Considerations When Choosing a New RPG: Character Generation

One of the Utah Umbrella Corporation
Picture created by CMC Studio

In the previous article about choosing a new role-playing game (RPG), I covered considering the level of narration and game mechanics. I have another major point when looking at games for my group: character creation. I’m sure there are people who will disagree with my point, and they will be correct in their arguments. As this is a factor for my gaming group, it may be for your group. There might be other points to consider, and, then again, you might have a great group that will sit down and play anything.

How characters are created helps determine the success of introducing a new game to our table. System complexity is a contributor we have determined plays a major role in character generation. This, in turn, shows itself in another, and probably bigger, issue. Time.

System Complexity

Some RPGs have a lot of game mechanics. Mechanics can make a game easier or harder, depending more on the players rather than the rule set. This goes back to knowing who likes complete rules they can refer to and fall back on when determining how the game should be played. I have nothing against complex games. But, I also like games that are open to interpretation and have literally no rules to effectively use. You need to know where you and your group are comfortable when it comes to the level of complexity you enjoy. This is important because it will factor in when you’re building characters.

RPGs, like Top Secret(yes, I’m reaching back a few years), limit options for what characters are played—you are a human spy. There are also a smaller set of abilities and skills. Others have entire books depicting races, classes, and other abilities to choose from. You can restrict the number of works to draw upon. However, with the internet, a game master (GM) will probably be placed in a position to make a decision if a certain race, or class, profession, specialty, power, etc. would be allowed in their game. Be ready to address these questions.

A classic horror investigator

All of the classes or professions and abilities available should also be considered as part of the possibilities to be dealt with. Players want their character to be unique. They might be basing them on another character, but they want them to be original. They also want them to be the best they can be.

Being the best doesn’t always mean being the most powerful. Some of the best role-players I have seen like to create characters with dramatic flaws. So, here is another level of consideration you should have on character creation. What style of characters does your group like to play? If they have few or no flaws, then you have a different style of play than a group where everyone has something messing things up almost every session.

When you get to a point you have an understanding of your RPG group’s character styles, you have a better direction of what type of game they would be more interested in. Seriously, if you try to introduce a wacky cartoon based game to a group of avid Travelerplayers, it might not work very well. On the flip side, talk to your group and see if they would be interested in something completely different for a change of pace. I’ve seen a group embrace this level of change, even if it was for only a limited campaign.

Getting the Game to the Table

In my group, character creation is probably one of the major factors delaying a new game starting. You will hear a multitude of reasons, or excuses. But, it all comes down to time.

Contrary to popular opinion,, gamers are busy people like everyone else. We have jobs, school, family, and other interests competing for our time. Creating a character for a game they haven’t played before is only going to be a priority if it’s a game they want to play. Even if it is the greatest game to come along, the more involved the process is, the harder it is to fit it into our schedules.

You may want to consider making the characters yourself or using some pre-generated characters from the first one. This is one way of letting players get a feel for the RPG without investing their time into something they aren’t yet sure about. Then, when they see it is something they want to continue with, they will be more likely to create a character of their own.

Historical women pirates

Creating the characters yourself also gives a better understanding of the game system you are introducing. This allows you as the GM to provide comments to help the players understand the system and different options their characters have.

If you already have a lot of interest, set aside a block of time on a game night, or another night, for building characters. I’ve found this works better than having people work on creating characters between sessions in their free time (remember where their priorities are). This reduces a lot of frustration for those who want to get started.

If you are trying to get people started during their own time, they also need to have access to the material needed to create a character. Not many people want to go out and buy a new book of something they’re not sure they will want to play again.

A compromise I’ve used that has worked well is to give some basic information for people to think about. So, for example, one game we are looking at playing after wrapping up a current campaign is Planet Mercenary. Instead of giving a lot of information, we are giving everyone a brief handout/file about basics of the characters. No one is building a character yet. Instead we are coming up with character concepts. Then we will have a session where we will create the characters and the ship with its artificial intelligence.

This process takes longer. But, for a game like Planet Mercenary where you need people working together to create the initial starting parameters, this provides information in digestible chunks.

There are a lot of wonderful RPGs to be played. And more are being written. My hope is that you can find some you and your group will embrace and enjoy.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Book and TV Series Review, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and on Hulu

This is a guest article by Alisha Upwall.

Dystopian novels are a favorite of mine. Something about a bleak future with reminiscences of how good it used to be versus the stark reality of what a “better” utopian-esque society looks like is fascinating to me. Although Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985, the book has gained a resurgence of popularity, including a multiple award-winning TV series on Hulu that debuted in the spring of 2017 with a second season ready to debut on Hulu Wednesday, April 25^th.

The story follows the path of a woman named Offred who, like other fertile women, is forced to be a handmaid—someone whose role in society is to bear children, but not raise them. Due to an extremely high rate of infertility, the upper class chose to recreate their society based on Biblical ideas where husbands and wives who are infertile would use a handmaid to bear children for the couple. Women are forced into this role and raped monthly in a ceremony involving the entire household.

The themes are (obviously) mature, and especially with the TV series, they don’t hold back. As painful as it was to watch these scenes, most episodes included a fertility ritual—I was encouraged by how it was produced. These scenes were not sexualized at all. There is no nudity during the rape scenes and camera angles do not glorify what is happening. In the few episodes where consensual sex is shown, camera angles are completely changed becoming much more sexualized. Where there was no consent before, when there was, it was made obvious by how much differently the scenes were filmed.

Key differences between The Handmaid’s Tale versus other more recently published dystopian novels are the inclusion of flashbacks—people actively remembering how life used to be, and that the timeline for societal changes is short—within the last few years. Being the first generation to decidedly make immense changes to how their society functions, the flashbacks and memories about how the changes came to be are frequent and disturbing (especially as their society is eerily similar to current American society).

That the impetus for these changes was brought on due to concerns that presently affect our society made the premise of the story convincing—horrifying even—to consider how a small group of powerful people can change life for everyone. It also says a lot about our current society that some of our basic concerns haven’t changed as much as we might like to think in the last 30-some odd years. Women’s rights have improved considerably, but as political parties and groups vie for control even now over medical decisions for women (not to mention the ever-present rape culture, dress codes for school-age girls inching toward our more Puritan roots in some areas, and then there’s the #metoo movement) we still have progress to make. Atwood keys in on fears that power in the wrong hands could do real harm to all of us, especially for the more vulnerable in our society.

Interestingly, Atwood and the writers for the series do a phenomenal job at showing how this type of life and society harms women and families—the exact ones it says it will protect and provide for. The handmaids are revered in word, but in action they are treated as slaves. The upper-class wives are shown to deal with sharing their husbands sexually in extremely different ways (for even the same woman). From outwardly needing to show they approve of the situation they are in to those in authority or outside their social circles to inwardly and to close friends despising it—the pain these women face from sharing their husbands sexually is palpable.

Margaret Atwood

As the handmaids are trained in a center to ensure that they know proper etiquette for the monthly ceremonies they must go through, alongside having their wills broken (so that they will concede to being raped regularly), they are also called together to take vengeance upon members of the community who are found guilty of sexually assaulting a handmaid or not fulfilling her duty as a handmaid. This comes across as a cathartic release of anger as these women literally stone people to death. It also leads to a fantastic turning point in the story where these women take back power that has been wrested from them and stand up to the system that has repressed them.

While the first season of the TV series ends where the last chapter of the book does, it will be interesting to see where the writers take the story. The epilogue of the book, however, is where my reading was frustrated. Although the contents of the book are horrifying, there is hope that Offred will make it, that she will persevere and find freedom. In the epilogue though, it’s revealed that Offred’s story is from a collection of tapes found by historians years into the future. The writing style is so incredibly different—which makes sense as it’s part of a paper presented at a conference. The real problem I had was that in the end, Offred’s story is not her own. It is told by men who have carried on sexist cultural customs. It was disappointing that things hadn’t seemed to change much in society for women in the future.

What I did appreciate about the book and TV series was that the oppressed people in Gilead knew what they had left behind. They remembered because they either were of the elite who chose to create their society, or they were caught up in the gradual changes before they realized the ramifications, and it was too late. Although the changes the elite made were destructive to American ideals and society, there is an under girth of hope that things will change because they remember that life used to be different. Atwood makes a case for people choosing to take an active role in government to make life better for everyone.

Alisha Upwall is a writer and editor living in Riverton, Utah. She works when she should be sleeping, and spends her days reading, entertaining her daughter (with the help of caffeine), and making gourmet food for herself when everyone else is away.

The Handmaid's Tale is available on Amazon (link).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Considerations When Choosing a New RPG: Level of Game Mechanics

A few of my games

I’ve been asked how long it takes to get a game up and running when introducing a new role-playing game (RPG) to my group. This is a hard question to answer. What I’ve found is many times that is not the question they really want to ask. It usually comes down to one of two questions. The first is how quickly they can get a new game going with their group. Or, what would be the right game for their group.

The first question is a lot more of a directed conversation. Whereas, the second can be looked at a little deeper to determine what a group is like to determine what would be a good fit.

There is no one right game for all groups. What we are really looking for is the best game or the best style of games for our groups. Games one group enjoys will be shelved by another. I’ve seen this happen with games I’ve enjoyed, and also when playing games others raved about.

Finding a game for your gaming group means finding a game fitting the style of game they want to play. When looking for a game, people almost always have a genre picked out. They are at the point of figuring out which fantasy, espionage, space, or post-apocalyptic game the group would enjoy playing. Since you already know your group, it becomes your job to select a game that matches up with the dynamics, personalities, and desires of the group.

A few more games

One of the biggest considerations I've found of matching the group with a game is the balance the RPG has between storytelling/creation, and strategic elements/mechanics.

Level of Narrative and Strategy

RPGs fall somewhere on a line between narrative and strategy. In fact, every game falls somewhere along that line. Some are more reliant on the narration of events, where others use a mechanic to give direction of the outcome.

A pure narrative RPG is one where there is no need of dice, cards, coins, or any other item to help in the determination of success or failure of an event being played. When I was a kid, there was a camping game called Pass The Stick, or Story Stick, which is an example of a pure narrative style.

When holding the stick you tell the story. At any point in your story you can pass the stick to another person around the campfire and they continue the story where you left off. This keeps going until someone ends the story by bringing it to a conclusion or by throwing the stick in the fire. Most of ours ended in ashes.

Strategy based RPGs use game mechanics to help determine the outcome of an event. The mechanics are to give a random determination of success or failure. And there are rules or guidelines about how things can happen.

A random outcome to a task a player is attempting alters the story of the adventure. Most games using a level of strategic control use dice, although I have seen systems using other options. Dice are a lot more common and provide a larger range of control through the different sizes and the number used. Seeing if you succeed or fail at a task becomes the guiding structure for the story.

I have been in games where the determination of success or failure was the end of the description in the story. Other times, I've seen players use the random result to expand the scene of the story to provide details to color the events without changing the outcome. Neither is right nor wrong; it comes down to preference.

Knowing what level of narration and strategy your group likes will help in the selection of a game.

Getting the New Game to the Table

The level of complexity in the mechanics of your new game will determine how long it takes to bring it to the table. Simply put, the more rules the game has the more time it will take to learn them. There are people who are comfortable with allowing someone else know the rules, but there are those who want to know the rules of the game they are playing before they start.

Narrative based RPGs are designed to give more leniency on the structure to provide more opportunity for players to build the story as they play. If you have a group who likes doing this, it works. Don’t confuse this as meaning these players are more creative. A player who can develop an effective strategy is creative. It comes down to the style of creativity being expressed.

A different shelf

Games using a smaller rule set in this way is going to be an easier learning curve. It doesn’t mean it will be easily accepted or implemented, just easier to learn.

The more mechanics a game has, the more time you should provide for the group to become familiar with them. A large portion of this time is before sitting down at the game table. Whoever wants to be running the game should have a decent understanding of the rules. (Whatever the game calls the role of the person running the game doesn’t really matter. For simplicity I'm going to refer to them as the game master or GM.) The GM is the person who is managing the adventure the rest of the players are putting characters into. And, as the GM, this will be the person who makes the final decision on anything that comes into question during play.

In our group we also have a rules lawyer. In many groups this is considered a bad thing, but for us it works well. He enjoys strategy games, RPGs and others. Because enjoys strategy games, he likes reading through the rules to learn how it's played. When we are looking at bringing games to the table that are heavier on rules, he gets involved before we play. When we play, he provides clarification. The GM still has final say, but we have a solid path to walk on. He also helps in developing house rules that fit our group.

Some GURPS books

The better you can match up the game to your group on the scale between narrative and strategic gaming can make a big difference on getting to play the game at all. Some groups want more narrative control where other groups want to feel the success of winning the day through a dramatic roll of the dice. It is easy enough to figure out by watching how people play. Or, you can talk it over.

Another aspect I’ve found to be a good indicator of how a game fits with your group is when you are creating characters. This topic requires an article all its own.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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The Discarded Gem by Aaron M Lopez, D&D 5e Adventure Review

The kingdom of Halruaa of The Forgotten Realms is a place of magic and mystery. It is also a kingdom that has kept its mysteries from becoming widespread knowledge across Toril. Upon visiting the city of Halarahh the party of adventurers witness a mugging and are asked to recover the stolen family heirloom.

The Discarded Gemis the first of a series of adventures, The Brotherhood of Torment, written by Aaron M Lopez. This part of the adventure is designed for characters up to 4^th level. And to be completed in one gaming session of three to four hours.

I was given a copy of The Discarded Gem by the author for review purposes.

General Statements For Players and Game Masters (GMs)

The Discarded Gemis eleven pages of text describing the adventure and five pages of maps, player handouts, and additional GM material. The size of the adventure makes for an easy read through. Since it is also in a city setting with the encounter locations well described and mapped, this is a good adventure for a newer GM. This doesn’t mean an experienced GM will be bored with the adventure.

There are plenty of opportunities for roleplaying on both sides of the GM’s screen. Players have several points of interaction where non-fighting skills are needed. There is also fighting for those who want to test their mettle.

The Adventure (Spoilers, Information for GMs)

The Discarded Gemis the introduction into what looks to be a larger mystery. The characters are asked to help recover a stolen item. And, for this adventure, that is where it basically ends. There is a scene placing the party into the midst of greater events, but those events are only hinted at.

With The Discarded Gembeing set in the city of Halarahh, the encounters are with bandits. There is no need for the GM to learn the abilities or tactics of any monstrous creatures or races (unless you want to add them in for your own flavoring).

The encounter areas are well described and maps are provided in the locations where combat is planned for with the bandits. Other combat locations may be introduced based on what the player characters choose to do, and how they react. But, for the needs of this adventure, enough information is provided with references to the core rule books.

Our largest portion of The Discarded Gem was the role-playing aspect. Of the five scenes two are combat locations. For players who are more combat oriented, consider adding the element of the sense of danger and being on the verge of combat. This can be played up where they see the need to talk their way out of the situation where they are overpowered (like in the tavern). They are newer characters and in a kingdom like Halruaa, where magic is common, there are some “commoners” who may have resources not available to their counterparts in other parts of Toril.

Overall (For Everyone)

The Discarded Gemis a hook for a greater adventure. You can use the setup for the continuation of The Brotherhood of Torment from Aaron M Lopez, or you can use the information to create a hook for a campaign of your own design.

It has everything needed to set up and run the adventure with a short amount of preparation on the part of the GM. Seriously, an experienced GM could read The Discarded Gem the night before the gaming session and be able to run it. I never recommend doing this, but it could be done.

There is a good mix of roleplaying and combat available to give action to all the players around the table. Combat can also be easily adjusted to meet the needs of your individual party.

The game time fits into one evening of play. It is designed for 3–4 hours of gaming. For us, that included the plenty of time to complete everything and have time for socializing.

About The Author

Aaron M Lopez lives in Sumter, SC with his wife and two extremely needy cats and a full-time job that takes up most of his time. He started playing roleplaying games in 1978 and has been a fan ever since. Through the years Aaron has dabbled in fantasy writing, poetry and music while his love has always been for RPGs of all types. In September of 2017, Aaron completed his first published adventure for Fearlight Games’ Baker Street RPG titled “Cyanide and Faded Petticoats.” Since then, he has contributed to the collaborations “A Vampire and Cleric Walk into a Tavern” By Alan Tucker, and also to a collaboration by Travis Legge titled “Xyrouth” for D&D 5e. Aaron has recently started a series of adventures for Dungeons and Dragons 5e called “The Brotherhood of Torment.” Part 1 was released in February, 2018 with part 2 coming soon. Aaron is also working on a card game and has his own Roleplaying Game in the works as well.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Viking Games, and Pick Your Battle Game Group, Game (Group) Review

Looking for several games your family would be able to play, without learning a bunch of different rules for each one? Toresh Games (website and Facebook) has put together six family-friendly card games that are part of their Pick Your Battle game group.

I played Viking Gamesat SaltCon (website and Facebook page) 2018, which is one of the games in the group. There were four of us playing, one of which was Thomas Shepard, the developer of Viking Games and the rest of the games in Pick Your Battle.

Viking Games is designed for 2–7 players to last for 15–30 minutes. The concept is each player is a Viking throwing axes, up to three depending on the card, at other Vikings. You defend yourself with shields and once you take ten wounds you’re out.

The mechanic used for Viking Games, and the rest of the group, is a draw and play. The mechanic allows younger players to catch on easily and soon they can play their hand by themselves with little or no help from others. The game is listed for ages 8+, however, the age limit is more about the theme of throwing axes than in the complexity of how the game plays.

Each of the games use the same mechanic, but each provides something a little different in the strategy of the game. What makes Viking Games different than the other games in the Pick Your Battle group is you can obtain an armory which allows you to draw two cards instead of one.

 

The Pick Your Battle Game Group

Dodge Ball plays as teams.

Wizards and Witcheshas different types of protection to use.

Snowball Fight has double attacks after you get a pile of snowballs.

Food Fight has 10 different food items. These can be set up that players have to be hit by certain, or all, of the foods.

Water Fight has 2 different attacks and two different defenses.

The series of games can be used to introduce an additional level in game play to younger players. This gives them the chance to learn a new game without having to learn new mechanics to play. It also allows a variety of games to be played, which might help with older players, and parents, with game fatigue.

Art

The artwork and graphics are done by Christopher England for the Pick Your Fight series of games. His work is age appropriate with a splash of fun. Each card is soon recognizable for what it does or allows during the game. This makes the game easier to learn and play.

These Are Good Cabin Games

 

Each game is a deck of cards equal in size to two standard decks. This makes them easy to store in luggage, a box, backpack, camper, etc., for when conditions are more appropriate for being inside instead of outside. They only need a little flat surface, so they could be played on a small table or even the floor.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Pieces of Eight, RPG Review

The high seas are a dangerous place to make a living. But, the wind at your back and the salt spray in the air is the life that suits you best. You’re on deck next to the helmsman. It’s just past four bells on dog watch when a yell comes down from the crow’s nest. The man is pointing to the East. You raise the spy glass to look at across the waves. You give the order, “Call the Captain, we have Letters on those colors.” You’ll be able to attack out of the setting sun.

Pieces of Eight is a pirate role-playing game (RPG) written by Alan Bahr and published by Gallant Knight Games (website and Facebook). I was given a copy of the rulebook by Gallant Knight Games for review purposes.

The Game

Pieces of Eight is an RPG focused more on the narrative aspects of role-playing. Each player creates and plays a member of a pirate crew. The Narrator prepares the adventures and manages the game. The players can also take on the task of having the rest of the crew to manage when sea battles are engaged with ship-to-ship combat. Although, the characters they create could be a major part of sailing the ship for those situations.

The focus isn’t the strategic aspects of combat, it is more about how the characters play out and create the story based around the encounters the Narrator presents. And, the emphasis is on creating a story worthy of the characters. Think of Pirate movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Sea Hawk, and Cutthroat Island.

The Characters

Each player creates a character based on what they want to develop, or they can use a system of random determination presented in the rulebook. Each character has one major trait to define their character, cunning, dashing, noble, or stalwart. Each trait in turn has a set of skills to choose or determine randomly from. Each character has three skills from the set of their trait, and one from another trait’s skill set.

Traits and skills provide a basic framework for the player to develop a personality for their character. Characters of different abilities will look at tasks from a different angle on how to address the issue, giving the players, as a group, interactions when they have to determine how to overcome problems and address the tasks they are confronted with. The character’s trait also influences how the character fights.

Each trait has a particular advantage to be used in combat. Again, this means a cunning character approaches a fight differently than the character who’s dashing. This becomes important in a pirate setting because it would be a poor pirate story without swordplay.

Everyone has the Fencing skill. It is not just having the ability to fight with a sword, but includes a particular fencing style. Bahr has done a nice summary of five major fencing styles and how each provides a different “advantage” when the character is in a fight. These advantages combine with how the character’s trait influences their approach to combat, which provides another level of individuality between the pirates of your crew.

Game Mechanics

Pieces of Eight is designed using eight-sided dice. The number of dice used when determining success of a task is a comparison of a character’s trait and skill against the difficulty of the task. A small pool of dice (no more than eight) are rolled to determine if the needed number of successes has been rolled. This method is applied for all tasks.

Because Pieces of Eight is focused on narrative there is no need for rules for character level advancement. Characters advance through game play, as the story unfolds. This means there is no need to track a bunch of statistics. The Narrator has more flexibility and can allow a player to have their character gain a new skill if the pirate puts forth the effort to learn it.

Pieces of Eightalso contains information for basic ship sizes to allow the ship-to-ship battles to occur. This information fits in well with the rest of the setting. It is just as easy to determine the success of maneuvering a ship as it is to find if you were able to climb into the rigging.

The mechanics are straight forward and easy to learn. They give an outline for the event, determining success or failure. But, Pieces of Eight is about the story. Players, or the Narrator, use the outcome of the dice to help in the narration of events.

The adventures the Narrator can be based in other stories or from their own creation. How the players add to the story will make it uniquely theirs.

The Rulebook

Pieces of Eight is eighteen half pages, or PDF. I reviewed the printed copy. It includes character and ship sheets. The rulebook can be quickly read so you can have a game started within minutes of introducing this to your gaming group.

Art

Pieces of Eight is illustrated by Chris Yarbrough. His work focuses on providing the feel of a cinematic pirate adventure.

Overall

Pieces of Eight is a quick to learn RPG that has the ability to provide multiple gaming sessions. If you are looking for a historically accurate setting, there are a lot of details you could add. But, for a fun evening of creative storytelling Pieces of Eight provides the needed components to get a group to dive in.

I have enjoyed Pieces of Eight and expect to see future adventures at our gaming table themed with pirates.

You’ve watched as the ships steadily made their way closer to each other. You were spotted. But they haven’t tried to make a run for it. Instead, the ships have been riding the winds working for a strategic advantage. You are almost in range of the ship’s guns when Captain Leeson give the order to strike colors. A clamor runs through the crew on the deck as everyone sees the other ship does the same. Another privatneer. This looks to be a serious endeavor.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Deeply Dapper, Artist Review

If you’ve attended a comic, game, or similar convention in the Western United States in the past few years, you have probably seen a booth with a sign of top hat being worn by a tentacle. Below the sign exclaiming “Better living through tentacles” is a plethora of items made by Deeply Dapper, which any proud conventioneer will by interested in purchasing.

Deeply Dapper is the business name for a creative, and slightly warped, artist and his views on the fandoms supported by many in our community.

The Artist(s)

Kristopher (Kris) McClanahan is the man behind the art and the madness, according to his own statements. His creations have a wide range. In trying to summarize what is in the booth he and Lindsay, his wife, live in during conventions I find myself not at a loss, but a little overwhelmed.

The range of products available leads me to believe Lindsay is involved with the creativeness on display. Along with the creative side, it is clear they put in a lot of work to ensure they have products people are looking for.

The Art

Kris McClanahan

What first caught my attention were the fun pictures on display. I think just about every geek in our gaming community has some level of fandom they follow. At Deeply Dapper they give some straight up support of our favorites like Snake Plissken or Jareth, The Goblin King. There are also interesting twists on some well-known favorites such as The Satanic Mechanic, and the Dapper Monster Series including Mr Cthulhu and Mr Xenomorph.

Every time I see the booth at a convention there are new pictures making me smile.

Other Art Forms

Deeply Dapper art is more than just pictures to hang on the walls. They also have light switch covers and key hooks. Many of them have creative sayings to play off what we already know and quote when we are geeking out with friends. Potter fans could cast the light and dark spells of Lumos and Nox, while Zelda fans could pick up the keys because “It’s dangerous to go alone.”

The McClanahans have written and illustrated books fitting into the theme of their art. But you might be looking for something more portable.

Enameled lapel pins come in varieties to support varied taste. You could go out one day with The Power Gauntlet and around Christmas sport your Krampus pin. And speaking of Christmas, check out the Krampus and Sasquatch holiday cards.

You can also get a flask to hold oil for your beard or to drink your preferred potion from. These are covered with unique sayings, along with what you are already expecting to see. And the beard oils are fragranced to match their line of melting waxes and soaps.

The fragrances are what has me and others in my group coming back to the booth. Of course some of the fragrances are easy to identify by their name—there is bacon. Other, however, require smelling. Once you smell them, you know the fragrance, but it is hard to identify popcorn from a soap named “Loyalty” with a badger (maybe I need to talk more to a Harry Potter fan about that). One person in our group regularly goes back for the coffee fragranced soap. During my last visit, I had to pick up a bar of Shiver because it had lips. I’m anticipating using it.

The last time I ran into this fun couple was at SaltCon (website and Facebook page) 2018. I hope my soap supply will last until the next convention. If not, I will have to go online to get more.

Soap

You can check out the fun products Kristopher and Lindsay McClanahan are regularly coming up with by checking out Deeply Dapper (website, Facebook, and Etsy).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Towers of Conquest, Game Revisited

This is a follow-up to the review of Towers of Conquest I reviewed back on July 6, 2016.

I originally played Towers of Conquest at Salt Lake Gaming Convention as a prototype. When we played it then, the developers Troy Banks and Joshua Chinsky told us they figured it was still about a year out from production. This year, 2018, at SaltCon (website and Facebook page) Towers of Conquest was present some final play testing for the work they had put into it.

As a disclaimer, I would like to let you know that after SaltCon this year I was contacted by Troy Bank and was hired as an editor of the rule book. This has also given me more insight into the changes I noticed from playing Towers of Conquest.

The Original Review

I provided a link to the review I wrote in 2016 above. But, to summarize, I enjoyed the game. I’ve always enjoyed a good strategy game, and this is one.

Along with the written review, there was a film crew working on a documentary about artists at conventions who recorded an on-the-spot review from me and one of the other players, Zack Gardner (Tower’s website with video review). Zack is one of my “spies” at local conventions who steers me to games he’s enjoyed. He is also the person who got me to play Towers of Conquest.

The Differences I’m Seeing

Towers of Conquestplayed well before. The differences are polish.

Play has been expanded to include five players. This was something they were talking about doing, but they wanted to make sure to maintain the balance of the game. I didn’t sit in on a five player game, but I watched one. Troy and Josh succeeded in maintaining the balance.

They included a variant that was not originally part of the game in laying out the game board. In fact, we had talked about this before we played the game in 2016 and our group at the table was the first one to give that option a play-test. It seems to have worked out, since I saw that as part of the rules.

I don’t know if it was a difference, but the rules are still sleek. They allow for solid strategy play without constant referencing. I’ve mentioned before how I like strategy games with simple rules. The developers of Towers of Conquest told me originally, and recently again, they focused on keeping the rules simple instead of having a number of situational rules needed during game play.

Art

Towers of Conquest has great art and miniatures. Over the time they have been refining the game, they continued refining their artwork. I was shown how the figures were altered to give more durable pieces. They are stunning pieces and I heard more than one player at SaltCon mention how they would like to use the figures in their role-playing game.

Coming up

Troy and Josh are putting on the final touches on presentation. The game is a solid real time strategy game. They are publishing the game through BC Games and will be launching a Kickstarter campaign on May 5, 2018.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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