This just might work #pathfinder2e #TTRPG

Today I ran session zero for my Pathfinder game. I ended up with five players. It was touch and go when it came to finding players. I was also nervous about the location. I know it was only session zero, but I think that this game might have some legs.

We will start with the location. I’m running the game at a newer local game store. When I started, I decided I didn’t want to run the game at home. There are simply too many distractions here. Especially if I’m running the game with kids again. I thought about running at the store I favor, where I play most of my table top games. I decided to move past some personal issues and play at a different store. The store seems like it will be a great spot. Quiet, just enough space, and not too many distractions.

Next up is players. I still want to run my home brew campaign. But I just don’t have the right players. But for this game I decided to go with some younger players. I asked my oldest son if he and any of his friends wanted to play, they were too busy. I went with my next son, and my nephew, they jumped at the chance. Then the clerk at the store wanted to join. Then pure chance came up. It turned out that the parent of one of the kids in my son’s bowling team is someone i have known for years. So, after a few conversations this kid and his dad ended up joining. That brings us to five players, we might add one more. So 3 kids, one older adult and one young adult.

Last, is the scenario. I think that running Age of Ashes will work. It will take some preparation from me. I have some work to do, making the pre-made adventure run smoothly. But it will make me a better GM. Which is part of why I do this. Have fun, but also get better over all.

To sum up. Good location, good mix of players, and fun scenario. It all adds up to a game I can look forward to playing and running.

Moving on & committing to adventure #ttrpg #PF2 #bloodbowl

This week brought on change. I ended (for now) another series of games. And I made a commitment to start a new game using what I have. I chose some adventure and something I can at least have some control over.

I played a game of Bloodbowl on Tuesday. It was predictably terrible. It wasn’t a case of my setting up badly. Or a case of moving my players into bad places. And my opponent was cool, a nice guy who is fun to play. No, it was simply a matter of the dice going against me. Not every time, but consistently going bad at the worst time. And that was the last straw. I realized that I haven’t enjoyed playing the game in quite a while. The thing about the game of Bloodbowl is that when you reach a certain point it all comes down to dice. Strategy is out the door past a certain point. Which kills any joy I can get out of the game.

I decided at that point to quit the league. I’ve been playing in this league, playing games every 2 weeks, for 4+ seasons. I’m not certain, but I think it adds up to over 40 games over a couple of years. It is more than time for a break.

The nice thing is that this gave me the push I needed to commit to running a Pathfinder game. I talked to the store owner, and sent out invitations to everyone I could that we will start in 2 weeks. I know that I’ll be starting mainly with teenagers. But that’s okay, because any game of role playing is better than the game of chance that is Bloodbowl.

I’m going to start with an Adventure path for now. Using a published adventure to get the feel I want for how to balance PF2. Like I told one guy this week, I am an experienced GM, but I don’t have the same feel for the balance of Pathfinder that I do with D&D. I think the campaign I’m writing is pretty balanced, but I can’t say for sure. Running a published adventure will show me how the system works best.

So I’m just going all in with role playing for now. With the plan to get a fixed game every 2 weeks. So I’ll get my gaming fix, without the need to fall back on a game that holds no joy for me. And this is a schedule I know I’ll be able to hold with the new job.

Does the audience matter? #DnD #TTRPG

I won’t say I’m getting desperate, but the frustration with finding a group to run games for is mounting. I have posted on the Pathfinder forum. A Facebook group that is geared to the state. I have reached out to old work friends and to my old Denver group. With not any real bites. So today I asked myself a question, does it really matter if I am running a game for teenagers if my goal is to improve my skills (and have fun of course)?

I figure I can probably put together a group of 3-5 teenagers without much problem. Between family and extended connections that wouldn’t be hard. As the kids have gotten a little older they would probably be a little better about paying attention etc. Which was one of the bigger problems I had before, keeping the kids focused.

The real question is will I be able to get in the practice and experience I want if I run a game for younger players? Aside from keeping the content PG (or at least PG-13) does it make that much of a difference?

The ultimate goal of course is to have fun and play. Which I can do pretty much no matter what, or at least it is still game play. But the secondary goal, for me at least, is to improve as a GM. Right now a lot of what I have is just theoretical knowledge. I have been reading a lot, playing in a few heavily structured games. Thinking about how I would do things. So what I really need is reps. Would running a game for a younger, less experienced audience still be quality experience?

If I think about it like professional sports I guess it would be a little like pre-season games. I would have to be a little more vanilla in what I design and throw out there. And not expect a lot of subtle, nuanced game play. But it is still real play, and I can work out for myself what works for me. What is the best way to run things, try new ideas, figure out what works.

And when the ‘real thing’ becomes available, I would be far better prepared. This post is basically me talking myself into this. I am already thinking through how I would handle this and prepare. I do know that I would not run the campaign I have been writing, I would more likely run a series of pre-written modules or a campaign. We will see how it goes.

Making great progress #pathfinder2e #roleplaying

Two days in, and I’m very pleased. I’m using multiple tools. Consolidating work previously done. Now if only I had the promise of a place or group to use this.

I’m using a handy tool called Lucidchart to chart out sessions. Which is new to me. But I’m finding it actually more useful. It helps force me to think in terms of multiple options. Most role playing groups go their own way, disregarding crumbs that the GM lays out. Taking routes that may not be planned. Using a flow chart forces the writer to see and prepare alternatives in advance. I’m pretty excited to see how it goes.

I’ve had to dig up some work I did in creating and updating monsters. But that information is now where it all belongs. I had to get creative for this new edition. D&D 5e made it simple by including monsters and NPC’s in the players handbook. But Pathfinder 2 doesn’t have any of that information in the Core book and some of what I needed isn’t even the first bestiary. So I’ve had to create on the fly, which is fun.

All told I’m having fun. I’ve written the first two sessions out so far. I think that what I have created will stand the test of the potential chaos that is an RPG find group. Only I cannot put together a group. I’ve posted on FB, including in a group that is designed specifically for the purpose of finding players. I’ve posted on the Pathfinder Society forum. And I’ve only gotten 2 tentative players. I’m hoping that I’ll eventually find a group. But for now I’m focusing on creating, and I’ll let the rest work itself out.

It is all great progress though. Which is what I hoped for when this process began.

Actually putting fingers to keyboard

About 6 months ago I left my regular Denver game. There were reasons I have mentioned before. I hoped to start a new game of my own, that didn’t happen. I kept playing Blood Bowl. I dived into Pathfinder 2E. Over the last couple of months I have been playing in Pathfinder Society games.

I planned to work on my own campaigns. Actually did some work on them. Including ending one campaign idea before running it (revelation: middle aged white guys should probably not run campaigns that delve into the ideas of racial slavery.) Then life happened, I was forced to devote much of my mental energy to a job search.

Now here it is, the holidays are over. The kids return to school next week (finally!) And I will have roughly 4 weeks with nothing but time on my hands for the most part before I start my new job.

I have resolved to spend as much of that time as I can actually writing out my campaign for PF 2. I have a lot of ideas in my head. And some stuff written down in different places (notebooks, miscellaneous electronic documents.) I want to get as much down in one location. With flow charts, stat sheets, maps etc. Enough so that I could get through at least 4-6 sessions without any prep.

One reason for this is to just prove that I could do this, be this prepared for a game. Another reason is that I am not totally certain what my new job schedule will be and I want to be ahead of the game on prep on the off chance I find a group.

I will share some glimpses of what I create here without giving too much away. Mostly to keep myself honest (see I really am creating!) Hopefully stay tuned to this space.

The story is the thing #DnD #Pathfinder #TheAngryGM #Criticalrole #TheDangerClub

October is just a crazy month for me. Lots of birthday celebrations as 4/5 of the family celebrate their birthdays within 30 days. Luckily (or not) this is a down time for me and my hobbies. Still no regular role playing games. Blood bowl in between seasons. Which gives me time to focus on family. But, two things have come up that got me thinking more about how I want to write and run a game.

First, one of my inspirations wrote a very interesting article. The Angry GM wrote an article this week about the weakness of D&D 5e encounter building. It’s a terrific article and I’m really interested to read his solution to the problem.

Second, I caught up in listening to the Danger Club podcast. Which is a fantastic actual play podcast for Pathfinder. It is 5 British actors playing the game. While the game is ostensibly running through some official Pathfinder campaigns the reality is they do not spend an awful lot of time involved in the scenarios as written.

Third, I keep finding time to read my chosen fantasy books. This leads me to my topic. When writing a campaign, adventure, even encounters, keep the story in mind.

Sure, it can be fun to just run out a monsters of the week game. Just pick some tough monsters, throw them in the rooms of a ruined castle and tell the players to clear it. But that won’t keep most players attention. There’s not a lot of room for development in that scenario. You might as well be playing a video game.

It is far more interesting for players to have a reason to do what they are doing. To make the monsters in that ruined castle a threat to an important trade route. And also let the players find clues to a conspiracy against their land in the monsters lair. And maybe even books that hint of a great treasure in another location. Because now you have a reason to go there, a threat to defend against, and a reason to do more than just report the threat to the authorities. (I have learned that this kind of thinking is even a part of a number of current video games by the way, I’m not totally uninformed.)

A reason why Critical Role is so popular is the story. There are a lot of starting games out there now. But people now care as much about the characters and what will happen next as they do about watching game play.

To bring this back to encounter building, write your campaign, adventures and encounters with the story in mind first. Think about your favorite stories, movies, shows. Often times the heroes don’t ‘win’ every encounter. Luke and company don’t kill every storm trooper while escaping the death star. The Fellowship escapes the mines of Moria, not by killing every goblin in there.

Building ‘balanced’ encounters that the PC’s can win by killing every last bad guy is challenging, but makes for a boring story. Feel free to unbalance those encounters. Throw some easy stuff out to build confidence, throw out some horribly powerful bad guys with a chance to escape. Most importantly, have a reason for why these monsters are even there. Have a path (or paths) for the party that leads somewhere interesting.

That’s my goal for now. I have some new found inspiration and a direction to follow.

The need to play #ttrpg #DnD #Pathfinder2e

I haven’t posted for a little while for a reason. My work has come to a halt. I have stopped writing for the campaigns. I stopped painting. For the past few weeks I have found myself just laying on the couch watching football, when I could at least be painting at the same time, or writing. And it took me a week or 2 to figure out why this was happening. Where did my creative urges go? I finally figured it out. I need to play.

I can watch all the starting shows I want. I can listen to all kinds of podcasts. I can read all sorts of fantasy RPG fiction. Those are all great sources of inspiration. But none of those spur me into creative action the way that playing does. Nothing gets me thinking about how I would run a game like being in a group and seeing someone else do it in real time.

I sensed this a couple of weeks ago. I began looking online for the locations and times for the formal organized games. Wizards has their Adventurers League, and Paizo has the Pathfinder Society. Because my local circle of friends just doesn’t have the desire to put together a game. Plus, by joining one of these games I would be free to come and go as I please. There won’t be the unwritten commitment that running a game for new folks would have.

I looked it up and then last week went and audited the Pathfinder group. It piqued my interest. I can’t join in this month because I already have plans for the 2 days they play. But starting in November I plan to join in.

What is funny is how making that mental commitment flipped a switch. I dived into character creation. I’m still not sure what I’m going to bring but excited to be making characters again. I can even feel some small pressure in my mind too begin working on encounters again for my campaigns. It’s a good thing.

The cherry on top of all this is that by playing the new edition of Pathfinder I will learn the rules much quicker. Which will speed up the curve of that campaign if and when it starts.

The only thing that would change this plan would be if the Denver group emails me tomorrow and asked me to step in and run my game. I would do that in a hot minute. But this is the plan I have for now. To reach the goal of having 2 games plus the continuing Blood Bowl league.

I do plan to start up a game for the kids come November, but I plan to run a bought adventure for that. And it will be D&D 5E, which I don’t need much prep work for. But that will be a once a month game.

In short, I’ve got plans. Plans that came from a realization that I need to start somewhere. And that start is a need to play.

The importance of Arcs #DnD #pathfinder #ttrpg

When writing and preparing a campaign the question that comes to my mind is do I really need an arc to this story? To be honest the longest story line I have ever done only lasted about 6 months. And in most cases I have rarely run much more than glorified sandbox campaigns. Which have been good for the most part. And especially when running a game for kids there is not an over powering need for much more.

As I work through these two campaigns in my mind and in digital form I have been forced to think farther than just the sandbox. I have assembled what I think are reasonable and interesting beginnings. I am slowly turning those beginning settings into cool sandboxes.

(A sandbox refers to a game where the players have a common starting point. Then spend their time just exploring a limited area, finding all their adventures there. Be it a city or a secluded valley or whatever. The point is that the story and adventures rarely leave those confines.)

But I think that in order to make these real campaigns I have to think farther than that. There does need to be a point to the game. It could be simple, identify a villain and have the party start chasing that villain across the world. Or it could be a complex, world wide geo-political conspiracy involving the fates of entire Nations and people’s.

For both of my campaigns I’m thinking somewhere between the two. I know I don’t want to have a single villain or even villainous group. I am thinking that there will be a need to journey, because I love The Heroes Journey concept. But the sticking point is deciding how to get the journey started. Why should they leave the sandbox?

I’ve got some ideas, unique to each campaign. One will simply be about exploration for the sake of learning. Then I’m hoping that in that exploration they will discover the Dark Secret or Riddle that forces them to explore farther in order to find the solution.

The other campaign will probably be more about being caught up in forces ground their control. Swept along as major events occur. Until they eventually find themselves able to take some control over those events.

Without going too deep into details (that don’t really exist yet) those are going to be my arcs. Both of them revolving around the same concept of a journey. Most importantly for me, I am thinking beyond the simple concept of just stringing together some dungeon crawls with the time between just being a chance to shop and level up.

Working and planning with what I have #DnD #Pathfinder #CriticalRole #TTRPG

Yeah I’m a grognard, or as I like to phrase it, I’m an OG Geek. I’ve been playing these games for over 40 years now. For a good chunk of the time playing we just used pencil and prayer and pure theater of the mind. I didn’t start using props or miniatures until about 5-6 years ago. That has changed everything for how I approach my Campaign creation.

When I started watching Critical Role I began to see how great a tool these props could be. The show does such a great job of mixing encounters that are theater of the mind with encounters using miniatures, terrain and other props to really tell the story. It was about the same time that I resumed playing with the Denver group. And they also utilized a lot of miniatures as well. As a result, when I started running games with the kids I began using miniatures.

Here’s the thing, I started playing table top miniature games over twenty years ago. I started with Warhammer fantasy, and stared collecting miniatures at that time. I may have gradually moved away from most mini games, but I have kept the miniatures.

That means I have a lot to work with. As I plan these games I am doing something differently. I am writing the setting, building encounters. What I am doing differently is creating the settings, the monsters and the eventual encounters based on the figures I have.

For example, about 7 years ago I bought the Warhammer start set, theoretically for Jimmy to learn to play. That set has a force of Skaven and force of Elves. We never did play a game with those figures. But now I plan to use the Skaven as the common beginning enemy for the Grimdark setting. I will have to create the monster stat blocks for them but I think they will be a cool enemy.

And I recently acquired two of the D&D boxed games. These are neat little games, kind of an intro to the game. More importantly they each contain a great selection of monster figures. And they also have a cool set of interlocking tiles that can be used to build dungeons.

This means that when I do get to run these games that I will be able bring a more complete experience. Games using not just the story telling elements of theater of the mind, but also utilize encounters with accurate maps and miniatures.

I’ve come a long way in 40 years. I have gone from just some dice and paper to being ready to employ a wide variety of tools to provide a thrilling and exciting experience for my players.

An opinion piece #ttrpg #dnd #pathfinder

About 2 to 3 weeks ago I started to notice some Twitter threads in my feed. A lot of these particular threads are there because they were liked by cast members of Critical Role. The threads I noticed were discussing the concept of race in role playing games. Which is as troubling a concept as gender. Being a privileged hetero white male I cannot speak for those people who have felt left out of the community due to their gender, background or color. Being a progressive liberal I want people to feel safe to enjoy the same games that have brought me so much joy over the years.

The specific issue that I want to dig into though is not our races, it’s the fantasy (or alien) races. Because what these folks are pointing out and discussing is the idea that these races give advantages and disadvantages when creating characters. For example an Elf is smarter but frail. Or, more troubling to some, an Orc or Half Orc is stronger but less intelligent. Their argument is that this advances a view that people of color might be less intelligent due to their race.

My first instinct was to argue in defense of the system. After all that is the way the games have always been. And aren’t these some of the pillars which these games are based on? The proud and Noble Elf, the dour but strong Dwarf, the cheerful but bumbling halfling, and the dim witted evil Orcs. Practically all of the popular fiction that has supported and accompanied role playing games utilizes these tropes. Some of the better fiction played with them: the Drow who turned good against his heritage, worlds without the races at all.

Slowly my thoughts about this subject turned. Then I came upon the best train of logic. Why do we play, read, and watch these games? It’s about stories. We want to tell stories. What are stories but an escape? And the stories we want are different based on what we want to escape from. In my case I want to create and play in games that are different from my life. And the stories I am hoping to guide with my games will challenge the players to think a little bit about our current culture.

But if a person from a wholly different background than mine wanted to create a story that speaks to them the last thing they want is to be reminded of a world that views them differently because of the color of their skin. And seeing how certain races are somehow lesser just because they are traditionally viewed as evil is not welcoming at all. Understanding this has changed my view on this mechanic. It makes perfect sense that folks might want a game that doesn’t make their character automatically lesser just because of their background.

Is there a solution? Apparently there are alternatives being released that separate race from beginning ability scores. And I am all for that. I might continue to use the existing system to tell my stories because I plan to use them to illustrate a point. But if future versions of D&D went away from this all together I would not be upset.

Because I care about this hobby. I played through the Satanic Panic years. I have watched with joy and pride as it has grown. Welcoming people of every background is a good thing. And if that means that my Half Orc can be a wizard, or my Elf can be a brute barbarian that’s a positive, not a negative. Because there is no reason why our stories cannot change while our world changes.