It is the name of the game!

It is the name of the game

I have recently been discussing the good and bad points about Role-Playing with my friends. For a long time now I have favoured games systems which are rules light and in which character generation is quick and easy. I like systems which can easily be adapted to existing campaign worlds and to ones I wish to create myself. I also like to be able to use that system in a whole different set of times and genres.

For ages I relied on the most excellent Advanced Fighting Fantasy System which is currently published by Arion Games and which is based on the Fighting Fantasy Solo game books first written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.

For me having only three to four stats, Skill, Stamina, Luck and possibly either Magic or Psi depending on the setting worked well enough for me. A simple combat system and magic mechanic rounded of all my needs.

For my fantasy games I tended to use their own game setting Titan. For my modern setting I used information from Agents of F.E.A.R and House of Hell two of the early game books. The book Agents of F.E.A.R is a super hero game and supplies you with states for thugs and criminals whilst House of Hell is a Horror setting in a haunted house.

For my sci-fi games I turned to books like Starship Traveller, Rings of Kether , Space Assassin and Robot Commando. Between them they give you enough aliens, robots, mutants and space rules to keep any games master happy.

Recently I have discovered I can get similar results from using Brave Halfling Publishing’s Dagger system. It is an old school rpg based around D&D but it has been stripped bare and presented so that children as young as 5 can use it. I was impressed with it. So much so I now have four campaigns running using the same rules

One is a Forgotten Realms Campaign. As a side note Forgotten Realms and the work of Ed Greenwood first came to my attention in 1986 and the whole setting just captured my imagination. My main campaign in Forgotten Realms using 2^nd Edition Rules has been running since 1996 and my second Forgotten Realms campaign using 3^rd Edition rules has been running since 2001. Now I have a third Campaign suing Dagger Rules which I play with my wife and Children.

My second Dagger setting I created for my wife. It is called Hunted and is set in a World War Z style world except with a bit of fantasy flair in the form of as many different types of Zombie as I could find in the various monster manuals I have collected in 30 years of role-playing. This game is very much players vs hoards and hoards of zombies. I have used some of the weapons from D20 Modern and I am enjoying it immensely.

The next campaign I am running is for my Monday Night group and is set in the back drop of 2014 Britain but a world where the British Experimental Rocket Group is a reality and where programmes such as Doon Watch, Quartermass, the Scaryfyers and   Torchwood are all real and work behind the scenes to keep jo public safe. The group work for the BERG and are currently investigating the mystery of the Doorway to Nowhere beneath Spellbrook Church.

The last campaign I have created is called have created a campaign Pax Britannica and is set in a Steampunk 1890 setting which uses two of the new Osprey War Game books, In her Majesty's Name and Heroes, Villains and Fiends as source books. I have yet to run this one but I am keen to get going.

The main advantage Dagger has over other systems is that it is quick to play, makes the DM and players think and role-play with each other rather than rule-play or get too bogged down in how a situation should be resolved. In my game resolution is based first of description and role-play then by a d6 roll to get a 1-2 on a D6 in order resolve something the players are not specialised in or a role of 1-4 on a D6 in order to resolve something they are skilled in, lastly we use a D20 to resolve combat or make a saving throw. Its quick, it’s fun and above all we have a good time and isn’t that why we Role-Play in the first place.

If I need extra info for my dagger games or a class that is not present I consult Swords & Wizardry (another excellent game based on the original game or D&D), one of my original D&D books, one of my 1^st Edition AD&D books or even sometimes a 2^nd Edition AD&D book.

I will confess whilst I play most editions of D&D with the exception of 4^th I rarely mix third and 3.5 with my Dagger or Sword & Wizardry games. Well that was until Father’s Day this year (2014).

 

My Son and Daughter bought me for Father’s Day the complete Basic Fantasy RPG which as some of you may know combines elements of all editions from 3 backwards! I spent all week reading it and going over the modules and I am impressed to say the least. I have already created a character and I am raring to both play and DM.

Whilst talking about Father’s Day my Son ran me a game of Wilderness Warriors which is a game which takes elements of wind in the willows and Redwall and allows you to play sentient animals called Kind in a medieval setting. I play Bill the Badger also knows to fellow Adventurers as William Spellshaft. I am currently a 4^th Level Male Badger Warrior-Wizard. Again the rules are simple short and to the point. The game is about having fun, not min-maxing or been a rule lawyer.

 

So my point. In the end our games should be governed by three things: 1) Having Fun, 2) Exercising our Imaginations and 3) Building up a whole load of memories of which we can be proud. I know I love reminiscing about past adventures almost as much as I do having new ones.

Role-Play should never be about Rule-Play or proving who can create the most powerful and unplayable character. It’s about spending time with like-minded people and sometimes maybe just sometimes saving the world even though those around us do not know it.