It Starts Here...

Last Sunday, our campaign wrapped up it's first arc. Syrinx, my gorgon martial artist, still has a petrified hand. And it's starting to creep up her arm. The bastard responsible is now dead, several times over. Our client is now safe and sound, and ready to pay up. Things are as well as can be, all things considered. Now our GM is ready to put this campaign on hiatus long enough for him to write up the next leg of our journey. 

In case you haven't guessed it by now, our Sunday group operates on a round robin kind of system. Each of us takes turns running a short story arc and then hands control over to someone else. This allows us to try out different genres or different game systems. It'll likely be a while before I end up running again, but the idea of a new beginning to a campaign does get my gears turning on how I would handle the situation. 

Them's Fightin' Words

Just so we're clear, I'm a guy who likes movies. I'm a guy who likes movies for guys who like movies. Comedy. Drama. Suspense. Horror. Good stories with good cinematography. And action. I was born in the 80's, which was the age of the cheesy action flick. Everything from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Stalone to Norris to Van Damme. The Expendables and it's sequel were a real treat for me. I've watched action scenes in cinema evolve over time and I have a certain appreciation for their art.

Now that I'm involved in tabletop gaming and RPGs, I love having the means of choreographing combat rounds into each other. One of the most important aspects of this, and one that is occasionally overlooked, is the environment in which a fight scene takes place. Sure, sometimes you might want an open fight in a large open arena, but that does limit things from a tactical and cinematic standpoint. What I present to you, dear reader, is a list of ten places for a fight scene! In no particular order, I might add. Just the first ten to come to mind.

A Little R & R

So the latest campaign for my Saturday group is a combination of Silent Moebius, BladeRunner, and Lovecraftian Horror. The PCs are all high powered super cops facing down horrors from beyond mortal understanding. The first two sessions involved putting down a spell slinging corpse, being attacked by flayed sacks of human skin, braving bent and warped reality, facing a minor eldritch abomination and that was all on their first day on the job.

This immediately begs the question of 'What next?' for the players. Did we begin researching the next case? Maybe start looking for other nasties to go kill? What about ticketing a shoggoth for jaywalking? I'll tell you what we did next. We did what any self respecting group of PCs would do.

Curses!

Last Sunday: My lovely (if bitchy) gorgon martial artist Syrinx, gets the surprise of a lifetime. In the process of curing a client of a major petrification curse, the client's brother is also brought back to life. He has a simple request at this point: join me or die. Being the die-hard mercs we are, we're sticking with the client who has yet to pay us the other half for a job we only recently completed. Initiatives are rolled and battle begins. Syrinx, being a gorgon, is used to other people turning to stone and understandably has an aversion to the shoe going on the other foot. Lo and behold, upon 'borrowing' this prick's sword, Syrinx's hand rapidly becomes a marble fixture. 

From a mechanical standpoint, she had been built to get close to an enemy, take their weapon and hand it back pointy-end first. Add one enemy with a cursed blade, and Boom! Hoisted by my own petard. Well played, sir. Well played. I have now experienced my first cursed item. Time to ponder the implications...