Game Dream #13

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #13

How do your players determine whether a creature / obstacle / NPC is "out of their league"? What happens then? Do the players immediately attempt to flee? Is there in-character or out-of-character decision making? Do you usually have an escape route planned?

Okay, this game dream has so many different memories jumping out of my grey matter. I spent a great deal of time sorting through some great game memories that all start when I have has that sinking feeling ... "Uh-oh, we are in serious trouble here."

As a player I generally play fairly heroic, sometimes tragically heroic, sometimes not, but I am never too afraid to take on something that might be beyond my characters abilities. As a player I have had some serious and some funny moments were I have not seen the danger until it was too late.

I had an acrobatic rogue type that was trying to save a healer. I knew I was in over my head but I figured I would use tactics to save my butt and the healers'. We were toe to toe with a large wing-less dragon. I waited until the dragon struck then I ran up his leg and onto his head. Ah-ha! I thought, now I have the advantage, I can attack and he can't strike back. The DM gave me three chances to leap off the dragons back. Each time I gleefully drove my short sword home. It wasn't until the DM started rolling dice and a fellow player asked how high the ceiling was that a I got a very sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can proudly state I did save the healer, but it was by sacrificing myself because the party did escape as I was integrated into the ceiling.

I can remember a famous battle where we were in a small room with a bone devil and a skeleton. We were quite powerful so we made the bone devil got splat rather quickly. It was then that the skeleton boomed out in a rather impressive voice (and this is a direct quote) :
"Now foolish mortals face the wrath of.... dammit! I can't pronounce this name!".

Once we finished ridiculing the DM we realized that the skeleton was not just fodder and we were in trouble. Prismatic walls were in place to protect the skeleton, a well timed Disjunction spell reduced my mighty fighter to a whimpering shell. All that saved us was the mages' well used wish. Now the best part of this entire story line is this party of earth shaking hero's ran in fear every time we even thought a skeleton was anywhere near us. As players we all new the 4 skeletons roaming around the graveyard were not going to be the massively powerful liches that humbled us entirely, but we thought the characters would be a little scared for a bit.

Now I can also remember one such event where the players not only triumphed over forces beyond their abilities but changed the campaign substantially. The party was pretty much entirely made up of fighters. In the party was a blade master, completely dedicated to his sword. We were hired by a baron to clean up a infestation of monsters in the catacombs under his keep. All things went well until the blade master discovered that the monsters spat acid. His beloved blade was ruined. We climbed back into the keep and the baron was there with a surprising number of guards.

The blade master threw the ruined sword at the feet of the baron and demanded that it be replaced. The baron demanded an apology. Words were exchanged. Out of character discussions were held. Finally, myself and another player took matters into our own hands. We knew that to try to fight our way out we were dead men (and dwarves) but if we took the baron as a hostage... We ended up carrying out a months long guerrilla war campaign against the baron. He would send out patrols to capture us, we would kill them an send the uniforms or badges back to the baron. This baron was supposed to be our ally and benefactor but he turned out to be the main villain for the campaign.

As a GM my favorite in over your head moment came in a rolemaster game. I did not own any monster books so everything was a character. I had a NPC I had added to the group because they were a little weak, but then we had three new players join. So I changed my plans for the group. I had the 'friendly' NPC turn into a nasty traitor. The group had just managed to defeat a pair of orcs when the traitor struck. His two cohorts (a great man and a arch mage) rushed in and the three bad guys hit the party while they were still recovering from the previous battle.

Now the players were a odd bunch. One of the more normal players was a half-elven weretiger who was also a healer of sorts. Once the traitorous ambush was complete the trio fled down a hallway. The weretiger chased them down and noticed that the great man (about 9-10 feet tall in full plate mail armour) was guarding the retreat of the other and was standing mere feet from a 50 foot deep pool of water.

"I'm going to charge into him and try to knock him into the water." the weretiger explained.
"Are you sure? He was just man handling you guys earlier, maybe you should help the party with their wounds first." I warned.
"I'll knock him into the water, then go help the guys."
"Okay" I said shrugging.

The weretiger made a pretty spectacular roll for his attack, and as I had anticipated the great man completely obliterated it.
"He reaches out and catches you as you charge into him. He has a fairly good grip on your neck, and he hasn't shifted more than ten centimeters closer to the pool."
The weretiger gets that 'Oh shit' look, and says "Can I break free?"
"sure" I reply
"I'm going to go help the group with their wounds..."

Game Dream #10

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #10

During games, how do you keep track of the various plot hooks, hints, and people? Are you a master of the arcane memory arts and keep them in your head? Or, are you a mere mortal who must put them to paper? How much notekeeping is too much? Do you find you are more or less organized in game than in real life?

As a player I try not to take notes. I have a pretty good memory and I find I remember more than the character generally should anyway.

A few game dreams ago you talked about time travel. I really only take notes to make sure that important continuity is maintained. At times I will have as many as 8 to 10 plot lines going at once. When this happens I usually make a little chart to keep the plot lines synchronized at certain points.

I think that note taking is too much when it starts to interfere with the flow of the game. Players should also take into account the character when they are making notes. A long time ago I posted an article about mapping in games. The idea was that players make flawless maps even if their characters are illiterate oafs. I came up with a scheme that would make mapping more and more difficult for players whose characters are less and less capable of mapping. The same could be said of note taking. I can see a nerdy Mage taking copious notes and cross referencing entries. Even a smart rogue might make notes on poisons or locks, people(potential targets) and traps. A woodsman might make notes on particular plants, animals, monsters, etc. I would draw the line as a GM when a player wanted to take lots of notes for a brain dead thug.

Usually, if the character is such that he should have remembered a meeting or event I will tell him such and give him enough details. If the character is not I will remind them that they have met before, but nothing else. If the character is completely dense I will not only remind the player that the character would not remember any of the previous meeting I will also occasionally change the "facts" from the previous meeting, either subtly or obviously, so the player can not grant the character an unfair advantage.

I am way more organized as a GM than in real life. Although I am working on that, I am starting to use the "Harvard" time tracking system, and I have to admit I am starting to use it in game as well as out of game.

Game Dream #9

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #9

What is the most positive thing you have gained from your gaming experiences? How have games helped you with personal growth? How do you feel about your children (if any, now or in the future) eventually playing role playing games?

I think roleplaying has been a very beneficial activity in my life. I have met so many really cool people at the game table. The 'networking' that is available to me from that experience is invaluable. I can not think that I would be friends with many of the people I know if it were not for gaming. Gaming has been a largely a escapism activity but I honestly have learned some things from the process.

I think the 'deepest' thing that I associate with roleplaying is the benefit of objective self evaluation. As a player you can disassociate from the character and evaluate the characters personality, actions, etc. In the same way I have benefited from objectively looking at myself. It gives me the insight to make changes about myself (I am now a non-smoker for example). I have also witness that a radical change needs to be worked at. I am sure we have all witnessed a character switch personalities or moralities in mid game. What I have noticed though is that the player has to work at a new personality or the character or the old personality will creep back in. In the same way when you make a change in your life you need to work at it continuously.

I will most certainly introduce roleplaying to my daughter when she is older. I hope she enjoys gaming as much as I do.

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.

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.