Narrative Control

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week we've got guests… guests who like us are broke but still want to game.  So we're going to talk about how to get your game on during this tough economy.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin EvansGuests Hosts: Shaun Hayworth, Kristin Sullivan

Length: 22:35

Show Notes[00:29] Introduction to the show: Gaming while broke with guests Shaun Hayworth and Kristin Sullivan from This Modern Death.[00:57] Editing issues.  Trying to keep these shows in the 20 to 25 minute range.  [01:19] A short episode (number 26) will follow this one about PDF vs. print media.  [01:47] This Modern Death Promo[02:22] Kristin introduces the show for us. Our normal introduction… only longer… and with sniping.[03:40] Money spent on microphones (and maybe kids) prevent us from having a lot of money to buy gaming books[04:10] Some game systems are expensive to get into: White Wolf, Shadowrun, Dark Heresy.[04:37] Even some indie games are expensive.  Burning Empires is beautiful but it can set you back. [05:51] John Wick talks about how games really haven't gotten that much more expensive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clmdJy0GJms&feature=channel_pageStarting at the bottom: What free games are out there[06:36] Dan Bayn's "Wushu".  Core game and Matrix supplement: http://www.bayn.org/wushu/freebies.html  Free settings on Saberpunk.net: http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/WorldsAmpSettings  Wuxalted, an Exalted Wushu adaptation: http://www.voidstate.com/rpg/Wushu-Exalted_Rules_1.5.pdf  Wuxalted Redux Wiki: http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Wuxalted_Redux[06:57] Rob Bohl's "Misspent Youth": http://misspentyouthgame.com/[07:02] Spirit of the Century SRD: http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc-srd.html  Shadow over Yesterday:  The 2.5 Version: http://zork.net/~nick/loyhargil/tsoy2/book1--rulebook.html  The 3.0 Wiki Version: http://tsoy.crngames.com/[07:35] Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 SRD is still available: http://www.d20srd.org/[07:58] Ben Lehmans "XXXXtreme STREET luge": http://swingpad.com/dustyboots/wordpress/?p=235[08:08] Four Color System (the old Marvel RPG mecahincs): http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=50837&it=1[08:20] Development on the Forge: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/[08:33] 24 Hour RPG submissions: http://www.24hourrpg.com/ (Click on "Entries").   Game Chef: http://game-chef.com/index.shtml[08:49] Jared Sorenson's challenge to create and market a game in 30 days on the Story-Games forum: http://www.story-games.com/[10:07] Getting in during the development process.  Play-test games.What about spending a couple bucks[10:22] Houses of the Blooded.  FIVE BUCKS for the PDF: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16617&cat=0&page=1[10:48] Going to local conventions at game stores… like Good Omens Con: http://www.goodomensgames.com/index.php/con/[11:17] Many game stores do demos of games. [11:25] International Dungeons and Dragons day: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050726xSources for old games[12:02] Buying from convention flea markets, Ebay, local used book stores.[12:54] Old games work looking at again: Castle Falkenstein and James Bond [13:26] Good deals on Fred Hick's blog.  Check it out here: http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/   Some other designer blogs not mentioned in the podcast:John Wick: http://wickedthought.livejournal.com/Vincent Baker: http://www.lumpley.com/Paul Tevis: http://gameslinger-enterprises.com/Jason Morningstar: http://gameslinger-enterprises.com/Ben Lehman: http://benlehman.livejournal.com/[14:08] Shaun's pearl of wisdom: Pay attention to the internet.[14:45] The Ashcan front: http://www.ashcanfront.net/[15:20] Game chef anthologies: [15:43] Another $5 John Wick Game: Wilderness of Mirrors: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16756[16:23] Very cheap… sometimes free PDFs on http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/ and http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/[17:13] Repurpose existing games into something else.[17:30] Lots of reasonable indie supplements.  Roanoke for $10: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=20794&it=1[17:43] Listen to podcast about games: http://www.rpgpodcasts.com[18:22] Borrow from your friends.  Pass books around your circle of gamers.  Should we take good care of our books?  [19:57] Shaun's method of getting over the new-book feel.[20:50] Pimping all of our forums and such.  Kristin's Brain Place: http://babe.thismoderndeath.com

Links

Not mentioned in the show, but very useful is John H. Kim's list of free games on darkshire.net: http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week I surprise Justin with 10 questions about his gaming preferences as an exercise to learn more about your players.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 45:17

Show Notes

[00:25] Introduction the show: An experiment asking Justin 10 questions.[02:17] Sorry about the sound quality.  Our new microphones picked up a lot more background noise.[02:54] This Modern Death Promo[03:49] What about role-playing games do you like?[04:23] How does playing RPGs make you feel?[08:16] What other activities make you feel the same way?[09:33] What do you look like/sound like when you're enjoying a game?[11:47] What is a buzz kill for you, what makes the game not fun?[15:47] What limits do you have when gaming? What don't you want in a game?[24:50] What do you want to happen at the end of a game session?Hmmm…. Not quite 10 there. Yeah, I missed some.  We'll get another one at the end.[25:54] Questions are finished. Sean takes a minute to think… For the benefit of all, that minute has been edited out.[26:00] Sean's idea for a game.  1920 Gritty Crime Story.[29:00] Justin's revisions.[33:05] Recap of the questions.[33:38] Missing Question: What non-gaming activities do you like to do?[33:36] Continuation of recap.  Creating a proposal, followed by revisions.[37:31] Justin's follow up question: Where there any answers that surprised Sean?[38:59] Continued speculation. We're going to start guessing now.[41:31] Sean's thought: these would be good questions to ask before starting a game. Post Feedback here: Comments

This episode Justin and I talk about what we've learned from video games and how we can draw inspiration from them and learn from their pitfalls.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 29:49

Show Notes[00:28] Introduction to the show – Inspiration from video games[00:40] Some great discussion on our boards about conflict resolution here and here.[01:05] Format of the show, inspiration, pitfalls and some personal stories.[01:29] RPGPodcasts.com Promo[01:37] Justin's thrilling adventure.[02:52] Sean's protest. Video games don't have the story or role-playing that tabletop RPGs do.[04:00] Sean's use of images, lore, etc from World of Warcraft in his Burning Warcraft game.[05:00] Erik Woodbury's LARP: Peace at Arathi Basin.  Video game setting, using the strengths of a LARP.[06:15] Comparing the guessed budget of Feng Shui and Grand Theft Auto.  [07:34] Level design as an analog for quests.[08:17] Set pieces in games, the main encounters.[08:56] The boss fight.  A spotlighted encounter that required fighting with different tactics.[10:11] How this can backfire.  Make sure the character's matter.[12:53] Save points. Logical places to stop a session. Ending the story on a high point.[14:30] Mouseguard session structures encapsulates the mission goals and makes sure they are resolved by the end of the session.[15:15] A warning: avoid the grind.  Examples of the grind in video games and then in popular role-playing game.[18:30] Justin's fresh can of hate.  The Keep on Shadowfell. [20:21] Some advice from Dungeons and Dragons insider: Every encounter should be meaningful to the story and have stakes the characters care about.[22:04] A question of scaling.  Does the opposition scale with you?[22:57] Different systems scale in different ways.  In some systems this isn't an issue. Examples of Burning Wheel, Dungeons and Dragons and Scion.[25:19] Justin's story playing Oblivion.  A Minotaur in the inn?[26:40] Fallout 3, how scaling has changed in video games.[27:28] Sean's analog in a D&D game where his character DID become more powerful than the status quo.  "Oh crap, it's Sadric!" 

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I are talking about coaching players, helping them to contribute more to the game and get more out of it.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 29:39

Show Notes

[00:27] Introduction to the show: Coaching players.[01:17] RPGPodcasts.com promo[01:33] Trying to tell a story without context… it's hard.[02:17] The old saying "It's easier to tell as story with limits" – Is this really an old saying?[03:15] Coaching players: Helping them tell good stories.[03:25] A reading from Play Unsafe by Graham Walmsley. Sometimes at conventions players just want the GM to lead them through an adventure.[04:47] Why players might be afraid of doing something "wrong?"Establishing the theme of the game[05:32] When kicking off a game, make sure everyone is telling the same story.[05:55] In the beginning of a game establishing the theme of the game.  Make sure your players a buying in from the start.[06:39] Example: The spy genre is very diverse.  Pussy Galore and Jason Bourne don't belong in the same story.[07:05] Fear the Boot "Group Template" - Players defining why their group is together and what they will be doing.[09:05] Randy's idea: A reality TV show of drivers on the Doc Wagon.Establishing the goal or objective of the game.[09:45] Up front: What is the goal of the game?  Make sure that the characters have appropriate long term goals[11:03] Giving players short term goals they can achieve right away.  Example: Burning Wheel's beliefs system. [12:27] Shadows of Yesterday uses experience keys to make explicit short term goals.[12:49] Kristin from This Modern Death suggested getting rid of the WoD Virtues and Vices and replacing them with activities you're proud of and those which you use for coping.[14:22] Plot Cards.  Easy short term goals that you can give out randomly to the players.  This encourages certain scenes to come up.[16:27] Incentivizing player generated scenes with in game rewards (fate chips, drama dice, etc)[16:45] Justin's Firefly themed plot cards at www.sinistergame.comGetting players to shine the spotlight on each other.[17:28] Players were more forceful personalities hoarding the spotlight?[18:03] What if the job of a player was to shine the spotlight on other people?  The idea came from Son's of Kryos. You have to endure one of Sean's stories.  Ways to encourage this.[19:42] Burning Wheel: The helping mechanic tends to benefit you more than using the skill on your own.[20:40] Sharing a common pool of XP and limiting how much each character can generate, so everyone has to participate to gain the group it's greatest reward.[21:45] Fan Mail from Prime Time Adventures. Fan mail allows you to enter a scene with a supporting role.Rewards for good role-playing, make both hosts uncomfortable.[22:42] Many games include an XP reward for good role-playing.  Assigning a reward to the MVP and Workhorse.[24:40] Encourages people to continue hogging the attention and can disappoint other players.[25:09] We also see this at con games.  Swag going to the "winner" of the game. A good idea from Rich Taylor. Giving the reward to the player that made the game the most fun for everyone else.Games that rotate narrations, encouraging people to take the stage.[26:45] Prime Time Adventures (I know… again) gives out a random narration element, allowing different people to narrate every scene.  Not mentioned in the podcast but another game that does this is Dust Devils.[27:30] A similar mechanic in Zombie Cinema.  Choose a side in any conflict and decide if you want to ally, giving you a chance to narrate. 

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode we're turning 21 and celebrating by getting a little drunk.  The podcast is a long one (largely due to our inebriation) and it veers from our usual format.  The first twenty minutes is a comical review of a d20 Module, The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore, which arguably couldn't have been taken seriously even if we were sober.  The rest of the show (almost an hour) is our recap of DundraCon 2009.    We also welcome a new voice on the show, Josh Curtis, who tells us how to be an "Elite" game master.

Also… we've got the explicit tag on this one for a reason.  You've been warned.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans, and Josh Curtis.

Length: 1:14:23

Show Notes

[00:27] Intro to the show.  Game module and convention review. [01:13] What is an Elite Game master? I guess not Sean.[02:08] What are we doing? A review of The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore.  Actual play![20:00] What are we doing here? Celebrating our 21st episode.[21:18] Introducing Josh Curtis[22:48] Hungered for some good gaming and found it at DundraCon![23:39] Review: "The Gift" – Sean's Burning Wheel game.[30:00] Review: The Pajama LARP[31:52] Review: Deathwish, a variant of Dust Devils[33:28] Review: "Firefly: Lap of Luxury" – Justin's Firefly game, using FATE mechanics.[34:53] Drunk morons singing.[35:28] Episodic Con games. Win or Fail?[37:38] Josh's comparison useful backstory vs. GMs giving too much irrelevant information.[42:30] Review: "The Hand You're Dealt" – Rich Taylor's Werewolf: The Apocalypse game. [44:19] "Oh Shit, there I was!"[45:26] What else was good at the con? Not the food.[46:39] Review: Zar and Superhero LARP… actually mostly just bullshit.[48:12] Review: Zombie Cinema[54:32] Review "Ribbons" Justin's Horror game, using FATE mechanics!  Eat that TMD.[01:07:something something] End of the show… we're really tired. Not sure if this part is worth listening too but by this point in the editing, I got too tired to cut.

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode is a long one.  Justin and I are talking about Horror elements in stories and how to bring those into your games.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin EvansLength: 53:23 - Told you it was a long oneShow Notes[00:28] Introduction: Horror in RPGs.  Breaking down the horror genre, distilling the elements and then talking about systems that back up those themes[01:33] Sean trying to scare Justin.  Can you just make a fear check?[02:10] Are we trying to scare the character or the player, or both?[02:40] Call out to Rich, who asked us to talk about genres and the games that fit into them.[03:30] What makes a horror story?  Different types.Definitions: Horror Genres. [04:00] Splatter horror.  Buckets of Blood!  Going for shock value.[05:35] Haunted House.  Alien: A Haunted House in space.  Suspense horror, hidden from the audience as well as the protagonists.  Excitement of piecing the clues together and the edge of the seat suspense.[06:50] Psychological Thriller.  Getting into the mind of the killer.  Warning: Spoilers.  Looking into the protagonists.  External conflict serves to spotlight the internal issues.  [08:18] Pimping the Dresden Files one more time![08:49] Monster hunter story.  Action/Suspense vs. Horror?[09:53] Survival Horror.  Hunted by the monsters.  The end is never certain.Elements of a Horror Story[11:27] Suspense. Will we make it out of here alive?  Not a very interesting question.  Only relevant in games where death is possible.[12:30] Spiral into insanity. Getting into the mind of the killer.  What happens to you?[13:12] Investigation.  Following the trail of clues.[13:44] Paranoia. Who can you trust?[14:50] Inevitable doom.  The story is about the struggle.[16:08] Hope and Despair.  Balances the story, give the protagonists a reprieve or a allow them to accomplish something important.Systems that support Horror Stories[18:08] Justin's game in the Fate System.  This Modern Death said this wasn't possible.  How will Justin use Fate's internal mechanics to tell a horror story? "Cuts himself to feel alive" is still an aspect![20:20] Making the story personal to the characters.  Players handing out aspects to each other, using back story, etc.[23:13] Sanity decks.  A consequence for failing a resolve roll.  The cards give an aspect that reflects you're loss of Sanity.  (Available at sinstergames.com soon).[25:29] Dresden Files RPG will be much grittier than Fate.   There are fewer Fate chips and the GM is given license to really pound on the protagonists.  Not quite horror.[26:35] Call of Cthulhu. One of the first games to offer a mechanic around sanity loss.  Sean has to get over his dislike of percentile system, but the sanity system was novel in creating consequences.[29:25] Unfortunately Cthulhu became an inside joke.  Ryan Macklin talked about this on Master Plan on his episode on emergent play.[30:55] Gumshoe. A game system designed specifically to facilitate investigation.  Each clue is found and then leads to another scene.[33:32] Roanoke.  Uses a Doom Counter to measure the final endgame.  Allowing players to put nails in their own coffins.[37:08] Dread.   The "pull" created an increasing level of danger… for everyone.  This makes the danger present visible to everyone.    Also, allows for a brief reprieve after someone dies.  Models survivor horror very well and creates a pacing system.[41:18] Don't Rest Your Head.  Uses Despair to make bad situations worse, but that fuels Hope, which can buy a brief reprieve.  Creates an economy of despair and hope.[43:58] Don't Rest your Head… again.  Players also have the ability to bring in horrific elements: Exhaustion and Madness.   Trading power for self destruction.  Players have to balance success against risking their character's sanity.[46:55] World of Darkness.  How unimpressed Sean is by the lack of Horror on WoD games.  Very hard to create suspense.  Can work when playing mortals, but much less so than when playing monsters.  There is some support from the system: Willpower, Virtue, Vice, etc.  [52:00] Wrap up.  Looking for other suggestions for shows. Email us or get on the forums. 

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Hi and welcome back to narrative control.  This week Justin and I are talking about board games, specifically what we've taken from them to improve our role-playing games.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 20:40

Show Notes:

[00:29] Introduction: Using principals from board games in your RPGs.[00:57] RPGPodcasts.com Promo[01:03] Hey Sean, do you like Math?[01:32] Character sheets are full numbers… one big story problem?[02:33] Board games have a very focused play.  We all know what the game is about.[03:33] Using physical representations of math (poker chips, tokens, glass beads, etc)[05:22] This helps a GM gauge the status of the player characters.[07:07] Using a "board" i.e. a battle map and miniatures[08:35] A counter system to measure the external threat (e.g. doom counters).[09:27] Mapping out extended skill challenges[11:41] Game Mastery's "Item Cards"[12:32] Physical Representation of a Mechanic.  Mini games inside the game.[13:29] Using timers to create tension and enforce urgency[13:50] Dread's mechanic.  The Jenga Tower[14:19] An example of bringing this all together.  Zombie Attack![17:34] Preventing player analysis paralysis. [19:10] Closing. Let us know how board game elements have improved or detracted from your games.

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode continues our discussion on running games at conventions. This episode is about how to get the game started quickly and get the players into the action.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin EvansLength: 24:36Show Notes[00:26] Introduction to the Show: Hitting the ground running[00:56] Canon Puncture Promo, er maybe Atomic Ray Podcast Promo[01:46] Part II of running con games. How to get the game rolling quickly.[02:46] Starting games with a bang. Showcase each character's ability.System[03:45] Teaching the mechanics to the players.[04:41] Start by making sure you're players are equipped with everything they need.[05:21] Provide a quick summary of relevant rules.[07:25] Teach rules as needed. [08:27] Focus on the mechanics that you are going to be using for this game[09:15] Providing "half-baked" characters.Setting[09:50] See what you can trim from the system and setting to make it manageable.[11:48] Setting exposition in game.[12:02] Focusing on one portion of a setting.Characters[12:20] Give each character an agenda. [13:50] Some systems provide these: Burning Wheel, SotC, etc[14:05] How to provide direction if the system doesn't have a mechanic for it.[16:09] Creating interconnections between player charactersPacing[16:39] You know what sucks?[17:41] Woops… should have been in the last episode. Playtest your games.[18:44] Watch the clock and jump to endgame when it time is short.[19:54] Short circuit the end conflict if necessary[20:23] Making sure all the players have had the spotlight.[20:41] Factoring in cleaning up after the game.Closing[22:11] Summary and request for feedback[22:25] Make sure you know the game mechanics well yourself.Post Feedback Here: Comments

Hi and welcome back to a "regular" version of Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I talk about preparing for convention games.  The first two thirds of the show covers creating a strong threat or plot and creating props.  The second portion begs the question, is preparation really necessary?

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 32:06

Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show – Preparing for Convention Games[00:46] This Modern Death Promo[01:35] Conventions coming up that we are excited about: DundraCon, Kubla Con and …. GEN CON![02:04] To run a good game we have to prepare, or do we?[02:47] What experience you want to give your players at a convention.[03:03] Teaching new players the game.  Important?[03:31] Start with a central threat or plot that will engage all of the players (and their characters)[04:00] Story shaped by system or system picked to fit a story?[05:09] Generating characters that will have a common interest.[06:18] Opening scenes used to introduce the story, the mechanics and excite the players.  Idea from Prime Time Adventures that shows start when something major has just changed.[07:23] James Bond movies make a great format for con games.  Start with an opening vignette that shows the protagonists full of awesome and lead into the main story.[08:08] Gnome Spy Games:  Gnome Impossible!, Dr. Gnome and Gnomes Like Us.[08:45] Many conventions games spoof popular media. Win or Fail?[09:55] Win! Gathers interest, sets expectations and creates familiarity.[10:27] Fail. Players might not take the game seriously.[11:37] Props!  Justin and I both love them.[11:53] Definitions: Props are anything you physically provide for the players, including dice, character sheets, nourishment, your appearance, etc.[13:05] Character sheets.  Make them evoke the feel of the game as well as provide easy access to relevant game statistics.[14:50] Props can eat up a lot of time, hopefully not a lot of money.[15:38] Examples of cheap props.  Tape cassette character sheets. [16:58] Call of Cthulu published adventures came with props included.[17:45] My experience with "One Ring" regarding props.[18:20] Backfired for Justin, players hording props.[18:46] Props that can't be hidden! Daggers, Amulets, etc.[19:59] Some other cheap and easy props.   Templates in Microsoft Word (faxes, form letters, resumes, etc)[20:16] Paper props for Fantasy Games.  Making them yourself? [21:14] Some resources: Gamer the Podcasting and Ronin Arts.[22:18] Wear your props! Another cheap creation I used for My Life with Joker.[23:39] Build to your strengths. Make props that are fun for you to create.[24:00] High Tech: Justin's pseudo-CDC website for the characters.[24:40] Is any of this preparation necessary?[24:58] Some pickup games are really designed to be played on the fly.  Example of Spirit of the Century.[26:06] Pickup plots guarantee that they are character driven.[26:27] Different genre's.  What about pickup horror?[27:57] In pickup games, it is important to have the players invest in the creation.  Creating characters and feeding ideas to the GM is part of the fun![29:16] Setting expectations before the game starts, helps people play to the strengths of that genre.[30:04] Dogs in the Vineyard.  A game that works well as a pickup, specifically because of the early introduction to the system and setting.

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Happy new year and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode, recorded just after Christmas (on Boxing Day in fact) is a reflection of our 2008 and our hopes for 2009.  This episode as also much more relaxed than any we’ve done before.  You might like our antics or you might be frustrated by the lack of concrete useful information.  If the later, don’t worry I’ll be streaming a “regular” episode shortly.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 33:41

Show Notes

None this time.  Not that I couldn’t do show notes for this episode, but we don’t hit bullet points like we normally do.  The first half is about what we loved in 2008 and the second half is what we’re looking forward to in 2009.  Enjoy.