In the last couple of months, I've acquired a bunch of freebie or low-cost PDF games, either off of their respective websites or through RPGnow.com. There's a 99% probability that I'll never play them, and most of the time I just skim through them over coffee, but as an amateur game designer I always like to see what new (or newly repackaged) ideas people are implementing in their game designs. So I've piled up quite a collection of new games on the cheap, but there's still a number of systems/games that I want to get my hands on in the next year or so...
1. The Savage World of Solomon Kane. Although he is in a way my least favorite of REH's major characters, the Kane stories are very good, and the world of Kane is, of all the REH storylines, the closest mix of current time period and "weird" fiction (the El Borak stories are closer time-wise, but there is almost no supernatural element to them). The Savage Worlds RPG system is also something I've been meaning to take a look at for a while now, so this would give me a good opportunity to get my hands on it. And finally, the book just looks amazing. Really nice production value and design (as it should be - this is not a cheap game).
2. Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying Rulebook. Of all the RPG systems to come out of the early to mid-80's, I think the BRP system is the one that fits me the best. It's got a nice, simple core mechanic, "spot rules" to cover various random situations, and provides enough structure that you can either add on or strip away whatever you like. The problem has always been that the BRP system itself has always been "locked into" a themed RPG - CoC, Stormbringer, etc., in such a way that digging the core mechanics out was always a little difficult (although the people over at Goblinoid Games did a good job with it in their GORE retro-clone RPG). The new BRP hardcover looks like it'll be a great toolkit for anyone who wants to use the system outside of Chaosium's RPG settings.
3. Chaosium's Trail of Cthluhu RPG. Written by Ken Hite, this new RPG resides in the Cthluhu mythos alongside the CoC RPG, but utilizes another system developed by Robin D. Laws that allows players and GMs to take their game down either the "Purist" (i.e., H.P. Lovecraft) style of gaming or the "Pulp" (i.e., Robert E. Howard) style. Sounds like a pretty cool and different game engine, suitable for either gaming or idea mining (and with regards to gaming, the novelty of the design might be good for attracting people who are into the whole mystery/investigation angle).
4. Werewolf: The Apocalypse 2nd Edition. Yeah, yeah, I know. But W:tA was the only one of the Storyteller core systems I both played in extensively AND had a liking for. I know there's a new version of the game out, but since I don't have any interest in the World of Darkness "metaplot" (more on this in another posting sometime), I'd rather just get the original W:tA as I was familiar with back in the day. If nothing else, it's both a piece of "gaming history" as well as idea fodder for somewhere down the line if I ever want to run a "weird" real world game.
5. Flashing Blades. I've heard a lot of old-schoolers talk about this game, and it sounds rather neat. I'm not sure if it's easily obtainable in published form, but I know you can get PDFs of it from RPGnow for a relatively low price. I've got a number of friends who are crazy about pirate / swashbuckler related stuff, so this game might come in handy there as well.
Hrm, well, that's all I can think of for now. There's a few wargaming-related products I'd like to pick up, but for RPGs, this makes for a handy starter list.
1. The Savage World of Solomon Kane. Although he is in a way my least favorite of REH's major characters, the Kane stories are very good, and the world of Kane is, of all the REH storylines, the closest mix of current time period and "weird" fiction (the El Borak stories are closer time-wise, but there is almost no supernatural element to them). The Savage Worlds RPG system is also something I've been meaning to take a look at for a while now, so this would give me a good opportunity to get my hands on it. And finally, the book just looks amazing. Really nice production value and design (as it should be - this is not a cheap game).
2. Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying Rulebook. Of all the RPG systems to come out of the early to mid-80's, I think the BRP system is the one that fits me the best. It's got a nice, simple core mechanic, "spot rules" to cover various random situations, and provides enough structure that you can either add on or strip away whatever you like. The problem has always been that the BRP system itself has always been "locked into" a themed RPG - CoC, Stormbringer, etc., in such a way that digging the core mechanics out was always a little difficult (although the people over at Goblinoid Games did a good job with it in their GORE retro-clone RPG). The new BRP hardcover looks like it'll be a great toolkit for anyone who wants to use the system outside of Chaosium's RPG settings.
3. Chaosium's Trail of Cthluhu RPG. Written by Ken Hite, this new RPG resides in the Cthluhu mythos alongside the CoC RPG, but utilizes another system developed by Robin D. Laws that allows players and GMs to take their game down either the "Purist" (i.e., H.P. Lovecraft) style of gaming or the "Pulp" (i.e., Robert E. Howard) style. Sounds like a pretty cool and different game engine, suitable for either gaming or idea mining (and with regards to gaming, the novelty of the design might be good for attracting people who are into the whole mystery/investigation angle).
4. Werewolf: The Apocalypse 2nd Edition. Yeah, yeah, I know. But W:tA was the only one of the Storyteller core systems I both played in extensively AND had a liking for. I know there's a new version of the game out, but since I don't have any interest in the World of Darkness "metaplot" (more on this in another posting sometime), I'd rather just get the original W:tA as I was familiar with back in the day. If nothing else, it's both a piece of "gaming history" as well as idea fodder for somewhere down the line if I ever want to run a "weird" real world game.
5. Flashing Blades. I've heard a lot of old-schoolers talk about this game, and it sounds rather neat. I'm not sure if it's easily obtainable in published form, but I know you can get PDFs of it from RPGnow for a relatively low price. I've got a number of friends who are crazy about pirate / swashbuckler related stuff, so this game might come in handy there as well.
Hrm, well, that's all I can think of for now. There's a few wargaming-related products I'd like to pick up, but for RPGs, this makes for a handy starter list.
4 comments:
I definitely would recommend Flashing Blades, had a lot of fun with it back when, and the adventures/background material are good readin'. Apparently the boxed game AND all the supplements are still in print as, uh, printed product, still available from Fantasy Games Unlimited for pretty cheap! look at: http://www.fantasygamesunlimited.net/shop/
-allan h.
Sweet, thanks for giving it a "thumbs up". One of these days I'll have to get off my duff and pick it up.
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