These days, typically in snippets of 5-10 minutes, I find myself reading the following RPG materials:
· Various Call of Cthulhu materials (parts of the core book, various adventures, bits from the Dreamlands).
· The OpenQuest core book and OQ’s Savage North adventure pack.
· Various RuneQuest items (parts of the MRQII corebook, parts of MRQII Monster Coliseum, RQ3 Griffin Island).
· Various Rolemaster things (parts of the RM Classic corebooks, Rolemaster Express, some of my old Middle-earth and Jaiman campaign modules, etc.).
· Various Stormbringer and Elric! (Chaosium’s ‘BRP’ version) items (parts of the core books, the amazing Corum supplement, various adventures); etc.
· Recent issues of Fight On! and Knockspell.
Ever since my last S&W campaign wrapped up I’ve been somewhat ‘at sea’. I’m not sure what to focus on next. Most likely I’ll be running Call of Cthulhu for my Toronto group when I return in late December, so that has provided some structure to my procrastination sessions. But I also cannot help thinking about how to tweak and improve my Ilmahal fantasy setting, including thinking about running something set in Ilmahal using a different system (say, OpenQuest, Elric!, MRQII, or RMC).
At least I have a few months to ‘read around’ before making a decision…
I can totally relate and find it pretty funny that I made the exact same kind of post over at The Hopeless Gamer today: http://thehopelessgamer.blogspot.com/2010/08/gaming-adhd.html
ReplyDeleteHeh. :D
ReplyDeleteI suspect that this condition is ubiquitous amongst gamers.
I realized I could take it easy and not agonize too much about it. When the present game was winding down, I would be all over a new game, so I don't have to be all spun up about not being able to play this game NOW, just because another was the campaign I'm in.
ReplyDeleteWe are all weird.
"We are all weird"
ReplyDeleteQuite true!
'But I also cannot help thinking about how to tweak and improve my Ilmahal fantasy setting'
ReplyDeleteMore gorgeous maps please !
I, too, am at sea, though I think I have spotted the Island of Mutant Future on the horizon.
ReplyDelete"More gorgeous maps please !
ReplyDelete*Blush*
Thanks for the compliment!
'I, too, am at sea, though I think I have spotted the Island of Mutant Future on the horizon."
ReplyDeleteThat island must be 'glowing'! Just be sure to wear your 'haz-mat" suit beforehand! ;)
You know OpenQuest gets my vote for more of your reading time ;)
ReplyDeleteBTW you might enjoy this little pseudo-announcement
http://d101games.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,239.0.html
That looks very cool, Newt!
ReplyDeleteMore on the 'too many campaign things to get done, not enough time to do them all' here. Gamer ADD can't hit me too strong.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Ilmahal like? What would make it a better match for one of the systems?
"What is Ilmahal like?"
ReplyDeleteLV, some notes and maps of the setting can be found here:
http://akraticwizardry.blogspot.com/2009/10/ilmahal-index.html
If I had to identify a single literary source for Ilmahal, it would be Jack Vance's Lynoesse novels. Another way that I've described the setting is: "Imagine the saga of King Arthur as written by R. E. Howard."
"What would make it a better match for one of the systems?"
That's a good question! The setting has evolved somewhat since I first created it about 7 years ago. It's become gradually "de-D&D-ified" over time (e.g., non-human races are not permitted as PCs, etc.). I've always tried to keep magic somewhat rare and mysterious, but nonetheless very much part of the setting (again, think of Vance's "Lyonesse" stories, if you're familiar with them). The 'grittiness' of the setting is not well served by D&D/S&W (even with all my house rules), which is why I'm leaning towards either some version of d100 (either Elric! or OpenQuest, most likely) or Rolemaster.
I remember reading Lynoesse, though it was a bit ago.
ReplyDeleteMatching system to setting is a big deal for me. Frankly, that's why I ended up with my own ruleset. I like a slow growth curve, with an accompanying number of break points in magic growth. I like a kinship to humanity, and players fearing being hit with a weapon, as opposed to laughing off sword blows.
So I think moving to one of the D100 systems is best for what you have planned. What types of magic do you have in Ilmahal? What type of casters> how do they create/power spells?
"Matching system to setting is a big deal for me"
ReplyDeleteI agree that that's important. 'Ilmahal' changes somewhat every time that I start up a new campaign in it, so I haven't really finalized the setting yet.
"What types of magic do you have in Ilmahal? What type of casters> how do they create/power spells?"
Big questions! Ones that I'll address in a future post. :)