The Games I Want To Run
Jun. 16th, 2009 02:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theronI am, far too often, the physical embodiment of the term "Gamer ADD." When I'm running a game, I'm inevitably thinking about what I want to be running instead. It tends to make whatever game I am running suffer, and if there's any sort of delay between sessions, it's very difficult for me to maintain any sort of focus or enthusiasm for the game. Which is one reason why I expect my eventual wrap-up of the big, season-ending story arc in my Champions game is going to end up pretty unsatisfying.
Tonight's the last session of my HEX game, so after that, I'm at a bit of liberty to plot and consider and plan for games that I want to run, but in all likelihood, may never get around to.
Adventurer's School (Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition): This is a high-concept D&D game I want to run for my nine-year-old to give him a real dose of the game. The pitch is simple - The PCs are the children of heroic adventurers sent to a special school/camp to learn their parents' trade. Leveling up equals moving up a grade level. Feats are merit badges. While I admit I'm partly inspired by the "Lookouts" pilot over on Penny Arcade, a lot of this has been mulling around in the back of my head for a while with other influences like "Sky High," the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" novels, and even "X-Men Evolution."
The catch at this point is that 4th Ed is a game that works best with five players. And right now, I've got one definite lined up. Two, if I can sweet-talk my wife into playing (she notoriously hates heroic fantasy, but will sometimes play if the Kiddo is involved). We know another couple with a kid who might be interested, but getting schedules lined up is a chore. Still, I'd love to see it come to pass, even as a low roleplay, casual monster killing family activity.
Freshman Blues (Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG): This one's been living in my head since the show was still on the air. Set in and around the University of Massachusetts at Arkham, AKA "Old Misk," Freshman Blues would tell the tale of a new slayer who's starting college in a town with a history that puts your average Hellmouth to shame. Unfortunately, I've never found a group of people who were interested enough to take a stab at it, so the game has never been more than an entry on a wish list. I may try and make a one-shot for OwlCon, just because I like the things I did with the setting and would like have it see the light of play, even if it's just a convention round.
(Everyday Is) Halloween (either Witchcraft or Urban Fantasy Hero): A big fat urban fantasy game. Setting-wise, I'm looking at something a lot like Witchcraft's out of the box assumptions, with a bit less end of the world stuff. The PCs are people of magical power in a world that largely doesn't believe in the existence of the supernatural. If The Dresden Files RPG ever comes out, I'd probably use it in a heartbeat for this, as the novels have certainly colored my views of the genre. In the meantime, UFH gets a leg up because the system allows for all sorts of crazy stuff without having to shoehorn it too hard into a predefined shape (something that kind of bugs me about Witchcraft/Unisystem).
Those are my big-three musings at the moment. I've got some other ideas, but they're purely in the realm of ideas right now. I'm sure that if I start up on any of the games above, something else bright and shiny will jump up and demand my attention, thereby robbing my players of the good time they deserve. :-/
Tonight's the last session of my HEX game, so after that, I'm at a bit of liberty to plot and consider and plan for games that I want to run, but in all likelihood, may never get around to.
Adventurer's School (Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition): This is a high-concept D&D game I want to run for my nine-year-old to give him a real dose of the game. The pitch is simple - The PCs are the children of heroic adventurers sent to a special school/camp to learn their parents' trade. Leveling up equals moving up a grade level. Feats are merit badges. While I admit I'm partly inspired by the "Lookouts" pilot over on Penny Arcade, a lot of this has been mulling around in the back of my head for a while with other influences like "Sky High," the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" novels, and even "X-Men Evolution."
The catch at this point is that 4th Ed is a game that works best with five players. And right now, I've got one definite lined up. Two, if I can sweet-talk my wife into playing (she notoriously hates heroic fantasy, but will sometimes play if the Kiddo is involved). We know another couple with a kid who might be interested, but getting schedules lined up is a chore. Still, I'd love to see it come to pass, even as a low roleplay, casual monster killing family activity.
Freshman Blues (Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG): This one's been living in my head since the show was still on the air. Set in and around the University of Massachusetts at Arkham, AKA "Old Misk," Freshman Blues would tell the tale of a new slayer who's starting college in a town with a history that puts your average Hellmouth to shame. Unfortunately, I've never found a group of people who were interested enough to take a stab at it, so the game has never been more than an entry on a wish list. I may try and make a one-shot for OwlCon, just because I like the things I did with the setting and would like have it see the light of play, even if it's just a convention round.
(Everyday Is) Halloween (either Witchcraft or Urban Fantasy Hero): A big fat urban fantasy game. Setting-wise, I'm looking at something a lot like Witchcraft's out of the box assumptions, with a bit less end of the world stuff. The PCs are people of magical power in a world that largely doesn't believe in the existence of the supernatural. If The Dresden Files RPG ever comes out, I'd probably use it in a heartbeat for this, as the novels have certainly colored my views of the genre. In the meantime, UFH gets a leg up because the system allows for all sorts of crazy stuff without having to shoehorn it too hard into a predefined shape (something that kind of bugs me about Witchcraft/Unisystem).
Those are my big-three musings at the moment. I've got some other ideas, but they're purely in the realm of ideas right now. I'm sure that if I start up on any of the games above, something else bright and shiny will jump up and demand my attention, thereby robbing my players of the good time they deserve. :-/
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Re: Freshmen Blues
Date: 2009-06-16 08:37 pm (UTC)Re: Freshmen Blues
Date: 2009-06-16 08:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-17 10:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-17 11:52 pm (UTC)