tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post1908180973390529988..comments2024-03-28T15:30:09.903-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Retrospective: Murder on Arcturus StationJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86283757302331004462011-12-01T08:09:59.887-05:002011-12-01T08:09:59.887-05:00I guess i missed all of this, i started playing in...I guess i missed all of this, i started playing in the early 90's and by then, adventures never really had much visibility. OR at least they didn't in Phoenix where i grew up. We played a mix of D&D 2E and Rifts, and Rifts doesn't really have much in the way of published adventures, though they do provide lots of capsule style adventures called "Hook, Line and Sinker" that are about 3 paragraphs long and paint an adventure in broad strokes. Even now, as i start to dig into the OSR movement, i'm still not a huge fan of published adventures, outside of the locations and monsters i can plunder for my own campaigns. Still, i really do enjoy articles like this as it broadens my horizons and gives me incite into where the hobby itself came from and why somethings are the way they are.talsinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506341065655557056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58700816994556580142011-11-30T23:52:21.926-05:002011-11-30T23:52:21.926-05:00MoAS is my all time favorite RPG adventure. I'...MoAS is my all time favorite RPG adventure. I've run variations on it at least 5 times, each in a different system.Rick Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03861028587034895406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41084115967232867632011-11-30T22:35:52.927-05:002011-11-30T22:35:52.927-05:00BTW, James, thank you for this. While I own MoAS, ...BTW, James, thank you for this. While I own MoAS, I never really gave it much heed. Because of this blog entry, I'm rereading it and rediscovering what great adventure-fodder this module is. Kudos!toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47830465764699412452011-11-30T22:30:30.878-05:002011-11-30T22:30:30.878-05:00"Rather, I mean that Traveller was never just..."Rather, I mean that Traveller was never just about dogfights and shoot 'em ups with bug-eyed aliens. There was a depth and variety to its adventures, some of which offered up surprisingly complex issues as fodder for roleplaying. It's something I continue to admire about Traveller and that has continued to influence me as I write my own science fiction adventures."<br /><br />+1. Perfectly said, and this is why Traveller is my second favorite RPG ('though not by much ;) ).toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-37110101220732315022011-11-30T17:41:42.754-05:002011-11-30T17:41:42.754-05:00Call of Cthulhu is the exception that proves the r...Call of Cthulhu is the exception that proves the rules that apply to virtually all other RPGs. <br /><br />Most RPGs will fail to find an audience. <br />- CoC has been quietly building an audience for almost 30 years.<br /><br />RPGs cannot sell adventures.<br />- CoC sells mostly adventures and few straight source books <br /><br />Successful RPGs have to be radically overhauled periodically to meet a changing market.<br />-CoC Sandy Petersen got it right back in the 80s. CoC has been tweaked very little over the decades. <br /><br />CoC is the only RPG I know that's been in print that long and remains basically unchanged in terms of rules system and presentation. I suppose Tunnels & Trolls hasn't changed all that much either but it's never had the following that CoC has. And you can buy Classic Traveller again but Traveller has been done many detours in the last 20 years.... <br /><br />None of this applies to the OSR, of course. If you have the wherewithal to imagine, write, and publish a game then I Salute you!Captain Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10682678777940123469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36734692760337999182011-11-30T15:48:23.162-05:002011-11-30T15:48:23.162-05:00Call of Cthulhu sprang to mind almost immediately ...<i>Call of Cthulhu</i> sprang to mind almost immediately for me too, but as I'm unfamiliar with <i>Traveller</i>, I didn't know if such a comparison would be fair.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15491634652626646912011-11-30T14:46:40.914-05:002011-11-30T14:46:40.914-05:00You speak truly and I can't believe I didn'...You speak truly and I can't believe I didn't at least make reference to <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> when I made my bold statement. CoC is not just a RPG <i>with</i> excellent adventures; it's an RPG that has survived and prospered largely <i>on</i> adventures. That makes it a rarity in this hobby.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23398406293909971742011-11-30T11:01:30.971-05:002011-11-30T11:01:30.971-05:00Although nowhere near as familiar with Traveller a...Although nowhere near as familiar with Traveller as you are, I do have to say a likely candidate for "largest collection of excellent adventures".<br /><br />Here's a few that come to mind:<br /><br />1. Masks of Nyarlathotep (campaign)<br />2. Beyond the Mountains of Madness (campaign)<br />3. Escape from Innsmouth (campaign)<br />4. Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37<br />5. Our Ladies of Sorrow (campaign)<br />6. "The Night War" from New Tales of the Miskatonic Valley<br />7. "Madness of the Ancestors" from Secrets of Kenya<br />8. "The Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man" from Worlds of Cthulhu #6<br />9. Final Flight<br />10. The Realm of Shadows (campaign)<br />11. Future: Perfect (campaign)<br />12. Coming Full Circle (campaign)<br />13. "Nightcap" and "The Dream Factory" from Mortal Coils<br />14. All 3 scenarios from Delta Green<br />15. 2 out of the 3 scenarios from Delta Green: Countdown<br />16. 2 out of the 3 scenarios from Delta Green: Eyes Only<br />17. The Last Equation<br />18. "The Well of Sacrifice" from Mysteries of Mesoamerica<br /><br />That's 23 scenarios that I found to be truly excellent. There's many more that are good products that I found some serious flaw in, but these are the cream of the crop. I'm sure others would be able to point out many more I forgot, but what's important here is that Call of Cthulhu has concentrated on one thing over the decades: making adventures. Since there hasn't been a ton of unnecessary additional sourcebooks, new editions, or any else getting in the way, CoC has moved far beyond its peers when it comes to scenario design.<br /><br />I often wonder what would have happened if TSR stuck to this model. Who knows what sort of great adventures they would've produced if adventures had remained their bread and butter?R Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18411907126909551409noreply@blogger.com