I have been very lucky to fall in with a gaming group that appreciates a good holiday adventure. In 2021, we fit in sessions specific to the three big ones that close out the year here in the States, and we've already covered Halloween and reeling-from-the-weight-of-its-own-history Thanksgiving so far this year. At least one Christmas adventure is on the schedule (a trip to Bedford Falls with Josh, using Eldritch Hack), and who knows...I've been wanting to run a session based on protecting some magi outsiders who are investigating the fulfillment of a prophecy over near Jerusalem a couple thousand years ago.
For some reason, I'm especially happy that we found the time for sessions specific to that big November harvest festival that just happened in the US, as it's easily forgotten in gaming during the busy fall and winter seasons. Last year, Wil ran a really cool implementation of the storygame Dialect, in which we all played hyperintelligent turkeys looking to escape the farm. For 2022, Rachel ran us through a version of the one-shot The Turkey Snatcher, which was tons of fun.
I am right in saying that of those three holidays, Thanksgiving gets the least love when it comes to gaming, eh? Is it possible that I only think it "deserves" a session because it happens to fall between The Scary One™ and The Big One™, which are bound to get a nod at the gaming table?
I've long thought that Lamentations of the Flame Princess (and its early modern sensibilities) would make for a nice Weird Thanksgiving tale. These days, if I put something together, I'd probably go with 5E but draw on the LotFP feel as much as possible.
Well, more drivel on holiday gaming coming soon...until then, let's honor the brief life of Rofl, my wood elf sorcerer who fell at the feathers of some Turkey Golems this year...
In finally following up a bit on exploring some sort of OSR-based framework as a basis for the action figure combat game I'm currently calling Project 5.5, I've realized how much I like the idea of "X in 6" task resolution in games. As in...the door to the next room of the dungeon is stuck, I have a 2 in 6 chance of opening it, I roll a 3, it's still stuck. I suppose Lamentations of the Flame Princess is the main system I've ever played that used it extensively, and while I'm not all-in on skill systems that don't modify the required roll according to the specifics of the situation (an issue that's easily remedied, of course...and I don't doubt LotFP actually has some guidelines for this), there's just something about the simplicity of rolling a regular old d6 and knowing you need to hit a target number or lower to succeed.
For one thing, there's something about it that feels really old school to me. And I don't really know why that's the case.
I think I've noted on this blog before that I didn't play most of what we now think of as "old school" RPGs during their first run in the spotlight. I didn't really become what I'd call a tabletop gamer until a bit later in life than many of my current gaming friends and acquantances, essentially cutting my roleplaying teeth on Risus and 3rd/3.5 era D&D. Well...maybe Risus is kind of old school. It is not, however, old school D&D, which is clearly the shared DNA that connects most of the OSR.
In other words, it's not like I enjoy those 1d6 roll-under checks because they remind me of the way I used to game way back in the day. And so I started wondering recently...where does that feeling that "X in 6" fits my idea of old school gaming come from? Is it just because LotFP, one of my favorite retroclones, uses it for skills? Is it the ad hoc nature of an "X in 6 chance" declaration that makes the system fit into the "rulings not rules" mindset I associate with old school gaming?
I really don't know...AND I'm legitimately looking for insight from anyone reading this into (1) whether I'm alone in thinking this sort of task resolution feels very old school for some reason, and (2) where this may originate. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone, as it seems I've come across its use quite often in the OSR realm, including complete approaches to implementation like this one over at the blog Blood, Death, Satan, & Metal.
Where it originates is a bit trickier. I've found where the work has been put into demonstrating how "X in 6" is built into B/X D&D. But was it found much in the three OD&D booklets? Did early modules influence its use? I'd definitely like to find out a bit more about the roots of these rolls...!
EDIT: I realized later that at one point in time, I did seem to be aware of the fact that "X in 6" shows up in the original three booklets of D&D. Clearly, I didn't internalize that info very well (and I'm not even sure how I came to the understanding I did). And maybe...the old memory isn't what it used to be...
...because I may as well pretend like my opinions are that important!
2016 is about to close out. Here are some random reflections.
First, the non-gaming stuff:
WTF Event of the Year - The United States Presidential Election
I get that some bad stuff went down this year. The entertainers who died got a lot of coverage. On the world stage, the situation in Syria is pretty depressing. And on a personal level, there was a tragedy in my hometown that people in a community that small aren't used to dealing with.
But when people around here talk about 2016 just needing to end, I can't help but think that a lot of it comes back to the U.S. election. For what it showed us about American politics. For what it showed us about lingering division in the country. For what it showed us about the power of media (which we'll be sorting out for a long time to come). And from my perspective (although certainly not from the perspective of a number of people I know and love), for the outcome.
Seriously, America. What in the actual fuck.
There's really not much to say that hasn't been said many times over. From where I stand, this was clearly the event that dominated the year.
New Song of the Year - Michael Bublé's "Nobody But Me"
Now, on to a happier note. I'll admit that I don't really hear enough popular music to make a truly educated choice here, but when I hear a song that blows me away like this one did (and in such a genre-agnostic way), it oughta be recognized:
I couldn't find an easy link to the performance on The Tonight Show, which is the one I first heard, and which actually got to feature Black Thought of The Roots in the rap breakdown (rather than the trumpet solo above, which is also great), as on the album. If you can find that one, it's definitely worth checking out!
Song That Would Have Been New Song of the Year, Hands Down, If It Had Been Released Several Months Later - Kendrick Lamar's "Alright"
Thank you to Atlanta community radio for letting me hear this song. I make no claim to the emotions expressed therein, but I know they held a lot of power in the political climate we experienced this year. It's also just a great song.
And now, for the games!
New Game of the Year - The Black Hack
In the OSR community, new games drop on a pretty regular basis. It's kind of what we do, and it's a trend that lends itself to spreading one's attention all over the place. So, when a game like David Black's The Black Hackcomes along and gets people brewing and buzzing with such a central focus, it's worth paying attention to it. Heck, I couldn't resist hacking it myself.
It also works as game, and it's a lot of fun!
RPG of the Year - Lamentations of the Flame Princess
James Raggi's game of Weird Fantasy is one of the real success stories of the OSR. My buddy Ted has been running an awesome campaign using a bunch of the published LotFP adventures, which has helped to keep me connected to roleplaying in a busy year and given me a pretty good feel (I think) for the game's themes. Check it out (you probably already did, long ago)!
Non-RP Game of the Year - Bohnanza
Yeah, these are just personal awards, so this one takes the prize by sitting idle in my game collection for about 15 years before making a leap to family favorite when it was pulled out of the closet on a whim this year. I think this one has great potential as a "gateway game." You gotta love "The Bean Game!"
So...there we are! Despite some struggles earlier in the year, and the stresses of the fall (as noted above), I have to say that I've actually had a pretty outstanding end of the year, and I hope you have, too!
Big thanks to all who have stopped by this little blog and become friends over the course of 2016. I really appreciate being a part of your community. Best of luck to everyone, and I'll see you in 2017!
