When you think about it that’s actually not how it should be done. But sometimes I can’t help myself. Isn’t it much cooler when one player gives a great speech in front of the battle instead of just rolling a few dice? Or isn’t it much more fun when the player acts out how he bargains with the shopkeeper instead of just saying: “I bargain with the shopkeeper”?

I know that I am not the only one who handles it that way. But that way of running social conflicts actually makes it harder for people who are not that outgoing or not that great with words to enjoy roleplaying games. After all it’s supposed to be a roleplaying game and not an acting class. But on the other hand it’s undeniably cooler if the players act out social conflicts and interactions instead of just rolling the dice and stating their intention.

So what can we do to solve this issue? In order to keep things fair you should probably start by following the rules. Most roleplaying games have some elaborate system for social conflicts or at least a few social skills you can use. When a player enjoys acting out these scenes, you should allow him or her to do so (if the rest of the players approves). Some games allow you to grant experience points for good roleplaying or there’s some other metagame currency that can be used as a reward.

Of course in games where there are no rules for social interactions at all, like in the old editions of D&D, it all comes back to acting it out and letting the GM decide. But in most modern games it’s probably better if you use the rules as written to decide the outcome of all actions and let the players act out conversations, social conflicts and the like, if they enjoy doing so.

How do you handle such situations? Have you done the same mistake as I did, or do you have an ever better method to handle this? Please share your thoughts and experiences below.

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1. Let’s all put our minds together, RPMN Blog Carnival anybody? Social Media and its impact on RPGs!
2. A social network for gamers done right!
3. Twitter Trouble!

When I tweeted about working on this during the weekend my friend Daniel Perez recommended I write down the 10 most important points of the campaign and allow the rest to flow through the game. I think he called it his less is more philosophy. That is some great advice but like I told him, I used to write 40+ pages introductions to games, so these shorter introductions ARE my less is more.

I typically write introductions to my campaigns, in a way I think my players expect it. Of course they are terrific at writing their own stories based on what I write and adding their own details to the tapestry. I got a great group of players!

Here is the official timeline of the world, the facts known to the general population, not the secret history of the Kindred and other supernatural creatures. I’ll share that on a future post. Hope you like it. I think it can be the timeline for a cyberpunk game without vampire. I think it goes on without saying this is all fictional and expresses no political agendas nor do I desire any harm to befall any real world figures mentioned here, this is just fiction. We don’t need authorities monitoring the blog!

Without further ado, The Story of New Uruk

US Economic collapse (2013-2016)

The US economy suffers a downturn, India, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland and the four Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) emerge as economic superpowers.

The breaking of the EU and the creation of the EIBC (2016)

The Republic of Ireland abandons the European Union, causing fractures and dissension in the organization and plunging the economy of Europe into a tailspin. Ireland joins the Eire-India-Brazil Cooperative Consortium (EIBC).

The African Wars (2017)

President Romney is visiting the African Initiative Industrial Center in the city of Wilmington, Delaware. Built as part of his re-industrialization of America initiative, African natural resources are brought over to the United States of America for processing and manufacture. International conglomerates are perceived as exploiting Africans with the help of its governments. A series of bombs by African rebels and sympathizers cause widespread destruction in the city and President Romney is injured, dying soon after. Vice President Gingrich is sworn in as President and declares war on the rebels. Thus begins the Africa Wars.

The Mexico-Venezuela War (2019)

With more and more US troops deployed in Africa and a worsening oil crisis, oil tankers flying the Mexican flag are detained in Venezuela accused of buying oil illegally. Mexican Special Forces liberate the ships but soon Venezuela declares war on Mexico, dragging most of Central America into the conflict. Aggressions escalate over seven months and after the Venezuelan carpet bombing of Mexico City a Coalition of Mexican, US, Brazilian and Argentinean armed forces invade Venezuela and depose its president. The invading forces remain in the country to assure a peaceful transition, but are accused of exploiting the oil resources of Venezuela. The United Nations does nothing to Intervene and many countries leave the organization.

The first female US President and the Race to Mars (2020)

New York State Governor Yolanda Newman runs a campaign promising to restore the US economy and end the African Wars, winning by a landslide.

The EIBC Space Agency (EIBC-SP) announces their plan to establish a permanent Moon colony as a stepping stone for the eventual exploration of Mars within the next twenty years.

The end of the African Wars and the NYC Pandemic (2021)

Yolanda Newman is sworn in as President of the United States and fulfills her promise of ending the African Wars. By the end of the year as the last POW return home after the armistice the US economy shows signs of recovery and Americans look with optimism at the decade ahead. Then the Pandemic of 2012 begins in New York City. Panic grows and the city is placed under martial law and quarantined by the end of the year. Other US metropolitan areas are quarantined but the infection is controlled quickly in America and Europe.

The year of the Red Plague (2022)

Mexico and Canada are the only other two counties in America which suffer major outbreaks. As tensions grown in quarantined New York unidentified terrorist strike, they release a biological weapon, thought to be the cause of the initial Pandemic outbreak, killing 96% of the remaining population of the quarantined zone. Called the Red Plague because victims hemorrhage massively before dying, it decimates New York City and surrounding areas, millions die, and authorities declare the zone a biological hazard, condemning the city and abandoning it. The economy of the state and its neighbors collapses, causing mass migration and widespread fear.

The Pandemic hits Asia the hardest, with China the most affected, millions die and Chinese prosperity is dealt a devastating blow.

The reconstruction… (2023-2045)

President Newman refuses to let these events define her presidency and launches a massive reconstruction initiative. Wilmington, Delaware is reconstructed and former New York, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey residents are all granted incentives to relocate.

The city is rebuilt via a massive federal funds influx, the architecture a mixture of classic and cutting edge, led by the Wilmington Reconstruction Endeavour Director, famed architect of mixed Iraqi and Jewish ancestry, Hassid Rosenberg.

The New York Stock Exchange officially relocates to the rebuilt city, and it becomes a melting pot of many cultures, with a growing Muslim and Jewish community. Following a citizen’s referendum Wilmington is renames New Uruk.

The crash of 2046 and its aftermath… (2046-2060)

The EIBC-SP Moon Base is fully functional and plans for the Mars Mission begin…

Despite the best effort of President Newman and those that followed her, regional conflict across the globe, worsening climate change, a ravaged ecosystem and economic instability bring about an economic collapse that reverberates across the globe. The poor become poorer while the rich become entrenched in the towers of privilege. Many projects in New Uruk remain unfinished and the decay of the world infiltrates the new city. Such in the world of 2060!

Ok that’s the timeline… What you think? I look forward to your input and opinions.

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1. Cyberpunk!
2. Hacking in Cyberpunk games
3. Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition now available at DriveThruRPG

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!

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

In all sincerity I knew what the quote was about, I remember hearing it back then. The link to Wikipedia above explains that the origin of the “thousand points of light” is from the Magician’s Apprentice by CS Lewis. But the D&D points of light campaign is another matter entirely. When I first read of the concept in the run up to D&D 4th edition I was intrigued. But I have a long running campaign and the idea of the points of light style game really did not mesh well with the world I had created over 20+ years.

Every edition change entails some mechanical changes in ongoing campaigns. If you consider my world was first played in D&D Basic, and then went on to be adapted in AD&D 1st and 2nd editions, D&D 3rd edition and 3.5, you’ll see I’m no stranger to change. However I don’t like hand waving stuff that is an integral part of the campaigns consistency. If dwarves could not be magic users before, why can they be now?

So I like to create in game rationales for this type of changes. The change from AD&D 2nd edition to D&D 3rd edition was easy since the games where set in the same world but in distant continents. Still I created in game explanation for many changes. When D&D 4th was coming out I was fully on board and while I was unsure how the whole points of light concept would carry though I was ready for other changes, tieflings were already in my campaign since 2nd edition, they looked different but that was not a problem per se. Dragonborn where another matter, so even before I made the rule change I began to work a rationale of where the race would come from. I was set! All that was left was for D&D 4th ed to come out.

And then I read the books. Don’t get me wrong I liked D&D 4th edition, I still do. It’s a game with a clear purpose, delivers well what it’s intended to be, and it certainly dared to sacrifice some sacred cows I thought they’d never touch. But I could tell this was a different game, that its feel and game play would be different from what I was used to, so I decided NOT to jump in into my campaign right away and instead do a trial run using the points of light idea.

That turned into our 7+ month D&D 4th edition campaign. We played weekly during that time and went all through the heroic tier and into paragon. Those where some turbulent months, with rebellions at the table over the system, some players disliking it so much they quit the game they have been playing with me for decades, exploring the tools the system provided, and telling a pretty entertaining story along the way. Ultimately we decided the system was not for us and moved on to Pathfinder.

With D&D Next coming up I’m suddenly thinking about adaptations all over again, I am not sure I will switch my campaign if I play it. IF I get to participate in the playtest (WotC pick me, pick me! I only bash you semi-regularly!) I will most thatn likely create a mini-campaign just like I did for 4th edition.

This all gets back to MY points of light eventually… My ruminations on the matter made me dig out the little document I created as an introduction to the campaign when we started playing D&D 4th edition. Coming from a game where I handed out a LOT of long documents and complex handouts I tried to keep it short and simple, asked each player for a two sentence description of their character and to bring an image to the game. I then handed each of them a piece of paper with a secret their character knew. Nice and simple…

Here is the text of the handout I gave to the players that fateful night in 2008. I’m not reproducing it exactly as I gave it to them since back the I used some art I found out there in the Internet and I have NO idea who the artists are. But there is a small old-school map I made for the game. Hope you enjoy it and find it useful, or at least fun. Let me know what you think…

The Town of New Crosspointe

The town of New Crosspointe was founded upon the ruins of the old town of Cross Point on the 84th year of the rule of the Osterios Family, settled by missionaries from the Temple of Dawn on a crusade to retake the northern half of the valley from the goblin and orc tribes that controlled it since the Autumn of No Crops. The walled town sits north of the Aumvell Forest; bordered on the north-west by the Istir River, over sixty miles north of the ruined Wall of Forts that once demarcated the northern border of the Duke’s Holdings.

Built upon the ruins of the old settlement, it receives its name from the large bronze plaque set by the cross roads near the old market square, marking the place where two ancient roads of empires long past meet. The remains of these roads still form part of market road and hunter’s way the two main streets in town. The plaque itself is round and some 15 hands across. Carved upon its old faded surface is what seems to be an astrolabe and runes of unknown origin or meaning. Some four paces from the plaque there is a pedestal, overgrown with ivy, weatherworn and cracked, traces of a statue remain, a leg and pieces of a foot, and a lonely single inscription in Draconic. Those that read the language say it simply says “Cross Point”.

New Crosspointe has thrived and over the last 28 years it has grown as many pious pilgrims, those who seek their fortune, and those who want to leave their past behind, move to the frontier of the civilization in the valley. Brisk trade with the elven hunters from the Aumvell and solitary trappers further north has benefited the town. Most goods are traded with the various Halfling families who dare the dangers of the lower Istir River and the occasional merchant caravan from south of the valley.

The recent establishing of the Dougren Forge and Ironworks in town, by descendants of one of the clans that ruled over Griffon’s Cliff before the goblins took control of the fortress city, has been a boon for New Crosspointe. Loggers have recently been attacked and some have disappeared, causing great concern. The lord mayor has sent emissaries escorted by his men and some elven scouts into the deep Aumvell to negotiate with the eladrin of the Fey Pool and has assured the Town Council no further incidents shall be tolerated.

The northwestern part of town sits upon a small cliff overlooking the Istir River and flanked by two ancient towers dating from the original settlement of Cross Point. Upon the cliff as well stands the Temple of the Dawn rebuilt to its original glory. The town slowly slopes down to the south east towards the more populated districts and the Temple of Dusk where the original town cemetery still stands.

The town’s defenses are an amalgam of old and new stone walls connected by wooden walls covering the areas were the old walls crumbled, or where new construction has yet to begin. The southeast wall is itself composed of smaller wooden portions connected with wooden watchtowers, as the broken terrain in this area has made the construction of more permanent battlements difficult. The lord mayor keeps his dwelling, as well as the barracks for most of his men in a fort with its own wooden walls built upon the face of the southwestern wall.

Environs of New Crosspointe

A small branch of the Istir veers off south towards the cliffs of the town and forms a small bog there. Most halfling families traveling the river berth here when trading in town. Beyond the Istir River to the north various farms dot the landscape slowly giving way to the wild. There are some old manors from the time of the original settlement and further upriver a large riverside tower with diverse buildings around it in various stages of decay. According to legend and rumor the tower has been the seat to local lords, home to dark cults and hideaway to bandits at various stages in its history.

To the south, beyond the Hunter’s Gate, hunter’s road becomes the Duke’s Way, bordering the Aumvell Forest and descending into the south of the valley. The road is dangerous and fraught with peril. Many bandits and brigands plague this area. West are the wilds were goblins and other dangers still abound while east the wild gives way to the Ice Peak Mountains that surround the valley and the other myriad dangers that lurk there.

People of New Crosspointe

The population of New Crosspointe is composed mostly of humans; dwarves and halflings are present in considerable numbers, many living permanently in town. Elves from the Aumvell Forest trade often in town and some have settle for some years. While they seldom stay for long, a few of their offspring, half elves, can still be found in town. Two families of tieflings, related by blood to the Airenai, one of the five remaining bloodlines of the Seven Lords who support the Duke, live in town. One family is dedicated to the mystic arts, masters of Cilder Tower, renowned arcanists and seers. The other family is heavily involved in commerce and trade.

No dragonborn lives in town, one renowned member of the Duke’s Cresthelm Guard retired some years ago to a cabin half a day northeast of town. He frequently travels to town to trade on market day. While he always comes alone, rumors abound of others of his kind visiting, or training with this old warrior. Eladrin are seldom seen in town but loggers in the Aumvell Forest have seen them and on some full moons, when it is said that the Fey Pool can be found by all who seek it, some eladrin wanderer have left the Feywild and come to town.

Faith and the Pious

While all benevolent faiths are worshipped in New Crosspointe, only two large temples are present in town. The Temple of Dawn, whose missionaries resettled the town, is located north in the small cliffs. There the faithful of Pelor, Bahamut and Moradin gather to honor their deities. The Temple of Dusk is an older temple, still not completely restored to its former glory, which stands in the same grounds as the old town’s cemetery. Originally dedicated to the Raven Queen, it now has altars to Ioun and Erathis as well. It is not as well manned or attended as the Temple of Dawn, a fact that has not escaped the Lord Mayor who worships here.

A stone shrine, much more ancient than old Cross Point, is southeast of town, beyond the walls and overlooked by Cilder Tower. The shrine is dedicated to Avandara, Corellon and Sehanine, and many who travel into the forest stop here for a prayer. The dragonborn living near town is said to be a devout follower of Kord and willing to share his knowledge with the pious and brave.

The Tenedal Valley

The Tenedal Valley, usually simply called the valley by its inhabitants, has been the ancestral holding of the Osterios family for over two hundred years. Located in the northern regions of the Norath Empire in what used to be considered the frontier. At one time or another, the region was claimed by the empire of Bael Turath, the dragonborn of Arkhosia, and other older empires. The valley is surrounded by the Ice Peak Mountains, with only two viable accesses, Ghost Wail pass to the west and the Raven Hills to the south. While there are other routes these are small, inaccessible, or both. There are tales of tunnels running from Griffon’s Cliff beyond the Ice Peak Mountains, but if they exist, they are in control of the goblins who rule the former dwarven stronghold.

The valley was once covered in wild forests but was slowly cleared by logging and farming in the southern half. The north was less populated and remained inaccessible for many years until the headway made by the establishment of New Crosspointe and others that have followed. In the north reaches of the Ice Peak Mountains an active volcano bellows dark foreboding smoke and has in recent memory trembled twice, the tremors felt as far south as New Crosspointe.

The Sual’Li who live in the desert south of the valley have reestablished trade with the Duke after his father’s actions almost cost the valley their sole remaining ally beyond the mountains. To the west of the valley by the Boiling Lake there are still ruins of a dark ancient empire whose name no one seems willing to acknowledge, except to speak of its follies and the dangers that lurk in the ruins they left behind. Beyond that little is known, some merchants arrive to the Duke’s seat with tales both grandiose and often contradictory, and if rumor is to be believed, as dangerous as the valley may be, beyond the mountains things seem to be much worse.

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2. [Blog Carnival]: “We travel light. Let’s hunt some Orc.”
3. Hinterland

But there are probably far more projects that never get funded or that turn into a train wreck after funding. I wouldn’t necessarily call me an expert on all things Kickstarter, but I have some ideas what you can do to prevent failure.

The most common problem is that even though you have a great idea, nobody seems to want to back your project. And usually you can see why this happens with one glance. Especially when I put some money on the table to fund a roleplaying game I want at least a PDF copy of the game. But I’ve seen Kickstarter projects where you had to back $20 or more for getting anything besides a “thank you”. Sorry, usually $20 is about my maximum I pay for PDF products that are already released. I don’t give you $20 for the hopes of getting something even when it looks interesting.

I think I’ve seen one project where you got a t-shirt as a reward for backing a small amount of money, but you didn’t get the actual product until you put more money on the table. Again, this is just not the way to do it. And from what I’ve seen I am not the only person who sees it that way. My advice: the lowest pledge level should be around $10 and you should get a PDF of the final game as a reward. Don’t make the entry hurdle too high for the little guy.

Another thing you never should do is change your rewards/goals after you reached your goal. I was recently made aware of a Kickstarter project that had a $40 pledge level that promised a hardcover version of the game. But then the people behind the project announced that they can’t pay for hardcover and went for softcover with black & white interiors instead. This is not just bad style.

The lesson here is that you should make sure that you’re able to fulfill what you promised when you started the project. When the news gets out that you don’t fulfill your promises, people will just refrain from backing your projects in the future.

In my opinion Kickstarter is a great new way for small press publishers to fund their projects but you have to remember that your customers have to trust you if you want them to fund your project. If you lose the trust of the community you may lose more than just the next Kickstarter project.

Related posts:

1. Help Rogue Games fund Containment!
2. Kickstarter: Age Past
3. Update on the Technoir RPG Kickstarter

Imagine my surprise when I realized my first sci-fi game turns 30 this year… Now I understand the white hairs. I didn’t start playing it in 82, heck I was not playing RPGs back then. If memory serves I picked it up in 88. I played that game so much, it was one of my longest running games, my longest running sci-fi, the game where I first tried running two separate campaigns that influenced each other. I did a lot of experimenting and developed many of my DMing skills with Star Frontiers.

Is the game prefect? No, it definitely shows its age, and despite the enthusiasm fans still have for it, I wonder if I could run a campaign using the system. I would definitely run a pickup game, or participate in one. That’s why the concept of the virtual con intrigues me. I want to participate, and while it sounds interesting, the registered participant’s page only lists two people. Still I’m intrigued and if time and the new class schedule allows I may just join them.

If you are a fan of Star Frontiers, check it out!

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1. Let’s got to the frontier… The Star Frontier that is!
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Despite being primarily a Game Master during my years gaming, I was never a Storyteller for a Vampire game. One of the things I enjoy the most is playing my homebrewed world, and at this time we were playing AD&D 2^nd edition. If this was the golden age for Vampire and the World of Darnkess, it was not for AD&D. I worked at a FLGS and whenever I talked about my AD&D game with some RPG fans I got this weird condescending look, as if I was still playing child’s games instead of engaging in immersive storytelling. I felt disdain for the game I played. I don’t know what your experience was but I felt a lot of World of Darkness gamers were snobs, their game was better than anyone else’s.

This turned me off somewhat. Still my close friends and acquaintances were not like that; they continued to play my AD&D 2^nd edition game and invited me to a few Vampire games. The one I probably enjoyed the most was a short lived chronicle run by my friend Karlo, who based the game here in Puerto Rico, and I got to play this bloodthirsty Gangrel biker. Great fun!

The other Storyteller I knew that played a regular chronicle was Ray. He was a very popular WoD Storyteller. Everybody wanted to play with him and that was a problem. His sessions had hundreds of players! Ok that’s an exaggeration, it might have been ten or twelve, or at least it seemed that many. And Ray was a great Storyteller, giving each player time in the spotlight, his games allowed people to explore the plotlines that interested them BUT there were just too many people playing. I once spent an entire night with the group and only got to play for about 30 minutes.

The other thing I did not like was plethora of WoD characters. The group had Vampires, Werewolves, Mages, even a Highlander-like character from some supplement I can’t remember. With such a diverse group motivating all this disparate characters, some that hated each other, was a daunting task. I really did not stick around for the chronicle.

Despite all this stumbling blocks I still had the desire to run the game. What was my biggest deterrent? The metaplot! Most of the people I knew who wanted to play were HEAVILY invested in the game, knew all the plots, read all the books. Of course you’ll say “It’s your game, ignore what you want, make it your game!” But this is easier said than done, to many of these people part of the fun WAS the metaplot and jettisoning it a turn off. This is not a problem exclusive to the WoD, it can be just as hard to play with Forgotten Realms hardcore fans who know every NPC ever published.

So I put away my plans for a Vampire game and went on with my gaming life… I got the New World of Darkness books and kept abreast of the changes in the game, I just never ran it.

Then last year they announced the anniversary edition of Vampire the Masquerade and my desire to run a World of Darkness game came back.  The Vampire as a literary and cultural icon intrigues me. I am a fan of Bram Stoker and while I am NOT a fan of Anne Rice (I can hear the cry of heretic and the mob with torches and pitchforks at my doors), I do like the mythology White Wolf established in the Masquerade. While I really liked Werewolf back in the day, Vampire was always a better fit for my style of play, intricate plots with lots of politics and backstabbing. I resisted the urge to get the collector’s edition due to the price, but when the PDF became available I jumped at the opportunity.

I loved it; it was a wave of nostalgia packed into an awesome product. Well worth the price even if it was steep for a PDF (like Michael pointed out in his post about VtM20). I considered finally running a Vampire game, and some of my players like the idea.  But I knew that with just the PDF it would not be feasible to run the game (or at least that was the excuse in my head) so I caved in an ordered the POD version. The full color, two volume one; the books are not yet in my hands, I just got the notification that they shipped, but the gears are already turning.

When I think about it long and hard, our group has a lot of games in the backburner. Our current Mutants & Masterminds Dawn of a New Age campaign, returning to our Pathfinder RPG swashbuckling campaign, an unnamed sci-fi game using Savage Worlds… Add to that Vampire the Masquerade. Yet I conceive of the Vampire game as a short campaign, perhaps eight to twelve sessions long, taking no more than 3 months.

From what I learned in all those WoD games long ago, here is how I will do things:

• The players will only play vampires. This is easy since only the Masquerade has been updated, but there is always the temptation to go and pick a Garou or a Mage. It’s challenging enough to get vampires form different clans working together, so no characters from other books. All characters will be vampires or vampire related characters, ghouls for example.
• The players must have some pre-game connection. They don’t all have to be friends but they must know at least two other characters in the game. Be it friendship, a relationship, a common mentor, the connection can even be one of friendly competition but not animosity or rivalry.
• Keep the group manageable. There are currently seven official players at my table (one misses a lot of games for personal reasons and another one arrives late due to work sometimes) but more often than not there are seven people playing. This may seem like a lot to some of you, but we already do a lot of role-playing and manage time so that everybody feels included so I think the group can manage. I just can’t add another player to the mix. (Or my players will kill me!)
• Jettison the metaplot. With experience and more confidence as a GM I can bring myself to say the heck with it and be done. With time people are not as invested in the books and stories they knew and I believe will embrace (pun intended) my concepts.

Not on that list, since I don’t think it’s a decision that would make or break a campaign, but it’s a personal choice, I will only use the Camarilla. I know many people adore the Sabbat but the secrecy and politicking of the Camarilla seem more interesting to me. I’m not saying the Sabbat will not exist, only that at the beginning all characters are in the Camarilla.

I will also advance the timeline a couple of years into the near future,  making it still recognizable, but getting rid of some real world pre-conceptions ,and giving it just a little cyberpunk/Blade Runner edge without making it sci-fi. Here is my pitch for a future Vampire the Masquerade game:

In 2020 after the last POWs of the Africa Wars had returned home and the celebration of President Yolanda Newman’s inauguration the United States looked with optimism to the new decade. This was not to be… The plague struck in New York and soon panic grew. Fearing a pandemic the city was placed under martial law and quarantined. Other major metropolitan areas were also quarantined but the infection was controlled quickly. Not so in New York. Millions were trapped inside the quarantine zone. Riots erupted, chaos ensued, more and more people died, and then the terrorist struck. A bacteriological weapon, believed to be the original cause of the plague, was released in the city and killed 96% of the people inside the quarantine zone. The city was declared a hazard, condemned and abandoned.

The plague was soon controlled and Mexico and Canada where the only countries with significant outbreaks. The US economy suffered a great setback, but President Newman’s initiative to rebuild the city of Wilmington in Delaware after the bombing of 2017 was a success. Soon the New York Stock Exchange moved to the rechristened Wilmington and the once almost dead city became New Ubar.

What the people don’t know, not even some of its leaders, is that the events leading up to the destruction of New York, the plague and the raise of a new metropolis in the eastern seaboard of the US were all the machinations of the Kindred. Specifically a member of the Camarilla, he created the plague, that did kill many humans, but also decimated many Sabbat gathered in New York through his machinations. The Cainites  have driven back the Garou who fight to save a dying world. The Mages have disappeared, but whether this is the action of their enemies or a sign of impending doom is unclear.

Come to the new city built by the triumphant Camarilla as they plot to impose their rule upon all the children of Caine… But in the bowels of the shinning new city a man stirs, he cannot remember his name, but his return foretells of dark time ahead.

That’s the gist of it; this would be the beginning of a short chronicle. I realize that this is my second post about a possible campaign, one after the other. I won’t bore you with further details, if there is interest in reading more about the planes for the game let me know, I may just follow up with another post.

PS- I fear there is some vitriol in this post, WoD fans as snob, dismissing Anne Rice… None of it is meant to insult everybody, I am not saying EVERY WoD fan is a snob, I just ran into some of them, just like I know hardcore D&D 4^th edition fans… But those have no excuse!

I kid my friends, all in good fun; enjoy the game, whichever one you play!

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2. Free Stuff Friday: Vampire The Requiem Demo
3. When the World of Darkness died …

The common myth is that local shops are getting killed by online shops, but in my opinion this is only part of the truth. Over the years I’ve come to realize that FLGS death is at least 50% suicide.

Let me start by telling you about the shop I regularly visited during the late 1990s. It was a small, dark and pretty cramped store in a backstreet about 15 minutes on foot away from the train station and every other major store. So if you didn’t know about it’s existence in the first place, you never found it by chance. But that was in my opinion not the reason it had to close down in the end.

Even though the shop was small and dark I actually liked it. They had lots of different roleplaying games on their shelves – from popular games like D&D to the more rare ones and even some pretty obscure ones. I could spend hours there leafing through game books I’ve never even heard about. But where there’s light there’s darkness.

One of the employees was a very grumpy fellow who usually told people that what they were buying was actually crap. His favorite target were people who actually bought one of the overpriced Games Workshop miniatures from them. It was also a really pain in the ass to get him to help you if you had a question. The other one was a more cheerful fellow but had the uncanny ability of driving female customers from the shop in no time.

Both of them were actually totally unable to order anything for you, so if they didn’t have the product you wanted in stock you could either buy something else or just return on another day in hopes they finally had it in stock.

When this shop went under another opened in another part of town. The shop’s interior was larger, better lit and much more friendly. But alas it had a lot of the same problems. The people working there were not that motivated and the word “service” was obviously not in their vocabulary. What annoyed the hell out of me was that they even tried to sell a couple of pretty damaged books for the regular price. I can’t remember that they ever gave you a discount on any damaged books and usually these books never sold because of this.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I just wanted to get the price down. But I think it’s just wrong to trying to sell obviously used stuff for the full price. That’s just not very customer-friendly in my book.

Finally this shop closed after a couple of years and was replaced by a new one that opened just a few dozen meters away. Again you ran into the same issues: a staff that was unmotivated and didn’t know shit about what they were selling. You probably can already imagine how this story ends. Yes, one day this shop closed as well.

I really would love to support brick & mortar gaming shops, but hell they don’t make it easy for me. I am sure there are great game shops out there – with motivated employees who actually know what they are selling, who organize events, provide additional service (like participating in programs like Bits & Mortar), who order books for you and keep you informed about what’s new in gaming. But all the local game shops I’ve been in weren’t anywhere close to that.

So I am forced to buy everything online. The only thing I can do to support the little guy is to buy from online shops like Sphärenmeisters Spiele instead of relying on Amazon too much. Aside from that you can always support your favorite publisher directly by ordering from their own online stores (if they have something like that).

What do you think? Are brick & mortar gaming stores responsible for their own deaths? Or is it the fault of us gamers? Please share your comments below!

Related posts:

1. Ask the Readers: Where do you buy your RPG products?
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The Compact

The children played near the long wooden tables where the villagers had dinned not long ago. Sundown was coming and they ran down the field towards the crops. The celebration meant that harvest was drawing near and many of these children would soon have little time to play. Their cries of joy were suddenly silenced when they saw the old man. He stood a few feet from them, seeming to have come out of the corn, his beard wild and unkempt, and his frame thin and frail, tanned by the sun. But it was his eyes that scared the children. They seemed to dart to and fro, always looking at things unseen. His laughter crackled and one of the younger boys sobbed.

The older children had been taught to respect the elders and some of them picked up the younger scared ones and tried to leave but the old man would have nothing of this. “No, stay children, stay… Come sit here in a circle, now in a circle… Let me tell you a story, a story of the time before the valley, before the community, before the war.”

Despite the hesitation and the fear gossip might have installed on the children, none of them could pass up such a story. It was rare indeed for any of the adults to speak of this. Even the scared ones wiped away their tears and sat in a circle around the old man. The sun was setting beyond the corn fields, beyond the mountains ringing the valley, and it painted the sky red as the old man began his tale…

“I remember the time, the time before the war. We lived in villages of glass and steel, much larger than the eighty odd houses huddled around the town hall and the great house, and there were many more of us. Well not all were like us. Some looked different, spoke differently or believed in different things. Not only where there horseless wagons dancing around the houses of glass and steel, but great metal birds made by man flew across the sky and travelled beyond the clouds to the stars.

And then there was war, the skies were sundered and the seas burned. The great villages of men were torn down and the survivors killed each other for the scraps. And there were worse dangers, things we had forgotten about…”

The old man suddenly fell silent, night had come and the children were all mesmerized. Under the moon the old man’s eyes and hair seemed to glow. He mumbled something, sat down among the children and snapped out of his daze. “The cold came soon, and the darkness that would not lift. The founders all came together and decided to leave it all behind. To seek refuge in the wild, the forgotten lands, and came here to the valley. We all gathered and signed the compact, agreed to come together in the great house and select those amongst us best suited to lead. We plowed the fields mined the hills beyond the swamp and in the end reaped what we sowed…”

He rose with a jump, startling the children. Agitated he began to speak faster and faster, almost incoherently. “We tried to hide, to leave it behind but they would not stay away and then they were tempted and the compact, the compact was broken and remade, sad, and the light the blue light…” The distant night sky flared up, blue as if lightning was coming from beyond the mountains and the old man began to laugh. But the laugh was tainted with sadness and desperation, and a few of the children though they saw his tears as he ran back into the corn fields.

The idea behind this campaign is a little different; it’s less Mad Max and more The Village. The players are the younger members of a community of survivors that hid in a valley and created a sheltered community. They cultivate the fields; make ethanol fuel to run simple generators, make gunpowder for the weapons they manufacture and the leaders of the community enforce order under the authority given to them by the compact, a document signed by the community founders. All is not well, for reasons unknown to the players some families left the compact some time ago and took over the far side of the valley, taking control of the mines. But something has happened to them and they are spoken of only in hushed tones.

There are limited medical supplies and the community relies on a healer whose craft he or she passes down to their apprentice in secret; the sick are treated in the great house in the utmost secrecy. The great house is also the place where the elder members of the community gather around the book of the compact and make the decisions for the village.

This is my basic concept for the game, it still needs to be fleshed out, establish some specifics, but that’s what I‘ve got so far. What do you think? Have any suggestions? I hope to post more about it soon…

Related posts:

1. More details on my new campaign
2. Campaign Inspiration
3. Campaign Primer Ideas! Part 1

The next step will of course be character creation. When I know what kind of characters my players want to play and more importantly what their goals are, I can put some more work in the world itself. But instead of fleshing out everything, I’ll focus on what I need to run an interesting game suited to my player’s characters and their goals.

I also decide that instead of running a pure sandbox game I will probably use what I call the “Elder Scrolls method”. The Elder Scrolls computer games are basically sandbox games at their heart with a main plotline tacked on. So while you can explore the world at your own pace and set your own goals there’s also a plot to follow. The Elder Scrolls also differs in another aspect from a pure sandbox game. Some events only happen when they are initiated by the player. I will probably use this approach, too, mainly because both my players and I are not too familiar with sandbox gaming and a more plot-based approach may make things easier for us until we are comfortable with this mode of play.

The campaign world – which still lacks a proper name –  was inspired by many sources including Imperial Rome, the Elder Scrolls computer games, the works of H.P. Lovecraft and even – don’t laugh – The Sims Medieval. It might not be as unique as some other campaign settings out there, but I think it’s interesting enough to play in it. The focus on the campaign will be the Imperium Turelium, which is loosely based to the Roman Empire. Other important nations are the Barbarian Realms to the north, the nomadic culture of Akilah and the mysterious Dragon Islands which are supposedly ruled by a cult worshipping entities from beyond the heavens.

Yesterday evening I actually started transferring my notes into a campaign primer that I want to give to my players so that they better understand the world we are going to play in. Here’s a short excerpt from the history section:

Some say that the world has been doomed from the beginning and that everything humans have built over the millenia will inevitably turn to dust, everything we have learned will be forgotten and the one who has been cast from the skies will rise again and turn the world into hell.
Long before humankind walked the earth the gods cast out the Great Old One Tornasuk also known as Cthulhu from beyond the heavens. He now lies dreaming, deep below the waves of the Mare Tranquillitatis, in the city of R’lyeh, waiting for the day when the stars are right and he can rise again and rule over the world.

Yes, Cthulhu and some other Mythos entities will play a major role in that world. And even though I cited the Elder Scrolls series as one of my inspirations, this will not be a high fantasy campaign. The magic level will definitely be lower and the overall tone is much darker and more gloomy than in a regular fantasy game. But the players will be able to make a difference if they wish to do so. This is not Call of Cthulhu after all.

As soon as I have turned more of my notes into a proper campaign primer, I’ll post updates here on the blog. And if there’s enough demand I might even release the whole setting in PDF form later this year. But I first need to sit down and draw a map now. You can’t have a proper sandbox game without a map, or can you?

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I made first contact with this fine game back in 2010. When I was at Gen Con, Richard Iorio II offered to run a game for us. Alas Richard got quite sick and was unable to run a game, so Zachary Houghton prepared the game in just 45 mins. We created our characters at the Red Dragon Inn with Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton having dinner at the table next to us.

I quickly fell in love with the game. It’s a sword & sorcery roleplaying game inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft among others. In my opinion SS&S is even more lightweight than the Rogue Games games, which makes it a perfect entry into the 12° system. And the human-centric, low-magic sword & sorcery genre is a welcome change to the classic high-fantasy genre that seems to dominate our hobby right now. If I had to pick my favorite game from Rogue Games’ portfolio, it would definitely be SS&S. It’s a real gem.

After wrapping up our Call of Cthulhu game recently, my players asked me to run something with more action and less investigative elements. We actually pondered whether we should play Dungeonslayers again, but then I told them about SS&S. They agreed to give it a chance and so I started working on a campaign that I can run starting next week.

Instead of running a regular plot-based campaign I’ll try to run a sandbox game instead. That’s something I actually haven’t done before. Even though I often had sandbox elements in my games I always had a plot in mind. This time I want to fully embrace the sandbox.

I could have used the setting included in the SS&S Basic Core Rulebook for this, but instead I am currently working on a setting on my own. The campaign will be set into the outskirts of a vast empire that is loosely modeled after the Roman Empire in it’s later, more decadent days. The power of the empire has been waning for a while now. Old enemies are slowly gathering strength and plan to take back what the empire has occupied centuries ago. Of course there are secrets, ruins, treasures, bandits and monsters everywhere. These are troubled times, a perfect opportunity for adventurers.

When everything goes according to plan we’ll create characters on the last weekend of the month. After I know the characters motivations and background I can add the relevant details to the world. Instead of planning everything beforehand (which would be a huge task) I decided to make up stuff as we go along. When the players tell me they want to take over the local thieves guild, then I will prepare along those lines. If they want to join a mercenary company, I’ll develop things into a different direction.

While I actually have a pretty good idea what the setting should look like, I am still without a proper map. But for the moment a simple sketch map will do. As soon as I come up with something, I’ll share it with you here.

This post is part of Gnome Stew’s “New Year, New Game” blog carnival. Check out this site for details.

Related posts:

1. Happy New Year
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3. Happy New Year

See, I’ve had a couple of rough weeks and we had to cancel our weekly game twice (sacrilege I know!), so we planned this as a way to catch up, see each other and spend some quality time together. Needless to say at dinner with gamers I had to bring up the topic everyone’s been talking about in recent days D&D Next/5th edition…

I wanted to get their take on the news of the development of a fresh version of Dungeons & Dragons. Here in the blog we recently posted our thoughts, but we are bloggers, keep abreast of news and interact with a different community of gamers than some of the gamers I was sitting with. The reaction was interesting, mostly predictable if you know the group, but telling considering this quote from Monte Cook:

“I’m the lead designer of a project that will likely evolve into a new iteration of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. It’s meant to be a set of rules that unites all the previous editions, and the players of those editions.  It’s a big project, and we plan on involving all comers to playtest and voice their opinions, because really, what’s the point of designing a game no one wants to play? And who knows better what D&D players want than, well, D&D players.”

(Thanks to EN World for collecting this and other quotes and information on the development in their D&D 5^th edition info page!)

What did they say? Read on…

This is a varied group, running the gamut from their mid-twenties to forties, all longtime role-players and as a whole we’ve all played D&D, some of us more than others, but we all cut our teeth on the game. Some of them have played at my table for nineteen years, and for the longest time all I ran was D&D. Many where there when we switched from AD&D 2^nd edition to 3^rd edition, and later when I dragged them (some kicking and screaming) to D&D 4^th edition, some even ran the game, so we’ve all experienced edition change.

In the midst of a conversation about movies, critical hits and the selection in the buffet I dropped the bomb, “So what do you think about the fact they are developing a new edition of D&D?” My favorite response was, “What?” There was actually someone at the table who had no idea. It’s been days since the announcement, this is not a person who lives under a rock, he uses the internet, but obviously despite WotC’s attempts and all the media coverage this was the first he had heard of it.

The general consensus seemed to be disinterest. One of the most vocal haters of D&D 4^th edition in my group actually threatened to hit me with the book if I “wasted” (that’s what he called it) my money on a new edition. More moderate voices insisted they were happy with the fantasy RPG they have, Pathfinder, and that it would have to be a pretty amazing system to get them to go back to D&D.

When someone pointed out that planning for sessions is an intense experience for a Game Master, I made the faux pas of actually defending 4^th edition and singing its praises, such as ease of prep time for Game Masters, and the GMs around the table insisted they have the same ease of prep with Pathfinder. And while I agree Pathfinder made many strides in these regards, and making it easy when creating NPCs, specifically by providing short cuts and samples of them, I believe there are still some issues with high-level play, but nothing that bothers me. I can navigate this hurdles and I think the other GMs at the table have mastered the system and thus feel very comfortable with the game.

I think this may be the biggest obstacle Wizards of the Coast faces when they try to attract lapse players back to the fold, they feel that when WotC published 4^th edition they were left behind (no pun intended!) and that they have moved on, they have found other games that fit their style. Another of my players never played 4^th edition and did not understand the vitriolic reaction against D&D 4^th edition, but also felt Pathfinder fulfilled her needs for fantasy gaming and has no desire to change systems.

The most surprising reaction came from one of my oldest friends, he works at a FLGS and is the only player at my table who still actively plays D&D 4^th edition (albeit not with us). He said he has NO interest in a new game, that he would continue playing D&D 4^th edition and Pathfinder. He distrusts (I don’t recall his word choice exactly, but this was the impression I got) WotC’s corporate policies and had little hope on what they plan to do, he was also underwhelmed by the design team. He admitted he was excited about 4^th edition, not so this time around.

I remain positively optimistic. I want to see where this goes, look forward to the open play test, which I believe is a step in the right direction, and think the stated design goals are laudable. From this conversation I know there is NO interest among my players to playtest the game. Since writing the last post on the subject I’ve decided I DO want to play the game as part of the playtest and know people who are interested, so I hope I can cajole some members of Puerto Rico Role Players to try this out.

All this is anecdotal; still I wonder how much of this type of attitude is out there… Is it too late? Has the ship sailed? I certainly hope not. I want to see what the next version of D&D is all about, I want the granddaddy of games to thrive, whether I end up playing it or not. So I invite you dear reader to keep an open mind, I really think it’s too early to say what the game will be like. Don’t write it off, if it ends up not being what you want to play, other will. Let’s all be more tolerant of what other people want to play, we are all gamers, no matter under which system we roll our dice! It’s those diceless heathens we need to worry about! I’m joking, no hate mail please…

I apologize in advance if I misinterpreted or misquoted anyone on this post, know that these are my interpretations of the opinions I heard. Thanks Enith, José F, Luis A, Fernan, Luis L, Pierre, Sara, José D and Nilda for a wonderful evening!

PS- Yes, we are going back to out regularly scheduled Tuesday game this week, there is nothing to fear!

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So, what the news at WotC? What the community suspected for quite some time now, is actually true: WotC is already working on a new edition of D&D.  If it will be called D&D 5th Edition or something else is still unclear, but Mike Mearls obviously likes the idea of just calling it “Dungeons & Dragons” and drop the edition number altogether.

This time they want to do it right and bring back the highly fragmented D&D community. This also more or less proves that D&D 4th Edition wasn’t as successful as the decision makers at WotC and Hasbro hoped for. I suspect the success of Paizo’s Pathfinder and probably even the Old-School Revolution are responsible for that.

While their goals are laudable I fear they are doomed to fail. They plan to create a new edition of D&D that shall please both fans of the recent D&D 4E but also bring back the OSR crowd. They intend to manage this by creating a modular ruleset and community involvement during the design and playtest phases. I have to admit that a highly modular D&D game could be quite interesting. The Unearthed Arcana book for D&D 3.5 was one of my favorite books back when I still played D&D. Being able to pick and choose the rules options you like in your D&D game might be pretty nifty, but in my opinion it’s very hard to pull off.

Community involvement in the design phase may also be pretty problematic. Only a small portion of gamers does participate in online communities or attend gaming convention. How do you make sure that the game appeals to this silent majority and not only to the quite vocal minority that actively participates in the design process?

I have to admit that I’m not that invested in that topic as I was a couple of years back. I wish WotC all the best and if the next iteration of D&D is a roleplaying game that sounds fun to play, I might give it a try. But if it’s not my cup of tea I’ll just play something else. There are so many interesting games out there, so that I am not dependent on Dungeons & Dragons.

Before I let the team speak their thoughts, let me share you some interesting links for you to check out later:

• Charting the Course of D&D (Mike Mearls, Official D&D site)
• Players Roll the Dice for Dungeons & Dragons Remake (NY Times)
• Wizards of the Coasts announces new edition of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’(CNN)
• Gamers React To New Dungeons And Dragons (Forbes)

So, what are my fellow team members’ thoughts on that topic? How do you feel about WotC’s announcement?

Roberto:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I was a D&D fan boy for the longest time! Now with full disclosure out of the way let me summarise how I feel about D&D next, or 5th edition, or however they decide to brand it. Forecast: Positively optimistic!

I’ve written about it before, after playing D&D for most of my gaming life, from Basic to 3rd edition, I was in the 4th edition bandwagon. I can’t fault a company for wanting to make a profit, or attempt to improve their game, and for the longest time I believed the success of the brand was important for the continued existence of the hobby. I tried to play 4th edition, ran a 7+ month campaign and realized this iteration of the game was not for me. I embraced Pathfinder and have not looked back.

While I always played other games, I kept going back to D&D at the end of the day. And you may make the argument that Pathfinder is not far from D&D, but by cutting the D&D umbilical cord I ended up playing and discovering many games I might not have if my gaming money was tied up to the latest WotC release.

I know I am not the only one who’s made this comparison but its worth mentioning again, deciding to give up D&D was like a break up. That’s how invested I was in the game. They’ve put together a great design team, I want to see what they come up with. Their stated goal behind the new edition is laudable, bringing together the community seems like the way to go, and learning from the fiasco of not supporting the OGL I believe is important.

I even applied for the playtest… Looking back I realize it was a spur of the moment decision, my gaming time is precious as is and I don’t see myself giving up my current or future campaign to playtest the new D&D. I want to keep abreast of the process and may just do some special sessions to try out the rules with my peeps from Puerto Rico Role Players, so we’ll see.

On the flip side, I wonder if its too little too late. I believe there is the possibility of life in the hobby beyond D&D, and It would have to be a truly great game to get me to play D&D again. I’ve healed the wounds from the break up and I’m not completely convinced I want to get back together.

I think community participation, with its inevitable pitfalls, it still a great idea. So I believe this is a step in the right direction. I don’t want an MMO like board game, but I’d love for them to integrate the DDI tools into a game I like, I liked the DDI when I was subscribed, not the game it supported. I’d love to see PDFs priced right, online support, the building of a true community. Let’s see if WotC can manage that!

Again, I’m optimistic and will follow what they do, hopefully participate in the discussion. Realistically I will most than likely get the book (books?) when they come out and read them, whether I end up playing it is another matter. Here is me wishing the best to the design team, they’ll need it. To misquote Bette Davis in All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts, its going to be a bumpy ride!”

Michael Garcia:

I’m not sure what to think of this announcement. As a lover of the OSR I like the fact that they are taking opinions from the community. I’m fairly positive that the alpha and beta of Pathfinder from Paizo has a lot to do with this.

My fear is that they will be taking the opinions of the gamers that are vocal. My experiences show that most gamers are not. Not every gamer is a member of the Wizards Community, they don’t all have blogs, and we all know how forums go. Sigh, I’m afraid that the input is only going to be by whiny 14 year old 4e loving twitter folks. Long story short, I opted for the playtesting, which I have a feeling is only going to be Encounters, which I do not participate in. I’ll read it over, may play it, but I’m happy with my retro clones. I doubt they win me back, but I’m hopeful as D&D was what got me into the hobby in the first place. I would love to be proven wrong.

My hopes:

• Pencil, paper, dice only. I don’t want inclusion of electronics by any means.
• I don’t want to have to buy minis from a company that doesn’t even sell minis anymore.
• No subscriptions.
• The OGL to come back in one form or another.
• My wish, 1e with better art and layout.

Youseph:

I woke up Monday morning to a hopeful sounding Wizards of the Coast (WotC) post announcing the plans for the new version of Dungeons & Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons is the granddaddy of all role playing games (RPG). Anyone who thinks of role playing games, weather they have played any or not, thinks of Dungeons & Dragons. There is a lot of power behind the name and the brand. I cut my teeth on RPGs with Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition and it has proved to be a gateway drug of sorts for me by opening doors to many other RPGs that I have enjoyed and invested in. But the grand daddy has been and will always be Dungeons & Dragons. I would love the chance to come back to it again at some point.

After reading the WotC announcement I immediately started searching twitter for any other posts regarding the new edition of the beloved game and found a couple of really good ones, including posts at CNN, The New York Times, and Forbes. each one of them seemed to have a little bit more info to add to the announcement than the last.

The biggest positive thing I have seen since the announcement of the new Dungeons & Dragons game is that WotC has been way more active with the community on Twitter (and I assume Facebook). It’s like someone with in the company read a copy of Gary Vaynerchuk’s ‘The Thank You Economy’ and realized the people they are selling Dungeons & Dragons to are people with feelings and opinions and need to be heard if they wish to keep making money.

As for the stacks of 4E books I have bought? Well you know. I find that all these books from all these other RPGs I have invested in prove to be a great resource of ideas and adventures when I am planning out a game. I think they will prove themselves useful for years to come.

Jay:

D&D Next is an interesting direction in which to take the D&D brand, given that Pathfinder has managed to make an abandoned ruleset successful.  Perhaps this is just a case of WotC trying to emulate a successful model, but ultimately I think that if done with sufficient care, this approach might result in a good product.

While it 4e wasn’t the success that Hasbro wanted it to be, I still felt that it was a valid game.  In fact, it introduced new ways of playing the game that were genuinely interesting, and I still hold the opinion that if it had been marketed as a different RPG instead of having the D&D name on it, it would not have experienced the severe backlash that it did from the fans of older editions.

I await the results of D&D Next with cautious optimism.  On one hand, they started on the right foot.  They found a way to make their announcement across multiple channels, and supported it with a strong social media presence.  They seem dedicated to keep those who were intrigued interested in the material by starting off with something as early as this month.  The talk about listening to the players is very encouraging, though it will take a strong design hand to stick to what works, after listening to what are possibly the most passionate (and outspoken) fans in the industry.

WotC is taking the right steps with promotion, and I’m hoping that the results of their design work will continue to show promise.  If this is Hasbro’s last attempt to make a commercially viable D&D, then they’re certainly going about it the right way.

Related posts:

1. My thoughts on the new D&D “red box”
2. My thoughts on the D&D Essentials Starter aka “Red Box”
3. My thoughts on OGL, GSL and beyond

But that doesn’t mean I have given up. So my first gaming related resolution for 2012 is the same as last year: play more. We actually scheduled our first game for the second weekend in January where I want to wrap up the Call of Cthulhu game from New Year’s Eve.

But aside from that I want to run a campaign from start to finish in 2012. It doesn’t need to be long, but a story arc that covers at least a dozen sessions would be a nice change. I have a couple of ideas what I would love to run in the new year, but before making any plans I should consult my players. More than once I’ve made plans for a game that I never ran because I couldn’t interest my players in it.

One of the things I would love to do is running a sandbox campaign with Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I recently got my print copy of Carcosa and I utterly love that book. The setting is extremely weird, has a lot of Lovecraft influences and looks and reads great. I’ll also have to think of a way on how to make use of Vornheim, too, since it’s another book I would like to use someday. I am not sure if my players are into old-school D&D, but it might be worth a try.

When it comes to game design I still have a couple of unfinished projects on my harddrive that need some more work. So another goal for 2012 is to at least finish one of those projects. Heck, perhaps I should resurrect the Gearbox project or finally finish that game I’ve been working on in secret for way too long…

So what are your gaming resolutions for 2012? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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As you can see the box contains not only three rulebooks (86, 140 and 32 pages respectively) but also pregenerated characters sheets, unfilled character sheets, gadget cards and a shitload of story point counters and a full set of dice. Throw in a few sheets of scrap paper and a couple of pencils and you’re good to go! The boxed set really makes it easy to jump into gaming without setting the hurdles too high.

The Player’s Guide starts with a short story set into the Whoniverse called “Shaking the Box” which is followed by a short introduction into the Doctor Who universe and roleplaying. Oh, did I mention that the game is based on the “new” Doctor Who series started by BBC Wales in 2005? It features a lot of still photography from the series, especially the David Tennant episodes. As far as I know an updated version of the game is in the works which will feature the 11th Doctor as well. But I digress.

Back in 2009 I wrote a post called “Doctor Who RPG – Could this really work?”. I was really skeptical a Doctor Who game might even work. But this game has convinced me that it can actually work. The Player’s Guide lists a couple of options on how to assemble your team. Aside from playing the established team from the series like The Doctor, Rose, Donna, Captain Jack Harkness, etc., you can also play The Doctor and new companions we haven’t seen in the series, or it’s possible to play a UNIT team, Torchwood operatives or even Time Agents. The rules even allow you to create new Time Lord characters.

Character creation uses a straightforward point-buy system. You get points that you distribute among your attributes, skills and traits. The really interesting part are traits here. They are what make your character really unique. There are good, bad and special traits. Good traits give your character a special talent or ability, bad traits are weaknesses like being Unattractive or Selfish. Special traits allow you to create Alien, Cyborg or even Time Lord characters.

The core mechanic is quite simple. Whenever you attempt a difficult task, you roll two six-sided dice and add the relevant attribute and skill value to the result. You try to beat or match a Difficulty set by the GM. If you roll above or below the Difficulty it may have additional consequences beside succeeding or failing. That might not be the most unique mechanic out there, but it works fine and is easy to learn even for new players.

When it comes to conflict rules you’ll notice something pretty uncommon in roleplaying games: fighting is actually the worst option. At least when it comes to initiative. In Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space Talkers act first, followed by Movers and Doers. So you want to fire that gun or throw that punch? Wait until everyone else is done talking, running and doing something. This rule actually helps a lot to emulate the tone of the series and it’s a welcome change to the usual “shoot first – ask questions later”. The rules actually advise to avoid gunplay if possible. Hiding and sneaking and talking down enemies is actually much more in line with what we expect from a Doctor Who game anyway.

In the description of the box contents I mentioned Story Points. These are a meta game currency the players have access to that they can spend to get additional clues when they are stumped, add something to an important roll, tweak failed result to save themselves or bend the story in favor of the players. Gadgets come with their own Story points, too. So they can be used for tasks they were not really designed for. The number of ways you can use your Story Points to do the exceptional are countless.

The Gamemaster’s Guide contains all the rules from the Player’s Guide but a) in more detail and b) described from the GM’s standpoint. In addition to that it explains how to run games, design adventures and gives basic gamemastering advice. A major portion of the Gamemaster’s Guide covers Time Travel. No Doctor Who game would be complete without it and in my opinion time travel is one of the hardest things you can do in a tabletop game. Especially paradoxes can be a major pain, but the book gives good advice on how to avoid them. It also explains what happens when you really screw up. Do you remember the Reapers from the episode where Rose tried to save her father? Yup, they are in the book as well.

The Gamemaster’s Guide also contains a lot of information on the Whoniverse, Timelords, the TARDIS and the aliens you might encounter on your travels. All the basic adversaries from the series are covered like the Dalek, Cybermen, the Ood and even the Autons. Some of those aliens can even be played, if the GM approves, but some of them might not be suited for every campaign.

The Adventures Book contains two complete adventures and a whole bundle of adventure ideas you can use as inspiration for your own campaigns.

Overall Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space is a great roleplaying game for fans of the series. It doesn’t matter whether you are a new gamer or a gaming veteran. The rules are easy to learn and are perfectly suited to the tone of the series. I’m not sure if I would recommend the game to someone who doesn’t know the series, but it’s a must buy for every fan!

By the way, the game is currently on sale on the official Cubicle 7 store. You can get the boxed set + PDF bundle for the low price of $36! You can also get the PDF version from RPGNow for $34.99.

Please note that the review was based on a review copy of the boxed set provided by the publisher.

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My girlfriend and I played a lot of Star Wars: The Old Republic recently, which is a lot of fun. It’s the most immersive MMO I’ve played so far and Verena and I are enjoying it immensely. The game also makes me want to run some Star Wars pen & paper game, but at the moment, I have neither the time nor the players needed to start a new campaign.

On New Year’s Eve I’ve run a Call of Cthulhu game for a couple of friends. I picked the first episode of the Age of Cthulhu campaign by Goodman games, which has an interesting story but has some issues that made it harder to run than I expected. But we still had a lot of fun.

And there’s something else I want to tell you about. I got a very special gift this Christmas. Some of you probably know that I am interested in astronomy that’s why I picked the nickname Stargazer a couple of years back. I own a small telescope but I don’t go out watching the skies as often as I would like. So my girlfriend thought she gave me some incentive to do so. She gave me a star as one of her Christmas gifts! One star in the Draco constellation is now registered¹ as “Stargazer’s World” and I have the documents to prove it. So, next time you look up into the sky, look out for “Stargazer’s World”.

1) Yes, I know that only the IAU can actually name stars, but I don’t mind. And the deed really looks great on the kitchen wall.

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In 2011 the team of Stargazer’s World has posted over 300 times. Considering that we usually don’t publish posts on the weekend this is quite an achievement. But the holiday season is usually used as a time to look back on what you’ve done and to relax. And trust me, especially my creative batteries are almost dead, so some days without thinking about what to post next are in order. But fret not, we’ll be back in January 2012!

Until then the team of Stargazer’s World wishes you happy holidays and a happy new year!

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2. Here is to 1,000 more!
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Even though we have held lots of activities we rarely do purely social activities. With the exception of a movie night all other group activities have centered on gaming. You’d figure since the group centers around role-playing games that’s a given, BUT I really appreciate the friendships I’ve made through the group and I want to spend some time with them away from the game… Is that an oxymoron?

We originally had planned to meet in the Old City of San Juan, but we missed one small detail. Yanni (yeah, Yanni at the Acropolis, Yanni) was holding a concert at the San Felipe del Morro Castle so we did a last minute change of venue and settled on The Office Traditional Irish Pub (yes there is one on Puerto Rico). We gathered there last Saturday and had a terrific get together. Great beer was drunk, I met up with old friends, made new ones, someone dressed in a kilt and someone else hustled games of magic for free beers. What can I say, geeks do it better!

Looking back I realize I am grateful for a lot of things this year. The highlights include the growth of Puerto Rico Role Players, my participating here in the blog, going to Gen Con and meeting so many new friends, the people I’ve met through Stargazer’s World and social media. The year also had some difficult times, the health of elderly family members took a turn for the worse, I worked too much and rested too little, suffered for it and found myself not spending time with my loved ones and doing the things I love. But as this year closes I have a new job, the support of my loved ones and I once again have time to do what I love!

So looking back I want to thank everybody who was part of this year in my life. To all those who read my posts, whether we met in person or virtually, thank you. The gaming community is truly a wonderful place. Here is looking forward to the upcoming year. No matter how, or IF, you celebrate the season, happy holidays everybody, thanks for reading!

I’ll finish this post with my affirmation for the upcoming year: Being a Geek is my lifestyle choice… I am proud to be part of the Greater Geek Nation!

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2. RPG Blogging 101: Let’s start at the beginning
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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?

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But sometimes there are times when deleting a comment is necessary. I delete everything that looks like spam or that could be considered illegal. I don’t tolerate racism, hate speech or misogyny. And if you think you need to attack one of your fellow commenters or the author of the article of the post without adding anything meaningful to the discussion, you don’t have to be surprised when I delete your comment.

If you can’t accept these simple rules, it’s perhaps best you refrain from commenting here. Everyone else is welcome to share his or her thoughts. The community around Stargazer’s World has always been a nice and open one and I hope this is not going to change in the future, even if there’s some controversial topic to argue about.

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You’ve read everything? Good.

One sentence in particular made me angry enough to start writing down my thoughts on the matter:

“These feature hobbyists, players, people who have no goddamned right to be making a game, touting themselves as ‘designers’ and putting out endless iterations of the rules that please them.”

I think there’s more than one thing that’s wrong with that article. In my humble opinion the whole premise of the blog is wrong. I don’t think the gaming industry is in a state of decline or even “rotten” as the unnamed author puts it. In fact I believe it’s more healthy and vibrant than ever. As an avid RPG fan I enjoy having the choice between hundreds of different games and I am glad modern technology makes it so easy to release your own stuff on the web. But the author of the aforementioned article thinks that is actually hurting the RPG industry. So his solution is to advise people to stop making games.

In his opinion as soon as you have to ask people for advice how to market your game, you should stop what you’re doing, because you need more money, more time and more experience than you have. In my opinion this is the worst thing that could happen to the RPG hobby and the industry. And as we all know, neither having money or experience ensures that what you do is in any way “good”.

Often the most creative and unique new games were created by amateurs and idea designers. Being inexperienced can actually help you to think out of the box and come up with new ideas, more seasoned designers never would have thought about. Of course there’s a lot of crap out there, but there are also a lot of very cool games that are worth our while. And as I said before I prefer to have the hard choice of picking the right game for me from hundreds instead of being limited to a few choices.

A world in which there are serious hurdles to overcome before you’re allowed to make your own game is a sad world indeed. In such a world, a lot of very cool games would never have been made. Luckily Mr. “Yourbusinesssucks” doesn’t have authority over all those creative amateurs out there! My advice: Never. Stop. Making. Games.

When you first think about it “We need less but better games” sounds like it makes sense, it actually doesn’t. Innovation is not achieved by limiting the choices consumers have. Having access to dozens or even hundreds of games may feel like a burden sometimes. But it’s actually something that empowers you. And it’s good for our hobby. And what is actually better? “Better” is something highly subjective. As the old saying goes: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. You might not like that Fantasy Heartbreaker someone has written, but perhaps the next roleplayer does. Who decides what is good and what is not good? And who decides who has the “goddamned right to be making a game“?

Ultimately I think that nowadays we are much better off as ever before. If you take some time, do some research, ask a few people on the ‘net or in your circle of friends, and I am sure you’ll find the one game you like best. We might still have to figure out a way to make the hobby more accessible to newbies but limiting ourselves is not the way to go.

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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.

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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.

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No wonder hardcore fan-folk (and I use the term meaning no disrespect) often take this to the next level when it comes to the things they are passionate about. Be it the TV series they were really invested in and the networked axed, or the endless novel series whose author passed away before completing it. There can be righteous indignation in such occasions.

It’s no different with fans of role-playing games when a game they love is cancelled, or an adventure series they enjoy is left unfinished, but we have the very particular characteristic that what we enjoy is not solely dependant on the actions of others. If a TV series gets the axe, or a novel series is never finished, well there is not much we can do about it. We can petition and protest and that sometimes has a result, but that’s usually not the case. Some people write fan-fiction and present to the world how they think the story would have ended. But we never get to know how the original creator (be is a sole writer or a production company) had planned for the story. We just won’t know…

Enter our hobby. True some people only play pre-published adventures, but even those who do end up modifying or changing the story by the mere act of playing it, even if they use pre-gens and the GM sticks pretty close to what’s written. Our hobby is not passive; we are the weavers of the tales we tell.

So it is no surprise that when a campaign is not finished we get the same feeling of being let down. No let’s call it what it is, the sense of FAILURE when a campaign we began with such gusto just peters out and dies. As I mentioned this line of thought on Twitter last weekend (follow me as there as @Sunglar) @NookHarper listed the reasons this happens.  He correctly said some reasons include players leaving, new games starting, starting games full of enthusiasm but with little or no planning, among others.

And I agree those are among the common causes that campaigns die. Some will say that’s why they don’t play campaigns, that they prefer one shots or short adventures, and I say, more power to you, to each and everyone his or her own. Play what makes you happy! Me? Well I just love campaigns, the possibility of telling a long term story, the nuances developed as characters interact with the world, be it for a hundred sessions, or just ten. If you have never played a campaign I recommend it, it’s a different experience and well worth the work and aggravation (and there will be a little bit of both I assure you!).

I have finished various campaigns, some years long. I tend to stick to something until the end. I, like any other human being, am a completist. Logically you might now expect my advice on how to make sure that campaign keeps going, tips on how to reach the finish line. Well no! That’s not what this post is about, on the contrary, I will go ahead and say it. That campaign you are sorry you did not finish, well it might be a good thing it never did.

Before you get offended and think I dismissed your campaign, let me tell you why I say this. Have you always been happy with the way a story ends? Be it novel, television series or movie. I can tell you the finale of LOST was one of the most disappointing TV watching experiences of my life. Oftentimes when we like something a lot, there is no way the end is going to be as good as we thought it would be. True with campaigns the attentive Game Master can tailor and shape the flow of things to meet player lies and expectations and hopefully come to a satisfying conclusion. But I have the nagging feeling that more often than not the ends of campaigns happen after some measure of fatigue has set in and they are either, rushed and feel too premature, or dragged out to long and disappoint. I will admit that, while some campaign closings have been successful, some of my campaigns have suffered from the abovementioned ills.

Maybe the campaign wasn’t that good to begin with. It could have been fun but not as entertaining as the GM thought, we are no perfect after all. But maybe it was really good and it ended for reasons beyond your control. When a campaign is just left unfinished and players keep talking about what could have been, all the possibilities, sometimes its better to leave it like that. Specially if a long time has passed. You will probably never be able to recapture the enthusiasm, the thrill of the original games. Better to live of the memory and what if, than to try to go back and end it…

It’s not easy, but I am trying to come to terms with the idea. I fear George RR Martin will die without finishing A Song of Ice and Fire. I’ve made my peace with it. I’ll read the novels as they come out, I’m along for the ride, if I get to the end that will just be s plus. The same with other media I enjoy.

This line of thought came to me as I ponder the end of the current storyline in my Mutants & Masterminds campaign; which will go into hiatus as its proven popular enough with my players to merit a return to it eventually. We have not played out swashbuckling Pathfinder RPG game since last December and as much fun as we had I know not all the players were equally enthusiastic by the end, and we ended it abruptly because everybody wanted to play supers. For a moment I thought, perhaps its time to let it go…

Well I’ll be a stubborn ass and I think I will disregard my own advice and try to retake it. I have some specific plans to overhaul the game, switch the focus and discuss with players the necessary changes. Well see how that goes… I’ll let you know if I was successful or if it should have remained unfinished business.

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Of course they took some artistic liberties and even before I saw the first footage I was pretty sure that Disney wouldn’t let Dejah Thoris run around half-naked as she did in the book.

By the way, is there actually an “official” Barsoom RPG? I am sure the world would make an interesting background for a roleplaying game. And the planetary romance genre is not as overdone as some other genres out there.

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