My Fantasy Hack

Today I took the plunge and, using the two heroes I had created for the HackMaster Basic rules that I mentioned last time, ran a combat against a pair of Goblins.

The game was fun, revealed to me the intense coolness that is HackMaster combat, and then... well then...

Then I got to thinking about my own Fantasy Dreams. My musings have taken me to the past, the present and the future.


The Past
I started playing Fantasy RPGs back when I was first getting into Secondary School.

I remember that my Dad had bought a copy of the RuneQuest boxed game (early 1980's?) and that whilst he hated it, I ended up coveting it and loving it. Somehow the mysterious and wondrous world of Glorantha appealed deeply to me.


Soon after, once attending high school, I started gaming with my friend Daniel (and several others) and remember my first fumblings with D&D Basic. We played Traveller too and, eventually, Rolemaster. The latter became the fantasy system of choice for me... and the most memorable game was our 24-hour charity game in which we entered the Mines of Moria.

Looking back I feel an intense yearning for a bygone sense of fantastic adventure in very dark, brooding settings. The heroes were comparatively weak (by today's standards) and there was a deep sweetness in surviving from 1st Level (D&D) or the equivalent (in the skills-based systems).

This is an aspect of the gaming experience which seems to have been left behind... and I mourn the demise.

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On Three Strands: Fridays, Newbies & Hackmastery

This is something of a news post from the wondrous world of my hobby head.

It's been a weird week or so since my last post. I've had a period of holiday and then a return to regular. During this time, however, my butterfly-head has fluttered over myriad points of interest.

There are, however, three main things to talk about.

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Savaged!

Savage Worlds is quite possibly the answer to several setting problems that keep cropping up. I've been reading it this week with interest, especially given the obvious advantage it has over the other generic RPG systems that I own: speed of play!

Savage Worlds
The game is not new to me. I originally picked up an edition right back some 10 years ago when it first hit the scene. I liked the flavour of the system but wasn't convinced that it would have legs. So... I dismissed it and moved on.

Why am I back looking at it today?

Simply, Savage Worlds has evolved. It has proven that it has legs... and developed some very interesting new features.

For me, the system might be the answer for running game settings like "Dark Reich" in which the mortality rate is likely to be high, the game needs to run quickly, and there's lots of high-octane action.

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The One Ring

Few novels have had such a profound effect upon me than the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Growing up, the escapades of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were deeply affecting and inspired many dreams and adventurings of my own. Indeed, Tolkien is probably largely responsible for my becoming a roleplayer at all.

Over the years there have been many attempts made to create a game to allow people to enter Middle-earth and adventure there. I've played all of those that I have ever come across, including the efforts of Iron Crown and Decipher.

This post is a review of the latest incarnation of roleplaying in the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings.

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