The Winding Waterslide of RPG Terms

 The new buzz word for running a ttrpg correctly is the “waterslide”. This is used in contrast to both railroad and the sandbox style of play. The waterslide “slides” in between these two supposed modes of play. I say supposed because when I cracked opened my Moldvay Basic Dungeons & Dragons for the first time when I was eleven, I knew what the fuck Tom was talking about, explaining to me about this new form of play. It was more like being introduced to a mode of play I had been looking for but didn’t exist until DnD. There are no terms like the above being used in Moldvay’s description of the ttrpg concept.

“‘Winning’ and ‘Losing’, things important to most games do not apply to D&D games! The DM and the players do not play against each other, even though the DM often plays the role of various monsters which threaten the player characters. The DM must not take sides. He or she is a guide and a referee, the person who keeps the action flowing and creates exciting adventure. Player characters have fun by overcoming fantastic obstacles and winning treasure, but this does not end the game. Nor is the game ‘lost’ when an unlucky player’s character dies, since the player may simply ‘roll up’ a new character and continue playing. A good D&D campaign is similar to the creation of a fantasy novel, written by the DM and the players.” Tom Moldvay, p. B4, Basic Rules.

Like much of human communication, everything gets lost in translation. Preconceived expectations or a prepared agenda is how we approach new things. This approach is a dumpster fire when applied in the prosecution of creative endeavors. And make no mistake, ttrpgs are a creative endeavor. It follows the current of art and artistic process which mere “games” do not. And people are generally bad at being creative due to fear of the unknown and a required intimacy. Two things ttrpgs generate in abundance: mystery and intimacy. Two things people in general have a hard time with. I mean anything in life we encounter which doesn’t come with a guidebook, except those among use correctly wired not to pause and assess, freaks us out. Guard rails, boundaries, and a reluctance to participate are common reactions as well.  I’m a fierce creative because I lack fully developed executive functions. My brain never gets enough satisfaction from goals achieved with a need for greater and greater emotional hits. I lack an appreciation of consequence because I’m not living in the future like normal people. Reckless, I am reckless to a dangerous degree.

The one good thing being a reckless, impatient person affords me is obsession and openness. When I don’t know where I’m going, I have developed a “let it happen” psychic state. This is due to a lifetime of not knowing where I’m going. I better see the current experience with less me and more clear, present reality. A very good mental state to find when wants to use the imagination and be creative. This is a long, round about way of saying I can get over myself when involved in artistic pursuits. Less direct action and more paying attention.

What this all means, to me, is not many people involved in the hobby actually read the section on how to play the game. I’ll guess dedicated players pretty much not at all and DM I’ll give it 30%. 3 out of 10 DMs read the section on how to play the game.

The reason most eschew such relevant information at the outset of their gaming career is because they are not reading to learn how to play the game but reading to find out what they are going to get out of playing the game. “What do I get?” Well, you get nothing. Nothing any regular game promises to give. Those who develop a fine taste and ability in ttrpgs understood this deal at the outset. These games are not about what you get out of them, they are insatiably demanding you give to it. An empty balloon which will take all your effort and breath to inflate. And once it is full and takes shape, you may not like it. It may blow up into a shape neither desired nor expected. It may blow up in your face, a stinging rebuke against half-hearted efforts.

There is no sandbox, there is no railroad, there is just a tool to leverage your imagination, and for most involved in playing ttrpg’s this is a no-go. The generic terms of the ttrpg deal are utterly beyond comprehension for most. Therefore, you have many gamers looking for something never promised by the game. So it gets made up.

My recommendation for those who want to get the most out their ttrpg experience is to take an art class with a teacher who does not prioritize technique over creativity but teaches creativity. The medium being just the tool being used to act. Personal lessons taking from such an approach will be develop your ttrpg ability more than anything else I can think of.

EHB Issue #31 Hope You Guess My Name (serialized)

The cable on my external hard drive wiggles loose during recording and leaves me with a corrupted audio file of the game session. Madness I say. Madness because I keep on trying to use the same set up and pretending everything will all turn out right. The stupid, stupid thing is I have a nice 30G thumb drive sitting in my desk which would make a nice "temporary" folder for audio output of the live game session. Fuck it sucks being such an ignoramous on a daily basis.

But the last session did happen and it did occur with the new player in the group, Mr. ZoZo, leading the way into macabre adventures into the mystical.

The session started off normal enough for the superheroes in Capitol City. Mettle and SAIC Sharp traded barbs on the phone over morning coffee and Bug pulled a typical Bug move and vanished from the scene. He did leave a note explaining what the next phase if his "career" was to look like. It meant renouncing his super powers and effecting positive change in the world without using them. And he was taking the jet.

This was going to piss off Bisbee Sharp to no end. Problem now facing Mettle was who would be a partner in her war against crime in Capitol City. Ultra-Rosa was out of the question. That vigilante has some problems. The least of which is the body count she accumulates when she is in action. 

Mettle's reverie on the rough looking shape  of the future  was broken by Floyd, a  regular at the St. Baltimore Food Bank. The food bank was another of Bug's pet projects. It is where Bug left his note for Mettle. 

"Some guy is asking around for Bronson." Jacob Bronson was one of numerous shifty greaseballs which made up the Balty's clients. He was a regular at the food bank, loading up on as much canned goods as he could get away with. Everyone new he would go hustle them later on the street. He was a thief and what friends he had were fellow drug addicts who would fight on his lawn in front of his house. Loser that he was, Mettle found the idea of someone snooping around the St. Baltimore irritating. Floyd pointed him out and Mettle went over to the young man in the wrinkled rain jacked and tie. 

"I understand you are looking for one of our clients?" Mettle addressed him in her natural disarming manner. 

"Not exactly. More like who he was seen with recently. Anyone he might have been fighting with? Have a problem with?"

"Why"

"Well, he died two days ago. Looks suspicious. I'm hoping someone here might know who he was associating with right before he died."

"He's not, well, he was not well like.  There are plenty of people in the neighborhood who wouldn't. I don't know. You are going to have a bunch of suspects." 

"Anyone  capable of casting hexes?"

"Excuse me?" Mettle heard what the guy had said, but she used the moment to do a quick scan of the stranger. He wasn't carrying a gun. He appeared relatively stable, could use a shave, but didn't look like he lived on the street.

"Curses. Did he have problems with anyone who thought they could cast spells and curse people?

Mettle's eyebrows arched and she smirked. "I don't think so?"

"Look," and the guy fished out a piece of paper from his rain jacket. "This note was found next to his body in his house." He handed it to Mettle. "And this is a picture of what he looked like when they found him."

He held up a print out of a color photo. The picture was of a dried cadaver on a carpeted floor.  Dead skin stretched tight over its skull. It looked of someone who had been dead for some time.

"No way." Mettle's eyes widened. "Floyd, when was the last time you saw Jacob?" She called in to the kitchen. The shade over the counter was pulled up and Floyd was there chopping produce.

"Three days ago. He was hassling everyone for a ride. He wanted to go to some store outside of town. He looked real bad too. I don't think he got a ride though. He stomped out of here all mad."

"Do you know where he wanted to go?" Mettle asked. Floyd looked at some older folk at one of the dining room tables. 

"Mabel, he tell you where he wanted to go?" Mabel had a plastic kerchief over her hair from the morning rain. 

"Huntsville Village. Wanted a ride to some new-age-y book store. He was sick and he was going to get some homeopathic bullshit. I said, no way.  I didn't want the covid. Told him to go home, wear a mask you dumb shit."

Mettle asked the guy, "Are you a cop?"

"No". The guy laughs a bit, shakes his head. "I just have an interest in suspicious deaths like this. I have a friend in the force, though. He passed it on to me. He knows the local will go with the corner's report, natural causes, and its done."

"And you think this is murder?"

"Well, read the note, what do you think?"

(continued here)

Even Heroes Bleed Roster Change

 A new player is joining the tribe and it seems appropriate to reflect on the last year of the campaign and how now it is about to change. 

As I’ve mentioned before, the most affordable and complete text of Mayfair’s MEGS mechanics which make up the game engine is the retroclone from Pulsar Games, The Blood of Heroes Special Edition. DC Heroes 3^rd Edition is really good, but I think The Blood of Heroes has all the optional rules ever made for the game beneath its covers.

Anyways, the superhero trio of Olympian, Bug, and Mettle returned from their trip to Belize with the subdued Dr. Good (now calling himself Doctor Draconis) in tow. They deposited the criminal scientist at FBEE headquarters and considered what their next priority is.

This is when Bug’s PC announced he could no longer make our game sessions, and a new player popped up. Big changes in one day!

Bug and Mettle (with assistance from Red Runner) can list shattering the biggest mobs and gangs in Capitol City and, for now, getting them to back off on the street violence, or else! The mystical EE Wotan who was leading the Civil Guard was also banished from our earthly plane. This banishment took the aid of the strange EE called Voodoo, who disappeared with the vanquished Wotan.

These victories did come at substantial cost. Innocent lives were destroyed, and the Baltimore was burned down. The blood toll was so high the young Red Runner hung up his suit and returned to civilian life.

Next, they took on sex-traffickers running out of an Indian reservation, exposed them and got them arrested. After much fighting and punching of faces.

Their next accomplishments were stemming the outbreak of drug-induced violence from the bizarre drug known as BAM! and uncovering the secret experimentation done by the US Government beneath the Pawnsville mine. This lead them on the trail of a criminal mastermind, Dr. Good, which as I have mentioned ended with Dr. Good’s capture.

The new player has a hero who is a person possessed by a demon. Imagine Etrigan from DC Comics and you are not far off the mark, as far as character concept goes. Mystical attacks and strength. Probably a good compliment, team wise. Mettle can manipulate metal and Olympian is a Superman-type heavy hitter. Eye beams, flight, etc. And now a demon who can cast magical spells and rip peoples limbs off. Works for Capitol City from where I'm sitting!

The List of Intriguing Loose Ends is long and subplots too specific to be of interest here in this blog. Here are the major ones I can think of.

The Cockroach Brotherhood, believed to be living in the sewers. Their actual origins are uncertain as well as their motivations. The heroes have been meaning to look for these weird EEs and find out what their deal is, but bigger issues seem to get in the way.

The Roadkill Wrecking Crew. This gang of EE’s has managed four successful high-tech robberies. Why and for what purpose is still unknown. One of their members, Croc, is currently in custody. 

The Congress of Truth. A shadowy organization seeming to continue the work started by the government at Pawnsville. Seems their endgame is delivering utopia through world domination.

Capitol City Mayor. A dirty, racist, power-hungry white nationalist who is responsible for letting loose a serial arsonist on minority neighborhoods. He is making a killing off of subsequent real estate development deals on the burnt property and pays off the heroes each month, so they don’t come at him. But this impasse can only stand for so long before one side or the other makes a move. The Mayor is eager to reassert organized crime as the law of Capitol City, not those damn superheroes!

Deep Ghost, who, what, and where is this guy? Motives unknown. Controls and effects things through internet, cellular, any electronic communication really. Accessing and distributing information seems to be his chief interest. A blackmail expert?

List of criminals in custody due to the heroes actions are;

Croc,

Dr. Good,

Os-M’nog,

Big Man,

Jury,

Lt. James Santavy.

Wargamers roleplayed first.

Recognizing Wargames as patient zero in what would become tabletop rpg’s and go on to infect the brains of millions of nerds breeding ground is usually brought up in the context of demonstrating how DnD is shit for roleplay. Besides the open abyss of vapidness which overtakes me when this discussion occurs. Mostly because it is soft talk around the fact maybe you suck at the game and the person juuust can’t get their head around that. Besides all this, it is the clear miss of most to consider wargames as devoid of roleplay. 

Wargames are historical simulations which get turned into games because optimizing routine behavior is hard-wired into humans. The historical simulation thrill of orchestrating sweeping military campaigns takes back seat in concern of the win. Aside from the obvious competitive urge which can get me to take my eye off of the wargame ball, which I call immersion. I want to see what it would be like to command armies and experience the decisions these commanders faced. If I have no connection to the historical context of the game, I end up playing a complicated game of checkers, looking to leverage all advantages in the system to score a “hit”. Even if I have a keen interest in the historical action depicted, I easily drift into a competitive mindset. I must beat the other person if I am to consider the game fulfilled. That is why I always end up playing the game two times, I’m sure.

But I also can get into the groove. I can tell the stories in my head of the sections and squadrons, what they did on that day. The flipped over chit on the hex map is now the smoldering pile of defeated men and machines. And it is happening on a certain day, a certain hour under certain weather conditions. I feel the wind in my face as I lean against the hatch, scanning the horizon for the enemy. Fuck, I can roleplay the shit out of my wargame. I didn’t call it that because I had never heard of ttrpg’s when I first started playing at Rommel in the Libyan desert.

And that is the wargame ball and it has been an immersive roleplay experience ever since Tactics hit the table for a shit-ton of people who enjoy this kind of thing. If you can ttrpg a wargame you can roleplay anything which comes after marketing itself as a ttrpg. Wargames don’t lack the role play experience; it just doesn't appeal to many people. It is mostly a solitary experience, that is the key difference. Once you start thinking how to make the experience a shared one with multiple people you will notice the nugget of gold which is buried in a wargame can be extracted and applied to other imaginary experiences. Not something better either, just different. I want to get my rocks off this way as well as that way.

DnD didn’t introduce ttrpg’s to the world, wargamers had already created this for themselves. Eventually someone participating would (and did) make the connection simulated fantasy play would have broad appeal. And they worked on it until they had what they were after. And they were right to do so.