Sunday, September 19, 2010
Empire of the Petal Throne
Wow just looked at a PDF of the game. A reprint from 2000 from Tigree Enterprises that is now Defunct! Wow what a piece of work.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I quit playing 4E for an undetermined time and other musings
Well I told my gaming group that I was just burnt out on 4th edition. Yep I know that is former post I said I was going to put away my OSR setting and embrace the 4th edition and just shut up and play!
AND play we did. I was playing a cleric. The battles were few but LONG. We had in the past discussed that the players need to know their characters and use strategy. Much strategy was used and many monsters fell. It still took too long and many battles just drug along.
Due to my job I had to give up the DM chair and we had some of the other members running games.
The system is fairly clunky. The monsters have a full page of stats. Why? Worst of all everything except minions has way too many hit points. Why would someone design a game in a way that purposefully makes battles last over 30 minutes?
I thought they play-tested it for over a year. How can there be so much errata? Then the Essentials are coming out which is a whole another version.
I remember one battle where a character did over 30 points of damage to a gnoll and this had just only bloodied it after 20 minutes of battle.
Slow. boardgamish, no story just battle, well I just stopped having fun or at least very much fun.
I had suggested many times for my group to try my LL mega-dungeon but I always got the blow off and the statement "I only like 4th". I always stated that we did not have to stop playing 4th but every so often try another system.
The standard answer was "I only like 4th" even though many of them have never played anything else or very little of anything else. In the past when anything else was going to be ran they would not show up that day.
So we were back to the every Saturday only playing 4th edition and it stopped being fun. I mean I love my group of friends but every weekend we were just playing a game and using per encounters, dailies, healing surges, too many hit point, too much math, too many rules, and it just got all the same. I asked my wife and my 14 year old what they thought. They too had not been having fun for a long time either. That settled it.
What about the fear of your character dieing? What about running out of spells and supplies? What about having to go back to town to heal up? What about it being a challenge?
A game where your character had fought and clawed his way for every XP he ever got.
SO..
I told my players for an undetermined time no 4th for me and soon I will be playing something else. The reaction was not surprising and I was not surprised by "I only like 4th and only want to play 4th" and one of the players said that if any other game was ran "he would not be attending".
I was even schooled on how I should have finished the 4th game that we were playing and then they would think about another game.
I did not recall asking them to stop playing 4th nor would I ever. I do not want this to end friendships but they seem to be taking the less than savory path. I will continue to be friendly and hope the best for them.
I only asked for them to try another style of gaming and was shot down for at least as long as I have had this blog save a few sessions.
OTHER MUSINGS
So the new Red Box is out? It only cover 2 levels. Gee sounds like a sample more than a game sight unseen. Gee I told WOTC to do that back on their forums during the first really crappy 3rd edition boxed set.
It's causing a stir and that is good and now the OSR Game Writers need to get off their asses and make a real basic set.
There needs to be a LL/AEC, OSRIC, BFRPG. and/or S&W (S&W is already kinda basic though) intro/basic set.
It should cover all the races and all the classes up to 5th level.
Have a selection of monsters and a guide on how to play as well as an adventure included.
Make it cheap. Get it out there!
A boxed set? Possibly but the OSR publishers need to get off their asses and take advantage of what is going on.
AND play we did. I was playing a cleric. The battles were few but LONG. We had in the past discussed that the players need to know their characters and use strategy. Much strategy was used and many monsters fell. It still took too long and many battles just drug along.
Due to my job I had to give up the DM chair and we had some of the other members running games.
The system is fairly clunky. The monsters have a full page of stats. Why? Worst of all everything except minions has way too many hit points. Why would someone design a game in a way that purposefully makes battles last over 30 minutes?
I thought they play-tested it for over a year. How can there be so much errata? Then the Essentials are coming out which is a whole another version.
I remember one battle where a character did over 30 points of damage to a gnoll and this had just only bloodied it after 20 minutes of battle.
Slow. boardgamish, no story just battle, well I just stopped having fun or at least very much fun.
I had suggested many times for my group to try my LL mega-dungeon but I always got the blow off and the statement "I only like 4th". I always stated that we did not have to stop playing 4th but every so often try another system.
The standard answer was "I only like 4th" even though many of them have never played anything else or very little of anything else. In the past when anything else was going to be ran they would not show up that day.
So we were back to the every Saturday only playing 4th edition and it stopped being fun. I mean I love my group of friends but every weekend we were just playing a game and using per encounters, dailies, healing surges, too many hit point, too much math, too many rules, and it just got all the same. I asked my wife and my 14 year old what they thought. They too had not been having fun for a long time either. That settled it.
What about the fear of your character dieing? What about running out of spells and supplies? What about having to go back to town to heal up? What about it being a challenge?
A game where your character had fought and clawed his way for every XP he ever got.
SO..
I told my players for an undetermined time no 4th for me and soon I will be playing something else. The reaction was not surprising and I was not surprised by "I only like 4th and only want to play 4th" and one of the players said that if any other game was ran "he would not be attending".
I was even schooled on how I should have finished the 4th game that we were playing and then they would think about another game.
I did not recall asking them to stop playing 4th nor would I ever. I do not want this to end friendships but they seem to be taking the less than savory path. I will continue to be friendly and hope the best for them.
I only asked for them to try another style of gaming and was shot down for at least as long as I have had this blog save a few sessions.
OTHER MUSINGS
So the new Red Box is out? It only cover 2 levels. Gee sounds like a sample more than a game sight unseen. Gee I told WOTC to do that back on their forums during the first really crappy 3rd edition boxed set.
It's causing a stir and that is good and now the OSR Game Writers need to get off their asses and make a real basic set.
There needs to be a LL/AEC, OSRIC, BFRPG. and/or S&W (S&W is already kinda basic though) intro/basic set.
It should cover all the races and all the classes up to 5th level.
Have a selection of monsters and a guide on how to play as well as an adventure included.
Make it cheap. Get it out there!
A boxed set? Possibly but the OSR publishers need to get off their asses and take advantage of what is going on.
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