Words of Replicant Jesus

Well I went running today and I had a wonderful idea for a mini campaign arc, at the Heroic tier probably blending some of the Chaos Scar adventures into a primal/Feywild focused story arc.  I am basing the campaign in my “homebrew” setting that I ran for the Spring but some 1000 or so years in the future where the current group has become legendary heroes who founded an organization to defend the common man from the evils of the world, the Rusty Legion, not the most formidable name but I wanted it to tie into the name of the bar the current group uses as their base of operations, The Rusty Pickle Jamboree.

This is more a nod to the previous group and since some of my players are from the last game will give them a sense of familiarity to the setting.  I am leaving the majority of the details pretty loose at this point I have my main villain, the basic plot flow, and the idea that the world resembles the “standard” Points of Light default setting.

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I have caught the D&D 4E fever finally after having the books since launch I am finally putting them to good use and actually running games with them.  I have a bunch of experience with 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions but this game is a very different beast and it has taken me awhile to get a firm handle on it.  I have learned a great deal since I started and have a better idea of how I want to run future games; what accessories I will need, the campaigns  I want run, and how to best run them to blend both role playing and action.

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I should be getting my Nook from Barnes and Noble tomorrow, which has me plenty excited.  I am going to load it up with a bunch of role playing books I have on PDF and probably read the hell out of them in bed and on the couch.  I really need to also get my ass in gear and get my notes written out for D&D this week and flesh out the setting I have.  I drew a map the other day of the city the campaign takes place in, Avernus.  I don’t really have a name for it yet but I should come up with something.

Between Mass Effect 2, school, and a general unreliability to keep my site updated I had lapsed on my updates. But thanks to some encouragement from a fellow guild mate I am back to try and remedy that. I don’t have anything particularly moving to say today but I do have much to talk about.  I picked up Mass Effect 2 in January, hard to believe it is already March and Final Fantasy XIII is right around the corner.

Speaking of Mass Effect 2, what an awesome second act for the series.  I know some people don’t like some of the elements but I found it amazing.  Being able to transfer my character into the second game and continue his story was awesome and hooking up with Tali’Zorah vas Normandy was the icing on the cake.  from start to finish it is an awesome ride and the combat system is so much tighter and better than the first game I absolutely love it.  My main grips is that I wish there was more armor customization, more conversations between and with quad mates, and deeper friendship paths for all the characters.  My enthusiasm is high for Mass Effect 3.

I also started up on Valkyria Chronicles for PS3, which I got over Christmas and I am enjoying it.  The story is so-so but the actual game mechanics and the tactical combat is very fun.  I should beat it here soon.  I am getting Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 as well, don;t really know much about the game story wise so it will be interesting to go into it blind.  I also started playing Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition with some friends from school.  It’s really nice to run a game again after so long and it keeps the creative juices flowing.

As far as World of Warcraft is concerned, I was burnt out for awhile but I am getting back into it and working on the Lich King.  Interesting fight, I like it, keeps you moving and thinking and is quite the challenge for my guild.  I am interested to see new Cataclysm stuff and I am still debating if I want to race change to a Tauren or not just for the fun of it.  I also plan to do some writing over Spring Break and try and put some progress on this crappy novel idea I have.

Also despite what my guild mates think I am not an atheist or a scientologist.  But I do love me some Asian women.  One final note the soundtrack for Mass Effect 2 is awesome.

It is an odd feeling to create something exists after you have moved on from it, or perhaps not so much moved on.  But that is the feeling I had today after talking to a long-time friend that I had not spoken to in awhile.  About three to four years ago I started running a play by post Mutants & Masterminds game shortly after the system came out.  I didn;t think much of it at the time but I tried to use an interesting premise and a more realistic style; essentially I had always wanted to run Aberrant but never got the chance so I made my own setting and ran with it.

Thus Generation Legacy was born.

To say I created the setting is a misnomer, it was a hodge podge of ideas cobbled together in my fevered mind; but what really made the setting come alive was the players.  Probably the best group of players I have had the pleasure of gaming with and probably one of the best games I have ever run; it definitely took up a good portion of my thoughts and came at a time when I was still in the military and was deploying to hot spots in Iraq.  It was a tough game to run at times, and sometimes I had to step away but I always came back to it.  Even now, it lingers unfinished, my one large regret with the campaign… but I doubt any ending I could construct would have served that game any justice.

But the real legacy of the game is that it still continues.  My players, my friends have continued the game and rebooting it for new stories.  It is interesting to see that, and I am all for it; not that they need my permission; hell I am actually taken aback that anyone else would be interested in telling stories in the setting but I am happy and I think that is what gaming is about sharing and enjoying experiences.

I wish them the best of luck.  Thanks again guys.

I started back in school which is an adventure in and of itself, going to finish my Computer Science degree and then get into software development; i.e. game software in the long run. It is a refreshing change and I am digging it so far and I can’t wait to get to the meat of my actual degree related coursework but thus far it is interesting.

But enough about my paltry and dull life, I am really excited about 4^th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, my set arrives tomorrow and I can’t wait to look through the books and percolate a campaign that is already gestating in my fevered mind after perusing PDF files and glancing over the first introductory adventure. I whole heartedly expect that I will run something and probably in a campaign setting of my own design though the new Forgotten Realms could be interesting… I have always had a predilection for creating my own settings.

I have plans to return to Blizzcon, and this time I won’t be going by myself which is always a plus. Hopefully by then Wrath of the Lich King Beta will be in full swing and I can take a crack at the Death Knight, which I will admit has my interest piqued, but I know that Vanifae will be level 80 and tanking the content in Northrend for sure… there is no doubt in my mind on that. The artwork for the new loot in the expansion looks really sharp and well done.

I just preordered the three book set from Barne’s and Noble for next month.  Sure I may never play it, but damn am I excited to have it in my hot little hands.  I am a sucker for fantasy role playing games… almost as much as I am a sucker for Werewolf: The Forsaken and Changeling: The Lost.

Maintaining a blog is hard work, I have not done this site the justice it deserves and probably because I have only focused on one faucet of my geek nature, that being MMO gaming, which I do love with a passion. I don’t foresee myself anytime soon not playing an MMO of some type in the years/decades to come, so I will devote a fair amount of time and effort to that but I have other lesser known geek talents. (more…)