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I get back into updating my LJ on something of a regular basis, and what do I learn? That I'm currently in a "not interested in WoW" mood. Sheesh. I hope that vicious circle is over. I like putting thoughts on "paper." In fact, I might even say that it's infectious. The more I write, even about mundane topics like work and grocery shopping, the more I want to continue writing. On that note, I'm going to tread into familiar territory: gaming.
I am 36. I have been into games (RPG, CCG, Video, Board, MMO) for pretty much 2/3 of my life. Even when I back off of it, I still find myself wishing... hoping... that I could find a game that I can play, or people with whom I could run a game. Of course, what always seems to happen is that the level of enthusiasm is uneven. I might be excited to play a game, but those I would ask are disinterested or, at best, lukewarm to the idea. Sometimes, I am the one who is cool to the idea.
I realize now that it's no longer enough to say, "we're doing a game," and running with it. My time is more precious, if only to me, and I am not willing to spend such a valuable resource on a game that doesn't hold my interest. That isn't to say that the concept of the game isn't interesting, but I know what I like, and I have to accept that what I like may not always translate well to a tabletop game. In some cases, it's the expectations based on the exposure to the genre.
For instance, in Shadowrun, I love the idea of a decker: a console cowboy, a hacker. Taming the lawless wilds of cyberspace, or blending in and making a name for yourself. However, My experience with the decker is from William Gibson books like Neuromancer and movies like Johnny Mnemonic and Hackers. The big thing there is that the hero knows exactly what to do with their deck to accomplish their goals. I, however, am a more direct person in real life, so the subtlety is lost on me. Thus, while I like cyberpunk and deckers, I cannot play one the way I think I should, because I have different expectations from what is possible in the system.
What, exactly then, am I looking for in a game? What types of games can I be happy with? First, I like a game where law enforcement is more of a hint of a threat than an overt presence. I know this sounds like I'm a loose cannon, but the reality is that I would rather have my character brought to an end by dying in a fight than "the cops arrest you." This tends to be more in the realm of fantasy than sci-fi, in my opinion (though the threat of law enforcement works for something like Firefly, which is predominantly wild west-ish). I'm a hero, dang it. Let me carve justice with the edge of my sword. :)
Another thing that I look for is immersive role-playing. That is, we can forget about the fact that we're playing a game, and just cut loose. The rules are still there for adjudicating conflicts, of course, but aren't so prevalent that they hang like a cloud over all gameplay. A great example of this was the first session of Stephen's first Caeln game. We had the back and forth and interaction so endlessly that night that 7 hours passed by in the blink of an eye.
The final thing is admittedly because I want my cake, and to eat it, too. I like how 3e/PFRPG (3e) has a very modular way of approaching builidng classes, but what happens all too often is that I, at least, get so worked up wanting to see myself with that "level 20 perfect build," that I assembled at level 2, that I get impatient going through the levels to get to it. On the flip side, while rules light systems emphasize my second point (immersive gameplay), I'm left with no mechanical reason to see the character advance. Castles & Crusades (C&C) is a very simple and elegant system. It has the basic d20 resolution mechanic, the six stats, but that's where similarities end.
The question is, how do I utilize the rules light style of Castles & Crusades with the modularity of 3e/PFRPG? At first glance, plugging on Skills or Feats would seem to do it. However, not all of those work for such a simple system or, if they do, they would require some work to get them to be a good fit. Maybe I can streamline 3e, instead? Then again, C&C doesn't really allow multiclassing, so part of THAT issue is removed. With that being the case, perhaps I could instead move over some of the class features instead?
What did I want out of a game when I was younger? Back in the 2e days, we never really got a game to last very long, but I think we were in it more for the treasure. In 3e, treasure was nice and still desired, but skills, feats, class features, and multiclassing all moved up in importance, because those were a more immediate reward. After all, 3e introduced the concept of "character wealth by level," a chart that would have shot pretty much every single 2e game I ever played in. So, we found value in adding skill ranks, taking new feats, and getting access to new class abilities.
Maybe the next time I assemble a game, I can get the other players to admit exactly what they want out of their game. I want to be a larger-than-life hero, have some choices in character customization, and have it streamlined enough that we don't have to spend an entire gaming session leveling up.
I am ready to grab at least a couple of friends and see about putting together a semi-regular game, because the world needs heroes.
...and my creativity spikes when I'm actually using it. Go figure. :)
I am 36. I have been into games (RPG, CCG, Video, Board, MMO) for pretty much 2/3 of my life. Even when I back off of it, I still find myself wishing... hoping... that I could find a game that I can play, or people with whom I could run a game. Of course, what always seems to happen is that the level of enthusiasm is uneven. I might be excited to play a game, but those I would ask are disinterested or, at best, lukewarm to the idea. Sometimes, I am the one who is cool to the idea.
I realize now that it's no longer enough to say, "we're doing a game," and running with it. My time is more precious, if only to me, and I am not willing to spend such a valuable resource on a game that doesn't hold my interest. That isn't to say that the concept of the game isn't interesting, but I know what I like, and I have to accept that what I like may not always translate well to a tabletop game. In some cases, it's the expectations based on the exposure to the genre.
For instance, in Shadowrun, I love the idea of a decker: a console cowboy, a hacker. Taming the lawless wilds of cyberspace, or blending in and making a name for yourself. However, My experience with the decker is from William Gibson books like Neuromancer and movies like Johnny Mnemonic and Hackers. The big thing there is that the hero knows exactly what to do with their deck to accomplish their goals. I, however, am a more direct person in real life, so the subtlety is lost on me. Thus, while I like cyberpunk and deckers, I cannot play one the way I think I should, because I have different expectations from what is possible in the system.
What, exactly then, am I looking for in a game? What types of games can I be happy with? First, I like a game where law enforcement is more of a hint of a threat than an overt presence. I know this sounds like I'm a loose cannon, but the reality is that I would rather have my character brought to an end by dying in a fight than "the cops arrest you." This tends to be more in the realm of fantasy than sci-fi, in my opinion (though the threat of law enforcement works for something like Firefly, which is predominantly wild west-ish). I'm a hero, dang it. Let me carve justice with the edge of my sword. :)
Another thing that I look for is immersive role-playing. That is, we can forget about the fact that we're playing a game, and just cut loose. The rules are still there for adjudicating conflicts, of course, but aren't so prevalent that they hang like a cloud over all gameplay. A great example of this was the first session of Stephen's first Caeln game. We had the back and forth and interaction so endlessly that night that 7 hours passed by in the blink of an eye.
The final thing is admittedly because I want my cake, and to eat it, too. I like how 3e/PFRPG (3e) has a very modular way of approaching builidng classes, but what happens all too often is that I, at least, get so worked up wanting to see myself with that "level 20 perfect build," that I assembled at level 2, that I get impatient going through the levels to get to it. On the flip side, while rules light systems emphasize my second point (immersive gameplay), I'm left with no mechanical reason to see the character advance. Castles & Crusades (C&C) is a very simple and elegant system. It has the basic d20 resolution mechanic, the six stats, but that's where similarities end.
The question is, how do I utilize the rules light style of Castles & Crusades with the modularity of 3e/PFRPG? At first glance, plugging on Skills or Feats would seem to do it. However, not all of those work for such a simple system or, if they do, they would require some work to get them to be a good fit. Maybe I can streamline 3e, instead? Then again, C&C doesn't really allow multiclassing, so part of THAT issue is removed. With that being the case, perhaps I could instead move over some of the class features instead?
What did I want out of a game when I was younger? Back in the 2e days, we never really got a game to last very long, but I think we were in it more for the treasure. In 3e, treasure was nice and still desired, but skills, feats, class features, and multiclassing all moved up in importance, because those were a more immediate reward. After all, 3e introduced the concept of "character wealth by level," a chart that would have shot pretty much every single 2e game I ever played in. So, we found value in adding skill ranks, taking new feats, and getting access to new class abilities.
Maybe the next time I assemble a game, I can get the other players to admit exactly what they want out of their game. I want to be a larger-than-life hero, have some choices in character customization, and have it streamlined enough that we don't have to spend an entire gaming session leveling up.
I am ready to grab at least a couple of friends and see about putting together a semi-regular game, because the world needs heroes.
...and my creativity spikes when I'm actually using it. Go figure. :)
