Recently I posted about my interest in running a Vampire the Masquerade game. I’m reading the 20^th anniversary book and all sorts of idea are percolating in my head. One of them is how to bring all the characters together. Games such as Vampire where characters have so many built in conflicts it can be particularly difficult, but this consideration is important for any game. Unless all you adventures begin with “You are all together in a bar…”

For the Vampire game I have been considering various options:

• The characters are all neonate vampires, recently embraced but their siresare nowhere to be found. Then there are two options stemming from this…
  • The characters are all from different clans, adding to the mystery, why would such a diverse group of vampires embrace these people and disappear?
  • Or perhaps they are all Caitiff, maybe even fourteenth generation.
• All the characters share a common benefactor an autarkis who the character’s sires all owe favors. He or she has taken the characters under his wing. But why?

 Those are just two ideas, but by their very definition they will limit the options available for players from the get go. Be it for Vampire or many other games I feel some trepidation when I do this. I understand that limiting character options can establish the tone and feel of the campaign, and if this comes out from an open discussion and agreement between all parties, players and game master, it can be a great thing. But when it’s a unilateral decision it can be frustrating.

Mind you I have done it, and when I play fantasy, which is a genre I play so often and that we have played so much, placing limits doesn’t quiet bother me as much. The players have tried many options in fantasy games. And even then if the player has some really interesting concept that may stretch these limits I’ll consider it.

Let me explain my rationale. I am a firm believer that all parties in a game should have fun, and for many players making the character they envision is part of that fun. Playing just what you want, within the limits of the game, can be terribly exciting and satisfying. If as a GM I limit these options from the beginin, then I am truncating the fun even before the game begins. As a GM I should be able to account for different player styles, interest and character types.

And then there is the fact that when we get to play Vampire it will more than likely be a short mini-campaign, in a game I have not previously run, and which many players have not played. I think limiting their options may shortchange them from the Masquerade experience. So I’ll find a way to bring the characters together without limiting them rule wise. As a Storyteller that will be my responsibility.

How do you feel about limiting player options? How do you go about it? I’d love to know!

PS – I didn’t even notice that my previous post was number 200. Wow how time flies. Thank you all for reading!

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a Gamer: Dungeon Mastering
2. Powerless player
3. Player Advice: Make your character come alive!

Let’s look at the most obvious ones. I read a whole lot more because of gaming. I was already an avid reader before discovering rpgs, but the games introduced me to all sorts of different authors and influences I might not have discovered where it not for the game. I became a better storyteller and developed both my oral and written communication skills due to the game, during face to face interactions as part of the game or when I sat down to write a handout or other game related document.

I can’t say I learned English because of games, I already had a pretty decent grasp of the language, but I know many friends who improved their language skills thanks to gaming. On a recent discussion in the Puerto Rico Role Players group we were talking about how being a good Game Master had much in common with being a good teacher and how that has helped me in my line of work. I really believe that my interpersonal skills, something I rely on daily in my line of work, are better because of the game.

Then there is the ongoing learning… I find myself researching ideas and concepts for my writing (game related and otherwise) all the time. My creative endeavors (and role-playing games is a big chunk of that) mean I am constantly searching for ways to learn more, and more effectively. Readying articles on Wikipedia still seems odd to some people (probably the same ones who thought it was odd to read the encyclopedia for fun!), but recently I have been using the Kahn Academy more and more.

The Kahn Academy is a non-for profit that has existed for a while now (and you can read all about it on this Wikipedia page), and while I knew about it, I had not really used it that much. Then I ended up going to it to look at the Brain Teasers videos thinking I could use some of them for my games, but ended up watching many more videos, and it the process learning about many new things, some I had little interest before.

There are a lot of math and science videos, but even those can be useful for a gamer, specially if you are working on a sci-fi game, I particularly like their History section, great for giving context for historical games for your history-challenged player who might know the timeline of Krynn but might not know if the Wall Street Crash of 1929 happened before or after the Vietnam War. And that anecdotes my friends really happened!

So that’s a recent tool I’ve used to brush up my knowledge, much being applied to my current and future campaigns, such as the Cosmology and Astronomy area for my upcoming sci-fi game. What tools do you use for research when you game?

Related posts:

1. Learning to say no…
2. Fighting the good fight…
3. It’s a good time to be a supers fan!

I have talked about food in games before, but this is a different situation, the master of the Gordopletas© needs to loose weight. And I am not remotely thinking that the junk food I eat once night a week is responsible for my unhealthy eating habits. I need to exercise more, eat more responsibly. But in past experiences, and lets face it many of us have been there, I can pinpoint that I keep my diet for most of the week and then come game night I drink too much soda, eat too much chips and candy.

So I come to you dead reader, how do you do it? What tricks have worked for you? I plan on getting back on the healthy eating wagon and I’d sure like to plan ahead.

Related posts:

1. Ask the Readers: What do you eat at the gaming table?
2. Ask The Readers: Netbook at the gaming table
3. Food & Games

Luckily my players are very patient with me and haven’t run away yet. Sometimes they share my excitement for the shiny new game I want to try out and so everything is fine, but I often get the nagging feeling that I never actually ran a great campaign. So what do I consider a “great campaign”? It’s the one campaign you remember for many years, that you and your friends always reminisce about when you meet. A friend of mine ran a Rolemaster campaign for us, back when we were still at the university. Even though we met an unfortunate end and the campaign didn’t end as the GM anticipated we had a blast.

So why is it that I can’t seem to see a campaign from start to finish? I think one of the reasons is that while I love to create worlds, characters and rules, my stories are usually not so well thought out. When it comes to adventures I am often sloppy and only my talent at improvising and acting out characters saves the day. The other reason is definitely the aforementioned GM attention deficit disorder that makes me want to run new games every other day.

I recently had some ideas for a fantasy setting I would love to use as a basis for a campaign. One part of me thinks it should go through with it, flesh it out, think about adventure ideas or perhaps turn it into a sandbox game. But another part of me fears that it might be another failure – a game that I start to abandon as soon as the next idea comes along. Of course I could start working on it either way. Even if I never run the game myself, perhaps my notes are useful for someone else.

The end of the year is approaching and this is often a time when people look back on what they did in the year that lies behind them. But you also make plans for the new year. And when it comes to gaming, I am not that happy with how 2011 turned out. I had great plans that fell flat for the most part. That’s why I would love to start something great in 2012. After all if the world is truly ending next year, it’s the last chance I got, isn’t it.

Related posts:

1. Unfinished business
2. The RPG Blog Alliance is now open for business!
3. Are mini-campaigns the solution?

I’ve been lucky to use many of those ideas; my last few campaigns over the last 4 years have been the realization of finally using those ideas. That’s why I keep notes, play with the ideas every so often and write them down. I’ve found that helps.

But this post is NOT about this, it’s about something else…

As I sat here pondering about future games my mind wondered to role-playing genres I have not played or game mastered. Fantasy has always been my poison of choice, much like Youseph mentioned he plans to do with his group on his recent post, we typically play long fantasy campaigns, peppered with interludes of other genres.

(Mind you since 2007 I believe at least half of those 5 years have been spent playing non-fantasy games so our tastes just may be changing, but this is an analysis for another day!)

Going down the list fantasizing about all the games I will be running from now until we sit around the table at the old role-players home, there are some genres I really have NO idea what I would run. This is the dearth of ideas I speak of in the title (not meant as a commentary on, the industry or anybody in particular, might seem as stating the obvious, but let me put it out there for clarity’s sake!), let’s look at the games:

Westerns: I actually ran a con game in this genre not too long ago. (You can read about it here and here!), and Weird West is a great game that really got my creativity going, but I must admit that after that game I have found it difficult to come up with new ideas. Some of the gamers that played have suggested we should play Weird West again, but I cannot come up with other ideas. I have seen a lot of westerns, this is not my favorite genre and for the longest time I avoided westerns after overindulging in my childhood. Still there are some excellent movies and series made in recent years, but I cannot come up new ideas to play a western.

Military: I’ve played some pseudo-military games, but never a hardcore, realistic one. What do I mean by pseudo-military? Well it’s the type of games that plays lip service to the conventions of military organizations, i.e. players are soldiers or officers and the military provides equipments; but in reality there is no realistic approach to how these “soldiers” interact with the organization they work for. There is a reason for this; I am not a military man, and my knowledge of the organization and chain of command is more based on pop culture that reality. I don’t think I could make a realistic military game seem right. The only game if this genre I have player was Twilight 2000, and the GM managed to make me feel like this was the depressing aftermath of war. As good as he was as a GM; this was not my favorite game. I guess there are no ideas here because I am not that interested.

Espionage: And this one is the one I mind the most! I love spy movies, since childhood and still as an adult. Smart political thrillers, conspiracy riddled cold-war dramas, silly spy romps, they all lure me in. Today the SyFy channel was showing their Bond marathon and I could not pull myself away… And I’ve watched all these movies many times. I have several espionage themed role-playing games, Top Secret S.I., Spycraft, even the James Bond 007 rpg, but for the love of me cannot come up with campaign ideas.

I have given this some thought, all my ideas seem to be appropriate for a single spy, or even maybe a very small group (a leisure I cannot afford). I cannot really conceive of a scenario where my 7 players all have something to do. Sneakers is perhaps the best example of the type of adventure I should be thinking of, but I cannot really come up with ideas for a spy game. And I want to play one; I know I would love to set it during the Cold War, in the 80s. I just need ideas to actually play a game…

So those are the thoughts that run through my mind tonight. What about you? What are the genres you cannot come up with ideas for, any suggestion to get my juices flowing on these genres, specifically the espionage one?

Related posts:

1. Campaign Primer Ideas! Part 2
2. Campaign Primer Ideas! Part 1
3. Why do I design games?

I took my quest to the next level. I pored through just about every single RPG book and PDF I have collected in the last three years since I got into table top RPGs. It’s a shockingly large amount of material I have collected. I focusing my time on reading how each different RPG handles character creation and game mechanics as those are the areas I have issues with in the RPGs I have played.

The truth is, I didn’t know what to look for, but I will know it when I see it. I wanted simple character creation with lots of choices for races and classes. Something that would fit on one piece of notebook paper old school style. You should not need several sheets of paper and index cards to build your character and track all of their powers. To me that is no longer a pen and paper RPG. It’s something else that I don’t think the hobby has developed a name for.

I also want simple gaming mechanics. When I first started playing RPGs with my friends it was, for me and everyone else at the table, all about rolling dice. We all eagerly awaited our turn to roll dice. Now that our dice addiction has subsided we have all learned that the story is the most important part of any RPG. I would like to find a game where the conflict resolution, from jumping over a pit to slaying a dragon, to intimidating a Non Player Character (NPC), is solved quickly by a dice roll. Where I don’t have to memorize or keep large tables of numbers.

As I near the end of my quest. As I finish up reading through the last few RPGs left on my book shelf, I have resolved to the fact that I will not find this perfect game. I don’t think it exists.

I don’t view my quest for the perfect RPG as a total failure either. With each RPG I read through I gain knowledge about RPGs in general. I learned that even though not one RPG fit 100% into what I was looking for I did find a handful or so that appear to be very close. Of these books I am going to go back and dig deeper into them before settling on one that will be my gaming groups next RPG.

The games I found to be top contenders for my group are:

• Old School Reference and Index Compilation (OSRIC) [FREE]
• The red and blue box original Dungeons & Dragons.
• Castles & Crusades
• Serenity
• GURPS

My game plan is to stick with a medieval fantasy game (OSRIC, Dungeons & Dragons, or Castles & Crusades) as my group’s main game while tossing in the occasional one-off of something like ‘Serenity’or ‘Ghostbusters’ to just give me as game master a change of pace and a chance to recharge.

I wrote this post to not only share my experience with you, but to hopefully start some good conversation in the comments section. I would love to hear what anyone has to say about finding the best RPG out there.

Related posts:

1. Other Videogames That Should Be Turned Into Pen and Paper RPGs @ allgeektout
2. Free Stuff Friday: John Kim’s FREE RPGs ON THE WEB
3. Fighting the good fight…

But for some reason I am still intrigued by a D&D-based game: Gamma World. The new Gamma World introduces another element I usually don’t like in RPGs and that are the collectable power cards, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that this game could actually be fun. From what I’ve seen it could be a great beer & pretzels game that you can play with a group of friends when you’re taking a pause from your regular campaign or when you are just in the mood for a wacky post-apoc game with anthropomorphic animals and weird mutations.

The game box is not particularly expensive and most of the reviews I’ve read indicate that it’s actually pretty good. A few people even suggested that Gamma World is actually the better D&D.

But before I make a decision I wanted to ask you, my trusted readers, what you think about Gamma World. Have you played it? If so, did you like it? Is it possible to run a game in a bit less wacky setting if you wish to do so? What are your experiences with Gamma World? Please share your thoughts below!

Related posts:

1. Review: Gamma World
2. World Building Part 3 – Getting Started with World Tone
3. World Building Part 9 – The Don Draper School of World Immersion

So what’s the idea behind this new feature? You can send in your questions and the team of Stargazer’s World will try to answer them to the best of their abilities. You have a question about an existing or upcoming Stargazer Games product? Ask away! You want to know what we think about a recent development in the RPG industry? Send in your questions. You always wanted to know what we think about game X? Send us an email.

Of course this will only work with your help. So please think about what you want to know and send your questions to askthestargazer@stargazersworld.com! Please note that it may take a while until we publish our first “Ask The Stargazer!” post here. And if it’s possible try to keep questions short and to the point.

So what are you waiting for you? Send us your questions!

Related posts:

1. Update on the status of “Ask the Stargazer!”
2. Support the Stargazer!
3. Ask the Stargazer: WTF Edition

That being said I have enjoyed sitting on the other side of the screen form time to time. Since I usually talk about being a GM I thought it would be nice to turn the table and talk about being a player for a change. This is not a post about an NPC (although you could certainly turn him into one) but an actual character concept I developed for a game.

One caveat, I remember the character concept but the exact moment it materialized is lost in time. I recall the concept, not all the fiddly bits of how it germinated, so I apologize to my friend Luis who was there when the concept emerged if I mix up the memories. This is the story how I remember it.

Back in the days of AD&D, 2^nd edition I believe, we were preparing for a new campaign. We were supposed to roll up wet behind the ears, young, potential heroes living in an out of the way village, whose life would change when adventure came their way, in the end, the typical cliché. As much as I wanted to play this campaign I balked at the idea of another young farmer or blacksmith’s apprentice turned hero. I began to think, what other option do I have? And this is what I came up with.

I decided to play the town’s old drunk! The permanent fixture in the bar night after night, slovenly, perpetually inebriated, telling stories of past glories and conquests no one believes. Little respected, often derided, willing to humiliate himself for a drink. No one takes his stories seriously, but little do they know this old man was once a great hero!

I had not fixed on just what his past glories might have been. Perhaps he was once a powerful adventurer that amassed great wealth, maybe a soldier of renown who lead armies to victory and was hailed as the savior of a city of small kingdom. Knowing specifically WHAT he did was not necessary; it was enough to know he wasted his money and drank himself to poverty and disgrace. Leaving behind the people and places that reminded him of his failures he simply wandered off, forgotten and dispossessed.

Along the way he had lost the skills and vitality that had once made him a great warrior. As the campaign began, when this sleepy little town would face dangers unheard of in a generation (I was not sure what it would be but it only made sense), would this broken old man rise up to the challenge?

My idea was to roll up this character as a 1^st level character, representing not so much his inexperience but more his lack of practice, the ravage of time on his body, the effects of drinking on his health. Since AD&D had rules for older characters I asked if I could modify the character for his age. Of course it would mean a reduction in his physical attributes, but his mental attributes would get a boost.

I wanted to play him as a broken man, with little self control or sense of worth. Faced with hardships and new challenges this would be his chance at redemption. Would he make it? That was part of the challenge. As I envisioned it, as he went up in level, it would represent him regaining his abilities thought practice, honing his skills back to the way they used to be. Finding out if he would make it or would fail along the way would have been half the fun!

You know what the sad thing is? I never got to play this character. I don’t even remember the name I gave him. The GM never ran the game and my character concept was unused. Thinking back now I like the name Adophus de Ruvan, simply known as Old Adoph around town. I need to find a way to play this character…

I would love to make him for the Pathfinder RPG, Savage Worlds or even Warrior, Rogue & Mage… I can see him is three stages, as a beginning character, old broken inexperienced because he has lost all he was. As a mid level character, having recovered some of what he was, not as strong or nimble as he was in his youth but wiser, smarter but still hunted by his vices and doubts; and then as an experienced character, a warrior living his last years with dignity and the skills that once made him great, fighting the good fight, perhaps for the last time…

How would you stat Adoph? I would love to see our readers take on the concept, for any system you’d like to stat him up, any takers? You can either post him in the comments or send it via e-mail at sunglar@hotmail.com

If someone takes me up on the challenge I’ll post your versions in a follow up post! Thanks for reading.

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1. Improve Your Game: Character creation as a team effort
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3. Starblazer Adventures: Our character creation session

Before I had a smart phone I had downloaded and listened to the odd podcast, mainly something featured in an internet post, and the first gaming podcast I ever listened to was Fear the Boot and it was their first Ryan Dancey interview. I downloaded a few more episodes, but listening to them on the laptop didn’t work for me, I always had something else to listen to. When I got my smart phone I began to explore the podcasting options out there.

The first one that really got me was The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack. I was really into it for a while, but with the bad taste the end of the series left in my mouth (let this be a lesson to you, never lick your TV, no matter how good the series is!) I quickly stopped listening, they have some other themed podcasts but they never caught my fancy.

Then I dipped my toe into gaming podcasts when I joined a gym and once again began to listen to Fear the Boot. Alas going to the gym didn’t last too long, and neither did my podcast listening days! Flash-forward a couple of years and in the middle of the hectic year I’m having podcasts have made it back into my life.

The first tentative steps were taken with This Just In… From Gen Con. But recently I’ve been traveling a lot for work, spending almost two hours on the road (yeah it’s a LOT to me, that’s island living for you!) every day; after a couple of days talk radio seemed to be regurgitating the same topics so I decided to dive back into podcasts, and I am so glad I did. 

Since I’ve been writing for the blog I’ve discovered many fine podcasts and through the blog and social media I have been lucky enough to interact with some of the fine podcasters out there.  In a way it’s a different perspective…. So what have I been listening to? Glad you asked!

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1. DMs Should Join Other Games
2. Listen to this blog!
3. Stargazer’s RPG podcast recommendations

That’s why I am asking for your help. What is your favorite Call of Cthulhu adventure and – more importantly – why? Can it be run in a single session? Is it still available for purchase and if so where? Especially a lot of the older Chaosium titles have been out of print for quite a while. If the adventure in question is available at RPGNow it would be a big plus.

By the way, are the Age of Cthulhu adventures by Goodman Games any good?

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1. Call of Cthulhu Anniversary Edition
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I am not a closet gamer! By that I mean I do not hide my love for role-playing games. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you know I regularly post about RPGs and other assorted geek interests. I actively support my local gaming community as much as I can. Heck I blog about it!

People around me know about role-playing. Coworkers and acquaintances know that I play “the game” on Tuesdays and know about the “geek picnics” I get involved in periodically. I talk about RPGs to my non-gaming friends (which there are not many of since most of my friends actively game or have gamed with me at some point in their life) when they ask about it. I am not pushy and try not to force my hobby on the uninterested.

However this past Friday something odd happened to me. I was out with my girlfriend’s sister celebrating her birthday, as the night progressed I had consumed a pitcher of sangria, various screwdrivers, I was chilling to the music when someone asked me, “What is this game you play and you keep writing about on Facebook?”

I was not ready for this question. I held my drink and look flabbergasted for a moment. As I was speechless they proceeded to discuss what they thought the game was. Obviously they had talked about this. They had no idea what the game was; someone thought it was something like Second Life (which admittedly I know little about), some sort of online game where I had an avatar.

I regained my composure and attempted to explain what the role-playing games I played were. I told them it was not a computer game, that it was a social activity where people got together to tell a story. They asked about the maps and miniatures and I told them we did not use them all the time, that we used them only during conflict or situations where the specific location of participants was important. I also explained that the game was somewhat like playing cops and robbers when we were kids and that dice were used solve conflict and avoid discussions like the ones we had when we were kids… “I shoot you!” “No I shot you first!”

They seemed genuinely interested, and thought it was much cooler than they had originally conceived. Someone actually asked me to invite her to the next geeknic, she wants to experience what RPGs are firsthand. I am happy with the outcome. However I know I was not as eloquent as I could have been. Alcohol had something to do, but the unexpectedness of the situation caught me off guard.

So I ask you, when someone asks what a role-playing game is, what do you say? What is your short description, your elevator pitch? Just in case I get caught unaware again…

Related posts:

1. Fighting the good fight…
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…
3. My Gen Con plans…

Since I started playing pen & paper roleplaying games in the early ‘90s I’ve participated in a lot of campaigns. And usually a campaign has one dedicated GM and when another person wants to run a game we then switch to a new campaign. I don’t think it has happened that often that someone took over another GM’s campaign. For some reason it just doesn’t feel right to mess with other people’s worlds.

As regular readers of this blog you will probably have noticed that I have been reading a lot of narrativist games recently. What a lot of this games have in common is that the players usually have much more influence on the world and how the story evolves than in more traditional games, like D&D for example. The gamemaster has to give up a good amount of control already, so why am I bothered by the idea of several GMs in charge of a single campaign.

One thing I am definitely not too fond of are gamemaster characters. I am talking about those special NPCs of a GM that are run as if they were player characters. More often than not these NPCs steal the show from the players and ruin the game for everyone. When someone who is not the regular GM takes over, their player character may become such a special NPC.

So, what are you thoughts on this subject? Is it ok for you when several people share the position of the GM from time to time. Or is this something you avoid like the plague? Please let your voices be heard in the comments below!

Related posts:

1. Ask The Readers: Running a Ultima campaign in S&W
2. Campaign Inspiration
3. When your campaign has jumped the shark

So my group grew from 3 to 5 players and when talking about what kind of campaign setting they wanted to play in, we finally settled on a Mass Effect campaign. In my opinion Mass Effect fits SBA’s style perfectly. The only thing I have to do is add some rules for Mass Effect’s tech and biotics powers. But I am sure I can come up with a couple of skills and stunts during this week, so we can finally start with character creation next week or so.

Using an established universe has some advantages. It not only saves me a lot of time, but I can also just point my players to the Mass Effect Wiki if they want to read up on the background.

Currently I am thinking about two possible campaign models. The first is pretty close to the computer game. The player characters are in charge of a Systems Alliance vessel out on patrol, or doing search and rescue missions.  As an alternative I was thinking about an ExoGeni Corporation campaign, where the players are prospectors, researchers etc. looking for suitable planets for colonization or mining at the edge of colonized space.

While I let the the players decide what kind of campaign they prefer I’ll have some time to prepare the biotic and tech rules and come up with a few stats for space ships and alien species. By the way, if you have already run a Mass Effect game using FATE, please share your experiences in the comments below. Any advice is highly appreciated!

Related posts:

1. Mass Effect and Ashen Stars – Could this work?
2. Starblazer Adventures: First session
3. Starblazer Adventures: Biotics

We all gathered together and travelled from sunny Puerto Rico to that mysterious land called Indiana. I loved going, it was fun, exciting and I spent far too much money! Since we went as a large group we spent most of our time together, I played little and had very little interaction with other convention goers. Amazingly for a gaming convention I only played a couple of encounters at the Wizards of the Coast room and some demos at booths, but that was it. My fellow travelers played some CCGs but that’s not my thing so I roamed the Exhibitors Hall and took a LOT of pictures.

When we left we all said “We are coming back!” And we meant it, but real life happens and putting together a trip where all of us can coordinate our schedules becomes harder and harder. Then I began writing for the blog, and last year when Michael said he was going I wanted to go to Gen Con and meet the Stargazer (i.e. Mr. Rock Star). Sadly work and other situations kept me from going, 2010 was not the year for me.

By the end of Gen Con 2010, seeing all the fun Michael had, I was convinced I just HAD to go this year. I had hoped Michael could make it back, but sadly it looks like I will be the sole representative of Stargazer’s World  at the convention this year (unless some of the other regular contributors is going, in which case I apologize for the mistake). The crew that went to Gen Con in 2007 tried to get together and go again this year but plans fell through. Still friends from Puerto Rico Role Players were going, and other friends living in the states as well, so I knew that if I went I would have people to hang with.

Knowing this I pre-registered and eventually got around to buy some airfare. A friend who was getting married that weekend actually changed the date of his wedding and will be traveling to Gen Con (Yamir you rock!) so everything was set. Then the complications started. I took on more responsibilities at work, new project started coming up and I began to question whether I would actually make it. In this uncertainty I put off getting a hotel reservation while things sorted themselves out.

Two weeks ago it looked like I would have to cancel and accept I would NOT be going to Gen Con Indy. But I negotiated, bartered, cajoled and I finally this week got the confirmation that I could take those days off. First thing I did was go online searching for a room. I knew it could be difficult to get a good room nearby this late in the game but I was willing to spend some money for the right place. Amazingly I managed to get a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Downtown at Union Station that from what I read is right next to the convention center!

So I’m all set, pre-registered, airfare and hotel. I’ll be arriving Wednesday August 3^rd at night and leave Sunday the 7^th at noon. What would I do different this time around? First what I don’t want to do.

1. Not buy so much! I am not complaining, last time around I had the disposable income to get pretty much whatever I wanted, but there is stuff I got back them I still have not used. I want to spend less time in the exhibitor’s hall.

What else… Ok on to the things I WANT to do!

1. Play more! This time I want to try and join some game (if I’m not too late and someone will have me) and maybe even Gm a game myself. I have a hotel room to myself so I can host and I would like to put it to good use.
2. Meet up with my friends from Puerto Rico and rock Gen Con Boricua style… I am trying to get in contact with all the fellow Puerto Rico gamers going so we can plan something. I’m looking forward to seeing Daniel, who will be working with This Just In From Gen Con. Last time we ran unto each other the LAST day of the con. I hope to correct that mistake this time around.
3. Meet some of the virtual friends I’ve made through the blog. Writing here I’ve met some amazing people, writers, publishers and readers who I keep in contact with here, in Facebook and Twitter. So I look forward to meet you! If you are interested drop me a line here, on Twitter (@Sunglar) or via email sunglat@hotmail.com, I’d love to talk in person.
4. Report for the blog. I’d like to use the time I’ll have in Gen Con to report on what’s going on, interview writers and publishers, and generally share my experience at the convention with our readers, like Michael did last year.

So it looks I have a full plate and it’s a pretty ambitions list. If I get to do a little bit of each I’ll be happy. Anything I’m missing, anything you would like to suggest? I’d sure want to know. So for now all I can say is see you at Gen Con!

PS – Here is a link to a video of Tavin Pumarejo, el Hígado de Ganso, a singer of “typical” Puerto Rican music. I used the cover of one of his old LPs for the last image in this post.

Related posts:

1. Twitter and me!
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 4!

That book was the first issue of the hardcover edition of the Perry Rhodan series. When I remember correctly the first few pages described in much detail how a rocket was prepared for its launch towards the moon. This was much more exciting than everything I have been reading until then.

Since then I have read countless SF novels, short stories, watched almost every SF TV series and movie I could get my hands on and played quite a few SF computer games. And as you can imagine I was always trying to run or play in any SF roleplaying game. It’s probably no surprise that the first roleplaying game I ever bought was Marc Miller’s original Traveller.

But for some reason I played a lot more often in Fantasy or Horror games than I ever played in SF games. From time to time I just wonder why that’s the case. And when you have a closer look at our hobby you’ll notice that it’s totally dominated by Fantasy roleplaying games.

There’s of course the 800 lb. gorilla Dungeons & Dragons, forefather of all other roleplaying games. Without a doubt D&D and it’s cousin Pathfinder are now the flagships of Fantasy gaming. When it comes to horror games, there’s of course Call of Cthulhu and the more recent World of Darkness games that are pretty popular. But when it comes to flagship SF RPGs things are getting more complicated. Traveller might be close to being the flagship SF RPG, but compared to D&D the whole SF RPG hobby is just a small niche. Or do you think that anyone outside the hobby has ever heard about Traveller?

But when you look at popular movies and TV shows you realize that Science Fiction is extremely popular. Most modern superhero movies are in fact SF movies, there are a lot of incredibly popular SF TV series (including Stargate which has been running for ages). Even when it comes to computer games SF is as popular as ever. Alas when it comes to roleplaying games no SF game has ever been a huge hit. Even games based on popular franchises like Star Wars (which is not really SF in my book, but I digress) or Star Trek are much less popular than fantasy or horror games. As far as I know no SF RPG was ever close to being as big as D&D.

Rob Donoghue has written an interesting blog post about that topic a while ago. As he pointed out there are basically two problems: a) the SF genre is extremely fragmented and b) there’s no flagship SF RPG. I definitely agree with his conclusions. In a way the strength of the SF genre, the fact that it’s extremely broad and diverse, is probably a major weakness when it comes to roleplaying games.

Let’s face it, most roleplaying games rely a lot on clichés. And since the majority of fantasy RPGs are at least loosely based on Tolkien’s world, the common tropes of the genre are known to a lot of people. But in SF things are more complicated. Depending on your definition of SF everything from Steampunk over Hard Science Fiction to Star Wars might be counted as part of the genre. But the steampunk tropes definitely won’t fit into a SF game modeled after Niven’s Ringworld setting and vice versa.

But is this the only reason? Or are there other factors at work, too? One thing I’ve noticed as a GM is that a lot of players prefer to play games in “easier times”. Of course there’s nothing easy or romantic about living in a world without clean tap water, central heating and electric light, but a little romanticizing goes a long way. I believe for many players science fiction settings feel too much like the real world with technology, jobs, taxes etc.

What do you think are the reasons why there have never been any hugely successful SF RPGs? Or do you disagree with my theory completely? In any case I would love to read your comments on that matter.

Related posts:

1. Free Stuff Friday: Sword and Sorcery Saga
2. Ask The Readers: What is the highest prize you are willing to pay for a PDF product?
3. “Roleplaying games as a teaching tool” @ Musings of a ChattyDM

I have heard variations of the idea, but it basically boils down to the concept that an able (and what THIS constitutes can be a whole other subject open to discussion) GM can make any system entertaining. In effect a good game master can turn a turd into a gem! I have been guilty of saying this myself, often without giving it much though. If we think about it, this is not completely true. There are some systems that are really not salvageable. Be it because they way the rules are written (the intent or the actual use of language) makes them incomprehensible, or the mechanics are so confusing or nonsensical, that no one can really play the game. And I’m not discounting attempts at humor or parody in RPG form, which may not be meant as actual games at all, and can be fun.

Thankfully I think these examples are few and far between and are mostly games someone clobbered together on their own and then inflicted on the rest of us via the wonders of the internet. The majority of published games, be they physical books or in digital form, published for profit or as free games, maintain a minimum of quality that makes them playable and enjoyable to at least some gamers. And I this is the point really, what may be a great game for me, could be a terrible game for you. What makes a great game is so subjective… I think as a community there may be some consensus on certain games, but just visit any old message board or blog and read the heated discussion on editions, game versions and their merits. To quote the late Human Torch (He is still dead right?): “Flame on!”

So once we’ve established that what constitutes a subpar game is subjective, let me approach this from my perspective. I have been a proponent of the GM makes the game idea before, so I’ve decided to put it to the test. I want to pick one of those games I swore I would not play and try to run an enjoyable adventure using them. Why am I being a masochist you ask? Well it’s not so much being masochist, but proving to myself if I can make this work. If what I’ve repeated often enough is just a platitude or something I can do.

So once I have set my mind on this experience all I have to do is find the system to do it. I stood in front of my game collection for a while. I’ve played a lot of games in my life, and read many more. While I have gotten rid of a few, most are still there on the shelf. My first thought was The Babylon Project; the first RPG based on the TV series Babylon 5. I have not actually played the game, but upon first reading it I disliked it so much I put away the RPG based on my FAVORITE TV series and never used it (and I had purchased two copies). But thinking about it, this would not be a good fit for the experiment since B5 would bring with it a whole other set of expectations, most of my players are as passionate about the series as I am, and that might hinder the experiment.

Then I thought of World of Synnibarr, but sadly I got rid of that game. You must be asking, what possessed me to part with that gem? Shortsightedness I guess, but alas it’s not available.  So I may have to settle for the next best thing, RIFTS!

Ok before you cry foul, I did say this represented MY personal taste. I am sure there are plenty of RIFTS fans out there who enjoy the game and continue to play it. Good for you… I played them all, starting with Robotech as a teen and young adult, but along the way realized the system was needlessly complex, and not in a good way, for me and my group. I stopped playing RIFTS and Palladium games long ago. Despite all controversy and the things you read on the net, when I briefly met Kevin Siembieda at Gen Con 07 he seemed like a nice enough guy, and I wish him continued success with whatever endeavor he undertakes.

RIFTS is a game we stopped playing long ago and which most of us agrees is not what we expect form a game. So this might be the perfect rule system to try and prove my point. I plan on running a RIFTS adventure with my players, without telling them and see if they enjoy it…

I know there are flaws to my plan, maybe RIFTS has too much baggage, or they will figure it our t right away and simply throw their hands up, or worst of all I am conceited enough to think I am a good enough GM to pull this off! This is just in the planning stages but I will keep you informed.

So in a way this is the turd into a gem challenge… (No disrespect to any specific game!) Who’s with me? Who’s willing to choose what they think of as a subpar game and try to run a great adventure with it? Who thinks I’m delusional, that there is no such thing as a great GM making a bad game good?

PS – While writing this post I discovered the website of Raven c.s. McCracken, creator of the World of Synnibarr, in his bio he pokes a little bit of fun at his creation! Enjoy…

Related posts:

1. Putting fantastic back into Fantasy
2. Legend – Help raising money for Child’s Play and get a cool RPG in exchange
3. The most useless RPG-supplements you ever paid money for

The above video and this post are a follow up to a post I wrote titled: Castles & Crusades Unboxing. It was particularly about the shipping and the conditions of the Castles & Crusades books when I received them.
I am going to take some time here to clarify my thoughts and opinion on a couple of other issues I had with the Castles & Crusades books that I did not bring up in the video due to time.

PRINTING

I am not particularly upset that all the Castles & Crusades books are printed in black and white. I just was not expecting that and felt others might like to know this as well. It seems like most modern day produced RPG books are in color. I own several modern day RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Mutants & Masterminds, DC Adventures, MouseGuard and Dresden Files. They are all in color. I just had the expectation that Castles & Crusades would also be in color.

When I go to used book stores seeking out older RPGs I fully expect them all to cost more and be in black and white. I have paid a pretty penny for some older pre-made adventures. Sometimes you stumble into a used book store or a garage sale that has RPG books for sale very cheap, but that seems to be getting more and more rare.

My comment was not a slam on the art in the books themselves. Just that I expected the books to be in color and for me it was a surprise to find it was all in black and white.

PDF

To me, it seems ridiculous, that in this day an age PDF downloads (or any electronically form for that matter) are not an option (or should I say affordable option?) to those buying books from RPG companies. There seems to be a divide between RPG companies that offer PDF downloads at a reduced price and those who may not even offer them at all. In the case of Castles and Crusades you can get the PDF copies of the books for just a bit under retail cost of the actual books.

I personally am far more likely to invest in a new RPG if I have the option to buy the books and the PDFs of those books at a reduced price. It’s also better for my gaming group because I am far less anal retentive about my RPG books in their hands when they are eating over them and spilling things on the gaming table because I know I have a PDF backup of the game.

For me the reason that I ended up buying Castles and Crusades as the direct result of a couple of friends who said the game is worth it. I believe my friends that this game is going to be great. But if I had just read a couple of good reviews and went over to the Troll Lord Games website and saw the overpriced PDFs I never would have bought the game.

It seems like my experience has been that most companies offering PDF copies of gaming books sell them for between five and ten dollars. To me this is a perfectly acceptable cost to someone who is also buying the books at the same time.

Now one may argue that PDFs are not the best format for gamers to download their books in. This may be the case, but until that perfect format comes around you should still offer the PDFs. Every modern day Operating system can handle them and will for quite some time. Hell, offering any kind of digital option for gamers would be nice. Text, PDF, ePub, just give us something so we don’t have to worry so much about our physical copies!
Just like I said in the video. With all the fuss my original post made regarding Castles and Crusades I am excited to play this game and give it a sold review here on Stargazer’s World.

Related posts:

1. Castles & Crusades Unboxing
2. Follow-up on my Warhammer FRP 3rd Edition rant
3. Star Without Number POD Unboxing!

I am well aware that role-playing is an international affair. While I knew this to be a fact, writing in the blog has confirmed it as I have met people from all over the world. I also know that games have been created, written and played in many countries, but (to the best of my knowledge) they first appeared in the United States of America and have spread to the world.

The first RPG games I read where all in English and it was years before I actually saw games in my native Spanish. I became aware they existed, but did not see one for years. I live in Puerto Rico and our socio-political situation means we are very close to the US so it is not surprising that RPG games would become available in English here. When I finally found RPGs in Spanish it was actually cheaper for me to buy them in English. That did not stop me and I have a few Spanish RPG books in my collection, the gem being a Traveller boxed set and the main rule book and some supplements for Aqularre, an excellent RPG from Spain.

Despite this, the majority (99%) of my RPG collection is in English. Shaun asked (and I paraphrase here so forgive me in advance for any mistake) whether we played in Spanish and only used English for certain terms, thus the title of the post: “Spanish, Spanish, saving throw, Spanish, Spanish”. Michael chimed in and confirmed that was the case when he games. Of course in his case its, “German, German, attack of opportunity, German German”. Like I told Shaun, that was not the case for me…

When I game I speak a strange pidgin of English, Spanish and gaming terms. But that’s not exclusive to games; Spanglish is common to certain groups in the island. To put this in some context, in Puerto Rico both Spanish and English are official languages and we are taught English form grade school, but Spanish is our principal language. I became proficient in English from a young age so when I got to read game books they were no challenge for me (well some archaic verbiage usage by Gygax did throw me for a loop), I cannot say the same for all my players, there where different language skills in the group, so I would normally game in Spanish with a smattering of English, including game terms.

As time passed and we got to High School I began to game in English more and more. Games were a way for many of my friends to develop language skills so we began to game in English frequently. It eventually got to a point that we currently switch from one language to another without realizing. If you asked me to tell you which language I used the most over the last couple of sessions I’d be hard pressed to put a percentage on each.

When I think about it I realize I often narrate in Spanish and speak as NPCs in English. Of course knowing more than one language can be put to good use around the table. In my currently on hiatus Pathfinder RPG Swashbuckling campaign I will speak Spanish, with a terrible fake accent attempting to imitate a Spaniard, when and NPC is speaking a certain language, and English for another language, a trade tongue analogous to the Common of D&D fame. In fact players have taken up the cues and do this, often poking good natured fun when someone around the table fails to use the correct real world language for the fantasy language. I know a smattering of Italian and French so I often use some words to represent other languages.

That’s just one example when real world languages can impact your game. I have also used the Google Translate app on my iPhone to translate phases so my players know what they are hearing in another language. I don’t make them figure out what they hear, I tell them, I just use the app so they know what it sounds like. It adds verisimilitude for me, but that’s a very personal taste, I realize not everybody needs those details in their game.

So, I ask you dear reader, which language do you game on? If English is not your first language and you play games written in English, do you speak your native tongue and only used game terms in English, do you speak English, a combination like me? If you speak more than one language does it impact the game in similar ways to what I described or in other ways? I look forward to hear for you all. Thanks for reading!

PS – I tweet (irregularly) as @Sunglar, feel free to follow me, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Related posts:

1. Update: WR&M in Spanish
2. “A rose by any other name…” Poetry and Role Playing Games
3. Time to Speak Out with my Geek Out… Role-Playing Games in my case!

I has to respectfully disagree. What I – as a customer perceive – is the contrary. Slowly it’s becoming more and more common that publishers offer Print + PDF bundles where the PDF is for free or you just pay a few bucks. If you haven’t heard from the Bits & Mortar initiative yet, you really should check out my post about them.

I don’t expect publishers to give PDFs away for free, but don’t expect me to be willing to pay full price for the PDF either, especially when I already paid for the hardcopy. When it comes to PDF products I am willing to pay up to 15$ without any gnashing of teeth, but when it’s more than that, I have to be really, really sure it’s the only option.

I don’t think it’s very customer-friendly to ask them to pay the same or something like 3/4 of the hardcover price for a PDF. This may work in regular books but not so much in RPGs. In the case of roleplaying PDFs, you almost always have to print them out to use them properly. So in the end you may end up paying more for the PDF plus your own print costs then what you would’ve paid for the hardcopy in the first place.

I can understand that some publishers see it differently. And of course that’s ok. But as a customer I am more likely to support a publisher that offers attractive print + PDF bundles than a one who expects me to pay almost full price for the PDF.

Of course I don’t have any deeper insight into the publishing industry and I may actually be totally wrong. But I know that a couple of RPG publishers are reading this blog and perhaps some of them would be willing to comment. It would be great to read your side of the story. Do you offer free PDFs with the purchase of a hardcopy? Or do you think this is sheer folly? Your insight into the matter is highly appreciated.

P.S.: I had a discussion with @rdonoghue and @robertsongames about commodity pricing and RPGs, that made me thinking about what I have written here. I think some of my points are not as clear as I would have hoped and sometimes I sound as if I wanted to treat RPGs like a commodity, which is not the case.

Related posts:

1. My thoughts on OGL, GSL and beyond
2. Ask The Readers: What is the highest prize you are willing to pay for a PDF product?
3. Some thoughts on SPIEL ‘10

And as it is often the case playing the video game made me think about the “noir” genre in RPGs. Of course there’s “Thrilling Noir Stories”, the rules-light game I wrote last year. But there are surely more games along those lines.

What would you consider a “noir” game and what are your favorite games of this genre? I also faintly remember that there is a game that combines the tropes of classic noir stories with urban fantasy, but alas I have forgotten the name. Could you guys help me out?

As with all the “Ask The Readers” posts I am very interested in your opinions. Please post your thoughts in the comments below. Please share your favorite “noir” games with us!

Related posts:

1. Ask The Readers: What’s your favorite genre?
2. Ask The Readers: What’s your favorite Steampunk RPG?
3. NOIR is now “Thrilling Noir Stories”

When I first got into gaming the first place I remember seeing RPG related books and boxed sets was a small quirky book store in Old San Juan, The Book Store. The owner sat behind the cashier and knew almost all his clients, they had a small sci-fi section in the back and under the shelves holding these books were some baskets holding the aforementioned books and boxed sets along with several assorted war games.

When my mom brought me the red box Basic Set I got it at this place. I remember it being dimly lit and musty smelling, which added to the mystique of getting the game. Later I learned that a local hobby shop which mostly carried models had a shelf with RPG modules and books piles together haphazardly in the back. Likewise the local K-Bee Toy Store had a bunch of books there hidden among the board games. I was soon rifling through these stacks to get my grubby little hands on them. And then I discovered the gaming sections in B. Dalton Booksellers and Bell, Book and Candle (a local book store) with their organized well stocked gaming sections. I was in nerdvana!

And for the longest time these were my main sources of games. I went there every month to get my Dragon magazine, and in the back of that fine publication were ads for game catalogs. They promised access to games I had never seen, so I sent out for the catalogs. A couple came in and I devoured them, and then came the granddaddy of them all. Printed in newsprint it read like the classified ads peppered with the black and white small image of a cover or miniature. The Wargames West (click on that link to see I’m not the only one who remembers them fondly, and see some nice pictures of the catalog itself)  catalog changed my life. It was there that I read about the Robotech RPG for the first time, or Mega Traveller, and where I got the games I could not get in the local book stores.

Every time the Wargames West catalog would come in I would sit down and examine it. I would circle every game and miniature I wanted and then add it up, realizing my allowance would never cover the hundreds of dollars I wanted I would be forced to trim down. I remember sending in my orders and waiting with bated breath for the package. It was then that I discovered the hellish nuances of shipping, especially if it came via UPS. My relationship with UPS has improved and now they are greatly efficient, but back then it would be impossible to get the package delivered properly.

So went my life for the longest time, until comic store and game stores began to pop up in Puerto Rico. Soon I was ordering my games at the same place where I got my comics. I loved comics so much that I was soon working at a comic and games store. These were dark times for my income. I was the perfect employee, the kind who would get his paycheck and give it right back buying stuff. It was a wolf watching the sheep situation, but I was the sheep!

Back then I got most of my games at the store I worked, and even after I quit working there I was a faithful client. All through this time whenever I would travel to the United States one of the first things I would do was look for the yellow pages and search for game stores, make a list and try to see how many I could visit. I would use these opportunities to get games I could not get back home.

Somehow that happened less and less often. Distribution got better, I could get most games locally, and after the arrivals of big chain book stores games were even more accessible. As this was happening I was also becoming more and more comfortable with online purchases and embracing the idea of digital books. That last step was totally embraced when carrying the books around became viable, first with laptops and now with readers and smart phones. I had gone from the thrill of searching for the unknown in small mysterious book stores, to embracing the idea that getting a book in PDF is almost just as good as getting the real thing. It’s been a fun ride; I wonder where we’ll go next?

These days I get lots of books in digital format, get most of my RPG related books via online stores or retailers, and buy miniatures from specialist sites or even e-bay. Sometimes if I have a coupon and they have the book I want I may get it at a large chain bookstore. Occasionally I get game books at my friendly local gaming store, I still believe in supporting them, but mostly big releases from major brands. They seldom carry the independent or small press stuff and I understand why.  There is a proliferation of smaller local stores catering to the CCG crowd, but branching out into games. I feel the desire to support them and help the local market grow so I’ll be visiting them soon to try to put some of my money where my mouth is and hell the local gaming scene grow. I’ll let you know how it goes…

So now it’s my term to ask, how do you get your games? How did you use to? Has your experience been similar to mine? I look forward to your comments…

Related posts:

1. Games I was sad to see go away…
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
3. Time to Speak Out with my Geek Out… Role-Playing Games in my case!

I’m just fresh off from running my weekly Mutants & Masterminds games so many of these thoughts are fresh on my mind. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is know that not all sessions will be perfect. You can please everybody all the time, strive for your best, listen to feedback and know that there is always next session.

Another thing I have been thinking about is where I’ve learned to be a better Game Master, and amazingly it’s by sitting at other Game Masters’ tables. In a way I’m saying, to be a better GM, be a player. Mind you some players are content with just playing out their characters and that’s that, but if you want to improve your performance at the other side of the screen watch and learn. Be attentive to what works, how they do it, what you like and what you don’t like.

I often say I am an awful player, but in retrospect I like to think I have improved, and in fact I’ve gamed with many fine Game Masters and learned a lot from them. Let’s give some credit to all these wonderful people and what they’ve taught me…

Names have been changed to protect the innocent! (No they have not…)

Luis was my first Game Master. Until them I had only been a Dungeon Master playing D&D and he was one of my players. When he took the mantle this was probably the longest time I was a player and not run a game at the same time. It taught me a lot about learning to concentrate on my character, not want to know every secret and learn to take the hard knocks. But from Luis I also learned pacing, build up and to be a better organized GM. Luis took notes and came to the table prepared, before then I did a lot of improvisation and kept most of the information in my head. From him I learned to better use visual aids and an endearing love for all things dark and Cthulhu related. I have friends who say it’s not Luis’ game unless Cthulhu appears and eats you!

My next GM was José. He was a different type of Game Master. Full of energy, creativity, bravado, and his adventures felt like running at breakneck speed. He did unexpected things, played with the rules and was the first GM that ever played music at the table to set the mood.  His one foible was that he was too fickle, when he got an idea for a change he simply ran with it and sometimes it felt rushed or too random, or we just switched games. I also learned from this, I learned that consistency is important for the continued enjoyment of the game. I must say he evolved his style as a GM, and later games have had much better pacing and an organic feel.

Pierre is a longtime friend and casual GM who had never run any long campaign. He ran one of my favorite games in recent memory, a zombie apocalypse game. I especially liked it because he thinks very different. As a GM it’s easy to fall into runts and repeat yourself. He showed me different ways to do things. Different pacing and he did run a game in one of my favorite genres. Enough said!

Lao is another GM I’ve come to play with in recent years, and the one responsible for rekindling my love for just being a player. We have a lot in common; we like to tell big epic stories in a grand scale. He showed me you sometimes need to cut loose. After running very crunchy, mechanic heavy games, he showed me (in a Mutants & Masterminds 2^nd edition game no less) what I knew all along but sometimes lost track of, having fun is ALWAYS more important than the rules.

In recent times I’ve played just one or two sessions or specific games with new friends. Edwin introduced me to indie games, and his quick pick up system is my second favorite zombie game ever. Mario included me in a marathon session of his long running campaign, and while I was a guest star in a long running and well established series, he showed me some breadth and scope that truly amazed me and ran an investigative game with almost twenty people and made it seem effortless. I am really itching to try some of his tactics!

If I’ve missed any Game Master I’ve played with I apologize, it’s an oversight. I’ve learned something from almost every one of you (even from this guy) so my apologies. I am blessed to game with my friends, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, they make it worth my while. Thanks for playing guys. You are the best!

So what have you learned from other Game Masters? Any trick or idea you’d like to share? What other experiences you feel make you a better GM? Inquiring minds want to know.

Related posts:

1. Dungeon Master Burnout… My cure!
2. The Dungeon Master Guys
3. New game, new tools!

In 1986 West End Games produced the “Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game” boxed set which was followed later by a revised edition called “Ghostbusters International”. The system used in those games was a predecessor of the popular D6 System, which is now available under the OGL. Alas these games have never been a huge success and are out-of-print for many years now.

As it happens quite often, I was wondering whether a Ghostbusters RPG would actually work. As I see it, it may work great for one-shot adventures, perhaps even limited campaigns consisting of only a few sessions, but I have a hard time seeing myself running or participating in a full-blown ghostbusters campaign, at least not without some major changes.

So what would be needed to make it work? I think Ghostbusters International already had the right idea. Use the background from the movies and let players create their own Ghostbusters teams. The world is a big place and the guys from New York, can’t be everywhere, so why not start some franchises here and there? This approach let’s players create their own teams but you can still use all the common elements from the technology used to hunt ghosts to the implied background.

Since the Ghostbusters RPGs from WEG are long out-of-print it might not that easy to track a copy down, so most players interested to hunt ghosts must look elsewhere. One game immediately comes to mind: Jared Sorensen’s InSpectres. This indie game has pretty much the same premise as a Ghostbusters game and has a very interesting if unconventional approach to conflict resolution that encourages roleplaying and a narrative play style.

Have you ever thought about running a Ghostbusters game? Or have you even played one of the WEG games back in the day? As always I am very interested in your thoughts on the subject. Please share your thoughts below.

Related posts:

1. Ask the Readers: What’s your favorite Call of Cthulhu adventure?
2. Roleplaying music: Elyrion – Call of the Titans
3. History of West End Games

Over in the Paizo Blog I’ve been reading with some interest their proposed changes to the Pathfinder Society Organized Play program. I have never participated on such programs. When I began role playing I was intrigued by the RPGA, joined and got their Polyhedron Magazine. I still have the laminated card and the pin somewhere, but besides reading the magazine I never took any advantage of belonging to the RPGA.

Fast-forward to the days of D&D 3^rd edition and the changes they made to the RPGA. I loved the idea of Greyhawk being the default setting, the idea of regions assigned to geographical locations, etc. I even knew friend who were very active, but I never really joined. I had little free time, my campaigns, my adventures; I did not want to switch to a new campaign. I found all the excuses in the world, so that was that…

I took the DM tests the RPGA offered at one time (and passed), and when 4^th ed. came along I wanted to be part of that, until I became disenchanted with the system and gave up on DDI. The Pathfinder Society had no presence where I lived so I didn’t pay much attention to it when I began playing the game.

Much has changed since then, I have been blogging for a while now, became active with promoting games in Puerto Rico, and wonder if I should try to participate in some of these organizations that promote and support gamers. I wonder, what have been your experiences? Did you benefit in any form from belonging to them? My inquiring mind wants to know.

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