Saturday Afternoon at the Meadows = The new Black?

Hi all,

"The Dryad lay dead at your feet. She dropped two rare Items of Power, which will contribute to an easier time cleansing Caen of the Blighted (Unclean). You have also gained enough XP to attain Paragon Tier for the first time in this campaign."

*clears throat*

The Dungeon Master continues,

"Thank you for playing the final installment of this chapter and possibly DnD 4E."

"What?!"

*cue "End of the World" music*

The above scenario was being played out RL in a specific part of Eastern Singapore. It all seemed rather sad and teary. But I dare say that apart from missing the characters being played out by my group, and the continuity of the plot, all this is happening for the better.

Why, you'd ask? As great gamers and resourceful guys to boot, Alvin, Shell, Shane and I ( sans Kat as he is taking an extended break from tabletop gaming) have decided on a new time-slot for our fortnightly gaming sessions at my East Meadows condominium.

"12pm - 3pm on Alternate Saturday Afternoons."

"So black, so black, it's a crazy situation.." (East Meadows in the afternoon, clubhouse on the left.)

This gives players who have to work on Sundays much better rest, allows us to use the fully air-conditioned clubhouse for our sessions, and gives us leeway to recruit interested players who could not make the "midnight shift" timing previously. And not to mention, our subscription to DnD Insider is ending soon, so we will not have convenient access to the Character Builder and updated Powers/Errata anymore. And you know how much the 4E game depends on the Character Builder to do up our heroes without having to sift through ten thousand books and missing out important details due to sheer fatigue.

So it is with a heavy heart that we leave the 4E World, but I am secretly happy that the World of Fracas and Ca-en will live on; as I can easily adapt it to any other traditional RPG game system that we would be playing in the future.

And I emphasize once again, "Never say never. The Heroes might rise again in another form and revisit Ca-en one day." Also, we can always go back to playing Castle Ravenloft and Caverns of Ashalala (something) if we ever wanted a "Powercard" kick in the butt once in a while.

The four of us are now deciding on a change of environment in our games, with Shadowrun: 4E being one of the forerunners in the candidate race. I have roped in Palladium Games "TMNT and Other Oddities" and "Runequest: 2nd Edition" as our other choices.

This Saturday, we will be meeting up and discussing on the possibilities during the lunch hour and acclimatising
ourselves to the spanking new time-slot. Who would have thought this insane times-slot was feasible.

Imagine. Lunch time on a Saturday, and with the gamers in our group not working on most Saturdays in the first place.

Amazing how we came to this option, huh?

So I now proudly announce the arrival of the new Black. Otherwise called, "Saturday Afternoons at the Meadows".

C'yall on the flip side.



Latest Update (26/10/10): The group have decided on Shadowrun 4E w/ the  most current errata (1.8A). The campaign proper should start in mid December, once I get everything sorted out. We will be discussing more about character creation and house-rules during this Saturday's lunch meeting.

"Mr Sandman? Give me a Sandbox game, and preferably with bugs included to preserve old-school authenticity. kkthxbye."

Hey all,

Let us take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

                         Ultima Online (1998)

                    Star Wars Galaxies. (Pre-NGE 2005)

In my opinion, these are two of the greatest "sandbox" games ever made for any platform.

For the uninitiated, a "sandbox game" indicates a gaming genre that is open-ended; like a child at a playground playing with his spade digging sand and doing whatever he chooses and pleases. There is no fixed end point, and no common beginning. Everyone can do things in the game at their own pace, their own time.

Many gamers baulk at this due to the openness of the genre itself, as there is no one surefire way to progress through the game. Most of these games are also skill-based, and do not emphasize on the numerical "Level" of the character to show growth. Thus, there is limited feedback for the inexperienced gamer to know if he is heading in the right direction towards the end-game.

But here is the thing about these sandbox games. There is no hard-and-fast endgame, just like in real life. Actually, a Singaporean chasing the 5Cs will beg to differ but that is a whole 'nother story. In UO, one could aspire to be a great Dragon Slayer or maybe a world-famous Fishcake Seller.

How you go about doing that will depend on the relevant skills that you have trained hard for e.g. cooking for hours in-game to hone your Culinary skills, or fighting monstrous beasts to train up the Sword skill for the ultimate battle with the fire-breathing winged one. The contacts that you make in the game are also paramount, as they can provide you with resources that you might need to achieve your immediate goals.

Fast forward to 2010. I see games now leaning heavily on FPS engines, and being more action-oriented and frenetic in pace. The majority of the public now want their games and fun like that, and being a business, the makers and developers have to cater to their crowd.

Once in while though, a franchise comes along wanting to be different. A rich brat entering a public school for the first time with his head held high; friendless but yet oblivious to it, as he is true to himself. He is different and he wants the world (school) to know.

I own the normal version on the left. Ah Jin own the Overpriced one in the middle.

That rich kid is Square Enix (Square)- makers of Final Fantasy XiV Online, and he is bringing the sand-spade to class. They have recently launched the game to much chagrin from their players. Square does not want to compete with the juggernaut which is World of Warcraft, so their choice was to go old-school sandbox style and get a niche market, supported by their impressive IP (The Final Fantasy Series) and their legions of fanboys. Square knows that the players will QQ about the characters' inability to jump, the absence of an auction house, the lack of meaningful quests, the lack of "direction" and pace, and an over-dependence on crafting and the player community in general.

But you know what? The same people who bitch now will still play the game. It is Final Fantasy after all, and not Crapa-Crapa Online. The brand itself is too big for these teething problems. "The MMO is new so give it time" excuse is also valid for now. And let's not forget the beautiful graphics of the gers races in the world of Eorzea- namely the Catgirl race and the Elezen (Human) race.

I personally pre-ordered three copies of the game on the 27th, but it has not yet shipped from the United States as they said the official launch date is the 30th. My friend Ah Jin bought the standard copy from Sim Lim on the 29th, installed it on the same day and is playing on the Besaid server. I thought that pre-ordering meant that I get the game on time at the earliest date that it could be played. Guess I was wrong there.

This inactivity did mean that I get to watch numerous videos of gameplay from Youtube and read about the latest news and happenings in the FF forums. From my gathering, there is an emphasis on vertical and horizontal character growth (Levels and Skills) and the freedom to mix and match skills and abilities due to its unique Armoury System. Gameplay looks slow like hell; almost chess-game like with a noticeable pause in between every hit. The world looks BEAUTIFUL though, and I can imagine what the game would look like on a top-end rig. And sadly on the other end of the spectrum, I can see myself playing the game on my computer.

*pauses*

Hmm. Bummer.

Okay, I will update more on my adventures in Eorzea when I get there eventually.

C'yall on the flip side.

Now, Quarterly DnD Sessions? (Chapter Two's Finale)

Hey all,

My Ca-en DnD session is slated to return in mid-October, after a lengthy break of close to three months.

But I have been thinking seriously, and came to a decision recently.

Lack of players due to commitments I do understand, but recently, there has been cases of players just missing due to sporadic interest. Maybe my campaign is not gripping enough, the 4th Ed system too clunky, or maybe some have just got bored of the tabletop RPG genre- which is basically slower than the current computer/MMO games; which promotes instant gratification, impatience and "Rewards NOW NOW!".

Whatever the reason, I will end Chapter 2 in the next session. For my next adventure, I will further tinker with the combat system to quicken the pace of the game, and yet try to preserve the integrity and essence of the RPG itself.

Our gaming circle needs new blood, and interested individuals who love gaming, the joy of role-playing and working/succeeding as a group. The present time-slot that we play at now is deterring many potential new-comers from joining us as we are masquerading as real-life vampires; only playing after midnight and slogging til four/five in the morning. This is something I will look into also, maybe making our gaming session earlier, 10 pm perhaps, and ending at 2ish am?

I will take my time to ponder over the points after the final session next month. I love creating adventures, but I do want players to come over for the joy of the game itself, wanting to explore, kill and solve puzzles; not just as a commitment, which kills the joy of and meaning of the word "game" itself.

Gaming has never been this hard, unless it is not fun. I will reflect on this and hopefully come out better and stronger.

Comments can be added in the new Chatbox on the left. <------

C'yall on the flip side.

"The Dinner Invitation That you Have Been -Dying- For." (My Thoughts on Castle Ravenloft)

Hey all,

My present DnD group is still currently in the midst of our extended break, with Alvin set to return to the sunny island of Singapore in a week or two.I have been busy doing other things in life, e.g. Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDo), and revising on my drum skills during our weekly jamming sessions on the now-vacant Saturday night slots.

Yesterday, me and my brother Shane travelled to the game shop at Bugis Junction before our tennis session at Melville. He bought another clincher for the group; the brand new, hot off the oven DnD 4e cooperative boardgame --->
--Castle Ravenloft--

Pleasure comes at a price though, and this time, Pleasure is valued at an approximate S$115.

It seems that Count Strahd is hungry again, wanting would-be heroes to meet him for dinner to discuss important issues involving massive loss of blood and severed limbs.

Eagerly, Shane, Shell, Pongtau and I tested the game last night for about three hours, and I am happy to say that the game is a fun romp, with color coded cards and chips galore, and five shiny new heroes with virgin necks to give.

The games are quick and engaging, lasting about an hour for each scenario. And the randomness of the dungeons' layout is imperative to replayability, thus making it a big plus in my eyes. We succeeded on our first two missions rather smoothly, but our party wiped on Scenario 3 due to a combination of poor strategy and bad luck.
This proves to me that the game's difficulty level is up to par, which to me is important as I hate playing a cake-walk board game in which you inevitably win regardless of tactics .

In Castle Ravenloft, I really love the idea of Encounter Cards drawn during each character's turn. By throwing endless traps, hostile environments, and devious plot twists at the heroes, it makes the players feel great urgency; knowing that if they dilly-dally too long without working towards the quest objective, they will die a painful death in the dank corridors of the Castle. This sense of escalating dread and doom was sorely lacking in many other RPG board games on the market like Talisman 4th Ed etc, where one can almost grind endlessly to "level up" before meeting the end boss etc.

The five heroes are your basic Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard, with the joker in the pack being the Ranger. Touted as a master explorer, she to me seems like a glorified punching bag. She does have the most accurate power in the game though - Careful Attack-, allowing one to automatically hit an adjacent enemy for 1 damage. No questions asked.

By the way, over 75% of the mobs in the game are 1 health.

The Fighter is the soak-bag, with mad AC (17) and HP (10). (But pales in comparison with the Paladin in the new sister set - Wrath of Ashadalon) He is great for being the aggro-grabber for the party when new tiles are being exposed and with monsters rushing at the party.

The Cleric is another stand-out, with his -Healing Strike- being another stand-out At-Will power. Its ability to heal a party member within 1 tile of him after successfully hitting the enemy is brilliant.

The Wizard and the Rogue round out the selection, with the clothed one buffing fellow members in his current tile for +1 Attack, and the Rogue with the meh class ability to disarm traps at a +5 bonus. The Wizard comes with -Magic Missile- and -Scorching Burst- as a couple of the At-Wills, and the iconic -Fireball- as one of the various daily powers she can choose from. The rogue has the reliable -Backstab-, and being darn accurate with his hits. (at +7 to +9 to hit)

Rules are modified and simplified from 4E DnD rules, with NADs removed from the equation, and many of the status effects which bogs the PnP game down non-existent in Castle Ravenloft. Slowed, Immobilized, Unconscious, and Dead (or "Lose the Game" in CR terms) are the only conditions that are present.

Castle Ravenloft and the soon-to be released sister set- Wrath of Ashadalon

My tuition kids are trying their hands at this simplified 4E treat, and initial signs are good; pointing to them liking the game or at least being interested enough to listen to me explain the rules.

C'yall on the flip side.

Shooting (at) Blanks

Hey all,

We will be taking a break from Chapter 2 after this National Day Week, as our resident sorcerer Astra will be going on an RL holiday to Europe for a month or so.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in Ca-en, the party are hot on the heels of the evil dryad Yeminsha, and kinda realized that she might have something to do with the missing item in the arcane casing that they found in the stone pile after defeating Melchiot, Guardian of the Oasis Temple, who was there to collect the precious mineral -EquestK with help from his limited elemental forces.

Backpacks filled with EquestK and fresh after swiftly beating up on the hapless Guardian, the four now head back to Segai the Dreamcaster who awaits the supply to fuel his creations, vanquish Yeminsha, and also, to help the party in their cause to save Maya and the region against the crazed Mandingo.

I wish them the best of luck in the next session; and since we are on the topic of luck and randomness, I now divert your precious attention to this really advanced piece of computer technology. ---->

Nope. Nothing wrong with your browser. And you can quit rubbing your eyes. The keys are blank.

Yes. A keyboard with umm, blank keys. Why haven't anyone thought of it before? How many times have you been on a keyboard and secretly wished that the keys were blank?

Yeap, right. None.

Aptly called the Das Keyboard Ultimate. The people from Daft Das Enterprises must have been smoking crack if they thought they could pull this off. And it cost the same as their other exact model but with key markings -- the Das Keyboard Professional. 

So, professionals in the workplace use keyboards with markings, and umm so non-professionals with all the time in the world use the Ultimate to do their  LoLs, Teh Suxxorzs and Wah-Laus?

We actually have to pay for a deliberate factory manufacturing defect?

Sign me up, and I think that it is absolutely fair.

Why?

Just like in Geylang, Desker Road, and other seedy places around the world, you usually have to pay for sex.

Same. 

You pay for the sexiness you get with this Mistress of Keyboards. She is not as dependable as the conventional wife-y one as she requires you to have the skills to pay the bills upfront. But if you do meet the prerequisites, the Mistress will purr and make you a really happy geek man.

Cost of sex(iness)? 

S$250~ after shipping at Amazon.com.

I am saving up for it and you should too. 

Now, stop looking at your keyboard when you are typing, as it will soon be a thing of the past, at least when you are in my room that is.

Hehe, c'yall on the flip side.