Let me preface this rant with one generalization: I hate generators. I feel they completely take away any creativity and planning from the GM, and quickly become a crutch to all who use them. This being said, there are a few out there that are better than others, and depending on what they are used for (and how much they are used), they can possibly help either a GM who is just getting his/her feet wet or a GM who simply has writer's block.
So: it's been a while, but I'm back with more on the "Analog" gaming front! I've just discovered a few new games and had to share!
Last summer I had a revelation. I suffer from a sort of lazy perfectionism I think I often see in gamers. I had plenty of ideas but often wouldn't act on them. If they couldn't be done right, they wouldn't be done at all - which usually boiled down to just the latter.
Letter to Amy O., Initiate Referee. Last missive oh so long ago you hit me up for advice on running a game. I stalled on it for the main reason that I took so much advice. Back in the day I read books, went to seminars, critically observed games at cons and did anything I could to try and learn what the other side of the table is supposed to be doing. Because I feel like I've stolen my ideas from so many other places, because I spent so long being pedantic about the praxis, I have never felt comfortable doing it, expecting the role to be better filled by some mythical game-mavens out there. But if there's a debt, which there is, I am willing to fill it, so I will.
Maybe I'm deranged, but I actually like disinterested players. I like them because they are telling me I'm not doing my job as a GM. Of course there are times when players aren't paying attention no matter what and there will always be players that talk amongst themselves, lose interest and do something out of character, or worse of all stop playing out of boredom. The question is: what do you do about these types of players? Take away experience points or something equally evil? This article is going to give a few ways to deal with the unruly using less extreme methods.
The watchwords of LARP should be Simplicity, Playability, Believability, Consistency, Continuity, and Consequences. I've mentioned this before. I'd like to lay out the groundwork for some future columns by taking a look at each of these terms and establishing a working definition for them.
Money is the motivation of most groups. The great mound of treasure inspires most players to heroically stride into a camp of bugbears and slay them by the scores. In fact, very few adventures have ever been played without some sort of payoff. Even when the world is at stake, most players anxiously wring their hands and wonder what the 'end treasure' could possible be.
A few weeks ago, the heroes in my 3rd Edition D&D campaign killed someone. Ooooo, shocking, I know. I mean, I've run RPGs for two decades: body bags are nothing new. But this time the heroes didn't destroy the ravaging demon or slay the red dragon or kill the power-hungry sorcerer.
Regardless of how original a campaign idea you think you might have, chances are that someone else has already done it, and probably even wrote a book on it. Even worse, finding an original setting can be just as difficult. So what options is a GM left with? The easiest thing to do is to just "borrow" an idea and put a little spin on it. In the end you have your setting, your campaign, the players think you are a genius and your dirty little secret can be kept hidden from unknowing eyes.
This is for the person who has everything, but loves games and always wants more. This person will try anything new, but all the expensive board games are really just the same game repackaged - expensively.
