Samantha Patri's Blog

 One of the most consistent things I have ever seen when it comes to roleplaying games is the format that is expected for the campaign itself. 1)  It is presumed there is going to be lots of combat. 2)  It is presumed that there are going to be lots of adversaries.      Which, honestly, works.      My beef, however, is that is typically the exclusive focus.  "You will be going out, getting into a lot of fights, and here's a huge catalogue of monsters / enemies for you to face."     What about if the GM wants to run a campaign with little combat, and a lot of cloak and dagger stuff, behind the scenes politics, etc. What if a player wants to make the character one whose entire purpose is to not be seen , and not get into fights . What about the adventuring party who talks their way out of every situation they can, and save fighting for the ultimate last resort.     Where's their 20-40 pages of class abilities,...

 You're running a game. You've got a mixed group.  Some want to go with the flow, coast through the game and chill. Others enjoy engaging with the game, trying out things, and are a bit more involved. Then you have that one player - the one who's really into the game. You know the one. The one who sends you messages between sessions, discussing ideas, the one who plans this, that, and the other during downtime. The one who makes connections and comes up with ideas, and puts in the work. The one who gains power rapidly, that has nothing to do with the points on the sheet or might not even has mechanics to back it up. And honestly, there's no fair way to balance that. There are simply some players who play the game within the game. Politics, influence, allies, contacts, favours, or just going out and doing that little extra while other players don't bother. And, of course, this creates an imbalance. One player is going to have more power than the others.  (Or two play...

Welcome! I am Shinto Nephilim, a long-time game master and game designer. This blog is going to be where I consider gaming over the last half-century, how it has evolved, stories about the games I have run and played in, and reflect on aspects of gaming and how I feel about them. This is all, of course, just my opinion, and I'm more than willing to accept views that are contrary to mine - feel free to contradict, disagree, discuss, and debate. But also - keep it civil. We're all adults here, let's act like it. That all being said, time to get into my first subject.