Return to EQ II

If you follow me for very long, and most assuredly if you read my older stuff, you know I am a big fan and player of the game Everquest II.  In recent years though it has been mostly a love/hate relationship.  I have so many fond memories of playing the MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game.  I started playing the game back in 2004 and have been a subscriber of the game on and off for the last ten years.

Recently they made the game free to play, and with that the need to generate money by selling literally every aspect of the game from potions, mounts, levels, skills, spells, items, etc….  I do not have a problem with that, other than some of the items are garishly horrendous in appearance.  But I do take offense when they turn around and give away free stuff to entice players to stay — sort of like a drug pusher on the playground giving out free hits of speed.  They are not that coy when it comes to offering free stuff in the hopes that players will continue to buy stuff in the game.

The free stuff just keeps coming and they just keep offering more free stuff.  At one point, I just threw up my hands and walked away.  It became nothing more than logging into the game to see what futher free stuff was going to be offered.

I left for about a year but then asked a friend if he would be willing to come back, but only if we moved to the RP server and take nothing for free.  We start completely over with nothing other than our memories — which for me is pretty faulty anyway.

Our first hours back feel so liberating.  We are fighting 10th level orcs and having a challenge.  We are accepting nothing for free and will continue to accept nothing on these characters.  I am not sure if my friend will continue to honor his pledge or not, but for me I am not going to accept spells or anniversary items in the least.  I want to earn every xp point, every platinum coin, every spell book, every item on my person.

 

Edit:  I created a new account, so I came into this game with no anniversary gifts or any legacy items in the least. I further found out that at the free to play, Bronze Level, you cannot interact with the chat channels.  I just turned them off, enabling only group chat with my friends. How joyous is it not to read the banter of teenagers blathering about politics or religion — a blessing in disguise.

I wish Sony would create a throw-back retro server that essentially start the game over, with no expansions added — release 1 every 6 months.  How cool and fun would that be — I even wish they would make leveling ten times harder, but I doubt they would ever do that.

Boo!!!

Magic the Gathering Variant

I have been playing Magic the Gathering for more than 15 years, probably closer to 20, and I have always had a horrible time with getting mana into play.  I am trying this varient to see if it changes the game much or if it actually allows for more simple streamlined play.

Remove all mana from play decks.  Use counters for the types of mana you want to use.  Each player then has the option of each turn to lay out one mana chip or using his cards in his hands, or play a mana chip and pay 1 life to play cards.  Essentially you are removing the need to place mana from your hand and then sacrificing a life to play cards on the turn you add mana to the game.

A very simple rule change, but it has grand effects on the play of the game.  Place mana and end turn, or don’t place mana and play cards, or place mana and pay 1 life and play cards.  It is a subtle tweak that allows for mana to be quickly infused into the game.

I will tell you how it fairs soon.  We are playing the variant this week.

War: Home Cooked Rules for Axis & Allies

My friends and I are big wargamers.  Each week we get together and play some kind of wargame or strategic flavored board, card, or computer game.  One of the biggest problems we have however is that some games are just a bit complex to set up.  Often the rules are a bit heavy too for just an evening of throwing dice and having fun.

I have come up with a set of very basic rules that we use with the board and game pieces with Axis & Allies.  It is very straight forward and has no historical context.  It is more akin to the old game of Risk than anything else.  We use a WWII map simply because it is easier for us to rationalize map places and values assigned to each zone. We like using the pieces of A&A because they are a bit more variety.

The motto is to keep it simple and easy.  Something you can put together in 15 minutes time.

Objective:  Whenever the game ends, the player with the highest zone points wins.

To Start:  Each player rolls 3 times on the chart below to get starting locations of their bases. Troops may start from any of these area, and areas that the player gains control in play.

Locations:
1 Eastern Canada
2 Eastern US
3 Brazil
4 United Kingdom
5 Western Europe
6 Germany
7 Southern Europe
8 Eastern Europe
9 Ukraine
10 Karelia
11 Caucasus
12 Russia
13 India
14 French-Indo China
15 Kwanttung
16 Manchuria
17 Japan
18 Western US
19+ Pick

Sequence of Turn
1. Each player rolls 1d6, the highest goes first and then proceeds to the right. After all have gone, re-roll initiative.
2. Player to right rolls reinforcements (3d6) and places units & resolves.
3. Spend money on units, tech, and infrastructure
4. Move all units and resolves
5. Count cash and gather money

Each turn before the active player makes his purchases and moves his forces, the player to his right rolls for Reinforcements.   Roll 3d6 and place generated units in any number of non-player controlled zones. These forces can be placed anywhere and may or may not attack the active player’s positions.

Roll Results
3-5 1 Soldier
6 3 Soldiers
7-8 1 Tank
9-10 1 Soldier, 1 Fighter, 1 Tank
11 2 Soldiers and then moves up to 4 units. Can Attack
12 Battleship
13-14 1 Fighter
15 1 Submarine
16 2 Tank and then moves up to 4 units. Can Attack
17 2 Submarinea
18 Carrier & 3 Fighter

Spending Money
Each turn, the active player spends his money he earned from the end of his last action.  This money can be spent on infrastructure, technology, or units.

Infrastructure costs $5 and returns $1 per turn. A factory also reduces the cost of units by 1 if placed in the zone.

LAND UNITS
Soldier Cost=2 Move=1 Attack=1 Defend=2
Tank Cost=5 Move=2* Attack=3 Defend=2
AA Gun*** Cost=3 Move=0 Attack=0 Defend=1
Only land units can control land zones.

AIRPLANES
Fighter Cost=8 Move=5 Attack=3 Defend=4
Bomber Cost=12 Move=7 Attack=4 Defend=1
Aerial units can attack zones at 1d6 per attack, subtracting values from cash reserves.

SHIPS
Submarine Cost=10 Move=2 Attack=2** Defend=2
Transport# Cost=15 Move=1 Attack=1 Defend=1
Battleship Cost=25 Move=2 Attack=4 Defend=4
Carrier## Cost=25 Move=3 Attack=3 Defend=2

* If tank is not halted in any way, he can move 3 in a blitzkrieg
** The first attack of a submarine is at 3 not 2.
*** AA guns can only be used against Air units
# Transports can carry 4 land units
## Carriers can carry 4 Fighters

Cost is in dollars. Can be only spent at the beginning of each player’s turn.

Move is the number of land or sea spaces moved. Land units cannot go into the ocean, just as sea units cannot go onto land. Air units can traverse any zone.

Attack is the number or less on a 1d6 of striking a hit on a defender. An attack goes first, but a defender can retaliate. Any hit, causes the other side to remove units as they desire.

Defend is the number or less on a 1d6 of striking a hit on an attacker.

NPN (Non-Player Nation) Parley: If a player desires to move through zones and not seek to control or attack units, he rolls on the following table and resolves the action.

1d6 Result
1   Forces may pass through zone
2   Player pays 2 dollars to pass
3   Player pays 1 dollar per unit passing
4   Those units cannot move this turn (held up in diplomacy)
5   Units must engage any unit in zone
6   Add 1d6-2 soldiers to zone and then engage for at least 1 attack

To Control a Zone:  A ground unit must be in the zone. Air units do not count for control. Any NPN zone always has 2 Soldiers of militia and partisans when a player tries to gain control.

Winner: Highest points controlled
Dan Quayle Reward: Lowest points controlled

Technology: $5 gets you a 2 in 6 chance of success. Roll 3d6 for results

3d6 Results
3 Paratroopers: Soldiers can move 3 zones without need of Parley or sea support (ships aren’t required to move them).
4 MASH Units: Any Soldier removed from combat has a 1 in 6 chance of being healed. Place unit back in any starting zone.
5 Jets: +2 Move, +1 Attack and Defense to aerial units.
6 Strategic Bombers: Bombers can attack any zone on the same continent and return home.
7-10 Metallurgy: All zones values are increase +$1,
11-13 Advanced Armor: Any Tank destroyed in combat has a 1 in 6 chance of being repaired. Place back in any starting zone.
14-15 RADAR: AA guns Defend on a 3!!
16 Chemical Warfare: +1 to attack chances.
17 Rockets: Use AA guns to shoot 2 zones at a 2 attack.
18 Atomic Bomb: Cost $50 and any zone is annihilated. All forces are removed from the game.

 

Lord of the Donuts

Three donuts for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Dunken where the Coffee lie.
One donut to rule them all, One donut to find them,
One donut to bring them all and in the morning bind them
In the Land of Dunken where the Coffee lie

 

The Politics of Competitive Board Gaming Amongst Friends

I posted this fantastic video a couple of years ago and I never forgot it. It took me weeks to track it down, even on my own site (in my defense I will say that Emerald Tablet does go back seven years).  I think this is one of the great short films that strikes at the heart of competitive boardgames and how most of my friends feel.

I implore you to watch this video as it has real charm:

Top 5 Most Epic Speeches in Film

A recent discussion on the Osprey Publishing website about the 5 most influential weapons and then the 5 most incredible musical themes in war movies, made me think of the top 5 most epic speeches in film.  I found someone already assembled a master piece I present here:

 

I contend that the third movie selected is that of a fictional time and place, so perhaps I would have picked something different.

I would swap the third movie with the Henry V speech of the Eve of Saint Crispin: