The 10 Commandments of Gaming
26 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Ramblings
Hello to new, old, and those who just stumbled upon this blog by chance. Not moved into the new house yet, but I’m working on it. The floors have been redone and the second coat of polyeurethane will be put down tomorrow; hopefully I’ll start moving in on the first week of April! Everything is looking great, and I’ll post some pictures later (particularly as my “geek room” is completed).
So, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I have toiled over these for far too long and it’s time to put some to paper. My friends and I discussed some of these as a joke ages ago in college, but never put them to paper – so now, I’m gonna. Here’s what I’ve got (and damn it, these could change. Women change their minds a lot!)
The 10 Commandments (of Gaming):
1.) Thou shalt not metagame.
2.) Thou shalt not paraphrase.
3.) Thou shalt perpetuate change for thyself and others.
4.) Thou shalt share the limelight.
5.) Thou shalt demonstrate character, upstanding or otherwise.
6.) Thou shalt be fair to thy players.
7.) Thou shalt share thine story with everyone.
8.) Thou shalt not tirelessly argue rules during critical plot points.
9.) Thou shalt not view the game as ‘GM v.s. Players’.
10.) Thou shalt remember that there is no “I” in team (don’t you dare point out that there’s a “me,” smartass).
There are so many more, but for style’s sake, I’ll keep it to 10 for now. Remember these (as a player or GM), and your gaming experience is likely to improve all around the table. Time for bed (I am such an old lady, now). Keep gaming!
Look what I found!
04 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Ramblings
So I decided to make a new character today, and I am (still) toiling over her name. I began to browse the internet for name generators, and discovered this:
http://nine.frenchboys.net/fantasychar.php
This website actually has a “character generator” which gives you a name and a brief description to go on. This is a FABULOUS tool for creating those NPCs that you just need for a session or two in order to make the world feel alive and diverse. It can also be a great prompt for creating a character of your own; obviously you will need to flesh it out more, but it can give you a start and an idea to go from.
Happy creating!
Rolling out of a turkey coma…
28 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Ramblings
I feel like I can finally keep my eyes open for an extended period of time, hooray! Whether that means I can stream coherent thoughts together or not, remains yet to be seen. It has been a busy week or so for me with the unfortunate attendance at a funeral for the father of a dear family friend. Not to mention, transitioning to 6am wake-ups for the new job and also trying to prepare the house for the holidays (and trying to close on *my* house!).
I haven’t had much time to think about gaming in the last two weeks, admittedly, but I did have an opportunity to pause yesterday and consider how much I miss gaming with people. I do some online RPGs, which are fine and dandy, but it just does not have the same effect as being in a room with 5 of your good friends and playing through an exciting campaign. If I’m going to tie all of that into the sentimental, I suppose I’d like to mention how thankful I am to have had such wonderful experiences with such good friends who understand — or, at least, tolerate — my insanity.
Sentiment aside, let’s talk about the pros and cons of tabletop gaming as opposed to online.
Tabletop pros:
- A very direct method – with facial expressions and dialogue, what you see is what you get. No extra description required.
- Instant gratification – you have to react right then and there, you don’t get 10 minutes to write up a post in response.
- Companionship – you’re spending time with your friends! Real people! I know, it can be scary, but suck it up!
- Added physical elements – things such as music, props, etc, that are provided by your GM can really enhance the experience.
Tabletop cons:
- No time to think – it is fast paced and usually you have to make a decision right there.
- Lots of people in the room – sometimes, it’s hard to get a word in edgewise with several people all vying for attention.
- Can’t go back and read – you really have to focus, you can’t go scroll up and remind yourself of the details the GM gave.
- More difficult to schedule – it is hard to get lots of people in one place every week.
There are obvious differences between both methods of gaming, but those differences don’t make either method bad. They are simply two different ways to role play, and what method you prefer is entirely up to you. Online gaming is a lot easier to schedule because people can do it from the comfort of their own homes. But, you also lose out on that more direct interaction.
So, I ask you – what method do you prefer and why?
Creating while uninspired
15 Nov 2011 1 Comment
in Ramblings
Sometimes, inspiration can slam into you like a giant semi-truck from two lanes over and forty feet back that accelerates suddenly just to spite you. And, sometimes, it’s the kind of truck where you look in your rear-view mirror and see it; then, suddenly, when you go to merge, it’s not there.
…Okay, that’s a really crappy analogy. Can you tell who isn’t inspired right now? I guess that comes from sleep deprivation — although, admittedly, I’ve written my best when I’ve been on 0 hours of sleep and several liters’ worth of caffeine. At any rate, my point is that sometimes, inspiration just isn’t there — but, we have to create anyway.
Now, if you’re like me, this is tough, because I’m a perfectionist and if I come up with something that’s crap, I have this urge to black line it with ink and throw it away. But, not everything we sit down to write has to be a masterpiece. Our masterpieces often come from our minds’ random thoughts, the kind that leave in a fleeting moment if we don’t take a second to put it down on paper.
I have long advocated stream of consciousness writing. I have performed small exercises of this in my panel and have made mention of its techniques and uses before. Truth be told, there isn’t much technique — what it amounts to is simply taking whatever thoughts are swirling around in our heads and writing them down. Do it for 1 or 2 minutes, and don’t stop – just keep writing. Words, sentences, sentence fragments, thoughts, paragraphs, anything — just write it out! Don’t stop, don’t think, just write what comes to the tip of your mind. If you think it over too much, it won’t work.
Yes, there will be some things that you’ll just have to throw out. But one of those words might spark an incredible idea, or even just one really fantastic line of dialogue to use in a story or a campaign. So much of our ideas are wasted because we don’t pause to reach out and catch them as they float by. Don’t dismiss them so easily!
Doing stream of consciousness activities once or twice a week can really help get your creative motor running. While it won’t always spark an inspiration, at some point or another, one idea is bound to catch on. When it does, run with it! Don’t just watch it roll away.
Sad farewell…
13 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
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Well, Nick has come and gone, and now my posting can resume. I start my brand new job training on Monday and have to be up at 5:30 AM, but expect an update in the middle of the week, Tuesday or Wednesday, sometime.
Thanks everyone for your time and patience as I build my gaming ramblings!
Youmacon 2011
07 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
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All right! I’m back from Youmacon, and it was a lot of fun! I don’t have any panel pictures yet, but please expect those to be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. I had a lot of fun at both of my panels (and my friends are still mentally high-fiving the guy who hit me in the face with my inflatable d20) and I can’t wait to do them next year.
I am looking to expand and try out a few more cons, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. For the meantime, I am preparing to drive to the airport and pick up my boyfriend for his week-long visit. Updates will be a little short and sparse this week, but should resume normalcy once he’s departed.
Best wishes to everyone, let’s make those forums busy!
World Building 101 – Part 2
03 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
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No excuses, I suck at posting. That changes after today. Moving on to the next part of world building! These questions are in no particular order, and can be answered at any time during your planning process.
#6. How many nations are there? – This is an easily overlooked question. Is the world united under a single ruler with hundreds of other mini-rulers under his thumb? Are there powerful contending nations like there are in our modern world that have rivalries or treaties with one another? How does each nation feel about the other? How does the ruler feel about their people, and how do the people feel about their ruler?
#7. What kind of wildlife exists in my world? – Are there puppies? Adorable little kittens? Or giant piranha cats who will gnaw your face off at the first opportunity? Does the wildlife vary from region to region? How dangerous is it? Are there places where people hunt certain types of animals, or preserve/save certain types of animals? Are there any crazy collectors who might take a page out of an Ohio man’s book and set their animals loose on the unsuspecting public? You get the idea.
#8. What kind of agriculture is there? – What are the products of the various nations/regions? How do people make their livelihoods? What kind of trade is there? Is there a resource one nation has that another nation perhaps needs a great deal of? Is there a reason for nations to go to war over said resources? Who manages the resources and who benefits from them the most? Are there black markets for illegal dealings that might damage various economies?
#9. What sorts of legends and tales are there? – Every world and culture has a legend or a tall tale that everyone knows. There is always some magical mythical object (Holy Grail, Atlantis, etc) that someone wants to chase. By having all of these extra legends, it gives you something to make NPCs abuzz about and it also gives the players options! Maybe they want to chase after one of those mythical legends. Is it in your plan? Maybe not. But does it make the world feel more complete? Heck yes!
#10. How does magic work? Is there magic? – Is magic a studied art? Is it something you’re born with? Is it something gifted by a diety and only to the faithful? Are there different kinds of magic? Do your spells require components, or just words? How does magic feel? How does it taste? How do the people of the world feel about magic in general? If you have any mages in your group, be prepared to detail an elaborate account of magic and how it works. It’s an important tangible effect.
Well, that’s the next five. Stay tuned for some more, as well as an account on Youmacon, which is this weekend! My panels are 9-11am on Saturday and 9-11pm on Saturday. Stop by and say hi!
World Building 101
28 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
A world is a great, big, wonderful, beautiful, daunting thing to create. For beginner GMs, I recommend starting a game by using a module with a pre-created world and characters to go along with it. This is not to say, of course, that experienced GMs do not or should not use modules. I love modules, they’re a fantastic thing to have, and they are especially good to keep on hand for a quick solution to a proverbial gaming itch. But, for some of us, we just want to make stuff, and the control freak inside wants us to have control over all aspects of the world.
The biggest question of world creation is this: Where the heck do I start?
The following series of blogs will go through various details of world creation and techniques of where and how to start. This is simply what works for me; you may have to tweak things for your own personal style of thinking, pick a few of the suggestions out of order, omit a few, add a few, etc. I change the order up all the time; the main thing is that you have the basic elements to consider to start. The nice thing about world creation is that it’s yours to own – as with anything else in gaming, however, please remember that once you bring it to your players, you begin to share in the ownership. Gaming is about always continuing to create and build upon what’s there in a group.
Step 1: 20 questions.
First things first, let’s make a list of all the things to consider when making a world. Some things are stuff you don’t always consider, or take for granted, so it helps to slow down for a moment and think about little itty bitty detail. You don’t have to fill all that detail in right away, but it is definitely something to go back to as an eventuality. We’re going to do a few questions at a time so that I can give a little explanation of each. I challenge everyone to reply to this post with your own brainstorming, and create a world right along with me — I’m going to use this as an opportunity to get my own creative juices flowing and create something brand new I haven’t done before. Even if you create this world and never use it, it will have given you some valuable practice. So, here goes!
#1. What kind of geography does my world have? – The explanation of this question is fairly simple, but we forget just how much there is to consider when we talk about “geography.” How many continents does the world have? How much of the world is covered in water? What kind of water? What sort of topography is there in each region – mountains, plains, etc? This part of planning takes some time, but knowing all of these details and spending the time to consider them is what will make your players’ experiences in that world tangible and exciting.
#2. What kind of religion exists in my world? – Here is where you consider another slew of information. How many deities? One? Twenty? (none? There’s nothing saying that you HAVE to have any sort of religion. Anarchy is awesome!) Who are those deities? What do they represent? Who follows them? Are they regional? Are all other regions aware of their existence? There are so many things to consider when dealing with religion, this is another topic that will take some planning, but will enhance the overall richness of your world.
#3. How do people get from point A to point B in my world? – Travel is fun! So, what kind exists in my world? Horses? Giant Ostriches (cough, chocobo!)? Airships? Trains? Boats? Dragons? Here is where you can play with all sorts of unique and interesting ideas. Maybe travel varies from region to region. Maybe there is only one way to travel to get from one particular region to another. While this seems like a minor thought, it really puts spice into what the players get to experience.
#4. What is the letter of the Law? – Each region probably has a varied law about it. Or, maybe there is one collective “Law of the Land” that unites the entire world rather than just individual countries. Either way, knowing what is “allowed” or not in your world is extremely important – otherwise, you or your players have no basis for actions and consequences. They’d just be running along blind when, if they are supposed to be someone who lives and exists in that world, they would obviously have an idea of the law. Or once again, anarchy. Anarchy is good.
#5. What kinds of races are there? – Are there races? Is there just one? How did they come to be? How do they feel about all other races? What do they look like? Where do they live? What do their people stand for? What languages do they speak? …I could go on and on about the things to consider regarding race, but you get the idea. There is absolutely no end to the questions and answers to this one. You can have as few or as many races as you want, but make sure you add spice and detail to all of them, or they will feel contrived and flat.
So, yeah, 5 questions that, while they seem simple at face value, are enormously complex. Take some time, think about them, and you can always add more later. You don’t have to complete all of your race ideas before you move on to regional or religion ideas. Hop around, do what works best for you. I usually do a little bit at a time from each section and build until I feel comfortable with where I’m at. In my follow up blog, I will start my own world creation by answering my own questions, then I will add on more questions and things to consider. Again, I challenge you to do this yourself — if you don’t post all of your details here, at least share some of your findings with us!
Now, time for bed…the down side of being on steroids for this pneumonia is that it keeps me up, despite how exhausted I am. The plus side? I can’t stop thinking and being inspired! Now if only I could do that every day on a normal day…
And, just because, here is a quote from an old game of mine that was uttered by a friend:
“I’m not stupid! …I’m just…not intelligent.” -Diane, as Beatrix
Bouncing Back!
23 Sep 2011 2 Comments
in Ramblings
So, you would think that when you have pneumonia and you have all this time to yourself to lay around and think, that you’d be able to blog, write, etc.
WRONG!
Man, this disease kicked my ass this week. I’ve been out of work since Monday, had to go to the doctor’s twice (went back on Wednesday to get something to stop my throat from swelling shut) and I’ve done nothing but sleep on and off as my coughing will let me. Long story short, that’s why I haven’t posted. And the post I attempted last night went something like this: “So when you go to oijkfdls;fj8ifj…” when I awoke, I stared at my screen incomprehensibly and hit the delete key. So now here I am, semi-coherent, trying again!
I am pleased to announce that I and my panel buddies will be presenting at this year’s Youmacon again! Thank you guys for all your support and cheer; I love seeing new and old faces at my panels, and I am striving to come up with some new stuff this year. Tell your friends! And if you hated my panel…tell your enemies. >;)
Some things to look out for on my site:
Check the “The Players” section for silly pictures and biographies for myself, my panel staff, and the “NPCs” who occasionally pop in and out of the panels I do. I’m hoping to do some silly film stuff in the future, but that’s pending on whether or not I get a better grasp of cinema (or meet someone else who does that has time on their hands and is a geek). At any rate, you can look forward to some spiffy pictures, courtesy of my sister, Jessie, whose photography you can see here and here.
I’m going to be working on that section right now before my meds kick in and I semi pass out. For the weekend, provided I’m feeling up to it, look for an article regarding “Checklists” for creating a world. Have a good one, everybody!
-K
I am not yet dead…
17 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Ramblings
…I can dance and I can sing! I am not yet dead, I can do most anything!
Craft show in Milford today, I am tiiiiired. I’ll post something more coherent and cohesive later. For now, here is a dose of geeky awesomeness:
