Heartbeat (original) (raw)
November 24 2010, 19:15
I'm still alive here, though winter is kinda kicking my ass. We just passed through a week of snow, rain, and hail (in that order), and this morning it was so cold that there was a layer of ice on the inside of my windshield. This is a maddeningly frustrating experience, more so if you never grew up in a state that froze.
Broadly, I've been pulling back from socializing, but roleplaying has been a useful lifeline. The RPG I wrote, Egregore, didn't make the finals of Game Chef, but it was a useful exercise on a number of different levels. Egregore needs editing to refocus the game on its purpose - confronting and conquering the dreamworld on an emotional and narrative level - but I'm going to set it aside for a while, because I'd like to play a few of the finalists first. Thanksgiving weekend might be a nice opportunity for that.
Meanwhile, my ongoing Fireborn campaign has had enough concentrated moments of awesome that I've started posting the game quotes to 
rpg_quotes: Permission to Conquer; Death and Cockroaches. We're heading into what hopefully is the home stretch of the campaign - the PCs just averted World War III, and there are a few power-ups to collect and end-bosses to confront. I'm already starting to think about the next campaign I want to GM, and I'm increasingly of the opinion that I'm going to run a brief arc of Dogs In The Vineyard, as much for its collaborative play as for its narrativist appeal; trying to plot anything on the heels of my current campaign's intricate machinations would be a huge anticlimax, and a big burnout risk.
So I need to pick up a copy of the rulebook, which reminds me, I had a few requests to put up a Baxil Winter Holiday Gift Idea List, because I'm a damn hard person to shop for. (This isn't meant as any sort of hint - if you didn't ask me for this, it's not aimed at you.) I don't really need a lot of Stuff, and my luxury items are pretty cerebral, so when it came time to brainstorm it basically popped out as a list of "games I want to play/read/own."
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Indie RPGs:
(All games would be preferred as physical books, where possible. PDFs are nice for consultation purposes, but there's nothing like a hard copy when sitting around a table with gaming buddies.)
Dogs In The Vineyard- I will 99% for sure be ordering this for myself before Christmas.- * Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy At The Utmost North (HOLY SHIT IT'S BACK IN PRINT - you have no idea how long I've been looking for this)
- Fiasco
- Continuum (the time travel RPG)
- Mouse Guard RPG - Commercially available in gaming stores (omg sellout! ;)), there should also be a box-set release just hitting the market for Xmas this year.
- Universalis
- The Shadow Of Yesterday
- Dread (the obscure RPG that uses Jenga blocks, NOT the Rafael Chandler RPG of the same name)
Two-Player RPGs
- S/lay w/ Me - Old-school fantasy, in the hero/princess/monster sense. Page also has a great list of links to other good two-player RPGs.
- Mars Colony - Political sci-fi.
Board/Card Games
- Expansions for Arkham Horror (Fantasy Flight Games) - Should be very easy to find in most gaming stores. I already own the base set.
- Expansions for Race For The Galaxy (omg guys why didn't you force this game down my throat YEARS ago). I already own the base set.
Once Upon A Time- likely out of print. Or any other similar (newer?) game that can serve as a gateway drug to storytelling RPGs. (Handled. See comments.)- Settlers of Cataan (Probably available even at the mall. But it's neat and I don't own a copy)
Miscellaneous Gaming Stuff
- Craft storage boxes (like for beading and stuff) ... good for dice and minis
- Random pre-painted gaming minis (such as the clearance lots at trollandtoad.com)
A low-end or used laser printer(our inkjet is increasingly insufficient for my and Kady's purposes) - (Bought. Cyber Monday made me an offer I couldn't refuse.)