#RPGaDay 31: Best advice you were ever given for your game of choice

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Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 31, what is the best advice you were ever given for your game of choice?
Aser – I was told a long time ago that if you’re a GM and the roll goes against plot direction, just lie…
John D. – ‘Don’t worry about the rules; it’s more important for everyone to have fun. You can retcon or fix the plot later if needed but try to just roll with what the players give you.’
Jonn P. – Making sure everyone is having fun isn’t the responsibility of the GM, it’s the responsibility of everyone at the table.
Landan – I forget who said it but I really liked hearing someone say “Don’t let the dice get in the way of the Story” and in that vein people need to remember the books are guidelines to play. If something is not written in them and a player wants to do figure out a way for it to happen if possible.
Megan – I think the best advice I’ve gotten is to relax and let the plot go where it goes instead of rigidly depending on an outline.
Mike G. – I have a great, very experienced group that introduced me to games like FATE, Apocalypse World, and other systems that drive story instead of muddying things up with rules. Their advice was always to concentrate on the story and the rules will flow from that.
Patrick – Don’t be a dick.
Phil – Don’t get too attached to your character, it’s going to go mad or die.

#RPGaDay 30: Describe the ideal game room if the budget were unlimited

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 30, describe the ideal game room if the budget were unlimited?
Aser – I would like a large table lined with comfortable chairs. I would want access to a digital projector and adjustable lighting to help with mood.
John D. – A room with hi-fi surround sound with speakers and rumble sensors built into the chairs and table, motion-controlled lights and dimmers, smell-o-vision and monitors displaying all the charts from a GM screen. The room would be fully accessible for players with Braille pads, TDD and so on. An opaque electronic privacy shield would disable cell calls and texts inside while preventing outside noise. A robot butler for snacks and drinks would be nifty.
Jonn P.  – A room with plenty of standing room and shelf space around the game table.  The table would be slightly larger than two folding tables. In the center of the table would be a lazy susan large enough for a Chessex 34½” x 48” Battlemap that I could use for battlemap, game art or food.
Landan – It would take me a long time to describe it I think, but it would likely end up being as big as a house alone. I would also want billiard tables, bowling lanes, some pinball machines, shelves devoted for board games, shelves devoted to RPG books, etc.
Megan – A big room with plenty of tablespace and comfy chairs, with food and drink and good lighting. I always thought those projector setups for making a grid were awesome too.
Mike G. – Shelves of books, dedicated wifi, embedded laptop/tablets around a large gaming table with a wet/dry erase board in the center. Does anyone have $25k I can drop on this? Please?
Patrick – Dragonsreach from Skyrim, but with better heating. And you know, game tables.
Phil – Comfy chairs and table. Good acoustics. Donuts.

#RPGaDay 29: You can game anywhere on Earth, where would you choose?

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 29, you can game anywhere on Earth, where would you choose?
Aser – I would game wherever Megan was: no really, we had to play apart so long that I couldn’t wait to literally share these moments together.
John D. – I have no idea; ideally a setting similar to the game at hand (a cloud, underwater, the desert, etc)
Jonn P. – I would like to say someplace like Mesa Verde, Chichen Itza, or some other ancient place, but, in reality, traveling cause me anxiety. I am perfectly happy gaming at one of the local game shops.
Landan – Guinness Brewery in Ireland.
Megan – I think somewhere appropriate to the game we were playing. So an old library for a 1920’s Call of Cthulhu game, etc. But I think anymore I would just pick anywhere with a group in person!
Mike G. – A national park with lots of space (indoor and outdoor) where you can get the mood of the game without being disturbed by others. Did it twice, it was great.
Patrick – I would give my big toe to play a game of Better Angels inside the Westboro Baptist Church whilst broadcasting it live over the loud speakers. And just watch with glee all the vitriol they could spew out. Well, either Better Angels or any of the White Wolf games when it was still World of Darkness.
Phil – Wherever my groups are.

#RPGaDay 28: Thing you’d be most surprised a friend had not seen or read?

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 28, what is the thing you’d be most surprised a friend had not seen or read?
Aser – I would be surprised if anyone I knew had not seen Star Wars.
John D. – Read: Lovecraft or Conan, seen probably the Aliens, Predator or Terminator series.
Jonn P. – To this day, I am surprised by how many people I have met that DM without ever having read the Dungeon Masters Guide.
Megan – Lord of the Rings
Mike G. – Lord of the Rings. I would be very surprised.
Patrick – Labyrinth.
Phil – Firefly. Belgariad.

#RPGaDay 27, Most unusual circumstance or location in which you’ve gamed?

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 27, what is the most unusual circumstance or location in which you’ve gamed?
Aser – I’ve almost always gamed over an online interface. On one occasion though, I really played 5E on an actual kitchen table.
John D. – I got up at 3 am on my off day while deployed to the desert to run Black Crusade for the group; it was supper time for them back home! Aser thought it was funny I had good wifi in my room but had to go three buildings over to use the bathroom.
Jonn P. – I was running a pickup campaign of Keep on the Shadowfell at the local game store when one of the Assistant Directors at my job dropped by with his son to try out D&D. He was playing a paladin and his son a wizard. I had previously planned for the party to fight kobolds and a young brown dragon, a decent challenge for the party’s level.  Long story short, during the fight, I was faced with a moral dilemma, the squishy wizard had waded into the frontline, and I had to decide if I would spare the Assistant Director’s kid. I took the only morally correct option for a DM…blind the paladin with the dragon’s breath weapon before crushing the elf wizard in the brown’s claws. The integrity of the Dungeon Master must remain beyond reproach!
Megan – My first game sessions were in a conference room in the middle of a lab at grad school.
Mike G. – In the middle of the sidewalk in downtown Chicago. It was very odd.
Patrick – I’m pretty much a stone sober kind of guy but my most unusal game session invloved people who were coming down from five day speed benders and a lot of reefer.
Phil – On the internet I guess. Or at square dancing.

#RPGaDay 26: What hobbies go well with RPGs

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 26, what hobbies go well with RPGs?
Aser – I think reading and to other degrees consumption of other narrative media goes well with reading, as does history. The key is a love of storytelling and a desire to create or discover new stories.
John D. – Board games, reading comics, reading in general, to a lesser extent video games, writing, listening to podcasts.
Jonn P.  – Creative writing is something I think goes well with RPGs. I’ve been in several games that made use of character stories written between session as cannon and would dread them for ideas. Seeing the internal dialog and hearing the story told from the character’s perspectives made them feel real.
Landan – I think for some people the painting mini’s works really well. If you draw or do illustration you can always draw your characters or group you play with characters maybe NPC’s your party has helped.
Megan – I think a love or stories and books. You can incorporate almost any creative hobby into RPGs though, that’s what great about them.
Mike G. – Reading, math, and music.
Patrick – Miniature war-gaming, reading, movies, writing, math. Anything that allows you to flex creative muscles really.
Phil – Dice collecting, doing math for fun, earning money.

#RPGaDay 25: What makes for a good character?

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 25, what makes for a good character?
Aser – I think the best characters are specialized enough to be distinctive, but flexible enough in their attributes and skills not to be powerless when not in their optimal operating environment.
John D. – A strong basic concept, a good backstory, reason for doing what they do and a good skill build. It helps to have a visual appeal, signature gear or a personality quirk, like a bad attitude, disliking arguments, or slang particularly if at odds with the way NPCs perceive them.
I prefer ‘jack of all trades’ to ‘min / max’.
Jonn P.  – A good character has motivations and a quirk or two. A good PC makes interesting decisions and driving the story forward through their success and failure. That they actively take part in the story. There is nothing worse than characters that avoid action in a game.
Megan – A certain amount of flexibility. You can have important story elements in your background, but a rigid one makes it impossible for the GM to easily incorporate that background in the story and provide opportunities for a character arc. They also have to be willing to let other people shine.
Mike G. – A flaw and a good background that doesn’t interfere with group cohesion.
Patrick – Depth. Or at least a modicum of being fleshed out. I can’t take any more “Mysterious man/woman with an equally mysterious past.” I don’t care how crappy your character is if they have any spark of life. I find a stoned pizza delivery driver mage who ensorcells the pizza boxes for bigger tips to be more interesting than the stranger in the corner that makes monsters crap their pants with a knife edged glare. GIVE YOUR CREATIONS LIFE PEOPLE!
Phil – A good player.

#RPGaDay 24: What is the game you are most likely to give to others

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 24, what is the game you are most likely to give to others?
Aser – I’m most likely to give people Fiasco. It has easy rules, an identifiable plot structure and encourages fun, self-destructive play. It’s a perfect gift.
John D. – Final Girl.
Jonn P. – I’m waffling right now, but I think Fate Core is still the game right now.
Landan – In the RPG context likely Pathfinder or something within The Cypher System.
Megan – Numenera is my favorite game, so that’s probably what I’ll try to hook you with. But for a fun quick game? Final Girl.
Mike G. – Cypher System RPG
Patrick – 7TH SEA. First Edition. Where the Eisen are manly and the Montaigne run scared.
Phil – Call of Cthulhu.

#RPGaDay 23: Share one of your best Worst Luck stories

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 23, Share one of your best Worst Luck stories
Aser – Two weeks ago, we were playing Warhammer 40k: Only War. My character’s Storm bolter jammed, then he dropped his grenade with predictable results.
John D. – The second game of Only War my character (SPOILER!) crawled into a ceiling vent to drop grenades on the enemy; he wreaked havoc on the heretics yet unfortunately some survived and returned fire where I could not dodge or evade and scored a critical hit before I escaped, resulting in medically retirement due to the horrific burns be received (at least the plasma rifle was ok!)
Jonn P. – I fell off a gargantuan library shelf after failing a climb check. The GM let me roll luck check, 66% chance, every 10’ to catch myself. I fell 100’ to my death…
Megan – In Pathfinder I finally got bad guys with a high enough level to cast Prismatic Spray, which they used to great effect. Unfortunately one of the players also gained a CL high enough to use it and the result of their roll was that the monster I was so excited about was banished to another plane before I even had a chance to attack.
Mike G. – In a Strange RPG game (hosted by TRF of course) we had to fight a coven of witches. To say the least, all my rolls were good (either missing party members I was compelled to attack or to break their enchantment) exceptfor those rolls to keep from being enchanted in the first place!
Patrick – I was playing in a political based game of Legend of the Five Rings as a samurai of the Scorpion Clan (SCORPS FOR LIFE! NOTICE ME KACHIKO!), I had just finished cleaning out a yakuza gambling den of all their hard earned cash and was the victim of an attempted mugging by two of the Yakuza that I had best in a game of Winds and Fortunes.(I had rolled an effective Royal Flush after going all in.) After slaughtering one with no effort I hobbled the other and sent him to his masters with a warning not to try it again. The problem was that their boss was another player at the table, one made to take any kind of beating and crush most people in one hit. We dueled, and I got crushed. In one hit.
Phil – Clockwork knight, bad die rolls, head bouncing down stairs…

#RPGaDay 22: Supposedly random game events that keep recurring

RPG a Day 2016 image

Each year we celebrate Autocratik’s #RPGaDay, where we spend a month celebrating RPGs, discussing what we love and what we love about them. Here are the responses of the TRF crew. Be sure to tweet, blog, or post your own with the #RPGaDay!

For August 22, what is a supposedly random game events that keep recurring?
Aser – Their is a player in our Pathfinder group, can’t spoil it by telling you which one, whose characters are all killed by indirect magic effects and consequences of spells that in and of themselves cause no damage. It’s almost like Megan looks for these and saves them for use against this one person.
John D. – Strings of very high or very low player rolls. There was one game where several of us rolled the same scores multiple times.
Jonn P. – Oddly-socialist bad guys who offer free on-site child care—evil lairs randomly built directly beneath schools and national monuments—unnecessarily flammable glyphs for holding Great Old Ones at bay.
Megan – I tend to put Deep Ones or their equivalent in any game I put together. I guess that’s not very random though.
Mike G. – We try to help, but it usually ends in anarchy.
Patrick – My character dying. A lot. Often involving rocks and water at the same time.
Phil – Go team grenade!