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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Harker Wade" data-source="post: 3687922" data-attributes="member: 2271">Hi, I'm Andrew Morris and I want to be an ENnies Judge too. Here are my answers....  Good Luck to everyone!!!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> 1. When did you join the RPG hobby and what inspired you to become involved and stay with it?I think I was 9 or 10 at the time I got introduced to RPGs, specifically Dungeons & Dragons, and for me it was the chance to be part of the stories I had read about, seen on TV or film and imagined. I wasn’t just watching them, I was an active participant – my friends and I shaped the story – that was pretty cool! I stayed with it because of that level of involvement and the wildly different places the various games could take me. I remember D&D, of course, but also trying Boot Hill, Top Secret, James Bond and Powers and Perils in those early days.2. Since you joined the hobby, what roles have you played (e.g. vending, professional writing and publishing, reviewing, convention organizing, homebrewing, playing, GMing, etc.)?•    GM Marvel Super Heroes – ran 4 connected campaigns over 8 years, 12 players 30+ PCs•    Homebrew D&D world – 4 years, 15 players•    I’ve played in several long running games – 2 Vampire campaigns, Deadlands, Spelljammer, Eberron, Trinity and Adventure!•    GenCon experiences include – demoing character generation for Dangerous Journeys, running Deadlands, Deadlands D20, Weird Wars, D&D, Beyond Mere Mortals and Ptolus on behalf of their publishers. I also worked the booth for Beyond Mere Mortals.•    FlatCon – I was involved in the organization and planning of the first few years of this IL con. I’ve also run games at the con, 2000 – 2006.•    Wrote 10 monsters in the Horrors of Weird War II monster book for Pinnacle.•    I’ve run D&D (multiple editions), Vampire, Mage, Werewolf, Shadowrun, Champions, Seven Seas, Spycraft, Star Trek (LUG edition), Farscape, Stargate and Trinity.•    I was a play tester on Brave New World and Serenity.•    I’ve run D&D at the local Barnes & Noble for World Wide D&D Days and for the past year I have run a monthly introductory game at the store.•    For the past year I’ve run a D&D game set in Ptolus with one of my players playing via Skype video.3. The ENnies require a major commitment of time and mental energy. What resources do you bring that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other individuals be assisting you?Let me start off by saying what I don’t have – a girlfriend or wife, kids, pets (because of where I live) which allows me more time for my hobbies. I have an English degree, so I’m used to reading 2000+ pages a week from 4 or 5 different books at one time and keeping the details straight. As for my group helping me out, they will definitely help with reference texts (someone I know is bound to have a copy of any game I might need) and possibly even play testing games.4. What interests, experience and skills do you bring from outside the hobby that you think will make you a more effective judge?My professional experience at public university has involved analyzing disparate course work from all over the country, determining whether or not it met different sets of standards and then placing the course accordingly. In effect I was judging the courses to see if they were of a quality to grant credit. I also believe that my BA in English combined with my time as a High School teacher have given me tools (reading, editing & grading) that will aid me in being a judge.5. What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like?I often find I like certain genre & style mixes – Vampire and intrigue, D&D and high fantasy, but sometimes it’s the new combinations that give you a new appreciation for a genre or style. That was the case for me when I first played Deadlands. Games where the PCs actions ultimately are meaningless in the meta-plot don’t really interest me. That’s fine for a one-shot, but it’s hard to get excited about that concept in a campaign. For combat-lite, role-play intensive games with experienced players I really like the Storyteller system and for new players (I run a intro game every month at the local Barnes & Noble) I prefer D&D or D20.6. What system do you think is best designed? Is it the one you play most?Depends on what genre & style I feel like GMing or playing. For GMing I’d say its D&D 3.X and for playing I really like the gothic, horror feel of Vampire Dark Ages. With D&D 3.X I like the ease with which new mechanics can be added. Since I do a lot introductory games this lets me start with a stripped down rule set and add as players become comfortable. I primarily GM, unless I’m trying out a new game, my system of choice is D&D.7. What games have you played in the past year?  List up to 10 RPGs you have played the most.In the past year I’ve played D&D, Adventure!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampire and Q.U.A.G.S..Top 10 RPGs1. Dungeons & Dragons (multiple editions)2. Old World of Darkness (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage)3. Vampire the Masquerade LARP4. Deadlands5. Shadowrun 3rd edition6. Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP edition)7. Seven Seas8. Adventure! , Aberrant & Trinity9. GURPS 3rd edition10. Champions8. Briefly summarize the criteria you will use for judging products in the different categories. How will you deal with comparing products of vastly disparate lengths, medium (PDF vs. print), or mechanics to prose ratios? Will innovation and originality play a major role?First and foremost, I’ll be looking to see how well the product fulfills the intent of the category. Other considerations are clarity, style, creativity and impact. Innovation is important when looking at the mechanics – does the mechanic add a new sub-system or does it attempt to improve upon an existing mechanic. As for originality, I’ll look to see how the product hooks me.9. How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed? What about for systems that are out of print?I collect games, so I buy and read a lot of stuff that I’ve never played. Getting a copy of unfamiliar or out-of-print rules set isn’t really that difficult with all of the on-line services available today and friends who have large gaming libraries. I see it as part of the job to make myself familiar with those games to be a fair and accurate judge. If I get elected I leave my bias of games at the door and judge the products handed to me on their merits. 10. How would you like to see the ENnies change (categories, policies, etc)?  What should remain inviolate?I don’t see a lot of need for change. I think the awards should stay just as RPG awards so they do not loose their focus. BONUS: (optional) If you were an RPG, what would it be, and would you play it?I’d say that if I was RPG it would be a world made up of various warring genres (Pulp, Super-Heroes, Gothic, Noir, Fantasy) vying for control of time and space; where strange characters bounce between these strange realms looking for meaning. I’d like to play, but I’d probably have to GM and that would ok with me.</blockquote>

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