RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 29

What was the best Kickstarter project I backed this year?

For starters I backed far too many projects. This year I have vowed to cut back and/or eliminate backing anything. That being said, Kickstarter projects are usually more reasonable about overseas shipping and handling than Amazon and the like. Sometimes having material shipped to the UAE from the States costs as much as the item itsself.

The projects that I backed were good for the most part, and in the long run none of them ripped me off, but there is only so much one can play even when the projects are interesting and deliver as they promised. Mutant Crawl Classics, Journey to Ragnarok (5E supplement) and Bedlam Hall are pending and well on the way to production. Two games I purchased after their kickstarter campaigns were over: Ryuutama (English translation) and Fragged Empire have yet to be played substantially, but show potential. The first RPG (related) project I ever backed was Dungeon Saga by Mantic Games...it took so long to finally be delievered that I lost interest, looked the whole thing over and stored it in the closet. I had a very postitive experience backing the campaign to Bring Back MST3K, but that isnt RPG related as such. If you have read any of my previous responses this year, you should be able to guess the best run Kickstarter came from John Wick and 7th Sea 2nd edition. To date this project has raised more money than any other RPG project.

You can easily look on the completed campaign page over @ Kickstarter to see what kind of reward levels were offered, but in my opinion they gave away the store. I got a print copy of the core rulebook, soft copies of all 2nd edition material as they are released as well as all previously released 1st edition PDFs. Higher level backers recieved more rewards such as addtional hard copies of source books and loot. So far all materials have released on schedule and have been of high quality.

Side Notes: a promising new campaign setting based on Asian nations was anounced at Gen*Con and will be on kickstarter very soon. Although it has been off to a clunky start there is a boardgame based on the material soon to be relaunched on kickstarter, and--in the interest of showing that nobody is perfect--a videogame based on the material recently failed to recieve the backing that it needed to move forward, and looks never to resurface. So is the harsh reality of crowdfunding.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog: Day 27 (make up)

Somehow I missed day 27 about essential tools. Well, that one wasnt very appealing to me anyway, so I will delve once more into the alternate questions stack.

Have you learned a skill because of events of a game?

Not necessarily a skill, but I have learned more about ships and sailing due to running 7th Sea than I would have ever done on my own accord. I wont bore any of you with the details that I learned but suffice it to say a long haul ship takes a larger crew to run at full capacity even during modern times than I ever thought, and pirate ships being able to function with a crew so much smaller was even a bigger shock. From 5Es DMG I learned a lot about proper titles and royalty--that again carried over to 7th Sea which has detailed lineages for certain characters and showed connections between the various titles. You could even argue that I learned a simplified version of trade economics and supply and demand. Now, that isnt to say that I wasnt exposed to such things before nor that I am an expert on any of the topics covered in the RPGs, but the fact that my knowledge base increased due to a silly hobby is still impressive.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 28

What movie or series is quoted the most in your RPG sessions?

We quote a lot of things, but I guess you could put everything under the big tent of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Get your hands off me you damned dirty ___________

Oh, I dont know about that...

Oh, hai _____________

We also have a few inside quotes....

My ball-bearings!! (in D&D any time my Tabaxi theif throws 1000 ball bearings as a distraction)

Booshy at your service, small on the outside, big on the inside (In D&D our resident gay gnome)

...and I threw a few Pokemon and Zelda quotes into my 7th Sea games

She wants to be the very best like no one ever was? (when asked the motivation of an evil NPC lady huntress)

Hey Listhen!!! (any time an NPC has to give exposition or tell how a game mechanic works)

And there are many more. They usually kill, but you kinda have to be there.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog: Days 14-15 (final catch up)

Which RPG do you prefer for open-ended play?

I like to keep all of my RPGs open-ended, if the campaign manages to come to a satisfying ending, then the surviving characters can retire or otherwise give up adventuring...but if the players want to come back...a sequel or even a prequel/alternate timeline could bring back the old character if they wanted.

 When  players left my Roll*20 7th Sea campaign I did not retcon what they did. New players who joined the surviving core group had to deal with fallout for things they were not at fault for, and had to catch-up as best they could when old NPCs showed up to continue plot threads that were many sessions in the past. For my part I did give mid-week recaps and tried to prime the players on what was going on. This is where 7th Sea gets a little rough. I own the books and have read quite a bit of the lore--but not all--I shared resources, but I dont imagine my players having a ton of time--and maybe not even the desire--to read them. So, how much information should the characters know about their world? Do the characters actually have more knowledge about their home than the players or even the GM? We just missed ending the campaign as I had planned to, and we did have a great battle in what ended up being the finale, but as is too often the case there were still too many loose ends with no resoulution. We had a lot of fun with it though and the players told me how much they enjoyed it, in spite of having to close up shop early.

The next campaign I play will still be open-ended, but I want to give definitive jumping on/jumping off points if I can. Characters stuck in limbo happens way too often, but then again its the fun we have during the sessions that counts.

Which RPGs do I enjoy adapting the most?

That last answer ran longer than I expected, but this one will be a lot shorter. This is the sister question to the one I started with this year, and my answer is very similar. It sounds like a cop-out, but I enjoy adapting everything. D&D 5th just begs to be adapted by bringing in different monster abilities from previous editions and using the old maps. I enjoy the advantage/disadvantage mechanic from 5th and I use that in other games that I play. I liked the mass combat system from the first edtion of 7th Sea, so I brought it back to my 2nd edition game. I love the escalation die mechanic from 13th Age and use it anywhere that makes sense. I havent used the Jinga mechanic from Dread for any game yet, as I havent been able to play Dread at this point, but the mechanic sure looks interesting. In other words, anything I see be it from a different system or from my own mind is fair game for any game that I run...just so long as the players can mostly understand what they need to do.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 26

Which RPG provides the most useful resources?

5E has some very useful resources no doubt. Many modern games do, no doubt about it. Most of the major companies give players enough free resources online that you really dont even need to buy in to play. This is in sharp contrast how things used to be when information was spread off across many, many books with virtually no way to try before you buy. That being said, I will always want a print copy when I can get it. It is satisfying to flip through a book and to hold it in my hands. Now dont think thats just for old men, as anecdotal evidence I present my own 3 year-old daughter who loves books and runs right up to any bookshelf in her area. She also loves our tablets and smartphones, and that leads me to say...

The most useful resources are background books and nobody gave me more background books this year than 7th Sea 2nd edition. Some might say TMI, but if you want to know about the world of Thea and its nations, its all there. An absolute ton of books in the first kickstarter, soon to be followed by a new kickstarter about Eastern Nations. I say again that if real history books were presented in this fashion, that I would be a better student of history.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 25

What is the best way to thank a GM?

I think the best way is to give the GM a break. I have been a PC a lot more than a GM. Until a player takes up the gauntlet he will never know how much prep time goes in to creating a session--he also will never know the pleasure that comes from running a game. It makes sense to rotate GMs from time to time so that the main GM can have a break and the guest GM will get an idea of the work involved, and will appreciate the main guy more. Bringing in the food and drinks is also a standard thank you. Players should also clean up the host location after the game or else offer to host once in a while even if you are not GM. These two things are particularly important if the regular host has a non-gaming significant other. Sometimes the group may want to chip in on additional resources like game books, minis, maps or website tools for the GM--most of the time the GM invests the most cash into games as well as time.

All that aside, the best way to thank a GM is to show up when you should show up, engage as best as you are able, and keep arguments to a minimum. Usually, they put a lot of effort into what they are doing, and shouldnt put up with flaky, disgruntled players.

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RPGa Day 2017 Blog: Day 24--alternate question

My first dip into the alternate questions and I choose:

What gives an RPG its replay value? I will list everything that I think does just that.

* The people you are playing with. Biggest factor you have to have a group to play with be you the GM or a player.

* Fun fighting mechanics. Most RPGs will have conflicts, so the combat has to be fun. We have had so many sessions without actually fighting, but eventually there has to be and if it isnt fun or it takes too long, then you feel kind of bad about the rest.

*Instant and long-term gratification. Good games give you both. The character hopefully grows--not just in stats and abilities--throughout the story. Getting some kind of reward to make it feel like the characters efforts made them better coming out of the adventure than they were going in.  Grattitude of the NPCs, loot, a mysterious item or new information about the big bad all help to make things feel less routine.

* Unique challenges. Strong Villains, interesting NPCs, and even the trap and dungeon design should be tweaked in such a way that it doesnt feel rehashed--although much of it is...

In the end, it is the group dynamic that makes people want to come back for more. Normally you will have between 4 and 6 unique minds creating/playing these things. I am still amazed sometimes when I think of all the hours of entertainment that come from friends sitting around with nothing but books and dice...maybe a map and some minis...but thats it. Is there really anything else like it?

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RPG a Day Blog 2017: Day 11, 12, & 13 (catch up)

What dead RPG do I want to see reborn?

I would like to see the system from the DC Heroes to come back particularly 2nd edition. I remember having a lot of fun using the wheel that came with it. For the brief time that we played it my brother and I were in middle school and had that type of humor in our games. I remember Batman knocking out the Scarecrow with a well thrown piece of doggy do. I would like to see how a modern version of the same gimmick would play out...I may even look for a used copy on EBAY.

What RPG has the most inspiring interior art?

The games that I am pushing this year have great art work. Ryuutama perfectly captures the look of the Miyazaki films that it is inspired by. 7th Sea 2nd edition has amazing artwork, I wish that real history books were presented as well as these books are. I would read a lot more text books if they were presented in such a way.

Describe a game experience that changed the way you play?

Last year I wrote about the racist guy who inflitrated my old group years ago for a one-shot. That remains the biggest event to change the way I play...which is to beware of strangers. Unfortunately, the lesson that I learned this year is to load up on players if you want to run an online game. The sweet spot for gaming for me is a group of four players and one DM. To consistently get that, I find that I should recruit eight players initially and keep in touch with alternate prospects who have shown interest. My 7th Sea campaign did wind up with a core group of three who played well and showed up regularly--a fourth player left amicably with proper notice;)--the rest of the multitudes came and went through a revolving door. I finally had to pull the plug when my the last of my originals went back to university about three weeks before the grand finale. If I run a new camapaign for the 2017-2018 season, I will stack the players and try to bring a satisfying ending to campaign chapters every three months or so, and then assess the situation as to whether or not we should continue.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017: Day 23

Jaw-dropping Layout:

I like the layout of the Pathfinder Beginners Box. I think of it as the best starter set ever. I have yet to find any game layout to be perfect, but that one is pretty close. I have been singing the praises of 7th Sea 2nd edition, but layout is an area where they kinda dropped the ball. A begginer would have a hard time, and even I have problems finding certain information as easily as I should. Since Ryuutama is the other game I am trying to push, let me say that the layout is clear and very easy to follow, but it is not something that I would call jaw-dropping.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 10 (catch up)

Where do I go for RPG reviews?

Back in the old days it was hard to find reviews. New players today have YouTube for video reviews and countless message boards and websites to not only hear and see critical opinions, but to see games playtested. Since we all have varrying tastes in what we think is fun, the playthroughs can be very helpful. I will not name drop everybody I look at for reviews, but here are a few: I do watch Runeslinger even outside of RPGaDay blogs--I have not played it yet, but I picked up Leagues of Adventure--and horror--after seeing his reviews, I like the Dice Tower, Dwarven Tower, Dwarven Swiftbow, and Captcorajus--who gives in depth reviews of oldskool games, and deserves a lot more views than he gets.

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RPG A Day Blog 2017: Day 22

What RPGs are easiest for you to run?

I am easy going as a GM and prefer rules light systems with lots of player agency. I think those sorts of games take a lot of the weight off of the GMs shoulders. Having a rules lawyer at the table is usually a big help for me, but players who are prepared and familiar with the system that we are playing are an even bigger help. From October 2016 up until June 2017 I ran a weekly online campaign of 7th Sea 2nd edition. As long as my connection was good--and at least 3/4 players showed--running the game was fairly straight forward and usually fun.

#Sail_the_7th_Sea

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Days 8 & 9 (catch up)

The topics for days 8 & 9 are very closely related and perfect as a combined catch up post:

Day 8: What is a good game to play for a session of 2hrs or less?

My short answer would be with another question, Is there one? I think from my end of things running a 2hr or less has to be done with players who at least have some concept of what RPGs are and preferrably with prebuilt characters. I played an online session of 13th Age--a fantasy based RPG that needs more love--in which the characters were provided and we were able to clock in at just over two hours. I normally run three hour sessions--slightly more if the players want a complete one-shot story--no matter which system I am using. I think three hours with a little pre-start mingling and postgame cool down/recap is the sweet spot.

 Two hours is really tough. I have never run or particpated in the game--although I really want to--but my answer based on reading the PDF is the game Dread. It is a game wherein players fill out a sheet of simple questions to build their characters. The setting/genre is horror. All decisions are resolved using a Jenga set--you want to climb a shaky building? Your teenaged computer nerd may need to make three pulls whereas the athletic cheerleader could do it in one or two--if the tower falls...one of the players is dead--usually whoever is pulling. I dont think the game is in print these days, but the PDF is easy to get.

Day 9: What is a good game to play for just ten sessions?

Another tough question for which I will give an ambiguous answer. For any new system that the group is willing to try, ten play sessions is a nice even number. It would give most players time to see if they really like the game or not and it would give time in most systems for the characters to grow. It could be thought of as an introductory chapter in what could become a longer campaign. The story should be self-contained, but with hooks and whatnot so that you could continue if you wanted to. This would work for any game, and wrapping up a story with just ten chapters feels like an accomplishment rather than building all of these awesome characters dealing with intricate storylines, but likely ending before completion.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 7 (catch up)

What has been my most impactful RPG session?

What started my interest in the hobby was the Choose Your Own Adventure books, specifically the Time Machine sub-series book about dinosaurs. From there I began to read books from the main series as well as other series in the same style such as Wizards, Warriors and You and of course the Fighting Fantasy series of books. Around age 13 or so my interest in D&D was beginning to take hold. I had always liked the cartoon and wanted the toys, although they were too expensive/hard to find in my area when I was a kid. I must also point out that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe added to my interest in fantasy. 13ish year old me did pick up a D&D book of some kind, but I do not remember what it was, in any case I could not figure it out. One of my friends and I tried to play an original set owned by his father, but we just could not get it, and this leads me to the answer for todays question...

I was 14 or15 when my dad let my brother and I go to Dragon*Con in Atlanta GA. It has since become so bloated and over produced that it rivals San Diego Comic-Con, but at the time it was still up and coming. Anyhow, my brother and I were not savvy enough to follow any of the tracks or even go into the all day Anime and rare movie rooms. We more or less paid to go into the vast dealers room. It probably did not cost as much as it does today, I surely hope that my dad did not pay full admission price just for us to wander in the hotel for a couple of hours. Anyhow, I went to the TSR table and the rep there sold me on the Marvel Super Heroes game. I think they call it FASERIP today. I explained that I could not figure out D&D when we tried it, but that I was still interested and really loved superheroes. He ran me through a very short session playing as the Thing. No more than about ten minutes and it hooked me. I ran for my brother and his friend for years before finally moving on to Paladium Books--their superhero and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--and finally hooking up with a semi-regular D&D (and various other systems) group from around age 18 on.

So this one guy and his mini-session is more or less is to blame for my RPG addiction.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017: Day 21

What RPG does the most with the least words?

I will only be using a few words on this entry. I dont have a good answwer for this one as most of the games I have ever played are very wordy. Since I am pushing Ryuutama, I can say that it is fairly compact and consise and yet still good: A simple game that is deceptively complex. I guess most games do need to use lots of words, otherwise people will feel ripped off.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog: Day 6 (catch up)

You can game every day for a week: describe what you do.

The 43 year-old version of me would have a hard time gaming for seven days straight. I would be selfish and allow others to run the games in order to pace myself. I think I would enjoy playing a variety of different games as one-shots or possibly two-shots throughout the week. If it were possible, I would like to be in as many different groups as I could with little overlap between players and GMs. In short, I would act the same as I do at the mini-cons we hold in the UAE except that I would spread it out over the week instead of in just one day.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog: Day 20

Where do you go for out of print RPGs?

For PDFs you can get almost anything you want from the usual suspects online...depending on where your moral compass lies. Personally, especially with the long out of print books from companies that are out of business anyway, I will take a download where I can find it. Somewhere, sometime, somebody had to purchase the book, and it is not like I would be supporting a dead company or the original authors of the book by tracking down a copy from a reseller.

That being said, I like print copies better than PDF. I live and work in the United Arab Emirates, so 10/12 months, I have no used book stores to speak of. On the years when I take summer break in the States, I do have a local store which I visit, unfortunately, the guy who runs it is too saavy for his own good. Is it better to keep a used book @$20.00 and keep it on your shelf for years or let me take it off your hands for half that? This often leads me to search Ebay and Amazon. For the dozen or so readers I get, did you know that you can get many out of print items brand-new from Amazon? I do not know how they manage to do it, and most of the time the prices are better than you will find at the physical stores...unfortunately, for those of us who do work overseas, the shipping and handling is a killer. The struggles of a RPG player will never end.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog Day 19

The Best Writing?

I will give you three books that I enjoy:

Spirit of 77 by David Kizza and Bob Richardson:

The writers at Monkeyfun Studios are quickly becoming my favorites. They have a great sense of humor and fun, but also explain the gameplay mechanics in a way that is easy to understand. The setting is in a wild version of the 1970s, and the game is powered by Apacolypse. I have only run one session but everyone was into it, and I could see myself running a few one-shots or a short campaign with what is provided.

7th Sea 2nd edition by John Wick and various:

The 2nd edition series has so much good stuff in it that it becomes overwhelming. The core book has everything that you will need to play and run campaigns. I would like to credit the other writers, but my books are not with me, and Wick is captain of the ship anyway. I really enjoy reading the various books that have been released, but in this case there may be a bit too much of a good thing.

Ryuutama by Okada*Sanchez*Kitkowski

My favorite *newish* RPG to read. The layout is nice and fun to read, the rules are explained in a way that is easy to understand, and the flavor that is there will open your mind up to many ideas that you may overlook in the traditional American RPG. The book has been translated from Japanese, but is more a Japanese take on Western fantasy than Asian mythology, but if you do decide to read the book you will see immediately that there is something different--I say special--about it.

That is it for today. I know I am preaching to the choir--a small choir when it comes to my blog entries--but, I know I am not the only one who reads these rulebooks for pleasure. Sometimes I read books and I know right away that I will never be able to find players, but I keep reading them anyway....that is how good some of these writers are.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog (Day 3, 4 and 5 catch up)

Easy answers on these topics.

How do I find out about new RPGs?

Mostly on Kickstarter for brand new stuff and on the company official sites for product continuation. Last year I backed far too many projects. I hope to slow down on that this year.

What have I played the most since August 2016?

Gotta be a toss up between D&D 5E and 7th Sea 2nd. The live table for D&D and running an online Roll*20 game for 7th Sea. We played at least once a week aside from holidays in both campaigns. My DM managed to finish our D&D campaign on time before the big summer break...I very nearly completed my 7th Sea run just missing a couple of side quests and a treasure hunt before the group finally imploded....who knows what will happen 2017-2018 after summer break I will have to sift through the ashes.

Which RPG cover best captures the spirit of the game?

I am going to go with 7th Sea 2nd for this one. The cover artwork is very cinematic and makes one want to play in a swahbuckling adventure. The covers for most of D&D 5E material are pretty good too.

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RPG A Day 2017 Blog Day 18

What RPG Have You Played the Most in Your Life?

Wish it was not the easy/boring answer, but it has to be Dungeons and Dragons. As far as editions go--2nd edition and 5th edition have gotten the most playtime. I was on a bit of a hiatus during 3rd and a bit too young for the earlier editions of the game, but no doubt D&D has been the go to game throughout my life. I have tried other systems, ran other systems, and in certain ways found them to be superior to old reliable, but at the end of the day--unless you get lucky--most players can find common ground in D&D. Almost everyone has a PHB...not everyone is going to pick up a Ryuutama or a Spirit of 77 nor be inclined to learn a new rule-set even if they have access to the games. Is this a bad thing? It sometimes keeps me from getting to try something new, but quite frankly, I am always glad to get in gametime no matter how well-worn the game may be.

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RPG a Day 2017 Day 2 (catch up)

What RPG would you like to see published?

I backed too many kickstarters this past year. I am anxiously awaiting the publication of:


Goodman Games: Mutant Crawl Classics
Monkeyfun Studios: Bedlam Hall
Journey to Ragnarok--forgot the company, but it is Norse based campaign for D&D5E

This year I have vowed to stop backing theRse things...but only time will tell.

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RPG a Day 2017 Blog Day 1 (catch up)

I plan to catch up on questions that I missed this month and there is no better place to start than with Day 1:

What published RPG do you wish you were playing right now?

I have the feeling that I will be mentioning this game a lot over the upcoming blog entries. The game is Ryuutama. I was able to half-way run a one-shot back at Roll20 Con a couple of months ago. I wouldnt call it my finest hour as GM, but it was still a lot of fun. The game comes from Japan originally, but the setting is fantasy ala D&D. The journey from land to land is highly emphaised--and quite dangerous for the light-hearted tone of the setting overall. The combat/journey/character creation/city creation/world creation give opprotunities for both players and the gm to be as creative as they want to be. It gives the players agency, but not in an annoying way. I am giving serious though to running a full campaign using this system as the cornerstone for my next Roll*20 endeavors...that being said, I am not sure what my RPG schedule is going to look like for the 2017-2018 season, but I have the feeling I will be cutting back a bit, but that is possibly a discussion/opinion for another entry.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017 Day 17

Which RPG have you owned the longest but have not played?

With all the downloadable PDFs available today, I have virtual stacks of games that I have never been able to play. There is one game from the late 90s--if I remember correctly--that I still have around the house and still want to play. The name of the game: Tinkers Damn. It was/is a very open-ended rules light game that took place in an anime style setting. The book--independent publisher obviously--went for their own system and featured anthromorphic animal type characters the drawings of which were fairly decent, cute style. Generally speaking, the game was a bit unpolished leaving the players and GM plenty of room for improvisation and rule clarification. That might be the main reason we never played it. I would still like to give it a try someday.

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RPG a Day Blog 2017 Day 16

Just realized I was late to the RPG a day party. Running around on vacation in my home state of Georgia and various other venues as far away as Quebec has kept me away from my keyboard--not to mention that I am stuck using a little mini-tablet that I do not fully understand how to use--say goodbye to contractions. I will probably go back and address the previous topics as I have time, but for now it is day16 and--Which RPG do you enjoy playing as is?

I can play 5th edition as written with very little alterations needed. Nothing wrong with it. That being said, in every group I have ever run or played with every game we have ever played has been altered in one way or another. We often bring in rules that have worked well in previous editions--when it comes to D&D--and even from diverse systems. I do not remember a time--even playing straight board games as a kid with my brother--when we have not made an alteration of some kind.

Alright, feet are wet again. I will look over the list and see if I missed anything particularly interesting.

Mark

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