What I Play and Run and what I'd Play and Run Instead

In case in anyone is wondering what systems I use  when I have a choice.

Unisystem , Classic and Cinematic. Typically Angel but sometimes any of the others in the series

GURPS

Some flavor of D&D , Retro-Clone or Pathfinder

These are pretty generic systems and as such cover most of my gaming needs pretty well.

Assuming these didn't exist I be using

Basic Role Playing. Its a great system and super well supported

Palladium Fantasy or 2e D&D if allowed

Hero System , maybe.

A Shout Out to Drivethru RPG for Job Well Done

I wanted to say a few positive words today about Drivethru RPG.

Lets start out by saying I don't have an affiliate account with them or have any products on sale there, I'm just a customer. A very happy customer.

I'm not a  a big fan of buying PDF's, its a necessary and good part of of our hobby  but its just not my thing . Still when I want to grab another PDF (not the Manor #8 which I also bought there) there was a minor glitch. They took care of it quickly , courteously and professionally.

That company has demonstrated a track record of customer responsiveness  since their founding  and as such   I can recommend them or any of their affiliates without hesitation.

You won't be sorry.

On Beer .

Not really  germane to gaming  or me since  I am pretty much a teetotaler but XKCD gave me a big laugh with this one.

In the Manor of Old School Grappling a simple review of the Manor Issue #8

Of course as you might guess, the title of this post was supposed to be  a pun. It refers to The Manor Issue #8 and  its  top notch grappling rules but since the pun sucked I changed it for more clarity.

Let me start out by saying I'm not a huge fanzine guy and to be honest I don't buy that many PDF's and I seldom review them anymore .

Like many people I'll download most anything free and legal but  usually Barnes and Noble gets my book money. However   once in a long while  I  do splurge on a PDF.

This time I am quite I did.

Now to be honest I bought this issue of the Manor for one thing, the article  Old School Grappling by Doug Cole  and Peter Dell'Orto 

The other stuff was fine, an article on hirelings, a preview of Strange  Stars some  and stuff for Torchbearer a game that I don't play but ah the grappling rules . They were worth the price of admission alone.

Simply these are the 1st easy to play, easy to use , universal OSR grappling rules that work fast and efficiently with almost any old school system or retro-clone.

This rules are thought out well enough that they could be used with Searchers of the Unknown without too much trouble and that game is so minimal  basically all you have a stat block!

It would be a bit silly granted since the grappling rules would be 10x longer than the game but it would work pretty much out the box. They use HP for degree of grappling and while I haven't played them yet, no doubt in my mind that they are faster and more thorough and scale better than they current systems.

Heck they probably could be made to work with 5e or Pathfinder just about as well.

That is impressive work.

As such I can recommend highly  the issue as for the price of burrito and soda you can get a great rules set and support the OSR.

The gentlemen did great work if and if you are unhappy with the grappling rules in your favorite game as most of us are, than you'd do well to grab a copy.

Played Some 5e Tonight.

Have to say I had quite a bit of fun . Our party was short a man (our two handed fighter guy off to play X-Wing)  but  the rest consisted of a Halfling  warlock, a cleric, a paladin, a rogue and a totem warrior barbarian (me)

The only house rules we used were random stat generation (which lead to pretty high stats) and a ruling that Paladins need to be Lawful but not necessarily Good. Ours is the Oath of Vengeance guy and like my totem warrior/pirate is Lawful Evil and an all around ruthless bastard, His player T and I work well together  in game so it makes for some fun play.

On the whole  system was decent, didn't get in the way and in general helped make for a fun experience. 5th edition  did its job well, which in its case was to be  D&D.

But as said  not the kind of game system  that inspires  me and honestly I think it could use more support for mundane encounters like the bandits we fought . Regardless everyone seemed to have a good time. We also now have several print Player's Handbooks at the table   so its doing well with my group. I'm happy to play it. I might even buy that PHB after all.

Mechanically  5e feats are very neat and  mine (Shield Master and Resilience) I can knock people around, block dragon breath and in general kick some backside in a strong but balanced way.

Another nice bit, the 5e Barbarian is superb, rage works well and smoothly and the other class  abilities are pretty neat . For example my guy   doesn't wear any armor and has  still an AC of 20 with his +1 shield .  Sword +Target Shield is very fun.

I might eventually want a few extra feats butt as no one gets more than 6 (5 if not human) , its not a needed thing for the  time being. I suspect a few  will end up in some clever homebrew or in Wizard's generous regular Unearthed Arcana Support long before  I need them.

Also not system related and most of all  I really like the home-brew game world, the kind of mythic fantasy meets sword and planet place called  Arlowen.

Its very flavorful and in general a fun setting  to game. my DM tonight, B is a little rough around the edges as a DM but the man is a good storyteller and a gifted world builder. Arlowen is among my very favorite game worlds and the most interesting D&D homebrew I've every played.  I love things like mummy kings, storm towers, ash covered islands, dragon people and all the rest. I want to explore and interact with more of it and I liked it in Pathfinder and I like it in D&D.

In the end I'd say  5th Edition played well, the Barbarian is the best version of the class yet and the feats are really excellent. Sure 5e is a bit of a one trick pony , good for playing its own idiosyncratic form of D&D  and probably little else unlike the more versatile older D&D or 3x variations  but sometimes one trick is plenty.

So What System Does Inspire?

My last post was just about my personal feeling that D&D 5e was uninspiring as a system.

This post is about something different. What system  does inspire?

Well push comes to shove I'd rather play GURPS where I don't have to fight the system to do what I want. Eden Studio's Unisystem  when I want fast and breezy with a bit of what GURPS does and D&D mood is on me, older forms of D&D which while they actually have less mechanical options, support imagination as the main driver  of play better than newer version.

I will say though not part of the system, the art in D&D next is amazing. It often makes me say "I want that in my game." and it actually meshes pretty well with the rules, just not for me.

Some Random Thoughts on D&D 5th Edition.

I've started a new D&D 5e game. I'm playing a Totem Warrior Barbarian/Pirate Background though I may try and talk my GM , B into letting me switch to a Storm Sorcerer. Maybe.

This is my second campaign  which has  got me to thinking about the system and D&D in general.

First  thing I noticed is that unlike 4e, D&D Next is most certainly D&D as I know it. Unlike 4e which was a perfectly serviceable and decent game that wasn't D&D but was under its moniker and siffered for it. Next is D&D through and through.

It  feels and plays like older D&D mixed with newer D&D which to my way of thinking is a design success.

Now I think  it lacks some of the individualized feel of older forms of D&D, its a very coherent system and one that is I suspect not going to see a lot of house ruling or rules add ons.

Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is a matter of taste. I'm undecided on the issue.

Now there things I don't care for.

 It feels constrained, maybe too heavily focused is a better word. I know I don't but it feels like my choices are narrow and not terribly interesting . This is not logical, 5e has load of options but it feels restrictive if that makes sense to anyone.

Don't get me wrong. its a good game and I'm fine playing it but Next lacks sizzle. It feels like a game built by a committee, a small, fairly smart committee good at its job but a committee none the less.

This is grossly unfair to the designers as D&D 5e is actually a very good game but its just feels that way.

Its just that nothing out there screams Play Me, No, No, No  Play Me. That's not an issue in older games where there was a very different play style but I think its a flaw in modern RPG's and in 5e.

Also this game just doesn't seem like something I want to DM. I don't know why and whether its me or the game but it doesn't inspire campaigns or ideas.

As such its a meh game and when I  run again Next won't make the cut and I won't be buying the Player's Handbook either. I guess I'll have to funnel some money to the fLGS another way.

Anyway that's my rant, 5e is a good game, I'll play it but its uninspiring. YMMV.