RPGaDAY 2016

It is August again and it is time for me to collect my answers from RPGaDay into a few massive post.

RPGaDay is a month-long celebration of gaming via a series of questions about our gaming habits, stories and ideas. This week I'll present the first half of the month's questions (the 1st through the 16th). Tune next week for the rest.

August 1: Do you prefer to use real dice, a dice application or program, or use a diceless system?

I've used all of the above, though given the choice I will generally go with real dice when interacting with others. If it's just me, I'll use an app (it's faster when making lots of rolls - like monster hit points or tracking an NPC investigator's progress) or some alternate randomizer (I really like my Story Forge deck for developing character motivation and personality).

August 2: What is the best game session you have had since August 2015?

I've run and played a number of games since then. The session that stands out over the last year is the finale of my Night's Black Agents game which featured a car chase through Paris with hordes of rats, a helicopter rescue from a biomedical R&D facility, a fight with a vampire in a private jet over Siberia, and the nuclear scale explosion of the conspiracy leadership.

August 3: What is something you have done with your game character that you are the proudest of?

Keeping it to the last year.

My murder board that I used to work out the culprit and the overall plot for the first (and perhaps only) story arc for a Vampire: the Requiem Elders game I played in.

A runner-up would be an Amber Mini-LARP where I managed to get on the good side of every faction vying for the Throne of Chaos, with each offering me exactly what I wanted.

August 4: What is the most impressive thing that you can remember another player’s character doing in a session?

Again sticking to the past year.

There were plenty of great moments in my Night's Black Agents thanks to a preponderance of explosions and the Preparedness skill. My favorite incident was Alec's character Nasir after Filching the MacGuffin from under a master vampire's nose was unexpectedly hurled out the 60th story window of a skyscraper (with the item) and then used his hidden wingsuit to fly to safety.

August 5: What story does your group of players tell about your character?

I can't really think of any. Stories about characters, I find, are mostly told by their players or their gamemasters. Unless it was really embarrassing for the player.

So instead I'll answer my first Bonus Question: If there were an ‘ice cream truck’ delivering RPG sessions, what ‘flavors’ would you like yours to carry?

Clearly "occult mystery" would be a popular flavor, along with "disturbing dreams", "difficult choices" and "thriller action". "Science fiction conundrums" would also be nice to have.

August 6: What is the most amazing thing that you know a game group has done for their community?

I know that a lot of gamers have contributed to help out developers who have fallen on hard times (illness and financial hardship) which I think is awesome.

On a more local level, my friend Mike has run game sessions for the neighborhood teens who come to the library he works at. It might not be charity per se but I think it is a wonderful contribution to the community.

August 7: What aspect of Roleplaying Games has had the biggest effect on you?

There are many positive qualities about gaming and I think they have all had an effect. But if I think back to my days before gaming (a long time ago in a state far away...) I'd say the biggest effect came from the friendships and social aspects of the game. I was a very awkward child and I think the venue to practice and expand my social skills has been very good for me.

August 8: Do you prefer hardcover, softcover, or electronic books? What are the benefits of your preference?

It depends.

Hardcover is ideal for presenting on a shelf, so I favor that for kickstarter products and books I own for show.

Softcover and hardcover have the advantage of not ruining my sleep cycle if I read them close to bedtime and being easier for me to pick up and put down to read.

But really I favor electronic books. I like being able to cart around a library in a tablet, to cut and paste sections for easy reference, and easily searching for key words.

August 9: What things are a part of your ideal session, other than the actual game?

Player participation. When the players bring their A-game, making in-character jokes instead of quoting Monte Python, create cunning plans (either on the spot or as the result of careful planning between sessions), and embrace risk and failure then the game becomes perfect.

It also helps when I recall all the rules and plot elements as I need them.

August 10: What was the largest in-game surprise you have experienced?

I've had many over the years. Here are a few recent ones.

When my players hijacked the genetically enhanced vampire's plane in my Night's Black Agents finale, that was unexpected. It was a brilliant and unexpected way of isolating the monster while also figuring out where the vampire leadership was.

As a player when my Changeling faced down the former Queen of Spring in what he was sure was his final fight and not only won but destroyed her epically in the middle of a prison mess hall, that was unexpected.

August 11: Which gamer that you have played with has most affected the way that you play?

Most of my 'style' comes from years of hard work and a lot of reading. While I have learned from other gamers it has mostly been in what not to do. Sticking to positive answers I'd go with my friend Mike whose sandbox/improvised style inspired me to break out of my highly planned epics.

August 12: What game is your group most likely to play next? Why?

My major run of trying new games just concluded so the most likely new games will be variations on the current and immediately previous systems. Bubblegumshoe (tweaked to horror) is likely (Stranger Things has inspired me to revisit some old game ideas and this is a good fit), Time Watch is waiting for a slot and inspiration to align (I've had material for a time travel game lying around for almost a decade), and Urban Shadows just needs the right group (because I love the debt mechanics).

August 13: What makes a successful campaign?

The crucial elements are player buy-in (if they are not in it for the long haul it will never work), personal enthusiasm (because that will fuel your game and your players' enthusiasm), and regularity (which helps with both of the above). A fourth element is a healthy dynamic between the players (including the GM). I've never seen a game with all of those facets die and rarely seen one without them succeed for long.

August 14: Who would be on your dream team of people you used to game with?

That's my current on-line group! Grace (my best player from college), Mike (my best player from the period between college and grad school), Sarah (my favorite from grad school), plus Alec (one of the better players from high school). It would be interesting if I could include Mark from high school (adding another leader to compete with Grace and Alec) and either or both of Keren from my Champaign days and Robby from my Benicia period (both of whom tend to contribute material between sessions like Mike).

August 15: What types or source of inspiration do you turn to most often for RPGs?

I rely on two main options for inspiration: music and movies.

For music I like to plot and prepare for a session with a specific sound track constructed for the game in question.

Movies I use to brainstorm plot ideas and cool visuals.

August 16: What historical character would you like in your group? For what game?

I can't say that I've ever thought about this. I'm not very interested in interacting with very many historical personages in general, let alone gaming with them. Ideally I play with friends and failing that creative people. That plus the reality of people rarely measures up to the legends.

Tossing Lovecraft into an Eclipse Phase game sounds hilarious however so let's go with that