Alternity (and OOP games in general)

[Zhaleskra]

I'm currently thinking up an Alternity adventure for U-Con based on the Star Wars Tech special I saw.

 

[RFisher]

Since my last post in this thread, the classic D&D & classic Traveller campaigns have happened. We're now playing TriStat dX, which I guess is now OOP too. (Though it wasn't when the GM started considering it for this campaign.) We also played a homebrew system--technically I suppose it is out-of-print too since it hasn't been in-print. (^_^) Next up should be a revival of our Coda LotR campaign...if it's still not officially OOP, it may be by that time.

In-print is out, OOP is in! (^_^)

 

[Brutorz Bill]

I had alot of fun playing Alternity. We were in an awesome Star*Drive Campaign, but then the GM got transferred. He later e-mailed me all of the cool Campaign plot-twists and such that he had planned. It was and would have been uber-cool.
Good memories!
Bill

 

[evildmguy]

Speaking of OOP . . .

I recently sat down and re-read the main boxed set of Dark Sun and then looked at several of the supplements. Knowing the whole story, or at least knowing what they had and that it wouldn't change, made it even better, and I already like it!

I think the same for the old World of Darkness. I started a campaign about the time it ended and had planned out, using the books I had which included Gehenna, the campaign from the start to the end. I didn't get to run it all, unfortunately, but I really enjoyed the planning stages, knowing where it was headed and seeing it unfold.

I think OOP has a lot of advantages, myself. If I thought an OOP game was that good, I would certainly go looking for it.

Take care.

edg

 

[DMH]

I had alot of fun playing Alternity. We were in an awesome Star*Drive Campaign, but then the GM got transferred. He later e-mailed me all of the cool Campaign plot-twists and such that he had planned. It was and would have been uber-cool.
Good memories!

Then he sold me his Alternity books. I wish you stuck with it, William.

I have 2 shelves of Alternity books and pick up an odd book from garage sales and used book stores from time to time. No other rpg is nearly as fun for me, both to play and to tinker with. The only reason I buy anything else is to mine from.

 

[Brutorz Bill]

Then he sold me his Alternity books. I wish you stuck with it, William.

I have 2 shelves of Alternity books and pick up an odd book from garage sales and used book stores from time to time. No other rpg is nearly as fun for me, both to play and to tinker with. The only reason I buy anything else is to mine from.

LOL, the funny thing is I've since reacquired some of those books. I enjoyed converting stuff to Alternity more than any other system I've played, either before or since.
My old Gamma World Alternity page is still there :
http://www.angelfire.com/games/Alterniverse/images/Gammaternity.html

Derek I need to chat with you off-line. My e-mail has changed (use my old e-mail handle @gmail.com)
Later,
Brutorz Bill

 

[Zhaleskra]

<Starsword>
I think OOP has a lot of advantages, myself. If I thought an OOP game was that good, I would certainly go looking for it.
<Starsword>

My philosophy is that old games aren't bad, they're just old. Even though I visited a gaming store where the owner asked me if I played any games that are "alive", alive is a subjective definition. From a gaming store owner's POV, alive means sells/draws in customers. From mine, it means people run it and people play it.

 

[CarlZog]

Well, as long as this thread has been resurrected, I'll throw in my two cents:

Alternity is my favorite rpg system of all. I own everything ever published for it, though I don't get to play or run it anywhere near as much as I'd like.

Is it more complex? I suppose it depends on how you think of complexity. At its core, Alternity's mechanic could be viewed as more complex than d20, but Alternity doesn't layer on d20's myriad feat adjustments. So, in play, particularly as characters develop, Alternity remains much simpler to keep track of than d20, I think.

One aspect not mentioned much in earlier posts is Alternity's settings. I absolutely love Star Drive, Alt's main space opera setting. It's gritty, highly political, great for trading and smugglers, filled with tons of unexplored or only slightly explored places, and has a very diverse range of populated locales.

Unlike many settings, it doesn't hang its hat on one particular gimmick or metaplot; though there is a supplement called "The Externals" which gives something of a metaplot to the setting via an alien invasion. I've only used bits and pieces of that.

For the uninitiated, check out www.alternityrpg.net for TONS of phenomenal fan material on all aspects and setting of Alternity, and check out www.tequilastarrise.net for massive details on the Star Drive setting.

Carl

 

[Midknightsun]

I'm amazed too at the amount of love for Alternity. I still have it sitting on my shelf, but just never got around to running or running in a game. 'Tis a shame, it really looked to be a pretty neat system.

 

[CarlZog]

As for other OOP games, I originally mentioned Top Secret when this thread started and since then, I've discovered a couple others:

Blue Planet -- A waterworld-type sci-fi game designed by a marine biologist. The setting is awesome, filled with the kind of attention to detail that only someone who really knew the marine environment could create. I picked up the entire 2nd edition collection for $5 a book on sale.

Haven, City of Violence -- I can thank Hellhound for introducing me to this one. It uses an expanded version of the system that original Top Secret used. Very cool. Again, being OOP, I picked up the entire collection for peanuts.

Since I have so much trouble scheduling a regular group these days, I find I'm spending more of my "gaming" time absorbing these systems and writing adventure/campaign material for them than I am actually playing anything!

Carl