Five for Friday 22: GURPS, the Church of God, and Group Showering

The Keep

Last weekend, I had the privilege of gaming with most of our Monday Night Gaming Group for a 9 hour face-to-face session. It was the first time that they have actually seen me and the most amazing event of the day is that they let me play, even after seeing me. Rob and Tim have covered the session in more detail here and here (you can check out the pics of Dwayne's keep as well).

On our way to meet the baron.

Here are five awesome things about last Saturday's gaming session (in no particular order):

• Dwayne's Keep: There are lots of great pics on his blog, Gamer's Room. 
• Playing a GURPS spellcaster: Until Saturday, I have only played one character in GURPS, a very simple dwarf with an axe. On Saturday, I played Belafore, a Viking priest. It gave me a chance to experience another part of GURPS, namely, the magic system. One more step in my GURPS newbie journey.
• The Church of God Prayer Meeting: We rented a small conference room at a Days' Inn and there was a prayer/worship session going in the next room. I could imagine their fervent prayers on our behalf as we were loudly fighting skeletons while trying to gain entrance to the Blood Oracle. I was expecting them to rush in and perform a mass exorcism on the spot. I have to admit that we were shouting a lot during combat and a few f-bombs were dropped.
• Spending time with Tim and the Happy Whisk: Tim and his lovely bride opened their home to me for the night. We had a great visit and I came away with a box of lovely parting gifts--gaming stuff and lots of goodies from Whisk's couponing expeditions. Very generous. More than makes up for the leaky air mattress and the weird moment when I went into the bathroom to take a shower, only to be followed by Tim, his wife, and both of their dogs. I did wait until they left before undressing and showering, but I chalked it up to the west side of Pennsylvania having different hygiene and hospitality customs than those of us on the east side of the state. Maybe they were going to scrub me down with the dogs?
• The Group: For me, the joy of gaming is really not about the gaming stuff but about the group of people at the table. I am still a casual gamer at heart. It is the group that keeps me coming back.

On our way to the Blood Oracle.

All in all, it was a great time. Thanks, guys!

All Spread Out: We are a fun group, but tactics often elude us.

Haiku 10: Orc

orcs rain destruction
cockroaches from world's dark past...
evil comes to all

In-House Gaming

For the past few years, my gaming has been restricted to our Monday Night Gaming Group (via Skype). Our in-house gaming group ground to halt when the offspring half of the group up and went to college, leaving the rest of us to foot the bill. My wife and I have talked about starting up our in-house gaming group again, even if it ends up being just the two of us.

We are looking at two very different games, Trail of Cthulu and Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. Trail of Cthulu is a Pelgrane Press game, written by Kenneth Hite, who also written one of my favorite GURPS books, GURPS Horror. Trail of Cthulu uses Robin Law's GUMSHOE system, which is designed specifically as a system to support investigative RPGs. I have read nothing but good things about GUMSHOE and about Trail of Cthulu.

I have had a crush on Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies for a while, but I keep delaying its purchase because I always find some more urgent and immediate gaming need. I really like the concept of the PDQ system and the setting for Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies looks neato cool. Pirate air ships, fencing, muskets, and islands in the sky...what could be more groovy than that?

I told my wife that either game would be a great Father's Day gift.

Monday Moodsetter 19

RPG Rorschach: What is the first gaming thought that pops into your head?

Five for Friday 21: Mash-ups

"You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!" Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate together (actually, I don't, but that is a Sheldon Cooper kind of sensory thing for me, a matter for professional help, and beside the point).

I like RPG mash-ups but I am not particularly creative with them myself, so I thought I would take a crack at coming up with five mash-ups. To be honest, I am more interested in what other people come up with, but here are some things that have occurred to me:

Constantinople (c. 1150) + Oceans 11 + GURPS: I have actually put some work into this one as my embryonic Onyx campaign. A medieval urban fantasy campaign, featuring a band of specialists engaged in heists against the rich and powerful. It is currently on hold because our Monday Night Gaming Group is busy with other stuff.

Dresden RPG (Fate) + Amish + Jack Reacher: Our in-house gaming group created the characters for this, but the three kids in the group all left for college before we could actually play. My wife created a young Amish woman whose spellcasting abilities put her at odds with her community and her own faith. I was bummed we never played. I was a delivery truck driver with Jack Reacher combat skills (much like real life).

Swords & Wizardry + Realms of Crawling Chaos + Post-Apocalyptic Detroit: It doesn't take much imagination to cast Detroit in this role.

PDQ + Steampunk + Alice in Wonderland: This would take a bit of work and I probably would hack a few existing PDQ-based games but this seems like a trippy rules-lite combo.

Crypts & Things + Weird Adventures + Silk Road (Central Asia): I have always like the part in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones travels to Nepal, plus I am a fan of Central Asia, medieval and modern. I also really like Crypts & Things and Weird Adventures. It would take a bit of work but C&T is really simple and WA is awesomely groovy.

Have you come up with interesting mash-ups and hybrids? Have you seen something created by someone else that strikes you as particularly creative, bizarre and fun to play?

Haiku 9: Kobold

A repost from my old blog:

dangerfield geckos
little lizards of vile hate;
respect the K-bold

Megadungeon Hall of Fame: "The Dungeon as a Mythic Underworld"

The Dungeon as a Mythic Underworld is a classic megadungeon blog post. You can find plenty of comments and references to it, which speaks to its influential place among many gamers. Alas, the post itself is no longer available, with the demise of the blog Philotomy's Musings. However, the content is still available online with only the slightest bit of work. Pages 22-24 of Philotomy's Dungeons & Dragons Musings (free PDF) preserves the content of the original blog post, The Dungeon as a Mythic Underworld. Be sure to follow the link and check it out.