Friday, April 30, 2021

End of April Review

Yeah, a "filler" post as this has been a busy week, and I've not had much time for game stuff.

Oddly, my last post on the cardboard crafting is one of the most popular for some reason. Not sure if it is the amazing sharpie work I did, or my working on the Cowboys and Dinos game. Regardless, it has had a lot of hits (okay, a lot is entirely relative. Over 60 which for any single post is a lot). Or perhaps I've just left it as the most recent one that shows on other blogs, and so there has been more time for exposure. 

Our 2nd session of Jackals hit a bit of a bump as a couple of us had a hard time figuring out how the valor part works. From what I understand, you basically have 2 sets of hit points which are the same number of points. The first "layer" is getting the wind knocked out of you sort of thing: you get that back after the combat is over, and you take a few minutes to dust yourself off, scrape off the blood. But once those are exhausted, the "real" damage starts. Those points are actual physical damage and take time and real healing. If that was all there was, I'd be good: the 1st set is a sort of shield, then you take hull damage after your shields fail. But, the character sheet has 3 rows which have markers for the damage. There is this valor value that is calculated based on the number of rows you have that are open, that is, all the damage pips are not hit. For Zandakar, I have 3 rows of 5, or 15 points for each level. So I can take 15 points before the "real" damage starts. I start of with the 15 x 3 or 45 valor points. When I've taken 5-9 point of damage, my top row is filled, and I know have 15 x 2 or 30 valor points. But that valor level is not used from what I can tell: there are no game mechanics tied to the calculated value. Another player with apparently a math degree was having a hard time as the GM was saying he now has these valor points that do not match the table. There was a fair amount of frustration. I've a feeling that there is something we're supposed to be able to do with those calculated valor points but no idea what.

One cool feature I do like is clash points. This is the number of actions you have. It can be adjusted by a few things, but allows you to perform actions that take clash points. Like action points in many other games, better characters and skills may translate to higher clash points so you can do more. You do want to save a point to be able to dodge, though! Reminds me of a few Traveller games, such as Snapshot, that has action points based on (I think - it has been a decade+ since I last played!) dexterity. So a more dexterous character can do more. The Fantasy Trip also has something like this, where high dexterity archers can shoot twice per combat round, once at the beginning (as they will have the highest dexterity most likely!) and again after all have gone. If you add in weapons expertise, an archer just won't miss unless he rolls 16+, depending on the distance. And hmm, TFT also has Toughness which acts like armor in a way, allowing your character to shrug off damage by rolling with the punch. You get up to Toughness two, and layer that with armor, and you have the makings of a good tank!

But after that first side trip into the rules minutia, we decided just to play it out. I've a feeling it would have gone more smoothly at a table as we could look at the character sheet. Even though we are playing via Skype. we do not have cameras on. While I think that would help the game, not everyone has a webcam so we don't play that way. Though screen sharing may also help. But hey, we've been doing it this way for a year now and it is mostly working.

Speaking of: I get my 2nd shot next week, and the Fantasy Trip group I think all have their shots. So I've reached out to see if we can get back to face to face gaming. Real live people! What will I do? Not sure about the main Asheville Gaming Group: where we play has not opened the gaming rooms yet. Hopefully soon. Here is a link to The Wyvern's Tale - if you are in Asheville drop on in & say hey. I've not been in there since last March or so, maybe I should drop in as well!

As it is a weekend, I hope to get a bit of game stuff in: maybe continue my Lamia's Labyrinth solo play, perhaps more Traveller solo. And I have a bit more background on Zandakar's people from the GM that I need to read and incorporate into that character. 

I also finally got back on my old motorcycle, a 1984 Honda Knighthawk (this is not mine but looks identical). I replaced the battery a month ago and then that was as far as I went to getting on it. I bought it in 1987 or so, my first vehicle! I had to go to the office today to get a key card, even though I'm not likely to need that as they are trying to sell the office, and I work out of my basement. I have ridden my other bike, a 2011 (I think) Honda Shadow Spirit over 200 miles this year already as it was in front of the other motorcycle so easier to get out. It too is just black and chrome - apparently I have thing for black motorcycles.

Knighthawk


Shadow

They ride differently. I got the 2nd when I thought the 1st was not going to get working again, but it turned out to be something in the fuel line that was causing it to die. It just took a while to get that figured out. And as the insurance is so cheap, I just have both. My wife rides a Honda 919 and that one scares me: it wants to go really fast. I'll stick with my cruisers.

Funny thing is my car is a 1991 Toyota MR-2 (my 2nd vehicle I ever bought, and still drive). All my vehicles offer nothing should I get into an accident. Perhaps I am more daring than I thought! I did get a Honda Odyssey van when my son came along, so I do have one "safe" vehicle at least!

Ahh, review went off those rails. Friday. Let's see, anything other than work too much and still not get enough done? Not really. 

No comments: