Wednesday, August 18, 2010

In Which The Warlock Contemplates The Next Step...

Now that our yearly convention season (and my delicous summer break!) is at an end, the WittKids and I are in a bit of convelescence. After traveling all summer, running games at Origins and the other conventions, and running our weekly games in-between, it's made for a really hectic season. I'd say I'm almost looking forward to getting back to work, but we all know that's a joke!

Rather, I'm more looking forward to the start of the new semester and the resurgence of games over at Wittenberg. With a new batch of freshmen on deck, and a really fantastic group of upperclassmen executives, this year looks to be a really positive one for the Guild.

However, I find myself in something of a quandary. Thanks to a much less hectic schedule--no wedding planning this year, and a much easier series of prep at school--I'm actually planning on running a game during the week at Wittenberg. I attempted doing one last year, if you'll recall: a 4e D&D game, set in Eberron. Unfortunately, due to my multiple engagements, it fell through. With a freer schedule, I shouldn't have as much problem with a weekly game, though I do want to avoid the idea of setting up tiles, minis, and the like. I'm not averse to them, but they're just a pain to haul over to Witt, only to pack up again a few hours later.

I've narrowed my game ideas down to two, which you can find below. What do you think, gamer nation? Which one should it be?

Delta Green: Die Karotechia, Die!
System: d20 Modern/d20 Call of Cthulhu
Genre: Cosmic Horror/Conspiracy

There are many things that man was not meant to know. Sometimes, these are the secrets of the universe. Sometimes, these are the secrets held by your government. Sometimes, these are the very things right in front of you. You know these secrets. You've watched them unfold before you like the yellow envelopes you receive every so often. You know the truth about the world around you, and you fight against it every day. You're Delta Green, and you won't go down without a fight.

A shadow ops group working outside of the government, Delta Green stands on the tiny precipice between the world we know and utter chaos and blasphemy. The remnants of Nazi Germany's occult program, the machinations of aliens from Pluto, even the corruption and naivete of your own government stand against you. But you're Delta Green, and you won't go down without a fight.

Your day job is a cover, working within the United States government. By night, you dig deep into things that 'man was not meant to know'--things that your government has lied to the public about. Things you have been lied about. You see, the War isn't over. Never will be. It's just gone rogue...and that's a war you've prepared for.

Gotham City Breakdown
System: DC Adventures/Mutants and Masterminds 3e
Genre: Bronze/Iron Age Superheroes

Years ago, the Wayne family was mugged on the way home from the theater by a small-time thug named Joe Chill. Thomas Wayne and his son, Bruce, were killed by Chill in the incident when Thomas refused to turn over his wallet. Martha Wayne killed herself 4 years later, stricken by grief. Wayne Enterprises, Thomas' company, filed for bankruptcy 15 years later, and has since been dissolved. The man known as The Batman has never come to be.

Gotham City is much as it ever has been. Crime families like the Bertinellis and the Falcones rule the streets, with the police able to do little against them. Masked and deformed criminals--the "freaks"--roam the sewers and alleyways, leading vicious gangs. Gotham teeters on the edge of chaos.

You have chosen to rise up against this scourge. As a masked adventurer, you believe in justice. You believe in law. You believe that something must be done. And you're the right person to do it. It's time to take up arms against the likes of Intergang, the Royal Flush gang, and others, and fill the void left in a world without The Dark Knight.

2 comments:

  1. Thunderforge10:39 PM

    I like the alternate-Gotham one and it should have an appeal towards incoming Freshmen who may not have role-played before (which is great because our big mission this year is RECRUIT!). The alternate-universe idea is like my planned alternate-universe Star Wars game, but hey, there's nothing wrong with having two games where things are Familiar, Yet Different™. (And please, for the love of all that is sacred, keep their superheroes far, far, far away from cars!)

    Chris may be interested in running a supers game, so you may have to see what he's decided.

    That said, being a SWAT team hunting Mythos creatures is pretty spiffy and I'm sure the whole concept would appeal to people as well. If that's what you want to do, then go for it. (Also, ramming boats into Cthulhu is okay, but if you tempt them with ramming a car, they'll die long before they get to him. Don't even try!)

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  2. Both of them have ups and downs, and I'm really up in the air over which one I'd like to run more. In either case, though, I won't need minis (which is a massive plus), and I should have very light prep. That'll keep things simple on my end.

    No worries on the cars for the superheroes game, though. However, it would be neat to get a Nightwing or Huntress-style hero/heroine, who rides a motorcycle primarily.

    Delta Green, though, isn't quite so much a SWAT team, so much as it's actual "trained" investigators, rather than history professors or the like. DEA agents, Homeland Security experts, all those sorts are more likely than SWAT agents. It's a really neat modern setting, and I'll be excited to see how it comes out.

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