Ever since the introduction of fourth edition, I’ve been defending the system against claims that it doesn’t allow for real role-playing. These criticisms have comes from multiple types of RPGers: hard-core story gamers, D&D 3.5 power gamers, and everyone in between. My argument is simply that the rule set does not dictate the gaming experience (although certainly it sets the tone: a hundred pages of combat rules means the game designers expect your characters to fight). There’s nothing in fourth edition, I argue, that makes the game more or less conducive to role playing than D&D 3.5 or Shadowrun or World of Darkness or any other game with an elaborate combat system. In fact, I think that the fourth edition DMG is written with an emphasis on building an enjoyable story that was notably absent from its 3.5 counterpart.
The game has been out for long enough now where I’ve played and DMed more than a few published adventures. Unfortunately, most of these adventures give credence to the assertion that fourth edition D&D is nothing more than a glorified combat system or miniatures game. I’ve played all of the 1-1 RPGA modules and they range from appallingly boring to merely uninteresting. They are uniformly a mishmash of combats and gratuitous skill challenges. The few that add some role-playing bits into the mix tend to run long, so the role-playing part gets blown by in order to finish the module on time. Keep on the Shadowfell, as written, was a whole lot of combat grind and not much else. Yawn.
Now I’m starting a homebrew campaign and it’s time to put my gold pieces where my mouth is. I’m a seasoned gamer who’s played my share of storytelling games and rules-heavy RPG’s. I’m totally rules-agnostic and prone to using DM Fiat. I’m much more worried about creating an engaging narrative for my players than about following the letter of the rules. since this is my first homebrew campaign under fourth edition D&D, however, I’m intrigued: can I create and run an ongoing fourth edition D&D campaign that isn’t hack and slash using the techniques outlined in the Dungeon Master’s Guide? If I can’t, why not? What needs to be tweaked or changed in order to make it work? Most importantly, are those changes so fundamental that I’ll be forced to admit that the rule set does not in fact support a story driven role-playing experience?
Wooohoooo! Richmond Wrecking Belles smashed the Oakland Outlaws last night at Herbst Pavilion, 96-64. The Outlaws were undefeated going into this bout, so I was a little nervous - but Richmond's defense shut down the mighty Oakland jammers and Oakland couldn't return the favor.
My day job as an interaction designer involves a lot of user research. I recently did a project for an online music distribution service where I talked to a bunch of "music junkies" in the SF Bay Area about the way they listen. I was surprised to find that most of my participants (all btwn 18 and 35) were still pretty album-focused - even though they're mostly listening on computers or iPods, where other sorting methods (artist, genre, playlist) are easily accessible. It's a listening paradigm that's deeply entrenched in popular culture.
"It's like the Ramones had sex with the B-52s."
I made myself a promise when I bought my shiny new ESP. It's a "real" guitar (the first I've owned, really) and I'm going to learn to play it for real. I've been faking my way through with power chords, a couple of scales, and a handful of open chords for years. I've essentially treated guitar like a bass with teeny strings that are close together. My technique is terrible. That was OK for recording (ah, the magic of digital editing) with my cheap Les Paul and Strat knockoffs, but I've reached the point where my lack of ability is really starting to hurt my songwriting.
Back in 1996, I had a PowerBook Duo and a Newton. The Powerbook had a little application called "Jared" that lived on my desktop. It was, at the time, the second most awesome piece of Mac software I had ever seen, right behind the Talking Moose. The app was simple: double-click the icon and a little smiley face would sing an execrable song in Italian or Spanish or something. No matter how crappy my day was or how much drama I was in the midst of (usually a lot), Jared was always there to provide me with 55 seconds of awesome.
I've been working on mixes for two of the 13 songs I have earmarked for the next record. Composition, arrangement, and primary recording don't generally take me that long - maybe 40-50 hours per song, soup to nuts. Sounds like a lot for four minutes of music, but it starts to look more reasonable when you consider what's involved: drums, bass, two or more guitar parts, synth parts (sometimes none, sometimes as many as five or six), main vocal melody, harmonies, and lyrics.
My latest 2-year commitment to Verizon Wireless expired last week. Phone tech has come a long way in the last two years, so I've been thinking hard about what I want for my next upgrade.
- Strong signal reception
- Compatibility with my existing bluetooth headset
- Contact sync with the Mac address book
- Task sync with iCal (ok) or OmniFocus (preferred)
- Calendar sync with iCal and gCal
- Mobile Web access
- Full keyboard, Graffiti, or handwriting recognition
- Camera sync with iPhoto
- MP3 player
- Mobile versions of desktop apps like Word
Richmond Wrecking Belles vs. SF She-vil Dead at Herbst Pavilion last Saturday night. Not a great night for San Francisco. Richmond outscored them by more than double: 113-42.
I'm sitting in The Man Room (my own private sanctuary that probably deserves its own post). My MacBook Pro is sitting here on the desk next to my mini-painting setup. I am listening to U2's Unforgettable Fire. Before that, it was playing The Smiths' Hatful of Hollow. I am painting a miniature for a D&D game coming up on Wednesday.
Substitute "boom box" for "MacBook Pro" and "this weekend" for "on Wednesday", and you have pretty much my last two years of high school.
Reckon I'll put Joy Division's Closer on next, to complete the experience.
