by Bret

Our Daily Beard – 26/03/13

Got another interesting missive today.

This one was an update from Evans Cycles, a cycle and cycling apparel company.

They make the very good point that lighter evenings are a-coming, bringing much opportunity for bike riding.

Now, I haven’t ridden a bike in years. Part of the reason is that I’ve suffered with arthritis since a young age, so I didn’t do all that much riding in childhood. Another part is moving to the city (well, Stoke) which is less amenable to cycling. I don’t want to get flattened by a car.

However, this email did make me think twice. It’s time to get back on the cycle. I must track down a cheap one and see if I can even remember how to ride (yeah, yeah, you never forget).

Cycling certainly has benefits for portly and arthritic fellows like myself, because unlike jogging, it’s low impact. Less strain on one’s joints by far.

I might take a looksee at Evans’ RideIt! Scheme and I suggest anyone else who likes cycling or is interested in it does the same. Any incentive that might give you the extra push to get moving is a good thing.

RideIt! comprises of various mountain bike and sportive events across the country. These each vary from beginner’s routes to advanced routes, at each event. To see if there’s one near you, check out this link.

Maybe I’ll see you out there!

 

 
[sociable]

Our Daily Beard – 25/03/13

Sorry folks, it’s the end of the world.

I received this missive today, surely a sign of the apocalypse. The four horsemen couldn’t have done worse. The antichrists of Saturday night TV have made their final gambit for the souls of mankind.

Behold and despair:

 

PJ And Duncan Set For First Ever Number One

PJ and Duncan stole the show on Saturday Night Takeaway as they belted out their “classic” Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble and William Hill are offering 8/13 that the song, that has been racing up the download charts, reaches number one this weekend (6/5 it does not).

“It seems as though the whole nation was watching Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend and as a result, Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble is number one on the iTunes chart and looks likely to scoop the UK number one this weekend,” said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly. “Ant and Dec could get their first number one 20 years after their first single.”

Will PJ and Duncan be number one in the Official Top 40 this weekend: 8/13 yes; 6/5 no

 

Sorry to be the one to break it to you, folks. Say goodbye to your loved ones. The shadows draw nigh. The addition of an ‘h’ in ‘rumble’ is sapping my very mortal being even as I type.

The challenge has been issued.

Let the forces of good and evil clash in the final battle.

Let the heavens rain fire and the oceans boil.

Let’s get ready… to rhumble.

 
[sociable]

Our Daily Beard – 24/03/13

While the snow persists…

I’m getting acquainted with D20 Modern again.

I’d like to know people’s thoughts on this RPG system.

The two things that stick in my craw are the classes and the levels.

Clearly, the classes are a direct port over from D&D.

That’s fine, of course- they were, after all, modernificating a fantasy game. I just find that every time I read ‘strong hero’ or ‘dedicated hero’ it feels incredibly clunky and game-y.

The last thing an RPG should do is pidgeonhole players. It’s one thing in a fantasy setting to delineate fighters from mages (it’s not ideal but does make some sense with the pseudo medieval society), but quite another to say ‘you’re strong, you’re wise, you’re tough’.

Now, I’m aware that you can multiclass, but even then, we’re talking about fiddling with rules and having to manage a multiclass character sheet just so you can be, for example, as smart as you are quick.

Has anyone found a way around this, or a way to streamline it?

The classes directly tie in to the levels. I find it very awkward having a ‘level x’ character- not only are we right back to feeling very game-y, but also it means that two characters of differing level can be wildly outmatched. It feels like players get to become superhuman- depending on your RPG, that may be a good thing, but I feel that a modern game demands an amount of realism and grit, which you don’t get from being bulletproof.

So what to do?

Rename levels maybe, present them as some other degrees of development? In my Sleepwalkers setting, I considered making them more about a character’s magical progress and therefore the degree to which they had tuned into the otherworld. That, however, jars with regular feats and skills gained from levelling-up.

Can D20 be done without levels- perhaps just by setting all starting characters at, say, level 3 or 4 and then allowing the purchase of further feats and whatnot with a new, simpler XP system? That sounds entirely feasible. Classes, perhaps, could be removed too, replaced by a tooled-up version of the starting character occupations.

Let me know if you’ve had any experience of this.

Peace!

 
[sociable]