On the Subject of sandboxes I'd like to play in
!!!Warning: Geek Content rated at 8.5 out of 10. Continue reading at your own risk!!!
As I've stated before in my journal, I'm an avid role-player. Hell, I've even written my own game system. I am currently running two campaigns. One is sort of a classic sword and sorcery game set in the Earthdawn setting. The other is a modern fantasy game set around a group of paranormal specialists (consisting of an earth elemental, a fairy trickster, and a kid from the midwest who has an empathic connection to machines) who all work for the government to protect the US from otherworldly dangers.
Both of these games are quite fulfilling. In the past I have also run Shadowrun scenarios, 3 different superhero settings, a game set in the Highlander universe, a modern fantasy setting of my own design in which the players were the go betweens for the fairy courts and the human world, Robotech, my own vastly different version of the Rifts setting, Star Wars, a pulp-era action game set in 1920's northern Africa, the Wing Commander Privateer universe, and two different fantasy worlds of my own design for 2nd edition AD&D.
In addition, I have played in innumerable other AD&D fantasy worlds, Star Wars (post Battle of Endor), a Shadowrun variation set around 2030, the Serenity 'verse, the World of Darkness as a Vampire, Mage, and a Changeling, and a Marvel comics setting "Nightmares of Futures Past".
And yet, still I crave for more.
I have not yet played In Nomine, a game which I own and that holds a great deal of interest for me. The subject of that one is the war between heaven and hell. The players play the role of either angels or demons struggling for dominance. And, to be quite clear, these are angels and demons who are capable of a wide range of actions and emotions, but rarely do those actions and emotions include anything like mercy. I would love to use this game as sort of the set-up for a Good Omens type of game.
I also want to try to run a Star Wars game set in the Knights of the Old Republic era. I think it has something to do with being a geek who grew up in the 80's, but I love me a good lightsaber duel. The first movie I ever saw in the theatre was The Empire Strikes Back. That sort of thing has an effect on a person.
Despite the sheer number of books for the setting, I have yet to run a Werewolf, Vampire, Mage, or Changeling game. I'd love to get my feet wet in the World of Darkness, particularly the classic WOD. I have not been particularly impressed by the WOD 2.0, however, I have flipped through the new version of Changeling. I think it could succeed better than the other re-vamps (pardon the pun) mostly because of just how different it is from the original book.
Also from White Wolf games, I have a copy of Scion: Hero. That is a playground with appeal to a lot of mythology nuts. In it you play the child of one of the ancient gods of mythology, like Zeus, Ra, or Odin, but you play in a modern setting. There's quite a lot of adventure potential there.
I recently picked up, and therefore would like to try, Demon Hunter. It is a WOD parody made by the Dead Gentlemen, who made such films as The Gamers, and The Gamers II: Dorkness Rising. In that game, you are a member of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, the army of god, whose members are fighting the ancient supernatural horrors that plague this world. They are also fighting the red-tape, back-biting, and neck-biting that happens to go on in their own organization.
Deliria by Phil Brucato is not only a setting I want to try, but also an interesting system. It is a modern folklore type of setting, which has players falling through the cracks in reality and interacting with fairies, goblins, and such. Deliria is a very character driven game system. The rules are quite flexible, and many mechanics are specifically left vague to allow players to let their minds wander. When an action absolutely must be resolved, the method of resolution involves drawing regular playing cards to determine the result (or a modified tarot deck, if you want a different feel).
I'd also love to do a big space-opera type game. Something where the players would be crew of a large exploration starship, a la Star Trek. The Star Trek universe, unfortunately, is not someplace I'd like to play on its own. Perhaps I might make up a new setting, or borrow another setting from TV, books, or movies. This is the kind of thing that could work well with the Star Wars setting I mentioned earlier. There could be a lot of exploration before the dominance of the Republic.
I've also never played a game in which the players are good old-fashioned crazy villains or something properly evil. The World of Darkness is usually played in shades of grey. I mean, yes, you are often a classic monster, but you are also fighting to maintain your humanity. I'd like to try something where you throw morality to the wind and feast on mortal souls, or possibly something more campy, like try to lock your home city in a prison of ice until the Governor agrees to your ransom.
I can't wait for Arisia.
As I've stated before in my journal, I'm an avid role-player. Hell, I've even written my own game system. I am currently running two campaigns. One is sort of a classic sword and sorcery game set in the Earthdawn setting. The other is a modern fantasy game set around a group of paranormal specialists (consisting of an earth elemental, a fairy trickster, and a kid from the midwest who has an empathic connection to machines) who all work for the government to protect the US from otherworldly dangers.
Both of these games are quite fulfilling. In the past I have also run Shadowrun scenarios, 3 different superhero settings, a game set in the Highlander universe, a modern fantasy setting of my own design in which the players were the go betweens for the fairy courts and the human world, Robotech, my own vastly different version of the Rifts setting, Star Wars, a pulp-era action game set in 1920's northern Africa, the Wing Commander Privateer universe, and two different fantasy worlds of my own design for 2nd edition AD&D.
In addition, I have played in innumerable other AD&D fantasy worlds, Star Wars (post Battle of Endor), a Shadowrun variation set around 2030, the Serenity 'verse, the World of Darkness as a Vampire, Mage, and a Changeling, and a Marvel comics setting "Nightmares of Futures Past".
And yet, still I crave for more.
I have not yet played In Nomine, a game which I own and that holds a great deal of interest for me. The subject of that one is the war between heaven and hell. The players play the role of either angels or demons struggling for dominance. And, to be quite clear, these are angels and demons who are capable of a wide range of actions and emotions, but rarely do those actions and emotions include anything like mercy. I would love to use this game as sort of the set-up for a Good Omens type of game.
I also want to try to run a Star Wars game set in the Knights of the Old Republic era. I think it has something to do with being a geek who grew up in the 80's, but I love me a good lightsaber duel. The first movie I ever saw in the theatre was The Empire Strikes Back. That sort of thing has an effect on a person.
Despite the sheer number of books for the setting, I have yet to run a Werewolf, Vampire, Mage, or Changeling game. I'd love to get my feet wet in the World of Darkness, particularly the classic WOD. I have not been particularly impressed by the WOD 2.0, however, I have flipped through the new version of Changeling. I think it could succeed better than the other re-vamps (pardon the pun) mostly because of just how different it is from the original book.
Also from White Wolf games, I have a copy of Scion: Hero. That is a playground with appeal to a lot of mythology nuts. In it you play the child of one of the ancient gods of mythology, like Zeus, Ra, or Odin, but you play in a modern setting. There's quite a lot of adventure potential there.
I recently picked up, and therefore would like to try, Demon Hunter. It is a WOD parody made by the Dead Gentlemen, who made such films as The Gamers, and The Gamers II: Dorkness Rising. In that game, you are a member of the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch, the army of god, whose members are fighting the ancient supernatural horrors that plague this world. They are also fighting the red-tape, back-biting, and neck-biting that happens to go on in their own organization.
Deliria by Phil Brucato is not only a setting I want to try, but also an interesting system. It is a modern folklore type of setting, which has players falling through the cracks in reality and interacting with fairies, goblins, and such. Deliria is a very character driven game system. The rules are quite flexible, and many mechanics are specifically left vague to allow players to let their minds wander. When an action absolutely must be resolved, the method of resolution involves drawing regular playing cards to determine the result (or a modified tarot deck, if you want a different feel).
I'd also love to do a big space-opera type game. Something where the players would be crew of a large exploration starship, a la Star Trek. The Star Trek universe, unfortunately, is not someplace I'd like to play on its own. Perhaps I might make up a new setting, or borrow another setting from TV, books, or movies. This is the kind of thing that could work well with the Star Wars setting I mentioned earlier. There could be a lot of exploration before the dominance of the Republic.
I've also never played a game in which the players are good old-fashioned crazy villains or something properly evil. The World of Darkness is usually played in shades of grey. I mean, yes, you are often a classic monster, but you are also fighting to maintain your humanity. I'd like to try something where you throw morality to the wind and feast on mortal souls, or possibly something more campy, like try to lock your home city in a prison of ice until the Governor agrees to your ransom.
I can't wait for Arisia.