Not back, just visiting, pt. 2

On a more usual note, I lost considerable interest in 4th Edition D&D about a week after release; I was really looking forward to the online tools. I hear a few of them are out now (or maybe just the compendium, I can't remember). And as much as I like the new rules, the adventures and other supplemental NPCs/monsters/items/etc. from the e-zines just didn't seem that interesting. The lack of an electronic GSL registry (and the requirement of registration) is more of a turn-off than the prohibitive license itself (since I just want to give my stuff away for free anyways, and D&D rules could provide me with a few handy shortcuts).

I'm probably not going to come back with a typical article of the type I set out to write when I started this blog, but rather very flavorful, genericised RPG supplements.

P.S. I think the most consistently awesome thing about D&D would have to be the art. I especially like the work they've been using since 4E's announcement. At the very least, it seems D&D products will always be pretty.

Not back, just visiting, pt. 1

I have miraculously discovered $15 in an online-transaction-ready account, and have yet another month of City of Heroes/Villains. My villain hit 50 about a month ago, and my hero is almost 20.

I never got into World of Warcraft. It was mostly because I didn't like the people there, and so I solo'd up to level 20. That was the limit of the trial account, and as far as I was concerned, I had accomplished everything I had set out to do. Did I mention I didn't like the people there? Wonderful areas, mildly interesting items/spells/etc. And I'll refrain from making generalizations about the players. During the 14 day trial I didn't meet anyone I'd want to associate with. That's just sad.

So when I started up City of Villains, I made a character that could solo. Oddly enough, the Brute archetype was also in high demand for groups - if you can take on a whole mission by yourself, you're very valuable for anyone's mission, after all. The nicest folks would invite me to team with them, do Strike Forces, mop up heroes and other villains. We'd talk about our new costumes and powers and beat the tar out of anything from petty thugs to rival archvillains, and of course the occasional hero. The City of Villains is populated by the most pleasant crime lords, demons and world-eaters you'll ever meet. It helps that I chose a medium/low-population server, too, probably. The folks hero-side seem to be a little more insular, although there are far more heroes online at a given time. Still, every one of them has been better than the folks I met in WoW, even the "hero" that logged in his L50 Blaster to toast me for beating him in fair PvP. (I swear my villain has saved the world more times than is right! Just what kind of game am I playing!?)

For both sides, it's a game centered around defeating enemies in exchange for resources that make it so you can defeat more enemies. It's been very cleverly set up so that the best way to get the most exciting enemies and powers most often, you have to work with other players. A major component of the game is also the costume and power selection. I've never met another player with a build like mine - I even get lots of "dark/stone/teleport? neat build" PMs. (It is a neat build, by the way. Could use more damage, but at least I'm tough as nails - or rock.) I've also never met another player with a costume like any of my 5 villain costumes or my hero's costume. (Which is also a source of occasional compliment.)

Anyways, City of Heroes/Villains. Buying one will unlock the other, now. Definitely worth the money, and that's coming from a stingy bastard. I play on Justice. (Although I have heard stories about the Freedom server... avoid that one, perhaps, if you're not sure?)