Monday, August 13, 2018

#RPGaDay 2018 Day 13: How Has My Play Evolved?

We're almost halfway through #RPGaDay and with Day 13, there's another deep introspective look for a old-timer (Silver Age Grognard?) like me:

"How has my play evolved?"

My original play style was forged from the classic fires of D&D.  What I consider standard D&D tactics I've nicknamed "SWAT-Style Tactics" for the younger, newer gamer.  In a game with no listen checks and thieves with a 20% chance at a skill, it was important to go down the dungeoneering checklist to make sure we had the upper hand opening a door, killing the things inside, and searching the room inside. Lather, Rinse, Repeat

With a reliance on die rolls in the newer editions, the SWAT-Style doesn't diminish, it guarantees better base information even before a success/failure is rolled.  It can certainly speed up play in 4e and 5e.

Alright, the evolution of my play:

High School:  AD&D - Palladium (including RECON... still love RECON) and lots of GURPS

College, Part One:  Gaming simplification with games like TWERPS

Game Store Employment:  Not a lot of RPGs (lots of Magic: The Gathering keeping the lights on).  Enough time to read a lot of stock about a lot of games.

The Masterbook that wasn't:  After returning to college, earning a degree  and entering the ranks of the real world, I pondered another return to my World of Georic homebrew fantasy campaign, with two important changes:  (a) Move the world into the Dangerous Journeys Epic of Aerth Setting and (b) get into a lighter, plot-driven game using West End Game's Masterbook (Generic TORG for those who have never heard of it.)  I didn't want to run the new d20 and I have other reasons I may cover later this month.

In the end, Hackmaster came out and we made the swerve back to a cumbersome but comfortable system.

Move out of the area... I purged a good portion of my collection and moved up to Wellsboro... and discovered Risus.  That investment in light-hearted play kept me going until...

I Moved Back, Got Married, Had Kids: Limited play sessions turned to the long play model provided by Call of Cthulhu.  The kids started gaming through wargames and a homebrew game that in the end looked like a stripped down version of Savage Worlds.

5e online: Cthulhu is on hiatus, but now I've bit the bullet and play 5e on Monday nights.  Roll20/Skype is the connection.  Always trying to find my fun as a player and use my play to expand the narrative style/educate the other players.


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