How much do you get into things . . . . .

I was just wondering how much people get into the games they play and DM.

When playing sometimes my characters say and do things I simply wouldn't do in realy life, almost taking me by surprise.

When Dm'ing I try and make everything feel as real as possible for my players even adopting different accents and body posture when interacting with them as an NPC.

As H.P. Lovecraft once wrote - "Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal . . ." (thanks to Chris Jones of RPG Realms for bringing that qoute to my attention).

Keep Rollin'

Good Power Gamers

Good Power Gamers - is there such a thing. I have been privileged enough to encounter one, just the one - for they are a rare and elusive breed . . .

How do I discern a Good Power Gamer - simple, I have encountered more varieties of Power Gamer than one could care to imagine.

From the Guy who makes himself feel powerful in the game by constantly badgering and bullying his fellow players, to the fellow who actually ADDS Hit Points of Damage taken to his Hit Points for every other hit (way better than a healing surge Lol), to the chap who fiddles and cheats and grubs each and every little minutia during games and during character creation . . . . .

Now, I'm not going to mention the names of the bad gamers - because I don't think that would be particularly fair - although simply from my descriptions they are going to realize who they are - except for the 'Hit Points Fellow' who passed away a number of years ago, which was a shame - because for all his faults he was a lovely bloke.

But back onto point, the Good Power Gamer - who's name is Andy. His 'Power Gaming Kick' came in with wanting his Characters to be the best and the most powerful they could be (One of his favourite Games was Metascape - it was a Power Gamers dream Lol). Even so, he NEVER attempted his quest for power at the expense of his fellow gamers.

Sure, he made unusual requests as a Player (he wanted a Cambion Character once) - but he was excellent as a Player. Even though Andy couldn't do voices, or accents - all his characters were different. With different goals and passions.

One of my favourites out of all his Characters was Nightshade (not Robin as I thought it was, Andy has since corrected me), a Thief under the Second Edition Rules - I even ran Adventures for Nightshade alone (whilst our Mrs' were nattering in the other room) - I wonder if he ever thinks about Nightshades Solo escape from the Prison at Guildstown - through the sewers no less Lol. Happy Days :-) (though technically not for Nightshade Lol).

So, as I wrote - there are Good (if not great) Power Gamers. You just have to be lucky enough as a DM to find one.

A New Appreciation

Now its gone, but not forgotten by some Gamers - who tend to be like rabid dogs when it comes to letting something go - I have a new-found appreciation for DnD 3.5.

It was playable, and fun - albeit more of a Dice Rolling exercise - thats not a challenge towards Players and DM's of 3.5 - an RPG is as good as its Players make it, a really bad set of rules can be turned into an excellent Role-Playing experience given enough enthusiasm and tenacity.

HOWEVER - I still think that its very 'bitty' in its presentation, with a LOT more cross-referencing needed during play than is neccessary. Also, the Multi-Classing is way out of wack - its (sort of) a combination of the Multi and Dual Classing rules from 1st Ed ADnD - with all of the benefits and none of the pitfalls!

Still, upon saying that - its only two real gripes - and as Gygax said "Its your game now, if you don't like something - change it"!

Whats in a Name

How important are names to people, names for their characters I mean.

I AGONIZE over names for Characters and PC's. They have to be 'just right' for me.

Sometimes I go for 'dramatic' names - such as Ravenstar (a Mage I played in a 2e Dragonlance Campaign) or 'just' a name such as Marazan (my Warforged Wizard I have in an online Game at the moment).

I've seen random name generators and such and personally would NEVER touch such an infernal engine.

Names for me at least are important, and very personal.