[RPG] More on Substance

I'm continuing to work on the character "shape" I shared earlier. He has become a lot more "sticky" in the past week or so, and I even have a mental picture of what he might look like. His name and backstory are still things I am working on, but as soon as he's ready, I'll tell you more about him.

It takes a lot of work to develop a solid-fleshed out character idea that has "legs" so that you can play it for a while. Sometimes you know you have a winner, and other times it is more of a toss up.

I think the same is true for games as it is for characters.  I had to excuse myself from JR's Hellfrost game for at least a month due to real life chicanery. While I was talking to him about it, the players were discussing how the game was trying its best to implode. JR's tougher than the game and is trying to keep it alive.

In the discussion, the other game that JR is running was brought up- and it's going fine. We decided that the Hellfrost game was the sacrificial offering to the Game Gawds to keep the other one running. It's the one TheDude is in, and it's keeping him sane, so I don't mind. 

I've seen really good games blow up for silly reasons, and really silly games stay afloat for a very long time. Games have personalities just as much as characters and players do, and if you're one of those "shared experience" kinda people like I am, WHO plays in the game as well as what kind of character can make or break an entire evening. 

Building a game with substance then is infinitely harder than building a character, if you ask me. Certainly GMs build their worlds, the people in them and the adventures to be had- but the players decide if it is compelling and worth their attention. I think picking the right kind of players (or avoiding the WRONG ones) becomes paramount when deciding to run a game, if you have the ability to do so.

But back to my still-developing character- I need something to help him be finished soon, because I really want to play! Any ideas?

[40K] Adepticon Already?

This week, our 40K group started a new league. This time around, it's an Adepticon League. The idea behind this is to give those that want to go some practice at the point level and experience in the general type of scenarios likely to be played there.

So while everyone else is talking about the NOVA Open and how they did there, we're looking forward to spring and even going to far as to discuss a potential travelling team.

The sign up table amuses me pretty seriously- the "Captain" position stayed open and people signed up UNDER it. No one wanted that "title". It was a giant game of "not it". Finally Paul volunteered, but it was funny watching the guys try to avoid "being in charge" at all costs.

In all fairness, no one will really be in charge. The idea is the Captain will be the point of contact and help get the ball rolling for when and if the guys decide to go up for the Tournament.

We talked a little about lists and painting. For our league, the lists don't have to be static at the moment. The idea is to be able to adjust as you play to help you get a better build as well as learn to play more efficiently.  Additionally,  we're not being too uptight about paint levels either, but I know that some of our interested players are looking at their "grey, grey and grey" armies with a little trepidation in anticipation of going "up north". (We're south of the tournament location by about 2 hours.)

There were no "take backs" or "do overs" this week, which was a little different than how we generally do it. It certainly wasn't cut throat, but it was a different from how many of us operate.  One of my pals pretty much swore himself  blue because he forgot to use Living Lightning. He was good natured about it, but he was certainly aware of his mistake.

Right now, it sounds like they all want to go and play as individuals, rather than try to do the Team Tournament. However, I do know that there was at least one guy who would like to do Teams as well.

I'd love to hear from those of you that have gone to Adepticon- what was your experience like? What helped you "get ready"? Was there anything you would like to have done differently? Any advice you want to share?