Kapiti College Ponderings for 2013
So, another year down for Kapiti College meetings. This year has been a good one with the most consistent fun all year than any previous year, though no game quite reached the height of Exalted 2e a few years back.
This year consisted of:
1. Marvel Heroic (2 sessions). Though a tough call for this crowd, it really struck a chord for some players culminating in a campaign starting outside of the meetings on Monday.
2. Dragon Age (2 sessions). This was an enjoyable experience which saw the players go off and run what I planned to run by themselves.
3. World of Darkness (1 session). This was the stand out session of the year. A one-off horror game that worked on every level.
4. Shadows of Esteren (1 session). Another successful session with a nice mashup of fantasy and horror.
5. Board Games (3 sessions). I played 1 session of Mansions of Madness, Descent 2e and Talisman. Mansions of Madness outstripped the other two by quite some way.
My options for 2013 are:
1. The One Ring. I ran this with some success a couple of years ago and now I have ready access to more resources and advantures. The release of the Hobbit should make it a hot item and its a great RPG. Probably the greates contender.
2. Hellas. This RPG is straightforward with the accessible gimmicks of Greek Mythic Fantasy and In Sppaaacccceee. The adventures I have are a decent, though no great quality, which turns this from a must run to a may run.
3. Dungeon World. I would like to do some D&D with this group again and Dungeon World seems to support the D&D style with simple rules that promote fun gameplay. It could be a winning combination and at least worth a session to try out.
4. Exalted 3e. With such success with Exalted 2e previously, I am hoping that the cleaned up ruleset will make it easier to play. If it does, it will be a big contender next year. If not, I may look at a mortals Sword & Sorcery game with Ruins of Rathess and Exalted 1e.
5. Barbarians of Lemuria. I doubt that this will be see fruition but I quite like the idea of using the simplicity of BoL to run Trial of Blood or other Conan D20 adventures.
6. World of Darkness. I want to run a more horror after the success of the WoD game this year. I particularly liked the use of mortals in WoD. Geist and Hunter are both possibilities but neither seem to hold up when I push myself. The God Machine Chronicle comes out next year and that could be a possible way in to this idea. Alternatively, I could see Kuro from Cubicle 7 (if they release the Makkuro campaign book next year) or Shadows of Esteren being possibilities for horror RPGing.
7. Board Games. Not much on the board game front. Call of the Wild for Mansions of Madness may get a session. I would also like to get out Middle Earth Quest again, given the likely Hobbit furor.
The one game that isn't on the list is Tenra Bansho Zero which is not likely to be the best fit for the younger crowd.
This year consisted of:
1. Marvel Heroic (2 sessions). Though a tough call for this crowd, it really struck a chord for some players culminating in a campaign starting outside of the meetings on Monday.
2. Dragon Age (2 sessions). This was an enjoyable experience which saw the players go off and run what I planned to run by themselves.
3. World of Darkness (1 session). This was the stand out session of the year. A one-off horror game that worked on every level.
4. Shadows of Esteren (1 session). Another successful session with a nice mashup of fantasy and horror.
5. Board Games (3 sessions). I played 1 session of Mansions of Madness, Descent 2e and Talisman. Mansions of Madness outstripped the other two by quite some way.
My options for 2013 are:
1. The One Ring. I ran this with some success a couple of years ago and now I have ready access to more resources and advantures. The release of the Hobbit should make it a hot item and its a great RPG. Probably the greates contender.
2. Hellas. This RPG is straightforward with the accessible gimmicks of Greek Mythic Fantasy and In Sppaaacccceee. The adventures I have are a decent, though no great quality, which turns this from a must run to a may run.
3. Dungeon World. I would like to do some D&D with this group again and Dungeon World seems to support the D&D style with simple rules that promote fun gameplay. It could be a winning combination and at least worth a session to try out.
4. Exalted 3e. With such success with Exalted 2e previously, I am hoping that the cleaned up ruleset will make it easier to play. If it does, it will be a big contender next year. If not, I may look at a mortals Sword & Sorcery game with Ruins of Rathess and Exalted 1e.
5. Barbarians of Lemuria. I doubt that this will be see fruition but I quite like the idea of using the simplicity of BoL to run Trial of Blood or other Conan D20 adventures.
6. World of Darkness. I want to run a more horror after the success of the WoD game this year. I particularly liked the use of mortals in WoD. Geist and Hunter are both possibilities but neither seem to hold up when I push myself. The God Machine Chronicle comes out next year and that could be a possible way in to this idea. Alternatively, I could see Kuro from Cubicle 7 (if they release the Makkuro campaign book next year) or Shadows of Esteren being possibilities for horror RPGing.
7. Board Games. Not much on the board game front. Call of the Wild for Mansions of Madness may get a session. I would also like to get out Middle Earth Quest again, given the likely Hobbit furor.
The one game that isn't on the list is Tenra Bansho Zero which is not likely to be the best fit for the younger crowd.