Psi*Run for One and an Extended Sum
I want everyone to experience this incredible system, but as written, it’d be difficult for solo players and campaign gamers. Here are some additional rules developed to allow both types of gamers a chance to indulge.
Character backgrounds: What really needs to happen
In my last article I spoke about GMs knowing and adjusting to their players: today I explore the oft ignored subject of players assisting their GMs in return!
Flatline: Dealing with death
When the reaper comes for your players’ characters, will you stay his hand? Can you? Today, I’m talking about strategies for dealing with death in story-driven games to help you answer the question: What do you do when the scythe drops?
Game Within a Game
As roleplayers who take on the responsibility of creating vast worlds not only are we leaving a gigantic hole in our setting’s construction if we leave out sports, we’re also missing one of the easiest ways to define places and people as a whole.
Gaming Etiquette 101
All RPGs have one thing in common: people. Gaming is a social experience and, therefore, poses potential social problems. Let’s face it, we’ve all experienced the arguments, the screaming matches, the declarations of war and death threats. It’s not the game’s fault; people are naturally competitive and role-playing games are a perfect battleground for disaster. But this doesn’t have to be the case.
Crafting your main villian
A well crafted game is designed to tell a story; one that your players will live out vicariously through their characters. As with any good story, you’ll need to bring conflict to the players. Most games out there revolve around combat, so your best bet in creating that dynamic story is to have a dynamic villain to set the tone.
Making the most of momentum
Add a new dimension to combat with the Momentum Deck, a set of rules for using normal playing cards to spice up the battlefield.
What up pirates, ninjas, knights and other assorted archetypes!
Knowing Your Players
So as much as getting paid to blog about role playing games would be awesome, I’m sad to say that it isn’t so and I have, like most of you, a day-job. Mine unfortunately comes with certain rules and regulations, one being that I must move every few years. I don’t exactly get to decide when, nor do I know how long I’ll be at my next location for, so as a result many of my plans as a Game Master never see fruition, but it does constantly keep me on my toes, expands my network of contacts, and lets me play with a myriad of different types of gamers. Different kinds of gamers want different things though, so if we can figure out what they want exactly, or at least what’s tasty to their brain-palate, we can craft something that will catch and hold with them.
Making You Not Sue
I was sitting down with my significant other the other day while she was in the midst of a character creation session for a horror game I was going to run. Being relatively new to the gaming community, it helps her make characters if I ask questions like “Where do they work? What’s their favorite color? What are their hobbies?”
About a half hour later she looked at her character sheet and made a great big pouty frown that I recognized as artistic frustration and worry. When I asked her what was wrong she said some terrible and terrific magic words:
“She’s just like me.”
Gaming in Parallel
Gaming as a young adult is different from gaming in high school. You have less free time, pulling all-nighters is a bigger deal, and unless you’re lucky or outgoing, most of your old cronies are more than a bike ride away. Overcoming these obstacles and maintaining a healthy relationship with the hobby demands care; because you can’t game harder, you have to game smarter. That means making the most of the time you do have.
