Lestrades_Game

I spent some of my time on NYE this year playing the much belated second session of  Burning Wheel RPG campaign I've prepared. I only have two players, which is rather atypical for a Fantasy Swords and Sorcery style rpg, but with Burning Wheel this works quite well. Burning Wheel is a game where the relationships and development of the characters in narrative rather than statistical terms is the focus of the game. The key system that makes this game exceptional, and very innovative back in 2002, is its beliefs, traits, instincts method of defining characters. Really since DnD player characters in rpgs have been primarily defined by numbers as far as the game rules are concerned. The innovation Burning Wheel brought in was to have the player define a belief, or goal that defines their character, and then more detailed character traits and reactionary instincts to go with it. To give an example, one of my players has a squire character that is masquerading as a knight. So within t...

Why another gaming blog? There are hundreds if not thousands of them and some of them are very good, so why another? Firstly a wide spectrum, but many niches is my answer. There are many blogs that cover the latest Fantasy Flight or Rio Grande board game, and there are plenty that will review Pazio's latest Pathfinder tome. In this blog I will over old school rpgs,, indie rpgs, retro clones, hex and counter war games, board games from Avalon Hill or SPI's  heydays, and anything else weird or interesting I find. I will cover some newer items but I will try to create a left field emphasis. Secondly analysis. I like writing analytical pieces and will attempt to draw out why a game does or doesn't work for me, or how it compares to similar items in the genre. How often will I post? Depends, I will try to maintain once per month, I might manage twice weekly at some points. Whats with the name? I cycle through a fair few handles on internet forums, The Great Lestrade (...