User:Stormraven

From Stormravengaming

I am Stormraven, the creator and primary controller of Stormraven Gaming. I am a strong believer in the power of wikis to capture elements of role-playing games, allowing for better continuity, greater development, and a richer overall game universe. To that end I created this wiki, hoping that it would become an enduring resource for me and my friends to use for many years to come. It is possible, though at this point unforeseeable, that I could even open up the wiki to the general public. Don't hold your breath.

Game Systems

I have a long history in the hobby of role-playing games, and I've played under a lot of different systems. My favorite overall is Hero System, which allows for exceptional flexibility while preserving some level of game balance among characters. (In response to the criticism that Hero requires too much math, I must point out that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing were all covered in elementary school, and anyone who got through 6th grade ought to be able to handle character creation in Hero.)

I also play Dungeons & Dragons, but this is mostly a concession to social pressure from friends who also play it. I am not a big fan of the system. I don't care for the "levels" structure of character development; I don't like the game's sole and exclusive magic system; and I don't like the difficulty in creating and balancing new material. That said, it's a widely known and used system, and it's easy to ignore its faults and just enjoy the game when playing with friends.

I'm not currently involved in any other game systems, but there are a few that bear mention.

• Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a universal system somewhat akin to Hero System but on a simpler scale. It's also based on anime, of which I'm a fan, so it gets kudos on two points. My version is one of the first editions, possibly the very first. It predates the d20 System version.
• Aside from Dungeons & Dragons, the only d20 System game I own is the Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game. This is mostly because I enjoy some of the books, those that aren't too longwinded. I've never played the WoT RPG.
• I've played White Wolf games before, but they've never lasted long enough for me to get into them, which is probably just as well. Still, I own a copy of Mage: the Ascension, just in case. My version is probably out of date.
• I have a bit of a history with Palladium games, again as a concession to friends who played. But I haven't played anything under that system in a long, long time, nor do I own any of the books any more. The only one I ever owned was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, which probably says something about me that is best not delved into.
• The Amber Diceless Role-Playing game has always struck me as intriguing, but though I own it, I've never gotten to play it. The idea of diceless gaming appeals to me on some level, but then again, the satisfaction of a really good roll at a critical moment is hard to beat.
• I own Cyberpunk but haven't played it in a long time, and I find the system to be too lethal to characters in any event. I really like the genre, though, which is probably the only valid reason to also have Shadowrun on my shelf.

Current Games