D&D 4E: "Wizards in +20 Godplate..."

Way, way, way back when the latest edition of Dungeons and Dragons debuted many criticisms were leveled. One criticism that I partially shared was the notions of Wizards wearing plate armor. Granted, when the criticism was leveled it was along the lines of wearing Godplate armor. Hence, the title of this post.

As a relatively long-term Dungeons and Dragons player, the notion of Wizards wearing plate armor was a little taboo. However, that particular setting aspect could be ignored for the coolness factor. The major concern was balance. After all, Why wouldn't a Wizard wear plate armor?

Being an early champion of Fourth Edition, I had answers. Since Wizards weren't proficient they'd have to purchase the feat proficiencies. Which if the player wants to play a decent Wizard the character is unlikely to qualify for the feats. Counter-argument: wear the armor unproficient. The penalty isn't all that bad. With little play experience under my belt, I couldn't provide a valid counter.

Since that time, I have played a Wizard quite a bit in Living Forgotten Realms. With all that experience, I have come to a conclusion. It matters. Keeping track of bonuses and penalties is a pain. Even with the accounting, every penalty adds up especially when a characer does't have that many bonuses to begin with. So why not wear godplate? You can but the character won't be as effective.

Sporadic Gaming

Once again, long time and no post. I have procrastinated on making a declaration because I hoped it would only be a temporary situation. Alas, that is not to be. Unfortunately, I am no longer a Tuesday Night Gaming regular. Scheduling conflicts prevent from gaming Tuesday nights with no end in sight. Which is a same as I was looking forward to Mikel's new Rifts campaign this summer.

What does this mean? Well, for starters I don't have a regular game nor game group. That has led to drought of gaming material to discuss on this blog. While I still have gaming topics to discuss, I decided to post my gamer status quo change before discussing those. In a nutshell, whatever gaming I do won't be regular and has to be open to a less than reliable attendee. Right now the game that has filled that void is D&D 4E LFR. Furthermore, once again I'm considering getting into Magic the Gathering.

So with that out of the way, posting should resume to its usual odd pace.

Won't get to partake in FCBD on FCBD

Saturday, May 1st is Free Comic Book Day 2010. Alas, this year I decided not to attend my LCS for the event. One, other priorities preclude my attendance. Two, unlike last year there is no PointCon this year so one less reason to have the weekend clear. Three, the LCS said that it would pull one or more of the offerings for me. So even though I won't be able to attend the actual event, I'll get to enjoy some of the free comics at least.

Perhaps in another entry I'll discuss the pros and cons of FCBD at my LCS.

RIP Carl Macek

As a kid, I remember watching Robotech cartoons. In many ways, shows such as Robotech are the reason why I'm a fan of anime as well as english dubbed and edited anime today. Recently, the man who created Robotech, Carl Macek, passed away. This blog post is my tribute to Carl Macek.

Two more blogs added to blog roll

Within the last couple weeks I added two more blogs to my blog roll.

James Mishler's new blog, James Games, since its his replacement for his now defunct Adventures in Gaming blog.

Jim & Ruth Keegan's Two-Gun Blog - Even though I haven't read or purchased Dark Horse rendition of Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kan in quite some time, I was always a fan of the Adventures of Two-Gun Bob strip.

RIP Dick Giordano

Comics professional Dick Giordano passed away recently. In honor of his contributions to the comics medium, I just want to pay my respects via my blog.

Previews (aka Diamond) and Cancellations

One feature I liked about the Previews Costumer Order Form was the list of cancellations in the back. I appreciated knowing whether or not a particular item was late or cancelled. Now there were times when such an item would show up, which made gauging the list's accuracy difficult. Furthermore, reading the cancellation list could be tedious at times cause not every product would concern me.

Then one catalog came and the list was gone. I understand the need for space so I accepted the change. Since I have had cancelled items in the past, I went to the Previews site as suggested by the order form. To my frustration, there was not section that conveniently listed cancellations. Modifications, yes. Cancellations, resolicitations, lateness were not readily apparent. In other words, if I want to know the status of a particular item I have to ask the retailer.

Incredibly frustrating.

A ton of Anime currently on Hulu

Just want to mention that right now, Hulu has added many new anime shows within the last couple of weeks. Honestly, there's more anime on that site than I have seen before which is one reason why I'm mentioning it. Another reason is that as a not-quite casual, not-quite otaku I am excited that at the moment many anime shows are readily available. Its also good news for anyone on a budget. So some anime reviews/thoughts will come.

GM's Day Sale at OBS sites

Sometime between March 3rd and 8th is GM's Day. To celebrate many companies are offering discounts on select PDFs. Over at OneBookShelf sites such as RPGNow and DriveThruRPG the discount is generally 25%. I believe Your Games Now or whatever the site is called has the same discount.

Why am I mentioning this? One, I do not benefit from plugging these sales whatsoever. Its a conversational point for me. If I do purchase some PDFs due to the sale, its now a conversation point having mentioned the sale prior. Second, I am thankful when companies discount their products. Such a gamble does not always pay off and may hurt sales in the long-term.

Marvel Digital Comics pt 1

Since its inception, I have planned on purchasing a subscription to Marvel Digital Comics. After a year, I finally purchased a subscription. Has it affected my purchases? Not so far. But then again, I have considered this for quite some time. Sure I don't buy as Marvel as I used to but that is as much a reaction to the product as it is to anything else. Furthermore, I have come to the sad conclusion that I am more likely to read a comic online than I would in print.

Not that this is the end of trades and pamphlets. I'll still buy and, at some point, read them. This is just a new and, perhaps, better means of sampling comics.

More later.

Facebook and RPGs

A recent blog entry at Wondrous Imaginings mentions the growing generation gap concerning social media. Towards the end, Joethelawyer asks a series of questions about role-playing games and Facebook. Rather than comment there, I decided to do so here.

How much do I use Facebook for RPG-related social interactions?
While I use Facebook for some RPG-related interactions, I don't use it very much.

Do you use it for some types of interactions but not others?
Yep. Facebook is not set up to foster actual play. Well, it could do play-by-post but would only work as a private group. Facebook is excellent for organizing events and getting vague idea about attendance. I have seen Facebook used as method of conveying general campaign information via private groups.

Do you find it useful for...?
Facebook is useful for organizing gaming events and can take the place of group emails to campaign participants. As for the exchange of RPG ideas, I don't think so. One, the sample pool is too small. Second, I haven't seen much of any discussion of ideas unless someone either linked to their blog or displayed the contents via a note.

Got my copy of the Doctor Who RPG

Recently, my copy of the latest Doctor Who RPG arrived at my LCGS. As both a gamer and Doctor Who fan, I perk up at the mention of either an adaptation or RPG dealing with our favorite time lord. Way back, I picked Time Lord. Overall, I thought Time Lord wasn't a bad game. What saddened me was a lack of character creation rules. So I never played or ran it. It also didn't help most of my friends at the time had no experience with Doctor Who.

The current batch of folks I game with are familiar with the good Doctor. So when Cubicle 7 announced that they had the Doctor Who license, I was excited to order a copy. Now, I didn't expect to play or run it. I just wanted to have a copy and show to those who were at least familiar with the property. With that said, I was delighted when my copy of the boxed set arrived. At some point in time, I'll probably provide a review of some sort although I don't know if it'll have play experience included. That's really up to my gaming group.

At least I got to research my character more...

On Tuesday, I expected to game for the first time in three weeks. Alas, that was not meant to be as the game was cancelled. On the bright side, I got to pour through the Star Wars Saga RPG core rule book. The usual d20 ritual of examining the pros and cons of various options commenced. While I am not done with that character, I am a lot further along than I otherwise would have been.

Then tonight I had the option of going to the local gaming club and ... chose not to. Problem with gaming clubs is that unless you're a part of a game, its hard to justify going to one during winter. Maybe next week as its been awhile since I attended last.

Human Target

Last week, I watched the first two episodes of the Human Target. So far so good. Its a nice action/adventure show about a bodyguard named Christopher Chance that, as the name implies, makes himself a target. Jackie Earle Haley (I think) who played Rorsach and will play Freddy Krueger also stars as a regular. So that is two performances in adaptions of DC Entertainment properties.

Honestly, I am not all that familiar with the character so I don't know how faithful the show is. I never read the earlier comics nor the most recent series from around 2004-5. DC is releasing a 6 part mini-series, which if I get it will be via trade paperback.

For those that are interested in reading a little bit more of the early (circa 70's) comic book appearances of Christopher Chance, the blog Diversions of the Groovy Kind has a snippet or two.

3 Weeks Off, 3+ Weeks on Gaming

Haven't posted much recently. Some of that has to do with my schedule. Some of its motivation as I haven't been in a blogging mood. Some of its content. Due to scheduling conflicts, I have not been able to attend the Tuesday night gaming group. What makes me happy is that my schedule allows me to attend the next three weeks worth of sessions. Possibly more.

The group has decided to play Star Wars Saga Edition and Vampire the Masquerade on alternating Tuesdays. I have come up with two bare bones concepts for both games. For Star Wars, I am thinking about playing a human soldier type whose a rifleman. For the Vampire the Masquerade game, I am playing 13th generation Ventrue whom was (is?) a director at a local hospital. He appears to be middle-aged and was a former surgeon before his promotion to management. Notable Disciplines: Dominate. A neonate only recently released from his sire's stewardship. I no longer remember the proper terminology.

Doctor Who on Youtube - the link

Awhile ago, I mentioned that some classic Doctor Who stories are available on YouTube. At the time, I didn't provide the link. Since that time, and courtesy of the blog HeroPress, I now present said link. Here it is.