RPGaDay #26-31

#26 Favorite character sheet

I don't have a favourite character sheet.

#27 Game you'd like a new edition of

I'd love a second edition of Hillfolk. The first edition is, um, not good. These are the changes I'd make:

System: Right now, I wouldn't change it. But after I've played it a few more times, I may have ideas.

Cover: Currently, a muddy brown cover with a couple of indistinct figures. Make it compelling. And beautiful.

Fonts: Currently tiny and (to my old eyes) almost unreadable. Make it bigger!

Series pitches: Currently, over 50% of the book consists of alternate game ideas (of varying quality). Throw all but the three best out and turn them into character playsheets along the lines of Jon Cole's one-shot playbooks. Keep the other series pitches, but as pdfs (ideally with playbooks).

Size: Currently a 230+ page A4 hardback. Cut it down to a trade paperback size and give it some love.

#28 Scariest game you've played

Scary games are hard to do, and I think the scariest game I played was in the mid-eighties. I was in a games club in Exeter, and we were playing Call of Cthulhu. I can’t remember the plot, but for some reason, we were exhuming the body of a suspected sorcerer. And somehow, the anticipation of what we would find turned that into the scariest session I can remember.

What’s odd about that is that we were in a large room in a pub, with other games going on around us. So the atmosphere was against us, but somehow, for me, it became scary. (That’s what I think of when people talk about immersion. Not the what-you-see-is-what-you-get sense from some larps, but being carried away by the game so reality fades into the background.)

#29 Most memorable encounter

Cosmic Encounter. For lots of reasons, most of which I've put here.

#30 Obscure RPG you've played

No idea.

#31 Favourite RPG of all time

I’m not sure I have an all-time favourite RPG. I guess it could be Fate Accelerated, for the reasons I talked about in question #18.

However, since running a session of Hillfolk at Continuum last month, I suspect Hillfolk will be my new favourite – but it’s too early to tell. (A more detailed write-up of that Hillfolk session will follow in a later post.)

My favourite boardgame is easy, though: Cosmic Encounter.

And my favourite freeform? That’s complicated, as freeforms aren’t normally played more than once. But if you forced me to pick, I’d probably say either Home of the Bold (my first freeform ever) or Café Casablanca (my first weekend freeform), both of which I’ve played twice.

Reflecting on #RPGaDay 2023?

31 questions feel like a lot – and I feel like I’ve petered out. I’m not sure the questions were that great either.

I’d much rather things were spread out during the year – allowing for more time to think about them properly.

But hey, I still did it. Will I do 2024? Maybe. Probably. 

RPGaDay 2023 #22-25

#22 Best secondhand RPG purchase

I don't think I've bought any RPGs secondhand.

#23 Coolest looking RPG

For me, it's still Traveller's elegant black-and-red look from 1977.

These days, I find readability and accessibility more important than coolness. I particularly like huge coffee-table books, so most large-publisher RPGs are a turn-off for me. (I find the current Mongoose Traveller more readable than the old GDW booklets.)

I find RPGs also often fail at making them easy to use during play - the ALIEN books (and adventures, especially) are particularly bad at this.

#24 Complex/simple RPG you play

As I said before, I generally prefer simple RPGs. I once ran a campaign using only 2d6. The players said what they wanted to do, rolled 2d6, and I interpreted the results. So those were probably the simplest rules I’ve used, but it wouldn't have worked if we didn't trust each other.

Currently, I am running a playtest of As the Sun Forever Sets, a Forged in the Dark game set during HG Wells' Martian invasion. I've not run Blades in the Dark, and I'm finding the game extremely fiddly - with lots of things to think about that I would normally ignore or handwave. I wouldn’t say it's crunchy (which I associate with numerous modifiers and rules for specific situations), but ATSFS has many more subsystems to keep track of than I'm used to. I feel like I’m playing a boardgame – but without the helpful player boards and counters that a boardgame would come with.

My sweet spot is probably Fate Accelerated, which is just about right.

(I know there’s an argument that the “game” part of “roleplaying game” means there must be mechanics and systems. But that’s not why I roleplay (that’s what boardgames are for). What I like when I roleplay are a story, playing characters important to that story, and PCs who talk to each other (not just to the GM). None of which involve rolling dice. Anyway, I’ve covered this before.)

#25 Unplayed RPG you own

I had stopped playing (and running) Traveller by the time I bought The Traveller Book. (I had moved on to Call of Cthulhu by that point.) Which is a shame, as I think it's the best iteration of the original Traveller rules.

I also have the latest iteration of Mongoose Traveller. I hope I'll play that soon - and maybe even run Secrets of the Ancients.

Also unplayed is Good Society, which arrived over a year ago. It feels like a game that suits face-to-face play rather than online play, and while I want to play/run it, I don’t have a regular face-to-face group. Maybe I need to nag someone else into playing it.

Cold City and Hot War are in my “unplayed and not currently planning to play” category. I’ve played in a couple of Hot War one-shots, but I don’t think I’ve got the hang of it – which is why I’ve not run it. While I’ll play them should the opportunity present itself, I’m not planning (or thinking about planning) either. 

Urban Shadows is in a holding pattern. I have a pdf of the first edition, but I’m waiting for the second edition physical book from Kickstarter. I’m hoping this becomes something I play rather than something that sits on the shelf.

Finally, while I have numerous unplayed pdfs, the only one I'd really like to bring to the table is Monsterhearts.

I have no unplayed boardgames.

RPGaDay 2023 #18-21

#18 Favorite game system

When I'm playing (or running) a game, I often think, "This would be so much easier were we playing Fate Accelerated."

I like the simplicity of Fate Accelerated. Yes, I probably play it in a more trad style than perhaps it’s supposed to be played, but I find it almost effortless to run. And yes, I accept that approaches take getting used to (I still find them a bit strange), but I’ve never had a problem explaining them to players at the table.  

I prefer Accelerated to Fate Core or Fate Condensed – but that’s because I don’t really like the skills in the other two variants. 

My issue with skills is that I often find skills lists problematic (I’ve discussed this before here and here). My issue with skills in Fate Core and Condensed is that they take away something from the aspects. In Accelerated, if Luke Skywalker takes the aspect “Hotshot fighter pilot”, then that’s all we need to know. If he takes the same aspect in Core or Condensed but doesn’t take the Pilot skill, then mechanically, his aspect isn’t true. I appreciate this isn’t something anyone would actually do, but it’s one of the reasons I prefer Fate Accelerated.

(And Hillfolk may now be a challenger now I've started playing that. But the two games do different things.)

#19 Favorite published adventure

I'm not sure I have a favourite, but there are a couple of published adventures I like.

I like Lady Blackbird, by John Harper. Arguably this is little more than five characters, a situation and some notes backed up by a simple system. But the five characters are marvellous (as I said in Q15, the key is getting the characters right), and the system drives great behaviours in the players (I'm a big fan of refresh scenes). 

I guess you might argue that Lady Blackbird is a game system, but to me, it's an adventure with some rules.

Secrets of the Ancients by Gareth Hanrahan, is an epic campaign for Traveller. It ticks all the boxes I liked about Traveller (mainly, the Ancients) and reads well. However, I've yet to play or run it. Hopefully, one day. (I've not played or run any Traveller in years and years).

My list of published adventures I don't like is much longer...

#20 Will still play in twenty years’ time

I'll be in my late seventies in twenty years' time, so it may need to be something with large text...

That aside, I wouldn't be surprised if Fate Accelerated, Fiasco and Hillfolk are still hitting the table.

I hope I'll still be playing Cosmic Encounter and playing (and writing) freeforms.

#21 Favorite licensed RPG

I'm generally not a fan of licensed RPGs, for two reasons:

First, I don't enjoy reading RPG game setting material. I'd rather read or watch the original books. So even though I'm a fan of The Expanse, a big chunk of the book would be wasted on me because I'd resent reading it.

Second, I don't enjoy learning new rules. (I certainly don't enjoy reading new rules.) So were I to run a game set in The Expanse universe, I'd probably just use Fate Accelerated.

ALIEN

But having said all that, as an Alien fan, I do own (and enjoy) the ALIEN RPG.

I don't particularly like the system; it's crunchier than I prefer, and I can struggle with skill-based games, particularly when there are so few skills in ALIEN. But I put up with it because the stress mechanic is awesome and is the best thing about the rules.

As for the setting, I don't enjoy reading that either. The Alien extended universe has, as is the way of these things, gone a bit up its own arse. Between the later films and the comics, and the novels, it's mostly meh. (I find it helps to remember it's all fanfic...)

The RPG tries valiantly to make sense of it, but I still find it tedious to read. Worse, the published adventures make horrible design choices that make them infuriating to run.

So when I run ALIEN, I rely on my knowledge of Alien and Aliens, and I wing the rest. It works for me.

Boardgames

As for boardgames, I remember when licenced games were dire tie-ins just there to suck money out of luckless punters. (And some are still like that - I've had too many presents of tv-tie in games from friends who don't know me well enough...)

But over the last twenty years or so, that's changed, and a licenced game is often excellent. Having said that, I don't own many. Just:

• The Lord of the Rings by Reiner Knizia. The first successful cooperative game that started the genre. I got my old copy out recently and enjoyed revisiting it. 
• X-Wing Miniatures Game by Jay Little. I'm not a huge fan of miniatures games, but X-Wing is quite fun. I’m not keen on the collectable aspect of it, and I haven’t played it now in a few years. I used to have several ships, but now I only have the starter set.
• Space Hulk: Death Angel by Corey Konieczka is a challenging cooperative game set in the world of Warhammer 40K.

Boardgames that I'd like to try include ALIEN: The Fate of the Nostromo and The Thing: the Boardgame, although I have limited space for more boardgames which is why I haven’t bought them.

Freeforms

Freeforms based on books, television, films and theatre (although they're not licensed) are often a lot of fun. I've played in games based on 'Allo 'Allo, Are you being served?, Dollhouse, Shogun, Broadway musicals (I've played characters from Into the Woods and Hairspray, and I'm about to play a character from Hamilton) and more. I've written games based on the books of PG Wodehouse (Midsummer Mischef), Pride and Prejudice, Buffy and Angel, and Western movies (Once Upon a Time in Tombstone) and probably more that I have forgotten.

(Some of the freeforms can be downloaded for free here.)

RPGaDay 2023 #13 to 17

#14 Favourite convention purchase

My most used convention purchase is my trusty dice bag and dice tray from the fine folk at All Rolled Up. I found that my pens fell out when I turned it upside down, so Miss H added a flap to keep them secure during transport.

My favourite convention purchase, however, might be my most recent: The Floor is Lava and Bored? Games! by Ivan Brett, both purchased at Airecon earlier this year. (I reviewed them here.)

#15 Favourite con one-shot

I run quite a few convention games, but based on my last convention (Continuum in Leicester), it's Hillfolk - specifically, the one-shot playbooks created by Jon Cole. It was a superb session, but I've only done it once, and I'm looking forward to seeing how repeatable it is.

For me, the key to a good convention game is getting the characters right. If you get the characters right (with links between the PCs and, ideally, a little conflict), the scenario runs itself. Much of that can be created at the table, with a shortened session zero.

As a player, my favourite game was a Fate Accelerated game run by Neil Gow at Furnace. The setting was Werewolf: the Apocalypse and we were the last werewolves facing the apocalypse. (Although I was an elf. Anyway.) Alone, we faced the baddies and prevented the apocalypse. It was epic and huge – and it felt like we were playing in a movie. Brilliant.

From a freeform perspective, they're all one-shot games. I don't have a favourite, though.

#16 Game you wish you owned

There's nothing from the past I think I want. (One thing I like about playing RPGs is that it can be a cheap hobby if you want it to be. Some rules, dice, pens and paper, some friends - that's it.)

There are a couple of boardgames that are coming out that I've got my eye on, but I've not made any decisions yet.

#17 Funniest game you've played

Fiasco is often the game I laugh most in, just because it's so wrong. The game itself isn't funny, but the situations players end up in...

RPGaDay 2023 #10-13

And on we go, into the middle of the month.

#10 Favourite tie-in fiction

I don’t read tie-in fiction, so I don’t have a favourite.

I also don’t read other types of tie-in fiction. I’ve read a little Star Wars fiction, and a little ALIEN fiction, but I usually find them unsatisfying.

#11 The weirdest game you've played

I’m not sure how to answer this. I’m not sure what a “weird” game is – RPGs are all pretty weird. Especially when trying to explain them to my father-in-law…

So how do you play them?

Er, you sit around and talk. Each player has a character and another player plays the rest of the world and sets interesting situations for them.

And what do the different dice mean?

Er, it depends on the game. They’re used to make decisions or decide how much damage something does in an attack.

Is there a board?

Er, sometimes. I don’t usually have a board, but others use a map with miniatures.

And do you dress up?

You can, but I don’t. Dressing up is more common in <takes a deep breath> larping.

What’s larping?

It’s like tabletop roleplaying, but standing up. And in the woods, or a castle.

This sounds most peculiar…

And so on..

#12 Old game you still play

For me, an old game is one I was playing last century – so something like Traveller, Call of Cthulhu or Vampire: the Masquerade. I don’t currently play any of those, and even if I did, I’d use their latest ruleset.

As for boardgames, I still play Cosmic Encounter when I can (which isn’t often enough, as discussed in question 6). But again, with a modern edition.

#13 Most memorable character demise

A couple of years ago, I ran Destroyer of Worlds for ALIEN, and although I am not fond of combat in RPGs, it did create our most memorable scenes. In an assault on an insurgent compound, Captain Silva froze (panic!) while trying to make her rappelling roll—and moments later, the dropship was hit by two RPGs. The NPC android Chaplain was hit (he was piloting), and the dropship went into a spin, crashing and killing Silva (skull crushed) and disabling Chaplain (severe chassis breach--legs torn off). All in a matter of moments.

As far as a freeform goes, my most memorable character death was in Tutankhamun: Evil Under the Egyptian Sun where I played movie star (and serial murderer) Rudolph Valentino. At the end of the game, my past caught up with me and I was dragged away for execution. When it came time to be executed, I tried to escape and was shot in the back like the villain I was.

RPGaDay 2023 #9

#9 Favourite dice

D6s. Always.

The dice of my childhood. Of Monopoly, backgammon, Traveller, Escape from Colditz, and more.

As I said before, proper dice.

RPGaDay 2023 #4-8

 Where is the time going? Anyway...

#4 Most recent game bought

Same answer as #3:

• RPG: Codex of Worlds for Monster of the Week. 
• Board game: My City (actually the last game I bought).

#5 Oldest game you've played

I started playing RPGs in 1981 with Traveller, which probably makes that my oldest RPG. While D&D was published in 1974, I didn’t play it until 1985-ish, and we played AD&D anyway, which was 1978, I think. So Traveller.

This year, the oldest RPG I’ve played (or rather, GM-ed), is 2013’s Hillfolk at Continuum.

As for board games, I think the oldest physical game I’ve played is Reiner Knizia’s Lord of the Rings from 2000, which I rescued from an inaccessible cupboard in Miss H’s bedroom. I’ve also played a couple of games of Cosmic Encounter, which dates from 1977 (but my copy is the 2008 FFG version, so that may not count).

I’m not sure which is the oldest freeform I’ve played this year, as Retcon B and Continuum both featured several freeforms that have been run before. My guess is it’s one of Marlow 2020 or Hope Springs Eternal (at Retcon B), or Veterans Day (at Continuum).

#6 Favourite game you never get to play

My favourite game I rarely play is Cosmic Encounter. I wish I played more. I’ve played two games of it this year (a good year for me). While Miss H enjoys Cosmic Encounter (and I last played it with one of her schoolfriends), the theme doesn’t appeal to Mrs H, alas.

As for RPGs, I wish I played more Hillfolk. I’ve had the book for a decade and ran it for the first time in July. And it was awesome, and I’d like to run more of it – so that’s my plan. I’m not sure it’s my favourite game, though. At least, not yet. Other games I want to play more of include Microscope, Monsterhearts and Hot War. But none of those are my favourite games either. 

I’m not even sure I have a favourite RPG.

#7 Smartest RPG you've played

Hmm. Smart as in appearance, intelligence, or pain? Or all three?

Appearance: Traveller, in its little black dress with red trim. I prefer Traveller’s elegant design to most RPGs. (So much so that when I bought The Traveller Book, I threw away the dust jacket with its J Andrew Keith painting in preference for the original black-and-red design beneath.

Intelligence: Fiasco is one of the smartest RPGs I’ve played, the second edition especially. It does so much with a slim rulebook and a couple of decks of cards. I love it.

Pain: Anything with a lot of crunch I find painful. When I’m wading through the numbers and figuring out rules and exceptions and modifiers, I’m not enjoying the bit of roleplaying I enjoy – riffing off the other players. I don’t like playing crunchy games, and I try not to run them.

#8 Favourite character

I’m not sure I have a favourite character. I play a lot of one-shots (or 7-8 session mini-campaigns), and as a result, I’m never with my characters all that long.

My most memorable character was Kira, a Traveller character. I can’t remember her skills or anything, but I and another player decided we were married (which was actually a ruse, if I remember right). Anyway, I derailed the campaign (which was supposed to be Twilight’s Peak) when, a few sessions in, I threw a grenade into the game by declaring that my character was pregnant. Things didn’t last much longer after that.

RPGaDay 2023 #1-3

I can’t post every day, so for RPGaDay, I’ll post now and again, catching up with old posts. Like today, when I’m doing three posts.

#1 First RPG played this year

My first game of 2023 was the first of three sessions of Kingdom by Ben Robbins. Kingdom is a collaborative story game where you chart the rise and fall of a kingdom. Or, in our case, The Egregious Society of the Silver Fork. I wrote more about it back in January.

My first freeform of the year was Incense and Insensibility, which I played at Retcon B and wrote about here.

And according to Boardgamegeek, my first board game of 2023 was London (second edition). Probably against Mrs H, and almost certainly resulting in my defeat because she is so much better at it than I am.

#2 First RPG gamesmastered

Of all time? Traveller back in 1981.

This year? Kingdom (well, I facilitated). If facilitating doesn’t count, then Count Magnus’ Descendent, a Cthulhu Dark investigation in February.

As for a freeform larp, that was Death on the Gambia, I think. I wrote Death on the Gambia some years before starting Freeform Games.

#3 First RPG bought this year

I buy very few RPGs. I know how I like to play (and run), and I’m not a big fan of learning new mechanics and settings.

For a few minutes, I couldn’t think of any RPG material I’d bought – then I remembered that I backed Codex of Worlds (on Backerkit) for Monster of the Week. So, a supplement rather than a full game. There’s a stone age setting that looks interesting, but I haven’t run it yet.

As for board games, I’ve bought My City (a tile-laying legacy game) and backed an expansion to D-Day Dice (cooperative dice rolling set in Normandy 1944), which is due to land before the end of the year. I’ve also pre-ordered Daybreak, the new global-warming cooperative game from Matt Leacock; I’m not expecting that until October.