Steady as She Goes...

I got exactly NOTHING done last night on the game. I did get a fair amount of laundry done, though...

Basically, I have some backgrouond ideas, but no system yet. As I stated before, I'm working with an odd mix of player expereince levels. As a group, they need something simpler than average, but with more mechanics than say FATE. Still looking at writing my own game... I have to do one for the convention in January. I may as well use this as a test of basic mechanics. Now I just have to come up with some basic mechanics. =P

So... the earlier store opening has been nabbing us some sales I don't think we would have gotten otherwise, but it has really cramped into my ability to run errands. I desperately need to shop for soda for the store, but have not managed to do it in four days. Today didn't help either as I woke up about 45 minutes before the store was supposed to open at 11AM. I made it, but had no room for side trips, so... Still working out the kinks... ;)

peace... GopherDave

One Day at a Time...

Things are proceeding as well as can be expected. Plans are in place for the slow (re-)improvement of the store to bring it back to where it once was, and then take it a little beyond. It will all take time, effort, and a bit more money, but if we put the first two in, the third will come.

I have a game I am supposed to start next week, but I have nothing ready yet. I have a genre (superheroes), but no system. I also have some restrictions in what systems I can use to make things work for everyone. Player experience varies, and I don't have the prep time for a crunchy system like HERO or M&M. I'll work something out here shortly, though. I always do. =P

I already have some ideas on how I want the world to be. Now I just have to get them on paper. ;)

(I'll be over here laughing at myself for that last statement...)

-- GopherDave

Just Over a Week In...

Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday... I was off on Saturday... kind of...

So far, so good... The early opening times are slowly starting to catch on once again. After 2.5 years, it'll be slow going, but I am optimistic...

Game-wise, I am running three games, committed to running a fourth (why did I do that?), and trying to plan five events for the convention in late January. I not a glutton for punishment at all... (read: sarcasm).

Beyond that... all is as well as it could be... =P

-- GopherDave

Can It Be Sustained?

Not sure if I can keep it up, but I seem to be in a good place once again... This is three of the last four days for work. I had a day off, so I'm allowed to skip. Sue me... =P

In other news, I'm reopening up the store at 11AM on the weekdays beginning... well... today. We shall see how that goes as well.

Now I'm off to take a four-hour nap. See folks later...

peace... GopherDave

Realizations...

Okay... This is going to be written a little off the cuff, but that's how I typically do things anyway.

First, this is about game stuff, so if you're looking for life/music/anything else, feel free to move on.

Second, this came about from a conversation that I had with my love wife, MrsGopher, with me lamenting about some things. The spouse stated that she misses me working on something creative, and the passion that I pour into something when I am excited, but she also stated something that I have long known, but never really admitted to myself until the last few days...

I am not a setting guy in regard to creation. I have ideas, and love to try to flesh them out, but I always get stuck on some facet of the setting that is not quite how I want it. Then when I attempt to refine that facet, it all seems to go invariably awry, and I lose interest in the project. I can create very limited settings, as long as the scope is small. The players and their most immediate surroundings. Trying to do anything larger just doesn't work with me.

No... not a setting guy. What I am is a system tinkerer with a more than fair ability to meld cool ideas to game mechanics. Be it making something work for an existing game, or coming up with new game systems whole-cloth to make the idea flow right... that... that I can do.

So, if you have a setting you need help "mechanizing" that isn't High Fantasy or Hard Science-Fiction, hit me up. I'm most comfortable using Savage Worlds and HERO System, but I can also create full game engines from aether to fit ideas if wanted. =)

peace... GopherDave

New Medium...

With hopefully more focus and less whiny "life stuff"...

Go here...

Back to the Capes...

One of my frequent (and frequently broken) new years' resolutions is to become a published author in the medium of pen-and-paper RPGs. I've started a myriad of projects with the intent of finishing, and I never do. This year is no different.

After blowing up all the games I was running (though I hope to revisit one sometime soon), I started running a number of Savage Worlds campaigns (I'm up to three now) for various reasons over the last couple of months. In those three games I am visiting Modern-Day Horror, Post-Apocalyptic Horror, and Science-Fiction. The itch I am not scratching is my love of the Superhero genre.

I adore the modern myths of superhero comics, and the current media flood of genre movies and television just has me giddy. I am truly digging all the movies and TV shows coming down the pipe (though I am miffed that I have to wait until 2019 for an Inhumans movie). In regard to RPGs, if I am offered the chance to play a game, and have to choose between D&D, Shadowrun, or *ANY* superhero themed game, I'm running for the capes and cowls. I have acquired (and sold) at least three collections of comic books in my lifetime. In fact I am currently building another small comic collection that I may have to tone down due to lack of storage space in our current house (the comics have to compete with two other sizable collections (RPG books/Board Games and music CDs)).

Back to the games... Like stated above, I am not currently scratching my superhero itch. Typically, when I run a game in that genre, I reach for Champions/HERO System. It simulates the genre better than anything else on the market. The last two editions of the game, however, are not newbie-friendly, and the books for the 6th Edition (the latest) are thick enough to scare off most veteran gamers. Also, as much as I like Champions, running a game of it can be *VERY* prep-intensive with regard to time involved. I had that time when I was younger, but no longer in my later adult life. The Hero Designer software helps, but not by as much as it really needs to at this point in life. This lack of "prep time" is the main reason why I am running three "canned" (read, pre-written) campaigns in Savage Worlds. The work is pretty much done, and doing anything else I might need on the fly is ridiculously easy.

So, I set aside my stock "National Guard" background for Champions, and began to think about writing another superhero background, one that doesn't have 20+ years of history and baggage. As I jot down ideas for this setting, I began to think about what game system I would run campaigns of it in. I was trying to avoid Savage Worlds, as I am already running three games in that system. However, as I write things down for the "Shiftverse", I figure I might as well embrace the system for a fourth game.

Hence, I am writing and creating this current project as a Plot Point campaign for Savage Worlds... and ICONS... and SUPERS... and possibly a couple of other systems... if I can get the licenses for them. I currently have about four whole pages of notes written, with the basic structure planned out. I have started filling in small gaps as time and creativity allow. I have gotten in touch with a graphic designer/artist friend with regard to art and layout for the project. Things are very much in the preliminary stages with this,but I'm liking where it's going at the moment...

peace... GopherDave