Saturday 28 September 2019

What kind of games do I like to run?

I like games where I can explain the rules in a few short sentences, and don't have to keep consulting rule books or worry about whether I'm making it too easy or about to cause a TPK. While I absolutely love playing D&D/Pathfinder, and will even put up with the old school insanity that is Cyberpunk 2020, when it comes to running a game they're not my first choice. While I have run a couple of Pathfinder campaigns, they were both using published adventures, which took away most of the thinking, and I was running for a group of very experienced players who all knew Pathfinder as well or better than I did and never had to check how many hit points a Cure Light Wounds potion restores.

I like games where I can make use of my pre-existing setting knowledge. That can mean games like Victoriana and Scion where I could use my knowledge of Victorian Britain and Greek mythology to come up with plots and bring the world to life. It can also mean games like The Dresden Files RPG, where I know the books well enough to do the same things, and Scum and Villainy (which does technically have its own setting but was clearly intended for playing Firefly (amongst other things)), where I've watched the show several times and own a ton of useful supplemental material.

I like games that encourage the players to talk among themselves. It can get pretty tiring being the centre of attention, plus there's worries about whether I'm giving the players equal spotlight time. If they start roleplaying together without needing my input until it's time to roll the dice I can take a breather and enjoy the story, because players invariably come up with things you'd never thought of, and that's what makes table top rpgs so amazing.

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