What RPG books did you buy recently?

[Tadanori Oyama]

What is the difference between New and Old World of Darkness (is there both?)?  And is it a good system worth getting?

New World of Darkness uses a common system across all of it's games, which is presented in full in the base book. They all use the same skills and general lay out of abilities.

It's a good system if you like combining attributes and skills to determine a dice pool. In New World of Darkness you use d10s and the target numbers are static (8 or higher is success) and for any unopposed rolls you only need 1 success to succeed so a pool of 3 or 4 dice gets the job done most of the time. More difficult than "normal" rolls are represented by penalities to your dice pool. In nearly all cases you'll add bonuses and penalities and then roll and it's done. Combat is similar with the addition that more successes equals more damage.

I recommend buying New World of Darkness. It's a good general system of play.

[Mckma]

Taking sister to school and found a discount bookstore.  Look through there somewhat slim pickings of RPG books, and I happen to find World of Darkness for $8.  Glad I didn't pick it up for $25.  They had some interesting choices, several AD&D books, first edition (I believe) Mutants and Masterminds, the other World of Darkness books (Mage, Werewolf, and Vampire), among others...

[doctorscraps]

The last book I bought was D6 Adventure from West End Games. Found it cheap at an old game store while on a journey with a friend who was in the market for a game of his own to run in the group.
That was a little more than a year ago, and I still don't understand it.

[Feyjarl]

Went a bit mad over the last few months.  Bought Shadowrun plus 6 sourcebooks, Serenity RPG, Traveller RPG, and 2 Paranoia books.

[Mckma]

Got World of Synnibarr source book (turns out I ordered from a book shop with the same name as the publisher, don't know if they are connected) in the mail, and I open the package to see another book instead, the World of Synnibarr supplement, "Ultimate Adventurer's Guide".  Then I realize my book is underneath and the note on that one reads "Free Bonus Book!" (handwritten).  I'm wondering if they are having trouble getting rid of it...

[crash2455]

No, see?  You're getting the total McCracken experience.

[Mckma]

No, see?  You're getting the total McCracken experience.

Actually, it is pretty funny, from the intro paragraphs of the supplement:

One of the things Synnibarr was designed for was out-and-out power gaming.  This is the form of play I most enjoyed in my youth, combined with my love f the analytical approach to the physics of the actual movement and effects of the fantasy world.  To me it was a challenge of numbers to quantify the sum of all existence and distill it into a realist set of probabilities for dice rolling.  to this end I attempted to actually do everything in the real world and apply it.  This had the effect of not only constantly causing myself injury, but the explosion of rules and rules and rules.  Now, as I have grown, my love of the role-playing aspect has taken over, and hence, this book.  For me it is creating a story and a mood so all-encompassing as to draw real feeling form the players during the game, using the dice only when necessary...  Some of the characters withing this system may seem too powerful to be killed when first created--this is a fallacy, plain and simple.  The system has too many checks and balances within it to allow this (hence the eight power bases).  What is commonly the case is that nobody in the party can beat them at first level  To this I say good, and I hope that they are on my side when it comes to trouble.

This system is just so odd.  Like it is fundamentally screwed up on the one hand, but it has some of the most ridiculously absurdly awesome things on the other (like giant flying grizzly bears that shoot lasers from their eyes, I mean, just picture that!)...

[ristarr]

Where did you order it from?  It sounds like a deal that can't be passed up. Especially if you get a surprise bonus book!

[Mckma]

I bought it off Amazon, it was new from Wonderworld.  There were like 3 in stock.  It was a bit pricey, (about $28 all told), but for a new copy in almost perfect condition (it had that "looked at in bookstore" feel to it), with a shrink-wrapped copy of the supplement (which appears to go for at least $20 used), I feel like it was a pretty good deal.  But like I said, the note on it was handwritten and no guarantees that everyone would get the bonus...

[crash2455]

One of the things Synnibarr was designed for was out-and-out power gaming.  This is the form of play I most enjoyed in my youth, combined with my love f the analytical approach to the physics of the actual movement and effects of the fantasy world.  To me it was a challenge of numbers to quantify the sum of all existence and distill it into a realist set of probabilities for dice rolling.  to this end I attempted to actually do everything in the real world and apply it.  This had the effect of not only constantly causing myself injury, but the explosion of rules and rules and rules.  Now, as I have grown, my love of the role-playing aspect has taken over, and hence, this book.  For me it is creating a story and a mood so all-encompassing as to draw real feeling form the players during the game, using the dice only when necessary...  Some of the characters withing this system may seem too powerful to be killed when first created--this is a fallacy, plain and simple.  The system has too many checks and balances within it to allow this (hence the eight power bases).  What is commonly the case is that nobody in the party can beat them at first level  To this I say good, and I hope that they are on my side when it comes to trouble.

This system is just so odd.  Like it is fundamentally screwed up on the one hand, but it has some of the most ridiculously absurdly awesome things on the other (like giant flying grizzly bears that shoot lasers from their eyes, I mean, just picture that!)...

Wait, so McCracken admitted that the system was designed for munchkins?  I mean, everyone kind of figured that it was (with Immortal Borns being the biggest clue on that).  Ever since I found out about rules-light systems, though, I never understood the point of taking hours and hours to make an imaginary dude who can do more damage than the goddamn Death Star with a sidekick.  In Wushu, you can make a guy in 5 minutes and just say that he does that much damage.

I won't deny the B-Movie awesomeness of some of the stuff in the World of Synnibarr setting, but damn are there a lot of rules to try and make that movie play.

[crash2455]

MAID Rpg (it was $7 on IndiePressRevolution).

Goddammit Seanotron, why did you post that AP?  I had to go and buy this shit after you did that just to see how much win was contained inside.

[mathey]

World of Synibbar isn't a B-Movie.

Its a rambling schizophrenic's fantasy nerd's power fantasy. Emphasis on schizophrenic. There's setting and character assumptions that make Gamma World look lucid and carefully considered.