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…

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!

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 19, what is the best way to learn a new game?
Aser – I think the easiest way is to play it with someone who knows what they’re doing and can explain any ambiguities in the rules that you encounter along the way. It might be a bit self-centered, but actual play podcasts like The Redacted FIles would be a good way to go too.
John D. – A free QuickStart with pregens and scenarios, best if the GM is at least passing familiar with the basic premise and a few good actual play podcasts to listen to (plug plug.)
Jonn P. – First, have the desire to play the game, Second, read the game book.
Landan – Just play it with someone that is familiar with the system and willing to teach. If you want to play any of the systems you have heard on TRF and are not sure how feel free to chat with Aser, Megan, or pretty much any of us and we will try and help you out in some way.
Megan – I like listening to AP podcasts to get an idea for the rules. But for me the easiest way to learn is to play!
Mike G. – Play it! The rules come together into something that makes sense only with their application.
Patrick – Dive in headfirst and just play. If it has a complex character generation, get together with another player or ask the DM to run a character building session beforehand.
Phil – RTFM then play. But the play is more important.

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 18, what innovation could RPG groups benefit most from?
Aser – I think RPG groups could definitely benefit from improvements to telepresence technologies, to bridge the gap between online and tabletop gaming. I love gaming with the TRF crew, but I’m sure many wish they had a more interactive or immersive way of communicating with their friends while they play.
John D. – I think the advent of technology like Roll20 and app- or tablet- driven play is amazing even though I am old school. It really aids online play which itself is a major innovation that has helped the rpg boom… I think immersion in AR/VR to include all five senses is the next leap forward (especially if it’s designed to be accessible to disabled gamers or emulate their experiences for abled players.)
Jonn P. – This is an interesting question, at this point the things I believe would benefit groups have been around for too long to be called innovation. A social contract, verbal or written, is really important for forming new groups or recruiting for established groups.
Megan – I’m not the most innovative, but I’d love for online play to get a lot easier to manage. Roll20 is amazing, but it can be a little cumbersome.
Mike G. – Anything that makes the GM’s life easier and provides quicker interactions with players. Maybe a shared virtual tabletop/library/character depository that is affordable? Although I think those are out there now.
Patrick – I’d REALLY love to see some full immersion VR system where the DM has complete control over the landscape and such. For a great example, read the book Killobyte by Piers Anthony. think of a massive MMO world but only the players are the only active people.
Phil – Tablet (iPad) character sheets built for the specific game that handle everything, including rolling, and communicate with a GM app to make their tasks easier.