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Role Playing NewsVolume 2, Number 1 - January 31, 1995News:Volume 2, Number 1 January 31, 1995
Trendsby Milton Strumpf As regular readers of Role Playing News may remember, there was a discussion of the differing styles of role-playing systems that are out there. It was found that they fell into three basic categories: diced controlled, diceless, and a combination. Up until certain recent events I was of the opinion that a combination was probably the best system. I was wrong. During the game on New Year's Day, a game that Mark and Matt came up with in about 27 hours, I found that a live role-playing game can be much more interesting. There are no stats, no dice, and a lot better role-playing than you generally find in traditional games. Our GM's had developed an interesting fictional history for our futures. (The game was set in the year 2015, New Year's Eve.) They came up with interesting reasons why a group of good friends would want to kill one another after not seeing each other in about 15 years. When people got into doing things with their characters it was far more interesting. People actually tried to talk their way out of situations and used violence only as a last resort. All three NPC's ended up dead at the end and all the PC's were still in a peck of trouble. At some point in the near future I hope to start telling the fiction that led up to the game. Twenty years is a long time to catch up on. The idea of live role-playing games is a good one. All you need is an area to play in and an imagination. Being able to visualize an event and describe what you are doing are integral parts of the whole game. The interaction between players and GM as well as each other is the sole arbiter of success or failure. It eliminates the chance that a really well played plan will go awry due to a die roll for success. Within our group, there is a trend toward this style of play and I like it. It allows a greater flexibility of movement for the players. The set up for a game which requires clues can stretch a GM's abilities to the limit but can well be worth it in the end. I am hoping to observe Matt & Mark's next creation. It should prove interesting for all involved. Over the next few months, I suspect that more members of our group will be willing to try this form of gaming structure. I hope other groups will as well. I also hope that others will write us about their experiences with such games.
Volume 2, Number 1 January 31, 1995
Illuminati: New World Order, ReleasedINWO has finally been released and just in time for the holidays. In one short month it has become the largest selling card game in history. The game has gone through some changes that Steve Jackson has been wanting to put in the original for years. Some of these was the removal of the 'megabucks' and the addition of 'Plot' cards. The Limited Edition was released in the middle of December and will run through January. The mass market version will hit the streets in March. The only change will be in the color of the cards. Steve Jackson has said that there will be a 'Factory Set' released in April sometime but he is not sure and the color of those cards will change as well. The 'Factory set' is for the people who want to play the game but can not afford the collectors cost. It will not be allowed in tournament games as it will contain all the cards (including all the rare ones).
Volume 2, Number 1 January 31, 1995
Gold Rush Games Acquires Cyberpunk LicenseR. Talsorian Games has recently granted a license to Gold Rush Games to produce a soundtrack for Cyberpunk. The album, called Cyberpunk: Night City Trax, will contain all original instrumental music by Erich Izdepski. The music is designed to be used to enhance any science fiction role-playing session. It can be used as background music, to set a mood for a particular encounter, or even for casual listening between games. "I'm very excited about this project," said Gold Rush Games' President, Mark Arsenault. "It's been over six months in the making, and I think that this will be a very popular item for sci-fi gamers in general, and especially for Cyberpunk fans." This is the first licensed product release for Gold Rush Games, the publishers of The Gamer's Connection small press gaming 'zine. The soundtrack is scheduled to be released on cassette in December, with a retail price of $9.95.
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