#RPGaDay: Day 31

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

Answer: I anticipate I'll be running a regular Basic Fantasy game with a local group about once a month. This is what I look forward to the most in the coming year - to make good on my return to the hobby. My group have talked about trading off running different games for each other, but my schedule probably won't allow for any more than once every three weeks. If I can get some traction and play through the Morgansfort campaign I just began, I'd like to expand it by play-testing some of my own adventures that I've been working on in solitude the past couple years. Eventually I'd like to have about a half-dozen quests or story hooks in the setting which the PCs could bounce around.

The long-term goal would be to assemble my notes and materials and either submit it to the Basic Fantasy Project or collect it into its own setting book to sell online as a PDF and print-on-demand. This book would be more than just another module or loose collection of adventures, and I'd like it to be more than just a campaign setting book. At the same time I'm not interested in creating my own OSR RPG rules. There are a lot of OSR games which are basically someone's house rules for original, Basic, or 1e D&D. The book would be able to be used as a supplement with any OSR game system. It wouldn't be a standalone game. It would assume the reader knew how to do role-play and had already had a game engine that they liked. The book would include a setting with modular story hooks that could be played sandbox style. It would also give ideas about how to scale the level of magic in the campaign so that it could be used as a gritty, low-fantasy game with little-to-no magic and even the option not to use demi-humans; or it could be used as very high-fantasy world of magical wonder (with faeries, dragons, and elves). I'm working on an idea on how to facilitate this level of flexibility.

I also anticipate keeping up with this blog. Even if it seems like I'm talking in a room by myself, having a place to sort through my thoughts will help me be a better gamer/GM and work towards my goal of putting out a book. In addition to the blog I'd like to make some more connections with like-minded people in the RPG Brigade and find other people who challenge my thinking. I started doing RPGaDay as a way to kick this blog off with a bit of inertia and it stuck. I hope and plan to keep it up going into 2018.

#RPGaDay: Day 30

30. What is an RPG genre mash-up that you would like to see?

Answer: This is something I alluded to in my auxiliary answer for Day # 2. I'd love to see a mash-up of a pre-WWII pulp setting mixed with the excavation of the ancient world where government spies, artists, writers, secret societies, religious sects, and ambassadors seek to uncover occult mysteries to solve present day socio-political dilemmas. The campaign setting I have in mind would be similar to Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet but with magic and occult lore, a world where the pre-war tensions are layered throughout a murky underworld of intrigue, lies, espionage, holy relics, love triangles, and murder. It would be the kind of game where uncovering the hidden meaning in the Key of Solomon could lead to an ancient tomb to destroy or obtain and sell a relic of the Old World before the enemy gets it. It could be a game where the same timeline (1930s) is played over again with old characters becoming NPCs and new storylines revealing new aspects to them and their story - just like in Durrell's novels.

I'm sure plenty of people might point out that this sounds like a mash-up of some existing games like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Top Secret, maybe Hollow Earth Expedition, or others. In terms of the setting or the period, this kind of game has been mined before and you could certainly bend any of the aforementioned to this purpose with a good bit of tweaking. However, I envision this new game to be more focused on intrigues and puzzles/mysteries than driven by swashbuckling action. Also, the part of it I don't believe has been done before is the ability to run a campaign of recursive timelines emulating Durrell's layered, multi-faceted storytelling. In this way, the layering of the role-play would parallel the layers of history and mystery the characters would be uncovering.

I think this historical world mash-up of history/mystery/literature/art/religion/occult is probably a little (or a lot) too narrow of an idea to make a marketable game. As a last ditch attempt to sell this idea, here are some story hooks that better illustrate the flavor and which one might use to launch games:

• The Nazis believe that a new translation of a forgotten book of Christian Apocrypha reveals the location of a "prophecy stone" said to have belonged to the prophet Elijah. With it, the wielder can see the future. A mysterious collector contacts the PCs to find it for him/her first.
• A mystic in Florence, Italy finds a scroll said to have survived the fire that destroyed the great library of Alexandria. The scroll is said to have been a central reference for Dante's map of the underworld locating the actual entrance to Hell. The Vatican hires the PCs in secret to investigate and seal this unholy portal if it exists.
• Coptic priests are dying through Egypt, murdered from poisoning. A secret society/cult out of Tunisia called the Daughters of Dido are said to be the culprits. This new sect is allegedly working with one of the powers in Europe (Germany? The Vatican?). British Intelligence wants answers.
• An American explorer says that he's found the lost city of Atlantis. Initially not taken seriously, this changes after a series of strange weapons of arcane technology show up on the black market in Morocco. Said explorer disappears and world powers are now trying to find him before their enemies do.
• Rumors of a shadowy figure rising to power in the underworld of Istanbul over the past few decades coincide with the Armenian Genocide and fall of the Ottoman Sultan after WWI. Both are said to be the work of this mysterioso who bears a striking resemblance to a certain Wallachian prince.
• It is the early 1930s and Aleister Crowley has just left Berlin for England again. British Intelligence hires the PCs to spy on him aboard a Mediterranean cruise to investigate who he is meeting with and if his business is personal or political.

So, am I nuts? Is there a game that already does this?

#RPGaDay: Day 29

29. What has been the best-run RPG Kickstarter (or other crowdfunded RPG project) you have backed?

Answer: I've never backed any Kickstarter or crowdfunded project. Not that I wouldn't, I'm just usually late to the game and only find out about stuff after the deadline has expired. Since this is the case, let's do another alternate question.

Alternate Question: What would appear on an RPG book cover that would make you want to play it?

Answer: This is really as much of a marketing question as it is a gaming question and it hearkens back to Day 5's question about which cover captures the spirit of the game. What I thought I'd focus on is what kind of cover artwork and design are liable to draw me in. This is really a subjective response to one type of aesthetic over others. I know I'm supposed to be couching my answers in a positive light rather than a negative one, but I'm going to start with what I don't respond to before explaining what it is that I do like and why.

I don't care for glossy, hyper-stylized illustrations with overly muscled superheroic characters in absurdly impossible and epic acts of glory. Lots of people do like that kind of thing, but it isn't for me. On the other end of the spectrum I'm also not a huge fan of the serious-tome look of the 3rd edition D&D books and some other games which just looks like it's trying too hard to appear to be something other (more "serious") than a role-playing game. I gravitate towards something in between, a little strange and arty, weird and unexpected. I don't have the artistic vocabulary to articulate what exactly defines what I like. It's more a case of I-know-it-when-I-see-it.

I like Frazetta's impressionistic brush-strokes. I like Erol Otus's bizarre, arcane style. I like the flat borders around the AD&D modules of the late 70s and early 80s. I want art that has something of the abject in it. I want desperation and fear on display. I want a view of true ugliness and horror. I want something that creeps me out. I want something that hints of ancient and mystic truths. I want the uncanniness of Alejandro Jodorowsky. This last statement maybe captures it best. Something on the order of Jodorowsky's aesthetic would definitely make me want to play an RPG. Here are some good examples.

#RPGaDay: Day 28

28. What film/series is the biggest source of quotes in your group?

Answer: Geez, I don't know. I've just started a regular group and Game of Thrones came up a lot. Time for an alternate question.

3d6 straight down

Alternate question: What section do you read first when you get a new game? Why?

Answer: The first section I always look at first with a new game is the character creation. It's become standard to put this section at the front of core rulebooks for a reason. Seeing what kind of characters the players can be and the process involved tells me more about the game than any other section. Finding out how many stats there are and how those stats are generated gives me a sense of how complex the system will be. How many character classes or types or races are there, and how broadly defined? Since I like simple and flexible, so if a game has more than a dozen classes, more than six attributes, a character skills section that's pages long; then I know it's not going to be for me. It's also usually the section where the art has the most immediate impact on me. The artwork in the character creation section is usually a gateway in the game, they act as avatars for the type of adventures to be had.

After a look at the character section, I'll usually check out the example of play section next. It will give me the best glimpse into what to expect from the game, not only in terms of rules, but also the intended tone of the game as given by the designers. After that, if I'm still intrigued I'll look at the combat section, the magic section (if applicable), the bestiary, the GM advice, and then if they have a sample adventure I like to check that out too. Hmm, now I want to go games shopping.

#RPGaDay: Day 27

27. What are your essential tools for good gaming?

Answer: I'll answer an alternate question as the answer to this standard one is so straightforward. For me, the essential tools for good gaming are simple: core rulebooks and any other necessary supplements, dice, paper, pencils, a quiet enough place, and respectful people excited and committed to play a game. A lot of people use digital apps which can be convenient, but they're not essential.

Alternate question: How far from human do you enjoy getting the chance to be in an RPG?

Answer:This is an intriguing question for me because as a player back in the day I always liked to play demi-humans, particularly elves (yeah, I was one of those). Since then, I've come around to the idea of all-human fantasy game either along the lines of an historical, real-world Earth (a la LotFP) or an approximation of Hyperborea. Although demi-human characters have always interested me, there's always been a line I wasn't willing to cross.

Half-elves were certainly okay, and even gnomes were acceptable. However I found things like half-orcs or half-ogres distasteful, and not just because I was forced to imagine that horrific coupling. In later editions, when things like Tieflings and Dragonborn PCs became canon to D&D, I actually became offended. Even my current favorite RPG, Basic Fantasy, includes supplemental races like the Minotaur-like Bisren, the dog-man Caneins, turtle-ish Kappa, Faun, and Gelfling-ish Phaerim. I ignore all of these supplemental races since I'm free to take them or leave them although Fauns and Phaerim hold a certain charm for me, but really mostly as NPCs.

The problem with potentially opening up characters to be any race they want is that it immediately creates a crisis of balance. Game balance has become a buzzword for RPGs over the last couple of decades, something that they strive to maintain at all costs. While game balance isn't that high of a priority for me, having different character races of varying power creates a disparity that causes problems.

Non-human characters generally are given special abilities to highlight their extra-human otherness. When you have a game where humans and non-humans are both options to play, and the non-humans have special powers without some balancing restrictions, who would want to play a human? Older versions of D&D sometimes dealt with this (clumsily) by imposing class-restrictions or level-limits on demi-humans with the justification that human beings are more adaptable and learn quicker. This was never very satisfactory for most players, particularly those who wanted options to play non-humans and get extra powers without any downsides. Modern RPGs have solved the issue somewhat by making all character super-powered no matter what the race. Basic Fantasy handles this dilemma by having some class-restrictions, but no level limits, and giving humans a +10% to all experience earned (again, the adaptability reasoning). It's not perfect, but it's reasonable.

What's funny is that this is not a new problem. It's something that the original version of D&D opened up in the 1974 version when it talked about allowing characters to be non-standard races, even dragons. While one could run a campaign of all dragons, having a campaign where one player runs a 1st-level human fighter and another runs a 1st-level young, red dragon doesn't make much sense. That's an inequality that will break the game. So, for my answer, I'm comfortable playing a non-human, but only to a point.

#RPGaDay: Day 26

26. Which RPG offers the most useful resources?

Answer: I've talked enough about this game in my past posts, but for me, hands down, Basic Fantasy is the RPG with the most useful resources. These resources encompass an active forum where community members are willing to give great advice, including the creator of the game, Chris Gonnerman. This community actively participate in the creation of all kinds of supplemental content including modules, rules options, character sheets, GM screens, adventure logs, etc. - all of it for free, digitally. The entire printed series of nine books will run you less than $40. Aside from this content, their website provides tools for quick random character generator, NPC generators, a dungeon room content generator (monsters, NPCs, treasure - instant adventure), map generator, and dice roller. I know there are other RPGs with similar resources (perhaps even better), but for me the difference is the community support that's available that makes all the difference.

#RPGaDay: Day 25

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

Answer: I'm going to answer this question as how I, as a GM, would like to be thanked which I guess is really the only way to answer. If I were only a player it would be hard for me to know the way my GM or GMs want to be thanked. I've seen some people give the response to this as, "give your GM a new RPG book they don't have," which I get, but to me that just represents an obligation to invest time and shelf space in a game that I may not be interested in. That might sound ungrateful, but I just think there are some simpler ways of expressing thanks that don't involve spending money.

For me, there are a few different things I would appreciate as thanks for running the game. First would be a simple, verbal, and genuine thank you. It might seem overly obvious or simplistic, but an explicit "thank you" said in earnest is something that is all too often mumbled or taken for granted. Even if you've gamed together once a week for the past two years, it's always good to recognize the extra planning and preparation that goes into game mastering.

Next, showing up on time, ready to play, and being willing to concentrate on the game is really better than a verbal thanks. It's showing your appreciation instead of just telling them. If you sincerely say, "thank you," at the end of every session, but you spend the entire game looking at your phone or talking about the anything else but the game - your verbal thanks doesn't really mean much.

The third way I appreciate being thanked is hospitality. This can be manifested in different ways, but for me, having the players host the game at their place is really nice. I have small kids at home so playing at my house is a total no-go, way too many distractions. Being able to go over to someone else place and leave when we're done is really nice. If they provide snacks and drinks, even better, but providing a place is the best.

A last, and best way to thank me might sound kind of strange, and it's almost more of a compliment than a way to thank me. Regardless, the best way to let me know that you liked what I've done as GM is to tell me after the game that you had nightmares or at least vivid dreams about the adventure the night after playing. That tells me that you as a player were able to become totally immersed in what I prepared that it invaded your subconscious. That's the validation that I'm really after.

It goes without saying that these should all apply to the ways that a GM can thank their players too. As a GM, it's always good to say thank you to your players, to plan and prepare the game beforehand, to bring snacks and drinks if they host, and to become invested enough in their characters that you consider what would be the most fun for your players, even when your not gaming.