Silvervine Campaign: Session 3, Episode 3

 RPG Theatre (Game Night), RPG's, Silvervine Game System, Silvervine Games  Comments Off on Silvervine Campaign: Session 3, Episode 3
May 012012
 

And the hits just keep on coming!  The party descends into the second level of the dungeon.  More strange creatures await, and the mystery of the doors grows.

What the audio doesn’t convey, unfortunately, is how everyone’s eyes light up when they get to roll a big handful of ten-sided dice.  And though difficult to explain, the Silvervine combat system is very intuitive once things get rolling.

SV Session 3.3

Oh, and Matt still hasn’t gotten the joke about his “short staff.”  (Snicker)

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Silvervine Campaign: Session 3, Episode 1

 RPG Theatre (Game Night), RPG's, Silvervine Game System, Silvervine Games  1 Response »
Apr 182012
 

Find your minis!  Grab all your d10’s!  Bring some food for the GM (if you want your character to live)!  And join us in the dungeon again.  It’s time for Silvervine!

That’s right, we finally got together for the next segment of our series of epic adventures.  This time, we’re all-in for a classic dungeon crawl, Silvervine style.  So sit back, strap in, and grab your dice; ’cause it’s time to roll!

SV Session 3.1

My favorite line from this episode?  Once again provided by Mr. Squirmy: “I turn into a baby caterpillar and beg for mercy.”

 

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Silvervine Campaign: Session 2, Episode 2

 RPG Theatre (Game Night), RPG's, Silvervine Game System, Silvervine Games  Comments Off on Silvervine Campaign: Session 2, Episode 2
Mar 202012
 

This week’s episode does a lot of jumping from “in-character” playing and “out of character” conversation.  Granted, much of that conversation is about the game itself as we try to figure out just what in the heck we want to do (and there is a bit of character development); so I apologize for the lack of awesome action.  But, the group does have a meeting with the Lord-Mayor of Rumi, which will open up all sorts of adventure possibilities.

Oh, and never mind the shuffling sound towards the end; that’s just Danny playing with his deck.  (Snicker)

SV Session 2.2

So what is the next step for the group?  Do they put the “Writ of Theft” to use?  Stay tuned and find out in next week’s episode!

Comment Poll:  What’s your favorite line from this week’s episode?
1.  “Well gentlemen, as your GM, I have no firckin’ idea what to do next!” – Ryan

2.  “My staff fits in my pocket” – Matt.

3.  “Do you even have an alignment?” – Ryan.  “Me and my can” – Mike

4.  Other

 

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Silvervine Campaign: Session 2, Episode 1

 Pen and Paper, RPG Theatre (Game Night), RPG's, Silvervine Game System, Silvervine Games  3 Responses »
Mar 132012
 

In this, the first episode of our second session, I discover the what happens when I, as the Game Master, don’t have a strict railroad for the players to follow. I had no adventure plan going into this session. I did have about half-a-dozen ideas for bringing Danny’s character (later named Professor Mora) into contact with the others, but none of them were very fleshed-out. I floated even briefer descriptions of those options before the group, and got a feel for which direction the group would have the most fun with. The rest I completely ad-libbed. Seriously, I came up with each scene, each NPC, on-the-fly. Some call this “reactive” GM’ing. Some call it “winging it.” Some call it lazy. I call it a lot of fun! Beyond the meet-and-greet, and bringing Danny up to speed on the rules and the game-so-far, I had no goals, no real “tasks” for the group to accomplish. Any and all of that was provided by the players.  I’m not bragging.  If anything, I’m trying to place the blame on them.

SV Session 2.1

I really love Silvervine’s emphasis on “shared story telling.” And I greatly enjoy working with the players to build the world together. Silvervine’s Cyrus setting leaves a lot of room for GM’s and players to create – It gives enough background, history and structure, with a lot of openness for each group to make the game their own. So come back next week for our next episode and experience just how little control I maintain. And I’ve got to say, I am really impressed with everyone’s role-playing skills. Mike, Danny, and Matt are all veterans, but it had been quite a while since any of us had really been around a table like this – especially for Danny who couldn’t make it to the first session. It’s just amazing how well each of them really expressed their characters (especially if you knew how little they put into their backgrounds).

Oh! And don’t forget.  Please place your vote for your favorite phrase of the campaign so far.  In the comments just tell us which you prefer – “Cabbage-Banana-Hammock” or “Retarded Etch-a-Sketch.”

 

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RPG Book Review: Grimtooth’s Traps

 Reviews, RPG Book Reviews  Comments Off on RPG Book Review: Grimtooth’s Traps
Dec 122011
 

Stats

Paul Ryan O’Connor, ed.
Steven S. Crompton, illus.
Flying Buffalo Inc., pub.
First Printing 1981
Digitally Remastered 2011
55 pages
Ryan’s Rating: 17 out of 20
MSRP 14.95

The Review

I’ve been into D&D 4th Edition for a while now, and while I have been thoroughly enjoying it, one thing that seems to be lacking are traps.  D&D4e is great at tactical combat, but players can become a bit overconfident as they gain levels.  Other systems (notably my favorites: Rifts and Silvervine) seem to have no traps at all! (at least, none detailed and statted out in their publications).

So, if you’re a DM, but you aren’t an incredibly inventive trap-maker, or if your group is getting a little cocky and you want to instill some paranoia, then Grimtooth’s Traps is for you! Continue reading »

My Second Impressions of the Silvervine System

 Gaming News  2 Responses »
Dec 062011
 

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read Matt’s article  first.  (Things might make a little more  sense that way, but I don’t guarantee that they will.)

Yes, while at Con on the Cob I spent a bit of time getting  to know the Silvervine game system, its creators, and many of the players.  I was amazed by the diversity of players –  all ages, genders, personalities, and gaming experience were well represented.  I was intrigued by the concept – the openness  of the system, the fantasy-steampunk setting, and the clear presentation of the  core principles of the system.  The  enthusiasm of the creators is infectious – they truly love gaming, and I am  continually amazed by the amount of work that has gone into their  products.  In short, Silvervine was my  torrid affair of Con on the Cob. Continue reading »

My First Impression of the Silvervine System

 RPG's, Silvervine Game System  2 Responses »
Dec 052011
 

For those of you that don’t know what Silvervines Game System is you can visit their website here. For those of you that don’t want to leave (thank you) Silvervine is basically a RPG that incorporates thematic character creation with a cinematic narrative of almost dice-less roleplaying.  At least that is the best one sentence description of he game that I can come up with.

Moving on, in the not so distant past Ryan and I had the opportunity to interview the gang from Silvervine.  When I say gang I mean the creator’s and designers of the game.  If you like what you hear here I am sure you will meet them all.  At that point in time I was a little bit lost about what the system had to offer.  In fact I thought it was probably a bogus system.  The stories they told us in the interview were just too ridiculous for this game to work.  I mean how can anybody (not on acid) play a sandwich?  That’s right somebody created a sandwich as their character.  But, Ryan wasn’t as preoccupied as I was at Con on the Cob – he gave them far more time than I did.  In fact he was sold on the game.  I was leery, very leery. Continue reading »