A double-shot please...
Two games over the weekend, and I didn’t run either of them!
With work as busy as it is (and I suppose the football world cup as well), I didn’t get a chance to work on Night Creatures. However, rather than cancel the session, we got together (sans Emma) to gasbag and play a quick one-off.
Mash brought a number of games along and we ended up playing Zombie Cinema - a story-telling game with some interesting elements. I had fun, although my lack of familiarity with the setting (16th Century London during the Great Fire) hampered this a bit. The game started out quite seriously, but soon developed a couple of humorous scenes (King Charles with blackpowder guns ablazing being one!), and this help a break the ice with the game.
Unfortunately the issues I have with this sort of game raised its ugly head - the fact that every time you actually got into any roleplaying (as opposed to scene setting) you were yanked out of character and into a dice rolling mechanic and this constant pressure I felt to be contrary towards the other characters. Also, I had a couple of - what I thought could be - good RP scenes that just couldn’t work in the mechanics of the system.
I did, however, enjoy the scene setting part of the game, and it was good to look at a scene and think how one could move on from it in a logical and interesting way.
The other game was last night’s WHFRPG session; our third. I’m really starting to get a feel for Alderbrand and his personality, and last night was all about scene setting and getting into character - great stuff.
We have gelled as a party a bit better, although the mix of races is still a little jarring for me (as in why would a couple of Elves be interested in hanging out with an odd bunch of humans). A little meta-gaming seems to be in order, but then again you never know how the twisted minds of Elves work :P
We were also one player down for this session, and while I like Fraser as a gamer (I know how hard it is to game with older guys) having only 5 as opposed to 6 characters actually felt better. Then again, I’ve always preferred smaller parties, both from a players and a GMs point of view. I guess it gives more ‘screen’ time and (as a GM) allows you to focus more effort on each character.
Last night, I also took the opportunity to try something (as a player) I normally wouldn’t, an act that could have been rather embarrassing for all parties involved (but was taken in stride by those concerned). I was ‘red faced’ enough myself that I actually intentionally moved to the third person in describing Alderbrand’s actions, which is something I don’t usually do.
That is one of the things I really want to do with young ‘Brand’, keep him in relation to the setting. As we all know WHFRPG is a grim, dark fantasy world, and is actually built (IMO) in such a way that adventuring is not something you really want to do (hell surviving day to day is hard enough), and so have given some strong motivations and personality to the young priest. In general, he wants to make people see both point’s of view in any argument, and will try and talk through most conflicts before drawing a blade. That said, he has a bad temper he tries to control with varying amounts of success (I can see this getting him in trouble in the future). Finally, he has taken to the road to bring hope and determination back to the people of the Empire (hence is travel to Marienburg - get those refugees back to the Empire and help rebuild its greatness!), but is still innocent and uncomfortable in himself (hence various actions his taken so far - trying to get a group consensus, going shy when alone and discussing personal things, etc.)
Poor Alderbrand, I can see him getting conned a number of times before he learns his lessons in life, love and the way of the world. Hell this is going to be fun to play!!
With work as busy as it is (and I suppose the football world cup as well), I didn’t get a chance to work on Night Creatures. However, rather than cancel the session, we got together (sans Emma) to gasbag and play a quick one-off.
Mash brought a number of games along and we ended up playing Zombie Cinema - a story-telling game with some interesting elements. I had fun, although my lack of familiarity with the setting (16th Century London during the Great Fire) hampered this a bit. The game started out quite seriously, but soon developed a couple of humorous scenes (King Charles with blackpowder guns ablazing being one!), and this help a break the ice with the game.
Unfortunately the issues I have with this sort of game raised its ugly head - the fact that every time you actually got into any roleplaying (as opposed to scene setting) you were yanked out of character and into a dice rolling mechanic and this constant pressure I felt to be contrary towards the other characters. Also, I had a couple of - what I thought could be - good RP scenes that just couldn’t work in the mechanics of the system.
I did, however, enjoy the scene setting part of the game, and it was good to look at a scene and think how one could move on from it in a logical and interesting way.
The other game was last night’s WHFRPG session; our third. I’m really starting to get a feel for Alderbrand and his personality, and last night was all about scene setting and getting into character - great stuff.
We have gelled as a party a bit better, although the mix of races is still a little jarring for me (as in why would a couple of Elves be interested in hanging out with an odd bunch of humans). A little meta-gaming seems to be in order, but then again you never know how the twisted minds of Elves work :P
We were also one player down for this session, and while I like Fraser as a gamer (I know how hard it is to game with older guys) having only 5 as opposed to 6 characters actually felt better. Then again, I’ve always preferred smaller parties, both from a players and a GMs point of view. I guess it gives more ‘screen’ time and (as a GM) allows you to focus more effort on each character.
Last night, I also took the opportunity to try something (as a player) I normally wouldn’t, an act that could have been rather embarrassing for all parties involved (but was taken in stride by those concerned). I was ‘red faced’ enough myself that I actually intentionally moved to the third person in describing Alderbrand’s actions, which is something I don’t usually do.
That is one of the things I really want to do with young ‘Brand’, keep him in relation to the setting. As we all know WHFRPG is a grim, dark fantasy world, and is actually built (IMO) in such a way that adventuring is not something you really want to do (hell surviving day to day is hard enough), and so have given some strong motivations and personality to the young priest. In general, he wants to make people see both point’s of view in any argument, and will try and talk through most conflicts before drawing a blade. That said, he has a bad temper he tries to control with varying amounts of success (I can see this getting him in trouble in the future). Finally, he has taken to the road to bring hope and determination back to the people of the Empire (hence is travel to Marienburg - get those refugees back to the Empire and help rebuild its greatness!), but is still innocent and uncomfortable in himself (hence various actions his taken so far - trying to get a group consensus, going shy when alone and discussing personal things, etc.)
Poor Alderbrand, I can see him getting conned a number of times before he learns his lessons in life, love and the way of the world. Hell this is going to be fun to play!!