A Hard Gaming Decision
It has taken me a few weeks of mulling things over, but I have come to a gaming decision for myself and my two rpg gaming groups.
I have decided, with great reluctance, that I will no longer run the DragonQuest fantasy rpg, and will instead go back to running the Dying Earth rpg (no relation to the Hollow Earth Expedition rpg), set against the backdrop of the world created by Jack Vance. The reasons for this decision are two-fold. I have reached the point in my gaming life where I am...not so much uncomfortable, as unwilling...to run a game system whose combat system is outdated to the extent that the DragonQuest one is. Tactical level combat is something that Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) excelled at, and which made DragonQuest very special to me, but I no longer want a fantasy roleplaying game that requires that of me. I prefer game systems that involve roleplaying and where combat is a bit more abstract for the most part. Secondly, I want a fantasy roleplaying game that offers me more than just traditional roleplaying and the like, which is what DragonQuest had in spades.
Add to this the issue of the size of my gaming groups, and well...the Friday night gaming group consists of between four and seven gamers, which is a good size for a gaming group of any kind, but the Sunday gaming group consists of only two players at this point in time. That complicates matters for me, because a fantasy system where one needs a good mix of player character types (such as a magic wielder, a combat-oriented character, a scout and survival expert, etc.) doesn't work well with a group of two players. So, it's time for a change...
The Dying Earth RPG, published by Pelgrane Press in the UK, offers a good blend of traditional fantasy roleplaying with a game system that is truly unique in its perspective and the manner in which it handles game situations and combat, and offers a wide variety of game styles - from humour, to horrific, to playing a deity equivalent - with any other style the GM wants to throw in. The Dying Earth environment works well for a couple of player characters, yet can easily handle a larger group as well. Sure, The Dying Earth is not for everyone; it is a game system that focuses more around roleplaying, around the notion that one lives in a world that is close to the end of its time, and many people are resigned to this fact. Physical combat does exist, but it is not the be all and end all to this game, and the fate of the character may well be in the hands of the person or being that you chose to antagonize on any given day. Set in the world of Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories, the game offers a refreshing, at times light, at times deadly serious, approach to fantasy roleplaying, and has surprises for every gamer who thinks they know the fantasy genre.
I'm sorry to be leaving DragonQuest behind, but it really is time to move relatively forward into the present day world of fantasy roleplaying games, and to engage my own desires as a gamer a bit more now that I am in my middle age years of gaming. However, this is about as far into the present day gaming world of fantasy rpgs as I care to move.
I've run The Dying Earth in the past, so it's not like I'm new to the game and its world, and the players have enjoyed it in the past. So I'm looking forward to the experience once the gaming groups decide to take a break from Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX). Now, as long as I don't confuse the Dying Earth with the Hollow Earth, I should be fine... :)
But I suspect that Cugel-like characters, Vancian magic, dinosaurs, and Nazis might be a *really* interesting mix! :)
I have decided, with great reluctance, that I will no longer run the DragonQuest fantasy rpg, and will instead go back to running the Dying Earth rpg (no relation to the Hollow Earth Expedition rpg), set against the backdrop of the world created by Jack Vance. The reasons for this decision are two-fold. I have reached the point in my gaming life where I am...not so much uncomfortable, as unwilling...to run a game system whose combat system is outdated to the extent that the DragonQuest one is. Tactical level combat is something that Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) excelled at, and which made DragonQuest very special to me, but I no longer want a fantasy roleplaying game that requires that of me. I prefer game systems that involve roleplaying and where combat is a bit more abstract for the most part. Secondly, I want a fantasy roleplaying game that offers me more than just traditional roleplaying and the like, which is what DragonQuest had in spades.
Add to this the issue of the size of my gaming groups, and well...the Friday night gaming group consists of between four and seven gamers, which is a good size for a gaming group of any kind, but the Sunday gaming group consists of only two players at this point in time. That complicates matters for me, because a fantasy system where one needs a good mix of player character types (such as a magic wielder, a combat-oriented character, a scout and survival expert, etc.) doesn't work well with a group of two players. So, it's time for a change...
The Dying Earth RPG, published by Pelgrane Press in the UK, offers a good blend of traditional fantasy roleplaying with a game system that is truly unique in its perspective and the manner in which it handles game situations and combat, and offers a wide variety of game styles - from humour, to horrific, to playing a deity equivalent - with any other style the GM wants to throw in. The Dying Earth environment works well for a couple of player characters, yet can easily handle a larger group as well. Sure, The Dying Earth is not for everyone; it is a game system that focuses more around roleplaying, around the notion that one lives in a world that is close to the end of its time, and many people are resigned to this fact. Physical combat does exist, but it is not the be all and end all to this game, and the fate of the character may well be in the hands of the person or being that you chose to antagonize on any given day. Set in the world of Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories, the game offers a refreshing, at times light, at times deadly serious, approach to fantasy roleplaying, and has surprises for every gamer who thinks they know the fantasy genre.
I'm sorry to be leaving DragonQuest behind, but it really is time to move relatively forward into the present day world of fantasy roleplaying games, and to engage my own desires as a gamer a bit more now that I am in my middle age years of gaming. However, this is about as far into the present day gaming world of fantasy rpgs as I care to move.
I've run The Dying Earth in the past, so it's not like I'm new to the game and its world, and the players have enjoyed it in the past. So I'm looking forward to the experience once the gaming groups decide to take a break from Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX). Now, as long as I don't confuse the Dying Earth with the Hollow Earth, I should be fine... :)
But I suspect that Cugel-like characters, Vancian magic, dinosaurs, and Nazis might be a *really* interesting mix! :)