That Which Has Come to Pass, and Yet to Come

It’s a new year, which means, for most of us, another year of gaming ahead. So as we put a close on 2017, I’m going to take some time to both look back and look forward; what my year in gaming was like and what I am looking forward to in 2018.

A Look at 2017

Although both of my groups took December off, we got a lot of gaming done this year. As a GM I finished book four and have almost completed book five in Shattered Star. Moving on was a little bittersweet as we had to remove one of the players from the game. His character had been around from the first session of the game but sometimes things just don’t work out. This leaves only two players left from when we started, and only one of them playing their original character.

For my second group, I began the Hell’s Rebels adventure path. This has been a lot of fun because we are also live streaming the game. One of the players from my Shattered Star game is involved and it’s been a lot of fun. Whereas Shattered Star is a traditional find the McGuffin dungeon crawl, Hell’s Rebels is a more social game and I like the two different play styles that each one asks for.

As a player, I have finally completed book two of Rise of the Runelords. This game is played with my Shattered Star group and run by the same player who is also in my Hell’s Rebels game. I’m incredibly excited about this because I’ve basically run through book one about seven times, and each time the group had fallen apart before we could make it to the end.

I played my first game of D&D 5E this year. I’m still not a fan of WotC for other reasons, but the game seems solid enough. I played a game streamed for one of the many cons where The Blackmoor Society does digital gaming. I probably won’t make 5E my home game system but I had a good time with it.

Ahead to 2018

2018 should see all my groups move ahead to the next book in their adventure. I am really excited to get into book six of Shattered Star. I have never completed an AP before so this will be monumental for both myself and many members of my group. There’s still a bit to complete in book five, but we should be done by the end of February.

My Hell’s Rebels group is on the final battle of the first book. I’m looking forward to streaming again. Book two looms on the horizon and I suppose I should read it to start setting up. I’m also going to be trying out a new way to work the AP’s extra mechanic – the rebellion phase – more into the roleplay of the game.

Book three of Rise of the Runelords: even though RotRL has been out since Pathfinder was a third-party setting for Dungeon and Dragons 3.5, I have managed not to spoil myself on most of the books. I cannot wait to delve into more of the adventure. It’s also nice that I get some time off of DMing and get a chance to be a player.

Outside of the three games that I’m already playing, I’m looking forward to trying out some other stuff. With the release of Starfinder last year, my main group is looking to try it out on off-days when we don’t have all of our players. I’d also like to play a few more non-D&D/Pathfinder games, although probably as one-shots. I’m earnestly beginning to work on some stuff for a new system that I’ll probably give a try at some point as well.

So my year has been good, and the new year looks to be just as good or better. What was your 2017 like for gaming? What are you looking forward to in 2018?

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