New blogs pop up all the time. But now and then there is a new that peeks my interest. Hence the guys at Gnome Stew. Yep, it only started but it looks like a good blog with good community.

Usually when I start contemplating a new campaign I go through this arduous thought process of deciding which game system fits right with my idea. Sometimes this is easy or just freaking obvious like with the current Star Wars Saga Campaign. Other times it just never quite comes together like the return to New Bay City (was originally used for a World of Darkness game but the next iteration has failed to inspire). After the Star Wars game, I’m considering running a rules light to medium, old school fantasy game with some modern influences. And now I’m trying to figure out which rules would work best for it.
Let’s get the big one out of the way. D&D 4th Edition. Nope. First too rules heavy for what I’m considering plus the group has mentioned that we have enough d20 games and would like something new. Another consideration is cost since a couple members have voiced the opinion that they will eventually buy 4th Edition just not right now.
Another system that fell flat on it’s face is Iron Gauntlets. The system does has it fans but to put it bluntly it doesn’t sit well with me. I just don’t like it.
Here are the four main contenders and two crazy alternates.
1. Savage Worlds: I really like this game. It has the right amount of crunch. Is easy to run and to prepare for. The cost is low (only $10 for the Explorer Edition, the Test Drive Rules are free.) I have all the PDF’s I need to run it. It is supported by an active community and there a few third party publishers out there. The only drawbacks are that a few of the mechanics don’t still well with a couple of the players and there some weird probabilities that occur because of the dice mechanics. Now these could be house ruled or redone but more on that later.
2. D6 Fantasy: In case you didn’t know the system that was the original Star Wars RPG is still alive and well. Now I haven’t run a game using this system in years (a little Stars Wars and a Ghost Busters One-Shot). Some time in the future the system become open so I see a lot more support for it. I feel it has the right amount of crunch and a good cinematic feel (which is what I’m looking for). Currently, I’m having a little problem finding hard copies of the rules (found some over priced ones on Ebay). I like PDF’s for reference but prefer hard copies when I’m actually design adventures and encounters. I’m not 100% sure how most of the players feel about playing the d6 system. A few have had pleasant experiences with the original Star Wars. The current rarity of rule books is a downer.
3. The Eldritch RPG: I had really high hopes for this newcomer and still have quite a few since it still is contender. I’ll admit the rules are in serious need of a good editing and over all I say the game screams, “I’ll be cooler if I ever have a 2nd Edition.” The core mechanics are fine but there just enough idiosyncrasies that would drive the players crazy. The system is light enough that most of them could be worked out. Another drawback is that this is a brand new game and there is very little support for it yet.
4. Basic Role Playing: The return of another classic system. It has the right amount of crunch but could tend towards the high body count too much. I’m not sure if they’ve changed any of the little things that annoyed me from earlier editions but this is a solid game with enough support to make viable. While a revered system, I don’t many of the players have had all that much exposure to it. So it’s hard to gauge their response. The cost is minimal to free since I would most likely use the GORE rules as a base.
Now for the crazy ideas. One thing I kind of enjoy about gaming is kit bashing be it with mini’s or rules.
First, we have a bit of kit bashing with Savage Worlds and Eldritch. Both these systems have enough similarities that it should be fairly easy. Both use types of dice to define characteristics and skills along roughly the same scale. The major tweaks would be to damage and defenses in combat. I’d go into more detail but this is just a glimmer in the back of brain. My brain says it should work but just haven’t put pen to pen yet.
Second, we have Basic Role Playing enhanced by GURPS ultra-Light. Now, there is no GURPS ultra light but stripping a few things from the advantages and disads and modeling the skill system closer to the GURPS mechanic would prove interesting and viable. Once again, I have put pen to paper and try to break it yet. It’s just one of those things that popped into my crazy head.
All these things are still in the preliminary planning stages. We still haven’t sat down and started one of our infamous “What’s Next” debates. I’m just throwing these general ideas out on the greater wisdom of the Internet and see what happens.

Every gamer is buzzing about about 4th Ed D&D. Some of those are buzzing with joy while others are buzzing in anger. Personally, I’m at the point of not caring. That’s right I just don’t care about 4th Ed. Will play it? Maybe, eventually. Will I run it? Nope. Why am I so ambivalent about the biggest RPG release of the year? Because there is neater stuff coming out. And it’s not exactly new shiny systems, it’s resurrections of old favorites.
First, West End Games has announced that they are opening up the D6 system. For you youngsters out there this was the system that was the original Star Wars RPG and to some the best. The D6 rules still have lots of fans and with the new open license, more products should be heading our way. My personal wild speculation is about Fall 2008 for the quality products to hit the shelves, maybe around Gencon.
Late this month (according to Amazon), the new edition of Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying should be released. This is the little set of rules that shaped so many classic games like Runequest, Call of Cthuhlu, Elric and Pendragon. Simple rules, quick resolution, and get on with the story. While it’s not an open licensed system, they are supposed to have decent licensing terms.
Both of these announcements hold slight personal importance for me. I’m in the mood to run a fun old school fantasy campaign after finishing up the Star Wars Saga Edition campaign. And these are two of the rules systems that I was looking at using. But you’ll just have to wait till the next post or so for the Giant Game System Smack Down!

It’s been a bit too long between posts but I am slowly catching up. It’s been a hectic week but enough about my bellyaching. Just some initial thoughts on the new Eldritch RPG.
Basically, it’s a rules medium epic fantasy RPG . Skills and Stats are combined into one category called Abilities and your ranking is defined by a die with d4 being average and d12 being human(oid) max. Each Ability is further defined by Specializations and Masteries. Here’s a basic example. D6 Melee/d6 Swords/d6 Broad Swords. So to attack an opponent you roll, 3d6. Yes, there are other modifiers and other little rules but that’s basically how you do things. The other thing they did was break down Hit Points down by defense. Old timers will remember the ancient definitions of Hit Points not only as the a character’s ability to absorb damage but also their ability to evade, parry or otherwise mitigate damage. So in the Eldritch RPG, HP are broken down into Active Defenses and Passive Defenses with your Passive Defenses being pretty much you taking a pounding. That is the system in a very small nutshell. It seems to be a pretty slick and quick system. Definitely a thumbs up.
Now, for the downside. Their editor didn’t do a very good job. Yep, it’s the return of Page XX. It’s not a long book so it’s not that annoying. They squeezed a lot material into roughly 100 pages. While there are rules for creating magic items, there aren’t any listed. Nor is there even any monsters. It’s easy to design the critters and swag but it would have been nice to have some in the book. The Eldritch Wiki up and running and once more folks get the game in their hands it should get a little more lively.
Overall, it’s worth $20. The game makes a great system for one shots or convention games. The system is easy to bend to a GM’s favorite world and could work for longer campaigns but would take some work up front for the GM but once the game is up and running encounters should be easy to run and create.

This has always irked me. So many things that have been near and to geeks’ hearts have gotten gobbled up by the mainstream and it’s some this has gotten to the point that I really feel that I need to vent.
First, we have the debacle known as the Sci-Fi Channel. Crappy movies, canceling popular shows, scheduling pro wrestling and dumbed down reality shows are at the top of the list. And I really believe that this is going to get worse with the new head of the channel, David Howe. PR blurbs about making a Sci-fi life style and getting away from the geeky stereotype aren’t making me uneasy.
Second, there was the trashing of TechTV by G4. Yes, this happened years ago but it still bugs me and I still miss shows like Call for Help and Screensavers. Once again, replaced by crap. OK, I do occasionally watch X-Play or Attack of the Show but it just still isn’t anywhere near as informative or entertaining.
Third, and most recently. 4th Edition D&D. I am still on the fence about this. Various PR firestorms and nerd fury have clogged the forums. We’re still not sure what exactly the terms of the GSL will be. But to stay on my own topic, it was the early comments about once again getting rid of the geek stereotype I know it was said but I just can’t find it any more amongst the deluge of rants and info (mostly rants) about 4th Edition.
What all three of these folks forgot was that it was the geeks who got them were they are today. Don’t forget us old geeks. We may have mortgages but we also have jobs and that ever precious disposable income.