D&D is Dead

We met for gaming last night. Had the usual round of lateness due to people picking up food (and apparently stopping at the game store to buy some games -- I wonder which made them later?), and then conversation turned to the game itself and how unhappy we all were with it.

So, we killed it.

After another while of talking over games I'd be willing to run, which included Mutant City Blues, Deadlands Reloaded, Day After Ragnarok, Mutants & Masterminds, Dragon Age, Champions, or the Song of Ice and Fire (SIFRP) we whittled it down to either Deadlands or a SIFRP. After a few more minutes we decided on SIFRP.

Once decided we immediately set about creating their House, which was a lot of fun and everyone really seemed to get into it, coming up with justifications for how the house was established (took on the role of their former lords who'd been wiped out in the War of the Usurper), where they were located, who the head of their household was, and what their various holdings were.

For some reason they really wanted a lawless domain with a harsh head of household and the random rolls bore that out for them, which was nice. The end result was:

House Wyrmwood of Coldiron Hall
Motto: Honest steel
Realm: The Westerlands
Sworn to: The Lannisters
Head of House: Lord Karl Wyrmwood (wife Marta ne Greyjoy, deceased)
House age: New, created after the War of the Usurper
Historical Events: Decline (-1 Infl, -2 Land, -1 Power, -1 Wealth), Favor (+6 Infl, +3 Land, +6 Law, +1 Power), Scandal (-2 Infl, -3 Land, -4 Power)
Defense 21 (Coldiron Hall (20 points))
Influence 34 (Heir (20), Second Son (10))
Lands 22 (Mountain, Hamlet, Coast)
Law 27 (-2 to House Fortune)
Population 13 (+0 to House Fortune)
Power 30 (Banner House (20), Trained Garrison, Trained Guerrillas)
Wealth 54 (Mine (10, +5 to House Fortune), Port (10, +5 to House Fortune), Artisan (10, "castle-forged" weapons), Maester (10, +3 to House Fortune), 14 points in reserve

Their banner house, which one of the player's is the eldest son, is House Oakmead of Mourningwood Tower. (They thought that name was pretty funny, but it was getting late, so they were punchy. I wouldn't be surprised if it changed or remained as-is.)

The head of their house is Lord Karl Wyrmwood, a 51 year-old former merchant who is (to quote the players) "a mean sonofabitch and cranky," who's looking to cement his relationship with the Lannisters. He is, however, a devoted family man who only wants the best for his family. Oh, and he can't control his temper.

Yeah, he'll be fun to play.

More soon as I map out some ideas.