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What I Did This Weekend, And Why It Mattered

A while ago some friends of mine pointed out to me online that they were involved in a kickstarter that was live, so I went to check it out. And it was a kickstarter for a gaming convention in the Bay Area in October, and a whole bunch of people that I cared a bunch about were going to be involved and wanted it to succeed. And I was a bit flush that month, so I said 'fuck it' and I backed the kickstarter and that got me a ticket to BigBadCon 2018.

And so I had a ticket, and I made reservations, and bought a plane ticket, and everything was looking up. And then I broke my foot. And now I was mobility-limited. And then my mom died. And I had to go out of town and deal with all of that basically the week before the con, which included taking a bunch of unpaid time off from work. And I thought really seriously about not going, but then I was like: no, there are cool people there that you haven't seen in literal-years. And you've already spent the money. So I said 'fuck…
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#RPGaDay 2018 Day 30: Share something you learned about playing your character.

Playing a character is like playing an instrument. It's OK to noodle around alone in your bedroom and get comfortable with the notes, but the real fun is when you get together with the band and feel how your part, the notes you play (and don't play) mesh with the other people around the microphone. Sometimes you get a solo, sometimes you get a break to grab a quick drink of water, sometimes you play rhythm to keep the tempo, sometimes you play harmony, sometimes you play melody. Know when the song starts and where you come in. Know where the song ends and recognize that you might not be playing the last note... and if you are, make sure you hit it. And sometimes, you smash your instrument to flinders on the stage because it's just that kind of show.

Find the band you want to be in, and go have fun.
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#RPGaDay 2018 Day 28: share a person who's inspiring gaming excellence you're grateful for.

Shit. There are so many of these.

Every time I read or come across the horrible shittiness that is the latest white male cis supremacy bullshit that always seems to be cropping up in games, I see something, usually just a comment or a snippet, from someone I consider to be awesome, and I feel kind of OK about playing these games again.

Brie Sheldon for his unremitting approach to consent. Olivia Hill and Filamena Young for their relentless refusal to be silent. Jeremy Kostiew for his unending kindness. Cam and Jess Banks for existing in a space that wants them to not.

These are just some of the awesome people I can think of off the top of my head. There are others. You're welcome to tell me yours.
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#RPGaDay 2018 Day 27: Share a great stream or actual play.

I can't help you with this one. Every AP/gamestream I've ever tried to watch has been exceptionally unentertaining for me. Which is not to say there's not great stuff out there; I'm just not the target audience for it. Watching other people play tabletop games is about as interesting to me as listening to paint dry.

I bet there are better suggestions from other people, though.
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#RPGaDay 2018 Day 26: Your gaming ambition(s) for the next year

Oh, this is a hard one.

1) play more, don't just storyrun. I spend a lot of time coming up with ideas for games, and then not really following through, which isn't fair to my players. It's one reason I've explicitly limited all of my recent games to six episodes or fewer. I want to play in someone else's sandbox for a while. So I need to make time for that, and I need to restrain myself from leaping into something just because I'm filled with Shiny And New Energy, which never lasts much beyond character creation.

2) Play more boardgames. I have a pretty sizable library, but I haven't been able to make a regular game night happen, for various reasons. I think I want to try and put some effort into that.

3) Hang out with more people around games. That means more boardgame events, maybe more holiday gaming, and definitely more karaoke/Rock Band.

4) Don't be so goddamn judgy. Some People Juggle Geese, and that's OK.
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#RPGaDay 2018 Day 25: Name a game that had an impact on you in the last year.

The obvious and boring answer is Savage Worlds: RIFTS. I just finished up the second six-issue series for my tabletop group, and so I've been thinking a lot about it and how if I had stuff to do over again what I'd do differently. The SW system is a good, solid one, and the RIFTS bolt-on is certainly RIFTS-like, but boy does it not even pretend to be balanced or reasonable. Which is fine; we had a big group and I think everyone had fun, or at least they said they did, but I'm not sure I'd use the system again. There was a lot of nostalgia (mostly negative) bound up in that decision, and I'm not sure it was worth it.

To give you an idea of just how much I am happy to let go of SW:R -- I'm actually looking forward to a 5E game.
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