All posts by Newt

Games Designer, Publisher, Web Developer, Dad.

IM IN FOR TEH BOX OF AWESOME!!

Of this “No Thank You, Evil!” a Game of Make-Believe for Families

Seriously we sat down this Sunday to play a Fate game that I’m working on, and our Henry (5 1/2 years) comes in to say hi to the gang. He looked at all the maps, dice and other cool stuff on the table and asked to join in. He was geninuely creastfallen when I said no (the game was a grown up game of monster hunting in ancient Alexandria not U by any stretch of the imagination).Β  So this comes at the right time for both him and his sister, who although she’s 8 the game is designed so older children can have move involved characters and play along side younger siblingsΒ  πŸ™‚

When people tell me how I should behave

…or even worse think, this song by the mighty No Means No starts playing though my head..

Here’s the Lyrics…

We should not make a fuss what would become of us
We should not
And that’s sad and that’s sad
We must hold on tight
Hold on with all our might all our might
And that’s sad
I demand what you should be in the name of decency
You’d do the same for me and that’s sad

No Means No – And That’s Sad

Been a lot of this recently mainly thorough the medium of Farcebook…and that’s Sad πŸ˜‰

In a similar vein…

Choose the door out of Depression into the Magical Kingdom

So aggrieved at watching the BBC’s quite frankly venomous & ridiculous Election Show last night, I headed upstairs to watch some TV on the computer. I considered watching Apocalypse Now, in tribute to some of my Labour supporting pals reaction to the even early results/exit poll. Nah lets put on John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow…a kick ass gun-fu film where a villanous Triad member Chow Yun-Fat stylishly shoots his way to redemption. Kinda nodded off through that. Logged onto Sky On Demand and ended up watching an episode of the sublimly funny and magical Yonderland, a show for kids (and their parents πŸ˜‰ ) , where a mildly depressed housewife travels through her pantry door to the magical kingdom of Yonderland. There she learns that she is the Chosen One to save the land from the Negatus” and spends most of her time foiling the ridiculous plots of said darklord and calming the argumentative and childish residents, by being down to earth and wagging her finger at them pointing out how silly they are πŸ™‚Β  It’s done by the same folk who do Horrible Histories on CBBC who are kinda like a modern-day Monty Python (just in case you need any more selling on it).

I’m sure there’s a post election message in there somewhere from the UniverseΒ  πŸ™‚

Yonderland

 

All dressed up, with nowhere to go

Hmmn which pair of trousers shall I wear today? Those annoying blue jeans who keep on getting tighter? The red corduroys which were much more expensive than they made out to be? Those green combats which have been in my wardrobe since my student days, which I’m told are coming back in fashion? Certainly not those obnoxious purple polyester track suit bottoms, they say they are “Made in Britain” but I’m sure the pattern was made in Nazi Germany πŸ˜‰

The Clown Show Continues

All the jolly hijinks of the leader’s debates, interviews and stuff in the ‘news’ bring this quote to mind….

β€œAll the traditional names, all the hallowed slogans will remain exactly what they were in the good old days. Democracy and freedom will be the theme of every broadcast and editorialβ€”but Democracy and freedom in a strictly Pickwickian sense. Meanwhile the ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite of soldiers, policemen, thought-manufacturers and mind-manipulators will quietly run the show as they see fit. ”
– Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited, published 1958

Oh well it will all be over in a couple of weeks time….or will it πŸ˜‰

Off to 7 Hills

Spring has sprung, and a couple of weeks in its finally energising me.

A small weekend break away for me beckons, at the 7 Hills Gaming Convention in Sheffield. I drive down with Lynn and John from my home group later today, after a couple of catch up meetings with my new Web Support team (what a surprise eh, me a web developer transfered in to that team as part of the IT restructure) which should be fun.Β  Fingers xed there will be no traffic jams as we go over the hills via Snake Pass, that would be less fun. Really looking forward to seeing a bunch of folk I only get to see at cons a couple of times a year. Hang out, waffle on and drink a few beers.

Looking forward to giving my four games an outting. I’m cursing that I ran out of time to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, but they are all more than functional and half the fun is letting things emerge through play πŸ™‚

This is what I’m running:

Name of the game: Stainless Steel Providers
System: Project Darklight
Game Slot: 1
Number of Players: 6
Game Description:

They call you the Losers 242, since you come straight out of District 242 and to them you are just yet another street gang. A bunch of suicidal cyborg motorcycle gangers out to make mayhem and die in a blaze of glory.

But they don’t know the story. How you and your comrades from the infamous 5th Mechanised Regiment (Imperial Sterling INC) where demobbed to the shit hole of a planet they call New Oldham after the Galactic War. A burnt out, crashed, cesspit of belligerent idiots who claim descent from the clans of Northern England. You only ‘agreed’ since your Corporate Liaison said there would be a great relocation package. They even agreed to move your families to New Oldham. That’s where it all went to hell. The transport carrying your loved ones burned up in atmosphere – the victim of a terrorist attack- on the way to your new home. How you’ve spent the last year howling in grief fighting off constant attacks from racist hooligan locals.
Now a beacon of hope has been lit. A signal from the transport ship has been detected coming from the wilderness beyond the city.

Time to jump on your steel stead and ride off into the dust!

Project Darklight is a rules light cyberpunk game , set in the bright Corporate future of the 23rd Century after a mass exodus from Earth.

Tags: Mad Max, Cyberpunk, Cyborgs, Ufology, Steel, MGF.

[I decided to change the system I was using and throw in a new homebrew system. Might be a bit shakey here, but I’m confident enough to pull it through]

Name of the game: Wootz!
System: Monkey 2nd Edition
Game Slot: 2
Number of Players: 6

Your great trek to India from China to collect the lost cannons of Buddhist lore is nearly over. Standing in your way is the great foundry where they make the famed Wootz metal. Wootz metal is famed for its sharpness and strength is misused by tyrants and warlords all over the east. In the hope of spreading compassion you and your fellow pilgrims feel compelled to end this factory of suffering and defeat the Demons of Pain that blight this place.

You are wary of the old saying that even the wise man must melt and dissolve to attain new form of enlightenment.

Come play Monkey, in its second incarnation which features a much streamlined and simplified version of the game system, a game of epic light hearted Chinese kung-fu flavoured adventures. You play an Immortal out of favour with Heaven. Help them cultivate their Te (or personal power/virtue) and amass awesome chi-powers in the process. No prior knowledge of the system or Chinese Mythology required.

[Early days for Monkey 2nd ed, small changes in how the main mechanic works, and a few tweaks.]

Name of the game: Old Steel Ruins
System: Crypts and Things
Game Slot: 3
Number of Players: 6
Game Description:

In days of yore hot molten metal poured from the wounded Zarth. Mighty Sorcerers melded it into buildings of glittering Steel. They enslaved the land and the people. Until the Gods themselves were moved by the evil wizards hubris and buried them and their city under hot scolding sky fall ash! So the Steel Empire came to end, its treasures buried for millennia, its location a mystery.
UNTIL NOW! Brave scouts have discovered the City of Steel and have shared its location. Join the expedition to explore the Old Steel Ruins and discover THE SECRET OF STEEL!

An adventure for up to six 5th Level characters, using Crypts and Things a distinctly British Old School game, based upon the classics from the late 70s/early 80s, of Swords and Sorcery Adventure.

Tags: OSR, D&D, Swords & Sorcery, Foul smelly Khaos, Hair caked with the Ash of Ages, Lightly Gritted Sinews.

[Rar! Playtested this a couple of weeks ago and it was Maximum Game Fun ! πŸ™‚ [

Name of the game: The City of Ironsmash
System: HeroQuest
Game Slot: 4
Number of Players: 6
Game Description:

The long lived Trolls of the Queendom of Halikiv have deep memories.

They remember the Gbjai Wars of the Dawn Age. How the men of light came out of the east over the mountains. How they conspired with Dwarfs and build a Forge-City on the Queendom’s borders, spawning iron armed and armoured warriors. If the Night Queen herself had not sent her son Arkat Kingtroll to lead the Black Legions against the city, how the Queendom would have been exterminated. Instead it was the Trolls who did the extermination and how the city is named after their deeds there. Happy memories of victory in the City of Ironsmash.
Now the storm scum are back in dark Halkiv and a small band of Black Legionaries travel to the city of Blackrock to ask for reinforcements from the Great Hag of the city. For they fear the forges of Ironsmash have been seized and once again good Troll hunting lands are threatened.

This is a big straightforward war story of Troll Warriors getting their Darkness on to trash Human barbarians. It requires no knowledge of the system or Glorantha. All will be gently introduced in an entertaining way over the course of the adventure. A Mega Gloranthan Fun game, so no basket weaving, sheep herding or anthropological discussions, only big fun adventure !

Tags: Glorantha , Trolls, Steel, Mega Gloranthan Fun!

[An oldy and goody originally run for RuneQuest 3 back in about 1997-98, now updated to hot of the press HeroQuest Glorantha system. ]

Here’s a picture from Crypts & Things to get you in the mood πŸ™‚

crypts-and-things-scrolls-Web