#RPGaDay 2016: Day 8 Hardcover, Softcover, Digital, What Is Your Preference?

Ah, the question of what print medium do I prefer?  I am an avid bibliophile and I love the aesthetic of a beautifully bound book.  I do like ebooks and the unique options that they offer.  When it comes to game books, I do have a preference.

Hardcover offset-print book, with a pdf backup copy.

Hardcovers look nice and can take some punishment.  Offset-print books are put together well, and the bindings feel sturdy.  Having a pdf backup allows me to read the book conveniently.  I can take a tablet to someone's house when I run the game instead of heavy (but pretty) book.

Softcovers are nice as well.  I like how flexible and light softcovers are.  PDF and ebooks are great in that they are portable.  I'll be honest, any book is welcome in my home.

I do like the effect that print-on-demand has had on the RPG hobby.  Now we can get physical copies of games that are out-of-print or that have niche audiences.  Print-on-demand is of a lower quality that offset printing, although I have been mostly pleased with the titles that I have bought.  One downside of print-on-demand is that it takes the books out of stores.  We may lose some people who might have picked up that strange looking book in the store and decided to give that weird game a chance.  However, our society is changing and POD may be the way of the future for printing.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 7 What Aspect of RPGs Has Had the Biggest Effect on You?

Today's question is about the aspect of RPGs that has had the biggest effect on me.  I would have to say the aspect that has affected me the most is the fact that role-playing games invite the player to actively create their own content and material.  When I was young I spent hours reading through rulebooks, setting material, and modules.  I played very little during my younger years.  What I did do was imagine characters and adventures in my mind.  I would conjure dire dungeons and populate them with monsters and traps.  I would imagine heroes fighting their way through the dungeons to their doom.  RPGs gave me the tools, materials, and paradigm to bolster my imagination.

How I dream up my next adventure

This has had the biggest impact on me.  Throughout my life I like to use my imagination.  When I am trying to solve a problem I like to think of unorthodox, imaginative solutions.  I like to create campaigns and adventures that are novel and exciting.  I feel that RPGs are exercise for my imagination.  To me this is the most important thing that RPGs can do for us.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 6 Most Amazing Thing a Game Group Did for Their Community

Today I am going to talk about BrigadeCon.  BrigadeCon is on online roleplaying convention that is hosting #RPGaDay 2016.  The awesome thing about BrigadeCon is that registration is free and that the event is for charity.  BrigadeCon accepts donations and will be selling t-shirts, and all the money will be going to the Child's Play Charity.  Child's Play Charity provides video games, games, and toys to hospitals for children.  I believe that it is way cool that a gaming convention will help provide hospitals with games.

Go sign up for BrigadeCon now.  BrigadeCon will take place on October 29th.  Registration is free and is open until October 15th.  Head over to their website at http://www.brigadecon.org/.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 5 What Story Does Your Group Tell About Your Character?

Today's topic is what story does your group tell about your character?  Probably that my thief was always looting bodies in the middle of battles.  Even though the fight would not be over I would go ahead and check the pockets of the slain foes.  Hey, it's what a thief does!

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 4 Most Impressive Thing Another Character has Done

Today's topic is the most impression thing another character has done.  I was in a Hackmaster campaign where we were fighting against some cult of undead evil.  Our party was down in a crypt facing off against a group of skeletons.

Skeletons are no joke in Hackmaster!

Our group was low level and outmatched.  We must have been playing Hackmaster Basic because I remember rules for exploding dice.  Our dwarf cleric smashed into the first skeleton with his mace.  He kept hitting the max on his exploding dice rolls for damage and dealt over 40 points to the skeleton, which immediately crumpled to the ground.  Instead of running we figured we had a shot so we stayed to fight the rest of the skeletons.  Of course the dwarf cleric was killed and we all ran away, but his mighty blow was talked about for ages.

#RPGaDay 2016: Day 3 Character Moment you are Proudest of

I was playing a thief in a Hackmaster campaign.  My character had the boating skill, which I justified by saying he grew up in a fishing village.  Our party had to spend the night in a city.  The government of the city had this crazy rule where once you entered the city you were issued papers, and you could not leave the city without your papers.  It was very clear to us that our GM was going to do everything in his power to relieve us of our papers.

The party was due to leave via boat the following morning.  My plan was to go aboard the ship and get hired by the captain.  I would stay on the ship until we left and then I wouldn't be in a position to have my papers stolen.  The GM said the captain didn't want to hire me because I didn't have the proper training.  I lifted up my character sheet triumphantly and said, "I have the boating skill!"

I earned a few gold working on the ship and the GM said I earned no xp for the venture because I was a thief and had actually worked for a day's wage.  It was a victory in my book.

#RPGaDay2016: Day 2 Best Game Session since August 2015?

Today's question asks what is the best game session that you have had since August 2015.  My best session so far is when I ran the new Delta Green for my group.  This was my first experience with Delta Green.  Call of Cthulhu is one of my favorite games and I have often thought that the CoC system would be a good fit for and espionage rpg.  I have pre-ordered the Case Officer's Handbook and the Fall of Delta Green Gumshoe game.  I love how they have updated the rules for modern day and for cloak and dagger operations.

The scenario that we ran was a playtest for an upcoming module, so I will not speak too much about what happened at the session.  What I will tell you is that I had a blast as GM.  I did not roll any dice.  I loved watching the players try to figure out where the evil was, and to watch them fail and go insane.  Good times, and I will definitely be running this in the future.