This is post is based off of a request I received (Look! I do requests!) about what to do when your players derail your story and manage to circumvent traps and encounters.
If your players manage to circumvent your traps and encounters, there isn't much you can do. To an extent your encounters can be moved to later in the session. Your traps can be re-placed on your dungeon so that the players have the opportunity to encounter them again. However, this should be done with caution. Whether your players circumvented them by chance or design; they should be rewarded for doing so. Simply moving everything forward so they can encounter it again cheapens the experience of trying to solve problems by working around them.
So what do you do when your players derail the story and go off in their own direction? That really depends on what kind of game you're running. If you're running a sandbox style game, you have to go with it because that is the point of sand box games.
If you're running a more controlled game you can either roll with it and see where the players take the story or gently guide them back to what you intended. If you shut down out of hand everything the players do then you'll get to a point where the players will just ask, "What do you want us to do here?" And that isn't really fun for anyone. Unless you are running straight dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl, then the players need to have some input on where they're going to go next and they need to have the freedom on how to approach the encounters you put in front of them.
If things get really out of hand, then you might have to make some hard choices. In extreme situations you may have to speak with the players (or player, if it is only one person derailing everything). That should get everything back into line. People usually don't realize that they're causing problems, because everyone but the DM may be having fun. If you're gaming with mature players that should be all it takes.
However, this may not take care of the problem for some groups. You can kick specific people out if they're causing problems, but that will cause a variety of problems in the long run. A better option, in the worst case scenario, would be to can the game. Even though you are the DM, you are still playing a game and you need to enjoy it as well.
Stories in RPGs can be sticky. If you want to tell a story that you have brewing in your mind, then you'll need to restrict your players a bit. Or, you can allow your story to change with what they do and that can lead to a richer story and unexpected surprises.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Game Pacing
Game pacing is a crucial, yet often overlooked aspect of planning a game; and one that I need to start paying more attention to.
Game pacing is all about how fast the story moves in your world and also controls how the world feels. A setting or campaign that is non-stop action and adventure can quickly wear out players and characters. Much like real people, characters need downtime to heal and recuperate; to purchase and craft goods for the next adventure. If you're constantly throwing catastrophes and climaxes at the players, it can rob them of needed time to process information. On the flip side, if the world moves too slow the players will lose interest. If they have nothing to do, they won't want to do anything and may become lethargic or slow to react when something does need to happen.
Pacing can also shift from session to session. Everyone knows that there are slow, planning sessions and then their are frantic, the plan has gone to hell sessions.
So why does this matter? When our group was gaming on a weekly schedule, the slow sessions didn't matter as much, since next week we'd be moving onto the next part. Now that we're gaming every other week; the slow sessions become more of a burden. That means that everything that happens during the session needs to have some import to the overall story. Random encounters that are nothing more than an xp gain need to be removed. I'm not saying that each and everything they touch or talk to needs to be crucial to the story, but anything that takes a significant amount of time needs to be looked at before decided whether to use it or not. Roleplaying out an encounter with an innkeeper? Short and easily doable. Making high level players actually fight with low level city guards? A waste of time. Assume they win, have them each take a negligible amount of damage and move on.
Game pacing is all about how fast the story moves in your world and also controls how the world feels. A setting or campaign that is non-stop action and adventure can quickly wear out players and characters. Much like real people, characters need downtime to heal and recuperate; to purchase and craft goods for the next adventure. If you're constantly throwing catastrophes and climaxes at the players, it can rob them of needed time to process information. On the flip side, if the world moves too slow the players will lose interest. If they have nothing to do, they won't want to do anything and may become lethargic or slow to react when something does need to happen.
Pacing can also shift from session to session. Everyone knows that there are slow, planning sessions and then their are frantic, the plan has gone to hell sessions.
So why does this matter? When our group was gaming on a weekly schedule, the slow sessions didn't matter as much, since next week we'd be moving onto the next part. Now that we're gaming every other week; the slow sessions become more of a burden. That means that everything that happens during the session needs to have some import to the overall story. Random encounters that are nothing more than an xp gain need to be removed. I'm not saying that each and everything they touch or talk to needs to be crucial to the story, but anything that takes a significant amount of time needs to be looked at before decided whether to use it or not. Roleplaying out an encounter with an innkeeper? Short and easily doable. Making high level players actually fight with low level city guards? A waste of time. Assume they win, have them each take a negligible amount of damage and move on.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Taboos in Gaming - Sex Part 2
So why go through the hassle of navigating the pitfalls of peoples' comfort levels and interpersonal politics to include sexuality in your games? From a mechanics standpoint, sexuality adds very little for most systems. There are exceptions of course; D&D 3.5 has a few feats that require players to abstain from sex to gain benefits, but I don't know of anything else.
However, it can add a great deal to the story of your game; in the way of party tension and subplots within your game.
Romantic interests, with NPCs, give the players a time to a location that they otherwise might not have. They have a reason to visit or defend a place. If the party is stagnating or stalling between plot points, attacking a place where the character has a loved one. Having a love one turn on the party member (either willfully or not) creates drama that the character would need to resolve. If the campaign carries on long enough, the birth of a child can serve as an even greater motivator.
Between the players, a romance can create amazing opportunities for role play. A couple will fight that much harder to protect each other. If one is kidnapped, then the other will have a great deal of motivation to free them at all costs. Sacrifices made to protect the partner become nobler and greater, in every respect. Suddenly the fighter staying behind to hold the advancing monsters, at the cost of their own life, while their spouse flees, becomes a meaningful death for the PCs that the players will remember for a long time.
Add in a 3rd PC to create a love triangle (remember, in game only) creates tension and drama within the party that can self-perpetuate stories and plot hooks on. That type of relationship can drive players to explore sides of their characters that they might not have otherwise, from betrayal and revenge through to redemption.
So clearly, sexuality and romance can add a lot to your story; however, it takes the entire group to buy into it and be ok with it and it also presupposes a level of maturity within the group that may be lacking. If that's the case, wait a few years and give it another go. I'll leave you with a personal gaming story about sex in a game gone horribly wrong.
In a game of Shadowrun (cyberpunk set in a world rife with corporate espionage) you play what are called runners who do mostly illegal things (corporate espionage, security work, etc). Since you tend to live on the seedier side of things, the people who hire you also run to the shady. During one game, we were hired to steal something and were given a "signing bonus" of prostitutes for the evening. (It later turns out that they fed the employer information about us to use against us if things went south).
Everyone kinda shrugged and went with it, no one made a big deal about it since it fit within the morality of the game and our characters. Except for Manny. Manny had apparently invested a good deal of points into a skill he created called Kama Sutra Mastery. (Shadowrun allows you to create your own knowledge skills). He proudly proclaimed that he would throw her down on the table (we were at a nightclub in game) and do her there and would use his skills to please her.
This brought the entire table to a screeching halt. We all stared at him in shock as he counted out dice to roll and made a show of rolling them. Of course, fate being what it was he failed the skill check. We thought that this was the end of it and we could move on and try to forget. He then proclaims that the result was completely unacceptable and proceeded to spend a finite resource to re-roll all of his failures in an attempt to succeed. This brought us from shock to horror and moderate disgust.
So, I suppose the lesson from this before you bring up the idea with your players, make sure they are mature enough to handle it and then work to find out their comfort zones. Many a successful campaign and game have been run without including sex, so don't feel like you have to; but handled correctly it can bring a great deal of depth to the game that would have otherwise not been there.
However, it can add a great deal to the story of your game; in the way of party tension and subplots within your game.
Romantic interests, with NPCs, give the players a time to a location that they otherwise might not have. They have a reason to visit or defend a place. If the party is stagnating or stalling between plot points, attacking a place where the character has a loved one. Having a love one turn on the party member (either willfully or not) creates drama that the character would need to resolve. If the campaign carries on long enough, the birth of a child can serve as an even greater motivator.
Between the players, a romance can create amazing opportunities for role play. A couple will fight that much harder to protect each other. If one is kidnapped, then the other will have a great deal of motivation to free them at all costs. Sacrifices made to protect the partner become nobler and greater, in every respect. Suddenly the fighter staying behind to hold the advancing monsters, at the cost of their own life, while their spouse flees, becomes a meaningful death for the PCs that the players will remember for a long time.
Add in a 3rd PC to create a love triangle (remember, in game only) creates tension and drama within the party that can self-perpetuate stories and plot hooks on. That type of relationship can drive players to explore sides of their characters that they might not have otherwise, from betrayal and revenge through to redemption.
So clearly, sexuality and romance can add a lot to your story; however, it takes the entire group to buy into it and be ok with it and it also presupposes a level of maturity within the group that may be lacking. If that's the case, wait a few years and give it another go. I'll leave you with a personal gaming story about sex in a game gone horribly wrong.
In a game of Shadowrun (cyberpunk set in a world rife with corporate espionage) you play what are called runners who do mostly illegal things (corporate espionage, security work, etc). Since you tend to live on the seedier side of things, the people who hire you also run to the shady. During one game, we were hired to steal something and were given a "signing bonus" of prostitutes for the evening. (It later turns out that they fed the employer information about us to use against us if things went south).
Everyone kinda shrugged and went with it, no one made a big deal about it since it fit within the morality of the game and our characters. Except for Manny. Manny had apparently invested a good deal of points into a skill he created called Kama Sutra Mastery. (Shadowrun allows you to create your own knowledge skills). He proudly proclaimed that he would throw her down on the table (we were at a nightclub in game) and do her there and would use his skills to please her.
This brought the entire table to a screeching halt. We all stared at him in shock as he counted out dice to roll and made a show of rolling them. Of course, fate being what it was he failed the skill check. We thought that this was the end of it and we could move on and try to forget. He then proclaims that the result was completely unacceptable and proceeded to spend a finite resource to re-roll all of his failures in an attempt to succeed. This brought us from shock to horror and moderate disgust.
So, I suppose the lesson from this before you bring up the idea with your players, make sure they are mature enough to handle it and then work to find out their comfort zones. Many a successful campaign and game have been run without including sex, so don't feel like you have to; but handled correctly it can bring a great deal of depth to the game that would have otherwise not been there.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Taboos in Gaming - Sex
What better place to start talking about taboos in gaming than with sex?
Sex plays a role in most fantasy literature and movies. The hero/heroine will inevitably end up knockin' boots with their love interest at some point. The author or director can handle it in a number of different ways, either implicitly or explicitly. Even in non-fantasy movies, sex and sexuality will often play a prominent role.
If sex and sexuality is so common in modern media and entertainment, why is it taboo during gaming?
Part of the taboo comes down to the stigma associated with being a gamer. The stigma of "nerdy, eternal virgin playing in their parents' basement." While this is a stereotype is rarely true, I think it still taints the idea of doing anything that could reinforce it.
Another distinction between media and gaming (as far as sex goes) is that within media it is one way. You are seeing/reading what the author or director wants you to see; you have little input into it. Within the context of a roleplaying game, you are suddenly very involved in what is going on. With an implicit sex scene, the camera fades to black and that's it. However, if it is explicit you are suddenly describing an intimate act within a group of people. This can cause the other players to be uncomfortable and can create a very awkward environment.
Another in the awkwardness comes down to the gender of the players. If everyone is the same gender then participating, even on an imaginary level, in a "sex scene" can make people incredibly uncomfortable, even if they are perfectly fine discussing sex outside of the game.
Additionally, the relationships within the group can be a problem, if not addressed properly. If you're playing in a game with a few couples, then how will advances made within the game, across couple lines, be handled out of the game? What level of detail becomes acceptable when you are involving someone else's significant other?
So how do you involve sex and sexuality in a game? The first step would be to make sure all the players agree to involve it. If people aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. You'll make everyone uncomfortable and less likely to show up. You need to gauge what their comfort level is of the group and work from there. If their fine with the "fade to black" sex scene, go with that. You need to target the lowest level of comfort within your group. If Player A is uncomfortable with anything more than implications and Player B wants detail, you need to work at Player A's level. Perhaps later on, after trust and comfort has been built up, you can start adding in more details, but you need to start with the lowest comfort level.
Next time, I'll talk about why you would want to involve this in your games. It certainly isn't necessary in any respect, but it does provide options for story that would otherwise be lacking.
Sex plays a role in most fantasy literature and movies. The hero/heroine will inevitably end up knockin' boots with their love interest at some point. The author or director can handle it in a number of different ways, either implicitly or explicitly. Even in non-fantasy movies, sex and sexuality will often play a prominent role.
If sex and sexuality is so common in modern media and entertainment, why is it taboo during gaming?
Part of the taboo comes down to the stigma associated with being a gamer. The stigma of "nerdy, eternal virgin playing in their parents' basement." While this is a stereotype is rarely true, I think it still taints the idea of doing anything that could reinforce it.
Another distinction between media and gaming (as far as sex goes) is that within media it is one way. You are seeing/reading what the author or director wants you to see; you have little input into it. Within the context of a roleplaying game, you are suddenly very involved in what is going on. With an implicit sex scene, the camera fades to black and that's it. However, if it is explicit you are suddenly describing an intimate act within a group of people. This can cause the other players to be uncomfortable and can create a very awkward environment.
Another in the awkwardness comes down to the gender of the players. If everyone is the same gender then participating, even on an imaginary level, in a "sex scene" can make people incredibly uncomfortable, even if they are perfectly fine discussing sex outside of the game.
Additionally, the relationships within the group can be a problem, if not addressed properly. If you're playing in a game with a few couples, then how will advances made within the game, across couple lines, be handled out of the game? What level of detail becomes acceptable when you are involving someone else's significant other?
So how do you involve sex and sexuality in a game? The first step would be to make sure all the players agree to involve it. If people aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. You'll make everyone uncomfortable and less likely to show up. You need to gauge what their comfort level is of the group and work from there. If their fine with the "fade to black" sex scene, go with that. You need to target the lowest level of comfort within your group. If Player A is uncomfortable with anything more than implications and Player B wants detail, you need to work at Player A's level. Perhaps later on, after trust and comfort has been built up, you can start adding in more details, but you need to start with the lowest comfort level.
Next time, I'll talk about why you would want to involve this in your games. It certainly isn't necessary in any respect, but it does provide options for story that would otherwise be lacking.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Game in Review
Since we're now gaming every other week instead of weekly, this post will serve a few purposes.
So away we go.
For this campaign, I decided to try a quasi-"in media res" start. What in media res means is that you start in the middle of the action and move on from there. So my first session immediately started with combat. I had sent out an e-mail prior describing what was happening right before combat to everyone. This let us bypass some of the usual "meet and greet" that happens at the start of most campaigns.
Part of idea for this campaign is "Commoners to Heroes." I told everyone to create a character without a backstory. After that was done, I told them that they were going to start off as commoners in a village and that something would happen to them to "transform" them into PCs.
The game started with news of an orcish attack that was going to happen from the North. Half of the town militia set out to ambush the orcs and try to head off the attack. That night everyone wasat the tavern, unwinding after a day of work, when orcs and goblins burst through the door and began killing. At this point I had the players "change" into their characters. So they were suddenly well equipped and suddenly had spells and knowledge of combat at their disposal. They cleared the bar and went outside to see their village and farms being destroyed and burned.
They rescued some people that the goblins were dragging off and stopped orcs from raiding the forge of the village for weapons. The next day, the leader of the town, an Illumian named Mathrin, said that the militia that had gone to the north had been themselves ambushed and had few survivors. He then asked the PCs to, since they had shown themselves capable in a fight, to track down the orcs and goblins and report back their location as he sent for reinforcements. The characters reluctantly agreed and set off that day.
Early that afternoon they were ambushed by a rearguard of two goblins archers and a mounted goblin. They quickly dispatched the goblins and killed the mounted goblins mount. At the end of the fight they were fairly weakened so they decided to rest, which is where we broke for the day.
- I can let everyone in on the goings on in my games.
- It will allow me to chronicle the party's adventures/antics to help maintain continuity between games.
So away we go.
For this campaign, I decided to try a quasi-"in media res" start. What in media res means is that you start in the middle of the action and move on from there. So my first session immediately started with combat. I had sent out an e-mail prior describing what was happening right before combat to everyone. This let us bypass some of the usual "meet and greet" that happens at the start of most campaigns.
Part of idea for this campaign is "Commoners to Heroes." I told everyone to create a character without a backstory. After that was done, I told them that they were going to start off as commoners in a village and that something would happen to them to "transform" them into PCs.
The game started with news of an orcish attack that was going to happen from the North. Half of the town militia set out to ambush the orcs and try to head off the attack. That night everyone wasat the tavern, unwinding after a day of work, when orcs and goblins burst through the door and began killing. At this point I had the players "change" into their characters. So they were suddenly well equipped and suddenly had spells and knowledge of combat at their disposal. They cleared the bar and went outside to see their village and farms being destroyed and burned.
They rescued some people that the goblins were dragging off and stopped orcs from raiding the forge of the village for weapons. The next day, the leader of the town, an Illumian named Mathrin, said that the militia that had gone to the north had been themselves ambushed and had few survivors. He then asked the PCs to, since they had shown themselves capable in a fight, to track down the orcs and goblins and report back their location as he sent for reinforcements. The characters reluctantly agreed and set off that day.
Early that afternoon they were ambushed by a rearguard of two goblins archers and a mounted goblin. They quickly dispatched the goblins and killed the mounted goblins mount. At the end of the fight they were fairly weakened so they decided to rest, which is where we broke for the day.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
My first gaming session
So, I’m sure you all are just dying to know my thoughts on gaming as an outsider/noob.
Okay, perhaps dying is too strong a word. Are you at least mildly curious then?
After some minor technical difficulties (which is bound to happen with you involve three computers, two web cams, various wireless devices and two internet connections in two states!) and chorizo breakfast tacos, we started roughly 11am. I didn’t know it at the time, but Karl did something rather peculiar and started with an immediate battle. I assumed this was typical and gathered later that it was not. Apparently it usually starts more like an AA group with an awkward meet and greet.
The first/immediate battle was sort of confusing to me. I asked a lot of questions. I also did a lot of missing. I think I had a 33% success rate, but didn’t kill my target.
The second encounter went a bit more smoothly for me. I could move without asking “did I do that right?” after every single thing. Sadly, again, no kills and I think I only hit once. One of the more seasoned players was knocked unconscious. This did not bode well for what I felt I could do to not die!
Then came the meet and greet and a whole mess of waiting/mucking about. I’m no good at sitting still in real life, and I’m no good at it in gaming either. I was later told that I picked the perfect character for my own personality then, because Halflings HATE waiting and usually bring about the end of the world while “entertaining themselves”. Jimmy and Karl (both contributors to this site) said to follow that instinct. If I’m bored, my character probably is too. Good to know!
The third and final encounter of the session was by far the best. We were attacked by Goblins on a wooded trail. At first, more failure for me. I was beginning to think I’d only be useful to the party by means of pulling healing scrolls out of my “bag” due to a feat I have that allows me to pull unspecified items out of my backpack during my turn. Sadly, I can’t use the scrolls, but I can produce them! Then, our cleric decided to go after an unlikely target. I was next and had a decision to make…..try for the same target – if I failed the Goblin and Goblin Dog get away – or go for the Goblin itself though I doubted I could kill it. I decided to go for the already wounded dog, and this time I hit!!! And I killed it. The foe that we’d all written off as “the one that got away” was taken down! And I got the kill. Huzzah. I even got high fives (yes, plural).
Overall, I’d say that there’s too much down time for my personal preferences. I realize that the downtime is totally necessary and meant to be there……but I literally dozed off at one point. Karl had to nudge me. The battles were fun, but I’m still clueless as to strategy. I’ve never been good at strategy-based games. And if I need to do anything more complex than stab at someone or throw something, I’m going to have problems. Another issue, we aren’t pursuing this campaign again for over a month. I’m supposed to remember how to do all this after not doing it for a whole month?! I told the guys I’d do at least two sessions – hopefully the whole game – but if there are month spans between each session, my interest will very likely wane entirely. It was nice to be part of the group for a change instead of just a food provider.
We’ll see if I remember how to do this next month. Until then, you probably won’t hear much from me on this blog. But I’ll still be posting over at mine (with a further look at gaming too)! Thanks for the comments and encouragement for my first time out!
Okay, perhaps dying is too strong a word. Are you at least mildly curious then?
After some minor technical difficulties (which is bound to happen with you involve three computers, two web cams, various wireless devices and two internet connections in two states!) and chorizo breakfast tacos, we started roughly 11am. I didn’t know it at the time, but Karl did something rather peculiar and started with an immediate battle. I assumed this was typical and gathered later that it was not. Apparently it usually starts more like an AA group with an awkward meet and greet.
The first/immediate battle was sort of confusing to me. I asked a lot of questions. I also did a lot of missing. I think I had a 33% success rate, but didn’t kill my target.
The second encounter went a bit more smoothly for me. I could move without asking “did I do that right?” after every single thing. Sadly, again, no kills and I think I only hit once. One of the more seasoned players was knocked unconscious. This did not bode well for what I felt I could do to not die!
Then came the meet and greet and a whole mess of waiting/mucking about. I’m no good at sitting still in real life, and I’m no good at it in gaming either. I was later told that I picked the perfect character for my own personality then, because Halflings HATE waiting and usually bring about the end of the world while “entertaining themselves”. Jimmy and Karl (both contributors to this site) said to follow that instinct. If I’m bored, my character probably is too. Good to know!
The third and final encounter of the session was by far the best. We were attacked by Goblins on a wooded trail. At first, more failure for me. I was beginning to think I’d only be useful to the party by means of pulling healing scrolls out of my “bag” due to a feat I have that allows me to pull unspecified items out of my backpack during my turn. Sadly, I can’t use the scrolls, but I can produce them! Then, our cleric decided to go after an unlikely target. I was next and had a decision to make…..try for the same target – if I failed the Goblin and Goblin Dog get away – or go for the Goblin itself though I doubted I could kill it. I decided to go for the already wounded dog, and this time I hit!!! And I killed it. The foe that we’d all written off as “the one that got away” was taken down! And I got the kill. Huzzah. I even got high fives (yes, plural).
Overall, I’d say that there’s too much down time for my personal preferences. I realize that the downtime is totally necessary and meant to be there……but I literally dozed off at one point. Karl had to nudge me. The battles were fun, but I’m still clueless as to strategy. I’ve never been good at strategy-based games. And if I need to do anything more complex than stab at someone or throw something, I’m going to have problems. Another issue, we aren’t pursuing this campaign again for over a month. I’m supposed to remember how to do all this after not doing it for a whole month?! I told the guys I’d do at least two sessions – hopefully the whole game – but if there are month spans between each session, my interest will very likely wane entirely. It was nice to be part of the group for a change instead of just a food provider.
We’ll see if I remember how to do this next month. Until then, you probably won’t hear much from me on this blog. But I’ll still be posting over at mine (with a further look at gaming too)! Thanks for the comments and encouragement for my first time out!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Technical Game Notes
The new rig went well. I realized that I could actually open up the maps in Google docs on both computers, and control both instances from the laptop meant I didn't have to remote into the big screen to control what the local players saw. That meant that the desktop didn't have to divert resources to allow remote access and made it run a little smoother.
I also had a wireless mouse and keyboard hooked up to the desktop so that the local players could move themselves around on the digital mat.
There were a few hiccups, the desktop kept going into a power save mode that was easy enough to fix.
On the human side, I was a bit rusty and somewhat scattered with my thoughts during the game. I've been absent from DM duties for a few months now, so it took me a little bit to get back into gear. From what I heard from the players, though they enjoyed it a great deal.
On Wednesday, there will be an early post with Brandy's perspective on her first game. Friday, I'll post my take on it and then we'll move back to more theoretical concepts and ideas.
I also had a wireless mouse and keyboard hooked up to the desktop so that the local players could move themselves around on the digital mat.
There were a few hiccups, the desktop kept going into a power save mode that was easy enough to fix.
On the human side, I was a bit rusty and somewhat scattered with my thoughts during the game. I've been absent from DM duties for a few months now, so it took me a little bit to get back into gear. From what I heard from the players, though they enjoyed it a great deal.
On Wednesday, there will be an early post with Brandy's perspective on her first game. Friday, I'll post my take on it and then we'll move back to more theoretical concepts and ideas.
Friday, August 13, 2010
A newbie's perspective
Hello all! I'm Brandy, Karl's wife and first time D&D player. Karl asked me to make appearances now and again once I finally started gaming with him. Now, if you asked me if I'd ever game with him to begin with before our wedding night, the answer would be very close to "when hell freezes over". And no, it's not because of the often negative stigma and/or labels that go with gaming...after all one of my hobbies is renaissance festivals and I've always been a nerd. What is it that has kept me from gaming when it occurs in my home almost weekly then?! It's the time investment. Gaming take a lot of time! These guys and gal invest on average four to seven hours each gaming session. That's without any of the prep work involved in gaming. That's simply active play. For me to sit relatively still and focus on something in increments greater than two hours is next to impossible. I very well may be a fidgety mess by the end of the gaming session.
My short attention span aside, I am joining in this adventure with as much of an open mind as I can. I "vowed" to play in at least one game (which has been modified to at least two to three sessions of Karl's current campaign) on my wedding night. Yes, vowed. It's a long story involving an epic and hilarious best man speech with vow addendums. I was so tickled and touched that the best man felt so strongly about D&D that he'd include it in his speech to us. How could I resist after that? Made for great photos, a la Penny on Big Bang Theory. (And he's told you his groom's cake was a D&D battle complete with Reaper minis, right?!)
Karl and I started talking character choices for me as soon as we returned from our honeymoon. I think he was a bit excited about the whole thing. We decided I should be a bard-esque type and then the campaign was delayed for various reasons. It wasn't til this week that we started back up with the character development.
Every night this week, we've set out to clearly define a few items at a time about my character. As I know very, very little about character development other than what he's written on this blog and seeing the labor he puts into carefully developing his own characters, this had been a rather lengthy process as well. He's had to explain things as if I were three and give me lists of things to read. Tonight, we finally have a character! But without a name. Yeah, we game tomorrow morning, and I'm nameless!
The process has been a bit overwhelming and often puzzling. He's gamed for years and years and what seems simple common knowledge, well, just isn't for me. The extremely large book after book of information doesn't help the overwhelming feeling either. I have been assured, though, that they will all be willing to help me do this thing and questions are encouraged. Their motivation to help me? Perpetuation of the game through added players.
After all, there is no D&D if there is no one to play it.
Wish me luck.
(Admin Note: Please feel free to visit my wife's blog at http://secondchancehappiness.blogspot.com. She chronicles the months and projects leading up to our wedding, as well as married life.)
My short attention span aside, I am joining in this adventure with as much of an open mind as I can. I "vowed" to play in at least one game (which has been modified to at least two to three sessions of Karl's current campaign) on my wedding night. Yes, vowed. It's a long story involving an epic and hilarious best man speech with vow addendums. I was so tickled and touched that the best man felt so strongly about D&D that he'd include it in his speech to us. How could I resist after that? Made for great photos, a la Penny on Big Bang Theory. (And he's told you his groom's cake was a D&D battle complete with Reaper minis, right?!)
Karl and I started talking character choices for me as soon as we returned from our honeymoon. I think he was a bit excited about the whole thing. We decided I should be a bard-esque type and then the campaign was delayed for various reasons. It wasn't til this week that we started back up with the character development.
Every night this week, we've set out to clearly define a few items at a time about my character. As I know very, very little about character development other than what he's written on this blog and seeing the labor he puts into carefully developing his own characters, this had been a rather lengthy process as well. He's had to explain things as if I were three and give me lists of things to read. Tonight, we finally have a character! But without a name. Yeah, we game tomorrow morning, and I'm nameless!
The process has been a bit overwhelming and often puzzling. He's gamed for years and years and what seems simple common knowledge, well, just isn't for me. The extremely large book after book of information doesn't help the overwhelming feeling either. I have been assured, though, that they will all be willing to help me do this thing and questions are encouraged. Their motivation to help me? Perpetuation of the game through added players.
After all, there is no D&D if there is no one to play it.
Wish me luck.
(Admin Note: Please feel free to visit my wife's blog at http://secondchancehappiness.blogspot.com. She chronicles the months and projects leading up to our wedding, as well as married life.)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
State of the Rig
So I thought I would update the status of how we game.
I recently purchased a new laptop and was able to move my old desktop PC out into the living room and hook it up to the TV. In theory, I can run Oovoo from the desktop to game with instead of having to hook up a laptop every weekend. This has also allowed me to implement a modern GM Screen.
While this may not apply to everyone, I think it can be very useful, so I'm including it in a post. The idea is to run Oovoo and Google Docs on the desktop that is permanently hooked up to the TV. I intend to control the desktop PC using remote access software from my laptop. This will allow me to display information for all my players to see on the big screen TV, while keeping my notes and plans on the laptop screen where only I can see them.
Additionally, I can hook up my iPod touch to the laptop and use that as a mouse to control either computers, or I can use it as a dice roller instead of rolling dice. Allowing for a more streamlined GM experience.
Of course this is all untested. I hope to get it tested before the game on Saturday and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes and what improvements I can make to the system.
I recently purchased a new laptop and was able to move my old desktop PC out into the living room and hook it up to the TV. In theory, I can run Oovoo from the desktop to game with instead of having to hook up a laptop every weekend. This has also allowed me to implement a modern GM Screen.
While this may not apply to everyone, I think it can be very useful, so I'm including it in a post. The idea is to run Oovoo and Google Docs on the desktop that is permanently hooked up to the TV. I intend to control the desktop PC using remote access software from my laptop. This will allow me to display information for all my players to see on the big screen TV, while keeping my notes and plans on the laptop screen where only I can see them.
Additionally, I can hook up my iPod touch to the laptop and use that as a mouse to control either computers, or I can use it as a dice roller instead of rolling dice. Allowing for a more streamlined GM experience.
Of course this is all untested. I hope to get it tested before the game on Saturday and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes and what improvements I can make to the system.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Blog Relaunch
And I believe we're back.
It's been a busy and hectic month for me, but I think I'm good to go.
My new campaign will be starting this coming weekend, so expect some notes on what is going in my campaign world as time progresses. My lovely wife will be playing and she agreed to guest author a post or two here about her experiences, so be looking forward to that.
I'll be going through old posts to see what series I had started and continue those.
This blog may expand beyond the D&D/Pathfinder systems, since my group has decided to involve other systems in our game rotation, including a system that Jimmy and I have created. So I will be trying to make the information for players and GM as system neutral as I can (except in specific instances when I feel the need to talk about something regarding one game system or another).
The posting schedule should remain the same; however, I am now the owner of a 4 month old puppy that seems to require a whole boatload of attention.
It's been a busy and hectic month for me, but I think I'm good to go.
My new campaign will be starting this coming weekend, so expect some notes on what is going in my campaign world as time progresses. My lovely wife will be playing and she agreed to guest author a post or two here about her experiences, so be looking forward to that.
I'll be going through old posts to see what series I had started and continue those.
This blog may expand beyond the D&D/Pathfinder systems, since my group has decided to involve other systems in our game rotation, including a system that Jimmy
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