The Artificer stood before the Duke. She said she possessed a marvelous power. The Artificer knew the secret of crafting magic items in bulk. Instead of a single sword, the Artificer produced hundreds. No, thousands. In a short time.
Samurai Swan Song: A “Seven Samurai”-Inspired “Fiasco”
This playset is meant to create a Fiasco inspired by, or at least paying homage to, the classic story of the Seven Samurai. The players depict Samurai protecting a village from a bandit attack, though they may be little better than thieves themselves. A few more supernatural options have been included towards the ‘6’ roles, though they can easily be avoided if the playgroup decides they want to eschew such influences.
Gen Con Indie
As many of you are no doubt rabidly aware, Gen Con Indy 2012 approaches. I am slightly foamier than I usually am since I had to miss all but a few hours of the ‘con last year. That being said, I am a little dumbfounded as to how to spend my time in Indy this year. Sure, there’ll be lots of time spent with old friends and new and many (mis)adventures to be had. But some of that time is going to be spent gaming, and I’ve been struggling with how to fill in the nerdliest 4 days of my year. I looked deep within myself for answers, and after breaking through several layers of E.L. Fudge strata I found my answer in the form of a simple question. “What don’t I get to do at home that I can do at Gen Con?”
Vanir’s New Year’s Gaming Resolutions (2012 Edition)
It’s that special time of year again. You know, the one where you run out of times of the year. This year was a significant improvement for me in a lot of ways. I got laid off from a horrible job, and almost immediately got a really good job. I got a gaming group together. I’ve had a lot of new, awesome experiences this year, and my gaming life is much improved. That being said, here’s my plan for the coming year.
30 For 30
I played 30 games for the occasion of turning 30. Here they all are.
Infinite Possibilities, Itty-Bitty Comfort Zone
My nerdcation to Washington DC last month opened my eyes to a lot of things. These included crab chips and secret ginger candies that stop motion sickness. Mostly, it was the exposure to open-form roleplaying games that has been taking up most of my free processor cycles. Despite being the guy in our group that would cheerfully handwave every combat in favor of having an all-roleplay session, I find myself flummoxed when faced with the infinite possibilities of a game like Fiasco. I have a lot of fun when it works, and nobody has fun when it doesn’t.
Improv Pushups: The Movie
Early Monday morning, I bid farewell to one Dave Chalker (who I had been staying with for the week, and who had risen with me to get me to the airport before the coming of the dread Day Star).I came all the way to the East coast for one specific purpose: to game my face off. More specifically, DC Gameday was this weekend, and I wanted to game my face off as close to Congress as I possibly could. Somebody’s got to show those guys how to play nice together, right?
Roleplaying Resurrection
In Fiasco, there’s not really dice rolling, except for the start and middle bits, and trust me, those don’t count. It’s all decisions, decisions and storytelling, decisions and storytelling and improvisational roleplaying. Uh oh, there’s that word. Roleplaying. I’m going to have to sit at a table with other people and write a story out loud in the voice of a character that I just met, all while those other people are staring at me and judging me and hating me. This kind of thrown-in-the-deep-end roleplaying is a little daunting. No, wait, that’s not the right term. It’s gonad-shrinkingly terrifying.
2011 Origins Report
Another Origins has come and gone, and as always, there were plenty of games. Here are a few that stood out, both old and new.
Review: Fiasco Companion
The Fiasco Companion includes variants, extensions, crunch (in the form of four new playsets designed to illustrate principles explored elsewhere in the text) and advice (including chapters on using Fiasco in the classroom and as a creative tool outside of roleplaying, plus tips for playing online and facilitating in the absence of the GM role).
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