Five Games I Seriously Want to Play

Hey, folks!

I made a small list of the games I really hope to be able to play anytime soon this year, and why (this is by no means a review of each game, just a small description of each). If you haven’t checked out these games yet, maybe you should, since I think they are awesome.

Dungeon World

Based on the amazing system of Vincent Baker’s Apocalypse World, Dungeon World is one of the most interesting games I've seen in a while. It takes dungeon-crawling to a whole new level, creating an experience that is both similar and very different from D&D, where everything you do from the system has a direct impact in the fiction, regardless of the character failing or succeeding at the roll.

What I like about this game is that when your character advances to a new level, it’s not something you do to just be able to hit the monsters better (you pretty much have the same chances to do that from Lv1 to Lv10), but that you gain more interesting things to do with your character. So, leveling up it’s not about being a more competent character as it is to be a more interesting character. I just love that.

Eternity

Currently in open playtest, Eternity is a GM-less game where players take the role of the Vast (gods) and their Pantheons (followers, scions, anointed priests, etc). It proposes an interesting dynamic where players have to bid with Story Points and bride each other in order to make the story advance the way they want, with rolls only entering the picture when there is no possible agreement between players.

Fortunately, I already have a group of friends to try this one out, so I’ll probably make a more detailed post in the coming weeks.

Monsterhearts

One of the most original ideas I've seen in a while for a roleplaying game, Monsterhearts is based on the already mentioned Apocalypse World. As the author describes it, it’s teen sex horror story, inspired by series and movies such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jennifer’s Body, The Secret Circle, True Blood and the like. But, unlike Buffy, it’s not so much about fighting the supernatural (after all, Buffy has its own game for that) as it is about building relationships among the characters: they may love or hate each other (probably both), but what matters is how they interact with each other and other NPCs. And, on top of that, there is supernatural horror awesomeness to sweeten the pot.

While I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the genre (but I do like True Blood, and watched The Secret Circle until it was canceled), I love this game because it proposes something different for a change, a chance to return the clock a little bit and explore adolescence and sexuality in a new light (a very, very dark light). 

It has been a while since I don’t see a game offering me such a new experience, rather than a remake of the same genres over and over again. And just for that, Monsterhearts is the game I want to try out most from the list.

Tenra Bansho Zero

A game of hyper-Asian fantasy (as described by its own author), Tenra Bansho Zero is the second Japanese tabletop RPG translated to English  mixing a classic system with some interesting indie innovations (the amazing thing about this game is that while it was written over a decade ago,  it feels fresh and modern by today standards). The setting features the war torn land of Tenra, based on the Sengoku period of Japanese history.

What I love most about this game, it’s the so called Karma System, which is inspired by Buddhism. Every character has certain number of Fates, which represent things he cares about (“Loyalty to my Lord”, “Death of my father”, “In love with my Lord’s daughter”, “Avenge my brother”, “Find my lost sister”, etc). As the game moves on, character gain Karma (remember that in Buddhism, all Karma is bad; good/bad Karma is Hindu). If you ever reach 109 or more Karma, your character becomes an NPC Asura (in a nutshell, a dangerous sociopath). In order to lower their Karma, characters have to change or remove their Fates. Basically, more you attach to things in the world, closer dangerous it gets.

Now, I must confess I’m cheating a little bit on my own list, since I've already played this game. I had one of the most rewarding experiences in my gaming life while storytelling a 4-session scenario to a group of friends (that adventure had everything: redemption, vengeance, damnation as one of the characters had to become an Asura in order to defeat the final boss, high packed drama… everything). I had so much fun that I hope to be able to run another game of Tenra Bansho Zero soon.

Weapons of the Gods

A fantasy wuxia game set in a mythical version of ancient China, based on the manhua of the same name by Tony Wong. It has a very innovative system with some very interesting concepts, not all of them related to kung fu (for example, Loresheets, which represent how your character’s story entangles with the rest of the world).

All I know about this game is from online reviews, but the copy I ordered should arrive next week, so maybe a do a full review at some later point.

What people who know about the game may be wondering is why I purchased Weapons of the Gods when there is a new version, Legends of the Wulin (with another setting, since they couldn't keep the license). I've played Legends of the Wulin, and while it’s an interesting game and I have lot of fun with it, there are several things about it that didn't click on me. It’s not a game I could run as a GM, but I think Weapons of the Gods is.

Doodle Sage Press website is up!

After much consideration, I've decided to open a new separate website for my publishing company, called Doodle Sage Press. If you want to know more about my upcoming games, you should go there instead. Meanwhile, Daystar Chronicles will be used to talk about the RPG industry, to post reviews of games I like and to upload homebrew.

If you want to go to the Doodle Sage Press website, you can clic here or use the link found on the top green bar.

Recycling the Blog for a New Beginning

I can’t believe 3 years almost elapsed since I made this blog, which unfortunately didn’t last for long since my interests and obligations kept me apart from updating it as I originally hoped I’d be able to do. Back in the day, this was supposed to be a place for me to post and share my Exalted 2nd Edition homebrew (which you can still find in the Downloads section, by the way, I haven’t removed it). That was all. 

But, a lot of things happened since then, both in my personal and gaming life. In the personal life spectrum, I finished my major in cinematography and I rediscovered my love for writing comic books which, among other things, lead me to work (up to the day) as a teacher on the subject. I joined several writing projects that unfortunately didn’t bear as much fruit as they should have, but I’m still kicking, so that’s the important thing here since I’ve learned a lot from every single one of them.

In my gaming life spectrum, which is the focus of this blog anyway, I went through different phases and styles. I tried games that I wouldn’t have even dare to touch 3 years ago. I loved some of them, I hated others, but the important thing is that I learned a lot about what I want from a roleplaying game, both  as a player and as a GM (specially the later, since that’s  what I do most of the time). What I found was very different from what I wanted when I started gaming back in 2003, to the point I can no longer enjoy many of the games I loved back then. But, regardless of that, I think these changes were natural due to my personal experiences in life and I’m quite happy with how it all ended since I consider that my roleplaying life is nowadays broader and richer than how it was before.

Since I don’t want to bore you all (I must confess that I’m actually quite surprised that you are still reading this blog entry by this point… here, have a cookie, you earned it), I’m going to talk about the important stuff: my plans for the blog.

As the title of the entry says, I’m going to recycle this blog. I know I could just make another blog, but since I like how this one looks (plus I like the name), I’ve chosen to keep it.  From now all I’ll be using the blog to talk about my personal experiences in roleplaying games, share my homebrew content for third party games (like I previously did with Exalted 2nd Edition) and, most importantly, to talk about my own roleplaying game projects. One of the things I realized is that my love and enjoyment for roleplaying games has only escalated with each passing year, to the point that now I feel the need to start working on my own projects and share them with my fellow gamers. In the coming weeks I’ll be talking about what games I have in mind (maybe post a small draft for playtest), so that everyone who cares can contribute with their own opinions.

Anyway, I don’t want to borrow anymore of your time. I just hope you are at least a little bit intrigued to take a peek at the blog in a couple of weeks and see what’s going on here.

See you around!