Our grand gaming experiment – 12 Months, 12 Games, 6 Games Masters

Posted on November 18, 2010 by RupertG

Lots of RPG BooksRecently in our podcast we talked about our grand roleplaying game experiment. Over the course of this year, as a very long Cthulhu campaign came to a close, and after deciding to stop playing Dungeons & Dragons 4th ed for a while, we started to debate what games we could move on to. The debate got quite heated at times and many game systems old and new were presented as possible alternatives. The merits and drawbacks to each system were discussed, but no clear decision could be made. Then, in a moment of collective brilliance, we came to a realisation. As it seemed we couldn’t settle on any one particular game to play, why not play a lot of different games?

We decided then and there that we were going to play a different game each month for a year and see where it takes us. As we were discussing the running of different games, another idea that we had been tossing around for a while started to fit in with this. What if each month, we swapped GM’s as well? We could continue the campaign from month to month, or we could start over, or perhaps do a bit of both.

As we are going to be discussing the games that we are playing on the podcast, and here on the blog, we thought we’d write up what we are planning to do and also to invite input into the games that we should be trying out. They can be old systems, new systems, traditional or alternative, from big players or indie studios. We, ideally, want to play as wide a variation of games as we can. So far we have planned up to about June next year. After that, we have blank slate that need filling. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

Our Roleplaying Game Schedule
Month Game System Game Master Links
Oct 2010 Dragon Age Eetzoo Official | Amazon
Nov/Dec 2010 Star Wars: Saga Edition (d20) (Our Review) Ellisthion Wikipedia | Amazon
Dec/Jan 2011 Rolemaster (Our Review) Dwayne Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Feb 2011 Gamma World RupertG Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Mar 2011 All Flesh Must Be Eaten Cuchulain Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Apr 2011 Vampire: The Masquerade (Our Review) Lisette
May 2011 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition Eetzoo Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Jun 2011 GURPS (Our Review) Ellisthion Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Jul 2011 Spirit of the Century Dwayne Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Aug 2011 Dragon Warriors RupertG Wikipedia | Amazon
Sep 2011 Eclipse Phase Cuchulain Official | Wikipedia | Amazon
Oct 2011 Lady Blackbird Lisette Official

Now, this table, while incomplete, is also not set in stone. Things happen, and not everyone may be able to GM during their month. We may also swap some games around, drop some, add others. So we’ll be keeping this page updated an include a link in our main navigation to keep everyone up to date. When we finish games, we’ll review them and talk about them on the podcast as well.  As you can see, we have a lot of room up there for other systems to try out. Please feel free to leave a comment below or on the main page with suggestions.

Update: Well, after everyone’s help and suggestions, other than the month of June, we have the next twelve months planned out. If you have any suggestions for Ellisthion, please leave them in the comments.

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About RupertG

RupertG has been playing roleplaying games ever since he discovered Dragon Warriors at the age of 12. Since those days he has played many different RPG's, collected not insignificant Dwarf and Tomb Kings armies for Warhammer Fantasy Battles and even worked as a games designer in the heady days of the late 90's building a CCG. Now he runs a gaming blog and is a participant in the Grand Gaming Experiment
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  • Shunted

    noq you just need to release Goblins! and you could have a very good few months of gaming

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      Haha, yeah, we considered that… It’s not quite there yet, so we are treating it as a side project for the time being. We’ll probably have something out for people to play test sometime in February (hopefully).

  • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

    We looked at Shadowrun – it’s still a possibility (you can see my copy in the illustration for the post – I think I’m a version behind?). Dwayne is still keen to give it a go, so we might play it at some point.We’ve actually played Rifts before and we have quite a lot of the sourcebooks as well. I’d be interested in playing it again sometime as there is a lot of rich information in the books that go with it. In regards to HackMaster… well… I think we’d spend the entire month just getting our heads around the rules and material :) Having said that though, I’d love to play it sometime. I might add it to the list and see if I can get enough votes behind it…I’ll add Nyambe to the list of possible titles. On a cursory glance it looks interesting!

    • Anonymous

      My theory on Hackmaster is that it is /possible/ to play it… if you have all of the tables programmed in to a computer to deal with it for you.

      Ooooh, I forgot Battletech! d20 modern could be fun, too. And you guys might not really be the target audience for BESM… heh.

      I’ve only so much as flipped through the Nyambe book. I expect one fights lots of lions.

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      Well, there are 4 programmers in the gaming group – building an app for HackMaster /might/ be a goer…

      Paul & Dwayne are pushing for BattleTech. I’m not sure how it’d fit with the rest of the group, but we’ll add it. Our excitement over getting the new version of it was the very first post on this blog after all :)

      And no… BESM probably doesn’t fit the group at all… :)

    • Jeremylasseigne

      I love the show.  I’ve been gaming on and off for 20+ years.  I’ve tried many genres and systems but primarily fantasy (osric and castles and crusades most recently).   Do you plan to continue the experiment and if so will you be taking suggestions?   Have you considered doing an adventure module type experiment? 

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  • Lisette

    I’m also considering running Lady BlackBird or Dark Sun, but we will see :)

  • Geckilian

    I’d recommend from those I have played – Paranoia, Don’t Rest Your Head, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Spirit of the Century and Mutants and Masterminds. Fairly diverse I’d hope.

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      Wow… That is a great selection… Paranoia we’ve played a fair bit, but the zombie one, pulp fiction one and superhero one – those look AWSOME… Definitely adding those to the ‘to be chosen from’ list…

    • Anonymous

      Yeah – I’ve heard good things about All Flesh and Spirit of the Century. I’d love to give them a go! Good suggestions.

    • Geckilian

      Glad to see the suggestions are well received. I’m actually strting up another Don’t Rest Your Head campaign. With any luck, I can genuinely disturb my players.

  • lightning

    Yall need to kick it old school. maybe go back to first ed d&d or something

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      We played AD&D 2nd Edition for about a month just recently. I haven’t played 1st ed since, well, ’86 maybe? It would be fun to try it again, I have to admit…

  • wy

    A mild apology that these are all British sites. Also, I can’t provide reviews or ratings for any of them, as the only one I’ve played is Tunnels and Trolls which in the past 5 years I’ve only played once.

    Laundry – British agency dealing with occult happenings, based on novels by Charles Stross, uses the “Basic Roleplaying System”:
    http://shop.cubicle7store.com/epages/es113347.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es113347_shop/Products/CB71200

    Tunnels and Trolls – Classic fantasy roleplay:
    http://www.gameslore.com/acatalog/PR_Tunnels_and_Trolls_RPG_Version_75.html

    HeroQuest – Not the Games Workshop/MB Games board game, but a narrative RPG:
    http://www.gameslore.com/acatalog/PR_HeroQuest_RPG_Core_Rulebook.html

    Doctor Who – Adventures in Time and Space – Is this just a British thing?:
    http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781907204111/Doctor-Who-Adventures-in-Time-and-Space

    And who wouldn’t want to play – Hellcats and Hockeysticks:
    http://shop.cubicle7store.com/epages/es113347.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es113347_shop/Categories/Hellcats_and_Hockeysticks

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      I’ve heard good things about the Doctor Who RPG and Laundry looks fascinating. There are those of us in the group that would definitely want us to play a narrative RPG, so HeroQuest might get on the list too.

      I’ve always wanted to play Tunnels & Trolls, if only because it is one of the original RPG’s…

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  • GingerGiant

    Have you guys considered a game called Nobilis? Some friends and I wanted to try it out.

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      I’ve heard it mentioned a few times as worth a look at. We might get hold of a copy and do a review of it.

  • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

    That looks interesting… Having just finished our All Flesh Must Be Eaten month, it would be interesting to see how it compares…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NQEEGMBXVRFZ4PXP4YF22A7EJM JoshuaC

    Just found the Podcast and I dig it. My suggestion is Clockwork & Chivalry it’s a steampunk Runequest II game.

    • http://diceofdoom.com RupertG

      Clockwork and Chivalry does sound interesting… Definitely having a look at that…

  • Anders_Starmark

    Don’t see much love for Basic Roleplaying? What about Runequest? Something to consider next time… :)
    And then there’s F.A.T.A.L., aka “the game which must not be played”. It is said that just reading the rules costs 10D10 SAN.

    • Anonymous

      Actually, there’s a great deal of love for BRP. It’s just that we recently completed Day of the Beast for CoC, which ran for nearly a year. The project is about largely about broadening our horizons, so BRP was out! That said, I’ve heard good things about Runequest, but have never had a good look at it. Next time, Gadget… Next time.

      As for F.A.T.A.L. – I think it would have a somewhat *ahem* mixed reception from our group!  ;)

    • Anders_Starmark

      Really? The system is unplayable, the setting is disgusting and the book is either misogynist, racist or both. What’s not to like?

  • Anonymous

    Actually – (briefly forgot to mention this) – from a cursory glance at Eclipse Phase, it’s system seems similar to BRP.

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  • Jeff Dougan

    If you haven’t done any PDQ system games, try one out. I’m most familiar with Dead Inside (the original game in the system), but there are a few others. Zorcerer of Zo and Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies are the ones that come quickly to mind, but there might be one I’m missing.

  • Guest

    How about BRP?  Pretty awesome system, imho.

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