End-of-Week Denmark (8/24/18): Mars Attacks!

I'm getting back into the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories about John Carter of Mars, which of course reminds me of Warriors of the Red Planet by Thomas Denmark and Al Krombach. I also decided to do a late pledge for the John Carter of Mars RPG that was Kickstarted recently. Someday I'd like to run a WotRP campaign, using the JCoM content as a resource.

Of Gaming, Raging, and the Dying Light

Did you ever watch professional wrestling, especially the old WWF?

Do you remember those matches were the "good" wrestler (aka the Face) would be nearly defeated, on his knees, being beaten down by the "bad guy" (aka the Heel)?

Do you remember how the Face would suddenly get a burst of defiance that made him seemingly invulnerable, shrugging off the blows of an unbelieving Heel? How the good guy would rise to his feet again, eyes wide with righteous fury as he shook his head at the now-ineffectual attacks of his enemy?

I want to be the Face. Only instead of wrestling, my arena is roleplaying.

I'm being eaten alive, folks. From the inside out. Sound dramatic? Perhaps. I AM indeed a dramatic person, and I'm not ashamed of it. What is life if not spiced with a dramatic flair, I ask you?

The Curse of the Collector

Over the last few months, I've become increasingly worried about myself. I've taken to staring at my RPG and board game collection longingly. I never wanted to become one of those sad ex-gamers who just collects games but never plays them...but I fear I AM becoming one after all.

You see, I'm still collecting RPGs. I just invested in two more games in the last week or so. One of them is the latest incarnation of the Lone Wolf Adventure Game box set (just the words "box set" make me incredibly happy and tingly with excitement...no sweeter words exist for an old-school gamer than box set, IMHO...) The other game is the new edition of Warriors of the Red Planet.

What made me buy these latest games? When it comes to Lone Wolf (which I just featured in my first-ever unboxing video), the justifications leaped through my mind: "It's very rules light, you could get a game up and running in no time! Come on, man, let's play SOMETHING already! Let's play with your kids, with your old friends, with SOMEBODY! Call that FLGS a few towns over and tell them you want to use their space and get some new players! Gimme a fix, man!"

Yes, a fix. I'm in withdrawal. The simpler the game, the more likely I could fit some sessions into my schedule! I love everything I've seen of Warriors of the Red Planet, but seriously I don't think I could handle even the relative simplicity of those rules (which I would say are no more complicated than Basic/Expert D&D).  Lone Wolf seems my most likely path!

Farewell to All Things Fun in West Berlin

I've also been depressed by the fact that my beloved All Things Fun game store in West Berlin, New Jersey has closed its doors. There are so few of those incredible FLGS havens in my neck of the woods, the closing of one is a huge blow to the gaming community here. 

During the several years I was gaming there with friends on Wednesday nights, a grand time was had by all! I hadn't played an RPG for years, and ATF was the perfect place to return to the hobby and meet new gamers. It's also the place where I got to game with some of my favorite game creators, the Troll Lords!

Fare thee well, All Things Fun! I salute you!

The Gamer Shall Rise Again!

But forget all the hand-wringing, the gnashing of teeth, and the lamentations you just read! I'm determined to rage against the dying of the gaming light! As the roleplaying gods are my witness, I'll never go gameless again! 

It's time to rally like the Ultimate Warrior! 

It's time to kick ass like Ragnar Lothbrok (did I mention a new season of Vikings starts tonight)! 

It's time to fight on! To roll on! TO GAME ON!

Thanks for indulging me. If you're feeling something similar to what I'm experiencing, I'd love to hear from you!

Coming Soon: New Edition of Warriors of the Red Planet RPG

The new year just started and I get to share some really cool news: the Warriors of the Red Planet RPG is getting a new edition! 

I picked up the beta when it became available about a year-and-a-half ago (sheesh, where does the friggin' time go, eh?) and was impressed with it, so much so that I connected with some folks (including the creators) on Google Plus. I didn't actually do much in the way of playtesting, but I did read through it and engaged in some house rule conversations with the other Marsophiles on Google Plus.

So...I guess you would call the upcoming version the first, official "full" edition? Whatever you call it, I have full confidence that Messrs. Krombach (of Beyond the Black Gate fame) and Denmark (He of the Many Blogs) will deliver an incredible game! Check it out, and get your a$$ to Mars!

Time to get my a$$ to Mars (with Warriors of the Red Planet)!

 

I love the OGL, man. It continually gives us an ever-growing smorgasbord of D&D variants, such as Warriors of the Red Planet! This is, of course, a sword & planet variant of the rules! Awesome, another bit of useful house rules that I won't have to create myself ;-)

 

This is the softcover beta of the rules you can get from Lulu right now on the cheap. The game's creator - Thomas Denmark of the WotRP, Original Edition Fantasy, and Studio Denmark blogs (and creator of the Dungeoneer game) - has been working on this for a while, and to be honest I had all but given up on this game seeing the light of day (not because of any failing on Mr. Denmark's part, but just because the development was taking so long).

 

But I'm glad I was wrong! I have had some time to read through, and it's pretty cool so far. I hope to have a full review someday, as soon as I can get to it.

 

This thing has me so excited about planetary romance that I had to break out my copy of the gorgeous John Carter of Mars collection illustrated by Thomas Yeates. Hmm, might be time for a re-read!

 

Anyway, I would love to find some time soon to help playtest these beta rules. Yeah, seriously, this has me so excited (as does the Dungeonteller game, which also just hit the streets) that I might need to come out of my current roleplaying hiatus! Stay tuned...

I watched John Carter...

...and I didn't think it was that bad. Certainly not as bad as it's been made out to be.

 

I haven't read A Princess of Mars in ages, so I can't attest to how faithful the film was to the source material. But hey, isn't it possible that some folks, having seen it, might have been drawn to read the original tales? If so, I'd consider the film a success.

 

And you could do worse than Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris.

 

All of this had made me eager once again for Warriors of the Red Planet!

Regarding All Things Martian

I've been meaning to get into some sword and planet stuff for a while now, long before word of the upcoming John Carter movie hit the streets.

(And why can't they call the movie John Carter of Mars?! Just calling it John Carter seems really stupid.)

I was in the Barnes and Noble near my work today, and as I was heading back to work I spotted a really awesome-looking John Carter of Mars collection sitting in the bargain book area. Here's the cover:

Awesome, right?! I flipped through this thing and it is full of incredible illustrations, just a beautiful book! I am definitely going to go back and get it ASAP. It's good for me that the thing is a bargain book, but it makes me sad to see a big stack of beautifully-crafted classic collections going unsold. Maybe the movie will fuel some interested in the John Carter stories. If you can find this thing, take a look and tell me if you don't think it's sweet.

Note: I already have a Science Fiction Book Club collection of the books, but it don't look nothin' like the one pictured above!

On a related note, has anyone else heard of Warriors of the Red Planet? It's an RPG that seems to have been quietly under development for some time now. This also looks pretty darn cool! (UPDATE: I just figured out that Al of Beyond the Black Gate is the mind behind Warriors of the Red Planet! Duh, me!)

Oh, about the movie: what I've seen of the previews looks encouraging, and I'm holding out hope that it will be good.

That's all for now, earthlings!