Games for Next Year

As the year draws to a close, and with the last 'regular' session of the year done, my thoughts inevitably turn to two things: the "Christmas Game" and the games for next year. This year's Christmas Game is, once again, a Serenity RPG one-shot titled "Bound by Law" - I'll no doubt post about that again before the end of the year, possibly before the event, and then once again as a wash-up/retrospective.

However, it is the games for next year that are my immediate topic.

As per usual, next year is likely to see me running one campaign and a number of one-shots. Due to the way the calendar falls, it's likely that I'll finish off my current campaign but will not start on a new venture (although I'm prepared for that eventuality also). I'm also hoping to play in a few games next year, as I've barely had a chance this year. However, that will depend both on there being suitable games to play, and also on my schedule being kind.

Naturally, the bulk of my gaming for next year will be in my ongoing campaign, barring a Total Party Kill or other collapse. And, as mentioned before, that campaign is "Star Wars: Imperial Fist". My impressions of the campaign so far have been somewhat mixed, as I think the group of PCs may be more suited to a different direction. So, I'm considering my options there. My plan, I think, is to see what happens with the player base in the next session or so - we may end up with five, four, or three regular players, in various combinations, and the exact configuration will probably dictate a particular direction. I'll be musing on this some more in the coming weeks.

I also have three one-shots provisionally scheduled for next year. (We had five scheduled for this year, but it's very likely we'll actually play three of those.)

The first of these is a third, and final, attempt to schedule the "Black Crusade: A Lament for Lustivan" game. This will be the second time I've run "Black Crusade", and will give me another opportunity to assess if I like it or not. I hope it goes well, both because it has been cancelled so many times now, and also because I'd really like "Black Crusade" to get a permanent spot on my roster of games. (Also, my next campaign is expected to be a run through of the "Hand of Corruption" adventure for that system, albeit in a heavily modified form.)

The second one-shot will be a second "World of Darkness" one-shot entitled "Ultraviolet: 2XS". The previous one-shot with this game was actually the single best game I have run for many years, partly due to a strong and interesting concept, partly because of the system, and largely because of an excellent mix of players. I'm hoping this second run will likewise be good.

Finally, there is the Christmas Game for next year, entitled "Firefly: Inglorious". As the name implies, this will be run using the "Firefly RPG" that is due out in February, which is effectively a second edition of the "Serenity RPG" that we've enjoyed so much. My big hope here is that the new game is as much fun as the old, but that the new system corrects my issues with "Serenity" - I would quite like to run a campaign in The 'Verse, but don't feel the existing system is really up to the task.

In all three cases, I think I've got fairly strong concepts for the game. And two of the three, at least, are amongst our most popular games - the "Warhammer" games and the "Serenity RPG" always manage to attract interest. The "Ultraviolet" game is a little more dicey, but as it is based on a well-remembered, albeit rather niche, TV show, it could do well. I guess we'll see!