Well I just wrapped BNG II USSOCOM which means... its that time of day, when I can head for the mountains.
And in related news (ok not really)... China passed a law that they will go to war to reclaim Taiwan today. The US has had a law for quite awhile that WE will go to war to stop China from retaking Taiwan.
Well fuck.
Here's hoping the Organians show up.
Chuck
Monday, March 14, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Inflation
A post on the ENWorld boards (where I probably spend time I should spend working- but I call it "advertising" and "connecting with the fans" so it feels more productive) raised an issue that I tried to address in Blood and Guts, 2nd edition and that I have spent a lot of time thinking about.
See, the first Blood and Guts was good, but it was TOO MUCH.
What do I mean by that?
Its like inflation. Have you ever noticed how Greenspan at the Federal Reserve juggles inflation rates around every now and then? Sometimes he raises them, sometimes he lowers them... he's looking for that sweet spot.
You want the economy to be hot, but not TOO hot.
Before you think this has turned political, I do think that anology applies.
BNG had good classes, but too many. Good skills, but too many. Good feats, but too many.
I was once of the opinion that you could never have too much STUFF. If you recall, back in an earlier post in this very blog I promised my books would always have nice crunchy STUFF. And they will.
However I am beginning to realize that if one new class is a good thing, 15 new classes is not 15 times better.
Here's an example: In BNG there was one development path that would allow you to enter Delta Force by level 10. One.
And that meant you had no class or feat choices available until 10th level.
That's too much of a good thing.
In some ways, Blood and Fists and Blood and Guts, my 2nd and 3rd Modern books respectively were experiments. I had taught myself the game writing and running Blood and Relics, and now I was ready to take it for a spin.
Looking at BNF and BNG its hard to imagine they were written by the same guy. I was experimenting with different types of design. BNF was very modular... very adaptable. Sure it has a few classes, but they're optional. You can ignore the classes and make use of the other 95% of the book.
BNG was very tightly woven together. You couldnt make use of one part of the book without the other parts of the book.
While this allowed you to run certain kinds of campaigns well, it forced you to either ignore the military or make it central. You couldn't take a little of the book and use it to make your Blood and Vigilance character have a more military feel (say a Capt America wannabe).
After using the books for over a year, I started to notice that BNF was always out, in my player's hands to add a feat or a skill use. BNG wasn't and I started to see the interwoven nature and complexity (dare I say density) of the rules as an impediment.
Basically, the flexible martial artist and rigid soldier fought and the martial artist won. So now the soldier is adapting
Chuck
See, the first Blood and Guts was good, but it was TOO MUCH.
What do I mean by that?
Its like inflation. Have you ever noticed how Greenspan at the Federal Reserve juggles inflation rates around every now and then? Sometimes he raises them, sometimes he lowers them... he's looking for that sweet spot.
You want the economy to be hot, but not TOO hot.
Before you think this has turned political, I do think that anology applies.
BNG had good classes, but too many. Good skills, but too many. Good feats, but too many.
I was once of the opinion that you could never have too much STUFF. If you recall, back in an earlier post in this very blog I promised my books would always have nice crunchy STUFF. And they will.
However I am beginning to realize that if one new class is a good thing, 15 new classes is not 15 times better.
Here's an example: In BNG there was one development path that would allow you to enter Delta Force by level 10. One.
And that meant you had no class or feat choices available until 10th level.
That's too much of a good thing.
In some ways, Blood and Fists and Blood and Guts, my 2nd and 3rd Modern books respectively were experiments. I had taught myself the game writing and running Blood and Relics, and now I was ready to take it for a spin.
Looking at BNF and BNG its hard to imagine they were written by the same guy. I was experimenting with different types of design. BNF was very modular... very adaptable. Sure it has a few classes, but they're optional. You can ignore the classes and make use of the other 95% of the book.
BNG was very tightly woven together. You couldnt make use of one part of the book without the other parts of the book.
While this allowed you to run certain kinds of campaigns well, it forced you to either ignore the military or make it central. You couldn't take a little of the book and use it to make your Blood and Vigilance character have a more military feel (say a Capt America wannabe).
After using the books for over a year, I started to notice that BNF was always out, in my player's hands to add a feat or a skill use. BNG wasn't and I started to see the interwoven nature and complexity (dare I say density) of the rules as an impediment.
Basically, the flexible martial artist and rigid soldier fought and the martial artist won. So now the soldier is adapting
Chuck
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Quick Update
Not to be confused with a quick hit!
Late tonight or early tomorrow, reliable sources indicate that the first installment of Blood and Guts II, the Military Training Manual will be released. This book will give you everything you need to make a character with a military background, whether the military is going to be a primary focus of the game or not.
Work continues on the second book of the series, Special Operations Command. This book will give you everything you will need to make a character with a special operations background.
This is such a big project and will cover so many of our products in the coming year that Blood and Guts now has its own page, so go check it out for info on all things BNG.
http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?page=bng
Late tonight or early tomorrow, reliable sources indicate that the first installment of Blood and Guts II, the Military Training Manual will be released. This book will give you everything you need to make a character with a military background, whether the military is going to be a primary focus of the game or not.
Work continues on the second book of the series, Special Operations Command. This book will give you everything you will need to make a character with a special operations background.
This is such a big project and will cover so many of our products in the coming year that Blood and Guts now has its own page, so go check it out for info on all things BNG.
http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?page=bng
Monday, March 07, 2005
And the reviews continue to roll in
This time for the Bushido Handbook. 3.5 stars thanks to Wayne for the thorough and thoughtful review as always (I believe Wayne has reviewed every one of my books).
http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=1493
http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=1493
Mystic Handbook review
D20 System Guide & Reviews
John Cooper has reviewed the Mystic Arts, the second book in the Legends of the Samurai series and given it a solid 4.
Id like to thank John for doing his usual thorough job.
Chuck
John Cooper has reviewed the Mystic Arts, the second book in the Legends of the Samurai series and given it a solid 4.
Id like to thank John for doing his usual thorough job.
Chuck
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Quick Hits: Ultimate X
Speaking of comics (and the US Postal Service) I have lately been slotting X-men Evolution into my Netflix routine.
For those who don't know, Netflix is a service that sends you DVDs in the mail for a monthly fee. No late fees, postage paid both ways, no leaving the house (I'm big on that). Of course it loses the immediacy of going to the store and getting something NOW, but that's cool with me. I can still hit Blockbuster for those emergency movie joneses and still get movies in the mail regularly.
X-men Evolution was always a show that interested me, but one that I almost never caught. The reason? On wayyyy too early. If you don't understand why that would be a problem see "ass dragging" in the last quick hits above.
The more I see of this show, the more I feel that it's what Ultimate X-men should have been. I like Mark Millar as a writer, but his Ultimate X-men has absolutely none of the... innocence that makes Ultimate Spider Man such a trip.
Maybe that's nostalgia, but I dont think so.
There's really something going on in Evolution that is sure to appeal to younger viewers. All the adults in the show are a bit on the creepy side. Mystique is the school principal where both her Brotherhood and Xavier's Institute kids attend. And really it seems like the two teams (the X-men and the Brotherhood) would work it out and get along better if not for Mystique and Xavier.
I like that and it evokes an emotion Im sure many kids empathize with. If you have ever been to a high school football game where the two teams both want to win but are playing perfectly good ball, until a parent starts yelling and cussing for his kid's team to start breaking legs you have an idea of the vibe I get.
Spyke (one of the X-men) and Quicksilver (one of the Brotherhood) seem much more concerned about outdoing each other on the basketball court than on the battlefield.
Avalanche (one of the Brotherhood) pulls dangerous stunts as much to impress Kitty Pryde as to further any "mutant agenda".
Boom boom starts out as one of Xavier's kids but is driven to the Brotherhood by an abusive father.
When Xavier leaves Cyclops and Jean in charge, Nightcrawler and Kitty conspire to strand them (and cyclops' cherry red convertible) at a classic makeout spot so they can invite the kids to a party. A party that is crashed by a teenage Arcade who hacks into the Mansion's defenses and tries to hunt down the X-men... but he thinks its just the coolest video game ever made!
All in all, I am extremely impressed by this show and rate it as one of the freshest, most interesting takes yet on the X-men mythos.
Chuck
For those who don't know, Netflix is a service that sends you DVDs in the mail for a monthly fee. No late fees, postage paid both ways, no leaving the house (I'm big on that). Of course it loses the immediacy of going to the store and getting something NOW, but that's cool with me. I can still hit Blockbuster for those emergency movie joneses and still get movies in the mail regularly.
X-men Evolution was always a show that interested me, but one that I almost never caught. The reason? On wayyyy too early. If you don't understand why that would be a problem see "ass dragging" in the last quick hits above.
The more I see of this show, the more I feel that it's what Ultimate X-men should have been. I like Mark Millar as a writer, but his Ultimate X-men has absolutely none of the... innocence that makes Ultimate Spider Man such a trip.
Maybe that's nostalgia, but I dont think so.
There's really something going on in Evolution that is sure to appeal to younger viewers. All the adults in the show are a bit on the creepy side. Mystique is the school principal where both her Brotherhood and Xavier's Institute kids attend. And really it seems like the two teams (the X-men and the Brotherhood) would work it out and get along better if not for Mystique and Xavier.
I like that and it evokes an emotion Im sure many kids empathize with. If you have ever been to a high school football game where the two teams both want to win but are playing perfectly good ball, until a parent starts yelling and cussing for his kid's team to start breaking legs you have an idea of the vibe I get.
Spyke (one of the X-men) and Quicksilver (one of the Brotherhood) seem much more concerned about outdoing each other on the basketball court than on the battlefield.
Avalanche (one of the Brotherhood) pulls dangerous stunts as much to impress Kitty Pryde as to further any "mutant agenda".
Boom boom starts out as one of Xavier's kids but is driven to the Brotherhood by an abusive father.
When Xavier leaves Cyclops and Jean in charge, Nightcrawler and Kitty conspire to strand them (and cyclops' cherry red convertible) at a classic makeout spot so they can invite the kids to a party. A party that is crashed by a teenage Arcade who hacks into the Mansion's defenses and tries to hunt down the X-men... but he thinks its just the coolest video game ever made!
All in all, I am extremely impressed by this show and rate it as one of the freshest, most interesting takes yet on the X-men mythos.
Chuck
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