The Games We Play: Experience Logs

In 1996, I was introduced to LARP in The Camarilla. With this introduction came an interesting item that I continue to use today: an experience log.



In White Wolf's World of Darkness, you spend your earned experience points in order to advance your attributes, abilities, powers and just about everything else. For The Camarilla, you needed to maintain an experience log for each character you played so that the ST's would know where you received your experience and where it was spent.



Since its introduction to my life, I have used experience logs for every World of Darkness game I've run... and others have followed suit.



I think that this concept can be easily adapted to every other experienced-based RPG.



"Why" do you ask? Easy. I've noticed too many people forgetting when they receive what amount of experience and they attempt to rely on other players and the DM to maintain a level of consistency. It should be the responsibility of the individual player to track their own experience.



For World of Darkness LARP, it comes down to recording experience, you have a few specific items you need:

• When XP was earned.


• How much XP was earned.


• When XP was spent and on what.


• A running total of remaining XP.

Since I'm currently developing a Pathfinder campaign, I'm thinking I'll need the following:

• When XP was earned.


• How much XP was earned.


• A running total of XP earned.


• If any XP was removed/lost.


• When your character leveled-up.

Has anyone else ever added XP logs to your games outside of the World of Darkness? If so, how did they work for you and do you have any opinions?

Serenity: Those Left Behind

Title:
Serenity: Those Left Behind

ISBN:
9781593078461

Price:
$19.95

Publisher/Year:
Dark
Horse, 2007

Artist: Brett Matthews

Writer:
Joss Whedon

Collects:
Serenity: Those Left Behind #1-3

Rating:
3/5

Joss Whedon's
television series Firefly led into the movie Serenity, but that lead was over a
broken and unlit path. Along the way, some characters vanished, others faded
and a few loose ends tied themselves off without any explanation. Serenity:
Those Left Behind sheds light on the path that brought the Firefly crew to the
point of the movie's opening scenes.

Serenity:
Those Left Behind is strictly a fill-in story, covering material that won't
matter or make any sense to series newcomers. But for fans of the sadly
abbreviated series, it's a treat, serving as something of a season finale. The
art is straightforward and focused on the story.

Will
Conrad does an excellent job of capturing not just the actors, but the
characters, with every expression and gesture recognizable. The dialogue and
story by Brett Matthews and series creator Joss Whedon are unsurprisingly
faithful to the spirit and canon of everything that's gone before. And for
those who've seen the movie, there's a nice nod towards what's coming next.

Firefly
was clearly envisioned as a television series, and even the most faithful comic
adaptation can't take the place of the actors, musicians and animation that
were part of the series' feel. But Serenity: Those Left Behind is an
entertaining chapter in the lives of the galaxy's most outclassed smugglers.

Continued progress

While my personal schedule is filled with things like work, school and family, I have had a little time to myself to think about what I'm going to offer my players for this "epic" campaign I'm designing. I want to give it the right mixture of classic fantasy, but also go into some ideas that I've never really gone before.

In a word: GUNPOWDER

I'm familiar with settings like Stephen King's "Dark Tower", and that's kind of what I'd like to bring to this game. I've never included gunpowder in any of my games before, and I'm reaching out to those who have for some advice.

• Are there any pitfalls you may have encountered with gunpowder in your fantasy setting that I should be aware of, and how did you manage to overcome them? 


• Will the addition of gunpowder to the campaign detract from the magical nature of the setting?


• If I allow my players to have access to gunpowder weapons, are there any limits you would suggest?

I always like adding a bit of diversity to my games. As many of my players can attest to, when I run a genre specific game (i.e. Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, etc.) I open it up beyond the "confines" of the specific game. (i.e. For any singular World of Darkness game, I always add elements from several of the other games to help provide the proper feel of "You're not alone in this world" -or- "You're not actually top of the food chain.")



For those players that are interested in playing a race outside of the norm, I'm going to give them a chance... albeit a slim one. 4% or 5% depending on the player's choice. Here's what I was thinking:



   4%- (player rolls)

• 2 #'s = the players current age and *2. (i.e. Player is 23 so they get 23 and 46.)


• 2 #'s = chosen by the player

   5%- (DM rolls)

• Extra # chosen by DM.

I'm not sure how this option will be received, but I thought I'd give it a shot. As always, I welcome your thoughts. I've already modified some of my design based on the feedback I've received thus far, and I DO appreciate the feedback.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Title:
Batman: The Long Halloween

ISBN:
9781563894695

Price:
$19.99

Publisher/Year:
DC,
1998

Artist: Tim Sale

Writer:
Jeph Loeb

Collects:
Batman: The Long Halloween #1-13

Rating:
4/5

There
are a handful of iconic Batman stories, and The Long Halloween is counted
proudly among them. This landmark tale written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim
Sale captures a side of Gotham that no other story has accomplished.

Taking
its lead from Frank Miller's classic Year One story (which, while never so
dramatic as The Dark Knight Returns, has far more staying power), The Long
Halloween revolves around the untouchable Falcone crime family and the efforts
of Gotham's justice triumvirate -- police Capt. James Gordon, crusading
district attorney Harvey Dent and, of course, the Batman -- to bring crime lord
Carmine "The Roman" Falcone to justice. Their task is hampered by the
appearance of a serial killer, dubbed "Holiday" by the media for his
propensity for killing on, you guessed it, holidays, who systematically takes
apart the Falcone empire.

This
dark and noirish story avoids the gimmicks employed by so many Batman writers,
instead concentrating on the grim and often frustrating task of following
leads, searching for clues and, at times, suspecting friends of terrible
crimes. Besides a crackerjack murder-mystery, Loeb has written an exemplary
Batman and has set a new high in his characterization of Gotham's peculiar
population. Interactions between Batman, Gordon and Dent, as well as his trusty
butler Alfred and a colorful array of villains from the Joker, Riddler and
Scarecrow to Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter and Solomon Grundy, simply spark with
energy and highly believable dialogue. Batman's relationship with Catwoman --
as well as Bruce Wayne's relationship with Selina Kyle -- are particularly well
handled with a one-two combination of sensuality and menace.

Sale's
art is sometimes not to my taste, and yet for this story it is dark and twisted
perfection. (OK, I'm not sure what he's doing with the Joker's teeth, but I
suppose he can slide on that one artistic quirk.)

Mystery
lovers may squawk because the reader is never actually given enough clues to
solve the crime, and the final twist seems to come out of nowhere. Still, The
Long Halloween is a classic story that belongs in the permanent collection of
every Batman fanatic and deserves to be read by anyone with even a passing
interest in the Bat.

My current "To Review" list

Though I'm nowhere near behind on having reviews ready... at the time of writing this, I have reviews scheduled to post at my regular Sunday timing up to June 15th... but I have a sizable stack of trades that I've read but haven't written the review for yet. I thought that if I had a list of what is in that stack, it might help to motivate me to get to work on them.



So, without further ado... the list (listed in the order they are stacked):

• Ghost World


• Fairest: The Hidden Kingdom


• Venom vs. Carnage


• Hellboy: The Midnight Circus


• Azrael: Angel in the Dark


• Harbor Moon


• Ghost: Painful Music


• Dark Reign: Accept Change


• Dark Avengers: The End is the Beginning


• Marvel Mangaverse Vol. 3: Spider-Man - Legends of the Spider-Clan


• Wolverine: The Brotherhood


• Spawn Origins Collection Vol. 1 & 2


• Ghost/Batgirl: The Resurrection Engine


• Cobra: Son of the Snake


• Spider-Man's Tangled Web Vol. 4


• Star Wars: General Grievous


• Spider-Man vs. Venom


• John Constantine, Hellblazer: Black Flowers


• John Constantine, Hellblazer: Chas - The Knowledge


• Constantine: The Hellblazer Collection


• Classic G.I. Joe Vol. 15


• G.I. Joe: The Best of Snake Eyes


• G.I. Joe Vol. 4 & 5


• G.I. Joe: Origins Vol. 3 & 4


• G.I. Joe Dreadnoks: Declassified


• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Vol. 2


• G.I. Joe: Special Missions Vol. 3


• G.I. Joe: Cobra Vol. 1-3


• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Volume 1: Freefall


• Lady Death: The Reckoning


• Lady Death: Origins Vol. 1


• Witchblade Deluxe Collected Edition


• Clerks


• Spike Vol. 1: All Together Now

Mind you, this is only the list of the trade's I've already read. I still have a larger stack of those I have yet to read. Obviously, I'm going to have plenty of work ahead of me and I'm going to have this blog going for another year plus.

Zanziber's outlook for 2014

Here we are, coming to the end of another year. 2013 has been a huge year from me personally, with the addition of Twitter and the Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer (#CBC4C) project. Here's the outlook on the comic con's for 2014 thus far:

January 24-26

I submitted an application for a fan table to help promote Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer at Wizard World Portland. Due to my current funding capabilities, if I am denied for the table, I may only be able to attend for a single day. I already have a room booked, so now I play the waiting game. Last year, I was able to attend a single day because Groupon came through with a great deal. Either way, I'm looking forward to the chance of attending and connecting with some additional artists for CBC4C.

Nothing has been announced for this years Stumptown, but I wouldn't mind attending again. Hopefully I'll be able to fair better than this in 2013. Next time around, I'm going to be more open-minded about supporting the indie comic scene.

March 28-30

I already have my room booked and my train tickets purchased. I'm going to have to wait until after the holidays to buy my ticket. I missed Emerald City Comic Con 2013, but I don't want to miss 2014. Because of baggage restrictions, I'm debating about if I should bring blanks along for artist to help with CBC4C, but I'll have business cards and (hopefully) flyers/brochures.

May 10-11

2014 will bring a new convention into the Pacific Northwest in the form of Cherry City Comic Con right in my own back yard. I'm going to give as much support to this con as I can, though I won't have a table. I've already purchased my ticket for the weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to be put on. With any luck, we can help make this as much of a success as 2012's inaugural Rose City Comic Con. Buy your tickets now!

September 20-21

I intend on attending Rose City Comic Con again in 2014. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm hoping that I'll also be able to get a fan table to help promote CBC4C. Even if I'm not able to get a table, I'll have business cards and flyers/brochures.

All year long!

I know it's not a comic con, but I thought I'd add a little something about the Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer project. As you can probably tell from above, I intend on promoting CBC4C wherever I go. I'm looking forward to making new connections with artists who can help support the cause, and I'd love to be able to meet some of the current artists face-to-face. I appreciate everyone who has helped this project become successful. What I'd like to ask from each person who reads this is to like our Facebook page if you haven't already and share it with at least 1 person.

To any vendors who will be attending any or all of these conventions, I have a simple request...

Bring lots of different TPB's and GN's and give us a good discount and you'll have my attention and my patronage.

Joker

Title:
Joker

ISBN:
9781401215811

Price:
$19.99

Publisher/Year:
DC,
2008

Artist: Lee Bermejo

Writer:
Brian Azzarello

Rating:
3.5/5

Every
superhero needs a nemesis and The Joker has served Batman well over the years.
His white face, green hair, psychotic grin and manic laugh have remained
something of a constant, making his visage almost as iconic as Batman’s cape
and cowl. But he’s also prone to reinvention, with each generation making a
darker, more disturbing Joker. Alan Moore’s crippling rapist in 1988′s The
Killing Joke became a low water mark in his evil career though. And while
Azzerello and Bermejo provide him with a nasty looking carved-in grin, and
paint him as a murderous, psychotic bully, he doesn’t quite stoop so low in
this violent reworking.

He
is, however, a ruthless gangster. Finding himself freed from Arkham Asylum on
the grounds that he’s cured (and thus falling into one of superhero comics’
eternal problems – why aren’t these guys just sent straight to the chair?), The
Joker returns to Gotham to retake his position as king of crime. In his
absence, characters like The Penguin and Two-Face have muscled in on his territory
– foolish mistakes they’ll live to regret, as The Joker re-takes his slice of
the action, along with a bit more for his trouble. In other words, The Joker
isn’t cured – he’s as bad as ever. Now there’s a surprise. Someone at Arkham’s
going to lose their job.

All
this is seen through the perspective of one of The Joker’s henchmen, Jonny
Frost, who quickly rises into position as his right-hand man, second only to
silent and undoubtedly deeply disturbed lap-dancing girlfriend Harley Quinn.
It’s Jonny’s voice we hear throughout the book, as he learns the ropes of
dealing with The Joker and boasts that, through his close bond with the master
criminal, he has finally become someone of note.

Azzerello’s
take on The Joker deals far more with the politics of crime than we’re used to
seeing. We see how he deals with his rivals and why there could never really be
a collective union of super-villains, with so little honor amongst these
thieves. Bermejo’s darker, grittier take on this pantheon of villains is a stunning
job, taking the characteristics that make them who they are and grounding them
with contemporary fashions and henchmen. His Gotham is dark, brooding and
lawless.

The
story is flawed only by its eventual and begrudgingly necessary adherence to
the cycle of the superhero story which, while tempered with a different
perspective, is necessarily still locked into this three act piece. If you can
cope with this, however, we’re sure you’ll agree that the voice Azzerello gives
The Joker is a definitive fit we’re likely to hear again. At least until the
next time the character goes through a reinvention.