Still More Gaming Geekery

[the_gneech]

From plonq: Interview With a Dwarven Trap Builder

On a semi-related note, I envy people who get to play on a regular basis. I occasionally read on gaming boards about these groups that play every week, or sometimes twice or more a week, and think, "D'Oh!!!" I've got a handful of character ideas I'd really, really like to play, and probably a dozen more that I think would be fun to try if I got the chance, most of which will probably never see the light of day.

I can see why WotC cranked up the level progression speed in the current edition of D&D -- at the rate most adult gamers play, it takes forever to level up as it is. Players of older editions sneer and talk about how they've been playing the same character for ten years and are sixth level -- screw that! I've been playing Theran in jamesbarrett's game for what, three, four years and he's only 11th level? It feels like that game's been going forever as it is! I want to get to 20th and retire already -- there are other characters who need playing! (Although, I suspect there are characters besides Theran that I'd be perfectly happy to get to about 5th level and keep playing them there forever without ever advancing again. Oh well.)

Ideally, I'd like to be playing in two fantasy campaigns, one Star Wars campaign, and be running one each myself. But at our group's rate of gaming (twice a month in a good month), it'd take us half a year to do one session of each. -.- But that's the tradeoff you have to make -- I have Suburban Jungle, I have Kung Fu (most of the time), I don't have time for gaming the way I did when I was in school. There are only so many hours, and I have to live with that.

I'm completely uninterested in MMORPG's, in principle and in practice, but I can see how they would have appeal from the "Need more game!" POV. But besides resenting the idea of paying a subscription fee for a computer game ¬.¬ everything I've read or heard about MMORPG play makes them sound mind-numbingly dull. Commerce? Crafting items? An adventurer craves not these things! Where are the chandeliers to swing from?

-The Gneech

Comments

[nicodemusrat.livejournal.com]

See, IMHO, the problem is that people actually pay attention to published XP tables. Pah!

It's all about how much experience your party got, not which monster kills you chalked up. Our group generally did XP at the end of the evening with a recap talk and then GM awards; XP rewards were purely at the GM's discretion.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I always kinda liked the HERO System's "1 point for showing up, +1 point for overcoming a problem, +1 for overcoming a big problem, +1 for overcoming a REALLY bit problem" system, that didn't include kills at all.

That wouldn't be that hard to convert to a d20 or other leveled system, actually ... every 12 XP, you gain a level? Hmm. Must ponder.

-The Gneech

[rhanlav.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you need to go back and play KotOR through a few more times. ;)

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

If I did that, I'd have even LESS time for other gaming!

-The Gneech

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

Someday they'll invent the teleporter and you and I will be able to play a game together. I could probably learn a lot from your playing style and you'd probably be a joy to watch.

Yeah, we're lucky. We only play twice a month right now but it used to be once a week and I treasure every session. Simtra, between reading Knights of the Dinner Table and picking up on some of the hints and tricks you've dropped (I occasionally read him something brilliant you've said), turned out to be a gifted GM...ouch. It means we're dead more often but we have a lot of fun being dead.

[reynai.livejournal.com]

For my gamingness, I've found that almost everything I need can be supplied from two different places: a freeform rp on IRC (no actual system, but there's a concrete setting and a number of players... and complete freedom to swing from chandeliers or use a shoe as a melee weapon), and a MUD (with a combat system, a fairly large number of players, and, in mine at least, a large amount of actual RP that has nothing to do with slaughtering monsters).

Don't have the face-to-face angle, or the weird voices, or the GMs... but that's why almost.