Howard's Conan

     So lately I have been reading some Conan stories. When I first began reading the stories when I was younger, it was the Acer (?) compilations. The ones where Decamp and Carter put all of the stories in order of when they occurred in Conan's life. They also changed some things around, so that they may make sense. I did not know this when I originally began reading them, so the unevenness of some of the fiction was just something I just accepted.

     Eventually I discovered the Ballantine Books Compilations, where they keep the original stories in the order Howard wrote them. It is amazing the difference between what Howard wrote and what was written to expand upon and fill in gaps. I recently read Conan of the Isles and Conan the Buccaneer (Decamp/Carter filler) before diving into The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian(original Howard) and the difference is night and day. The former is formulaic while Howard's prose is electric, full of energy but able to channel through different situations. Each story comes from a different period of Conan's life, be it as a king, a thief, or a mercenary, Howard portrays the character superbly. Tempted as I am, I will keep my Acer books since they have the typical Frank Frazetta art that just goes so well with the subject matter.

     Please leave a comment, I know someone visits this blog, but it would be nice to hear what you folks think about it. Thanks everyone and take care!

Paul Crabaugh's Customized Classes

     So, I just picked up a copy of Dragon #109 which contains the aforementioned article. I had this issue as a kid and loved it. Has anyone used this before, I just messed around with it back in the day, as I did not have any serious D&D group back then. The way it works is for every special ability or skill you want your class to know, it raises the experience points necessary to level by a certain percentage. The end of the article contains examples of different classes and how they break down, beginning with typical ones such as fighter, cleric, and magic user. It finishes up with orc, viking, fairy, and ubermensch.

     So I would really like to hear from anyone who has used this, is it worth working with? I also heard they put something like it in the 2nd ed. DMG. Please let me know and take care everyone!

WoW, Minecraft, and Diablo 3. Oh my!!

     Oh man, lately my spare time has been consumed by World of Warcraft, Minecraft, and Diablo 3. Minecraft has overtaken the other two, though I still dip my toe, so to speak, in the other two. Basically Minecraft is like a 3D lego land, and I am currently working on building a pyramid. I tell myself I am only going work on this one thing and soon it is two hours later. So, anyone out there playing anything that keeps calling you back? Let me know!

Things are interesting around here

     Work has gotten better and worse at the same time, I am re-certified but the my job may be drastically changed soon. This craziness has been reflected in my home life as well, but enough of that. This past Saturday we had some friends over and we played Carcassonne and Telestrations. There were six of us and it was so much fun.

     In other news I am getting my 4E D&D game back off the ground but would still like to try something different sometime. That is right Doctor Who rpg, I am looking at you! In the next several days I am hoping to try something new in this blog (well, new for this blog anyways) so please stay tuned! Take care everyone.

Playing with Strangers

     I am reluctant to pay to play games at conventions because of some bad experiences at one of the big shows. It just felt like "Here's four dollars, poke me in the eye.", but that has not been the case at smaller conventions were there is no charge for playing.

     So, the point to this post is, does anyone set up games offsite or in free play areas of a con? If I were to say I was running a game at a certain time at a show, would there be interest? I would feel better running a game where I was in charge and could say "Hey man, tone it down a bit." instead of feeling trapped at a table with a jerk or two.

     That is all for now, feel free to leave me some feedback.Take care guys!

Carcassonne!!

     So, instead of playing 4E this last time, my friends and I played Carcassonne!! It is a tile placement game where the players are building a landscape from southern France. The game ends when the last tile is placed and the winner is the one with the most points. A tile may have a road, city, farmland, or a cloister on it.

       When you place a tile you have the option to place one of your followers, or meeples, on it. If it is placed on a road, it is a thief and you get points once the road is completed. Once you have scored points from a meeple, it returns to you. A meeple in a pasture is a farmer and remains there until the end of the game when you get points for each completed city your farmer supplies. A meeple in a cloister is a monk and grants points when all tiles around it have been placed. Finally, a meeple in a city is a knight and once the city is complete, grants you points and returns to you like the others (except farmers). There are some exceptions but it is pretty easy to pick up and play.

     In addition to playing with my friends, I got my family to play and both times everyone had fun. I am always glad to find a game that is easy to pick up and teach others to play. I feel good about the re-playability of Carcassonne and look forward to playing again soon!

    

Origins, Carcassone and the Doctor Who RPG

     So, I managed to get to Origins this past weekend for one day. Went on the family pass, so it was mostly shopping the dealer's hall and visiting with friends. I got to meet Wil Wheaton and get his autograph which unfortunately this cut into my hanging out with friends time, but was worth it to meet one of the "ambassadors of gaming". I forgot my decision to do more planning regarding these convention visits so started setting things up for this years Gen Con. Seriously, this is planning ahead for me. I am hoping to meet other bloggers there, so if any of you are bloggers and are attending Gen Con 2012, let me know!

     My big dealer's room finds were the Carcassone big box (main game plus five expansions!!) and the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space rpg, both for half price. I have not played Carcassone yet, but I have been reading up on the Doctor Who game and plan on running it with my family this weekend. I will let you know how that goes, along with Carcassone. Take care everyone, and please leave comments!!