#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Thirteen: What makes a successful campaign?

I feel like I'd be better placed to answer this if I'd ever run a successful campaign because then I could comment from both sides, and talk more technically.

What makes a successful campaign? 

• A strong storyline. The GM needs to either have this ready or, better, to plant the seeds and nurture what the players grow.
• Developed characters who are engaged with the world they're in and who have ties with the characters - best if these ties are created or expanded during the campaign.
• Personal as well as party as well as global plot.
• A simple system that doesn't distract from the campaign with lots of intricate rules questions. 
• An understanding that not everyone is going to be at their gaming best every week.
• A routine in terms of where and when to play.

I think those first three are the most important and are also tied together: the GM knows the world and what's happening behind the scenes, but if the players don't bother engaging with it (even if that engagement is to find ways to ignore the monsters to comic effect - if that's what you're going for) then it's wasted: the characters need to feel part of the world, and whilst the GM is primarily responsible for creating and overseeing that world, it's down to players and GM to keep that engagement. The players need to work with each other to create the relationships between the characters, and with the GM to build relationships with NPC's, and the GM needs to reward that with those relationships and with plot.

 

 

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Twelve: What game is your group most likely to play next? Why?

My next game is (unless anything dramatic comes up) Exalted, tomorrow, then Deadlands  next week.

As you've probably noticed, my groups tend to favour long campaigns, and having recently switched from Pathfinder to Deadlands, and before that from Aberrant to Exalted, it's unlikely that we'll be playing anything new for a while - especially as both Aberrant and Pathfinder have significant unfinished business. The Pathfinder/Deadlands group has talked a lot about Cyberpunk over the years, though, so if we do make a change, I'd expect it to be there.

I adore long campaigns, but part of me sometimes regrets that it does mean I play fewer systems and settings. Really and ideally, I'd have the time, energy and friends with time and energy to play more games so I could be in loads of long campaigns in loads of different settings.

There's a few games I've got that I'd like to play short sessions: Scavengers by Metal Weave Games, for instance. I don't back many kickstarters but I did back this one and the book is gorgeous. Seems straightforward enough, and I like the way it sounds all fun and greedy, but it can also be very, very dark. I've also got Abney Park's Airship Pirates that I really, really want to play

because AIRSHIP PIRATES!!! (Since a long ago WFRP game I've wanted to play a pirate queen. This has been vetoed as an inappropriate career path for Svetlana, so I like to imagine one of her daughters or grandaughters rebels and fakes her death so she can run away and be a pirate queen. Depending how the campaigns ends, I'd really like to write that story.) And then I got the Buffy rulebook for Christmas, and that's where it began for me so I'd love to revisit...

There's also other long-term campaigns I want. I've always wanted to play White Wolf's Changeling, and people were talking me around to wanting to play new Werewolf until I discovered they've got rid of the other Fera, when I really like all the changing breeds. But I'd love to play old Vampire or Werewolf again. Beyond that, I really want to play (or maybe even run) Lords of Gossamer and Shadow. I've had the books for a while now and they've given me ideas that are itching for exploration. I'm not sure how well diceless would go down with my group, but then, I don't need to tell them it's diceless 'til they're hooked, right? And Matt of No Games, No Glory runs a very well-reputed ShadowRun game, and I do miss the shadows...

 

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Eleven: Which gamer most affected the way you play?

I remember Star Wars Tom turning to me after a Buffy game and saying "You really get this. Do you wanna join my ShadowRun game?", so it was him and Andy, probably, more than anyone because they showed me the door.

I didn't know Tom as 'Star Wars Tom' at the time. That came later, when I was picking uni's. My shortlist was short, because I wanted to study maths and physics and knew I was worth a better degree than one requiring 2 E's at A-level. Tom was very excited at one of the two uni's that met my requirements: he'd been there 10 years earlier. It was the one I ended up at (quick tip: if you're picking a uni, ask as many students as you can the best and worst thing about the place. The one I ended up at: so many best things, and the worst always the weather. The other place I looked at? Best thing? "I might get a degree." Worst thing? "I might not.") I've told you before how I sought my tribe when there, and some of them knew my Tom by reputation, and others actually remembered him: "Your second GM was Star Wars Tom and you're still playing?" - he has a bit of a reputation for killing people off. Like that time everyone had secondary and tertiary characters ready and still ended up genning new characters... He had toned down by the time I was playing with him.

 

Andy, some guy I barely remember, Tom, Dave. (It amazes me that the phone I took the photo of this photo on has better resolution than the camera I originally used.)

The things Andy and Tom did that impacted the way I play now were mostly tiny, throwaway comments - like when I asked Andy why he didn't do something obvious: "well, it's obvious to us, but <forgotten character name> wouldn't think of it", or the praise Tom gave me for attention to detail when I designed Kamaya and described the scar on her cheek from training with her whip, or the times they pointed out when I moved away from the character I'd originally described (I was young and bowed easily to peer pressure so the character shifted to something that went along with the group even when they went against her principles - that, to be fair, I'd largely forgotten). And most particularly right after that surprise when her friend (Tark! His name was Tark!) had his head blown off in front her, and my response was not to immediately do something clinically about it, but for 'Maya to find a pub and start drinking: Tom was really impressed because he said it showed how in character I was.

And then I went off to uni and again was lucky enough to play with lots of fantastic people who were interested in character and character-driven play (and lots who weren't, which can be fun too, just not for a sustained campaign. Not for me, anyway). People like Boyd and Mel and Penny and Rowan and Sith and Gog and Ed and Troll Chris and Rose and Owen. I may not have stayed friends with all of them, but they all shaped the things that drive me in a game.

But the person I think influenced me the most is one I never played a roleplay game with, because he died before I was old enough. My Grandada was a wonderful, wonderful grandparent and responsible for my very first forays into roleplay, giving me  Steve Jackson/Ian Linvingstone book from his collection that I'm sorry to say I lost. I don't even remember the title: the quest was to retrieve a particular gem and I remember completing it by assuming I won all the fights (keeping track seemed too much effort: he died when I was 10 or 11 so I was younger when I was playing it). I was really excited when I got to the end: I thought I'd gone the wrong way and hadn't made notes and didn't really want to start again, but somehow I'd not only ended up in the right place but also managed to pick up the special black disc that was how to block out the light so you could actually get the ruby - I remember being really pleased because I'd almost not bothered getting the disc. If anyone knows the book, I'd love to try it again now I'm older...

He leant me the book because I loved the Heroquest games he ran for my younger siblings and I. My brother was always the wizard, I was always the elf and my little sister was sometimes the dwarf, sometimes the barbarian. Years later we got our own copy and discovered how much he'd simplified the rules for us, and also how much he'd adapted to bring in storytelling.

He was a teacher - English, as I recall, though my younger sister thought it was philosophy. He painted and played chess - I remember beating him, once, and assuming he let me win but everyone says it's more likely my child-naive play defeated him, because he didn't let people win. I'm not sure. He collected stamps and had amazing bushy eyebrows and would get our names muddled up - which we thought was hilarious, but apparently really upset him. He had a parrot called Chop, an African Grey that eventually Granny had to give away because he became too stressed and because he kept calling for Granny in Grandada's voice. Grandada was a huge Tolkein fan, and wrote to Tolkein to ask permission to put on a school play of, I think, The Hobbit, which I vaguely recall being told Tolkein attended and was impressed by, but that could be family legend. It's a good story, though. I recently found out he smoked, which was a bit illusion-shattering. He kept a big bowl of mints in the lounge and sometimes we could have one. Foxes Glacier Mints, mostly. We'd go up for New Year and the tree would still be up and it would always be taller than the room. He was unfailingly kind to us.

I was not surprised when I learnt he used to run D&D games, just bitterly disappointed to have missed out on sharing such with him. I hope he'd be pleased to see me so fond of the hobby.

I miss him every day.

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Ten: Largest in game surprise

Hmmm. This has me thinking hard. I guess because I read a lot it's not often I'm completely surprised by a twist in a game - also, Rich (who GM's Pathfinder, Aberrant and Exalted) likes to play with foreshadowing, so when twists arrive you can see how they fit and they aren't startling, as such.

Early in my roleplay career, I was twice taken by surprise by rituals - stopping one, in a Buffy game, that resulted in a Hellmouth opening: we thought the ritual was to open one, but turns out it was to keep an existing one closed. And helping start another in WFRP: summon Sigmar to fight the Chaos gods and thus end Chaos? Sounds good, right? Until Sigmar summoned each Choas god in turn, and destroyed the world in the process...

The nastiest surprise was in ShadowRun, where my very OP Kamaya was starting to prepare to retire from the game so I could try out a new character who was less powerful. The GM had a few loose ends he wanted to tie off, without warning me. Her friend (an NPC whose name escapes me), a wolf-totemed shaman, had gone missing only to reappear and have his head blown off in front of her: they'd pissed of the megacorp Aries early in her career. I really didn't see that coming! We never really resolved it, either, because the game pretty much collapsed shortly after, which was a shame. I learnt to play in that group.

 

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Nine: Beyond the game, what's involved in an ideal session?

I feel like this can be done with bulletpoints:

• Time to play in, ie not having to get up early the following morning, nor having been awake/busy since too early so I can enjoy wakeful play til late.
• Being in good physical & emotional health, for much the same reason (and also so I can actively take part without becoming fragile).
• Somewhere comfy to sit.
• At home, I steal the big armchair - large enough to fidgit in without annoying others and so snuggy comfy!
• At Rich's, I have a little corner of floor with cushions that's mine.
• When we go back up to uni, I get to snuggle up on a sofa or cushion pile with friends I don't get to see nearly often enough.
• Snacks! 
• I'm a sucker for Butterkist's toffee popcorn. 
• It was always Haribo Tangfastics when I was at uni.
• Black coffee.
• Tsatsiki or guacamole. Or humous.
• This time of year, mint Cornettos or mint or raspberry Magnums.

And friends. The best bit of all is playing with the best people. But I see that that's the topic for the 14th, so I shan't go into it now.

 

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Eight: How do you like your books in the evening?

Hardcover, softcover or digital?

For me, it has to be physical over digital. I really, really want to prefer digital because it would make life a lot easier and save so much shelf-space, but I'm just too used to print. My Sony e-Reader is pretty good, but the screen's too small to enjoy most roleplay books and it's an early model, so the battery doesn't last and (ridiculously) you can't read it while it's charging. But phone, tablet, or laptop are all too bright for me to read from, or the wrong shape, or something else I don't understand yet.

Beyond that, I don't have much preference. Hardcover books are great for using as a surface to make amendments to character sheets or on which to roll dice, but seeing as I have a specific hardcover folder for character sheets and a homemade rolling surface for my dice ('secret santa' gift from my group last Christmas) this doesn't really affect me, and as we have a table to play on at home, it tends not to affect my guests either. Hardcovers are more sturdy so less likely to get damaged when being carted between sessions - but it's very rarely me doing the carting, and anyway softcover books are lighter so easier to manage.

I do quite like the smaller, reference size books some games do, if for no other reason than because I can fit more of them on my shelves...

 

#RPGaDAY2016 - Day Seven: Which aspect of RPGs has had the biggest impact on you?

I don't know if I can answer this; the answer's too big to pin down. The best I can do is break it into three vague areas.

Storytelling and exploring storytelling is huge important to me - I truly am Pratchett's Pan narrans. Roleplay is an exciting way to tell story and has helped me understand how to shape the story of characters within who don't speak to me so well by sharing story with such characters played by other people.

I don't have a huge amount of confidence in public speaking. Debating with friends on a topic I'm passionate about is fine. Standing up on stage having memorised a script is fine. Presenting something to people at work - even people I trust, like and respect? Raising a complaint in a restaurant? Haggling at the market? Nope, no way. And that frustrates me. I don't know where to begin with these things, and even in roleplay have generally looked up in horror when asked to roleplay such interactions, begging to be allowed to rollplay instead (it depends how tired I am, but the more tired/stressed, the more likely to want to cry instead of try). It didn't help that a few times I'd roleplayed things that my character would be good at but that I, with no experience, got totally wrong and rather than helping me out the GM would punish my character for it, with the support of the other players. *Sigh*. Strangely enough, don't play with them any more. Still, it's taken a lot of work to convince my current group that offering suggestions to another player when you're real-world good at the thing their character is game-world good in when your character is game-world terrible at it isn't cheating but is actually really sensible: it helps you build your real-world friendship and helps transfer that knowledge! 

I created Solomon for Deadlands ages ago, but she's a talky character so I didn't want to play her until I was more confident. You may have noticed I'm now playing her. A year or so ago, my Aberrant group switched to Exalted and, having started to develop confidence due to finding a job I love, I decided to capitalise on that by playing an uber-confident character with a focus on social rather than physical combat - the Exalted system for that working well, in my opinion, to help build my experience up. It's worked: Taji is a joy to play and I'm getting the hang of taking charge, making decisions and bluffing my way through when I feel anxious. Enough so that I decided to play Solomon after all when we returned to Deadlands. I even haggled at the Christmas market last year.

So I love the opportunity roleplay gives to develop parts of yourself in the real world.

Finally, we cycle back to my response to the last question in last year's RPGaDAY: favourite non-RPG thing to come from RPGing. It has to be friendships.