tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003441658421907741.post4973114530207896035..comments2023-06-04T08:24:12.800-07:00Comments on Adventures in Greyhawk - Oldschool Style: 14th Day of Flocktime, CY 579Mike Breukerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03037812886524432452noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003441658421907741.post-27505063359376169542017-04-29T09:04:06.093-07:002017-04-29T09:04:06.093-07:00Also, I remember ShadowRun. And RoboTech. You and ...Also, I remember ShadowRun. And RoboTech. You and Curtis and I dabbled in those systems a little, too. And Rifts, briefly. And Call of Cthulu. I think we would spend a month or two here and there doing other systems when Dan or Joel weren't around so they didn't miss out on as much of the Greyhawk campaign. The most complicated system I've played recently has been the Game of Thrones RPG. It is incredibly realistic. The creators have done a great job in that regard. The more realistic the system, the more complex the rules. But in the end, I want a high-fantasy game, so realism goes out the window. If my campaign were depicted on-screen, it would be closer to anime than live-action.<br /><br />Thanks for reading the blog. I hope you enjoy it. Don't be surprised if you see some familiar themes pop-up as the campaign moves along.Mike Breukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03037812886524432452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003441658421907741.post-50747896703412507582017-04-29T08:48:11.492-07:002017-04-29T08:48:11.492-07:00I think I mentioned when I started this blog that,...I think I mentioned when I started this blog that, before starting this campaign, I had been playing several other systems with this same group of people. The most recent has been HackMaster, which evolved from the natural progression of another group's first edition house rules. It makes sense. Once you realize the one-minute round is a long time, and you are trying to count segments for spellcasting, initiative and movement, it seems natural to want to just start counting in seconds. Of course, that drastically changes melee combat, and makes spellcasting difficult, so more house-rules come into play. And then when you look at movement in terms of seconds, and factor in things like range and reach, you realize you have to have miniatures on a grid to do it right. By the time you've got it all down, that one-minute round is taking one hour to do. That's HackMaster, and I understand 5E has some similarities, too. Mechanically, it is far superior, and gives the players a lot more options for strategy, and gives the DM a lot more creativity in creating challenges. <br /><br />But after playing such a system for several years, I found myself longing for the simplicity of 1st edition. I have an entire campaign plotted out, and it's a big one. We are just now bringing the first module to a close after playing for over a year. At this pace, it will be 10 or more years before we've covered everything I have planned. If we were playing a more mechanically-rich system, it would easily take twice that long.Mike Breukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03037812886524432452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003441658421907741.post-50524908971811939202017-04-29T06:32:43.889-07:002017-04-29T06:32:43.889-07:00"but being fully rested with all of their spe..."but being fully rested with all of their spells returned, and the fact that there was an hour left in the game session, they decided to return the temple to face Zuggtmoy herself." ... and right there is one of the beauties of 1st edition AD&D. In the 5th ed games I've played, a big boss combat was sure to run three real-time hours. I wonder what we would have done with the slower pace and added complexity back in high school? Probably would have house-ruled it to something much simpler after a while (e.g. ignoring weapon speed factors) or moved on to another system (e.g. I dabbled with Shadow Run, but it was just too fiddly and so became "that thing we messed with a couple times" vs a go-to system).Jarrett Perduehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09781934913113611353noreply@blogger.com