One of Those Days!

Monte's newest article is up, and internet discussions have once again ensued at places like rpg.net. I won't go into specifics, but I find it interesting that not even Monte appears to consider the idea of designing an RPG to model realistic characters and situations to be something worth mentioning. I understand this is just a game and all that entails, but it seems like the concept of emergent gameplay has taken over the concept of emergent storytelling.....like figuring out whether your ruleset supports "healbots" or dudes with all sorts of healing surges to spread recovery powers out among the crowd is more important than considering whether both concepts are just stupid to begin with and maybe someone should look for an unrelated third solution. Then I remember that there are countless other solutions, in the form of amazing games like GURPS, Runequest, Savage Worlds and so forth, and wonder if I shouldn't just heed my own inner voice, take a loooooong break from D&D and see what it's like to play an RPG I really love and respect for a year or two exclusively. And then I remember that in order to do this, I need players who are on the same boat as me....sigh....I've got a few, but not enough to make a clean break from all things D&D and Pathfinder. Hmmmm. Or do I?

So enamoured am I now of Dragon Age that I'm going to bunt down the Green Ronin paper and pencil edition. Perusal of the info available online has suggested that the AGE System is worth looking into. Plus, Legend from Mongoose should be out soon, not that I don't already have it (in the form of RQII). Maybe next year, if I actually find time for gaming post-zergling, I will find the temerity to ditch D&D* and its iterations for a good long while, head out and enjoy some more cogent game systems in which the words "optimization, system mastery, edition wars," and "build" are less relevant. Ah, that would be nice....!



By the way, it turns out that even with safe search on in google, searching for images of Runequestian broo is not a good idea. So here's a duck instead...!

*Castles & Crusades does not count! It's really more of a pure recapturing of D&D's old spirit. Nor does Swords & Wizardry.

Legend has a Cover

Here it is:

 

Looks like its still on schedule for an October release in digest format at $20. This is going to make "buy in" from players a lot easier for me.

I would like to be the first to point out that this cover will do nothing to assuage the concerns of the cleavage-in-art nazis out there who were blasting RQII for a couple pieces of art that were considered less about "sorceresses doing magic" than about "strippers doing magic" but oh well.

My take has been presented in various forum battles on this: I could care less about sexy art (other than that I appreciate it too) but rather I prefer my fantasy or SF art to be realistic. At least the two gals on this cover don't look like they plan in taking on an army of orcs in their lingerie....maybe hurling spells from a distance instead? The gal on the left looks like a non-combatant type. Which I would like to point out Runequest...er, Legend does very well. Its one of the few good fantasy RPGs out there that could start with a tale of a merchant, a minstrel, a courtesan and a squire and therefrom begin to weave a fine tale of fantasy that at no point requires that each protagonist lift a sword with proficiency.

I am very tempted to make Legend my only game of choice for a while once its out (hell, why wait, I'll just pre-emptively do so now with RQII) and see if I can break the D&D habit. It would be nice to enjoy the hobby without having to stake out a corner of the edition wars for once...!