freerangeadventures-blog

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First tests went well

Last week I made a commitment to change my approach to games. I resolved to accept variance. To applaud my opponents. To enjoy the play of the game. I got a chance to test all of this over the weekend. I think it went well. I played multiple games of Ticket to Ride with Kim and the kids. I didn’t win any of them. The best I did was not come in last. But I had fun, made sure to compliment Kim and…

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Gaming Serenity

I’m thinking about the concept of ‘tilting’ during games. About how easy it is to just lose it during a game. How losing your cool can not only affect your game play during a game, but it can disrupt your entire enjoyment of the hobby. So, here’s my commitment. I don’t care if you’re religious (I’m an atheist personally), the concept above is sound. Just chill the fuck out, and accept what you…

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Classifying projects

Following up from the last post, it occurred to that for me there are 3 different types of MCP characters and affiliations. There are my favorite Marvel characters: the Defenders and all things Mutant. There are the characters I have gathered simply because I think they would be interesting to play or paint. And there are the characters I assembled as a nod to the ‘Meta’, whatever that is. I…

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Riding high, until I wasn’t

It was a good week for MCP. I enjoyed playing 5 games, which is an unusual amount for a week with no official event. For the week I was 3-2. By the way, this post is going to stray from my current personal approach and actually do some analysis on MCP. There is a point behind this, which I will get to in my usual fashion. Anyway, I played two games on Monday, using a roster that I have never…

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It’s a good moment

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Simple solution to a unique problem

I have written before about my inherited miniature collection. I have shelves of nicely painted miniatures. I have done some work to thin out the collection as I accept that I had no intention of assembling and painting a lot of them. But I still have more than enough for my needs. I planned to use them in my RPGs, but I had a unique problem: I would have to create new monsters for them, there is…

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Recognizing, accepting my style

Last week I came across a video that hit home with me. It was about having a painting style. It was very interesting and made a ton of sense. I realized I definitely have a preferred style. As much as enjoy improving, I need to accept my style too. Staying in your miniature comfort zone There’s some real wisdom here. It doesn’t hurt that I recognize I have a similar style. I prefer warm, gritty…

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Thinking more about competition

cheating act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.”she always cheats at cards” Avoid (something undesirable) by luck or skill.”she cheated death in a spectacular crash” In the past month or two the topic of cheating has come up a lot. It has mainly come up with MCP, but I was reminded that it can happen in role playing games too. There have…

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I haven’t lost it

Sunday was the first full session I have run in a while. I will admit that I cheated a little bit, used the structure from a module. I did adapt the monsters some. I never really threatened the party. They had fun. I adapted on the fly for a couple of rulings. It went well, I proved to myself that I haven’t lost my DM skills. Now it’s time to get a little more serious. I reviewed my encounters…

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Taking a step back, going simple

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Made the hard call, enjoyed opportunity

A week ago I decided to make the hard call regarding my online game. It was a little easier after I had a good time running the opening session for my in person group. Bottom line, I chose fun. While I enjoy the friendship I have with the people in my online game, it just wasn’t fun anymore. The game play of some of the players was constantly on my nerves. To be honest, this is the same reason I…

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Tournament thoughts

The event is over, 5 games in two days (plus two byes), 6 hours of travel time, it was a really fun weekend. I didn’t come in last, I didn’t come in first, I was middle of the pack. I had some really good games, and the rest were very close. I realized that my analysis and strategy were incomplete. Overall, I’m very happy with where I’m at with the hobby. I’m very pleased with where I’m at in…

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Never tell me the odds

That’s an easy pop culture reference to start. Pretty much all the games I play involve dice. This can lead to both exciting gameplay, and the most frustrating lows. Coming from a family of mathematicians, I understand basic statistics and probabilities. When someone tells me that character X is a better fit, or I should choose option Y in a game, intellectually I understand why they are saying…

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The impact of immersion

In every RPG game there is a spectrum of immersion. There are players who want full immersion, they speak in accents, strive to be the characters, they want as much story as possible. On the other end are players who approach the game like a video game or board game and focus on rules and mechanics, with almost no interaction with the story. As a player, I’ve gone back and forth on this spectrum,…

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It’s been a fun, productive hobby week

It was a good hobby week. I completed a character that took a while, but I took the time to do right. I played a 3 round event in preparation for the big tournament next weekend. I’m feeling good about where I’m at with the game. Enter Sandman This is the character Sandman and his sand constructs. I love the sculptures and the design. The figures do have a fair amount of detail and texture to…

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Looks like it’s my turn

For a variety of reasons, it appears that my turn to run a campaign is up. With a few caveats, I will be starting a campaign with my local group here soon. I am excited and nervous at the same time. The first caveat is that this is not expected to be a long term commitment to start. There’s a 2 month window when one of our players will be unavailable, and the group preference is to not continue…

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MCP movement, deployment, and Crisis shape

Last post I discussed how leadership abilities may or may not affect your Crisis choices and vice versa. Most leadership abilities are layout or shape neutral. The next thing to discuss is how your characters movement interacts with different shapes at deployment. For those who have not played, or may not play I would use a comparison to chess. Chess pieces have different movements. How those…