More 5E and Writing

We managed to gather for another session of 5E this weekend.  There were a couple of new players, and really it might have been just a bit too much.  One player had her character perform a single action during the course of the evening.  I felt bad for her.  The character was a cool concept, but was out of her element in a haunted keep with a mystery to solve.

The other new character was iffy.  He was a half-orc monk (a combo I always liked), but he didn't really play him how one would expect a monk to be played.  He acted more rogue-ish, using persuasion to get the unwise fighter to do questionable stuff.  Regardless, it was still a fun time.  Many jokes were thrown about, including a reference to Conan the Librarian.

Speaking of 5E and playing your character well, there is an article over at Wizards about Roleplaying, and how it will be encouraged and handled in 5E.  If you have your doubts about the Roleplay aspect of 5E (or any edition), I suggest you check it out.  It's well-written, and has me just that much more in support of this whole thing.

Over in the Star Frontiers section of my brain, I'm dreaming up some ideas for adventures to write, as well as other content for that game.  I think once we get settled into our new apartment (moving at the end of this month), I might see about starting a Star Frontiers game.  Not sure how I will do that, as my schedule is usually pretty full, and my wife already has plans to eventually run a Shadowrun game.  But, I will still give it a shot.  Even if it's just a few one-shots and whatnot.

I've thought about trying to get into a Skype game or some other online format.  But with a 4-year old kid around, and my computer being in the living room, I doubt I would get the privacy I would need to do so.

We'll just have to see.

Star Frontiers

The more observant among you might have noticed the slight change in the graphic that I use for the background of this blog.  Specifically, I replaced the image of the Champions cover with one of Star Frontiers.  I did this for a couple of reasons.

First, although I loved Champions, I never played a whole lot of it.  If I wanted to play supers back in the day, my go-to game was Marvel Super Heroes.  So, it seemed odd that I would include that where it was.  Then, about a month ago, I picked up the Alpha Dawn Expanded Rules for $5, and remembered that I played that game early on too.  In fact, it was actually one of the first non-D&D games I ever played.  And even though I didn't actually play it much more than Champions, it did have a more significant place in my gaming education.

Another reason I changed it is because I have recently become more interested in SF again.  As I said, I had gotten the book, but, with no one to play it with, it was just a novelty purchase.  However, on the OSR Gaming forums, there are a few players who post about it on occasion, and they pointed out a fanzine called Frontier Explorer.  It's available for free through DriveThruRPG, so I picked up all five issues of it last night.

Flipping through them on my computer, I found myself getting a bit excited by the game.  I want to play it again.  I even found myself wondering if I could write content for it, like I have been doing for B/X D&D.  No concrete ideas right now.  Just an urge to create.

So, once more my attention drifts off to other genres and games.  This is a very common thing for me.  Unfortunately, as someone who longs to be a professional writer and author, this is sometimes a detriment, and one of the main reasons I have a hard time finishing anything substantial.

Ah, well.  I'm sure it will pass, and I'll move on (or back) to something else soon enough.