Dragonlaird Gaming Studios

Book Review: Playing for Keeps

Time for another book review! We’re continuing our look at Superhero Novels with Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty. (Full Disclosure: Ms. Lafferty is a columnist for the Knights of the Dinner Table magazine where I am also a columnist).

“The supervillain attacked at the most inconvenient place and time: right on Keepsie’s walk to work. She looked into the sky at the costumed combatants and groaned.

‘Why did they have to do this on a Thursday?’ ”

Those opening lines quickly set the tone of the book. Powers exist, superheroes battle supervillains, and the rest of us still have to worry about paying the bills. In her version of the world, superheroes were created in waves. The First Wavers are classic superheroes with great powers. Our heroes? The Third Wavers with powers like the ability to hold a serving tray and never spill a beer, or to heal you… a little bit. They gather in a bar, a haven belonging to Keepsie, and complain about the arrogance of the heroes.

The book builds quickly using the familiar trope of ‘useless’ powers that slowly become more useful through creative thinking. Lafferty does it well without telegraphing it early. The tension rises as the problems at hand get bigger and bigger. Our heroes refuse to cave in to heroes or villains and become key to the battle of the day.

Lafferty’s sense of humor is subtle and keeps the book from becoming an outright parody of the genre. The heroes and villains are very creative and the powers would be very interesting to try to model in an RPG.

I’d recommend the book as an amusing read with a lot of original ideas. I hope Ms. Lafferty is writing another already.

Update: Publications List Updated

I corrected some atrocious formatting that was left over from the pre-blog version of my website, added in recent published work in Serenity’s Big Damn Heroes Handbook and a cool collage of KoDT covers for my column. Much easier to read and more orderly.

Update: Published in Roleplaying Tips Newsletter

An article I wrote on incorporating natural disasters into your campaign world has been published as part of Johnn Four’s Roleplaying Tips Newsletter: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=464

Enjoy!

Guest Column: D&D 4E Impressions

I’d like to introduce Jeff Rees to Dragonlaird Gaming as a guest columnist starting with some thoughts he had on D&D’s 4th Edition after the recent TPK…

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I’ll have to say that wipe of the original 4e characters has been very educational. It also brings into focus some of the back and forth on the Edition Wars that I have read. I can see where some people will really love this edition, and some will really hate it.

The Love
I think in order to love this system, a couple of things have to occur:

1. Players must embrace the Role, not the Class. In prior editions, a character class’s role may or may not have been sharply defined. Wizard comes to mind – you could make just about any role with a 3e wizard (striker – power spells, leader – haste and other buffs (more of a role for the cleric), controller – Web and Evards Tentacles, etc). That is mostly gone now. Each class was designed to support a role. There are a few red herrings that are legacies from prior editions(for example, Magic Missile is NOT a good 4e wizard spell – it is a striker attack and not a controlling attack).

   Since prior editions were fuzzy, not all roles were covered. There was some implied roles, but most people looked to do damage. We tended to have Barbarians, not fighters; Sorcerers (with a few controller spells), not wizards. Now, we could get away with some role mismatch due to #2 below.

2. The DM needs to understand the PCs roles and the monster roles. 4e has made it easier to understand what a monster is supposed to do. You look at a pre 4e Ogre Magi and it was hard to really figure out what to DO with the monster. Some were obvious, some were not. 4e provides a nice tool to help DMs be more effective running monsters at a glance. But, a more effective DM means the PC party must be more effective. If not, the DM has to figure out how to challenge without just doing the same exploit of the party’s weakness.
3. Everybody needs to enjoy a good fight. I think 4e ups the game a bit in this area. It is not this extreme, but its kinda like going from playing Checkers to playing Chess. If you are there just to push the pieces forward, it probably is no fun. But if you like more intricacies, there is a lot of options that the roles give you (anywhere from just killing stuff to driving the DM crazy). Note that you could get the same options out of prior editions, but those editions supported other types a play better (general was easier, optimization was more work, esp on a group level).

The Hate
Some things that can drive ya nuts

1. Everybody wants to be a . You probably can do it, but being forced into running a role you do not like is no fun. The player stuck with a cleric before 3e was always in this situation.
2. If you love a classic class over a role – this is a big complaint. It manifests in many ways, but basically they liked class X the way it was. For example, they loved the old MM/Web/Inv/Fireball Wiz just the way it it has always been. If you loved pre-4e spellcasting for Clerics and Wizards, it is a tough move. Also those that loved their “sub-optimal” builds will hate the pressure to make something more effective.
3. “I just want to sit down and play.” I think a group can handle a few of these (others will get the PC up to speed). The powers make the play ok and players can help each other. But if your group is mostly there for casual gaming, 4e will not be fun.
4. You like structure for non-combat skills. If you loved crafting/profession skills, the hand waving at these will not be a plus for you.

Just my thoughts.

Jeff Rees

Update: September 2009

So if you can be a day late and a dollar short, am I down two bucks with my September update?

Fall has certainly hit central Ohio with more rain and cool temperatures. I love rain as it makes a sort of sweet spot for writing for me. Just need to leaven it with enough light or it can get depressing.

September was busy here at Dragonlaird Gaming ramping up on some top projects:

1. A Savage Worlds Audition – My primary focus in September was completing an audition piece for the folks at Talisman Studios (home of Savage Worlds). I wrote a “One Page Adventure” (which was actually 2+ pages) set in their Shaintar fantasy setting. We’ll see if they like my style and want to start working with me.
2. The Souls of Serenity – Starting with Shepherd Book, I’ll be examining each of the nine members of the Firefly ensemble cast. We’ll look at what we know about the character, what parts of the ‘Verse they bring to life, what role they play in the group, and then some take-aways for role-playing.
3. Gaming the Movies – The next column published in Knights of the Dinner Table magazine should be Ghostbusters. I’m putting the finishing touches on the next column, an examination of the British TV Series, Rosemary & Thyme.
4. Gaming the Movies II – I’ve begun to post Bonus Content to the website. So far the Shield has the most extensive content, notes that I took during my research that didn’t make it into the actual column. (I also found out that you can pick up a PDF copy of GURPS Cops at their e23 publishing site for $7.99). I’ll continue to backfill bonus content for previous columns as I get time.
5. My first TPK – Although I’ve been game mastering for over twenty-five years now, I’d never wiped out a party through combat before. That was changed a couple weeks ago when a cadre of intrepid adventurers met their match in the Keep on the Shadowfell module. I think it is a good thing since they eagerly went into new character creation to go back and beat the module. I’ll have to try offing the whole party again in the future.

Well, that’s all she wrote for September. As always, pass on this blog to a friend and drop me some topics you’d like me to cover in either the Creative Gamemaster’s Workshop, the Gaming the Movies column, or Serenity Articles.

Cheers,
Jim

Book Review: Superpowers

Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a superhero-themed novel junkie…

(Chorus) Hi Jim!

I’ll admit it. I like superhero comics and I like superhero novels. I’m drawn to comics that have a tinge or more of reality. I liked the deconstructionist stuff of the 1980s and 1990s. Watchman is a great graphic novel and while I enjoy the superheroics of Batman, it’s when he struggles with the strange position being Batman puts him in. Perhaps that’s why I’m drawn mostly to the Marvel characters: Spiderman and Daredevil in their solo titles in particular. A good mix of harsh reality and the freedom of having superpowers.

Anyway, I came across Superpowers by David J. Schwartz a few months ago while trawling for superhero-related titles in Amazon. There were some reviews about it being too soap-opera-y though most were favorable. It was worth a shot.

The story centers around five people loosely connected as room-mates or friends who inexplicably develop superpowers over night. Each of the five gains one power: speed, strength, mind-reading, invisibility, and flight. These revelations are at first treated a little casually by the author, not spending too much time in the initial shock of them. Each power has its liabilities and issues firmly grounded in asking a simple, realistic “what if”? If you suddenly had super strength, how would you keep from breaking things? If you gained super speed, would you start to have trouble slowing down?

Once they understand their powers and they learn who all got powers, one character drives them to follow the superhero paradigm: wear costumes/disguises, do good, don’t get caught. They ponder the equally weighty viewpoints on powers:

Ben Parker (Spiderman): “With great power comes great responsibility.”
John Acton: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

Now in a typical superhero tale, there is a foe worthy of superhero powers: a supervillain, alien invaders, something out of control of normal authority. In Superpowers, there is no supervillain. Our five heroes foil burglaries, domestic abuse, robberies, and save people from burning buildings. They are powerful, but they aren’t perfect. Things don’t always turn out nice and clean and they have to deal with that as well.

This all plays out over the summer of 2001 in Madison Wisconsin. Knowing the tragic date that is coming lends a dark undertone to the whole book.

All in all, it turned out to be a book I couldn’t put down. I got invested in those five people and in how Mr. Schwartz was handling the ‘reality’ of superpowers. It wasn’t a four-color, Hollywood ending but isn’t that the real fantasy?

Update: August 2009

Summer is coming to a close and I’m ready for some football weather. Here are the recent developments at Dragonlaird Gaming…

1. New Series of Serenity Articles – I’ve got a nine-part series of Serenity articles in development that should start being posted in early September.
2. Gaming the Movies – I just turned in my latest submission for my movie column in Knights of the Dinner Table magazine by Kenzer & Company. I did branch out into TV Series but I started with The Shield. I’ve watched the first two seasons and came up with a lot good information and ideas. I’ll be posting “bonus content” to go along with the column here on Dragonlaird Gaming. Send me your nominations of movies and TV series to be reviewed.
3. Gaming the Movies II – To give folks a taste of Gaming the Movies if you haven’t seen it in an issue of Knights of the Dinner Tables, in September I’ll be writing a web-only column on a new movie or TV series. Watch for it by registering here on www.dragonlairdgaming.com
4. Results of the 17th Annual Ohio Game – The Ohio Game went very well. We had teams of 3 or 4 players who ran through my Serenity/Horror adventure called Heart of Darkness. I’m editing and revising it and hope to have it available here on the site soon.

More info for Gaming the Movies

My monthly column on how to play various movies as RPGs is a year old now and going strong.  But every time I write up a movie (or television series) I end up with information that didn’t fit in the column or was too detailed.  I’ve started a section here on Dragonlaird Gaming where I’ll be putting supplementary information for the columns.  It’ll take me a few weeks to go back and fill it in for all the previous columns, but you should be able to find additional web links, sample characters, ideas for setting/trappings/props, more adventure ideas, etc.

I think this will give readers from Knights of the Dinner Table magazine a nice extra for the column they read in the magazine.

I’m also planning on writing an extra column to post here so visitors can see what one of them is like. 

If I’ve covered your favorite movie already, you can pick up single back issues at KenzerCo.  If I haven’t, leave a comment here and let me know what movie or television series you’d like to see me take on.

Cheers, Jim

Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open

…to new offerings here on Dragonlaird Gaming. You can subscribe to the RSS feeds (found at the bottom of all pages) or join the site and leave your comments directly on the articles and posts. Click the “open” link in the upper right of the screen. It will reveal a control panel of sorts and give you a login option. To avoid the spambots, I’ll have to approve your registration, but that should happen in a day or so usually.

I look forward to your comments and requests for new topics.

What’s in their Pockets? Part 2

I wanted to continue my article on “What’s in their Pockets?” based on some discussions and feedback from readers of my blog.  Here are some more thoughts:

1. It’s Not For Everyone: If your heroes wade deep into battle and slay a troop of twenty orcs, you wouldn’t want to put different significant things on each of the dead.  Consider the dead to be an entity and they find much the same sort of thing on them all, be it the same unholy symbol, the same tattoos from the Spice Islands, or the same scarring from a specific plague that ravaged the orc tribes ten years before.  And sometimes minions are nothing more than faceless ‘stormtroopers’.  That’s okay as long as not every enemy is faceless.
2. The Plot Clue Bat: One of the most important ways to use Pocket Items is to give our heroes an important clue.  Were the soldiers carrying elven gifts betraying an alliance with the elves?  Did one of them have a tactical map of what their group was assigned to do?  Perhaps not all of them were soldiers and you find evidence of other professions on some of the less well armed and trained: papers and books on a scribe or pleader, maps on a scout, etc.  It is an efficient and effective way to hit your players upside the head with the Plot Clue Bat.
3. Red Herrings and Bad Fish: Sometimes the lead you plant in their personal effects is a distraction or actual false lead planted by the enemy.  Be very careful with this one.  If your group is very attentive and engaged in the campaign, a false trail once in awhile makes them more cautious about the clues they do get.  But if your group is more distracted, you may not want to confuse things with false information.  Sometimes it’s hard enough to get them to grasp the straight-forward clues.
4. Filling in the Story: D&D is a game where advancement, acquisition of wealth and magic are core parts of the game part of it.  Other genres and other systems aren’t focused like that and either focus on characters (like Serenity RPG/Cortex Engine) or stories more than the mechanics of the Heroic Path.  Minor Pocket Items will have more significance in those latter games.  In D&D, if it isn’t money or magic, it had better clearly be a clue or it will be dismissed as dungeon dressing.  Of course, this is a generalization, but the point is valid.  What is the heart of the game you’re playing and are little clues given importance.
5. Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge: When you start trying to add more Pocket Items, be pretty clear about what is important in what they find.  Help your players learn your style with this new information.  It’s fairly easy to breeze through descriptions of minor things but then pay more ‘screen time’ to the item that is the clue.  Think about it in a movie: the hero would spot the clue right away.
6. Run With It: If the Pocket Items that you use are too interesting, your players might go off on a tangent trying to figure out the mystery of why an orc commander had a tattoo from the Angel Guard on his neck.  If you have a pretty open-ended game, run with it.  If you’re trying to keep them in a particular adventure that has a distinct direction (if not openly linear), then make sure your Pocket Items aren’t too juicy or you de-emphasize them in the descriptions.
7. Not Just Items: To be clear, not all things in this category are actually items that fit in pockets or pouches.  They can be tattoos, missing digits or ears, brands, disease-scarring, and minor variances on racial telltales.  These can telegraph where the dead came from, who they swore allegiance to, or what their life experiences were.

Kudos to Jeff Rees and Jim Dugger for contributing to these suggestions.