Domain: anvilwerks.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to anvilwerks.com.
Comments · 10
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Re:Where to find local players?
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And the smaller press...
As with many mass market items, look to the smaller press for the more innovative and interesting ideas. Not every game is for every RPGer.. it's worth it to check out some of the indie games out there. From the serious and gritty, to the silly, there are a lot to choose from. Below are only a small
sample.
http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/
http://www.anvilwerks.com/?The-Shadow-of-Yesterday
http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/dogs.html
http://www.adept-press.com/trollbabe/
http://l5r.alderac.com/rpg/ -
Re:OFF TOPICD&D evolved from 1970s wargame simulations.. and it shows! For some lighter RPG fare, you might check out:
- Polaris is cool if you are more interested in tragic storytelling than rolling dice.
- The Pool is just some simple rules and no world setting. Very easy and flexible, but it doesn't have much support material. Oh, yeah: it's free!
- Clinton R. Nixon's The Shadow of Yesterday if you want something in between. I suspect this game might be the best choice for your game group!
Also, if you are looking to find gamers interested in these types of "indie RPGs", check out Clinton R. Nixon's FindPlay. - Polaris is cool if you are more interested in tragic storytelling than rolling dice.
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Re:OFF TOPICD&D evolved from 1970s wargame simulations.. and it shows! For some lighter RPG fare, you might check out:
- Polaris is cool if you are more interested in tragic storytelling than rolling dice.
- The Pool is just some simple rules and no world setting. Very easy and flexible, but it doesn't have much support material. Oh, yeah: it's free!
- Clinton R. Nixon's The Shadow of Yesterday if you want something in between. I suspect this game might be the best choice for your game group!
Also, if you are looking to find gamers interested in these types of "indie RPGs", check out Clinton R. Nixon's FindPlay. - Polaris is cool if you are more interested in tragic storytelling than rolling dice.
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Re:OFF TOPIC
If you want cheap, http://www.anvilwerks.com/?The-Shadow-of-Yesterda
y (The Shadow of Yesterday) is free (Creative Commons) and a solid system. -
Re:Branch out
I'm going to strongly recommend nosing around the Internet for these different games. I've found that only the most progressive and free-thinking of game stores stocks anything outside of the old standbys of D20 and White Wolf.
Have a look at http://www.chaosium.com/ and http://www.anvilwerks.com/ for some excellent examples. -
Re:Getting into D&D?
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Check out the small press
D&D is certainly going strong and chugging along, but I've been most excited about the huge boom in small press RPGs over the past 5 or so year, much of which is fueled by the internet. When game authors can market and sell directly via the web, many things become possible.
Some really good stuff to check out:
Burning Wheel:
Dogs in the Vineyard
With Great Power
The Shadow of Yesterday
Primetime Adventures -
Why don't you try some of these?
Jade Empire - Mythic Chinese themed RPG w/ real time martial arts combat - but not hack and slash, more like the combat-as-puzzles presented in this game you should also try:
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Fantastic platforming, puzzling, and combat-as-puzzles. Great storyline featuring ACUTAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Woah.
Mind Rover build and program robots for fun! Anyone remember robotwar on the Apple ][? This is fun like that was fun.
And how about some games with people? Try Munchkin or Illuminati.
And I've been playing RPGs on tabletops for 25 years (and I got a girlfriend, married her, game with her, and our son games too, so forget the 'RPGs are for anti-social ubergeeks' sterotype). It's not my fave, but D&D is the industry standard - like Windows, everyone's got it, everyone knows it, and many of us hate it but use it anyhow. For more flexibility, I suggest GURPS, the new 4th edition is very smooth. And for the Linux of RPGs, just google on "free RPG". Here's one by a designer I admire: The Shadow of Yesterday but I haven't gotten to play that particular game yet. Enjoy! -
Re:There must be an age to retire from D and D..
Yes, there is. That's the age when your dessicated remains float away on the wind.
I'm 33 and still play.
Look, I've been playing RPGs since I was in fourth grade, and in my experience, there is no greater entertainment than a good RPG. Books, movies, comics, other games...they all pale when you compare them to a really good roleplaying session. Sure, sometimes you have an off night; sometimes, it sucks like anything else. But like golf, the rewards of proper play keep you coming back. I played D&D and AD&D until about eighth grade, then got bored and stopped. It wasn't until maybe 10th grade that I discovered GURPS and began playing RPGs again, especially GURPS and various Supers games (Marvel, DC, Champions, V&V, etc.). I did the whole White Wolf thing in college, CoC in there, too. I've played Ars Magica, Cyberpunk, Ghostbusters, Gangbusters, and more I can't dredge up right now. I sort of fell out of gaming about five years ago, just because I lost my group, not because I didn't want to play any more.
About a year ago, I discovered indie RPGs. I found a little gem called Donjon and a great big shiny diamond called The Riddle of Steel and my love for the form was reignited. I started a TRoS game with some friends (including my wife). And I wondered when I could teach my seven year old son to play.
I looked at GURPS. I looked at TRoS. I looked at Donjon. None of them felt like I could get him to absorb and apply their rulesets. Then I realized that we were playing D&D already - in the form of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on our XBOX. (Yes. I have and enjoy an XBOX. It's a great console. Get over it.) He was comfortable with the concepts of experience and levels, hit points and ability modifiers. I had a 3.0 Player's Handbook, so I dragged it out and we made characters. My friend taught his kids (my son's best friends) to play, and now they play every chance they get, and they play-act it all the time, too. My son is writing adventures and wants to make a Neverwinter Nights module. We just started painting miniature figures.
I have fun playing D&D with him and his friends, and even more fun playing games with my friends. Someday, he'll wonder, "How come I can get hit with a giant two-handed axe and still have the same chance to hit on my next turn?" or, "Why are my character choices so rigidly defined? How come I suddenly improve by leaps and bounds instead of getting a little better at a time?" And then he'll be ready for more sophisticated RPGs.
So, if you're saying "After a certain age, you will appreciate the sophistication of RPGs besides D&D" you're correct. If you're saying, "There's no place for roleplaying after age 25," you're just ignorant. Or maybe just judgmental on a topic you've not investigated. Take your pick.