Always Be Prepared

My motto, like that of the Boy Scouts, is:

 

Always Be Prepared!

 

 

 

At least as for as gaming goes.

 

There has been some discussion this past month on what different people do to prep for their games, both singular adventures and on going campaigns.

 

The range of approaches taken intrigues me quite a bit. It would seem that this is one of the most personal elements of a Gamemaster's job, very particular to the individual and their style of play. I was amazed that much of the Play on Target podcast crew said they go over things only an hour or so before they run a given session, while my good buddy Lord Blacksteel lays out his 'Zero-Prep' Pathfinder game with what looked like the US military's preparations for coordinating the activities used during Desert Storm.

 

Obviously I am exaggerating (a little), but it's a matter of personal taste and of course perception (It was Blacksteel's posting of screenshots of his character generator and campaign management software that made his process appear so complex to someone like me). Add to this the fact that what can be extremely simple to do in practice may take two or three paragraphs of text to explain and describe to another person.

 

I am currently gearing up for a new campaign of Champions myself, and my free time is at an all time low. So how does one prepare to run a new campaign, particularly one with a system as crunchy on the back end as HERO System 4th Edition, and plot out the first adventure if one barely has the time to update their blog regularly (Ahem...yes, well).

 

Campaign Prep: In Advance of The Landing*

To begin with, I usually come up with campaign concepts long before I actually intend to run them.

The idea for this new Champions game started over a month ago when I ran a fill in game of it for my current group. That fill in was inspired by the fact that I'd been thinking about Supers gaming again for several months before that. My missing the Supers genre has largely been fueled by the fact that I've been playing Supers a lot as a player recently and I felt the end of our previous Champions campaign was a big disappointment.

There were numerous ideas and stories I had hoped to use in that prior campaign that I never got around to for one reason or another, not the least of which was its somewhat abrupt end. Having finished that campaign nearly three years ago hasn't stopped me from running the concepts I had over and over again in my mind, jotting them down on paper and doing maps, character illustrations and the like whenever I had a chance. 

So how long have I been preparing for this new game? I've been thinking about character ideas, reading comics, checking out old Champions products, talking to friends who game in the Superhero genre, drawing and collecting images before, during and since the last one.

Think about it for a moment. Whether I have a Champions game to run or not, I build Superhero characters, I design plots and scenarios that various Supervillains and other NPCs might engage in, and get myself ready to run a Supers campaign even if I am not running a Supers game at the present time.

When I decided I was ready to begin running a new Champions game, I was already prepared. I already have my NPCs. I have enough scenarios, plot hooks, stories and subplots to last me another year or two of gaming. Maybe more.

Did I spend a ton of time preparing to run this upcoming campaign. Yes, you could say that. Did it all happen at once? Was it some two to three week marathon creative jam where I slaved over a how desktop for hours and hours on end. No. Not in the least.

Ask me if I'd be ready to run Star Wars tomorrow. Star Trek? The Muppets? How about this upcoming campaign of Shadowrun I've been talked into for the kids over at the tutoring center where I work?

Yes. Of course I'm ready. I would love a little extra time to organize things and make them look pretty, but I could run a fairly large number of campaigns or single sessions for a fairly large number of genres tomorrow.

You see, I've already done the prep work.

AD
Barking Alien

A few special notes:

I'm waaay behind on my blogging schedule, as such, I haven't had the chance to post a few things I want to acknowledge...

First, a very Happy Birthday to William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Second, I want to thank everyone who helped me out this very difficult month. You know who you are. I will repay your kindness soon, or at least I'll try to. I will, but it's the soon part that is proving tricky. Please bare with me.

Some sad news I still find it hard to wrap my head around...I think the gaming community as a whole will join me in mourning the passing of Daniel A. Trampier. While Mr. Trampier, or DAT as he was sometimes known, was responsible for such iconic RPG images as the cover of the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook and numerous illustrations in the original Monster Manual, it was his work on the comic strip Wormy in Dragon Magazine that had the biggest impact on me as a young artist. I loved that comic, it's unique look, odd humor and beautiful colors.

Goodbye Mr. Trampier and thank you for your inspiring work.

***

Stay tuned for a least one more post before April.

Laters.




The Heroic Age...Of Around 11 - Part I

My computer is very near workable.

Just in time too, as I intend on doing something pretty cool and definitely fun for April's A-to-Z Challenge this year. A little more about that in the next post.

There are still a few kinks to work out but I should have them taken care of relatively soon. Besides, what is life without a few kinks? I have a good number of kinks myself. Hmmm. That did not come out quite as I intended.

Moving on...

A quick though regretfully belated Happy Birthday shout out to two fine gentlemen who are big heroes of mine - Happy Birthday William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy!

***

Last Sunday I started a new game with the kids at the study center in Brooklyn where I teach. The new game comes with a new lesson focus involving writing and story structure. The key this time is working on those elements that will be important in essay writing, a major part of the upcoming state wide tests.

What game did I decide to use to make my point?

Marvel Heroic! That's right Marvel Zombies, your favorite ol' diehard DC fanboy went over to the dark side once again, this time full force and ran a game featuring the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Spider-man and a couple of X-Men for good measure.

While the roster of heroes we used closely resemble the modern incarnation of the Avengers (complete with Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Spider-man as members), I couldn't help but see them in their 80's outfits in my mind's eye. It's partly that that's when I was a really big Marvel fan (though I love DC too) and partly the way the kid's play Superheroes.

For the first session the story was fairly simple.

The heroes are hanging out at the Baxter Building (home of the Fantastic Four) or the Avengers Mansion (HQ of the mighty Avengers). Spider-man was visiting the FF while Wolverine and Storm were paying a visit to the Avengers at the time.

The full roster was Captain America, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Storm, The Thing, Thor and Wolverine.

All the male characters were played by males. All the female characters were played by females. The youngest player was in 4th grade. The oldest player is in 6th grade (should be 7th but the boy only moved here from China a year ago).

The plot, sorry, Event, began when the heroes all received a call from Nick Fury of SHIELD. Something terrible was happening just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Something big. Something...

green.

Yes indeedy-do comic book crusaders, the one and only (well, relatively) incredible Hulk was on a rampage once more and SHIELD needed help taking him down. It is important to note that the players received a number of subtle clues that this was not the Hulk's normal wanton destruction but that he seemed even madder and crazier than usual. On the Rampage-O-Meter, with a scale from 1 to 10, Hulk had his HULK SMASH dial cranked up to 12. He only partially recognized heroes he had fought or teamed with before and didn't really use any thinking or tactics (Specialties). It was just "GRRRRAAAA!", lunge, tear-to-shreds.

As Mister Fantastic, Captain America and several other heroes set up a sort of base camp/defensive line near the opening of Mr. F's Transportation Portal (he teleported the teams to New Mexico by tracking Hulk's gamma radiation signature), several other team members went to look for Hulk's exact position, obscured as it was by smoke, flames and screaming civilians.

The players and PCs of Mister Fantastic and Iron Man quickly picked up on the Hulk's abnormal level of rage...you know, even for the Hulk.

Iron Man's sensors pinpointed the Hulk and he radioed back to the rest of the group.

The first to attempt to take down the green goliath was the man who's the best there is at what he does and what he does isn't nice...Wolverine! Unfortunately, Wolvie's roll stank and Hulk easily avoided the blow. Next up was the Human Torch, who got into the system pretty quickly and used his Fire Mastery to set up a Complication. Instead of blasting the Hulk with flames, he heated the dirt and sand beneath Hulk's feet, causing Hulk to begin sinking into molten ground.

The Scarlet Witch attempted to follow up that move with a Transmutation Hex. Her idea was to transform the lava like earth into solid granite or marble and trap the Hulk's feet. No dice. That is, she too rolled pretty poorly.

Actually, there were very few good rolls this past Sunday on the part of the kids. I would've slaughtered their team if it hadn't been for one really bad roll on my part toward the end of the session.

More on that after this ad for Hostess Fruit Pies and X-Ray Specs!

AD
Barking Alien

Muppet Mondays! - RECESS Replay - Part II

The second game I ran for RECESS was one I've run there before, the Muppets RPG utilizing the characters and continuity (such as it is) of The Muppet Show. For this session however I wanted to do something different. I wanted to incorporate a new mechanic and change the standard Muppet Show episode format into a more open ended game designed to resemble one of their motion pictures (where things seem to be really happening (Real) as opposed to being part of a show (Staged)).

The main inspiration for this adventure was 'The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made', a proposed idea for a Muppet film by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Juhl that never came to be.


It went over well, very well in fact, but I can honestly say it almost didn't. I made a few poor choices in how to set up the adventure and I broke a few of my own cardinal rules. Part of the reason for this was that I was exhausted after not enough sleep and the earlier Sesame Street game being awesomely draining. In retrospect however, the fault lies largely with my spending too much time over the previous weeks working on the Sesame Street RPG and the Muppet game's mechanics and not the story for the Muppet game and how to time it out like I usually do.

Eventually I was able to get things back on track, thanks in part to some great players who got what I was going for and ran with it.

***

The Muppets - Big Time Hollywood Movie!

So the plot...

Following their smash hit film, the Muppets decide to begin work on another movie since their comeback motion picture was such a success. Unfortunately, after paying all the actors, the crew, allotting for damages caused by special effects, etc., most of the profits from the movie are gone. The Muppets must therefore produce this new film on an extremely limited budget.

The script and plot ( written by a Muppet staff writer who is not revealed until the end of the session) basically deals with the Muppets trying to make a movie while an unscrupulous film producer attempts to sabotage them so he can steal their story and put it out first. The result is a sort of movie within a movie within a movie as that is exactly what starts to happen around the Muppet studios lot.

When a pair of Pigs kidnap Miss Piggy, it is at first thought to be part of the film (since such a scene is in the screenplay). Realizing it is the real deal, the Muppets team up (near commando style in the case of Sam the Eagle, Gonzo and Animal) and try to rescue her. Some of the best, craziest Muppet moments we've ever had were in this sequence, yet after Piggy is safe we sort of meandered for a moment as to what to do next. Sam and Big Mean Carl step in to interrogate the Pigs and it turns out the plot of the movie is happening in 'reality'.

The Muppets eventually track down the culprit, who has also stolen an experimental special effects item from Muppet Labs. Bunsen reveals he was working on Pop Rocks that basically act like a fragmentation grenade or those Russian missiles that open up to fire lots of smaller missiles (forget the name). Once wet, the kernel sized rocks will break into smaller rocks, firing randomly in all directions at a hundred miles an hour. When asked why he would invent such a thing the fellow playing Bunsen said, "Kermit, do you really think working here PAYS for most of my research? We have defense contracts you know."

Anyway, the big bad ends up being Fleet Scribbler, former 'reporter' from the Daily Scandal who was fired from the Muppet Show beat and eventually from the magazine. He attempted to become a film critic but failed at that as well.

As the player playing Bunsen, Rizzo and Sam the Eagle said, "He couldn't make it as a film critic? Is there anyone more pathetic?"

Eventually he saved up enough money to start his own studio. He hired the recently out of work Moopets and stole a copy of the Muppets' screenplay. Now he is attempt to make his own movie and get it out before the Muppets.

After a massive and mad battle featuring machine gun firing Pop Rocks, Swedish Chef's deadly use of a match and a can of oven cleaner, interruptions from the Newsman, frantic rewrites of the script to change what was happening and Bill Shatner, the Muppets manage to put an end to Scribbler's plans and incapacitate the Moopets.

***

The New Mechanic:

The Budget - Very simply, for this 'Movie Style' adventure, the players had access to a pool of bonus dice that represented the film's budget. Want to make a bigger explosion, summon a cool vehicle, have a famous star make a cameo? No problem but it comes out of the budget. Remember not to blow too much 'money' to soon. You're likely to need some extra cash for that big finale.

***

Highlights...

A newly constructed, virtually life size, Starship Swinetrek, on loan from ILM, piloted by Link Hogthrob and Dr. Strangepork, attempts to head off two Pigs in a truck cab pulling a trailer containing Miss Piggy. The vessel dives from orbit, shrouded in flames due to improper operation of the shields, careening toward the Earth at Mach 20 or there abouts.

To save the two Pigs in Space stars, Gonzo gets on a motorcycle, has the cycle and himself loaded into a cannon and fires himself through a window on the ship to access the bridge. Amazing dialog and rolls result in the ship and its occupants landing safe if not so sound.

Sam the Eagle, Rizzo and Bunsen were played by an older fellow and his wife played Rowlf, Beaker, the Newsman and...I forget. They were both incredible. And by older I mean probably my age or just a tad over - if you guys are reading this I do not mean old! You guys were AWESOME! They uttered some of the funniest lines of the game whether on purpose or accidentally.

Sam uses a huge American flag from his personal collection to blind the front windshield of the truck being driven by the two Pig henchmen. Animal then climbs up on top of the truck and tries to get at the driver but can't. The flag is in his way. Animal begins to chew through the flag to get to the Pig.

Sam: "Kermit, stop him! He is eating the flag! My god there goes Rhode Island!"
Animal: "Mmmm. CA-LA-NIES. Tastey."

Sam: "I don't trust this Shatner fellow."
Kermit: "William Shatner? He was Captain Kirk."
Sam: (Whispering) "He's a Canadian."
Kermit: (Softly) "I'm sure he's a citizen by now..."
Sam: (Whispering forcefully - with menace) "Once a Canadian, always a Canadian."

Sam: "These people are criminals of the worst sort. Jail is to good for them."
Kermit: "What did you have in mind Sam."
Sam: "Three words. GUANtanAMO."

This last line (above) had the entire table in stitches except for one fellow who wasn't there at the time. He had left the table with his young son to use the bathroom and upon returning both father and son wanted to know what he missed. There was no way to tell him because, as one player put it, "So...many...levels." Hopefully he can read it here now.

Another key moment came when one of the organizers of RECESS and a fellow I've had the pleasure of gaming with at a previous event walked by as I said...

"OK, just to be clear. Gonzo, you and William Shatner are on a motorcycle. You are driving. Both of you have a hatchet in each hand. You are driving up to the curb and then wheelie-ing into a jump to smash through the front door of the house. Correct?"

To which I hear the fellow observing behind me say, "This...is the greatest game...ever."

Oh, almost forgot...so the Muppets all enter Scribbler's house but he's nowhere to be found. We notice he has two guard dogs on the back porch. Someone tells Rowlf, "OK Rowlf, you're on!". The woman playing Rowlf proceeds to mimic playing the piano. The group asks Rowlf what he's doing.

Rowlf: "Aren't I playing us out?"
Scooter: "No Rowlf, this is your chance to shine."
Kermit: "Yeah Rowlf. You can do something here only a dog can do."
Rowlf: "...?...Pee on the furniture?"

The other players meant talk to the guard dogs to find out where Fleet Scribbler went.

Hilarious group. Awesome portrayals.

The big Muppet Fan couple from the first (Sesame Street) game were back for this one too. The young lady (sorry I am so bad with names - remind me in the comments if you see this) did an amazing Miss Piggy. It wasn't so much the voice but the mannerisms, the style of speech, and the attitude. Fantastic.

The young lady playing Gonzo was incredible too. She really nailed his weirdness. She didn't play him as crazy like some do but rather as an eccentric artist who is sure that his ideas are brilliant on a level most have yet to realize. He is bringing both excitement and avant garde culture to the masses using flaming torches and the Hungarian Hatchet Dance.

It's all so clear to me know.***

Anyway, great games, great people, another great RECESS. I actually have some more stories to tell about the event and some things I'd like to say about ideas the event inspired but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Until then,

AD
Barking Alien

Of Muppets And Men

In the very first notes I ever made for a Muppets RPG, I had a line that read, "Guest Stars - Rules Needed".

I really never evolved the mechanics much beyond that.

I did generate numerous ideas on what you can do with Guest Stars though, so let's discuss that first and come back to the how of it in a bit.

One of the amazing things you can do in an RPG that you can't do in real life is anything. Spaceships can travel to alien worlds using Faster-Than-Light engines, wizards can do battle with dragons over enchanted forest vistas and superheroes can fly through the sky and punch away meteors that would otherwise destroy the good people of New Miracle City. You can also have superhero wizards battle Faster-Than-Light dragons from on board their forested, miracle city spaceships. You can do anything.
If you're running a Muppets RPG and you need a Guest Star, you have a vast array of choices. Think for a moment what an episode of the Muppet Show would be like guest starring William Shatner. Now what if it wasn't William Shatner. What if it was Capt. James T. Kirk.

Yes. Kirk. Not Shatner. The character of James T. Kirk.







It's an RPG. Your adventure could guest star a favorite deceased actor, a fictitious character or any other celebrity of note from any field. It could star you for that matter!

This is going to be expanded on in a few upcoming posts but what if the basic premise of your adventure or series were changed slightly enabling time travel, dimensional travel or anything of the sort.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our very special guest star, the Superman of Earth Sigma 10! Yaaaay!"

Now as for mechanics...really not sure.

When Humans enter the Muppets 'world' they appear to follow the rules of Muppet logic and physics. They can get eaten, blasted, turned into an alien or drink a serum and change into a monster. You could, therefore, build a Guest Star using the same rules as you would for a Custom Muppet.

At the same time, the Guest Star are nearly all one-shots characters. They can utilize the Applause and Star Power system but always seem swept up in the Muppets antics and rarely the other way around. I don't recall a Guest ever being able to 'Steal the Show' as it were. John Cleese was made to do a musical number even though he refused to sing. Jonathan Winters is aware of a Gypsy curse on the Muppet Show but can't do anything about it until the end of the episode when he pays the Gypsy to keep it going.

In this way, Guest Stars are more like Whatnots. Yes? No? Maybe? Fish?

Not going to deny it, I've worked so hard to create a Muppets RPG that I didn't give as much thought to how to put people in it. At the same time I won't deny that having a Guest is an important part of getting the whole thing to feel right. I mean, in certain instances I wouldn't worry about it (again, see this week's upcoming posts on gaming beyond The Muppet Show) but it is a vital element of what a campaign focused on the Muppet Show is about. Also, deciding how to include Humans could be very important to running Sesame Street as well.

I would really appreciate some ideas and feedback on this one everybody. Let me know your opinion.

AD
Barking Alien


Muppet Quotes

Peter Sellers: "There used to be a real me, but I had him surgically removed."

Kermit: "I can't tell you what a thrill it is to have you on this show."
Jaye P. Morgan: "Oh, thank you, Kermit. Nice of you to say so. I'd like to say I'm really indifferent about being here."


Here's A Muppet News Flash!

The next series of posts are dedicated to creating Muppet RPG adventures and campaigns other than those based on The Muppet Show or a similar format. They include numerous ideas for shows that Henson and Company actually devised but never went through with as well as some ideas of my own on how the Muppets can work in different genres.

These posts will be immediately followed by related posts on using the Muppets and/or Muppet themed elements in other games. Muppets D&D? Muppets Gamma World? Muppets & Masterminds? You bet!

The following week I'll tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street and what's down at Fraggle Rock.

Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!

William Shatner is 78 years young today.
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner and many, many more.

AD
Barking Alien