As I sit down to write this last installment of
#RPGaDay2019 I’m dreading the completion of this exercise. For some reason unknown
to me I find myself unmotivated to finish it. I feel like its wearing thin on
me. While doing weekly installments has been much better than daily it still
feels hard to complete. I shall persevere.
22. Lost- Perhaps this one is better suited to lost
in translation. There have been many times while playing games or even
conveying information via text that the meaning of my intentions get lost along
the way. During a game I interpret this as my lack of clue giving or lack of
properly describing the situation to the players. Online while responding to
posts on social media its quite easy for your intent to be misconstrued the
wrong way. This is just something that happens and you have to accept it.
23. Surprise- In game terms there is usually a
mechanic to “Surprise” the characters but what about surprising the players? I can
recall only one time I was surprised as a player and that was because I totally
wasn’t expecting a giant monster to come out of the water into the cultist
lair. It’s very hard to surprise players nowadays. We’re all gamers and like to
read so we all read the monster manuals. If I throw an Aboleth at a group,
chances are high that someone will know how to fight it. I’m going to take a
different approach with these types of things for my DCC Lankhmar game coming
up soon. I’m hoping I’ll at least creep out a player or two.
24. Triumph- Defeating a mighty evil against all odds
while the numbers are in the favor of your enemy. I can’t think of a time in a
game where I felt truly triumphant. Savage Worlds is more of a cinematic game
in my eyes which kind of takes away the triumphant victories. In Call of Cthulhu,
just surviving is considered a victory so being triumphant would have a
different meaning I suppose. I think in order to get that triumphant victory
feeling it needs to happen over the course of a long campaign. One in which the
characters are slowly achieving the overall goals to face the big bad guy with
setbacks at every step of the way. They have to feel like the objective is
hopeless yet achievable.
25. Calamity- Oh boy! I’ve been in many, many, many
games where calamity ensued. The one that sticks out most in my mind is the
encounter in my Irongate game. It’s the second session in a short campaign and
the characters come across an encampment. The scene is an old RV camper off to
one side with cages on another. Near the middle of the camp a woman is chained
to the ground while someone is sawing off her forearm. The players don’t quite
know it yet but these cannibals are the Fratelli family. One of the characters
decides to go have a chat with these fine people while the other 3 sit back and
watch what’s going on. Well, one of the 3 weren’t so sneaky and Sloth was sent
to check it out. Someone attacked Sloth and the one talking to the cannibals tried
to yank a shotgun away from Mama. Let’s just say that one character died, one
got captured, and the other 2 limped away to safety. I wish I could have recorded
that scene. It was a real fun one. Well, for me anyway. Hehehe.
26. Idea- They come from all over the place for me
but mostly movies and books. I have shelves full of books that I might never
play but I mine the information to use in other games. I’ve had a few good
ideas from podcasts like Finding the Narrative,
a podcast about FFG’s Genesys system (its their Star Wars game with the Star
Wars ripped out). Tony, Chris, and Stephen are very knowledgeable on the game.
27. Suspense- Now this is a good one. How do you
create suspense in a game? The easiest way is to end the session on a cliff
hanger (no token needed). My buddy Eric just did it to us a couple of weeks
ago. We were sitting in a local watering hole and after we gathered the needed
information we’re relaxing when some German soldiers enter. Of course, the only
one of us that speaks German decides this is a good time to go to the washroom.
The Germans are coming towards us and as I grip my Colt 1911 Eric ends the
session.
28. Love- I’m not a fan of toying with this emotion
in rpg’s. It usually just feels weird and other times it’s a cheap way to force
characters into action. Using the characters loved ones to force them into
performing acts is an old cliché. It shows lack of imagination of the part of
the GM. If the characters loved one is an active part of the story then it could
be okay to an extent but should be avoided.
29. Evolve- Some people say that games need to
evolve but I disagree. It’s the people who don’t like the game as it is that
say this. I’m sorry but if you feel that way then you need to find a different
game. Many people like the game the way it is and don’t need it to evolve into
something completely different. I also feel like publishers do this just to
make more sales. Look at D&D for example. No one can agree on which edition
is best. A lot of people love 5e and hate 4e. Some people liked 4e but the game
evolved because there was an overwhelming number of people who disliked it. Now
5e is out and they still haven’t produced any new content. All they’ve done is
convert old products to the latest edition and people are clamoring for more.
30. Connection- Isn’t this what the hobby is about?
Connecting with people around a table to have a good time. Sometimes those
connections get stronger as time goes on and other times they weaken. What
about connecting with your character. I’ve not experienced this but some view
their character as an extension of themselves and they grow connected to it. It’s
just a game folks. You should play some OSR type games where a character often
dies and you show up with 3 backup characters.
31. Last- A fitting end to the challenge. The last
thing I want to do is let people down. Scheduling an online game is hard enough
but cancelling at the last minute always disappoints me. I will always try to
let others know if I can’t make a game at least a few days in advance so it
irritates the heck out of me when others can’t do the same. Sometimes these
games are dependent on everyone showing up while other times it makes no
difference if a player can’t show up. There have been stretches of time when I
was only gaming once a month and when the GM cancelled at the last minute I was
really pissed off. So please try not to let other people down.
P.S. There are a lot of people over at the
Nerds-International community that put out great content and it wouldn’t have
been possible without Jaime Pierson. The Brewery is his show where
he does wargames, rpg’s, and reviews. Go check out his Youtube channel.
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