May 11 2014

Pathfinder II

My current jag of Pathfinder has concluded.  Twenty-one games averaging about an hour each, including setup.  Play really accelerates when everybody, in this case just me, is an experienced player.  I know this particular style of game is not for everyone, but I cannot say enough good things.IMG_4125

I continue to marvel at the balance of the game.  Varied party size, play style or level of adventure all play with equal interest and enthusiasm.  There are those who dislike waiting for their turn in a full party, but these are often the folks playing characters that are soloists with few options during other players’ turns.  Funny how those types of players and characters always seem to match up.  Fickle card deals and dice rolls happen but only afford different tastes to how each game plays.

The customization of your character(s) is a great draw for me.  The deck building is slow, with card reception being random, but a good party shares and blends their abilities and treasure to everyone’s benefit.  I find the appreciation for obtaining a good card right at the level it should be.

The versatility of play styles and card choices creates a dynamic environment, allowing each person the ability to shape the game as they see fit.  Some of those choices may not be ideal, but by god you can make them if you wish!

The aforementioned card deals and dice rolls set the replay ability of Pathfinder at extreme levels.  Every game has felt different to me, even scenarios I’ve had to duplicate due to failure.  Some play like a breeze.  Some are a horror, and the rewards are usually commensurate with the effort involved in a successful adventure. Continue reading


May 4 2014

Pathfinder

I have been playing the rat snot out of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game of late.  I tend to run in jags over the ten months I’ve owned it.  That largely has to do with the maintenance of the box of cards.  Ideally you gather with a group of friends and play the game through without backtracking in the story or running multiple characters at different times.  Ideally.IMG_4121

I’ve played nine of the eleven characters thus far in various combos of solo, duo and trio.  Running a whole party would tickle me silly, but the logistics of physical card management make that a challenging notion.  I’ve had the good fortune of running games of 4-6 people here and there, and the play suffers only a little lag depending on player experience and investment.  But I digress, the biggest time sink for me comes from retooling the box to a state of play for newer characters.  Sift all the cards out, and eventually shuffle them back in.  Rinse and repeat as often as you like.

Plus, I’m a sleever.  One card, one sleeve.  Very simple.  The plastic tray insert designed by Paizo is awesome, but it is designed to hold UNsleeved cards.  A quick internet search revealed this very clean divider for the box.  I struck out to accomplish something similar with that uber-versatile substance.  Cardboard.  An hour or two with a box cutter and voilà.IMG_4124  Sleeved card storage for the manic card shuffler.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I just finished a box three run with three characters, and I need to reshuffle the works for a new crew of adventurers.


Apr 27 2014

Ritual of Fire

We all have those moments that scar us.  Formative events that leave chalk outline memories.  Some are perfect bliss.  Some are exquisite horror.  Better yet, there are a select few that encompass both extremes.  Abominations of shadow and song that are turnkeys to the primal doorways of our hearts.

One I’m going to share is a spirit known as Lamb’s Navy Rum.  You can’t see the goosebumps from where you are…but they are there just the same.  Trust me.LNR

Now, LNR makes a host of fine products and is actually known as the rum of choice for the English navy.  It’s actually difficult to find in the States, though in all honesty, I haven’t quested for it.  That’s a dragon I’ve sought out and slain enough for one lifetime.

My particular memories take us to the border of Canada and the U.S., where the lair of the 151 proof version of LNR could be acquired at the duty free store.  Eight adults were on a journey into the northern wilds to spend a week fishing for walleye and northern pike.

The stop at a small rest area shortly after the border was ritual, and this ritual was one of fire.  Decades have passed since I last experienced this special event, but I can still visualize the aisles of the duty free store.  Could draw for you a picture of the innocuous rest stop.

We would circle up, and the Lamb’s Navy would make its way around, each taking an initiating swig straight from that hexagonal bottle.  It was a hell of a way to begin, and one I cherish with equal degrees of desire and revulsion.  The LNR served as a kind of penalty beverage during our trip, and it would take those eight adults, all seasoned drinkers, an entire week to finish the single bottle.  The joyful cries that would come forth when that bottle ran dry.

I still don’t care for rum much to this day.  Is it any wonder?

My impression of the English navy rose a couple of notches when those scars were made, and each time I do raise a glass of rum, my mind turns to the stalwart souls who partook of the Lamb.  I am thankful for those crystalline memories but also grateful that such rituals of fire are ashes of the past.


Apr 13 2014

What’s Your Favorite Game?

That’s a question I don’t have difficulty answering.  Granted, there are a host of wonderful contenders, and my answer would vary based on specific genre.  I tend toward the nostalgic wonders though, and the pinnacle of a game experience for me is Dark Tower.IMG_4074

The setup, the music, the scrolling of the tower, even the feel of the pieces summon memories and elicit sensations that no other game can.  For those who haven’t had the good fortune to experience Dark Tower, I would recommend it.  Not because it plays as an outstanding game, though it has its moments, but because it is a piece of board gaming history.  And in 1981, that revolving tower was nothing short of magical.  With it, I have haunted ruins, filched from bazaars and flown with dragons.

So for International Tabletop Day, we dipped into the well of childhood and cracked open the Dark Tower.  A flip of the switch…and the tower stayed dark.  Fuck.

Many, many flips and fresh batteries later, and I was still trapped in the present and the crowd was not happy.  I’m talking very unhappy.

My quest turned down a different path and culminated in a sojourn with the soldering gun.  This was not the first time I IMG_4076had dabbled within the innards of the great machine.  Nor do I imagine it will be the last.  Tangling with vintage technologies is not for everyone, but I’m pleased to say that the phoenix rose from the ashes again.

When that music and the sounds of battle rang out once more, I was ten again and no journey was too far to reach the tower.  I like to think that Roland of Gilead would approve.

What’s my favorite game?  My stock answer is, “I’m for the Tower.”


Mar 16 2014

FFO

I’m a Browncoat.  I’m also a big fan of Joss Whedon.  Yet somehow I overlooked the existence of Firefly Online (FFO).  Just a wonderful example of how out of tune I sometimes fall in an industry that is chock full of limitless opportunity.  I fancy all game forms, but there is something alluring about those special occurrences that strike chords with the senses, and Firefly is among the most sensual.FFO_bgrd

These blokes have my money and don’t even know it yet.

Now, FFO is not an MMO, more of an RPG with interactive elements player to player.  One of them being ‘job creation’, i.e. mission creation, which was a huge perk for me when I played City of Heroes.  Play your awesome business?  Check.  Write my own awesome business to play?  Supercheck.

We’ll see how well the genre is managed, but I get a sense that the spirit is true to the crew of Serenity and Whedon’s vision.  With luck, they’ll do well enough to develop it into a full fledged MMO.  If so, I very well may have found my niche once more.  Either way, keep an eye out for more FFO goodness here!


Jan 12 2014

Childhood Forgotten

Where does the magic of childhood go?  Why do we accept the banality of adulthood and the pressures of life as society piles on layer after layer of responsibility?  I, for one, call shenanigans on the whole business!

Limitless imagination, unfettered by reality.  Possibilities running amuck in the vast expanses of unbiased youth.  The creative potential of our former selves holds such promise for future vision.

Return to the warriors of legend, to the Shogun. shoguns!

Return to the times of calamity, to battle such foes as the Crusher.

Return to the field of battle, to win the war as G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip.

Return to the simple grace and senseless knockouts of Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots.

Find the child that sleeps within, find the memories that have been hidden away, find the windows into times and places that push the boundaries of your mind.

See through your child’s eye and live through your child’s mind.  Grab a hold and make the world your own.  Live as you would and make those around you do the same.  Do not so easily walk away from that engine of innocence!


Dec 19 2013

Ode to Gomorra

Came across this gem of literary usage spawned from an ancient Deadlands game. Some are mine. Some are from kindred gamers. You can decide which…

 

Gomorra at night200px-Deadlands
Makes the Biblical city
Look like paradise

 

There once was a man from Gomorra
Who said after reading the Torah,
“It won’t be my fault
If my wife turns to salt,
‘Cos I just lit up all my menorah.” Continue reading


Oct 28 2013

Shadow of Hope VII

After the female on a buckskin horse arrives, a large shadow detaches itself from a rock not far away with a slight clink of metal.  The shadowy figure is covered in a body length cloak so near the color of the horse being ridden that their shapes merge eerily.  Pulling his hood back as he nears, a broad shouldered man materializes with raven black hair and skin the color of cinnamon.

The sharp gaze lingers on the group, granting a slight nod to the lizardman as the distance between them closes.  His clear voice rings out, Good day, milady, and to one and all.  Borlak Dotkina of the Sunar Tribe at your service.  Now have we all arrived?” Continue reading


Oct 9 2013

Goals

It’s good to have goals.  Objectives of all sizes.  Big ones.  Learn telepathy from an alien race and restructure modern thought.  Little ones.  Get grandma through today without sneeze-shitting herself.  And all the myriad sizes in between.  Goal structures are beneficial and can offer guidance throughout the years.  Don’t obsess though.  No one likes a zealot.  Seriously.  When was the last time you met someone on the extremist fringe and thought, “Here’s someone I’d like to know better!”  Balance, moderation and directed purpose toward a variety of life improving tasks.  Easy.  Or, as my father used to say, slick as snot through a glass funnel.

I always enjoyed the elementary school activities which were intended to offer insight upon later reflection, stories to yourself, wish lists, time capsules and the like.  There is nothing so crystalline as the lens of youth to cut through the daily domes of horse shit we encounter.  I am fortunate enough to have a mother who stored a great many of these creative endeavors for a very long time.  In her honor, I humbly submit an excerpt from my third grade vision, and what could very well serve as an aegis of peace for all humankind.

The goals were:

Drive cars.IMG_0600
Drink beer.
And disco.
And love people.

What else is there, really?  I particularly enjoy how my younger self felt the critical need to add ‘love people’ onto an already comprehensive, albeit selfish, list of goals.

Dream big folks and enjoy the simple things.  I know I do…and did.  Hell, I’ve already accomplished 75% of my third grade goals.  Perhaps it’s finally time to go for it all.


Oct 3 2013

Mr. Bullet

Last night I dreamt that I was running down the halls, late for work, carrying a stuffed toy armadillo named Mr. Bullet.

There were other elements to the dream.  Mismatched shoes, one of which was a white Chuck.  Police escort of some prisoners.  converse-chuck-taylor-allstar-monochrome-white-leather-1The purchase of tonic water, two bottles, very important.  Chopping up both a credit card and my employee I.D.  Let’s be honest though, all the other elements dim considerably in the cosmic radiance of Mr. Bullet.

I can still feel the fur.  I could draw him for you if my artistic skills weren’t along Order of the Stick caliber.  I can smell the slightly moist dog slobbered scent, and the indelible imprint is there…

…and I want to know why.

The awesome dreams I have had over the decades have been legion.  I fly a lot.  I sit up in bed and click my fingers, saying, “Doom.”  And I’ve been told I can deliver a pretty mean karate chop.  Some of those dreams imprinted, but most slithered away all too soon, as is the custom with such a transient grasp on reality.

I don’t like it.  Plain and simple.  I want control over which dreams walk with me until my grave.  Tall order, I know…but somebody make it happen.  Instead, I’m stuck with Mr. Bullet.  Ahh, who knows, maybe he’ll be flying and wearing white Chucks tonight.