RPGaDay Challenge 2015 - Day 17 (Belated)

Geez...

What kind of question is that to ask Adam 'Barking Alien' Dickstein?

"Hey, of the foods you find unpalatable, which one do you like the best? If you could be poisoned by any venomous insect, which one would you most like to get bitten, or stung by?"

Bleh. Fantasy RPGs.

OK, ok, let me pull it back a notch. I've got my Snark Meter turned up pretty high this month, don't I? My apologies. I don't hate Fantasy as a subject as much as I sometimes make it seem. It's not my preferred genre is all. I do like a certain kind of Fantasy, but I rarely find games that cover the subject the way I want it to be approached.

Fantasy RPGs though, I do not tend to like them.

Let me clarify. Anyone who's been reading this blog regularly, or even somewhat irregularly, knows that I don't much care for D&D/Pathfinder style Fantasy. This means, I don't care for those games that are in the same category. What category is that? Whatever one contains all those Sword and Sorcery meets Weird Fantasy meets mock-Medieval Fantasy that is typified by D&D.

The vast field of Fantasy RPGs contains a lot of games that have the same mindset when it comes to the genre. The majority tend to be too complicated, too technical, and do nothing to create, or instill a sense of wonder, and magic. As a matter of fact, many feel like they're going for a scientific approach. They strive for a 'realistic simulation' of what combat, trade, and such were like in the Medieval era of Eastern Europe. Complete with a dozen intelligent species, spells, and wizardry, magical treasures, and of course, numerous, ferocious monsters. Because, you know, 'realism'.

Now D&D itself doesn't do that as much, far more focused on a sort of abstraction of how things work. Unfortunately, at least for me, the abstraction creates a huge disconnect between the genre, and the rules.

Elves are long lived, and magical, but possess no magical abilities, and PC Elves have no more knowledge, or experience then any other character.

Wizards can't use swords because, um, reasons. Meanwhile the archetypal mages, Gandalf, and Merlin, both used swords. So, huh?

My favorite Fantasy RPG would be the one that doesn't pretend it's something it isn't. If it's going to be Medieval European Fantasy, it should be that. No Elves, no dwarves running around, at least not where they can be viewed by prying, and judgmental eyes of man.

Magic may be studied as a science, but it is not truly understood, nor can it be completely mastered.

Monsters are what you tell children about to get them to behave, or to entertain them. Beasts on the other hand are real, and they roam the untamed parts of the land, which is most of it. The wolf knows the way through the woods, but his price may be high. Still, if he gives his word he keeps it. Hunt not the stag in evening, the last you've seen of the day, for he is the guardian of the green places. If he dies, if you killed him, things will not bode well for you. The sea serpent is not more, or less real than these, or the fish, just less often seen.

The game that does this, and has rules to match this atmosphere, that is my favorite Fantasy RPG.

Ars Magica is, for me, the perfect Medieval Fantasy RPG, as it not only accomplishes what I need it to as far as atmosphere, and mechanics, but it also enables you to easily create interesting characters, and has the cool 'troupe play' aspect where you play multiple PCs in different positions for different adventures. I also love that it's a Medieval European Fantasy game set in Medieval Europe. WOW! What a concept!

No, no, please, let's go back to having a million different, far off worlds that could be anything at all, but instead all freaking look just like 12th century England, and Germany. That's much better than actually being in 12th century England, or Germany. Never understood the appeal.

The next runner up to Ars Magica would have to be Pendragon for very similar reasons, especially how the mechanics actually work with, and are reflective of the subject matter.

After that, probably Faery's Tale Deluxe. Simple, easy, no fuss, no muss, but brilliantly playable.

There you go. Next up, 'Favorite Type of Wood to Get a Splinter From' I assume.

AD
Barking Alien

Front Loaded and Backfired

The ever extraordinary Lowell Francis of Age of Ravens, and Play on Target fame, has assembled, and posted, a GM Campaign Prep Survey.

Go participate! Now!

Welcome back. I missed you. You've been gone forever, or perhaps a few minutes, or so.

Dogs can't tell time.

Now that you've checked it out, I thought you might get a kick out of an idea that I got a kick out of - turning the survey into a post analyzing one game's prep. Ah, and I'm going to go one step further. I'm going to analyze two past campaigns that buck my own trends, and eschew past advice.

A High-Prep campaign that tanked, and a Low-Prep campaign that rocked!

Sound like fun? Aces.

Lowell's questions are in white, while my answers are in green.

First up...

Pendragon - "The Lion and The Sea"

Art by Lisa Free

1. What system did you use for the campaign?

Pendragon - 4th Edition

2. Had you run this system before?

No. The last time I played Pendragon was 1st Edition, and I had never run it before.

3. What kind of setting did you use?

Essentially the game canon, adjusted for the region our story took place in. I added various elements from British, Irish and Viking folktales.

4. Had you run this setting before?

No.

5. Where did you run?

Face-to-face, at a public location we often use for our games.

6. How often did your group meet?

Roughly once a month.

7. How long was your average session?

8-10 hours.

8. How many players did you have on average?

Five.

9. About how many sessions did you run for? (Say "ongoing" for present campaigns)

Four. Maybe five.

10. Did you have an expectation about how long the campaign would last when you planned it?

No. I try not to do that.

However, I planned  for the first 'chapter' to last about nine sessions. My hope was for three chapters, and then more if the group was interested.

11. If yes to Question 10, about how long did you expect the campaign to last? Was that more or less than it did run?

As noted above. We stopped after four, or five sessions. It was terrible.

12. Did you have what you'd consider a "finale"?

No.

13. What caused the campaign to end?

A complete, and utter disconnect between the type of campaign I was trying to run, and the type of game the players thought we were playing.

In addition to there being too many off beat characters for the setting, the players just could not wrap their heads around the idea of epic, mythic, folklore fantasy. They focused on realistic, logical, almost simulationist approaches to the world, the characters, and the situations.

In addition, one player was playing a character who had a personal agenda counter to that of the rest of the group.

Ugh.

14. How did you think about the ending of the campaign?

I'm glad I shot it, and put it out of its misery.

This next part focuses on the actual time you spent prepping for the game. This is all estimates and self-assessment. I'm going to ask you to come up with some rough percentages in categories. But how you define prep is up to you. If you think early brainstorming, watching genre-movies, or musing on things while riding the train counts as your prep, then count it.

This is pretty blurry, so just go with your gut on these answers.

Now here is where things get interesting.

I put a lot of thought into our Pendragon game. I tried very hard to get the geography, feel of the setting, the characters, the politics, and everything else just right. I did extensive research of both books, and film on the subject, and this is from a person who took Arthurian Literature in college.

I was so ready for this campaign. I was ready for it to be awesome.

It started great, and went sour quickly.

15. Roughly how many hours did you spend preparing for this campaign? (Please answer in numerals: 2, 6, 18...)

Over the course of a month, or so, I spent approximately 25-30 hours on the pre-first session, the first session, and campaign set-up prep. For the following sessions after the first I spent approximately 15 hours of prep time per session.

16. Give a rough percentage of time you spent on each of these activities in preparing for this campaign. Though I've set this to add up to 100, I understand there will some blurry lines.

• Learning or Relearning Rules - 20% (Considerably more than usual for me).    
• Developing or Homebrewing Mechanics  - 5%             
• Drawing Maps, Sketching Illustrations, or Crafting Props  - 10%             
• Coming Up with NPCs - 10%   
• Plotting Incidents, Arcs, or Stories - 15% (Barely any of which saw play)           
• Writing Up World/Setting Backstory - 10% (Barely any of which was investigated)      
• General Research - 20% (Perhaps half of which saw use).           
• Player Character Work - 15%
• Other

***

Ghostbusters - "Ghostbusters New Jersey"

Art by Kenichi Lo

1. What system did you use for the campaign?

A homebrewed hybrid of InSpectres by Memento Mori, and Ghostbusters by West End Games.

2. Had you run this system before?

I had run the original Ghostbusters RPG before, but no, not this blended version.

3. What kind of setting did you use?

Canon setting focused on the first Ghostbusters film. Modern, present day, New Jersey. The PC's were a Ghostbusters franchise based out of Hoboken.

4. Had you run this setting before?

I have run a Ghostbusters campaign before using the movie canon, yes.

5. Where did you run?

Face-to-face, at the home of two of the players.

6. How often did your group meet?

Once a month.

7. How long was your average session?

6-8 hours.

8. How many players did you have on average?

Four. Always four.

9. About how many sessions did you run for? (Say "ongoing" for present campaigns)

Four. (Sad Panda)

10. Did you have an expectation about how long the campaign would last when you planned it?

No. As I said, I don't usually do that.

11. If yes to Question 10, about how long did you expect the campaign to last? Was that more or less than it did run?

Campaign was cut short due to personal issues of some of the players.

12. Did you have what you'd consider a "finale"?

Unfortunately no.

13. What caused the campaign to end?

As noted above, group members having personal issues.

14. How did you think about the ending of the campaign?

Cut down too soon. So sad.

This next part focuses on the actual time you spent prepping for the game. This is all estimates and self-assessment. I'm going to ask you to come up with some rough percentages in categories. But how you define prep is up to you. If you think early brainstorming, watching genre-movies, or musing on things while riding the train counts as your prep, then count it.

This is pretty blurry, so just go with your gut on these answers.

A lot less prep went into this initially than my usual campaigns. I should point out that no less thought went in, simply that the time between when the idea for the campaign struck me, and when I developed, and then ran it was surprisingly short.

15. Roughly how many hours did you spend preparing for this campaign? (Please answer in numerals: 2, 6, 18...)

I would say maybe 12-15 hours.

16. Give a rough percentage of time you spent on each of these activities in preparing for this campaign. Though I've set this to add up to 100, I understand there will some blurry lines.

• Learning or Relearning Rules - 5%    
• Developing or Homebrewing Mechanics - 10%              
• Drawing Maps, Sketching Illustrations, or Crafting Props - 25%               
• Coming Up with NPCs - 10%   
• Plotting Incidents, Arcs, or Stories - 10%           
• Writing Up World/Setting Backstory - 5%       
• General Research - 30%           
• Player Character Work  - 5%
• Other

***

The second of these two campaigns, 'Ghostbusters New Jersey', had less than half the prep time of the Pendragon campaign, but time isn't what it was about in this case.

It was about inspiration, seeing it all clearly, knowing what would work and what wouldn't on an almost instinctive level, and feeling comfortable that the group of gamers I made the campaign for would 'get it in one', no fuss no muss.

With 'Pendragon - The Lion and The Sea', I perceived of a very different game than that which we ended up playing. As such, I prepared for that game, the game I envisioned, and not the one that ended up being played due to the differences between what I pictured, and what the players had in mind (whatever that was).

I find this, and other surveys and questionnaires like it, a lot of fun, and very interesting to fill out. They allow me to look at my own campaigns from a somewhat more subjective position than I typically would.

Perhaps, in analyzing these two campaigns in this way, I am seeing something about my gaming nature I did not previously comprehend. I am better off it seems with a solid vision of what I want to do, and a great that is guaranteed to be on my wavelength. Such campaigns will forever be superior to ones that lack this dynamic. Unfortunately, no amount of prep can really help you with this kind of thing.

The more prep time the better I would think, but between the group, and the GM, you either have it, or you don't.

AD
Barking Alien

Faces of The Enemy...No Relation

A recent email conversation with my good friend and player Will prompted me to consider this post and I think it might be an interesting catalyst for some cool conversation with the readers out there.

It goes something like this...

Are Villains Necessary?

Moreover, are antagonists necessary for a good game and is it always useful to make clear cut opponents?

What started my thinking on the subject was this message from Will (paraphrased a bit):

"I was listening to an RPG podcast and they made an interesting point that I was curious about your opinions on. They said that any good RPG needs an antagonist. Not necessarily a villain, though they help, but an antagonist.  I sat there and thought about it for a second and Traveller could use something we all hate, but it doesn't necessarily need it, and Star Trek certainly doesn't need it to function, but Pendragon? I think maybe a real villain to unify against would help. Granted we are (were) still early in the story and keep getting bogged down in details but our Arthurs need a Mordred and Morgana."

I found this interesting on a number of levels.

The first is the basic question or point the podcaster makes; Does a good RPG campaign need an antagonist? Must there be a villain, villainous organization or some unified danger that the PCs are going to be facing on a reoccurring basis?

What do you all think?

Personally I think many a tale can be told, and good ones at that, with no antagonist as they are usually defined. Is a storm an antagonist? An earthquake? A meteor bearing down on your location? What about the decaying and malfunction wreckage of an old space cruiser as it tears itself apart while you are exploring it for salvage?

I may have to revisit this at some later date.

There is another level on which the paragraph above, the one Will wrote, initially had me bordering on gamer nerd rage. After a deep breath and a ten-count I realized that this was an honest question/observation on his part and an incredibly helpful question. It tells me something about my players I wasn't unaware of but didn't really follow through on addressing.

They don't know how to find things in the game. Any game. They need it to be shown to them or at the very least, made more obvious.

My response to Will's message was:

"For some reason this group, regardless of the game, seems to concentrate so heavily on their own characters that they are not looking at the universe. You may all already have a common enemy and your individual antagonists may be connected."

In my opinion, Traveller (especially the way we are running it) doesn't explicitly need a villain or distinct enemy to face off against the PCs. Traveller is a game of trade, personal conflict, politics and many other elements that aren't directly hindered by lack of a specific villain or necessarily enhanced if you have one.

That said, 16 sessions in, and they have antagonists. There are a least two distinct enemies I can think of, with numerous minor opponents connected to one of the two opposing powers. The problem is, while fairly proactive and becoming more and more interactive with each other, the PCs are largely still not investigating the universe they're in.

If something happens, say, a shuttle docking accident, the PCs might try to help or they might mind their own business or they might try to purchase some of the salvage from the shuttle afterwards.

What they won't do is find out if the shuttle really had an accident. I could drop clues, make references to an unsavory character or whatever and it won't really matter to them. They weren't on the Shuttle and neither were any of their important NPC contacts so it never occurs to them that the incident might be important. Important to what? The story. The adventure.

Suggesting to me that our Pendragon game (which I am unlikely to continue for this and other reasons) could have used a unified enemy got my blood pressure up initially because...Each and every one of the PCs has HATES SAXONS on their sheets. The story begins with Saxon Raiders attacking and kidnapping able-bodied men from A PC's HOME VILLAGE WHILE THEY WERE THERE. In addition, these Saxons seem to be able to mysteriously avoid road patrols and navigate difficult terrain with ease. Maybe it's MAGIC?

If only there was someone everybody could hate and unify against. *Facepalm*
If only there was some Mordred or Morgana type individual. You know, like with dark magic and such. *Facepalm*.

Me: "I'm inviting everyone over for dinner. I know what you like to eat so I made that."

Them:"Adam, where is all the food?"

Me: "Blink. Blink. On the table. Did you look?"

Them: "Huh? Oh!"

Will goes on to suggest areas and individuals who could connect the PCs better, cementing an alliance between them because they share a common enemy and so forth. Again, they already do. If no one realizes a number of seemingly disparate events and individuals are connected, I will drop clues. In some cases, a good number of clues. If you still don't see the relationships is it me, the GM, or is something missing from your approach as a PC? Or is it both? It could certainly be both.

On a related note that does go a bit off the main topic...

Many GMs, when creating a campaign, don't really concern themselves with the Player Characters. They simply construct their world and/or plan their adventures and the PCs, whoever and whatever they are, undertake expeditions into these places and events.

I on the other hand enjoy taking into account the background, personality, interests and ideas the players have created for their PCs.

This means, if Joe likes combat and action, rest assured there will be decent chance for a good fight or a chase sequence fairly often. Bill likes brainy characters and his PC is a Cyborg who can jack-into machines and navigate through the net with his mind. Cool. Expect a lot of secret computer files, mysteries and conspiracies and the opportunity to get involved with these things. Samantha is a role player and loves to get to know the NPCs. She enjoys conversing with her contacts and getting the inside scoop through character interaction. Excellent. Expect a lot of NPCs with a desire to chat, but info they need, to be available.

The key words here are chance, opportunity, and available.

If the fighting guy never gets into a fight that is not my fault. If I don't provide antagonists or sufficient reasons for him to get into a fight than THAT IS my fault. If the catalysts and opportunities are there and you don't participate in them, well that's on you, the player.

If Samantha is the party 'Face' but never strikes up a conversation with anyone, she shouldn't complain that there is nothing for her to do.

There are numerous things happening in our campaigns outside of the five to seven PCs. There are also numerous things going on involving the PCs. Many of these things, both within and without, are interconnected.

I can take a friend to Barnes & Noble but I can't make him read if he only came with for their Starbucks.

AD

Barking Alien

***

If I may be serious for a moment...

I am still experiencing a serious financial crunch (more a crush) this holiday season and would like to once again ask for a little assistance from my friends and fellow gamers out there if it wouldn't be too much trouble or hinder you and yours. Even a small donation will go a long way. I would not ask it I did not have need. Thank you.

***

As I sometimes do on this blog, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the recent passing of some true icons and remember the life of another on the anniversary of her departure.

***

I do not know exactly what to say that will convey the profound admiration I have for this first man but I can say the world had best take heed and remember him. Nelson Mandela, passed on at the age of 95.

***

From World Leader to the leader of the Velvet Underground, my ears are pained by the silence. A salute from the Satellite of Love to the one and only Lou Reed, who died in his home in Southampton, NY at the age of 71.

***

Peter O'Toole, the famed actor who starred in such classics of American film as Lawrence of Arabia, A Lion in Winter and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, passed away on the 14th of this month at the age of 81.

A great deal was made during his lifetime of the fact that he was an Irishman, trained in the arts of theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and appearing with the English Stage Company before breaking into the movies some time later. The truth is he was of mixed Irish and Scottish heritage and yet holds an American cinematic record. O'Toole had the most Academy Award nominations without a win.

I will always remember him most fondly as Allan Swann, the swashbuckling analog to Errol Flynn in the comedy My Favorite Year. Great movie. If you haven't seen it, see it.

***

On December 18th, 2008, we suffered the passing of the 'First Lady of Star Trek', Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who died at the spry young age of 76 due to a brief but ultimately fatal bout with leukemia. She was a fascinating woman and a true pioneer of the television medium.

Winter Is Coming...No Relation

My posts were all over the place this November...which might explain why comments and views have been so light lately. The holidays have probably contributed to that as well but it makes me a little sad nonetheless.

Seriously distracted by life and our upcoming Star Trek game (Yay Star Trek!), I gave up on the NaGaDeMon challenge early and completely forgot about discussing the things I intended to talk about in last month.

Furthermore, while our Traveller game remains a source of awesomeness and no small amount of pride on my part, Pendragon is a pebble in my shoe that I just can't seem to locate and be rid of. I was hoping that the situation would change in a major way yesterday but it did not. As I matter of fact, my players...my friends that is...and I got into tiff. I use the word tiff when what I mean is a minor blowout. I was as much at fault as anyone. In the end though, I feel I am going to be hard pressed to find it in me to run this thing again.

We had a conversation about it and it would seem a few of them would like to drop the game in favor of something where we are all on the same page in our understanding of the setting and the genre and where perhaps we have a bit more freedom, similar to how we play Traveller. I don't want it to be exactly like Traveller (since we are already playing that and it's great) but more freewheeling and less restrictive and regimented works better for my group.

On the flip side, I've been feeling pretty good today and tonight but oddly I'm also feeling drained. Financial pressures as I go into the Winter season are heavier than I wish they were and I am hoping I can to find a way to remedy that as nothing gets me down quite like them. Too much real life crap impedes my creativity. Real life is like that.

Do I want coffee? No, too much of that already and it's around 11 pm. Hmmm...

Winter is coming...am I prepared?

AD
Barking Alien

A Considerable Threat

It's been a strange month.

What with it being October, Halloween and all, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

In my real life, business has gone from 'Crappy Summer' to 'Awesomely Busy Fall' and that's good news for me. I may be tired but at least I don't have to worry as much about bills, food, etc.

Posts were light this month, views were up, comments down and the focus a bit unfocused as far as I'm concerned. I did get the chance to talk about my two mainstay campaigns, Traveller and Pendragon, but not enough. A host of other ideas I've shared have gone unfinished, while others were not shared at all.

'Scuse me whilst I reflect upon this.

Hmmm.

Onward...

Next month is November and with that comes Thanksgiving, the National Game Design Month event (NaGaDeMon), a continually busy work schedule, and very possibly the end of one or both of my campaigns.

What?!?

My player Marcus, in addition to being a consummate pain in the tail region, has managed to get himself and several of the other players into serious trouble. IN BOTH GAMES! Now that's some mad Player Skillz at work, don't you think?

In Traveller, he and a few others who have decided to go with him, are heading to an uncharted star system in order to claim it and the right to own it. There are numerous obstacles and problems with his plan, not the least of which is time and competition. And the fact that he really has no plan.

And that's just the problems he knows about.

In Pendragon, he pissed off a Knight who had come to the court of the dukedom the PCs are in to ask if the Duke knew of a young girl who had been taken from a village under said Knight's country's care. The NPCs sought to stall the Knight and make him lose his cool. That way, they and the PCs would be in the right to do something about him. If he didn't lose his cool, they would feign ignorance of the matter and he would simply leave. The young woman in question is one of the PCs actually and she left voluntarily when King Arthur himself sent her a letter and asked to meet with her.

During the exchanges between the Knight, the good Duke, his Chancellor (all NPCs) and one or two of the PCs, the Knight made an inquiry of Ray's character Sir Henry. Marcus indicated that he would like to say something to defend Sir Henry or divert the conversation. Ray said sure, and Marcus proceeded to accuse and embarrass the Knight in front of everyone, taking on an antagonistic approach that may now plunge us into war.

Ray managed to interject just after Marcus finished talking at court and did so with flying colors. As the Knight readied a retaliatory volley of words, Ray took complete control of the conversation and told the Knight in no uncertain terms that this audience was over. You lose. Good day to you sir. I said Good Day!

Wait now, Marcus wasn't done...

Marcus decided to accompany the group of soldiers, mostly Irish mercenaries, who were told to escort the Knight and his entourage out of the kingdom. The escort also included Hans' character and an NPC mercenary he (She. Shhhh.) had befriended. Just as they reached the gates of the city, Marcus pulled the Knight aside and apologized to him in a whispered exchange. In that exchange he also set in motion a situation which could easily destroy the entire troupe of PCs and the goal of why they were in the region in the first place.

***

Yes. In the span of an hour or two of the second session of Pendragon we have had, Marcus managed to create an almost no win scenario.

Why? How? Screw how, WHY?

Because Marcus isn't having fun unless it's about Marcus. He has to be the one with the clever plan, be the smooth talker, the guy who gets the right people on his side while he pulls the wool over the eyes of the people who he doesn't like or who are against him.

The problems with this?

1. He doesn't take the motivations and personalities of his enemies into account.
2. He doesn't consult or consider any other member of the team when pulling these stunts.
3. He wants to be the consummate con man but his words and actions make everyone distrust him.
4. He doesn't consider that there could be factors at work he doesn't know about yet.

In the Traveller campaign, if death is in the team's future, it will only be for those who go with Marcus and Marcus himself. I know Will's and Ray's characters will not be joining his mission. This campaign can easily live on with other characters.

In Pendragon, only one player has any idea of the real threat potential. The threat Marcus has created could, very likely, result in a TPK. My first ever I believe. If that occurs, I think I will lay off fantasy again for a good long while.

I am at the edge of my seat.

AD
Barking Alien

Period Peace

The next few posts are about some things that have been on my mind lately.

They are not meant to be deep or philosophical, although if you find them so be my guest. The posts are not necessarily my opinion, though some may be or my include my open.

More accurately, they contain things that have crossed my mind and which I felt would be fun or intriguing to consider, whether I agree with them or not.

Please feel free to discern for yourselves what you think on these subjects and what I think on the subjects if you so fancy such an exercise.

***

 

My maternal grandfather's birthday was today. Or possibly this past Sunday. He came to America from a small village in Prussia (the border of Russia and Poland) and as he told it, they really didn't keep good records.

My grandfather, who preferred we called him 'Poppy' or 'Pop', was a man, of a time.

He was there for the 'Golden Age of Radio' and it's death at the hands of television. He worked in vaudeville theatres before they were turned into movie theatres and then he worked for those. He eventually became a theatre manager, and opened many of the most well known movie theatres in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and a few in the other boroughs.

He was a manager of theatres when that was a very different job. He did well because he understood people, he understood movies, and which people liked what films. I'll never forget when he ran the Nostrand Theatre on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. The theatre wasn't far from a school, right near a Police Precinct and close to a lot of restaurants. Pop figured out the perfect trinity. He said...

"I show three kinds of films here. Crime dramas, Disney Movies and Romantic Comedies. The boys in blue come for Dirty Harry, the kids will come for Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and a dinner and a movie will end with Bananas."

In those days, if the film did well the theatre manager received a bonus, a big one, almost a cut of the proceeds. Why? They choose which films would end up in their theatres. My Pop had a sixth sense of what would work in the neighborhood he was in, and what wouldn't.

When 20th Century Fox came in to a meeting of various managers with a new Science Fiction film called 'Star Wars', most everyone in the room passed on it. Sci-Fi is dead they thought, the best of it now on television. Only my grandfather took the film by young upstart director George Lucas.

"I have two grandsons (myself and my cousin) and they love this kind of stuff. They'll tell their friends at school. It'll do alright."

Heh. Classic. Guess who got nearly ever major Star Wars figure, and toy that Hanukkah? You bet your sweet Menorah I did.

 
 

***

 

It was thanks to my grandfather that I developed a love of history, of the past, of the old and of 'period'. He fought in World War II. He was a tank driver in the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Purple Heart when injured by shrapnel to the leg as German forces disabled his tank, and then gunned down the crew as they abandoned it. He was thought killed, and left for dead.

 

When I watched films like Midway, The Guns of Navarone, or A Bridge Too Far, I understood them in a way kids my age could not. My Pop explained them. Not only from a soldier's point of view, but from a film point of view.

 

I was raised on comedy before my time, comic books that had long since past, and stories of a New York I had never seen.

 

He had seen it of course, first hand. He was, as I said, of a time.

 

***

 

I never realized how much I loved this Earth of ours as a setting for gaming until recently. Doing research for my most recent campaign helped me notice that the only two Fantasy RPGs I really like are Ars Magica, and Pendragon, two fantasies set in the mythic past of our real world.

 

It got me thinking of why, although I do like Star Wars a great deal, I actually prefer Traveller and Star Trek. Partially it's because the Earth is out there. The Earth may not be the focus, and they may be so far from the PCs' activities that they never visit the birthplace of Humanity, but it's there. The Humans of these settings are not arbitrary Humans from some made up place. They are us, in the future. I like to think of Traveller especially as a period piece set in a period that has yet to occur.

 

This, combined with memories of my Pop, has me contemplating my next campaign, and I can assure you, it will be set in a time and place that is indivisible from a genre. That is the key. To set the genre by setting the era, the age, the time period. A game where my approach is that the two things are one and the same.

 

What periods are like that? Let's think...

 

Westerns

Western style stories can be taken to other times and places but when you think Western you think American West/South West, late 19th Century. I can add fantastic elements as long as it doesn't stop being that time and place and atmosphere.

 

World War II

I have always wanted to run a Golden Age Superheroes game set during The Big One. A war story set in this period with a imaginative twist would be extremely fun as well. Imagine the Predator film as a period piece set in the jungles of Malaysia in 1942.

 

UFO Scare

My obsession with UFOs and aliens doesn't stop at wanting to create and run a game where the PCs are the E.T.s piloting the Flying Saucers. I wouldn't mind a sort of 1950s or 60s Project Blue Book meets Men In Black campaign. That would rock I think. MIB 3 had the right idea but the wrong delivery (though I didn't think it was as bad a movie as some people did).

 

Other eras and ideas:

 

Psychodelic/hippie superhero adventures using Champions or Mutants & Masterminds ala the 1966 Batman TV Series.

 

A Victorian era campaign set in a Dickensian London combining Oliver Twist and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Perhaps with a touch of Little Orphan Annie. See the free RPG Doom & Cookies.

 

A late 70's to early 80s style campaign set in the world of Smokey and The Bandit, Cannonball Run and other films and TV series of that era. Like if Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds starred in a 1979 The Fast and The Furious. With a chimpanzee sidekick. Use Cars Wars or something for this. That's a big 10-4 good buddy!

 

Anyone see those Ruffles commericals with Ruff McThickridge? Bomb Diffusing Sloth. Yeah.

 

Well, that's all the time I have for time.

 

Miss you Pop,

 

AD

Barking Alien