Category: Gaming

Today’s topic is Favorite RPG Website/Blog.

I don’t really go to many. The long-time RPG forum sites have an unfortunate toxicity which turns me off, and the only blogs that I visit tend to be personal blogs of friends which occasionally feature RPG content. For the sake of this question, though, I’ll count the latter category.

I’ve found that my favorite RPG content on blogs comes from Steve Kenson’s site, which often features wonderful material for super-hero gaming (as you might expect from the designer of Mutants & Masterminds and Icons). His “Re:Animated” series (click the tag on his site), where he examines episodes of superhero animated series with an eye toward what lessons can be learned for superhero gaming, is especially worth digging into.

Here’s Dave Chapman’s video entry for the day:

Today’s topic is Favorite RPG You No Longer Play.

This will be a short entry from me — the truthful answer is “any of them,” because I have not had the chance to play or run an RPG in literally years. It’s something that I really need to do something about.

That depressing answer out of the way, let’s check in with Dave Chapman, with special guest Cat Tobin of Pelgrane Press, for today’s video entry:

Another odd one today: Favorite idea for merging two games into one.

The fuck?

I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of smashing together two games — settings, sure. I’ve done that tons of times. But merging two games? Aside from lifting the occasional cool mechanic from one game for use in another (I have a system for using FATE-style Aspects with Savage Worlds, for instance, which I’m considering releasing in a published product down the road), or playing a game with rules I like, using the setting from a game which has a less-than-stellar rules set, I can’t really envision doing it.

Actually… as I’ve been typing this, I’ve thought of a merger which would definitely interest me: Take the astoundingly complete (700+ pages) STARBLAZER ADVENTURES, the “rock-and-roll space opera adventure game”, which used the original version of the FATE rules with a license for a UK anthology comic series of the 70s/80s. I worked on that game, and I’m very familiar with it. The license has expired, so all of the comics-specific material would have to be excised, but the space opera mechanics for FATE were really excellent. I would take those, bring them in line with the newer FATE rules (perhaps some elements of FATE ACCELERATED, too), and come up with an original setting that reflects late 70s/early 80s space opera. That would be fun.

Would I consider that my “favorite idea”, though? Again, not sure I have a favorite.

Dave Chapman has some ideas…