RPGaDay 2025 Final Week Roundup

The RPGaDay 2025 challenge is over until next year. Here's one more compilation with extra remarks. Additional commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, see this introductory post. Here are links to the week one, week two, week three, and week four roundups.

Day 25: Challenge

A challenge can be a duel, a contest of wits, a wager, a tournament, et cetera. Whatever the form, it should give participants chances to shine and moments where they're stumped. Challenges best reflect the character of those taking them on.

The biggest challenge in doing RPGaDay is coming up with something to fit the daily prompt. It's easy enough early on, but inspiration doesn't come so quickly after the halfway point. My workaround was to look up the definition of the word used as the prompt. It was just enough to get the creative juices going.


Day 26: Nemesis

The Nemesis System gives NPCs in "Shadows of Mordor" personality. They recall past encounters, hold grudges, gain new traits, etc. Warner Bros owns the patient, but it appears to only cover video games. Will TTRPG space roll those dice? Dunno.

A good break down of the Nemesis System as it's used in "Shadows of Mordor" can be found here: The Nemesis System (link to IGN).

It could be argued that this could all be accomplished by GM fiat. While true, such an argument ignores the long tradition of random tables and rules that govern what happens in game. A system helps to ensure impartiality and allows players to see patterns in the system. GM fiat can be a little too random and arbitrary for players to feel that they have an effect on things.

I really need to get around to writing a post about the Nemesis System and TTRPGs at some point. Any interest?


Day 27: Tactic

A tactic is a means for achieving a goal. Tactics rarely survive contact with the table on both sides of the screen. It's not a bug, it's an intended feature. Keeps everybody on their toes.

GM plans fall apart due to the players. Player plans fall apart due to the GM. I figure that it's fair all the way around.


Day 28: Suspense

"It's the suspense that gets me" - Bugs Bunny, "Easter Yeggs" (1947). Generating suspense takes disciplined play. The reward is tantalizing uncertainty. The sense that something is about to happen, but not knowing what.

Suspense is the feeling that keeps players on their toes. Like the atmosphere in horror games, it takes focus to establish and maintain.


Day 29: Connect

More of this hobby takes place over an internet connection than ever. My introverted, possibly neurodivergent self welcomes it. On the other hand, TTRPGs are an activity where I'm willing to come into close proximity to other people. I'm conflicted.

Gaming over an internet connection is still personal interaction. In person gaming has more fidelity - expressions, gestures, and tone of voice are easier to perceive. It also lacks the convenience of using a device in the comfort of one's home. Which one gets used by a particular group often comes down to circumstances and personal preference.


Day 30: Experience

My first TTRPG experience involved a GM who carried his gaming stuff around in a hand-me-down white Samsonite hard shell briefcase. His D&D/AD&D campaign featured a Learjet and a red convertible. I think it was a Cadillac.

Yeah, the first campaign I played in was gonzo. In the defense of everybody involved, we were all still in grade school.

I sometimes consider getting a white Samsonite hard shell briefcase out of nostalgia. Those things are awkward and heavy, though.


Day 31: Reward

The true reward is the friends we made along the way. And the tales we get to share. Plus the loot our characters found. And the levels they gained. But mostly the friendship thing. And the stories.

The real, true reward is getting to the end of this challenge. It's fun and gets me back into the habit of writing, but the end of it frees up time and attention.

RPGaDay 2025 Week 4 Roundup

Welcome to the week four compilation with extra remarks for the RPGaDay 2025 challenge! Additional commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, see this introductory post. To see my responses to the daily prompts as I post them, please see the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 18: Sign

Signs advertise the local tavern or smithy. Modern & sci-fi facilities use signs to guide folks. Warning signs in unfamiliar languages could be counterproductive. Skulls decorating the "stay off the bad guy's lawn" sign get the point across.

To elaborate on these points and an extra:
The colored animal tavern or inn sign is practically a trope for fantasy TTRPGs at this point.
Most large, modern spaces have signage so people aren't milling around and bothering folks for directions.
Figuring out how to discourage people in the far future from poking around places like nuclear waste disposal sites is a tricky problem. Future folks might see the warnings and come to the conclusion that something valuable is buried in those places. Which defeats the whole point.
Decorating things with skulls should be a cause for reflection.
Signage in secure installations could be designed to be altered quickly to confuse intruders, directing hostile personnel straight into ambushes. Digital signs with wireless access would be really handy for this. On the other hand, they could also be hacked.


Day 19: Destiny

No destiny survives contact with the tabletop. The Chosen One dies in a random encounter. The prophesy flies apart on takeoff.

Twist things around to fit. Another Child of Destiny. The oracle spoke metaphorically. Edit to keep the game going

Folks like to complain about things like "player agency" when I make posts like this. I'm convinced that "player agency" is the new "railroading" - a vaguely defined term that people can throw at things they don't like, but can't really articulate an argument against. Just like railroading, I say that most players prefer riding the train for awhile to wandering the desert without direction.


Day 20: Enter

How things enter a game say much about that thing. Quietly? Openly, though the front door? Violently? Or surgically, precisely? A big guy doesn't have to kick the door in, but it helps establish them as the opposition.

This is a distant cousin to the "when in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand" quote attributed to Raymond Chandler. His advice has to do with spicing up detective fiction. This has to do with the player's first impression of an NPC.


Day 21: Unexpected

The novelty of the unexpected is overrated. Betrayal? Inevitable. Plot twist? Wears thin. Enjoy the unexpected when it works, but don't rely on it. Focus on core elements - strong characterization, compelling narratives, and engaging the players.

Mister Johnson - the shifty corpo that nobody trusted at all - sells out the player characters! Why are the players yawning?

Surprise is difficult to pull off. It can be done, but it needs foreshadowing. Unfortunately, dropping those hints could tip the gamemaster's hand.

There's also the issue of overuse. Too many unexpected twists may lead players to start looking for them. The surprise wears off in the face of weariness.


Day 22: Ally

I'm coming around to running NPC allies mechanically. I blame Ken Hite and the Network system in Night's Black Agents. Players invest points in an NPC ally, who provides useful services to the PC.

Here's a link to the Pelgrane Press site that goes into more detail on Network.

I really need to circle back to GUMSHOE at some point.


Day 23: Recent

Recent games: Our group is dipping our toes into Tachyon Squadron for Fate Core. We're taking a break from "Nostalgia Tour" - an Old School Essentials campaign that's all classic D&D/AD&D modules. What's next? Still in the idea stage.

We deliberately take breaks from the Nostalgia Tour. Long campaigns tend to wear folks down. It also gives us the chance to try other games.


Day 24: Reveal

Slowly reveal the big bad with rumors and conflicts with their minions. Minimize contact with the PCs to delay proactive actions like attacking the big bad as soon as they show up. Their gloating speeches can be done remotely.

Trotting out the big bad within attack range of the player characters is asking for combat to start. Use encounters with their minions and officers to offer up challenges before such a confrontation. The big bad can write messages to threaten and provoke. Or call in a setting that supports long range communications. Just keep them out of reach until the finale.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 3 Roundup

It's time for the week three compilation of my responses to the RPGaDay 2025 challenge! This post includes additional commentary that won't fit into the confines of social media. That commentary is in italics. For background information on RPGaDay, refer to my introductory post. To see my responses to the daily prompts on the day of, see the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 11: Flavor

Folks prefer organic over boxed text. Working details into the flow of the game is fresher than reading novel excerpts at glassy eyed players. Cook flavor into play.

Remember boxed text in classic AD&D adventure modules? Remember enjoying boxed text in classic AD&D adventure modules? I don't. Reading boxed text and having boxed text read at me was an excruciating experience. Especially when the module designer got cute and included some key detail at the very end. The kind of detail that would've been the first thing anybody on the scene would've noticed.

A far better way of conveying flavor to the players is for them to interact with it. Short, punchy descriptions that they can act on in the moment. Clear communication in the gamemaster's own voice beats droning through something that somebody else wrote.


Day 12: Path

I discuss the path forward with our group. Where we think the current campaign is headed. The games we're interested in playing later. Ideas for what to do next. Talking about the path ahead maintains interest and generates enthusiasm.

I've learned - through painful experience on both sides of the gamemaster's screen - to value transparency when talking about the games we play. Clear communication sets expectations. It lets participants know what's next, what's around the corner, and what's down the road. It's difficult to get folks to buy into something without a back and forth on what that thing is.


Day 13: Darkness

Darkness - the absence of light - symbolizes depression, a lack of enlightenment, and evil. Let's subvert that! Darkness is a good place to hide, be left alone, or find quiet. A somber tone need not characterize those who are in it.

Equating darkness with serious mental struggles, ignorance, and the enemies of good has unfortunate implications. Emphasizing the positive aspects of darkness flips that narrative on its head.


Day 14: Mystery

How I run a mystery is informed by GUMSHOE. Players ask questions? They get answers. Players need to know something to move the game forward? They get what they need to know. Moving the mystery along is better than watching it grind to a halt.

I talk about GUMSHOE elsewhere on this blog. In fact, I wouldn't shut up about it for awhile. It's a system I really need to get back to running.


Day 15: Deceive

As a gamemaster, I don't deceive players about meta stuff like the campaign premise. The old switcheroo easily goes bad. In game? Things like NPCs lying through their teeth (or equivalent) to the player characters is fair and expected.

There's a difference between one participation lying to another at the table and a gamemaster-controlled character deceiving player characters within the context of the game. Folks who showed up expecting one kind of game may not welcome something completely different. And this honesty needs to go both ways. A player who promises to engage with the premise and fails to do so should expect to get called out.

On the other hand, players and player characters aren't exactly shocked when NPCs to try to deceive them. It's accepted and expected behavior.


Day 16: Overcome

There are many things to overcome to get a game together. Rules. Character generation. Adventure creation. Campaign management. But the biggest challenge to overcome is scheduling. Somebody needs to write a guide.

Going through a core rulebook to gain enough system mastery to guide players through character creation and play is a time consuming process. Absorbing the setting information needed to write adventures and come up with campaigns is also a pain in the rear. It's less reading for pleasure and more like academic study. I have to take notes and review them. Test time comes when our group is sitting around the table.

On scheduling, with all the "how to play" articles and videos out there, I'm surprised "how to handle scheduling for your TTRPG game" isn't its own sub-genre of TTRPG advice by now. There's a clear need for it.


Day 17: Renew

Everybody's got to refresh, renew, recharge. Long campaigns. Repetitive play. Grindy mechanics. Take a break. Try a new game. Reconnect with the source material by consuming genre content. Take a walk. Touch grass.

I'm not fond of "touch grass" as a saying, but it is important to go outside, move around, and stop to smell the roses from time to time. Putting a long campaign on hold for a palette cleansing run through another system or genre can help to maintain interest in gaming over the long term. When I start running out of juice as a gamemaster, I put away the game materials and either read a book on a non-gaming topic, watch a movie or TV show, or play a video game. It's a good break and can spark creativity.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 2 Recap and Commentary

Welcome to my RPGaDay 2025 week two compilation post. As I've done before, this post also includes additional commentary that's too verbose for the character limits of social media. The additional commentary is in italics. For information on RPGaDay in general, see this post. Want to get my responses to the daily prompts fresh on the day? See the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

Day 4: Message

Casting a hook involves sending messages to the players. Distress calls. Bounty posters. Orders from above. Notes left at taverns. "Go here for adventure" is always the meaning.

My group seems to prefer mission-based campaigns. Even when I'm running an open-world game, I send "adventure here" messages to give players a sense of direction. They don't have to take the bait in that case, but I offer it as an option. Mission-based games provide a sense of clarity. Some might criticize them as railroading, but I go with what works for our group.


Day 5: Ancient

Ancients are handy in fantasy settings for explaining where all the ruins come from. Sci-fi precursors are handy for (not) explaining how physics are being defied in the setting.

The real fun is subverting the "everything comes from ancients" thing.

Example: Technology in Mass Effect? Precursors. Subversion? There are older precursors that those precursors got their tech from. And killed them. And they're coming back to kill everybody.

I offered ancients as a reason for all the dungeons adventurers delve their way through awhile back. It makes sense and goes back to sources like Tolkien and Howard. Sci-fi precursors is something I'd like to muse about on this blog. Unfortunately, every draft thus far is too long and meandering for me to post.


Day 6: Motive

Not every villain has a "realistic" motive. Reasonable motives make a character understandable. But plenty of folks have selfish drives, petty goals, and cheerfully sacrifice the long term to get what they want. They accumulate vast wealth, maybe get into politics. Their complete lack of empathy becomes everybody's problem. A perfectly realistic villain motive.

I haven't given up on smart villains entirely. However, criticism of stupid, short-sighted, or pointlessly cruel bad guys as "unrealistic" ring hollow for me these days.


Day 7: Journey

Have an off ramp for that epic journey. Maintaining interest in a sprawling hex crawl, mega dungeon, or what Ken Hite calls a "trip up the Nile" is hard. Folks can burn out partway through. Have a way for the journey to be interrupted or take a IRL break.

I considered referencing the band Journey, but Polyhedral Nonsense took the idea for a ride and went further than I could have. Go give it a read.

I also toyed with a rant tearing down Campbell's hero's journey, but that would run longer than I have time for.

I really was going to do something with the band Journey. And I really do have issues with Campbell. Maybe that would be another good post idea.


Day 8: Explore

Going boldly is baked into many TTRPGs. Over and under. What's behind a door or beyond the stars. The familiar masking the unfamiliar. Things passing unnoticed in busy places. Stepping into these spaces is a basic part of the hobby.

It's difficult for me to think of a TTRPG that isn't fundamentally about exploration in some sense. That doesn't mean that they aren't out there. Indy TTRPG space is too big for me to keep tabs on.


Day 9: Inspire

Inspiration is hard to simulate. "Your song or speech stirs the hearts of your allies" is functional, but vague. A mechanical bonus is dry and unsatisfying. Modeling a deeply emotional response and its effects is an uncracked design challenge.

Think about times when something inspired you. Breathing and heartrate go up. The feeling of something new and exciting opens up in front of you. Evoking those emotions and how they influence a person's behavior is difficult to do in a game.


Day 10: Origin

The origin of D&D in wargaming is well established, but how modern #ttrpgs came to be is a longer story. Genre emulation, crafting games around telling stories, and developing play outside of the tactical murder hobo came later. Understanding that is important as the hobby continues to evolve in new directions.

There have been various revolutions in how TTRPGs work and what they do. Pushing miniatures around tactically is still part of things, but it's no longer the beating heart of the hobby. How those changes came to be seems as worthy of study as the early days of D&D.

RPGaDay 2025: Week 1 Recap and Commentary

As I've done for previous years, I'll be compiling each week's responses for RPGaDay in a post on this blog. Each post also features additional commentary that wouldn't fit in the character limits common to social media. That commentary is in italics. What is the RPGaDay challenge? See this post. Want to get my responses fresh on the day? Look to the dedicated RPG.net forum thread, Mastodon, and Bluesky.

All of this year's prompts in the form of a bookshelf.

Day 1: Patron

The hooded figure in the tavern? Mr. Johnson in the cyberpunk bar? The shadowy organization? The mysterious contact? Have them be upfront, supportive, and entirely trustworthy. Throws players for a loop after decades of getting stabbed in the back by the obviously evil corporate interstellar overlord vampire.

The sudden, but inevitable betrayal was a worn out trope before the turn of the millennium. There is a grain of truth to it - the petty, selfish, and greedy are rarely good managers or leaders. The majority of villains should be too shortsighted and self-centered to realize that good talent is both hard to find and can find work elsewhere. However, having an employer - even one with an MBA or "evil" in their title - who values the ability to get things done and rewards consistent results could be a welcome change of pace. Or it could throw the players off balance. Either is good.


Day 2: Prompt

Murder hornets? Yesterday's news. Radioactive wasps? That's where it's at (link to a Popular Science article about a hornet's nest found in a former nuclear weapons site).

Folks who follow my socials know I shared a link about this last week, but it's good enough for a repeat.

Radioactive wasps are a versatile prompt. Superhero origin - radioactive bug bites are an established source of superpowers. Kaiju origin - radiation is an established source of giant monsters. Weird element in a modern campaign - radiation is an established source of weirdness in both fiction and reality. An enterprising GM might be able to work it into a fantasy campaign with a little work.


Day 3: Tavern

Strict "no adventurers" taverns are local watering holes, have exclusive clientele, or don't want to pay the insurance premiums.

Taverns catering to the adventurer market feature quest boards, private meeting areas, and back rooms selling specialty gear.

"Travelers" taverns will serve adventurers, but prefer traders and pilgrims as they are less likely to wreck the joint.

Most adventures will find themselves in a tavern at some point. However, not all taverns serve the adventurer demographic. Low level adventurers tend to be frugal - there's not much money to be made there. Adventurers who survive to reach high levels tend to set up their own hangouts, even if the game doesn't overtly support domain management. The middle levels are where money can be made. They spend freely on rich food, strong drink, and a certain quality of entertainment while waiting for the next adventure hook to present itself. Unfortunately, they also bring trouble in various forms - the attentions of dark powers, political upheavals, assassins, and former romantic partners. Sometimes all at once. Sometimes all in the form of the same person. Sometimes that person is a party member. Also, the watch is rarely up to the challenge of breaking up a brawl involving adventurers outside of genre-aware locations. All in all, it might not be worth the money. So it does make sense that some places will look to other markets.

#RPGaDAY2025 It's Almost August Already?!

Yeah, August snuck up on me this year. Failure to plan is planning to fail and all that. On that basis, expect a crash and burn.

The #RPGaDay challenge presents a TTRPG related question for every day of August. It was launched by David F. Chapman on his AutoCratik blog and a full explanation is posted there. I participated in the previous two years and will be jumping in this year. My answers will be appearing here, on Mastodon, and the RPG.net forum thread dedicated to the challenge.

Each book on the graphic has a single word prompt. For additional inspiration, there are extra random elements that can be used to buff out the prompt. These turn the prompts into questions or add moods or subjects.

The weekly compilation posts for the previous years are linked below:

#RPGaDay 2023, Week One
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Two
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Three
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Four
#RPGaDay 2023, Final Week

#RPGaDay 2024, Introduction
#RPGaDay 2024, Week One
#RPGaDay 2024, Week Two
#RPGaDay 2024, Week Three
#RPGaDay 2024, Week Four
#RPGaDay 2024, Week Five

#RPGaDay 2024, Week Five

The fifth and final week of RPGaDay 2024 posts is here! All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.

Day 25: "Desirable dice"

The ones I just saw. Online or at a FLGS - doesn't matter. The set that made my eyes widen in wonder and light up in joy. Just like the set I saw right before it. A shiny set of dice I don't own yet are the most desirable.

No, I'm not a dice goblin, you're a dice goblin!

I'm not a true dice goblin. I'm not even the biggest dice goblin in our group. But I understand the appeal.


Day 26: "Superb screen"

When I use one, I prefer half sized screens. The one in the Mothership boxed set is a good example. Doesn't get in the way as much. Still difficult to reach for minis and snacks, though.

I don't like the ones that feel like I'm erecting a wall between me and the rest of our group. The one for Star Trek Adventures 1e was terrible. I could've been napping behind the thing and nobody would've been the wiser.

The screens for some games feel like they were deliberately designed to completely isolate the GM from the players. Why go halfway? Throw in battlements, boiling oil, and a moat between me and the snacks! Oversized screens are a major factor in why gamemasters don't like using the things!


Day 27: "Marvelous miniature"

The one I saw on that one time. The one that costs an arm and a leg, plus international shipping. The one that doesn't fit into any game I have on the horizon, but just looks so gorgeous. The one that will sit, in its packaging, on my pile of shame for ages while I work up the nerve to prime it. Best miniature around.

I don't have a problem. You have a problem!

I may not be a true dice goblin, but the urge to add to my vast collection of unpainted miniatures is something I've learned to manage.

Day 28: "Mimic, Describe a Monster" (alternate prompt because I couldn't come up with a "Great gamer gadget")

A mimic that emulates the appearance of a quest giver.

BONUS: A mimic that emulates the appearance of a tavern, including a quest giver.

Gotta keep the players on their toes!

I feel that a GM putting a mimic into an adventure is already halfway to pure evil. Why not complete the journey?

Day 29: "Awesome app"

I've just started getting into Lancer and the more I learn about COMP/CON, the more I like what I see. Rules database. Character generation. Encounter building. It's an all in one package.

The executives at a certain other company would look at a free web app like COMP/CON and think "we're not monetizing things enough" to themselves.

It's Wizards. I'm referring to Wizards of the Coast.


Day 30: "Person you'd like to game with"

As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I'd go with Will Wheaton. Or Todd Stashwick as an alternative.

And, no, I wouldn't ask them to play Star Trek Adventures. That's a little too on the nose, I think!

I have no idea what I would do when confronted with Wheaton's infamous dice curse. Other than not letting him touch my dice collection, of course.


Day 31: "Gamer you miss"

I grew up a Navy brat. There are crowds of folks I moved away from and would like to see at the table again.

There are many things I regret about having to move every few years as a child. Not that I had a choice in the matter.


Final Thoughts

The prompts weren't quite up to the quality of previous years, but having Skala Wyzwania's alternates available more than made up for it. Prompts like these are a valuable exercise and I wish there were challenges like this out there. I hope that you had as much fun reading my responses as I had writing them!

#RPGaDay 2024, Week Four

Here are the posts for the fourth week of the RPGaDay 2024 challenge! All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.

The prompts by David F. Chapman from the AUTOCRATIK blog.

Day 18: "Memorable moment of play"

My most memorable TTRPG moments involve GM plans getting derailed, falling into the sea, and being nuked from orbit.

The PC who took down the big bad in exchange for their own life. During their first encounter.

The time the PCs completely ignored every faction squaring off during the climax of a campaign to go after the NPC who screwed them over that one time.

Good stuff. I learned a lot.

As a #ForeverGM, it's usually my plans that end up forlorn, wet, and radioactive. Here's some of what I learned from these two incidents:

Dead means dead. Don't expose the big bad to danger unless the campaign is set up for it. If the big bad ends up dead, don't just have the second in command slot into the empty position. Make it clear that the actions of the PCs changed the setting. Maybe the big bad didn't tell anybody the plan or there wasn't really a plan to begin with. Many organizations don't have a way to deal with the boss being taken out of the equation. The lack of a succession plan results in a period of chaos and infighting that could be more destructive than whatever the big bad had in mind. In a F20 game, the party may have to interrupt any effort to rez the big boss while the infighting is going on.

Players have three basic sources of motivation. The players themselves, their characters, and what the gamemaster provides. What the players are interested in overrides everything else. What makes their characters tick generally comes out ahead of what the GM presents to them unless they align. And players have to be reminded of things that come up during the campaign. In this case, it's easy to see why the players responded in the way they did. Getting a shot at revenge against the jerk NPC might have been better presented before the campaign climax.


Day 19: "Sensational session"

A GM can't make a sensational session happen, but can set the conditions for one.

Consider how things look to the players. The GM knows everything except what's going on in everybody else's heads.

Be prepared, but not over-prepared. Things will go sideways.

Be comfortable with improvising. Things will go sideways.

Don't get married to an idea. Killing your darlings isn't mandatory, but sometimes they need to go.

A GM has to work with the players to make sensational sessions possible. Sometimes that means letting things go.

Cover for Skala Wyzwania's alternate RPGaDay 2024 challenge.

Day 20: "Battle, Encounter" (alternate prompt, "Amazing Adventure" felt too close to previous prompts)

Representatives of two factions that the player's aren't fans of are engaged in a pitched battle. Do the PCs wade in, hold back, or avoid the whole mess?

This is when I started looking to the alternate prompts offered up by Skala Wyzwania, an option I mentioned when I announced I would be doing this challenge. With all the prompts about one-shots, environments, and sessions, I felt that I had said everything I had to say about adventures already.

An encounter with two enemies (or non-allies) going at each other presents the players with an interesting decision. Screw them over directly or screw them over indirectly?

Prompts for the alternate RPGaDay 2024 challenge.

Day 21: "Disaster, Quest" (alternate prompt)

WANTED: Enterprising salvage teams to penetrate debris fields and automated defenses at Tyron V. Navigation errors during Tyron fleet exercises resulted in multiple collisions, triggering Kessler syndrome. Generous contracts to recover classified military hardware on surface available.

My response to the previous prompt about "RPG with well supported campaigns" covered anything about a "classic campaign" that I had to offer.

Naval history buffs might spot what Tyron is a reference to.

If I were to run this scenario, I would include at least one competing salvage team as a complicating factor. Because these things never go smooth. If I were feeling particularly nasty, I would make some of the hardware a rogue AI commanding drone defenses.


Day 22: "Notable non-player character"

A couple of simple things to keep in mind when introducing an NPC.

First, make the NPC interesting to the players. Making them useful or an obstacle to at least one PC is the easiest way. Connecting to a PC is more complicated, but potentially more rewarding. Otherwise, the NPC is just there.

Second, an NPC can be cool to a point. An opponent should have flaws and vulnerabilities. An ally should never overshadow the PCs.

It doesn't matter how cool a NPC is to the GM. The players are the audience in this context and they have to be entertained by the NPCs.

We all remember the worst days of Elminster, don't we?


Day 23: "Ritual, Mechanic" (alternate prompt)

If there is a ritual the PCs must stop, give them a fair chance to make the appointment. Don't keep information gated behind die rolls or a skill none of the PCs have. Where, when, and how to stop the ritual should come up in the investigation. On the other hand, the ideal way of stopping the ritual or the defenses around it can be offered up as bonus information that takes more effort to find out.

I just didn't feel like singling out a single "peerless player" from all the folks how have been at my table over the decades.

And, yes, this is the GUMSHOE approach to investigations in a nutshell. I never figured out what the problem with it was supposed to be.

Day 24: "Acclaimed advice"

Paraphrased from multiple sources:

Most TTRPG issues can be solved with patience and open, mature communication.

As advice goes, it's both revelatory and obvious at the same time.

The question "I'm having a conflict with my GM and/or players" comes up a lot in TTRPG spaces. "Have you tried talking it out" is the response that seems to get to the bottom of things the fastest.

One more week to go. I've been enjoying this challenge. I wonder if there are others like it out there?

#RPGaDay 2024, Week Three

Here's another week of RPGaDay 2024 posts. All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.

Day 11: "RPG with well supported one-shots"

My mind went immediately to all the different flavors of D&D, but I don't like that answer. Although adapting classic modules bulks out the number of one shots available to Old School Essentials.

Mothership seems like a game made for one shots. There's an array of pamphlet adventures available. The vast majority written by third parties.

The sheer volume of adventures available for all the different versions of D&D, Pathfinder, et cetera offers the F20 community unmatched support for one shots. I acknowledge and accept that, but I don't have to like it.


Day 12: "RPG with well supported campaigns"

There's plenty of TTRPGs with iconic campaigns out there. "Masks of Nyarlathotep" for Call of Cthulhu. "The Pirates of Drinax" and "Deepnight Revelation" for Traveller. I hear any campaign touched by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan turns to gold. All kinds of stuff out there for OSR. I really only worry about the health of a game if it doesn't have at least one solid campaign published for it.

Having at least one well-regarded campaign available feels like a strong structural element for a TTRPG line. A good introductory adventure helps start groups off. A campaign sustains interest and builds up a gamemaster's confidence in creating their own campaigns.


Day 13: "Evocative environments"

Rain fits into most settings. Unless the game is set a desert. Or underwater.

Narratively, rain evokes mood. A light spring shower followed by a rainbow. Low, oppressive clouds making day into a wet, neon-lit night. A soaking storm casting lightning above a muddy battlefield.

Mechanically, rain effects tactics. Darkness and mists reduce visibility. Boots slip on slick ground. Mud imposes movement penalties.

I posted about rain awhile back. It's one of my favorite tools. Rain can make most existing environments more interesting without permanently altering them. Dark skies and rain can change the mood for a session. A storm can add drama and a little more tactical complexity to a climatic battle.


Day 14: "Compelling characters"

Having enough depth for contradictions. The brooding one who collects cute things. The cheerful one with a sense of humor that runs dark. No one note characters.

But contradictions don't equal depth. The overall type has to be established first. That takes a session or three. Or a character could appear to be a stereotype that is immediately contradicted. One takes work. The other subverts what already exists.

The underlying factor is complexity. A character that goes one way except for a few things sustains interest better than a character who just goes one way.


Day 15: "Great character gear"

As a #ForeverGM, I like gear that lets me feed information to the players. Could be a journal, a hard drive, or the Necronomicon. "Your character remembers a reference in the blog of that poor guy who disappeared a decade ago looking into the very thing y'all are investigating now."

Here's a response that I put aside in favor of the above:

There are players who scan through gear lists looking only at the damage numbers. If it can be purchased, let them buy Big Damage. If it needs to be found, put Big Damage in the game and let them seek it out. Sort out the balance issues later.


Day 16: "Quick to learn"

Most individual game mechanics are simple to grasp. It's when multiple mechanics run at the same time that games get labeled as hard to pick up. Combat rules often run into this problem. Many players want a tactical challenge, so factors like positioning and distance need to be modeled. Spaceship combat rules are particularly prone to being over-engineered to the point they become games in their own right.

Yes, I have beef with overly complicated spaceship combat rules. I can dig Star Fleet Battles out of storage if I want to spend hours crunching numbers and arguing about rules. Give me something that doesn't feel like a completely different game during spaceship fights.


Day 17: "An engaging RPG community"

I mourn the loss of Twitter's TTRPG community. "X" is a ruin lorded over by lunatics. Reddit is sliding towards the same fate. Discord is opaque to me.

Facebook groups manage to keep the flame going for their tribes. Mastodon has promise.

RPG.net is reliable. And it should be, if my "20 Year Hero!" badge has meaning. It survives due the mods enforcing the absence of conflict.

"Over the Hill Gaming" is a reference to my age. In case that wasn't clear before.

Online communities don't seem to last. Of course, I'm looking at the situation over a period of years and decades. Vibrancy fades, but those seeking fresh enthusiasm and bright ideas can find them. It does mean moving on, though.

#RPGaDay 2024, Week Two

Here's the first full week of RPGaDay 2024 posts. All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.

Day 4: "RPG with great art"

A TTRPG art piece that stands out to me is in Mothership. It's a two page spread. One end illustrates "adjacent" range with a monstrosity grappling with some hapless figures. The other end is "extreme range" and can only be reached with an eagle eye, steady hands, and a smart rifle. All the ranges in between are detailed in similar fashion. It gets the range and distance rules across to players.

The piece I mention is not the greatest in execution, style, or similar terms describing the quality of the art itself. It stands out to me because it plays a part in explaining the range and distance rules in a way that can be immediately grasped by the viewer. Most TTRPG art exists to bring the setting to life. Which is a valid function. But this piece feels like part of the rules.


Day 5: "RPG with great writing"

Ideally, the narrative writing in TTRPGs shows what the player characters do in the game. The technical writing that goes into TTRPG rules explains what the players do with the game. The former generally gets the point across. The latter is where things often fall apart.

A recent game that both conveys the setting and clearly describes the rules is Mothership.

I go into narrative versus technical writing in TTRPG adventure modules here.

I almost went with how the writing in Old School Essentials is so clear and concise for this prompt. However, OSE does assume that the reader already knows what they are getting into.


Day 6: "RPG that is easy to use"

I have a hard time running many TTRPGs due to the number of wheels spinning at any given time. Most flavors of GUMSHOE are manageable. Old School Essentials is a breeze for me to run. Of course, OSE feels like cheating with the decades of D&D under my belt. I'm hoping to find other relatively easy to run games as I get more of my TTRPG collection to the table this year.

The difficulty I have with running complex systems with many things interacting with each other at the same time is exactly that - my issue. However, it does influence my buying decisions and I tend towards the more streamlined end of the TTRPG market.


Day 7: "RPG with good form"

Star Trek Adventures. I own most of the first edition line and there's not been a dud in the bunch. The original core book gets a rebuke for poor organization, but other than that, every book has added to the quality of the game.

I wasn't sure what "good form" was supposed to mean in the context of TTRPGs. From the responses I've seen, I wasn't alone.


Day 8: "An accessory you appreciate"

I'm not gonna name just one. Dice for when success and failure are both interesting outcomes. Fold up dice trays for when the little plastic bastards decide to go for a swan dive off the table. Miniatures for when relative positioning is relevant. Terrain, tiles, and sheets because they look cool on the table with the miniatures, but they aren't strictly necessary.

As much as I enjoy miniature wargames, my use of miniatures and terrain for TTRPGs varies. There are times when they help keep track of things in combat. There are other times when it just takes too much time and space to set up.


Day 9: "An accessory you'd like to see"

More sci-fi terrain NOT covered in skulls and two headed eagles would be great. And more generic sci-fi miniatures, terrain, and maps in general would be nice.

We all know what game setting I'm referencing here, right? Cool.

And - to be fair - I realize that it's hard to make miniatures, terrain, and battle maps that would work for Star Wars, cyberpunk, grimdark, and Star Trek equally well. But a man can dream.


Day 10: "RPG you'd like to see on TV"

RPG to TV adaptation? There's Star Trek, but that's cheating. Maybe Lancer? I'm reading through it and the setting is interesting. Plus there's mecha!

Let's play? Whatever TTRPG I'm trying to get my head around at the moment.

I always have time to watch more Star Trek. And I've long been a giant robot connoisseur.

I don't enjoy watching other people play a TTRPG. I realize this isn't universal. I do find value in let's play videos when learning a new TTRPG. Seeing a game in motion is more informative to me than reading an explanation of how a set of rules is supposed to work.

#RPGaDay 2024, Week One

The first week of RPGaDay 2024 was short. Only three days. In retrospect, combining the introductory post with this one would have been a really good idea.

All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.

Day 1: "First RPG bought this year?"

This is awkward. I haven't bought any new TTRPGs this year.

Lancer? Pre-ordered in October 2023.

The Mothership Boxed Set? A Kickstarter reward for a pledge I made in December 2021.

The issue is that 2024 is the year I'm putting the games I have on my shelves in front of our group instead of adding to them. Lancer and Mothership were grandfathered in. I'm not buying new TTRPGs for a reason.

Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy didn't make the cut. It was a Black Friday Sale purchase from 2023 and arrived before Christmas.

I've also bought a few things from DTRPG this year. However, those were all adventures and supplements for games I already own. This is also part of my get more stuff from my collection onto the tabletop plan I had for this year.


Day 2: "Most recently played?"

As a #ForeverGM, I'm going with "most recently run" here.

Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy. I slightly revamped D&D module B4 The Lost City and ran our group through it using OSE. We had a fun time with this classic adventure. We also faced challenges with the comparatively streamlined rules. Zargon went down swinging, but the party is now in need of an active volcano to finish him off.

I previously posted about the Nostalgia Tour campaign for OSE here on this blog. More posts on B4 The Lost City are on the way.


Day 3: "Most often played RPG?"

As a #ForeverGM, I'm combining "ran" and "played" here.

I've clocked in more hours with some flavor of D&D or another than anything else. Especially if I include other fantasy dungeon delving TTRPGs like 13th Age or OSE.

Honorable mention goes to Star Trek Adventures for dominating our table for years. We're taking a break this year for variety's sake, but it'll be back.

As a middle aged dude, it should come as no surprise that I started with D&D. All that time with all those editions piles up.

I am planning on bringing Star Trek Adventures back to the table at some point, but I'm not sure how the second edition will factor into that.

More next week!

#RPGaDay 2024, Introduction

I participated in #RPGaDay last year and - clearly not having learned my lesson - I'm doing it again this year. #RPGaDay poses a TTRPG related question for each day of August. It was launched by David F. Chapman on his AutoCratik blog. I'll be answering the questions daily on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Those responses will be compiled weekly on this blog and include additional commentary.

Each daily prompt can be answered as is. Alternately, the word in bold can be used as the prompt instead if the full question. It just depends on if the full question applies or if I just don't like it.

There's a new option available this year. Chapman admits that the prompts this year were rushed. As an additional alternative, he offered up a completely different set of prompts by Skala Wyzwania. I'll be resorting to this set if I don't care for either the full question or bolded word in Chapman's set of prompts.

Last year's weekly compilation posts are listed below:

#RPGaDay 2023, Week One
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Two
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Three
#RPGaDay 2023, Week Four
#RPGaDay 2023, Final Week

#RPGaDay 2023, Final Week

The final week! I had fun thinking over my responses to these questions. It gave me an opportunity to look at RPGs from a different direction.

August 28

SCARIEST game you've played

I have a couple of difficulties coming up with an answer here. As a Forever GM, I run far more games than I play. Worse, I've yet to find a GM who can run horror well and has a slot open for a new player. This puts a limit on my ability to play a "scariest game" or pick up the skills to run one.


August 29

Most memorable ENCOUNTER

Likely the "hunt down and kill the traitor" session I described in response to an earlier question. It wasn't the encounter the GM planned on running, but it was the one we wanted to play. Which brings up a point - the best encounters sometimes emerge from a place other than the GM's imagination.


August 30

OBSCURE RPG you've played

I could mention any number of homebrews, but that seems against the spirit of the question.

The majority of RPGs I have experience with are well-known for a good reason. If they weren't commercially successful, they would never have shown up on my radar. Now, I have acquired a few interesting RPGs from smaller companies and places like itch.io, so my response to such a question will likely change moving forward.


August 31

FAVORITE RPG of all time

"All time" is my sticking point with this question. I don't have the kind of nostalgia that some have with older games. I had a good time with them, but that doesn't keep me from seeing how newer RPGs solve issues that I ran into back in the day. My "all time favorite RPG" might end up being one that hasn't been published yet.

My current favorite is Star Trek Adventures, simply because it lets me run a Trek RPG without getting in the way.

#RPGaDay 2023, Week Four

Part three of #RPGaDay2023 questions and my complied answers. Additional commentary in italics.

August 21

Favorite LICENSED RPG

First a couple of honorable mentions. Modiphius' Robert E Howard's Conan for the care taken with the material. West End Games' Star Wars out of nostalgia. Both are solid examples of what can be done with a license.

My current favorite is Star Trek Adventures. It does a good job of supporting the "hyper-competent science nerds solving problems IN SPACE" game I want when running Star Trek.

I like it when I don't have to fight or perform surgery on a game to get it to do what I want.


August 22

Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase

I'll avoid going into my nostalgia-fueled quest to rebuild my childhood D&D/AD&D module collection. Instead, I'll make a selection from my stack of secondhand GURPS books - GURPS Traveller Far Trader. It's a weird choice for a weird reason. It breaks down economic concepts like comparative advantage in a way that's applicable to RPGs. Sure, I could just make stuff up. But I prefer to pretend to model these things.

August 23

COOLEST looking RPG product/book

I favor understatement in RPG materials. Weird fonts and cluttered layouts hamper my ability to read the book. Many things that might make a book look "cool" may turn me off it.

My current favorite is the Star Trek Adventures Gamemaster's Guide. Textured cover. Simple black text on white pages. Enough art to navigate around it. Even has a bookmark!

August 24

COMPLEX/SIMPLE RPG you play

Of the RPGs I keep in rotation?

Let's face it, AD&D is a kludge of unrelated mechanics with a kitchen sink setting thrown in for good measure.

2d20 is a pile of moving parts that somehow runs smoothly once it gets rolling.

Many iterations of GUMSHOE are on the simpler end by design.


August 25

UNPLAYED RPG you own

I haven't gotten around to giving FATE a try. The book's been on my shelf for awhile, but hasn't made the cut so far. There's also the Planet Mercenary RPG. That was a Kickstarter backer reward that didn't appeal as much as I hoped when I got my hands on it.


August 26

Favorite CHARACTER SHEET

I like these D&D character sheets for players with dyslexia. A relatively simple layout with enough going on to be interesting without devolving into visual chaos.

Found out about them in this article:
https://www.geeknative.com/70088/dd-character-sheets-for-players-with-dyslexia/

August 27

Game you'd like a new EDITION of...

Pie in the sky response? D6 Star Wars.

There's no chance of this seeing the light of day.

#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?

#RPGaDay 2023, Week Two

More compiled #RPGaDay 2023 questions and my responses. Additional commentary in italics.

August 7

Smartest RPG you've played: I'm not sure what the question is asking, so I'll just list some clever bits from various games that I've come to appreciate over the years.

13th Age: The Escalation Die. A simple solution for reducing the grind in D&D combat.

Ashen Stars: The realization that the typical "sci-fi space show" is procedural in structure. The space/time ship/station / portal exploration team runs into a problem. The plot revolves around learning more about the situation in stages and implementing a solution. It's something I was dimly aware of, but had never seen made so explicitly clear. I've carried this structure forward to running other sci-fi games.

GURPS Horror (3rd & 4th Editions): Analyzing monsters by the specific fears they embody.

Star Trek Adventures: Rather than present supplemental rules and source material by legacy series or era, sourcebooks were initially focused on area (the Quadrant books) or what role a player character was filling (the Division books). Later campaign books published material for the newer series (DIS and LD), but falls under "a nice problem to have".

TimeWatch: Building dirty time travel tricks into the system rather than leaving them out for simplicity.

This is what happens when I can't make up my mind.


August 8

Favorite CHARACTER: Being a Forever GM, I don't really get to have one of those

Although I am fond of the brief time I played Commander Soval (no relation) in somebody else's Star Trek game awhile back. Think all the snark from Richard Dean Anderson's Colonel O'Neill from SG-1, but wrapped up in a Vulcan package.


August 9

Favorite DICE: There's different ways to interpret this one: type of die, dice mechanic, or picking out the best in a collection.

Type: d8. I like the shape.

Mechanic: 13th Age's Escalation Die. An elegant way to reduce the grind in D&D combat.

Favorite in my collection: Not my favorite set, but a handy tool - the mood die. Lacks the detail of character notes or the utility of a reaction chart, but works fast in a pinch.

August 10

Favorite tie-in FICTION: I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. Individual works can be poorly written cash grabs, ways to push metaplots, or contributions to creeping, messy snarls of continuity. There's nothing less welcoming than a GM saying "please peruse this stack of sourcebooks and that stack of novels to catch all the references I'll be throwing out during the campaign."

That said, I remain fond of the Battletech novels by Robert N Charrette and Micheal Stackpole for averting much of what I don't like about tie-ins.


August 11

WEIRDEST game you've played: Honestly? AD&D 1e. It was basically Gygax houseruling early D&D to heck and back.

Let's face it, AD&D as published was a kitchen sink setting. Gygax was bolting on every idea, mechanic, and chart he could think of to the game.


August 12

Old game you STILL play: "Oldest in rotation" is the interpretation I'm using here. There's older in my collection that have seen relatively recent play, but I'm unlikely to take them down from the shelf again.

D6 Star Wars. It's like a well maintained classic car - it lacks features that I've come to expect, but the way it handles is still a fun ride.

D6 Star Wars isn't the fastest or most responsive. And the Wild Die causes a dice explosion every now and then. Still a fun for a quick drive down a country road, though.


August 13

Most memorable character DEMISE: A rare time when I played in somebody else's game. Final session of a long running campaign. No loose ends. Nothing left unresolved other than the finale. Every faction gathered for an epic throw down. No more plot armor for the PCs.

But there had been collusion between a player and the GM. Months of secret communications. The PC announcing his betrayal was the first we learned of it. He went to join our enemies.

We completely ignored the battle raging around us to track down the traitorous PC. So focused were we on our betrayer that what was meant to be the campaign's climax failed to register on us. After the faithless PC was dead, the GM tossed his notes and wrapped things up as best he could.

It wasn't the way the player or the GM planned it to go, but I remember that character's death well.

We really wanted that character dead. Names not given to protect the reputations of those involved.

#RPGaDAY 2023, Week One

#RPGaDay poses a question for each day of August. It was launched by David F. Chapman on his AutoCratik blog. The challenge looked interesting, so I decided to participate this year. I'll be answering the questions daily on Mastodon. And I'll be compiling those responses each week on this blog and expounding on them a bit. Additional commentary is in italics.

1 August

First RPG played (this year): Star Trek Adventures by Modiphius Entertainment.

This response shouldn't be a shock, given how often I discuss the game on this blog.


2 August

First RPG Gamemaster: Oh, that would be decades back. Scott. He ran a hybrid of Moldvay Basic and AD&D out of a cream colored hard sided briefcase that he got from who knows where.

Scott was the kind of nerd who would've been sporting a long trench coat if it were the '90s. And not as tropical where we lived.


3 August

First RPG Bought (This Year): I'm going to interpret this as "RPG product" since I've been completing collections rather than getting into new games this year.

That makes it a tie since I ordered both of these at the same time:

• The "everything that I didn't already have before Modiphius drops the license" bundle for Robert Howard's Conan from DTRPG.
• The Lower Decks preorder for Star Trek Adventures.

I wanted to make my Conan collection as complete as possible before it went away. Now I have years worth of material for the game. I preordered Lower Decks because I enjoy the show and thought that running a game for junior Starfleet officers might make for a change of pace sometime.


4 August

Most recent game bought: I've focused on completing RPG collections lately, but I did get a few free downloads while looking for a fantasy game that's not D&D or Pathfinder. Necrotic Gnome's Old School Essentials is the current front runner.

I burned out on the specific kind of fantasy RPG system represented by D&D and Pathfinder awhile back.


5 August

Oldest game you've played: Holmes Basic D&D. I've never owned it, but my earliest gamemasters ran it before switching to Moldvay D&D and/or AD&D.

Some of my early gamemasters used Holmes, others used Moldvay. The differences were difficult to discern, given how loosely they ran their games. Incorporating elements of AD&D didn't help with that.


6 August

Favorite game you never get to play: As a Forever GM, I almost never get to play any RPG on the tabletop.

Now, there's those TimeWatch and Night's Black Agents mini-campaigns that I keep threatening my players with, but those are more "fun concepts to play around with" at this point.

I'll get to those games. Someday...