Seeing people

People, sitting together, sharing food, not buffering at any point. It was weird. But nice.

CHVRCHES, Screen Violence

CHVRCHES, new album, kind of angry, bit spooky.

Inaugural gig held in the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. C-bomb and all, because we're like that as a people. Part 1, part 2.

What We Do In The Shadows season 3

What We Do In The Shadows season 3 features a common event in every Vampire LARP, the PCs end up as the Primogen by accident.

J: And they're almost always horrible at it

Me: With ten episodes in each season, they'll probably be there longer than most PCs in positions of power.

#RPGaDAY2021

#RPGaDAY2021 prompts for talking about RPGs throughout August.

1: SCENARIO

I hardly ever use published adventures, partially because I hardly ever run games that have many.

2: MAP

If I provide a map for a location, I expect that location to be A Very Big Deal.

3: TACTIC

In a fight I'm much more likely to go for cool than effective. I do my best to tell players this in advance.

4: WEAPON

I like a magic sword, but the most effective weapon I used in my last game was a well-aimed high heel stomp.

5: THRONE

I have actively avoided becoming Prince or taking another title in various Vampire games. Maybe in a game where that was the idea, but definitely not in a game with a big player group like a LARP or chat. Too much pressure and too many assassination attempts.

6: FLAVOUR

Like a recipe, my game will be different than yours, and a game with the same GM will feel different with different groups of players too.

7: SMALL

One of the nice things about really large RPGs like chats is that you can play small side things. New Bremen is the only place I've gotten to use Mummy: The Resurrection, let alone play a high school kid in the World Of Darkness.

8: STREAM

I imagine you could talk about small rivers here, but... … See more

9: MEDIUM

Tabletop, distanced tabletop, LARP, chat, PBP, they all have advantages and disadvantages. My love for New Bremen comes in part from how it encouraged personal stories advancing on a nightly basis.

10: TRUST

You don't have to trust the other player characters, in some games you really shouldn't. You should be able to trust the other players to have an enjoyable game though.

11: WILDERNESS

I don't run or play a lot of wilderness adventures, more a fantasy thing than my usual genres.

12: THINK

It's always nice to think of something and have it work. Sometimes you have to consider if your PC would think of it though. Perhaps you can pass an idea to the player of a more suitable PC, which is easier in games where you can break character to do so.

13: FLOOD

I haven't played some games in my collection that now have new editions.

14: SAFETY

RPG safety tools are a really positive addition to gaming, and not just for making some people it's best not to play with tell on themselves.

15: SUPPLEMENT

There are some great RPG supplements out there, and electronic publishing means they don't all have to hit a specific page count.

16: MOVE

I loved this little bit of worldbuilding in the pilot for Buffy.… See more

17: TRAP

Technically it's an ambush, Admiral.

18: WRITE

Playing by text feels very different than face to face. Even live chat lets you consider word choice. It also helps with typing speed!

19: THEME

It's good to discuss intended themes in an RPG, especially a big one that doesn't have a narrow theme built in.

20: FOUNDATION

RPGs are good for socialisation, confidence, arithmetic, problem-solving, spelling, and usually mythology and the like.

21: SIMPLICITY

I like RPG systems that I can, y'know, understand.

22: SUBSTITUTE

Using a different system than published will result in a different feel. Which may well be the point of doing so.

23: MEMORY

I have fond memories of games from decades ago. (Hello New Bremennnnn!)

24: TRANSLATE

Moving from tabletop to chat, PBP or LARP is like translating stories, not just technical writing. What works in the new style?

25: WELCOME

I try to be welcoming to new players and not drown them in lore and jargon. I may not always succeed.

26: THEORY

The Gamist/Narrativist/Simulationist theory works as shorthand and in short pitches, but as Eddy Webb notes in his "Your Game Sucks" presentation people move around.

27: FRACTION

Being a small part of a big game feels different than being the players in a small game. The sense that the world really isn't all about you fits some games, not others.

28: SOLO

One-on-one and small groups can make for the best dramatic play. Of course it depends on players being available.

29: SYSTEM

If the character sheet is more than one sheet that's a no-no.

30: MENTION

Always nice to see somebody refer to me regarding gaming.

30: THANK

Thank you to GMs, players, writers, artists, publishers and all.