Musing and articles from Peter Amthor. Usually of a role playing game influence but I do drift into other directions occasionally. You can also find me on Mastodon at dice.camp/@peteramthor. Comments and constructive criticism welcome. Also this blog is best viewed on a desktop or wide screen tablet.
RPG with great writing.
I don't buy games for the writing quality any more, mostly for the content quality. So I'm not the best judge for this category. But I will say the game that kept me turning pages when I was reading the core book was Eclipse Phase 2nd edition. Pity I never got to play it as nobody else seemed interested in the game other than (as usual) being a player.
RPG with great art.
Going to break off from my usual answer hear for a bit. A game I've been looking at a lot over the last year but haven't pulled the trigger on yet would have to Vaesen from Free League Publishing. One of the good parts of working at a game shop is that I get to flip through the books from time to time. This one has really caught my eye. The artwork inside is amazing and it very captures the feeling of the setting perfectly.
Most often played.
Okay, I'm starting to sound like a broken record here. But once gain it's Cyberpunk 2020. Really been running the heck out of it over the last few years. Again got a great group so that really helps out a lot.
That's for 2024. If we talk about up until now it's a bit different.
Most played would be a friend homebrew system called Hardcore. Played for over a decade easily, if not more. He runs great games and the system works like a charm when he's the one in charge. After that I would say Kult, Sla Industries and Little Fears would rank up pretty quickly.
Most recently played.
Oh this is real simple. Why it's my ongoing Cyberpunk 2020 game with the squad that can't catch a break. Been running it for almost a year now. Maybe longer, I'm not sure. With a couple of short breaks for some playtesting here and there.
Okay technically I'm running not playing. Haven't played in a game all year. But such is the way when your group is really good and entertaining. So I have to give them all props, Jason, Niki, Lori, Tyler, Larry and the now moved to far away to play Zack. A great bunch each with their own strengths that add to the gameplay immensely. Couldn't hope for a better group.
First RPG bought this year.
I don't think I've actually bought a full on new RPG this year at all. I did finally run Cyberpunk RED in between some of my Cyberpunk 2020 sessions. I also picked up the Edgerunners Mission Kit for CPR here recently.
I've looked at quite a few as possibilities. But instead of buying them I've decided to run what I already have shelves of. Which my group has been really enjoying.
This one I stumbled upon accidently in the middle of the night. Scrolling through free streaming services looking for something different to watch. Never heard of this film before now. But hey it has Antonio Banderas in there, oh look Dylan McDermott as well, and what the hell is that Melanie Griffith as well? Okay so that was it, I was watching this one.
Okay we get a quick rundown of the status of the world right at the beginning. Solar flares wiping out most of the planet, everything turning to desert, nearly all of the population has died off and the final patches are huddled together in cities. Technology has started to regress in most areas except for robotics, which is a great excuse to use modern tech in movies that take place in the future. Robots called Pilgrims are doing most of the labor now and trying to save the world. Everything is pretty shitty.
Now one cool thing we get a new twist on the old idea of Asimov's three laws of robotics. These robots have two unchangeable protocols: they cannot harm any form of life and may not repair, modify, or alter themselves or other robots in any way. Now the first part is real simple while the second has more deeper meaning. It keeps them from altering themselves so they can ignore their protocols AND it keeps them from repairing themselves so the company that makes them can stay in business.
Our main character, Jacq Vaucan, is an insurance investigator for the company (ROC) that makes the Pilgrims. He finds himself pulled into an interesting case of a robot that was repairing itself and is shot by a police officer for suspicious activity. This leads him down a path of other robots who are more free thinking, showing us clockworks, folks who work on, repair and modify the Pilgrims without company authorization. Piled onto this is some secrets that ROC is very privy on keeping secret.
We eventually get to leave the city and trek across the desert. Jacq gets to discover who, or what, is causing the Pilgrims to function so differently. More of the completely devastated world is shown and it becomes pretty clear that humans aren't likely to survive. But maybe another form of life will.
Quite a bit of work went into some attempted deep thought at life, living and what survives after you. Artificial awareness is really touched on and what will one do to keep on existing. But just don't get attached to many of the character okay?
It's grim, gritty and visually well done. So why haven't I hard of this? Well execution isn't quite as good as the idea. We have moments that drag on, lead ups that end to quick, and some disappointed story choices in a few spots. I get what they were going for but it feels like that golden ring was just out of reach for the folks doing the actual movie.
That being said it is a neat movie to watch. Some new ideas for post apoc that could be explored, new concept and ideas for some scifi robot material. But don't go in expecting to find a great film, just a decent film. But they did get a lot out of their 15 million dollar budget. Science fiction fans will enjoy what they are given but it won't make it to their top ten list.
"Trash the world!"
