Re: [DL] Re: Worst Games

["iguana.1031" <iguana.1031@gateway.net>]

Having been a GM for more than 20 years now, I feel the need to chip in my 2
bits:

> 1: Rifts

I refuse to support Palladium games.  For a while, Palladium was Kevin
Sembieda.  I think it still is, but I'm not sure.  Either way, the man is a
raving horse's ass and an embarrassment to the industry and I can spend my
gaming-pennies elsewhere.  Long before Magic, WOTC put out "The Primal
Order", a generic sourcebook for running deities in various settings.  In
the back of the book, they had "How to incorporate this into AD&D,
RoleMaster, etc. . . and Palladium.  Mr. Sembieda sued them on more than 15
different counts, if I remember correctly, most of which got thrown out of
court.  I particularly remember the "plagarsm of role-playing concepts" -
where did you get your role-playing concepts, Kevin?

> 2: Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk (take your pick)

Actually, there is a huge difference between these two.  Originally, there
was just a map, but no 'setting sourcebook' for the World of Greyhawk and
all of the AD&D modules were set there.  No continuity, no history and, in a
number of cases, no sense whatsoever.  Trying to do an all-inclusive
Greyhawk sourcebook would be like attempting a Star Trek chronology and
including all of the novels.  The Forgotten Realms, on the other hand, has a
strong history and a serious effort has been made to maintain a continuity
between the sourcebooks, modules and novels.

As far as dropping other lines - this is usually done for one of two
reasons: either it's a conspiracy just to piss you off or not enough people
were buying enough product to support the line.

> 3: Marvel Super Heroes

Never played it.

> 4: Cyberpunk

I like Cyberpunk (and Shadowrun).  Where games fall on the "Plot vs Guns"
meter is determined more by the players and GM then by the game
rules/setting.  Yes, some settings lend themselves more to combat than
others but I still say it's the group.  If the group grooves on the big
gear, big guns, big fights thing then the game they play will reflect it.
If the group prefers problem-solving, non-confrontational missions, the game
will reflect that.  It's very similar to saying "Well, AD&D focuses on
demons and devil-worship."  Yes, extraplanar beings of evil are a part of
the game but neither myself or my group ever cared for them so we never had
them in our games.

> 5: Werewolf: the Apocalypse

I hate Werewolf.  It's a combat gamer's wet dream, nothing more.  Created by
people who like to play Cuisinart characters, for people who like to play
Cuisinart characters.

> (The opinions above are the authors alone. Please don't see them as
personal
> attacks, but feel free to flame in the same jovial spirit in which they
were
> given.)
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