#RPGaDay2020: Day 31 - XP Gamification

The final day of #RPGaDay2020 brings up the prompt "Experience."

Before I knew it, I was thirty minutes into writing a Gaming Curriculum Vitae, but since #RPGaDay has never been how big your dice are (just how you roll them), I scrapped that for a fun trip down memory lane:  The Hackmaster 4th Edition GM Shield.

My previous ode to the screen can be found here.

Hackmaster had the nostalgia, the crunch, and the parody to endear players, but it also had a knack for gamifying processes.  Critical hits were an adventure.  The random tavern name generator was an event to be witnessed (The Burning Trogs had a safe track record in taverns with the word "keg" in them.) 

The game within a game for me were calculating Experience Points and  Honor.

I had over a decade of experience behind the screen playing (A)D&D before Hackmaster came around, so I was quite aware of how to divvy up xp to the party.  I don't think Hackmaster turned it up to 11, but perhaps a good 10.5.   They expanded upon class-based xp, They had all the base monsters xp from the Hacklopedia of Beasts on one of the flaps.

And then there were the "Common Individual Awards"

Yeah, it was EP in Hackmaster.  I was a loner, Dottie, a rebel.

Well before I even watched the D&D cartoon, much less rolled some polyhedrals, most of these were standard recommendations to offset the gold/murder theme of fantasy xp.  In my experience and anecdotal observations of other campaigns, these were one-off events: a good idea was 100xp, a great one 250, perhaps for a player's birthday you'd throw more at him as a gift.  This was a beautiful system that forced us to do an end of session collaboration over what was cool (and what wasn't).

The most gamified award on that chart was most damage in a single blow.  Players would keep track of damage on a folded index card for all the world to see, so when one of the non-fighters pulled off the feat, there was a great celebration for one of the smaller awards.

The MVP award was selected by peer vote at the table, and the Gnome Titan players were lucky to win it at least half of the time.  Playing a race where all earned xp was halved, that MVP reward was a big help.

The honor reward system worked in a similar manner.  A huge chart gauged temporal honor based on the characters' actions compared to their alignment.   It was a necessary post-session event to review everything with the players (cryptically), but honor (and dishonor) had a huge impact on die rolls, re-rolls, and NPC reactions.

Those were the little things that have kept Hackmaster fondly in my heart, despite not playing it in a campaign for over a decade.

The Bare Necessities

Over the last twelve months, my purchases have been night and day.  The six months prior to COVID I had two conventions to go to and  motley assortment of minis.  Since COVID, I've picked up one RPG (The Star Wars d6 30th Anniversary Slipcase) and everything else has the words Starter and Kick in them.

Immediately after my time in the hospital, I spent some time reorganizing the painting bench, and made my list.  I still haven't made it to Michael's or a local hobby shop for the necessary paint restock, but I did do the necessary online orders.

• Zap-a-Gap (I use it for everything but a sandwich condiment.  Lasts so much long than other glues, even if the bottle craps out every once in a while.)
• Slotta Bases (A couple otherwise great companies fail to mention the lack of basing in the Kickstarters).

Funny story, I ordered both from secondary suppliers on major online outlets.  The Zap-a-Gap arrived first, and the bases showed up three days later.  The thing that amuses me is the the Zap-a-Gap came from New England, while the bases came over from England negligible S&H on both)  Better yet, until their arrival, both of them had their anticipated shipping date as...

September 20th.

A Sunday delivery for standard parcels?  International no less?    Definitely seeing an issue with the Post Office.

Nevertheless, it all arrive in perfect time, as the packages are beginning to pile up.

I'll cover that top box in a future post.  Saaaaa-weet!

In a search for slottabases, I sorted through my random boxes o' bases and sorted them.

If anybody needs 28mm or 30mm mdf bases, let me know.  I have a bunch that need a good home.  $15 for them all (I'll ship US/Canada)

Gotta measure, but way bigger than the 25's I normally buy.

Project 350: 356/162 (still!)  from 358/162.   I'm all caught up with #RPGaDAY, and finishing up some Star Wars Actual Plays.  Some of my filler days (early October and December) got some amusing posts added.  Other useless factoid only I care about:  I wouldn't break 100 scheduled posts until after 4/13/2021.  

#RPGaDay2020: Day 30 - Portal

Day 30 of #RPGaDay2020 bring out "Portal"

So let's talk about The Portal Comics and Games and Mepacon.

When I was a kid in the very early 90's, you had a few options for gaming.

Dreamscape Comics was literally two blocks away from my house.  They had games and comics to satisfy most of my desires.

If we wanted to go find a much larger selection, we'd travel to Cap's Comic Cavalcade in Allentown.  If we wanted more of a modelling/hobbyist kick, we'd travel across the river to Imagination Workshop.

As the years progressed, I began working for other fledgling game stores in the area, honing my knowledge, until I got the dream job at Dreamscape... the bulk of which was their other, smaller location twenty minutes away.

By the end of 2000, I was in "grown-up" profession, and the Gray Ladies of the area were showing their age.  In response to retirements, going-out-of business sales for no good reason, and retraction, one store from out of the area moved in with new location (The Encounter), but there were a host of other people who thought they could run things better, host 40k and Magic nights for their friends, get product at discount, and make a boatload of money doing it.

I used to fancy myself as a historian of the game stores.  Nowadays, I can't remember 3/4 of the stores that set up and failed.

The Portal was not one of those failures.  In fact, it might be the only good game store left in the area.

I've got to admit, I never went into the Portal's first location.  My friend Brian and I both worked shifts that ended around Noon, so once a week, we would grab lunch and travel the Valley, checking out the new stuff at each store.  The Portal never interested me because (a) it was a horrible location with no parking and (b) other shops had opened up on that same stretch of road and had left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Flash forward many years, and add kids to my equation, and I finally ventured down to the "new" location, in an odd strip mall dominated by a CVS, but also a few steps from one of the local high schools.  There was parking, there was stock, there were clean floors, and there was polite staff.

Holy crap they did it!  They became a legitimate business, where many, many others had failed!

The industry dynamics have changed in the thirty years since I started playing games, and the Portal hit all the important points when I reviewed it two years ago.

They seemed to have slowly built their bases, overcome all the snags that new businesses have, and developed a dedicated clientele.   Best of all, they're a sponsor for Mepacon, the largest local gaming convention in northeast and mid-eastern Pennsylvania.

I'm a big fan of Mepacon.  Here's me running Hackmaster at their first-ever convention, circa 2001.

Here's hoping the Portal supports local gaming in all its forms, and here's hoping I can get some time to visit the old stomping grounds and perhaps swing in and spend some money.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 29 - Ride With Me

Day 29 of #RPGaDay2020

The one-word prompt: "Ride"

So let's take a 90s road trip.

God might be your co-pilot, but Elmo is our entertainment.

A good oversized Muppet on clearance at your local toy store makes a great conversation starter, or driver-startler hanging out the window as you pass them on the highway.  

We won't talk about what happened to Big 'Mo at GenCon in '97.  It was traumatic for all around.  

As we were in our twenties for the 90's, that was a time of bad fashion choices, bad hairstyles, and ruthless shenanigans.

Our first gaming roadtrip was a pilgrimage to Crazy Egor's up in Rochester.  (We know he sold the storefront to another store years ago, but still sets up a smaller store in Hilton, NY.  His eBay store is going strong.

Thanks to being on the mailing list for then Buffalo-based Battelords of the 23rd Century, we were added to UBCon, the University of Buffalo's gaming convention.

The UBCons took a rotating cast of characters and may or may not have involved dog collars, ice showers, belts to the groin, campus off-roading, photography of sleeping New York State Police who were sleeping in their car where previous off-roading was taking place, numerous trips to Canada, and a host of items where the statute of limitations may or may not apply. 

Wooly and I going to Toronto

We did Origins in Philly and the first permanent one in Columbus (We don't speak of the drive home from Columbus anymore).  Most of that was wargaming-related, but we did get to meet some cool people including "Uncle Duke" Seifried.   Didn't get to play in one of his games until a decade later, but it was worth it.

Nowadays, the road trips look a bit more like this...

Muppets are optional.

(Painting) I Painted Squat This Week

RPGs might dominate my feed in August, but that doesn't mean I can't post my painting progress on Friday.

Thanks to the fact that I'm still toast after two circuits of my weight program, it's a perfect excuse to cross the basement and work on some painting, until I feel good enough to complete the other two.

Let's introduce Colonel Gordo Avgas.

It took me forever to remember where I got this fella from.  Out of the blue, this was offered as a stretch goal for the Alpine Dwarf Kickstarter from Old School Miniatures.  He came with a small military-style box to sit upon, which was painted up long ago.  He now sits upon a Mountain Dew cap because his journey isn't quite over yet.

(Edit: I discovered his name is actually Eric the Dwarf and he has a whole crew available.)

And this may be his assistant, Scurt Grimdark

 Again, I don't know that model or the manufacturer, but I did pick this one up at an HMGS flea market.  He was pretty dinged up, so this is just a refurb, some fresh paint and a little extra shading.

Colonel Gordo is part of a long-term project.  The rest isn't finished, so I won't show it all together, but Scurt seems to fit in as support crew.

Next:  Colonel Avgas' partner needs to be finished up, and I really need to look at my Gnome Wars unit, but look to Sunday afternoon's post for the next big (and mundane) project on the painting bench.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 28 - Don't Close the Book on Them

Day 28, #RPGaDay2020 coming nearer to an end, "Close" you might even call it.

Words of advice from a man full of regret, never close up your campaigns unless you're absolutely certain.

Like dropping the dramatic at the table, closing a campaign requires a deft touch.  I'm always amazed at people who say they have an eight-session campaign or a ten-session campaign.  Even if mine has an outline, there is no guarantee it will survive once it makes contact with the players.  My GMing style was nurtured on random encounter tables, not standardized Encounter Ratings.

I regret every instance where I completely shut the book on a campaign.  While there have been many times in my life where I wanted some finality, dammit if I wasn't clamoring to return.

The most common theme in all the years of #RPGaDay has been my Burning Trogs Rule! campaign for Hackmaster.   Crafted out of the ashes from near-TPK from the previous campaign, I followed my advice above and didn't start entirely from scratch.  Despite moving the campaign to the other side of the continent, I kept some outstanding storylines, and slowly worked on the surviving/inactive PCs on the side, working with them on other nights, to keep their stories alive in a new country.  Luckily the PCs backstories allowed for emigration to another country, with some pretty cool stories to boot.

The problem lay on the back end of the campaign.  I was planning a move out of the area in a few months, one couple in the group was about to have a child, another was moving to Boston, it was far more upheaval than I casually remember nowadays.  So, in the middle of a giant continental war/crusade/jihad where they were acting as ambassadors from the Empire of Barthey (re: Byzantium), I decided their arrival in the Kingdom of Vlachia would be the final adventure.

It just happened that the adventure run would be Robinloft, the Hackmaster parody of  I6: Ravenloft.  

Even I was surprised how well those final two sessions went.  Terval Sit, the lone mage in the party, managed to slay Count Tahd Vlad'neer in single combat.  The Count was the acting King of Vlachia, and head of the Vampire Council, which threw that country into chaos and pulled vital support for the Master of the Desert Nomads of Yarbay.  I had already run the wargaming simulation on both sides, and while the ambassadors would have more work to do, within six months, Barthey would successfully push the invaders beyond their borders.  Mission accomplished!

I set up a nice wrap up with rewards, awards, and land grants.  I worked with the players to see what they really wanted afterward.  If I wanted to return to the game in their home country, most were perfectly set up to be used as NPCs in the next campaign.

But you can't let go of some things.

Around session 20 of the write-ups, our one player, Hoyce, needed to drop out to take a grad class.  His character, Gnome Titan warrior Zorin Redrock, was the de facto leader and primary combat machine for the Trogs, and his absence hurt them greatly as they dove into the Slaver's series (A1-4).  It was a complete and utter disaster, with half the party perishing, and the others taking months to return to their headquarters in Celsior.  Many of those surviving PCs had made it to NPC status post-campaign, but the trauma from their experiences would be a great influence.

In our "exit interview," Hoyce kept Zorin's future very simple.

"I'm going to buy some ships, hunt down those fucking slavers, and kill every one of those c*cksuckers myself."

So, as I advanced the calendar a few years and ran a new Hackmaster group circa 2007 that had only the cursory of reactions with the Old Trogs, Hoyce's words always hung in the back of my mind.

If I had been smart, I would have (a) kept better lines of communication, particularly some PbeM (b) worked on improving everyone's technology.  Tech options from 15 years ago were completely different than today's media smorgasbord, heck I used dial-up until 2009.  Don't judge.

I'm sure it would have taken some work, but I think we could have cobbled together a continuance of the campaign, with a few face-to-face meetings over the years, and gotten the revenge certain people craved so much... or die trying.  I've added a year in campaign time for every year in real-time that we haven't gotten together. Now, the campaign restart has a sixteen-year gap.

In sort of a reverse comparison, you shouldn't be close-minded in a campaign.  Being narrow-minded and assumptive can lead to disaster and disappointment down the road.

My recent Star Wars d6 campaign has been a rousing success, all thing considered.  I successfully converted classic Star Frontiers modules into d6 and the "heroes" are treading a lot of "gray" opportunities that West End rarely visited.

Looking to find some inspiration beyond the next step or two, I started my Challenge Challenge.  I indexed the "Star Wars" (Traveller) material (Twilight: 2000 went in a second index) from issues 25-30.  There is a ton of convertible data with scenarios, planets, flora and fauna, and some nice NPCs so I believe I'm set for a while.

Now the casual reader who was in my shoes might ask, "ViscountEric, why did you start with issue #25?  Where's issue #1-24 of Challenge?"

Great question casual reader!  The first-ever issue of Challenge was #25, because the magazine was the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society (JTAS) for the first 24!

I've indexed all of the JTAS issues, and I have dozens upon dozens of pieces of campaign material... and I haven't even gotten to Challenge issues with Star Wars material!

But somewhere along this process, I came to an embarrassing revelation.  As I reviewed each article, with notations how I would present it in a Star Wars setting rather than the hard-sci-fi-based universe of Traveller, I realized, I was piecing together a continuing storyline, with plenty of time for side-treks and diversions to avoid a railroad, but I had assumed at least the run from #25-30 would all take place.

It's laughable.

I'm quite certain that the two items from issue #25 (a scenario and a ship with crew) will enter campaign canon in the next few weeks.  I also know the further we move along, the more things I can pencil into the campaign, but the idea that everything I've assembled, all 46 scenarios.  and half as many NPCs, ships, and worlds, respectively is simply ludicrous.  I should take a lesson from my own critique of other GMs and not guarantee an exact 10-session campaign, or 46-session one.

And to be fair, we've run two old Star Frontiers modules, and we're on session 12.  

#RPGaDay2020: Day 27 - Garnering Favour in a Post-COVID World

Day 27 of #RPGaDay2020 is upon us, and again, we have a very non-American prompt, "Favour."

I'll skip the easy, "Favorite RPG" questions and move to something far more positive.

"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face gaming?"

Here in the States, we're close to dealing with COVID-19 for a whopping six months.   It's not good, but at some point, we'll be back to some semblance of what normal used to be.  So the question is, with six months (PLUS+!) of no face-to-face gaming, what do I want to make my triumphant return behind the physical screen?

It's an odd-angled shelfie!

#7 - Hackmaster - A complete pie-in-the-sky idea, continuing the dream of reuniting the old gang back together.  #RPGaDay always stokes that flame every year.

#6 - Talislanta - The new Savage Lands edition will fit a very Robert E Howard-esque play style.

#5 - 5e Saltmarsh - My online Star Wars d6 has players hours upon hours away, so face-to-face is out of the question.  However, some of the more local players wouldn't mind a return D&D, and Saltmarsh can be plugged right back into my homebrewed campaign world.

#4 - 5e for Beginners - Before this crazy, mixed-up COVID world, another department manager at work was talking about his kids getting interested in D&D.  I don't know if the quarantine killed that motivation, but setting up something simple with a new bunch of players some appealing.

#3 - BECMI Gulluvia - My Star Wars game might not transition back into face-to-face well, but the story of some goofy adventurers in the Barony of Gulluvia is simple enough.  Best yet, the Theatre-of-the-Mind method will work best using "Basic" D&D.

#2 - Call of Cthulhu - Sleepless City - Returning to New York City for some (technically) one-shots is a great start, one we can possibly use to expand into the old campaign, even if we don't revisit old, beloved survivors, I mean, characters.

#1 Call of Cthulhu - Invictus - I have enough material to run a few games, but the Roman theme will keep the players off their usual path.

And for a bonus question to answer:
"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face convention gaming? "

I'll stick with what gets me players:  Kid's games of My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria, and perhaps the Toon game: Cthulhu Comes to Springfield.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 26 - Strange Games

In the waning days of #RPGaDay2020, when Day 26 gives you "Strange," you apologize for linking up to a previous blog post. 

I love traditional Call of Cthulhu, as is,  but the percentile based system it's run off of is just too easy to concoct some strange and unusual games that benefit from slightly more crunch than say, Risus. 

If Star Wars d6 ever peters out, I'd like to return to my Canadian 90's College game for CoC, although I might be holding my breath for a long while before that happens.  But even with the jokes about the 90's, Canada, and that certain scenarios are ripped off from the Zed-Files, it's pretty straightforward sci-fi/conspiracy/horror genre stuff. 

Using "The Attack of the Atomic Bikini Reptile Women... in 3-D!"  from Worlds of Cthulhu Magazine for one-shot character generation is a whole 'nother story. 

For what constitutes "Strange" filler sessions for our group, I only refer to "Whiskey Tango Rattlesnake," an impromptu scenario ripped from two separate headlines. 

It's also funny that I picked up the identical vibe for Day 19 of  #RPGaDay2019 when prompted with "Scary" 

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #91 - Captain Vandevelde and the Council of Elders

1st of SepDec, 1061 - Village of Eding, Kingdom of Crosedes
It's been nearly a month since the goblins of G'ba poured out of the Nightwood and destroyed my idyllic life in Eding, but tragedy and disgust from it continue to surprise me with each passing today.

My "civilian" hours are spent finishing up a temporary one-room cottage on the foundation of my old one, and helping Angus and Barrak rebuild the Blue Wizard Inn.  Regardless of whether Eding will recover, the need for an inn on this stretch of road is undeniable.  Supplies have arrived from Omsjik and we've completed the kitchen, the common room, and have had a few militia volunteers learn the art of raising a roof.   A few survivors still spend the night in the common room, but most have done their best to rebuild their lives in their new homes.

Today was the arrival of the first patrol by the 3rd Crosedean Medium Cavalry, as promised by Lord Athelstane.  Captain Benjamin Vandevelde appears to be fine commander, compared to others.  He did delay his arrival by a day to personally escort another two wagons of supplies into town, and with it a host of information.

Besides another shipment of food, tools, and other supplies, he presented two young girls to Barrak, his daughter Emeretta and Fayette.  Alas, when he sent them and their mother off prior to the goblin attack, they were caught by a lost element of goblins.  Barrak's wife was killed in the ambush, but the girls were rescued by an eclectic combination of woodsmen, retired brigands, and cultists from Lake Apotheosis would could hide no more with the tragedy right before their eyes.

The girls did not leave Barrak's side the entire day, not that I blame them one moment.  However, he did manage to get them to do some chores at just beyond arm's reach by evening.

Captain Vandevelde was also the first person to inadvertently confirm the location of our former "Heroes" now infamous cowards, of Eding, Krull & Company.

While regaling the tales of the "World Gladiatorial Championships", Vandevelde casually mentioned the new champion as "The Conquering Krull."

That rat bastard left his post, his assigned duties, largely caused by his own psychotic tendencies, and ran off for his own personal glory and fortune.  I can only assume the others in his cohort (including his father on house arrest) supported his actions in full.   They are all traitors and criminals and should hang for their actions! 

2nd of SepDec, 1061 - Village of Eding, Kingdom of Crosedes
Even with the disaster and destruction of the past month, I'm still emitting an occasional giggle at the thought of me being invited to the "Council of Elders" to confer with Lord Athelstane.  As Barrak, Angus, and I appear to be the only adults conveying any sense of authority in rebuilding anything around the village, Lady Iris thought it best if we would consult Athelstane on the what was occurring.

The meeting was a joke.  Athelstane's manor was far enough outside the village to only receive minor damage, and he barely set foot outside of it over the last week.  He seemed uninterested in any reports or even requests for guidance.

I may have complained that Iris' time at the capital was worthless, but she has learned the ways of the world.  As the three of us brought up the topic of Krull and his cohort's dereliction of duty, she promptly cut us off.  Any crimes they committed were not to the crown, only to the domain of Lord Athelstane. If any of the party returned back to Eding, they could be judged by an acting magistrate, following residual interpretation of royal law.  Even at mention that Iris would act as magistrate in the Lord's stead, Athelstane was preoccupied with his early dinner that was served to just him.

Although we had credible leads to his location, any attempt to return the adventurers to Eding without their consent would need to be considered kidnapping, and would be reviewed in the full Royal purview of the law.

Iris was actively sending recruiting others, peasant farmers, lesser craftsmen, to relocate to Eding. With the continued help from the Halfling villages, late crops could still be planted, and the Eding could make it through next winter and be in the position to thrive by 1062.

The rotation of halfing militia and volunteers would end in OctDec, so we had to the same time to plant crops as we had to reassemble the pieces of the militia.  Iris 'anointed' herself Commander of the militia, I was offered the Captaincy, with Barrak and Angus positions as sergeants.

I immediately declined the title, offering my services as an old man serving as base militia fighter and occasional instructor.  If anyone needed a title and paid position, it was Barrak Tenslow.  Angus would have the Blue Wizard back up and running, and that would serve as the meeting place for the unit, and he was a far better recruiter for the unit than a trainer.

It was agreed upon, and formally decreed that Barrak would serve as Lieutenant, Angus as Sergeant, the Blue Wizard could be used for the militia to meet (members were responsible to pay their own drinks, food, and gambling debts), and I would formerly go back to being Elsderth of Eding, regular citizen of Crosedes.

Next: #92 - Stealing Oneself Away

#RPGaDay2020: Day 25 - Lever

Day 25 of #RPGaDay2020 prompts us with the unusual "Lever."   I'm not thinking about engineering queries, so I'll got with the first positive thought off my head.

With the COVID-ity shutting down cons, at least there's been a reduction in conversations about gamer hygiene.

Although with the days running into each other with me working from home, and barbershops being closed for months, I assume I didn't have much room to talk.

By end of day, it usually stood straight out....

But thanks to a recent hospitalization where I wanted nothing more than a shower and a salad, plus a visit to the barber, I'm peachy keen.

I just need to run my feral children through the automated car wash to get them ready for virtual school in a week.

Another positive (I guess?)  COVID kept the con crud away, for what it's worth.  

#RPGaDay2020: Day 24 - Humour

Only a week left after this!

Day 24 of #RPGaDay2020 and it's funny, in a very non-American "Humour" type of way.

I actively try to inject humor into my games in all but the most dramatic of scenes.  In fact, I've been accused of  "not being serious enough running games" by my original GM no less.   I know that that specific criticism is different than simply adding humor to games, but for years after we last talked, his opinion of  "serious"  gaming consisted of powergaming and topless female drow kicking male ass in his games.

My normal players are smart enough and irreverent enough to keep things light until things get serious... or really, really dark.

While I've run my share of serious stuff, my bread and butter has always been light-hearted humorous fun.

GURPS: IOU - Scavenger Hunt.  An undergrad romp through the steam tunnels, complete with the Village People and their zombie legions coveting the the disco ball from the 1977 IOU Winter Social.  Perhaps my favorite game run of all time.

GURPS: IOU - Road Trip!  Sequel to Scavenger Hunt.  A simple roadtrip to Miskatonic University for a Moopsball game.  Aliens, a stolen firetruck, and an atomic fireball in Springfield, Massachusetts

TOON - Cthulhu Comes to Springfield.  A completely different Springfield.   A great collaboration with my friend "Doctor Bob" working the tales of HP Lovecraft into the universe of the The Simpsons in hour-long episodes.  Episodes names like "Homer the Ghoul," "Mister Smooth," and "Krusty the Kultist," it's been bringing joy for nearly 25 years.

Risus IOU - The Day of Sloth Campaign. For years we hosted a Day-Before-Labor-Day Picnic (aka The Day of Sloth).  It was regular fare, as picnics go, except as the party wound down, we would whip out index cards and d6's and dove into Illuminati University.  Irreverent abuse of pop culture (even if I was reaching).  Funnelcake-powered Mecha,  Jewish Monkeys. Sentient Genius-Level Coffee Bushes. MONGO, Pawn in Game of Life (and Union Negotiator).  Yoda: The College Years, Emmanuel Freakin' Lewis (The Anti-Christ). And Snake Gandhi.

Risus IOU - The Virtual Edition. Probably not picnic again this year, but we've had some fun with our Monday night online game.  A few returning characters with some new players to the style, with a little Texas Roadhouse Massacre, and a little confusion between the Kurgan and the Culligan Man.

Our back-up D&D game, Adventures in Gulluvia is a serious fantasy story, complete with some neatly woven conspiracies, but we've had some fun collaboration framing out some details such as the low-Charisma muscle of the party is a female version of Sloth (and the most endearing character ever!), that the local mercenaries with short attention spans are named Leroy and Jenkins, or that the magic-users family fortunes came from cleaning outhouses around the barony.

And lets not even talk about our current Star Wars d6 game.  Characters are pretty straightforward, but are all associated with the Arrogant Noble/Exotic Animal Dealer.  As it should, things have devolved into a season of Space Tiger King, all while maintaining the base line of of legitimacy. 

#RPGaDay2020: Day 23 - Edge

"Edge" is our prompt for Day 23 of #RPGaDay2020 and I can't make a long post about this

Reroll all dice on edge... and all dice that go off the table.

Pic from The Tyranid Hive

End of story.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Trudging Through RPGs During #RPGaDay2020

In spite of #RPGaDay2020 dominating my blogging bandwidth, I was quite happy to be able to post freshly painted minis yesterday. If I'm lucky, I can swing by Michael's to restock paint this weekend, regardless of what coupons I have:

#RPGaDay can be a soul-crushing experience.  I've simply discarded the notion of writing about RPGs daily, so when the list of topics/prompts is released July, I've already set up draft posts with a few ideas tucked inside.  By the time August 1st rolls around, I'm usually halfway done with the month.

This year, a weeklong stay in the hospital, and a slow but steady recovery, I still have three days to write up in the last ten (if you include the end of month write-up I always do).  Very out of character for me.

Outside of the legions of daily RPG topics, my focus has been on our Monday night Star Wars d6 online game on Roll20.  As of this writing we finished our first story arc. and are about to emerge into a far more sandbox-y feel.

Wouldn't you know it, the first time I patiently set up a map and tokens for a potential session, it's the first session we've needed to cancel.  Oh well, there's plenty of material to work our way through.

One reason I'm confident is my work on an expanded Challenge Challenge.  The idea of working through Challenge Magazine in chronological order to mine for campaign ideas was great, until I remembered that Challenge starts with Issue #25.  Issues #1-24 are actually the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society (JTAS), not perfect for everything, almost downright perfect to use for this campaign.

Every issue of Challenge or JTAS has 2-6 good leads, be it scenarios, NPCs, starships or something else, and since I already gave a tentative outline for issues #25-29, I'll revisit JTAS #1 and beyond after that.

 Good time to update Project 350, my futile attempt at keeping my Draft ideas and Scheduled posts behind the scenes under 350 combined.  After this post appears, I'll have 162 posts in the queue alone!  A good number are future holiday posts (that's to antique German postcards, Easter is covered through 2032), I do have a backlog  of weekly actual play posts stretching almost a year, and top it off, the last few days of #RPGaDay2020.  

To make things worse, my drafts numbers (358) exceeds the original goal of the project! I'm sure I could set a few up as reference pages, but I still have a ton of work to look at. 

And finally, there is some moderate traction for an online RISUS: IOU game on what would be our Day of Sloth picnic.   Still collaborating with the others, but a little Skype and a dice roller might be more than we need to reunited the Society of Neffs AROUND THE WORLD.

Sure, the bold return of a college-age Yoda doesn't have the same mass appeal it did 15 years ago (stupid babies), but getting the band back together for a one-shot might grease the well-stuck wheels of other projects.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 22 - Rare Find

Day 22 of #RPGaDay brings out an old, reliable prompt: "Rare."

I had some rare rants to fill the day, but in the spirit of positivity, I'll simply post a 23-year old flyer for a local con.

We had a pretty vibrant convention scene in eastern Pennsylvania in the mid-90's.  Sure, it wasn't Origins or GenCon (except for the year Origins was in Philly), but there were plenty of options available around the state.

Of course, not everyone will get along with convention organizers, or better yet, they simply think that they could do a better job of running a con.

I was one of them, and I'm happy to say, my experiment was well-attended and broke even.

Whatcon was not my convention.

The organizers of Whatcon tired to apply the pie-in-sky desires of most gamers into the con, along with relying on only word of mouth and a few posters on store bulletin boards.  No pre-reg books (a big to-do even in the dial-up internet era) meant no gauging attendance, no organized play meant no groups of gamers who travelled to cons like the Grateful Dead),and somehow he cajoled one vendor from South Jersey to venture up. 

At the day of the con, despite the no-frills desires, the only folks who showed up were the GMs who got in for free.

Hey, the Paranoia game was huge and top-notch, but the rest  was not to be.

The organizers were out at least a cool grand for the site and it was really the last con we saw them at as a full crew.

Still not as positive as the powers that be may want, but healthy wisdom that things are run a certain way for a reason, and we want to tilt the scales to our theories, we should start small.

(I should add my "second" attempt at a one-day con was my 40th birthday party.  Open invitation to the community, a handful of games, no dealers, a $400 fire hall payment, and my wife insisted in the closing days of feeding everyone.  In the end, between a few "donations to the cause" and some completely unexpected birthday gifts, I think we were only out the cost of the food.)

(Painting) Apocalyptic Santa and His Crew

Still recovering from my hospital adventure earlier this month.  Most of me is stabilized, although my eyesight continues to waver...the majority of it improving.  Doesn't make it fun when you're a guy who's worn glasses for nearly forty years.

But, as the wife and kiddos were off for new haircuts and a basketball lesson, dear old Dad was left to his own devices and actually painted in between sets of exercises at the weight bench on the other side of the basement.

Brigade Games Post-Apocalyptic get a little holiday cheer.  It's not Christmas lights, it's tracer fire with Santa and his Evil Elves.

 Two minor quibbles with the figures.  The elves have a mold line right down the middle of their faces (which makes then even more deranged), and Santa's awesome pose and my vision made the right side of his face a pain to paint.

BG-APC166 Apocalypse: Evil Elf with LMG

BG-APC165 Apocalypse: Santa with machine pistol (1)

Next:  This is the first movement off the painting bench in quite some time.  There's still a unit of gnomes that I may wait for a new pair of glasses, but there's also the first vehicle of the Gnomish Space Marines moving closer to completion.  

#RPGaDay2020: Day 21 - Push

Day 21 of #RPGaDay2020 gives us "Push."  I'm sure there can be plenty of articles on pushing rolls or pushing actions and all that entails, but I could only think of the "big fight" scene from the series finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Every year one day of this turns down another path of geekdom.  I'm guessing today is that day for 2020.

I was quite content with the villain-of-the-week format for the first season, mixed in with a pinch of MCU tie-ins.  As the seasons progressed, the show varied like a comic series: stand-alone issues, references to over-arching storylines, and the occasional special guest to drum up sales (Ghost Rider, I'm looking at you!)

Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. was certainly uneven and clumsy at times, but it was the right amount of comic book fun.

One series that might be wearing thin for us a family is The Flash.  Let it be known, My family has binged-watched marathons of the Flash repeatedly since they were first put on Netflix.  My daughters know all the minor characters, and it launched a great discussion, "Daddy? What's a particle accelerator actually do?"

I've become tired of the series with the appearance of Devoe in Season 4, and I'm realizing that beyond the crossover episodes, the girls are going back to the beginning once the flying samurai makes his appearance. 

For me, the only saving grace of the last few seasons was Ralph Dibney, aka the Elongated Man.  With evidence that actor Hartley Sawyer was an insufferable idiot earlier in his life and with his subsequent firing, I fear we'll be regaling the wonders of those first three seasons (and crossovers).

The absolutely pleasant surprise has been Stargirl.  The teen-centric supers series has generated the early Flash enthusiasm in my house.  My girls love the characters (they already watched Brec Bassinger in Nickelodeon's Bella and the Bulldogs, so they expect her to be awesome.) and I'm geeking out over how they're integrating the JSA and the Seven Soldiers into a modern timeline.  I'm a huge fan of Golden Age DC comics and James Robinson's Starman is one of the few complete runs of comics that I still own.  The best part is that they're flipping things on their side canonically and I dig it. 

(Kickstarter) Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game by Mantic Games

Mantic Games, in collaboration with Red Scar Publishing, has launched a Kickstarter for Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game.

Powered by 5th Edition, the game allows you to play regular B.P.R.D. agents, as well as the legendary characters from the comics and graphic novels.

Like most Mantic projects, it's well put together, reasonably priced (S&H added after the campaign), and they have a proven track record of delivering on time.

I'm just not feeling it.

Maybe I'm Kickstartered out. Maybe I already have the Twilight: 2000 game in my sights but I'm not sure I want one, much less two "deluxe pledge level" RPGs collecting dust on my shelf.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 20 - Investigate

We've made it to Day 20 of #RPGaDay2020!  Today's word prompt is "Investigate," so yes, I'm going to look back at my big CoC campaign. 

Looking back, we had a useful core of investigators, albeit a bit off the regular track.

• Dr Nathanial "Doc" Millheim - Crackpot parapsychologist and author
• Brian Nichols - Crooked accountant
• Steven O'Hara - Math/Science Teacher at the local prep school.
• "Smitty" - Proprietor of the Angry Welshman in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 

Smitty's predecessor had Library Use for days, but he ran afoul of the house in The Haunting.  

Doc Millheim had a few points in Library Use, and a lot more in social skills, but for the rest of them, they focused on their respective forte:  Accounting forensics for Nichols, Basic science forensics for Steven, and a large pipe, club, or firearm for the Welshman's "research."  Surprisingly, they got by gathering most of the clues that were available.  As Keeper, I put the odds further to their advantage by choosing scenarios that focused on their stronger skills.  

Smitty stayed in the Wilkes-Barre to tend to his speakeasy, but for the other three, this technique of playing to their strengths peaked with Blackest Hills, Blackest Secrets, out of Day of the Beast.   Fake ledgers, radiation sickness, and a good dose of bamboozlement gave the group one last success before the group size would almost triple in the next scenario.  

One advantage of playing to characters' strengths?   After twenty plus sessions, even with cosmic horror and murderous cultists at every angle in the midst of Masks of Nyarlathotep, there was some chance to celebrate as they hit 90% in those skills.  

And spoilers:  Nichols went mad in London, Millheim got "lost" in Ancient Egypt, and O'Hara?  He actually made it through all of Masks with only a few unpayable debts to dark forces.  

(Kickstarter) Coasters for the Party and Various Sundries by Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games is running a quick Kickstarter for Coasters for the Party. 

The basic premise isn't all that much.  Two sets of six coasters, one with Classic Steve Jackson Games artwork:

... the other with Munchkin:

Six dollars apiece, or two for ten.

The bonus is that they are offering a number of previous Kickstarter product still under MSRP..  Regret not getting the Illuminati or OGRE product from the Pocket Boxed Sets of the '80s Kickstarter?  Now you can correct that?  Need Deadly Doodles or Deadly Doodles 2?  Bingo!

With the list of add-ons available on the initial pledge or on BackerKit, I'm going to need to think long and hard.

Mepacon Fall 2020 Going Virtual

For the second time this year, Mepacon face-to-face convention will go virtual!

Mepacon Fall 2020, scheduled for November 6-8 in White Haven, Pennsylvania, has succumbed to the biological villainy which is COVID-19.   But fear not!  As they successfully adjusted for their Spring 2020 convention (and a small online gameday in July), the convention organizations will turn everything into online gaming!

I've already submitted their Google Form suggestion, and I think I'll go back to the well for some My Little Pony kid games.  Two-hour "theatre of the mind" games seem to be becoming my specialty.

The next scheduled fact-to-face version of the convention is (hopefully) April 16-18, 2020 at the Mountain Laurel Resort, White Haven, PA.

...that shall be a ViscountEric birthday extravaganza.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 19 - The Tower of Enerk

Day 19 of #RPGaDay gives us the very open-ended "Tower" to work with.

I'm certain there will be some fabulous stories from participants about various printed "Tower" modules... or board games... or maybe even some cool Die Hard Christmas games.

I will make today as a hard pass to actual work, and reference The Tower of Enerk, a game I ran during Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC in the summer of 1992.

To give the most basic of context, I'm trying to tie in my early games into the modern version of the long-running campaign.  Good ol' Elsderth (Millbottom) Greyhawk is a former scribe of the Viscount of Verbobonc who regales his sovereign with tales of his travels, many of which are dealing with the clean-up of the parties who partook in my adventures.

The Lost Dispatches of Feraso collects all those tales from 1990-97, where it moves onto other campaigns in the same world.  

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #90 - The Long Nights

2nd of HexDec, 1061 - Halfling Village of Elmshire - Kingdom of Crosedes
A late night rider from Welldale arrived to give us mere moments of warning to assemble before the initial rush of goblins hit the palisade.  Things were tenuous for awhile, but between myself, Tanqueman, Ozark, and the Elmshire, the goblins fled before dawn, and suffered minimal causalities.  I was part of the pursuit party following them back towards the Nigthwood and could confirm 1) they were not regrouping anytime soon and 2) this seemed to be a terribly overextended flanking maneuver. The other halfling villages were getting a stronger fight.  I've volunteered to lead the initial relief column to Welldale, Lowdale, and eventually, what's left of Eding.  Tanqueman agreed.

3rd of HexDec, 1061 - Hafling Village of Welldale - Kingdom of Crosedes
We marched through the day to reach Welldale, not knowing what we would find.  We engaged a few small goblin war bands, but as reached the village, I realized we were encountering what the Welldale militia was chasing off.  Many of the buildings on the outskirts of the village are destroyed, as are all of the defenses, but the halflings won the day.  I managed to recruit more halflings to relieve Lowdale... and Eding.

4th of HexDec, 1061 - Hafling Village of Lowdale- Kingdom of Crosedes
Of the three villages, I did not give the proper respect to the Lowdale archers that they deserved.  Mayor Clayhanger's militia slaughtered hundreds of goblins before they reached the outer defenses of the village.  There were more dead goblins here than total goblins attacking Welldale and Elmshire.  The thick acrid smoke of the funeral pyres of dead goblins filled the air, but I can see the smoke over the horizon towards Eding.

5th of HexDec, 1061 - Village of Eding - Kingdom of Crosedes
Eding is in utter ruins.  Only the walls  of the Blue Wizard remain... and the witch's shack.  The villagers never knew what hit them, the goblins overran the town, set everything to the torch, and continued marauding into the swamps.

Athelstane has finally graced us common folk with his presence.  He tried to rally the militia, but having no hand or even influence in the training of the militia, it was a disaster.

Notable Dead:
Kraso Lacaray - Captain Lacaray led the first line of defense for the militia, per Athelstane's orders, and was promptly peppered with goblin arrows.

The Gadling Family - Bernard and Agatha Gadling's entire family climb a single tree to escape the goblins.  The tree subsequently uprooted and crashed into the river, drowning all of them.

Alive:
Angus Helenek - The owner of the Blue Wizard is already talking about rebuilding, but there's a tired look on his face that I've never seen before.

Barrack Tenslow - My co-sergeant spirited away his family before fighting tooth and nail... with Athelstane's tactics.  It took some ridiculous actions to save his men, and in spite of his actions against the Lord, he's been promoted to Captain of the remnants of the militia.

Notable Missing:
Lady Iris - Lady Iris still remains in Hydincall, no one has been sent to fetch her.

Krull & Company - Captain Lacaray was incensed when the "Heroes of Eding" were nowhere to be found.

Caton.

6th of HexDec, 1061 - Village of Eding - Kingdom of Crosedes
I found Caton. Quite dead. Right on the edge of the Nightwood, still in his witch's costume.  I wrapped up his body and spend the rest of the day digging his grave by the bend in the river I would spent many days relaxing and contemplating.

After I filled his graved, I picked up his gnarled staff and headed back to the shack.

The village will always need a witch.

10th of HexDec, 1061 - Village of Eding - Kingdom of Crosedes
Halfling forces chased the goblins out of the swamp, right into the waiting arms of royal troops from Hydincall, under command of Lady Iris!  After a dramatic clash in view of the surviving villagers, Iris relinquished command and became the assistant to Lord Athelstane.  How demeaning.

14th of HexDec, 1061 - Village of Eding - Kingdom of Crosedes
The Royal troops under Knight-General Lander Mertens are far more vicious than the goblins and halflings.   Even the surviving militiamen and families think their actions are extreme.  They have pursued the goblins almost back to their "City" of G'ba with a ruthlessness that the goblins could have displayed during their attack, but held back.

15th of HexDec, 1061 - Village of Eding - Kingdom of Crosedes
By the time I reached Lander Mertens, it was too late for the goblins.  The 15th Crosedean Infantry had slaughtered women and children and the city of G'ba on fire.

My first documented appearance of my version of the immortal Witch of the Nightwood will be documented by the 15th CI.  With Mertens leading his men, I simply walked in front of him on the path back to Eding.  Caton's make-up and disguise lessons he passed onto me amazed even myself.  There, in the middle of the road, was a slightly taller version of the hag of legend, albeit with a huge hump on her back that no one had spoke of in the legends.  My conversion with the General was as vapid as his intelligence.  I gave little time for explanation, rather, spring forth with a series of planned pyrotechnic traps and a fine placement of smoke potions.  In the literal fog of war, I managed to sneak up to Mertens, move my hump to accessed the concealed Betrayer and slew both the Knight and his steed, and a few of his attaches, before disappearing into the Nightwood.

The balance of the Nightwood is a delicate arrangement between monster, legends, goblins, and man, and after the sins of man, I will have great difficulty resetting it.

Next: #91 - Captain Vandevelde and the Council of Elders

#RPGaDay2020: Day 18 - Meet

Good Lord, it was just a bit over five months ago that I was at Cold Wars in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, drinking Corona to spite the gods, and watching sports leagues shutter faster than a town in tornado alley.   The oncoming threats of the virus had already kept the older population of the wargaming community away, so it was a surreal experience, but even after the Governor's orders that Friday, day-trippers were still coming in Saturday morning.

Wars of Ozz at Cold Wars

One day that will happen again, but it's only been five months.

The Cold Wars Flea Market (aka Wally's Basement)

What should have amounted to fun birthday weekend at Mepacon full of Car Wars, Illuminati, and yes, My Little Pony RPG games instead turned into an all digital event.  Heck, unless you shot yourself in the foot (I'm looking at you Origins), digital events replaced the face-to-face conventions.  Not the same feel, by any stretch, but a welcome alternative to moping around at home.

And it's only been five months.

One day we will all be able to meet up again.  Heck, it was part of the conversation at last week's online game that our one player, who recently built a new home, has a dining room set so obnoxiously big that four players plus a GM could sit and stay six foot apart.

One day my friends, one day.

#RPGaDay2020: Day 17 - Comfort at the Extremes

Day 17 of #RPGaDay2020 demands "Comfort."  I've previously discussed the comfort of gaming areas and fantasized about gaming locations and situations, so I guess all that's left is my true comfort zone for gaming.

What systems puts ViscountEric at ease like his grandmothers' cooking?

In my current week-to-week gaming, RISUS: The Anything RPG

I run it about as simple as one can, I'm delighted with the results I get, but the elegance in the add-on rules always gives me pause if I could get more out of the system.

Then I remember, no matter how much I fanboy the system, I don't think any of my players have ever downloaded the FREE rules, or else they would be inquiring on their own.

I've used Risus for hard-sci-fi Mars Colony missions, gonzo pulp action, Southern BBQ/Taxidermy business battles,  COVID-19 Supermarket Chaos, Spice Girls Espionage, and of course, my favorite comfort game, GURPS-IOU, with slightly easier character creation.

And yet, deep down, if I needed a respite in some comfortable cabin in the far recesses of Iceland in the middle of the winter (with five select friends), I would revert back to Hackmaster 4th Edition.

There's something about the deluge of crunch, with a thin coating of parody that still calms my soul, and it's more than a decade since I've last run it.   Hackmaster required pre-game prep, required in-game bookkeeping, and post-game bookkeeping, but most importantly IT WORKED.  I don't necessarily have that sort of time nowadays, but part of me dreams that I could.   Of all my crazy dreams, reviving the original HM group, correcting the wrongs that were not righted during the campaign and working the characters up into double-digit levels is one I will not let die.

The two HM campaigns that make the great game I remember fondly:
The Journey of Mutumbo
The Burning Trogs Rule!

Quick Reference Traveller to Star Wars d6 Stat Conversion

With my Star Wars d6 campaign going strong, I'm definitely delving into the Challenge Challenge for material. While there is plenty of Star Wars material, the "neutral" status of the party opens up so many more options, and with a plethora of Traveller material in Challenge (plus the obvious 24 issues it was exclusively The Journal of the Travellers Aid Society), it's a no-brainer to mine those for average blokes of the Galactic Empire.

That being said, I was a bit surprised the lack of conversion material. I did find one conversion document, and I'm porting over the bare minimum to translate from Traveller NPCs to d6. It's not my document and it doesn't look perfect, but it's workable. Feel free to scour the internet yourself for weapons, equipment, and starship conversions.

Traveller’s traditional stat block runs Strength - Dexterity - Endurance - Intelligence - Education - Social Status. Not a perfect one-for-one reference, but something I can work with.

Traveller's Hexidecimal Attributes Converted to d6
1 = "+1"
2 = "+2"
3 = "1d"
4 = "1d+1"
5 = "1d+2"
6 = "2d"
7 = "2d+1"
8 = "2d+2"
9 = "3d"
A = "3d+1"
B = "3d+2"
C = "4d"
D = "4d+2"
E = "5d"

Skills
Skills in Traveller aren't as plentiful versus Star Wars.

Original Traveller skills: +1d for every skill point.

Megatraveller and Beyond: +2 pips for every skill point

#RPGaDay2020: Day 16 - Dramatic

Day 16 of #RPGaDay2020 and we get a little "Dramatic."

One of my biggest flaws as a GM is that I drop the dramatic plot twists, the "a-ha!" moments and the story climaxes appear way too early. 

While I don't need to drag things along for no reason to extend the story (or fill in that 30 minutes we have left in the session) dropping the big reveal the first try robs the players of further opportunities to bolster or even hinder their lot in the situation. 

I'm extremely rusty with my story pacing with this Star Wars d6, and it has resulted in some heavy-handed actions and narrative.  I've been lucky that the players have chosen the "safe" route (re: surrender), but we had time to at least allow some other options which may have succeeded.  A few lucky rolls in Star Wars and what looked to be impossible has the tables turned for the other side.

The other thing I need to remember, specifically for d6 Star Wars, is the more modern interpretation of the Wild Die.  Successes (6's) and Botches (1's) do not need to be applied instantaneously unless you or the player knows exactly what they want to happen.  I mean, certain rolls must be applied to combat or physical rolls, but that technical or repair roll with a 1 can be saved for the least opportune time to take place. Just keep it in a reasonable time frame.  Don't apply it three sessions later (unless the droid you repaired... badly doesn't get involved in the game until three sessions later). 

#RPGaDay2020: Day 15 - Framing With Friends!

Day 15 of #RPGaDay2020 graces us with "Frame" and first words in my head were "Framing... with friends!"

Whether it's an open-ended one-shot just introducing characters, or a full-blown long-term campaign, the gamemaster is constantly setting up scenes for the players, and a smart one knows that it's not a solo endeavor.

The one thing I've learned for modern indy games is that not only is a collaboration with the players okay, but it's absolutely necessary for game sustainability and GM sanity.

Forcing a player to respond to campaign minutiae, such a model of car in a car chase, the type of liquor the villain is drinking, or what aisle in the supermarket the gunfight starts in, don't have an immediate effect on the game, in most cases, but it does allow the player(s) to immerse themselves further into the campaign world, a world they're lending bricks to build.

The more I listen to other games/actual plays, the smartest thing that even neophyte GMs can do is mine their players for ideas.  You CAN say no if the player is being ridiculous (high trust on both sides creates high results), and you can always say YES, but with complications later on to curtail a much too-sweet a plot hook/situation.

You could consider all of this a GM cop-out, but I'd rather build upon my players' ideas then rely on the rote list of ideas I have left.  While a table full of improv professionals would be great, most don't have the numbers of the cast of Whose Line is it, Anyway, but I guarantee you, after a few tries, your current slate of players will do just fine.

In my current Star Wars d6 Campaign, we're in an interlude between action-driven storylines.  Yes, certain things are set to happen, certain characters introduced, and a certain objective will be achieved to move to the next storyline, but I'll be constantly mining the characters for those details that to me are inconsequential, but with a little collaboration, might result in something important... or at least memorable.

My players trust each other to frame out a scene, or flesh out some backstory, so "Why does the Wookie not like this cantina?" or "What happened last time you guys hunted a Volturnan cave bear?"  are open-ended questions with a lot of potential put into their hands.

SPOILER:  Sometime in the next few sessions I'll be introducing a Y-Wing pilot to the group, who knows the group's pilot.  I have her stats and a few pieces of information about her, but I will rely on another player who's not playing the pilot to work out the actual relationship.   Friend, rival, sister, ex-wfie, former bounty hunter who once tried to/succeeded in hunting him down.  The possibilities are endless, and the players trust each other make some hard plot twists and enjoy the ride.