What is your gaming (player/GM) style?

Due to other threads on different gaming forums, I have been curious about this: What is your play/GM style?

For myself…its hard to say. I started roleplaying with free form V:tM so I have a special place for that in my heart, and I believe that it still influences my playing/GMing style today. In that game, interaction was between character and character, between character and public NPC’s (public in that anyone could control said NPC), and much less common, between character and owned NPC (such as bodyguards and whatnot). Because of this, I tend to thrive in games where NPC’s are just a small aspect of the game.

The next aspect of gaming I had was that of Palladium Fantasy, my first foray into gaming at a tabletop instead of over the internet. I loved it and as such, fantasy gaming is my favorite by far. This game also cemented my idea of NPC’s being of little importance, with the exception of perhaps one or two NPC’s that are part of the characters group.

So in regards to NPC’s, I feel they should either be part of the group or should fade into black the moment they are no longer being spoken to and whatnot (this is not to mean that said shopkeeper is not alerting the authorities or whomever that you are in town after taking your money, but that should be done inside the GM’s head).

The PF game also gave me something that I really liked: Specifics. I like specifics being there in games that I play and run. I find it refreshing to know not only that my character can summon a fireball out of thin air and throw it at someone, but also know how hot said fireball is in real-world terms and what it can and cannot burn through. However, due to that game and others that I have played over the years, I really hate it when the specifics get in the way of having fun and taking time away from the game.

For example, if the GM says that the fireball burns through a certain substance, for me that is all that I need to know, that the GM said it does. I could care less if the rules state that this is impossible, maybe that section of the wall is weakened or a difference substance altogether made to look like it was something else. So when someone begins to argue the point, that’s the moment the game immersion ends for me, which I really hate.

I guess this means that I gravitate towards crunchy systems that is very rules light when actually in use (probably why I like Tri-Stat dX and Savage Worlds: Explorers Edition so well).

I am not big on romance in games that I play/GM, unless it is between my wife and I, in which case I feel it is rather insignificant to the story and game.

As far as purpose of a game, a grand scheme of things, I can go either way. I am fine with tv show-like game sessions where each week is something new to take care of. I am also fine with having a need to save the world. I am not into political games, precisely because they cause NPC’s to become rather invasive and in-your-face, which is not where I want them. To me, the game is about the characters and their interaction with each other.

Why some people want a game with other players but prefer to interact with NPC’s instead of doing what they want, which is obviously playing a game that consists of just themselves and the GM (1-1 type of gaming), is beyond my comprehension (not to say that that type of gaming cannot be fun, I have done this in the past and have had a great time, but if you are joining a group, then the game is about the group, not your character and some NPC).

I like long, epic storylines but I feel that I am not very good at implementing them as a GM. I tend to play characters who are rogues/thieves/scoundrels who think outside of the box and would prefer to come up with a unique and off-the-wall approach to solving any problem than to take the easier route, so my riddles and plot-lines tend to be about the same. Meaning my players often have a hard time figuring it out, so I downplay it and… well, I get bored (course, I’ve not done something like that since I ran a game with a crunchy system for combat and resolution, so I think I could do better now).

tl:dr

I like to play/GM games that are a chrunchy in character creation and have real-world examples, but want the system to be nearly invisible during gameplay. NPC’s should know their place: Either be part of the group (only 1 or 2, max) or interact only when interacted with. Players should play as part of the group, not desire one-on-one time with the GM all the time. Games should be full of political intrigue. I am very much so a “Why yes, you can do that.” as a GM, but I also like skill/stat checks when appropriate.

So, what about you? What is your style of playing/GMing?

The Future of Food

Excellent documentary that I hope everyone watches. It scares me to be in the dark about genetically modified foods, in regards to if I am consuming them or not. It is also terribly frightening to know that our food supply is controlled by businesses, not farmers. I fear that this will be the cause of our Apocalypse: Not Zombies or Robot Overlords, but Food Control.

The Future of Food Free Documentary from Deborah Koons Garcia on Vimeo.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD is a feature length documentary that offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade

Game Night with my Kids: Wushu Actual Play

My kids have been begging me to run  one of the roleplaying games that their mother and I play, and after they did their chores and homework, we sat down to make some characters for the setting of their choice. They chose the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender for the setting, loving the idea of being able to control the elements and i chose Wushu for the system. I am been interested in Wushu for the past year or so, but have yet to find a game or players to test it out on. Lucky for me, my kids would be willing to even suffer through the hours long combats that the Palladium system enjoys (that last bit was sarcasm, if you didn't notice).

Going with the basic 5/4/3 for attributes a 1 weakness, here is the cast of characters:

Game Review for Spycraft 2.0

My game review from RPG.net:

Spycraft 2.0. I was asked by one of the players in my gamimg group if I would purchase and check this game out due to his desire to possibly run a game with it in a few weeks and felt that there were a few aspects of its rules that I would like. So I did what any good friend would do, I purchased it on that recommendation alone. When the .pdf download was finally finished, and I opened it up, I was shocked to see the amount of pages that this game had: 497. I was not excepting this game to be so large, I was expecting something with a hundred or so pages to get through the rules and setting stuff. Mind you, I had never even heard of Spycraft before this point and still did not know what type of system it would use. I’m a good friend, what can I say?

Farmer's Market and Card-Readers

We have a very small Farmer's Market in our little town every Friday, which consisted of only 6-7 stalls. At least, there are only that many when I show up, which is first thing in the morning due to when my job lets out. I am sure that there are more as the day progresses. This morning I only had a few bucks on me and picked up 2 dozen eggs for $1.50 a dozen. Can't beat that price for farm-fresh, organic, free-range eggs. The strawberries that the woman was selling, $1.50 a pint for quarter-sized berries, looked wonderful, but I had not the cash on me and it made me stop and think.

How many sales do people like these lose on a daily/weekly/monthly basis due to not having enough cash on hand or check with them?

Game Review for Gunslingers and Gamblers

Yet another RPG.net review that I posted there, and I have to say, i love this game. Especially for any sort of game in the western genre.

Appearance

When you purchase this game, you receive a normal copy of the book with the background on each page which is very evocative of the paper that is used for Wanted posters that you see in Westerns and can even purchase. It works for the game and helps to keep you in the mindset that this is a western game. It also doesn't increase load times from the second copy of the book that you get, which has no background. While I like the mindset that the colored background gives, I much prefer the print version. Not only is it easier to print it, but the black text on a white background is much more crisp and easier to read than black text on a colored background.

Carbing it Up

I was told by another Paleo-er (which, we really need a better term to call one another now that I think about it. Unfortunately, since this lifestyle is still a bit too niche, it might actually do us a disservice though) that:

eating a crapload of carbs (complex) and low fat low pro... every 10 daya or so. Keeps your leptin up.

Now, I have been eating Paleo for the past 4 and a half months, with the only cheating I have done being small, very small, amounts. Even when cheating, I never do it enough in one day to even get down to the 80/20 principle that Mark from MarksDailyApple.com suggests for his followers and readers.

What is leptin? According to wikipedia, leptin is:

Leptin (Greek leptos meaning thin) is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. 

and:

The absence of a leptin (or its receptor) leads to uncontrolled food intake and resulting obesity. Several studies have shown that fasting or following a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) lowers leptin levels.

Two Paleo/Primal Recipes

I took the both of these from the Fitness magazine, July/August issue from 2009 and modified them to make them more Paleo friendly. Basically because the food porn pictures looked very good. Also due to my wife getting a bit tired of meat lately, so I felt that I could try to spice things up in the kitchen instead of the usual burgers and other grilled meat that I am perfectly okay with eating daily. Especially the berry-mango salsa in the second recipe, I am very interested in trying that.