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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8281578" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 56: Nov/Dec 1990part 3/5The New Rogues Gallery: This column has nothing to do with Raven's Bluff for the first time in a while, instead stealing from movies to tell a story of an evil twin sabotaging his good counterpart's life. Dante Greyshadow is a cold, calculating and charming assassin who'll competently carry out nearly any commission if you've got enough cash to spend. Except where his paladin twin brother is involved, at which point he's a petty little bitch who'll pretend to be him to implicate him in crimes, kill his friends, and generally do his best to ruin his life while leaving him still alive to suffer and maintaining plausible deniability about who's responsible for these woes. He's assisted in this by the scheming wizard/priest of Set, Rezhyk, and the brooding, laconic Drow thief Clint of the East Wood. :groans, boos, throws popcorn at the screen: This is a little silly, but it's also definitely a lot more gamable than most of these, as it gives a clear plot hook that your PC's can easily be caught in the middle of, be it as collateral damage, manipulated by the schemes of the bad guys, or asked for help by the good guy. And a little silliness and referentiality can help with making things memorable. It's just when a whole adventure is composed of comedic references at the expense of plot that it becomes a problem. Besides, changing names is much easier than coming up with whole new sets of stats. I could definitely make this work to my satisfaction. Small Cons And Us: Don & Linda Bingle remind us that the way to really rack up your IC & OOC XP in the RPGA is to attend lots of conventions and participate in as many tournaments as scheduling makes possible. This means not ignoring smaller conventions near to you because they're not a famous name with a big budget and learning to appreciate their charms. You may find you actually prefer a slower pace and the opportunity to have extended conversations with people without being constantly distracted or drowned out by everything else happening around you. This is part description of what you can expect to see at these smaller events, and part warning of the common pitfalls to avoid if you're thinking of throwing your own little gathering and want to actually get credited for the adventures you run. Even more than music, it's the grass-roots stuff that's crucial to the survival of roleplaying as a hobby, as nearly everyone is an active player rather than just an observer and making money from it is only an option for a tiny fraction of the participants. Neglect that, and the whole thing falls apart. This both makes for interesting reading, and is surprisingly full of concrete practical advice. If you want to get good at something, it really does help not only to put in the time, but also get multiple perspectives instead of sticking to the same small clique where everyone is used to playing together. Of course, you also need a certain degree of privilege in terms of money and free time to have a chance of competing on this level, and it's also a reminder of that. Like horse-riding or playing golf, competitive tournament roleplaying is not a hobby for the poor. Oh well. Just have to accept that you'll probably never catch up with them point-wise and concentrate on just having fun. That's the most important thing really.</blockquote>

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