Search results

  1. P

    OotS 448

    Er, actually this is a common technique. See: The Ring, Die Hard (the climax is the guy from Family Matters shooting the big dude, technically), The Return of the King (the climax is all that stuff in Hobbit Town)...Alien after the ship explodes. Aliens after the colony explodes...and so on. I...
  2. P

    Low Magic Campaigns?

    There is a difference between a "power fantasy", which has negative connotations, and a mere "fantasy." (In that it is an expression of imagination) I think the problem here is that "power fantasy" is being used by its advocates without the negative connotation, but this isn't recognized by...
  3. P

    OotS 448

    Man, the Bhaalspawn didn't take down Sarevok just as Gorion got wasted, did he? No! Did they win against Irenicus in that first battle in the streets of Athkatla? Nope! They had to go and do sidequests for a while before they had the mojo to challenge their recurring villains. Xykon might win...
  4. P

    OotS 448

    Indeed. I thought from the start of the Azure City Besieged arc they were going to lose this fight. Not only is it desirable to have Hinjo lose his army and join the Order, but the AC rift is the smallest of them. Easy enough to demand Xykon keep going after gates. Plus the Linear Guild is in...
  5. P

    Low Magic Campaigns?

    It all comes down to this: Some people want to play John McClane. John McClane gets the living hell kicked out of him in Die Hard. By the end of it he's been ripped to blood pieces, he's exhausted, he's murdered a dozen people, and he's desperately, insanely terrified of the situation he's in...
  6. P

    OotS 448

    One of the best in the strip's history. Definitely continues the evolution from a comic "just about D&D jokes" to one with actual characters we care about.
  7. P

    OotS 448

    Very good. One of the best strips so far, and that's saying a lot. I like that Xykon's re-established as a threat; Redcloak was stealing some thunder there for a while. Now they both have thunder.
  8. P

    Delta Green Review

    Few things do it so well, with so much attention to detail and so many plot hooks. Anti-heroic? Nay, sir, nay. If anything, Delta Green and Call of Cthulhu are some of the most heroic settings on the market. It's regular people willingly destroying themselves for the safety of mankind. Delta...
  9. P

    Delta Green Review

    The annoying thing about D20 CoC was that most everything was fine, except... 1. Attack and Defense Options. What are these things even supposed to represent? What are they for? What purpose do they serve? 2. The feats. God, the feats. Why couldn't they be investigative or horror themed? It...
  10. P

    Is gaming without map and minis really bad?

    I agree with everything else, but I'm not sure "adversarial GMing" is well suited to tactical games either. I would think the fun in GMing a tactical game is providing a heck of a challenge legitimately, not gaming the system, tricking the players, etc, into defeat. I know if I ran a tactical...
  11. P

    Is gaming without map and minis really bad?

    Then they are bad DMs. I guess what I don't understand is...if the group is so dysfunctional you need minis to resolve disputes, why bother playing with them in the first place? Hmm, I suppose one trick is- if you're not playing with miniatures, don't act like you are. Don't give exact...
  12. P

    Is gaming without map and minis really bad?

    In this case, a good GM would say, "Oh, okay, sorry, forgot to explain the local architecture. You might want to try setting up in an abandoned building overlooking the street instead..." (suggests roughly equal alternative without violating setting principle; hello simulationists!) Or, I'd...
  13. P

    Is gaming without map and minis really bad?

    I'm struggling to even see what the value of miniatures would be for my game...(not including the fact that we do it via a chat room...) I mean, combats are over so fast, and are generally so cinematic and loose, that I doubt there'd be any use for them. But I'm not playing D&D. If I was, I'd...
  14. P

    Delta Green Review

    Yes. The real trick was blending the Cthulhu Mythos so convincingly, so seamlessly with UFO myths. It's a worked example of putting the Big C into anything, much like various efforts to put mythos overtones over real historical events. If you're not into the Cthulhu Mythos enough to see how...
  15. P

    Upcoming Releases. What Are You Really Looking Forward To?

    Changeling: The Lost. It sounds very good so far, and I love the premise. The Dresden Files RPG. It uses one of my new favorite systems, and I'm working my way through the books right now. They're good, quick, mindless reads.
  16. P

    Other Game Systems

    Isn't Dune staggeringly, impossibly, incredibly out of print? I second the recommendation of looking at the Witchcraft PDF- though I don't actually like the default Unisystem rules. It's Cinematic that earned my undying devotion.
  17. P

    Other Game Systems

    This is the list of "games I like", with some notes on why. 1. The Unisystem Family. There are two primary variants- "Cinematic" and "Classic", both are basically the same (Cinematic is a stripped down version of Classic). Used in: All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Conspiracy X, Witchcraft, Armageddon...
  18. P

    Everything I Ever Learned About DMing I Learned From Comic Books

    Er...I guess I'll go cancel my 3-year old Buffy RPG game... (Seriously, it's a fantastic game, and it is definitely playable)
  19. P

    Seriously considering Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2nd edition)

    In the old version, sure, but Bone Pickers and Serfs all have useful skills and abilities in 2nd. Maybe not in combat, but WFRP is one of those games where combat isn't expected to be a regular occurrence, but more of a terrifying failure of avoiding combat.
  20. P

    Seriously considering Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2nd edition)

    If someone is shooting arrows at you, you should run and hide under something. Actually that's probably a good plan for most threats in the WFRP world.
Top