RPGaDAY 2017 #30 and #31

From the #RPGaDAY 2017 challenge (information here):

And we've reached the end of these posts...and because I completely spaced that YESTERDAY was the 30th, I will be doing yet another combo-post. Sorry about that (but at least it's over)!


#30 What is an RPG genre-mashup you would most like to see?

This is another fairly easy one to answer: some sort of mash-up of dinosaurs and (modern day) warfare. M16s versus velociraptors. Dudes in a Bradley fighting vehicle being chased by a triceratops herd. That kind of thing.

I love this kind of thing.

This goes back to my longtime interest in "lost patrols" stumbling into some kind of Land of the Lost, prehistoric dimension. Like The War That Time Forgot or my one-time micro-game Out of Time, I just get a thrill off the idea of pitting automatic weapons against gigantic killing machines. I know I'm not the only one who digs on this (Jurassic Park, anyone?) but it seems to be a genre-mash that's gone largely unexplored. Yes, I already have a copy of Hollow Earth Expedition...it's not enough.

And, just in case anyone's interested, I did find my old copy of Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (I was cleaning/organizing my office last week. Fortunately the chewed portion was limited to the back cover and index). Maybe I could adapt the dinosaur stats to Twilight 2000...


#31 What do you anticipate most for gaming in 2018?

This is a tougher question. "Anticipate" means "expect" or "predict," but do they want an answer with regard to my gaming? Or to gaming (the "state of gaming") in general?

I'm not expecting much, truth be told. Regarding my own gaming, I predict more Blood Bowl and Pokemon and the same drought of RPG gaming. With regard to gaming in general? I don't see a 6th edition of D&D yet on the horizon. The indie market seems to be striving right along. FFG will probably roll out a new Star Wars supplement based on Episode 8, hoping to capitalize/cash-in on a tie-in with a popular film. The Old School community will continue as it has.

Yeah, I really don't know. I know that *I* have a LOT on my plate these days, but my hope is I'll be more active in blogging, designing, and publishing than I've been the last couple years. And hopefully (hope-hope!) I will be able to produce some stuff that inspires some folks. Especially around this corner of the blog-o-sphere.

But even if I'm not as active as I hope, I hope other folks will pick up the slack. And while that's for selfish reasons...well, it's my hope.

All right. That's it. Thanks for reading.
: )

RPGaDAY 2017 #25 thru #29

From the #RPGaDAY 2017 challenge (information here):

Wow! I'm nearly a week behind...again! A "quick trip" to Montana (or anywhere, really) can sure set you back when you're trying to do regular blog posts.

Then again, August is a pretty poor month in general to try scheduling regular blog posts...at least if you're a parent of school age children (like Yours Truly). The next few days look to be exceptionally busy as I get unpacked from vacation and ramp up for the coming school year. Plus, I've got coffee and ice cream socials to plan, coach training for soccer, uniforms to patch, and blah, blah, blah. Because go my limited time, I will be combining my delinquent posts into a single missive.

Here we go:

#25 What is the best way to thank your GM?

Beer. A six pack or pitcher is good, but a pint at the local pub is perfectly acceptable. If you're feeling spendy, or can't get together at the bar, a bottle of wine is always a welcome substitution.

If you're too broke to buy and you still want to express your gratitude for a game (whether it be a multi-session campaign or one-off), words of thanks are always appreciated.


#26 Which RPG provides the most useful resources?

Probably Twilight 2000, with its pamphlet reference sheets (included right in the box). The original Marvel Superheroes RPG (and the later Advanced version) had excellent maps, paper figures, and character cards for reference, but fighting over the same few blocks of New York City could get old.


#27 What are your essential tools for good gaming?

Dice. Pencils. Paper. Imagination. Back when I was playing a lot of Vampire: the Masquerade, I made good use of a scientific calculator to run random numbers (since VtM uses D10 dice pools), but these days I do my best not to pull out a calculator (or smart phone) at the table.

A laptop has become essential for ANY gaming recently, as my only gaming has been on-line.


#28 What film or series is the most frequent source of quotes in your group?

I don't have a regular group, but even so, this has always depended on the game being played (as folks tend to reference in-genre films). I mean, at least when I've recognized quotes from players (I would never, for instance, recognize a line from Doctor Who as I've never seen the show).

Personally, I often find myself quoting Star Wars or Blade Runner...usually something like "I have you now," or "Time to die." I try to keep it to a minimum, however.


#29 What has been the best-run RPG Kickstarter you have backed?

I have only ever backed one Kickstarter, ever: Top Secret: New World Order. I talked about this earlier this month. It seems to have been a well run operation; we'll have to wait and see if the goods are delivered by November as promised.
: )

RPGaDAY 2017 #24

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Share a PWYW publisher who should be charging more.

All of them.

Unless you're releasing some sort of "beta test" or art-free sample or promotional product (i.e. things that are usually given away for free), folks should be charging money for their work.

If you've taken the time to create and publish a finished project, you'd best be putting a price tag on it. Doesn't matter what price you decide on...if it looks really sucky, charge a dollar...but put some sort of value on it. Because if you don't value your own work, why should anyone else find value in it? And if you're not sure it's worth anything (because it's incomplete or has gaming flaws/holes), then you should probably polish it up to a point where you find it has value BEFORE you decide to publish it.

I am assuming this question refers to the many self-published independents out there putting electronic PDFs on DriveThruRPG, and similar sites. Those are the folks I'M talking about. I've picked up a couple or five of these "PWYW" products over the years and can you guess how much money I put in that little box?

Zero. Zilch. Nada. Every time.

If you won't value your work, why should I? Truthfully, I usually pass on anything marked PWYW, but sometimes I've heard something, or read some review, that piques my interest, and I'll download it (despite the quickly diminishing storage capacity on my laptop). And I never pay a thin dime. And I usually delete it from my hard drive, following a quick perusal. No skin off my nose, after all...I paid nothing, I lost nothing, and I have nothing invested in holding onto your work.

That's pretty f'ing terrible. If I pay for something, at least I'm likely to use it, to play it, at least once...if only to get my money's worth out of the thing. And don't you want your games to be played? Isn't that why you're writing them? Or is it really just sheer vanity as you live off you trust fund, futzing around on your desktop publishing program?

Because if THAT's the case, why don't you get off your ass and do something useful...like publish a newsletter organizing a grassroots movement to combat the bigotry and intolerance that exists in every American community, even now, in the 21st century.

Assuming you're NOT just writing "for shits & giggles," assuming you design games and game products because of a deep personal need to do so, and that you're publishing independently because you can't afford to not keep your "day job" due to having a mortgage or family or pet that needs supporting...then you should put a frigging value on your work. How long did it take you to write? A couple months? A couple years? How many hours of your precious, valuable time (remember, your days on this planet are numbered, you WILL die eventually, and every moment you're alive is a blessing)...how many hours did you put into your project? How much is your life, your creativity, worth on an hourly rate?

At least minimum wage for your locale, I'd hope.

Of course, I'm as guilty of undervaluing myself as anyone. My Five Ancient Kingdoms has only netted my about $1700 in net profit (since 2013)...it is, by far, my poorest selling product. In Washington State, at the time I wrote it, minimum wage was $9.19 per hour, but my own employer paid me substantially more than that. Did I work less than 184 hours on the thing? Probably...probably more like 100-120 hours. But there was more to it than just writing: researching (Middle East myth, folklore, history, and culture), play-testing, layout, finding (public domain) art, driving places (printers, shops), packaging the thing (a couple hours figuring out the shrink-wrap machine), marketing it (minimally...mainly blog posts), dealing with the post office...all those things take time. Plus all the stress, arguments, and headaches such a project can cause with the non-gamer spouse. All that adds up....and the $1700 profit I've made over costs (and that's a high estimate) has been recouped over four and a half years. Most businesses, I believe, would want to get paid within two years of an investment...but, for me, this is still more of a hobby than a business. As a hobby, I don't mind the trickle of sales that come over time.

But only about 45% of my money has come from PDF sales...if I'd made those e-books "PWYW" how far away from $1700 would I be? That $750 in e-sales is the price of a new, small print run for my B/X Companion. I lose that money and all of a sudden it's taking me a lot longer to bring my next "hobby project" to light.

So my answer to the question of the day is, "all of them;" if it's a sample or promo project, then offer it for free. If you need funding for your project, start a kickstarter. If the project is already complete: charge money. Something, anything. If no one buys it (because your price is too high) than reduce the price...but give your work some value.

It has value to you, doesn't it?

RPGaDAY 2017 #23

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPG has the most jaw-dropping layout?

Layout, huh? I can only interpret this question as meaning "jaw-droppingly bad," as there are only two kinds of layout: functional and dysfunctional. There's no such thing as mind-blowingly great layout. It's either adequate for conveying the game, or it's poor at doing so.

There are actually a few I can think of that had some poor layout. I didn't think much of HOL (Human Occupied Landfill), though I "get" that the RPG was supposed to be some kind of "joke." The Malkavian Clanbook for Vampire: The Masquerade was designed with a similar "joke" in mind (and was similarly un-funny)...but as it is only a splatbook, I don't think I can count it as bonafide RPG.

I don't own World of Synnibar anymore, but while I seem to recall it being a trainwreck in the layout department, I can't verify that's actually the case without looking at it (Synnibar had a LOT of design flaws already, so I don't want to "pile on" based on a memory from two decades back). Palladium games (Rifts, Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, Beyond the Supernatural, etc.) aren't any great shakes in the layout department; however, they are consistent in the way their books are laid out, so once you've figured out one, you've pretty much got them all. First edition Chivalry & Sorcery has fairly adequate layout, but the font for the text is sooooo small (they really wanted to save on page count, I guess), it's really challenging to read.

No, I think the game who's layout was the worst in my mind (that stand out, anyway) is the original Villains & Vigilantes RPG. I didn't actually acquire the game until a few years ago (long after V&V had gone out of print and then revived), so I was probably biased by 21st century sensibilities; still, I can remember opening the cover and being disappoint and slightly distressed at the haphazard layout of the game, the lack of (to my mind) adequate information, and the overall poor presentation of the rules (despite fine artwork).

Sorry to single you out, Jeff Dee.

RPGaDAY 2017 #22

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPGs are the easiest for you to run?

Ha! Note the plural in the question: RPGs, not RPG. If it was only the singular, the answer would be self-evident...I can run B/X Dungeons & Dragons practically in my sleep (actually, most editions of D&D, if you're just asking me run the thing and not prep and run). When I was running a regular game down at the Baranof, I could prep a multi-session adventure of B/X over my lunch break and run the thing despite two pitchers of beer and a very loud karaoke bar next door. Very easy.

But the reason it's so easy is because I've run it a lot. With practice, everything becomes easier (assuming you're approaching a thing with mindful intention). And so, when asked which games (plural) are easiest for me to run, it's really simple a matter of listing the games I've had the most experience (i.e. "practice") running. These would be (in order):

1. Dungeons & Dragons (including 1st edition AD&D, B/X, BECMI, and 3E)
2. Marvel Superheroes (the Jeff Grubb original, both Basic and Advanced)
3. Vampire the Masquerade (1st & 2nd edition)
4. Gamma World (2nd edition)
5. Stormbringer (1st edition)

Boot Hill (2nd edition is my favorite) is fairly easy for me to run as a one-off session, but I've had pretty much zero experience running it as a long-term...or even multi-session...campaign. I imagine that doing so would be fairly tough without a real investment of time and attention to a particular setting (Western films and stories, the main inspiration for BH, all tend to center on a single town and scenario/situation).

These RPGs I've listed are systems in which I've run long campaigns, and I've an idea of how their games evolve and develop over time. These days, I'd probably stay away from Marvel (sorry, Jeff!) because I'm not a huge fan of its system/scale, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be easy for me to run...it's VERY easy, just not something I'm interested. The same holds (mostly) true for Vampire and Gamma World (the way they're written), though they might be more fun (for me) with a little modification to the basic rules and setting premise. Stormbringer is probably the easiest of the BRP games to run, mainly because its combat is more abstract, but putting together an actual campaign that doesn't bump into the albino sorcerer and his trail of wreckage (and making the campaign meaningful prior to the PC inevitable grisly demises) can be a real challenge.

I've run plenty of other games, but none of them are what I'd call "easy," either due to absurd fiddlyness, unfamiliarity, or badly flawed systems (examples include, Albedo, Sorcerer, and Rifts, respectively). The easiest ones are those I've listed...pretty sure that's enough for this post.

RPGaDAY 2017 #21

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPG does the most with the least words?

I am super-frigging tired today, and my wrists and hands feel like I'm probably on the verge of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, so this will be a very short post.

[my yard project DID get done, though, so...yay]

Fortunately, this is a pretty easy one: the Holmes edition of Basic Dungeons & Dragons gives you plenty of adventure material in its 40 or so pages...probably the most efficient word use of any RPG ever published in print. Enough to get anyone started and run plenty of sessions.

Close runners-up include Twilight 2000 (there's a LOT of white space in those slim books). and classic Traveller (you can get huge mileage from the original black volumes). But Holmes does the most with the least; his game gets the nod for this question.

RPGaDay 2017 #20

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

What is the best source for out-of-print RPGs?

In PDF? The internet. For a singular particular source? DriveThruRPG.com. Of course, I prefer books in print (even out-of-print books) and rather than using eBay or Amazon, I prefer to shop in person. Now that I don't make it out to Missoula as often as in my childhood, the best place to pick up  old books is my local game shop...same one I wrote about in my Day 10 post.

Huh. That one was pretty easy. Perhaps I should write about something else.

RPGaDAY 2017 #19

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[well, well, well...finally, FINALLY caught up; you can find Day 9 here, and Day 18 here. Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday; I had a looong day of hauling rock. And it appears the rock-hauling will be going on at least two more days (unless by some miracle I finish tomorrow). Hopefully, I'll get some writing in, despite my poor, demolished fingers!]

Which RPG features the best writing?

Huh. Depends on what you mean.

If we're talking the clearest writing, easily communicating how the RPG is to be played, it's objectives of play, etc. then we have several candidates for "winner," including Tom Modvay's edition of Dungeons & Dragons (the "B" in "B/X") which was able to teach this blog author (i.e. "me") how to play an RPG from pretty much start to finish. A lot of indie games (especially those of the "story" variety) have pretty solid instructions (I like Ben Lehman's Polaris quite a bit).

However, if you're talking about "stylistically" or "fun" or even "which has the best fiction" or "humor," I'll have to hem and haw a lot, as there're quite a few to choose from. Fourth edition Ars Magica is pretty darn good...certainly, it's my favorite edition of that particular game. Mike Pondsmith's Castle Falkenstein is pretty darn good. I'm a big fan of Ron Edwards's Sorcerer game (and the three supplements he wrote to accompany the game), though I realize he's not everyone's cup o' tea.

Ken Hites's Wild Talents has some great stuff. So does Over the Edge (by Jonathan Tweet and Robin Laws) though a lot of the setting material is fairly derivative. John Wick's Orkworld is a helluva' good read, too. But the best writing, the most interesting may be Maelstrom by Christian Aldridge. The game is clear and concise, the fiction is interesting without being overdone, and the setting is the best parts of fantasy...the kind of Neverending Story shit you loved as a child. With crab men and flying pirate ships and clockwork cities where people engage in duels of honor in dark alleys and amnesiac travelers from other dimensions. I love Maelstrom (and its Story Engine system is the best I've found for PBEM games).

Yeah, there's a lot of good writing out there (a lot of poor and mediocre writing, as well), but I'll give Maelstrom the nod on this one.

RPGaDAY 2017 #18

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG have you played the most in your life?

And this one's super easy: Dungeons & Dragons.

If you ask me for a specific edition, I'd probably have to say "B/X." This wasn't always the cast...I played AD&D (first edition) for years, even after the publication of 2nd edition (though my D&D play was pretty spotty in the 90s, and I even went through a stint playing only BECMI/RC).

However, since starting this blog in 2009...wow, more than eight years ago...it's been B/X more often than any other edition. And that gives B/X the advantage over AD&D.

'Nuff said.

RPGaDAY 2017 #17

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG have you owned the longest but not played?

This is a tough one.

Over the years I've gone from "RPG player" to "RPG designer," I have collected an incredible number of games...more than I could ever play in a lifetime. At least, in any meaningful way. Heck, "RPG collector" might be a better term for my gaming life and, sad as that is, I'm willing to wear it until such time as that changes.

[by the way, I've just had a loooong day of hauling 50 pound paving stones and 60 pound bags of sand and I am on my second pint, so my typing...and my train of thought...might be a little shaky. Sorry about that]

Even in my youth, once I found a way to acquire some spending money, I purchased a lot of games (usually at a used bookstore). But every game I would play. Take it out for a "test drive," you know? Back in the day, I had lots of friends clamoring to game and I had lots of free time (ah, sweet youth...cherish your free time while you can, kids!), so it wasn't an issue to try every game. One session or a dozen, who cares? It gave us as much enjoyment as going to the movies (if not more) for roughly the same price.

But the older I've gotten, the fewer gaming friends seem to be around, and my free time has dwindled to a trickle due to my other responsibilities. Yes, I could make it a priority of my life. I don't have to be the president of the parents club and the first grade soccer coach and the dutiful son who visits his mother and the dutiful brother who tries to comfort an ailing brother and the dutiful husband and father and homeowner moving three f'ing tons of rock to build a patio. Hell, I could get rid of the beagles and not worry about feeding and walking and caring for them (the younger is prone to ear infections). I don't think it's possible to exercise less than I already do, or write less than I already do or...well, you get the point. We all have our priorities and while I'd like gaming to be one of mine, I can't seem to fit it in as often as would seem to be appropriate for a dude who's devoted so many internet words to the subject.

*ahem*

ANYway, even so, it wasn't till the last ten years or so that I really started collecting games with little, if any, intention to play. Some are appropriate for research, some represent pieces of history, some are pretty to look at, some I've purchased based on reviews thinking I'd play them (but for some reason found them wanting) and some I fully intend to play one of these day, when I have the chance, and the right group of people.  But, sad to say, there are a LOT of unplayed games that sit on my shelf.

To find the oldest, however, required me to really scratch my head and dig deep. I was having a hard time considering if Werewolf: the Apocalypse counted...certainly, I've never run a saga in that game, though I've been asked to before (back in college...the game fell through before the first session due to some man-woman stuff), but parts of that game was incorporated into other Vampire games, and I'm sure I've used it to make at least one or two characters. Then there's another game from 1992 called Dreampark (based on the Larry Nivens novel) from R. Talsorian. I actually really dug that as a potential "universal" RPG system (in a simpler fashion than GURPS)...but I think I might have run a game for my brother at some point.

And anyway, I have an older game that I'm sure I haven't played: Guardians by James Perhan from Starchilde Publications. This game was published in 1988, though I believe I picked up my copy circa 1990 (and possibly from a used bookstore). Guardians has a simple system, some nice interior art, and some fairly cool fluff. Plus I loved the "flourish" skill that allowed a character to execute cool moves without tripping over his/her cape (and failing a flourish roll could have embarrassing, if not dangerous, consequences).

It's pretty crappy. Sorry.

However, Guardians lost all credibility with me when I read the sample adventure it contained. It didn't bother me that it was hokey, with an evil dentist and his robotic, drill-armed henchman. No, it was when I was researching the bad guys' powers (in anticipation of running the game) and realized the robot's suite of invulnerability powers made it completely impervious to anything the pre-gens (or anyone else) could throw at it. A bad oversight of game design, and one bad enough that I chucked the whole book without ever running a game.

But I didn't chuck it into the trash, just a dusty corner of the shelf. I found it a while back when I was reading Age of Ravens History of Superhero RPGs posts and realized he'd left it off the list. It's still a shitty game with decent artwork, and for some reason I've allowed it to stick around...it's pretty thin, after all (doesn't take up that much shelf space).

I'm about 99% sure it's the game I've owned the longest without once having played it. Going on 27+ years.

[holy mole! Only one more day of double-posting to do! You can read my Day 8 post by going to this link. Tomorrow I'll do Day 9 and then I'll be all caught up]

RPGaDAY 2017 #16

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG do you enjoy using as is?

In general, I prefer to use most games "as is." Rules As Written. RAW. Even "back in the day," when we played AD&D as our game of choice, we tried to incorporate every rule in the game (speed factor, weapon speed, segments, spell components, chance to hit helmet, encumbrance, weapon vs. armor type, etc.). We got so proficient at it, that it take all that much time...though certainly rules might be forgotten and "fall through the cracks" in the heat of the moment. We were so damn pleased when the Unearthed Arcana was released and provided a simplified unarmed combat system that worked so much easier than the pummeling/grappling rules found in the DMG.

I've never been a fan of modifying rules. Even with all the mods and tweaks found in the multitude of posts on this blog, more often than not when actually playing a game of B/X I fall back on my default RAW assumptions (or I try out a "house rule" for a session before reverting to RAW). Most of my wildest deviations from B/X are really new games...games I've created using a B/X base as a "chassis" to build upon. Whether I'm talking about space vikings or The Goblin Wars or some sort of space/Jedi game, I'm building a game to fill a need that isn't met by another game or system.

I have lots of reasons for preferring to run games as they're written:

• It's easier to run a game when you abide by an accepted set of rules. Having a rule book as the ultimate "authority" settles a lot of disagreements.
• I've come to find over the years, that a lot of designers had very specific ideas about their RPG concept, and failing to utilize the rules they've provided can drift the game into something different from what the designer intended.
• Some might consider me otherwise, but I don't really think of myself as a "tinkerer" by nature. I like to deconstruct rules, try to figure out how/why they're in there, but I'm not one of those guys who opens the box (or book) and immediately sets about modifying things to taste. Maybe I'm lazy that way.
• But I'm also prideful and arrogant. I consider myself pretty sharp, and I enjoy mastering a new set of rules, finding ways to make them work in interesting ways for my own benefit. That's not to say I'm interested in min-maxing things...working for "my own benefit" often means using the rules creatively to manifest my own vision. Like using 3rd Edition D&D to model Gandalf from The Hobbit (the novel), even though such a character isn't necessarily an "optimal build" for that particular game.

It is unfortunate (in my mind) that many folks can't or won't take the time to learn and run games as they're written. One of my many frustrations with 3rd Edition D&D was that no one besides myself seemed willing or able to play the game "by the book." I famously remember one DM who wanted to run a "high level" campaign and had us all create 15th level characters. During our first round of combat, he literally threw up his hands and said, "I give up," because the damn thing was too complex for HIM to run and manage with all the fiddly bits and rules that come from such massive stat blocks.

[and by "give up" I mean he ended the game and campaign right then and there]

And he was but one of many folks I encountered who failed, failed, failed as a 3rd edition DM...and not even the worst of them.

My copy is actually pink, not sepia.

But I digress. I suppose the word to emphasize in the question is "enjoy." Well, I enjoy running most, if not all games, as is. But if you mean "Which games do I most enjoy," I think I'd say Ken St. Andre's Stormbringer (1st edition) has provided me a ton of enjoyment, as is, straight out of the box, without any modification or changes whatsoever. It almost perfectly captures Michael Moorcock's world, as well as its themes and dark humor (you still have to inject your own tragedy, should you care for that kind of thing), and player characters are almost certainly doomed...but the ones that survive, even for a little while, always feel like they've really accomplished something. Which is cool and fun and enjoyable...if a little masochistic.
; )

[folks interested in my Day 7 post, should check out this link; only two more back-dated posts]

RPGaDAY 2017 #15

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?

All right, there's no going off-book with such an easy question. B/X. Hands down. The easiest, most readily adaptable system I've come across...at least as far as fantasy adventure gaming is concerned. I've used it to model space Vikings and Dark Sun-style gladiators and horror hunters and faerie wars and Shadowrun and and Star Wars and 40K-style chaos war bands and subaquatic science-horror.

Easy-shmeezy.

And I'm sure there are plenty more uses for the B/X chassis. I know lots of people have used it to kit-bash systems for their favorite settings...folks much smarter and more creative than myself.

It's not ENDLESSLY adaptable, of course. It's not the best system for investigative/mystery-style role-playing (that would be something like GUMSHOE). And it doesn't really do light-hearted stuff or romance (probably RISUS is an easier fit). Vehicle-stuff is pretty tough to write, except in the most superficial manner (so settings that FEATURE a lot of in-vehicle action is difficult with B/X). And, no, there's not a whole lot of character development that occurs in B/X-style play, save for the kind that occurs from recording the experiences of you character over time (in your memory, if not necessarily on your character sheet).

But even so: I love it. I enjoy fantasy adventure gaming. That particular brand of escapism is my cup o tea. And the B/X edition of D&D is the system I enjoy adapting more than any other.

[folks interested in my Day 6 post, should check out this link; nearly caught up!]

RPGaDAY 2017 #14

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG do you prefer for open-ended campaign play?

Tempting as it is to do yet another Vampire post, despite its scope (start your game in ancient Babylon! Stop off at the middle ages, run a few sessions through various eras and decades of the 20th century!), the game tends to collapse under its own weight. Not to mention, if you continue the immortal being timeline you can't help but end up with Vam-Pires In Spaaaaaaaace! Which is a simply awful idea. Listen, people, THIS is what a space vampire should look like:

Nightmares for years...thanks, Thundarr.

NOT this:

Come on, Wilma...Nosferatu has nothing on Buck!

So, no...Vampire always needs an end...generally once every player character has met a much-deserved, fiery death, or has become stuck in a thousand year torpor.

Other games suggest themselves for long-term, "open-ended" campaign play, but which is best? Somewhat surprisingly, I find myself considering AD&D as the best of the bunch. Even better than B/X, if we are going to limit ourselves to using the Rules As Written...and I think that's only fair with regard to this question. Otherwise, you could modify most games for long-term play.

But AD&D (first edition) provides a lot of structure for long-term play, including options for high level play and exploration...monsters and magic that can still appeal to jaded player characters even after years of play (presuming you don't dole out too much, too fast), while providing so many optional options ('porting in Boot Hill and/or Gamma World) that there's little chance of getting bored with the game. Mainly, though, I like that AD&D has built-in decrepitude...rules for aging that will (eventually) force most characters to retire and "pass on the torch" to trusted henchmen and/or progeny.  And unlike Vampire and other "generational" games (Pendragon, Ars Magica, Chivalry & Sorcery), being set in a mythic/fantasy realm, there's little chance that your campaign will last into some age of anachronism, even through successive generations of adventurers. Generally, most AD&D settings take place in a magical realm that never develops past a pseudo-16th century tech level.

So, yeah...AD&D. Even though I've been more a proponent of B/X and its simple elegance, taken RAW the AD&D game provides more tools for long-term play than the un-modified B/X game.

Just thinking about the possibilities almost makes me want to play the old thing. Almost.
: )

[folks interested in my "Day 5" post for the #RPGaDAY, can check out this link]

RPGaDAY 2017 #13

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Describe a game experience that changed how you play.

Hmm...that's yet another tough question. I suppose they're designed that way, to promote thoughtful responses.
; )

Welp, it's hard to single out an instance of a game experience "changing" how I play. All the experiences I've had over the years, both at and away from the table, have gone into creating my "gaming acumen." Other than growing older and more mature (and perhaps a bit smarter, if not wiser), the way I play these days isn't much different from how I played 30-some years ago. I'm probably less self-conscious than I was in the past, more willing to "step up to the plate" when playing (as opposed to hanging back with a wait-and-see attitude). I'm more "proactive" when gaming, both in stance and action...but that comes with confidence from growing up and knowing yourself and not worrying terribly about what kind of an ass you make of yourself.

Now, as far as running games, there HAVE been ways I've distinctly changed my gaming style over the years. However, most of the ways in which I've changed have come about from things that occurred outside of play. However, looking back I can see at least one instance where an in-game occurrence prompted me to reconsider my approach to running games.

This was circa 1990 or '91 and I was running Vampire: the Masquerade for several high school buddies. It was my last year of high school proper, and these guys: Michael, Mike, and Ben had been my main gaming partners for the last couple years. Usually, I was a player in our games (they ran a lot of Palladium: mostly Heroes Unlimited or Robotech) though I had run a couple one-off games (Stormbringer and Rifts). Mostly, though, I'd been burned out on GMing after years of being a Dungeon Master (I'd likewise burned out on D&D, quitting play around the same time 2nd Edition came out), and was content to simply "ride along" as a passenger in someone else's world. That is, until I found Vampire and was inspired to take up the mantle of "Storyteller." There was a lot in VtM that appealed to an angsty 90's teenager like myself. Plus, I'd been a vampire fan since I was a very, very small child.

[fortunately I went to college before the whole "goth" thing started happening, so I never got swept up in that]

[*sigh* I should probably write a series of posts on Vampire and vampires one of these days]

ANYway...I was running Vampire for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the idea of the types of stories the game wanted to tell. World o Darkness games are all about storytelling, don'tcha' know...they just expect the players to do the work of creating the stories (rather than providing tools/systems to facilitate this *ahem*). So, here I was trying to tell stories of grim tragedy and dark romance and lost humanity in an intimate style that I was used to from my experiences back in the day with my prior AD&D group...and I was doing it with dudes who were, well, not all that into it.

As Ben told me during one session, "Look, man, I'm really not comfortable with this."

Ah, blood bonds. Yeah, they REALLY
weren't into this kind of thing!

My friend Michael was into it...but Michael, like myself, was interested in stage and theater and role-playing and character exploration. Ben and Mike? Ben would have rather been playing Steve Jackson's Toon. And Mike once told me, after I'd taken him to see some Oscar-nominated British drama, "Well, Jon, it didn't have any action, and it really wasn't funny, so I don't get why you think it's so great." Yeah, they collected comic books and they enjoyed a space opera anime liked Robotech (loved it, in fact...owned the whole series on VHS and had watched it multiple times), but they couldn't give a shit about anything other than super-powered punch-ups and giant robots exploding...melodramatic love triangles and mutant angst be damned!

So, I learned that sometimes you can have friends, even gamer friends, who aren't on the same page with you. Like, at all. And when you're running a game for them, you have to take this into account and accept it...or else move on. My Vampire games with those guys mostly involved shoot-outs with cops or discipline-powered duels and diablerie, and that's fine...I was a big fan of Near Dark long before VtM was a game. And eventually I moved on, and found other folks at university who had more of my mind-set when it came to role-playing.

You can't please everyone all the time. Not even yourself.

[folks interested in my "Day 4" post for the #RPGaDAY, can check out this link]

RPGaDAY 2017 #12

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG has the most inspiring interior art?

Oh, boy. There are plenty of RPGs with good, excellent, or downright amazing artwork. But inspiring?

Mm.

Actually, I don't need to draw this out...one RPG springs immediately to mind, and is the hands-down, no brainer answer to the question. But I suppose I should describe what I think of as "inspiring RPG artwork." To me, I consider artwork in an RPG to be inspiring when it tightly fits the theme of the game, reinforcing it, and inspiring me to take part in the actual play of the game...in a way that coincides with the art being depicted.

Games can include good, even great or amazing artwork, but it's not always "inspiring" in this way. Spirit of 77 has some good art but, while it conjures to mind ideas about the concept of the game, it doesn't "move" me (and some of its "good" art actually detracts from the 70s movie vibe, feeling too much like a 90s comic book). Cadillacs and Dinosaurs had great interior art because it used Mark Schultz's wonderful drawings, but it only made me want to read more Schultz, not play its boring, boring game.

But there are many games with inspiring art: if the artwork in Moldvay's basic book hadn't been so inspiring, would I have fell into role-playing as passionately as I did? And I find Larry Elmore's work in the Mentzer Expert set is exceptionally inspiring for the scale and scope of that book. Hollow Earth Expedition has some great interior art, Stormbringer (1st) has some plates that convey the rather hopelessness of the setting (everyone dies, all the time), and FFG's recent line of WH40K based books (Deathwatch, Only War, etc.) have absolutely incredible interiors unified around their themes.

But for me, the most inspiring interior artwork I've come across has been the interior artwork of Vampire the Masquerade, 1st edition. Tim Bradstreet's black-and-white drawings perfectly capture the spirit and theme of "Gothic Punk," making that an actual thing, where no such term previously existed (to my knowledge, anyway). Along with his gorgeous chapter plates, the opening comic strip detailing a vampire's birth and journey over long centuries perfectly conveyed the scope and scale of the game. The second edition of the game was hardcover with shiny, magazine-like pages that failed to convey the same feeling of the 1st edition printing. The original was like opening some old tome found in an upstairs attic and discovering a mysterious world you never knew existed.  It made me a fan and player of the game for many years.

Yeah, Vampire. Hands down the best when it comes to inspiring interior artwork.

[folks interested in my "Day 2" post for the #RPGaDAY, can check out this link. "Day 3" is posted here. Sorry, I'll be caught up soon]

RPGaDAY 2017 #11

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which 'dead game' would you like to see reborn?

This is an easy one, and I'll keep this short since it's nearly August 12th as I write this.

Twilight 2000 is a game I've written about in the past. It's quite well done, and as far as "speculative fiction," well...come one, folks. It's not that hard to imagine similar scenarios given our current political climate.

All it needs is a little update...call it Twilight 2019. Put together some stats for our currently military gear, vehicles, drones, etc. Update the tech and unit types for our potential enemigos. And bam...instant revival.

Wouldn't even change the (first edition) rules as written. Just bring it back to life. I'd play it.

RPGaDAY 2017 #10

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Where do you go for RPG reviews?

Well, in this case it really depends on the game. The easy answer is "Google;" I run a search with the name of the game and "review" and see what the Google-machine returns.

However, that's usually not enough for me. I enjoy reading multiple reviews on a product, attempting to get different perspectives. A lot of reviews these days (unfortunately) spend a bunch of time discussing "production values," something I could care less about. Yes, a nice looking game looks good on the shelf, but (in theory) I'm buying these things to play.

RPG.net used to be my go-to for RPG and reviews...and still is when it comes to older games. But older reviews tend to disappear off the site and the things that actually get reviewed tend towards only the most popular or buzz-worthy games and supplements. It's become kind of a wasteland over there (I never bother reading the comments on reviews).

Furthermore, while I do purchase things off DriveThruRPG (and its sister sites) I pay little attention to the reviews posted to products. Usually, I'm going there to pick up something I've already decided to purchase (same with products on LuLu), so it doesn't matter to me whether some anonymous user posted they like or dislike something. When I want a review I prefer something a bit more "in depth," hopefully with some actual experience playing the thing.

To this end, blogs are probably the most informative places to find on-line reviews...hence the necessity of Google (as different blogs have different systems and genres on which they focus).

However, Google is the EASY answer...the one I can give you, dear readers, if you're looking for an easy way to get reviews (and it is easy, and I do utilize it). But my best answer is to get actual word-of-mouth reviews from people with direct exposure to a game. And in my case, that means talking to the folks at my favorite local game shop, Around the Table Game Pub in Lynnwood. When I'm browsing the shelves and come across an interesting, unfamiliar game, it's the folks behind the counter who I'm first to talk to: usually Tim (Morgan) the co-owner/manager, but Nick, Josh, etc. are usually pretty knowledgable. They're generally pretty knowledgable, able to tell me about the system, the setting, the designers (especially if they're local), and the gameplay. They can tell me if a game is selling, if it's popular, if they see people playing/enjoying the thing, because the game pub is open to folks gaming all week long. And even if they don't have any info on a game, they can sometimes direct me to someone else who knows more about it (even if it's one of their colleagues who's not in the shop that particular day).

These "interactive reviews" are often more helpful than anything I read on-line, if only because I can ask questions (and follow-up questions) specifically pointed at the issues that meet MY needs as a potential customer. I should mention I do this in other shops as well, but the folks at Around the Table are the best.

Plus they serve beer.
; )

Just what it says.

[for folks interested in my "Day 1" post for the #RPGaDAY, check out this link]

RPGaDAY 2017 #9

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

What is a good RPG to play for about 10 sessions?

Ten sessions? That's a tough one. And it depends on a lot of factors: how long are these sessions we're talking about? Short, two hour sessions? Or those eight hour marathons sessions we used to play on the weekends in our youth?

Do the ten sessions include prep between sessions? Are we allowed pre- and post-game maintenance phases a la Ars Magica or Pendragon? Are players familiar with the system that's being played? Is this one of those games where you have to kill an entire session just to create characters for the game?

There are a lot of games that can be adapted to this kind of "mini-series" format, but they won't always provide satisfying gameplay. Some RPGs, like Dungeons & Dragons, only show their true strengths over long-term play. Some RPGs, like Ron Edward's Sorcerer, can't be drawn out past three or four sessions without feeling contrived and over-long. Even Call of Cthulhu begs for a shorter time period...if half the group isn't insane after five or six sessions, your GM isn't doing it right.

However, tough as it is, JB does have an answer that satisfies...at least if it was ME that had to run a ten (and only ten) game session. And that answer is The Hunters Hunted from White Wolf.

No, I don't mean that big orange monstrosity they put out in 1999; that was Hunter: the Reckoning, and it helped make a game line (World of Darkness) that was already a little too super heroic even more so (to my chagrin as a fan). In fact, even though I stopped insanely collecting every WW book and supplement about the time of the original Wraith ("the Oblivion") it was the publication of Hunter: the Reckoning which caused me to turn my back on the whole WoD game line (I had still been picking up the occasional Black Dog imprint for Vampire). Ugly.

Nope, I'm talking about the original VtM supplement written by Bill Bridges and published in 1992. At under 90 pages it provided pretty much everything you needed to create and run a Hunter campaign, in the classic vampire horror story style (think Fright Night, Salem's Lot, Bram Stoker, etc.). It's quite good, for what it is, and it's absolutely perfect for a short-term series, whether you want to play over-the-top (Buffy, Blade) or something darker and more grim. Ten sessions is plenty of time for a group of would-be hunters to chase down the handful of vamps (or coterie of mages or clan of werewolves...whatever) inhabiting a medium-sized city.

THIS one! Yes, it's scary...scary fun!

And ten sessions is great for the type of development that occurs in the standard Vampire game (characters start out relatively proficient, and won't grow to super heroic proportions in ten sessions...especially mortals who lack vampiric disciplines). Unlike other systems (Palladium, D20 Modern) there's no pressure to "level up," as there are no levels. Yeah, the short time frame of the saga won't be a hindrance to character advancement in HH.

I've only had the opportunity to run a Hunters Hunted saga once...and (if I remember correctly) it was the last time I ran any World of Darkness game (I ran WW games through the end of high school and all through college...a good five or six years, at least). My main player wanted to try a WoD game, but "didn't want to play a monster;" a Hunters game seemed like the obvious choice. While we had a great time, he decided he wanted to switch to a standard vampire after the first couple of sessions...the overall vibe of playing a mortal had been a little too freaky/scary for him. Too bad, really (especially as we never got back to VtM, switching instead to 3rd Edition D&D), because I had really been grooving on the whole thing. Unleashed my inner Crypt Keeper or something.
; )

I've often thought of dusting off Ye Old Hunters Hunted and rewriting it with a B/X chassis (perhaps using elements of Beyond the Supernatural), but I just haven't had the heart to do so. Bridges wrote a fine little supplement for Vampire. It's one White Wolf game I wouldn't mind running again.

RPGaDAY 2017 #8

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

What is a good RPG to play for sessions of 2hrs or less?

If you have time to prep, B/X is a game that runs fairly good in a short session. It depends a bit on how familiar your players are with gaming and the over all concept.

Anyone can grok this one.

But if you don't have time to prep or you're dealing with complete newbies? Jason Morningstar's Fiasco is pretty awesome game that gives you a very cool gaming experience in a very short time. Prep/set-up is part of the play that occurs at table, chargen is a snap, there's no GM, and everyone gets vested in the creation of the story at hand because they're all part of the set-up.

I've only had the chance to play Fiasco on one occasion, but it was quite easy and quite fun. I heartily recommend it. Other games run fast (including both InSpectres and Capes) but few games have the same bite, delivering excellence in such a short period of time. It's a good one to have on the shelf.
: )

RPGaDAY 2017 #7

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

What was your most impactful RPG session?

I can't remember the exact date, or even the specifics of what occurred in-game. But the most impactful session I've ever played occurred many, many years ago...I'd say about 32 years ago. It was the first time someone other than myself took the role of Dungeon Master at our gaming table. Prior to that session, I had ALWAYS acted as DM for my gaming group...since we'd begun gaming. And while that may have only been three to four years, you're talking about one-quarter to one-third of my entire young life.

I've told this story before, but I'll do it once more: no one taught me how to play Dungeons & Dragons...no older brother or cousins or friends. No grognard introduced me to the game down at the war gamers' local hobby shop. My introduction came from my newly opened Moldvay Basic set, purchased for me by my mother, at my request, off the shelf of the local J.C. Penny toy department (the one at Seattle's Northgate Mall if anyone's wondering...store is still there). It took me a while to digest this new type of gaming, but once I had, I started running it for my brother and our friends.

And for about four years, I continued to run the game...even as we expanded with Cook/Marsh Expert set, and (later) with the various AD&D books...first the Monster Manual, then the Dungeon Masters Guide, and finally, finally the Players Handbook. I ran games for kids my age; I ran games for kids in high school (when I was still in middle school). I wrote adventures, I ran modules, I screwed up various rules, and then (later) corrected those screw-ups as we figured them out. I wasn't interested in "world building" back then...it was all serial adventure, all the time. Some of it pretty cool, but much of a it (looking back) as pretty pedestrian fare.

Hey, we're talking about a kid here.

Still, players kept coming back. And I was enjoying myself...though it's hard to remember my exact feelings/emotions of the time. It was all still NEW and almost completely UNEXAMINED. There was nothing thoughtful or deliberate about the games I was running...except my deliberate attempts to bring new content into the game whenever we got our hands on a new book. But everyone wanted to play and no one wanted to run the game. Heck, I don't know that anyone figured they COULD run the game. I was the guy who knew all the rules, right?

Well, actually, I wasn't the only one who knew the rules. My good friend...my best friend...back in those days was a girl named Jocelyn. She was the youngest of five, but her next closest sibling (a brother) was eleven years older than her, already grown and moved out. Like me, she had a love of fantasy and mythology and folklore. Unlike me, she had a lot of discretionary income and ready access to a good book store. She was the first to acquire the Mentzer Companion and Immortal sets, she was the first one of us to purchase the Unearthed Arcana...heck, she bought me my first Monster Manual as a birthday gift. And she was the first of us to acquire a copy of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, found in a trunk of her brother's old stuff that he'd left behind.

Jocelyn had been my first player after my brother...though she had been present during the first session I ever ran. In fact, I was introduced to her for the first time while running that adventure (a castle siege with a map I'd drawn, based largely on the Keep from B2 I'm sure)...her mother, a friend of my mother, had brought her over to our house that evening, and she'd been bustled off to my room where my brother and I sat, about to embark on our first great adventure.

Anyway...

It must have been around 1985 when she decided she would like to try her hand at being the Dungeon Master. I'm guessing '85 because that's when the UA was released, and she acquired her copy before I did, and hit me with a bunch of mysterious new rules (as a DM) before I ever had a chance to read the book.

And as a DM, Jocelyn was fantastic. Unlike myself, she was interested in world building...creating maps and lands to not only explore but to live in...to escape into. We gamed in her world through two-and-a-half generations of player characters, and I had a blast as a player and even (occasionally) as a part-time Dungeon Master, subbing in for an adventure session or two. Jocelyn forced me to elevate my game...both as a player and a DM.

It was wonderful, and it never would have happened if I had continued to hold the reins of our gaming like some tight-fisted miser. I honestly can't remember the conversation that led us to me "turning over the campaign" to her...I don't remember my feelings on the matter, whether I was happy or excited or had hurt feelings that my game wasn't "good enough." I really don't remember. But probably I was at least a little bit excited at the opportunity to play the game as a player...hell, it's possible I suggested she run the game just so that I could play as a player character. You see, I'd just found this new PC class in the back of the PHB in an appendix, something no one had ever seen before in our games, some strange conglomeration of classes called a bard...

[and that led to my longest running, most powerful, most beloved, and most hated PC of all time...in any game, ever. But that's another story for another time...]

Regardless of the reasons, the most impactful session of my gaming life...and a long life it's been...has to be the first time I let go of the power of the Dungeon Master and just played. And discovered a new world of adventure.
: )