You're My Inspiration

Once a month or so I head to my local used book store. I love a good used book store.  They are great place to find old gaming manuals. Also the selection of fantasy and sci-fi novels are always solid. A few of my better scores include Conan, Tarzan and Princess of Mars novels.  

On my last trip, I came across an old mass market Elrick paperback novel. I hadn’t read any Moorcock but his work has come highly recommended so I figured what the hell.  The cover art was dope and the description seemed solid enough, so I bought it. Boy, am I glad I did. The book entitled “The Stormbringer,” is a collection of short stories of Elrick’s adventures.  If you aren’t familiar, Elrick is an albino elf that wields an evil runesword. Man, it’s soooooooo good.  

 I gotta tell ya, nothing gets my role playing engine running like reading great sword and sorcery.  My dicehand starts shaking and my mind begins to race. How my character would react to the situations presented in the stories? I ponder the stats of Elrick’s companions as well as the evil do-ers.  Man, I gotta play!!!

    

Where does it come from for you as a GM or as a player while creating a new PC?  Maybe you’re favorite film character, a novel perhaps? Share your inspiration here with us! 

How Did Your Games Go This Weekend?

How did the rolls treat you this weekend? Did you pass all of your skill checks? Were you able to defeat all of your blood thirsty enemies? Have you started your Starfinder campaign? I would love to hear all about your games!

As for my weekend, Our 4th edition party was betrayed by a clan of Zain-Kin (ape men) to a powerful dragon that rules a lost city. A good old fashioned "sense motive" check might've helped...But no! 4th edition only has something called "insight." Insight??!? The hell does that mean? Thanks for nothing, 4th edition.

Tonight, we head back to Sea Side City for some further adventures in our Spirit of 77 campaign. Looking forward to all that madness!

My First Starfinder Character Build

I've been pouring over the content of the Starfinder book for almost a month now. I can't say I've read the book cover to cover yet, there is just too much info to digest but man is it a good read. The effort and execution is pretty flawless. Game play seems simplified and streamlined. I dig the lore and the history Pazio has created. Now it's my turn to add to their creation. It's time to roll my first character.

The first decision I made was my character would not kill. Why? Well, I thought it would be a fun challenge to roll play. How would this type of character be received by the party? How would he/she deal with an especially cruel or bloodthirsty PC? I would deal damage but I would be non-lethal. I pictured he/she carrying a stun weapon (ranged) and a whip used to disarm enemies. A whip! IN SPACE! How cool is that! I pictured either a young and naive explorer who is more interested in knowledge than dealing death or a grizzled old warrior that has seen enough death to last a thousand lifetimes.

I knew I wanted to play a Ysoki. I liked the idea of play a loud, fast talking rat folk. I pictured Joe Pesci's Leo Getz from Lethal Weapon.  The next two choices came a little slower. I normally play magic users but for some unexplained reason neither of the magical classes spoke to me. I was however drawn to the operative class. I liked the amount of skill points offered (8+INT MOD) and the different builds provided. I could play a quick witted thief, or a cunning spy or a thrill seeking explorer out for glory. In Starfinder, a player must pick a theme for their character.  I think this is a nice touch because it gives the player a chance to breath life and creativity into their PC. I chose a spacefarer because I liked the +1 CON bonus and I felt the build fit nicely with the explorer operative.

And there you have it! My first Starfinder PC is a Ysoki/Spacefarer/Operative that refuses to kill due to a higher moral code. This should be fun. Next week, I will share the nuts and bolts ( ability scores, weapons and feats) with you guys. 

 If you are reading this, please tell me all about your first Starfinder character.  Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.  

#TBT My favorite PC

First off, I want to welcome and thank all of you for checking out the blog. I have been humbled by the amount of likes and shares on social media. I hope you continue to check out my little corner of the RPG universe.

Recently I was catching up with a dear friend. Our conversation eventually game around to the 4th edition D&D game we played in together for almost seven years. Yep, you read that correctly. I played 4th edition and I LOVED IT! Granted the game was wonky in spots, trying to keep up with all of the pluses and minuses that came up in combat was damn near impossible. Despite the cumbersome rules our GM crafted an adventurous world for our PCs.

Personally, I enjoyed this campaign because it was the birthplace of my most memorable PC, a minotaur barbarian named Dutch (after Arnold Schwarzenegger's character from Predator and yes, I did the Arnold voice in character, albeit poorly.) Dutch was the definition of a savage, raging, blood thirsty barbarian. The young warrior got his party into many unnecessary combat encounters due to his quick temper and bad attitude. It was an amazing roll to play. I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Unfortunately, Dutch didn't survive. He met his end in a long and drawn out combat secession.  Dutch was going toe to toe with another warrior. The blows exchanged that day were mighty. Both warriors fought bravely for their Gods but on this day Dutch was the stronger combatant. The powerful barbarian gained the upper hand in the battle due to his "blood rage, " meaning he dealt more damage when blooded. After that battle, the party's cleric ask Dutch if he could attend to his wounds. Dutch, very much the bullheaded minotaur declined. He gained more satisfaction from the extra damage he dealt then from a few measly HP. Dutch ran off to engage another but was cut down by the blade of the vicious pit fighter.

I was sad when Dutch came face to face with his god, Bane. However, I was at ease with his death. It's never fun to lose a PC but Dutch's bloody death was very much in the spirit of the character. At the end of the day, that's all that matter.

Now, this post can't be all about me. I would like you guys to tell me about your most memorable PC. Also, if you enjoy what you are reading, follow and share. Thanks!