Zack's Blog on Games

D+D 3.5 is the Lingua Franca

2007-03-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

There are many RPg systems available and D+D is not the best. It is a lot of fun, but I like several other systems, either because they are more realistic, more flexible, more cinematic, or more appropriate to a given setting.

When I run games at a convention, I am determined now to only run D+D (and yes, now I have given up most every artifact of 3.0 for 3.5). My reasons are simple: most people know how to play. It is easier to tell a story when the rules are known and don't get in the way of what I am trying to do.

I think I could run other stuff with friends, but it's D+D for strangers.

Ivarr the Quieter

2006-07-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

What follows is the origin story of a character I played this Sunday. It was a D+D game and Ivarr is 14th level, so I had help (thanks Mark) in the game mechanic stuff:

Ivarr was born of the violence of a raid, in a festering marsh. He narrowly avoided being exposed as a baby. His mother raised the war-child because of visions her father related. A Shaman's daughter, she took the boy's rapid growth to be the confirmation of the sign that he was to end the war with the Orc tribe (the Dripping Blades) and bring peace to the village. Ivarr (in Orc - "Hand" as in Hand of friendship) was despised in the human settlement and spent a good deal of his younger years wandering alone.

A friend to the ten-thousand good Kami (spirits), Ivarr eventually did find the Dripping Blades when he reached his teenage years. The negotiations came to a grinding halt when a particularly big and cruel Orc implied that he might have been the young man's father.

What he did to that Orc is why he's referred to as the Quieter. Soon, for better or worse, all around Ivarr grew quiet.

He had to go further from home.

By the time Ivarr enters the story, he's been wandering around so much that he doesn't form strong attachments to places, things or people. Ivarr has no formal training in religion, but he "talks" to the Kami in the area he finds himself in. In any of the many terrains in which he is comfortable, the spirits "talk back." This is the explanation of the preternaturally enhanced skills and abilities.

Physically, Ivarr is massive. He is fully 6'4," heavily built (300 lbs) with strong bestial features. His skin is a green-grey like his Orc lineage, but his eyes are brown and slightly almond shaped (like an east-asian). His hair is black and wiry. All in all, Ivarr is unapologetically ugly.

His fulll plate armor is mitral that has been expertly dulled and scratched to give it a less bright shine. Looking closely, the scratched surface also contains
engravings, in a kind of almost childlike hierogyphics. These mark(incomprehensible to others)are a form of road map of the Kami, or spirits, of the places Ivarr has been. He wears a full helm and gorget, unadorned, that usually has its visor up.

Across his waist is a large belt whose silver buckle depicts two giants fighting. Across his left shoulder is a bandolier from which Ivarr suspends his arsenal. He carries Two greataxes, one black hafted and covered in Fey language blessings(Ivarr calls the axe "Quiet") and a silver greataxe that is otherwise plain.A wicked morningstar also is suspended from the bandolier.

On Ivarr's back is a nice large metal shield and a longbow. His boots are high and clean despite the overall dirtiness of the adventurer lifestyle. He wears a green cloak with magical inscriptions on the inside. Under his lobstered gauntlets , Ivarr wears supple gloves and the only piece of jewelry he owns, a shiny platinum ring.

Yeah!

2006-04-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

My results speak for themselves:

Modern, Cool Nerd
52 % Nerd, 73% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.

Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used
to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a
pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world
that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and
geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very
least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent,
knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing
computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one
you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one
up there, winning the million bucks)!

Congratulations!

Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Professional Wrestling

Love & Sexuality

America/Politics

Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 40% on nerdiness
You scored higher than 94% on geekosity
You scored higher than 79% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Why I don't settle too often

2006-04-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

Folks, I love board games. Euro games are my thing. But, after Tuesday, I remember vividly why I am reluctant to play one of the classics : Settlers of Catan

It's the sevens. When a seven is rolled, all that happens is goods move around the board and sometimes folks who have been hoarding lose goods. No one generates anything.

I know seven is the most likely result from rolling 2 six-sided dice, but Tuesday was an example of how strange anomolies in dice-rolling can completely stop a game dead in its tracks.

The last con I haven't been to

2006-03-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

I am going to KublaCon this year (only Saturday and Sunday). Should be fun! I am running a D+D game, "What Boils up from the Swamp" Sunday at 3:30.

They only had a four-hour time slot for me, which means my six-hour run has to be compressed. This should be possible, but I don't like it. Any suggestions on trimming?

Game mechanics and my favs for now

2006-03-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

Quick thoughts here:

- I like bidding as a mechanic. It generally forces tough decisions.

-Games benefit from at least one random element. Too much randomness makes the game light.

- If you can play a games in 2 hours and everyone had fun, that's awesome. Brevity and depth are a hard balance to strike.

My current favs (in no order):

El Grande: I still need to play with five players.

Power Grid: playing this a lot now. Always fun!

Beowulf, the Legend: Quick, easy to learn, and has depth that isn't obvious on the first play

Shadows over Camelot: I still love this collaborative game

Princes of Florence: I think a lot about this game, even though I don't play it a lot

V for Vendetta: a touch of taboo politics

2006-03-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

V for Vendetta is a recent exploration of the politics of fear, freedom, and terrorism. It has strikingly un-PC things to say about the very nature of ends-means morality and it brings up the big question: What is terrorism and what is patriotism?

How does this all relate to gaming? Simply put, you see all the political considerations in the movie in the actions of Player Characters. In a well-structured RPG world, there are tyrants, terrorists, and freedom fighters. The lines are never 100% clear on what is a justified use of force and what is clearly excessive. The means of accomplishing a goal are often muddled.

When I play good characters, often I am the voice in a group standing up against ends-means thinking and such.

Example: My priest character Br. Thurman, who critiqued the most tried and true assumption of D+D: if you found something in a dungeon, it belongs to you. I argued that "finder's keeper's" rule do not in and of themselves justify grave-robbing, even if it's grave-robing for good ends (fighting evil).

What counts as terrorism in a fantasy world?

- Is piracy against a government you don't agree with OK? (the old Bear Hunters in my D+D campaign did a LOT of this).

- What about kidnapping a child who you know is going to grow up and be a tool of evil? Do future prophesies of tyranny constitute just grounds?

- What about powering powerful devices with the blood of innocent virgins (a PC did this!)?

What counts as patriotism?

- Using mind control against political enemies to gather information about a group's intentions?

- Joining in guerilla raids in an ongoing racial war?

- Attempting to manipulate election processes because you believe the other side is going to do the same?

A good GM can bring up moral dilemmas like these. How players respond shape the nature of the game.

A new group of gamers, like a new group of co-workers

2006-03-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

Gamers who are familiar to you become somewhat predictible. For instance, there's A. I try and avoid dice games with A; He gets upset and angry when the rolls go against him. There's Elenis, the mathematical calculator (try playing a bidding game with him). There's Mark, who is aggressive and smart (yes, you are Mark) and Emily, who is sly and sneaks undetected to victory if you let her.

The knowledge you develop about a person by gaming with them is akin to what you know about someone by working with them. You learn their strengths and weaknesses, their preferred ways of dealing with problems.

It's nice to play games with new gamers for the same reason it's sometimes nice to switch jobs: both gaming and work require new ideas to interact with to stay interesting.

I've been playing with a new set of folks in Oakland. They are quite different and quite good.

Ric (not my brother) hosts the game. He seems to have everyone but me figured out. I have the advantage/disadvantage of not being familiar to the group. In several games, it's come down to him or me. He's won each time.

Jody is kind of random. I don't think he has a solid strategy, but then he's always close.

David is slow and steady. On longer games, he seems to do well.

Jeff is very crafty. I think he should win more than he does, except that he acts like he's afraid of Ric.

Well, here's to new co-workers and new gamers!

Dundracon 30 - a Memoir

2006-03-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Dundracon is the premier gaming convention in the Bay Area. Dundracon 30 was, perhaps, my most enjoyable experience.

I had money, which is unusual. This allowed me to buy a copy of Wallenstein, a game I have wanted for some time now. I also ate very well (veggie all the way!) and slept more than I used to. All good things!

There were many more scheduled Monday games this time. I think that Monday has become more a part of the full con weekend. I welcome this improvement.

I run a D+D game, "Plague comes to Port Tuyal," which was a lot of fun and very well received. I made a lot of gamer contacts. I shared a room with a friend and and his daughter. We've made a gamer out of Kelly! I had my own bed the entire con (almost a Persian Empire luxury compared to the old days of rotating who sleeps on the floor).

In short: YEAH!

In anticipation of A Feast For Crows

2005-11-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite quotes of the three novels thus far available:

"Hard places breed hard men, and hard men rule the world."

-Theon Greyjoy, Quoting his father Baelon

SPACE JAM!!!

2005-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

So, the gang and I have now gone twice toThe Pyramid Brewery for Trivia night. The first time Con and I went, our team came in third. There were a lot of smart people there (first place was FAR ahead of second and third) and we were content with our good showing. Last night, we raised the bar. Our team took second place and we were within striking distance of first.

It's a lot of fun to play trivia at the pub. Hope to see you there some Tuesday.

Shadows cast

2005-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Shadows Over Camelot is all that and a bag of chips. It was worth the wait.

I've played twice with friends. The good knights won both times, but each victory required sacrifice. Three good knights had to die in order to win our first game (of five). One knight (King Arthur) laid down his life in the second game.

Folks on the Board Game Geek have said that the game is too easy. I really don't agree.

Just once, I would like to win this game without any of the knights dying.

Play as competitive

2005-06-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have been playing games of all sorts as long as I can remember. My uncle Robert was accidentally responsible for this I think. He taught me chess when I was five. From then on, I was hooked.

I love gaming. It is a great way to interact with friends and think about problems. What I don't really like is being overly competitive.

It's a general trait with me that I don't like competition. This is partly because of my idealogy. I believe that people can do more and succeed better in almost every arena by working together. I've written in other forums about the unquestioned primacy of competition and the Agon that the Greeks admired so much. I won't bore readers here with the details on how the West consistently promotes competitive models of excellence. I have advocated a new paradigm in which cooperation is the driving principle of organized behaviour. I don't think it's catching on.

Gaming is generally a competitive exercise, with winners and losers. Role-Playing games offer an alternative to competition, and I've always liked RPGs as a result.

Now, there are more cooperative model games. My lastest board game purchase, Shadows Over Camelot, falls into this camp. I can't wait to play it with my gamer friends and see if we can get the same satisfaction working together we get trying to screw each other over.

Well, I'll have to wait a little, because the game is not here yet. Anyway, here's hoping it's a hit. My ego can't take being troused again in another game!

The Tao of Gaming part one

2005-04-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

The way of gaming that can be spoken of is not the true way...

Once, a gamer dreamt he was a Settler, trying to make a go of it on Catan. As the Settler, he had no recollection of being a gamer. When he awoke, he remembered nothing of being a Settler and he remembered only his life as a gamer. But was it the gamer dreaming he was a Settler or a Settler dreaming he was a gamer? Between the two, there must be some distinction. This is called the Transformation of Games...

Hey. You know, this is overdue

2005-04-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of thoughts on gaming and games. I'm going to write about them here.