Given the chance, wouldn't you?

Those touched by the Endless discover that in many ways their lives can never be the same again.  Experiences lose their intensity.  Colors gain more meaning.  Even family and friends are laid upon the scales:  have they become insignificant or have they become an anchor to what defines oneself.    But none go through the experience unchanged.

But to be glimpsed.

Ah.   Sometimes, things are far more difference when glimpses are involved.

"Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."

November 27 Open Gaming Meet: Glimpses

Teaser #01and #02

The Endless? The Endless are merely patterns. The Endless are ideas. The Endless are wave functions. The Endless are repeating motifs. The Endless are echoes of darkness, and nothing more. We have no right to play with their lives, to order their dreams and their desires.

- Destruction, Sandman #48 "Brief Lives"

This coming Open Gaming Meet, I am running a one-shot session I have decided to call "Glimpses" where a few lucky players get a chance to experience what it can be like to encounter one of Neil Gaiman's creations. The game will be using the White Wolf Gaming Studios' New World of Darkness Storyteller system and will be very rules-lite, allowing new players to focus more on their character and unfolding story.

Here's hoping the game will inspire its players to get more into both role-playing games AND Sandman. 

A few more teasers are to follow! 

The game starts at 6pm and is targeted to be done by 9pm.

Player slots are still available.

See you on the 27th of November!

So hard to choose one every month...

The Serenity game was a success.  To my surprise, the game actually had two people who never ever played a role-playing game before, and one person who wasn't even familiar with the show, and yet all three were spectacular in portraying members of the Serenity crew (Jayne, River and Mal to be precise!)  Even better, though the game started later than I had planned (6:00p.m.) I was actually able to maintain my 4 hour maximum running time and finish the game with every player having a coherent and satisfying storyline (somehow I sense the most satisfying one was Jovan's Kaylee story which had her tearing Simon's shirt off to save his life.)

Yes Jovan.  Something like this.

The upcoming November and December Open Gaming Meets should be even more fun, thanks to the article  our beloved Rej wrote for GMA 7.  It is such a sad fact that way too many people think the only fun gaming to be experienced requires an internet connection and a computer.   I do hope more people opt to join us and realize how much fun one can have even if the power is out!

Oh glorious dice.

For those interested in attending, 
the next few Open Gaming Meets are scheduled on the following dates:
2010 • November 27 • December 11
2011 • January 15 • February 19 • March 12

I have yet to decide what games to run in the succeeding ones.  There are just to many options to choose from.  While it is easy to just use the World of Darkness system and come up with anything the players want (since the system is that flexible.) I feel tempted to run more games using other game systems just to be able to get gamers to try more new things.  Not that many know of the fun Method in Madness' Children of Fire can bring.  Others might not even be aware that there was a Street Fighter rpg!  Or explore a world where Lovecraft's Mythos meets Science Fiction in Cthulhutech.  Scavenge in the wild world of Summerland.  Perform acts of heroism in D.C. Heroes.  Master the Shai Hulud in the DUNE rpg.  Or deal with the darkness as children in Little Fears.

Imagine being able to make your own fighter, and going head-to-head with Chun Li.
And by head-to-head, I don't necessarily mean combat!

On the flip side, the World of Darkness system has been more than adequate to run games based on one's favorite fandoms or movies.  Inception can easily be done with Mage: the Acension rules (especially with help from the Technocracy book).  Pirates of the Caribbean is child's play to recreate with the Sorceror's Crusade book.  Vertigo's Sandman can be achieved with Changeling the Lost.  Even Machete can be done using the infamous Dudes of Legend book.

Baaaauuuuuuhhhhmmmm!

If anything, the trick is finding a way for players to be willing to experience the game.  As I observed in the Serenity game, even long-time gamers can be greatly intimidated to try a new game if they aren't familiar with the setting.  Or system.  And this is a case that will happen more than 50% of the time with new people.  The beauty of a role-playing game is that you can even bring back franchises that are over (like Lost) and allow the fans to experience it again!  And that is one of the  selling points to new players who've never experienced a role-playing game before.

Oh poor Wash.  That's why in my game, you were cloned and brought back by Blue Sun!

Anyway, here's hoping the next one will also be a success.  Maybe even with more attendees!  

October Events to Attend

It is October 2010 and today I found myself thinking about the two upcoming gaming-related events for the month.  As most of you readers know, role playing games have been my favorite past time for many years.  Ever since that fateful day when my elven archer was killed by an erupting volcano, I have promised myself to never let another player experience a horrible game under me.  Thankfully, even with three ongoing chronicles as part of my weekly routine, I have still found the time to participate in other opportunities to give more people a taste of my preferred style of gaming.

I sincerely believe that there is only one wrong way to run a role playing game.  And that is by running a game which is not fun for the player or the game master.

I do however admit that my approach to gaming can seem odd, different, or unique for some people.  Using the techniques and narrative approaches that I have learned from theater, film making, comic creation and writing, I tend to run games which allow players to explore the story freely without losing sight of the unifying tale which all the characters are part of.

Given the opportunity to do so, I also tend to tailor the games to maximize traits which the players prefer, making sure action junkies get a taste of some battle scenes, dramatists find opportunities to unleash emotions and beautifully crafted monologues, and so forth.  I usually only have trouble with rules-lawyers and roll-players in my games.  Rules lawyers get too caught up with the system that they end up becoming disruptive forces against the time spend encouraging the game's mood and narrative flow.  Roll-players, on the other hand, sadly ignore the verbal or contextual cues that make the game more engaging and become too obsessed with determining if their dice roll was cocked or not.

Last September, I was able to run my first ever session of John Wick's Houses of the Blooded.  What began as a typical "banquet" quickly evolved into a tale of political maneuvering, romance and power play.  The game had four players, none of which have ever tried the game system before.  Much to my happiness, all left with fond memories of the game and an interest in finding a copy of the rulebook.

This October, people who are interested in exploring non-computer based gaming or real table top role playing games can attend any of these two upcoming events.  The first is an event called Polyhedral which will be held on the 16th of October.  The event starts at 11a.m. and will be at Last Home restobar in Pioneer.  While most of the games to be held in this location favor the d20 system, I however plan to run either a White Wolf Gaming Studios game such as a World of Darkness mortals session or another game system such as DC Heroes MEGS or maybe even some indie game like the Children of Fire.

Alternately, people who are interested in board games, card games and any other gaming which does not require the use of a computer, can attend this month's Open Gaming Meet.  This monthly event allows attendees to try practically any of the games that are available on the game table for free, once they pay the very affordable Php100 (barely US$ 2.00) entrance fee (which is used to pay for the venue).    Already I have a number of interested people who are hoping for a slot in the Firefly/Serenity rpg I plan to run.  I used this system some months ago for an earlier OGM, and I can still recall how fun the Cortex system can be.

So for those who are interested in playing a game, do come join the fun either at Polyhedral or at the Open Gaming Meet.  Feel free to come up to me and say HI! if you do.  I'm always happy to meet more gamers and make new friends.

October Open Gaming Meet Teaser RPG

This October, as requested by at least three people,

I am going to run the following game in the 

upcoming October Open Gaming Meet.

While I originally had plans of running something more

leaning towards the horror genre, I will admit a

soft spot for this show.

Then again, who's to say I can't give

this game a horror spin, eh?

One word: REAVERS

See you this October!