A website dedicate to games of all favors and varieties, from video games to good old D&D.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Federation Space is back
The original set featured a 16-page rulebook, a map, one tactical display map, 5 organizational charts, 432 counters, and two dice.
When printing out my new copy, I was instantly reminded why this is my favorite Task Force Game: the dense background information to the game system. Out of sixteen pages, the first three beautifully describe the game universe. “Shields flashed electric blue” reminds me of the smell of ozone and the rattle of dice.
While printing, I discovered that I still had my original counters, except the blue Federation.
I can’t tell you how many hours I spent playing this game as a child. I can hardly wait to introduce this to my kids.
This game is very rich in background details while having simple rules. The beauty of this game is the breakdown of basic rules and scenarios that lead to more advanced rules, scenarios, and optional rules. Replay away!
Additionally, Federation Space can be used to supplement Starfleet Battles.
After spending the weekend rereading the rules, I plan to print up the cards and map, and get playing again this week.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Star Smuggler
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
xPud – How to Connect to Wifi
Monday, April 22, 2013
Windows 7 - Running Chkdsk at Start Up
Friday, March 1, 2013
Kippers & Jam
The One McGuffin
Sometimes you just have to let things play out and laugh at the mistake. However, I blame many bad endings on The One McGuffin getting loose.
A McGuffin is a device to further the plot. It has no other function and DM’s are well advised not to create and define an item so that it is both a solution and closure to the campaign storyline.
In AD&D, artifacts were vastly overpowered magic items that really should have been left undescribed. Instead, they were tacked on the end of the magic item list, as if they were a viable option.
There is a temptation for all DM’s to use The One McGuffin as a solution to wrap up the scenario. Never, repeat, never allow characters to use an evil item for good. First, it doesn’t make sense for good to use evil for good ends. Second, as a wise man once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power is really, really neat.”
The second pen hits paper and the McGuffin is clearly defined, somewhere deep down inside, you have decided the magic needs to be used. In all cases, this is very much a Deus ex-Machina story ending. If you build the characters up to the pinnacle of power, yet even from that great height, they can’t make a good ending of their own, what is the point?
Beware of The One McGuffin.