Diary of a Gamer 7/12/09

So for those of you new to the blog this is a weekly diary when I talk about what is going on in my gaming life.

Since none of the old posts transferred over let me recap what has been going on the last few weeks. I was previously running a 3.5 game called Legacy of New Lago. We finished the game a few weeks ago in fantastic fashion with a huge climactic battle. Now I am stepping out from behind the screen and going back to being a player for a while.

I am excited.

I love running games, but it gets taxing after a while. I've found that time as a player is both the perfect way to recharge the batteries and learn to be a better DM. So I'm sure all of my regulars are thinking that I'm going back to playing D&D.

Nope.

We are trying something new this week. Something that I have been drooling over since I heard it was in the works. Hackmaster Basic.

I know what some of you are saying, "Lab, you played Hackmaster 4th Edition and didn't seem very happy with the game." This is true, I wasn't very happy with the game especially toward the end, but that had little to do with the system and more to do with the way the game was run. I actually like the system in many ways and loved the character class I was playing (Cavalier).

I won't be playing a Cavalier this time around. I would if it were available (and I hope it is in the advanced rules!) but this is Hackmaster Basic. A barebones system to get everyone acclimated to the new way of playing before releasing the more complex and involved rules.

So what am I going to play? A fighter I hope, but maybe a thief depending on how my stats come out. The new edition of Hackmaster has you roll 3d6 for all stats straight down. You can move them around, but if you don't you get a huge building point bonus. You can use those to buy skills, talents, weapon proficiency, etc. That is done to encourage people to use the old school method of "playing em where they lie" which is cool. But it also gives an option for people to play the character they want by rearranging their stats, which I also think is cool. They also did away with racial restrictions on classes. Rather you must buy your class and the less common it is among that race the more it costs. For example if you are a Dwarf it only costs 20BP to purchase the fighter class, but it costs a whopping 75BP to purchase the Mage class! Since I am planning on playing a fighter I think I'll choose the Dwarf. That way I have more BP to spend on talents. I would also get a lot of cool combat related talents at half off because of being a Dwarf. I think I'm just about sold on my Dwarven Fighter, now all I have to do is come up big on my Strength Stat!

Tomorrow is character generation. The GM has wisely insisted that we all make characters together so he can answer any questions we might have while making characters. Speaking of the GM he has graciously offered to come on board as a staff writer for this blog. He will be giving you a GM perspective on the game even as I give you my players perspective in my weekly 'Diary of a Gamer' posts.

So be on the lookout for my initial reactions to the game, as well as his, in the coming week!