http://haven.thratchen.com Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:14:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Resolve Resolve is the mechanic by which the party moves around the map, explores the terrain, and generally spends their days.  A high-level summary: for every 3 miles of travel, the party spends one point of Resolve; resting for the night restores Resolve. Gaining Resolve At the start of each ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=50 Because I'm doing this game online, I've got a lot of time to think about issues that I'd otherwise ignore completely. Like economics. I'd been reading The Tao of D&D, and I basically agreed with Alexis's argument that there are serious problems with the pricing model in every edition of ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=48 I'm experimenting with running a game online, using Google Wave. It's too early to tell whether this will be successful or not, but I've made two observations so far. First, the format gives me a lot more ability to create detail in the setting. I can spend time figuring ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=47 When I think about Cyberpunk, I think about endless hours spent watching a group of players construct an ever more elaborate plan, a Rube Goldberg device of hacking, shooting, sneaking, ventilation shafts, and hidden cameras. Every Cyberpunk adventure seemed to bring out the inner Danny Ocean in my players, ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=46 I picked up a copy of Green Ronin's Dragon Age tabletop RPG. (Disclaimer: I know Chris Pramas, the author, and several of my friends were playtesters.) It is almost entirely good, and the handful of things I don't like about it are possibly unique to my particular demands ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=45 I am a fan of Rolemaster. I ran it for quite a while for relative RPG newbies, so when I see complaints that it's too complicated or too slow, I always wonder if the complainer has ever actually played or run the game, or if their comments are entirely ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=44 I've been reading this awesome blog and it made me realize I miss blogging. I mean, I write things on FB all the time, but I miss the ritualized aspect of setting my random thoughts loose into a sea of (potential) strangers. Whether those strangers actually show up ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=43 Falling asleep during a game I'm running is the only thing that will really, truly piss me off. I'm easy. I don't care about being OOC, I don't care about people taking breaks, I don't even really care about dice-spinning (though it's taken a lot of self-discipline to ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=42 Regarding the recent blowup over EA's idiotic marketing campaign for their God of War clone: In a reply to Chrysoula's post on the topic, I describe what EA did as 'breaking the first rule of Fight Club.' I thought I'd expand on that a little. The truth is, regardless of the ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=41 I managed to push past some kind of game-playing wall recently, and so I've been consuming games like potato chips. Current flavor of Pringles: Dynasty Warriors 6. I put this game on my GameFly list about a year ago, having heard that it was like Ninety-Nine Nights. I really ... http://haven.thratchen.com/?p=40