Nuketown

RPG Blog Carnival

Crisis on Infinite Munchkins

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 9:31pm

Cover: Munchkin Cthulhu 4

Munchkin is a reality-mashing, planet-destroying “let’s see you try and save this Earth, Superman!” cross-genre machine. After 10 years of expansions, Steve Jackson’s opus to killing monsters and taking their stuff has incorporated almost every speculative fiction genre imaginable, all of which beg – nay demand -- that gamers combine them.

Given that this month’s RPG Blog carnival is about cross-genre mashups in role-playing games, I thought it was a good time to visit the best of these Munchkin crossovers.

The Lunchtime Game Master's Toolkit

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 09/21/2010 - 4:27pm

RPG Blog CarnivalWhen some co-workers and I decided to try our hand at a lunch-time role-playing campaign, I knew that game prep was going to be critical to making it work. But not the sort of game prep I normally did; this was all about the physical game prep.

We're playing The Day After Ragnarok using the Savage Worlds rules, and thanks to Ken Hite's numerous adventure generation tables, the scenarios practically write themselves. No, the part the essential part of making this campaign work was making sure I knew where my towel was.

Dice. Initiative cards. A battle map. Miniatures. I have all of this stuff in my game room ... but we're not playing there. We're in an under-ventilated, odd-smelling basement conference room whose only virtues are privacy, a table, and a dry erase board.

Gamer Traveler: Games & Travel Blog Carnival Roundup

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 7:28am

Games & Travel Blog CarnivalThe Gamer Traveler has posted a round up of the "Games & Travel" blog carnival from January 2010. This was a cool topic, and one I wish I'd taken the time to participate in (perhaps I will, retroactively).

While I think many campaigns tend to hand-wave away travel (perhaps after one too many random wilderness encounters during their Advanced Dungeons & Dragons days) it can make for some great adventures. Heck, one of our most memorable Star Wars campaign arcs involved our heroes bouncing out of hyperspace into a proto-star nebula. They barely escaped the nebula with their lives, the ship's outer hull having been melted into what we're now calling "star forged armor".

New Year's Gaming Goals and Resolutions

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Thu, 01/01/2009 - 8:30pm
RPG Blog Carnival

I typically don't make New Year's resolutions, but since my Dire Liege has asked for some, I find myself inclined to oblige him. Specifically, Berin Kinsman at UncleBear.com is leading January's RPG Blog Carnival, which is delving into "New Year’s Gaming Goals and Resolutions".

So here we go. I resolve to:

Run an RPG for my daughter: Jordan's been asking when she can start playing D&D. She's five, so I think it's a little soon to delve into the complexities of Dungeons & Dragons, but I'm thinking Risus would be a great fit, followed by Savage Worlds.

Attend Origins 2009: I've been to GenCon, but I've always wanted to go to the other big summer gaming convention: Origins. I've got a bunch of online friends who make it their regular game show, and hitting Origins is my only chance to see them. Plus, I hear Origins has a more laid-back vibe than GenCon, and I'm eager to experience it firsthand.