Author: AJ

Gamist: 14%, Simulationist: 29%, Narrativist: 57%. Ah, the irony.

How we design a role-playing game

I thought I’d share a bit about how our game design process works and (in a subsequent post) what we’re currently working on. This is not necessarily the best way to design a game, and we’re always looking at ways to get more stuff done, but at the same time we are only two people, geographically separated and both with full time jobs and families. This is what works for us.

Idea

We have lots of ideas. Any time we have an idea that might be game worthy, we put it on our (private) Wiki. Currently we have around 40 ideas that are worth making an entire game from. At this stage the idea is simply a 1-4 line premise. This could be as simple as “A spy game” or as in-depth as

Status: Refugee (working title) – Set today, the Solar System is destroyed by a nova. Luckily for us, the Interstellar government intervenes and transports all 6 billion of us off-world, in the very short space of time we have left before the Sun explodes. We all then become refugees spread across dozens of worlds, with no clue about laws, customs, aliens, technology, where our families are, etc. Many, many campaign and adventure possibilities.

Germination

We let the ideas sit on the ideas page for a while to germinate. Because we tend to read that page relatively frequently, we’ll see something that catches our eye and remember something to add it to the idea. Eventually, one of us will write a piece of fiction or a scrap of a system or background, often as a blog post. This gives the idea enough weight to drop into …

Development

At this point we give the idea it’s own wiki page and move any content to there. Usually we’ve had enough work done on this point to at least fill one page. Our wiki sends us updates via RSS any time someone makes a change to any page, so that’s usually what sparks things off. I’ll check out an update Matt has made, then I’ll add a bit to what he’s done, based on whatever goes click in my head when I read (and vice-versa). This tends to be bursty, so we get 4-5 “bits” done at a time, where a bit can be anything like a collection of relevant links, a piece of relevant fiction, some background notes, or even an entire system.

Our projects hang out in this stage for a while, until they gather enough of these bits that the wiki starts to become an unwieldy place for them to gather any more. We currently have 12 games in this stage, some of which we have blogged about (as seen under our Game Design category). This is one area where we are inconsistent on what happens next, but generally we go into …

Book Development

We create a book outline (with all four parts of course) that gives us some idea of how big the book is likely to be. Then we’ll slot whatever blog posts and wiki material we have into that book outline in a desktop publishing app.

From there we keep adding written material, look for artwork, rewrite things we don’t like and so forth. We currently have 5 ideas in this stage, at various stages of completion. We expect to see one of them drop out of this part of the funnel and into print Real Soon Now.

Paper, PoD, PDF

All of the books we’ve published (whether as Crucible Design or LateGaming) have been less than 100 pages. In general, this has felt big enough for the game that was being written, and every time we start out with a new game, one of the earliest questions is “how big is the book?”

With the advent of PoD and the easy acceptance of PDF-only games, this question is now preceded by “are we making an actual book?” The major downside of printing a book is of course the up-front cost of printing, although once you get beyond a certain number of copies (usually around 1000 or so, depending on your printer) it becomes a lot more cost effective than any print-on-demand service.

In general, we prefer to have printed books, and we believe that most of our target market are the same. It’s a lot easier to play a game when the rules are in a book that can be easily handed from player to player, and a lot less exclusive than having the screen of a laptop on a the gaming table. However, people have printers (and printers in work) and some folks would rather save the money or environment by buying the PDF and printing out at their leisure.

Personally, I love buying books. I love the “new book smell”, the cracking that pages make when you first turn them, and reading something paper as opposed to on my screen. While I have no qualms about buying (or selling) titles on PDF, I will always want something on paper, and in my old age I like to have things that are quality. With any book, I prefer to buy hardbacks than paperbacks, illustrated over plain, and so forth. The caveat there is what my wallet can afford.

Which segues nicely to print-on-demand. No up front costs to the publisher, and a physical product in the consumer’s hand, which seems to be a good compromise. But you can’t stack it on the shelf in a shop and even knowing that the PoD quality has made these books virtually indistinguishable from offset printed ones, there’s always that little niggle of doubt about whether it’s as good as “the real thing”.

So, what does all this mean for LateGaming? It means that as much possible (which usually means budget allowing) we will offset print a Limited Edition of every game, hard-bound if possible, along with offering the books via print-on-demand and digitally via PDF.

Game book layout: the four parts

In trying to layout some of our recent game projects, I’ve noticed some common components in every book, which has led me to the conclusion that every game book really consists of four parts:

  1. Character Generation/Creation (Chargen)
  2. Game Rules
  3. Setting
  4. GM Section

Different games put these sections in different orders or interweave one or more of them into single sections, and put different levels of emphasis on each one. Some games even go so far separate those sections into different books.

Is there a right order for these? Although I’ve put them in an order above that is purely to show that they are four in number. Often Character Creation and Game Rules are intertwined, and the same with Setting and GM Section. Likewise, the GM Section will often contain Game Rules that are not applicable to players. Sometimes games will make the split into Player Section and GM Section, with sub-sections of Game Rules and Setting. Usually Chargen is bundled under the Player Section in that case.

Let’s take a few quick examples (from memory, so apologies if there are any inaccuracies):

  • GURPS – Chargen comes first, bleeding into Game Rules, and finally GM Section. There is very little Setting in the main book. Many supplements exist with Setting, and many of those also include extra Chargen, Rules and GM Section.
  • Pendragon (4th Ed) – Chargen is again first, bleeding into Setting. Then Game Rules, with more Setting, and finally a GM Section with more Setting. The Setting is tightly interwoven throughout the entire book, which is why Pendragon ranks highly in my estimation. Supplements follow that same pattern.
  • SLA Industries – Setting comes first, then Chargen and Game Rules, with many of the Rules surrounded and influenced by Setting. The GM Section is comparatively small.
  • 23rd Letter – A little bit of Setting, followed by Chargen and Game Rules and then a GM Section which includes more Setting (given the conspiratorial nature of the game).

I think what is important is that your game (or our games) consciously include all of these sections, whether or not they are labelled this way, or are separate sections. Any game will need to have components that fall under those four headings in order to be complete.

Do you have a preferred order for these? Seen a game which didn’t have all four? Is there one that must be there that I’m blatantly missing?

Solo: The Hero’s Journey (Part 3)

After generating all the names for the main people in Toby’s life, I came up with a bunch of background – all of this just came to me as I typed it into an IM to Matt. I think having the location and other basics already decided made all this detail very easy to come up with.

[aidan] I’ve decided my character grew up in Grand Rapids.
[aidan] So he’s a Michigan boy.
[aidan] but the other side of Michigan.
[aidan] And that’s where his folks still live.
[aidan] His sister lives in Chicago, and works in advertising.
[aidan] Toby works in the bookstore because he can have flexible enough hours to pick up his daughter after school, although he has to usually do one day in a weekend, which he hates.
[aidan] Toby and Joanna have been married 8 years, and have a relatively affordable mortgage on a 3-bed house in Ann Arbor.
[aidan] Toby drives an old blue Chevy Camaro that is half transport, half restoration project. In the winter, he drives an old Ford truck. He likes old cars. Joanna has a Prius.
[aidan] He is in reasonable shape – not superfit, but not overweight. Plays basketball once a week with the guys from work, and leads a fairly active life with his daugther: park trips, bike rides, etc.
[aidan] He has short dark curly hair with smatterings of grey, and is clean shaven.
[aidan] Joanna’s hair is medium brown and straight. She has green eyes, Toby’s are grey-blue.
[aidan] Katie looks like her mom 🙂
[aidan] He’s pretty smart, but his wife is smarter (and Katie’s smarter than both of them). He reads a lot, particularly history, politics, philosophy, American literature and the odd thriller.
[aidan] They both like to drink wine.
[aidan] They are both members of the Democrats, and the whole family will help out at political rallies, campaigns, etc.
[mj] Other important people. His boss. Other assistant managers?
[mj] lol, for later
[aidan] Heh, yeah. I’ll add more in.

Part of the reason we’re blogging all of this is to show how we are generating this character in a narrative way, how the story starts without any real role-playing, and to give everyone a feel for the main characters so that it becomes easy to follow along with the story once it starts.

I know Matt is busy working on story – I can see he has protected some pages on our internal wiki and filled them full of notes – so I expect once I’ve finished with rounding off this character, we’ll be underway.

Solo: What’s in a name?

I’ve seen a bunch of name generators, especially around generating random fantasy names, or names that look Tolkien-esque. However, this random name generator is for normal first and last names, as might be found in the USA. I can set an obscurity factor (from 1 to 100) and select a gender. It uses US census data as the source for the names.

The names

My character is going to be from the Midwest, so I want a reasonably common name – I’ve set the obscurity factor to 40 (to rule out names like Modesto and Britt). Here’s what I got:

  1. Toby Sandvik
  2. Darrin Ruta
  3. Dominick Purdon
  4. Emmett Krane
  5. Toby Rayne
  6. Cary Montpas
  7. Santos Gettle
  8. Winston Citrano
  9. Darnell Laskowitz
  10. Van Arnaud

I’ve opted for Toby Rayne. It’s nice and short and has a good ring to it, and I’ve been watching a lot of The West Wing lately. I also like the name Winston Citrano, so I’ll use that for his best buddy. I figure Toby’s middle name will be the same as his dad’s first name, so let’s find out who Dad is, using the name generator but ignoring the surname. I’ll run through Dad, Mom, Wife, Big Sister and Daughter:

  • Dad – Charles (Charlie)
  • Mom – Rebecca
  • Wife – Joanna
  • Sister – Erica
  • Daughter – Catherine (Katie)

Given the names that have come up, I’ve decided that Mom is part-Jewish, but that the family are loosely Christian (i.e. church at Christmas). I also decided that Dad ran his own auto repair shop.

The updated R-map now looks like this:

225 days

SI 1995/3297, also known as “The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995”, this UK law came into effect on January 1st 1996. At its most basic, it extended the copyright for any written work from 50 years after the author’s death, to 70 years. Any work which had already become public domain prior to 1st January 1996 remained public domain.

H. G. Wells died on the 13th August, 1946. All of his works thus missed becoming public domain in the UK by 225 days, and now remain copyright to his estate until 2016. Bizarrely, his works are public domain in the USA.

We’re currently investigating whether it is still feasible to publish War of the Worlds: Earth after learning of this curious quirk of legality.

Solo: The Hero’s Journey (Part 1)

[09:15:14] So, have you thought about where you want to set Solo?
[09:16:11] Nope. ? A lot of that is up to you. Want to be a yank?
[09:18:07] It makes things easier to visualise in some regards, because we’re so brainwashed by Hollywood. However, it’s also very clichéd as a result. I’ve no desire to roleplay someone from N.I. though.
[09:22:50] I’ve zero desire to set a game here. For me it would be started either in some city in the US or a major city in the UK
[09:27:03] *nod* Let’s go with the US. It’s easier for other people to read too.
[09:29:01] which city rings and sings for you?
[09:34:13] One with a bit of character. Pick from Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle.
[09:36:04] Instinct says to pick Philadelphia but let’s go with Ann Arbor
[09:36:27] OK 🙂
[09:45:34] I can be from Michigan.
[09:48:44] you can be whatever you want to be
[09:54:52] Aye, but that’s a good starting point.
[09:55:26] Somewhere in Middle America works for me. I’m just reading the Wikipedia article.
[09:57:11] I looked at Ann Arbor as a possible living place, during one of my many interviews last year.
[09:59:24] 114K people. So not far from the size of Lisburn.
[10:00:37] Right. But close to Detroit. Population 6m.
[10:01:13] Though it has UMich so….BIG DIFFERENCE
[10:01:32] Yeah.
[10:01:57] Which is tough because I’m a Buckeye fan.
[10:01:51] What’s Buckeye?
[10:02:12] Ohio State
[10:04:33] So pick somewhere in Ohio?
[10:05:55] No, Ann Arbor is great.
[10:07:23] I’ve never been there 🙂
[10:07:45] Columbus works
[10:08:57] I love Columbus. It’s a beautiful city.
[10:09:16] But I’d rather it be Ann Arbor.
[10:10:11] Okay. As of December 2006, Democrats hold the mayorship and all council seats. It’s a hot-bed for left wing politics.
[10:17:28] pot is decriminalised…
[10:29:35] “Ann Arbor is also home to the headquarters of Google’s AdWords program” Borders Books *started* in Ann Arbor. Domino’s Pizza is HQ’d there too.
[10:30:05] OK, cool.
[10:30:15] I’ve got stuff to think about now.
[10:48:29] OK, I have a character concept.
[10:48:37] Something near and dear to my heart 🙂
[10:49:19] He’s one of the assistant managers at the Ann Arbor Border’s branch.
[10:49:34] Mid-30s, married, 1 child.
[10:49:59] Child is 5, and his wife works as a lecturer at UMich.
[13:20:21] Wikipedia says: “With tongue-in-cheek reference to the city’s liberal political leanings, some occasionally refer to Ann Arbor as The People’s Republic of Ann Arbor or 25 square miles surrounded by reality,”
[13:24:36] Yeah, I had in mind someone who was reasonably politically active.
[13:25:07] He’s not from Ann Arbor originally, but his wife works at the university, which is why he stayed.

First iteration of Hero’s R-map

WotW: Earth – Vox Populi

“Have you seen my Jim? Have you seen him? My son? About four feet tall, blond hair, covered in freckles? … what about you, sir? Have you seen my Jim? He’s about four feet tall–“

– worried mother, Ealing, Day 1 after the end of the invasion

“We opened fire with the mortars, next. I tell ya there was nothing like that feeling when we first got one of ’em. After that bleedin’ Heat Ray had wiped out ‘alf the squadron, including Sergeant ‘arkins, remember ‘im? Sometimes I wish those Invaders ‘adn’t all been killed by the measles, or whatever it was. That way, we’d get to kill ’em proper.”

– Corporal James Walker, East Surrey Regiment, Day 10

“The wing itself is curved like a teardrop, causing the air to move over the top of it. The air below the wing is thus at a lower pressure than the air above, causing lift. It is brilliant in its simplicity, and eminently reproducible.”

– Hiram James Maxim, addressing the Royal Society, Week 3

“Of course I’m sure. I ‘ad it from Bert Tate’s sister, y’know the one with the big ears, who ‘ad it from her brovver-in-law. ‘E’s a sergeant in the Buffs and ‘e saw one of the Fightin’ Machines go down into the water near Margate. There’s been nothin’ about anythin’ being recovered in Margate. I reckon we could make a bloomin’ fortune.”

– overheard in a pub near Canterbury, Week 5

“If you thought Black Strawberries were strange, you should see the Black Barley that’s growing round our way. Not sure I’d drink the Black Beer that might come from it.”

– farm hand, Sussex, Week 37

WotW: Earth – The Second Launch

“Hundreds of observers saw the flame that night and the night after about midnight, and again the night after; and so for ten nights, a flame each night. Why the shots ceased after the tenth no one on earth has attempted to explain. It may be the gases of the firing caused the Martians inconvenience. Dense clouds of smoke or dust, visible through a powerful telescope on Earth as little grey, fluctuating patches, spread through the clearness of the planet’s atmosphere and obscured its more familiar features.”

Chapter One “The Eve of the War” – The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells

Roughly two years after the arrival of Martians on Earth, a second series of ten “shots” are fired from the surface of the red planet.  Is this another invasion?  Was the first invasion actually that, or was it just a scouting mission?  Now that we have had two years in which to come to terms with such technology has been left behind, will that make it any easier for us to communicate with inter-planetary cousins?

The Second Launch is a set of ideas, guidelines and scenarios for GMs to allow them to generate that same sense of wonder, awe and terror that the original landings created.  Here are some questions that will be answered:

  • Where do the capsules land?  Was England an accidental or deliberate target?  If they landed somewhere remote, would they have had more time to adapt and be ready?
  • What weaponry will they bring to bear?
  • Will they have some kind of protection against our microbiology?
  • Will they be able to multiply when they get here?
  • Do they have Earth-bound help?
  • Can we talk to them?
  • Can we kill them?
In running a WotW: Earth campaign, the GM has the opportunity to create a rich and dark atmosphere, based on the late 19th century society, and its science, in which the game is set.  To let the characters create their backgrounds, encounter some of the strangeness created by the Aftermath, and come to understand the world as it is now.  Then to put that world back into danger by giving them an enemy that is known but yet unknown, and terrifying in either capacity.
The Second Launch forms part of the War of the Worlds: Earth game book.

Site refresh

Bear with us while we engage in some site jiggery-pokery.  Those of you who subscribe to the feed shouldn’t notice any difference.  Also it’s a bit harder to tell who wrote what post at the moment, but that’s OK by me – it makes it look like I’ve written more!

The 23rd Letter – Black Monday

“Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”

The period following the end of the Second World War saw a time of huge change for the world. With peace restored, people felt it was safe to start a family again and the so-called Baby Boom ensued. Necessity had opened the door to the working woman and the signs of economic growth and prosperity were everywhere: jobs, families, houses and of course companies.

It was during this period that the Powers came into existence. During the war, several companies had assisted the government in their research into psychics. With the war over and military spending slashed, some of the brighter minds within the Projects turned to their colleagues in the private sector for work. Many of these companies went back to their original lines of business, but a small number continued their work in psychic research, providing lab-space, equipment and, most importantly, funding for teams of scientists determined to uncover the secrets of the psychic brain.

Many of these teams were shut down: after all, if a business unit cannot make money or shows no sign of being able to make a return, they are often the first to lose out in the annual budget rounds. But a few did well enough, through a combination of luck, brilliance and hard work. It was these few which eventually developed into the Powers of today.

With Government observation at an all time low, individual companies were able to relax safety protocols, test more subjects and in some cases expose entire communities to programs of drugs, psychic manipulation and selective breeding, all in an effort to produce more of what they desired most: power. Those companies who decided to take a more humanist approach to their research were quickly made obsolete, taken over or destroyed by rivals.

Were it not for the Cold War with Russia providing much of the cover, the Projects may have been able to stop the development of the Powers before it was too late. As it was, the governments of the NATO and Warsaw Pact nations were too concerned with each other to worry about what was going on in their own backyards. A blend of ruthlessness, subterfuge, assassination and recruitment kept the Powers safe while they accumulated wealth and knowledge.

In the mid-Eighties, with the Cold War winding down, the Projects finally started to take notice of the Powers and what they were doing, but it was already too late–the Powers were well entrenched, hidden, knowledgeable and above all, powerful. Weaker Project espers investigating suspected Power activity while stronger ones were made exorbitant offers to turn coat. In turn, the Projects gave more leeway to their operatives, living by the old adage of the end justifying the means.

This vicious circle continued until late 1987, specifically October 19th, also known as Black Monday. On that day, a well coordinated team of espers, working for Interra Holdings, used their abilities to bring about the largest one-day crash of world stock markets. Interra profited considerably from the crash and, somewhat unsurprisingly, all of their competitors lost out, some to the point of bankruptcy. Up until this point, the Powers had generally left each other alone, content to work on their own research and with their own teams, and occasionally to work together to common end. Black Monday opened up the floodgates.

Three things happened. Firstly, the larger Powers inflicted retribution on Interra. The Projects (and even the Press) reported astonishment at how quickly things like lack of sleep, paranoia, dyslexia and even the odd psychosis did to the mundane staff at Interra. Combined with a few well placed fires, blocked water mains and so forth and eventually Interra stock became junk. De-listing and bankruptcy followed shortly thereafter. The majority stockholders of the company turned out to be the same esper team who had cornered the market–they and their profits vanished without trace before any Power ever came near.

Secondly, Powers turned on each other. No longer seeing each other as potential allies against the Government, the Powers effectively eliminated each other, through legitimate means such as mergers and acquisitions, alongside shadier ones. This consolidation continued through the Nineties, and with the rise of globalization, the handful of remaining Powers settled into an uneasy acceptance of each other. Their activities became a lot harder to track, but their effects became a lot less prominent, and so the Projects eased off on the manpower dedicated to Power containment.

Thirdly, at around about this time, the first recorded Network cells sprung into existence. Up until this point, espers either worked for the Projects or the Powers–one of the two was considered safe haven. Whether or not Black Monday itself was a direct cause of the creation of the Network is unclear. The escalating violence between Projects and Powers alienated a lot of people, and when Powers turned on each other, people needed a place to go.

From the turn of the millennium, the Powers have evolved into what they are today–legitimate businesses, making lots of money in many countries, but with a hidden and darker purpose.

The Quiet Time

We’ve not posted much in the last couple of weeks. This has been for a few reasons:

  1. Real life has got in the way of roleplaying
  2. Real life has got in the way of writing about roleplaying
  3. We’ve been talking about direction …

#3 is probably most interesting. We were working on a few ( 7 or 8 ) games at a very high level, and we have about 30 ideas that are a few lines long which could become interesting games in their own right. Up until now, we’ve had no real concerted strategy for producing a game.

Now we do. We’ve selected a game, we’ve thrashed out the content and now we’re doing the hard work of creating it. More information will be made available as we get closer to having something finished.

Tiroconium – March 531

In the fair city of Cirencester, the Duke of Clarence hosts a tournament each year for newly-made knights, called Tiroconium. Two knights have stood out as being particularly noteworthy in this years tourney, Sir Borre and Sir Mordred. Just over one hundred knights made the journey to Cirencester, many from Ireland from whence Arthur has returned recently.

Sir Ulrus, son of Ulprus, recently knighted by Bishop Vargus of Dorset, arrives with little fanfare and sets up his camp near fellow Roman, Sir Cunobarrus. The two discuss which squadron they will join in the upcoming melee, while other knights arrive–both announce they will fight for the “South”.

From Lindsey: Sir Elad, Sir Rhufon, Sir Uwain and their handsome leader, Sir Dafydd. Setting up camp near Ulrus, the four join forces with Sir Mordred for the grand melee, almost as soon as they arrive, joining the side of the “North”.

Some sneer at the back of Sir Wolfgang, but none to his face–this mighty Saxon may be uncouth but his size and strength make even the bravest of the young knights think twice before speaking. He too announces his intention to fight on the side of the South.

The Grand Parade and Helm Inspection pass off without incident, although Sir Ulrus makes an impression with one of the judges, Sir Gawaine, and catches the eye of some of the onlooking ladies, although he is oblivious at the time. Later, at the Welcome Feast, Sir Ulrus is seen chatting amiably with a group of ladies, and perhaps quite intently with one of them.

Wolfgang, on the other hand, has challenged any Irishman to hand-to-hand combat, and Sir Cenn takes him up on the challenge. Mordred and Borre draw much of the attention, with their wealth, connections and good looks. Even Sir Dafydd feels a bit left out–his companion, Sir Uwain, is content to just partake of the tourney.

On the morrow, the joust begins. As expect, Sir Wolfgang goes out in the first round (to Sir Aimon)–while wicked with his Great Axe, he shows his lack of experience on horseback. Sir Ulrus does well in the first round, unhorsing Sir Eadric (and wounding him in the process), but goes down in the second to Sir Foulque the French. Almost immediately, Sir Ulrus issues a challenge to his conqueror, but is defeated yet again, losing one of his horses in the process. Seemingly morose, he challenges Sir Mordred to the death, but luckily Uwain is nearby and prevents the herald from announcing such a crazy course of action.

Sir Uwain himself fairs well, unseating Sir Cunobarrus and Sir Cadmar, only to fall foul of his travelling companion Sir Dafydd in the third round. Sir Mordred goes on to win the joust, taking home the destrier offered as a prize. Sir Uwain issues challenge to Sir Dafydd, lance-then-sword, which Sir Dafydd accepts. A spectacular charge by Uwain not only unhorses Dafydd, but leaves him wounded–proud Dafydd calls Uwain off his horse, and Sir Uwain obliges but handily defeats his opponent and forces him to yield. Needless to say, the two part company, especially once Sir Uwain claims Dafydd’s charger as prize.

Sir Wolfgang defeats Sir Cenn in a close fought contest of Great Axe versus Great Spear–one that draws eyes from the wilder parts of Britain. No prize is claimed, as it is simple for love of the fight.

The final event is the Grand Melee, in which Sirs Wolfgang, Ulrus and Uwain acquit themselves well, with Sir Wolfgang lasting until almost the bitter end. The victory is declared for the South, and Sir Borre claims the prize of the Silver Sword for being the last man standing.

Before the prizes are given, Sir Ulrus must face Sir Mordred in the lists. He wears a lady’s favour in his helm, and looks sure and swift in the saddle. Bearing down on Sir Mordred, he unhorses him at first tilt, but Sir Mordred lands well and draws his sword. A clash of arms and Sir Mordred’s sword goes flying, leaving Sir Ulrus the victor.

With the prizes awarded (Sir Foulque won most challenges), Uwain, Ulrus, Wolfgang and Cunobarrus agree to travel to the Pentecost tournament in Camelot, although Sir Cunobarrus will leave them at Silchester. The four set off together on the King’s Road, eastward.

Six Role-playing Annoyances

Here are some annoying habits that players can exhibit in your game. There are some suggestions as to how to deal with these problems, either by encouragement (as another player) or enforcement (as a GM).

  • Playing yourself, but with armour

Problem: the character has the exact same personality as the player, which means that every character that players plays has the same personality. The result is usually very forgettable characters a bland roleplaying experience for everyone else. Unfortunately, this type of player is often a roll-player also (see below). Even the two-word-personality is better than this.

Solution: The GM think about the character as a character, instead of a series of statistics. Write down the major motivations of that character and play them. Even two-dimensional role-playing is better than none.

  • Dick Ramhard, and other stupid character names

Problem: you try to play a serious game and someone comes up with a stupid name for their character. This leaves everyone either snickering or sighing every time the character introduces themselves.

Solution: keep your name appropriate to the game setting. GMs should veto stupid names anyway, so this could well be the result of poor refereeing or player-bullying.

  • Objection! Rules lawyering!

Problem: the flow of the game is constantly broken as the player points out the rules and loopholes that have been used or missed in every situation. This is common in players who are more used to GMing, and in those who prefer less narrative style games.

Solution: this is a tough one. Remind the player that the GM is the final arbiter in all things (stick). Reward the player for good role-play, ideally through creating good story,regardless of the rules (carrot). One way is to give a conditional award – e.g. Everyone gets 3 character points for last week’s session. One (or more) of Bob’s are conditional on him not pointing rules infractions in this week’s session.

  • Kobolds can’t kill us metagamers

Problem: the player knows the system/background really well, and knows what every creature or denizen is capable of doing. Often this results in the character taking unrealistic chances based on knowledge he/she wouldn’t have. Sometimes it’s saying something like “there can’t really be a huge dragon in that cave as we’re all puny characters and the GM wouldn’t do that to us”.

Solution: give standard foes a non-standard name and/or appearance. Give them abilities that they could have but aren’t in the published material. Kill stupid characters who go into the dragon’s cave – it’s harsh, but fair (make sure and give plenty of warning that this is a dangerous thing to do!). Don’t tell the players what they are up against – describe to the characters what they experience.

  • Solo adventuring for five (GM Hogging)

Problem: One player insists on taking up a large percentage of the GM’s time. Sometimes this is because of rules-lawyering (above), other times it’s just because they (the GM and the player) don’t realise what they are doing.

Solution: Whether you’re a GM or a player, the simplest solution is to engage the other players in roleplaying. As a player, you should also try to engage the GM-hog, which will free up the GM and get the game moving again. If you can’t engage him/her, at least the RP with your other team-mates will provide for an interesting session. As a GM, you need to get better at managing your time equally (as much as possible) between players – creating circumstances for inter-player RP is one of the most effective time management techniques.

  • Roll-playing, or role-playing?

Problem: a player insists on making a roll for everything (“It’s a … pleasure to meet you!”), which not only slows down the game, but many times doesn’t make any sense. This can often be frustratingly combined with rules-lawyering and playing oneself and at it’s worst can lead to min/maxing in order to ensure the best rolls.

Solution: as a GM, I’ve taken away a player’s dice and even his character sheet to prevent roll-playing. As a player, I’ve tried to lead by example – I keep my character sheet upside down as a rule, and roll only when the GM tells me to.

Got any more annoyances? I know there are lots I didn’t cover (like Munchkin, Hack and Slash, etc.) mostly because I felt like they were well-established (they have Wikipedia entries!).

Edit: apologies for the typo – I got roll and role mixed up at a key point. D’oh!

Top 5 reasons why D&D sucks

5. Roll-playing Game

While not as bad as some systems (*cough* World of Darkness) in terms of the amount of dice you roll at one time, there are a lot of rolls for resolving single tasks. There are so many extra rules for things (most of which require rolls) that the emphasis is on the rules and dice rather than the roleplaying. You also need multiples of every type of dice – while most roleplayers have these it’s still a bit of a pain. One roll per action – surely that’s enough for any system? Oh, and don’t forget your synergy bonus!

4. Alignment

While I realise that alignment is just supposed to be a guideline, the rulebooks seem to contradict that. You can’t play a Paladin unless you’re Lawful Good at all times. How do you make a Paladin interesting then, while still remaining a Paladin? They’re all going to be shining paragons of justice and virtue. Playing clerics requires adherence to certain alignments, and the same for some other classes. While it might not be constricting for some, to me it’s like someone pigeonholing me simply because of my ethnic background or my accent.

3. Levels

Now that I’m a 3rd Level Rogue, I’m more likely to survive being stabbed that I was last week, when I was a 2nd Level Rogue. Having arbitrary levels which state what abilities you have or can have is so … 1980s. Please, I thought we left that all behind when we left high school. OK, you can use the optional rules (more rules!) around training, to make this a bit more realistic, but still. It bugs me that I can’t be (for example) a Wizard who only knows a Magic Missile spell but can cast 5 of them instead of the 3 dictated by his level. It feels like exactly what it is – a completely arbitrary way of rating characters so you can pit them against random monster enounters (hmmm .. I should have put random encounters on the list too).

2. Two Book Minimum

You want to play Dungeons and Dragons? Then you have to buy at least two books – the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Oh, you wanted a background? One more book (e.g. Player’s Guide to Faerun). Oh, you needed monsters for the background. That’s another (e.g. Monster Manual). Brand new at MSRP that’s $122.80. Even getting them second hand it’s over $50. One list of “essential” D&D books on Amazon has 40 entries totalling $834.75 (that includes Amazon’s discounts).

“But Wizards spawned the whole d20 movement, when they ‘open sourced’ the system!” Oh, really? Great – lots more games based around the same shit system.

1. Rabid Players

So, after spending vast quantities of money on all these expensive and extensive rule books, it seems that the average D&D player doesn’t want to be told that the game is pile of poo. Instead, they defend any slight vociferously, even when blatantly in the wrong (or when they miss the point entirely). And this symptom seems to spread into the other popular D20 games (ever notice how often Mutants and Masterminds players say “System X is no good, you can do all that and more in M&M”?).