Blog Carnival – January 2014 – Transitions

Babbling at the Counter #26 – Pen and Paper

Blog Carnival – January 2014 – Transitions

I was reading this month’s Carnival description at Hereticwerks when I stumbled upon this suggestion: “Are you going to take your first turn as a GM, or step back and be a player for a while?” and something made Click! inside my head. I was afraid of leaving the GM chair and becoming a player.

You see, the player’s at my group have started GMing more frequently. After taking charge of a few sessions, they got more comfortable with the idea. And now, I’m facing a few one shots and campaign plans where I’m nowhere near the head of the table. And I don’t like it.

I can’t seem to place the root of this discomfort. It could be I don’t like giving up all the “control” being the GM gives you over the story. Or it may be that I’m afraid they won’t ask me to go back to that chair. It could be that my characters tend to be kind of weak at fighting (and we are fighting a bit more now). Or, most probably, I just don’t like change.

This is what happened in my group, but it could have been anything. A new player changing the group’s dynamic. A setting change that makes some character archetype obsolete. Having to give up the GM chair. Etc, etc. Groups make a lot of transitions, and as soon as I find a way to deal with them, I’ll let you know.

- The Storeman

Blog Carnival – December 2013 – Taking Charge!

Babbling at the Counter #21 – Pen and Paper

Blog Carnival – December 2013 – Taking Charge!

This month's Carnival is being hosted at Casting Shadows. So first of all I'd like to thank Runeslinger and leave a link to his blog.

Well, isn’t this carnival's theme just great? As I’ve said before, more than once, whenever players take charge of the course of events during a game, awesomeness can happen.

The thing is, as a GM, not everything I make is gold. I know that. And the people I play with don’t sit in front of me like some kind of TV, just wanting to see the plot and then going home. You play an RPG to actually have control over the stuff happening in the story.

Now, this is a two way street. Players should be committed to the game and their characters, adding some roleplaying and flair to the narrative. One can even try to introduce simple but flavorful scenes. Characters can (some may say should) have hobbies and other interests besides adventuring. Go to the local theater or go buy a gift for someone special. If your GM is cool enough he could have an adventure come out of it.

On the other hand, GMs have to be careful with how they handle information. To have an impact on the overall story and make sense, players will have to reveal their intentions and plans clearly and often. A GM that abuses this information will get players that shut up for their characters sake. A gaming group should foster trust between players (GM included), not a crazy “survival of the fittest” subgame. Unless that was what you where going for.


Ok, closing up. As you can see, this topic is pretty important to me. I’ve thought about this for some time and I hope you can scavenge some useful information from all this mess. See ya!

- The Storeman

Why do we play?

Babbling at the Counter #13 – Pen and Paper

Why do we play?

I’m not going to answer that. I can’t. I can tell you why “I” play, maybe even why some of my friends do, but not why you do. Now, ask yourselves: Can you tell ME why YOU play?

Once, a friend asked my why I did get up in the morning. Even though I wouldn’t give the same answer today, coming up with that answer was really fun. Roleplaying, especially if you are the GM, requires a lot of effort. There must be a very good reason why you do it, don’t you think?

You are going to get tired sometimes. You are going to get angry with another player. You are going to get bored on more than one session. But there is a reason why you play. Find it, and keep it in mind. Make sure you get what you want of the game. And if you don’t, don’t be too afraid to go looking for it. Maybe your group can try something new. Maybe you need a new group. Your fun is up to you.

Just sitting down for a while and thinking about it can be fun, too. So ask yourselves: Why do you play?

- The Storeman

Characterization, Making your Character play its best

Babbling at the Counter #08 - Pen and Paper

Characterization, Making your Character play its best

Have you ever seen comic book or cartoon characters roleplaying? Noticed how the characters in the game look just like the characters playing them? Well, I can tell you that has actually happened to me. Sometimes, I can't see a character; I can only see the player playing them. And it's not good for the game.

I'm guilty myself of lazy gaming, so I won't throw stones from here. But the best characters I've seen (the ones I enjoyed playing the most and enjoyed playing with the most) had a little something that gave them life of their own. It's not just saying "I have an awesome golden armor". It's having a crest on it, representing the animal guide of your family. It's making the extra effort and adding a little cough at the end of every phase. It's giving the GM a smirk while you roll Seduction. It's describing with (horrific) detail how the last blow knocked down one of your character's teeth.

Peter Griffin, Public Domain

You don't have to go all out and give a monologue with a dying friend on your arms, but a simple battle cry can add a lot of spice to your gaming session. It's also the players job to help set the mood and give the game world its life.

- The Storeman