Campaigns I Have Played

Here's a little teaser for a reoccurring series of posts coming in September.

Actually a sub-series of a reoccurring series. Ooh! Self referential! 

For the month of September the entries for my irregularly posted regular feature Campaigns I Have Known will have something of a twist. 

All the posts will feature campaigns I have participated in as a player, and not as a Gamemaster. That's right, I'm going to go into depth on campaigns I have played!

The loose criteria for a campaign to be featured in this series is pretty much the same as that for the regular Campaigns I Have Known. 

-The campaign has to have had a relatively complete run. A beginning, a middle, and an end (even if the ending was vague, a cliffhanger, or the like). I am a little flexible on this, as some campaigns just tapered off in the old days, usually to try a new game. As long as the game didn't end because it fell apart it qualifies.

It has to have been successful, and therefore memorable. That doesn't mean I need to remember every last detail, but it has to have been so good that it stayed with me. More about this below.

[It might be interesting at some point to cover Campaigns I Have Known that failed. Something to consider for the future.]

It has to have been completed before the year 2000. That particular year is really an arbitrary choice. The point is these are older campaigns, from the good ol' days (or some such non-sense). More than a little nostalgia is involved in this endeavor. 

In addition to the regular elements used to describe the various campaigns - System, Circa, Characters, Synopsis, etc. - I will be adding a Player Perspective section. Basically commentary on the campaign from my point of view as a player. 

It will likely turn out to be pretty fun, and interesting, but it's also going to be tricky. I have three campaigns in mind, but beyond that I'm not sure. I haven't been a player in that many successful campaigns. 

As noted in a number of previous posts I haven't been a player very often in my 39 year history in the hobby. I don't enjoy it as much as I do Gamemastering, or at least I haven't traditionally. Part of the reason for this has been a lack of successful outings while on the player's side of the table.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be an exciting journey, and not a very short trip.

We shall see,

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Barking Alien

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

I have a lot of things I want to talk about and not that much time to do it in.

Why? Self enforced deadline to be honest. I wanted to get certain things posted before year's end because next year is kind of special.

As 2021 draws to a close, I work toward assembling my big plans for the new year. 2022 will mark my 45th Anniversary in the Tabletop RPG Hobby. Forty-five years from August 25th, 1977 to August 25th, 2022.

Thinking back on all those years I am humbled and grateful for the friends I've made, the characters we've created, the stories we've told, laughs we've had, and how it has changed our lives. Well...it definitely changed mine. At the same time, RPGs and my love of them have been a constant and consistent element of who I am for four and a half decades. 

That's cause for acknowledgement and celebration.

To that end I - and hopefully all of you reading this - can look forward to a pretty hefty schedule of posts next year. My intention is to cover all the usual unusual subjects - Ghostbusters, Star Trek, Star Wars - along with some additional ideas related to The Dark Crystal, Goblin Slayer, Marvel Comics, The Orville, and more!

I also plan to bring back some readership favorites* such as Campaigns I Have Known, 

Campaigns I Have Played, Player Profiles, Thorough Thursdays, and What Other GMs Do Wrong. I'll also be adding some new features like One-Shots I Have Known, Things to Do, and more The Good, The Bad, The Whatever film and streaming reviews. 

To start off the year, I will be participating in the 31 Days / 31 Characters Challenge, though in my own special way  That is to say, just as I did last year I will not be creating new characters but honoring some of the coolest and most interesting PCs and NPCs I have created or encountered over the past 45 years. 

These entries will join the usual A-to-Z Blog Challenge, the RPGaDay Challenge, and perhaps others. I am hoping 2022 will see more total posts in the year than any previous year and to do that I will need inspiration and catalysts for ideas. The various internet Blog Challenges can be frustrating but they also get me writing, at least initially. 

As I've noted in the past, I'd like to get some guest posts and art from my past players and GMs if at all possible. We shall see how that goes as time and schedules allow. 

You may notice that this post is a bit less theatrical than some similar ones I've made in the past along the same lines. This is intentional but don't believe for a second that next years posts will be devoid of my particular brand of showmanship, tomfoolery, and pop culture references. You've been warned. 

Come join the celebration...

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Barking Alien

I hate to end the year on a sad note but...

2021 had to get one last gut punch in and man oh man did it ever. I am heartbroken to report the passing of television legend Betty White.

Born Betty Marion White, this pioneer of early television was an actress and comedian with over seven decades of appearances on the 'small screen'. Best known for roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973-1977), The Golden Girls (1985-1992), and Hot in Cleveland (2010-2015). She also had award winning guest spots on The Bold and The Beautiful, Boston Legal, The Carol Burnett Show, and Saturday Night Live. 

Ms. White, a true national treasure and household name for 70 years, passed away in her home in Los Angles today, a mere seventeen days before celebrating her 100th birthday. 

A long time fan of Betty White's humor and optimism, I am saddened to see her go but her body of work will live on and you can't ask for much more than that. 

31 Thoughts

I was pre-occupied by so many things last month (all good mind you) that I barely had time to put up the fourteen characters I managed to get done for the 31 Days / 31 Characters Character Design Challenge.

I hardly had the chance to relax, absorb, and think about things in the way I normally like to. To that end, here are 31 things my brain has finally processed...

(In no particular order)

1) Happy Birthday MLK. Don't forget - February is Black History Month and Black Lives Matter.

2) There is a new Fraggle Rock series on Apple TV+! NEW EPISODES of FRAGGLE ROCK exist. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock - Dance your cares away! I am loving it, although Mokey's redesign is weirding me out for some reason. Lili Cooper, the Human actress who plays the new 'Doc' is big time crush material. So adorable.

3) Remembering Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat Sidney Poitier, one of my all time favorites, who graced the silver screen in 1959's Porgy and Bess, 1961's A Raisin in the Sun, and 1970's They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!. He directed the Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy in 1980 as well as a number of other successful comedies. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Presidential Medal of Honor from Barack Obama, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. 

4) Rest in Peace to comedian, actor, TV host, and personality Bob Saget. So talented and so young. Deep condolences to family, friends, and fans. 

5) More sad news with the loss of one of my favorite musical talents - Meat Loaf, Michael/Marvin Lee Aday. He wasn't a perfect Human being and I disagreed with some of his personal policies in the later years but he made great music. Godspeed to the Bat Out of Hell. 

6) Some Tabletop RPGs are coming this year that have me really excited. Not the least of which is The Dark Crystal Adventure Game by River Horse. So many ideas...so many ideas. 

7) I backed Heckin' Good Doggos on Kickstarter, an RPG about Dogs doing Dog Stuff. Because Dogs.

8) Another passing meaningful to me is that of Jean-Claude Mézières, artist and one of the two creators of the French Science-Fiction series Valerian and Laureline. 

9) Members of one of my old gaming groups and very dear friends for over 30 years, Aris, Keith, Vlad, and their good buddy George have a video podcast on YouTube called The Podcast Cosmic. It is essentially a bunch of old guys talking fandom but its entertaining and passionate and I love these dudes. Check it out. 

10) I loved the first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, liked the third, was disappointed by the fourth and as for the fifth, well, the Season 3 Premiere of The Mandalorian was truly fantastic. I do think they should have finished Boba Fett's story first though (wink). As for the sixth episode, damn, I don't even know where to begin. Incredible. It all makes me feel like...

11) I really want to run Star Wars D6 again. Really, really. A long term campaign with some of the elements we see in the Disney+ series. Not merely adventures but living in the Star Wars.

12) I am liking Star Trek: Prodigy quite a bit. It is definitely a children's show; not aimed at me but a much, much younger audience. That said, it is well done and stays true to the tenets of Star Trek while showing it in a dynamic new way. Take a look. 

13) I am still kind of obsessed with Ghostbusters and my Ghostbusters RPG ideas. I really want to run a campaign with my old Art and Design / 'The Home Office' gang. We shall see...

14) I need to run some genres/settings/games I haven't run in a while or maybe never before at all. That last bit would be hard to do. Maybe just a few one-shots scattered throughout the year.

15) One of these days I want to run a campaign of Pirates! - Romanticized realism with a supernatural twist. Like a Pirates version of my old 'Odd West' The Legend of Boot Hill game. Weirdly, I'd love to run it with my Sunday group but my buddy Keith - a massive fan of Naval Adventures in the Age of Sail - absolutely despises Pirates. 

16) I am interested in running a one-shot or short campaign of Medieval Fantasy yet I like the subject no more now than I have in the recent past, which is to say very little. I will be very curious to see The Goblin Slayer and Konosuba TRPG English Translation go over with my friends, since I'll likely adapt one of these for whatever I end up running. 

17) Based solely on The Legend of Vox Machina Netflix Animated Series, I am not sure I understand the incredible popularity of Critical Role. After the first three episodes I see it as a decent story with some good characters but nothing particularly interesting or unique. Perhaps because I am not a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and the type of characters and stories typical of that game, Vox Machina just doesn't land with me. I can only assume that for people who do like this sort of thing, this series is the bees knees. What say you D&D fans?

18) Likewise, Peacemaker isn't connecting with me the way it is with many in superhero geekdom. The show is very well done and John Cena is absolutely excellent in the lead role but I am not feeling it. I am not hating it either and will probably continue on to watch all of this first season. A fan of the original Charlton Comics version of the character and (to a lesser extent) the later DC Comics incarnation as well, perhaps my affection for those is clouding my assessment. 

19) The closer we get to the release of the Marvel Multiverse Role Playing Game Playtest Edition the more excited I get. I am starting to put some ideas together for a possible Marvel 'What If?' campaign. Generally more of a DC fan traditionally, this is pretty wild to me.

20) Especially since I didn't love all of the recent Marvel films. Eternals needed A LOT of work, Shangi-Chi was fun but not special, and Black Widow was fine but a bit disappointing. I wasn't particularly impressed by the Disney+ Hawkeye series either. Left me flat actually. 

21) Spider-man: No Way Home on the other hand was phenomenal! I absolutely loved it.

22) I loved Wandavision, liked Falcon and The Winter Soldier a lot, and thought Loki was a great deal of fun. What If? was really good as well, with some episodes being 'pretty cool' and others being 'Holy Crap That Rocked!'. 

23) Of the upcoming MCU works, I am most interested in the Disney+ series Moon Knight and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. There's that word 'multiverse' again. Ooh, speaking of multiverses...

24) Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) is coming in October of this year and I could not be more excited. Well maybe. I mean, if they announced a new Dark Crystal series continuing the story from Age of Resistance I'd...nevermind...The first Spider-Verse movie was spectacular and it featured Miles Morales, my favorite incarnation of Spidey. This one promises to introduce Spider-man 2099 in addition to the return of Miles and Gwen. Who knows what other Spider-folk are out there?

25) Can we get a live action Miles Morales? Please?

26) As promised in December, I will soon be posting up some new entries into old favorites features such as Campaigns I Have Known, Campaigns I Have Played,  and Thorough Thursdays. I also want to finish some entries I started but never got around to completing. 

27) This is true of some monthly themes as well. For example, I have a lot more to say about Japanese Tabletop RPGs.

28) Additionally, I have some new features I'd like to start up, one or two of which will be beginning very soon. One-Shots I Have Known/Have Played, Things to Do, and Meet The Party. 

29) I got the idea for Meet The Party while doing research for the characters in the 31 Days /  Characters Challenge Digging through my old campaign notebooks, talking to my friends, I realized there were so many old characters connected to so many campaign that there was no way I was going to be able to address even a fraction of them. Meet The Party allows me to do just that by describing the PCs and major NPCs from some of our past games. Think of it as the Characters section of one of the Campaigns I Have Known/Played entries all by itself, allowing me to expand on the character descriptions and information. 

Whatta ya think?

30) JB over at B/X BLACKRAZOR keeps promising/threatening to do a series of posts on World Building, leading me to consider threatening/promising to do the same. Thing is, like Campaign and Adventure design, I am not certain I can easily translate my approach into a system others will understand and be able to use. So much of it works by gut and hunch, with the process constantly going through adjustments and alterations. Is it worth the headache?

31) I could go over how I go about World Building in worlds that already exist. I mean, I do run a lot of IP based games. Maybe how to World Build in the Star Trek or Star Wars universes (for example) would be helpful to other GMs playing in those settings. Hmm. 

All that thinking knocked Barkley out.

Whew.

Well that's it for now. I need some rest.

Later,

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Barking Alien

Where Am I Now?

I realize I have a number of unfinished post series' on the blog, and I apologize to my readership for leaving them incomplete [so far]. I do mean to get back to all of them, but my thoughts don't always march out of my head in a straight line.

The Paradise Fleet series of Campaigns I Have Known posts, and the Champions: Age of Chaos series of Campaigns I Have Played will both be completed before August, I can promise you that. 

Additionally, I'd still like to write one or two additional posts on my Pokemon RPG idea, though I can not say exactly when I'll get around to that. Hopefully I can get those out before August as well, but I can't guarantee it.

This post is designed to get the ball rolling for the month of June. I have quiet a bit I want to discuss this month, but I felt I needed a 'State of Gaming'-type post to get things started after my short hiatus.

The total view number of views for this blog in May exceeded 13,000, which is decent for Barking Alien. It surpassed both April (around 11,000), and March (around 12,000). There were only 10 posts in March, 6 in April, and 7 in May. I personally felt that some of the posts over this three month period were very good. Comments and +1s to Google Plus seem to confirm that many others agree. 

As I draw closer to my 40th Anniversary in the gaming hobby, I figured it was time to take stock of what I am currently doing, and what is in the immediate future...


What I Am Running

I am currently running a Champions campaign with sessions run every other week (twice a month essentially) on Friday nights. I am looking forward to finishing it. It's been an OK game, but I haven't really been inspired, and as it goes on it feels more, and more like a chore. I should be about to sum it up next session (two weeks from now).

I am also running a monthly Traveller campaign focused on deep space exploration, with my 'main group'. We had the first session a week or so ago, it went OK, but I'm not really feeling the buzz I wish I was. Not sure why. Hopefully it'll pick up, and I'll get more into it.


What I Am Playing

When not running Champions with my Friday night group, I am playing in a Hogwarts/Wizarding World game with my Friday night group. It's run by my friend Alex. The game uses a variation on the Apocalypse World/Powered by the Apocalypse rules. It's good - really, really good - translated from Adam-ese that's high praise indeed. One week Hogwarts, next week Champions, rinse, repeat.

I am also still playing in a weekly online, Google Hangouts Superhero campaign using the rules lite system called Kapow! It's been about 2 and 1/2 years now, and crazy thing, we're still having fun. In fact, the last two sessions were a lot of fun. There was a real sense of urgency, heroism, and teamwork. It was a Superhero game session where we actually felt like superheroes. Loved it.


What's On The Horizon

As I noted, my Champions game should be ending in the next session, or two. After that...who knows. I am not really sure where to go with my Friday group. Theirs are an eclectic mix of interests, opinions, and approaches. Finding a games that works for everyone isn't easy. Still, I'm sure I'll think of something.

As for my online group, we are going to take a break from our regular campaign in a few weeks and run some interesting short campaigns for the Summer. First, I will be taking over the GM reins briefly to run a Giant Robot game. I am thinking of using either original, 1st Edition Mekton or my homebrew Extended Mecha system to run a Mobile Suit Gundam series. A few sessions at most of war, tragedy, and heartbreak should be an great palette cleanser.

This will be followed by an idea our regular GM Keith and I came up with that I think will be awesome. Keith will run a few sessions of Marvel Heroic, set in the Marvel Universe. He hasn't been able to fully grok that system, but really wants to. We compared notes, and now he wants to give it the old college try. Xavier's Institute offers college courses, right? Following that, I will run a few sessions set in the DC Universe using Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition's DC Adventures RPG. It'll all come to an epic climax when a GM (TBA) runs Kapow! (our regular game) featuring characters from the Marvel and DC games.


Ultimate Superhero Crossover Action!

Marvel Characters in the Marvel Universe, using Marvel Heroic
DC Characters in the DC Universe, using DC Adventures/M&M 3E
Marvel and DC Character in a Crossover Universe using Kapow!

SO EXCITED!

Finally, my friend Dave Cotton is back in action after nearly two years. I am really looking forward to getting a game together with him, and the mix of old crew players I've talked about in the past (two of my NJ friends, and one friend from high school). More may be added. I have the perfect idea for that campaign...but I am not ready to reveal it yet.

Soon. Soon.


Other Projects

I am looking to e-publish one, or more RPG games through DriveThruRPG later this summer. It is my sincerest hope to finally finish Unfinished Business, as well as a Sci-Fi/Space Adventure Comedy game idea. 

Wish me luck, stay tuned, and have a great summer!


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Barking Alien

STAR WARS - SCUM OF THE GALAXY - Part II

Continuing my first Campaigns I Have Played entry covering the only the Star Wars RPG campaign I was ever in as a player, I'm going to add a few new features in addition to those I regularly have in my Campaigns I Have Known series.

The first new feature I've already added, as the previous post contains a reference to who the Gamemaster was for this campaign. In the Campaigns I Have Known version of this series, the GM is always me (or me, with a few sessions run by other here and there).

Another feature, which I am thinking of applying to future entries of both my '...Have Played' and '...Have Known' posts, is Opposition. Basically, a summary of the opponents the PCs faced during the campaign. 

Lastly, there will be a section called Player's Perspective. It is here that I will give my personal feelings about the campaign, and how it was run and played from a player's point of view. As I prefer to GM, this section may have a Gamemaster's slant to the review. 

Now then...

 A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

From Left to Right:
Tag Aether, Dreg, Alec Raydawn, Reek,

and Hud Choban (rear)

Opposition: The main enemies of the PCs in this campaign were intergalactic crimelord Chuuphga Two-By-Four, an Imperial Admiral, and an Inquisitor. Other reoccurring opponents were several Bounty Hunters, numerous minor Imperials, and the competing crimeboss Gumbad the Hutt (and of course his henchmen). 

The most memorable villain was, by far, Chuuphga (pronounced CHOOF-gha) 'Two-By-Four'. A Pho Ph'eahian career criminal who started as a small time hood under a younger Jabba the Hutt. Making his way up the ranks, he eventually took the initiative and gave himself a promotion to kingpin of his sector. The previous crimelord retired. Permanently. Due to blaster fire.

A mix of movie mobster styles, Chuuphga could best be described as a Russian Mob Goodfella. He was polite, reasonably well mannered, cordial, and warm if not exactly charming. He was also ruthless, randomly killing minions who displeased him.

Chuuphga was humorous, smart, and honestly scary. We were far more worried about dealing with him and his minions than we were the entirety of the Imperial Forces sent against us. 

I recall the voice of the Admiral having a classically sinister British accent. Other then that, I don't recall much about him. He was pretty clever, but terribly arrogant. It was easy to fool the Admiral by playing off his perceived self-importance. 

The Imperial Inquisitor was cool in that he was very different from what you'd expect. He wasn't the typical athletic, physical sort as much as he was old, sage-like, and wizardly. He was much more of an advisor and deeply knowledgeable about the Jedi texts that the Imperials were attempting to uncover.

Our Imperial Inquisitor was more like one of the Emperor's Advisors

as seen in Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Synopsis: Local legend on the planet Ord Itani says that there was once a notorious gang of pirates, scoundrels, and other riff raff who met at the Laughing Gundark tavern, and eventually used it for a base. The gang became known as 'The Laughing Gundarks' themselves as a result. Eventually the group was wiped out by their rivals, 'The Smiling Banthas'*, and by the early rise of the Galactic Empire. The establishment was driven out of business by it's association with the name of the gang.

Several years later, the cantina opened up again using the pirate den identity as a theme to bring in customers. As the planet was now on the very outskirts of Imperial jurisdiction, controlled more by Hutt crime families, no attempt was made to dissuade the owner from using the name. In fact, keeping up the idea that the Laughing Gundarks were a thing of legend, and not something real, benefited the Imperials and the Hutts.

Many years went by before an employee of the Laughing Gundark Cantina, the Uchoda mechanic named Hud Choban, got involved in an after hours altercation with some local gangsters. A group of Chuuphga Two-By-Four's goons, and a few others he didn't know were trying to start up a fight with a Rodian whom Choban thought he remembered from earlier that same day.

Choban decided to step in and assist the Rodian, as a second Rodian (the one Chodan had actually seen beforehand) joined in the fight. Well, sort of joined in the fight. Stumbles into it is more accurate. The three of them end up in a pitched battle between themselves and the various blaster totting thugs. 

Escaping their opponents, the team runs into Alec Raydawn, a scoundrel also on the run from Chuuphga's gang. Together they make a play for Dreg the Rodian's ship, the Green Sun Endeavor. Unknown to the four, their movements have been followed by Mercenary Pilot Tag Aether, secretly a Rebel Operative. Using his Toscan 8-Q starfighter, Aether covers the Green Sun Endeavor's escape. The Transport, and the fighter communicate, then depart together, with Aether giving the others the coordinates for a safe haven on the planet Nanador.

The campaign then follows the group as it goes on the run, hoping from planet to planet, sometimes on the defensive, sometimes on the offensive. While trying to avoid prolonged engagements against Chuuphga's forces, and those of the Imperial Empire, the group actively pursued their enemies from time to time to find out what they were up to. The PCs were also out to determine why Chuuphga and the Imperials had joined forces [unbeknowst to the galaxy at large]. 

It is eventually revealed that while hiding out on a remote, abandoned, mining colony planetoid as a younger man, Chuuphga discovered some sort of Jedi Temple buried deep beneath the surface. The structure turned out to be more a library then a temple. After being rescued by his cronies, the crimelord hide the truth about the planetoid until he could find a way to exploit his findings. He eventually bought the planet with his ill gotten gains, and contacted the Empire. Working together, the two parties hoped to bypass the library's hidden defenses, and excavate any useful texts, maps, or other materials.

We (the PCs) performed a number of hit and run attacks against our adversaries in the later half of the campaign, getting bolder and more confident as the game went on. We learned the truth of what they were after, and pursued a plan to thwart the enemy. Eventually we were able to disable the Admiral's strike cruiser, killing him in the battle, and badly wounding the Inquisitor. The final fight was actually against a Sith Spirit possessed Chuuphga in the ancient, lost Jedi library. Chuuphga, true to his nature throughout the campaign, is able to fight the possession (with our help and encouragement), enabling Raydawn to banish the Dark Side Phantom to the nether reaches of the galaxy.

The game ends with the team, 'The Laughing Gundarks', turning the location of the Jedi Library over to Luke Skywalker just after the Battle of Endor. Luke considers taking on Alec Raydawn as an apprentice after he gets the chance to read through some of the texts in the library.

Tag Aether, Hud Choban, Dreg, and Reek are seen swapping stories with Wedge Antilles, Nien Nunb, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian (who acknowledges Alec with a smile and a wink - see Part I). 

Big finish, epic music, classic screen wipe, roll credits...

Appendix N: In addition to the Original Trilogy, and some material from the Han Solo novels by Brian Daley, there wasn't a ton of expanded universe information back in 1989.

Wait...that's not true. There was the RPG.

Our GM, Peter C., used a ton of the material found within the West End Games produced RPG to aid in the 'world building' of our campaign's particular take on the Star Wars Universe. Several modules, sourcebooks, and related supplements factored into our story, often with the names, locations, and such altered to fit our game.

In addition, a number of other films from the 70s, and 80s served as inspirational material for the theme, and atmosphere of our campaign including: 

Dog Day Afternoon, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Poseidon Adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Take the Money and Run (as well as many others).

Bonus Features:

I played this campaign while attending my first year of college. Most of the players were friends, and classmates I went to college with. We were all artists (it was an art college), and the game had a good deal of artwork made for it as a result. Sadly, I do not have any of it anymore (the GM kept most of it). All the illustrations in these past two posts were either obtained from other sources, or drawn specifically for these entries.

I created detailed deckplans for my ship, the Green Sun Endeavor. I had the bridge/cockpit layout, knew where each character's room was, and even accounted for secret panels, and hidden cargo holds.

The overall look of the Green Sun Endeavor was based on the arrow shaped ship in this painting by Peter Elson and the Star Bird toy by Milton Bradley. 

For a few sessions we were on a planet that translated the name of the ship...poorly. 'Green Sun' was the nickname for an illness one could catch from too much exposure to the local sun. Endeavor was oddly translated as well, believed to be a term for a never-ending, or ongoing process. The natives called my ship the Unending Incurable Illness. Very embarrasing.

A number of other players stepped in to run NPC guest stars. Most were one-shot appearances, while a couple would appear, and then come back several sessions later for another episode. 

Our GM used a surprisingly large number of modules in the campaign. Many elements of these modules were changed to fit our campaign, but pre-prepared adventures were fairly common place. For example, the adventure Tatooine Manhunt, the first Star Wars D6 module produced if I am not mistaken, was set on the original planet of Pumot, a volcanically active world of ash, fire, and stone. Although the location and some other elements were changed, the plot - find a hero of the Clone Wars thought long dead while evading bounty hunters - remained unchanged.

 

Player's Perspective: NEW FEATURE! What I really liked about Peter as a GM, and especially as a GM of Star Wars, was his excellent use, and command of pacing.

Chase scenes and battles had a fast, often frantic pace. Planning scenes were given time to happen, but then something would complicate matters, and get us moving again. We had moments of downtime to think, relax, and catch our breath, but not for longer than necessary. Never so long that it slowed down the game's overall pace. 

It was very much in keeping with the approach described in the West End Games products, and IMHO, very much in keeping with what makes for a good Star Wars RPG campaign. Lucas himself could've used to take notes on Pete's approach before embarking on the walking-talking head prequels. Ugh.

Peter was also good at creating memorable NPCs. Their quirky natures, accents, and distinct personalities made them fun to encounter, as well as easy to love, or hate. Of particular distinction were the droids 'Wendy', and 'Ruby', the bartender/owner of the Laughing Gundark Cantina, and of course everyone's favorite crimelord, Chuuphga Two-By-Four.

***

Well, that about wraps up my first 'Campaigns I Have Played' entry. Sorry it took so long to complete. October turned out to be incredibly busy, and not entirely smooth sailing for me in the real world. 

Now we're about to embark on November, and I have a lot of ideas and thoughts I'd like to get out so let's hope for the best, and see if I can get back to posting more regularly.

No promises.

AD
Barking Alien

What It Is I Do

What is it that I do exactly?

What I mean to say is, what is the nature of my play style, how do I view that approach, and what do I do to make it happen?

Dicekras

By jomacatopa96

These questions, and others like them, have been crossing my mind a lot lately.

They have been the subject of discussion with friends, the inspiration for my personal notes, and analysis, and have driven me to check out podcasts, blogs, and articles on how others answer these very same questions.

All in all I have determined this much...

I am a world-building GM so I create universes to explore

I like my games to have what I consider living, breathing, open-world settings. I there to be places to go, creatures to encounter, environments to deal with, people to meet, stores to shop in, and things to do.

I like the NPCs to be people with interests, dislikes, agendas, and goals. These characters are all doing things, whether it's going to a 9-to-5 job each day, or planning to conquer the galaxy. Every single NPC (and every sentient being in my setting who isn't a PC is an NPC) can be interacted with if you want to interact with them, and you can logically figure out how to do so.

You (as a player, through your PC) can go anywhere, and do anything so long as, again, you can figure out how in a logical, setting appropriate manner. You are limited only by the established principles, laws, and conditions established in the genre, and universe. 

I place inconsistencies, straight-up falsehoods, and deep secrets throughout the setting that no one is obliged to investigate, or discover, but which I personally feel would be really exciting, and rewarding if they did.

I am a GM who cares about PCs so I give PCs opportunities and options

Although I want an open world/universe, sandbox style setting, I want the PCs to feel connected to the setting, and I want it to be connected to them. 

I want to include material the players of the PCs want to see. If you want political intrigue, tell me so I can include it. If you love big space battles let me know so I can make sure we have those in our campaign. If you hate wilderness adventures, and love city ones, talk to me about it. I will negotiate with you. I would be have to have fewer outdoors adventures, and more indoor, civilized ones. Perhaps you could explain what you don't like about a certain type of encounter, and I can fix it to make it more interesting. 

If you want your PC to be the best pilot around, I will give you opportunities to fly a starship. If you like to tinker, and invent mad-science devices I will include rules, and chances to do that. Stealth/spy types will be given the chance to sneak around don't worry.

I will not always say yes, but I will always listen to a well reasoned idea

If you want to do something non-standard with your PC, run it by me. I can not guarantee I will allow it, but [unlike a lot of GMs I know] I will not automatically veto the idea. I will listen, and probably try to help you make it work.

As long as the concept fits the genre, doesn't break the rules systems too much, and isn't overpowered [relative to the other PCs, and the game setting as I whole], I will likely OK it.

This goes beyond character creation, and abilities as well. In my campaigns a good idea, well thought out, and befitting the game setting supersedes, or has a much larger influence on the outcome of a situation then a die roll does. That's a universal Adam Dickstein rule. 

I like action so I like to include a lot of fast paced action

Expect things to explode, chase you, argue with you, collapse on top of you, shoot at you, and attack you with tooth, and claw. I am going to give you a lot of opportunities for action.

What I'd like from you, the player, is a sense of urgency where appropriate. I sense of adventure. A willingness to mix-it-up, and get into that action.

I like deep characters so I allow time for, and reward role-playing

Your PC should have a personality, something that drives them, and goals. I like to see PCs that seem like 'real people', or at the very least three-dimensional, well written characters. This isn't easy for every player, and I don't intend, or expect to see them gripping, and nuanced in the first session (or even the first dozen). I would like to see that kind of thought put into them, and to see the PC develop little, by little as time goes on. 

I may not need to see a full fleshed out character in the first dozen sessions, but I definitely want to see an effort towards that goal in the first dozen sessions.

To facilitate this, I try to include spaces between events in the games, breaks in the action if you will, where PCs can relax, grab a meal, and just talk. I like allowing for down time. I also encourage a smart player/PC to converse with their allies, enemies, and neutral contacts before, during, and/or after a battle, or other action sequence. Your are playing sentient beings (well, most of you. Right?), and sentient beings talk to each other (again, most of them do anyway).

I am not out to kill the PCs, but I am out to challenge the players

If I run my campaigns correctly - that is, if I execute the running of a campaign the way I want it to work - PC deaths will be rare if the players play smartly. This does not me cowardly, it means intelligently. I am not out to kill your character. I am trying to challenge you the player to use your character to best difficult situations, and in order to achieve some kind of goal.

Now let me be clear on this. Yes, I am trying to challenge the player as much as their character. In the end, the PC does not have a mind separate from that of the player. They are not an independent entity. The player makes the character's choices, and decisions, and controls the character's actions. If you play your character as not very observant, or astute, that PC is more likely to be injured, or killed than his, or her more perceptive, and wiser companions. 

Just FYI.

I really despise inaction so I penalize overthinking, and wasting time

Stop thinking about what you're going to do, describing what you're going to do, and asking me [the GM] what makes sense to do if it's going to take over 3 minutes of time - that's easily two, or three times longer than is necessary, or logical in a dramatic moment - Just (PLEASE, for the love of Bowie) Do Something! 

From now on if you take more than a couple of minutes to decide what to do, I think I shall implement a rule that you either loose your turn/action, you get a negative modifier (the enemy has had time to plan a counter move, or dodge, etc.), or I will add an additional danger to the situation. This is how I always used to play. I stopped doing this for whatever reason, and now I am constantly regretting it.

I put a lot of thought into my games, and I expect a lot of investment from the players

This one is tough. It's something I didn't really realize about myself, or my games that I've come to perceive, and except over time. I subconsciously ask for a good deal of buy-in from the players in my games in order to make my campaigns excel to their full potential.

While I think it's absolutely fair to ask one's players to put least two thirds of the effort into the game that the GM does, I don't think it's right or fair that I don't tell them that before hand. I haven't made this desire clear in recent years. Why? I am not used to doing so. This was just an automatic thing for my past groups (specifically my High School, College, and New Jersey groups). It was just how we played.

I also can't really tell you want that means exactly. It very much depends on the game. It can range from: If we're running a serious, dark game, don't create a comedic character whose goofy antics constantly break the mood - to - if we are playing in a medieval European setting, don't approach everything from the viewpoint of a 21st century American well-versed in modern chemistry, and physics. The people of this era didn't know those things.

I like genre, and I run different genres in different ways

I really dislike when games become a hodge-podge, kitchen sink mess. I like when games have a feel. I enjoy it when there are rules to the setting, and the campaign that aren't necessarily the rules of our world.

The rotating justice system of a comic book universe that allows villains to escape, or otherwise return to menace the heroes again, and again isn't illogical. Not in a comic book universe. Likewise, the idea that heroes don't kill the villains as a way to prevent this makes perfect sense in that setting. The idea that time is sort of suspended to allow a Japanese Sentai style hero team to combine their vehicles and form their giant robot is part of the natural physics of a Super-Robot Mecha Anime continuum. 

They are tropes, but not to the people living in those worlds. To them, it's completely normal. Stop thinking with your post-modern, deconstructing, 'look how clever I am' brain, and try enjoying the fantasy.

I like using known intellectual properties as campaign settings

Sure, I love creating my own universes from scratch, but think about this for a moment: If I have about 15-20 hours tops a week to develop material for an RPG campaign, how much can I get done if I am making up every last NPC, opponent, creature, location, piece of gear, and concept myself?

Now, how much more can I get done in the same allotment of time if some of that work has already been done. All I need to do is develop the material specific to my campaign that I am adding. If the players have a general idea of the layout, and atmosphere of a setting, I am focus on the parts of it that directly impact our game.

I can add heroes, and villains to the DC universe, but I don't have to created Star Labs, or explain what Gotham is like. My Marvel Comics setting probably doesn't need to explain to the players who the Avengers are, or who Galactus is. People are generally familiar enough with Vulcans, Phasers, and Starfleet, so I can direct my energies towards the new worlds, and civilizations the PCs will encounter.

Plus, if I love something I want to explore it, use it, look at it in different ways. A favorite mug is usually the one you use the most, right?

Let's review

I create universes to explore
I give PCs opportunities and options
I will always listen to a well reasoned idea
I like to include a lot of fast paced action
I allow time for, and reward role-playing
I am out to challenge the players
I penalize overthinking, and wasting time
I expect a lot of investment from the players
I run different genres in different ways

I like using known intellectual properties as campaign settings

Well, that's me.

If I can do all these things, if I can be allowed to be me, I can create some truly awesome RPG campaigns. 

What is it you do?

AD
Barking Alien