Let’s face it, one of the more constant issues of being a Philippine Gamer is the solid fact that well… we’re fundamentally -not- westerners. I’m technically a third-generation Chinese Immigrant living in the Philippines, and most (if not all) RPG games are written, published and played in the western hemisphere. Given that fact, there are certain games in which I solidly hit a brick wall when it comes to anything but genre emulation.
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September 30, 2008
As I noted in yesterday’s 4e Playtest Report, my group is beginning to grow even larger. Having started from a small group of close friends, we’ve grown quite a lot since the fresh out of college days. Now, the group has ballooned to an impressive total of 15 people.
This is a big thing for me, and I’m happy to see that more people are getting into the hobby, or finding us as a good group to play with, but now I’m worried about group logistics and management.
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September 29, 2008
Note to self: Towers make for terrible dungeons.
Team 1 heads out to a new town, to face a new threat as another villainous group attempts to capture the reincarnated hatching of Tiamat. This time, Team 1 was more than prepared.
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September 28, 2008
If there’s one thing about being a GM, it’s the fact that there’s always an idea for the next campaign. Whether it’s the appeal of a new game, a new system, a new genre, or new players, older GM’s usually have two or three (or more) campaigns waiting somewhere in the wings until the right moment to pitch it to the players.
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September 26, 2008
If there’s one thing that can exceed the income of one, it’s the income of many. Given that fact, it’s actually possible to minimize the financial impact of a hefty RPG book purchase by spreading the cost among friends. In doing so, the individual members of the group can bounce back from the expense much quicker than it would take for a singe person shouldering the full cost of the book. But as nice as this looks like on paper, can it actually work?
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September 25, 2008
With the local economy once agian on the fritz, I’m looking at my budget again with regards to my RPG purchases. Back in college, I was pretty much a big spender, having managed to collect nearly all of Mage: the Ascension, Revised Edition (except for Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts, which eludes me for this day…) in hardcover form. That being said now that I’m older, and forced to actually regard my spending against my earning, I’ve begun to scrutinize my purchases more closely, starting with: PDFS vs physical copies.
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September 24, 2008
Miniatures. Some games don’t need them, but all games seem to do better when you’re not arguing about distance and cover. That being said, not everyone can afford to find, collect, assemble or paint miniatures anymore. Especially here in the Philippines, when even getting the collectible pre-painted types will cost you an arm and a leg. That being said, here are two ways to make quick and easy miniatures for a pittance.
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September 23, 2008
Tome of the Mysteries Cover
Mage: the Awakening is a big game with lots of rules. But even for a book of that size, the nature of it’s freeform spellcasting system, and the esoteric nature of how effects are organized in the Atlantean paradigm could use a little bit of help. This is where the Tome of the Mysteries comes in. This supplement was not the first to come out for the M:tAW line, but it was certainly the one I’d recommend that people pick up first if they’re looking to get a better understanding of the Magic systems and philosophy of M:tAW.
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September 22, 2008
This week is Team 2’s turn to finish the dungeon that gave them so much trouble way back in 4e: Playtest Report #6. There’s a feeling of improvement overall as the players finally found their groove and the characters rallied and started making a lot of progress in terms of group dynamics.
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September 21, 2008
It’s often said that the most dangerous type of person is someone who has nothing to lose. But what kind of villain does it take to force the player characters to go that far? The Nihilist is dedicated to tearing everything down. Civilization, Law and Order, People, or even the Planet, everything has got to go. Nihilists are some of the blackest of the black hats because they’re out to make things bad for everyone, and the Nihilist knows exactly how he’ll go about it.
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September 19, 2008
