A quick post that summarizes my thoughts on the Rolemaster Public Playtest.
Roll on the Playtest Table – Rolemaster Public Playtest
The Rolemaster Public playtest is underway, you can register over at the Iron Crown forums and download the files yourself if you like. Character Law and Spell Law were released on 28th September, and Arms Law was released on 16th October.
I’ve had a quick read through of Character Law and here are my thoughts…
Sometimes just let them choose…
Well our Basic Roleplaying campaign ground to a halt went on hiatus due to a bit of GM burnout, along with the campaign not progressing in the direction I’d hoped. I just didn’t have an answer for the ‘where to from here?’ question for the characters.
Forbidden Island is Forbidden
Well that’s not quite true. Forbidden Island is a co-operative board game where up to four players try to recover four artifacts from a sinking island and escape with their lives.
I should also mention that it is heaps of fun. You can find the trailer here.
It was also a bit of a gaming departure for me…
Roleplaying: Characterization is Risky Business.
Why is characterization hard? Well, ‘cos we are people, and no person is just one thing. However in RPG land I’ve noticed that some people treat their characters as a set of tactical skills and their characterization is basically banter with the group.
There are a number of things that can encourage an emphasis on tactical play over actually role-playing:
Kiln People – Random Thoughts
I finally picked up Kiln People after seeing it in the stores for a while. I don’t really know why it took me so long to give it a crack; I like David Brin’s Uplift series, I like science fiction, but just haven’t been buying as many books lately.
How was it?
The odds were against it from the start; I felt the central premise was cheesy, but more importantly the last book I read was “The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester.
TL:DR – I was being a dick. Kiln People was great.
The Problem with Paranoia………….is Paranoia!
The problem with Paranoia is not really Paranoia, but what people think Paranoia is.
What is Paranoia:
- A darkly satirical game of intrigue, bureaucratic nonsense, and building despair as you find out that nothing in Alpha Complex is what you believe.
- A slapstick killfest where you are supposed to be the last one standing at the end of the briefing.
- A game that you haven’t played, but are sick of hearing about. People have been boring you to tears describing how they love/loathe it. Continue reading
