Twice As Thorough Thursdays : THE SECRET LIVES OF GINGERBREAD MEN

So, funny story...

I put this post together last Thursday, September 17th. It was meant to be a companion to the previous post, resulting in two Thorough Thursday entries on a single Thursday. Wow!

Then...I forgot to hit publish. I thought I did, but I guess I didn't.

So embarrassed.

As promised, here is your second helping of Thorough Thursdays for today, which I hope will fill you up until my next post.

It's a taste of something strange, and a bit different, designed to add a little spice to your holiday gaming. Normally I would've waited until December to serve this up, but I intend to focus on Science Fiction, and Space Adventure gaming in the last month of the year. Since this dish has a comedy flavor, I figured why not give it to you now while the thought of it is still piping hot in my mind.

Had enough of the food puns yet?

Several lines ago actually.

Ha! Well then, let's dig in...

Our next guest can be seen in a few places all year round, but is really a traditional holiday favorite. Here today with a somewhat non-traditional approach to fun, ladies and gentlemen, and other things please welcome...

The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men

Prior to this post, I have only tagged The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men, the 2004 independent Role Playing Game designed by Annie Rush, and published by Itesser Ink and Wicked Dead Brewing Company, one time before.

That's just wrong.

Not only is it wrong because it's a game I am quite fond of, but also because its become something of a holiday tradition for me at the tutoring center where I teach on Sundays.

Before I get into that however, a little background on the game, its origins, and because they are so damn delicious and fun, Gingerbread Men.

I would like to point out that although I will more often than not refer to them as Gingerbread Men, I am a strong advocate of Gingerbread Women, trans-Gingerbread People, and any other incarnation of sexuality, and/or gender in Gingerbread form.

The Gingerbread Man is believed to date back to 15th century, although they became popular in the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted as having used Gingerbread figures as decorations at a party. These early Gingerbread people resembled some of her more noteworthy guests, and were later given to those people as gifts.

The existence of this baking phenomenon inspired the fairy tale which is itself known as The Gingerbread Man, or alternatively The Gingerbread Boy, or Gingerbread Runner. It is also possible that this story was simply a modern (for the time) take on a classic folklore theme of talking, runaway food.

There are a number of variations of the story, though the most well known comes from the first time The Gingerbread Man folk tale was put into print. In 1875 it appeared in St. Nicholas Magazine, a popular American children's magazine of the late 19th century. The story has the newly baked bugger run from the oven of a childless old couple, all the while taunting them with its now well known refrain:

"Run, run as fast as you can!

You can't catch me. I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Originally the words were different, but over time, and numerous reprints and retellings, it has become the famous lines above.

Now, let's look at the game shall we? On the surface, it is a relatively simple D6 dice pool system, easy to learn, and teach to others. It's the premise is what makes it special, as well as the unique, and dare I say charming nature of character creation. Add in some house rules by yours truly, and you've got a game that's fun for the whole family. And then some.

The key element that makes this game special is that, if played by the book (I'll explain what I mean a bit later), characters are generated by making Gingerbread cookies. I crap you not. You bake Gingerbread Men, and Women, and you decorate them in order to create your characters.

The various decorations you put on your cookie determine it's unique abilities, and gimmicks. Gumdrops, M&Ms, Icing, and all other manner of tasty, and colorful add-ons can give your Gingerbread Person powers ranging from Invisibility, to Floating on Water, to Frosting Melting Heat. Many sweets provide weaponry, or equipment, such as the various colors of M&Ms, black licorice for a ladder (or rope in my house rules), or flying around on pretzel rod broomsticks.

I established a different, and greatly expanded, set of guidelines as to what items did what. My original players, a group of students from my Sunday classes at the tutoring center in Brooklyn, demanded a larger, and somewhat more flexible array of items, and confections. For example, in my game the effects of M&Ms are categorized not by their color, but by the type of M&M (Plain/Milk Chocolate, Peanut, Almond, Mint, etc.). Icing and other such decorations provide direct bonuses to defense (like armor), speed, etc.

Combat consists of breaking, mostly in the form of limbs, and your head. While the head is kind of essential (and always the last part to break), limbs can be repaired, and 'healed' to some degree. I expanded on this a bit as well for my game, enabling the sessions to last a bit longer if needed. It's also greatly expanded our collective mythos. Icing, and eggs are a good bandage, but not a permanent fix. Finding batter and re-baking the injured area is the key, but it takes time.

Oh the Humanity!

One of the biggest differences between the games I've run with this RPG so far, and the game as written, is that I haven't used actual Gingerbread Men, as is suggested, and recommended in the rulebook. In all honesty, I would love to have done it that way, even preferred it to be sure! Unfortunately I didn't, and couldn't for very practical reasons.

As I've stated, I've mostly run the game with students at the tutoring center where I work part-time. Without access to a kitchen, kids with possible allergies (although I don't think we actually have any of those), and all that sort of thing, an alternative form of character creation was developed.

Using either paper, or the dry erase board at the tutoring center, we drew out the shape of Gingerbread Men, and Women, colored them in, and then drew on, glued, or otherwise attached the decorations. In our home version of the game, Chocolate Chip Cookies (the crunchy kind) are used as Shields, and Candy Canes serve as a hooked staff, useful as a tool for climbing, or pulling, as well as acting as a weapon when needed. If drawing your Gingerbread People on paper, consider attaching the items with removable double-sided tape, or simple weak tape folded over on itself. This makes the items easily removable if you should lose your Shield, or need to give your Staff to an ally.

Lastly (as I could really go on, and on with another post this size on cool ideas for this game), there is the matter of the 'Secrets'.

Yes, every Gingerbread Person has a secret, and they give the game a bit more depth, even if the secrets are often downright ridiculous. They could be anything.

You're secretly in love with the Angel at the top of the Christmas Tree. You must tell her before she, and the tree are taken down this year.

You panicked last time the Burnt Sugar Cookies attacked. We lost a lot of good Gingers that day. You seek to avenge them, but the Burnt Sugar Cookies scare the bejeebers out of you.

After the Holiday, one cookie is covered in a glaze, and can no longer be eaten. It has the honor of adorning the tree as a decoration the following year. You must be that cookie! No matter what...

So this is just a taste (HA!) of the awesome that is The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men. I have a session of it planned for this coming December, and a second one with another group possible around the same time. If anyone is interested (or if it's so much fun I can't help myself) I'll post play reports afterward.

Check it out for yourself, and if you have kids, consider letting them in on the action.

AD
Barking Alien

Modern Children of A Silver Age

With a new school year having started, I have likewise begun a new 'semester' of my Role Playing Game/Creative Storytelling and Writing class over at the learning center in Brooklyn where, hopefully, I will be expanding my teaching to other kids and subjects very soon. I am pretty excited but also a little nervous. Some of what I will be teaching will be math. Me. Math. At least I'll be teaching 3rd grade math so I may be able to get a handle on it.

 

As for the RPG/Writing Class, we have decided to go with a short Superhero campaign. It was a pleasant surprise to me that after trying a few Supers sessions during the summer program a lot of the kids wanted to give it a more serious and dedicated go. The fact that it was so popular among the students is especially interesting to me since the vast majority of them are not really familiar with traditional American superhero comics.
 



 

While a few of the boys in the class have seen Superhero movies and cartoons, none of them read American comics. That's right DC and Marvel, none of them. Next time you think up one of your amazing marketing plans like Avengers Vs. X-Men or, for the love of Krypton, The New 52, just bare in mind that not one of my dozen students, grades 3 to 6, are aware of them. I started reading and collecting comics when I was very young and kept doing so until recently*. If none of these guys or their friends are reading comics now, how many do you think will be reading them into their 40's?

OK, rant over. Well, one moment...not quite...

An even more amazing thing to me about this group, in addition to having no comic book fans to speak of, is that the characters they came up with are spot on late Golden Age to Silver Age style heroes. Whoever is sitting in the Big Two's head offices thinking today's youth want to see edgy, dark, angst ridden anti-heroes needs to sit in on a session of my game with these kids.

Our current team roster includes...

Electrode

Electricity Powers including transforming himself into a bolt of electricty, the ability to call lightning out of the sky and a short burst of superspeed he calls Lightning Dash.

Force Full

Great name in my opinion. Telekinetic shock wave/vibrations called Force Waves, a Wall of Force and Wings of Force that enable him to fly by vibrating the air.

Gravity Man

Gravity Control including making things lighter or heavier and the power of Size Change, both growing and shrinking. Common tricks include making himself really heavy at a small size and flying by floating like a balloon (I'm so light I'm floating away - I'm heavier - I'm lighter - I'm heavier...).

Ice Girl

Like a combination Iceman from the X-Men and Zan from the Wonder Twins, Ice Girl can freeze things or create cold with her Ice Powers or transform into an iceberg, a sheet of ice, a localized snow storm or a large volume of freezing water. Form of...A Glacier!

Multiple Miracle

A very cool take on the cloning character, M&M (as his friends call him) can make copies of himself with his Duplication Power. By touching another character, he can copy their super power and then touch one of his duplicates and give the power to them. Lastly he can cause the clone/duplicates to shape shift and resemble other people. He is a one man superteam!

He does come with a few weaknesses however. He needs to speak to his duplicates backwards for them to understand him as they hear and speak backwards themselves. It would seem they are 'mirror images' of the original. Also, he copies and transfers superpowers at a level weaker then the person he got them from.

Nature-X

Elemental,  mystic/druid type with power over Plants, Earth and Rock and the ability to Heal. Who was it who said Superhero Clerics weren't a cool idea? ; )

Nukes

Love this guy! Nuclear Energy hero with the power to generate and absorb Nuclear Power, shoot a Nuclear Ray and Create Objects From Radiation. WOW, right? Cross Captain Atom and Green Lantern.

His weakness, which has been pretty funny in the way other players have reacted to it, is that he is constantly radioactive and none of his teammates can stand too close to him or his constructs for too long without feeling sick. He is also weak against lead or lead lined items.

Robocon

Young inventor with a forty-five foot Giant Robot that can change its hands into any weapon, tool or gadget. We have seen a drill hand, hands with finger missiles a la' Shogun Warriors Mazinger and a radar/sonar dish hand used to locate the bad guy in the third session. He also has a smaller Robot Dog.

We discovered a bit about his origin in the latest session when we found out (thanks to quick fluff added by the player) that his robot was originally a disgarded invention of the techno-genius super villain, Doctor Malice.

Water Girl

Water breathing young lady with Water Shaping and Control, the ability to create 'Water People' (semi-sentient, humanoid, water constructs) and communicate with all forms of marine life.

Whiplash

Interesting power combo. Whiplash has a Reflection Field that reflects any attack against it back at the attacker. She can also bestow this Reflection Field on others. Lastly, she can weaken the material strength of objects making them more flimsy or even brittle.

I imagine them all hanging out in their headquarters (simply called 'The HQ' by the team), waiting for the call from the Mayor or Police Commissioner to fight against the forces of evil and injustice in their four color costumes and domino masks.
 

 

 

 

So far, the PCs have thwarted an attempt by a group of criminals to steal gold bars, hide them aboard a cargo ship and escape. The ship was backed up by a hidden submarine, initially disguised as a mid-sized yacht. Eventually rendering the advanced submarine inoperable and capturing the criminals and the stolen gold, the heroes find out that the heist wasn't for the money. Rather, the evil mastermind, Dr. Malice, hired the crooks to steal the gold so he could use it to build some sinister invention. Egad!

Ah yeah! Silver Age Superhero Action at its best. There is nothing like it old chum...

AD
Barking Alien

Incidentally, the images above are two of my favorite depications of some of my favorite characters by two of my favorite artists. The first is a commission piece done by none other than John Byrne. The second is the cover of the modern take on The Brave and The Bold #35 by Jesus Saiz.

 

The Enemy Within

I originally posted this much early today but I was in a hurry to get to work at the Learning Center and I don't feel I got to say what I meant to say. As such, I am updating and reposting this entry. Thank you for indulging me.





I know, I know, my next post was supposed to be a recap of yesterday's quite excellent Hunter X Hunter game run by my good friend Ray. And it was excellent I must say. The players, Dave, Lee and myself, and our respective characters, were also pretty cool, although I'll confess that I don't know if I 'got' Lee's character 100%. In this instance however, I'll attribute that to his PC being a mysterious sort with a dark secret that I don't yet know, instead of my usual inability to comprehend what it is Lee is thinking or doing.

I'll try to do that recap tonight but I had this burning need to take a moment and say something else first.

My next game will be Star Trek. I am not sure when or how and it's very possible I will only get two players out of the four in the group but that's OK with me. If I am right in considering the two people I have in mind, I would rather have those two than a dozen players who just aren't into it.

The realization I have come to is that the one person who is really preventing me from running Star Trek is me. I came to that realization some time ago. Why am I bringing it up now?

After the Hunter X Hunter game the group started discussing various approaches to running a campaign and I realized that no matter how I tried, now matter what approach or angle on my arguement I took, my friend Lee just didn't understand the core of what I was addressing at one point. Try as he might, he couldn't get me to understand his point of view. It was not a question of agreement and disagreement. It was like I was talking about how to brew the perfect pot of coffee in Japanese and he was responding to the subject of turn of the century architecture in Italian.

This happens a lot and it frustrates me to no end and, I have to suppose, it frustrates him as well.

The problem is I keep trying. I keep trying when, at some point, you'd think I would know better and simply drop it or just barrel on ahead without waiting for that moment of confirmation that would tell me he comprehended what I was talking about.

I tend to adjust my style of play and my content to accomodate this player and honestly, any other player who I am having trouble gelling with. I alter what I would normally do and how I would normally think about adventures. My campaigns have been catering to the players in my group who aren't used to my more story driven, fast paced, don't-worry-about-the-rules-worry-about-what's-happening nature.

Considering this I have come to an epiphany. This sucks.

Not only I am not pleasing myself but I am not pleasing the players who do get into the game, who can keep up and who add a great deal to the campaign in the form of story ideas, drama and action. Making it easier for one, as an example, makes it feel far too easy and unchallenging for the rest of the crew that handle more. Why should a majority suffer an inferior game because one or two people can't keep up? They shouldn't. You can't please everybody and I certainly feel that in the case of my last few games, I didn't completely please me and I am an important customer. I mean, I've been with me 43 years now.

The final analysis on this is as simple as it is difficult for me to accept. I can not please everyone, no matter how hard I try or how much I tweak things. In the end, even if I do manage to adapt the game to the likes of players who don't get me, I end up alienating the gamer I am closest to.

Myself.

More on this in the near future. For now, I am off to teach a class and play Superheroes with a bunch of young kids. Life is good.

AD
Barking Alien

Updated Musings

My gaming anniversary has passed and I am now in my 35th year of gaming.

This will mark my fourth post in four days. A trend? Possible, even likely. With no major campaign to prepare material for and business not yet back to full, I have a bit more time in my schedule to blog.

But what to blog about? Ah, the age old dilemma, going as far back as blogging itself.

Well, let's see what is on the agenda...

A new school semester means a new Sunday Program at the Learning Cente

r in Brooklyn. We had a short but pretty successful run with Superheroes and I think I may make that the new offical game for at least the first part of the Fall/Winter season. I am debating whether to stick with my simplified ICONS variant or go with a new Marvel Heroic variant I've been thinking about. I really like the idea of the kids experiencing some of the mechanics of the game like the Doom Pool and gaining Plot Points when they purposely activate a weakness or negative distinction. There are lessons to be learned in there somewhere.

September 15th is just around the corner and it brings with it the next RECESS Game Day 'mini-convention'. I will be running my Muppets Role Playing Game in the early half of the day and my Galaxy Quest RPG in the later half. I am extremely excited to be revisiting both of these games. My recent gaming experiences have not been nearly fun enough for me and I am looking forward to running some games which embrace a very different mindset from my groups' recently completed, deadly serious Champions campaign.

Other than that...

I intend to give you some info on our new Hunter X Hunter campaign once we've started it. I don't think I will do full recaps but I might. I will continue to discuss Star Trek, Traveller and other Sci-Fi games, Superhero gaming and whatever other weird RPG subject catches my fancy.

I am also going back to my oft put off project of developing a game to self-publish.

In the end this post was more fluff and filler than I had intended. I assure you that ideas with more meat to them are coming up soon...

AD
Barking Alien

Losing and Gaining

This is my 470th post. I can't believe I am approaching 500 posts and at the same time, I can't believe it's taken me about 3 years or so to reach 500. I guess that means I don't post enough but sadly there is not much I can do about it. I post as often as I can.

I noticed I have 130 followers. That's two shy of my high, which was at one point, a week or two ago, 132. So I am losing my audience somehow. Possibly it's the lack of posts, possibly the subject matter I am covering (though I often get a good response with my Supers stuff) and maybe, just maybe, it's the fact that recent posts haven't had enough art. Pictures definitely help.

Be that as it may, I am gaining in real life and even in real life gaming. That is, my work schedule has really picked up and my gaming group is now consistently at 4 people showing up for a good 6-8 hours once a week with a 5th person joining on occasion.

Combine the aforementioned positives with my growing love for the new Marvel Heroic game, the next DC Adventures book from Green Ronin finally on the horizon and possibly an expanding of my Sunday activity/job working with the kids at the learning center and I'd say I have a lot of cool things to discuss, lost followers be damned!*

Anyway, I think the Marvel core book is due to drop on Tuesday. Expect a lot of ideas to flow once that happens.

Ever more,

AD
Barking Alien

*I don't actually mean 'damn my lost followers'. I get it. There could be any number of reasons they left. No hard feelings. You're all welcome back anytime. I'll leave a light on for you.

Tinkerbell Is Doomed

I was kind of surprised to see such a lackluster turn out of responses to my last post on Faery's Tale Deluxe. Perhaps I didn't sell it well but I really think its an amazing game and I hope you give it a look either at your FLGS or on PDF. If you have kids I recommended it even more.

I remember seeing James at GROGNARDIA post about what game readers thought would be good to get his son interested in starting to play RPGs and most people responded with some version of old school D&D or other. To me, games need to speak to the interests and experiences of their target audience. One reason D&D never really grabbed me was that at the age of 8, living in Brooklyn, NY in 1977, I had no idea what medieval really was. I didn't see castles on TV or see magazines at the local luncheonette/candystore with pictures of Knights and Wizards.

We had comic books with superheroes. We had TV shows with starships and aliens. We understood these things and so we wanted to emulate them in games. We had D&D until we could figure out how to do that.

The modern child is exposed to far more media than my generation ever was. There's the internet, youtube, streaming video, manga, anime, video and computer games and much more. You get the picture. I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said a thousand times before by intellectuals much smarter than I.

You're unlikely to get modern children excited by handing them something that looks like a school text book and saying, "This is what I used to get started many years ago/when I was young/when I just about your age." All this says is, "Old stuff Dad likes or Call of Duty. Hmmm. I think I'll fire up the X-Box."

What I'd like to see is someone pitch their kid a game like Toon, Happy Birthday, Robot or Faery's Tale Deluxe. Start simple and small with room for expansion. Also don't forget to keep it realtively simple and straightforward for the youngsters but don't talk down to them. This is one feature of Faery's Tale Deluxe that really impressed me. It can be read by anyone. It doesn't treat the reader like a novice but not does it go on and on like you've already been gaming for years like some games do. I think it reaches a very workable balance.

Anyway, I was originally going to talk more about this nifty little stroke of genius but I'll wait until the time is right. Currently a lot of blogs seem ablaze with talk of superhero gaming. Its a subject near and dear to my heart so I totally understand and approve.

Oh! That reminds me...

Stay tuned,

AD
Barking Alien