The Elden Blight Campaign (Part 1)

May 31st, 2010 Zen

The current Dungeons and Dragons campaign, run by me, features 4 player characters. Previously there were 5. Cat is playing a Dragonbord Warlord named Ahmad. Matt is playing a Human Fighter named Camthalion. Michelle is playing a Human Wizard named Kate (a shortening of her character’s actual name). Jared is playing a Human Rogue named Jack. Charles was playing a Half-Elf Warlock named Vincent.

The adventure began as the party arrived in the frozen province of Elden, having traveled up the south road. On their way into Waywyn, they encounter a swarm of refugees, many very unwell, travelling along the road towards Waywyn, from the lands to the east. At the city, the party is allowed in, though all the sick refugees are forced to stay in a camp outside the city walls. Inside the city, the stone is white, the people are happy and life is generally pretty swell. The city and surrounding lands are ruled over by Lord Allairo Andar, who resides in a white castle on the hill.

After only a short time, the players are asked to deal with a few problems concerning a guard officer, an apothecarist and a cleric of Pelor, all of which require the party to trek into the mountains to the north-west. It is quickly revealed by the cleric that those who die of the Blight, a Black Plague-like disease afflicting the lands to the east, rise again as walking dead. The most important of the tasks given to the players involves Callum Andar, brother to the lord, and former paladin of Pelor until his recent death. The chapel initiates in charge of the preparation of his body failed to ward it against reanimation properly, and the ritual burial grounds in the low mountains have been swarmed upon by the undead.

A few hacks and slashes later, the party arrives at the ritual burial grounds and kills many undeads. Along the way they discover a sword with an embossed handle, engraved with vine patterns and an eye on the pommel. The eye opens and the sword speaks aloud, though without a mouth. The name “Wesley” is given the the blade by the party, as the blade does not know its own name. The origin of the blade is still a mystery to the party, though they do know that it once belonged to Callum Andar, amongst many former wielders, and it recently “managed to get rid of” its latest Orc wielder, who it disliked very much. The blade is a magical implement and is being used by the Wizard, Kate. They find the entrance to Callum’s tomb opened, and a dagger stuck in Callum’s chest. The scroll given to the players with which to perform the reanimation ward is cast and consumed but to no effect. The party removes the dagger and returns to Waywyn. After reporting their findings and collecting rewards for other tasks fulfilled, the chapel sends a few Paladins to return Callum’s body and resurrect him themselves. It is revealed that Callum himself has been infected with the Blight, and the only thing short of a cure to the plague stopping him from returning as undead was to bring him back to life.

Posted in News, Pen and Paper | 2 Comments »

Changing Mindsets

November 19th, 2009 Zen

This is a post about pen and paper roleplaying games. Turn back now if you’re not interested.

I have often struggled over the years to create a different flavour to my campaign experience. I freely admit that most of my games have thematic tones of evil and conquest, where I could quite easily exploit themes of corruption, intrigue, mystery, horror and so on. Somehow I always seem to return to my generic fantasy roots, wherein evil is trying to take over by spewing forth an army from the deep dark depths of hell or its fantasy setting equivalent. Even in my most original campaign plots, there has been an army of some description bent on invading where the players are currently located.

So too do my players get stuck in their own mindsets. I largely attribute it to the fact that, in GURPS, you are invincible. While many options for evisceration are available to players and enemies alike, somehow all my opponents end up as unrecognisable piles of meat on the floor. Most of my players, myself included, began on this system. There is a mindset at my table that the player characters can overcome, which is inspiring in books and movies, but usually leads to rampantly stupid acts of heroism that get people killed in roleplaying games.

When running a game of 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, I do like to appreciate that my players occasionally feel overwhelmed. I like them in the final few encounters of an adventure to discuss the possibility of high tailing it and have ‘maybe those villagers can defend from what’s left of the hobgoblins anyway’ conversations.That is of course before they inevitably fell a few foes and everything seems alright again. I’ve fallen into the trap of making things too easy and become a sucker for the good ending. I’d like to kill a player character, but the long surviving GURPS characters haven’t given me the taste for blood I needed in my early DMing days to help me become the cold heartless bastard at the head of the table that I should be.

Similarly, I can’t get my table sessions to have the right feel to them. I’m not talking about game content, but rather what happens in the course of playing the game. I’d like to start calling my players by their character names when their initiative comes up, but I just can’t. I always slip back into player names which I’m sure facilitates the table talk and meta-gaming that floods our sessions. Not that I mind it all terribly, we all have fun in the end - it’s just something that I’d appreciate.

I guess to conclude I should declare that “COOL STORY BRO” is not an appropriate comment or response to this article. I am aware that this post is entirely contentless, but these things have been swirling in my head for some time now. It’s good to put them down, and I hope I can’t find this article one day and reflect on how my campaigns have improved.

Posted in Game Concepts, News, Pen and Paper | 3 Comments »

The Photos Make It Look More Comfortable Than It Was

September 8th, 2009 Zen

I’ll always look back at the photos I took of my cruise around the South Pacific with fond memories that I never really had. I’ll be honest, most of it was damned uncomfortable. The beds were too small, as were the entire cabins, there was a lot of people, a lot of sun and a lot of sand. The drinks were expensive and so was everything ashore.

Still, I found a few secluded spots around the islands that we visited, had a good swim, didn’t really get sunburned. So, I guess, I really did have a bit of fun.

(Apologies for the huge pictures, I like quality. If enough people complain I’ll shrink them a bit.)

Tiki!

A Nice Beach

A Good View

Posted in News, Tiki! | 1 Comment »

Hacks and Learning

August 31st, 2009 Zen

So, I’ve never been really technically oriented when it comes to web development. Most of my code ends up looking like soup.

Zen: Do you want to know what I’ve been doing today
Zen: I found out about an interesting thing called non Internet-Standard compliance
Zen: Essentially, it’s a complicated term for INTERNET EXPLORER FUCKS EVERYTHING UP
Charles: Again?
Zen: And then just sits there like “Padding? What the fuck is padding? You mean I can’t sit my images here at the top of the page like a stubborn bitch? Well too bad, I will anyway.”
Zen: Which means I get to do exciting things like put everything in a table just so I can add an extra row in front of what I need to emulate padding, so that my banner images aren’t crammed against the top edge of the page.
Zen: \o/

Posted in News, Rant | 1 Comment »

We’re All Friends In Space

August 10th, 2009 Zen

The TUCS LAN just past was choc full of inane sleep deprived rambling, shouting, board games and bricks being thrown through windows. The latter was not us, eff why eye.

We played a good many games of the Battlestar Galactica board game. I played in two, but hid in my jumper and slept through the third. While the game isn’t exactly fair, and mostly consists of the human team desperately trying to hold on to their bar of soap in a prison shower, while keeping their backs to the wall and eying everyone else in the room - wondering who might jostle them and make them drop it.

I have briefly mentioned this game before in a previous post, but to recap it’s a semi-cooperative game where there is guaranteed to be one or two people who aren’t really on your side. These people will work to destroy the fleet while you’re not looking. There are a few things about the mechanics of this game that I find intriguing.

Player-Enforced Social Rule: The game features a skill check system in which the humans stave off disaster, but which player play cards into secretly; Some cards help, some hinder. In this way, an unrevealed Cylon can disrupt the fleet without giving themselves away. In comes the player-enforced secrecy rule. Nobody at the table is allowed to state with certainty anything they know, except when such a statement could be a fabrication. For example, anyone can say that they can “help out on this skill check a bit” but nobody may say “I can play 5 piloting to help out”. However, if a player gets the ability to look at another player’s Loyalty card(s) - which indicate his human or Cylon status - he can say whatever he wants, be that “he’s a Cylon” or “he’s cool, guys”. I’m constantly surprised how well this player-enforced system works, given that player-reliant rules are usually flimsy and most games rely on a player’s lack of knowledge to determine limitation of information.

Bluffing: One thing I love about the game is it brings the fun of social interaction to its potential limit. A Cylon player has many different bluffing strategies up his sleeve, and humans need to work out the true intentions behind everyone’s actions. Some of the Cylon bluffing strategies I’ve seen used to great effect (there are many others):

• Be “honest”. Stating the logical reason to the table why you could be a Cylon is a good way to decrease suspicion, usually. “Well the Cylon obviously played politics cards against us, so it could either be player x, player y or me.”
• In contrast to the above, try to acquire cards outside of your skill set. If you’re a politician, get some tactics or engineering cards to play against the humans. This has the added benefit of shifting suspicion on the other players. “Well I don’t even draw tactics cards, but you do.”
• Gain their trust. While this is easy to do by simply blowing up some Cylons or helping everyone in some crucial skill check, I’ve seen it best used in an unlikely situation. A Cylon player who investigated another player and found him to be a Cylon declared it - leading to the capture of a Cylon. But this earned him enough trust to stay out of suspicion for the rest of the game while he ruined the human team. “Yep, he’s a Cylon guys.”
• Endure the blame. If you’ve been accused of being a Cylon and locked away when you are one, you can wait it out instead of going guns blazing. The person who pulled this trick sat in the brig until I wasn’t sure why I accused him in the first place, and we let him out. “Bloody hell, I’m not a Cylon!“

Grudges: Most games suffer when grudges get involved. The constant tit for tat in any other board game just detracts from the experience. However, in the Battlestar Galactica board game, grudges for a part of a justifiable accusation. If that other guy threw you in the brig because he thought you were a Cylon, you can exact your revenge by accusing him of being one (which makes sense, because if you aren’t one then he could have been deliberately disrupting the fleet). The constant banter when pointing out inconsistencies and past actions is what makes the paranoia in the game so great.

One Player Can Ruin It For Everyone: While it’s true that every player has his own style of play, there is rarely any advantage in keeping vital Cylon location information to yourself. Occasionally a player will withhold information about the Loyalty cards he just spied on. Even for Cylons, there is no reason to hold on to this - you can lie, or tell the truth ala the above bluffing strategy. While I usually despise game rules that limit the play style to one avenue (handing the information out), the game mechanic more than makes up for it. In other similar ways, the game can be “ruined” by one player not rooting for his team, or being a mehhfort Cylon.

President Admiral Winton Adama

Posted in Board Games, Game Concepts | 2 Comments »

Addiction, Arrows, Space Battles

July 2nd, 2009 Zen

A brief update is about to happen. Brace yourselves.

I recently returned from a trip around the South Pacific, which I thought was quite cool until my holiday was trumped by the rest of Secret Lab. As many of you would agree, 23 nights on a boat with a crappy satellite Internet connection and a laptop with only Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe and The Matrix was a bit too much for me. I hugged my computer when I got back, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

A few of you would know that I started playing World of Warcraft (again) just prior to my trip. This is still continuing, as it is one of a select few games that my fiance also enjoys. Addicted. In addition, I’m playing Team Fortress 2 again but this time with Spy as my favoured class. Some of the Spy unlockables have drastically improved my performance - so much so that I’m now doubling my previous kill/death ratio. I have been alternating Spy with Sniper, also using the new unlockables. I hit 11 kills, 3 dominations in one life using the bow - which is pretty impressive. Pinning people to walls with arrows is fun. There was a LAN at University only a day after I returned, during which I kicked off my Spy career - but was otherwise devoid of multiplayer games. We did manage to edge in a 6-player game of Twilight Imperium, in which I won (aren’t I great?), which took from 11pm ’til 5am.

Since I’ve returned, I’ve been watching the third season of Burn Notice (now up to episode 4) and Better off Ted (I don’t know what it’s up to, but I’ve watched 2). Dungeons and Dragons (4th Edition, you oldschool elitists) is going to run again soon, but this time with Aleena (my fiance) as the DM. I think I’ve been scaring her with my brutal pre-planned stun and flank tactics. I really enjoy 4th Edition - It really appeals to my tactical mind.

Getting a little slack with the blog lately. I blame you. All of you. If you’d send some damn comments my way I might post more. Clicking “mark all as spam” is just wrong. Wrong!

Posted in Board Games, News, PC Gaming, Pen and Paper | 2 Comments »

Bringing Home The Bacon: Victory In Strategy Games

May 25th, 2009 Zen

While on the topic of Twilight Imperium, a game much played by my friends recently, I got to thinking about victory.

I have to thank Mr Ford though, as through failing to achieve many objectives towards the game’s victory, it made me wonder why. In Twilight Imperium, at least, most of the objectives you have to complete in order to gain victory points are economic or technological - a facet of the game that doesn’t appeal to anyone. Some people just like to blow stuff up. In the interests of science, and because I like making lists, he’s a few motives for play and endgame objectives I can think of. Try to work out which one you like best.

• Conquest: Wipe out the other players. Very popular in computer games and best used in games that don’t last that long. It is a tug-of-war type game, in that players will push back and forth until one wins. Because players can be eliminated, its best not to use this in a game like Twilight Imperium unless you’re prepared to have players pack up, walk out the door and go home many hours before the game ends. One important aspect of the conquest objective is balancing your resources between warfare and development, using developed territory or technology to fuel your war machine. Players who fail to balance this could be left with a destroyed fleet and no income. This option is more commonly used in Real-Time Strategy games on computer and rarely in board games.

• Attrition: An alternative to conquest, wherein players just try to deal damage or take territory to gain victory. It doesn’t involve the complete elimination of any player, though it’s certainly not discounted as an option. This is the type of victory used in games like Defcon, and in the alternative objective deck provided with the Twilight Imperium expansion.

• Economic: Victory usually occurs after a player has amassed enough stuff. It is, in essence, a race to a victory point, with which one player can suddenly and unexpectedly emerge the victor. This can put emphasis on budget, management of purchases and the occasional aggressive action to get the job done. This is the type of objective I prefer, as I don’t like being forced into conflict if I can avoid it. The economic victory requires the player to leverage diplomacy in their favour, which can be hard against a heavy-handed conquest player. This is the option used in the base Twilight Imperium game and in games like Settlers of Catan.

• Build Up: Victory is achieved through establishing a certain level of infrastructure or technological advance, and appeals to the type of gamer who likes the economical victory. Similar to the economical victory, it is a race gametype. Unlike economical though, it requires the player to invest in something other than warfare, while still maintaining a formidable defense force - in case things go south. It requires a little more tactics than economical, as the money or gains are not immediately available for use in warfare whenever you need it. Therefore, players who like to build upwards are going to have a lot more invested in static defenses such as minefields, forts or cannons. This is partly used by Twilight Imperium in the base game.

• Precision Strike: Victory is gained by acquiring one particular location or thing, and is favoured by players who prefer underhanded tactics and negotiation. This type of strategy is frequently only available in games with alliances, or variations of them. This objective is definitely for people who like action, as it doesn’t require much investment in infrastructure or forces, but rather careful foreplanning, an opportunity - and luck. However, lack of power usually leads to fatal backlash from the person you backstabbed, and is frequently the downfall of the precision player. Additional planning can lead this sort of player to defend against a backlash, causing further damage to the intended target. The precision player needs to use threats more than any other negotiation, which doesn’t win you friends.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Console Gaming, Game Concepts, PC Gaming, Player Satisfaction | 1 Comment »

Twilight Imperium: Pax Magnifica, Adicere Gloriosum!

May 25th, 2009 Zen

Addiction is glorious. It would seem that a group of strange associates from the Maclab have become infatuated with my newest board game. It got me thinking yesterday: what is it about this game that attracts the nerdy?

The game’s mechanics are elegant, but slow. A single game takes upwards of 6 hours, which is enough to turn most new players off. The action on the game board happens at a snail’s pace. The abilities afforded to each race keep the game in balance, but often can stunt the most awesome moments - when in the hands of certain players.

Yet, somehow, the game remains entertaining for the entire 6+ hours of gameplay, and will linger in your brain for months afterwards. I have made a small list of important points that make this game so great.

• It’s set in space. With spaceships.
• Each player has 116 little plastic ships to muck around with.
• The board is modular, allowing for a different tactical play style each game.
• Each player will have one thing they are the best at: Warfare, Economics, Politics, Technology, Diplomacy and so on.
• Player interactions are fluid - trade agreements break, objectives may cause war and a joint strike might be required.
• Player skill with negotiation matters. One might employ reason, threats, lies and bribery to achieve objectives.

I’m sure I could go on, but I’ll keep this post concise. If you’re a fan of space and explosions, I’d definitely pick up a copy of Twilight Imperium. I know several more people who are thinking about it. I think this will become a regular game within the Maclab.

Posted in Board Games | No Comments »

Platformers Have Platforms

May 14th, 2009 Zen

A little while ago, Andrew - lead artistic designer for Day of the Tiki (and in fact, most of Secret Lab’s projects) approached me on the Internet and asked how random platforms flying around a level could be made to fit the theme of Tiki Bar TV. Obviously, platforms with no hint of a mechanism controlling them can be explained by gypsy magic, but this felt a little tacky and cheap - and didn’t really explain why tiny pieces of what we can only assume to be driftwood had been enchanted in such a way so terribly convenient for Johnny Johnny.

Over the course of the conversation I realised, with delight, that finally my ideas didn’t really have to make sense anymore. Tiki Bar TV fits fantastically well with our surreal sense of reality. “How about,” I began, pressing enter and waiting a few seconds for dramatic effect. “Platforms,” I continued. I began a new line here as well. Dramatic effect was getting a little annoyed. “Carried by crabs,” I finished.

This was the first suggestion for making platforms more than magically enchanted slabs of wood, and it changed history forever my vision of the completed game. Ideas flew around about vertical traveling platforms and how they could be explained. Admittedly, my first suggestion was “flying crabs”, in response to which Andrew ingeniously coined the term “birds”.

Here it is: the first image of the Platform Crab.

Posted in Game Concepts, PC Gaming | 1 Comment »

Tiki Bar TV: Day Of The Tiki

April 29th, 2009 Zen

Yes, the news is in.

Secret Lab is working on the first official Tiki Bar TV computer-powered video game! Very exciting stuff. Also, if you read my blog and weren’t linked to it from Secret Lab (how?), check out their website. They make cool stuff.

So, what am I doing for Day Of The Tiki? Unlike all my comrades at Secret Lab, I have very little in the way of real skills. It appears, as no shock to anyone who knows me, that I have squandered the vast majority of my life playing games and not doing any work. It is in this capacity that I assist the team - my extensive experience with games. I provide the gameplay and puzzle ideas, although not exclusively (all of Secret Lab contributes).

I’m proud to be the member of the team who can convey a game idea by citing older, obscurerer games. I’m proud to be able to begin an explanation with “Who here has ever played A Boy And His Blob? Nobody? Well, in it…” or “What about Blackhawk? On the Snes? Anyone?”.

So that’s pretty much my involvement in a nutshell. If you like thinking about games when you’re not playing them, check out the Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 blogs. They have some good articles.

Posted in News, PC Gaming | 1 Comment »