RPG
The coolest sounding RPG book I’ve heard of in a while
Lucha Libre HERO! I can’t imagine ever getting around to running this but I like the fact that I live in a word where it can exist.
(via Ken Hite)
Need a 1920’s character photo?
I had a GM a while back who required us to all get photos for our characters. It wasn’t something I’d done before and I’m not sure we really used them much but I thought it was a decent idea.
Today I found (via Very Short List) this cool flickr set of 1920’s passport photos. They’re of famous people but they’re largely not recognisable (and not all of them are still famous). Perfect for a Pulp game or some 20’s Call of Cthulhu.
Want to play ars Magica? Live in Singapore?
If so check us out!
My Gamemaster is looking to expand our group up to 4 players (we’re currently at two). It’s a fun game (that I should post about more) so hopefully we’ll find someone soon.
Fall – Episode 20 “Reaching my Limits, Part 1″
This weeks episode was another mostly character driven affair. We were all also pretty tired and/or sick so things moved kind of slowly, but not in a bad way. We had some great character development and I started Alex down a path that I’ve recently realised is totally in keeping with her character. So with out further ado…
Monday Musings: A gaming conundrum
In the last few years I’ve come into contact with a heap of different table top roleplaying games some of which I’ve played and others that I’ve just wanted to.
Recently though I’m finding that the games that I play which demand a high level of player buy in and direction are the ones I’m enjoying the most. This doesn’t just mean “dirty hippie indie games” (or small press games, or shared narrative games or what ever you want to call them) but also more “traditional” games in which the players take an active role in trying to develop the plot, rather than just waiting for the GM to tell them what happens so they can react to it. This often means that I get disappointed as both a player (when a GM refuses any input from me into the outcome of an action or scene) and as a GM (when the other people I play with want me to tell them exactly what I want to happen, with no input from them) because I see this roleplaying thing we do as a a shared story telling experience.
I really enjoy shared narration games. I love how they promote more player buy in for their characters, especially in the compressed time frames of Con games. The fantasic play experiences the I’ve had with these games have made me expect more from the people I play with, and made me fight against the idea that as a GM I’m just here to “bring the fun”. Being GM doesn’t stop me from being a player, it just means I have a different role.
So what to do about this? How am I going to continue to play in and run games where I feel that I’m getting out of them what I want? Well for starters I’m going to write games where that kind of buy in is needed. Some times that means mixing more traditional games with shared narration ideas, like I did in a recent Mongoose Traveller scenario I wrote, Still to Come. Other times it will be to ask the players for the things they want to happen, and if they don’t focus on those who do. As a player I’m going to offer ideas to the person running the game and if those ideas are consistently ignored or sidelined I’ll find myself another game.
All these things are easier said than done. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, so expect more posts of my random game related musing.
Fall – Episode 19 “Losing Ground, Part 2 “
We picked up exactly where we left off, with Darius in front of his locker contemplating the blue jelly goo that has soldified into a gelatinous cube and ruined all of the books, nic nacs and photos that he’d stored in there (including a collar from when his dog Nebby was a puppy, awwww).
Taking time cleaning it up Darius gets to home room a little late, where he is promptly sent to the principle’s office. Once there he’s accused of destroying the practice field, on his own, in a single night. His accusers? A bunch of jocks, the same ones that recently egged his house and filled his locker with blue goo. Despite (or perhaps because of) his rather terrible attempts at proving his innocence he too gets sent to guidance councillor, for the rest of the day.
Fall – Episode 18 “Losing Ground, Part 1″
Alex, Calvin, Megan and Darius have had some pretty exciting times since my last actual play report but luckily Jenni has been dutifully recording our adventures, so go to her blog to catch up.
In an effort to get better at recording the games I’m in I too am going to get back into the habit, but this one got a little long. I’ll see what I can do about making them more succinct. However with no further ado, Fall: Episode 18!
2010 – A year in gaming
With KapCon now behind me I’m starting to look forward to what kind of gaming experiences I want to have in 2010. Essentially a list that I can look back on later in the year to see how I’m going.
So with out any further ado. The List!
- Actually finish my KapCon SDC entry this year. I’m going to tidy up and polish Still to Come.
- Stop being so soft on the players in the A Song of Ice and Fire game I GM. It’s a tough world and sometimes, people die.
- Continue to overcome the distrust I have of LARPing.
- Play more of the games I look at and think “I really want to play that!”.
- Blog more, not just re-posting cool stuff from elsewhere.
- Get a new PC so I can play all these awesome CPRGs on the platform they are meant for.
I think that’s it really. There are other things, but these are the main ones. What about you? Do you have any gaming goals for the year?
KapCon 2010 – Day 2
Day 2 dawned with me feeling gritty eyed and generally washed out after Day 1. However I showed up to the Games on Demand room as promised, hoping to play rather than facilitate. › Continue reading
KapCon 2010 – Day 1
KapCon is over again for another year, and it’s proving a hard task to process back into the real world. I had another great Con with more fantastic moments than I can fit in here. › Continue reading