Bridges help with creativity.

It all started with Grim Tales, from Ben and the Bad Axers, which was sort of d20 Modern done cool. I came across the vehicle combat rules in Benjamin's book and immediately loved them. And immediately felt something was missing. I didn't know what was wrong, but it seemed to me that there was a crucial piece of the model missing.

So I pondered, mostly as I walked back and forth across the Burrard Street Bridge on my way to work. That's one of the things I remember most about that job -- pondering the Grim Tales vehicle combat rules as I crossed the bridge twice each day.

Once I was done pondering, I wrote Hot Pursuit, which Gareth and the Adamant Entertainers published way back in the heady days of 2005 or whenever it was. It got great reviews and sold really well. If you wanted to go an buy a copy or two right now, I wouldn't mind. I'll be right here when you get back, I promise.

Okay then. Now when I finished Hot Pursuit, I knew there was a crucial piece missing. I had no way to handle dogfights, where combatants aren't chasing one another but rather maneuvering to try and get position and attack one another. I knew it, but my new job no longer carried me across the Burrard Street Bridge, and so my pondering was limited.

But now I need ponder no longer. I received this week from John a draft of a new set of chase rules that cover the dogfight scenario, and do so brilliantly. Funny thing is, John's the guy who wrote the Grim Tales vehicle rules, which he says he never had time to really finish, and THAT's why there was this gaping hole in them.

Sure, John. Whatever.

Anyways, these rules will probably be published by somebody or other because they rock. But they'll be published under the OGL, as was Hot Pursuit, as was Grim Tales. Which means maybe somebody else will see the missing critical piece that neither John nor I can pick out at this point, and everything will move forward a step.

But the rules keep getting better and more fun, and that's what it's all about. The Open Gaming License was a good idea, Ryan.

Expect to see some variant of chase rules in Dino-Pirates of Ninja Island. Oh yes.

I wish there were more bridges here in Toronto.

Labels: Games