Earlier this week, I volunteered to run the Dresden Files RPG at Origins.  This morning, I got email inviting me to a group that has gotten me a copy of the playtester’s Alpha.  Beyond normal work, and working on tomorrow’s self indulgent character journal, I’ve been reading it.

Skimming it mostly, as there’s a lot there to see.  I hope to look at it more tonight. My first impression is that it’s very well put together. Professional quality, good graphics.  There are margin notes between Bob the Skull, Harry himself, and Billy the werewolf (who ostensibly is the one writing the game system.)  The art is cool, and there’s just tons of information, examples, and stuff there that it’s hard to absorb on first blush.

I’ve been following the development of this for years, since I was playing Evil Hat’s games long before they started making ones for real money, because they made a variant of FUDGE called FATE which, essentially, made FUDGE a bit more useful.  Both Spirit of the Centuruy (which I got last year at Origins) and Dreseden Files use FUDGE and FATE as it’s base — and those who’ve known me for awhile know I have had a liftetime love affair with FUDGE. (Certainly longer than I’ve been writing on line.)

It’s lightweight, and not very crunchy, and it’s primary downside is that it uses weird dice.  But it’s intended to be a bit more cinematic and freeform, which was a welcome change from D&D and GURPS (the latter of which is way way way to crunchy and detailed for me).  FATE just kicks that up a notch, and my reading of SotC makes me like it even more, as the players are rewarded more for more interesting characters.

So now I need to absorb enough information to put together a plan of action, in order to put a suggestion in to Origins as to what I’ll run for them.  I’m not sure what that details, but I’ve only got a couple of weeks.  Right now, I’m thinking of doing something very much based in Columbus and perhaps tied to the Modern/Fate2.0 game we played several years ago.

I’m hoping to have something to test out with the folks at PAX East, as well, if they’re interested in playing a bit of Pen and Paper. I’m pretty stoked about it, as you might could tell.