Cowboys and Aliens

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first Barking Alien post of 2018! 

I apologize for taking so long to get started this year. I've been incredibly busy of late. All good I assure you.

I am now technically in my 41st year in the Role Playing Game hobby.

Wow. Can you imagine?

So what am I going to be working on this year? What's my current 'State of Gaming'? What is my next big game project (or projects)?

I know you're all waiting, gripping the edges of your respective seats in anticipation. Well, some of you are. That guy is. You know who I'm talking about. Yeah you. This one's for that guy.

Where are we now?

At the moment, I am playing in two games, and running one. The other game I was running has ended, at least temporarily. 

On Wednesday nights, I am involved in a Kapow! Superhero campaign that has been going strong for about three years now. I've been getting a little frustrated with it lately due to no fault of the GM, or the other players. The group is the thing I enjoy most about the game. It's me. I'm a little bored with the Superhero genre right now. Even I find that a strange statement coming from me, so I can only imagine what you're thinking dear reader. I attribute it to too many Supers games in 2017. 

The second game I'm playing in, which has been hiatus for some time now, is an in-person Hogwarts/Wizard World of Harry Potter game run using a homebrewed variant of Apocalypse World. The game is has traditionally been run on alternating Friday nights, except when the GM is unavailable (such as this past holiday season, and into the new year), or when more than two of the players can't show (as there are only four players in the group).

I like this game a lot, although the tone of the last several sessions shifted too dramatically for my personal tastes. Our PCs are in their third year, but the situations and antagonists felt like they were more appropriate to Book 5 (The Order of the Phoenix). This wouldn't be a big deal except Book 3 (The Prisoner of Azkaban) was my favorite book, and Book 5 my least favorite. We all had fun, but I felt a little shorted, or cheated thematically. Still, I am very much looking forward to this games return in the coming weeks.

On the alternating Fridays I mentioned above, I am running Star Trek: Prosperity, a Star Trek Adventures campaign set in the late, Original Series era. Our campaign begins a before the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk has completed its 5 year mission, and is now approximately a year, and half in to its own 3 year mission. Our campaign has a number of influences from The Animated Series, as well as various Star Trek comic books.

I was running a Superhero game with a homebrew system that was based on the Japanese Anime/Manga series, My Hero Academia entitled My Hero Academia: American Ultra. I completed the campaign's 'first season', which went well, but I began to feel that aforementioned weariness with Supers that I mentioned. I felt it necessary to end the game while I was just jazzed about it. It could certainly be optioned for a second season at some later date. . 

Kapow! continues, as does Hogwarts, and Star Trek: Prosperity, but a new year means new games, and I have several concepts I want to explore. The question therefore is...

Where are we going?

The two ideas that are foremost in my mind right now are:

The Orville

A traditional Science Fiction/Space Exploration campaign set in the universe of the Seth Macfarlane's TV series of the same name.

In addition to really liking the show, I love that idea that the players will have the kind of familiarity they would have with a Star Trek game, but without having to worry about all the continuity, and elements they don't know. There have only been 12 episodes. We've all seen the same 12. Not hard to keep things straight. 

I also like that although the show is not really the comedy that everyone expected, there are more relaxed and light hearted moments than you might be on other Sci-Fi shows. This milieu is one of serious Science Fiction, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. 

As noted in some earlier posts on the subject, I am adapting Star Trek Adventures for this. Expect to see a lot of The Orville Adventures in posts throughout the year, but especially within the next couple of weeks.

Travellin' West

A working title, with another possibility being Western, or Westward, Traveller. Essentially, a Wild West RPG campaign using a variant of classic Traveller. 

Now, when I say a variant, I am talking about the kitbashed, house-ruled version of classic Traveller I've been running for many years now. Basically it's classic with some updated rules from MegaTraveller, and an optional 'Death During Character Creation' system that can result in some very neat background material, plot hooks, and even special abilities, and items on occasion. 

I've been toying with the idea of returning to the rather unusual approach to running a Western I took when I was very young, and still a relative newbie with RPGs. You can find references to both the original game, and my desire to revisit it here, and here. 

While considering and turning down a number of options for a new campaign for this year, the Western idea kind of crept up on me out of nowhere, but stuck in my head even as others came, and went. While trying to find a system, it occurred to me how relatively simple, and effective it would be to adapt Traveller. It has an ideal balance between simplicity, and mechanical crunch, features a combat system where a pistol can kill an unarmored man, and PCs don't get more hit points as they improve in other way. A bandit's bullet can take you down in session fifty, as easily as it can in session 1.

There are other elements I think also translate over well, including the Character Creation, with Career rolls, and the building of the PCs history as they're being generated. 

I am pretty excited about this endeavor. I will keep you all posted regarding my progress. I hope to get it down, and working, and not drop the project as I did Star Wars Traveller.*

Alrighty now...we've got the ball rolling!

Let's see where it bounces...

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*Star Wars Traveller is on the back burner, and has been for some time. With my feeling less than impressed with the latest film, and far too many other ideas going through my head, Star Wars Traveller is not my concern at this time. I may get back to it at some later date, but right now that later date seems to be much, much later. 

Joy to The World

Welcome to December, the last month of 2017, the year that marks my 40th Anniversary in the Role Playing Game hobby. Wow. The year feels like it flew by at light speed. 

This was a year of big changes for me. I moved, my business picked up finally, and considerably, one relationship ended, another has begun, and I've done a lot of gaming. A lot. A butt load honestly. 

This blog has been a bit neglected though as a result of all these other things, and while that bums me out a bit, the aforementioned events needed my attention more than this did. Barking Alien is fun, and even therapeutic, but it doesn't pay the bills. 

Now the holiday season has arrived, and I am still incredibly busy. A good thing too, as I know things will get very quiet in a week, or two. With the additional time off I may be able to game some more, and even blog a few times. We'll see.

What I am getting at here is don't be surprised if you don't hear too much from Barkley, and I until January. I'm focusing on real life, and enjoying doing so (a far cry more than I have over the past several years). 

When Barking Alien returns to its regularly scheduled programming, (such as it ever is) expect to see a lot of Sci-Fi/Space Adventure material. I've been missing Science Fiction, and related gaming a lot and I'm heavily inspired to get back to it in a big way. 

I intend to go more deeply into my gaming ideas based on The Orville TV Series now that Season 1 is complete, and I'm sure Star Wars: The Last Jedi will add fuel to the fire that's been burning in me to revisit that galaxy long ago, and far, far away. 

Until then, I want to wish everyone, and everything a very happy, and healthy holiday, regardless of the holiday, or tradition you follow.

Joy to the World,

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November Has Come

Hey gang!

Adam and Barkley here at the Barking Alien Blog to welcome you to the month of November, and what we're going to focus on this month.

Excellent! What are we going to focus on?

What? I thought...I thought you knew.

Me? Why would I have that kind of information?

The blog is called 'Barking Alien'. You're the barking alien.

Oh no. No, no, no. You're not laying this in my lap mister. First...technically...I don't have a lap exactly...and second, we knew going in that this site is your baby. I'm just the help.

Wonderful. 

Look, don't get discouraged just because your out of post ideas...

I'm not out of post ideas. I'm not. How long have we known each other? I'm never really out of ideas for posts, I just...I don't know what I actually want to take the time to talk about. 

I'm running two campaigns right now, a Star Trek Adventures campaign titled, 'Star Trek: Prosperity', and a homebrewed Superhero campaign based on 'My Hero Academia' called, 'My Hero Academia: American Ultra'. 

I'm also playing in three campaigns. A modified Powered by the Apocalypse Wizard World Game - 'Hogwarts: Ravenclaw' - , a Kapow! Superhero game featuring our original team, 'The Wardens', and a bi-weekly (or so) Star Trek Adventures campaign titled, 'Star Trek: Excalibur'. 

That's a lot of gaming! So what's the problem? You have tons to talk about.

Yeah, but I don't really want to play-by-play report on all of those. If I talk about some, why not others? It's just not the mood I'm in blog wise.

Geez. Fine. What do you want to talk about?!

I don't know! It's like...it's like when you're really hungry, and you're at the supermarket, and you can't decide what you want to eat. Know what I mean?

No. I'm a extraterrestrial dog. If I am hungry enough, the boots on your space suit are just fine. By the way, you need new space suit boots. Just FYI.

*Sigh* I need something to spark my drive to post. Something I haven't done before, or in a while. I'm thinking, if I can find my catalyst, everything else will fall into place. 

You need a theme for the month...an angle.

Yes! Precisely. I will probably talk about other things as well, but a theme will help me focus my thought. If you look back at August of this year, and the RPGaDay Challenge, I made 42 posts even though there were 31 questions. The challenge got me writing, and coming to the blog so I did an additional 11 posts. I need something like that.

OK, so how's this...

Hey there Barking Alien enthusiasts, viewers, and visitors! 

For the month of November, 2017, the Barking Alien blog will be answering questions from our audience! That's right, ask any question, and Adam and I will answer it to the best of our ability.

Did Adam ever co-GM a game, with two GMs running simultaneously? What is his favorite snack food? How many times has a starship named Bonhomme Richard been destroyed in his Star Trek games? (Answer: Every time).

Not a bad idea. I can still post whatever comes to mind, but I will also post responses to ideas from my fellow gamers. It also ties into my 40th Anniversary, answering questions about my gaming interests and experiences as we head toward the end of 2017. I love it! Thanks Barkley! Good work ol' friend. 

No problem chum. That's why I'm here. That, and the free food. 

Well, this might turn out to be an interesting month of posts after all...


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A Matter of Trust

Some weeks ago, a friend suggested she should try Dungeons & Dragons.

She has played but a single role playing game you see, at least to my knowledge. It was a few years ago, so I may be mistaken. She could have played many times since our first, and last session together.

With myself as GM, she and a group of perhaps five others partook in a pretty epic session of the FASA Star Trek RPG. She was brilliant at it. A natural, as they say.

We managed to meet for only a meager handful of sessions. That was a few years back, and we've been trying to get together to game again ever since, but distance and conflicting schedules has made that extremely difficult (read: impossible).

I got the chance to see her again at New York Comic Con, and we discussed the possibility of staging another game. She said, half jokingly and half seriously, that perhaps she should try a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Her reasoning?

"It's like 'geek cred', no? If you're going to be a gamer, you need to play D&D at least once."

Strangely, for someone who has no great love for the game, this hit home, and made sense to me.

D&D was my first game, and I can't deny the fact that without it, without the experience of that first game, that first campaign, nothing would have followed.

That is to say, had I never played D&D, had it not existed and I hadn't played it when I did, I wouldn't be blogging this right now, I wouldn't have written, and sold my own game, I wouldn't have celebrated 40 years in the hobby this year, and I wouldn't have had all the incredible memories I've form over all these years.

My friend asked me to run a D&D game for her, and my first thought wasn't, 'Ugh. That game', or 'But Tales from the Loop is sooo much cooler' (even if it is). My first thought was, "Wow. Why me? What makes her think I'm the right guy for this honor?"

Maybe I'm the only GM she knows. Maybe I was there when she thought of it.

Maybe she trusts me. Maybe she thinks I'm good at this stuff, and she wants her experience to be good, so...

I've been mulling around fantasy ideas in the back of mind ever since. 

I'm not sure what I have in mind exactly. I see something classic, old school, to give her and the other players that participate a taste of what it was like in the 'Golden Days'. At the same time, D&D is a taste I've never quite acquired. I need to season it somehow, to make it not only palatable, but full of the kind of flavors I enjoy. How do I accomplish B, while still achieving A? That's the real trick isn't it.

I will figure it out. I want to. I have to. 

At the risk of being overly dramatic, it's a matter of honor now. A matter of trust.

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Red Skies and Floppy Disks

As my 40th Gaming Anniversary month draws to close, I am kind of amazed at how much of it I spent talking about, and playing Superhero RPGs.

It shouldn't come as a surprise really, for as I've said, Supers is what got me into RPGs in the first place (in a manner of speaking). It's just that, with a name like 'Barking Alien' you'd think there would be a bit more Science Fiction in my celebration of the 40 year mark. 

Furthermore, when I look at the general gaming landscape, how things like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Numenera seem to dominate the market by leaps and bounds, I am once more reminded that is the bulk of the lot, the unifying factor, the common denominator...but it just ain't me.

This past Wednesday evening I ran the first session of my half of our Google Hangouts group's Ultra Mega Summer Super Crossover Event, DC Adventures - Crisis on Earth G+!

The first part, a Marvel Heroic mini-series, ended with a bit less bang, and a bit more whimper than we all would have liked. The Marvel Heroic system didn't turn out to be to most of the players' liking. Even, or perhaps especially the GM found the game cumbersome, and tedious, getting in the way of telling a Superhero comic book story instead of supporting, and enhancing it. 

I was personally a tad disappointed that we didn't get to 'see', or experience very much of the Marvel Universe. If I don't normally play in the Marvel milieu, and I get to for a limited run, I want the opportunity to encounter uniquely Marvel things. I wanted to feel why the atmosphere of Marvel is special - why it's not DC, or our homegrown Kapow! game. 

I tried really hard to make that a part of our DC excursion. To facilitate that, I made some tough choices. Not tough for me to make, but choices that I knew might not initially sit well with all the players. For example, I limited which characters they could choose to play, but I didn't do it arbitrarily. Rather, I did it to make the whole thing work. 

Here's what we ended up with...

The Silver/Bronze Age Justice League of America

Characters by Jose Garcia Lopez

Background by Me.

First, I told all the players that the story was set in the DC Universe in the year 1984.

Yep. 1984. The Bronze Age. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

I opened the game saying:

"The year is 1984. 
Ronald Reagan is the President of the United States.
Footloose and Beverly Hill Cops are raking it in at the Box Office.
Dynasty and Family Ties top the Nielsen Ratings. 
Just like the rest of Earth G+, Bonnie Tylor is Holding Out for a Hero."

That right there is the key to everything. 

Any character created by DC during, or after Crisis on Infinite Earths does not exist in our game. If the character was acquired by DC Comics, and first appears in a DC book during, or after COIE, such as Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the other Charlton Characters, they too are not available as PCs. 

The 'Satellite Era' Justice League of America, the Teen Titans (Dick Grayson is Robin, not Nightwing), the Doom Patrol (original), the Metal Men, and a number of independent heroes are all cleared for use. 

The group eventually chose a very classic Justice League line up:

The Flash/Barry Allen (played by Keith)
Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (played by Stephen)
Green Lantern/Hal Jordan (played by Tim)
Hawkgirl/Sheira Hall (played by Mark)
Superman/Clark Kent - Kal-El (played by Carl)
Wonder Woman/Princess Diana - Diana Prince (played by Melinda)


A day, or two before the session, I posted the following image, and caption to our Event page...

'Earth Time - August 29th, 1984, 12:00 PM EST - On the outskirts of Space Sector 2813, bordering the edge of 2814, Green Lantern Honor Guard Member, Tomar-Re, detects a disturbance in the Space-Time Continuum.'

The following morning I posted this...

'A series of strange events, some clearly villainous, some merely suspicious, have kept the Justice League of America rather busy over the past 48 hours.

Flash, and Green Arrow - In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Mark Mardon, AKA Weather Wizard, somehow escaped from the Minnesota State Correctional Facility that held him. Several hours later, a sudden, terrible storm blew over Star City just as a plane extraditing Count Werner Vertaygho of Vlatava, AKA Count Vertigo, had taken off. The aircraft, as well as Count Vertigo himself, have disappeared. 

Green Lantern, and Superman - Our heroes have been on the trail of Rudy Jones, AKA The Parasite, for at least twelve hours now. Jones recently escaped from a S.T.A.R. Labs facility attempting to cure his condition. As the heroes neared his last known whereabouts, the Metropolis suburb of Midvale, reports came through that a 'yellow-gold giant with purple clothes' had been sighted in the Delaware Water Gap National Park, about 80 miles Northeast of the city. 

Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman - Yesterday evening, Helen Alexandros, AKA The Silver Swan, stole an ancient, Greek salpinx from the Midway City Museum (The Midway Museum of Ancient History). She was aided by a mysterious man in a blue cloak. The two individuals vanished right before the eyes of stunned security guards. Early this morning, a man wearing a cloak of the same description was spotted in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis by Ace O' Clubs owner Bibbo Bibbowski.'

A few hours later, I posted this last, additional entry:

'Update: Additional sightings of the Parasite, Silver Swan, the Blue Cloaked Man, and the mysterious Yellow-Gold Giant have been confirmed by various sources, and complied by J'onn Jonzz, The Martian Manhunter, back on the JLA Satellite. According to his findings, they are all headed for central Metropolis, likely the borough of New Troy.

Weather patterns there have begun to change rapidly, and a particularly intense lightning storm seems to be forming. Very likely, this is a sign that Weather Wizard, and perhaps Count Vertigo, are on their way as well.

Be ready Justice Leaguers!'

The important things to note here are that I tried to make sure I had certain vital (IMO) components established:

• Familiar super villains from the rogues galleries of the chosen PCs.
• A few mystery villains who could not be confirmed to add intrigue.
• Mention of key DC Comics locations related to the PCs.
• Mention of key NPC heroes or supporting cast members. 
• Everything culminating in the most well known location mentioned: Metropolis.

Also, I established that the Martian Manhunter was there to help in an advisory capacity. This enabled me to give exposition, helpful hints, and the like with an in-game voice (J'onn's) instead of a GM/Narrator voice.

Remember this is all before the first session. This is the prologue. It's...OMG...it's...

Pre-Crisis on Earth G+!

More to come...

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RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Bonus Round!

The RPGaDay Challenge for 2017 is over! 

However...

Here are some Alternate Questions I found on the blog Casting Shadows that I'm going to answer in short response form as Bonus Questions. Why? Because Gaming that's why!

Alternate Questions

• What do you look for in a review of an RPG?

In a review? I look for someone to have read, and/or played the game who can tell me how it works, and why they think it's good, or bad. Isn't that what a review is?

• Campaigns: do you prefer set-length or open-ended play?

I definitely prefer open-ended play. Long term because it ends up long term. 

• How long does it take to learn to get the most out of a game?

I don't understand this question. You get what you put into it. If you're asking how long it takes to master the rules lawyer/power game bs that comes with a game like Pathfinder, it takes me exactly 0 seconds. I don't bother.

• What do you want out of an RPG experience?

Excitement, laughs, real emotion, and a story that you'll tell each other, and other gamers you meet years done the line. 

• What gives an RPG its ‘replay value’?

Again, I don't understand. If you can't play a game more than one time, it's not a good game. It might not even be a real RPG. 

• What part or parts of a session do you look forward to the most?

As GM, the world building, and the players/PCs uncovering the elements I put there in order to build an interesting setting.

As a player, I like discovering those world building bits, and bobs, uncovering secrets to the universe the GM has developed. 

• What makes an RPG book special in your eyes?

This is an interesting question. What makes it special? Wow. This is very hard to pin down. It's a combination of things. How it looks, the art, how easy it is to read, how cool the examples of play are...some many things. 

• What would appear on an RPG book cover that would make you want to play it?

A Japanese Anime/Manga Giant Robot.

Heh, kidding (sort of). It isn't what's on the cover, it's what the game is about, and how well it handles that subject matter.

• How far from human do you enjoy getting the chance to be in an RPG?

LOL. You are talking to the guy whose motto in high school was, 'If the game has something other than Humans, I will be something other than Human.' Jot me down for 'Real Weirdie'.

• What is the oldest game you have played, or still play?

Classic Traveller I would think.

• Describe a moment of wonder that arose in play.

So many. I wouldn't know where to start, or rather it would take a whole post to describe anyone of them. I am trying to give short response answers here. Please go back and read various entries on my blog. There are some real doozies. 

• Have you learned a skill because of events in a game? Tell us about it!

I am awful at math. I always have been, and probably always will be. It's almost a learning disability. Not quite, but my mind just doesn't grasp numbers and their relationships very well. The one area of mathematics I can understand is probability and percentages. That is solely due to playing RPGs.

• What section do you read first when you get a new game? Why?

Character Creation. I always want to know how to build a character. Oddly, as a GM, Character Creation is not my favorite part of the gaming experience. Often, I actually find it tedious. That's why I look at Character Creation first. If I find Character Creation enjoyable, it is very likely that I will like the rest of the game. 

• Suggest an RPG with engaging solo play.

Um...er...um...huh? Do you mean One Player, and One GM, or no GM? Why would you do that? There are video games for that. Go play Mass Effect. Better yet, play World of Warcraft or something. That way you can play alone, but with people. 

• Which RPGs facilitate running very large groups enjoyably?

I may be biased here, as I prefer running for fairly large groups. I find many games that people view as cumbersome for large groups to be pretty easy to run. I've run FASA Star Trek for 7 or 8 players at once, WEG Star Wars for 7 or 8 on average, and a Mutants & Masterminds campaign with between 7 and 11 people per session. Any game with rules that a both simple, and straightforward work well with large groups. 

The RPGaDay Challenge for 2017 is over! 

Well that's that! Challenge excepted and overcome! Feeling pretty good about myself. 

Until next post...


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RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Day 31

This is it people of Earth, the last of the RPGaDay Challenge questions for 2017!

Well...not really. It is that last of the questions on that big ol' question board, but there are some alternate questions provided by the gaming blog Casting Shadows that I am going to answer as Bonus Round questions.

Go Me!

Last things first however...

Huh,

Tough one.

Why?

I am not really anticipating anything in particular industry-wise. 

I am curious to see how Modiphius handles the Star Trek Adventures line of course, and there are a few books announced by them that I may pick up and convert their useful ideas, and info to Last Unicorn's game. 

It would be nice if Fantasy Flight covered the new Star Wars films, but that mean having to get a dozen more books, since they seem to make a separate game for every Star Wars idea that comes out. The new, post-Return of the Jedi trilogy alone would require three new, completely distinct rulebooks if you go by FFG's logic. (Have I said FU to FFG here before? No? Well FU FFG.).

I wouldn't mind checking out the upcoming new edition of Villains & Vigilantes, mainly because of nostalgia. That should be out soon though I would think (before the new year).

I have my eye on Japan's Wares Blade Reboot project, but current information seems to suggest that a new RPG is low on the list of their priorities. Rather, they want to use the property to make an Anime, Light Novels, and possibly Manga. A new RPG is probably a bit more complicated give the original publisher may not have an interest in that right now. I will hope for the best, and keep you all posted.

So...anticipated, let alone most anticipated, isn't a phrase I would use I the moment. 


From my own gaming things are different...


I am hoping to continue, and maybe even expand my My Hero Academia: American Ultra game. It's working really well, and having other players/PCs drop by on the main three every once in a while would be really cool. 

I figure we will continue on with our Wednesday night Google Hangouts Kapow! Superhero RPG, with occasional breaks to try out other things (we did that a few times this year, and I really enjoyed some of them. Just taking a break every one in a while is nice.).

My Friday night group is going to go through a change, as one of the players is moving out of New York (Take care Erick! Good luck my friend!). We will likely continue on with our Hogwarts/Wizarding World game, and I aim to give Ars Magica a good run, though definitely a finite one. Long, ongoing games are not as effective with this particular group as are short, concise ones. 

Ooh, Tales from the Loop! I totally need to run Tales from the Loop at some point.

Beyond that, who knows?

There are games I am itching to get back to after having not played them in a while, such as the aforementioned Star Trek (LUG), Star Wars (WEG), and Wares Blade (Hobby Japan).

What about you? Do you know any games you think are worth watching out for? Let me know! Please! I'm always up for being impressed by a new game. 

Well, that about does it. I sometimes rib these questions, and I do honestly think they could sometimes be better, but I must also thank RPG Brigade for making them each year. The Challenge as a whole is fun, and it always gets me posting right after my usually dreadful summers (dreadful business and posting wise).

Thanks RPG Brigade, and The RPGaDay Challenge!

See you here next year,

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RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Day 30

The end is near...

OK, I can answer this...but I'd first like to say that I really don't want to see 'genre-mashups'.  Not when there are so few genres with a decent headline game.

If there a definitive Wild West game out there? A 60s Spy game? How about a Fantasy Folklore game, huh?

Yeah. Don't go putting your chocolate in my peanut butter until you can make really good chocolate.

That said...I wouldn't mind seeing a Medieval Fantasy/Mecha game that doesn't fall into the typical American default of making the mechs Steampunk contraptions, or regular Science Fiction robots. I want that mix of magical item, and fantasy engineering you see in Japanese TRPGs like Wares Blade, or Anime like Knights & Magic.

While I am not a big fan of traditional Fantasy settings, adding a giant robot makes anything better.

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RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Day 29

Close to the end my friends. What the heck will I talk about next month?

I haven't backed very many projects on Kickstarter. Funds for me are often tight, or practically non-existent during certain stretches of the year, and I simply can't afford to spend money on a thing that might not happen. 

Of the ones I have backed, I think only two have come to fruition so far.

That sucks, and makes me less likely to join a Kickstarter in the future.

Conceptually, it's a great idea - Fans of a concept give money to the concept's creators before any product has been produced so that the product can be produced to the best of the ability, and available funds of those working on it. 

Cool. Awesome. And, if you don't reach the desired goal, or you do and nothing comes of it, what then? I'm looking at you Mekton Zero.

Golden Sky Stories, and Spirit of '77 are probably two of the few I've sponsored, and the only ones to put a book in my hand. That's it. Just two.

Bleh. Kickstarter.

Just make a game. If you already made it, and it sounds cool, and isn't super expensive, I'll buy it. 

That's what I did for The Googly Eyed Primetime Puppet Show. 

I didn't want to make a site for maybe making the book. I wanted to make the book. So I did. Perfect? Maybe not, but done and the price? I like to think so. 

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RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Day 28

A day late and a dollar short. Story of my life. Oh well, let's try to catch up shall we?

Huh. OK, cute question. Not hard-hitting journalism by any means, but easy to answer.

With my groups it depends more on the games we're playing. 

Sure, everyone quotes Star Wars, and Monty Python, but we quote Star Wars a lot more when playing Star Wars, and Galaxy Quest a lot when playing Star Trek, and Traveller. 

As a matter of fact, I'd say it goes by genre...

Fantasy

The Dark Crystal
Labyrinth
Lord of the Rings [Movie Trilogy]
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
The Princess Bride


Science Fiction

Aliens
Galaxy Quest
Red Dwarf
Star Trek [TOS and TOS Motion Pictures]
Star Wars [All Movies]


Superheroes

Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies
Superman [Movies I and II]
The Tick [Comics]


These are the most common references based on subject, but of course there are things that are quoted regardless of what we're playing. Chief among these are Monty Python anything, Looney Tunes cartoons, The Muppet Show, and Muppet Movie, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, and even previous games.

Yes, we self quote. There are some in-jokes that have stood the test of time, and still pop-up now and again. Some have even crossed groups, having been repeated during play with different people over the years. 

Among my favorites...

"At this range, I seldom miss."

Originally uttered by my friend Nelson when attacking an opponent at point blank range. In games where you still have to roll to hit when you're practically touching your weapon to your enemy, this line takes on a very literal meaning.


"I am Winspector, and I will kill you."

I said this while watching a Japanese live action 'Sentai' type show. An actor from the previous show (Winspector) guest starred on the current show at the time (Rescue Man? I forget), as his previous character (which is very rare). He gets into a fight with one of the current heroes, and not only kicks his butt, but he does this reverse spin-kick that I found out he really did - no fancy camera tricks, one take.

It is now uttered by players whose PC is about to open a can of whoop-ass on an opponent who really has it coming. 


"I Can't Move!", and "I have The Speed of Miyuchi!"

Ugh. In this one Sentai campaign run years ago, the GM [in what was to be the epic finale] kept throwing obstacle after tedious obstacle in from of my friend Phil's character, Director Miyuchi, the chief of the heroic forces. Phil got so frustrated he yelled out, "I. Can't. Move!", sending everyone, but the GM into a fit of laughter.

Hours later, during the same game, my pal Nelson left the area he was in, and made a mad dash for his super vehicle/giant robot. As round after round went on with him asking if he had gotten there yet, and the GM saying, "Almost, but X is in your way", or "You're nearly there, but Y condition is impeding your progress", Nelson turned to the rest of the group and said, "Oh no! I have The Speed of Miyuchi!"

If it's ever taking the GM an unrealistic amount of time to allow a player to enact their move, my players will sometimes claim they've been afflicted by 'The Speed of Miyuchi". 


"Must be the Puppy Chow."

My ex-wife quoted this Purina Puppy Chow commercial, in which a dog does something amazing/impossible, when I described a hellhound attacking in a D&D game. From that point on, anytime a dog - ally, enemy, PC with wolf/dog attributes - does something really cool, some player will likely say this particular refrain. 


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