewart Hunsaker
Marla Trowbridge
Kevin Hancock
Erin Ruston

The game I’d like to try would be FrontierSpace. I don’t know the scenario yet, but I’d love to try out the system.

Conclusion:

Another week of good questions. It will probably be another week before I can post on this subject again. I’m not a doctor, but I believe the foot is healing. I can’t wait to have this behind me. Re-learning how to do a lot of things has been a pain. I’ve been very thankful for the family and friends who have been supportive during this time. I would like to also thank those who read my blogs and send me feedback.

Doctor Who, Dungeons and Dragons, Fan Club, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek

RPGaDAY 2022 catch up #1

Written by TardisCaptain August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 1 Comment

In August 2021 I participated in the #RPGaDAY challenge. I was able to complete all 31 days that had a variety of subjects to blog about. It was an interesting challenge. As you can see from the schedule posted above, they changed the format to follow a Who, What, When, Where, Why, How and a special Sunday question.

I was interested in participating this year, until recent events came up. There is a physical challenge in posting for 31 days while still interacting with family, friends, work, hobbies, etc. After I had broken my foot, I knew that there was no way I could post on a daily basis. So I’m going to try to do the next best thing. When the schedule allows it (between leg rests) I’m going to play catch up and try to post the recent entries into one blog post.

Day 1: Who would you like to introduce to RPGs?

I’m assuming that this introduction would be for people who have never played a role-playing game before. There are certain members of my Star Trek fan club that I wouldn’t mind introducing to RPGs. Fandom is about geeking out together with other fans. Role-playing games are just another way for friends to geek out together. A second answer to this would be some neighbors who have actually asked about RPGs. It would be nice to have some nearby players.

Day 2: What is a great introductory RPG?

I really think this would depend upon the interest of the players. If they were interested in fantasy I might use the game I cut my teeth on which is Basic Dungeons and Dragons. If it was a younger crowd I might use Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition. If the group was interested in the gangster genre, I might pull out Gangbusters B/X. Tall Tales B/X is probably what I’d use if they wanted to play a westerns campaign. Star Trek fans would like the Star Trek Adventures system, while the Whovians might like Doctor Who: The Roleplaying Game. If generic science fiction is wanted, I might use FrontierSpace. There are a bunch of other genres that I haven’t listed yet with plenty of games ready to cover them.

Day 3: When were you fist introduced to RPGs?

Many many moons ago I saw some friends playing Dungeons and Dragons in Elementary School. However the bulk of my early playing happened while I was in Junior High School. That is when I really got the dice rolling and my parents concerned. They must not have seen it as too bad because they didn’t try to stop me from actually playing. I’ve mentioned that they took my D&D books once because they thought I wasn’t paying enough attention in school, but returned them later when everything was better.

Day 4: Where would you host a first game?

If I was with a bunch of friends, I’d probably host at my home. I have more control over the area, the food is in my kitchen and I don’t have to go very far once the game is done. If I was going to be gaming with players that I had not played with before (or often) I might host the game at a local gaming store. But I don’t have as much control there when it comes to keeping distractions to a minimum.

Day 5: Why will they like this game?

I’m not certain what the organizers are asking here. If they are talking about the games I mentioned in Day 2, then the players might like it because it aligns with their interests. I also hope that as a gamemaster I’m providing an entertaining game that they players would enjoy in a safe environment. The primary reason we want to play role-playing games is to have fun and escape the troubles we are experiencing in our world now.

Day 6: How would you get more people playing RPGs?

Damn good question. There is no magic wand or trick that you could use to just get players to start. I think ease of access would help get more players. Don’t make the games overly expensive (at least for the basic game) or require special miniatures and dice. Don’t make the system overly complex. As I mentioned before, if you want me to try to convince my friends to play, make it easy for me to explain the system the game uses. And then there is always the dreaded, do the schedules work out. Sigh.

Conclusion:

Yea I snuck in Day 6 on the 5th. I wanted to answer the question now while I had the blog open. I don’t know if I’ll be able to post next in a day or two or in a week. We will have to see how the schedule and leg lets me post. I do have to say I admire the RPG bloggers that can post on a daily basis. Hats off to you.

Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 Day 31: Thank

Written by TardisCaptain August 31, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 31: Thank

I think I did my thanks post yesterday now that I think about it. Perhaps I should have used yesterday’s entry as a “What would you have selected” topic. Oh well, too late now.

So I’d like to thank those of you who have read through my ramblings. Not only for the past month with the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge, but ever since I started this blog last year. Some of you have emailed me or responded on social media. I love getting the responses letting me know that someone has been reading my blog.

I would especially like to thank those of you who have followed the links to DriveThruRPG and ordered games. They do send me a little kickback for you guys doing that. I was able to order a game or two that I plan to review on this website. So far, no one has donated to the Ko-Fi link located on the sidebar. But I also don’t know if I’m using it properly. I’m certain that a regular schedule of original posts would help with that.

I would like to also thank the organizers of the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge. This has been an interesting experience. I wonder what other participants have thought now that it is over?

Final Thoughts:

I’ll be posting an after action report tomorrow.

Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 Day 30: Mention

Written by TardisCaptain August 30, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 30: Mention

There are a few people I’d like to mention.

My wife: I am so grateful that she is a geek and a gamer to boot. She loves anime and sci-fi. I still remember the day she demanded that I build her a computer.

My kids: They have also turned into geeks of their own interest. At least one has been playing D&D 5e with friends. (Proud Papa)

My Star Trek family: Not only have we had a chance to play various Star Trek role playing games, but we’ve RPGed in other systems as well.

Game designers: Thank you for your creativity and your efforts. I hope that someday I’ll be able to share my creativity with other players.

Final Thoughts:

Fumbling over the finish line.

Dune, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars

#RPGaDay2021 Day 29: System

Written by TardisCaptain August 29, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 29: System

So when it comes to selecting a role playing system to play, which is better? Learning something new or going with a system you are already familiar with that has been adapted for the universe you want to play in?

For me, it’s sixes. Recently I had the option to play in an online game and the game master gave us the option of a D20 system (Starfinder) or something else. I don’t even really recall what the second option was because I was more worried about trying to learn how to use the online virtual table top application (another post for another day). While I was happy for the easy of the D20 system, I also discovered that Starfinder (and I later found out that Pathfinder was the same way) was just a little too crunchy for me. It seems like it has taken the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 book and added way to many additional rules to the system.

On the other hand, the D20 based Star Wars RPG released in the early 2000’s didn’t really attract me at the time. I’m a big Star Wars fan, but I remember thinking that “Seeing Luke and company with D&D stats just seemed off.” I don’t know if it’s because of all the D6 Star Wars games that I had played, or that I just didn’t have the money at the time to buy another set of books. So I never got into the game at the time it was being published. If someone were to invite me to a game now, I’d take them up on the offer.

There are generic systems out there. I had played GURPS back in the early 90’s. It seemed ok at the time, but a lot of math. So it’s not one of my first choices. I just received Dune: Adventures in the Imperium for a birthday gift which is a 2d20 system like Star Trek Adventures. It’s been interesting to see the tweaks between the two rulebooks. (again another blog post will go into further details on this) The D6 system that was used in the WEG Star Wars system has been ported over to a series of generic RPG books. I could see myself using the D6 system for a classic Battlestar Galactica game.

I haven’t even scratched the surface on which systems have stood out to me or failed to grab my attention. There are just way to many out there. But I have tried a few. When I was going through my three-ringed binder of old characters, I noticed I had sheets for some games that I don’t even remember playing. I must not have been very impressed with the system if I can’t remember them now.

Final Thoughts:

All of the remaining dates in the challenge only have one suggestion for each day. It almost seemed like the list just sputtered out of ideas.

Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

#RPGaDay2021 Day 28: Solo

Written by TardisCaptain August 28, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 28: Solo

I had previously posted about finding an old three-ringed binder full of past role playing game characters that I had been using in various games. I even posted a previous character on Day 3 of the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge. When I had created the spreadsheet in July with all of the terms for the challenge, I had an immediate typed in an entry for this day. I would post my Solo (think cyberneticaly enhanced soldier/fighter/mercenary) character from a past Cyberpunk game. So here is Edgerunner.

This was our gaming group’s first attempt in the cyperpunk genre. We had previously played Doctor Who, Star Wars, Vampire The Masquerade and DC Superheroes. One of the moments that I remember from the game was our attempt to escort a semi-truck full of valuable stuff from one city to another. The bad guys had launched a shoulder fired missile at the truck. In one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” rolls, I actually rolled high enough that my shot caused the missile to detonate by shooting at it. This was the group that was primarily gaming at the old Comics Utah stores when they were still around. I had a lot of fun with this group.

Final Thoughts:

It’s probably a good thing that the suggestions for this date was “Solo”. I really couldn’t have thought of anything for the other options. “Dream” could have come up with something. “Open” and “Delve” was very, very vague.

Role Playing Games, Star Trek

#RPGaDay2021 Day 27: Group

Written by TardisCaptain August 27, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 27: Group

Getting together with a group of friends is the biggest reason I play role playing games. These games are a social activity. Those who show up early can chat about how things are going before the game starts. A good game usually results in members of the group talking with each other between sessions.

I recall one campaign with the FASA Star Trek Role Playing Game where the session had ended on a cliffhanger. We were trapped on a starship with several enemy torpedoes heading directly towards us. This was in the days before texting and emails. So phone call by phone call the different players called each other with different ideas of what we could do. Which idea was the best? Which idea would actually work? There was a problem and we were going to solve it.

When it came time for the next session, the GM picked up from where we left off. As the torpedoes hit, the power suddenly went out on the ship. A voice called out “OK, open it up” and the simulator wall holding the viewscreen slid open a la Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. An instructor walked through checking off a box on a clipboard stating “Well you messed that one up, didn’t you?” We don’t know if the GM planned to make this a simulation or it was his idea to get himself out of a painted corner. I just remember that one player screamed. The GM quickly gulped and ran out the door. When he dodged the player chasing him and ran back in to the house, he had discovered that we had a belt converted into a hangman’s noose. While we were upset about our ideas being thrown out the window, we were not really going to hang him… or were we?

I’ve made many different friends in different gaming groups. Some of them I haven’t talked to in years. Others I am still in contact with today. One lives so close I could hit his house with a well thrown rock. It is still my opinion that gaming in person with the group was much better than gaming over an online platform. Yes, the online options have allowed games to continue while we work our way through recent challenges. But I want to see the body language expressing secret messages via glances, I want to hear the groans as I let loose a joke (If I could make the DM laugh during a session he’d give me extra experience points), I want to hear about how my friends are doing.

Having re-read a lot of my gaming books or checking out new systems I want to get a group of friends together just to try a system. While we may not make a campaign out of the game, we would at least try out the system and see if it worked. I just wish that we could actually get together. Not just health wise, but trying to arrange scheduled (the same old story). But we would to it together as a group.

Final Thoughts:

I had a hard time with this set of suggestions. “Fraction”? It was my understand that there would be no math. “Kindle”? I guess I could have talked about reading books on a kindle. “Practice” You want me to blog about practice?