#RPGADAY Day Thirteen (Late)

What Makes a Successful Campaign?

First and foremost, I can't be GMing it. Seriously, I haven't had a game go past three or four sessions in more years than I care to admit. Now, to be fair, I'm not wholly to blame. My last few attempts have fallen afoul of work schedules, holidays, and an unplanned hospitalization. But after a while, it starts to weigh on a person.

So, with that in mind, I do have an understanding of what it takes to make a campaign work, even if I haven't succeeded in a while:

GM Dedication: This should be obvious. If the GM is unfocused, or uncommitted, the game is going to fail. Maybe not immediately, but sooner than later.

Player Buy-In: The player's have to be on-board as well. For the campaign premise, for the rules system, for making time to play, and for spending hours in the company of the other players.

A Regular Schedule: Every game I know that works long-term has a schedule the players and GM abide by. It's a part of their routine, not something they squeeze into their busy schedules. This is an aspect of dedication and buy-in, but it's worth calling out separately.

Rituals:  My Tuesday group meets for dinner at 5:45 (having hashed out the location earlier), eats until 6:45, then drives over to our venue (Rice University) and play until 10 PM. Meeting and eating helps us get the socializing and cutting up out of the way, but it also provides a nice secondary bit of continuity with the group.

Communication: Do I really need to say more about this? Nah. Communicate, nerds!

#RPGADAY Day 12

What Game Is Your Group Most Likely To Play Next, and Why?

Define next. Define group.

I'm on an extended (and completely amicable) break from my Tuesday night crew. Part is due to other obligations, but most of it is their heavy investment in Pathfinder. Currently the "A Game" is the final stages of "Rise of the Runelords," a campaign I played in for a considerable time, while the "B Game" a different adventure path, something having to do with winter. I played in a few sessions of that one, which was kind of when my exhaustion with Pathfinder really became apparent.

For the time being, Pathfinder is the only thing on the menu. There's discussion of other games (and I've mentioned a few I'd be willing to run), but until "Runelords" is done, there's not going to be serious discussion of anything else.

My Sunday group is on hiatus due to our DM having other commitments on his time. I offered to run something at my place (probably D&D 5e), though I haven't gotten sufficient buy-in from the players to put anything on the schedule. If I do go that way, I'd hope to use 5e to facilitate an old-school play approach, something my 5e folks don't have a lot of exposure to. I'm thinking about converting the dungeon out of the Holmes Basic box as a starting point.

In the meantime, I'm most likely to play FFG's "Rebel Assault" with my son this weekend. I bought it a few weeks ago and need to figure out how it's played.

#RPGADAY Day Eleven

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

I'm gonna cheat here, because I only played with this person twice, but his impact on my gaming was incalculable.  That person would be Aaron Allston.  I was lucky enough to GM a couple of Champions games he played in back in '92.  We had fun, and he was a blast to have at the table.  

Of course, his impact on me came from his work as a game designer. His Strike Force is still the Gold Standard for showing how to run a supers game.  Of course, his influence extends beyond Champions. He wrote "The Grand Duchy of Karameikos" for D&D's Mystara, one of my favorite adventure settings. His "Dungeon Master's Design Kit" is a brilliant (and underrated) step-by-step guide to creating adventures and campaigns. He also compiled the D&D Rules Compendium, no mean feat.

So, a bit of a cheat, but an honest one.

Honorable Mention goes to HERO guy, L. Douglas Garrett, who ran the "Justice, Inc." game that showed me how to run games in a cinematic fashion.

#RPGADAY Day Ten

Largest In-Game Surprise You Have Experienced

Probably that time Charon when tore his face off, as I noted a few months back in "Superhumans I Have Known (and, on occasion, been)":

Charon

Oh, man, Charon. This was in a campaign I was actually playing instead of running, so I got to see this stuff from that side of the screen. Charon claimed to be the figure from Greek myth. Claimed. Thing was, he was basically a happy-go-lucky, vaguely Mediterranean brick. Nothing about him said “Boatman of the Dead.” He talked like one of the “Wild and Crazy Guys” from that old SNL sketch. He was, frankly, kind of a joke.

Then, about six or seven sessions into the campaign, he got captured by Arnim Zola (yeah, really). He was very well-secured, his strength completely nullified. At that point, his player looked at the GM and said, “It’s time to drop the mask.”  He then proceeded to describe, in horrible detail, exactly how the flesh melted away from Charon’s body, revealing a bloody skeletal visage.  The skeletal form was a horrifying engine of destruction, and it broke Zola’s captivity with ease (also the dude’s mind). It was exactly the sort of unforgettable moment that makes me love gaming so much.

 Honorable mention goes to "Evil Universe Force" from the same article.

#RPGADAY Day Nine

Beyond the game, what's involved in an ideal session?

Food and some time to socialize.  My Tuesday crew meets at 6 PM at a pre-determined eatery for food and talk.  My Sunday D&D takes a break mid-game for dinner (sometimes just delivered pizza, but more typically our DM cooks for us and we throw in a few bucks each for ingredients).

When I run games at home, I prefer to time things so we can eat before or after the game. For me, the social element of gaming is super-important, but I don't want the socializing to untrack the game.

I also love to do themed snacks: dim sum when I'm running Feng Shui, that sort of thing. When we had our Dads & Kids 4e game, I bought a case of D&D themed sodas we served at a "Tavern" after the regular game stuff. Good times. 

#RPGADAY Day Eight

Hardcover, softcover, digital? What is your preference?

I like 'em all, so it depends on the product. PDFs are terrific for my Gamer ADD. I have hundreds of game books on my iPad, so I never find myself late for work and staring at the shelf trying to guess what I'll be in the mood to look at come lunchtime (yes, this used to happen).

But PDFs aren't the end-all and be-all for me. I love the physical aspects of a book.I like being able to page through one at random. I like being able to loan a copy to a friend without feeling like we're breaking copyright law. Also I'm in inveterate bathtub reader, something I won't do with my tablet. So, there are plenty of RPGs I own in both PDF and physical form.

Hardback versus softback is less of an issue. I'm more about the contents than the packaging. As long as it doesn't fall apart, I'm good.

#RPGADAY Day Seven

What aspect of RPGs has had the biggest effect on you?

The fact that I can't do it alone. I spent fourth through seventh grades at a high-dollar private school, on a faculty scholarship. I didn't fit in with those kids, who were from a different world of money and privilege. Like they say, the schools may require uniforms, but the kids still know rich from poor.

Nonetheless, after four years, I'd adjusted pretty well. And right about that time, my dad changed jobs, the scholarship went away, and I was suddenly back in public school for eighth grade.  Not the best year of my life, I can tell you that much.

The following year, I discovered my high school had a wargaming club. While we weren't playing RPGs yet, it was my first real exposure to a peer group that shared my interests (and economic status) in many years. As RPGs supplanted wargames, I found myself making friends, growing more confident, and much happier.

Throughout my life, my RPG hobby has been my one constant social outlet. Even my other hobbies (comics, SCA) grew out of interests I developed and people I met via gaming. Without it, I don't know who I'd be, but I suspect that person would be a good deal lonelier.