Finding a Path: Week 1

I wouldn't describe myself as a natural choice to run a game - I tend not to be quick on my (mental) feet when put on the spot, and I always have issues coming up with character or location names.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when I found myself volunteering to run a Pathfinder game for our small group on a Saturday, so our regular GM - Dave - could have a break.

Pathfinder - or D&D v3.75, as I like to think of it

While I'd initially been talking about putting a dungeon together to run the other two through, the level of interest being shown by them demanded that we do something a bit bigger than that. As I reread the rules, we gained a third player - Kenny - and a plan began to come together.

Jigoku wins? The death of L5R

Somehow, Jigoku cheated.

The Third Day of Thunder came around over nine hundred years early, and mortal man was unprepared. No descendant of Shinsei emerged to guide the Emerald Empire through the troubled times and, as a result, we must now enter the Seven Hundred Days of Darkness¹ before the hope of a new dawn can arise once more...

For those of you wondering if I have lost the plot, I haven't - I'm referring to the announcements on Friday from Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) and Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) that the latter has acquired the license to Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) from the former.

Dysartes vs. The Warlock - Round 1

Time to do battle with the Warlock

While at UK Games Expo last June, I attended a seminar hosted by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (no, not the Munchkin Steve Jackson), where they recalled anecdotes of their time setting up Games Workshop, along with the history of the Fighting Fantasy series of books.

Following the seminar, there was the obligatory book signing, and I was fortunate enough to acquire - and get signed - a copy of the 25th Anniversary printing of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain from Ian's stash.

Having bought it, and had a flick through it, the book as been sat on the table in my living room ever since. Recently, I've been looking into games I can play on my own, as opposed to attending a gaming group or having people over. While I've picked up a couple of games, and will be taking a look at them in later posts, it occurred to me that the Fighting Fantasy books were a good example of that sort of thing. They also have a big advantage over board games in terms of being very compact, and only needing a couple of additional items to be usable - some scrap paper, a pencil and a couple of six-sided dice.

Moments from the gaming table #1

I normally take part in a roleplaying group on a Monday evening, and catch up with a couple of the guys for additional sessions on a Saturday. Recently, we've been playing Dave's home-brew LEGION setting, using the d6 Space engine as a base - think the old West End Games Star Wars system.

Due to our players, as much as our characters, there is normally something which manages to go wrong each week...