Gore to Plot Ratio / Fear Itself

Question: In a stock teen horror / slasher movie scenario (Scream, Darkness Falls, Harper's Island, Nightmare on Elm Street et al), what should the split be between horrific encounters/gruesome murder and investigation into the monster that leads to the final confrontation?

I'm thinking 30/70, with most of the screen time being tense, gory action.

I guess there's an argument for 10% of the movie being bare breasts and lustful activity and/or comedy, and about 5% being character development (oh, she's the Good Girl, he's the Brain, she's the Mean Girl, he's the Dumb Jock etc. Or, Alive, Dead, Dead, Dead, Dead, Dead).

I'm plotting out my first Fear Itself game, which uses the Gumshoe system, and I want to get the balance right.

Hypocracy / Ooh, I am excited about Pathfinder

I swore myself off Dungeons & Dragons about six years ago. I'd finished running a year long 3.5 campaign with seven players that had taken them from Level 1 to approx Level 15, killed off all the original characters except one and sapped my will to live.
I think it was the extreme silliness of spells, spell-like abilities and general epic prowess D&D characters start acquiring around Level 10 and above that did me in.
The sheer number of modifiers, potential for insane actions and improbable escapes that got me in the end.
I just couldn't comprehend just how epicly competent these characters were.
It did my nut.
When 4th Ed came out, I ditched all my 3.5 books in the bin and embraced the new edition whole heartedly. After all, it was streamlined, improved, easier to grasp.
It was differently insane.
And seemed to focus entirely on tactical dungeon combat. It was like playing Diablo.
Or Dungeon Siege.
I ran it for my local gaming club, and after about 3 sessions jacked it in and played a halfling in somebody else's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game.
Every now and then I'd look in on the D&D guys. They were always in some dungeon working out if they should plow on and get the Action Points, or take a short rest and heal, or weighing up if they should use their per day power now or save it.
I never actually saw them have a conversation with an NPC or do something non combat related.
So, I swore myself off D&D entirely. I'll stick with my WoD and Gumshoe games, I thought.
Earlier this year, though, I realised I had an itch for D&D style fantasy.
I thought about hacking WoD into a fantasy game, and bought World of Darkness: Mirrors. Good ideas, just not quite the same...
I picked up my copy of Ars Magica 5th Ed and flicked through. Yeah, but not quite. It's not epic fantasy. It's not disposable. It's not fast paced.
So I've bought Pathfinder.
I'm halfway through it, and I'm getting a little giddy about it.
Yes, I know its essentially 3.5 with tweaks, and I can see characters becoming insanely powerful by 10th level again, but it sings to me.
The Classes and Races look like fun to play, I'm already familiar with the rules, so just need to spot the differences, it encourages multi-classing and non-standard skill point distribution.
It's a game I hated 6 years ago, and right now I think its great.
I first went out with my wife in 95. We split up some five months later.
Ten years later, we get married.
Not that I'm comparing my wife to D&D/Pathfinder...

Search Terms / Drug Raids

I've been away from this blog for a little while, mostly due to real life crap and mucking about on G+

I return to discover that six people have stumbled upon my blog this past month whilst searching for a Kilo of Coke.
Like they can order it from eBay or Amazon.
They can't, can they?

Technology Fail / The joys of remote gaming

I'm pretty pumped. I've just finished my first internet gaming experience, and it went well... sort of.

I'm running a game of Fear Itself for a group of six players, three of which i've never gamed with before, one of whom has never gamed before. Tonight was a dry run for the technology and a character creation session.

The technology was a massive pain in the ass.

I'd committed to Google Talk, because I believed it allowed conference calls. Noooo. One conversation at a time. Fail.
So we tried a Google+ Hangout, which would've worked just fine, except one of the players couldn't get in. Apparently G+ was full. Or so it told him.

So then we switched to BigMarker.com, which is a free web conferencing service, with video cams, 'unlimited' users, text chat, file sharing and an interactive white board.
After five minutes of setting up, we were in, and then my Shockwave crashed. Luckily it didn't close the conference, so I just rejoined. One other player had an issue, so this is what we're using going forward. It worked really well.

Once we were all on, we went through character creation and the basics of the rules. Then we had a fight.

The fight was fucking great.
I've not GM'd or role played for over a year, and by god I've missed it.
I set the players up in a standard tavern brawl, with a last man standing brief, and let them go mad.
It was gratifying that the 'combat specialist' died in only two rounds.
They are so fucked.
We didn't get round to doing Stability loss, however they're most likely to go insane before they die.

I am itching to get into the game, now.
I can't wait a week...

Video killed the face to face gaming group / Remote gaming problems

Ok, gamerati, if you were playing a game over the internet, using headphones and web cams, what medium / system would you use?

I've tested BigMarker.com last night, and it crashed on me.
I tried Hanging Out on G+, but the plug in wouldn't install on my laptop (window 7, mid range specs, running Chrome browser).

I'd like a medium that includes text chat and easy picture upload.

What should I be using?

Creativity / Productivity

I've been working on a system and setting of my own for too long now. Actual years. Six?
Too long.
I like to think of myself as a good ideas guy, and I'm definitely good at starting things. I just rarely deliver.
I have a qualification in Creative Writing, not a degree, because I didn't complete my dissertation, so it's a Diploma instead.
I start a lot more games than I finish. Never intentionally, its just that as soon as I've started one thing, I want to move onto the next.
It effects every level of my life. I seem to lack organization, focus and confidence in my work.
This post is not an exercise in self pity though, or it's not intended to be, rather it is supposed to be a statement of intent.
Since I started paying attention to the various RPG blogs that are out there, I have become aware of the many indie, DIY game publishers, and seen some of their work.
Publications range from short supportive supplements for existing games, to new, original systems and settings.
I have seen, from the periphery, some of these games move from concept, through design and to realisation and delivery.
An example would be Greg Christopher and his Dark Horse Game Design blog.
I am kind of in awe of his productivity. He has a helluva lot of home commitments (as far as I can tell), holds down a day job and still blogs constantly as well as designing his own games.
His production values are very high, and churns out maps, content and layout for his games in short order.
How does he do it?
Does he sleep?
I've focussed on Greg somewhat here (and sound like a gushing fandom whilst doing so) because from what I know of his personal life, it's similar to mine.
I have two young children, I work full time, I have responsibilities, and don't get to put the time I'd like to into my hobbies.
Then I see people like Greg living the dream.
I clearly need to buck my ideas up. Get a bit of direction. Organise myself.
I would like to produce a playable draft of my system & setting, Modern Mythic, and get it out there, get some feedback. Playtest it. Redraft etc.

The Forbidden Corner / Changeling: the Lost LARP waiting to happen

It was my little boy's 4th birthday this weekend gone, so we took him to The Forbidden Corner in North Yorkshire (UK). I'd been there before, whilst he was still gestating in my wife's womb (4.5 years ago, date fans), and loved it then. I still love it now.

The place is a four acre folly in the Yorkshire Dales. It's am eccentric maze that doubles as a treasure hunt. It is brimming with character.

The entrance to
the maze

When I visited four years ago, I had not read Changeling: the Lost. This is an important point.
Whilst walking through the hedge mazes, wooded paths, tunnels and corridors, my overriding thought was:

This would be a fantastic location for Changeling: the Lost LARP

Now, I'm not into LARP anymore, but I would play a C:tL live game if it were run here. I just need somebody within the UK to organise it. 

The game would be very Hedge-centric, with occasional forays into the edges of Arcadia and Dream spaces. There is a great potential for Hollows, Freeholds, Gateways, Goblin Markets and fucking scary encounters with the True Fae and Hobgoblins.

Part I of a water
tunnel that leads to
the Greek Underworld

Logistically, the site would need booking for an entire weekend, with each attendee paying for at least a full day, maybe two. 

There are cottages on site, which is good, and a possibility for camping for everybody else. 

There's also a cafe on site. 

These steps ultimately lead to the Greek Underworld

The Gates to Hell
or something

A submerged dragon mural

Gates leading to an offshoot of the grounds - a long path of trees and wild boars

A representative wooded path

The view from the edge of the grounds

A gateway to the Hedge
or something worse

There are a fair few gateways and arches

The entrance to another off shoot from the main grounds
This one leads to a graveyard and a herb garden

Another wooded path

A warning to anybody who would meddle in the affairs of the Fey

This, and many of the following photos, reminded me of the insignia from Changeling: the Dreaming

An exit
Also a point of No Return
(in real life, it leads to the toilets)

G(+) Funk / Online gaming in the Google age

I tried an experiment earlier today. Actually yesterday.
Ok, a few hours ago.
Pedants.

I fancied seeing how I could use Google+ for casual remote gaming. Sort of like Play by Email, but not.
I thought I could create a Circle, put the players in it, and post a scene setter with picture and have them react to it in the comments.
The idea would be that each post was a stage in the story, and each new post would occur as the action in the comments reached a natural/critical point.

I didn't think it through to well, though.

Firstly, the players I selected confused it with the 'full' online RPG of Fear Itself i'm setting up.
Secondly, I hadn't thought about the posts getting lost in the feed. Players could keep adding comments to one post, and be alerted to updates by Notifications etc, totally unaware that a new post had come out. This also makes it hard to maintain a sense of narrative structure.

So, thinking on it, what i'm looking for in this instance is actually Google Wave.
Didn't they turn that off?

As a side note, I thought i'd give the basic framework of my Modern Mythic pet system a whirl, so this is what I sent out:
You have 10 points to spend between Strength, Sanity and Luck.
You excel at one thing.
You can use a point of Strength or Sanity to increase your chance of success in a physical or mental task.
You can use a point of Luck to turn a failure into a success, or a success into a failure.
Your character needs a name.

This is what I got back, which is encouraging:
 Str 2, San 3, Luck 5.
Jimmy Muldoon.
Excels at darts

 Brock Landers
Str 2, San 4, Luck 4
Excels at Poker

Alexander Braithwaite
Str 6, San 2, Luck 2
Excels at Golf.

Atlantis found / Atlantis lost

BBC News - Lost landscape discovered off Scottish coast
This is so a Mage: the Awakening story waiting to happen...
Or, maybe, Trail of Cthulhu

Player reactions / Is it ever acceptable to throw a Tarrasque at a 1st level party?

 Tarrasque
I've an idea for a D&D/Pathfinder game, which riffs off Cloverfield a fair amount.
I want to destroy the city the players are in, and make their challenges about saving themselves and others, and generally getting out alive.
It would not be about fighting the big ass monster.
Repeat, not.
That would happen in the background, with the level 20 NPCs throwing heavy ordinance at it, running up its flanks like Legolas or commanding legions of enchanted Mechawarriors (as cool as that would be) to crash against it like waves against the rocks.
My chief concern is the "moron son from War of the Worlds" effect - one of the players exits the main plot because they don't want to survive, they want to fight futilely against the unconquerable foe.
Players can be morons too.
So, advice, should a DM ever throw a Tarraque level threat at a starting party?