Woo hoo! We're number 1!

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070602/D8PGPTPO0.html

Sigh. Sometimes Texas sucks.

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The advantages of limiting character options

There was an interesting thread on the Treasure Tables web site about limiting character options when you start out a role-playing campaign. Most of Treasure Tables seems to deal with D&D, but a lot of the concepts carry over. I used to keep things more or less wide open when starting a new campaign, particularly for Champions (the usual kind of "let the players come up with PCs, then find a reason for them to unite as a team" kind of thing). But I'm coming around to the story advantages of limiting character options at the outset, giving more focus to a campaign. Below is the comment I contributed to the thread:

I’m coming around more and more to the idea of limiting character options based on the campaign concept. It can actually be a big boost to interest and creativity if done right.

I play Champions, which is, of course, something of a different animal than D&D. Due to the nature of the game, you will typically have a few general guidelines as things start–a point total, a campaign city, and general guidelines as far as level of lethality.

My face-to-face campaign started along these lines. The primary PCs started with 250 points, including disadvantages (this was during 4th edition–it would probably be 350 points now), and all were tied to San Angelo. I ended up with a mage, a firefighter-turned energy projector, and an armored guy. They crossed paths during the first adventure and eventually teamed up, and the campaign has lasted on and off for several years. The upsides include flexibility for the players and a wide variety of play options.

But other games have taught me the value of more specific guidelines and how they can add value. In one of my favorite face-to-face campaigns, all the PCs had to be beholden to PRIMUS (a U.S.-based SHIELD-like organization) in some way, and they ended up under orders as a sort of second-tier superhero team. The initial structure of the campaign was much more limited (they went where their boss told them to go), but the campaign relied much less on coincidence to bring the heroes together and gave them real room to grow (for example, when they began to suspect that their boss wasn’t such a good guy). I run a PBEM campaign where all the heroes work for Disney and have Disney-themed powers (not really tongue in cheek, just corporate heroes and spokespeople, like Doctor Tomorrow who has gadgets and equipment reminiscent of Tomorrowland). It wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but the strong theme and limitations on character backgrounds really helped boost the players’ creativity in some areas and have helped to make for some cool storylines.

Sometimes adding restrictions can really help to get the creative juices flowing.

To carry this back to D&D, I could see a campaign based around the concept “you are all members of the duke’s elite guard” or “you are all performers for a traveling carnival” or “you are all dwarven soldiers separated from your regiment by a purple worm attack” as being more interesting than “you are all adventurers who met in a tavern.”

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Worst album covers ever

My eyes! My eyes! Browse through some of these (not entirely safe for work, by the way). Some of these gave me a good chuckle.

I'm including thumbs of a few of my "favorites" below.

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RIP, Lloyd Alexander

I just read some sad news from Heidi MacDonald's blog, The Beat. Lloyd Alexander has passed away. The Chronicles of Prydain, with their adventures of Taran, Eilonwy, Gurgi, and the rest, were a huge and important part of my childhood. I am sorry to hear of his passing.

On a more positive note, I look forward to sharing these books with Alex and Zack when they get older.

This cover is from The Book of Three, the first book in the five-book series that was Alexander's most famous story.

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Archie Sims

I'm a big fan of Chris's Invincible Super-Blog. He started a new meme based on a picture of him holding Archie comics. I decided to take his picture to the next level... Yeah, sort of creepy, I know.

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A special gift

For anyone who's been looking to give me that special something, this would be a hell of a lot of fun to drive down the highway.

You can buy it here.

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Oops

My Monday started off rather poorly. I was about to pull into the office and stupidly bent down to pull my badge out of my bag. The street was more or less deserted and I wasn't going all that fast (maybe 20 or 25 miles an hour). But I turned the wheel just enough and at just the wrong time to smash into the curb and the storm drain there. This had the unfortunate side effect of making my tire explode and bending the crap out of my wheel and hubcap.

Did I mention that this is my second flat in about a month? Or that the car has the unfortunate "feature" of hubcap locks for which I've lost the key? I had to have it towed to the tire place. And my back is still sore. Grrr.

At least I didn't have quite as much driving trouble as my buddy Jeff Hebert. Sometimes I think we were separated at birth. But Jeff, I'd like to amend your post. #2 should read "If the person looking back at you is Rob Rogers or Jeff Hebert, then you're an idiot driver."

Sigh.

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Mirna and Schmirna

This article in the Deseret Morning News perfectly sums up what drives me nuts about Charla and Mirna on The Amazing Race.

The part about them being ugly Americans is particularly on-target. The way they talk to cab drivers and others they encounter is despicable.

Great show. I can't wait until they're no longer a part of it.

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Rest in Peace, Marshall Rogers

I just read the sad news that Marshall Rogers, an extraordinary comic book artist, has died. The story included few details, except the fact that he was quite young--age 57. He was always a favorite of mine when I was younger, and I always wondered why we didn't see more of his work in later years.

What a shame.

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The Simpsons: funny couch gag

I'm not usually a huge fan of The Simpsons. I enjoy it when I see it, but don't go out of my way to see it. But this clip of an intro to a recent episode gave me a good chuckle--watch what Homer has to go through to make it to the couch.

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Check out cousin Owen

In addition to being nice, adorable, and incredibly brilliant, my cousin's son Owen is apparently quite the dancer. Check him out strutting his stuff in this fun video. Way to go, Owen!

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Thundarr the Barbarian

This was one of the coolest cartoons ever. Part sword and sorcery, part Gamma World (a beloved game from my teen years, likely beloved in part because of my love of Thundarr), all awesome.

I'm kind of afraid to watch an old episode since it might not be as good as I remember. But I kind of want to, too. I have a feeling that Alex would love this one.



Thanks to Jeff Rients, whose blog put me on to this.

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The new Cap?

This is quite possibly a hoax or something that will last an issue or two. But seeing as the idea of the Punisher as Captain America got my buddy Jeff so riled up, I figured I'd have fun posting the image. You can read a minor story on it here. Would it be terribly wrong for me to say that the picture is kind of cool, even if it does have that whole 90s vibe of big guns and oddly positioned ammunition, bandoliers, and pouches?

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Hero City characters

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out this cool post (and cool art) from Jeff Hebert especially since he mentions me. I've let the Hero City campaign die off a bit, but intend to bring it back in a month or so. I really have fun with it. Check it out.

Since Jeff uses three images on his site, I'll use one he left off, also by him, for CrashTest. Check the link above for the other three.

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And the laugh riot that is Funky Winkerbean continues ... again

When I was a kid, a pipe burst in my closet and I got a lot of flooded stuff, including a box or so of comics. Shortly after Dina and I married, I had another leak of some sort that ruined another couple of comic boxes in our apartment.

Both of these occasions sucked. Ruined comics = bad times.

A whole store filled with ruined comics sounds absolutely terrible. Almost as terrible as the "keep my head above water" punchline.

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