Crit-Failed Craft (Blogposts)

Apparently this is a thing!  Who knew?

My last post was way back in February and I'm rather embarrassed about that.  I'd like to pin it on the demon of not getting enough time to game, but I've actually had the chance to play pretty consistently since then and am on my way to a TableTopDay game with my old home crew.  My plan is to begin posting again in a more focused way as I've now got several things I'd really like to talk about.  For now though, I just want to make a quick recap of recent gaming to kind of center my thoughts.

The game I've been playing the most has been using Pathfinder rules with the game world of Ecletia that I've partially described.  It's been fantastically steampunk-y and quite a lot of fun so far.  I'm still working out a couple of kinks (such as deciding whether having a player Skype in is useful or distracting) and getting a good working schedule.  The main structure I've been using is a plot-line (which unfortunately has been a little railroady to start) which culminates each session in an interesting battle of some kind.  I'm really not sure how this hasn't been something that I've done from the beginning.  There's really no excuse for the Boss Encounter at the end not to have something cool or interesting to change the flow of combat.  The first session of Ecletia I put the battle on two airships careening down out of the sky which worked very well, but I think I dropped the ball on the second.  I simplified an element at the last minute to being just a boon for the players instead of the threat/boon I'd originally planned.

I'm now about to head over to a friend's to play a one shot of some kind.  We're looking to use the Wushu rules to keep things simple but haven't actually decided upon a genre to play in.  In all honesty, this plan came together approximately two hours ago total so not a whole has been discussed at all.  I'm realizing that although I spend quite a bit of time and effort planning plots and ideas for my ongoing campaign, I'm just about never totally ready if something unexpected comes up as a chance to play something.  It won't do any good for today, but I'm thinking it could be worthwhile to write up some interesting genre-generic plots that I think I can cover in a single session for times when I don't get the chance to plan things.

In any case, happy Easter and wishes of good gaming from Culture Loot!

Undiscovered Loot Info

I often bounce between quite a few different computers when I'm working on things and oftentimes am not especially well organized.  I've decided instead of keeping it all packed away behind private Google documents that I'll toss some of my in-progress blogging and worldbuilding into a link here on the blog.  The content there will likely be even more loose and disorganized than normal posts with little in the way of formatting.  The good thing about this is that it will allow me to post things without needing to spam any RSSers (beyond this initial post.  Sorry).  

If you are interested in the undiscovered loot check it out here or follow me on twitter where I will be posting when there are updates.  Thanks for reading and good gaming out there!

Beginning Blogging

I feel like on a certain level it doesn't make sense to put too much time or effort into an introduction post, but after years of schooling and writing I'd feel terribly improper to just dive into content.  Unfortunately, I've never been exceptionally good at the whole introduction part as I tend to either get ahead of myself or babble on without any truly useful information as seems to be the case now.  To try to prevent this from getting too much worse, I'll just hit the big main points and allow other posts to speak for themselves.

What Is This Blog?

Culture Loot is a blog dedicated to the hobby of tabletop role-playing gaming.  Specifically my intention is to post (likely on a weekly basis) a good chunk of rpg content that is a healthy mix of fluff and crunch.  The idea is that these chunks will have a general thematic discussion (for example my upcoming Dwarven Traditions post) complete with direct application to character building ideas, some relevant feat/spell/item, and an encounter description.  I'm not entirely certain I'll be able to live up to this promise, but that's the goal at least.

Who Are You?

I am a graduate psychology student that has been playing pen and paper games for a bit over a decade.  I started out on Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 as a DM and have since had the chance to play on both sides of the screen.  DMing is what I enjoy most, but I unfortunately don't have the time to run every game or idea that I would like to.  In a sense, that is part of the motivation for this blog.  This way I can build on ideas that I've got in my head without needing to work them directly into one more game in an already hectic schedule.

What Do You Play?

At the moment, I am playing in two games and DMing another.  There are also quite a few intended one-shots and another campaign that may be starting up with the new year.  These games don't meet often, unfortunately, but it is what we as a group have time for.  The current games that I am playing are a 4e fantasy romp, a Dice Chuckers pop-culture filled world-hopping game, and my own 1930's Noir/Fantasy game using a modified version of Dogs In The Vineyard.  I've also played primarily one-shot games of GURPs, Mutants and Masterminds, Wushu, FATE, Serenity, Kobolds Ate My Baby, and many others.

I hope that this blog can provide you with some ideas, hooks, and toys to add to your enjoyment of gaming! I'll be posting my first real article tomorrow which hopefully will help to set the tone for what I'm going for.