#RPGaDay 2023, Week Three

Part three of #RPGaDay2023 questions and my answers compiled on this little blog. Additional commentary in italics.

August 14

Favorite CONVENTION purchase: I try to stick to a budget at conventions by not buying things I can source elsewhere. Most of my convention purchases are for out of print products. It warms my heart when my collection of early D&D and AD&D adventure modules gets that much closer to matching the one I had in my youth.

The amount of weight that "try" carries in the statement about budget varies a bit.

August 15

Favorite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT: In my experience, convention modules and one shots tend to be made with time constraints in mind. They generally follow a linear structure and focus on problem solving and tactical play. I do enjoy this style - going to a convention is a rare opportunity for me to play rather than run - but those experiences don't tend to stick in my memory.

As much as I enjoy getting to actually play, convention adventures are rarely deeply moving emotional events.


August 16

Game you WISH you owned: There are a number of games with limited print runs, are out of print, or are only available in a digital format that I'd like to own in a dead tree edition. The Lancer Core Book hardcover and certain D&D/AD&D adventure modules are examples. For some reason, reading from a book "sticks" better when I'm trying to learn the material.

I did read an article about why some people retain information better from reading a physical book vs the same material off a screen, but I can't recall the website it was on.

August 17

FUNNIEST game you've played: As a Forever GM, I'll be stretching "played" into "participated" for this one. The first game of Toon I ran for a couple of friends. It was over a decade ago on a slow night and I ran it on the fly. We all jumped into an improvised humor vibe perfect for the game and it was a flawless laugh riot.

I need to dig out my copy of Toon sometime.

August 18

Favorite game SYSTEM: Toss up between Modiphius' 2d20 and Pelgrane Press' GUMSHOE.

2d20 is a pile of moving parts, but it runs nicely and builds up speed through a session. 2d20 adapts well to a variety of settings from Starfleet officers doing space stuff in Star Trek Adventures to the savage violence of Robert E Howard's Conan. There are some tricky bits - spaceship combat is a hurdle for any system - but I enjoy it.

GUMSHOE taught me how to manage a procedural adventure. Information might give the PCs an advantage, add flavor, or be nice to know. And there are things that don't make sense to gate behind a dice roll - what the players need to know to get through the adventure.

I respond to these questions as I see fit. Sometimes that means not feeling the need to make up my mind.

August 19

Favorite PUBLISHED adventure: Kelsey Dionne's The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse and the other adventures in The Arcane Library. Not just for the content - which is solid - but for formatting that content in a way that's easy to access while running it. No flowery descriptions or burying key details in walls of prose - just what the GM needs at a glance.

I don't need to know about the big bad guy's hobbies or dating history, I need to know what the player characters need to do to put him down.

August 20

Will still play in TWENTY years time: Given my age and current health issues, I find myself admiring this question's optimism.

Did I take my pills this morning?