This, that...

To everyone reading this, I wish them a happy new year.

To Rafe, thanks for following my blog.

If anyone is interested, my New Years resolutions are to try and lose a little weight and to write a thousand words a day.

Finally, Red Letter has a new review up here:

http://www.redlettermedia.com/sith.html

When villains are too super...

First of all, a big shout out to my first (of many?) followers Kelty. :) Now, on to the post...

I am a fan of the television series House (although not as much as I used to be. The fact that Olivia Wilde is no longer on the series may have something to do with that, or it is just that the formula has gotten pretty old), but I almost stopped watching it during season three. For those of you who don't watch House, it is about a brilliant doctor with a Vicodin addiction due to his messed up leg, or at least he was addicted until last season. Anyway, he used to horde lots and lots of pills. This bit him in the ass when he ran afowl of a detective named Tritter. It seemed the producers of House felt he needed an arch nemesis and they created this guy.

I hated him.

Don't get me wrong, I think it was a good idea to give House someone to butt heads with. Chi McBride had been a bit of a thorn in his side back during season one, I think it was, and it was refreshing to see someone in House's universe that he could not bully.

But where Tritter was concerned he was given amazing super cop powers. He had no superiors to report to, he could whip up any warrant he needed, and he could even move right into the hospital and usurp office space so he could terrorize the doctors with interrogations. It felt fake and forced and perhaps police do have some latitude in investigations like this, but it did not ring true to me as I watched it (and House refusing to get a lawyer was just idiotic; if a cop threw me in jail overnight you are damn right I am retaining legal counsel!).

This brings me-finally-to the point of the post. A GM has to be careful not to make his villains too powerful. Yes, the villain needs to sometimes be a major, seemingly unstoppable presence in the game (for example, a lich king in a D&D Ravenloft game) but there should be a feeling that ultimately, given time and experience, he can be brought down. That is one of the (many) reasons I dislike X-Men games because more often than not the players are unable to change the world. There will be Mutant Registration Acts, Mankind will hate and fear them. The players are always going to lose in the end, or at the very best break even.

So when designing the bad guy for your epic tale think long and hard about how powerful he is. Will he be so strong as he is unstoppable, unbeatable without considerable NPC intervention? Will that be a constant source of frustration for your players? Be careful that you do not create a Tritter.

Random Star Trek thoughts

I dropped out of a Star Trek game recently and was a little bummed because frankly I think my dissatisfaction with the game sprang from two things. The first was, I did not ask enough questions. One of my Vindicators players is running the game and offered me a position and wanting to game, I jumped in without seeing if the game was for me. Had I done my homework I think I would have taken note of some of the characters being run and I probably would have backed out. The second thing is, the player running the game did not really tell me anything about the game.

What I jumped into was a romance novel thinly disguised as a Star Trek game. I am serious. I think every single player had a significant other, and many posts were devoted to characters calling one another pet names like "Bella". Occasionally something would happen that looked vaguely 'Trek like but they passed by so fast they were over before I knew it. Why? Because some players would furiously post over a short period of time and by the time I had an opportunity to reply, it was all over. This was partly due to some players running two characters.

Now, what did the GM do to help me fit in? Tie an NPC to her that would become her love interest. I was not really looking for a love interest but that is what I got saddled with.

Finally, I was playing a former civilian who was volunteered during the Dominion War and stayed on afterward, going to the academy and eventually becoming a lieutenant. I liked being a lieutenant, the lieutenancy fit my character's background and my temperament. I do not need to be a senior officer to enjoy playing Star Trek and frankly I find any game where everyone has three pips on their collar to be boring. So what did the GM do without consulting me first? Promoted my character two grades to Commander. Not only did I find this to fly in the face of any and all logic, but I discovered later on there were two 24 year old Commander department heads in the game, which really rubbed me the wrong way.

So, what did I learn from all of this? And what can you take from it (and do not assume this is exclusive to Star Trek; it can apply to any game)?

1) Homework is key. Make sure the game is for you before you join. Ask questions, explore the web site/forum, read other character bios. If you are joining late then read older posts to get a feel for what the game is like.

2) Likewise, if your game is fundamentally different from others in the genre it is only fair to warn your players of this. Do not present them with one thing then blindside them with another. Do not present your game as a gritty cop drama and then make it turn out to be a slapstick comedy. It's like saying your game is NYPD Blue and in reality it is Sledge Hammer. Yes, Star Trek has always had some romance or sex but a majority of the themes involve action and exploration. If your game is (fill in the blank) with a twist, then let your prospective players know!

3) Beware of player bullying. It does not always come from snide comments and the like. It can be something as innocent as some players delivering numerous posts and having them responded to without other players having an opportunity to respond themselves. It can make players feel impotent and useless. This is especially true if some players are running multiple characters, they can all but take over a game and turn it into something resembling fan fiction.

4) Be aware of what your player wants. If your player created one type of character and you try to force them into a role they did not ask for then you are only going to make them miserable. Consult them before making any major changes to their character backgrounds or introducing new elements to their character.

5) Try to make your game make sense. One thing that really annoyed me about Star Treks Voyager and Enterprise was how they handled promotions, which led to Harry Kim being an ensign for seven years. Likewise the same thing happened to Hoshi Sato, who when the series had their finale some seven years total had gone by and she too was still an ensign. Forcing someone to remain the most juniormost officer rank is just stupid and showed how little the producers understood how a military functions. One the other hand, TNG and DS9 both attempted to be a bit more realistic with occasional promotions during their runs (leaving out the whole Riker deal where they remained a Commander for fifteen years). And a jump from lt. Commander to full Commander was considered a big deal. If you are running a game that is employing a military structure of some sort then try and make it look realistic. I have seen all too many twenty five year old admirals over the years.

Identity Crisis

Dave (again) gave me a wonderful idea, only this one was from years ago when he was running his own unique game. Heavily influenced by anime themes, we and a bunch of the guys at Oakland University's Order of Leibowitz had a great time playing it because we were often encouraged to play outrageous characters. Mine, I thnk, was a bit more mundane than most; Ken Koda, super cop.

One night Dave takes me aside and says, "I want you to play a doppelganger that has replaced your character. Drop hints, give everyone else a chance to realize you aren't you." I had a ball all night doing evil shit, being a bastard, and yet no one caught on. It could have been that they simply were not expecting me to be not me, or I was not as out of character as I thought, or everyone thought I was being more of a dick than normal. It is hard to remember but I think Evil Ken led them into a trap.

Years later, I gave it a try. Keith's character-Black Angel-was comatose, and I e-mailed him privately suggesting his character was possessed. And as long as she wore this magic coat those with supernatural senses would not notice. Keith dropped hints both in role playing and even changing the color of his e-mail posts from violet to red, but no one caught on. Again, either he was not doing it well enough (and I think he was, personally) or people simply were not expecting it.

There were no hard feelings, no outrage over the deception. My players seemed to have fun with the revelation. Keith especially had a great time. There were no hard feelings, either the first time years back or when I was running my game. If you pick the right player and if you play fair, giving the rest a chance to trip on to the switch, then the GM and players both could have a great time, provided there are opportunities for the characters to discover the deception.

The scheme truly works best if the campaign is a well established one with most of the players and their characters being familiar with one another. Perhaps to spice things up a hint is thrown that one of them is not who they appear, and perhaps there was an instance when everyone at one point or another was absent from the rest. Is there truly a double in their midst, or is the GM playing head games with the players?

This plot is not new. Marvel Comics had Secret Invasion where Skrulls had replaced numerous super heroes. In Deep Space Nine Doctor Bashir was replaced by a changeling. In The Original Series' Turnabout Intruder Kirk was forced to switch bodies with a woman named Edith Keeler. Picard was replaced at least twice on TNG and in Voyager I believe it happened to Tom Paris.

Which brings up a variation of this idea: body switching. What if everyone on the team/party wound up with someone else's body? They would have to learn one another's powers and perhaps deal with their civilian lives. Perhaps one character's original body is hideous and he doesn't want it back? Perhaps a person from one sex occupies the body of another and discovers they actually like being a chick/dude? There are all sorts of role playing opportunities here and a lot of potential fun.

Let Me In...

I saw the vampire flick Let Me In last night with my brother Donald.

I liked it.

If you are interested in seeing the movie, do not expect a gorefest. There are some fantastic gory moments but ultimately this is a story about a lonely, introverted boy who has to deal with the real life horror of school bullies, who meets a very strange girl who moves in next door and ultimately becomes his friend. She just happens to be a vampire.

One thing I really appreciate about this movie in the wake of that Twilight crap is vampires are portrayed as being inhuman predators, but just as important the movie shows that human beings can be just as inhuman and you don't need to be a supernatural blood sucker to be a bastard. From Abby's murderous companion to the school bullies, there is plenty of evil to go around. And while you might think this is one of those stories that suggest that the true evil is Man, that is not the case at all. To me Abby is the most evil of all.

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz carry this movie and both did a wonderful job. I also give credit to Dylan Minnette, who plays Kenny, the main bully. I hated him. I mean, the kid filled me with loathing and he really comes across as a menacing little bastard when he is making Owen's life miserable. The rest of the cast was also good.

I think the film's only failing is the special effects. The CGI is terrible and looks like something from more than a decade ago. Abby is seen attacking people and I think that rather than attempting to use CGI there could have been better ways around it. Otherwise it is a great movie. I am not sure it was worth ten bucks, so you might want to wait and rent it.

More Star Trek Thoughts

I am going to try my darnedest to submit a post a month. This month I am going to touch on Star Trek pbems again. A few months back I wrote a post concerning the cliched Star Trek characters I have come across over the years. I was talking to a friend mine, Dave Zyn, and he mentioned one neat idea he never saw before was rather than the guy from the past, what about a guy from the future? He is an arrogant prick who claims the science those of the "modern" era learned at the academy is learned in grade school in his time. He is a know it all jerk and keeps people wondering whether or not he is there to fix some critical error in the timeline, is some sort of temporal fugitive or is just a highly intelligent mental case. Such a character would be interesting and would require a lot of work with the GM to insure they were on the same page, and it could conceivably create numerous interesting story lines that may or may not involve time travel. Perhaps parts of the character's memory have been wiped, for example. Or he is from an alternate timeline entirely?

How about Mirror Universe guy? In this world his counterpart is a mass murderer or some other total bastard, and he/she has wound up here through some misadventure? Imagine them having to deal with not only their own past, but the past of their infamous evil twin? Goatee optional.

Another character concept I never saw was the colonist. Just about every single human featured in Star Trek is from Earth. How boring! Why not have someone from Mars or from an even harsher world? Imagine them feeling that "Earthers" are soft and weak compared to his/her rough 'n ready upbringing? They are adventurous and self reliant and sneer at luxuries like holodecks.

The un-joined Trill. More than that, the un-joined Trill who thinks placing a slug in their chest is as creepy an idea as you can have.

Mister under achiever. This is the lieutenant Barclay type, the guy who just skates by until something/someone kicks him in the ass. Maybe the department head dies or is suddenly transferred and he is the only guy available to take his place. To quote Gregory Peck from The Guns of Navarone: "You're in it now, Mister! Right up to your neck!"

The Civilian. Not the bartender, but someone who was recruited during the Dominion war or through some other sort of circumstances and stayed on in Starfleet. I am currently playing a doctor who volunteered and decided to stick around. After a couple years at the academy she is now a lieutenant at age 40. I like to role play her as being a bit out of joint in regards to rules and regulations. This might be interesting to play an older ensign who has seen the world and who views superior officers with respect, but not necessarily walking on water.

The mustang. In the Navy, a Mustang is an Officer who has promoted up from the ranks of Navy enlisted personnel through an in-service procurement program, with no interruption of his/her active duty status. It is also understood that the Mustang Officer was a career Sailor, and normally wears one or more Good Conduct Medals.

From Navy Mustangs dot com.

Your character again would be older, possibly promoted due to an emergency or the like. Older, wiser, with their own perspectives on how a starship runs, the mustang might be viewed with mistrust or contempt by other enlisted NCOs and derision from Academy graduates.

So next time you are playing Star Trek, think of different ways to make your character stand out, not just to be different but to also provide yourself and your GM with potentially interesting subplots . Perfection is boring, so is copying something that has already been done to death.

It's done!

This is a milestone for me. I have worked on this book for years, off and on. I wrote a version of it many years ago but scrapped it entirely because after reading it I felt it was just plain bad. Is this book better? Yes. I know that does not necessarily make it good. But I have not accomplished a lot in my life and it just feels good to look at the body of work and say it is complete.

It is only the draft and I am going chapter by chapter, looking for flaws and inconsistencies, and I know I need to find a literary agent and try and get the darn thing published. It could take months or years or not happen at all.

But damn it, I feel very good right now...