Exploiting Traps and Problems.

My favorite thing about Science and Biz is that the FORCES balance out. I'm listening to Space Oddesy 2001 and remember the line "Nature always balances the books" when explaining the Slingshot to Saturn. 

In a Conan Game, we learned there were other Treasure Hunters other than us, so we did what every 80-90s Cartoon Villain would do - let the Good guys do all the work and jump them when they find the treasure. It partially worked - we got the competition to set off all the Traps. We were so "Fresh" that we fought off the bonus encounter. "the Deceiver" guy was killed and we enjoyed the game. I for one loved seeing the context clearly and exploiting it. 

My regret with Mutant Chronicles was not EXPLOITING the 10-man gang. exploiting the Trap. I should have placed a letter telling them that the Bldg manager was going to exploit them for more cash and to meet him in the 4th Floor. That would have been SWEET. 

These opportunities are there and can be found in many adventures when you study them as written. Exploiting these problems is just understanding the Potential and Motivations - and HAVING THE INFORMATION to exploit these. 

Sorry, this is what I do at work, learn people's motives and make many EQ and Admin Rolls to let the Inertia of huge forces be redirected to create VIRTUOUS Cycles. I love practicing it in games, and working with more and more NUANCED situations. 

You don't get the next generation Geniuses from being BORN, you train a bunch of students to think - get them to have game-in-the-brain - they think like a gamer and SOLVE problems. You teach them to ENJOY and find the thrill of it. Teaching them sustainable means so they can keep rolling with no crit-fail. 

Mutant Chronicles - First Adventure

 Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition FREE Quickstart
We had the game Last night, run by our GM beng (who also happens to be my gastroenterologist). I found the adventure well written. Very well written as I noticed its Clues (I love mysteries) were well placed. Of course the only problem was that we were 3rd Worlders (From the Philippines) and DYSTOPIC Police ABUSE is a well-known phenomenon. So well known with the Drug War in the philippines that all the abuses are formulaic ("nanlaban"  is when the Police would say the victim "tried to fight" and they killed them. in the Philippine drug the International Criminal Court found so many red flags that the current president has decided to make the Philippines leave the ICC). 

Suffice to say we played ourselves like Philippine Policemen (the Philippine National Police aka PNP). the lack of checks and balances, the lack of civilian oversight, etc... I'm sure Indian and African or any 3rd Worlder would relate. Which made several CLUES be prematurely revealed. When your police force act like THUGS and gangsters the adventure becomes different. 

Still very well written, and even if we were thugs. there was a mystery - knowing there was no chain of custody, no paperwork, we had the excuse to act like Murder Hobos - able to kill and loot. Knowing that we all "watched each others back" - we got our story straight. 

Even the GM - knows all these abuses and know what whats going to happen. 

SPOILER. 

There was a VERY one-sided encounter in the game. One that could result in the TPK which was a RED HERRING. Knowing it was a one-sided encounter - we all agreed given the type of policemen we were - We'd just turn a Blind Eye. Heck even if the VICTIMS were actually THERE, we'd still turn a blind eye - like many 3rd world Policemen and some in corrupt police forces in developed worlds.

 We were all laughing as we imagined writing our "Police Reports." you can imagine the entire group rehearsing their lines and stories. 

Laughing so hard about police corruption, incompetence, and abuse in a Dystopic Setting. They forget that "Dude some places in the Philippines are WORSE than this, imagine how much of the world is WORSE than the police in this Book."

My personal experience AUDITING a branch company and the abuses they did - plus the criminals it was involved with fuels a lot of my game and writing inspiration. 

I'm aware of police abuses in the US but wait till you hear about the ones happening in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc... 90% of the world. 

Irony - in the Philippines a LONG running TV show based on a Movie "Ang Probinsyano" is about a Idealized Cop doing good deeds. Its hilarious because people would give death threats to the Villain Actors. its So crazy - in light of Philippine Politics (where we elected our Martial law Dictators Son as a new president and we have billions of govt funding for Propaganda).  

So Playing Cops in a Dystopic Setting resonates strongly to 90% of the world where this is NOT FICTION but a fact of life. It ends up not being scary - because culturally so many MEMES have come out in their own cultures - Philippines have a lot of Police abuse memes - that it has become funny. 

Would I play a Dystopic Policeman again? 

Yes 

Why? It's hilarious - roleplaying how they get away with everything - having second or third homes, wives and mistresses, and many illegitimate children (this is a Trope in the Philippines, i wouldn't be surprised if this is true in other developing countries). When You play as a Dystopic Policeman - you are playing someone who can get away with anything.  Many cultures have processed such HORRIFIC things into comedy and humor. 

It makes you realize that maybe Call of Cthulhu - existential dread and dark depressing settings - got it wrong. People are not in Asylums going crazy - they are hard drinking and hard laughing sorts of people who have accepted terminal human corruption and abuse. That human trafficking and sacrifice in Dark Noir Settings fail to capture the Memes that emerge - to make so many Jokes about it. 

corruption and debauchery that becomes so predictable. 

Given that the Philippines can charge people for Libel even if the statement is factually true - we would never share the recorded session. But a bunch of friends roleplaying Corrupt Policemen and their shenanigans is truly horrifyingly hilarious. 

I want to know the Memes in other cultures about police abuses. It would be a source of "Holy Shit REALLY!?!" It would be a mix of horror and surprise and seeing the various flavors of resigned "We're fucked" 

maybe developed countries may have good policemen, and some in developing countries. but definitely those in developing countries spend more of their time avoiding doing evil and minimizing doing evil - which itself is hillarious. Imagine your forced to keep choosing the lesser evil. 

Running Games again gives me Peace.

 Why do running and playing TRPGs restore me so much? Why am I wired to love gaming? is 1 AM and I'm a buzz. I feel good when I 

1) !! Figure out what the Player wanted out of their turn and Figure how it can move the story along (Most important and the hardest). 

2) able to keep reasonable timelines for my NPCs and Events.  

3)  was able to manage my plot holes. (according to end game feedback). 

4) Balance the difficulty - give information - enough to act on if risk-taking but not enough if overly cautious.

our game ended at 12:30AM but we had about 20mins of Post Game feedback where I reveal my problems and where I had a hard time. 

Areas of Improvement

1) Time management - we ended at 12:30AM instead of 11:45PM. The main cause is #1 Figuring out what the player wanted in the Turn. And what they want to do and how to Make it move the story forward. I need to have a better process of figuring it out - a set of questions to ask the player about their turn. 

Speedier Combat - Roll to Overcome vs Attacks, Defense, HP, etc...

It was in the lesson about American law where I learned about the use of leading questions "breaking down" the action and expanding the time. The narrative trick of describing each discrete element slows time. I realize that it's the same in combat - rolling to hit, to defend, damage, etc...

We came from D&D and have broken combat into these discrete elements, but Wargames and Boardgames have done these abstractions for a long time already. So if I want speedier combat, then I will have to go for more abstraction.

Its all-time and place, what is appropriate given the game and the story. If the story doesn't stress combat then we can abstract the combat more. We look at the 3-4 hours and ask what do we want to be doing? This is where imagining the Story as a Flow Chart - and that Combat is not a binary outcome - but one of many processes that open many possibilities. In Activity On Node, or Precedence Diagraming, or in Flow Charting its Diverging Paths and Converging Paths.

We can imagine the games as a flow chart with a line that begins to enter a Process (Square), that later diverges to decisions/options (diamonds) that diverge into more other Processes. Visually we want to have very unique branching possibilities. I want to imagine the "Inertia" of the Situation as the Main Trunk of Possibilities and the PC's are experiencing the Extremes - if you're visualizing from left to right, imagine a complicated branching trunk that follows a particular path of highest probability - now the PCs are diverging from that path. Either imagining in 3d as a Tree trunk and its many branching possibilities of adventure - or in 2d where it branches out into a thick web of possibilities.

The visual cues that make the outliers special   - are Control Limits/Color Bands of Probability and Information. The more Information the PCs have their Branch of Probabilities are farther out the main trunk.  At the same time - the farther from the trunk the more they are going into unknown territory. More risks and dangers happen far outside the trunk.

After imagining the game as these probabilities - I can't imagine rolling that many dice or having the bandwidth to think of stories in dice to dice. I'd rather it be shaped by decisions and behaviors. In 3-4 hours - what kind of story would the players have had? Given the Expectation, Conflict, and Resolution curve of emotion and storytelling - what branching decisions got Players into the story?

I guess for me I'm imagining 40% of time establishing the baseline knowledge and decisions, world-building and the setting. 40% resolving the many conflicts in the setting with the PCs and their own goals and expectations. then the 20% of guessing and reshaping the world with unlikely rolls, setbacks, and change of strategy and path.

That means of that the second 40% and the last 20% Players will work with the GM to figure out what kind of world this is. What kind of timeline and history we are making, with our decisions?

Organizing by Techniques and Mechanics

150428 Gaming Ideas Repository
Thinking out loud.

13 or younger player may have problems learning to a TRPG. Particularly as I'm experimenting teaching my 8 yr old son to like TRPGs when devices and games are easier and more attractive to their attention.

What if I break a basic system into two elements: mechanics and techniques?

Combat, roll dice to see what happens, social mechanics, etc...  Are mechanics.
Then there are Techniques. Problem Statement, Yes and.., 5WH, 5Y, various Framing techniques, etc...
The reason is what should go into a basic TRPG? absolute beginner or someone who is going into trpgs systematically.

This is a carryover from when my brother and I were very systematic about how we played trpgs thinking about it as skills. Unapologetically copying practices from other GMs and experimenting with these practices.

I know the techniques and mechanics are pretty Subjective but with any skill system it's just need to be internally consistent even if it's assumptions will not carry over to a different POV.

Breaking up the elements of learning a TRPG by its mechanics (core, basic combat, character creation. Etc) and techniques (storytelling, public speaking, elevator pitch, pacing, tension, etc.) has some surprising efficiency.

Pro of this Approach

A pro of this system is a

1. carryover of techniques to different games and some mechanics to different systems and games.
2. a basic framework. Like every great artist copy to have a framework to start with, to advance means using that framework and tear it down and make a new one.

Cons of the Approach

1. The con is the subjectivity and how academic it all sounds that will clash with people who see gaming as an art than a science.
2. Its a very narrow audience, which is already a narrow audience (TRPGS). The amount of subjectivity can be demonstrated how everyone has a different definition of a set of skills and job descriptions, but another example is how groups like PMI, ABPM, ISO, IIBA, CompTIA, RHEL, Linux etc... all try to Standardize these. 

I don't intend to please everyone and part of gaming the feedback of having a system that has its own internal consistency. A call back to all those frustrating nights of preparation and experimentation. But giving the gamer the tools to orient themselves where they want to go by giving a sample set system and let their own tinkering take them to their desired end.


For those who just want a framework they have one, for those who want to reinvent they have a starting framework.

Other Challenges.

1. How to list Prerequisites in a Field in a Table, and Link to each Item. 
1. Example. I talk about Combat Pacing, but I want to Link Basic Pacing, Escalation, and Dangerous Escalation to Combat Pacing. How to I have a column in an Google Sheet that allows me to Link these entries to their text counter parts. Basically how do I allow that each Entry 
2. This Problem Applies with Tags 
2. Time and Motion. I only need to give a resource cost to a Skill, time to practice and develop and A Technique or Mechanic can become a Project Activity network Diagram or a Person who have a fixed budget of Time and Resouces can Plan how they will practice the skills and experiment with them. the problem arises in how to Visualize these all. 

How we game

Finding out how we game as objectively and precisely as possible would mean a lot of self reflection, note-taking, and feedback from your players or Gms.

This is my notes on how I have observed others, myself (recording through hanouts on air, video, and exporting it to audio and listening to it), and experimentation on determining how we game.

I can say that there are two primary activities in running a TRPG and that is: Role-playing and Gaming. Roleplaying is the activities that are made up of Immersion, storytelling, visualization, drama, etc... Gaming is the simpler and faster paced feedback cycle that happens between players and GM.

These two elements blend together to make a game, and are rarely are they so extreme as to be divorced from the other. There is interplay with the most extreme of Role-playing and Storytelling, and there is a story and immersion in the most gaming focused activities in a session.

How are they measured:

We measure Roleplaying by measuring the amount of time we take getting into character, playing off each other’s character, “role-playing”, storytelling, and pursuing scenes to push one of the many story streams in the game forward (either the game’s over-arcing narrative, each player’s personal narrative, the narrative of the world, their adversary etc...).

We measure the Gaming by the amount of Feedback and Adaptation we do in the game and its circumstances. We normally measure it in the amount of combat we have in the session, but it can also mix with the other high action events where the Players feedback quickly between the circumstance or adversary or each other.

How the two are used:

Usinig these two conventions, we can use them to do the following:

1. How we spend our time playing. to look at the amount of time we, the players, or the gm, spend their time in each one.
2. Preferences. It helps track preferences and tailor the game more for all those participating.
3. Focus. It helps focus on geting the most enjoyment when we transition or vasilate between the two.
4. Description. It helps describe and work on a variety of blends of the two.

Role-Playing

1. Immersion. Lettiing the Players (and even the GM) get into character and the setting.
   
2. Storytelling. When one of the many story streams in the game gets focus, relevance, moved forward, influences other stories, and becomes the one of the causes of the circumstance, happenings and events.
   
3. Spotlight. Giving the Player or part of the story some focus. Particularly pushing the story forward. It clarifies and expresses the story, giving it the chance to get deeper in the immersion, and make events and action have more impact.
   
4. Emotion and Empathy. Role-playing is an opportunity to display, express, and to feel a particular emotional tone for the scene and story. It takes time for certain emotions to be felt and expressed, and Role-playing builds to that opportunity.
   

Gaming

1. Interaction. Gaming is notable when the Players, Setting or World, NPCs, etc... adapt to each other. Their actions feed back and change the situation.
   
2. Tension and Conflict. When events get complicated, setting up risks and threats, and incentives and penalties.
   
3. Uncertainty. Uncertainty is one of the sources of conflict which muddies the situation and makes threats, penalties, pain, and peril disproportionately worse. Ambiguity also does this, leaving the quantity and quality of any threat or danger unknown and left to the sensitivities of bias and emotion.
   
4. Small Wins. When the feedback gives small wins or gains. Small wins can also be some mental closure on other matters.
   
5. Clarity and Simplification. Like the benefit of mental closure, there is the simplification of some issues, information that removes ambiguity, sharpening of focus on priorities or action. New information or events may give clarity, simplification, or focus.
   

What this post does not answer or help with:

1. Defining how one really plays and how flexible their prefences are. These are arbitrary tools and conventions, and it does not apply to all or many not apply to most. Its hypothetical. Tools by which to self examine and improve are found in other books – particularly in self improvement books that work with practical activity instead of motivation and emotion.
   
2. Defining the various mixes of the two. The mixed versions of them would be:
   
3. Mass Combat or Warfare Focused Games. The story and roleplaying with large groups, the scale that goes with such groups (conquering more and more people, places, treasures, and affecting more of the world).
   
4. Intrigue and Social Games. Games that have a very particular blend of Gaming and Role-playing when Emotion, Expression, and Relationships are to tools of conflict and conquest.
   
5. Logistics and how it can be given the elements of both Game and Role-playing (Story).
   

Feedback

Feedback is the limit by which we can know ourselves and surroundings. If I dont express and know how it tests against reality then I would never know what would be better or best. Feel free to give some feed back, ask, or comment.

The War Beneath Heaven S02 E04 reboot Summary

The team basically tried to cripple a Mega Church from taking over their team mate's territory. Although the Team mate wanted to kill the church agents compromise was reached and they decided to destroy the Church's reputation by attacking the PR firm (since the Church's rely on the professionals). They did this by doing social engineering against the innocent but the very competent' Account Director lady. The adventure was basically making her life terrible so that she would leave before they launched a malware attack. So the guys ended up digging up her ex, making it appear he's stalking her and leaving weird messages (which is more fun than it should be), they got her a job offer in HK, and blew up her serviced residence unit. 

Since the PR firms managed the dirt, in the month of June 2013 the whole world learn about the mega church and various scandals, and public pressure is placed to investigate them (which will be eventually bought off since the group learned the church has diamond mines and many other assets). Since they are one of the best Security Firms, they landed the mega church as their "client" and like PCs are violated rules of ethics by taking them on lolz. Justifiably, it was tossed that if you want to make those charges stick you got to take them on as their Security Service provider. 

There is clearly a disconnect in expectation, from Street-level to Empire building. I have to think about how best I will accommodate all, the activities of Bill was a good cue and break. Since some characters can be "back in the office" and provide support remotely, some characters will be taking point (a PC needs to be in the encounter).  

Still the consequence of their Actions are showing and the Alignments are making things difficult. Mind-Rape (mind search spell) was an option that was shot down, but suggested by the character who was pacifistic (in killing innocents) but gray in the area of violence (who happens to be violent himself; so mind rape option was concerned). Bill voiced opposition to the idea, and pointed out exactly that these are the things he doesn't want magic to be used.... and that's what Bill is... the mage conscience of the group who can be a bit enthusiastic having learned of magic and taught about what is going on beneath the veil. He's going to help out people and consult with the Prince and Knight regarding whats happening magically. His brother (with his obsessions) will be working to find out more about their previous enemy. 

Speedy, having been responsible killing the helicopter pilot has taken the family of the pilot as his dependents (secretly; friends advised not telling them) so he's going to be helping them out. $600/mo. for the forseable future and advancing $5,000 should cover funeral and other necessities using SGC (their ally lawfirm's charity foundation) as a front. He personally (in the electronic shadows) fixed education and  various other future needs of the children, and even provides enough money for the wife to study if she decides. the Empress will personally help in this kind of reparation, and potentially "push" her to educate and train herself since her kids are not too young. 

Cheng is going to fill the power vacuum by making his own Gang. I guess I'll need to get a psychological/socialogical profile of what his gang is going to be. As for recruitment, depends on how far he wants to reach out and what are the goals of the gang. Mention of creating his own Tong is pretty cool. 

There are a few new Character faces and allies. Jakub and Fish just got out of the hospital and is being nursed by Constanz, a skilled caregiver and one of the other prisoners rescued. They are friends of Martin Quesada, a fairly successful businessman who is into manufacturing and construction with a factory.  

By the end of the game, they have converted the old church into a Civil Center and invited some friendly churches to grow and spread there (Episcopalian i think). Despite Cheng's territorial growth, crime is unusually lower because of the civil center and the influence of HSS and SGC is stronger in the Heights. the Church of Haven is having been dealt a blow, is currently reeling and unable to offer its services at the moment. Remaining factions are Legba group and the Luna dynasty who are intersted in developing the area.

Legba group is approaching Cheng if they can jointly develop a Low income Housing and Commercial Center. Offering him majority share, to buy up more of the area. They will be sending him an NDA and their written proposal before the next session. 

The Luna group is approaching HSS, particularly Thomas' side of the business as a partner for an eminent domain take over of some of the housing for the much controversial Subway system. They property they want is HSS property for one of the main stations. Leorazon is of the same mind, but has left HSS hanging. Thomas is particularly interested in the project because it means tunnels and his ability to make more underground networks for HSS. The subway serves him as a way to better hide his infra if he is own of the owning firms. 

The war beneath heaven, an old memory

The older gods would eat the lesser gods when they thought they were weak. 

When my king called I answered. He summoned us for a quest, we were to kill grandfather a very old and powerful god who has fallen far and almost forgotten. How such immortal beings come to fall, the King said that it was their acceptance of weakness, of change, and of things they cannot change. A riddle or a lie, I could not tell. I'm sure the secret was also of his own weakness and he would not share it to his mortal thralls.

We ventured far and rode the rivers and seas in crafts of scuplted earth, against the tide and currents. The wind and life seemed to flow against us, and slowly we progressed ever forward to the source of all things. 

When we fought other gods, and our king showed us the way. When we slew them, we feasted on their bodies and that of their thralls. Every feast we grew in spirit and strength; and we came into legend. Time passed through and under us, we built great cities and nations where we conquered. We even passed the heavens, into the desolated void... Still we pressed on and followed our king. We followed him to darkness and hollow of the universe where his grandfather slept and saw how his robes was the sky and the stars, and at his center the god that slept. 

He was weak, as our king has forseen but this old god would not bow down or go silently. When his eyes open, it was like the night sky awoke and the secrets of all the shadows surrendered its terrifying dreams onto us. He consumed so many of us, before our king could come close to strike. I was his Archer and from the distance I smote the elder thralls as I lay my fingers on the image so far away. I tore them to pieces with my arrows, and my king began to drink of their blood and the wounds of the elder god... soon he was consuming them all while they struggled under his embrace. 

I could not avert my eyes to the sight, it was so terrifying that It froze me where I stood watching. It was some serpent or leech eating swallowing a great bull struggling desperately to be. His hungry eyes stared at me and his remaining thralls. When his grandfather stopped struggling, our King's belly smoothed and he took his closest and most loved thrall and ate him. 

He wore the darkness and looked upon us, his remaining loyal thralls and began eating us alive. I screamed and ran, as fast as I can out of the void. I could see him so hungry over my shoulder, and so many comrades taken by his madness. I ran to its edge and drew my bow to let out a rain of fire arrows inflamed by my panic and hope, it lit up the sky and it seemed a new universe was born. 

The arrows are still flying, and time have moved barely a moment forward. The mad king will not be killed. 

A small old man smiled, and slid the shot glass down the bar to half build old man. The light played tricks on the small old man shade as it danced across the room like a web.

"You don't have to defend yourself to me, I hated him too".

"I dreamed of it again, brother. My arrows will not stay him, its light will fade. He will come... "

"...and no one is to stop him? Are you telling me there are no more heroes?" he took his own shot, while little spiders crawled from beneath him, dancing drunkenly.

"... you are quite mistaken. " said the small old man.

Less Games

I had to drop out of 2 games, since I don't have flexi-time anymore. So my wednesday morning games are gone :( Oh well, thats the nature of work and being a "grown up" schedules change and we adapt to the challenge.

Whats left is the Traveller Game Alternating Wed night at my 6pm. So right after the shift ends, I have to run home. Then there is the WH40k which is around 5pm, which I can still play but I have to move around stuff to play it, it great that the guys don't mind it if I get there by 6pm.

My GURPS modern fantasy has new interested people, thats great. I can see everyones schedules shifting and having problems so I'm keeping the table open. Someone asked if they can still play if they come in late, sure they can but I can't extend too much, the other guys have other plans and my wife will be giving me that look if I take too long.

The GM just blew up our Ship!

The Pathfinder Chronicles: So Last Nights Game of Traveller Hit Hard: I do not normally do this as I figure that I record the sessions so if you are keen to find out what is happening that you would watch the s...

Well as the Cut Throat Accountant the first thought in my head is: "Thank Goodness I had no equity in that Ship" the second thought was "Oh no the captain!... " well honestly Jia is a "bad guy" in the Walter White kinda way but walter wight still cares about Jesse and he cares about the crew. Although like your friend who may have some pretty twisted priorities, Jia would be bitching and whining more about the lost assets, all that hard work, the datasystems, having gotten so close to breaking even finally etc etc... just happy most of his friends are alive.

So +Mark Knights  asked its an opportunity to start fresh... well its an opportunity alright. You can imagine the guy with the Str2 and Dex3 at max encumbrance not exactly liking the idea that he was a pay off away from having a PROSTHETIC exoskeleton.

The Quote of the night was "WHEN DID THIS BECOME GAME OF THRONES!?" i can't remember if it was Scott or Tom who shouted it out. When the captain died, undramatically (he got zapped) It didn't sink in too painfully.

Uggg... the pressure to make the game different is on the GM and I think he shouldn't worry. I appreciate Traveller and played it despite that I came from GURPS Traveller, as long as its traveller. I've told Mark this, I think, that I don't mind it +Bobby Navarro my traveller GM brought me up playing the 80s traveller as compared to the Hip new Sci-Fi them Young-en's play like Eclipse Phase, Cthonian Stars, Transhuman Space, etc... which I've only Run but never played.

Fading Suns and the backwardness and intolerance of a Dark Age Sci-Fi strangely fits the 80s Traveller mindset if you consider the Value system (removing the Value system of Asimov and the Secular Humanists Sci-fi writers). In Transhumanist Sci-fi the questions are Political and Ideological discussions. Never bring politics, religion, and ideologies into your RPG game... so thats the funny thing about going to a "deeper" thinking Sci-fi its to dangerous that its not fun. I think its better to just write your Sci-fi Story or Discussion, or play it with those who signed up for the same ideological background.

Accomodation may seem like it sacrifices depth, but I'm admittedly having fun in the previous set up. I didn't mind that Jia was the accompanying the rest of the crew in to dangerous situations with the captain doing the trading. I know its work to track and make money in traveller, so I don't mind if Jia is not using his best skill in something that actually requires PLAYER WORK. I appreciate it so much I'm glad I wasn't doing it.

Anyway now Jia has to step up and given his skillset, he has to play Mastermind. +Tobie Abad ran us through Wilderness of Mirrors which is inspiring on how the mechanic for Mastermind works. Although Leverage should be a more of what our Group might turn into if we just do Odd Jobs.

The thing about Master Mind is that it needs special mechanics because I don't want to control or make players do what they don't want to do. Thats why I just go with the flow, I don't want to presume to tell them what to do. We just role-play our cooperation and problemsolving, the thing is that its not going to be coordinated and I'm really holding back OCD levels of control because I know its not healthy in a game but I'm worried this is what the GM may want for precision problem solving.

One can be a D*ck in the office, but not in the gaming table and i want to relax and not be a big floppy donkey D*CK in a game.

Also I wanted to have fun and kick back, I just finished Hangover Series and want to base Jia a bit of both Chow and Alan. Nothing like the death of a business partner (and major Asset loss) to fuel revenge to make Baron Jia a fullblown villain... lolz. uggg I'll play the villain if the other guys needs me to, and I can have fun playing the villain.

So what am I rambling about? I just said I'll have fun any which way the wind blows. I just need the wind to be blowing, and the GM doesn't need to worry about making maps or details, I don't mind making things up because i can work with what ever to have fun.

 

Games I've Commited to because of Hangout and G+

+Mark Knights Merchant's Rising (Manila Wed 5pm)
+Vaclav Tofl GURPS Gladiator Arena  (Manila Tuesday 10am)
+Christian Blouin Return to Kazadum (Manila Sat 9am)
+Michael Keenan Adventurer's and Adversaries (Manila Friday 1pm)
+Tobie Abad and Various other GM's in the Gamer Meet-ups (Manila Thursday 8pm)

Freaking 5 games, and thanks to Roll20 and G+ Hangout. If your a Table-top Gamer with work life balance needs then G+ games are the way to go.

I have mandarin classes on April 16 Tuesday and Thursday 6-9pm for 8 weeks (15 lessons). Which kills my face to face game.

Update:
+Erich Lichnock ran Dungeon Worlds for us this Thursday Night

+Matthew Roman ran a GURPS Lite "end of the world scenario" for us: +King Mathew Von Schuck, +Nikos Ong, +rossel miranda, and myself included.

I guess when you get back into something there are instances we over-do it. I overdid it.

First Session of Reclaiming Khazad-Dum

+Christian Blouin, +Alex Safatli  (Kalin Brother of Gimli) , +Arne Jamtgaard (Bain, uncle of the king) , and +Jason Woollard (Khazek a very young dwarf ranger), and I got to Play Drolf son of Hemmolt.
Congrats to everyone and the preparation was awesome and the results were awesome.

The social combat was satisfying, it really felt like a battle well in my experience it is practically a battle. The council of dwarves were successful in preventing the king in foolishly playing his entire hand before knowing what the dwarves are up against in the KD (Khazad-Dum).

Since I've been playing a lot of social combat games, I find that this is a more organized means and more "game-fun" model to run a social encounter. Comparing it to the others I've experienced, that don't use Narrative Control Mechanics to balance things out.

This approach, by christian, vs narrative control system are a good fit for Traditional RPG gamers for a way of resolving a social situation. In the NC systems, you have to "Yes and.../Yes but..." (all discussed a former post). This system is very tactical and has a beautiful visualization of how the positions are related. Its a "GURPS"sy more system than SIFRP, but it does take some setting up and KUDOS to the GM prepping!

Its such a nice system why not play a Political Animal? Now here is the thing about a Soldier is that they are pieces in the game, and they are trying to survive. They will go with the strongest at the expense that they can't push much of an agenda - I didn't have an agenda and that helped in the long run. Drolf is just trying to get things to work out, and will work with the party to achieve this.

As a Soldier, I just kill stuff and win battles. I execute the command, and my real field is on the battle field and leading troops.