From Real Life 1

Recently someone offhandedly said that I was more interested in games than in real life. I heartily disagreed. I find non-fiction books more interesting than fiction. I enjoy keeping up with current events. I often inspire my RPGs with Historical events and True Crime.

With all that in mind I Offer to you this link: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/419/petty-tyrant

I’ve listen to many episodes of This American Life. This particular episode details the rise and fall of a petty neighborhood tyrant. A man who set himself up like the Godfather. A chauvinist who thought of himself as the “Tough Guy” protector of his own little slice of the world.

As far as inspiration goes for a RPG, its the story of a criminal mastermind, but from a surprising place. The whole time he was shaking hands with government official and pulling down 6 figures he was in maintenance department. In the end he thought he was in a thankless job. That he did everyone a favor…

I think players would not see this one coming.

I think Steve Raucci was a real life villain and good inspiration for your next game!

Rewarding

Its that time of year again...

Time to re-watch those classic movies, to meet loved ones and give gifts! With a spirit of sharing I have an idea I wanted to share.

Most RPGs allow for conditional bonuses, a +2 boost if you are putting in extra effort... Most RPGs also offer bonuses for good role playing. Extra XP points or a re-roll if your head is "in the game."

Usually the GM hands these out, but there is no reason the players themselves cannot award an MVP!

When the game is over, have players nominate and decide from themselves who did "the best" for the day! The reward for this winner should all be decided upon by the group, players and GM.

Even better the reward should be something appropriate to what made that player stand out. Paying close attention in a dangerous fight scene can boost defense for example. Or helping explain a complicated plan to others may temporarily boost a character's intelligence.

In addition to the rewards granted, this mini election also has some secondary effects.

Chiefly, it helps prevent a GM from picking favorites. A referee and judge who is partial to one side will not be making good and fair decisions. The players can help do that instead by choosing who they think did a great job. It may well be the same player who is chosen as the best for every game. But if everyone feels that way then that is where the story goes. Encourage that good behavior.

Another thought on voting this way, is that you might ask players to vote in secret, to justify their nomination, or take turns picking a winner themselves. This can help draw attention to elements of game play others were not noticing. If one player wants to reward behavior other people missed or thought unimportant, that players voice is amplified when acknowledgement is given. Acknowledgement and recognition help to round out of game for everyone involve. To help prevent it from being an event for 2 or 3 "active participants," and some "observers."

Obviously you want your involvement in the game to be good for everyone at the table. A MVP award if just another way to ensure everyone is contributing and that those contributions are welcome.

Jacklyn

Art By: Alexis Heikkinen

It's that time of year again, the spooky time. And, for this months concept I've been saving something special. Meet Jacklyn, she's a vampire.

Vampire are quite pervasive these days, they've made it into all sorts of movies and books. I was watching "What we do in shadows" and felt pity for a woman who had a deal gone sour. She was taking care of vampire dirty work with the understanding that she herself would be transformed. Yet, after years of effort she was still mortal and starting to feel the best of her years have past by her.

Plenty of vampires are seductive. They are mysterious, forever young and powerful. It is definitively Gothic, a mixture of danger and attraction. Jacklyn fell for this, she wasted her youth on a false promise and was robbed in the end.

Jacklyn is a vampire now, immortal but permanently old. She has years ahead of herself and plenty of time to let her distaste grow. All her hopes of prestige, beauty, and delights have rotted.

Jacklyn's motivations and goals can shift with the decades. She might be out to trick someone with a false promise as she was. Jacklyn could try for personal payback against the people / families who mistreated her in ages past.

Perhaps Jacklyn hates her own existence and wishes to end it and end others...

The best villains act out of revenge and Jacklyn certainly takes herself seriously.

Blind Ante

I had a recent request from a player to have a hidden talent of their character. The player wanted to give the character a sense that they were special in some way, but their true nature is unknown. It reminded me of a few years ago when I was playing around with destiny. I liked that experience for myself and I thanked my player for giving me some creative freedom over his character. Quite a privilege.

This doesn't break any rules, other players can impact a way a character fleshes out. So to can the narrator, or even the enemies of a game. Still, to decide secretly what magical qualities the PC has will be a lot of fun. Believe me I immediately had idea, seconds after I was imbued with the power.

I'm excited for this and I'm offering it up as a suggestion even though I haven't tried it yet. Allowing your fellow players the detailing about your character could be a very creative opportunity.

Be careful of course. Wouldn't want to find our you have only one arm when you begin play. Stick with the idea above, something nobody (in the game) would know. Only the Narrator (and destiny) will reveal the truth.

Or be bold and go in without any knowledge. Simply assume the role you have been dealt!

A wild time indeed!

Relationship Round Robin

The beginning of an adventure can often be confusing. Many plot points need to be identified on day one. One such challenge in the beginning is coming up with a reason every hero knows each other. It is a good first move to establish how the player characters want to interact with each other. Cooperation, compromise and conflict, seen early by just asking, "how do I know you again?"

Sometimes it can be tough to think of a reason 4, 5, 6, or more heroes are teaming up. It took the MCU a whole movie to have the avengers assemble. One trick to tie everyone together is to create one relationship for ever player.

Each player character is related to one other. A knows B, B knows C, C knows D, D knows E, and E knows A.

For 5 heroes you have a circle of 5 relationships that establishes a connection to to be played off of later.

This relationship can be just about anything. Could be family, could be romantic, could be strictly business. It can be an active affair - A and B are attending the same school, or it could be former, C and D - are divorced.

Whatever the explanation because each person is tied to two others, the whole table has a step in the door to building a relationship.

Whether the player characters love each other, or tolerate each other, it can be very puzzling if they are just strangers.

Bonus points if you include NPCs many heroes know as well.

Remember its all make believe, nothing happens unless you say it is so. So say it out loud and add some details to why the heroes are in it to win it!

Player Asymmetry

One of the expectations that can challenged in a team game is of equity. Plenty of conflicts and challenges are approached by people who don't have the same level of resources to offer. But that doesn't mean their contribution is without merit. Look at the American Revolution, where a bunch of under provisioned dissidents took on a global superpower. The drama is still there even if the match-up is "unfair."

Of course for fiction the challenge to the players should be on par with what they are able to accomplish. fighting 50 foot killer robots is not something the normal police can do, leave that to superman. But, a story can involve both Superheroes and those without such powers. Dynamics between players who are mismatched like this can be very interesting. 

Just make sure there is a challenge suited for each level of power. Or try to be creative in ways the little guy can take on Goliath. Such a game might be the most rewarding, if teamwork is made between people of different means.

Ssshhhh...

Typically when a game begins the heroes address each other and introduce themselves. Sometimes players divulge everything these is to know, where they come from, their hopes and dreams. Sometimes players have short divulges, "my character's name is bob, and he likes to fix things."

Almost never do players refuse to share something about their characters, nor do they lie. But, having a secret would be a great element to role-play with.

I've tossed around the idea before and never use it enough, but I encourage you to have a secret character sheet. Anything about your character that would be too embarrassing or damaging to make public can go on this secret character sheet. Throughout game play the other character can find clues and learn more about you. They may have known that Bob was an auto-mechanic, but they may never have known he was deep in debt.

Talk to your GM before you make any big secrets for your character. But, you could make a whole adventure around players finding out each others dirty secrets. Try and it out, and tell me how it goes.

Or maybe, don't tell me. Hush-Hush and all that.

Wu-Bai

Art By: Alexis Heikkinen

I'm back with another concept, this one a little short and sweet.

One of my favorite video games is Total Wars Shogun: 2. One of my favorite parts of that game is the little text spinets you get when you select new units and buildings. I won't pretend to be an expert on Feudal Japan, or on Shinto Buddhism. But, I always appreciate that window into another time and place. I shall always be on the outside looking in, but I think the game developers did a fair attempt to keep it authentic. But, again I don't really know how is really was.

One thing I am more confident about, regarding Buddhism, is the idea of impermanence. Indeed as part of the Bushido code, death, or more appropriately endings, is a core essence to why the Samurai act as they do.

This got my thinking of the recognition of endings in a place you might not expect, say an Elf. The immortality of elves, is super common in most fiction. So is an Elf's long view point of the world. If your existence continues ever and ever,  it might be hard to think of the void, or a state of non-being.

I'd love to delve more into this, but again I am only the outsider looking in. For now I offer up Wu-Bai. Who, while immortal, recognizes that his eventual death is part of the wider natural world. This is what led him to train as a warrior.

Every Palace a Prison

Art by: Rima Salloum

I've done this before, a mid adventure challenge for the players. I'll provide them a novel environment where they have a chance to do, just about whatever they want, for as long as they want to see if they forget about the task at hand.

After a few days of slaying monsters and crawling into dark caves, we might all want to unwind a bit. Enter an invitation from the Duke of Gustavus who is having an all weekend rager. A party to put Gatsby to shame! Plus they have a hot tub.

The whole scene shouldn't take very long to role-play, just let the players know that exciting events are happening that do not concern the main quest line or anybody who needs help, and don't remind them about it. There will be consequences for procrastinating too long, but it isn't your job as a GM to remind them of this.

I've once had players explore a library for an hour and half of real time. They would just open a book and I would have to think on the spot what the books contents were and what it said as they read it. They even started chatting it up with the librarian. This hour and half of real time was really only maybe 20 minutes in the game world, but the players had fun poking around, and they reminded themselves what they really wanted to do.

Interestingly enough we played that game in a real library, and if they had spent 4 hours pretendint o flip through books I might have penalized them for that.

The Nation on Waves

Art By: Rima Salloum

Nomadic cultures are easy enough to imagine. Now try to imagine an entire society that migrates on the water. Much more than a floating island, the Nation on waves would be hundreds of canoes and rafts that sail and paddle together as the people aboard follow good weather and fish schools. The Nation on waves is much like real world Bedouins or steppe nomads, but instead of horses or camels, every family pilots their own boat.

Even more interesting if the oceans were full of competing and cooperating tribes of these nomads. Atolls and coral reefs would be traditional hunting grounds for the nation on waves, and different families would meet up to share news, get married, or have contests to see who can hold their breath the longest.

The nation on waves might very well have contact with landlubbers: selling seashell necklaces, pearls, and of seafood. but they wouldn't give up on their traditions, and if wars are wagged on land, the Nation on Waves has about 70% of the globe to retreat to!

If the heroes are from the Nation on Waves, what business have they on land, or what oceanic locales do they need to visit? If the Heroes are visiting the Nation on Waves, how do they hope to find them in the near endless seas?