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Brian
United States
Virginia
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edige23 wrote:
I really want to see a Jhereg rpg based on Steven Brust's series of novels. They apparently originated in an rpg, so why don't we have those? I'd also like to see Green Ronin get big enough they could license either the DC or Marvel universe to use with the M&M system.
Just a heads up, but I remember reading long ago about a homebrew system for this that was based on the 7th Seas?, Seven Seas?, Something or other I think.
It really is a fantastic setting that I would love to explore in an RPG setting as well.
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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serdudds wrote: edige23 wrote:
I really want to see a Jhereg rpg based on Steven Brust's series of novels. They apparently originated in an rpg, so why don't we have those? I'd also like to see Green Ronin get big enough they could license either the DC or Marvel universe to use with the M&M system.
Just a heads up, but I remember reading long ago about a homebrew system for this that was based on the 7th Seas?, Seven Seas?, Something or other I think. It really is a fantastic setting that I would love to explore in an RPG setting as well.
I hadn't read about that-- I recall long ago, like late 1990's reading something about an adaptation being available online, but then I could never find it. I think that one was done using Amber Diceless or something like that. I haven't seen the 7th Sea adaptation. If I were going to do something like that, I'd use a homebrew or maybe a version of Exalted, or maybe Houses of the Blooded. I haven't read that last one, but the idea of nobles in houses battling one another might have some interesting elements to borrow.
I think the thing I'd really want is a good, solid and comprehensive sourcebook for the setting. Mechanics would be easy, but having all of the reference material and ideas I think would be really necessary to do justice to it. There's also the matter of setting it in the present era or the past. Lots of good stuff there and from what I've seen there have been some talks in the past for companies to do a game, but none of them ever came to fruition.
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Young & Lawful Good
United Kingdom
Redhill
Surrey
Support comes in many forms: community involvement, forum posts, submitting data, word-of-mouth advertising, financial donations... All of these are vital to this site, and you have my sincere thanks for participating in any of them.
Currently: banned as per http://rpggeek.com/article/9104203#9104203
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Not much time left now, but there's enough for me to sneak in a couple more questions...
 Of which of your contributions to RPGG are you most proud?
What question(s) would you have like to be asked but have not been so far, and what is (are) your answer(s) to that (those) question(s)?
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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A lesson learned about going to write answers after having run a game until midnight; I managed to blow away about an hours worth of work with a misclick. Last night's game did show my players at their rules lawyer best though. They asked if I was obligated to answer the questions posted for GotW and if so, could they then ask questions about in-game plots & details and get the secrets from behind the scenes.
So, anyway here's another go at these questions from my lovely wife who wrote words of praise and then followed that up with a metric ton of inquiry. I have to return here compliments by saying I don't think I'd be anywhere near as good GM or as decent a person without her.
I'm probably gong to split these up into a couple of replies to make it a little easier to read, since the questions are fairly dense. So here's the first one.
Auzumel wrote: So--here are my questions for him. They're honestly ones that I only have an inkling on the answers for.
1. If you have any supernatural GM powers, one of them is certainly your uncanny knack for great NPC names. What are some of your favorite names? And where do you draw your inspiration?
I do love NPC names-- especially when the players remember them unprompted. Sheri is legendary for remembering the name of just about every NPC in the campaigns, even one's I've forgotten. I'm actually strong at naming, but sometimes have a hard time remembering those names.
I do have to provide a cautionary tale I think I've posted elsewhere on the boards. I was running a fantasy campaign and they'd been pursuing an 'evil force' over several session. However they weren't sure what the force was or what name it went by. Finally after working their way through these ancient and abandoned ruins they came face to face with this implacable evil of ageless power. Now, I'd been a little lazy and I decided to borrow from cabbalistic terms in order to present what I thought was a properly ominous name: Sepher Netzach. I pronounced it to them and, without missing a beat, one of the players turned to me and said: "Did you say Sufferin' N*tsack?" in his best Sylvester the Cat voice. Needless to say, the rest of the fight lost some of the dignity I'd envisioned.
Note to GMs: Always sound out your names before using them at the table.
Picking out some of my favorite names is a tough call. I do like where I've been able to establish some naming conventions that I've played through. For example in my Unknown Armies-esque campaign I had a group of NPCs who appeared over the course of the campaign, generally allies. I built each of their names around variations of 'Alan' (Elaine, Allyn, Ellen, etc) with two of my favorites from that batch being Jaeger Allen, Grace Alewine, and Warner Alain, Jr. I did the same for variations on Peter and Paul, with one group being more ambiguous and one more clearly steering to the negative. It ended up a subtle detail that the players eventually picked up on.
Modern campaigns can be tougher because of our connection to the set conventions. I had a few in the recent Scion campaign I quite liked. For example, Jet Jaguar I came up with on the spur of the moment, with a backstory that his mother had been a huge Godzilla fan and had dropped the unlikely name on him. I had a few other favorites from that game Idoya Skip, Raz Iggers, Solada Moyens, Kodiak Jones, Vadimas Trask, and Augustyn Bolek among others.
The Changeling names are great because while it is a modern game, with have the fantastical elements I love to play with. The naming conventions for the Changelings are pretty open, implying anything from the goofy to the mythic. I do have some favorites from among the non-Changelings (Kay Ballentine, Sun Merchant, Mike Lampblacker, Dennys Fiddler, and Lec Bayat for example). But I really love some of the Changeling names I've come up with: Songbird Rex, Hopscotch Takebacks, Lean-and-Hungry Mike, Hammering Beats, Beckoncall, Noisy, Lonesome Dog, The Larker, Mrs. Pang, and TenPenny Down as just some off the top of my head.
When I'm creating names for my more conventional fantasy campaigns I do try to create or imagine a set of sounds for various places. I'll go and hunt down a particular cultural name list and then rearrange the elements of those. Essentially that's what automated name generators do, but I do it on the fly. Sometimes I'll use those generators and then rearrange those sounds as well. I think the best resource for name generation is the 7th Sanctum. I go there and fit bits and pieces together. Obviously I've tried to more heavily borrow from some cultures for the names in some regions of the game: Ursus (Russia), Caldumar (Hungarian), Miremal (French) and so on. To mention a few general names from the Libri Vidicos and Steambuckler campaigns that worked well: Kimberly Wince & Leather Blunt (both of those working because of the associations), Cricket DenMaryk, Cry Sanctum, None-so-None, Despatir Harkvrag, Merkel von Volk, Aisling Grimm, Stephan Zilsaron, Wixler deWode, Glissandra Sunthrowe, Jade Winters, Luchdanas of Herg, Quarter Sabersol...I mean I could go on and on there.
In some cases I have established some other odd naming conventions for places that have worked out well. Persons from the Kingdom of Math has compound last names built on terms: Saletan Firstperfect, Master Naughtsum, Lord Radianmesh, Avansa Nullproof, Juliana Vergeaxis for example. The Atlantaen Empire uses a three letter honorific to denote social role, applied before the last name, so we end up with Sheridan Ker-Altos, Dahlia vro-Haitus, and Kai zur-Jardeth. Interestingly some of the early Atlantaen names come from Waterdeep, an artifact of an early resource I used for development in the late 1980's, but since moved away from. The Shaddai also have interesting names as a race, with no set form to those: Forlost Dark-of-Fire; Harbinger Whitened-Wave; Alliana The-Hammer-Must-Fall; Eye of Morning; and others.
I also enjoyed the naming with the Exalted game which followed a pattern not unlike that of the Shaddai, so we ended up with some great ones there: Akiso Shall; Coldweight; August Corpse; Majest Daykane; Fayt Abandoned; Hesaal Chain; Oaksaint Vross; Skycast Red; Soldala Hush; Son of Stone and Wrath; and Fourth Argent Way. All nice and evocative names.
So in short: if you're working with a particular culture as reference or a couple of cultures, read through example lists and then clip the bits apart and rearrange them. Make last names first names, switch things around, and think about the sound of the names rather than specific consistency. For everything else, keep a notebook around and if a name or word strikes you, write it down.
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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serdudds wrote: Just a heads up, but I remember reading long ago about a homebrew system for this that was based on the 7th Seas?, Seven Seas?, Something or other I think.
It really is a fantastic setting that I would love to explore in an RPG setting as well.
And another heads up-- as you are a collector of the Exalted line, at some point I'm going to try to shame you into posting some overviews of those books. I think it would be great to have something written up that would help someone thinking about getting into that game, but unsure what is most useful to buy.
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Coyote John
United States
Indianapolis
Indiana
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Congratulations Lowell.
I think it was 1994ish when I officially met Lowell. Before then I just knew him as that bookish guy behind the cash register at the local gaming store in South Bend. I knew that he was a big gamer, but otherwise I just kind of ignored him. It's too bad that I did because I could have been playing in his games earlier.
For years I only played in RPGs sporadically. I loved gaming, but most of the GMs that I played with just didn't stick with their games. We would play a few sessions and then quit. I have to admit that I had the same problem when I would run a game. I would do a few sessions, but then get distracted something else (usually a girl). One day a friend of mine convinced me to check out the action at the Game Room, and it pretty much changed my view of gaming overall. There were all sorts of games going on in there, and that Lowell-guy was the center of the hurricane.
I actually started playing with Lowell as a fellow player in a fantasy game run by a mutual friend. Eventually that game self-destructed and Lowell invited me to play in his 3rd continent fantasy game. After that I was hooked.
Lowell runs a h*ll of a game. I have never met anyone who is more passionate at telling a story, but at the same time he understands that good gaming is a give and take venture with his players. He gives his players the freedom to act in his game and alter the course of his vision. That is one thing that Lowell has taught me about GMing and I try to emulate that in my own games. His use of NPCs in games truly gives his world life (although his NPC lists can be daunting to learn).
The time that Lowell and I ran Grace Under Pressure is one of my favorite memories of the old Game Room. It's a pity that we never had the chance to run a game together again. One of my other favorite memories is the Ars Magica game that we ran as a troupe. Good times… to a point.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Lowell is also an excellent cook. He likes to experiment in the kitchen, and it usually turns out pretty well.
I really don't have any questions for Lowell. I just felt that I should add to his ego trip.
I’ll send you my bill.
John
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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Another part of my answers to Auzumel's extended questions-- now I have to go get ready for my Wushu game.
Auzumel wrote: 2. You are running four campaigns currently. Each of the four have an active cast of between 20 and 150 NPCs. By active, I mean involved in the world of the PCs and part of the players considerations whenever they choose to take action--each NPC with distinct agendas and personalities and alliances.
How do you come up with all those personalities?
How do you keep them distinct at the table?
How do you decide which NPCs you bring front and center and which you let fade away?
Any rules of thumb for communicating NPC agenda and attitude to PCs (besides great acting)?
For some of this I have to point back to a couple of things I've posted (and maybe mentioned before in this thread). The first is the linked series of essays on Gamemastering NPCs that I think holds together pretty well. The second is an kind of overview of my batch creation process for NPCs that I think can be easily adapted by other GMs. There's a slight difference between kind of doing the before and campaign NPC prep-- where I can do a bunch of different ideas and stories and have them ready; and coming up with new NPCs as the game rolls along-- in the latter case I'm looking to fill niches or roles which haven't yet been taken up by other NPCs-- trying to find something new. As a further example, I posted one of the NPC worksheets I did for the Scion campaign in my image gallery here.
As I mentioned with the idea of getting ideas from pictures, I try to look at those details and come up with a story in my head. What kind of tale binds those elements together. In some ways it is a little backwards from traditional story construction-- but that's a lot of what rpgs are about. I let those things give me inspiration for things and then spin the bigger tale from that. I'll often have at least some sense of plot, but that will change as I plug characters into that. The Scion plot I had in my head shifted and expanded as I came up with those NPCs, and I didn't even bring all of them into play at the table.
Keeping the NPCs distinct means knowing something about their story in the back of your head- even if it is a little detail about them. Voice can help-- and it took me a long time to get comfortable with doing voices. That takes getting over some self-consciousness. But you have to be careful and not try to do distinct voices for every character. You'll get lost and mix up Lambchop with Monster Puppet. Instead, pick a few, ones that you can remember from session to session. I don't usually write down what voices I'm doing, but instead rely on memory, which does fail me. So voice ought to be a sparing technique. Likewise, motion, stance and body posture ought to be included in that as a carefully used device. Does the NPC make eye contact, do they look away, do they slouch, do they talk fast or slow, have particular gestures? Pick one of two of these elements but again, don't make every NPC do this or you'll get lost. Find important or well-liked NPCs to develop these for. If you have a set of tics lke these, you can have the NPC change them or not do them as a signal to the players that something is wrong or has changed. When that comes off well, with the players realizing the difference without prompting, that's a real pleasure. We have an NPC in the game, Nysenko Turns, who talks like a villain but is actually a nice guy-- he has an ominous and taunting voice I use ("OH, THERE WILL BE CAKE...") but the one time he was angry at a PC in the group he talked normally and everyone knew he was really mad.
I take a shotgun approach to NPCs-- throw them out there and see who the PCs gravitate towards or show interest in. Then those NPCs recur or become more important. Pay attention to who the players address and who they mention after games. Work on those and move others to the background. That's the most important rule in a character heavy game. Don't be afraid to switch things around. A couple of sessions ago, I introduced a new group from another school. The players all remarked on one of the pictures I'd chosen for the masters of those visiting students. I'd had him in mind as a flunky, but seeing their interest and reaction, I immediately shifted details and such and made him the most important person and one they got to interact will all of the time.
Remember to mix up personality types. Not all NPCs should be off-putting, not all should be secretive, not all should be inviting. I said before that a game encourages what it rewards. I remember playing in a game where every NPC seemed hostile, sinister or dismissive of us. We ended up completely giving up on trying to establish any kind of relations with NPCs. That might have been the GM's intent, but it really closed things off for us.
And, again recapping some things I've said before, here's a piece of advice drawing from creative writing. In any conversation between two characters, both characters should want something. Part of the trick of the scene is to figure out what that is-- either the reader figuring it out or the two parties figuring that out. When I have an NPC and a PC interact, I try to have in mind something the NPC wants. It might be as simple as acknowledgment or a material reward or it might be as complicated as revenge or deception. That helps me figure out how I respond to the players and usually helps me keep in mind that NPCs have inner lives and things they care about (which can create creative tension).
Auzumel wrote: 3. You spend a good hour or two before each game session 'prepping'. I know you use some structured approaches to ensure you have something for every player each session and a few quick and easy ways to push plot points and world-detail forward.
What are your basic prep approaches?
I also know that this so-called prep serves as a fine excuse for diva-like demands for more coffee. But when you burst out of the room at least once or twice each prep session to pace and fret about some element of the upcoming game, you're often working through issues that go well beyond plot and spotlight issues. You're usually muttering about some sociological, dramatic or game-related theory...
What are the more complicated considerations that you're currently wrestling with?
I know that you've been testing out some stuff related to your reading on improvisational theater as well as a bunch of ideas from Robin Laws about dramatic structure--but what else? What are a few of the thorny issues in the past and how did those resolve out?
Diva-like? I just love coffee.
*Pre-campaign prep: First order of business before I really sit down is to get the mechanics sorted out. That keeps me from thinking about that too much later-- I really like game mechanics despite my move to simpler games. Usually I think of a bunch of heavy stuff and then chuck that out when I realize it will just add complications. If I'm using a homebrew I work through to figure out what tweaks I need to make to get it to fit. I make a list and work through those. If I'm using an existing system, I'll usually walk through and make myself some cheat notes. Or I'll make notes about tweaks.
For my mental picture of a campaign, I'll usually brainstorm all the ideas I can across multiple pages. Then I can come back to those and pick out good ones as the game plays on. Figuring out the starting or main setting is next, followed by coming up with NPCs. I usually try not to write a linear story, maybe plot out the first arc and a general sense of where I want the game to go. If I'm working from something I can find reference sources for (like my Scion Las Vegas campaign) I'll skim reference materials and make detail and scene notes as I do so. If it helps create atmosphere later it is useful. Ideally through doing all of this I'll come up with ideas for a few really cool set-piece scenes. Like a fight in the Neon Boneyard or a casino just under construction. These are fixed in stone, but if I have some of those visualized, then part of my goal will be to try to get the story to those points. Sometimes I have a clear sense of a story end scene and then that shapes what I do later.
Once that's in place I like to give players the background and get their characters at least a little sketched out before I begin running. That helps me shape what the story will be-- I can also change the NPCs around a little at that time to have them fit with the PCs stories or avoid having them step on their toes.
My prep for a session will usually consist of at least one of four things, sometimes a mix of those:
*General Sketching: Simple brainstorming of scenes or ideas for the evening. We won't necessarily come to those, but they're things I think might occur. This can be as simple as a list. I try to do a little sketch of sensory details I can throw in there as well (smells, colors, textures, sounds, etc). For dungeons, ruins and the like I make a list of places and if I'm feeling really ambitious, I sketch a map, but usually I make it up as I go along. I've got a pretty good spatial sense, so that usually holds together well.
*Dangling Plots: Every few sessions I like to make a list of all of the stories and details I haven't gotten to. I do this maybe every two to three months. That keeps those elements in mind and helps me organize. If I see that a particular thread can be tied into where the players are presently, I try to make notes on that. I also try to see if I can consolidate any of those threads. If I spin out too far, things can get over complicated, so I like to collapse those when I can.
*Three Things: If I think the game is going to be particularly freeform, then I make a list of three ideas, scenes, plots or the like for each character. This works after a good deal of character and story critical mass has been built up. For these sessions I know I can ask the players "what do you want to do or who do you want to talk to?" and they'll have something they want. We call this a "Once Around"-- in a good group the players will enjoy listening to other players little stories and plots. I try to keep those moments evenly balanced so no one takes up too much table time. If a player doesn't have something in mind, then I'll throw something at them from the list I made for them. Sometimes these are just colorful moments, sometimes they push them back towards a plot thread and sometimes they're put in to challenge a character's personality or abilities. Three Things sheets work best with a game set in a static location, where you can carry over elements to later sessions if they don't get used earlier.
*Triad Sheet: I'll usually do a Triad Prep Sheet if I have writer's block or every few months as an organizational tool. One of these sheets can usually provide useful material for several sessions. I wrote a little thread on this here. I have to say I borrowed this idea from elsewhere. Essentially it is two pages with a set of questions with space for three replies under each item. The questions are:
* Three conflicts that might happen in the game
* Three interesting NPCs who might be encountered
* Three interesting locations the PCs might visit
* Three "tone-setting" events for genre-flavor
* Three plot-moving revelations that might occur
* Three seeds to plant for future development
* Three recurring threads to weave back in
* Three puzzles, dilemmas or moral choices
* Three strokes of luck (good or bad!)
* Something novel for each PC
This is a great way to organize for prep and takes maybe an hour to do. Plus what you generate here can carry over for several sessions.
I should note that what's missing from all of this is any mechanics-heavy stuff. With exceptions, I wing those things. If I know there will be combat, I sketch out a few details-- more about the cool things the bad guys can do and a location which might make the fight more interesting, dramatic or difficult. If we're getting to a big fight or in some supers game, I will take the time to do up the mechanical details, but generally I think my energy is better put into story and detail areas.
I generally run a pretty sandbox campaign, and though I have ideas about where they should go, more often then not, I'm throwing things at the group and seeing what happens. Later I pull back the curtain and show them the connections. I think it is possible to over prepare, but I like to have the couple of hours before a game clear to work on this, pace, get more coffee, prance like a diva, make outrageous demands, look over my notes, clean the game room, fret, and maybe get some actual work ready.
For the dramatic arc thing, I think probably the biggest thing right now is figuring out how to help the players evolve their characters. Most people come in with a sense of where their character is and where they want them to be. The trick for the GM is to work out how to give players the opportunities and challenges which make sense dramatically and also don't feel forced. Laws in HeroQuest (2nd Edition) has some great ideas about the Pass/fail dramatic structure that any GM should read and also about the rising level of challenges through the course of a campaign.
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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Latrans wrote: Congratulations Lowell.
I think it was 1994ish when I officially met Lowell. Before then I just knew him as that bookish guy behind the cash register at the local gaming store in South Bend. I knew that he was a big gamer, but otherwise I just kind of ignored him. It's too bad that I did because I could have been playing in his games earlier.
For years I only played in RPGs sporadically. I loved gaming, but most of the GMs that I played with just didn't stick with their games. We would play a few sessions and then quit. I have to admit that I had the same problem when I would run a game. I would do a few sessions, but then get distracted something else (usually a girl). One day a friend of mine convinced me to check out the action at the Game Room, and it pretty much changed my view of gaming overall. There were all sorts of games going on in there, and that Lowell-guy was the center of the hurricane.
I actually started playing with Lowell as a fellow player in a fantasy game run by a mutual friend. Eventually that game self-destructed and Lowell invited me to play in his 3rd continent fantasy game. After that I was hooked.
Lowell runs a h*ll of a game. I have never met anyone who is more passionate at telling a story, but at the same time he understands that good gaming is a give and take venture with his players. He gives his players the freedom to act in his game and alter the course of his vision. That is one thing that Lowell has taught me about GMing and I try to emulate that in my own games. His use of NPCs in games truly gives his world life (although his NPC lists can be daunting to learn).
The time that Lowell and I ran Grace Under Pressure is one of my favorite memories of the old Game Room. It's a pity that we never had the chance to run a game together again. One of my other favorite memories is the Ars Magica game that we ran as a troupe. Good times... to a point.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Lowell is also an excellent cook. He likes to experiment in the kitchen, and it usually turns out pretty well.
I really don't have any questions for Lowell. I just felt that I should add to his ego trip.
I’ll send you my bill.
John
Thank you.
John is also generous not to mention how I blew up one of his Ars Magica campaigns. The CoC game I ran with you really stands out as one of the great experiences I've had as a GM. We used the layout, the communication, and the lighting to great effect. It wasn't exactly a LARP, but it was pretty damn close. And it freaked everyone out which was worth the price of admission.
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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Last of this set of questions. Just finished up the wushu session for the evening, with them defending the Eight Squared Gate School and learning something of its connection to the legendary Octagon of Weapons hidden away across the land. And Scott's character peeped on a girl and nearly passed out.
Auzumel wrote: 4. Can you describe your gaming groups over the years and how they've changed or remained the same? You're certainly not running the same games you ran 20 years ago, even when they are in the same setting. How much of that change is your choice and how much is based on what your players want/respond to?
I'm curious about campaign types, systems AND thematic...and anything else that you think pertains to the GM lifespan.
I think it is difficult to underestimate the impact of continuity of players in the games I've run. If you've played with someone for a number of years, you have a sense of their wants and needs and at the same time they have some expectations about what the game will be like, what your "tells" are at the table and have decided if they trust you or not as a GM. You also have the difficulty of not being able to simply reuse ideas. You can reference previous events and games, perhaps even running things which homage those elements, but in general you have to keep coming up with new material to avoid it getting stale. I'm sure TV, comic and novel series writers face the same problems. That's probably why creative teams change-- as they decide to move on the run another game write another story. So some of the change comes from having used up some of the classic tropes and ideas, I need to find new material and approaches.
But I'd also say that over the years, story and narrative as a mechanic has come forward in place of traditional mechanics. It isn't that story is more important at the table, I think that's always been pretty central for me. But I hand more freedom over to the players, allow them to more significantly impact and drive the narrative, and leave a lot more open rather than doing tight plotting. Some of that's reflected in the operational play at the table. Decisions and resolutions are more governed by drama and player interaction over absolute and dense rules. There's still randomess and still player injury and death, but I want those to be significant and have the players feel they had some measure of control over those results, rather than being completely subject to a "black box" set of mechanics out of their control. Out of their control meaning either completely subject to arbitrary dice rolls which have large scale impact (roll til you die) or beyond their ability because of the density of the rules and options.
I'd say generally I find fantasy campaigns have the longest life span, then modern fantastic, then superhero and then more generic horror. There's a level of burn out related to immersion perhaps.
Auzumel wrote: 5. Okay--now a discussion about home-brews.
You've got your current Action Cards! system in use in three of the four campaigns. And in the fourth, the players are fine with the other system, but refer longingly to Action Cards! Now, I've seen you go through a whole series of home-brew systems, and most of them were okay. Well, maybe mostly they were meh. Different mechanics for the same old things. But with Action Cards!, you've converted your entire player base...including the crunchy mechanics guys AND the narrative-shy stumbletongues.
So what's different about this home-brew? Why do you think your players like it so much? Is it something that you think other GMs could run, or is it a happy accident that works only for you?
Simple it puts power in the players hands and encourages ownership. Players can gain a benefit from being creative, but at the same time the cards help create inspiration. I don't want to go too much on about this-- what I really need to do is write out a more fully fleshed and complete revision of these rules usable by other people and post that in the future. I've been working on it, but haven't yet finished it. I don't think right now someone could pick up those rules and run them cold. If they saw it run once, then they could. But I need to get those to a more accessible point. I know several players in the group have talked about running games using the system. I would like to see that. It is a game for players who want certain things out of a game, and so will likely appeal to a narrower niche. Generally I would say it can be done by others and I think the way it operates will help those GMs find new approaches. I have a version of the player side for a high fantasy mod posted in the files under the Action Cards entry on the geek.
Auzumel wrote: 5. As a GM, how much background information on characters do you find useful? Are there certain formats for character definition that you find more/most useful?
Lately, you've been asking for mid-campaign character status and player feedback. What's all that meant to accomplish?
OK, just about hitting GotW burnout. I can't even imagine what this is like for them on the BGG side with the larger population and larger number of questions.
I think character backgrounds a tricky thing. On the one hand you want players to come in with more than "I'm playing a rogue." On the other hand you don't want players to hyper-determine things such that they won't fit with the setting and background you've determined. I think part of the GM's most difficult task is integrating a player's original vision with the concept the GM has developed. But in most cases, the difference must be split in the player's favor. If the player has done the conceptual work, then the GM owes the player the opportunity to play that out. Players value autonomy and a bad way to start a game off is to close off what they've created-- either deliberately or through implication.
I recall playing in a Cyberpunk game where I had a Netrunner, which seemed a natural fit. The GM looked over, said they needed one and approved everything. I'd done some interesting character background work and was excited. Then when we actually played there was little or nothing for me to do. On the major ops I would get maybe five minutes of actually table time to do Netrunning in a four hour session. And a good deal of that would be "OK, you're still running." That was less a question of my background getting in the way and more of the GM not giving me opportunities for the kind of character I'd come up with. It was even more frustrating because later I pointed this out to the GM, discussed it, he agreed and then we had another three sessions of exactly the same thing before I had to just retire him.
I like to have some motivations from characters, a sense of their history, and if the game is likely to be a static one (i.e. a single location or city) then maybe some sense of the people who are important to them. I also want a sense of how they see their role in the group. There's another balancing act of trying to make sure players won't be stepping on each other's toes, both in abilities and in personality.
One interesting approach I took recently involved doing a prologue for the group. I had them come up with basic concepts and started them in their home village. I told them it would be shifting forward and they shouldn't get too attached to things. We did a little play and then the Big Bad came and destroyed their homes. They escaped through special intervention. We then took up five years later with the characters in a new location. I gave the players a batch of points to bring them up from teen level to more experienced young adults. I'd prepared a random set of things on card, with one stack of good things, one stack of bad and one stack of neutral or mixed. They had to draw one from each and then they could draw an additional good one if they took another bad one. They could also take one redraw. Whatever they drew they had to figure out for the story of what had happened to them in the intervening five years. It worked out pretty well and helped give them some additional and unusual choices to help shape their characters. They had a basic concept and then had to come up with how their characters would respond to those events. The bad stuff included things like Haunted, Nightmares, Cursed, Dark Secret, Time in Prison, Bad Master, Loss of Loved One, and so on. The good and neutral stuff included things like Military Service, Adopted Nobility, Wealth, Magic Weapon Found, Social Prestige/Reputation and so on.
I have been doing more with trying to assess both where the characters are at and what kinds of plots the players like for their characters in mid-campaign. One serves the purpose of making sure I'm on the same page as the players about who their characters are. The other helps confirm for me what existing plots the player is most interested in. I tlak a little more about that in this forum thread I posted here. I could go on, but that kinds of lays out those ideas pretty well.
And I'm tired.
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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Stelio wrote: Not much time left now, but there's enough for me to sneak in a couple more questions... Of which of your contributions to RPGG are you most proud? What question(s) would you have like to be asked but have not been so far, and what is (are) your answer(s) to that (those) question(s)?
Stelio, I suspect this will be the last set of questions!
I liked the survey of [url]possible campaign ideas[/url] I posted. I like the overview I did of Legend of the Five Rings, in part because I'd like to see more reviews like that. I also like my campaign post-mortems, like the Vampire one, again because as a GM I would find reading that kind of thing useful from other GMs. I also think my set of ideas on running a school-based campaign is pretty useful.
But, at risk of going back to the same well, I really like my series on Gamemastering NPCs.
I do hope players and GMs will find something useful in some of my posts.
Questions...questions I haven't answered...I'm sure there are more, but it seems like I've answered a lot. Let me stick with two:
1. What books would you recommend a GM read?
*Story by Robert McKee.
*Play Unsafe (or Impro by Keith Johnstone which is a great inspiration for that).
*HeroQuest Core Rules Book because Robin Laws has a ton of new concepts that are worth looking at and considering.
*Things We Think About Games which is small but has a look of great advice about gaming in general.
*Suppressed Transmission: The First Broadcast or Suppressed Transmission: The Second Broadcast both by Ken Hite. If you want inspiration for how to take an interesting idea and riff on it for rpg purposes, there is no better read than those.
2. What is the Godlearner Secret?
(answer removed)
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Dave Bernazzani (@rpggeek)
United States
Plainville
Massachusetts
I wish to provide legendary service to the RPG community to help grow our hobby and enrich the lives of gamers everywhere.
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I just finished reading through and thumbing everything here... good work Lowell! You're the most detailed RPG GotW answer-er in the short history of the award
 Just like your entries into the database - thorough, well researched and accurate. I hope you enjoyed your week!!
-Dave
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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Thanks to everyone who posted questions this week and an equal thanks to everyone who managed to make it through my long-winded answers. My players have been very generous in their words about me as a GM, but I do recognize that while I'm a great GM there, for a player who wants something different out of an rpg, I'd probably be a lousy GM. I like that the hobby incorporates so many diverse approaches to the same basic idea. Had a great time this week (though a little disappointed that I didn't get any questions from Aramis- he always seems to have a slightly different but valuable approach/position from my own). Thanks again to Sol for picking me and all of the admins on this side for their work.
Finally, my two truths and a lie.
The cake is a lie.
So number 2 & 3 are true. I was called up one day by a lawyer asking if I'd played Steve Jackson's Killer. He asked about some other details-- he'd been referred to my by the owner of the local game store. The next thing I know, there's a sheriff at my dorm room door with a subpoena for me to testify as a witness for the defense. Someone has handed a written death threat to our mayor. His lawyer has decided that he will take the interesting position that this is a "game" and nothing is meant by it. So he's called me to talk about these kinds of games. The Prosecution doesn't like it, until they start asking me questions and I explain that according to Killer's rules you can't target anyone outside of the game and so on. The guy gets convicted and I'm cited as an expert on role-playing games in the paper (I knew the reporter, so that helped).
The ferret story happened when I lived in Egypt...I...I don't want to talk about it...(the horror!)
Anyway, bye, thanks everyone! Remember:
A Game Encourages what it Rewards.
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Aaron Broder
United States
Tennessee
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edige23 wrote: The cake is a lie.
I win! Although, come on, you totally made up that lie just so you could say "The cake is a lie" at the end, didn't you?
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Lowell Francis
United States
South Bend
Indiana
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giftedmunchkin wrote: edige23 wrote: The cake is a lie. I win! Although, come on, you totally made up that lie just so you could say "The cake is a lie" at the end, didn't you?
That would be yes.
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