Tag: Design

#RPGaDay2023 Event

It is nearly August, so once again a time for #RPGaDay, a month of positive posts about role-playing games. David F Chapman (@autocratik) and Anthony Boyd (@Runeslinger) return again this year to bring us #RPGaDay2023, now in the 10th year. For more information visit: https://www.autocratik.com/2023/07/this-august-10th-rpgaday.html & https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=595127079430619
Here is the Brazilian Portuguese translation, by myself and Eric Souza 🙂

#RPGaDay2023

Em agosto deste ano, você está convidado a participar do DÉCIMO desafio anual RPGaDAY, que celebra tudo o que amamos em nosso hobby de mesa.

A versão em texto desses avisos estará disponível no final desta postagem, mas você notará que certas palavras em cada aviso foram apresentadas em maiúsculas/negrito. Ao longo das várias encarnações do #RPGaDAY, fizemos experiências com perguntas simples e sugestões de uma única palavra. Assim como a tripulação da Enterprise experimentou, este é o melhor dos dois mundos. Assim, você terá TRÊS maneiras de abordar cada dia de agosto

1) Se você nunca participou do #RPGaDAY antes, ou se chegou a ele mais recentemente, basta olhar para o prompt do dia e usá-lo para inspirar uma postagem na mídia social para divulgar tudo o que é legal e, acima de tudo, positivo, sobre os jogos de RPG de mesa.

2) Se a solicitação não inspirar, observe a palavra destacada e use-a como solicitação. Por exemplo, o dia 4 pergunta “Most RECENT game bought” (O jogo mais recente comprado). Se você não tiver comprado um jogo há algum tempo ou não quiser dizer qual foi o jogo, pode usar a palavra RECENTE como estímulo e falar sobre um jogo recente que tenha jogado ou que tenha assistido.

3) A outra maneira de fazer o #RPGaDAY, e essa é a que mais me interessa, é usar as sugestões para inspirar uma publicação nas mídias sociais normalmente, mas se você participou do primeiro #RPGaDAY (ou tem uma ideia muito boa do que teria respondido naquela época) compare suas respostas. Isso pode revelar se seu personagem favorito ou seu sistema de jogo favorito mudou. Será interessante ver se suas opiniões mudaram com o passar dos anos. Se estiver fazendo isso, algumas das perguntas têm “(este ano)” adicionado para que você não repita simplesmente a mesma resposta.

Lembre-se de que o objetivo é divulgar a positividade. Nada de reclamar de algo ou dizer que algo é ruim. Conte-nos o que você ama, o que você gosta de jogar, os grandes jogos que você experimentou e como esses jogos tiveram um impacto positivo em você.

Lembre-se também de marcar tudo com a tag #RPGaDAY2023. E lembre-se também de que isso acontece em agosto. Sempre compartilho os prompts com um mês de antecedência para que as traduções sejam compartilhadas e para que o maior número possível de pessoas participe, além de dar aos vloggers e podcasters a chance de preparar seus episódios com antecedência e aliviar um pouco a tensão de tentar produzir 31 posts em um mês.

Espero que vocês se divirtam novamente este ano, vendo como as coisas mudaram.

Versão em texto dos prompts (português)

1) PRIMEIRO RPG jogado (este ano)

2) Primeiro MESTRE DO JOGO de RPG

3) Primeiro RPG COMPRADO (este ano)

4) Jogo comprado mais RECENTE

5) Jogo mais ANTIGO que você já jogou

6) Jogo favorito que você NUNCA conseguiu jogar

7) RPG MAIS INTELIGENTE que você já jogou

8) PERSONAGEM favorito

9) DADOS favoritos

10) FICÇÃO associada favorita

11) Jogo mais ESTRANHO que você já jogou

12) Jogo antigo que você AINDA joga

13) Personagem mais memorável que MORREU

14) Sua compra favorita em uma CONVENÇÃO

15) MÓDULO / ONE-SHOT favorito da convenção

16) Jogo que você DESEJA de ter

17) Jogo MAIS ENGRAÇADO que você já jogou

18) SISTEMA de jogo favorito

19) Aventura PUBLICADA favorita

20) Ainda jogará daqui a VINTE anos

21) RPG LICENCIADO favorito

22) Melhor compra de RPG DE SEGUNDA MÃO/USADO

23) Produto/livro de RPG MAIS LEGAL

24) RPG COMPLEXO / SIMPLES que você joga

25) RPG NÃO JOGADO que você possui

26) FICHA DE PERSONAGEM favorita

27) Jogo do qual você gostaria de ter uma nova EDIÇÃO…

28) Jogo MAIS ASSUSTADOR que você já jogou

29) ENCONTRO mais memorável

30) RPG OBSCURO que você já jogou

31) RPG FAVORITO de todos os tempos

Resumo dos prompts de uma única palavra (português)

1) PRIMEIRO

2) MESTRE DO JOGO

3) COMPRADO

4) RECENTE

5) ANTIGO

6) NUNCA

7) RPG MAIS INTELIGENTE

8) PERSONAGEM

9) DADOS

10) FICÇÃO

11) ESTRANHO

12) AINDA

13) MORREU

14) CONVENÇÃO

15) MÓDULO / ONE-SHOT

16) DESEJA

17) MAIS ENGRAÇADO

18) SISTEMA

19) PUBLICADA

20) VINTE

21) LICENCIADO

22) SEGUNDA MÃO/USADO

23) MAIS LEGAL

24) COMPLEXO / SIMPLES

25) NÃO JOGADO

26) FICHA DE PERSONAGEM

27) EDIÇÃO

28) MAIS ASSUSTADOR

29) ENCONTRO

30) OBSCURO

31) FAVORITO

31 #RPGaDay2020 Experience

One of the important things role-players share is our own personal experiences, both within a game, as well as our personal life. Even when playing in a shared campaign and exploring the same adventures, like with D&D Living Environment, Savage Suzerain, etc., our experiences will be different. All the different games we play all help to build up our own personal library of references and ideas. The same with the different experiences and skill sets enhancing the hobby, particularly as more and more people join-in.

This is one of the reasons I strive to read/watch as many #RPGaDay posts as I can. Even if I personally feel that one post is dull or even negative, the next day the same participant can share something I find creative and/or clear. I also appreciate the positivity most have with this event each year, even when coming across a few negative comments; people have complex lives. I also appreciate that I tend to write a page or two, what I write about might be of little interest to a reader, or they’ve read similar before, etc.

Amusingly, initially I could only think of a few dull answers for this prompt, and then suddenly I had an interesting idea for my memory game about nonlinear experiences. After several hours of writing I now return to this document, and the topic of the role-playing experiences. I think this somewhat obvious post highlights that the RPGaDay experience has worked great for me.

So ends another month of thought-provoking ideas and participants sharing creative answers. I look forward to next year. 🙂

Street Fighter RPG

From talking to numerous players about SFRPG over the years, one of the games old problems was the lack of easy ways to make lots of NPC fighters. In particular the issue of Combat Cards, a core part of what makes the game work so well for many also results in a lot of work for groups, and usually the Storyteller. This is further exacerbated by the different XP and Ranks. If the game was being developed these days, I think embracing technological solutions would help the game overcome this problem. Fortunately these problems have been somewhat mitigated by the community. Such as Warrior’s Fist Special 3 (Punho do Guerreiro 3) providing a system for different XP & Rank ratings. Likewise the excellent Combat Chart Generator at: https://sfrpg.com/sfchartgen/

These tools and other community improvements have helped this game flow better and provide a better experience. 🙂 Imagine what a team with a bit of money could do. 😉

Other Peoples’ Answers

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/31/rpg-a-day-2020-part-thirty-one-alternatives-to-experience-points/

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/31/rpgaday2020-day-31-experience/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/rpgaday2020-comes-to-a-close-day-31-experience/

Heather Fey @slapjellyfish

https://ko-fi.com/post/Experience-RPGaDay2020-W7W024MHM

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/31/rpgaday2020-day-31-experience-reflections-on-rpgaday-this-year/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/rpgaday-2020-experience/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

30 #RPGaDay2020 Portal

As someone that loves fusing games, portals are an easy tool to use, but a tool used badly can ruin things. Some of the multiverses of various comic settings are examples of things losing value/meaning when not handled with care; Marvel’s Incursion storyline, realities colliding and one being destroyed, can be considered a literal example of the danger of connecting two points that are not normally connected. The implications of Portals are explored in many popular settings, such as Farscape and Babylon 5 (in particular Thirdspace).

In a recent session of Mage the Ascension, (WoD: Sliders) a player that has slowly been learning the setting, is playing an Orphan trying to get to grips with their awakening. The Chronicle is a complex beast, the players’ clue file is currently up to 30 pages of notes, but they have learned that events in the area are connecting different times, spaces and possibly realities in strange ways. One day the party are talking with Hermetics, discussing clues and the Orphan’s visions about ancient Egyptian Gods, the next they have stepped through a Stargate and arrived upon a Technocractic space station. The player was giggling with joy at the vast differences in paradigms and realities, from the ancient world to being in the distant future. Then things got weirder, they were uploaded to the Digital Web, a sector with a Tron aesthetic. They are heading to the Spy’s Demise in tonight’s session. 🙂

All in all I had been worried it would result in genre whiplash, but the player said they loved it; the veteran Mage player did as well, but it’s all normal to them. 😉 I think it was helped by things having been foreshadowed, plus other weirdness building up. Another key factor was that ‘dynamic reality’ was one of the things discussed before even session 0. Likewise with my Fateful Memories D&D PBEM game I’m running, when preparing the game the player was happy to do something a bit different. The character is currently in Sigil. 🙂

Street Fighter RPG

Of course SFRPG already has teleporting ninjas, plus Warrior’s Fist Special 5 (Punho do Guerreiro 5) introduced a Portal Warp power. An empowered version of Elemental Stride, allowing for a team to pass through. 🙂

For my chronicle that was inspired by Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the PCs never developed access to reality portal generation, that power was kept with the Gods and a few divinely empowered items. I didn’t play a ton of Palladium Rifts, as a teenager it was a zany and Mega-Cool (yes, pun intended) game. The player that was introducing me to it was explaining about his plan to play a Juicer that was going to steal a Glitter Boy suit. That is the sort of thing I wanted to avoid with SFRPG game, well unless a group really wanted to play a game that allowed for Mechas performing Dragon Punches. Nope, I have too many games on the go to entertain this! 😉

Other Peoples’ Answers

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/30/rpg-a-day-2020-part-thirty-fun-with-portals/

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/30/rpgaday2020-day-30-portal/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/rpgaday2020-day-30-portal/

Sue Savage @SavageSpiel

https://savagespiel.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday-portal.html

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-30-portal.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-30b-portal.html

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/30/rpgaday2020-day-30-portal/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/rpgaday-2020-portal/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

29 #RPGaDay2020 Ride

I love when the entire group rides the wave of a great gaming session, like surfers finding a legendary wave, harmonising with the energy. One of my favourite campaigns was a Changeling road trip, as mentioned for day 24. One of the PCs was an Eshu who was a driver for the circus and a trained pilot. Because of their Eshu Birthright: Spirit Pathways, the character would often take detours on the trip. Many sessions felt like I was a passenger on party’s ride, whole scenes requiring no GM/ST feedback/comments.

Street Fighter RPG

In real-life the ability to ride out a flurry of strikes, or when riding the aggressive wave of a strong grappler, is a fascinating combination of perseverance and strategy; I miss training. 😦 When SFRPG first came out several players and I discussed how we could enhance riding out situations in the game. Some of the possibilities suggested were energy systems, freshness modifiers, comparison tables, strategy modifiers, but the conclusion became: this is unnecessary complexity for little gain. As we played and learned more about the system, we felt it did in fact capture these real-life experiences, whilst not interfering with early blitzing.

When preparing for this event I had planned to publish my mechanics for Wraith: the Oblivion and skin-riding in SFRPG. Punho do Guerreiro has Vampires, Werewolves, Mages and Changelings, but Wraith is a game I’d like to play more of, so of course I got talking with a player about a fusion game. Those rules still need a ton of playtesting, but if the mini-campaign goes well I hope to submit to the community for feedback. Maybe be published in Punho do Guerreiro 🙂 The player adores Wraith and SF, so the idea is to play some mini-sessions, exploring a Risen seeking revenge; The Crow but in Street Fighter; we have also briefly discussed Bryan Fury from Tekken.

Other Peoples’ Answers

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/29/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-nine-ships-and-carts-when-your-ride-is-your-home/

Ryan Heck | Aqualith Media @aqualithmedia big catch-up

https://lbry.tv/@aqualith:b/Aqualith-AM-RPGaDay2020-Day-29-Ride-30-Portal:3

Kehaar @DissectingWrlds

https://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/2020/07/29/rpgaday-29-ride/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-29-ride.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-29b-ride.html

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/29/rpgaday2020-day-29-ride/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/29/rpgaday2020-day-29-ride/

John M. Kahane @jkahane1

https://jkahane.livejournal.com/2175477.html

Eric Jacobson @viscounteric

https://gamingwiththegnomies.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-day-29-ride-with-me.html

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/29/rpgaday2020-day-29-ride-what-are-you-riding/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/29/rpgaday-2020-ride

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

28 #RPGaDay2020 Close

The fun of a tense situation, characters close to losing but persevering and risking it all. When the stakes are even higher, no resources are left and the characters are close to death, what can the party do? The Desperation Attack, it is a trope that exists in some games. In my long running Legend of the Five Rings campaign, a PC Shugenja had used up all their spell slots and the player was haggling for extra spells. In the history of Rokugan there are tales of individuals sacrificing themselves (plus maybe their soul) to power incredible magic, so this option was presented to the player. Interestingly, the player choose not to do so, in part because they didn’t think it truly was the final moment for the party, but also because it set up a conflict for the character: Were they a coward for not doing so, or wise for saving themselves for a truly desperate moment?

Earlier in that same L5R campaign, a new player had joined the game and created a classic arrogant Crane duelist, but they had Dark Fate and Great Destiny. During a trip into the Shadowlands to destroy the Anvil of Despair, the Rokugan equivalent of Lord of the Rings, the party were being pursued by a powerful Oni. The Crane duelist dramatically revealed that this was their destiny, that all their haunting nightmares had led to this, why they were even on this suicide mission, but they could make a difference and save the others. The PC gave an impressive speech, revealed a prepared Haiku, and then waited to fight and die. We had not planned this; the player and I had agreed to keep the fate open, just a few nightmares about dark generic things, so I was almost as surprised as the rest of the party. As the party ran, the duelist stepped forward, becoming a Kensei (sword saint) and faced the Oni. The party survived, they later discussed the amazing honourable and glorious action of someone that they had disliked. Had his arrogance been a way to cope with his nightmares, living under the pressure and an attempt to psyche themselves up for the losing one’s soul?!

These memories additionally stand out to me in regards to this prompt because the player and I also discussed what happened next. How this was them closing their character’s arc. Whether the character was close to their ancestors, as well as ending their cursed ancestor’s legacy by defeating the Oni that resulted from their corruption. During the fight the character was closer to both themselves as a person, their duty to their family, Clan, and Rokugan, plus their sword technique was closing in on perfection. As the fight progressed their attacks became more focused, the Oni’s more desperate, until finally as the Oni killed them, their final action was to kill the Oni. They became close in death.

Street Fighter RPG

Street Fighter stands out amongst most RPGs due to the stakes of the standard arena fight not being death, but a chance to win and rise in the ranks of the circuit. Afterwards any normal damage suffered naturally regenerates after a 10 minute rest. Outside of the ring, the stakes can be just like any other setting, deadly!

For my campaign inspired by Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the PCs were empowered since the stakes were so high; the fate of the Mortal Realm. A PC could utilise Sacrifice but only if they sacrificed themselves in defence of the Mortal Realm. Remain active for up to 5 extra turns, even if dropped below 0 Health, however, if the damage takes them to -XX health (with XX being their normal full health), or all of the damage received is aggravated, then the drop down dead. This was an interesting idea, like the L5R one above, but sadly it never happened in game. Hopefully it can be explored and tinkered with in a future game.

Other Peoples’ Answers

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/28/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-eight-closing-out-a-game-with-an-epilogue/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/rpgaday2020-day-28-close/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-28-close.html

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/28/rpgaday2020-day-28-edge/

Heather Fey @slapjellyfish

https://ko-fi.com/post/Close–RPGaDay2020-Q5Q8245WZ

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/28/rpgaday2020-day-28-close/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/rpgaday-2020-favour/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

27 #RPGaDay2020 Favour

Extra busy day, so I’ll add to my answer for Day 2 Change. For my alternate SFRPG that was similar to the TV show Mortal Kombat: Conquest, characters could receive Blessings and Curses.

One favour a PC could have was the power to choose to reroll any failed test once, however, the God could then require a later important successful test to be rerolled. Until the God required the reroll, this blessing could not be used. It added some interesting tension for the PC, also it presented the puzzle: is the God basing it upon what is important to them, or the character? The uncertainty helped emphasis the Blessing and Curse nature of this Favour.

Other Peoples’ Answers

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/27/rpgaday2020-day-27-humor/

Heather Fey @slapjellyfish

https://ko-fi.com/post/Flavour–RPGaDay2020-O4O223ZR3

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/27/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-seven-favours-as-a-good-plot-starter/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/rpgaday2020-day-27-flavor/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-27-favour.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-27b-favour.html

Kehaar @DissectingWrlds

https://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/rpgaday-27-favour/

John M. Kahane @jkahane1

https://jkahane.livejournal.com/2174757.html

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/27/rpgaday2020-day-27-flavour

Sue Savage @SavageSpiel

https://savagespiel.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday-favourflavour.html

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/rpgaday-2020-favour/

Insomniac @1nsomniac13

https://1nsomniac.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/rpgaday-2020-day-27-favour-rpgaday2020/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

26 #RPGaDay2020 Strange

I particularly love games that have areas to explore the bizarre, but how to present those things in new and strange ways? How we present information goes a long way to emphasising the strange, differentiating things from the mundane. For games that are inherently strange, the peculiar can become mundane, because so much is weird; the classic advice of juxtaposing the strange with the mundane is something I find useful. Consider how time and space is a strange thing, and how our brains interpret them to make sense of all the noise, which is partly why it is easy for people to miss an anomaly when one occurs. Here is a great exploration of how film can explore the strange, Tony Zhou’s Every Frame a Painting video about Satoshi Kon and his strange use of editing:

Street Fighter RPG

Street Fighter has a strange setting, on the one hand it seems to be almost the real world, but then there are a few people using mystical abilities to hit each other!? So far the designing of my adventure Game of Death meets Twin Peaks has been a fun and strange experience, but I’m also aware I need to be careful in regards to not overwhelming things. The setting of Kabuki Town, presented in Punho do Guerreiro (Warrior’s Fist), is already an interesting place, so adding the Red Room from Twin Peaks might be a step too far for some. I’ll not put any spoilers here, but I wanted to highlight that Twin Peaks itself includes the idea of punching a supernatural entity, so why not take it a step further and make it a Dragon Punch?!

The Red Room as an arena?! Just think of the strange arena effects that could be in play. Can mortals even fight in that place?

Red Room Arena

Other Peoples’ Answers

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/rpgaday2020-day-26-strange/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-26-strange.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-26b-strange.html

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/rpgaday-2020-strange/

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/26/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-six-magic-is-best-when-its-strange/

@PPMGamer

https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2020/08/26/rpgaday2020-day-26-strange/

Insomniac @1nsomniac13

https://1nsomniac.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/rpgaday-2020-day-26-strange-rpgaday2020/

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/26/rpgaday2020-day-26-stack/

Sue Savage @SavageSpiel

https://savagespiel.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday-strange.html

John M. Kahane @jkahane1

https://jkahane.livejournal.com/2174531.html

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/26/rpgaday2020-day-26-strange/

Kehaar @DissectingWrlds

https://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/2020/07/26/rpgaday-26-strange/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

24 #RPGaDay2020 Humour

One of my favourite chronicles was a Changeling: the Dreaming game, each session generally had from 7 to 9 players, most of them also played LARP, so there were used to staying IC for hours at a time and chatting. Changeling can easily bounce between a wonderful mix of colourful fun and dark sadness, often intercut with humour that matches the mood. Part of the secret to the fun for that campaign was, after the PCs resolved a bunch of problems I didn’t rush to introduce new plot threads, because they had shown a desire to dig into each other’s history, so. Several sessions later the PCs had a long journey to undertake, instead of redlining (Indiana Jones) or a random encounter to break the trip up and ‘prove’ it was a dangerous trip, instead it was a dysfunctional group road trip; lots of minibus dialogue and herding cat toilet breaks. Sadly most of the players moved away over the years, so were got to play another chronicle, but one of those PCs is still active.

Amongst my old various groups, three of those Changeling players were known for their comedy prowess. How they would sometimes frame their character actions and attire, the little details they would add, in addition to what they said, that did so much of the comedic heavy lifting. Over the decades chatting with those players in particular helped me appreciate more comedic RP, and how to change how I framed a game moment, to try and have more than a one-liner. I generally have to prepare a comedy scene in advance, still not an area that comes easy to me, but with practice I’ve improved a bit. Helpfully Tony Zhou made an Every Frame a Painting video explaining the power of visual comedy vs a one-line presented in a flat way:

Partly inspired by that chronicle, years ago I pondered having LT LARP character of many years become a stand-up comic. I tested some of the material and got a reasonable amount of laughter, granted in part because of how awful a few of the jokes intentionally were. I’d played this character on and off over 13 years by the time I considered it, the character had changed a lot, going from confused human, to part Sluagh, part Fate Elemental. Those plans got postponed as many things happened in game. My current Orion Sphere LARP character is sort of a joke, but I decided against trying to be a galactic comedian; maybe if this character dies… but they are fun to play, so I am not in a rush 😉

Street Fighter RPG

All the groups I’ve played with liked the optional rules for Activation Words. How we use breath is a major factor in exercise, and thus fighting. Grunts and other sound exertions have also been shown to be a factor, but that is a complex topic in real life. Back to SFRPG, character’s channelling their breath into particular sounds during special maneuvers is not too far from reality, for super powered individuals. 😉

The usefulness of energetic yells, kiai in Japanese, is itself a fascinating area of study. Whilst practicing various martial arts over the years I’ve come across a few novel shouts. I was told about my favourite kiai by a friend, one of their Taekwondo partners who would quickly shout “Get away!” whilst doing a front kick, although more like a Muay Thai teep; the speed and anger in that “Get away!” declaration was apparently shocking.

In my experience, Activation Words are generally seen as a fun comedic addition to the game. This is maybe why some of the players I’ve played with have used the old Batman TV series words, or utilised random generators to either use a gibberish word outright, or to modify real words.

https://www.66batmania.com/trivia/bat-fight-words/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_word

Various Gobbledygook or Gibberish languages

Using different maneuver names and tweaking them with random syllables was one method I’ve used. For example the old Warhammer Slaves to Darkness (Realms of Chaos) random daemon name generator was one method I used in the past to make up nonsensical words: rhoouuy phaoq’ wailash ulaa http://www.paper-dragon.com/fantasyland/daemon.html

Angelic/Demonic or made up colours generator https://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=adname https://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=color

A list of different shouts is collected at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Kiai

I’m tempted to make a decent generator, but that will likely be a bit of work; I guess not a productive use of time. Besides some players are happy with a dull but slightly silly, “No!” for Block, which has been chosen by several groups I’ve played with. Whilst one creative player had all sorts of words, like “Waadooy!” for a fast/springy maneuver, like Jump or Kippup. I shall ask the SFRPG community as maybe someone has already made a list, or even a generator.

Other Peoples’ Answers

Kehaar @DissectingWrlds

https://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/rpgaday-24-humour/

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/24/rpgaday2020-day-24-rest/

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/24/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-four-the-tricky-art-of-humour-in-rpgs/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-24-humour.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-24b-humour.html

Gordon Cooper @Cuparius

https://appliedphantasticality.blogspot.com/2020/03/table-of-many-tables-contains-tables.html

@PPMGamer

https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2020/08/24/rpgaday2020-day-24-humour/

Eric Jacobson @viscounteric

https://gamingwiththegnomies.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-day-24-humour.html

John M. Kahane @jkahane1

https://jkahane.livejournal.com/2174168.html

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/rpgaday-2020-humour/

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/24/rpgaday2020-day-24-humour/

Insomniac @1nsomniac13

https://1nsomniac.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/rpgaday-2020-day-24-humour-rpgaday2020/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

23 #RPGaDay2020 Edge

So many RPGs are about living on the Edge, primarily of mainstream society, the exceptions to the norm. It was one of many things that I appreciated about Cyberpunk in my youth, the view from the edge; Edgerunners: “3. Always take it to the Edge.” Cliché fun 🙂 Building upon Cyberpunk, countless other games, and studying psychology, my passion the last few years has been exploring the edges of identity.  Understandably not everyone wants to deep dive the topic in an RPG, so fiction writing has been my main outlet for this.

Quick mention of the importance of the Edge in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (VTES) card game. My friends and I used to use random objects to represent it at the table, which was not always sensible, as inevitably somebody would run off with our Edge to show others. This led to us using a dice, boring but sensible. The picture below is at our local Nightclub; thankfully we invested in plastic card sleeves. 😉

bat-jyhad

Edge for Street Fighter RPG

For my SFRPG answer, I’ve spent the day trying to think of an alternative to my initial thought: the wrestler Edge (Adam Copeland). I pondered fusing more Cyberpunk in to SF, after all it already has Cybernetics, but I was not inspired by this. Of note, Warrior’s Fist Issue 12 (English), Punho do Guerreiro 12 (Brazilian) expanded on cybernetics some more. Then I started getting ideas relating to my Game of Death meets Twin Peaks adventure. Edge is an actor and has been in various shows; in particular he gives a brilliant performance as Kjetill Flatnose in the Vikings TV series. So, maybe somebody in Kabuki Town has cast Edge.

Edge SFRPG Stats

For tomorrow’s topic of comedy, maybe I should make SFRPG stats for Edge (U2)… 😉

Other Peoples’ Answers

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/23/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-three-edgelord-my-first-masks-villain

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/23/rpgaday2020-day-23-banner/

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/rpgaday2020-day-23-edge/

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/23/rpgaday2020-day-23-edge/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/rpgaday-2020-edge/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-23-edge.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-23b-edge.html

Insomniac @1nsomniac13

https://1nsomniac.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/rpgaday-2020-day-23-edge-rpgaday2020/

John M. Kahane @jkahane1

https://jkahane.livejournal.com/2173136.html

@PPMGamer

https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2020/08/23/rpgaday2020-day-23-edge/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

22 #RPGaDay2020 Rare

I love Artefacts/Artifacts, so when I was 11 I made sure players got access to them as quickly as possible in my naïve D&D games. Players actually complained about being given lots of magical items, explaining how I was undermining the value of everything.

The psychological impact that rarity has on us is a curious thing, like many things it is not straightforward. Whilst I own a lot of RPGs, I don’t have the money required to be a collector of rare books, but due to many RPGs being purchasable via PDFs, some older works are easier to acquire. Of course, like many others, I still like to own the physical RPG books as well. One day I might get justify the cost of GURPS Prisoner.

Whilst pondering Rare & RPG, I was reminded of the forgery skill at Lorien Trust LARP. If memory serves it was only available via the Scouts or Bards Guild. The skill was rarely used, in part because it required a lot effort to use in game, including OOC referee involvement, but also because if a forgery was detected, then the people would assume one of the Guild members with the skill must have done it. Pesky LARP logistics, maybe this issue has been resolved since I last played that game. This reminded me of an old TED speech about rarity, forgeries, value. Worth a quick watch if only for the explanation of Han van Meegeren duping Goering:

Street Fighter RPG

The impact rarity has on the power of characters is best exemplified by the “Inverse Ninja Law” taken from Dr McNinja:

“One ninja is an elite and powerful adversary. Multiple ninjas make a group of faceless and incompetent pawns.”

I love/hate parallel world ideas; I mentioned I am running a multiverse game, WoD: Sliders, for Day 21. Jet Li’s film The One explores this idea in a daft but fun way 😉

Having reread GURPS Infinite Worlds recently, I contemplated making a MultiVerse Authority version. Who are the Multi-World Warriors? 😉

After playing about with character stats for Jet Li’s two characters in The One: Gabriel Yulaw and Gabe Law, I felt I needed to rewatch the film to do a good enough job. Partly to see what maneuvers they specialise in, if any. But since characters rapidly become super powered, making normal character sheets seemed a bit daft. I might come back to the idea, plus I can use the Aberrant rules variant that is explored in Warrior’s Fist Issue 04 (English), Punho do Guerreiro 04 (Brazilian).

Other Peoples’ Answers

Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger

https://castingshadowsblog.com/2020/08/22/rpgaday2020-day-22-frame/

Charles Etheridge-Nunn @charlie_en

https://fakedtales.com/2020/08/22/rpg-a-day-2020-part-twenty-two-getting-burnt-rare-in-rpgs/

Craig Oxbrow @CraigOxbrow

http://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-22-rare.html

https://thewatchhouserpg.blogspot.com/2020/08/rpgaday2020-buffy-22b-rare.html

Bob Freeman @OccultDetective

https://bordermengames.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/rpgaday2020-day-22-rare/

Kehaar @DissectingWrlds

https://clarkythecruel.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/rpgaday-22-rare/

Melestrua @Melestrua

https://melestrua.net/2020/08/22/rpgaday2020-day-22-rare/

Geek-Life Balance @cybogoblin

https://geeklifebalance.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/rpgaday-2020-rare/

This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.

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