RPGaDay 9-14

 And here’s questions 9 to 14.

9 - What is the 2nd RPG you bought?

Traveller was my first RPG, and then the most significant RPG for me after that was Call of Cthulhu, a year or so later. But between Call of Cthulhu and Traveller, there might have been Gangbusters and Tunnels and Trolls (neither of which I played much). Or were they after Call of Cthulhu? I can’t remember.

10 - When did you start Gamemastering?

It was 1981, and my friend Rob came over to play the weird new game I had just bought (Traveller, as mentioned earlier). We rolled up characters and then tried the combat system. I can’t remember who won.

Rob then bought the Shadows/Annic Nova adventure. He ran Shadows, I ran Annic Nova (I can’t remember who went first).

We always shared being the GM or playing.

11 - If you could live in a game setting, where would it be?

Somewhere upbeat and hopeful in the future (I like to think that we somehow make it past our current troubles and reach the stars). I can’t think of a specific setting that has made me think, “I’d like to live here.”

12 - Why did you start RPGing?

I liked boardgames, I liked science fiction. The advert for Traveller sounded intriguing, and when the game arrived, I tried it out and enjoyed it.

(I then also got into hobby gaming—I bought Car Wars, Ogre, and Cosmic Encounter all around that time.)

13 - How would you change the way you started RPGing?

I wouldn’t change a thing—I like how I started roleplaying: I didn’t start by playing D&D, and I didn’t start by joining someone else’s game. I did it the hard way—figuring everything out from three little black books. I kinda like that. (I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else, but I also wouldn’t want to change it.)

14 - Roll 1d8+1, and tag that many friends and suggest a new RPG to try.

I don’t like tagging people, so I’m going to change this to RPGs I would like to run. I’ve not run any of these, but I’ve played one or two of them (just the once.)

Hillfolk: I’ve played this once, and really enjoyed it. Now I want to run it. But it’s a bit challenging to bring to the table—I find myself intimidated by it. It’s a game I really want to play, and it’s so radical I’m a little surprised that it hasn’t had a bigger impact on RPGs generally.

Urban Shadows: I backed the Kickstarter for the second edition, and I’m looking forward to giving it a try—although it’s another game I’m intimidated by.

Kingdom: I’m a huge fan of Ben Robbins’ Microscope—it’s the one game that I couldn’t wait to play after I had read the book. I’ve got Kingdom, but haven’t got it to the table yet—I really need to push that up the playing order. I might have played this, once, at Furnace.

Trophy Dark: I listen to the Fear of a Black Dragon podcast (which is generally excellent). They have mentioned Trophy Dark and Trophy Gold several times. I don’t have Trophy Dark, but I gather it’s inspired by Cthulhu Dark (which I do have) and focussed on one-shot play, so that appeals.

Good Society: The Jane Austen game. A pleasant change from flying spaceships and staking vampires.

Monsterhearts: I’ve played Monsterhearts once, but would like to run it.