A Return to Starfall

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It has been years since I really poked at my Starfall setting, and after having recently summarized my perception of old-school gaming and what I like about it, it strikes me that Starfall is potentially well suited for this type of game.

“But you shouldn’t let any campaign get in your beer andpretzels!” you scream.

To an extent, you are definitely correct. Raw GURPSDungeon Fantasy does not dig into setting, plot, or anything of the sort, but I would argue that a compelling setting only enhances dungeon delving because – if done well – it increases the number of things for players to discover. And ultimately, what marked old-school gaming from back in the day for me was the sense of wonder that came from learning about the world. That doesn’t mean we can’t learn about the world through the monsters we kill or the loot we steal! In fact, a compelling setting provides a source for interesting items and intriguing monsters.

There are a few reasons I think Starfall fits the kind of murder-hoboism I would espouse in my games.

Updated Dungeon Action Formatting

This is just a quick note. When I originally uploaded my free article, Dungeon Action, my main concern was getting it online as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that meant that the formatting left the article somewhat difficult to read. I have since gone back and fixed the formatting so that it is easier on the eyes, although I still have yet to put the section on Assistance Rolls in its own box. This will eventually happen, but I just don't have time right now to make the table for it. Hopefully, you will be seeing another post like this in the coming weeks about the final changes to the article.

And for those of you wondering what Dungeon Action is, it's a merging of the rules for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and GURPS Action! to provide the tools necessary to run any sot of high-energy, cinematic fantasy game. You can still dive down holes to kill monsters for their stuff, but now you can also adventure in Town, plot against the king, wage war on corrupt lords, rob the Adventurers' Guild, shake down mob bosses, get into high speed carriage chases, conduct psychological warfare, and anything else you can imagine. So without further ado, here is a brief preview:

How I Run Dungeon Fantasy

I have recently bowed out of a fantasy game run using some of the rules from the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game. I initially joined that game under the premise that it was a DFRPG game – something that carries some baggage I think the GM didn’t recognize. See, DFRPG is the child of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, and both games are quite old-school at heart. That is, they are all about player agency, and getting right down to the action. The GM was really running a “new-school” game using some DFRPG rules. It was plot-heavy, railroaded players into certain courses of action, and just wasn’t what I wanted. So I left.

But I didn’t leave empty-handed. That experience left me with a newfound appreciation for two things: an understanding of the important of accurately pitching your game up front, and a better understanding of what an old-school game means to me. I won’t get into the former because a lengthy post on how to promote something is better suited to a marketing blog, not a gaming blog. The latter, however, is ripe fodder, so sit down, buckle in, and prepare for an opinionated rant!