Two years ago I kicked off the group's ACKS campaign. Admittedly, that because the group quickly burned out on playtesting D&D Next and the huge swing of introduced changes. I kinda picked up the DM reigns by default.
Last spring I decided to run the DCC RPG. The adventures were a hit, more so than the system. So, after a half dozen sessions or so we moved on to Swords & Wizardry Complete. I really enjoy running S&W, as it means I have to refer to the rulebook minimally during our game sessions. I've also been getting to play as a player again on occasions, which has been awesome.
The thing is, I'm getting that itch again.
I'm actually thinking I'd want to run Stars Without Number, but set it in a universe heavily influenced by Warhammer 40k, at least for flavor. God know I don't know shit for cannon. Or set it in a Star Wars universe where the Empire overwhelmed the rebels en mass, and the players get by by giving the finger to the Empire when they can, sucking up to it when they can't.
Yep, some darker sci-fi.
Or maybe some post-apoc with Other Dust.
That might be really cool!
Or maybe this too will pass...
Man, I get game books to strip mine. I got Other Dust and Stars Without Number expecting to rip out anything interesting (I absolutely HATE making equipment lists, for example) and doing a space-based game with one of my many systems. But, wow. Those books are so well done, so evocative, so alluring, that I actually considered running something in that system in that setting. Which is a really rare thing for me.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah. Excellent books.
If you want to flirt with dark sci-fi without committing to a campaign, I recommend Lasers and Feelings. =)
Must be something in the air as I just put Other Dust and Grandfather's Rain on my phone for reading on the go. I really like "the points of interest" method of mapping dungeons used in this. I'd really like to use SWN and Other Dust to run a Living Steel campaign.
ReplyDeleteOther Dust is a great game, that isn't talked about nearly enough!
ReplyDeleteOther Dust is pretty cool and does seem to suffer from a lack of attention.
ReplyDeleteI really want to get Other Dust. But something inside me wails in pain at the thought of a $20 pdf.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as Narmer, for some reason if a PDF is over $10 I get uncomfortable spending the money. Yesterday I purchased Cartoon Action Hour for $15, and I think that was a little high.
ReplyDeleteI get that creators gotta eat, but for some reason that $10-$15 is my threshold for PDF's.
PDFs ought to be free samplers to entice you to buy the real thing and various adventures, etc. I won't pay for PDFs.
ReplyDeleteThis works until a substantial portion of your audience stops even wanting print, and thus has no reason to pay for anything but a PDF. I.e., about 3/4ths of my existing audience. I can make a lot more money by letting the won't-buy-PDF customers walk past me than I can by letting the won't-buy-print customers drift away.
DeleteAs for the $20 price, it's a long-game choice. I don't have to make a sale today. I don't even have to make it tomorrow. So long as a customer eventually decides he wants it, it's there for sale- and if he's categorically against a $20 PDF, then he's probably the kind to wait for XMas In July or a Bundle of Holding sale. With the eternal backlist that PDF/POD provides, there's zero pressure to frontload sales before my titles get pulped or returned by a conventional retail channel.