Redwolf's Journal (continued)

 Shadow of the Erdtree is more Elden Ring - one of the best games of recent years. Oh. More? Okay, I was initially disappointed by the map size. That turned out to be because you initially only see about a quarter of the overall map. So, size-wise, it's respectable. And there is a layered element to it. There are a few tombs and some more complex areas. Overall, I think there's a good amount of terrain, though there are a few areas that are underused and relatively empty: - The abyssal wood is atmospheric, but really too expansive for what's there with no riding. - The "finger" areas are fairly large for being important in one quest line with very little more than being littered with annoying enemies. - The shaman village feels like there should be something, anything, there. The exploration was still fun, though, and I liked finding ways to get places I could see. There is still at least one truly evil tomb designer out there, though, with that teleporter-filled,...

 So I was asked last night what I actually want in an RPG game/campaign. I came up with a few points, but that's a question I find hard to answer on the spot. It's easy to point at things in an ongoing game that I don't like, and a little harder to point at things I do (darn negative-focused psychology), but making generalizations is more difficult still. It does, however, give me something to focus a little on and ramble about for a time... Story I like a narrative through line - not usually to the point of "railroading," but I want more connective tissue than just returning to a job board after each mission. Sometimes that develops as things go, with character goals shaping things. Setting an end goal at the outset ("defeat the demon lord!") can have ups and downs. However it comes about, I really like to feel there is some forward momentum toward something, though. Consistency This one gets sub-points!  As far as setting, I sort of stopped using the t...

 In D&D, we finally took down the dragon we were fighting. As with my previous experience in 5E, it took about three full sessions, which feels like a slog. The game keeps dragons from feeling like chumps by giving them a bunch of extra "legendary/lair" actions, plus flying alone is a huge advantage in D&D that can completely negate melee builds, and they typically sport some big AOE effects. How anyone keeps that exciting is beyond me. Merely the mechanical pace of keeping up with all of that seems like a huge burden to overcome. But hey, dragon dead. We lost a handful of NPCs and took quite the beating, but rawr us! - In Godbound, perhaps I'm being overly critical. I mean, brains often latch onto the negative. When you get down to it, I enjoy my Godbound character. She fits in a good, non-spotlight role where she can get some good lines in, but isn't really required for plot motion. The argument that she doesn't have enough in the way of personal goals i...

Horizon: Forbidden West finished out its story solidly. I haven't done everything in the game (such as arena fights and collectable hunts), but with a vast majority of side missions done and the main story complete, that's good for now. The ending wraps up a few things and still leaves more to do and a lingering threat. I'm still struck most by the emotiveness and development of characters. There's a scene at the end where one character is absolutely prepared to leave and do his own thing, but watching the others there is a subtle (but apparent) dip of his shoulders telegraphing his decision to stay and help that is only stated a few moments later. There's personal bias, sure, but Forbidden West was awesome. And so I started in on Elden Ring over the weekend. About the only thing shared between the two games is the "open world" tag. In fact, some contrasting controller commands have been tripping me up on occasion. Crouching instead of running, for inst...

It's a little strange to say I've seen this lately in both playing Outriders and Godbound - a disconnect between game mechanics and... messaging, I guess? In Outriders , the game clearly presents multiple ways to play across different classes, abilities, and skill trees. The devs, in one of the first notable patches, nerfed some abilities they saw players gravitating toward in number because "they were so good they felt mandatory and that limits build/play options." Encouraging a breadth of play styles tends to be good, yeah. The problem there is the entire endgame is centered on Expeditions and Expeditions are timed - that means you're rewarded more for speed, favoring a balls-to-the-walls style that requires DPS over everything else. Careful, strategic play? Nope. Support-focused build? Nope. All those are penalized by reduced rewards. So the devs say they want one thing, but the game actively encourages something else. That's a bit of a problem. Honestly, e...

 Godbound Group communication/expectation issues aside, I still need to figure out what to do with my character. An oddity in the game means you can't level-up without spending Dominion in addition to accumulating XP. Dominion is... a measure of ability to influence the world, I suppose you could say. It makes sense with the game conceit that PCs are growing divinities - they have an ability to shape the world and doing so strengthens them. Spending Dominion to benefit followers or territories seems like the most straightforward and obvious use. But when your character is intended to become a more behind-the-scenes power, things are a little more tricky. Plus, it's far too early at this stage to know who she wants to support - the PCs haven't had much change to distinguish themselves and they really haven't found any territory to claim (save, perhaps, the airship wreck they're exploring, but it would apparently take more than dumping present quantities of Dominion i...

 So I scrambled to make a Godbound character back at the end of January and upon finishing, had to wait a few weeks for the actual campaign. Since thing, I think we've managed... three sessions as of last night? Not a very high rate for a "weekly" game, but life happens. I was asked last night if I was feeling better about the game and the answer is... not really? A lot of little thing still take me out. The inconsistent schedule is one. Things like closing out the previous session with a pose about going to scout where an attack came from and coming into that session with said scouting apparently assumed done and having turned up nothing, even though no direct response to me was made to that effect. And with the "feel" of things the last few sessions, I did wonder if I was missing something. So I was perhaps both enlightened and a little put out when it was suggested I join the voice channel even if only to listen. My understanding was the game would be non-voi...

Depression: Well, after a little exchange with my doctor, we're trying an increased dosage. So far, no truly dark days or breakdowns and I can pull myself back from negative thoughts a bit easier. I worry, though, that it may also be keeping me a little... hmm... "floaty" comes to mind - less able to focus/commit to doing a thing. That's hard to quantify and confirm, though. Hmm... Reading: I have a few books on my "to read" list, though I find myself reluctant to start in on them. I received The Dragons of Babel along with The Iron Dragon's Daughter, but after reading the latter I'm not sure I want to read the former. Certainly, if it's the same level of aimlessness and depressive squandering of a character and setting, I'm not up to that right now. The latest (final?) book of the Lightbringer series has been available for a while, but I've been hesitant to pick it up. I've generally enjoyed the series and characters, but as i...

I sort of have to talk about the two together, I think. So, Kit started gearing up to run a little plot in the future of FurryFaire via Discord. Frankly, I'm not so enamored with Discord as a venue for roleplaying, but I see it's got ups and downs so... meh to that part. While Godbound is based on playing growing divine characters, it does have rules for mortals/heroic mortals, and the pitch involved making characters as the latter. As usual, I was fairly slow to really sit down and take a look, though as the game design has a high degree of overlap with d20 D&D the shock wasn't too great. There are a few inherent "problems" in applying it to Faire, though. Now, in fairness, that would be true of virtually any RPG system. The MUCK's reality has been shaped by the systems used before, and any new one introduces things that suddenly can or cannot be done or simply function differently. The Gifts appear to fit in Godbound as a major component of what divine...

I've been reading some posts by one of the people behind Ultimate Online and Star Wars Galaxies. Most are about development of the latter. I've said before and I'll say again that I find looks behind the curtain in such endeavors to be fascinating. Getting insights into the creative ideas behind a major project like that, and seeing how they intersect with practicality, is educational. Sometimes it's also a bit heartbreaking. SWG has a reputation as being pretty unique among MMOs, love it or hate it. I never played, so I can't render an informed opinion. But there was so much ambition behind the design, that I am impressed by it. Hearing how much of that got scaled back or cut because of things like legalities, development timelines, or simple hardware constraints is something anyone even considering game design should see. And even those of us who only play the games can benefit from it by seeing how complicated things truly can be.

So I talked about my history with Robotech . Well, not all that long after, all things considered, I was also introduced to Battletech. While Robotech was a shared love with my friends of the day, Battletech just worked out as a more private experience. Of course, when I initially saw the tactical game with little stand-up cut-outs of mechs, I thought "How cool, veritechs and stuff!" Heh. Using those same designs borrowed from Japan-based series would later lead to a whole mess of legal issues between FASA and Harmony Gold due to confusion over who had the rights to sell as much as who bought them. Lawsuits later, that would mean a number of iconic Battletech mech designs would disappear and/or change. LAMs, Land-Air Mechs, seem to have suffered a similar fate. While battlemechs that could transform into aerospace fighters were a notable part of the game to begin with, they were sort of phased out as time went on. Part of that is surely because the originals were based...

Just a few sessions of Star Wars Saga Edition on the player side of things, and I'm stricken by the extreme range in currency-dependency of the characters. In D&D, there's generally a way to convert gold to magic items. And magic items are used to increase character power. So whether because of Honest Abe's Discount Magic Items chain or a party member with item creation feats, it's generally assumed that that this conversion will happen - gold becomes an increase to the character's abilities in some fashion. Star Wars games, because of the material they emulate, don't have that outlet as there aren't any ubiquitous magic items. So it seems you end up with two (maybe two and a half) types of characters who are on opposite extremes. On one end, you have the characters that almost don't care about credits. A Jedi gets his lightsaber, a scoundrel gets his blaster, and... they're good to go. As long as they have enough money to buy meals (if the g...

So, after a session of fantasy adventure RP last night, I got to talking with our active GM for a bit. As conversations will, we strayed over a few topics, but some left me thinking. He made one brief comment about liking the thinking I expressed at one point. The group was faced with retrieving a hammer entombed with a king in a large burial mound, and we were faced with a largely-immovable slab of a door and possible curses/wards. One of the other party members was going on with "I'm going to look around, there has to be another way in." I had to sort of shake my head and point out, "No, there really doesn't. This is a tomb. They don't make these things to be accessed." That's something I get into during games - arguably too much sometimes. I try (not even deliberately a lot of the time) to apply some form of logic to a situation. Often, I have to acknowledge that the information I/my character has is incomplete, so my conclusions can be wron...

It's a pretty neat development come from our ever-more-interconnected society. While I don't pay much attention to the personal projects, I find it fascinating that we're at a point where creative types can turn to their fans (or would-be fans) and raise money rather than going to a company or investors that might offer the funds with strings attached. Frankly, if you're giving someone a million dollars, you really ought to have the right to attach some strings, but this way each "investor" can toss in what they're comfortable with sans that control and it can pile up pretty quickly in some cases. Of course, to be really successful there, you need to already have an audience and you need to be able to reach them. Me, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to such things. I don't even like signing up on new web sites, and I'm not going to do so to toss a couple bucks at a project that strikes my fancy. I see risk in these funding projects, so...

I usually really enjoy seeing information from behind the curtain, especially when it comes to games. Even something as dry as otherwise-unknown subscription numbers can be a glimpse into the thinking of developers and publishers. Today I came across a fairly new blog by someone talking about his experiences in design for World of Warcraft. It isn't so much a matter of me seeing great revelations here, but I still find some of the personal accounts to be fascinating, including one entry where he relates going from implimenting someone else's ideas in Attumen to exploring his own with Shade of Aran to going overboard with Netherspite . The tale may have extra resonance as Karazhan was my first experience with raiding. I just played through Journey this morning. It's a short game, purchasable online for PS3. At $15 and only 2-3 hours worth of game without a lot of incentive to replay, I can't say it makes my usual entertainment value ratio. And yet, it's better th...

So a few weeks ago, I started pondering the possibility of selling some of my Magic cards. Unfortunately, offloading the bulk of them is... impractical unless I were to look for a local buyer, and the market here just isn't that big. So I consulted one of the major MtG dealer web site/shops, Star City Games. The irony of having bought cards from them before does not escape me. And here's an overview of how it went... July 7th: Sorting and grading cards by the guidelines on their web site. I'm sure I missed several things in my collection that were on their buy list because my own cards are not all well sorted, but I picked out I think a bit over a hundred cards. Their buylist page is... large. And between the quantity of text plus the various links and ads, it's rather slow to navigate even on my better computers (and nearly crippling on an older one I viewed it with). After some some consideration, I decided to submit a list of around a hundred cards that did not in...

Ever since I first got into MtG, I picture Sunglasses of Urza when someone mentions rose glasses. Well, with recent reading making me think of Dungeons and Dragons, I've been thinking back. Third Edition (or probably the 3.5 revision if getting technical) stands as my favorite to date, but I wouldn't call it perfect. I've looked back at some of the defining characteristics of AD&D and AD&D 2nd Edition . And, as I said there, I didn't much use the first edition rules as rules so much as rough guidelines mixed with non-advanced D&D and such. When 2nd Edition came out, I thought it was pretty great. It consolidated and cleaned up a bunch of previous material. It had a lot of rules deliberately flagged as optional - something I appreciated. I won't say it was perfect, but I don't recall feeling the need to change the rules all that much, and I was comfortable adding classes, races, and other things as campaigns needed. Making a little NPC bloc...

... and vice versa. The one aspect of the ongoing Aeranos fantasy game we have going that I have the most trouble with is not the incomplete spell list that's being fleshed out only as we players get to new spells or the wound system that does away with HP whittling in favor of something that practically works out to usually be minor scratches or mortal wounds with relatively little use of the gradient between, rather it's the disadvantage system. You may take up to X points in disadvantages at character creation. They do not give you points to gain more advantages or anything. Rather when a disadvantage hinders your character in play , you earn a fate point (usable for ass-saving critical moments). The closest published example I can think of is (if I'm remembering correctly) the disads in 7th Sea. But I have yet to see it actually work , and the concepts don't sit right with me. Part of the issue is how the conditions vary. A Sense disadvantage could come into ...

I don't have much of an "audience," and those who do bother to read here aren't exactly known for their disposable income. Still, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it at all. A local friend, dreamer, and frequent-GM is trying to gather funding for an App to support tabletop gaming in his home-brew system as well as Pathfinder. Details are here and the actual Kickstarter page is here . I would like to see the project reach its goal and go through, though I'm not sure if I would bet on it just now (I am a pessimist, right?). I have mixed feelings about Kickstarter in general. You get lottery-like success stories there, but that's really a small percentage of projects. It feels as though you need a solid audience beforehand or have to luck out and be mentioned/featured such that you gain an interested audience.

Played more of our revamped-into-Dresden-Files game last night. Mostly enjoyable, though having one character who tends to go off and get into trouble alone leaves the rest of us idle or playing catch-up. Aspects are still taking some getting used to, but we ran a combat session and learned a bit more about the use of them there. If you want to take out an enemy, that usually requires a big hit, which can take tagging a lot of Aspects to build up to. The question is whether it's worthwhile to use "normal" attacks to build up to it - if you do more damage than their stress track, they end up gaining Consequences, which are taggable Aspects - or whether it's better to use Manuevers to try to apply Aspects directly. The former is more conventional and (in my mind) satisfying, but the latter is probably easier against more powerful opponents. In any case, having Fate points is a big plus, as free tags go fast. There's still some concern that we're not seeing e...