Updates and Zombies

Work proceeds on my Basic D&D Rules Bible (for lack of a better word).  It's nearing 200 pages now.  Beyond the rules here's what is has in it:

Races and Classes
Amazon Warrior (from OD&Dities)
Barbarian (from OD&Dities)
Bards (from OD&Dities)
Beastmen (from the Hollow World boxed set)
Brute-Men (from the Hollow World boxed set)
Bugbears (from GAZ10)
Clerics
Druids
Dwarfs
Elves (with options for Warrior-Elves from Hollow World, and Shadow Elves and Shadow Elf Shamans from GAZ13)
Fighters (with the usual options of Paladins, Knights, and Avengers and a new option for Druidic Knights from OD&Dities)
Gnolls (from GAZ10)
Goblins (from GAZ10)
Halflings
Hobgoblins (from GAZ10)
Hutaakans (from Hollow World)
Kobolds (from GAZ10)
Krugel Orcs (from Hollow World)
Lizard Men (these are the Malpheggi Lizard Men from Hollow World)
Magic-Users
Mystics
N'djatwa (from Dragon)
Necromancer (from OD&Dities, I believe)
Ogres (from GAZ10)
Orcs (from GAZ10)
Psionicists (from OD&Dities)
Rangers (from OD&Dities)
Shaman (from GAZ12? I can't remember right off hand)
Thieves
Trolls (GAZ10)
Warlocks (a class I pulled off the Vaults of Pandius site)
Finally an option for Non-human Clerics and Magic-Users

All classes are full 36 level classes.  I tossed out Prime Requisite experience bonuses, minimum stat requirements for classes, and for now I'm not going to add the skill system at all.  Thieves and a couple other classes will be the skill monkeys with a couple races like Dwarfs and Elves able to do the searching they've always been able to. 

With all these classes, the Spells section has expanded quite a bit.  There is Elf Magic, Necromancy, Shaman Magic, Song Magic, etc.  Plus, I plan on adding a lot from PC1, 2, and 4 (3 will likely get left out since we don't tend to play any aquatic-based games), that's on top of the races from later editions I plan to add to the mix (Dragonborn, Warforged, Goliaths, etc) so there's still a lot to go.  After the mammoth rules and player's book is done, I start in on the monsters which will house a combination of those found in the Rules Cyclopedia, Creature Collection, various adventures, as well as a few choice conversions.  Lots of work ahead, but I can honestly say that I should be done with the rules/player's guide within a week or two. 

Sadly, this project has put a momentary halt on my Mutant Future, Alternity, Star Wars, and Dragon Range projects.  I honestly haven't had this much fun going through old rulebooks in a long time. 

In other news, AMC is going forward with a TV series based on the Image Comic: The Walking Dead that (primarily) follows a sheriff who wakes up from a coma to a world where the dead have taken over.  It's an excellent series that once again shows that comics aren't just kids stuff.  It's well worth the read.  I have my doubts that AMC can capture the brutality and insanity of a world filled with undead since they do edit out violence in some movies (TWD can be VERY brutal at times, just a word of warning to the squeamish), but with Frank Darabont (director of The Mist and The Shawshank Redemption) at the helm it ought to be good even if it still misses the mark.  Johnny Miller (Hackers) is the front-runner to play sheriff Rick Grimes, which is an alright pick, but it's still early in the process so there's not much else to say.   I am looking forward to this series, even though I feel HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, or Starz would have been a better home for this series. 

Back to Basics

I haven't written much this last week.  Too many things going on a work, home, etc...  The only gaming I've done of late is playing through the Dragon Age Awakenings expansion pack.  It's a little light on content (most play-throughs have been around 15-20 hours, so I'm likely nearing the end since I'm at 12 hours) for the $40 price tag, so if you're on the fence you might want to wait for a price drop.  All in all, its a good expansion though.  The story takes the Darkspawn to the next level, the party members are pretty interesting (even if I do miss Shale and Morrigan) and their in party talk is pretty amusing. 

In the case for Awakenings, there was a card with the bloody dragon mascot for the line with the date "2.01.2011."  Sounds like a release date for Dragon Age II!  I can't wait.  If you haven't picked it up, definitely give Dragon Age a try.  It's the best fantasy CRPG put out in a long time. 

On other fronts, I've started slowly collecting my various Basic D&D houserules into one tome.  It will eventually be my D&D bible.  I'm changing a few things here and there like removing ability requisites for playing certain classes/races, using the rules for all classes to reach level 36, adding some new classes and races, and so forth.  It's going slowly, but it's getting there.

In sports news, my NCAA bracket is busted into a million pieces.  KU's loss destroyed what was already a pretty shot group of selections.  Even though I'm going to lose my $3 (yeah, big money) in the office pool, this has hands down been the most exciting tournament I've seen in a long time, if not ever.  Lots of great, close games.  This is why I like college basketball. 

Game Day

We just got back from a Game Day/Family Day.  Didn't get to run Mutant Future like I hoped because one member of the group wasn't going to get back until late.  That got pushed back to the next game day next month.  Instead, we tried out "A Touch of Evil" from Flying Frog Productions, which I picked up last week.  It's a pretty fun game. 

The premise of AToE is that it's the late 18th century and the players are trying to protect the town of Shadowbrook from supernatural evil in the form of a Vampire, a Spectral Horseman, a Scarecrow, or a Werewolf.  Each boss monster has minions and nasty tricks up their sleeves.  You have 20 rounds (to start with) to amass allies and items to allow you to take out the monster.  You can play either as co-op or trying to be the first to take out the monster.  We played co-op each time. 

The first game we (my friend, Mike, my wife, and myself) took on the Spectral Horseman.  It came down to the last round, but we were victorious.  With only my outlaw, Katarina, left standing (barely) at the end of the fight. 

The second fight was against the Werewolf.  There were 5 of us playing this time around: Mike, my wife, Mike's wife Cynthia, and my cousin Danielle.  Holy crap, it was a bloodbath.  It came down to the last round again (poor decision on our part), only this time we got slaughtered.  Three of the city elders turned evil on us and joined forces with the Werewolf.  Plus, since we were playing co-op, the Werewolf was extremely tough (29 hit points and 7 attack die that hit on a 4+).  My wife and I were both slaughtered handily in one round.  Mike never got into the fight to begin with.  Cynthia and my brother Dan (who took over for Danielle after she had to leave) lasted two round before getting slaughtered.  In the end the Werewolf took over Shadowbrook having only lost 10 hit points and the three evil town elders.  Ouch. 

All in all, everyone enjoyed the game and it's going to be a staple of our game nights along side games like Last Night on Earth (another Flying Frog game), Trivial Pursuit, and Runebound.  Check it out if you're looking for a great boardgame to add to the mix. 

Blah

I've been fighting a case of sinusitis for the last few days, which has sapped much of my desire to do much of anything.  I have added background information for several species on the Space Lords wiki.  There is now info about the Bhruu, Deepfallen, Eldar, Kroot, Riglia, Tau, and Xe'reen. 

Getting the finishing touches and tweaks on Saturday's Mutant Future trial run.  We'll likely also play a round of A Touch of Evil from Flying Frog, who also make the extremely well done Last Night on Earth boardgame.  If AToE is half as good as LNoE, it'll become a staple of game nights with my wife (she LOVES LNoE!).  I was also looking at picking up a copy of Claustraphobia from Asmodee which looks interesting.  We'll see.  With the group breaking up, I'm looking more at boardgames for the time being.  I'll still work on my Space Lords and Dragon Ranges settings...just in case. 

Until next time...

Alpha and Omega

I'm going to run my first session of Mutant Future next week.  I may only get to run it one other time.  I found out today that the couple my wife and I play games with is moving away due to some crap that I'm not going to get into here.  We're going to try and get together once a month at least between now and the end of May, but it looks like the campaign is going to end before it really even gets off the ground.  It a bummer for my tabletop gaming time, but a much bigger bummer to have to see two close friends leave the area. 

Sorry, just a little bummed out tonight. 

Just a Quick Update

Work on Space Lords is progressing, albeit at a snail's pace.  I've posted some basic information about mutants and their place in human society.  Some basic info about humans and a full write-up on the Fraal. 

In other news, I still need to get the two random creatures I rolled up the other night completed and posted, so look for that soon (hopefully).