dndworlds seems like a pretty interesting place- i love discussion about OGL
and GSL. feel free to check the show out @ iTunes or saveordieradio.com and get
involved in our discussions about 4e, Pathfinder, 3.5, and the gaming licenses.
Erfworld today has a
good example of what I mean about rules, ignoring them, and having fun. What's
happening here is a use of the spirit of the game, and not necessarily the
spirit of the rules. When you worry about whether the rules let you do
something, or not, you give up inventive thinking. Let your imagination run,
throw stuff at your game master, and EVERYONE can have fun. Good game masters
will never say 'no'. It's not that they'll let you do anything, but they'll
have something they need you to do before it happens. There's a reason you
can't just tunnel through the wall. Maybe it's magma, or too much noise is
attracting monsters, or whatever. But they should never, ever just say 'no'.
I'm going to mention one more thing about rules, and using them in games,
because it applies to setting creation which I'll get into next. This is
another something I picked up from reading about video game development:
People can really only process 5 to 8 ideas at a time. That concept
there is very, very important. Using an example, we'll take driving a car. When
driving, you - Watch for other drivers - work the gas pedal - work the breaks.
- watch your speed - steer - listen to the radio - talk to people in the car -
check your mirrors. You'll notice I'm at 8 right now, and that's just for
standard driving. Not anything fancy like Y-turns or toll booths. So, how does
this hold true with what I just said? Because when you first learn to drive,
your focus flits between all these things. You steer for a second. Check your
speed. Adjust your pedals. Look around again. Steer. check your speed.... rinse
& repeat. Eventually though they start to blend together. Instead of seeing
your speed and working the pedals being separate things, they eventually just
become 'adjust speed'. They're something that happens together. Eventually
looking around and steering become the same thing. As you get more comfortable
with a complex task, it stops becoming lots of little ones and just becomes
'driving'. This applies to gaming too. Lets take 3.x D&D combat: - movement
- feats - skills - to hit rolls - damage - my defense - my taking damage - the
other people in my party - role-play and god forbid if you're a mage - arcane
failure chance - magic resistance - spell range - spell duration - spell effect
This is OVERWHELMING for someone new to the genre. Eventually to hit and damage
become 'attacking'. Eventually all those spell things become 'casting'.
Eventually it all becomes combat. And eventually it just becomes 'gaming'. If
you've got a group that's familiar with the gaming system, it's pretty easy to
just presume they're at 'gaming' and start having fun with your setting. If
they aren't, you're going to have to keep the setting very, very simple to
start with because players learning a new setting have to worry about: - magic
- monsters - technology - people's names - government - terrain - history -
their character's background - the other character's backgrounds Again
eventually this all blends to 'setting', and only takes up one of our 5-8
things, and with enough time it just becomes 'gaming' and fits in with the
rules, and those two things only take up one. Until then, especially with new
people, you're giving them 18 things (by my count) to worry about. More that I
probably haven't considered. Just to put a further crimp in your plans, Some of
our little brain slots there are taken up by real life concerns. Jobs, spouses,
kids, what you did last night, why that guy sitting across from you is giving
you the eye. I mean it's not like you KNEW it was his girlfriend. Hell you
probably did him a favor since now he knows who she is. You know? Some
people... man... Anyway... So what can you do? First, keep your setting as
simple as possible. Have it be something everyone at the table can quickly get
in tune with. Don't shoot for a Lord of the Rings fleshed out world to start.
Give them some flavor to chew on, but don't delve into every detail right away.
For the first night it's just 'the blacksmith' or 'the wizards tower'. Only
describe pieces you absolutely need to. Next week, add a little more flavor.
With the rules, try to keep things simple once setting is introduced. I like to
start with a battle before I even get into setting too deep. Let them chew on
the rules for a second, and get a feel for things. Keep it simple, don't have
the opponents be to 'different' than the characters. Bandits are GREAT for
this. Mimic the party and drop the power in half. It gets them working with the
rules and starting to blend the pieces together. You'll need to do a couple
more battles before things really start to set. But, it will have definitely
taken some of the fear of the game out. If you're planning a good old dungeon
crawl, just start them right at the dungeon. Skip town the first time. If
that's not the plan, keep the community setting to something they can all
relate to. Maybe the village they met at before heading to the city where the
adventure takes place. Limit the moving parts to as few as possible initially,
and add flavor to taste.
You and your friends have gathered around the table (or virtual table, which
today may be the only way some of us get to keep gaming with our friends) and
begin to weave a story. Together you each add parts to what is happening. Each
piece continues adding drama, excitement, and fun that you’ll all share for
years to come. But quite honestly, none of that needs a game to happen. We can
sit around and watch TV, or make wise cracks at movies, or really anything
social. Honestly, no dice, or rules are needed to take turns telling a story
about fighting dragons, plundering castles and saving fair maidens (or buff
cabana boys depending on your personal tastes). So why use a game at all?
Because deep inside we all acknowledge that we don’t want to know the outcome.
We want to wonder “Will they make it?” “Will they slay the dragon, or will they
fall pray to his trap in the door?” And thus is the nature of the game. The
rules are there, by design, to prevent things from happening, either completely
(no you can’t say you jumped 100 feet down a well and live), or by limiting who
can do something (only fighters can wear Plate Mail). Sure, sometimes it’s
worded in a way that sounds like it’s ‘granting’ you something; feats, skills
and spells, etc. But really, these are just providing work arounds to other
rules already written. So, gaming requires some rules, but not so many that it
actually becomes burdensome to the original intent: Telling a fantastic story
with friends. What’s the threshold of good rule design? Rule one of design is
something I’ve seen mentioned in video and board games for years, but never
seemingly applied to RPG’s. - Games should be easy to learn, and difficult to
master. – Burn that in your memory some where. People should be able to sit
down and start playing a game quickly, and still have fun. But it should take a
lot of practice and exploration to really find all the little bits and pieces
that let them master the game. Which brings me back to the main point. Rules,
ultimately, are about setting limitations on our imagination. They form an
artificial hurdle keeping new players from feeling comfortable in the game, and
ultimately inhibit the ‘fun’ of the game. Without them, there would be no game,
but add where called for to keep consistency within the game, and when an
outcome falls beyond a simple yes or no.
With the death of my podcast (the Grimm Studios Podcast, don't look for it all
the good episodes are gone), I'm going to venture into the realm of text for a
while to share my thoughts on role-playing games. Mostly I'm concerned about
their rules, their delivery, and how the flavor has been lost in an constant
attempt to improve the recipe by adding more to it. After a couple posts
digging into what I think is basic theory, I'll show how I applied these
lessons to The goal is once a week, but if I get on a tear, maybe that will
pick up. So, what I'd like from anyone who's interested is to know if a day of
the week is preferred. Also, anything you'd like me to talk about specifically.
Otherwise, I'll just start at the beginning, what really makes a good game.
Hey peoplez! check this magazine out, its a starting free PDF mag and its
getting nicer and nicer! www.phoenixlore.com
Matthew is finally on American soil after fighting for over a week to get him
heading home. He landed in the Miami last night, and is finally on the last leg
of his journey to Las Vegas. We are going to have services on Thursday
afternoon to lay my son to rest.
We were at the Mortuary all day today. Matthew still isn't on his way home yet,
I have the US Embassy involved. Late today, I got a progress report. We are now
looking at Monday before he can start the journey back here to Las Vegas. But
there is a holdup at the Miami airport, as they are trying to find a flight
from there to Las Vegas.
I wanted to thank everyone for posting here in response to the tragedy that has
befallen my family. Matthew is our oldest son. He will be missed by many. We
are blessed to have him with us for 24 years, 7 months, and 13 days before he
was taken home. Here is the local news coverage of the accident: SKN Vibes
In loving memory of my son, Matthew Willis, of whom I am most proud. Rest
peacefully, my son, I will love you always. December 1983 - June 2008 Dad
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