OK.
I gotta say this.
I have been gaming for 20+ years (yeah Im kinda old). As you get older I have discovered you care less about game mechanics and more about story content. So I picked up Star Trek by Coda becasue people told me it was easy and was more a skill based system. I tried it and liked it. Then I had someone suggest that I try LOTR by CODA for a fantasy setting (I used it for a Holodeck adventure.).
OMG!!!
This system rocks! It has to be one of the easiest, fastest, story driven system I have ever played. I have tried everything from M+M (Mutants and Masterminds) to 3.5e (Don't even get me started on that...) and CODA is what I have been looking for.
It shouldn't be about how many HP you have, or how many spells you have, or even what level you are. When I watch Star Trek or LOTR, I get a feeeling that it is the skills of the people that make them successful, not that Aragorn has a +5 Vorpal Weapon (which he doesn't). I hate games where the players are caught up in how many Magic Items they have, or what level they are. God, give me a game with a great story and allow me to use skill to solve the problem. CODA did just that.
Now to the point of my post. I mean really, WTF? CODA is by far one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure of playing and DECIPHER decided that they don't want to do it anymore. I feel like Julius Caesar right about now. Cool thing is, I bought most of the Star Trek books and LOTR books today at my local Bookmans (used book store), so my collection rocks!
I make this pledge to you.
If I ever win the lottery (yeah, right), I am going to make my own publishing company, buy the rights to this game, and pump out products till the sun don't shine! I'm going to hire artists, game designers, celebreties, strippers...(ooops), and just about anyone I can to make this system live!
To all you who have kept both the Star Trek and LOTR lines going with your own fan based products, I thank you. You guys make this system live well beyond its expected lifespan and you allow all of us to enjoy this system the way it was meant to. I salute you!
Well, so much for my rant. I'm going to go back to my CODA books and dream of green Orion slave girls.......