Sean's Journal
Write Me

I finally made it to the comic book store (Chicago Comics - where they don't laugh at you because you are FINALLY buying The Watchmen). I had no real purchases in mind because I've been away from the scene so long, I haven't been clued in on new series, I hate picking up stuff in the middle, and well, I was looking for something new. This didn't stop me from picking up issues 65 and 66 of Knights of the Dinner Table - which of course triggered the 'I wanna roleplay' desire in me. I also picked up the first two issue of Courtney Crumkin and the Night Things which is a great little story about a girl and her family who move in with a mysterious Great Uncle where she uncovers his secret - his is a dabble of the dark arts, which she uses against the kids at school. I got mainly new comics, things that were in their first or second issue which means I also picked up Cla$$war which I thought was a terrific first issue and @thena, Inc. which I haven't fully read, I just liked the artwork (okay, half naked women - give me a break, I'm human[male]).

Back to the gaming issue for a moment. I know the creation of a game is too difficult, especially when coordinated with other people. It is a low priority all around. Back in the day, I originated three different PBeM rpg's (all based on World of Darkness, one specifically based on Kindred: The Embrace). I was thinking of sending an email to everyone that I think might be interested:

The town of Illesburg, at the base of the Konnis Mountains is a crossroads of cultures and its fall harvest festival is attended by many. For some it is the place to buy and sell the wares and crops for the winter. For others, it is a place to solicit services of mercenaries or hire oneself out to a liege.

You enter the town, describe who you are and why you are there.

But I figure that would be awfully heavy handed and I would be insulted in no one responded, and who says I have the time to administer a Free Form Role Playing Game? Sheesh.

I'd have to come up with rules, ways to resolve conflicts, limits on character creation (why? Why limits, why can't the players be whoever they want to be so long as the character has freedom of action i.e. no Kings, Popes, etc. who are constrained by office from going on adventure?) rules of magic (hey, if there are rules to magic, then isn't it science, magic just is) and a whole host of other things. I prefer dark fantasy, what if everyone else wants a Avalonian Romantic High Fantasy and abandon the game after the first necromancer appears? So many little details that I worked out once, but cannot recall: IC, OOC, scenes, time scale, combat resolution that wasn't mindless like Amber but not so complex that people avoided it or could exploit loopholes. If I recall correctly I borrowed a concept from the Dune boardgame and within the character creation certain attributes added to certain skills. Each scene granted the player (x) number of scene points which could be added to the attribute skill combination to beat difficulty numbers. Once the scene points are used up, no more are given until the GM claims a New Scene. In combat situations, a number is given to defense and a number is given to offense. If the opponent is an NPC the GM uses points from a GM point pool which should be in balance to the total points of the Players.

Okay some of this is coming back to me. I think I'll take lunch today and see if I can shake the cobwebs off of this. I still don't think I'll do it, I'll just chalk it up to a thought experiment.