tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028958280403371812024-03-14T11:28:34.762+08:00Armchair GamerA view of gaming away from the front lines.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.comBlogger915125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-3686739687864028612023-06-02T19:32:00.002+08:002023-06-02T19:32:09.479+08:00Champions: One Earth (Adventure Sources 01)Due to one of the inspirations for this campaign being Planetary ("Archeologists of the Impossible"), I planned for each adventure to have a bit of investigation and exploration. Naturally, for adventures like this, I looked to Gumshoe's many games for inspiration and plot ideas.MUTANT CITY BLUESThis was the most obvious choice, because it's already in the second edition, is closely associated Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-58864757185414760432023-05-23T21:12:00.009+08:002023-06-02T19:32:29.981+08:00Champions: One Earth (Storylines 02)Continuing the storylines from the different timelines of the DC & Marvel Universes, here are a few more that I'm appropriating into my timeline for my combined One Earth universe.House of X / Powers of X (The Krakoan Nation)I found this storyline useful, because its core idea solved something for me with regards to mutants: there were so damn many of them intermingled within the fabric of Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-64862805468790795892023-05-21T23:06:00.004+08:002023-06-02T19:32:46.177+08:00Champions: One Earth (Storylines 01)I'd indicated that I'd be tying the storyline to initial appearances of heroes in comics, but as all comics continuity buffs know, there's just too many storylines and stories out there that contradict, retcon, and change the current continuity to make it easy to do a straight history in either timeline (Marvel, DC) without doing some pruning and editing.My approach: lock down some tentpole Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-11077587703525706222023-05-14T13:09:00.003+08:002023-06-02T19:32:57.496+08:00Champions: One Earth (Player Characters)PART 02As mentioned before, I waited for the initial batch of characters from interested players before beginning to flesh out the campaign further from the general direction of the campaign. This is so I can take into consideration the characters and the directions the players want to take them.I got the following other character pitches (which slowly evolved in play):Agent Armstrong (Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-37547479863235848672023-05-09T21:42:00.006+08:002023-06-02T19:33:11.369+08:00Champions: One Earth (Player Characters)PART 01Having learned from prior aborted campaigns, I waited first for the initial batch of characters from interested players. My weakness has been pre-plotting the direction of the campaign without taking into consideration the characters and the directions the players want to take them.I got the following character pitches (which slowly evolved in play):Agent 36 (The Kryptonian)One player Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-66525166103178169642023-05-04T20:17:00.009+08:002023-06-02T19:33:21.472+08:00Champions: One Earth (Bayport Megacity)In the grand tradition of DC locations for super-hero teams, I've chosen to base the campaign in Not-The-San-Francisco-Bay-Area, Bayport MegaCity.Much like the TV show, Streets of San Francisco, players will investigate and adventure across the entire Bay Area (and adjacent locations thereabouts) as the campaign unfolds.Since my campaign is a mix between the investigation-structured Gumshoe game Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-20677961960176142562023-05-01T20:08:00.008+08:002023-06-02T19:33:30.289+08:00Champions: One Earth (Broad Strokes)Now that I've gotten a weekly rhythm going with my Champions: One Earth campaign, I wanted to share my initial document(s) in creating the campaign -- the ones that helped me define the starting point of the campaign and moved me past the hurdle of "enough world-building" to actually running games.BACKGROUNDOn this blog, I've been posting -- on and off over the years -- about a gaming universe Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-56818864346989841542023-03-07T20:14:00.003+08:002023-06-02T19:33:45.228+08:00Champions: One EarthShort post.Surprisingly, I have begun running a Champions campaign in my Earth 641 setting.It's a superheroic campaign where DC & Marvel Universes have merged, and I'm busy coming up with rationale, pruning, and GM's fiat that justifies why the power levels are low, and why the multiple threats to Earth, The Universe, and Everything haven't emerged and haven't driven the populace insane.I'll Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-64315277603577172012022-06-10T21:25:00.003+08:002022-06-10T21:29:16.673+08:00Lone Wolf: Flight from the Dark (My Son Plays!)Art from the American Edition(Found at this website. Fair use.)Well, it took a couple of years, but my son has starting playing the Lone Wolf series of gamebooks!He was patient at the beginning, was a little put off when his first Lone Wolf foray died after being attacked by the invading forces of the Darklords of Helgedad, but was thrilled when his second attempt (a) resulted in a characterAlex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-36754183398033399652022-02-28T18:40:00.004+08:002022-02-28T18:40:38.003+08:00Hin (Halflings) of KarameikosI've posted other times about halflings on this blog.It should come as no surprise to longtime readers that -- for Karameikos and Mystara at large -- I'd rather ditch the somewhat roly-poly portrayal of this race and instead have a hardy, sometimes beefy, sometimes seriously cut, sometimes outrageously yoked individuals who are only about 3 feet high.They shouldn't cut into the look of the Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-16455042402462880052022-02-19T18:53:00.004+08:002022-02-19T18:55:28.804+08:00Elves of Karameikos - 5E MusingsA combination fighter / mage is what the B/X BECMI elf is, essentially. So what are the options for something like this in D&D 5E?First off, I'm not going to try to replicate super-faithfully the rules in the Cyclopedia -- If I did, I might as well be playing B/X or BECMI rules. What I'm after is something that approximates the flavor of the setting as implied by the rules.Option 01: Elf Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-62162642906209410892022-02-03T20:37:00.006+08:002022-02-03T20:43:38.540+08:00A New Fading Suns Blog Post (2022)!I don't know who needs to hear this -- but the newest Fading Suns edition is out!Figured I'd post this update since one of the topmost blogposts is about Fading Suns -- perhaps fellow fans who are looking for the latest news.Strangely enough, the more recent posts about Fading Suns haven't gotten the same foothold (just click on the Fading Suns label just under the title of this blog post to see Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-81211383987872743672022-02-03T15:06:00.001+08:002022-02-03T15:08:20.087+08:00Bundle of Holding Alert: Mindjammer ! Looks like there's a Bundle of Holding for MINDJAMMER! If you've always wanted to collect the corebook and various sourcebooks, now's your chance.Here's the spiel from the site, for your consideration:Citizen! From the 17th Millennium we've resurrected our May 2018 Mindjammer Bundle featuring Sarah Newton's transhuman science fiction tabletop roleplaying game Mindjammer from Mindjammer Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-90952077745619984432022-02-01T21:34:00.002+08:002022-02-01T21:34:47.754+08:00Bringing Freeport into MystaraIt's interesting when two setting customization goals synergize.First, I wanted to bring Freeport into Mystara (preferably nearish to Karameikos, which is the start of the campaign). Second, I wanted to initially remove Ierendi due to the overkill comedic elements, but realized I wanted to keep parts of it (esp. since they are mentioned in other Gazetteers and have a nice role as an Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-26632852066045551992022-01-30T22:27:00.004+08:002022-02-01T20:57:50.801+08:00Back to the Dark Corners of Mystara in 2022 Almost a year since my last post, and I find that I've decided to finally start running my Mystara campaign, using the 5th edition of D&D (more or less).While I continue to read and look at other systems and settings, my goal -- to run some of the most memorable old D&D modules in an integrated, re-imagined Mystara -- is paramount in my mind.Furthermore, several old friends are Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-56383552931828358642021-04-25T20:51:00.004+08:002021-04-26T20:47:03.479+08:00Running Cyberpunk RED (Dual GM) This year, a friend and I have been more or less alternating the reins on a Cyberpunk Red campaign.We've been marinating in the various videos online and the wealth of official and homebrew source material out there, and each sharing our own take on the genre and the setting.Admittedly, I'm more enamored with the glitz and the chrome and the high-octane nature of the setting, while he's Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-20799976729909116532021-04-17T12:39:00.002+08:002021-04-17T20:52:38.708+08:00DriveThruRPG Top 12 Review (17 Apr 2021) There are a number of items here that catch my attention, while others -- well, my gaze & attention just slides off them.ITEMS OF INTERESTIn the Number 01 spot, as expected, we see Dune: Adventures in the Imperium published by Modiphius. I have been eagerly awaiting this, though I'd probably have to dive into the novels once more to get back up to speed on the setting feel. Have picked Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-67502871463068992402021-01-03T23:46:00.003+08:002021-01-03T23:47:38.343+08:002021 Gaming PlansHappy New Year to all. May this year be better for everyone!So, this year -- what's gaming going to be like?When we last left off (last year when the pandemic had yielded strange combination of free time and cabin fever that drove me to reconnect with friends online interested in gaming), I was going to work on a Star Hero Tactics series of posts. Still working on that one after some detours -- Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-2046363768628299112020-06-02T13:22:00.002+08:002020-06-02T15:29:34.250+08:00Star Hero: Terran Empire Tactics
Rather than diving headlong into my gaming group's homebrew campaign, I decided to make a quick visit to one of the official Star Hero settings -- closest to what we're playing, I guess -- the Terran Empire!
The reason -- I don't really want to go into the details as to how we built our own weapons and our own races and so on. At least if you're already an owner of this book (or want to pick Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-3738738927737789152020-05-28T21:21:00.000+08:002020-05-29T17:01:18.755+08:00Hero System as a Gaming EngineBeen playing a lot of Star Hero, and with some other new Hero System campaigns potentially spinning out of that regular play -- it's time to capture some thoughts about the system.
We're fond of playing in a mixture of roleplaying scenes and some hardcore, dangerous combat situations -- currently under the flavor of a principled, militarily influential, star nation in another galaxy.
The Hero Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-54898870150888975172020-05-17T21:44:00.000+08:002020-05-17T21:44:23.393+08:00A Month of Online RPGamingDue to a cinematic inciting incident (a pandemic) that has become a grim reality, I have surprisingly found myself logging more RPG playtime than I have in a while. Gametime has been split between two systems and settings:
Star Hero: Tales of the Confederation Starfleet (Hero System 5E)
The last time I played in this campaign was decades ago, one with lensmen, clan sentinels (think slightly Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-8556519836836511942020-04-20T21:04:00.003+08:002020-04-20T21:04:39.331+08:00DriveThruDeals: Dream Pod 9 discounts
Date: Apr 20, 2020 (included because these deals may expire)
Discounted Cost: Various
Type: Discounts
I was browsing through DriveThruRPG looking for some deals that might get me through the ECQ-related stress and boredom, when I stumbled upon Dream Pod 9's page, and noticed that all the Hottest Titles are heavily discounted (66% discount or more, if I'm eyeballing it).
Now, I'm a big fan ofAlex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-28523639085065817062020-04-18T07:07:00.000+08:002020-04-18T10:40:01.630+08:00DriveThru Deals: the Fat Rite Genius Adventures Mega-Bundle
Date: Apr 18, 2020 (included because some of these deals expire)
Normal Cost: $ 846.37
Discounted Cost: $34.70
Type: Bundle
So there's a bunch of gaming material from AAW Games, Fat Goblin Games, Rite Publishing, and Rogue Genius Games that's super-discounted that you may want if you need stuff for the ff. games:
D&D 5th Edition
Pathfinder
13th Age
Starfinder
any games with a need for Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-43867261047017163762020-04-05T19:46:00.001+08:002020-04-05T19:46:32.481+08:00Roll20, Star Hero, and the Return of the Confederation's Finest
I mentioned in a prior post that we had returned to a decades old campaign through the magic of Roll20, teleconferencing, and a hunger for some old school science fiction gaming.
The Setup: In the world of the Shattered Empire, a squad of Confederation Starfleet marines, along with a handful of warriors from other Starfleet military branches, are called to investigate an anomalous object Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702895828040337181.post-70556109698035837072020-04-05T07:03:00.000+08:002020-04-05T07:03:17.138+08:00Reference Post: About the Fading Suns Kickstarter
So, as a Fading Suns fan, I wanted to create a bunch of references for people trying to keep updated on it. Aside from the Kickstarter page, you can check out some other resources about this latest edition:
Videos on YouTube
The Fading Suns Q&A
Robert Adducci interviews Bill Bridges about Fading Suns, and the Kickstarter in particular. There's a good rundown of the setting, system, Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com1