Lydin's Story Part 3

continued from Lydin's Story Part 2

Day 69
We are forced to shelter in a ruined house in town. The windows are all blocked but the door is open. After that ship I doubt I will ever sleep with the door closed again. The upper floor is collapsed so we are in a huge single room.

Tugwyn and I start to prepare for the next day while the remainder of the group start to rest. Yue is going to guard us while we study. During my prayers Yue starts to wake the group, as he has spotted more of these foul creatures in the streets and heard more screaming outside. Hawber, Yue, and Gworeth watch the door and all seems to be well.

I am trying to complete my prayers but the noise is overwhelming. Hawber yells something out the door. Yue and Pandarus start to ready missiles and Gworeth comes to tell Tugwyn and myself that the creatures are approaching the door.

Hawber stands in the doorway and draws his weapon, it suddenly strikes me strange how shiny his weapon is. He is still yelling at the creatures outside. Tugwyn looks out at the creatures and starts to smile. I am starting to get the feeling he likes these monsters. I can not understand how he can not be completely revolted by them. I am still looking at Tugwyn's strange smile when I realize I have lost track of time. The creatures have reached the door and are attacking Hawber. One looks like it might get past Hawber and into the room.

Scratch has come to my side, after yesterday I have started to work with him and teach him to guard and attack. I look at the creature trying to get past Hawber and tell Scratch to attack. Scratch is afraid but the training is starting to take affect. He leaps at the creature keeping it from sliding past Hawber.

Gworeth, Yue, and Pandarus are firing their weapons over Hawber and Scratch. I am scared that one of them might hit Scratch by mistake. The creatures just keep on coming. They have completely blocked the door now. I start to look for an escape. There is none! We are trapped! I start to hear our half orc tormentors' laughter, I know he is not here but the laughter and the fear are real. I start screaming "Don't leave the room! Don't let them in!" I fear we will never be free of this trap.

Scratch is hurt. This monster has dug is boney claws into his shoulder. Scratch bolts from the door, retreating to the back of the room. I go to him and bandage his wounds, pray over his wounds, and use herbs to stop the bleeding and ease his pain.

Pandarus has stepped into the doorway to keep the monsters at bay. I move up behind Hawber to help him as he looks like he is badly hurt. I pray a blessing on Hawber to return his health and strength. Tugwyn is beside me and he is tiring quickly. Pandarus looks bad, I think the creatures have hurt him seriously. Tugwyn shoots and hits Pandarus! Pandarus falls. I leap across to help him but I stumble and fall over his body. He is conscious but he is very badly hurt. Yue drives towards the door to keep the monsters outside.

I feel the panic starting to rise again, but I swallow it and drag Pandarus over next to Scratch. I bandage his wounds and play for his spirit. As I prepare to apply herbs I hear Gworeth scream. Yue has fallen to the creatures! I rush back to help. I drag him back next to Pandarus and pray for his spirit. He seems to recover but is still unconscious.

I return to the door to assist. Tugwyn is casting spells over Hawber into the creatures in the street. There seems to be more of them that when Pandarus fell. Hawber is cleaving the monsters. Their fouls bones snap as he smashes them with his axe.

Finally we are victorious! The last of the creatures are destroyed. We remove their corpses as much as we can and we await the dawn.

Day 70
At dawn we take our fallen comrades and return to the fletcher. He says some words to each of the wounded and they are restored! I am in awe of his power. We speak of our trip across the river and our battle last night. He advises us. He and Tugwyn talks of the use of weapons and how these foul creatures are not hurt by the weapons we are using. They tell us to use smashing weapons like clubs, staves and hammers.

Fletcher takes us into his storeroom and allows us to rest and re-equip. I prey for guidance and I am able to seek weapons that have been augmented with the craft. One staff in particular draws my attention. Tugwyn tells me it has a magick aura to destroy the undead.

Each of our group selects new weapons and armor. Hammers, maces, staves and clubs. These weapons will give us the power we need to destroy our enemies and return them to death.

Day 73
We set out again into the forest.

We cross the rope bridge and start off down the same path we took recently. We are much better prepared this time. We know what to look for and what to listen for. I am still struck by how little grows here, this is a place of death. I work with Scratch showing him how to search and track. How to watch for signs. How to watch my back.

Now that we know that bows and missiles are ineffective I have taken out my sling. When we hear these abominations approaching Yue, Pandarus, and Hawber stand firm in a clearing and await our enemies. I pray over some stones as my master taught me. To my eyes they glow with power. I know these will strike true and with more force than normal. As the creatures enter the clearing I launch a magicked stone with my sling. I strike the lead creature but many are following him. I fall back and allow Yue, Pandarus, and Hawber to meet these creatures.

More creatures enter the clearing. One is huge! I launch another magicked stone at this giant. I am sure I have hit him but I see no effect. Pandarus and Yue are striking down these smaller creatures as Hawber attacks the giant. Tugwyn launched glowing sprays and fiery darts at the giant. He again has that eerie smile when observing these abominations. I have Scratch at my side, I am afraid to command him to attack.

Gworeth moves forward but can not reach the creatures.

I fire my last magicked stone at the giant, but then I wish I had kept it as I see a true horror. These creatures have a wolf-like beast that is dead and still moves. I wish I could destroy it but I can not. Scratch has left! He saw this wolf beast and ran into the trees. I do no know where he has gone.

I want to follow but Hawber has fallen! I rush to assist Hawber but as I do Gworeth steps into his place. I pull Hawber out of the battle and tend to his wounds. I apply some herbs to his wounds and get him to drink one of the potions Fletcher gave us. Hawber is up and off to defend Yue, who is standing but strangely still. It is as if he has been turning to living stone. Hawber pushes him aside to gain access to the creatures beyond him.

I stumble forward searching for Scratch when I see that Gworeth is down. The giant is starting to step over him. I bring out my staff and throw myself at the monster. I feel the impact of my blow but I feel strangely warm and cold at the same time.

I pull myself to my feet and lurch towards the fight. Scratch is no where to be seen. Hawber is again attacking the dead but not dead giant. I feel about my self and realize that I have been sorely injured but saved by someone. Gworeth is trying to help Pandarus and Yue has recovered from his comatose state.

I am a bit confused. I see Scratch beyond these monsters. He is hurt but stands over the wolf beast, seemingly triumphant. I step forward and call for a prayer of healing for Hawber. It appears he has broken open the wounds I bandaged earlier. I do not know how long I was unconscious for but much seems to have changed.

Tugwyn is still casting spell into the giant. I step forward and crush a skeletal warrior using my staff. I step up next to Yue and crush another. Finally Tugwyn's spells and Hawber's might bring down the giant. We have but one or two enemies remaining. Gworeth manages to crush one while I sweep the other from the forest floor.

Now I can check and see how we are doing. We all look tired an hurt. It has been only minutes of time but it seems like hours have passed. Scratch is bleeding again, I pause to help him with prayer and herbs. He has done well defeating this wolf abomination.

We must quickly repair and respond as the noise of the battle has most certainly awoken the forest to our presence. My mind starts to reel as I move from friend to friend checking if I can assist with their wounds. We are beaten and bloody, hurt and wounded. But we are ready again, ready again to face this evil enemy. Pandarus and Yue have gathered the remains and started to burn them. Gworeth has gathered the bits of clothing, armor and metal the things have worn.

I am glad to see the wolf monster burn. I start to hope that we can cleanse this forest and return her to growth and glory.

A Ship's Voyage

The cargo ship "Serpents Daughter" methodically moves through the waves. On the surface this ship looks like any other cargo ship. But beneath its deck lay many dark and hideous stories, which would make descent people sick. The ship's crew took pleasure in seeing and creating pain; and there were many smiles from the crew. The crew itself consisted of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, humans, drow, halflings, bugbears, and other evil beings. They were united under the same banner (a serpent eating the sun), but were united by evil, for evil purposes.

The ship itself consists of many decks. On the Main deck, that's where the animals are kept for trade. There are horses, dogs, cows, and other common domestic animals. There are also exotic animal such as tigers, zebras, lions. At the beginning of this voyage there were many more, many were lost because of crews neglect and size of the load.

The lower decks are where the real valuable cargo was kept; the slaves. Some will not make to the end, but that ok. They will be food for the animals. "Waste not, want not" was the captain's motto. The slaves came from various areas, his clients wanted variety and he provided. This trip was very fruitful with elfs, humans, dwarfs, halflings, and gnomes.

The slaves were kept inline by half orc and his two bugbears companion. Grog the half orc made the rest of crew look like saints. His past time was torturing. He loved it. If he had his wish, he would sail around the world, getting new victims. It was all he wants it to. But the captain kept a tight leash on him now, after the last voyage.

The captain had to threatened the crew include Grog with walking the plank, if any more slaves were killed because there were to many loses. Weeks after wards, Grog imagined what it would be like to torture the captain. Noticing the change in the crew's mood and the ship becoming dangerously close to a mutiny, the captain brought in some changes. The slaves would take over all non - sailing chores, provided nightly entertainment. And to Grog he made one special concession. Grog would be able to kill any slave he want once ever fortnight and if Grog so decide to forgo killing a slave the captain would pick a crew member to dead at his hands once a month. This made Grog very happy, for there is nothing like fresh pain screams of a die creature.

On every expedition Grog always picks his favourites to tortures. Every slave got their fair share, but these brought him the most enjoyments. This trip he had created a special torture chamber for them.This torture chamber had is own cell. The cell was an eight feet by eight feet. The were no lights. They were kept in the dark until playtime.

Grog had four torture chambers through out the ship, but this one is where he kept his pets Lydin Yue, Tugwyn, and Gworeth. Grog like the way that Lydin, a human, would block the pain for a while, but then the flood gates would open. Gworeth, an elf, would screams at the sight of Grog. Grog loved fear as a king loved being adored. Tugwyn, a gnome, would squeal and cry. Grog loved to see adults of any size cry by his hands. Yue, another elf, was a strong, slender being, Grog loved to see such as powerful being screaming for their lives at his hand.

Grog also loved power. Torturing gave Grog power in two ways. It gave him the physical power over individuals, but also gave him power through knowledge. At the start Grog did not listen to his victims, but over time he learn that people would sell their souls, and some did to him, to make him stop. In the rare cases were people resisted, he still gained valuable information. People would talk about happy times, sad times, the weather, their favourite things, basically anything, to forget about the pain and Grog listen. It was power and he soaked it all in.

It was Grog's idea to use the slaves for ship chores. Grog learned from the slave their occupations, their likes, and dislikes. He used this knowledge to help the captain with his problems. The captain was grateful and gave Grog something he want it, more power.
The ship made first of his two stop before the ship reaches its originating port. Here was where most of the animals and slaves were sold and Grog got a surprise.

It was many months since his pets came boards the ship. He thought their backbone was long gone, but he was wrong. After a night of heavy drinking with his bugbear guards, he decided to have some fun with his pets. He was going to lets his bugbear pals torture them under his watchful eye. When the two Bugbears, whom were anxious to start, enter their cell, Yue and Lydin gave charging out. Tugwyn, and Gworeth, froze. The look on the face said much, but their minds could not force their bodies to move after months of torture. Lydin came out live a madman, charging for a Brazier that was lit on the sidewall. Yue, try to fight hand to hand with Grog. The two bugbears came out of the cell and close the cell door and began to watch. It was a funny sight. Lydin was tried to lift a Brazier with his bare hands and Grog was laughing and Yue had the look of a killer in his eyes hitting Grog. The two bugbears step in after a while to take care of Yue, while Grog played with Lydin. In a matter of seconds both were unconscious in seconds. There would be no training this night.

It was a long, but pleasant night for Grog. He punished and punished his pets all night. A part of him was happy, they had tried something. He was getting a little bored. It put back the joy back into torturing again and he was happy.

Several days had past, when he was awoken by aloud crash and the boat stopped abruptly. He gets up to see what happens, and realizes the boats is taking on water and orders his bugbears pals to get him a boat, there leaving. Grog wished he could take his pets, but he was sure he would see them again. Has the ship crashed into the unknown object one of the ship's crew snuck in to the cell area, where Grog pets were kept and unlocked the cell door. That would have to be enough.

It took a couple of seconds for Yue, Lydin, Tugwyn, and Gworeth to realize what was happening. Once they realized the door was unlocked and the boat was sinking, they came charging out of the cell. Maybe a little to fast, as they claimed the stairs and opened the door to the ship's main deck Yue, who had take in the lead, was hit and fell backwards, taking the group with him, tumbling down over the stairs. After they groups, untangle themselves, they move back up the stairs a little more cautious. Once they reached the main deck, they realized the ship was abandoned.

Even after months of torture and confinement the party moved in action, with surprising spend. Lydin moved to save animals, which saw himself as the self-appointed protector of the animal kingdom. Yue, went looking for a boat and Grog. Tugwyn and Gworeth went looking for their weapons and equipment. Lydin managed to release most of the animals with some help from Tugwyn. Yue found a boat, but it contained Grog and was sailing away. Gworeth could not find anything useful but spotted land to the east.

A quick survey of their situation, they realized they had one option for survival. It was to jump and swim for their lives. The party jumped into the water, reaching for any piece of wood or floating object they could find. Yue , made to shore with relative easy. Gworeth and Tugwyn made to shore, but they had a couple of scare moments. Lydin almost drown three or four times. It was shear determination that kept him alive.

As Lydin, come out of the water, he immediately turns his attention to finding his animal companion, screech, and a leopard. He looked at all animals as his companions, same as any humanoid, but from a special bond with screech on the ship. He spotted his friends track and follow them into a near by bush. He greatest fear is realized, she is dead. Lydin is filled with the feeling of dread and failure. He let down a friend, when they need him the most. Little does he know , he is the reason she survived to this point but is trail of blood leading way from her, and their was a strange sound. Lydin recognizes the sound ? Its a young kitten, Screech was pregnant. Screech got her dieing wish to have her baby free.

In their search for Lydin friend the party never noticed the large group of horsemen, which gather up on the beach. There is no way for the party to run. The horsemen, who numbers were close to hundred men, approached slow. There was nothing for the group to do, but wait.

Carl's Amber Invitational...

I was recently invited to a email Amber game. I am very excited. I really enjoyed the Amber novels and I am looking forward to another opportunity to be a player rather than a GM. I am very interested in this game, I think it will be terribly entertaining. I will be playing Kef and will be posting a character log here for the game as I am doing for Lydin.

I am curious how the Amberite backstabbing will play out. About a year ago I tried to set up a competitive play by post game that died a horrible death when I realized how much work the whole thing would be**. In that game I stole borrowed a technique form Rob Donohue and Fred Hicks. Each character owed another character for something that happened before play started, each character had a secret, each character knew someone else's secret, each character secretly supported another character, and each character secretly despised another character.

**This game is the one that I am currently using as a writing exercise right here - Mystanamyr's Cat. I am currently working on "Act 1 Scene 4: Into the Market" but I am having difficulty getting the story moving.

Pandarus - Voices of the Battle

My time in captivity has ripped at my psyche and once again the voices have resurfaced, voices that I had long ago suppressed.

This time it is different though, at first the voices were there as a distraction, a way to seperate me from the terrible torture that my Orc captor would visit upon my body. When the prison barge started to sink and the dangers of the moment bore down on me, the voices were gone.

Everything is such a blur during the escape, the swim to shore and arrival in town. But one thing sticks with me, is that I am now part of a group of fellow prisoners united in a common goal to seek vengeance on our captors.

We spent the next night in an allies house (a fletcher by trade), but his true allegiance is unclear to me. The night was filled with the sounds of screams from outside and within, culminating with Hawber and Gworeth attacking one another, and Gworeth almost paying the ultimate price (I am wondering if all of this is real, or new torture methods are attacking my mind).

After a restless and fear wrought night, morning blissfully arrives and we make or way across the river to investigate the strange happenings in the forest at the behest of our ally. It is here where we encounter creatures that seem to be dead, but are clearly attacking us and we must fight to save our very lives. Quickly I strike at the nearest, connecting with it and causing it to fall, at which point laughter rings in my ears......not the joyous laughter of companions, but the sinister laugh of my demons. The demons are goading me, challenging me to look at my so called allies and see the way they cower in fear at the first sign of combat, but I am too busy to do their bidding as another creature has taken the place as the first and I am once again striking out. The battle seems to end quickly, although from the appearance of others and the carnage it must have been fierce. With my weapons still and a threat no longer engaged, the demons once again go silent.

Following this battle I am still shaken and don't recall what transpired next, but I find myself at the edge of the woods witnessing an unlikely meeting. Humans and the creatures (I must ask the fletcher what they are) in a discussion across the field, then the humans leave, after throwing a prisoner to the creatures. Clearly with the our battle weary members, the two large forces that seem to be working together and our mission to observe and report back, it is time to leave. We make for the bridge, weapons at the ready as noises from the trees approach, but nothing happens and we safely make it across the bridge. Before my blood cools from its adrenaline induced boil, the demons begin to talk....taunting me to cut the ropes of the bridge, while some of my companions are still crossing.....but upon reaching the other end and as the noise from the trees subsides the demons go quite. Once the party has all arrived safely across the bridge, Hawber wants to do what my demons demanded of me....almost as if they were in his head to. Gworeth and I do manage to convince him not to cut the bridge, as none of us really wants to go swimming again anytime soon, and everyone gets a feeling that we will be crossing the river again tomorrow.

Now we must go back to the fletcher and hope that he will provide us shelter for the night, and that our report will enlighten him so that he may give some more information that we vitally require.....our very lives and vengeance may depend on it.

Lydin's Story Part 2

continued from Lydin's Story Part 1

Day 68
After reaching the town we search for the fletcher. He welcomes us into his home and provides food for my new charge.

We gain important information from him and are granted housing for the night. Strange things happen during the night. Several time during the night we hear screams and see lights. Yue, Tugwyn and Gworeth leave to investigate.

Near morning Gworeth is attacked by Hawber. I heal both and warn them that we must work together to survive, especially in untamed towns like this one.

We leave the fletcher and strike out into the forest. This forest is not a happy place. The undergrowth is harsh, game is scarce. Someone has over hunted to allow a live and vibrant place to reach this point. We reach a rope bridge and cross the river. The far side of the river is where our enemy is massing his troops.

We see many many tracks. The path we are on is used by a great number of people. We follow the path as far as we dare. Yue is attacked from the east side of the path. We look but can not find a source for the attack. We move on but are more cautious.

As dusk approaches I take Screech to find a suitable place to camp. Deadfall is everywhere, but wee need a place where we can safely light a fire. A good stone to defend with would not hurt either. No more than 50 paces from the path I hear a group moving towards me. Screech scents them and is fearful of the scent. I slowly back towards the path and safety trying to see what is stalking us. Whatever it is, it is not natural to these woods. This may be the force that has choked the life out of the forest.

I back onto the path just in front of my enemy. Gworeth and Pandarus have heard the foes approach and have drawn weapons and are ready. Behind me they come out of the woods. They are dead but they move. My masters have taught me of the foul creatures but I have not seen them before.

As they move towards me I think of what my masters have taught me. I have no skill against this type of foe. They move towards me and I am scared. I see Pandarus slash at one of these ugly forms and it falls to the ground. Perhaps if I unleash the forest to trap these abominations I can help the forest kill these monsters. Tugwyn moves past me, he seems to be happy to see these things. He makes some gestures and a dark colored blast takes a creature right in front of me. Part of the creature falls to the forest floor, but it still sinks dirty claws into my arm. I try to keep from retching.

Gworeth and Yue have engaged another group. I slash at this creature in front of me. I falls to the forest floor. I try to put myself between These foul things and Screech. Pandarus slashed through another creature. Hawber is beside me. After attacking Gworeth last night I am unsure if he is there to help us until he crushes the beast that is trying to reach Tugwyn. Tugwyn launches another spell that carves a gaping hole into another of the creatures.

After that each moment blurs into the next. Another of these creatures scores a deep scratch across my chest. Thankfully these creatures are defeated. I would like to burn them, to erase there presence from the world, but it would be too dangerous in this forest. We can not stay here. We start to make our way back to the town. We see a group of men in the distance. They seem to be talking with a group of these monsters we have defeated. One of the men appears to be a prisoner, he wears a sun sigil. I know I should recognize the sigil but I can not seem to recall why. These creatures boil my blood I want to trap them, to cut into them, to use my hands, my teeth, to kill these men that will talk with these monsters.

The men leave on of their own to be attacked by the beasts. The screams, the screams are maddening. We move off to the bridge. We hear the pursuit getting closer. We clear the bridge and watch waiting for these horrible creatures to break through the trees and start to cross the swinging ropes. Hawber is ready to cut the bridge, Pandarus and Gworeth try to stop him. Long moments pass as we wait and watch the far shore. No enemy appears.

We retreat to the town hopefully the fletcher will grant us house guest again this night.

Lydin's Story Part 1

Day 1
I am taken captive! I should have known better than to trust men who wear snakes as sigils.

Day 12
I am alone on the ship except for my cellmates. Yue, Tugwyn, Gworeth and myself shared a small, smelly, room. At times I would grow so tired of that room and of those people, I would wish that the smelly orc and his guards would take me into the torture room. It was painful but it reminded me that the world was still there, that if I waited and took my chance I might still breath free under the trees before I die.

I was not the first taken, Yue and Tugwyn were already in the room when I joined them. Gworeth joined shortly afterwards.

Day 25
I keep sane by counting the hours until I can go an be with the animals again. Time is strange in this room but I think they let me out once a day to care for them. My friend Scratch is up top, she is not doing well. I fear she will die. Some of the guards have been mistreating the mounts. I am doing my best to help them recover.

Day 45
It had been a long time since I have seen the forest.

Day 65
This evening we plotted an escape.

I would hide behind the door. Once that rotten orc entered I would slam shut the door and Yue, Gworeth would attack the bastard while I secured the door. We hoped to kill him and use his weapons on the guards that would surely come to save him.

Day 66
It did not go as planned. After weeks of the same pattern the guards entered the room! Yue and I shared a long look and both bolted out of our prison. We knew we had but one chance. If we could just kill the orc we might have a fighting chance against his guards. Months of being malnourished and torture did us in. Unfortunately, I did not have the strength left to harm the orc. I managed only to burn myself quite badly. Yue made crude attempts but he too failed to score the kill we needed. We had hoped that Gworeth and Tugwyn would be able to win free, but the guards closed the door to the cell separating us.

In the end we managed only to make the wraith of our captures to fall on us rather than our comrades.

Day 67
I awoke to a horrible sound and the floor beneath me shuddered and slid me across the room. Tugwyn tried the door and it was open! A chance for freedom! In our rush to escape we all fell over ourselves as we attempted to exit the room. Once we climbed up onto the top floor we saw immediately that the ship was sinking very quickly.

I rushed to save as many animals as I could. Scratch was already in the water, I play she makes it to shore. One of my dogs is dead, the others are weakened by the crash. Many of the other animals are injured. I doubt I will save many, but I free those I can.

Many of the animals can not make the leap into the water, few of those will make the shore. I hope they have the strength to make the swim. I hope I do. Gworeth and Yue have returned they have not been able to locate our 'friend' the orc. Tugwyn is still in the boat looking for our gear. We can not wait for long we too must make a try for shore. Tugwyn returns empty handed.

We all leave the boat together. I try to help the animals along the way but I am too slow, too tired, I have not recovered from the escape attempt. I do not know how but I make it to shore. I suspect Gworeth pulled me the last half mile. Yue and Gworeth seem to have made the trek without as much difficulty as myself and Tugwyn. His frail form is motionless on the beach. I crawl around looking for signs of Scratch.

If I have lost her I am lost.

I finally find her trail. She is hurt, the trail is bloody. I follow it into a thicket. I can not find her, I have failed her. Finally I stumble upon her, I can feel her fur, now we are whole again. I am too late! Scratch is dead! I can not look at life the same way, how could I have let this happen. She looks whole but the blood trail leads away.

Retching I leave my friend and follow the blood trail. Scratch has done what I could not. I could not save her, but she saved her cub. I did not even notice she was carrying a litter. I will care for him better than I cared for his mother. Screech, I will call him as he is already exercising his lungs.

When I return a group of men riding well fed animals meets us on the beach. Our number has grown by two. Hawber and Pandarus were also captives on that boat. The men talk to us about our enemy. They wish us to assist in revenging their lord on the man who killed Scratch. I agree to this mission.

Alas my dogs did not make the swim successfully. I see signs that some of the other animals made it. Perhaps later we can track some of them and recover what we can.

We move on to a large town to the north. We must find the Fletcher who will assist us further. This is badly used land. It is colder than I am used to and has been over farmed and grazed. There is no game to hunt, no roots for the pot or berries for health and good cheer.

RPG meme bandwagon

Wow, this was a whole lot tougher to answer than I thought it would be. Apparently I am not the story based gamer I thought I was. I picked up on this from Carl.

1. What is the first RPG you ever played?
D&D Basic Set. We must have played that introductory adventure with the Rust Monster a thousand times.

2. What RPG do you currently play most often?
Play: D&D 3E
GM: Fudge

3. What is the best system you've played?
This is an immensely tough question as recently I have GMed much more than played. Which system was the best "system" I've played? Probably HERO. Which system was the most fun? Rolemaster.

4. What is the best system you've run?
Fudge.

5. Would you consider yourself an: Elitist/ Min-Maxer/ Rules Lawyer?
I would like to think I am an elitist, but that just isn't true. I am also sometimes a rules lawyer in that I have read all the rules/books, but not in the sense of challenging the GM's ruling but in being a reference manual for what the rules state. I can also Min-Max with the best of them.
I think these types of categorization are not required because each game type can be fun. The problems arise when you try to mix them. An Elitist will have no fun in a group of Lawyers, and a Min-Maxer isn't going to enjoy a campaign with a group of Elitists.
As a player I try to fit in with the group, or if I can't to find a group into which I can fit. As a GM I try to emphasis story over rules but I am not always successful.

6. If you could recommend a new RPG which would you recommend? Why?
Fudge, with Tri-Stat dX a close second.

7. How often do you play?
Once or twice a month when things go right, four or five times a year when they don't.

8. What sort of characters do you play? Leader? Follower? Comic Relief? Roll-Player/ Role-Player?
A lot of times I find my self playing a Leadership role. However, at times I will purposefully not fill that role to be within the bounds of the character. Also some games and groups tend to favour a Roll-Play rather than a role-play.

9. What is your favorite Genre for RPGs?
Fantasy, although I am getting into steampunk right now and am enjoying it a great deal.

10. What Genres have you played in?
Primarily Fantasy, but I have tried a lot including Modern, Near Future, Far Future, Cyberpunk, SuperHeroes, and cross genre. The one I have not played but am eager to try is Steampunk.

11. Do you prefer to play or GM? Do you do both?
I prefer to play, but I GM a lot because no one else does (and because I own/read the books). GMing can be fun, but it can be a lot more work.

12. Do you like religion in your games?
I try to allow as much as possible, what is NOT allowed is recreating a real world religion in the game. You can have a lot of similarity, but not a copy.

13. Do you have taboo subjects in your games or is everything "fair game"?
I have two subjects that have special status in my games, one is comical (or at least the player think so) and the other is deadly serious.
The first is that none of my game worlds have snakes.
The second is any form of sexual assault. I always tell the players before hand on what is acceptable and what is not. I also always tell them that they get one and only one warning before I take action. A first offense is a complete party death, the innocent are punished along with the guilty. A second offense result in me NOT participating in the game group any further. I have had 2 first offenses, I have never had a second offense.

14. Have you developed your own RPG before?
Not really, as a GM I usually modify the combat systems making them much more deadly. One of the reasons I really enjoy Rolemaster is that there is ALWAYS a true danger to the characters life. I find is frustrating in a lot of game systems when the players get a sense of security in that they know how ridiculously powerful they are and that they don't need to fear an enemy because they couldn't possibly die...

15. Have you ever been published in the Gaming Industry? If so...what?
Not yet, but I'm working on that.