Game Dream #6

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #6

Have you attended a game or media (i.e. comic book / SF) convention? If not, what's kept you from doing so? If so, how was your experience, and what can you share with others to nudge their decision one way or the other?

No.

I have one good excuse and one feeble excuse. The good excuse is location, location, location. I live in Leduc, Alberta, Canada. The nearest game convention seems to be on the other side of the sun. The cost would be prohibitive at this time. Now, onto the feeble excuse: location, location, location. I lived in Ottawa for three years and never attended Can Games in Ottawa or any of the Conventions in Toronto. Part of the feeble excuse is that I spend an horrid amount of time at work. This means my vacation time is pretty much tagged as family time, not that I would want to change that, it just means that it will be a while before I am going to attend a convention.

All that being said, both my wife and I miss Ottawa, so if I were ever to get a paying RPG job, even a small one we could visit Ottawa and write off the expenses. So anyone looking wanting to hire me to be a booth babe (for the record I am a 34 year old male and I am NOT in great shape) please contact me ;)

Game Dream #5

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #5

To what level (if any) do the groups you usually play with encourage communal creation of the game world? Are the players spectators, or do they actually have a say in the plot (moreso that just guiding it by the actions of their characters)?

I have tried to involve my players in the game world creation on several occasions with mixed results. I always start out by stating that I can not guarantee I will be able to incorporate everything that is brought forward, but I promise to do my best. After all if you bring forward a new variant of snakes I can't really introduce that into my game worlds (none of my home brew worlds have snakes, its a very unfair and biased rule, but its mine).

I have gotten three levels of response in the past: none, some, and too much. None is the standard response. Most of the time my players just want me to define the world and they are happy with that. It can be frustrating at times. Especially when I am trying to do some really sweeping story arcs that would require some really indepth investigation of character backgrounds. Unfortunately most of the backgrounds I received were "Bob was a large kid and grew up to be a warrior". None can also be a good response because it means that I have a blank canvas to colour in.

Some information is really the best response. In general it allows me the greatest freedom to plant my story hooks, while still allowing the players to assist in defining the flavour of the world. It is also the most work for both player and GM because a lot of extra communication is required outside of the game.

Too much information can be a killer. If you have to try to merge several seemingly incompatible world concepts it can become a real problem. If you have three players describing the same world, one as a frozen tundra, one as a planet wide desert, and a third as a global fain Forrest, no one is going to end up with the world they envisioned.

I have also tried (unsuccessfully) to set up a society game to be played concurrently with a character game. The idea being that each player would define a society and would play those societies shaping the history of the world. This game would be played as an offline exercise. At the end of each session the results from the previous moves would be revealed and discussed. The next set of moves would be due before the next session. This was planned to use the Fudgified Aria rules. Due to a lack of interest the idea never actually got going.

Game Dream #4

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #4

What is the role, if any, that movies and books play in your campaigns? When entering a new genre, how important do you feel seeing (or reading) a good genre example becomes? Have you ever been assigned a "mood" book to read by the GM, or gone to a group movie viewing? How do you feel about game-based fiction, whether "pulp" novels or movie attempts?

I have never assigned reading for a group. The only time I have recommended reading or movies is to people who are having difficulty with character concept. I always recommend they see THEIR favorite movie or read THEIR favorite book, then return with the character they want to play firmly defined for themselves. Once that is done we can make that character archtype work for the game we are playing.

Ever since reading the C.S. Freidman Cold Fire trilogy (Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, Crown of Shadows) I have wanted to play a campaign in that world. I loved the "involuntary" magic o the world. Similarly, I purchased Terra Incognita after seeing League of Extraordinary Gentleman. But have yet to play either.

Game based fiction is a mixed bag. Some I have really liked (The Horselords Trilogy), some I have really disliked (The D&D movie). I really enjoyed the shifting point of view in the horselords trilogy. The only praise I can give the D&D movie is that they did a good job of filming an actual game session, unfortunately only one player showed up so the DM had to supplement the cast with a lot of NPCs.

We went to see the D&D movie as a group. Our DM at the time got us all free passes. Most of the group was disappointed in the movie. Only one was pleased, but he went into the movie expecting it to be complete crap.

Game Dream #3

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #3

Some people play RPGs to enjoy a viewpoint or way of acting that they just couldn't do in real life. Others seem to play characters whose motivations are more their own. And some folks do all of the above and everything in between :) What character of yours was most like you "in real life"? Which of your characters is the least like you? Which did you find more fun to play, and why?

For some reason I find this question very difficult to answer. I can't recall a character that was "most like me" or "least like me".

As a player I usually have a very distinct character concept before I start development. I have stolen characters from movies, books, games, etc and tried to mold a character into that archtype.

I guess the best answer I can give is that I usually have a few of my personality traits (goofy sense of humour) in most characters. On the other hand I try to play character that are not just like me. I am fairly pedantic in real life and when I play a character with that trait I usually don't enjoy it at all.

Act 1 Scene 2: Taking to the Hunt

In the confusion several things happen at once.

Ofriox slides over towards what is presumed to be the cats owner. He telepathic sending is registered by all in the room. "Who are those men, and who are you? If we chase after your cat how will we find you again? Do you have any tokens or information that will help make the hunt a short one, and what will you offer if we are successful? Speak quickly!"

Drift charges out into the street calling for his comrades to follow him. Vyu and Soekkiu rave after Drift. Iwan launches into the air and follows watches Drift from above.

Anibka slowly looks over the damage done to her common room. She gathers some supplies and heads towards the door. She is watching Bremi and trying to read his reaction to the damage done to the inn. After a few moments She move to the door.

McKinley watches Anibka go over the battle scars on the walls as he strides to the bar and finishes his drink. He drops a coin down on the bar "Here you are barkeep. Keep the change. Bless you and your fine ale!" He turns, heads for the door first grumbling "Here we go again." He sees Anibka striding out the door and shouts "Anibka don't forget me!"

Game Dream #2

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #2

One of my favorite plot complications that I like to introduce as a GM is to create an environment where the players are forced to deal with unsavory characters that they would otherwise destroy. From either a player or GM/ST point of view, what is your most vivid recollection of this occuring in your games?

I have never successfully introduced this as a GM. The players always seem to have baulked at the idea, or purposefully failed at tasks.

In a very short campaign run by a friend of mine. I was playing a very opportunistic bard, and along with a fighter from the group we hired on to transport some merchandise from our current location to an outpost some three days away. The packages were quite small and we were paid quite well. We jumped at the job.

Now, on to the out of character information that I knew but Belak (the bard) did not. The rest of the party (a druid, a paladin, a fighter, and a cleric) had hired on to patrol the trail between the town and an outpost three days away. They were charged with the capture and return of any persons who were caught smuggling. The bard and the fighter dutifully went along to help our friends, all the while they were actually looking for us.

As time went on we discovered that the smugglers were actually transporting ingredients for potions. These potions were used to free slaves. I (not my character) later found out that the disreputable characters were assisting the freedom fighters, and the "good" characters were hunting down people for the slave traders. I thought it was a brilliant plot twist. The game came to an unfortunate halt before the rest of the party caught on to the smugglers in thier midst.

Game Dream #1

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #1

After reading the last 2 Game Wish posts I was very pleased to see the start of the game dreams. I have net been keeping up with this blog very well so hopefully this will be the kick in the ass I need to keep it going.

When Role Playing Games are discussed, the subject of first-person versus third-person character narratives sometimes surfaces. When you play a character, do you assume first-person, using your voice as his or hers, or do you use third person, simply describing what he or she is doing? Do you switch between first and third person, or try to adhere to one? When other players are in character, does the use of first or third person affect your immersion in the game?

I actually try to use first and third person for different effects.

First person is for 'real time' interaction. If the players are talking to the watch guard and the conversation is going to go on verbatim. I will assume first person. On the other hand, if the conversation is just a back drop for something else, I will use third person to summarise the key things that happened in the conversation. For example if the players are talking with the bartender looking for info about the location of someone. I will summarise the key information they gleaned in third person. I had a player describe this as first person for the game, third person for the 'cut scenes'.

All combat is described in third person though. That's mainly because I describe what the players can see is happening not what the opponent is planning. It is not until the opponent act that they get to hear what actually happened.

Finally, to be completely honest this behavior is just a goal. I stick to it for the first hour or two of a session the slowly slip into more and more third person.

As A player I try to use first person to say what the character is saying, and third person for out of proposed action descriptions. For example, if I am going to try to rob a storekeeper, I might say "I was wondering if you can show me some pearl earrings.",then add, "He is going to try to force the clerk to the floor and tie him up once the display case is unlocked."

I don't find that the mixing of voices interferes with the enjoyment of the game. I think it might change the immersion of the game, where third person leads to more of a spectator of events rather than participant in the events.

I do find that the group speaks together. If one member starts off in third person, then those that follow will continue in third person.