Curt’s Basement

A while back, I came up with the “One sentence character concept”, which basically followed this format: A (descriptive) (role) is trying to (do something). A forlorn detective is trying to run away from his past. A heartbroken ninja is trying to overthrow the Empire. An untested new superhero is trying to know her friends from her enemies.  Basically, each character concept is a creative vector for play.

From Deeper in the Game and part two is here

The second Futurama DVD hasn’t even stopped spinning in our drives and we’re already looking forward to the third one. It’s a much geekier affair than even Futurama fans are used to, as they’re delving into the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Will this Ender’s Game Futurama movie be any good? We’re pretty sure it will, seeing as the Kirk and Spock heads are back, and that was probably one of the best episodes ever. - Gizmodo

Erick Wujcik, author of our beloved TMNT roleplaying game, along with alot of other books for the abysmal Palladium line of RPGs passed away earlier this month after a long bout with cancer. While I didn’t follow his work closely, I know that we all had great fun with the TMNT RPG, and it pretty much is the sole reason we discovered RPGs outside of D&D, so I think he deserves at least a little bit of our respect.

Besides, without him we wouldn’t have had anything as creative as a nitroglycerin-laden, artifically intelligent, murderous van run amok!

http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=90372

I recently read a series of really fascinating articles from Ars Ludi called Grand Experiments: West Marches (part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4). With all the excitement surrounding the release of 4th edition, I’ve been reading alot of DMing articles and such to find inspiraition and to hone my skill set as a DM. The article I mentioned talks about a different sort of campaign we’re used to. Instead of a set plot line with a defined villain and goals, it’s very much a sandbox-style of campaign.

I find this to be really fascinating as it’s almost like exploring a more living, breathing world. Sometimes, from where I’m sitting at least, things can seem to be a bit linear. I sometimes feel that you guys are almost fearful of straying from the main plot just in case you might derail it indefinitely. I agree with that sentiment to some degree. With campaigns like the Shackled City (Cauldron), it had a very defined path and pacing to it that were fragile when faced with the possibility of players straying from the path. Furthermore, and honestly, unless I’ve made everything up on the fly, my ability to improvise is not always on call.

I want to fix that. I want to have a campaign like the West Marches. Start small with a town that has some ruins nearby and let the group decide their own fate. The idea, of course, being that stories and characterization are emergent. The characters would grow and change with the setting and NPCs would become alot more familiar.

At this point, it’s all just an idea. There’s not alot of play going on right now so I’m not certain it’s wise to start another campaign, and I’d really like to focus on the ones I’ve already got at this point, but I just thought I’d mention the idea and the articles as I’ve been thinking about it all a fair bit just lately.

Don’t forget I would like to see Ravenloft and Call of Cthulhu characters come in. So far I have for CoC only Neil and Curt. For Ravenloft I have none. Not sure if this is just the interest for these two particular games. If you think you may not be available just make a guy anyways as you never know when we will decide to play or when you may become available.

Several polyhedra in various materials with similar symbols are known from the Roman period. Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used.

My thoughts, I think they were used for some pen and papyrus game. The Price: $17,925 USD

I’ve had a real hankering to play some old-fashioned computer RPGs lately, like Ultima VI: The False Prophet or something. Well, with a little digging around I found something that could sate that interest. It’s an indie RPG called Eschalon: Book 1. It’s has a very old-school feel and I very much enjoyed my taste of the demo. Check it out here.

PBEM is a very new thing to all of us, I’m sure. I imagine that at first, regardless of what we do, it will be shaky ground. But I also have faith that before long we’ll be well into the swing of things and having a great time. To help ease us into this whole new play style, I’ve been reading whatever I could and found a nifty little site called www.pbemplayers.com that has all kinds of advice for both players and DMs. It’s very generic, and sometimes that means that it can be a bit ethereal in it’s explanations, but I still found it to be a handy guide.

If you’re looking for some more concrete examples, feel free to check out ENWorld’s Play by Post forum.

Lastly, we’ll also be using Invisible Castle for die rolls. Well, for your rolls anyway. I’ll be using my fancy new dice for mine.

I hope to see all your characters (Carl, Joe, and John remain) soon so we can start ASAP!

Well seem’s with 4th edition we are just bursting with ideas around this place and here is yet another.

Welcome to the Carnival will be my Ravenloft campaign which will be an alternate to Call of Cthulhu if other players cannot make it. The idea behind Welcome to the Carnival is that everyone is part of the troupe. Zoe being perhaps in acrobatics under the big top, Youri divining peoples pasts and futures…cursing them, etc. While traveling you will see various lands which will keep things dynamic and the story itself can continue despite who is not present.

As far as timeline it is definitely pre-requiem. How early in RL history I am not sure yet but will provide more details soon on that. I would like the characters in around the same time as CoC characters that are to be handed in for those who are interested.

I was originally thinking about doing an RL game as a PBEM however while cooking tonight the idea is almost too good to pass up doing in person. Not to mention it makes a good alternate to Call of Cthulhu so there is always something to play.

I did a post about this awhile back wanting characters but will post again for all interested.

I am looking to run the Horror on the Orient Express campaign. This is a 1920’s game (specifically 1923) which will take everyone across Europe. You do not have to know each other from the bat but if you can plausibly link yourself to someone even as an acquaintance that would be cool though that is totally up to you.

Curt and Neil have both sent in their characters though I recommend people make a minimum of 2 replacements because the campaign is pretty hardcore no punches held.

As for a time to play I am thinking a weeknight Mon, Wed, Fri or Sunday day/night. So pop off availabilities though I am pretty sure I can reference the D&D thread for that. I know some people may be excluded due to schedules but I am aiming for max people who can attend consistently. This is a game I ideally want nobody missing from.

I am aiming to have things going in two weeks however I want peoples primary characters done by Fri 9pm of next week. Please use Byakhee to create characters, it takes all on 10 minutes or less.