HOLIDAY FANTASY
By Alex Ness
December 4, 2022
HOLIDAY SEASON OF GIVING
I don't altogether have good ideas for gifts. In the past I spent four months planning Christmas, would prepare and share a Christmas Eve buffet, with as many as two dozen people over to the home. It was the greatest feeling to create and share food and moments, for the many people who I love. It was a moment though, time moves on. Once my elders began to pass and my own family began to grow, it has changed over time. And I must say,whatever I remember and cherish, my point of working for hours to create such an event was well worth it, and even as it has stopped being a thing, I would do it again.
MONSTERS! MONSTERS! & TUNNELS & TROLLS
I've interviewed Ken St Andre twice and considered some of his published works via review and via written commentary. I've also mentioned that Tunnels & Trolls is an RPG that allows players to go through dungeons and adventures, solo. That game rpg/system was sold, so I can't comment on its future. But I can say that with some differences, Monsters! Monsters! offers similar fun, with some similar options for group or solo play. It allows, better than any other RPG, the ability to play from the perspective of someone who is, in appearances, inclinations or behavior, a monster. Ken is a unique kind of thinker, and in my view, we need more of that. I'm aware that some people find the T&T rpg to be deficient in the world one explores, but while I've used or explored various games and their setting, I think the setting is least important in the success of any RPG. IT CAN amplify the excellence of a game, but it can be played and enjoyed with a meat and potato sort of gaming world.
BROM & Troy Denning
Speaking of aspects of a game that amplify and enhance the flavor of a game setting, the artwork of Gerald Brom was used in the campaign setting DARK SUN, from TSR/WOTC for the game AD&D. The use of his art allowed the mental imaging of a world, with specific flavor, style and look that would evoke amazingly specific RPG flavor and solid perception by all those involved, even the novels expanding the story. Brom's work does have an immediate visceral response in the viewer, and that familiarity comes from excellence. He has released or publishers have released, many excellent art books, which are well worth pursuing.
Troy Denning is an especially talent writer, and while my focus is on Brom's work on Dark Sun, I thought I should share the books that Denning authored, that also greatly enhanced the concept and perception of the RPG and Setting. The world is seen through the eyes of a team of friends, and allies by shared circumstance, and every page adds to the layers of quality of story.
HARN
The game setting and ancillary products of the world of Harn, as written by Robin Crossby from Columbia Games and other sources, is far better than most RPG settings. It functions well, due to the quality of information, organization, and imagination that led the game creator to create it. There were numerous modules to enhance the quality of game experience. Harnmaster is ok for an RPG, but I didn't find that it was good enough to make use of the setting function better than using the setting purely for the information and world, rather than directly used for the setting of Harnmaster. (That is, it is the reverse of many settings and RPGs, where the game itself comes first and the campaign world comes well after.)
About Getting Reviews from Me
I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address.If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
My Books and Sets for Sale
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
All images are copyright © their respective owners, use is simply as fair use and no ownership rights asserted.
No comments:
Post a Comment