No, I'm not talking about the work slowdown currently underway by the kobolds of Stonehell Dungeon. I'm talking about a free skirmish game written by xwardukex over at Fear No Darkness.
FEAR NO DARKNESS:DUNGEON STRIKE is a miniature skirmish game set in the dungeon. Encompassing aspects of the dungeon crawl, board game play, and quick-to-learn mechanics, the players take on the roles of dungeon adventurers running amok in a small delve. Traps springs, monsters lurk, magic awaits discovery, and there's a good chance you'll end up dead. In other words, a perfect old school dungeon crawl.
I got to playtest DUNGEON STRIKE at Retcon a few months back, and it was an utter blast. The game can be completed in an hour or so, making it a great way to kill time when Billy is running late to the game again and keeping everyone waiting. Best of all, it's free! I recommend you check it out by downloading it here.
You'll need some six-siders, a battle mat or dungeon terrain, and some minis, but we all know you've got those hanging around anyway.
Showing posts with label non-roleplaying gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-roleplaying gaming. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Search for Plastic Toys from Our Youth
There seems to be something in the air of late. Old gamers
are casting about for clues regarding the plastic fantasy toys they played with
or heard about in their youth. Dan Proctors is looking
for some and A Field Guide to Doomsday has had a childhood
memory identified. It seems I’m no different, because I’ve had an itch that
refuses to be scratched for some days now and I’m appealing to you for help.
Back in the 1980s, I had a playset of plastic figures
roughly equal to scale in army men. I think they might have come with a vinyl
play-mat, but I cannot be certain. The set was a mix of different fantasy
creatures, with each cast in a single color. Now, from what I can recall, one
of the figures was the spitting image of a shambling mound, complete with
carrot nose. There was also a “magma man” figure that seemed to be living fire
and molded in appropriately red plastic. There may or may not have been a
dragon figure and other plastic landscaping pieces such as trees and rocks and
perhaps a dragon’s den. I certain that this isn’t some fever dream remembered
as truth and that I did in fact own this and perhaps other sets of the same
ilk.
Does this strike anyone as familiar at all?
EDIT: Whoops! After looking for days and posting this, I stumbled upon a clue. I guess it was the lava man who looked like the shambling mound!
EDIT AGAIN: Nevermind. Answered my own question.
EDIT: Whoops! After looking for days and posting this, I stumbled upon a clue. I guess it was the lava man who looked like the shambling mound!
EDIT AGAIN: Nevermind. Answered my own question.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Mike’s Mid-Week Gaming Tour
For those of you in the greater New York and Long Island area looking to log some gaming time before the weekend, you’ve got two options to not only do so, but to do so with me.
Tomorrow night, I’ll be running D&D Gamma World as a place-holder in between the last D&D Encounters campaign and the next one. The regular DM is out-of-town for the next two weeks and I volunteered to run the only 4E-related game I own to keep the home fires burning until he gets back. So, if you want to give the latest incarnation of Gamma World a whirl and have free time between 7PM and 9PM this Wednesday, drop by Brother Grim Games and Collectibles in Selden, NY. I’ll have pre-gens ready to go.
Secondly, I’ll be attending the Gamerati Tour 2011 stop at The Compleat Strategist this Thursday in NYC. It’s been at least ten years since I stepped into the Compleat Strategist and I’m looking forward to pressing the flesh and playing some new games. The tour stop runs from 3PM to 7PM and you can get more information either here or at the Mule Abides.
I hope to see some of you there!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
All Next Week: School's Out for Summer
What with the edition kerfluffles and the coming End Times, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to turn the Society's attentions on games that do not fall comfortably inside the OSR's tent. Watch in horror as Mike turns in his old school membership card with posts on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week! The Old School's out for summer. Maybe even forever...Monday, June 14, 2010
Game Until It Hurts
What a wonderful weekend. You know you’ve been doing some real hardcore gaming when you find yourself physically and mentally exhausted come Sunday night.
On Friday, one of the Watchfires & Thrones players and his wife, another recently-contacted gamer, and me got together for some tabletop games of the non-roleplaying variety. The evening finally closed down around 1 A.M., but it was fairly educational in regards to new, unplayed games.
I discovered, for instance, that I’m some sort of dominoes savant despite not having played the game since I was in short pants. Of course, there was much less trash talking back then too.
Apples to Apples, a game which I’ve often seen on the shelves of numerous stores but never played, turned out to be a great way to get to know your friends and the twisted logic that runs their day-to-day existence. Scoring points for sheer irony also helps make the game a real winner.
The only loser of the bunch for me was Set, which I initially chalked up to not having the necessary mental sharpness to make sets of cards based on attributes they either share or lack. Two-and-a-half hour’s sleep in the previous forty-eight does not a Set master make. The more I think about it, though, I come to realize that my lack of enthusiasm for the game is based on its lack of strategy. The game is all about skill and experience, and there’s no way for an unlucky run or the random unpredictable actions or planning of a rank amateur to upset the course of the game. In the end, it breaks down to four people staring at a bunch of cards and occasionally saying “set!” That’s not my bag, man.
Despite that little drawback, the night was a great one and we’ll definitely be meeting again sometime for more gaming that allows me to actually participate rather than adjudicate. Of course, the night couldn’t end without the subject of a second irregular roleplaying night coming up and being tentatively slated for later on in the summer. That’s a good thing; I’ve got more ideas than the Labyrinth Lord game can handle and I’d like to run a few up the proverbial flagpole before they all die intellectual crib deaths.
Saturday was mostly chores and prep for Sunday’s game, but a gross neglect on my part was addressed. The same player who hosted Friday’s shenanigans had previously asked me about a used bookstore in my hometown. I had to admit that I simply had never been inside the place, although it was often on my mind to investigate it. On Friday, he reported that he and his wife had visited the place and discovered a wonderland of used paperback books. They were planning on visiting the store again on Saturday and offered to meet me there.
Let’s just say I’ve been kicking myself for the last two days as punishment for not going there sooner. I picked up a Ramsey Campbell collection of his Cthulhu Mythos short stories, the third Thieves World book, Three Hearts and Three Lions, and The Forever War for under ten bucks. I would have walked out with much, much more, but the slush pile of books next to my bed prohibits me from buying any more novels until I work through the backlog. But I shall return.
Sunday was Watchfires & Thrones day and, after having to cancel last week’s game due to a failed save vs. poison incurred by some undercooked beef, I was anxious to get back into the swing of things. The game flowed and it was one of those games where much territory was explored and a few fights got crammed in before the time ran out. Unfortunately, our longest-surviving PC is now no more, having proved the adage that it’s best not to play with electricity unless one is wearing rubber boots.
Those of you who read the Archive of the Rotted Moon have no doubt noticed that most of the game recaps feature photos taken during the actual game sessions. It certainly is nice to have a Minister of Propaganda for your gaming group and Rob (also known as Fandomaniac on the OD&D Discussion board) provides photographic evidence of each week’s meet to help entice others to join in on the fun. You can tell which weeks he had to miss because we don’t have pictures of it.
This week, however, introduced a new aspect—video. Rob recorded a few minutes of game play during a fight against the Alien-esque Tomb Herd Broodmares and a snippet or two of that might soon be appearing online. "I Hit It With My Axe" we are not but feel free to check it out once it’s live and nitpick my referee style. If I had known we we’re going to be videotaping the session, I would have shaved.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I’m still feeling creatively drained from the last three days, so I’ll be recouping and trying to get a few blog posts written today to get myself caught up before it’s back to work on the book.
On Friday, one of the Watchfires & Thrones players and his wife, another recently-contacted gamer, and me got together for some tabletop games of the non-roleplaying variety. The evening finally closed down around 1 A.M., but it was fairly educational in regards to new, unplayed games.
I discovered, for instance, that I’m some sort of dominoes savant despite not having played the game since I was in short pants. Of course, there was much less trash talking back then too.
Apples to Apples, a game which I’ve often seen on the shelves of numerous stores but never played, turned out to be a great way to get to know your friends and the twisted logic that runs their day-to-day existence. Scoring points for sheer irony also helps make the game a real winner.
The only loser of the bunch for me was Set, which I initially chalked up to not having the necessary mental sharpness to make sets of cards based on attributes they either share or lack. Two-and-a-half hour’s sleep in the previous forty-eight does not a Set master make. The more I think about it, though, I come to realize that my lack of enthusiasm for the game is based on its lack of strategy. The game is all about skill and experience, and there’s no way for an unlucky run or the random unpredictable actions or planning of a rank amateur to upset the course of the game. In the end, it breaks down to four people staring at a bunch of cards and occasionally saying “set!” That’s not my bag, man.
Despite that little drawback, the night was a great one and we’ll definitely be meeting again sometime for more gaming that allows me to actually participate rather than adjudicate. Of course, the night couldn’t end without the subject of a second irregular roleplaying night coming up and being tentatively slated for later on in the summer. That’s a good thing; I’ve got more ideas than the Labyrinth Lord game can handle and I’d like to run a few up the proverbial flagpole before they all die intellectual crib deaths.
Saturday was mostly chores and prep for Sunday’s game, but a gross neglect on my part was addressed. The same player who hosted Friday’s shenanigans had previously asked me about a used bookstore in my hometown. I had to admit that I simply had never been inside the place, although it was often on my mind to investigate it. On Friday, he reported that he and his wife had visited the place and discovered a wonderland of used paperback books. They were planning on visiting the store again on Saturday and offered to meet me there.
Let’s just say I’ve been kicking myself for the last two days as punishment for not going there sooner. I picked up a Ramsey Campbell collection of his Cthulhu Mythos short stories, the third Thieves World book, Three Hearts and Three Lions, and The Forever War for under ten bucks. I would have walked out with much, much more, but the slush pile of books next to my bed prohibits me from buying any more novels until I work through the backlog. But I shall return.
Sunday was Watchfires & Thrones day and, after having to cancel last week’s game due to a failed save vs. poison incurred by some undercooked beef, I was anxious to get back into the swing of things. The game flowed and it was one of those games where much territory was explored and a few fights got crammed in before the time ran out. Unfortunately, our longest-surviving PC is now no more, having proved the adage that it’s best not to play with electricity unless one is wearing rubber boots.
Those of you who read the Archive of the Rotted Moon have no doubt noticed that most of the game recaps feature photos taken during the actual game sessions. It certainly is nice to have a Minister of Propaganda for your gaming group and Rob (also known as Fandomaniac on the OD&D Discussion board) provides photographic evidence of each week’s meet to help entice others to join in on the fun. You can tell which weeks he had to miss because we don’t have pictures of it.
This week, however, introduced a new aspect—video. Rob recorded a few minutes of game play during a fight against the Alien-esque Tomb Herd Broodmares and a snippet or two of that might soon be appearing online. "I Hit It With My Axe" we are not but feel free to check it out once it’s live and nitpick my referee style. If I had known we we’re going to be videotaping the session, I would have shaved.
All in all, it was a great weekend. I’m still feeling creatively drained from the last three days, so I’ll be recouping and trying to get a few blog posts written today to get myself caught up before it’s back to work on the book.
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