TWD Inbound!

I received an email indicating that The Walking Dead RPG that I backed on Kickstarter is going to be shipping soon! We'll be using this system (which features the same core game mechanics as the Alien RPG) for a Front Porch Multiverse campaign that is, in some ways, a loose sequel to our recent Tales of the Ternion superhero story. The intrepid heroes of this new game will be trapped by a devastating winter storm in a remote corner of upstate New York just as a zombie outbreak is occurring all around them.

This campaign will also be the first we've ever done that uses entirely 3D terrain. As I've mentioned over the past year or so, I've printed out and painted numerous buildings and countless smaller objects (tables,  beds, garbage cans, etc.). The campaign will feature three distinct settings -- the "downtown" of a small community, a top-secret military base, and a survivalist compound in the wilderness -- that the players will explore. The final task in my long list of preparations is to round up the zombies because, well, you know, you kinda need zombies for a zombie campaign! The minis from the excellent cooperative board game Zombicide are the same scale as the minis we use for our RPG campaigns, so I've pressed them into service. And, yes, I'm painting them. I was able to repurpose fifty-six miniatures from Zombicide, so I'm now in the midst of slapping some color on them. They won't be great, but no two will be the same, and at least they'll look better than flat gray plastic.

Which Universe Is This?

Did I somehow stumble into a weird alternate dimension? Because in the universe in which I currently find myself, celebrated sci-fi author H. G. Wells basically invented the modern wargaming hobby with the publication of the Little Wars game system in 1913. Among the game's fans was beloved actor Peter Cushing, who owned thousands of soldier minis and spent hours staging elaborate wargames. 

Saved By the Save

I've been working my way through the Drakkhen sequel -- known by many names, but called Dragon View on my Evercade cartridge -- and digging the unique blend of side-scrolling beat-'em-up action and open-world roleplaying. Everything was going great until the game started crashing every time I entered a particular room. A bit of googling revealed a known issue with the original '90s programming. The bug is related to how the game is saved, and from what I learned on Reddit and other sites, I would need to start the game over (farewell, 30th-level hero!) and save it differently in order to avoid the issue on subsequent play-throughs. I didn't relish the thought of starting over after completing about three-quarters of the campaign, so I fired off a quick email to Evercade's tech support and let the game sit for a few days. Evercade responded with an overview of the issue and a recommended workaround. I gave it a try, and voila, the game no longer crashes! My hero can now continue his quest with a renewed sense of purpose, optimism, and confidence in his ultimate victory. How's that? Well, when I tried over and over and over to enter that room, there was one time when the game didn't crash. For whatever reason, it skipped all the way to the final cutscene that plays when you win the game!

Baldur's Gate 3

So apparently there's this D&D-like game out now where the objective is to have sex with all the NPC companions and you can win the game in five minutes by stuffing one of those companions into a box.

Hard pass.

More Retro Fun

I'm taking a few days for much-needed R&R, and with the kids busy with their schoolwork, I have the opportunity to just bum around the house and do my own thing. That means lots of Evercade time! I played through Final Fight, one of the all-time classic Capcom beat-'em-up games, and I've also started a new campaign in Drakkhen II, or Super Drakkhen, or Dragon View, or whatever it's called. It's the sequel to Drakkhen, and it seems pretty damn cool so far, with a nice mix of new stuff and familiar stuff.

Lost Relics

During our recent summer trip to New York, I had picked up a copy of Lost Relics, the latest in the Warhammer Quest line of cooperative dungeon-crawlers. Lost Relics is a smaller (and cheaper) game than its celebrated predecessors Blackstone Fortress and Cursed City, and it uses a modified and simplified version of the game engine that the boys and I have come to know and love. Matthew and Nathaniel weren't terribly interested in this one, so I solo-played it in the evenings as a way of getting a little break from my usual Strat-O-Matic fare. Tonight I completed the last scenario in the campaign, as illustrated by this image of the game's final turn.

Here, my hammer-wielding tank has just killed the evil sorcerer who had trapped this warband of heroic Stormcast Eternals in his bizarre vault of relics. The sorcerer and all other adversaries are represented by tokens, unlike the larger and more expensive Warhammer Quest games. I'd prefer to have miniatures for all the characters, but in this case, I think the flat token is quite appropriate for the last combat sequence, wherein my warrior absolutely squashed the sorcerer with two devastating hammer blows.

Frakkin' Drakkhen, Man!

I plugged my Evercade into the TV with an HDMI cable so that I could play out the last few minutes of Drakkhen on the big screen. Spoiler alert: Here are some pics of the game's ending!

You can see my fighter and scout on the left. What of the priest and wizard? Fear not! They didn't perish in the final battle; they have magic items that render them partially invisible, so they appear as the sparkly white mist to the right of the scout. 

And, for some reason, there's an electric guitar in this world!

I'll be ready!

A Triumph 32 Years in the Making!

Drakkhen is about as unforgiving a game as you'll find. Touch a gravestone and a horrific, invincible monster emerges from the underworld to destroy you. Step on a flashing road and a dragon god comes down and rips you to shreds. Take an idle step into any body of water and you drown in seconds. Hell, even the constellations in the night sky sometimes coalesce into living creatures and attack you. We're talking Oregon Trail-level dangers here, people!

Well, approximately 32 years after playing Drakkhen for the first time and experiencing death in all its many, many forms, I've completed the game on my spiffy new Evercade. I expect a return trip to the world of Drakkhen sooner than later, however, as Nathaniel is already talking about starting it over so that he, Matthew, and I can all play through it together.

Blue Beetle

The Blue Beetle movie opens today. As with the last couple of DC flicks, it's a kind of awkward leftover from the Snyderverse era -- and yet James Gunn has indicated that the character is part of the new DCU. Whatevs. I just hope it's a good movie. The Blue Beetle movie I'd really love to see would be an adaptation of the (in)famous Blue Beetle #5 from 1968, in which Steve Ditko crafted a powerful statement about art, creativity, and individuality.

Victory Is Mine!!!

During our week here in Los Angeles at my in-laws' house, the boys and I got the opportunity to play an absolutely epic game of Conquest of Nerath, an Axis & Allies-like wargame set in the Fourth Edition D&D world. My brother-in-law Ben joined us for the fun. He took command of the undead realm of Karkoth (black), Matthew led the seafaring elves of Vailin (yellow), Nathaniel played as the humans and allied races of Nerath (silver), and I reigned over the monstrous hordes of the Iron Circle (red), as shown in this pic taken on the game's final turn.

In this free-for-all game, a player needed to amass 20 victory points to win. On the first night of our game, Ben jumped out to an early lead, unleashing the necrotic powers of Karkoth upon those hapless humans in Nerath. Matthew, then, started to mass elven forces on the other side of Karkoth's territory, so I was perfectly happy to let the boys worry about their uncle while I quietly built up my troops in the Iron Circle's desert wastelands. The game proceeded slowly for the first two evenings of play, with all of us scoring a few victory points here and there, primarily by raiding dungeons for magic items. I ended the second night in the lead with 10 points, but the others weren't far behind. 

Tonight, which was our last night in LA, I decided to unleash my master plan. When my turn came up, I launched six separate attacks and one delve into a dungeon for treasure (and, more importantly, the prospect of precious victory points!). Although the troops I landed on the shores of Nerath were repulsed, every other mission was a success. The most glorious moment came when I sailed a strike force across the sea to mount a surprise attack on Matthew's poorly defended capital city. In a single turn, I went from 10 victory points to a crushing 21, thereby conquering the world!

Season 9 Awards

Another hockey season has come and gone! Let's see who took home the hardware... 

Scoring Champion: Cyclone Taylor, D, Victorias
Although Taylor has won his sixth scoring title in nine seasons, I was thinking at first that it was a bit of a down year for the league's all-time points leader. When I checked the numbers, however, I found that Taylor's 36 points (11 G, 25 A) were the second-best single-season total of his illustrious career. The guy just makes it look that easy. This time around, he bested runner-up Gord Roberts of the Bulldogs by six points. 

Forward MVP: Hobey Baker, RW/C, Victorias
First-time winner Baker finished third in the league in points (29) and tied for second in goals (14), but his contributions go far beyond the scoresheet. Baker is arguably the game's best defensive forward, matching up every night against Roberts, Frank McGee, Joe Malone, and other top snipers to prevent them from scoring. As a testament to his two-way play, Baker posted a league-leading +18 plus-minus this year. Bulldogs teammates Gord Roberts and Tommy Dunderdale came in a distant second and third for this year's trophy.

Defenseman MVP: Si Griffis, Bulldogs
Taylor (36 points) and the Comets' Mike Grant (26) finished first and fourth, respectively, in the scoring race, but Griffis takes this award despite racking up far fewer points (4 G, 12 A). What gives? Well, Griffis was a dominant shutdown defender this year, and his +13 led all blueliners. It's especially eye-opening to compare his plus-minus to that of the other two Bulldogs defensemen who logged as many minutes as he did: Jack Laviolette finished at -5 and Frank Patrick at a dismal -11. The Dogs were elite at five-on-five with Griffis on the ice, and utterly hapless when he was on the bench. 

Goaltender MVP: Bowse Hutton, Victorias
In the closest race of all time, Hutton reclaimed his title from young star Hap Holmes of the Bearcats. Hutton edged Holmes in save percentage (.924 to .923) and goals-against average (2.25 vs. 2.30) to earn his fifth Goaltender MVP award.

Rookie of the Year: Didier Pitre, LW, Thistles
Pitre was not as dominant as recent freshmen like Newsy Lalonde or Joe Malone, but he's the clear choice for this year's trophy. He had great offensive numbers (10 G, 11 A), played well at five-on-five (+5), and, considering that he suits up for a team that generally suffers from excessive goonery, Pitre was a perfect gentleman and took only a single minor penalty all season.

Playoff MVP: Cyclone Taylor, D, Victorias
So many great candidates: Jack Darragh (6 G, 9 A, +4) and Didier Pitre (6 G, 8 A, +3) of the Thistles, Newsy Lalonde (7 G, 7 A, +6) and Billy McGimsie (4 G, 9 A, +7) of the Victorias. In the end, the trophy went to Taylor (4 G, 13 A, +7), who led the league in playoff points and tied for the league lead in plus-minus. What put him over the top was his virtuoso performance in the decisive Game 5 of the finals, where he showed the world that he truly is the best player in hockey. Taylor becomes the first player in league history to have won multiple Playoff MVP trophies, as he also took home this award way back in Season 2.

Season 9 Finals

Season 9 has come to a close with the crowning of a Creighton Cup champion. Here's how it went down!

After such a high-scoring opening round, I was shocked that the Thistles and Victorias were scoreless through two periods in Game 1. The visiting Thistles were struggling to generate quality chances, while the Victorias were utterly discombobulated after losing key defenseman Gordon "Phat" Wilson to injury. The clock continued to tick toward the end of regulation when Billy McGimsie scored on the power play to give the Victorias a 1-0 lead. A crushing blow for the Thistles? Hardly. After the ensuing faceoff, rookie winger Didier Pitre skated in and scored a highlight-reel goal to tie things up mere seconds later. Then, moments into overtime, Tommy Smith tallied to give the Thistles a stunning victory. Chuffed from this win, the Thistles returned home with the hope of taking a commanding lead in the series. Dan Bain scored twice early in the first period, but the Vics found their footing and fought back to earn a nail-biter 4-3 win. Wilson returned to the Vics' lineup for the third game, another back-and-forth contest that was knotted at three going into the third. The Thistles' Alf Smith scored his second goal of the night midway through the frame, and it held up to give his team a 2-1 series lead. Now the Victorias would need to win on the road again in order to keep their championship hopes alive. In Game 4, they scored early and often, with two goals from Marty Walsh pacing the team to a 5-1 triumph. 

So we were all tied up at two games apiece! The decisive fifth game would be on the Vics' home ice, but thus far the visiting team had won every game in the series. At first, it seemed the trend would continue, as brothers Tommy and Alf Smith staked the Thistles to a 2-0 lead early in the first period. Cyclone Taylor and Newsy Lalonde, however, answered back before the end of the frame, and the game remained 2-2 heading into the third period. Taylor scored again to give the Vics their first lead of the night. As the desperate Thistles pressed, Vics' winger Marty Walsh scored a backbreaker of a goal that made it 4-2 for the home team. Time was slipping away for the Thistles, but as it turned out, these two teams weren't nearly finished lighting the lamp! Around the halfway point of the period, Thistles captain Tommy Phillips scored a power-play goal to draw his team within one, but Walsh notched his second goal of the game a minute later to restore the Vics' two-goal edge. Taylor tacked on a late marker to complete a playoff hat trick and run the score up to 6-3. When the final buzzer sounded, the Victorias had completed their series comeback and earned their fifth Creighton Cup in nine seasons of play. As for the Thistles, this snake-bitten franchise has experienced yet another heartbreak. Maybe next year, boys, maybe next year!

Retro Fun

My new Evercade EXP is totally rad! I'm really digging the retro gaming fun, so much so that I can overlook the system's piss-poor battery life. (Seriously, it's that bad.) With some vacation time coming up next week, I picked up a smattering of cartridges, each of which is a collection of ten to twenty retro games. 

I bought one particular cartridge, I have to admit, solely for game Drakkhen. I have such vivid memories of playing this D&D-inspired fantasy RPG on my old Tandy 1000 SX back in middle school. The game was revolutionary for its time, and mind-bendingly difficult. I never finished it, and it aggravated me to no end, but I always had a healthy respect for this game. I'm delighted to be able to give it another go on the Evercade. I've already rolled up my party, and we're on our way!

Round 1 Recap

We're all set for the Season 9 Creighton Cup Finals! The first-place Victorias will take on the second-place Thistles in the best-of-five championship series. How did we get here? Round 1 recap below!

Victorias over Bulldogs, 3-0

Yes, it was a sweep, but it wasn't as easy as it looks. In Game 1, Newsy Lalonde picked up a hat trick, only for the Dogs' Tommy Dunderdale to score twice in the third period to tie the game at three. Lalonde then ripped his fourth of the game in overtime to give the Vics a crucial series-opening win. Game 2 was also close, with the Bulldogs again scoring twice in the third, but this time coming up just short. Hobey Baker notched four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in that one. Only in the third and final game did the Victorias earn a decisive win, skating to an easy 4-1 triumph.

Thistles over Comets, 3-2

This was, hands down, the most entertaining and exciting postseason series I've ever played, in any sport, in any medium. The Comets and Thistles are both run-and-gun teams with questionable goaltending, so no lead was every truly safe. In Game 1, the Comets' Frank Foyston racked up four points (1 goal, 3 assists) as the visitors seemed destined for an upset win, until Thistles rookie Didier Pitre scored in the final two minutes to force overtime. A Thistles penalty brought a stunned silence to the hometown crowd, but captain Tommy Phillips ended the game with a thrilling shorthanded goal. The final score was 6-5 for the Thistles, but Game 2 would feature even more scoring. Pitre had four points (2 goals, 2 assists), but the Comets twice overcame two-goal deficits to stay in the game. Former MVP Blair Russell tied the game in the closing seconds, setting up another overtime contest. This time, defenseman Mike Grant tallied the sudden-death winner in a wild 7-6 triumph for the Comets. The Thistles pulled away late in Game 3 to win 4-1, but star winger Alf Smith left with an injury and missed Game 4 as well. That fourth game was do-or-die time for the Comets, who were now facing elimination. Both teams held leads, but the score was tied at three in the third period until Foyston scored late in the frame to give the Comets a season-saving win. Back at home for a decisive Game 5, the Thistles found themselves in an early hole before righting the ship and taking a lead they wouldn't relinquish, clinching the series with a 4-2 win behind two goals from Playoff MVP frontrunner Jack Darragh. Home-ice advantage was critical in this series, as the home team won every game. 

On to the Cup Finals!

Retail Therapy

Although I'm not a big video game guy, comparatively speaking, I've always been a fan of handheld systems -- most recently the PlayStation Portable (PSP), but going back to the GameBoy Advance SP and even the ahead-of-its-time Atari Lynx. 

I've had a hankering lately for portable game action, and today's "freemium" style of mobile device gaming just kind of annoys me, even when the games are D&D or Warhammer or DC or some other brand I would otherwise be interested in. As such, my hope was to find a high-quality, modern handheld platform that plays retro games. Given that work is just, well, ugh these days, I decided on a bit of retail therapy and ordered the Evercade XP. Super excited to revisit some classic games from my childhood!

Sheer Dominance

Cyclone Taylor may be the best overall player in the nine-season history of my Strat-O-Matic hockey league, but for sheer offensive dominance, Taylor's teammate Newsy Lalonde might just take the cake. Now with four seasons under his belt, Lalonde is second to Taylor in career points per game and second to Frank McGee in career goals per game. He won numerous awards over his first three campaigns, and this year, he had a shot to capture a scoring title and/or Forward MVP trophy until an injury derailed his season. 

Fortunately for the Vics, Lalonde was healthy in time for the playoffs and got things started off with a bang. In the first game of the opening-round series against the defending-champion Bulldogs, he scored a natural hat trick, only to watch his teammates squander a 3-1 third-period lead. No matter. In overtime, Lalonde scored again, delivering the first four-goal game in playoff history.

Playoff Preview

At long last, the playoffs for Season 9 are here! A quick preview of the first-round action...

Victorias (1st) vs. Bulldogs (4th)
Wait, the Vics finished in first place?! Shocker! Once again, the league's most successful franchise cakewalked through the regular season, pacing the circuit in goals per game (3.25), goals against per game (2.25), and goal differential (+20). Led by Forward MVP candidate Hobey Baker, this team was dominant at five-on-five hockey, but special teams could be their undoing in the postseason: they were middle-of-the-pack in penalty killing and dead last in power play. The Vics will take on the Bulldogs, the team that dethroned them in the Creighton Cup Finals last year. The Dogs finished with a +1 differential despite being the only playoff team to have a sub-.500 record (6-7-7). They were carried by the dominant top line of Bruce Stuart, Gord Roberts, and Tommy Dunderdale, as well as Defenseman MVP frontrunner Si Griffis.

Thistles (2nd) vs. Comets (3rd)
The Thistles missed the playoffs last year but turned things around here in Season 9. I suspect some of their success was the result of luck, however, as their gaudy 8-4-8 record is undercut by a middling +1 goal differential. But with the league's best power play and legions of attacking forwards (including star rookie Didier Pitre), the Thistles can run and gun with anybody. They'll need to be at their best to defeat the Comets, who came on strong as the league's hottest team in the second half. The turning point for the Comets was bringing back former franchise icon Billy Gilmour, who played at an MVP pace once he cracked the lineup midway through the year. 

900

After adding a couple of new NPCs to flesh out one of the world's major organizations, my Druid Cycle spreadsheet now sits at an even 900 named characters. It's kind of fun to filter the list by location, affiliation, time period, etc. How many cultists of Deimos & Phobos are active in the Imperial Palace of Troya Nova right now? Wow, more I would have thought...

A New Millennium

I had the opportunity to pass through my beloved Rochester last week and, needless to say, I planned to swing by Millennium Games -- aka the greatest game store in the history of humankind. However, I experienced a moment of panic when I saw that Millennium's familiar storefront was empty! I soon realized that the store had moved to a new location (1125 Jefferson Road, for those who know the city), which is bigger and better than either of their previous locations in that little Henrietta Townline Plaza off of West Henrietta. Millennium continues to impress me with every visit. They're a true gem of the gaming community!

Milestones

I ran my first campaign -- Earth Commanders, a superhero game using the Champions rules -- back in the summer of 1988. Although I don't have the specific start date, it was sometime after school ended, so maybe right about this time of year. Today's as good a day as any to celebrate thirty-five years of gamemastering Front Porch campaigns. I'm grateful to all the players who've joined me on this journey and shared their boundless imaginations to bring these games to life. Here's to 35 more years (at least!) of roleplaying fun!

There are a couple more milestones in 2023 that are also well worth mentioning. It's a big year for the Druid Cycle setting. Although, technically, I created this world in 1991 for the Fate of the Grand Duchy campaign (marking the first appearance of Tim W's Lwcus, one of the most important Front Porch characters of all time!), that storyline took place in the early history of the Druid Cycle world. The first campaign set in the "current" time period started in 1993 -- thirty years ago! -- with the rise of Jason's paladin Sir Roberts and Scott's cleric Stalker. If we skip ahead five more years, to 1998, we come to another milestone: the introduction of Tim W's wizard Cathbad and Kevin's cleric Senchan, who both helped shape the course of world events. A big shout-out to Scott and Jason on the thirtieth anniversary of their iconic characters, and likewise to Tim and Kevin on the twenty-fifth anniversary of theirs!

It's fitting, then, that 2023 is the year I brought my kids into the Druid Cycle setting. Why did I wait so long? Well, when the boys started playing D&D six years ago, I used my Shattered Realm setting for something a bit smaller and less complex than the Druid Cycle world, and they grew to love their characters so much that we just kept going in that world. Now I feel the time is right to get them into the big leagues, so to speak. Their first introduction to my largest campaign setting came a couple of months ago when we started an online campaign with their older cousins in Chicago. However, I have something special up my sleeve just for Matthew and Nathaniel: a second game in this world that will be a true sequel to the original 1993 Druid Cycle campaign. As the late lamented Sir Roberts might say, "Bring it on!"