2014 – The Year in Review

2014 – The Year in Review

Between school and work, it has been a busy year. I did manage some gaming, other times I didn't.

In my Iron Kingdoms group, we have done our best to keep the game alive. It hasn't been easy. At times, it is difficult to get players. Other times, getting a place to play has been a challenge. However, there have been some enjoyable moments on the way.

I ran a traditional murder on a train scenario. It highlighted some of the flaws of the game system, but it still provided an interesting story, which was asked for by one of the players. This really helps to underline the importance of player involvement in the creation of story. I might not have taken that step.

I finished the main storyline in “Berlin by Night” with my Vampire group. I was going with a “canned” adventure, as I was too busy to write my own. It presented some interesting problems. Recently, I looked up rpg cliches, which I'll cover in a later post. One reported by players to be most hateful is the capture/no win scenario. Berlin has a few in store for players, which really ticked off two of my players. There are times that I have to wonder about that response. I can understand the need to win in the end, but setbacks and losses should have their place as well to enhance the power of the win. Something to think about.

I ran Werewolf for a brief time. There are aspects of the game that are hard for some players to understand. Sometimes, it seems that the way it is written garners more misunderstandings than are intended.

Dark Heresy got started again. While not as over-powered as the last time we played, there is still some power creep. Our crew tends to have a penchant to live up to the idea of being murder hobos. The GM is somewhat inexperienced at running things... This is where I get to live up to the ideal of being a good player.

Charity and I attended Ambercon NW for the third year in a row. I made an effort to engage more in all the games that I took part in. I think that I succeeded. From being forced to sing out how I am an ordinary boy to raisin' all feckin' hell on the Chalk for all feegle kind, I had a great time. I explored new games, and left with the idea that I need to pay some of how cool this year was in the forward direction.

I missed out on Free RPG Day. With the time off from school that I am enjoying, I'll try to get a plot together. I'm thinking a demo version of KAMB! and maybe Through the Breach. Guess it will have to wait to see what comes up.

What's the coming year looking like? Well, I hope to continue with the Dark Heresy game. I like that world too much. I'm hoping to try some of the new games coming out. I'm really looking forward to Unleashed coming out, hopefully I can get someone else to run it. Getting some Dresden Files, DC Adventures, and Through the Breach going might be on my radar.

Happy New Year, time for a reroll!

Roll Through The Holidays

Glad you could join your old Uncle MacBaelspar in his family lodge here, just above the treeline. The fire has been built to warm the hall as we sip heavily nudged tankards of hot sipping chocolate. Every available surface is decorated with items that reflect the winter holidays colorful lights shine where ever they can be placed. Snow is falling outside in small flurries, blanketing the valley below in glistening whiteness. Let's think on seasonal gaming, winter edition.

When I game, I like to think that there are parallels between our world and the game world that exist because of the way that human nature works. Seasonal festivals have existed throughout recorded history. Some have remained the same since their creation. Others have altered and evolved to fit the times.

I have incorporated calendar events into games as part of the plot. Like having the detailed background of a locale, having holidays and festivals in the game can give the setting depths. If such events are similar enough to what we expect, then we can fill in the details with our own thoughts. So, ways to bring the holiday to an rpg plot near you.

Some people believe that by being set around the holidays, a holiday movie is made. “Die Hard” is the number one element on this list, but there are others: “Batman Returns,” “Reindeer Games.” Basically, it's the equivalent of putting a Santa hat on your Cthulhu doll and calling it a Christmas decoration. Mentioning holiday things that are going on, or having an NPC paraphrase a holiday classic might fit into this idea. “Crom bless us, every one.” “Now I have a level 6 IC breaker, ho, ho, ho.”

I'm a bigger fan of the “Antagonist Stole Christmas” plot. The festival of the season was going to go on as normal, but someone has to be a jerk and ruin the festivities. This really fits in the good, old “stop the bad guy” plot. Stop the assassins from killing father Christmas. Get the special item that is used to top the villages central decoration/altar. Deliver a set of info packets that will help poor hab families. All of these are directives that can be given to players that doesn't require them to be any more into the situation than they would need to be for another quest.

Now, comes the difficult type, exploring seasonal themes without it being about stopping immanent doom. Themes like hope for the dark times to pass or seeing that the neediest among us are protected can be difficult to articulate or may be seen as more “touchy/feely” than a game group might want to go into. However, some systems might be suited for it, “Monsterhearts” or “Fiasco.” Maybe others, and I would be open to recommendations.

One bad side of such plots is be conscious of how long they can take to tell. If you are planning something for the holiday, make sure that it can fit within the plans of all your players. The holidays may be pulling them elsewhere. It's hard to leave a game session with a cartload of toys not having made it to the orphanage yet due to a player having to go hang out with family. Sometimes, it's even harder to get back to it.

So, as the snow falls (or doesn't as your temperate zone may vary) think about the depth that can be added to a world by bringing in holiday events. Think about the ideas you can explore by looking at the events of others or other holiday traditions. Most of all have happy holidays, because I don't think you can reroll this one.

I Want to Hit That – Home on the Range Edition

“I Want to Hit That” is a segment where I ponder the crazy things that go in combat in table top rpg's.

The group enters the villains lair. The villain and his retinue are on a dais before the party. He chuckles evilly, “There is nothing you can do.”

“I shoot him,” says player one.

“I throw an explosive at him,” says player two.

And player three says, “I run up and hit him.”

In some games, like one in which you have a table with miniatures and maps, it may be readily apparent that only the shooter will have a chance of actually hitting when you compare the size of the lair to where you think that everyone is. Other games, they leave it in the abstract, or the player confusion zone.

The matter of range is one of those things that some games attempt to add a bit of seriousness to, but lack the engine to really run it. Even in some of the crunchier table-top miniatures games, range is an abstraction. In the grim dark future, rocket propelled, explosive rounds can only go 24 meters, give or take. High arcing mortar fire in a steam fantasy setting might only make it 42 yards, and that's with an advantageous over-shoot. Abstractions are necessary at times.

So, when it comes to more story driven rpg's of a non-indie nature, we dutifully write down the range of weapons that may as well be “whatever.” In Vampire, the sniper rifle and the shotgun are never going to be checked for range to see if they can hit that ghoul on the next building.

You may be asking why this idea even matters. Is it important to have some range guidelines in place?

Game mastering, on a certain level, requires an amount of social engineering. Some players are going to be more active than others, being comfortable with taking the lead in certain situations. Other players may feel overlooked in many circumstances with these players. The stand-offish player that wanted to be the lone sniper might feel upset if they are unable to shine in the manner that they chose by picking off enemies from insanely far away. Remember, a happy party tends to keep playing through campaign after campaign, or might be willing to try something different.

Is there a solution?

I have the Dresden Files RPG, which runs on the Fate System. On a whim, I picked up the Fate Accelerated mini-rule book to have so that players could look up some rules without needing the big book. The range rules in that system are quite interesting.

The GM establishes zones. Players can directly interact with something in the same zone. A player can move one zone and act. Two zones away is too far to interact without some for of ranged ability. An abstraction that is easy to envision as well as implement.

Going back to the original example, the group enters the lair of the villain. The overlord and his minions are on the dais. The chapel floor lies between the group and the dais. The players are in the nave. This means that the archer gets to shoot at the overlord. The alchemist runs forward and throws a vial of explosive acid onto the dais. The berserker charges forward, readying his axe for when he'll be able to attack.

Besides, you can always reroll if it doesn't work.

A Watched Plot Never Boils

I've been a GM for a fair number of years. I typically like to run a game where the characters (both player and non-player) tend to drive the action. Your NPC's motivations cause problems, like what they are planning to do to take control of the region. Players typically want to stop this, or join up; investing their time into finding a way make the most for theirselves.

Some groups do not naturally fall into line with that plan. Many typical adventure party groups are more than content with the “Enter dungeon, kill monsters, take loot” plan. Some people like to run that style of game. Alas, I am not one of those people, though I am running a game that has that kind of party. Which leads to something of a problem.

Every week, I plot out an adventure. I want it to be the kind of engaging thing that I get from the more character oriented groups so that it doesn't feel that I can replace what I do with a random number generator and a Monster Manual. Sometimes, this can be the source of grief, and many of us have seen it.

Let us just say you have finished reading a book or watching a movie where a plucky group of adventurers (heroes, dwarves, pirates, saviors of solar systems, etc.) goes out to save the day. Not only do they succeed, but you really liked it. You liked it to the point where you want to share it with your group by creating a plot that mirrors what you liked.

Some of you may see where this is going.

You set the stage, describing the setting. Things are going good. Your guide/babysitter NPC comes up to the group, “Sit a while, and listen.” Your NPC is about to tell the players about the epic task that lay before them. One of the players then says, “I kill the stranger.” If killing the guide isn't enough to break the plot, then they find something else. If you're like me, then you find that this tends to diminish the amount of joy that you take from running a game.

Well, I may have found a solution.

Imagine that your party has a treasure that they need to get a hold of, something that could do whatever would motivate them to strike out into action. They have a map, but there's a cypher device needed to read the map. The last known location was in a culture that is foreign to them. They have to infiltrate only to find that the cultural equivalent of the village idiot has it. An opposing force is also trying to get it. To make things even more complicated, the culture does not trust outsiders. They have an elite force designed to go after intruders. And go...

The plot of Transformers when seen from the perspective of the autobots might actually be interesting, but it's not the perspective that you see from the movie. In fact, the actual plot is kind of crap. No one really cared about Shia LeWitwicky. This way, no one's favorite character/autobot dies, and everyone gets the story they wanted.

I think that there is something to be said for using those stories that disappointed us as a starting point. If they fail, then you can take solace in it being a doomed premise to begin with. Maybe famous historical/fictitious characters were not meant to hunt monsters. Perhaps trained groups of mercenaries sent into an antagonistic country to retrieve a lost piece of information/prisoner was not going to be entertaining no matter how you look at it. Having a band of adventurers that are the only ones that are able to stand against the armies of the god of good/order to protect the one person that can defeat them might go better on the table than it did on the screen. (Funny, this conversation started with me watching Matrix: Revolutions. This last sentence was meant to be a poke at The Prophecy films and Legion. Funny how it also describes the latter Matrix films.)

Going forward, I'm not going to be wasting my time trying to retell what is already good. No, I'm going to recycle. I'm starting my compost heap of plots that failed to entertain. Giving them a second chance in a different format might be the trick.

You can always reroll if it doesn't work.