RPGaDay Challenge 2017 - Bonus Round!

The RPGaDay Challenge for 2017 is over! 

However...

Here are some Alternate Questions I found on the blog Casting Shadows that I'm going to answer in short response form as Bonus Questions. Why? Because Gaming that's why!

Alternate Questions

• What do you look for in a review of an RPG?

In a review? I look for someone to have read, and/or played the game who can tell me how it works, and why they think it's good, or bad. Isn't that what a review is?

• Campaigns: do you prefer set-length or open-ended play?

I definitely prefer open-ended play. Long term because it ends up long term. 

• How long does it take to learn to get the most out of a game?

I don't understand this question. You get what you put into it. If you're asking how long it takes to master the rules lawyer/power game bs that comes with a game like Pathfinder, it takes me exactly 0 seconds. I don't bother.

• What do you want out of an RPG experience?

Excitement, laughs, real emotion, and a story that you'll tell each other, and other gamers you meet years done the line. 

• What gives an RPG its ‘replay value’?

Again, I don't understand. If you can't play a game more than one time, it's not a good game. It might not even be a real RPG. 

• What part or parts of a session do you look forward to the most?

As GM, the world building, and the players/PCs uncovering the elements I put there in order to build an interesting setting.

As a player, I like discovering those world building bits, and bobs, uncovering secrets to the universe the GM has developed. 

• What makes an RPG book special in your eyes?

This is an interesting question. What makes it special? Wow. This is very hard to pin down. It's a combination of things. How it looks, the art, how easy it is to read, how cool the examples of play are...some many things. 

• What would appear on an RPG book cover that would make you want to play it?

A Japanese Anime/Manga Giant Robot.

Heh, kidding (sort of). It isn't what's on the cover, it's what the game is about, and how well it handles that subject matter.

• How far from human do you enjoy getting the chance to be in an RPG?

LOL. You are talking to the guy whose motto in high school was, 'If the game has something other than Humans, I will be something other than Human.' Jot me down for 'Real Weirdie'.

• What is the oldest game you have played, or still play?

Classic Traveller I would think.

• Describe a moment of wonder that arose in play.

So many. I wouldn't know where to start, or rather it would take a whole post to describe anyone of them. I am trying to give short response answers here. Please go back and read various entries on my blog. There are some real doozies. 

• Have you learned a skill because of events in a game? Tell us about it!

I am awful at math. I always have been, and probably always will be. It's almost a learning disability. Not quite, but my mind just doesn't grasp numbers and their relationships very well. The one area of mathematics I can understand is probability and percentages. That is solely due to playing RPGs.

• What section do you read first when you get a new game? Why?

Character Creation. I always want to know how to build a character. Oddly, as a GM, Character Creation is not my favorite part of the gaming experience. Often, I actually find it tedious. That's why I look at Character Creation first. If I find Character Creation enjoyable, it is very likely that I will like the rest of the game. 

• Suggest an RPG with engaging solo play.

Um...er...um...huh? Do you mean One Player, and One GM, or no GM? Why would you do that? There are video games for that. Go play Mass Effect. Better yet, play World of Warcraft or something. That way you can play alone, but with people. 

• Which RPGs facilitate running very large groups enjoyably?

I may be biased here, as I prefer running for fairly large groups. I find many games that people view as cumbersome for large groups to be pretty easy to run. I've run FASA Star Trek for 7 or 8 players at once, WEG Star Wars for 7 or 8 on average, and a Mutants & Masterminds campaign with between 7 and 11 people per session. Any game with rules that a both simple, and straightforward work well with large groups. 

The RPGaDay Challenge for 2017 is over! 

Well that's that! Challenge excepted and overcome! Feeling pretty good about myself. 

Until next post...


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