Damn it feels good to be gaming again
Every campaign I run is an attempt to one-up the previous one, probably because I’m such a perfectionist. My games heave nearly always been good and I’d even call a few of them great. Many are talked about years later and provide the examples I use in my Evil GM Tricks column.
Usually, though, my games are plagued by issues that kept them from living up to their full potential. Sometimes I had the wrong players. Some games were ruined by the location I ran them in (try running a game in February in a house with no heat). Sometimes I chose the wrong system (D&D 4th edition). My only recent game that felt like it had the potential to go the distance was cut short when I left Los Angeles to move home.
Last Saturday was the first full session of my Exalted Campaign and its off to a better start than I could have hoped. All three players have strong character concepts, and have poured many hours into their backgrounds. Each loves to roleplay and slipped naturally into character very quickly. In past games that sort of immersion took time to build, so I definitely feel like this group is ahead of the game.
They really seem to enjoy the story so far, and I’m having a hell of a time running it. Its nice having so few players, because in each session we cover far more of the plot than would be possible with a larger group. When I ran my Exalted game last year it was definitely a solid game, but five players meant everything from combat to travel took a lot more time. This time the game isnt’ suffering from any of major roadblocks, and I’m hopeful it will go the distance. Time will tell!
I’m also working on other projects. Sunday I submitted an article to the Rifter, which I believe they’ll accept. Its a rehash of one of my favorite Evil GM Tricks, and I know Palladium is always looking for that sort of thing. Assuming they accept that I’ll probably re-write several more articles and send them as well. In the meantime I’m still working on the Chaos Earth short story, which should be ready by the middle of next week.
In addition to the niche fiction pieces I’m also working on a pair of original short stories. The first is a sci-fi story about the likely future of our world. Its about an old man in a world where overwhelming debt is the legacy we’ve left our children. People are no longer allowed to retire as they get older. When their bodies fail, they’re simply given a job on the internet. When their minds fail they’re finally put to sleep like an animal. The story also explores the idea of corporations owning everything, even ideas and phrases. Its dark, but that seems to be what most magazines are looking for.
The other short story has a title and a premise but needs an ending. Its called The Bargain and is a fantasy story from my Faelands world. The story is about a man who finds that he’s made a bargain with a spirit. He’s given up all of his memories, but doesn’t know why or what he’s been given in return. Its my first attempt at a mystery, and I’ve found it challenging to write so far. Wish me luck with this one!
I covered most of the progress with the novel in my last post, but things are still going very well. I’ve finished editing the prologue and the first three chapters, and have about 15 chapters to go before I’m done.
It’s also been a week for reconnecting with old friends. I haven’t spoken to Shannon in about three months, but managed to track her down this week. She’s doing well, and has been working on some fan fiction for World of Warcraft. Given the quality of her past work I’m eager to see what she’s written. If I’m lucky she might allow me to post some of it here.
I also got a hold of Daniel, who I’ve not spoken to since April. He was at a Kajukenbo conference in Las Vegas with his Sifu, and it sounded like he had a good time. He might get a chance to come up and visit me in the near future, which would be nice as I haven’t seen him in what feels like forever.
-Chris Aka Arkelias
Meh… Now I wish I lived closer to you so I could join in on the games! =(
I wish I could be as, ahem, Pollyanna about my gaming group, but sadly, I can’t. I’m actually beginning to lose interest in gaming altogether because of the drama, the procrastination, the lack of commitment to game campaigns, etc. This saddens me beyond all apparent reason, because I love roleplaying almost as much as I love writing. I’m very happy to hear that you’re enjoying gaming again – if anyone deserves it, it’s you. And if anyone deserves you as a (evil) GM, it’s your players. >=)
I love the sci-fi story you mentioned about the debt-ridden world. A lot of post-apocalyptic stories are set after some kind of external disaster – nature gone berserk, asteroid hitting the planet, nuclear war, whatever. What you’re describing is more of an internal disaster. It’s a slow damnation that we’ve brought upon ourselves by being stupid and irresponsible. The good thing is that it’ll strike a chord with so many people, because the groundwork for such a world is already in existence. The sad thing is that those people will know that they can – and should – avert it from becoming reality, but most likely will not bother doing so. Humans have become extremely lazy, especially with the advance of technology, and physical laziness contributes to psychological and spiritual laziness. Perhaps that might be a defining factor leading to the degradation of humanity in your tale?
I can’t wait to read The Bargain! I love a good mystery, and I’ve noticed that most mystery writers will take one of two tactics in writing the story. The first will craft the story and drop clues throughout the prose which an attentive reader will notice and then have an immense amount of fun figuring out the solution that is eventually revealed. Perhaps they’re right, perhaps not, but it draws the reader into the mystery and gets them involved. The second strategy is to minimize the information given to the reader, then have the big reveal at the end. Doyle does this, so do a few others. Peters is one of the few that will give readers what they need to try to figure things out, and her books are always worth additional read-throughs, because you notice all the tidbits that she left for you to find.
I think the second method, while undoubtedly easier, is unfair to the reader. It’s effectively cheating, since it relies on the absence of information to craft the mystery. It reminds me of a time when I was playing a D&D game, where the GM deliberately withheld information, then laughed at me and the other players for not figuring out the twists in his game. Fine. Whatever. I refused to play in his games after that, since I have better things to do with my Friday night than to be told I’m an idiot for not knowing something that was never given to me to know to begin with.
Sorry… /rantoff. It’s a special frustration of mine, and a lot of mystery writers unwittingly needle it. What you’ve described so far sounds very intriguing, and I think you’re entirely good enough to sidestep that “easy” strategy to telling the story.
Strange how reconnecting with old friends kind of add more depth to the “here and now,” almost like without those connections, we’re moving through a world of two dimensions instead of three. We have the now, and we look ahead, but it’s those connections to people and places that’ve been constants in our lives for years that keep us in touch with then. =) I’ve missed you.