I wanted to recap the #RPGaDay2015 posts I made on Google+ this year, and since there is probably more than a little insight into how I RPG this seemed a good place to do it...
Day 1: RPG most looking forward to ... Shadow of the Demon Lord ... With the Savage Worlds Rifts adaptation being a runner up out of morbid curiosity. Why SotDL? It looks really different. Different is a good thing, especially in RPGs.
Day 2: RPG happiest to Kickstart ... Numenera, hands down easiest choice and most influential RPG on my past 2 years. Without Numenera you wouldn't be reading this blog, because there would be no blog. Without Numenera I probably would not have gone to GenCon last year of this year. I wouldn't be able to feel the pride in having my words published (even if only in a fan magazine thus far).
Day 3: Favorite new RPG in the last 12 months... Nominees include:
- The Strange
- AMP (years one and two)
- Riders
Day 4: Most Surprising Game ...I'm going to say Microscope, the history building game. I thought the idea of cooperatively creating a world history as a freeform RPG seemed a little interesting, but I had no idea how amazing it would be until I played it.
Day 5: Most recent RPG purchase ... Dungeon Crawl Classics. I "blame" my good friend +James August Walls for this because he runs some darn good games, including an excellent funnel on the Wednesday evening before GenCon. Also my time playing Enter the Dagon and Death by Nexus at the Con itself probably helped ...
Day 6: RPG Most Recently Played... Technically Dungeon Crawl Classics, but that is by literal hours. It could just as easily have been Cypher System Superheroes or 13th Age or even The Strange.
GenCon rocks by the way ...
Day 7: Favorite Free RPG ... Yikes ... this one is difficult. I try to try out a lot of games but I'm quite happy with the ones I have as well which downgrades my impetus to constantly check stuff out.
I'm going to cheat ... technically speaking ... and say that the Archmage Engine is probably my favorite RPG system that is also free. Its the rules behind 13th Age but you can get the SRD for free so ... you know ... free...
Cheating, yes, but still free, and has a bunch of really great innovations (of which I have started to use many in other RPGs).
Day 8: Favorite Depiction of RPGs in Media... This isn't a very easy one, as the choices are somewhat few and far between. Ultimately though I think I have to go with The Order of the Stick for being both an excellent homage to and and excellent parody of Dungeons & Dragons.
Day 9: Favorite media you wish was an RPG ... I'm assuming that this question is asking for media that have not had a prior and no longer current RPG (i.e. Star Trek, Babylon 5).
Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra - Pretty sure that I don't need to explain myself here, but ... crazy hybrid animals, active spirits, elemental bending, chi blocking pressure points, steam punk tech ... and some seriously gorgeous artwork to draw from.
Day 10: Favorite RPG Publisher... Man where does one start with this? Objectively? Subjectively? Just go with who makes your favorite system or setting? What about those companies you may not give much patronage to, but you agree with certain business practices they have?
steps off soapbox
Thankfully I can say that +Monte Cook Games has really impressed me since they started with an obscenely successful kickstarter in 2012. Thier KS's have hit their goal dates for release. They have put out product that is both wonderful to look at and to read. The cypher system has literally changed how I GM and spurred me to start my own gaming blog, and spurred me to start getting some of my writing published. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about them or their games.
It's "easy" to point to a publisher that you enjoy, or a product line, but authors are difficult in RPGs because things are seldom a one person effort.
So I think I'll cheat. I'm going to name two, and I'm going to name them despite not really being terribly fond of the game they created.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
I'm not super fond of D&D, but I am super fond of RPGs, and without their efforts I'd probably not have this awesome hobby to enjoy.
Day 12: Favorite RPG Illustration... wait, seriously? That's ... hoo boy, there's a lot to choose from.
I really don't want to cheat two days in a row here so I'm going to go way back to the first RPG I played, and the image that sold me on this weird game my friend wanted me to play.
The "red 'borg" from Rifts...
Day 13: Favorite
My choice is easy. Titansgrave was surprisingly fantastic. The first few episodes were a bit rough for me because they were playing heavy on the "let's make this welcoming to people new to RPGs" but as the show grew the story got deeper and the character's got more fleshed out. I think that it really hit the sweet spot for the first season and I can't wait to see what +Wil Wheaton and crew do for the recently announced second season.
Day 14: Favorite RPG Accessory ... dice! Need I say more?
Day 16: Longest RPG Session Ever Played ... was in college for sure ... almost 100% certain it was Nightbane ... and I would be guessing that counting a couple of brief respites for chow we were pushing 20 hours or so. But that was almost 15 years ago so I could be remembering wrong. I do remember being tired afterwards...
Day 17: Favorite Fantasy RPG ... umm. ok, let's hold on one sec and lay down some ground rules since "your favorite insert genre RPG" makes up the next 4 days of #RPGaDay2015
For the purposes of these next 4 days I am going to count an "RPG" as a published combination of setting and rules as a unit.
For the purposes of "fantasy" let's look at how Emmanuel Lewis Webster defines it:
fantasyOK ... not very useful ... how about Mr. W. I. Kipedia?
noun (pl) -sies
1. imagination unrestricted by reality, (as modifier): a fantasy world
"Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting."OK so apparently magic and the supernatural are what make fantasy, fantasy...
Luckily for me Sir Arthur C. Clarke famously said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." which is good because my choice right now would have to be ....
Numenera!
Why? Well Numenera is really meant to be played with the "science as magic" mindset and the setting evokes more "traditional" fantasy quite heavily.
Also, I love the Cypher System rather a lot.
Also, also, I probably could not have otherwise answered today's question/topic without "cheating".
Day 18: Favorite Sci-Fi RPG ... This one is a little difficult. I _could_ say Numenera again, but even though it technically is Sci-Fi it's tone more closely matches Fantasy. There are a number of potentials here: The Strange, Trinity (or as I prefer Æon), Shadowrun (kinda), Eclipse Phase, heck even Star Wars.
But I can narrow that down some. I have never played Eclipse Phase so no vote there. Shadowrun really has too much supernatural for me to call it a proper sci-fi genre game so it's out. Star Wars is out because I said so, and I have never done more than one-offs anyways so I really don't know how I would like the FFG versions over a campaign.
That leaves The Strange and Æon/Trinity. I have some fond memories from college of Æon, and there's a lot in there I like, but the system was clunky and made it hard to improvise with your kewl powerz.
While I haven't been graced with a lot of game time with it yet (my home group is in the early parts of the Dark Spiral) I already know I love the Cypher System (don't act surprised!), and the nature of The Strange's recursions can really open up some kinds of gameplay that are truly unique over the short and long term.
So, yeah, The Strange gets my vote. I know I sound like a MCG fanboy, and I probably am, but considering that this is an opinion based poll ... I don't think I need to defend myself :)
Day 19: Favorite Supers RPG ... Rather than equivocate I'm just going to call it now. DC Adventures from Green Ronin. This is basically just Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Edition with DC stuff slapped on top, but being that M&M doesn't come with a setting (the house setting "the Freedomverse" requires a copy of Emerald City or Freedom City) DC Adventures fits my mechanical needs with a well known setting.
Day 20: Favorite Horror RPG ... Honestly I don't play a lot of horror, it's not easy to run, or to play, because horror without the right mood and mindset is ... well it's fodder for some seriously funny stuff. Probably why Shaun of the Dead was so awesome. Anyway, my favorite RPG that is theoretically horror is Nightbane (or Nightspawn for those of us who think Todd McFarlane is a douche). Granted I've grown to really dislike the Palladium house mechanics, but there is something about the setting (written by C.J. Carella) and my fond memories of some awesome games in college that keep this game locked away in a secure corner of my heart.
Day 21: Favorite RPG Setting ... well crap, NOW this gets difficult. When any setting can be up for grabs regardless of the strength or weakness of its core mechanics the list of options to consider becomes positively voluminous. I do have one I can objectively put as my favorite: The Sixth World via Shadowrun. The mix of cyberpunk and supernatural doesn't work for everyone, but I love the setting, I love the options it gives you as a player and a storyteller, and I love that they have never looked backwards, never rebooted or reset, they have changed the mechanics 5 times over the years, for five major editions, and probably more changes if you can account for changes smaller than the edition over-hauls, but in all that time they have only ever continued to advance the story and universe, year over year. To me that is awesome because I have over 20 years of meta-plot adventures on top of the already impressive 70 odd years of back history.
To not mention some of my other favorites would make me sad. Therefore, in no particular order:
Day 22: Perfect Gaming Environment ... anywhere with comfortable seating, and adequate writing space. Bonus points for some degree of quiet and access to food and beverages.
Day 23: Perfect Game for You ... anything played with friends.
Day 24: Favorite House Rule ... I don't really have one. For me house rules are something to avoid. I've learned that I am not a better game designer than those who get paid for it (which is not to say I don't think I could be competent) and I have learned to give games a fair shake as written rather than house rule as soon as I find something. Over the long term I've learned more that way and seen that things that don't work are usually the result of not understanding a related rule, or the intent of the rule. Regardless I don't have one because I try to not need them.
Day 25: Favorite Revolutionary game mechanic ... I'm going to be a smartass here ... playing a single character/person in an ongoing game where you can advance and improve your capabilities. Basically the mechanic that changed war games into RPGs; can't get more revolutionary than that.
Day 26: Favorite inspiration for your game ... DeviantArt. I trawl that place almost daily for stuff to use in my blog, and a lot of those ideas make the slow trickle into my game-mind.
Day 27: Favorite idea for merging two games into one ... generally anything mixed with the supernatural works for me. Deadlands and Shadowrun being two of my more favorite settings (though I have not played much of either sadly). I also enjoy crossing post-apocalypse with other things. So post-apocalypse steampunk, or post-apocalypse wuxia. Heck I had fun running a post-apocalypse supers game (though it was more of a super-powers and not super-heroes game).
Day 28: Favorite Game you no longer play ... I'm tempted to say Nightbane which I stopped playing because I stopped being able to tolerate the Palladium rules system and I have yet to find a game that can easily duplicate the right feel of the game's characters. In a general sense that is accurate.
Specifically though I really miss a pair of Play-by-Post games from my time gaming by forum. The first was a supers game called "Future Imperfect", and the other was a supernatural teenagers traveling through dimensions called "The Academy". Both games died out due to player & GM availability but I had a pair of great characters for those games and some of the best dramatic RP through them. The folks who participated were generally all good writers and when you have a group of people who can craft words well and put the effort into it Play-by-Post can really shine in a way that games at the table cannot, by offering not just the surface level action and drama RP, but by giving a look inside the minds of the characters.
Day 29: Favorite RPG Blog/Website ... excluding my own? Heh, ok, fine. Probably the Cypher System communities on Google+ I've never found anything but helpful and supportive people.
Day 30: Favorite RPG Celebrity ... Wil Wheaton. Maybe it's cliche but he's doing a lot of good for the hobby right now. Hard to argue with that.
Day 31: Favorite non-RPG Thing to come out of RPGing ... Friends. Cheesy I know, but it fits.
Runners up:
AMP Year One & Year 2 - I haven't played so I cannot tell how the mechanics play, but the setting is really intriguing and reminds me a lot of what White Wolf was trying to do with ....
Aberrant - Which was a really terrible set of rules (yes, terrible) with a setting that was marred by WW's usual antics involving metaplot. It had promise but the execution kinda fell on its face.
Day 20: Favorite Horror RPG ... Honestly I don't play a lot of horror, it's not easy to run, or to play, because horror without the right mood and mindset is ... well it's fodder for some seriously funny stuff. Probably why Shaun of the Dead was so awesome. Anyway, my favorite RPG that is theoretically horror is Nightbane (or Nightspawn for those of us who think Todd McFarlane is a douche). Granted I've grown to really dislike the Palladium house mechanics, but there is something about the setting (written by C.J. Carella) and my fond memories of some awesome games in college that keep this game locked away in a secure corner of my heart.
Day 21: Favorite RPG Setting ... well crap, NOW this gets difficult. When any setting can be up for grabs regardless of the strength or weakness of its core mechanics the list of options to consider becomes positively voluminous. I do have one I can objectively put as my favorite: The Sixth World via Shadowrun. The mix of cyberpunk and supernatural doesn't work for everyone, but I love the setting, I love the options it gives you as a player and a storyteller, and I love that they have never looked backwards, never rebooted or reset, they have changed the mechanics 5 times over the years, for five major editions, and probably more changes if you can account for changes smaller than the edition over-hauls, but in all that time they have only ever continued to advance the story and universe, year over year. To me that is awesome because I have over 20 years of meta-plot adventures on top of the already impressive 70 odd years of back history.
To not mention some of my other favorites would make me sad. Therefore, in no particular order:
- Athas (Dark Sun)
- Earth after Dark Day (Nightbane)
- Freeport (A Pirate's Guide to Freeport)
- The Ninth World (Numenera)
- The Weird West (Deadlands)
Day 22: Perfect Gaming Environment ... anywhere with comfortable seating, and adequate writing space. Bonus points for some degree of quiet and access to food and beverages.
Day 23: Perfect Game for You ... anything played with friends.
Day 24: Favorite House Rule ... I don't really have one. For me house rules are something to avoid. I've learned that I am not a better game designer than those who get paid for it (which is not to say I don't think I could be competent) and I have learned to give games a fair shake as written rather than house rule as soon as I find something. Over the long term I've learned more that way and seen that things that don't work are usually the result of not understanding a related rule, or the intent of the rule. Regardless I don't have one because I try to not need them.
Day 25: Favorite Revolutionary game mechanic ... I'm going to be a smartass here ... playing a single character/person in an ongoing game where you can advance and improve your capabilities. Basically the mechanic that changed war games into RPGs; can't get more revolutionary than that.
Day 26: Favorite inspiration for your game ... DeviantArt. I trawl that place almost daily for stuff to use in my blog, and a lot of those ideas make the slow trickle into my game-mind.
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| Image Source: http://erikshoemaker.deviantart.com/art/Portal-to-the-Depths-of-Space-553424826 |
Day 27: Favorite idea for merging two games into one ... generally anything mixed with the supernatural works for me. Deadlands and Shadowrun being two of my more favorite settings (though I have not played much of either sadly). I also enjoy crossing post-apocalypse with other things. So post-apocalypse steampunk, or post-apocalypse wuxia. Heck I had fun running a post-apocalypse supers game (though it was more of a super-powers and not super-heroes game).
 |
| Image Source: http://sadizzm.deviantart.com/art/Deadlands-Reloaded-Marshall-Screen-412189828 |
Day 28: Favorite Game you no longer play ... I'm tempted to say Nightbane which I stopped playing because I stopped being able to tolerate the Palladium rules system and I have yet to find a game that can easily duplicate the right feel of the game's characters. In a general sense that is accurate.
Specifically though I really miss a pair of Play-by-Post games from my time gaming by forum. The first was a supers game called "Future Imperfect", and the other was a supernatural teenagers traveling through dimensions called "The Academy". Both games died out due to player & GM availability but I had a pair of great characters for those games and some of the best dramatic RP through them. The folks who participated were generally all good writers and when you have a group of people who can craft words well and put the effort into it Play-by-Post can really shine in a way that games at the table cannot, by offering not just the surface level action and drama RP, but by giving a look inside the minds of the characters.
Day 29: Favorite RPG Blog/Website ... excluding my own? Heh, ok, fine. Probably the Cypher System communities on Google+ I've never found anything but helpful and supportive people.
Day 30: Favorite RPG Celebrity ... Wil Wheaton. Maybe it's cliche but he's doing a lot of good for the hobby right now. Hard to argue with that.
Day 31: Favorite non-RPG Thing to come out of RPGing ... Friends. Cheesy I know, but it fits.
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