C.W.Richeson
Explorer
Paka said:
Sure, take a look at my Faery's Tale Actual Play on my LiveJournal (one session)
http://cwricheson.livejournal.com/tag/actual+play
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
2007 Judge Selection
- Thread starter Dextra
- Start date
Sure, take a look at my Faery's Tale Actual Play on my LiveJournal (one session)
http://cwricheson.livejournal.com/tag/actual+play
Queen_Dopplepopolis
First Post
tadk said:
I've got to say, my most memorable gaming purchase is my first set of dice. Before my senior year of high school, I had always borrowed dice, but my boyfriend (now husband) drove me 60 miles to the nearest game store in Sioux Falls, SD... the store was small (and is now closed), but they had a huge dice selection and I just stood there for what seemed like hours trying to pick out the perfect set. They're purple and beautiful.
A close second is my Iron Kingdoms books at GenCon. I was SO excited to own them... and to this day, I treasure them and the feeling of rushing into the dealer hall to buy them.
Queen_Dopplepopolis
First Post
Nareau said:
I've been happy with essentially all of the past winners.
No, sir.
Ankh-Morpork Guard
First Post
A few months back in one of the Star Wars d20 games I run, the players managed to get to the BBEG earlier than I'd planned. They were lower level than I had hoped they would be when they finally went after him, and they knew it, but still decided to get him while they had the chance.Paka said:
So, they started shooting at the guy aboard a luxury airspeeder that was flying over the planet's ocean. The firefight moved down the corridors of the ship and up the lift tube(they climbed and shot the whole way) until it eventually reached the exterior of the ship.
Then, on top of a moving airspeeder with a ton of room to work with and having to make checks to stay up as the wind was hitting them extremely hard, the resident Jedi of the group proceeded to get into a lightsaber duel with the BBEG, who was a good 6 levels higher than him. The rest of the group was busy hanging on to the outside and fending off the BBEG's multiple guards when the Jedi managed a lucky roll and used the Force to throw the BBEG off of the ship.
It was great up to that point...but then it got even crazier. This BBEG had already tortured them enough, and so the Jedi wanted to make sure it ended. With the rest of the group yelling at him, he jumped off after the falling BBEG to finish the job.
The other PCs got to a smaller speeder and managed to catch the Jedi before he hit the ocean and also before he was able to catch up to the BBEG. Absolutely crazy and I loved the look on everyone's face when the Jedi's player said to me, "I'm going to jump after him."
Queen_Dopplepopolis
First Post
RE: A Rockin' Moment at My Game Table
My current D&D character, Zara "Desert Rose" Rainkeeper, is a fearsome pirate! Yar!
Recently, our party escaped a burning island, possessed by the powers of an ancient, once-dead god and boarded my ship (The Retribution). However, just getting off of the island (infested with Hellhounds, fallen angels, and other nasties), wasn't the hard part! You see, the admiral didn't want anything getting onto of off of the island so he set up a HUGE blockade. Zara captained the ship (undermanned) out past the admiral's blockade with catapults and ballistae firing away!!
The Retribution sustained a bit of damage, but she's the fastest Tuathan (elven) Corvette this side of the Sea of Stars and so we managed to out run the admiral's fastest ships...
And, just as we sailed into what we thought were safe waters, the winds began to pick up and the waves started to churn... We dropped anchor and weathered one Hell of a hurricane!
It. Was. Awesome.
My current D&D character, Zara "Desert Rose" Rainkeeper, is a fearsome pirate! Yar!
Recently, our party escaped a burning island, possessed by the powers of an ancient, once-dead god and boarded my ship (The Retribution). However, just getting off of the island (infested with Hellhounds, fallen angels, and other nasties), wasn't the hard part! You see, the admiral didn't want anything getting onto of off of the island so he set up a HUGE blockade. Zara captained the ship (undermanned) out past the admiral's blockade with catapults and ballistae firing away!!
The Retribution sustained a bit of damage, but she's the fastest Tuathan (elven) Corvette this side of the Sea of Stars and so we managed to out run the admiral's fastest ships...
And, just as we sailed into what we thought were safe waters, the winds began to pick up and the waves started to churn... We dropped anchor and weathered one Hell of a hurricane!
It. Was. Awesome.
jenschoonover
First Post
tadk said:
Heh, well we recently found the old D&D boxed set in Salvation Army's... other than that, I bought Arkham Horror, no questions asked, and Heroes for Hope, a universal-systemed volunteered book I helped work on for the Tsunami victims.
jenschoonover
First Post
What award given by past ENnies do you disagree with most? Why?
I've never really paid attention up to this point.
Have you ever been an ENnies judge before?
Nope.
I've never really paid attention up to this point.
Have you ever been an ENnies judge before?
Nope.
jenschoonover
First Post
Paka said:
I was demo-ing at DexCon in NJ, and I had a group of players doing CU at a table, and one of the players had brought back his character from the year before--a big burly man who was cool and collected in the most upsetting of situations. So I had these guys in an old abandoned factory (long story short, Mr. and Mrs. factory owner were using the factory to hide their illegal operation of grabbing corpses and sending them to Haiti for zombie making). Anyway, They're nearing the end of the session and are fighting Mr. and Mrs., having missed the second floor where a surprise had been waiting for them. Basically, these vodoun practitioners had come up with "Zombie Glue," a substance that can put back together zombies that are apart and keep the reanimation firm. In fact, you don't even need the right head attached to the right body for it to work. So they had experimented with a bunch of body parts, put together a mutant zombie with way to many legs and arms and stuff, and left it upstairs.
Well, this guy had telepathy and he read the mind of Mr. Factory Owner to check for these images and I showed the player what he had done with this poor violation of human flesh, crawling slowly along the floor.
The player went ballistic, let alone the character. He screamed in fury announced he grabbed the factory owner by the throat and starting to squeeze. The other characters finally called in assistance and convinced the character that it wasn't worth it. In the end the player announced that his character burst into tears and left the building.
Then the player congratulated me for actually breaking his character. He had gotten three other tables' worth of people to turn and listen in when this happened.
It was cool.
The only other cool thing that happened was that the last night I was there, I did one more game demo at midnight, after 36 hours of demos. In the middle of the game a player asked me a question and while I answered him I closed my eyes to work out what was happening to his character...
...And fell asleep. Still talking. Shook myself awake and said , "Right." The guy looks at me and asks, "Did you just fall asleep?" I said, "Yes, but was I making sense?" "He assured me I had, "And I said "Oh, good," and continued on with the game.
Master of the Game
First Post
If you don't mind, I'll start by posting my responses from the similar thread on RPG.net, then I'll edit in the questions from here.
----
1. How do you think price factors when evaluating a product?
A price well above the industry standard is an issue, as much as a price well below industry standard might make some products more appealing. I'd say it is a factor, but hardly the most important factor.
2. Do you have a favourite system, or particular dislike of one? Why? How will this affect your ability to judge products?
Hard to say if I have an actual favorite, though I do love Shadowrun, GURPS, and d20. I have yet to actually play Burning Wheel, but I enjoy it as well.
3. How do you feel about PDFs? Inherent advantages and/or disadvantages?
In general I like them. I buy quite a few, even copies of books I own, because I find them very easy to use in play. I do think they are inherently less valuable than books, and regret that there is no good way to loan them out, but so long as they are priced less than a corresponding print edition, I think they make up for it.
4. Mutant or troll?
At the moment, mutant... I'm on a scifi kick.
5. mechanics or concepts? if you find too many errors in mechanics or in the writing will you fault the submission?
Hmm, I'm most likely to buy a book for interesting mechanics, but a game without a world and underlying theme kinda feels like it doesn't have a soul.
6. are you in a long term relationship or a job which requires you to be on call or have little free time? how much time are you willing to spend to see this project to completion? are the outside factors going to effect your commitment? (a non gaming SO, a sick child, an aging parent, a new job, a move, planning a marriage, etc...)
Well, I'm married and have two kids, but it doesn't stop me from running three games a week, mostly because my job (except once a month or so) involves me sitting behind a desk waiting to see if something bad happens (I own a security company). If it doesn't, which is most of the time, I work on my games.
7. what are you gonna do with your stuff when all is done?
I'd love to take the books with me to GenCon, get as many of them signed as possible, then sponsor a local game day (we never seem to have them in Austin) featuring the games, giving my copies away to those who participate.
8. 4e - Now, Soon, Later, or Never?
Later.
9. Which is your favorite Beatle?
I lean toward jewel beetles, but my son loves Mrs. Spider's Sunny Patch. Oh wait...
10. Software. What role do you see for software in DnD? Do you use software in DnD (more than Word/PDF etc)? Are minis more important than software?
Being a laptop-using gamemaster, I find software to be very valuable, but I do love me some minis (though technically I use magnets).
12. What game(s) are you playing in now / have played in in the past year?
Currently:
GURPS Old West
Mega-Traveller
DnD 3.5
Legend of the Five Rings
Shadowrun 4E
In the last year add:
Fading Suns
Spycraft 2.0
Fireborn
MRQ
13. What are your 3 favorite RPGs?
I'll go with my initial reactions above... d20, GURPS, and Shadowrun 4E. For d20 I should add that I prefer games that depart significantly from D&D (Thieves' World, M&M, Grim Tales...).
14. What is your favorite genre to play in and/or run? Are there any you genuinely don't like playing in and/or running?
I loves me some medium/hard scifi, but honestly, it's pretty fluid. Generally I want to play whatever I'm not currently playing. *sigh* the hardships of being an ADD gamer
15. Do you think that the ENnies should have a codified set of rules for how they should be run, including a specific list of points that the judges should use for each category? Or do you think that the ENnies should be like they are currently, and the judges voting on the rules each year? And to either answer, why?
I think certain rules should be in place, there was a comment about a game being listed as an adventure and a campaign setting, and I think that should probably change. Other than that, I'll admit my ignorance on why rules are chosen the way they are, and say that I think needs and criteria change, as do peoples' perspectives, so I don't have a problem with the rules changing, so long as there is a written set that participants can browse available somewhere.
16. Do you think that the ENnies being so intimately tied to the World's Largest d20 Fan Site might mean that the basic voting pool for the ENnies might be slightly biased towards d20 products?
So long as the majority of voters come from ENWorld, a lot of votes will be in favor of d20, but so long as most gamers play d20, the majority of votes will be d20. I do think that it's ok as long as a reasonable effort is made to include the entire online community, which I believe is being done.
17. Do you think that the ENnies should move everything over to their own, independent website (which they already have)? Why or why not?
Probably, but as has been noted, this has been done. I think that it's important to people outside of ENWorld that there be a semblance of impartiality.
18. Do you think moving the ENnies off EN World would cause a drop in the overall number of voters? (Comment: They have already been moved off EN World, we will see what happens - Turjan)
No idea, but I doubt it. Most of us follow links to get to the voting page anyways.
19. Are you a person who prefers crunchy bits or fluffy parts? Is there a ratio of crunch to fluff with you?
I do love mechanics, but absent from fluff they lack flavor. I'd say that I buy products for rules, but read them for the fluff. I like books that have around 20%-30% crunch I guess. For core books I like them to be mostly crunch, but on supplements, I could deal with much more fluff.
20. Where can I find links to your reviews or publishing credits?
Honestly, I have only done one review, and I have never written in the industry.
21. How broad of an RPG background do you have?
Well, I have been gaming since 1982, and GMing since 1985, though the first real game I can remember (where we made a concerted effort to follow a story rather than just build characters with whatever we wanted and start killing stuff) started with City of the Gods around Christmas of 1987. Since then I haven't stopped gaming for more than a few weeks at a time to work on a new campaign, move, get married, that sort of thing.
I played a whole lot of DnD out of the out of the red/blue/teal/black/gold boxed set, then moved on to Ad&D and 2nd Edition. I also ran all three editions of GURPS in the old days (just switched to 4E), some Classic Traveller, Runequest, and Arduin, and fell in love with Shadowrun around '89 or '90. Then it was on to Earthdawn, which was the first time I realized the sheer volume of games available to play.
In the early '90s I did a little World of Darkness and ran the local VLARP. I also started wargaming and boardgaming in there, and picked up a nasty 40k addiction that I still struggle with. The mid-90s brought me L5R, Fading Suns, d6 Satr Wars, and Torg.
I was bit hard by the d20 bug, and bought much or what came out in 3E, and still buy all the varient stuff I find interesting (Iron Heroes, Thieves' World, Arcana Evolved, M&M, the three Trinity volumes, True20, Spycraft, Modern, and the like), as well as keeping my D&D collection up to date. I also stay current on Shadowrun 4E and GURPS 4e, while picking up the occasional other title that appeals to me (Burning Wheel, Exalted 2E, etc).
I guess that's about it, sheesh. Too much?
22. Some RPG books (or mechanics) are better, or at least different, when played rather than just read. Without playing them, is there any way for a judge to reach a judgement about the products utility without actual play experience? If so what are they?
If they are built on a system you know (like d20) I think you can get a basic grasp of what they are aiming for. Otherwise it's very difficult. I play three games a week, and my players love trying new stuff. If I become a judge I will make every effort to run everything I possibly can.
23. What is it that you are looking for when judging the worthiness of a product?
Value, interesting concepts or rules, avoiding too much need for errata, reasonable presentation (easy to read, no pictures that make my eyes bleed), above all, fun to play.
24. Different doesn't necessarily mean better. Agree or disagree?
Strongly agree, but a willingness to try something new definitely wins bonus points.
----
Questions from here:
Question: How do you feel about Wizards of the Coast abstaining from entering products?
Their choice of course. It's a pitty really, but there are plenty of other great products out there that might have gotten overlooked, that will now get a better chance to shine.
13. How long have you been gaming? Does that affect the perspective you will be bringing to the judging table?
Very nearly 25 years. I think it gives me an appreciation for various systems, and maybe a little more insight as to what is possible, and what has been done before.
14. How much game design experience do you have? I don't mean published, I mean in general- 10 years of homebrewing? Have you created your own systems? Do you think this affects your level of qualification as a judge?
For our group, yes I have created systems and worlds. Nearly every world I have played in for any length of time has been more or less my own, though elements of other worlds I like have always been a part of them (all the way back to the map from Sword of Shanarra that I used to run my game in junior high ). I don't know if it makes me more qualified though. World-building is highly subjective, and I build the world that I want to play in, not necessarily those that would appeal to a mass market. I use tricks and hooks that I wouldn't dare to use with a group I didn't know as well as my own.
I would like to know if any of the candidates have done paid games industry work, ever.
Nope.
Do you plan on playtesting any of the material?
As much as humanly possible. I run three games a week, and will dedicate at least two if not all (two of my players only play d20, and I wouldn't cancel their game to make them play something they don't like) to playing through whatever I can. Most of my players love to try new systems, and they will enjoy this as much as I do.
What prompted you to consider being a judge for the ENnies?
It's something I've always wanted to do, to be a part of the larger community and do something truly "neat". Also, this will be my first year at GenCon since Mecca, and I won't know anyone outside of my group. It'll be a chance to meet some new people and be a part of something.
Would statements by those "in the industry" affect your opinions on a product?
Not at all. My opinions are my own, and those of the people I will playtest with.
Name me a product that you bought in the last year that you don't recommand people to buy.
Hmmm, I'm usually pretty careful about what I buy these days, read reviews, give a good look at the FLGS, that sort of thing... I can't think of anything really terrible, but I don't think I'd recommend GURPS Space. It's not bad really, there's just not much in there that's as valuable as the similar stuff in GURPS Traveller:Interstellar Wars. Plus, IW has nifty ship-building rules.
Do you prefer Old World of Darkness or New World of Darkness?
New. I played Mage, Vampire, and a touch of Werewolf in the old rules, but it was never really my thing. For my Halloween game last year, however, I decided to try out the new rules, and ran a horror game using just the core book. It was a heck of a lot of fun, and the system was easy enough for my group to grasp that they played without ever reading the rules (of course, we play a lot of Shadowrun 4E, and they're very similar).
Do you consider yourself a gamist, narrativist, or simulationist?
I guess gamist. The rules are part of the fun for me.
Will you be at Gen Con?
Barring some misfortune. My group and I have already started working on logistics and putting together a carpool fund.
What about gaming appeals to you?
What doesn't? Hanging with the friends, telling stories, rolling dice. I like the whole shebang. There is a wargamer buried deep inside me that loves the minis and the tactical aspect just as much as the storyteller in me loves worldbuilding.
Your overall most memorable gaming purchase you made?
Well, if it's just something I bought in the last year, I'd say Megatraveller. Obviously it's a lot older, but I just got it. It's memorable to me because the day I got it I showed it to my players at the game and explained character creation. We had to immediately halt our other game just to build characters using it's lifepath system.
Edit: Oops, you said overall. I'll go with AD&D 2E. I think I was at the hight of my GMing ability back then. The best games I ever ran were 2E before family took over and kids were running around my feet while I played.
What award given by past ENnies do you disagree with most? Why?
I don't know that I have something I really disagree with, I mean the taste of fans is relative, I imagine that's why judges aren't given the final say. Like I said above, however, I don't know that I like the same product being in two conflicting categories.
Have you ever been an ENnies judge before?
Nope.
Could you talk about a rockin' moment that happened at your table this year?
Sheesh, that's a hard one, since I find most gametable moments to be "You had to be there" events. I will say that a few weeks ago I had a GM moment that tickled me. We started our game in a space faring civilization, but otherwise not much higher tech than Earth. Halfway through the first game the group noticed nukes going off in the distance, and shortly thereafter saw cylon raiders descending. One player's jaw dropped to the floor and he said something to the effect of: "Aw Hell, we're playing Battlestar Galactica, and we don't even have a ship..."
Like I said, you had to be there.
----
1. How do you think price factors when evaluating a product?
A price well above the industry standard is an issue, as much as a price well below industry standard might make some products more appealing. I'd say it is a factor, but hardly the most important factor.
2. Do you have a favourite system, or particular dislike of one? Why? How will this affect your ability to judge products?
Hard to say if I have an actual favorite, though I do love Shadowrun, GURPS, and d20. I have yet to actually play Burning Wheel, but I enjoy it as well.
3. How do you feel about PDFs? Inherent advantages and/or disadvantages?
In general I like them. I buy quite a few, even copies of books I own, because I find them very easy to use in play. I do think they are inherently less valuable than books, and regret that there is no good way to loan them out, but so long as they are priced less than a corresponding print edition, I think they make up for it.
4. Mutant or troll?
At the moment, mutant... I'm on a scifi kick.
5. mechanics or concepts? if you find too many errors in mechanics or in the writing will you fault the submission?
Hmm, I'm most likely to buy a book for interesting mechanics, but a game without a world and underlying theme kinda feels like it doesn't have a soul.
6. are you in a long term relationship or a job which requires you to be on call or have little free time? how much time are you willing to spend to see this project to completion? are the outside factors going to effect your commitment? (a non gaming SO, a sick child, an aging parent, a new job, a move, planning a marriage, etc...)
Well, I'm married and have two kids, but it doesn't stop me from running three games a week, mostly because my job (except once a month or so) involves me sitting behind a desk waiting to see if something bad happens (I own a security company). If it doesn't, which is most of the time, I work on my games.
7. what are you gonna do with your stuff when all is done?
I'd love to take the books with me to GenCon, get as many of them signed as possible, then sponsor a local game day (we never seem to have them in Austin) featuring the games, giving my copies away to those who participate.
8. 4e - Now, Soon, Later, or Never?
Later.
9. Which is your favorite Beatle?
I lean toward jewel beetles, but my son loves Mrs. Spider's Sunny Patch. Oh wait...
10. Software. What role do you see for software in DnD? Do you use software in DnD (more than Word/PDF etc)? Are minis more important than software?
Being a laptop-using gamemaster, I find software to be very valuable, but I do love me some minis (though technically I use magnets).
12. What game(s) are you playing in now / have played in in the past year?
Currently:
GURPS Old West
Mega-Traveller
DnD 3.5
Legend of the Five Rings
Shadowrun 4E
In the last year add:
Fading Suns
Spycraft 2.0
Fireborn
MRQ
13. What are your 3 favorite RPGs?
I'll go with my initial reactions above... d20, GURPS, and Shadowrun 4E. For d20 I should add that I prefer games that depart significantly from D&D (Thieves' World, M&M, Grim Tales...).
14. What is your favorite genre to play in and/or run? Are there any you genuinely don't like playing in and/or running?
I loves me some medium/hard scifi, but honestly, it's pretty fluid. Generally I want to play whatever I'm not currently playing. *sigh* the hardships of being an ADD gamer
15. Do you think that the ENnies should have a codified set of rules for how they should be run, including a specific list of points that the judges should use for each category? Or do you think that the ENnies should be like they are currently, and the judges voting on the rules each year? And to either answer, why?
I think certain rules should be in place, there was a comment about a game being listed as an adventure and a campaign setting, and I think that should probably change. Other than that, I'll admit my ignorance on why rules are chosen the way they are, and say that I think needs and criteria change, as do peoples' perspectives, so I don't have a problem with the rules changing, so long as there is a written set that participants can browse available somewhere.
16. Do you think that the ENnies being so intimately tied to the World's Largest d20 Fan Site might mean that the basic voting pool for the ENnies might be slightly biased towards d20 products?
So long as the majority of voters come from ENWorld, a lot of votes will be in favor of d20, but so long as most gamers play d20, the majority of votes will be d20. I do think that it's ok as long as a reasonable effort is made to include the entire online community, which I believe is being done.
17. Do you think that the ENnies should move everything over to their own, independent website (which they already have)? Why or why not?
Probably, but as has been noted, this has been done. I think that it's important to people outside of ENWorld that there be a semblance of impartiality.
18. Do you think moving the ENnies off EN World would cause a drop in the overall number of voters? (Comment: They have already been moved off EN World, we will see what happens - Turjan)
No idea, but I doubt it. Most of us follow links to get to the voting page anyways.
19. Are you a person who prefers crunchy bits or fluffy parts? Is there a ratio of crunch to fluff with you?
I do love mechanics, but absent from fluff they lack flavor. I'd say that I buy products for rules, but read them for the fluff. I like books that have around 20%-30% crunch I guess. For core books I like them to be mostly crunch, but on supplements, I could deal with much more fluff.
20. Where can I find links to your reviews or publishing credits?
Honestly, I have only done one review, and I have never written in the industry.
21. How broad of an RPG background do you have?
Well, I have been gaming since 1982, and GMing since 1985, though the first real game I can remember (where we made a concerted effort to follow a story rather than just build characters with whatever we wanted and start killing stuff) started with City of the Gods around Christmas of 1987. Since then I haven't stopped gaming for more than a few weeks at a time to work on a new campaign, move, get married, that sort of thing.
I played a whole lot of DnD out of the out of the red/blue/teal/black/gold boxed set, then moved on to Ad&D and 2nd Edition. I also ran all three editions of GURPS in the old days (just switched to 4E), some Classic Traveller, Runequest, and Arduin, and fell in love with Shadowrun around '89 or '90. Then it was on to Earthdawn, which was the first time I realized the sheer volume of games available to play.
In the early '90s I did a little World of Darkness and ran the local VLARP. I also started wargaming and boardgaming in there, and picked up a nasty 40k addiction that I still struggle with
. The mid-90s brought me L5R, Fading Suns, d6 Satr Wars, and Torg.I was bit hard by the d20 bug, and bought much or what came out in 3E, and still buy all the varient stuff I find interesting (Iron Heroes, Thieves' World, Arcana Evolved, M&M, the three Trinity volumes, True20, Spycraft, Modern, and the like), as well as keeping my D&D collection up to date. I also stay current on Shadowrun 4E and GURPS 4e, while picking up the occasional other title that appeals to me (Burning Wheel, Exalted 2E, etc).
I guess that's about it, sheesh. Too much?
22. Some RPG books (or mechanics) are better, or at least different, when played rather than just read. Without playing them, is there any way for a judge to reach a judgement about the products utility without actual play experience? If so what are they?
If they are built on a system you know (like d20) I think you can get a basic grasp of what they are aiming for. Otherwise it's very difficult. I play three games a week, and my players love trying new stuff. If I become a judge I will make every effort to run everything I possibly can.
23. What is it that you are looking for when judging the worthiness of a product?
Value, interesting concepts or rules, avoiding too much need for errata, reasonable presentation (easy to read, no pictures that make my eyes bleed), above all, fun to play.
24. Different doesn't necessarily mean better. Agree or disagree?
Strongly agree, but a willingness to try something new definitely wins bonus points.
----
Questions from here:
Question: How do you feel about Wizards of the Coast abstaining from entering products?
Their choice of course. It's a pitty really, but there are plenty of other great products out there that might have gotten overlooked, that will now get a better chance to shine.
13. How long have you been gaming? Does that affect the perspective you will be bringing to the judging table?
Very nearly 25 years. I think it gives me an appreciation for various systems, and maybe a little more insight as to what is possible, and what has been done before.
14. How much game design experience do you have? I don't mean published, I mean in general- 10 years of homebrewing? Have you created your own systems? Do you think this affects your level of qualification as a judge?
For our group, yes I have created systems and worlds. Nearly every world I have played in for any length of time has been more or less my own, though elements of other worlds I like have always been a part of them (all the way back to the map from Sword of Shanarra that I used to run my game in junior high
). I don't know if it makes me more qualified though. World-building is highly subjective, and I build the world that I want to play in, not necessarily those that would appeal to a mass market. I use tricks and hooks that I wouldn't dare to use with a group I didn't know as well as my own.I would like to know if any of the candidates have done paid games industry work, ever.
Nope.
Do you plan on playtesting any of the material?
As much as humanly possible. I run three games a week, and will dedicate at least two if not all (two of my players only play d20, and I wouldn't cancel their game to make them play something they don't like) to playing through whatever I can. Most of my players love to try new systems, and they will enjoy this as much as I do.
What prompted you to consider being a judge for the ENnies?
It's something I've always wanted to do, to be a part of the larger community and do something truly "neat". Also, this will be my first year at GenCon since Mecca, and I won't know anyone outside of my group. It'll be a chance to meet some new people and be a part of something.
Would statements by those "in the industry" affect your opinions on a product?
Not at all. My opinions are my own, and those of the people I will playtest with.
Name me a product that you bought in the last year that you don't recommand people to buy.
Hmmm, I'm usually pretty careful about what I buy these days, read reviews, give a good look at the FLGS, that sort of thing... I can't think of anything really terrible, but I don't think I'd recommend GURPS Space. It's not bad really, there's just not much in there that's as valuable as the similar stuff in GURPS Traveller:Interstellar Wars. Plus, IW has nifty ship-building rules.
Do you prefer Old World of Darkness or New World of Darkness?
New. I played Mage, Vampire, and a touch of Werewolf in the old rules, but it was never really my thing. For my Halloween game last year, however, I decided to try out the new rules, and ran a horror game using just the core book. It was a heck of a lot of fun, and the system was easy enough for my group to grasp that they played without ever reading the rules (of course, we play a lot of Shadowrun 4E, and they're very similar).
Do you consider yourself a gamist, narrativist, or simulationist?
I guess gamist. The rules are part of the fun for me.
Will you be at Gen Con?
Barring some misfortune. My group and I have already started working on logistics and putting together a carpool fund.
What about gaming appeals to you?
What doesn't? Hanging with the friends, telling stories, rolling dice. I like the whole shebang. There is a wargamer buried deep inside me that loves the minis and the tactical aspect just as much as the storyteller in me loves worldbuilding.
Your overall most memorable gaming purchase you made?
Well, if it's just something I bought in the last year, I'd say Megatraveller. Obviously it's a lot older, but I just got it. It's memorable to me because the day I got it I showed it to my players at the game and explained character creation. We had to immediately halt our other game just to build characters using it's lifepath system.
Edit: Oops, you said overall. I'll go with AD&D 2E. I think I was at the hight of my GMing ability back then. The best games I ever ran were 2E before family took over and kids were running around my feet while I played.
What award given by past ENnies do you disagree with most? Why?
I don't know that I have something I really disagree with, I mean the taste of fans is relative, I imagine that's why judges aren't given the final say. Like I said above, however, I don't know that I like the same product being in two conflicting categories.
Have you ever been an ENnies judge before?
Nope.
Could you talk about a rockin' moment that happened at your table this year?
Sheesh, that's a hard one, since I find most gametable moments to be "You had to be there" events. I will say that a few weeks ago I had a GM moment that tickled me. We started our game in a space faring civilization, but otherwise not much higher tech than Earth. Halfway through the first game the group noticed nukes going off in the distance, and shortly thereafter saw cylon raiders descending. One player's jaw dropped to the floor and he said something to the effect of: "Aw Hell, we're playing Battlestar Galactica, and we don't even have a ship..."
Like I said, you had to be there.
Last edited:
jenschoonover
First Post
Darn.
On a second read-through in which I was finally able to really read the rules, I may not qualify. Although I wish it were otherwise... I'm not affiliated with one publisher; I'm affiliated with most publishers in some way, shape, or form.
Kinda figured that removed the bias.
Oh, well.
Had fun with the thought, though.
On a second read-through in which I was finally able to really read the rules, I may not qualify. Although I wish it were otherwise... I'm not affiliated with one publisher; I'm affiliated with most publishers in some way, shape, or form.
Kinda figured that removed the bias.
Oh, well.
Had fun with the thought, though.
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