Why my next campaign won't be using 2D20

Last Night's 2d20 game

I've been playing 2D20 for a while now; First Age ran Conan and I followed up with Achtung! Cthulhu which is wending its way towards a conclusion, most likely in the new year. I've also had flirtations with Star Trek Adventures (1e) and Dune along the way. 

I'd consider myself competent enough running the game now, but I do find that the fiddly differences between the games a little frustrating. The core mechanic is sound and I quite like the meta-game elements like threat and momentum and fortune points, even while I wish that the application of them was consistent between game systems.

I do have Dune 'Fall of the Imperium' which looks like a fantastic campaign (I reviewed it here) but I don't think that it's going to be what I offer next, as I'm feeling fatigued with the 2D20 engine. I think I've played too much of it recently. I will potentially offer Star Trek Adventures at North Star next May if Dr Mitch and I come up with a third part to the 'Echoes' game we ran previously, but I've no other definitive plans at the moment.

Although I like the core mechanics, I do find that the games struggles to really threaten the characters. Across the 20-odd sessions this year, there's probably only been two that have felt that I was putting them in any form of peril; I know that Achtung! Cthulhu is meant to be pulp derring-do, but sometimes it seems to either assume that the characters haven't really developed or that they need to succeed with relative ease. However, I do suspect that the feeling from the other side of the screen may well be a bit different and the players may well have been feeling higher threat levels.

My feelings on this aren't anything to do with the way that Shadows of Atlantis is constructed, despite my previous moaning. I do think that this is a different and interesting campaign which I've enjoyed running, despite the challenges with the writing and structure. 

I will return to the game engine, I just feel that it's time to step away for a bit. 

You can have too much of a good thing.

3 December 2024

Books in November 2024

 

November's reading - cover collage.

Seven books and 2,841 pages in November. Two non-fiction, one roleplaying and the rest fiction. Apparently I'm down by one book but up 32% on pages on October. I'm on 92 books and 28,240 pages in total for the year so far.

The first non-fiction book was Empireland, by Sathnam Sanghera, which explores the impact of the British Empire on Britain. Absolutely fascinating and demonstrates that our multi-cultural society is a reflection of the way we went about conquering large swathes of the globe, and we can't really step away from that. It also explores around the strange way that the UK ignores the British Empire in its school curriculums. Recommended.

The second non-fiction book was Checkmate in Berlin by Giles Milton. This explores the history around the occupation of Berlin at the end of the Second World War and then follows the story through to just after the Berlin Airlift. It's part of my ongoing reading around this space, and will definitely inform any games of Cold City that I ever run! Again, recommended.

The roleplaying book was the Faded Suns Character Book, the second core book for the game. I did find this heavy going as there's loads of lists, but the system itself is pretty simple. I may post some comments about this in the future once I've read the GM's Book.

I re-read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Alan Garner) and enjoyed it as much as ever, describing as it does one of my favourite places in my home county with a cracking tale of adventure. 

I enjoyed Francis Spufford's alt-history Cahokia Jazz, set in a world when much of the Native American cultures haven't been wiped out by disease. It presents as a murder mystery, but it also explores the ways that the colonial immigrants to the USA set about wiping out native cultures and influence. An enjoyable story, well worth exploring.

Service Model is one of Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest. I can't believe how prolific he is. The story tells the tale of a robot valet trying to find purpose when his master dies in suspicious circumstances. It expands out to explore the collapse of society in a story that had me hooked.

Finally, I read Jeff Noon's Vurt, which was recommended to me by my friend John. Partly cyberpunk, partly, partly weird reality, the book drew me on all the way through a surreal tale of adventure. I'm still not a hundred percent certain what happened, but I definitely enjoyed it. I will look up the sequel.

Overall, it's a toss up between Cahokia Jazz and Service Model as my favourite new reads.

1 December 2024