- Dresden Files
- Mortal Coil
- Ashen Stars
The first was a continuation of John's excellent Occult London setting. I'm impressed by several things in the game, especially all the content about creating characters and setting (and the way John has run it). I'm happy with the general implementation of FATE although I find the heavy use of FATE points annoying. Generally, we're more than capable of generating interesting situations without needing to be paid to do so. The reward for me is in the game, not in the out of character accounting practice. When I played Legends of Anglerre, the FATE point system was lighter touch, you could use your cool powers without needing to fuel them with FATE points and so it was a more immersive experience.
Mortal Coil was a one-off, more's the pity. Our regular haunt was off-limits for a week so we played at
spencerpine's and came up with a WWII setting on occupied Jersey in which we (mostly) played children. It could have been Bedknobs & Broomsticks but it was darker and more magical. We played GMless too, the game works very well like this. MC is a go-to game for me but the problem with that is each and every setting we've devised has been so good we could have played any of them for months, which we don't have. Damn you bar_sinister! When are we getting the band back together?Ashen Stars was in effect a playtest of the new GUMSHOE setting, in SPACE! I haven't really got my head round it yet. The setting is post a SPACEwar that no one quite remembers. There are several interesting SPACEraces that pay hommage to rather than fall into the traps of SPACEelves, SPACEdwarfs and SPACEinsects. SPACEtech is bountiful and exotic coming as cyber- or viro-ware, SPACEcombat is detailed and involved (although possesing of several kinks). It also has a story arc system for long term play which is a great addition bringing interest for players and GM alike. So loads of good SPACEstuff. However, the game wasn't quite as immediate for me as Mutant City Blues (which I love). Obviously CSI Superhero is an easier to get under the skin of than an entire new SPACEsetting so perhaps it will grow. There's a massive SPACEplaytest going on and I think results will be very interesting. Watch this SPACE.
