Ginger’s last WISH (original) is up: Tell me your favorite war story. Why is it your favorite? What does it show about your character or the game/campaign you were playing? What does it exemplify about why you like gaming? My answer (from Carl’s UN PEACE game) is over at 20’ by 20’ Room (original).
Impending WISH deficit! But this week (original): Pick three to five genres and name the best RPG for that genre. Why do you think it’s the best? What makes it better than others? What are its downsides? Pulp: Adventure! This is a very close race, because Feng Shui has better core mechanics which are better suited to the genre. Feng Shui really gets damage and fighting and stunts right, which is important for a pulp game… but it’s an action movie game rather than a pulp game, and while the genres are similar they aren’t the same. So the detailed and comprehensive power list brings Adventure! ahead by a hair. ...
The antepentultimate WISH (original) asks: What are three games or settings that you’ve bought or seen recently (in stores or previews) that you’d really like to try? What interests you about them and why? Nocturnals from Green Ronin; I like the unique genre niche carved out by the creepy heros, and the sourcebook gives me so many details to play with. Just — cool. Pacific Northwest-feeling monsterpunk. Dogs in the Vineyard, because I dig the clerical harshness of it all. I’ve played a lot of clerics and I usually enjoy it even though I never do it by choice. Religion in gaming fascinates me. ...
I can answer these in any order I want! And I want to do WISH 93 (original) right now. Does joining a game with a lot of background thrill or intimidate you? What do you do to try to learn the background, or to compensate for not having it? If you GM, how do you help newcomers to a background-heavy game? What has worked for you as a player/GM, and what hasn’t? ...
WISH #92 (original) asks: Have you ever gotten burned out as a gamer? What did you do to combat burnout? Which things you tried helped, and which ones didn’t? Which ones would you recommend to a gamer with burnout? I actually feel a little burned out right now — not a lot, but a bit — so good timing. Hm. I think that burnout is a life phenomenon for me, not a gaming-specific phenomenon. My work is keeping me too busy to think about gaming as much as I’d like, and there’re a bunch of other things swirling around, and I have trouble working up the enthusiasm to generate characters or think about GMing or anything. Which saddens me. (Yes, this is a typical symptom of depression; yes, I know.) ...
WISH #90 (original) asks: What do you think about system updates (Paranoia XP, Amber 2.0, DnD 3.0/3.5) and conversions (d20 Silver Age Sentinels, GURPS Traveller)? What about world/setting updates that result in system reboots (the end of the Age of Darkness)? Do you buy them, run them, or use them for resources? Why or why not? I don’t have a generic answer. I really liked the D&D 3.0 update. I didn’t much care about the D&D 3.5 update. Many of the Traveller updates sucked. The Hero 5th Edition update was great. The Vampire Revised update was quite good, for entirely different reasons. Etc. ...
Wish #87 (original) asks: What are three or more web sites you’ve used recently as a player or GM? Why do you use them? What do you get from them? 20’ by 20’ Room, of course! But also: ThePulp.Net, which is the best source for pulp info, plus links to lots of free pulp ebooks. The FAS IRP, which is the Federation of American Scientists’ Intelligence Resource Program. Essential for modern-day espionage/technothriller games. And for Feng Shui. ...
Since I’m hopelessly behind, I’m going to combine WISH 86 (original): What can the GM or other players do to help “midwife” the character creation process? And WISH 85 (original): What inspires you to create characters? Do you have partially-developed characters in mind for use when you get into a new campaign? Do you shop characters around, or do you come up with new characters when you get into a campaign? Why? If you GM, are you bothered by receiving a solicitation for a “generic” character, or does it enthuse you to get a solid proposal even if it’s not closely tailored to your game? ...
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes: WISH 84 asks (original): What five games would you love to run/play if you had a willing group and a weekly time slot? I’m going to leave out games I’m in or running now, of course (yay, Champions and Buffy), and also games I expect to be able to play in soon — I’m looking at you, Star Wars and Charnel Gods and espionage game! You can also assume that I wish I could go back and play in Carl’s games again. Those disposed of: ...
This week’s Game WISH (original) asks: What are your characters’ mottoes, in ten words or less? Quotes and formal mottoes encouraged. That’s fun! In no particular order: Paul/Emoticon: For God, France, and humanity. Reese: It’s all about the roads. Mr. Wellstone: Fame follows fashion. Cian: One must always journey to find wisdom. Stick: Break dimensions, go to jail. Clarice: Hail Britannia! Constantine: Friends and family; blood and bone. Jayson: Fortune follows. ...