Ive finally gotten to the bottom of the L5R problem, and it wasn't me.
Being a bit of an empathic, I was picking up on the general attitude towards the game from the other players and it was manifesting itself into my own negative thoughts.
To be fair, the GM was winging the game to suit our whims within certain of his own boundaries of the overall story he wanted to tell.
So we agreed amongst the players who were attended that we should rest the game indefinitely and maybe return to it some time much later in the future.
And in its place, I'm running Mutants and Masterminds 2nd edition superhero campaign.
edit 2014 - I later discovered that several of the players also had issues with the Asian names and nomenclature which added to general confusion.
Showing posts with label Legend of the Five Rings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legend of the Five Rings. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Something is Going Wrong, and I dont know what
Something is going wrong with our RPG group and I dont know what.
We're still playing Legend of the Five Rings, a game I adore before we started playing earlier this year, and having played it for the first time, I still love it to death. But I have found myself for the 3rd time in as many sessions really not enjoying the session at all.
Firstly we have 2 new players, one is a go along with the crowd kind of guy who is intelligent, smart and funny, but enjoys playing the intelligent warrior type. The other player is a post university student who is careful in his actions and thought processes.
Added to this mix a turbulent few weeks, different venue for each session, plus a couple of players finding it temporarily hard to get to the game (only short term).
My problems is I really am not enjoying it at all. Now I dont know if its ME, the new PLAYERS, the GAME/GM, or the GROUP.
I need to analyse this a little further, but I need to work fast, as at this rate, I would have clocked up almost a month's worth of gaming wherein Im not enjoying myself.
I intend to discuss this with the GM, who is also a good friend of mine too.
We're still playing Legend of the Five Rings, a game I adore before we started playing earlier this year, and having played it for the first time, I still love it to death. But I have found myself for the 3rd time in as many sessions really not enjoying the session at all.
Firstly we have 2 new players, one is a go along with the crowd kind of guy who is intelligent, smart and funny, but enjoys playing the intelligent warrior type. The other player is a post university student who is careful in his actions and thought processes.
Added to this mix a turbulent few weeks, different venue for each session, plus a couple of players finding it temporarily hard to get to the game (only short term).
My problems is I really am not enjoying it at all. Now I dont know if its ME, the new PLAYERS, the GAME/GM, or the GROUP.
I need to analyse this a little further, but I need to work fast, as at this rate, I would have clocked up almost a month's worth of gaming wherein Im not enjoying myself.
I intend to discuss this with the GM, who is also a good friend of mine too.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Legend of the Five Rings
We played L5R last night, and despite the low player number (GM + 2 Players + 1 New Player) it went rather well.
4 of the players couldnt make it, all for genuine reasons. Im well aware of the summer break being a big issue for getting players back on the RPG wagon.
Still it gave me the chance to catch up on my notes, create a new character for the new player and get underway with a small side-trek to introduce combat and more background story.
One of the nice side-effects of running a smaller group of characters is that they get to perform roles they dont normally entertain. So our resident ninja/shinobi was virtually forced to fight face-to-face as opposed to sitting in the trees and picking off targets.
Next week we should be back up to our normal quota of players 7 + 1GM.
One other bit of good news was I got my hands on Legend of the Burning Sands.
Using the same system as L5R, this game has been promised for over 10 years, something the back-blurb at least is honest in mentioning. Its still in its sellophane wrap having been bought on my behalf from www.leisuregames.com. Im looking forward to a quiet evening this week to savour every page.
4 of the players couldnt make it, all for genuine reasons. Im well aware of the summer break being a big issue for getting players back on the RPG wagon.
Still it gave me the chance to catch up on my notes, create a new character for the new player and get underway with a small side-trek to introduce combat and more background story.
One of the nice side-effects of running a smaller group of characters is that they get to perform roles they dont normally entertain. So our resident ninja/shinobi was virtually forced to fight face-to-face as opposed to sitting in the trees and picking off targets.
Next week we should be back up to our normal quota of players 7 + 1GM.
One other bit of good news was I got my hands on Legend of the Burning Sands.
Using the same system as L5R, this game has been promised for over 10 years, something the back-blurb at least is honest in mentioning. Its still in its sellophane wrap having been bought on my behalf from www.leisuregames.com. Im looking forward to a quiet evening this week to savour every page.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
L5R Pt 3 & 4
Our GM is ready to start running the 3rd and 4th parts of his Legend of the Five Rings campaign, with the added extra element of the recently released, Legend of the Burning Sands, an addon that AEG has been promising for over 10 years.
Its the first session after my summer break, and I came back to the group finding out that as usual its hard to get everyone back into the routine again.
Of the 8 of us playing, 3 are out of action due to work, holiday or family pressures, but normal service will resume. I dont mind this as it moves the emphasis around between the players. If one player/character is a little loud and likes to be the centre of attention, when they are not there for a week or so, the dynamics of the group and adventure changes, and generally for the better (only int he short term.)
Gurth, our GM for L5R, has written parts 3 & 4 back to back and will run them as such. I have been taking lots of notes as we play, as I have a terrible memory between sessions, and as the resident Scorpion, I need to keep up to date with all the intrigue going on. I am not sure I will write them up until after the campaign is over, as Im not the greatest fan of "actual play".
Its the first session after my summer break, and I came back to the group finding out that as usual its hard to get everyone back into the routine again.
Of the 8 of us playing, 3 are out of action due to work, holiday or family pressures, but normal service will resume. I dont mind this as it moves the emphasis around between the players. If one player/character is a little loud and likes to be the centre of attention, when they are not there for a week or so, the dynamics of the group and adventure changes, and generally for the better (only int he short term.)
Gurth, our GM for L5R, has written parts 3 & 4 back to back and will run them as such. I have been taking lots of notes as we play, as I have a terrible memory between sessions, and as the resident Scorpion, I need to keep up to date with all the intrigue going on. I am not sure I will write them up until after the campaign is over, as Im not the greatest fan of "actual play".
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Life after MERP
So whats next on the GM front?
Well, we have L5R all ready from our other GM, which I believe is going to be a double barrel campaign, i.e. he is going to be combining 2 adventures into 1.
This suits me fine as it gives me more time to canvas for whats next and give me time to develop some ideas.
Off the top of my head;
Werewolf: Dark Ages - I need to finish off the 3rd part in my time-travelling trilogy.
MERP - I'm sure the guys wont let this game disappear, as they all seem to be having a blast.
Deadlands - this one kinda died because of 2 players who didnt like the system or the world. Of the remaining players, they all loved it. Of the 2 players who didnt like the game, 1 has left and the other is an infrequent attendee.
And as for new games, well there is Hollow Earth Expedition a pulpy action game that manages to merge every element of the genre I love. And then there is the very new Starblazers RPG, a space opera RPG I have been anticipating for a year or so now.
I am sure there are others, like RuneQuest, a game I had prepared before MERP took over, that Id like to run, say a Big Rubble/Pavis game.
Well, we have L5R all ready from our other GM, which I believe is going to be a double barrel campaign, i.e. he is going to be combining 2 adventures into 1.
This suits me fine as it gives me more time to canvas for whats next and give me time to develop some ideas.
Off the top of my head;
Werewolf: Dark Ages - I need to finish off the 3rd part in my time-travelling trilogy.
MERP - I'm sure the guys wont let this game disappear, as they all seem to be having a blast.
Deadlands - this one kinda died because of 2 players who didnt like the system or the world. Of the remaining players, they all loved it. Of the 2 players who didnt like the game, 1 has left and the other is an infrequent attendee.
And as for new games, well there is Hollow Earth Expedition a pulpy action game that manages to merge every element of the genre I love. And then there is the very new Starblazers RPG, a space opera RPG I have been anticipating for a year or so now.
I am sure there are others, like RuneQuest, a game I had prepared before MERP took over, that Id like to run, say a Big Rubble/Pavis game.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Burning Sands - The L5R Game they have been promising for years...
According to the Leisure Games website AEG have finally gotten their finger out of their asses and will be publishing This.
Legend of the Burning Sands is the add-on game which was heavily featured in the L5R Collectible Card Game, but got overlooked when it came to making it a role-playing game.
Certainly it was the lure of playing something akin to Arabian Nights and all of its derivative genre, whilst maintaining the system of L5R and its ethos.
Definitely one to pre-order.
Edit 2014 - what a load of rubbish, a poorly fluff ridden book that added little to the game.
Legend of the Burning Sands is the add-on game which was heavily featured in the L5R Collectible Card Game, but got overlooked when it came to making it a role-playing game.
Certainly it was the lure of playing something akin to Arabian Nights and all of its derivative genre, whilst maintaining the system of L5R and its ethos.
Definitely one to pre-order.
Edit 2014 - what a load of rubbish, a poorly fluff ridden book that added little to the game.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Penultimate MERP Session
This Sunday sees the penultimate session of my MERP campaign before we head back to Legend of the Five Rings.
Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves as well as wanting to return to it.
One of the problems Ive battled with is maintaining the Tolkien feel of the game which on a personal level I think I have failed on. I canvas the players to get their opinions regularly as I often find out that my perception of how the game is going rarely matches up to the players opinion.
For instance, when I ran my 7th Sea game quite often Id have what I would class as a bad session and the players said they have a great time. And when I ran what I thought was a good session, they said that it was incredibly enjoyable.
With this MERP campaign I have sown seeds of foreshadowing and set up story elements for later in the story. Im pleased that 2 or 3 of the 5 players are keeping detailed notes, partly at my suggestion, but mostly because of the rich nature of the game there is a lot going on.
I have managed to get the players used to low atmospheric music, and candlelight to enhance the mood, as well as encouraging the players to not debate their actions for hours at a time, but rather to act. Because if they don't act then the enemies act anyhow. This way I found that the characters and heroes' nature comes out. That heroes leap into battle and defense of the weak, whilst cowards slink to the back.
Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves as well as wanting to return to it.
One of the problems Ive battled with is maintaining the Tolkien feel of the game which on a personal level I think I have failed on. I canvas the players to get their opinions regularly as I often find out that my perception of how the game is going rarely matches up to the players opinion.
For instance, when I ran my 7th Sea game quite often Id have what I would class as a bad session and the players said they have a great time. And when I ran what I thought was a good session, they said that it was incredibly enjoyable.
With this MERP campaign I have sown seeds of foreshadowing and set up story elements for later in the story. Im pleased that 2 or 3 of the 5 players are keeping detailed notes, partly at my suggestion, but mostly because of the rich nature of the game there is a lot going on.
I have managed to get the players used to low atmospheric music, and candlelight to enhance the mood, as well as encouraging the players to not debate their actions for hours at a time, but rather to act. Because if they don't act then the enemies act anyhow. This way I found that the characters and heroes' nature comes out. That heroes leap into battle and defense of the weak, whilst cowards slink to the back.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
John Wick's Dirty Words
I am unashamedly a fan of John Wick (
wickedthought). Both as a GM and as a games designer. He is, afterall, responsible for 2 of my favourite role-playing games, 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings. He has also written Orkworld, a game which I treasure.
Well now he has started doing video blogs on youtube which he links to on his Livejournal account using the "Play Dirty" tagline. In it he gives out words of wisdom which I recommend to any GM. Yes he is opinionated, and some people have a real problem with him, but invest just 10 minutes and see if it is worth your time checking him out for the future.
John Wick - Play Dirty
wickedthought). Both as a GM and as a games designer. He is, afterall, responsible for 2 of my favourite role-playing games, 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings. He has also written Orkworld, a game which I treasure.Well now he has started doing video blogs on youtube which he links to on his Livejournal account using the "Play Dirty" tagline. In it he gives out words of wisdom which I recommend to any GM. Yes he is opinionated, and some people have a real problem with him, but invest just 10 minutes and see if it is worth your time checking him out for the future.
John Wick - Play Dirty
John Wick's Dirty Words
I am unashamedly a fan of John Wick (wickedthought). Both as a GM and as a games designer. He is, afterall, responsible for 2 of my favourite role-playing games, 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings. He has also written Orkworld, a game which I treasure.
Well now he has started doing video blogs on youtube which he links to on his Livejournal account using the "Play Dirty" tagline. In it he gives out words of wisdom which I recommend to any GM. Yes he is opinionated, and some people have a real problem with him, but invest just 10 minutes and see if it is worth your time checking him out for the future.
John Wick - Play Dirty
wickedthought). Both as a GM and as a games designer. He is, afterall, responsible for 2 of my favourite role-playing games, 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings. He has also written Orkworld, a game which I treasure.Well now he has started doing video blogs on youtube which he links to on his Livejournal account using the "Play Dirty" tagline. In it he gives out words of wisdom which I recommend to any GM. Yes he is opinionated, and some people have a real problem with him, but invest just 10 minutes and see if it is worth your time checking him out for the future.
John Wick - Play Dirty
Monday, June 30, 2008
MERP and Ever After
2 sessions into my MERP adventure/side trek, which has the capability of going to a full campaign and having lots of fun with it.
The other DM in our group, he who is running the Legend of the Five Rings campaign, is mooting that he'd like to run a Godlike game. Godlike, for those of you who haven't heard of it, and I don't blame you for not, is a game set during the major WW2 conflict zones wherein some, all or none of the players are "Talents". Talents being super-powered heroes.
What makes godlike different from other superhero games is (a) the 1 die roll combat, damage and location system, but also (b) the fact that there is no spandex to be worn. Just because you are a hero, doesnt make you bullet proof.
Its an interesting idea, not one Im super crazy about, but seeing as Greg Stolze designed the gaming system, based on a concept idea by Dennis Detwiller, is enough to make me sit up and pay attention.
The other DM in our group, he who is running the Legend of the Five Rings campaign, is mooting that he'd like to run a Godlike game. Godlike, for those of you who haven't heard of it, and I don't blame you for not, is a game set during the major WW2 conflict zones wherein some, all or none of the players are "Talents". Talents being super-powered heroes.
What makes godlike different from other superhero games is (a) the 1 die roll combat, damage and location system, but also (b) the fact that there is no spandex to be worn. Just because you are a hero, doesnt make you bullet proof.
Its an interesting idea, not one Im super crazy about, but seeing as Greg Stolze designed the gaming system, based on a concept idea by Dennis Detwiller, is enough to make me sit up and pay attention.
Monday, June 16, 2008
MERP PDFs Online
Life is starting to get back to normal after a break with no internet.
Our Legend of the Five Rings game has ended its 2nd story arc and has gone on the back-burner for a couple of months whilst I run one of the following games. I tried to woo my group with either RuneQuest, MERP, Vampire or to give 3/4th Edition DND a shot.
Oddly they all jumped on RuneQuest, until I realised that I have left all my RQ material with my parents in Spain.
So with less than a week to go, I have decided its going to be MERP, which the crew seem happy to indulge me on. Whilst searching the internet for character sheets, as Ill be using the 2nd Collector's Edition of MERP I stumbled across this website which not only is a great source of MERP related goodies and information, but is also home to virtually every ICE/MERP product in PDF form.
www.merp.com
Now I have no idea of the legal nature of a website holding such documents, after all its illegal isnt it? The website does appear to claim that seeing as ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises) doesnt exist, or that TE (Tolkien Enterprises) has no claim over these products, they are essentially public domain.
Either way, ICE and TE have issued Cease & Desist order and managed to get them to removed a couple of the PDFs listed.
I cant imagine they will exist for long, so Ill leave it to your conscience as to whether you want them for free or buy them on Ebay.
Our Legend of the Five Rings game has ended its 2nd story arc and has gone on the back-burner for a couple of months whilst I run one of the following games. I tried to woo my group with either RuneQuest, MERP, Vampire or to give 3/4th Edition DND a shot.
Oddly they all jumped on RuneQuest, until I realised that I have left all my RQ material with my parents in Spain.
So with less than a week to go, I have decided its going to be MERP, which the crew seem happy to indulge me on. Whilst searching the internet for character sheets, as Ill be using the 2nd Collector's Edition of MERP I stumbled across this website which not only is a great source of MERP related goodies and information, but is also home to virtually every ICE/MERP product in PDF form.
www.merp.com
Now I have no idea of the legal nature of a website holding such documents, after all its illegal isnt it? The website does appear to claim that seeing as ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises) doesnt exist, or that TE (Tolkien Enterprises) has no claim over these products, they are essentially public domain.
Either way, ICE and TE have issued Cease & Desist order and managed to get them to removed a couple of the PDFs listed.
I cant imagine they will exist for long, so Ill leave it to your conscience as to whether you want them for free or buy them on Ebay.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Deadlands Rises Again
One more Legend of the Five Rings session which will be followed up by by the 3rd and final part of the Freeport trilogy using the Rolemaster system.
Once that is completed I have offered up a few game to run, and the one that most people are keen to play is Deadlands again. This is one of my personal favourites to run, and when I do, this will be the 4th time I would have run a campaign. I love the system and the way the mechanics tie in perfectly with the genre. I love the wild west mixed with the horror, and one of the few games, other than Call of Cthulhu that manages to conjure up the right atmosphere as well.
It was also one of the first games I got into that had a new concept (but which was quite rampant in the late 90s) the idea of the metaplot, a story that exists outside of the game you run or play and provides background and backdrops for the regular game.
I have pretty much everything in print for the game, and will be continuing on with the excedllent Dime Novels.
Once that is completed I have offered up a few game to run, and the one that most people are keen to play is Deadlands again. This is one of my personal favourites to run, and when I do, this will be the 4th time I would have run a campaign. I love the system and the way the mechanics tie in perfectly with the genre. I love the wild west mixed with the horror, and one of the few games, other than Call of Cthulhu that manages to conjure up the right atmosphere as well.
It was also one of the first games I got into that had a new concept (but which was quite rampant in the late 90s) the idea of the metaplot, a story that exists outside of the game you run or play and provides background and backdrops for the regular game.
I have pretty much everything in print for the game, and will be continuing on with the excedllent Dime Novels.
Friday, October 19, 2007
L5R - Whats Next
Seeing as its not me who is running Legend of the Five Rings, it does give me a chance to reflect and get ready for next games to come.
I have the desire to finish the Freeport Trilogy as it has an ending worthy of the effort - even if the group are heading in the wrong direction.
I have the desire to finish the Freeport Trilogy as it has an ending worthy of the effort - even if the group are heading in the wrong direction.
But as to what comes next, well thats an open book as far as I am concerned, but I do have a few "pages" bookmarked.
Firstly, Serenity. I really would like another player or 2 to join in the boost up the crew numbers. There is a story to tell and I suppose Id be happy to finish that off with the current group, but I doubt I'll continue as part of the success of the game is the dynamics of the group.
Here are a few of the other games that I have chosen to run, and curious to know what other people think of whats on offer.
Werewolf: The Dark Ages - yes I know I said Id never run this 3rd part, but I find the idea alluring still to run a game set in the dark ages. Not because the skies were black, but rather the period of history where we know so little of the occurings.
Twilight 2000 - there are enough military and gun nuts in the group that this could be fun, I think having grown up in the 80s, calling myself a child of the bomb, its fair to say I'd like to run a game set in the era (which is now history rather than the future.)
Engel - angels and demons in a devastated future, I've wanted to run this the moment I heard about the game, let alone actually now owning it. I am not 100% sure Ill run it as a D20 game or use the Arcana system which is available online
Engel - angels and demons in a devastated future, I've wanted to run this the moment I heard about the game, let alone actually now owning it. I am not 100% sure Ill run it as a D20 game or use the Arcana system which is available online
Orpheus - a role-playing game about a ghostly detective agency, limited short run campaign written by White Wolf
Deadlands - carrying on from where we left off
I have a few one-shots lying around that might be interesting;
Judge Dredd - the original Games Workshop flawed edition
Paranoia - the new XP edition
&
Warhammer 40,000 RPG Demo Adventure - we are all fans of the WHFRP game, and this should just be a perfect extension of the game. I loved Fading Suns RPG, and this game will be even bleaker than that little effort.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Legend of the Five Rings
Not a great lot to talk about. First session, character creation and bedding in playing our various clan roles.
We have a Phoenix Shujenja, a Lion Bushi, Dragon Monk and for myself, a Bayushi Scorpion.
We have all the clan books we need and all the players.
One of our group helped the session by serving rice crackers and sake - long may that continue. How the hell the Japanese ever managed to fight drunk on sake is beyond me!
We have a Phoenix Shujenja, a Lion Bushi, Dragon Monk and for myself, a Bayushi Scorpion.
We have all the clan books we need and all the players.
One of our group helped the session by serving rice crackers and sake - long may that continue. How the hell the Japanese ever managed to fight drunk on sake is beyond me!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Rolemaster - Thats Roll Master to You
Well the penultimate session of Rolemaster has been completed, and everything is back on track.
Having met a brutal wall of violence in the previous session they decided to walk away from the Freeport 2nd part and pursue something to amuse themselves. With a cleric losing her faith I had help from a fellow player in getting the party back on track, but in the meantime I still had to deal with getting them finished with Freeport.
I told them that there is a 3rd part, and that Im putting it on hold after the 2nd part to give another GM a shot (L5R 3rd Edition), and will return once that has been finished.
I did give them a break, but with a proviso of which they have no clue about.....................
Having met a brutal wall of violence in the previous session they decided to walk away from the Freeport 2nd part and pursue something to amuse themselves. With a cleric losing her faith I had help from a fellow player in getting the party back on track, but in the meantime I still had to deal with getting them finished with Freeport.
I told them that there is a 3rd part, and that Im putting it on hold after the 2nd part to give another GM a shot (L5R 3rd Edition), and will return once that has been finished.
I did give them a break, but with a proviso of which they have no clue about.....................
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