#RPGaDay 2017 (part I of III)

Whether or not these lists have value in today's RPG blog-o-sphere, I'm going to answer as many as I can over the course of three days.

Why three days?  I don't want to tie up my precious blogging space with random questions for each day of this month (and I'm a bit late to the party).

#1:  What published RPG do I wish I was playing right now?

Assuming this is going to be a one-shot and assuming that I'll be playing as a player (rather than my usual position as GM), I'd love to play one of my own RPGs (Crimson Dragon Slayer, Alpha Blue, or The Outer Presence).  To this day, I've never been a player in the aforementioned RPGs.  I'm sure it'll happen soon, though.

But if that wasn't a possibility, then something fun, oddball, and awesomely ridiculous like Encounter Critical.

#2:  What is an RPG you would like to see published?

Hasn't everything been published already?  Just to see how far I could get (didn't really expect much), I contacted ABC to see what they wanted for the license to make an official RPG for Lost.  They never emailed me back, unfortunately.  So, I guess Lost might be my answer.

#3:  How do you find out about new RPGs?

Through blogs and the occasional forum thread.  DriveThruRPG makes it easy to see what's new or what one might like based on similar purchases.

#4:  Which RPG have you played the most since August, 2016?

I think that would have to be Alpha Blue.  I've been running a lot of demos on Roll20 and ran 3 or 4 sessions at Gary Con IX.  Plus, the odd home game.

#5:  Which RPG cover best captures the spirit of the game?

Which game?  My favorite cover is the Tom Moldvay magenta box with Erol Otus art.  A close second is the AD&D Player's Handbook.  I've seen a lot of cool answers that other people have given, and agree with many of them - 2nd edition Paranoia, 3rd edition Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st edition...

#6:  You can game everyday for a week.  Describe what you'd do!

I'd either have to envision this as the mother of all RPG conventions or traveling back in time - before a career, wife, and 5 kids.

While I like hopping from one game to another, sampling this and that, there's something deeply satisfying about sticking to a particular game for consecutive days/nights.  I have fond memories playing Vampire: the Masquerade, D&D, WEG D6 Star Wars, and Call of Cthulhu day after day or night after night in the summer with friends in the early 90's.

So, I'd probably run something simple and spontaneous where I never seem to lack for ideas - Alpha Blue.  It's my sleazy go-to baby for when I don't have anything prepared.

If I had to choose something that I didn't write, it would probably be Masks of Nyarlathotep.  If I worked at it, I think we could get through the whole thing in 7 days, assuming 5 - 6 hours per day.

BTW, just saw the PDF for the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion.  Awesome cover!  Sure, it's over 700 pages (hmm... they can't all be winners with that much content, am I right?) but $47.50 for the PDF?  Damn, that's expensive.  I mean, it's more than double the cost of the actual Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign!  Doesn't that kind of price gouging encourage gamers to pirate the digital content?
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Ok, the next 9 or 10 questions tomorrow and the final installment on Wednesday!

VS

p.s.  Only 3 days left to back the Battle For The Purple Islands Kickstarter.

Lovecraftian as always

H.P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu Mythos have influenced much of my life.  So, Happy Birthday to him!  He is a prophet to some of the warped apostles who admire his foetid works.

While fantasy and D&D retro-compatible and retro-clone RPGs have enough adventures, campaigns, and settings to go around (although, there's always room for a few more gems), the Cthulhu genre is deplorably lacking!  I can't objectively judge whether there's a deficit of quality gaming material according to others.  But for myself, I want more opportunities to suss out the Dreaded One and his untenable ilk.  Nevertheless, I think it's relatively safe to say that intrepid investigators could do with plumbing fresh eldritch horrors, for a change.

About a year ago, I got the itch to co-author a modern-day Cthulhuoid campaign.  A year ago, I wasn't actually gaming, so that particular itch was strange in itself; yet, was no doubt still brimming with inspiration from running the beyond brilliant Masks of Nyarlathotep years ago.  Those nights of MoN kept the dream of gaming alive, even if I'd more or less given up on the hobby.  Poppycock to you 4th edition D&D.... poppycock, I say!

Also, I thought co-authoring was preferable because I'm only one man and writing can be a lonely, not to mention, single-perspective pursuit.  Additionally, the word "campaign" doesn't seem right.  Campaigns are for D&D and the various RPGs that evolved from miniature wargaming.  "Chronicle" was born of Vampire: the Masquerade.  What about "sequence" when describing a set of thematically linked adventures in the weird horror/scifi milieu?  Yes, I like it.  "A disturbing sequence of events befell Arkham, Dunwich, and Innsmouth."

Anyways, I soon dropped that idea and picked it up again a few months later...but with a twist.  That's where Liberation of the Demon Slayer began.  I wanted to give D&D another shot by way of the Old School Renaissance.  It worked, and LotDS blossomed along with my passion for roleplaying.  BTW, the old school mega-dungeon should be available early September.

Now that LotDS is almost off my plate (final touches being added as write this), and even though I have dozens of little notes for a follow-up OSR D&D type adventure, I'm still toying with the idea of creating a Mythos-based sequence for those wanting something new but still very much in the Lovecraftian tradition.

I've given up on collaborating with my fellow gamers and HPL aficionados, but not completely... surely as the ichor flows black, hope springs eternal.  So, let this be a warning to the world.  Venger's wheels are turning!  Feel free to throw ideas at me like they were shoggoths... some just might stick.

By His loathsome tentacles,

VS

p.s.  Someday, I'll get around to writing that Lovecraftian novel, too.  Someday...