The Complete Series
Day 21: Which RPG does the most with the least words?
I’m inclined to say Lasers & Feelings and its various permutations. Character creation, base building, a core mechanic and an adventure generator… all on one page? Combined with plenty of room for improv play and player agency and you’ve got a punchy little RPG on your hands. I’ve never actually played the original Lasers & Feelings, but I’ve played a few of the hacks that have spawned from it. The system’s adaptability to different genres is one more point in its favor. What a versatile game!
Day 22: Which RPGs are the easiest for you to run?
I think there are two I can run with ease.
Savage Worlds: I’ve gathered a good bit of system mastery at this point, and Savage Worlds is well-suited for on-the-fly gaming anyway. In particular, it’s really, really easy to dream up stat blocks at the drop of a hat. I would prefer to have at least 30 minutes to prep a session in advance, but I’m pretty confident I could run an impromptu pickup game any time as long as I’ve got a set of dice, a deck of cards, and some scratch paper.
Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf: I’ve mentioned this game before a few times before. Based on the music video by Rob Cantor, Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf is a simple enough game that I had all the rules memorized by the second time I played it. All you need to play is a single d6 (5 tokens per player is ideal but check boxes on scratch paper works just as well). Plus, it draws on something close enough to the pop culture zeitgeist that it makes for a great gateway game into the hobby.
Day 23: Which RPG has the most jaw-dropping layout?
No question, City of Mist from Amit Moshe has the most amazing layout I’ve ever seen in an RPG. The full game doesn’t come out until November, but the Starter Set is available for free at DriveThruRPG. Seriously, look at this cover:
And let me just break it to you now: the interior is a pretty seamless transition from the cover. It’s like every page is a full-page piece of art with seamlessly integrated text. Behold the glory, mortals.
Day 24: Share a PWYW publisher who should be charging more.
This guy technically isn’t a PWYW publisher because he gives all his stuff away for free. That said, Richard “Zadmar” Woolcock is a wildly creative game creator and he should absolutely be charging for his products. His blog, Zadmar’s Savage Stuff, is full of awesome content for Savage Worlds. The real excitement, though, is the new system he’s working on.
Swift d12 is a system designed to accommodate games with lots of characters. Richard’s first setting for this system, Saga of the Goblin Horde, establishes the players as goblin gang bosses, each with several goblin minions under their command. It’s outlandish, zany fun, and the system Richard’s building to fuel it does a great job of providing space for tactical gameplay without getting bogged down in too much crunch.
You can check out the free Quick-Start playtest document here: Saga of the Goblin Horde Swift d12 Quick Start Guide.
Richard keeps telling me he wants to build up his audience before he tries to sell any of his products. With that in mind, check out the Swift d12 community on Google+ pronto! This guy absolutely deserves to be a professional game creator.
Day 25: What is the best way to thank your GM?
This is a really interesting question to me. First, I don’t think there’s a “best” way to thank your GM. There are lots of ways to say thanks, but I think at this point it’s nice to get thanks at all. Every GM is different, but the vast majority of the time the GM puts a lot more work into the game than the players. Maybe they create gorgeous terrain for the table. Maybe they spend hours setting up their adventures in Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds. Maybe all they do is prepare a quick scenario for theatre of the mind-style gameplay. Regardless, they put some work into making sure you all tell memorable stories together.
So how best to thank them? I’m not going to say it’s best to give them gifts or collaborate with them on the worldbuilding of the setting or what have you. Every bit of engagement and every form of “giving back” is valid. As for me personally? If my players really want to let me know they’re thankful, there’s nothing I love more than to find out that a game session has stuck with the players for days or weeks afterward. No experience in gaming is quite as cool as running a game on a Saturday, then hearing from a player on Wednesday that they can’t stop thinking about something that happened.
Day 26: Which RPG provides the most useful resources?
I’ve seen people say Dungeons and Dragons because its universe of resources is so vast. I’ve seen people mention Elthos RPG because of the Mythos Machine program developed by the creator. I don’t know what I’d choose for myself, but I know what criteria I would consider:
- How well do the resources facilitate character creation?
- How well do the resources facilitate adventure design (and how well do they facilitate gameplay at the table)?
- Are the resources equally valuable to beginners and veterans alike? Do they both teach the game rules and make it easier to interact with the rules?
- How affordable/accessible are the resources?
In my mind, the best resource is a tool that both teaches and facilitates without breaking the bank. It helps both the players and the GM. Does it seem like my list is lacking anywhere?
Day 27: What are your essential tools for good gaming?
I like to run a fairly stripped-down game. I’m happy to bring along the accessories needed to elevate a game from “good” to “great,” but generally I strive for lean excellence. Every RPG requires different tools, but there’s maybe 3 things I want to have handy no matter what game I’m playing:
- Dice: a standard set of polyhedrals with a few extra d6s covers the needs of 99% of games.
- Pencil: when I GM I’ll write out my pre-prepped notes in pen, but once I start gaming I need a pencil in my hand. Whether it’s to track HP or handle a quick retcon, I want to be able to erase what I’ve written.
- Notebook: I’ve kept a notebook handy for years now, and gaming is perhaps where I make most use of it. I prefer pages with a small square grid, so I can write on a horizontal line, sketch out a map, or any of a dozen other possibilities. Sometimes, games are simple enough that I’d actually prefer to write my character stats down in the notebook than having a character sheet handy.
Day 28: What film/series is the biggest source of quotes in your group?
You know… my groups don’t tend to do much quoting during the course of gameplay. There are plenty of jokes thrown around but they usually have more to do with clever wordplay (read: awful puns). Sure, there are movie quotes, but it depends on the genre we’re playing: LOTR, Princess Bride, or Game of Thrones for fantasy games; Star Wars, Firefly, or Star Trek for sci fi, etc. etc.