12th of December 2023
WHAT I LIKE
Fantasy & Solitaire Fantasy
AD&D 1st & 2nd Edition
I've tried most Fantasy RPGs. I have some personal or home rules for AD&D, but other RPGs haven't the flexibility and direct flavor as AD&D. That said, it isn't an universally agreed upon thing that D&D is the best. It is just my favorite.
Tunnels & Trolls, all editions
For me, T&T is a game that works best as a solitaire platform, not because it doesn't work with groups or two individuals, but there are expectations in the players that T&T is different in result. It isn't nearly as aimed at moral, heroic or group success, as D&D, but that sort of hard wrought alignment and such is thought by some to have been a flaw in D&D. In the solitaire mode, you can explore ideas, you can even create mock dungeons and stock it with monsters to fight, or dwarves or whoever, and see if your adventurer team can defeat them. I have mentioned before, and will undoubtedly do so again, when I had 2 weeks alone due to an unscheduled Christmas alone, I had a great time, all by myself, killing things that were dangerous, and seeing how fun it is to be on the different side of the adventure.
Straight & Weird Science Fiction
Blue Planet
The concept of Blue Planet appeals to me very much. It is similar to the book by Alan Dean Foster, named Cachalot, where the Earth apologizes to the Whale species by giving it an entire water planet. Blue Planet creates a similar world, without the similar reason of existence. It was hard finding others to join me, but when they did, it was exquisite. I think, and could be dealing with a shit memory once again, but Gurps, from SJG might have made a version of their own via license. The entire concept of the planet and human experience with it, is frankly my kind of thing to do.
Gamma World
I really liked Gamma World because, opposed to general apocalypse and survival RPGs or episodes, it had a wrought world, setting, and reasons for being. It wasn't easy to play, in that it had a number of groups to represent, species of mutants to be members of, or unmutated humans to portray in ways that remind me of the NAZI SS. I can't recommend aspects of play, but overall, with intelligent players it can be as fun as your imagination is wide and deep.
Horror
Call of Cthulhu
I cannot say this game is better than the stories and mythos that it attempts to evoke. I can also not say, it is as rewarding. But with a concept of how to play, it does make and succeed in a good attempt to create a setting, and that is often the basis for the best stories in the mythos. I know there are different editions of the game, and they have fans and detractors, but the original and fourth edition worked well for me as much as the game works. The ideas of the game do require some fore knowledge of the concepts of the Cthulhu mythos, and I am aware, many haven't read the books, and fewer know the depth of stories told by all sorts of writers. Sadly, the lack of knowledge by some can be deadly to a group. I played an elderly professor of Archaic texts, with a side character who was his nephew, who was trained in esoteric hand to hand combat, and could carry his Uncle out of danger, should it present itself. We survived 3 wildly lethal adventures with other players who created characters who thought being well armed made one powerful, and had an advantage. They died, to a man. Or rather to a character, one of our game group was a truly bright woman who didn't go full bore armed morons who kill first and ask questions later. Unfortunately, disasters happen in adventures. A great game, liked it but a game that needs more from players than Fantasy or the Sci Fi games previously mentioned.
War
Twilight 2000
I had less fun with this than I think would be normal. Not because of the game, however. The few times I played it, the GM was poorly prepared, didn't know the rules, and had morality lessons of war he wanted to impart upon the game group. The game group, excluding me, wanted to kill everything that moved. War is terrible, yes. I think most people understand that. But especially this game group, there was a lack of compassion, a love of killing, and a complete ignorance of rules of conduct in war, and the purpose of the fight. I was invited to play again by the GM and I said no thank you, despite knowing, I'd probably not find a group to play with thereafter. It was a great setting, a brilliant idea, and had I had a great GM or group, the stories might well have been magical. This isn't therefore a complaint about the game, it is a statement that bad players and ill prepared GMs steal the fun from RPGs. Lastly, I could easily see this work being adapted into comic book adventures, or novelized in ways that would bring out the best of the works.
GAMES I WANTED TO PLAY BUT NEVER HAD A GAMING GROUP THAT WOULD PLAY (or would play but too little to get the actual game and setting's flavor.)
Briefly, the best settings in my experience are those I made of my own personal research, knowledge of politics and history, and interest in geography. I am not better than anyone else, simply saying, I found those that created to have a greater investment on my part, and unlike most campaigns of other people, they include all human ethnic groups, different languages, different sorts of creatures and allegiances, due to their own particular historical experiences. Those settings shown are the best that I experienced. They might well play different for other gamers, as afterall, we all have different tastes.
WHY I'M UNABLE TO REVIEW MUCH FROM RPG PRODUCTS
My lack of reviews of such games comes from many sources. It is a question of time, interest from companies and creative talents, and my lack of nearby friends or colleagues who could assist me in play testing. Additionally, the present practice of most publishers is to send PDF's for review. I find most interesting in RPGs is the books, the maps, the individual pieces, the physical make up of the works as a whole. However, it doesn't mean I wouldn't try. Just that, you can't do certain things without product, and even with a pdf you can't always get the flavor of the work.
Also, while I used to read many gaming magazines, most are now defunct. I can't review or even buy and read what I formerly read.
OTHER TOPICS
I
have some health issues that I won't discuss here, but my schedule will
be different than it has been. I apologize for the lack of continual
and regular output. Thank you for your understanding.
CONTACTING ME FOR REVIEWS OR OTHERWISE
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 try to 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:
5k poem blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Published works AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
Social Media:
Bluesky
X/Twitter
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