Saturday, 31 August 2019
RPGaDAY 2019 roundup
RPGaDAY 2019
As well as the Autocratik posts and the Runeslinger videos, RPGaDAY 2019 has also seen posts, videos and signal boosts from G*M*S, Bat Brewster, and in an idea I was tempted to follow, every post from Geek-Life Balance is about planning a specific game, as well as Twitter responses from Simon Burley, S. John Ross, Tanith, Shawn...
And on we go! Thanks to all for reading and participating.
As well as the Autocratik posts and the Runeslinger videos, RPGaDAY 2019 has also seen posts, videos and signal boosts from G*M*S, Bat Brewster, and in an idea I was tempted to follow, every post from Geek-Life Balance is about planning a specific game, as well as Twitter responses from Simon Burley, S. John Ross, Tanith, Shawn...
And on we go! Thanks to all for reading and participating.
RPGaDAY 2019 31: LAST
RPGaDAY 2019
31: LAST
The last game ideas I had.
Currently juggling three main options as we go into the new term - and no, I’m not planning on running a game at all three GEAS sessions. No I’m not!
ICONS, playing as the Big Team of a setting, the Avengers / Justice League kind of thing, where the PCs also bring their own nemeses and the like. So a tech hero means there will be tech villains, a spy means there will be spies, a refugee Atlantean princess means an invasion from Lemuria and so on.
Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition, as From The Dust has been a success and I can do more but probably with a new city and with lessons learned from the last year.
Buffy, because I am me. And it’s a mix of superheroics and monsters so it would push me to make both of the above different.
31: LAST
The last game ideas I had.
Currently juggling three main options as we go into the new term - and no, I’m not planning on running a game at all three GEAS sessions. No I’m not!
ICONS, playing as the Big Team of a setting, the Avengers / Justice League kind of thing, where the PCs also bring their own nemeses and the like. So a tech hero means there will be tech villains, a spy means there will be spies, a refugee Atlantean princess means an invasion from Lemuria and so on.
Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition, as From The Dust has been a success and I can do more but probably with a new city and with lessons learned from the last year.
Buffy, because I am me. And it’s a mix of superheroics and monsters so it would push me to make both of the above different.
Friday, 30 August 2019
Seattle By Night
Another V5 stream! STed by Jason Carl, on Penny Arcade.
“Both LA by Night and Seattle by Night are part of the official World of Darkness streaming universe! Their characters, stories, and events exist in the same continuity. Characters can visit both cities and events can affect story across the streams.”
From the V5 Discord
“Both LA by Night and Seattle by Night are part of the official World of Darkness streaming universe! Their characters, stories, and events exist in the same continuity. Characters can visit both cities and events can affect story across the streams.”
From the V5 Discord
RPGaDAY 2019 30: CONNECTION
RPGaDAY 2019
30: CONNECTION
Playing online.
I’ve been gaming online pretty much since I got online. Since broadband rolled out, gaming online has gotten faster and doing it live with video more viable.
My regular midweek group is still on even though the GM is on a screen calling in from Glasgow. He prefers to GM rather than play as the focus is on him and it’ll be obvious when the stream freezes, a reminder that telepresence gaming still has a way to go.
And larger than that, Dave notes that RPGaDAY is all about connecting with other gamers. Hello, other gamers!
30: CONNECTION
Playing online.
I’ve been gaming online pretty much since I got online. Since broadband rolled out, gaming online has gotten faster and doing it live with video more viable.
My regular midweek group is still on even though the GM is on a screen calling in from Glasgow. He prefers to GM rather than play as the focus is on him and it’ll be obvious when the stream freezes, a reminder that telepresence gaming still has a way to go.
And larger than that, Dave notes that RPGaDAY is all about connecting with other gamers. Hello, other gamers!
Thursday, 29 August 2019
RPGaDAY 2019 29: EVOLVE
RPGaDAY 2019
29: EVOLVE
How has my play evolved? If it has.
When I started GMing, I prepared extensively and tried to guess likely options. But I got into TOON very early, a game which actively encourages players to run off in all directions and GMs (“Animators”) to improvise madly, backed up by random tables for things like what pulls up when you try to call a taxi and advice on creating running gags. That was a big leap, and I still mostly GM that way.
Nowadays I mostly just prep for what I’m not good at improvising, like NPC names. A list in my notes prevents the players meeting too many NPCs called Bob.
29: EVOLVE
How has my play evolved? If it has.
When I started GMing, I prepared extensively and tried to guess likely options. But I got into TOON very early, a game which actively encourages players to run off in all directions and GMs (“Animators”) to improvise madly, backed up by random tables for things like what pulls up when you try to call a taxi and advice on creating running gags. That was a big leap, and I still mostly GM that way.
Nowadays I mostly just prep for what I’m not good at improvising, like NPC names. A list in my notes prevents the players meeting too many NPCs called Bob.
Wednesday, 28 August 2019
RPGaDAY 2019 28: LOVE
RPGaDAY 2019
28: LOVE
Love as a plot.
“It’s love, in point of fact. Something a good deal more dangerous.”
Love is one of the great motivators in life and fiction. It tends to feature in character-focused RPGs, sometimes as the central system in story games.
It’s not something every player will be comfortable with acting out at the table anyway. Borrowing some advice I read in Cyberpunk one option is romance at one remove, with NPCs needing help with their affairs and the PCs playing matchmaker.
But if players go for it, it can really make a game. The Watch House stopped being a Monster-Of-The-Week series when Milli and Jake’s players created a love triangle.
28: LOVE
Love as a plot.
“It’s love, in point of fact. Something a good deal more dangerous.”
Love is one of the great motivators in life and fiction. It tends to feature in character-focused RPGs, sometimes as the central system in story games.
It’s not something every player will be comfortable with acting out at the table anyway. Borrowing some advice I read in Cyberpunk one option is romance at one remove, with NPCs needing help with their affairs and the PCs playing matchmaker.
But if players go for it, it can really make a game. The Watch House stopped being a Monster-Of-The-Week series when Milli and Jake’s players created a love triangle.
Tuesday, 27 August 2019
The 100 is back! ( - are back?)
The 100 season six, starting next Wednesday in the UK. A whole new planet to ruin!
#RPGaDAY 2019 27: SUSPENSE
RPGaDAY 2019
27: SUSPENSE
How do I keep a reader in suspense? I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Suspense is actually pretty easy to achieve - ask for a perception roll and make a note - but when is it enjoyable?
Suspense depends on what the stakes are, and those vary from game to game. A collaborative storytelling game works differently than a horror game with a map behind the GM screen and a tenet to let the dice fall where they may. Runeslinger on suspense by genre.
And every player’s interest in and comfort with suspense will vary as well. Something to consider when pitching or signing up for a game.
27: SUSPENSE
How do I keep a reader in suspense? I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Suspense is actually pretty easy to achieve - ask for a perception roll and make a note - but when is it enjoyable?
Suspense depends on what the stakes are, and those vary from game to game. A collaborative storytelling game works differently than a horror game with a map behind the GM screen and a tenet to let the dice fall where they may. Runeslinger on suspense by genre.
And every player’s interest in and comfort with suspense will vary as well. Something to consider when pitching or signing up for a game.
Monday, 26 August 2019
Fireworks
I’m always surprised by new sights at the Fireworks Concert. This year, the spiralling around the castle.
Musically, the unfamilar Overture to Ruslan And Ludmila, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and three fifths of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, which seems like an odd choice even if the three pieces are quite different. The only time I remember the whole concert playing one piece was Pictures At An Exhibition in 2013.
Inevitably with loud bangy classical music, unless I have a strong reason not to such as a different association like Apprentice, I start thinking of Star Wars scene ideas....
Musically, the unfamilar Overture to Ruslan And Ludmila, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and three fifths of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, which seems like an odd choice even if the three pieces are quite different. The only time I remember the whole concert playing one piece was Pictures At An Exhibition in 2013.
Inevitably with loud bangy classical music, unless I have a strong reason not to such as a different association like Apprentice, I start thinking of Star Wars scene ideas....
The Rise Of Skywalker
Just a little snippet at the end of this D23 special look, after reflecting on how far the saga has come.
And... well, jeepers.
And... well, jeepers.
#RPGaDAY 2019 26: IDEA
RPGaDAY 2019
26: IDEA
“Hey, what’s the big idea?”
That phrase is specifically used when somebody does something that annoys the speaker. It’s not generally an invitation to explain your thinking.
Where do ideas come from? Given that all of these prompts are about suggesting ideas they’re a demonstration. Like “taking a line for a walk”, seeing where a prompt takes you.
One of my blogging party tricks, pioneered by Steve D, is putting together a run of adventure hooks based on a random-ish selection of phrases such as the titles of songs on an album. It’s actually easier to fully free associate if you don’t know the songs well. And it’s always a pleasure when I hear of somebody using one of the resulting ideas!
26: IDEA
“Hey, what’s the big idea?”
That phrase is specifically used when somebody does something that annoys the speaker. It’s not generally an invitation to explain your thinking.
Where do ideas come from? Given that all of these prompts are about suggesting ideas they’re a demonstration. Like “taking a line for a walk”, seeing where a prompt takes you.
One of my blogging party tricks, pioneered by Steve D, is putting together a run of adventure hooks based on a random-ish selection of phrases such as the titles of songs on an album. It’s actually easier to fully free associate if you don’t know the songs well. And it’s always a pleasure when I hear of somebody using one of the resulting ideas!
Sunday, 25 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 25: CALAMITY
RPGaDAY 2019
25: CALAMITY
Emergencies, disasters, and heroic actions to save the day.
The established Allegiance I wrote up in The Trinity Continuum is the Neptune Foundation, an offshoot of the Aeon Society and a future part of the eponymous Trinity. While the Triton Foundation focuses on research into Talents and mysterious Flux phenomena, Neptune is concerned with crisis response. They’re the people who go in to fix that dam that’s about to crack after an earthquake and flood a town. They go into hot zones to treat pandemics. I was thinking of Rescue Fiction, the term Warren Ellis used to explain Thunderbirds and Global Frequency, as well as the real heroes who do this kind of thing.
It can feature in other genres as well, notably superheroes, where the disasters might be caused by villains but the people still need saving in between fighting those responsible, and sometimes they have to deal with emergencies with nobody to punch out.
Disaster movies are more of a one-shot thing, unless you count Die Hard where the same poor guy gets stuck in the middle of villain-created disaster-movie scenarios and works to defuse the threat and defeat the villains responsible, saving other people involved on the way.
There’s also the stopping-the-apocalypse genre like Armageddon and The Core, which focuses on saving everybody rather than going into the danger zone itself and saving the people there. The story game Our Last Best Hope models this, with characters dying at the dramatically appropriate moment being a key mechanic.
So how do you make an emergency exciting to play, besides adding a villain to take out at the end? It should have stages, complications and setbacks, and chances for heroism, good planning and improvisation. It would be good to track the size of the threat and ways it can go up or down - cooperative board games like Pandemic and Flash Point: Fire Rescue are built around this. While I rarely use maps in-game, if everybody’s trapped in a sinking ship then it will probably help to have deck plans.
25: CALAMITY
Emergencies, disasters, and heroic actions to save the day.
The established Allegiance I wrote up in The Trinity Continuum is the Neptune Foundation, an offshoot of the Aeon Society and a future part of the eponymous Trinity. While the Triton Foundation focuses on research into Talents and mysterious Flux phenomena, Neptune is concerned with crisis response. They’re the people who go in to fix that dam that’s about to crack after an earthquake and flood a town. They go into hot zones to treat pandemics. I was thinking of Rescue Fiction, the term Warren Ellis used to explain Thunderbirds and Global Frequency, as well as the real heroes who do this kind of thing.
It can feature in other genres as well, notably superheroes, where the disasters might be caused by villains but the people still need saving in between fighting those responsible, and sometimes they have to deal with emergencies with nobody to punch out.
Disaster movies are more of a one-shot thing, unless you count Die Hard where the same poor guy gets stuck in the middle of villain-created disaster-movie scenarios and works to defuse the threat and defeat the villains responsible, saving other people involved on the way.
There’s also the stopping-the-apocalypse genre like Armageddon and The Core, which focuses on saving everybody rather than going into the danger zone itself and saving the people there. The story game Our Last Best Hope models this, with characters dying at the dramatically appropriate moment being a key mechanic.
So how do you make an emergency exciting to play, besides adding a villain to take out at the end? It should have stages, complications and setbacks, and chances for heroism, good planning and improvisation. It would be good to track the size of the threat and ways it can go up or down - cooperative board games like Pandemic and Flash Point: Fire Rescue are built around this. While I rarely use maps in-game, if everybody’s trapped in a sinking ship then it will probably help to have deck plans.
Saturday, 24 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 24: TRIUMPH
RPGaDAY 2019
24: TRIUMPH
I have my name in a book!
The Trinity Continuum, shipping to backers soon.
I created four of the published Allegiances and wrote the Allegiance profile for the Neptune Foundation, as well as some of the in-character artefacts and Storyguide advice.
The guest appearance by Harry Houdini is my fault.
I could tell you my idea for the supposedly dead American soldier on the run in France is, but the point was to offer a prompt to thought rather than a full adventure hook with ending.
The moment of seeing Allegiances I wrote illustrated was particularly strange. But I could get used to it.
24: TRIUMPH
I have my name in a book!
The Trinity Continuum, shipping to backers soon.
I created four of the published Allegiances and wrote the Allegiance profile for the Neptune Foundation, as well as some of the in-character artefacts and Storyguide advice.
The guest appearance by Harry Houdini is my fault.
I could tell you my idea for the supposedly dead American soldier on the run in France is, but the point was to offer a prompt to thought rather than a full adventure hook with ending.
The moment of seeing Allegiances I wrote illustrated was particularly strange. But I could get used to it.
Friday, 23 August 2019
Disney+
Disney+ launch lineup announced! Featuring The Mandalorian, the live-action Lady And The Tramp, Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader as brother and sister Santa, and a newly-revealed Jeff Goldblum fun documentary series!
The Mandalorian trailer!
Ms. Marvel getting a live-action series on it!
And She-Hulk and Moon Knight!
And The Clone Wars revival!
And Obi-Wan really is getting a series!
And Muppets!
And even some Disney-type stuff too!
(And apparently Emma Stone as young Cruella, not a Siouxsie And The Banshees biopic.)
And... still no word on a UK launch... :/
The Mandalorian trailer!
Ms. Marvel getting a live-action series on it!
And She-Hulk and Moon Knight!
And The Clone Wars revival!
And Obi-Wan really is getting a series!
And Muppets!
And even some Disney-type stuff too!
(And apparently Emma Stone as young Cruella, not a Siouxsie And The Banshees biopic.)
And... still no word on a UK launch... :/
#RPGaDAY 2019 23: SURPRISE
RPGaDAY 2019
23: SURPRISE
Who likes surprises?
As I noted on Day 8: Obscure, some players like surprises in their games and some don’t. The Watch House didn’t feature a lot of shocking twists, just a few here and there, and some of those came out of the events of the session.
The kind of surprise matters too. How will the players take it?
And players can surprise GMs as well, not just with their reactions to the regularly scheduled plot but with ideas well beyond that. The famous TWH example was the unexpected creation of Captain Rugged, where Matthew’s player dropped an entire Funny Magic Episode plot on top of a session.
23: SURPRISE
Who likes surprises?
As I noted on Day 8: Obscure, some players like surprises in their games and some don’t. The Watch House didn’t feature a lot of shocking twists, just a few here and there, and some of those came out of the events of the session.
The kind of surprise matters too. How will the players take it?
And players can surprise GMs as well, not just with their reactions to the regularly scheduled plot but with ideas well beyond that. The famous TWH example was the unexpected creation of Captain Rugged, where Matthew’s player dropped an entire Funny Magic Episode plot on top of a session.
Thursday, 22 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 22: LOST
RPGaDAY 2019
22: LOST
A setting with one or more central mystery, and providing a satisfactory solution.
Because that big capitalised LOST inevitably makes me think of...
(I am not alone.)
LOST was one of the biggest things on TV at its height. Here in the UK season one and two were shown on Channel 4 before the rest went behind the Sky paywall, so a lot of people here didn’t see the ending. And some would say “lucky them” as the ending was, inevitably, divisive.
It was partially an ensemble drama about survivors of a plane crash on a desert island, but it was also full of other genre elements - a smoke monster, an out-of-place polar bear, prophetic dreams, conspiracies, symbolic numbers (this is day 22, but should really be 4, 8, 15, 16, 23... or ideally 42) and more. One immediately popular theory was that the island was Purgatory. The fact that we didn’t see any scenes away from the island until the end of the first season certainly supported this. It was all very Bermuda Triangle, and had a far higher Weird Level than a show originally pitched as a scripted version of Survivor would suggest.
The nearly weekly “what the... ?” cliffhangers were one of the main features picked up by other shows, of which Heroes was the most successful. It may have also influenced the 2009 remake of The Prisoner, where the original was an earlier example of a similar premise.
It also got a video game, a board game and two ARGs (and some unofficial miniatures as well as the official six-inch scale figures) but not an RPG, which would have needed either an explanation for the GM to work from or a toolkit to create your own mystery box plots.
So how would you run something like this? The initial castaway premise gives you a great hook, and it’s easy to escalate mysteries (this PVP strip imagining a LOST RPG demonstrates just how easy) but I think a reasonably coherent explanation and finale would be required. Although in RPGs you have the advantage of only having to provide a satisfactory ending for a few people, not millions.
A drama-focused game would fit the show best, even though it does have plenty of adventure elements with the uncharted island and the polar bears and super-science bases and all.
I’ve tried less serialised and more adventure-ish games influenced by Alias and Heroes, but never gone for this.
Flashback mechanics appear in the likes of Leverage there to empower the players, and the Memoriam system in Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition, where they can reveal unexpected things and the description mentions continuity glitches as a possibility. 3:16 uses them as well, in a looser way.
22: LOST
A setting with one or more central mystery, and providing a satisfactory solution.
Because that big capitalised LOST inevitably makes me think of...
(I am not alone.)
LOST was one of the biggest things on TV at its height. Here in the UK season one and two were shown on Channel 4 before the rest went behind the Sky paywall, so a lot of people here didn’t see the ending. And some would say “lucky them” as the ending was, inevitably, divisive.
It was partially an ensemble drama about survivors of a plane crash on a desert island, but it was also full of other genre elements - a smoke monster, an out-of-place polar bear, prophetic dreams, conspiracies, symbolic numbers (this is day 22, but should really be 4, 8, 15, 16, 23... or ideally 42) and more. One immediately popular theory was that the island was Purgatory. The fact that we didn’t see any scenes away from the island until the end of the first season certainly supported this. It was all very Bermuda Triangle, and had a far higher Weird Level than a show originally pitched as a scripted version of Survivor would suggest.
The nearly weekly “what the... ?” cliffhangers were one of the main features picked up by other shows, of which Heroes was the most successful. It may have also influenced the 2009 remake of The Prisoner, where the original was an earlier example of a similar premise.
It also got a video game, a board game and two ARGs (and some unofficial miniatures as well as the official six-inch scale figures) but not an RPG, which would have needed either an explanation for the GM to work from or a toolkit to create your own mystery box plots.
So how would you run something like this? The initial castaway premise gives you a great hook, and it’s easy to escalate mysteries (this PVP strip imagining a LOST RPG demonstrates just how easy) but I think a reasonably coherent explanation and finale would be required. Although in RPGs you have the advantage of only having to provide a satisfactory ending for a few people, not millions.
A drama-focused game would fit the show best, even though it does have plenty of adventure elements with the uncharted island and the polar bears and super-science bases and all.
I’ve tried less serialised and more adventure-ish games influenced by Alias and Heroes, but never gone for this.
Flashback mechanics appear in the likes of Leverage there to empower the players, and the Memoriam system in Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition, where they can reveal unexpected things and the description mentions continuity glitches as a possibility. 3:16 uses them as well, in a looser way.
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Chronicles Of Darkness at 15
Chronicles Of Darkness and Vampire: The Requiem are fifteen today.
In that time, I have run several Vampire: The Requiem games, mostly with the second edition (starting before it came out in hardcover) and some Chronicles mortals adventures here and there, as well as Demon: The Descent. I’ve even gotten to play a couple times! Several have been on my to-do list for years now...
#RPGaDAY 2019 21: VAST
RPGaDAY 2019
21: VAST
Settings with a lot of material and a lot of options, kitchen sinks and more constrained premises.
When I followed my Buffy game The Watch House with a military SF game called The Stars On Fire I purposely focused on one serialised plot, future humanity as multiple nations in space making first contact with a single hostile alien species. And over the course of a year, I had a good dozen adventure ideas that just wouldn’t fit. So I wrote them down as prep for running a Star Trek game next.
I’m currently running Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition, taking into account some of the setting developments - one of the PCs is a Thin-Blood and another is a formerly rogue Tremere who is now basically ignored because the clan structure has fallen apart, one of the ongoing plots featured Thin-Bloods under threat and another involved refugees from the collapse of Sabbat leadership - while ignoring others - the Beckoning has only been mentioned in passing. And there are various chunks of the overall setting that aren’t being featured, some ideas I just don’t like and others that I do like but which don’t fit this particular setting. Over twenty-five years of publication history will do that. And that’s with no more than a couple of non-vampire supernatural manifestations in a year of sessions. I’m deliberately not using the whole kitchen sink. I could run another V5 game next year running on entirely different plot threads.
A constrained setting has advantages like consistency and being relatively safe from premise rejection, but I find it much easier to run a big kitchen sink setting where I can throw in a really random adventure idea from time to time, so my constrained premise games tend to be shorter and it’s one reason (along with most importantly player keenness) that The Watch House is the longest series I’ve ever run.
21: VAST
Settings with a lot of material and a lot of options, kitchen sinks and more constrained premises.
When I followed my Buffy game The Watch House with a military SF game called The Stars On Fire I purposely focused on one serialised plot, future humanity as multiple nations in space making first contact with a single hostile alien species. And over the course of a year, I had a good dozen adventure ideas that just wouldn’t fit. So I wrote them down as prep for running a Star Trek game next.
I’m currently running Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition, taking into account some of the setting developments - one of the PCs is a Thin-Blood and another is a formerly rogue Tremere who is now basically ignored because the clan structure has fallen apart, one of the ongoing plots featured Thin-Bloods under threat and another involved refugees from the collapse of Sabbat leadership - while ignoring others - the Beckoning has only been mentioned in passing. And there are various chunks of the overall setting that aren’t being featured, some ideas I just don’t like and others that I do like but which don’t fit this particular setting. Over twenty-five years of publication history will do that. And that’s with no more than a couple of non-vampire supernatural manifestations in a year of sessions. I’m deliberately not using the whole kitchen sink. I could run another V5 game next year running on entirely different plot threads.
A constrained setting has advantages like consistency and being relatively safe from premise rejection, but I find it much easier to run a big kitchen sink setting where I can throw in a really random adventure idea from time to time, so my constrained premise games tend to be shorter and it’s one reason (along with most importantly player keenness) that The Watch House is the longest series I’ve ever run.
Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Mythos by Stephen Fry
Receiving its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival, Stephen Fry telling stories from Greek mythology in his books Mythos and Heroes, with Troy on the way. A trilogy of shows each over two hours, backed up by screen projection, music, a little dry ice and a post-intermission email Q&A.
Today, Heroes. Perseus, Theseus, Heracles and Jason.
I did not know Theseus spent so much time fighting serial killers.
Today, Heroes. Perseus, Theseus, Heracles and Jason.
I did not know Theseus spent so much time fighting serial killers.
#RPGaDAY 2019 20: NOBLE
RPGaDAY 2019
20: NOBLE
What is a noble action?
That’s in the eye of the beholder, of course. And not having everybody agree on what the right thing to do can make for some interesting conflicts and debates in character. Hopefully it’ll stay there.
The most recent session of my Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle From The Dust brought it up. One of the characters, actively seeking redemption and balance with his inner Beast, wrestled over the idea of putting a rival for the Prince of the city’s throne into torpor to prevent warfare. One of the others felt that wasn’t permanent enough. Who is right? And was the penitent’s anger at the pragmatist going behind his back, with the approval of some of the others, righteous, or proof that he was farther from redemption than he hoped?
20: NOBLE
What is a noble action?
That’s in the eye of the beholder, of course. And not having everybody agree on what the right thing to do can make for some interesting conflicts and debates in character. Hopefully it’ll stay there.
The most recent session of my Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle From The Dust brought it up. One of the characters, actively seeking redemption and balance with his inner Beast, wrestled over the idea of putting a rival for the Prince of the city’s throne into torpor to prevent warfare. One of the others felt that wasn’t permanent enough. Who is right? And was the penitent’s anger at the pragmatist going behind his back, with the approval of some of the others, righteous, or proof that he was farther from redemption than he hoped?
Checking in with the GM
Today I was GMing a ttrpg game. The players latched onto a throw away comment (of course they did) and wanted to make it the focus of their session goal.
A player stopped and asked, "Is this ok? If you haven't prepped for it we can focus on something else."
That simple check-in made me feel incredibly cared for. Because it felt like I wasn't "The GM" there to provide a game...I was another player whose enjoyment matters.
We went with the new goal and I think it's going to be a really fun direction. That unexpected creativity is part of what I love about ttrpgs.
But it was 100 times more fun because I knew my players were there to support me + each other.
Cass Kay on Twitter
A player stopped and asked, "Is this ok? If you haven't prepped for it we can focus on something else."
That simple check-in made me feel incredibly cared for. Because it felt like I wasn't "The GM" there to provide a game...I was another player whose enjoyment matters.
We went with the new goal and I think it's going to be a really fun direction. That unexpected creativity is part of what I love about ttrpgs.
But it was 100 times more fun because I knew my players were there to support me + each other.
Cass Kay on Twitter
Monday, 19 August 2019
2019 Hugo Awards
From WorldCon in Dublin (hello organising people I know!) the Hugo Awards include Dramatic Presentation, long and short, going to Into The Spider-Verse and The Good Place.
#RPGaDAY 2019 19: SCARY
RPGaDAY 2019
19: SCARY
How scary can a tabletop game be?
I do a lot of horror games, but they’re really in the genre of horror rather than actually trying to evoke the feeling. Having the PCs lack power in relation to the setting can work, but can also be frustrating and stressful. The narrative reveal in a story is something you can manage and that can work very well, but horror in other media has a lot more tricks.
Dread creates real tension with its Jenga resolution mechanic, but that’s hard to sustain past a one-shot.
(And horror is good for one-shots generally, although it can lead to players expecting a Total Party Kill at the end of the adventure and leaning in to that.)
LARPs are much better for evoking real scares, where you can have actual jumps and noises and things looming out of the dark at the players. They have all the tricks of a haunted attraction, while a tabletop game has the GM’s voice, maybe some music and mood lighting, and that’s it.
But a scary story can still deliver. Tone goes a long way, and mysterious and ominous events in the adventure can provide a pleasant frisson of creeps.
That atmosphere is a fragile thing, though. Everybody has to be in the mood for it. Horror has a particularly high risk of premise rejection.
You can also drop a scary adventure into a not-normally-scary series, perhaps with a change in the power level of the threat. See my post on the rare horror episodes of Buffy. But again, everybody has to be on board - doubly so if they’re invested in the regular not-scary adventures and their characters.
19: SCARY
How scary can a tabletop game be?
I do a lot of horror games, but they’re really in the genre of horror rather than actually trying to evoke the feeling. Having the PCs lack power in relation to the setting can work, but can also be frustrating and stressful. The narrative reveal in a story is something you can manage and that can work very well, but horror in other media has a lot more tricks.
Dread creates real tension with its Jenga resolution mechanic, but that’s hard to sustain past a one-shot.
(And horror is good for one-shots generally, although it can lead to players expecting a Total Party Kill at the end of the adventure and leaning in to that.)
LARPs are much better for evoking real scares, where you can have actual jumps and noises and things looming out of the dark at the players. They have all the tricks of a haunted attraction, while a tabletop game has the GM’s voice, maybe some music and mood lighting, and that’s it.
But a scary story can still deliver. Tone goes a long way, and mysterious and ominous events in the adventure can provide a pleasant frisson of creeps.
That atmosphere is a fragile thing, though. Everybody has to be in the mood for it. Horror has a particularly high risk of premise rejection.
You can also drop a scary adventure into a not-normally-scary series, perhaps with a change in the power level of the threat. See my post on the rare horror episodes of Buffy. But again, everybody has to be on board - doubly so if they’re invested in the regular not-scary adventures and their characters.
World Photography Day
To celebrate, World Press Photo at the Parliament. Much like life, a mix of the fascinating, the beautiful, and the I-wish-I-hadn’t-seen-that.
Sunday, 18 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 18: PLENTY
RPGaDAY 2019
18: PLENTY
I usually feel like I have nearly enough games.
I almost always have another idea, and another, and another. I have a few complete sets of games I have never run, as well as editions I didn’t get to before the next came out. I already have at least three viable ideas for the new academic year, and GEAS only has three time slots.
And also a note on games where the PCs have a lot of resources.
To put a different spin on the prompt, games where the PCs have access to a lot of resources, equipment and support still benefit from clever applications of those resources, just like games where the PCs have fewer options. Having an I Win button is only fun occasionally.
18: PLENTY
I usually feel like I have nearly enough games.
I almost always have another idea, and another, and another. I have a few complete sets of games I have never run, as well as editions I didn’t get to before the next came out. I already have at least three viable ideas for the new academic year, and GEAS only has three time slots.
And also a note on games where the PCs have a lot of resources.
To put a different spin on the prompt, games where the PCs have access to a lot of resources, equipment and support still benefit from clever applications of those resources, just like games where the PCs have fewer options. Having an I Win button is only fun occasionally.
Saturday, 17 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 17: ONE
RPGaDAY 2019
17: ONE
One-player games.
I’ve only run games for one a few times, and my main observation is that they’re fast. With just one choosing what to do, as well as rolling the dice, a focused player will chew through encounters.
Also, 17 as One? I already made a Star Trek reference so no 1701 joke either...
17: ONE
One-player games.
I’ve only run games for one a few times, and my main observation is that they’re fast. With just one choosing what to do, as well as rolling the dice, a focused player will chew through encounters.
Also, 17 as One? I already made a Star Trek reference so no 1701 joke either...
Axeholes
Coming next from Emily Andras (Lost Girl, Killjoys, Wynonna Earp) is Axeholes:
“Axeholes follows a mismatched bunch of comic convention attendees who inadvertently get transported into the real-life world of their favorite fantasy TV series, Blue Bar’Bara. In the worst role-playing game ever, the unequipped party must learn to navigate a dangerous land of profanity-spewing battle axes, sociopathic fairies, disturbingly sensual dragons and a chainmail-bikini-wearing shield maiden as they struggle to find a way back home.”
“Axeholes follows a mismatched bunch of comic convention attendees who inadvertently get transported into the real-life world of their favorite fantasy TV series, Blue Bar’Bara. In the worst role-playing game ever, the unequipped party must learn to navigate a dangerous land of profanity-spewing battle axes, sociopathic fairies, disturbingly sensual dragons and a chainmail-bikini-wearing shield maiden as they struggle to find a way back home.”
Friday, 16 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 16: DREAM
RPGaDAY 2019
16: DREAM
Portentous dreams are one of a variety of not-quite-reality settings, one I tend not to use as they feel like more of a cheat than actual alternative realities.
That being said, an entire dream setting like The Sandman could be interesting, if I could come up with enough non-sequiturs. A more focused reality-is-not-real setting like The Matrix would be easier.
16: DREAM
Portentous dreams are one of a variety of not-quite-reality settings, one I tend not to use as they feel like more of a cheat than actual alternative realities.
That being said, an entire dream setting like The Sandman could be interesting, if I could come up with enough non-sequiturs. A more focused reality-is-not-real setting like The Matrix would be easier.
Thursday, 15 August 2019
Choose Your Own Horror Movie
Alexandre Aja to direct a horror movie to be guided by an app in the cinema. Although voting with the rest of the audience somewhat defeats the purpose of interactive choice, but hey.
#RPGaDAY 2019 15: DOOR
RPGaDAY 2019
15: DOOR
There’s something at the door...
What’s behind the door is one of the most basic what ifs, close to what’s out there in the dark. Stephen King talks about it in Danse Macabre, with the original film of The Haunting as a spectacular example, where the door itself starts to distort as well as the knocking being like cannon fire. (Thanks to K for the link.)
And consider all the times adventurers are stopped by doors.
And hey, my Doctor Who blog comes from the image of a door that doesn’t go where it’s supposed to.
15: DOOR
There’s something at the door...
What’s behind the door is one of the most basic what ifs, close to what’s out there in the dark. Stephen King talks about it in Danse Macabre, with the original film of The Haunting as a spectacular example, where the door itself starts to distort as well as the knocking being like cannon fire. (Thanks to K for the link.)
And consider all the times adventurers are stopped by doors.
And hey, my Doctor Who blog comes from the image of a door that doesn’t go where it’s supposed to.
Wednesday, 14 August 2019
I'm on a map!
After contributing to an RPGnet birthday call for weird places, the caller has started putting the suggestions on a map. It’s not very busy at the moment, so add to it!
#RPGaDAY 2019 14: GUIDE
RPGaDAY 2019
14: GUIDE
Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and young people going on adventures.
Seeing Guide in relation to RPGs, I can’t help but think: “I am Dungeon Master, your guide in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons!”
Which may well be a reference to what Dave Chapman points out in his post for the day, a lot of RPG books are called Guides, all the way back to the Dungeon Master’s Guide forty years ago.
So to discuss something different, here in the UK we have Girl Guides as the equivalent of Boy Scouts, rather than Girl Scouts. They do a lot of the same kinds of things - camping, outdoor and indoor activities, crafting, community service. Less of the preparing for war in Europe than when they were originally founded. But in the event of getting stuck in the great outdoors, a few of those merit badges and that sense of responsibility are likely to come in handy.
Decades after being a Cub Scout, I think I could get a fire started without a lighter. (And possibly build a pinhole camera, though that may be less helpful.) It’s also given me a small sense of what the outdoor adventuring life would actually be like - that cooking would be a pain, for one thing.
14: GUIDE
Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and young people going on adventures.
Seeing Guide in relation to RPGs, I can’t help but think: “I am Dungeon Master, your guide in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons!”
Which may well be a reference to what Dave Chapman points out in his post for the day, a lot of RPG books are called Guides, all the way back to the Dungeon Master’s Guide forty years ago.
So to discuss something different, here in the UK we have Girl Guides as the equivalent of Boy Scouts, rather than Girl Scouts. They do a lot of the same kinds of things - camping, outdoor and indoor activities, crafting, community service. Less of the preparing for war in Europe than when they were originally founded. But in the event of getting stuck in the great outdoors, a few of those merit badges and that sense of responsibility are likely to come in handy.
Decades after being a Cub Scout, I think I could get a fire started without a lighter. (And possibly build a pinhole camera, though that may be less helpful.) It’s also given me a small sense of what the outdoor adventuring life would actually be like - that cooking would be a pain, for one thing.
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 13: MYSTERY
RPGaDAY 2019
13: MYSTERY
How I host a mystery.
Following on from Obscure on day eight, I don’t run many mysteries - I tend to improvise more than I prep, and laying in clues is tricky as a result. My investigations tend to be more straightforward Monster-Of-The-Week style as a result, without many suspects and twists. If I do bring in a twist, it tends to be an added complication.
When I do a mystery, I keep the GUMSHOE rule of ensuring the players get all the relevant clues. And while I generally have an answer in mind, I often go with the most plausible - or amusing - player hypothesis for the solution.
13: MYSTERY
How I host a mystery.
Following on from Obscure on day eight, I don’t run many mysteries - I tend to improvise more than I prep, and laying in clues is tricky as a result. My investigations tend to be more straightforward Monster-Of-The-Week style as a result, without many suspects and twists. If I do bring in a twist, it tends to be an added complication.
When I do a mystery, I keep the GUMSHOE rule of ensuring the players get all the relevant clues. And while I generally have an answer in mind, I often go with the most plausible - or amusing - player hypothesis for the solution.
Monday, 12 August 2019
Avengers: Endgame commentary
Avengers: Endgame is out on disc in the US tomorrow (here on September 2nd) and io9 looks at the commentary track.
Troubleshooters And Treason
RPGnetter FrivYeti reversed the polarity of the Today Is My Birthday thread tradition by making and posting a minigame Paranoia hack!
#RPGaDAY 2019 12: FRIENDSHIP
RPGaDAY 2019
12: FRIENDSHIP
Many of my best and longest friendships come from gaming, some going back decades.
In-game, what are friends for? NPC allies and contacts are often useful, but which ones do you hang out with in-character away from the job?
I find it helps to have potential sounding board NPCs available, who can talk with one or more PCs much as the PCs talk among themselves. Of course, you have to avoid throwing in too many.
12: FRIENDSHIP
Many of my best and longest friendships come from gaming, some going back decades.
In-game, what are friends for? NPC allies and contacts are often useful, but which ones do you hang out with in-character away from the job?
I find it helps to have potential sounding board NPCs available, who can talk with one or more PCs much as the PCs talk among themselves. Of course, you have to avoid throwing in too many.
Stranger Things 3: Strangest Things
Stranger Things 1 and 2 were set in the early 80s as they largely were as leftovers from the 70s - popular culture of the moment but with a backdrop of brown furniture and beat-up cars.
Stranger Things 3 is set in THE 80S.
It’s not a bad thing, and yes decades get more defined as they go along, but it’s definitely a change.
Sunday, 11 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 11: EXAMINE
RPGaDAY 2019
11: EXAMINE
Handouts, props, visual references, and things you can examine out of character.
I’ll freely admit that I ask for perception rolls pretty often, and unless everybody fails dismally I give the result to whoever rolls best or makes more sense. The GUMSHOE approach of ensuring everybody gets relevant clues is the next step over.
But to talk about something more, things that the players can examine. Call Of Cthulhu (the inspiration for GUMSHOE) is famed for its player handouts, in-character newspaper clippings, telegraphs, letters and so on. The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society just won ENnies for a gigantic box of physical props for the classic campaign Masks Of Nyarlathotep, including over a hundred handouts, League of Nations passports, and a USB stick of audio props hidden inside a replica wax recording cylinder.
Using props brings in the same issue as riddles and social persuasion, player versus character skill... and you might need red herrings so it isn’t obvious which props matter simply because they’re props... but it sure looks fun!
11: EXAMINE
Handouts, props, visual references, and things you can examine out of character.
I’ll freely admit that I ask for perception rolls pretty often, and unless everybody fails dismally I give the result to whoever rolls best or makes more sense. The GUMSHOE approach of ensuring everybody gets relevant clues is the next step over.
But to talk about something more, things that the players can examine. Call Of Cthulhu (the inspiration for GUMSHOE) is famed for its player handouts, in-character newspaper clippings, telegraphs, letters and so on. The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society just won ENnies for a gigantic box of physical props for the classic campaign Masks Of Nyarlathotep, including over a hundred handouts, League of Nations passports, and a USB stick of audio props hidden inside a replica wax recording cylinder.
Using props brings in the same issue as riddles and social persuasion, player versus character skill... and you might need red herrings so it isn’t obvious which props matter simply because they’re props... but it sure looks fun!
Saturday, 10 August 2019
I Can't Believe It's Not Angel
I am still watching the weeknight rerun of Grimm as it reaches season five, and I appreciate some of the setting expansion, and the move to more practical monster effects... but maybe don’t lean so much in to Angel season three specifically... and please don’t remind me about the Hitler plot if you want me to keep going.
#RPGaDAY 2019 10: FOCUS
RPGaDAY 2019
10: FOCUS
Ways of getting the group to focus.
Some days, the session doesn’t really start. Often, it starts after various arrivals, chatting, eating, catching up. (My contemporaries group used to meet Thursday one week and Tuesday the next, and we’d almost always settle faster after the five-day gap than the nine-day gap.) There’s only so much you can do. But what you can do...
Play somewhere quiet. As I default to speaking pretty quietly, this is vital. Even if I didn’t, fewer distractions would be good.
Have time. The settling period takes about as long no matter how long the session is.
I try to minimise being on available WiFi. I won’t say don’t be at all, but for me I try to restrict it to looking up relevant things. Even then I can get distracted by that, as anyone who’s seen me look for a picture for an idea will know.
Prep for what you’re not good at improvising. Look for those pictures in advance. I find a list of names particularly handy, to stop racking my brain for one in the moment and to stop all my NPCs being called Bob.
10: FOCUS
Ways of getting the group to focus.
Some days, the session doesn’t really start. Often, it starts after various arrivals, chatting, eating, catching up. (My contemporaries group used to meet Thursday one week and Tuesday the next, and we’d almost always settle faster after the five-day gap than the nine-day gap.) There’s only so much you can do. But what you can do...
Play somewhere quiet. As I default to speaking pretty quietly, this is vital. Even if I didn’t, fewer distractions would be good.
Have time. The settling period takes about as long no matter how long the session is.
I try to minimise being on available WiFi. I won’t say don’t be at all, but for me I try to restrict it to looking up relevant things. Even then I can get distracted by that, as anyone who’s seen me look for a picture for an idea will know.
Prep for what you’re not good at improvising. Look for those pictures in advance. I find a list of names particularly handy, to stop racking my brain for one in the moment and to stop all my NPCs being called Bob.
Friday, 9 August 2019
V5 introductory AP
L.A. By Night Storyteller Jason Carl runs an introductory Vampire: The Masquerade fifth edition session for IGN in advance of Bloodlines 2, with a particular explanation of Hunger Dice.
“There just aren’t that many nice conversations in the World Of Darkness.”
Also, Resonance house rules.
“There just aren’t that many nice conversations in the World Of Darkness.”
Also, Resonance house rules.
#RPGaDAY 2019 9: CRITICAL
RPGaDAY 2019
9: CRITICAL
Critical Role and critical rolls.
Critical Role wasn’t the first Actual Play stream or podcast but it’s by far the biggest, with its own fandom, merchandise, live tours, and a Kickstarter-funded animated special which is now going to be a series instead.
I like a lot about it, as entertainment and as a source of ideas, but my favourite thing is that Matthew Mercer always reminds gamers that his is just one style of GMing.
The title is a pun on the idea of critical successes and failures in dice rolls, like natural 20s and 1s in d20-based games. These can be a lot of fun, though you have to keep them in mind when considering if the results of success and failure are both interesting before making a roll, particularly in a system where the randomisation is already swingy. On the whole, I prefer options to pick a few in a session.
And an addition from Dave Chapman, to be complimentary. It’s always cheering to see the thought and energy in gaming, which something like RPGaDAY highlights.
9: CRITICAL
Critical Role and critical rolls.
Critical Role wasn’t the first Actual Play stream or podcast but it’s by far the biggest, with its own fandom, merchandise, live tours, and a Kickstarter-funded animated special which is now going to be a series instead.
I like a lot about it, as entertainment and as a source of ideas, but my favourite thing is that Matthew Mercer always reminds gamers that his is just one style of GMing.
The title is a pun on the idea of critical successes and failures in dice rolls, like natural 20s and 1s in d20-based games. These can be a lot of fun, though you have to keep them in mind when considering if the results of success and failure are both interesting before making a roll, particularly in a system where the randomisation is already swingy. On the whole, I prefer options to pick a few in a session.
And an addition from Dave Chapman, to be complimentary. It’s always cheering to see the thought and energy in gaming, which something like RPGaDAY highlights.
My permanent record
I have been on the Internet for twenty years, give or take a few weeks. (Happy 1999 Week!) On the first night I set up an email, remembered what Google was, and slowly explored blairwitch dot com. I located RPG.net soon after. Within a year, New Bremen opened at White Wolf. And so it proceeded. Given some of the stuff I have online, I’m very glad it’s only been twenty years...
Thursday, 8 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 8: OBSCURE
RPGaDAY 2019
8: OBSCURE
What kinds of secrets do you keep in-game, as player or GM?
There are two basic approaches, though there’s a sliding scale between them.
In-character secrets, played out at the table, revealed or hinted in advance. This means trusting the players and GM not to metagame adversely. Indeed it’s most likely to add to the fun if they lean into the things they know about and their characters don’t. However, some players don’t go for this style at all, so it’s good to see in advance.
Out-of-character secrets, where players and the GM keep things back, pass notes, have side meetings and so on. This is good for surprise and for personal plots, but can lead to excess scheming.
Generally I intercut at the table, while keeping some mysteries hidden, but it varies from game to game, sometimes with different adventures. It can be tricky to balance, but for GM secrets I aim for just the big reveals, the kind of thing the audience shouldn’t see in the trailer.
It can even vary from player to player in the same group! In The Watch House, Milli’s player co-plotted numerous episodes in advance, while Natalie’s player wanted to be surprised and react naturally at the table.
8: OBSCURE
What kinds of secrets do you keep in-game, as player or GM?
There are two basic approaches, though there’s a sliding scale between them.
In-character secrets, played out at the table, revealed or hinted in advance. This means trusting the players and GM not to metagame adversely. Indeed it’s most likely to add to the fun if they lean into the things they know about and their characters don’t. However, some players don’t go for this style at all, so it’s good to see in advance.
Out-of-character secrets, where players and the GM keep things back, pass notes, have side meetings and so on. This is good for surprise and for personal plots, but can lead to excess scheming.
Generally I intercut at the table, while keeping some mysteries hidden, but it varies from game to game, sometimes with different adventures. It can be tricky to balance, but for GM secrets I aim for just the big reveals, the kind of thing the audience shouldn’t see in the trailer.
It can even vary from player to player in the same group! In The Watch House, Milli’s player co-plotted numerous episodes in advance, while Natalie’s player wanted to be surprised and react naturally at the table.
Wednesday, 7 August 2019
More post Gen Con news
Rounded up at io9 Gaming Shelf, including Marvel Champions, Adventure Zone news, a Chrononauts rework for Star Trek and a Cyberpunk 2077 card game.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, BOOM! 7
New artist since issue 5, starting to warm up a bit.
Some jokes!
And an interesting twist in itself, and which goes some way to fix the thing that really bothered me at the end of the first arc.
Meanwhile, Angel is... not on shelves here.
#RPGaDAY 2019 7: FAMILIAR
RPGaDAY 2019
7: FAMILIAR
RPGs are often a mix of the familiar and the singular. D&D had to rename Hobbits among others and drop Cthulhu from its list of gods. One of the clans in the Vampire family is literally named after the film it’s drawn from. There are licensed and unlicensed games for a wide array of settings. This blog is named after a Buffy game.
It’s a great way to play with things you love. One of the classic descriptions of the appeal of RPGs is getting to choose what to do in a given situation, like whether to open the door in a horror story. How would you handle a familiar story?
And then seeing how RPGs expand on their sources and seeing that influence fiction in turn...
7: FAMILIAR
RPGs are often a mix of the familiar and the singular. D&D had to rename Hobbits among others and drop Cthulhu from its list of gods. One of the clans in the Vampire family is literally named after the film it’s drawn from. There are licensed and unlicensed games for a wide array of settings. This blog is named after a Buffy game.
It’s a great way to play with things you love. One of the classic descriptions of the appeal of RPGs is getting to choose what to do in a given situation, like whether to open the door in a horror story. How would you handle a familiar story?
And then seeing how RPGs expand on their sources and seeing that influence fiction in turn...
Tuesday, 6 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 6: ANCIENT
RPGaDAY 2019
6: ANCIENT
D&D and most fantasy games tend to medieval society and technology (though often featuring Conan style Barbarian types from some other part of the map) but the likes of Runequest go further back. Rome and Greece have various historical and fantasy RPGs, and there are a few for other pre-medieval civilisations around the world and fantasy settings based on them.
An ancient setting, less populated and with fewer resources, could be to the medieval as it is to the modern - an open frontier.
6: ANCIENT
D&D and most fantasy games tend to medieval society and technology (though often featuring Conan style Barbarian types from some other part of the map) but the likes of Runequest go further back. Rome and Greece have various historical and fantasy RPGs, and there are a few for other pre-medieval civilisations around the world and fantasy settings based on them.
An ancient setting, less populated and with fewer resources, could be to the medieval as it is to the modern - an open frontier.
Monday, 5 August 2019
#RPGaDAY 2019 5: SPACE
RPGaDAY 2019
5: SPACE
Space as a setting.
Having already mentioned Star Trek in Engage, other games set in space. Like classic Trek, a really big setting with a new planet every week makes it very easy to deal with one problem and never look back.
Star Wars, on the other hand, uses new planets as backdrops for scenes in the same adventure.
A smaller space setting like The Expanse, where every location is knowable, uses space as a danger in travel.
5: SPACE
Space as a setting.
Having already mentioned Star Trek in Engage, other games set in space. Like classic Trek, a really big setting with a new planet every week makes it very easy to deal with one problem and never look back.
Star Wars, on the other hand, uses new planets as backdrops for scenes in the same adventure.
A smaller space setting like The Expanse, where every location is knowable, uses space as a danger in travel.
Sunday, 4 August 2019
Gen Con day four
A cultural difference between the US and UK - weekend conventions start early on Friday or even earlier and conclude around Sunday lunchtime in the US, whereas they generally start on Friday evening and go on into Sunday night in the UK. It may have to do with travel times?
#RPGaDAY 2019 4: SHARE
RPGaDAY 2019
4: SHARE
Sharing GMing.
I’m playing in a group doing this right now, a Mage: The Ascension and Vampire: The Masquerade crossover that mostly makes the distinction straightforward... until we use our powers on each other.
Co-GMing is usually split in other ways, like the setting GM and the rules GM, or GMs taking turns to run sessions, so it’s been an interesting experience having two at the table running intersecting parts of the same game.
4: SHARE
Sharing GMing.
I’m playing in a group doing this right now, a Mage: The Ascension and Vampire: The Masquerade crossover that mostly makes the distinction straightforward... until we use our powers on each other.
Co-GMing is usually split in other ways, like the setting GM and the rules GM, or GMs taking turns to run sessions, so it’s been an interesting experience having two at the table running intersecting parts of the same game.
Saturday, 3 August 2019
Gen Con day three
Another addition to the vamily of Vampire: The Masquerade games, an expandable card game coming in 2020 from Renegade Game Studios.
#RPGaDAY2019 3: ENGAGE
RPGaDAY 2019
3: ENGAGE
Engaging with players in and out of character. What do the players want on their characters’ behalf, and what do they want to happen to their characters? PCs might well want a quiet life. Players generally don’t want to play that. (Although I have met some who run the other way at the first sign of plot!)
Checking in out of character can be very helpful when you’re unsure.
Alternative pun reading: Star Trek Adventures does a lot of things I like, such as the straightforward ship combat and engaging in character Values, though I would like one or two fewer steps in building and reading the dice pools.
Second alternative pun reading (hello K): RPGs have few weddings and lots of funerals. Now I want to do a wedding adventure, with nobody trying to invade it or anything like that...
3: ENGAGE
Engaging with players in and out of character. What do the players want on their characters’ behalf, and what do they want to happen to their characters? PCs might well want a quiet life. Players generally don’t want to play that. (Although I have met some who run the other way at the first sign of plot!)
Checking in out of character can be very helpful when you’re unsure.
Alternative pun reading: Star Trek Adventures does a lot of things I like, such as the straightforward ship combat and engaging in character Values, though I would like one or two fewer steps in building and reading the dice pools.
Second alternative pun reading (hello K): RPGs have few weddings and lots of funerals. Now I want to do a wedding adventure, with nobody trying to invade it or anything like that...
Friday, 2 August 2019
Gen Con day two
Cyberpunk Red quickstart.
Fiasco, a new card-based version.
The Fifth Season RPG, based on the Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin.
The ENnie Awards.
Fiasco, a new card-based version.
The Fifth Season RPG, based on the Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin.
The ENnie Awards.
#RPGaDAY 2019 2: UNIQUE
RPGaDAY 2019
2: UNIQUE
What makes RPGs unique among other kinds of entertainment?
The classic selling point has always been that the players get to choose what their characters do, more completely than in even other interactive media. But of course that presumes the GM lets a specific idea ride, so that varies from table to table and session to session.
The combination of improv and rules is a factor too, even if it’s always been the shaky foundation of the whole idea.
As a GM, yes, being surprised by the players is one of the big appeals, up there with its use as a creative outlet and, oh yes, getting out of the house and talking to people.
2: UNIQUE
What makes RPGs unique among other kinds of entertainment?
The classic selling point has always been that the players get to choose what their characters do, more completely than in even other interactive media. But of course that presumes the GM lets a specific idea ride, so that varies from table to table and session to session.
The combination of improv and rules is a factor too, even if it’s always been the shaky foundation of the whole idea.
As a GM, yes, being surprised by the players is one of the big appeals, up there with its use as a creative outlet and, oh yes, getting out of the house and talking to people.
Thursday, 1 August 2019
Gen Con day one
Star Crossed wins the Diana Jones Award.
The Elysium Chronicles, a series of connected event and local one-shot LARPs for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition across north America.
Marvel Crisis Protocol skirmish miniatures game. Rules online.
The Elysium Chronicles, a series of connected event and local one-shot LARPs for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition across north America.
Marvel Crisis Protocol skirmish miniatures game. Rules online.
The Superman With A Plan
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the writers of the Captain America films, Infinity War and Endgame, think Cap demonstrates that a positive, idealistic take on Superman could work on film. Yes please.
#RPGaDAY 2019 1: FIRST
RPGaDAY 2019
1: FIRST
Dave Chapman tackles First with his first RPG.
I’ve talked about my formative sessions and systems before, so I’ll go for something else... since Gen Con just started, my first convention.
My first convention was Big Con, put on by GEAS, the University of Edinburgh gaming society that I still GM for. This was 1991 or 92 I think, so I would have been 16 or 17? I think I went to two of them... then there was a gap, and then Conpulsion. Which despite the name is notably bigger than Big Con, which was a Saturday only event.
I went with some of my school group to Potterrow so I was not alone in my introduction to the strange world of slightly more grown-up gaming...
We played a Shadowrun adventure (part of Harlequin, I believe) and more memorably, a one-shot game about the Secret Society of Supervillains, a demonstration of why supervillain team-ups dont work. Hidden agendas, betrayals, a superhero undercover and a demon lord coming to claim the sorcerous villain’s soul. I still hold it up as a great example of a one-shot, decades later.
The last thing (in I think the second?) was a Paranoia LARP, with a small number of players armed with foam dart guns versus just about everybody else playing giant mutant cockroaches, represented by us crouching and tapping plastic coat hangers on the floor to make a suitable noise. So that was technically my first LARP as well, but I was monstering so my first LARP as a player was later...
1: FIRST
Dave Chapman tackles First with his first RPG.
I’ve talked about my formative sessions and systems before, so I’ll go for something else... since Gen Con just started, my first convention.
My first convention was Big Con, put on by GEAS, the University of Edinburgh gaming society that I still GM for. This was 1991 or 92 I think, so I would have been 16 or 17? I think I went to two of them... then there was a gap, and then Conpulsion. Which despite the name is notably bigger than Big Con, which was a Saturday only event.
I went with some of my school group to Potterrow so I was not alone in my introduction to the strange world of slightly more grown-up gaming...
We played a Shadowrun adventure (part of Harlequin, I believe) and more memorably, a one-shot game about the Secret Society of Supervillains, a demonstration of why supervillain team-ups dont work. Hidden agendas, betrayals, a superhero undercover and a demon lord coming to claim the sorcerous villain’s soul. I still hold it up as a great example of a one-shot, decades later.
The last thing (in I think the second?) was a Paranoia LARP, with a small number of players armed with foam dart guns versus just about everybody else playing giant mutant cockroaches, represented by us crouching and tapping plastic coat hangers on the floor to make a suitable noise. So that was technically my first LARP as well, but I was monstering so my first LARP as a player was later...
#RPGaDAY 2019
RPGaDAY 2019 is go, with a new look and single-word prompt style, to make “something cool, positive and awesome about our hobby!”
Runeslinger explains on Youtube.
1: FIRST
2: UNIQUE
3: ENGAGE
4: SHARE
5: SPACE
6: ANCIENT
7: FAMILIAR
8: OBSCURE
9: CRITICAL
10: FOCUS
11: EXAMINE
12: FRIENDSHIP
13: MYSTERY
14: GUIDE
15: DOOR
16: DREAM
17: ONE
18: PLENTY
19: SCARY
20: NOBLE
21: VAST
22: LOST
23: SURPRISE
24: TRIUMPH
25: CALAMITY
26: IDEA
27: SUSPENSE
28: LOVE
29: EVOLVE
30: CONNECTION
31: LAST
Roundup
See also 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
Runeslinger explains on Youtube.
1: FIRST
2: UNIQUE
3: ENGAGE
4: SHARE
5: SPACE
6: ANCIENT
7: FAMILIAR
8: OBSCURE
9: CRITICAL
10: FOCUS
11: EXAMINE
12: FRIENDSHIP
13: MYSTERY
14: GUIDE
15: DOOR
16: DREAM
17: ONE
18: PLENTY
19: SCARY
20: NOBLE
21: VAST
22: LOST
23: SURPRISE
24: TRIUMPH
25: CALAMITY
26: IDEA
27: SUSPENSE
28: LOVE
29: EVOLVE
30: CONNECTION
31: LAST
Roundup
See also 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
The Edinburgh Festivals
It is now August. The Festivals are already upon us. And I just saw John Robertson, of The Dark Room fame, in town and wished him well for the season. I am being nice Edinburgh this year.
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