Now Playing: Celldweller's Birthright
Topic: RPGs
Last night, my buddy James ran me and the boys through his Savage Spelljammer game. That is, the Spelljammer second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons setting with the Savage Worlds rules applied to it. Spelljammer is a twenty-year old setting that essentially boils down to starfaring tallships with ogres, orcs, elves, etc. Savage Worlds, on the other hand, is a fairly recent addition to the world of roleplaying games having come onto the scene five or so years ago with a game system designed to provide "fast and furious" action.
James' game was awfully cool. Sadly, I can't talk much about it. He will be running last night's scenario at 2009's Fear The Con in Missouri. I promised not to ruin the fun of future gamers.
So instead of giving you a game recap, I will talk a bit about my character and make a few non-spoilerish observations.
I played a Saurian noble, which is to say a lizard-man prince. When generating the character, I wanted to build a strong fighter, fierce in battle. I desig
ned him to be the kind of guy you wanted to fight along side, but who was maybe a little scary. To that end, I took the bloodthirsty hindrance. He doesn't take prisoners. I also gave him the loyal hindrance. My character was loyal to his crew (though sometimes they must be consumed), his emperor, and his tribe. Everybody else gets the pointy end of the sword.
One additional hindrance I took was the annoying habit of humming. Humming a lot. All the time. When busy or slow, in relaxation or in combat, my lizard-man was humming.
It earned me a bennie. The first of two I got for the evening.
My character, named Klaronsaur, was dumb as a stump having the lowest smarts score you can have in Savage Worlds absent a lobotomy (d4). This became a significant concern for the others when James announced that my character would be ship's captain.
But if I've learned 
anything in this life, it's that you don't have to be the one who knows things. You just have to have scape goats... er... staff (or in this case a crew) who know things. Playing dumb comes easy to me. The other players cringed a lot through the game as Klaronsaur initiated first contact with two previously unknown alien races.
"We come in peace," My character might announce as we approach a foreign national's vessel. "Fire!"
It was a lot of fun.
I assisted Rodger with his character. He doesn't have much experience with RPGs. He played Skink (or as I often referred to him, "My Skink"). Skink was really everything that my character was not. He was smart and sneaky, wirey and agile. Our fighting maneuver placed Skink right behind Klaronsaur's massive form, using the lizard-man as a shield while Skink fired his pistol.
James used miniatures and a battle map. It has been fifteen years or more since I've played with minis. I forgot how much fun that is.
I am presently resisting the urge to buy minis. Shiney!
The Wife prepared two items for the gamers: Suzanne's World Famous Pesto Chees Spread (cream cheese, pine nuts and pesto topped with a red pepper ancho chile jam) and Suzanne's World Famous Chocoloate Cake. The chocolate cake earned me my second bennie of the evening.
Aaron ran an elf character who, though loyal to Klaronsaur, was fairly confident that he'd have to kick the lizard-man's ass shortly after the mission was over and they were all off-duty.
Silly old elf.
Rodger (left) rolls, firing his flintlock pistol, wishing that he wouldn't be spending the next two rounds reloading the damned thing!
...and of course, no game night is complete until Gary falls asleep.
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
