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tcpipThursday eve was art-house movies with Brendan and Paul from Polyester at an art gallery-bar in the depths of Collingwood. Friday ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
severina_242 and _zombiemonkey visited in the eve for a typically wonderful eve. Saturday was The Absinth Club (stupid website), allegedly a burlesque and vaudevillians show, but in reality a standing room only with (plentiful) average performances. The emo punk bund "Orphan's Party" did well, but the real highlight was the company of caseopaya, devilgirly and purples. There is a blessing in my life that I inevitably find myself in the company of beautiful and intelligent women.
Sunday roleplaying was RuneQuest in the Dragonlord's world with a special scenario baked from H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. Tuesday was Megatraveller using the GURPS module Stardemon. HeroQuest Glorantha email game continues with a confrontation with The Nameless Man who turns out to be none other than Grandfather Mortal. Had a quiet giggle at the efforts of one my players to slip a fast one past me in the Norman era AD&D game. My recent reviews on RPG.net include Aesheba: Greek Africa, Cloudlords of Tanara, Megatraveller: Players Manual and Megatraveller: Referees Guide. Oh, and I've just purchased an enormous bulk lot of RPGs and fantasy literature.
In computing news I've been offered another website to fix up (database development) which I'll be working on over the next two weeks. Last night was the first 2007 meeting for Linux User's Victoria. As usual I gave the news update for what has been happening in the linux world over the past month or so, the most exciting being the comprehensive study by the EUs Commission determining that open source will save you money. The speakers were Marco La Rosa (University of Melbourne) and Graeme Stewart (Glasgow University) who are part managers of the grid computer network centered at CERN. In other LUV news, I'm managing the one-day miniconference and install fest that will be held at Ballarat University on Saturday March 17th.
At the meeting I was also gifted two very hefty books by "The Major" on computing ethics and open source business as an aid in my studies. Speaking of which I have been quietly working away on over the past several months, gradually pushing down the high word count from 160K to 135K and towards the magical maximum of 100K. On a related topicshehasathree posts on How not to get a PhD, which is a checklist of my own studies.
severina_242 and _zombiemonkey visited in the eve for a typically wonderful eve. Saturday was The Absinth Club (stupid website), allegedly a burlesque and vaudevillians show, but in reality a standing room only with (plentiful) average performances. The emo punk bund "Orphan's Party" did well, but the real highlight was the company of caseopaya, devilgirly and purples. There is a blessing in my life that I inevitably find myself in the company of beautiful and intelligent women.Sunday roleplaying was RuneQuest in the Dragonlord's world with a special scenario baked from H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. Tuesday was Megatraveller using the GURPS module Stardemon. HeroQuest Glorantha email game continues with a confrontation with The Nameless Man who turns out to be none other than Grandfather Mortal. Had a quiet giggle at the efforts of one my players to slip a fast one past me in the Norman era AD&D game. My recent reviews on RPG.net include Aesheba: Greek Africa, Cloudlords of Tanara, Megatraveller: Players Manual and Megatraveller: Referees Guide. Oh, and I've just purchased an enormous bulk lot of RPGs and fantasy literature.
In computing news I've been offered another website to fix up (database development) which I'll be working on over the next two weeks. Last night was the first 2007 meeting for Linux User's Victoria. As usual I gave the news update for what has been happening in the linux world over the past month or so, the most exciting being the comprehensive study by the EUs Commission determining that open source will save you money. The speakers were Marco La Rosa (University of Melbourne) and Graeme Stewart (Glasgow University) who are part managers of the grid computer network centered at CERN. In other LUV news, I'm managing the one-day miniconference and install fest that will be held at Ballarat University on Saturday March 17th.
At the meeting I was also gifted two very hefty books by "The Major" on computing ethics and open source business as an aid in my studies. Speaking of which I have been quietly working away on over the past several months, gradually pushing down the high word count from 160K to 135K and towards the magical maximum of 100K. On a related topic
shehasathree posts on How not to get a PhD, which is a checklist of my own studies.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2007-02-07 03:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-07 03:49 am (UTC)Nope and what I've read of it I don't think I would like it. Flip-flops, cherries and hunches and a charge-based magic system.
Everyone seems to like the setting tho'.
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Date: 2007-02-07 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-07 04:51 am (UTC)Ahh, with some exceptions which unaided would have been beyond my imaginative capacity (e.g., Glorantha), I actually find it easy to create a interesting setting than create a system of rules.
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Date: 2007-02-07 01:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-07 10:32 pm (UTC)I suppose they're easy enough to understand and implement, it's just that personally they seem a little gimmicky. The only flip-flop that I ever thought was particuarly clever was the system used for determining hit location from attack rolls in Warhammer FRP.
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Date: 2007-02-07 11:25 pm (UTC)Flip-flips, cherries and hunches..
Date: 2007-02-07 11:33 pm (UTC)OK, from what I understand Unknown Armies is a percentile based game. The closer you get to your skill, the better you do. If you get a match, you do especially well or especially poorly.
Some skills are 'obsession' skills based on profession. Whatever your obsession skill is, you can flip-flop. That is, if you roll a 45, you can make it a 54.
Further, if magick (yes, they use the 'k') or fighting are your obsession skills, you get cherries. This means that if you get a success and a match (22, 33, 44...) you get a special result. If you get a cherry and a failure, you get some ugly and special result.
Hunches mean that you can make a roll, and save it for the next action, whether a success or a failure.
Bleh. All too gimmicky in my opinion.
Re: Flip-flips, cherries and hunches..
Date: 2007-02-08 12:41 am (UTC)The hunches mechanic has some dramatic potential though, coupled with things like seeing the future or time travel. I think I can use that or something similar :)
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Date: 2007-02-07 04:46 am (UTC):P
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Date: 2007-02-07 04:52 am (UTC)You know, I could be comfortable with that lifestyle...
(Fixed)
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Date: 2007-02-07 05:04 am (UTC):)
See you on Saturday for Munchkiny goodness.
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Date: 2007-02-07 05:13 am (UTC)Very much looking forward to it... Kill monsters, steal their stuff, go up a level!
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Date: 2007-02-07 05:20 am (UTC)Choice.
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Date: 2007-02-07 05:56 am (UTC)And now not with a confused date... *sigh* ,,, twice in one post, I really should edit myself with greater care..
Will be good to see you there...
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Date: 2007-02-07 11:24 am (UTC)Were you reviewing a more recent version? the rule books I have are dated 1987, when arguably it was at the forefront of RPGs, and as you commented, Starwars was pretty cutting edge. With the exception of the 'Ultra' rules (aka Giant Killer Robots) I hadn't heard that the system had changed much.
Given that AD&D was released at the same time, the use of tables was a pretty common thing for the era. Formulas would save space, but tables are arguably easier for the 12-16 year old - non mathematically inclined type to grasp.
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Date: 2007-02-07 11:59 am (UTC)I try to be harsh, but accurate. It's a trait I share with
Given that AD&D was released at the same time,
Eh?!?
Formulas would save space, but tables are arguably easier for the 12-16 year old - non mathematically inclined type to grasp.
Megatraveller had more than its share of complex formula as well; and I don't really recall many of the 12-16 age group playing it - it was sufficiently difficult in its own right that is was more 18+.
I'm pretty happy with giving it a 3/5 for substance, which isn't a bad rating really. However, the organisation of the books could really do with some serious help.
As a preview my most positive review will come in the rebellion sourcebook...
Also I'm looking at Traveller: The New Era at the moment. It's not as bad as I've been told.
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Date: 2007-02-08 12:59 am (UTC)My bad. 2nd Ed AD&D was 1989. 1st Ed however was nearly 10 years earlier, but for me I was most active with the system circa 1987. One of the chief complaints people (I knew) had with the game at the time was it was nearly impossible to memorize all of the tables. Dragon magazine had a habit of producing wheels with all of the key combat tables on them so that you didn't need to lug the books...
Megatraveller had more than its share of complex formula as well; and I don't really recall many of the 12-16 age group playing it - it was sufficiently difficult in its own right that is was more 18+.
I'm pretty happy with giving it a 3/5 for substance, which isn't a bad rating really. However, the organisation of the books could really do with some serious help.
I don't necessarily disagree with the rating you gave it. I just felt the tone of your review was harsh for an antique game. In 1987 btw I was 15. I had been playing Classic Traveller for ~2 years when this came out.
In a lot of ways CT was the better game. I think MegaTraveller needed more work, expansions, and supplements (there were a few) but the game never took off - perhaps that was GDW's fault.
Personally while I felt the combat system did allow for a sense of realism not found in other games at the time, it was challenging to use. A 30 minute firefight with terrorists in a spaceport could be turned into 3 or 4 days of play if you got imaginative.
I never did get to play GURPS Traveller. That may have streamlined the systems a bit. I heard very bad things about Traveller2300 (aka UltraTraveller)
Oh, something that you may or may not have seen is Traveller5 - Due for release this year. They have playtesting PDF files there and from the casual glance I took it doesnt look terrible - although the character creation PDF is 39 pages long... and mostly tables :D
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Date: 2007-02-08 01:39 am (UTC)Ah now Classic Traveller... That's different. I think I was about 14 when I first read those rules, and grokked them straight away.
I heard very bad things about Traveller2300 (aka UltraTraveller)
Traveller 2300 was ... broken. 2300AD, the quickly released second edition, was quite a workable game. Good setting too.
I've heard that T5 is coming out, and will be working me way up to it eventually in the review stakes.
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Date: 2007-02-07 10:30 pm (UTC)Something I've been meaning to ask... The icon with the pentagon and the apple in the tao lines... I've seen it a couple of places, I presume it's an discordian symbol, right?
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Date: 2007-02-07 11:48 pm (UTC)Fnord
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Date: 2007-02-07 01:50 pm (UTC)ebaying ahead?
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Date: 2007-02-07 10:29 pm (UTC)*nods* Once I've had a thoroughly good read of them all, that is and played the ones that are good...
I have a dream to start up a viable online second-hand RPG shop... I reckon I need at least $25K worth of stock... I'm getting pretty close to it.
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Date: 2007-02-07 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-07 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-07 09:45 pm (UTC)Heh. In the Palladium FRPG there was a sample adventure with "The Doubling Sword of Chaos", a shortsword which rolled a backgammon die for damage.