Total Party Killers

As anyone who’s gamed with me will tell you, I am open to run pretty much any system once; any version of D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Cthulhu (both Chaosium & d20), even Paranoia if the mood strikes me. However, there is one exception to this rule; Vampire: The Masquerade. Despite being the jumping off point of my gaming career — with the one session of that LARP I played during tech school while I was actively reading “The Vampire Chronicles” — I’ve never really gelled with its presentation in any form, and that unease has only grown into a seething hatred that burns with the furious passion of a thousand suns that no Son of Abel would be able to quench.

(I feel it is important to note that a fair amount of that is due in fact that I dated a girl, Anabel, for a year and a half, only to have her cheat on, and subsequently leave me for, a guy she met in a vampire LARP one summer. No, I’m not bitter. Why do you ask? >_> )

So why bring it up now? Well, two reasons. First, there have been quite a few spam bots trying to register with my World of Darkness ARG blog Hunter-Net, which has pushed WoD back into my consciousness. Second, subsequently, I am reminded that White Wolf released a book last year that struck me as wholly unnecessary; Vampire: The Masquerade, 20th Anniversary Edition. From what I gather, the reasoning behind it was to, “bring back the classic Vampire: The Masquerade feel,” and to update those old rules with everything that had come out in its 12 year lifespan.

But the thing that gets me is, besides the different rules set, the only difference between Masquerade and Requiem is the metaplot — a bloated, self important, self perpetuating bit of writing that makes even the most pompous of D&D writing seem modest by comparison. Something that, as many of the game’s vehement supporters imply, is absolutely necessary to make the game what it is.

Why is this? I have no clue. To me, the metaplot is more of a constraint to running the game than actually offering anything of any use; much like the Forgotten Realms or Star Wars, the need to hold to established events, people, and locations is not something I enjoy about running games, and in the case of Masquerade, it’s part and partial to the system itself.

Taking the metaplot out of the equation, I see no true difference between Masquerade and Requiem; they’re both games about romantic ideas of the struggles vampires face, set with a gothic industrial motif, and built upon a rules set that emphasizes story over player strength. And honestly, I can get behind that. I truly enjoy running a narrative-driven game over one of strict player growth expressed by increased numbers on a sheet. However, since I don’t like restricting my players to playing something they don’t care for, Requiem (and subsequently, new World of Darkness as a whole) is the better choice for me.

It’s not as though I don’t understand edition favoritism. It’s been in D&D far longer than it has in World of Darkness, and is far more prevalent in that fanbase than any other game. I was actually somewhat surprised to find that Wizards of the Coast has announced their own nostalgia mining with the Premium 1st Edition books, and was equally put off by it (if not moreso for the copycat appearance), but seeing that it’s a fundraising effort for the Gygax Memorial Fund, I’m much more willing to support the idea.

Additionally, your old copies of the green book aren’t somehow being invalidated by this new release. As far as I know, they’re not doing anything to the rules beyond errata and text correction where appropriate. The only thing that I can think of as changing drastically would be either updating the metaplot to a new end point (setting things up to do this dance again in several years), or removing the metaplot entirely (which would both be better for me, but also make it a direct competitor to Requiem, as well as making a reprint of the rules entirely pointless).

Perhaps it’s all in how I view gaming. Sitting around a table to tell a story is not something that is dependent on a specific set of event arbitration guidelines. Being able to slay an orc is the same, whether you’re using your 18/00 Strength, or a Goading Maneuver. Likewise, the struggle of a vampire is the same, whether you’re maintaining the Masquerade, or singing the Requiem. At the end of the day, you’re still bleeding someone dry.

Pray for Daylight. Pray for Morning.
-Sword

For those of you who missed last night’s broadcast, here are the videos captured. There’s a gap between the first and second video of about 15 minutes.

Part 1


Part 2


I want to thank Steve of Battlegrounds Gaming, and hope the guys had fun. We’re really excited for the next season.

-Sword

Here’s the scene: I bring my Pathfinder Huge Black Dragon miniature to D&D Encounters one night. The others ooh and aah over it, while I lament that, with shipping, it set me back almost as much as one of the Gargantuan dragon “minis” that Wizards of the Coast put out a few years ago. The night’s encounter occurs, I pack my things, and head for the door.

Ill-prepared was I for this mini to drop. It hit the floor with a clatter, causing the base to completely come loose and shoot under one of the store’s shelves. Luckily, Steve, the store owner, had a bottle of model glue sitting on the counter (Finally! A use for keeping Warhammer players around!), so patching it up was a non-issue. It surprises me, though, that after all the attention to detail the more readily-available minis get, the premium would have such a flimsy base. It wasn’t much of a drop, either; we’re talking something close to two feet, at the highest.

Oh, well.

Plans for Castles & Chemo II are proceeding. I met with an individual from Mutual of Omaha, who expressed interest in helping out, and have received word from Shelly Mazzanoble, over at Wizards of the Coast, about lending greater aid for this year’s event. Unfortunately, I am still unsure about taking online donations. But as soon as I figure anything out, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Lastly, tomorrow, Norwalk’s Battlegrounds Gaming will be finishing up its run through the D&D Encounters adventure, “Beyond the Crystal Cave.” Like the previous season, I will attempt to broadcast this event via my UStream channel. If it’s anything like last time, I expect it to be plagued with bugs and drops. But it could surprise me, and run the entire time.

Roll the dice to see if I’m getting drunk!
-Sword

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill – PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House – to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. We need internet companies to follow Reddit’s lead and stand up for the web, as we internet users are doing every day.

As anyone who’s gamed with me can tell you, I love miniatures. Not enough to spend hours on end painting minute details onto pewter, mind. But I love being able to put down a representation for every combatant, on both sides of the screen. So when I heard that Wizards of the Coast was killing their minis line – into which I have easily poured upwards of $1,500 – I was disappointed (to say nothing about their upcoming plans to follow Games Workshop, complete with price tag).

I was excited to hear that Paizo was picking up another thing from Wizards and launching their own miniatures line (in addition to their Reaper minis line, for those into painting their own). Pathfinder Battles: Heroes & Monsters is the first set of their line of miniatures in partnership with WizKids, whose previous endeavors include both Mage Knight and HeroClix (both, games I’ve seen but never really played). They come packaged in medium boosters, containing either one medium or two small minis, and large boosters, containing one large mini, and this forty piece line ranges from your lowly orcs and undead to aristocratic vampires and hulking ogres.

The Good
Unlike the Pathfinder Beginner Box Heroes Miniature Set released in October, not every mini is in that, “I will beat you with my weapons, regardless of my actual skill” pose. Many, like the Dwarf Fighter, below, have a much more regal air about them. I don’t know what the thought process was with the Beginner Box set, but I found the “We must be threatening” attitude to be just a tad off-putting. Here, with a lot more reserved poses throughout, the minis have a wider personality.

With a few exceptions, the painting is well done. There are a few instances when things didn’t quite line up properly, but they were minor things, and I didn’t even notice it until it was pointed out to me. Overall, everything looks like you’d expect. Armor shines like it should. Wood items look like they’ll splinter.

Compared to the boxes and boxes of the minis produced by Wizards of the Coast, the plastic used in these is of a much sturdier make, meaning fewer limp swords and leaning skeletons. However, this also means that a little bit more care must be taken when storing these minis in comparison. But that’s a minor complaint, especially in context, and I need a better storage solution for my minis, anyway.

Of the three large minis I opened, the Ettin, below, is probably the best of the bunch. Just look at the thing. A LOT of detail was put into this figure. From the dull, vacant expression, to the tears and folds of the loincloth, even down to the cracks in the toenails; it all gets represented with a level of detail I honestly didn’t expect from the line. Or any line, for that matter.

Also, I got goblins.



The Bad
Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by Wizards and their packaging/price ratio, but the cost of these minis seems a little steep. The brick I bought worked out to around $80 with shipping, so the 20 figures I received worked out to be about $4 each. Considering that these are random, one-to-a-pack, and a mix of PC and monster minis, $4 per mini seems like a pretty big gamble. Especially for people who only sit on one side of the screen.

As well sculpted as most of the minis are, there are some that feel a tad rushed. The Chimera, above, looks as though they were originally going for a manticore miniature, when a last-minute marketing decision told them a chimera would be more appealing, leading them to slap on a goat and dragon head to the already completed manticore. A few others (namely, the human druid and the zombie), just don’t seem to stand out from the crowd.

While the actual application of the paint was top-notch, some of the palette choices seemed a little bland. The color seemed washed out and flat, which is a shame when you compare the superb dwarf to, say, the orc warrior.

Having nothing to do with the minis themselves, I’m somewhat put off by the amount of trash the brick produced. It feels unjustified to mark it down on the packaging, but when compared to the Wizards minis line, the package-to-mini ratio is unfavorably skewed for my tree-hugging-hippie sensibilities (or at least, my espoused tree-hugging-hippie sensibilities).

DM’s Ruling
Everything considered, I would say this is a good first offering from Paizo. They’re, for the most part, clear and colorful additions to your gaming table. A couple of minor complaints here and there, but I’m willing to attribute that to this being the first run of a new product; there’s always going to be oddities as you figure out your stride. And there are certainly worse ways to spend your gaming dollar.

-Sword

I’ve recorded the final fight in the last season of D&D Encounters; Lost Crown of Neverwinter. Unfortunately, only the first half hour shows anything of note. Even still, the audio is not that great.

A more detailed post will come, but in the interim, enjoy my weird art.

I just wanted to let you know that Castle & Chemo was a success. It wasn’t quite the turnout I was expecting (probably due to both the nature of the event, and the short prep window), but we ended up raising $700 in total. I’m pleased that there was so much support for me in doing this, if not in attendance, then in encouragement, as so many people were impressed by the simple idea of using tabletop gaming that many people began talking about doing their own, similar fundraising efforts, and plans are already in the works for next year’s Castles & Chemo.

For those of you that missed the event, I’m running an encore of the adventure at Gen Con, at 6 PM on Thursday & Friday, and the money I receive for the event is also going to be donated to the American Cancer Society.

I wish to once again thank everyone who showed up, and a special thank you to all of my volunteers. This event could not have happened without your support.

Here’s hoping that next year’s event is even bigger!
-Sword