Graveyard Greg: Who are you people?

First Unknown Stranger: That one’s yours, babe.

Second Unknown Stranger: I’m Sean Jaffe. I’m a freelance writer….We’re a bunch of writers, gamers, musician, and artists who needed work.

First Unknown Stranger: I suppose that’s one way of putting it…

Second Unknown Stranger: We decided to team up and create a crew here in the tri-state area to inject some style into a hurtin’ industry, and maybe wake a few people up in the process..

First Unknown Stranger: One could also say we’re the followers of a madman with a vision. I’m Hala Winter, writer and assistant creative director.

Third Unknown Stranger: Joshua Brain Jaffe.

Graveyard Greg: Gaming credits please–past and present!

Sean: I’ve worked for Inquest, Pyramid, White Wolf…Aetherco/Dreamcatcher,and the Apophis Consortium.

Josh: My creds in the “industry” are that page on the alpha release of Messiah.

Hala: As for me, my experience in the gaming industry is mainly collaboration with Sean.

GG: How did you guys get into the crazy Gaming Industry?

Sean: Well, the way I see it, this is the last great undiscovered art form. So I majored in it at a liberal-arts college. Of course, I got screwed, because no one understood what I was talking about. So, upon leaving I had to put my money where my mouth was. I knew close friend at Inquest. he got me some work…

Josh: I’ve been gaming 14 years now, reaching 15. It seems that through every family tragedy Me and Sean endured,it became apparent we needed to do something. Well, we started forming this concept for a game. I’ve always been the mac nut, so of course, I ended up designing it. And lots of drawing symbols in the edges of my psych notes turned into the symbols you saw on the webpage (www.lastexodus.com). That page in general was a 12 hour epiphany

Sean: Yeah- stay tuned- those sigils do something really cool in the game.

Hala: Well, I’ve been gaming for thirteen years…Roleplaying games have always appealed to me as an actress and writer. Although I never really thought I would go into the gaming “industry”. But one of things we’re trying to do with Sean is bring gaming back to the “Entertainment” industry, which it’s going to have to find a niche in if it’s going to survive.

GG: Some would say that’s already happened, Hala–thanks to MAGIC: The Gathering

Josh: uuuh…..

Sean: Nah, that’s not the same.

Hala: Magic…and CCgs…are something separate to what I think we’re talking about here.

Sean: We’re talking RPG’s - Interactive story arc. This is about BEING. Magic’s well done, but it’s a different animal.

GG: What is this “Messiah: The Last Exodus” all about?

Sean: Who wants this one? Should I take it?

Hala: Well, I believe Sean used the term “Epic Blasphemy”…Sean, take this.

Josh: Sean starts, me next

Hala: I’ll finish.

GG: Ball’s in your court, Sean…

Sean: Alright. The basic premise, without giving away too much, is that the second coming of Christ is hundreds, maybe thousands of people. The players.

Hala: Don’t forget the antichrist…

Sean: Well, yes, there are an equal number of Antichrists.

Josh: Basically, everybody wants to save the world. Question is, who should do it, and who do you save? Sometimes sh!t happens, and who ya gonna call?

Hala: Each of the individuals deatiled on the site represent a different group with a different ideology on how to save the world.

Josh: Which path do YOU choose to save humanity? Which path do you block?

GG: This just in–Nate from Oaklahoma asks: “How serious are you about the religion in the game? I mean - how are you going to make the game appear to non-Christian players - or is the game going to be more All Faith?”

Josh: Every and all faiths

Sean: We blaspheme everybody.

Josh: Hell, I’m Ba’hai, I beleive in all religions.

Sean: No one gets out of here safe.

Josh: religion =/= christianity

Sean: We’re pretty much all deists, no- It utlizes Christ, but he’s not entirley focal.

Hala: I think Messiah is all about breaking that mold…The capital-R Religions in Messiah are all new.

Sean: It’s really a game about creating religion. Faith is a major theme.

Josh: Your Religion will affect your status, power, politics, sexlife and more.

Sean: We’re not afraid to offend people, rest assured. We’re respectful, but not reverent. We don’t just diss religion for the sake of it.

Hala: Sean and I both have studied a number of religions, both for Messiah and our own interests.

Sean: Josh is also heavy into sprituality.

GG: Here’s an easy question: Favorite Snack at midnight?

Josh: MCDONALDS. WE GOT A 24 HOUR MCDONALDS

Sean: Mc’D!

Hala: I’d have to say…Sean.

Sean: Nootch!

Josh: *doh*

Hala: Okay, so he’s a little more than a snack…

Josh: *my eyes are MELTING!!*

GG: So are mine! Next question! We hear the phrase too many times in game books - “This chapter details combat, though combat should not be the main percent of the game.” or blah blah.. then the chapter turns out to be 100 pages long and the book is only 186 pages or something… so are you guys going to like downplay combat - up-play it? Try to write more options than combat for the resolution of every adventure?

Sean: Combat is a focal point for most games because it’s a focal point for conflict- like in movies.

Hala: Can I answer that question? Please? From a chick-gamer perspective? Combat can help up the intensity of a roleplaying experience…but it can’t BE the roleplaying experience.

Sean: Hala pretty much nailed it.

Josh: I want combat to be quick and easy. So it can be as important or not, as a director wishes.

GG: What are your influences for this Messiah…let’s call it PROJECT, not a game, shall we?

Josh: My influences are certainly White Wolf before they got lazy and still had to fight for something, the modern techno-hiphop culture look, the family tragedies mentioned earlier, and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Sean: I took influence from the Old Testament, Star Wars, Busta Rhymes, Dream Theater, the Thrill Kill Kult, PREACHER, Hustler, Caligula, Hype Williams, Scot MAcCloud’s Zot (BIG ONE). and Savatages’ Dead Winter Dead

Hala: Hmmm…Neil Gaiman, definitely. William Gibson, Demonology, Hunter Thompson, and World of Darkness. My ideas for what makes good conflict in RPGs tend to be drawn more from The Iliad than from Starship troopers (although i LOVED that movie).

GG: OK, now it’s time for a surprise GAMER’S QUIZ! This will test your knowledge of gaming. Hala, pick your category!

Hala: Changeling!

GG: The question then: They are your teacher, banker, grocer, accountant: anyone who brings dullness and tedium to the world. Their very existence eats away Glamour. Who are they?

Hala: That would be the Autumn People for a thousand, Alex. Everyone knows that one, but thanks for the easy one.

GG: Yer welcome!

Josh: I’m gonna get banged up on this I know it.

GG: Then I’m saving you for last, Josh. Sean, pick your game!

Hala: Pick Werewolf, Sean. Star Wars is too easy for you.

Sean: Gimme Star Wars, I guess… Second Edition.

GG: Werewolf it is, then! Let’s see…Which of the following tribes went through a name change–Bone Gnawers, Red Talons, White Howlers, Silent Striders, or Glass Walkers?

Sean: The white howlers became Black Spiral Dancers and the Glass walkers were Iron Riders, and warders before that.

GG: Very Good! Josh, it is your turn!

Josh: TMNT!

GG: Teenage Mutant Turtles it is! Name the TMNT supplement that might be the foundation for RIFTS?

Josh: After the Bomb.

GG: Good! Next question!

On the website, it mentions “Deiforms”–What is a Deiform? I assume it deals with gods and stuff.

Sean: Um… It’s a soul. We really can’t reveal much else…Yet. Keep checking the website, tho..

GG: That’s what is called a “teaser”, folks!

Tell us about the other individuals involved with MESSIAH.

Sean: Well, Lets’ see. First, there’s Hala’s tentatively titled “Winter Arcane Press”

Hala: That’s the name for my company, a small press comic book company that may be branching out into other print media. We’re doing the Messiah: The Last exodus comic, among other things.

Sean: Peter Johnson (who is aware of the phallic nature of his name) is in his second year at SVA. Pat Helme is another artist, he does our computer stuff. Corinne, Hala’s artist, hopefully will be working with us, as well as some bigger names like Dave Fooden.

Josh: Charlie is a lab-pit-akita vampire lesbian dog with a donut attached to her rear. Bootsy (the cat) is our security force.

GG: Nice. Next question!

Favorite game of all time? Besides Messiah, that is…

Josh: Strip Poker

Hala: “Big Eyes, Small Mouth” and the Sailor Moon RPG or Cyberpunk, definitely.

Josh: Mage

Sean: I’d say Star wars or The Collective WoD…

Josh: Strip Mage–”Hahaha, you gain 2 more points of paradox, so take off that bra!”

GG: Hmmmmm…the World of Stripping? And now it’s time for CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH!

Sean, MARK*REIN HAGEN of the World of Darkness versus Gareth-Michael Skarka of HONG KONG THEATRE! The winner will get to face Round 2! Who would win, and how??

Sean: Damn, dude. I’ve seen Gareth. I’ve hung out with Gareth. I’ve kissed Gareth. He’d beat the piss out of hulk hogan.

Josh: Hala, you see the stiff competition you got?

Hala: Sean’s not ditching his redhaired queen anytime soon, I’m not worried.

Sean: Well, okay. Round one. Mark comes out and says “A gaming celebrity I am, lest a gaming celebrity I become.” Then Gareth comes out, and he’s got this flask of austrian vodka. He’s lookin for a fight–he lets out a mighty celtic bellow, and the fight is on. He beats Mark to death with a copy of 5th edition ars magica, then complains about distributors for a while. End of match.

GG: Ouch!

Josh, Gaerth has defeated Mark*Rein Hagen, but he now must contend with KEVIN SIEMBIEDA of Palladium fame! Who wins, and how?

Josh: Gareth, still blind from the drunken rage, is taken TOTALLY by surprise by Kevin and ALL four of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Splinter. They get all ninja and leave Gareth a puddle of goo–but the ref disqualifies it because the TMNT weren’t really in the game.

GG: Hmmmm…seeing as how Gareth can’t move, I still will declare Kevin the victor by a technicality!

Any final words for the gaming fans out there?

Sean: I have some, yes. Prepare to be challenged. The teen white male stereotype will fall…We’re blacks, we’re hispanics, we’re women, we’re gays, and we’re coming to the industry. Make room..

Hala: The “diversity” things seems a good note to end it on, but I suppose I’d like to add that Messiah is bringing gaming out of the basement and into the world, into clubs, into music. Gaming needs to come out of hiding.

Josh: It’s time RPG’s put down the dice and donuts, got laid and let us run the show for a while. We are all gamers, yet we get laid, listen to music recorded since 1988, and can dance. It’s time that the gaming industry broadened it’s audience, and we intend to do that.

Sean: Naga noooootch!

GG: I think “Naga noooootch!” sums it up. Thanks!

Like many gamers, when I first entered the hobby, I thought that it was
desirable and even necessary to have rules to account for the outcome of
every possible Character action or environmental condition. Thick
rulebooks were the norm, although roleplay games were typically thin on
descriptive and inspirational background material.

While Gamemastering a gaming group over a 10 year period, my
outlook was altered by two factors: first, that many of the rules
established by the games I played didn’t provide what I thought was an
‘adequate simulation’ of the actions I was trying to recreate in my
adventures, and second, that so many rules inevitably led to numerous
game stoppages requiring rulebook consultations and occasional player
debates. Additionally, I rarely had the time to prepare a detailed
adventure in advance for the weekly session — I was forced to
‘wing-it’. Drawing on my experiences as a GM I’ve put together the
following tips for stress-free and fun-filled Gamemastering.

1. Make having fun your goal. More than anything else, keep in mind
   that the primary objective of playing any game is for everyone to have a
   good time — the GM and all the players. The satisfaction of having
   spent your time well, in the company of people whose companionship
   you’ve enjoyed, and together experienced an adventure, is what it’s all
   about.

2. Give everyone a chance to participate. Both the GM and players
   need to cut others some slack — especially if they’re new to
   roleplaying. Offer roleplaying suggestions where appropriate but don’t
   roleplay other people’s Characters for them. While you should not
   discourage the louder, enthusiastic players, they should not be the only
   ones who get to influence the outcome of the game; make an effort to
   involve shy or quiet players by asking each player in turn (after
   describing the current game events that pertain to their Character),
   “What are YOU doing now?”

3. Play with people you like. You should not feel obligated to play
   with people you dislike or who dislike you. If you think you’ve given
   another player a fair chance to ‘fit in’ with your group and they
   continue to be abrasive or disruptive, tell them, in a ‘friendly way’,
   what they’re doing that’s upsetting and give them the option to change
   their behavior or leave the group.

4. There are two types of games: Character Hostile and Character
   Neutral. Tell the players which style you’re using (or give them the
   option of choosing) before gameplay begins.

   Character Hostile games were common in the early days of
   roleplaying and most often take the form of ‘dungeon crawls’. A
   Gamemaster creates an environment full of nasty creatures hoarding lots
   of treasure, while the players, knowing full well that the GM is out to
   kill their Characters (and in some cases, the Characters are out to kill
   each other), enter and try to emerge wealthy and in one piece.

   Character Neutral games are best for realistic scenarios and
   prolonged campaigns. The Gamemaster, rather than taking the side of the
   Creatures and Gamemaster Characters and competing against the player’s
   Characters, instead presents situations and conflicts that contribute to
   making the most interesting story possible. Situations which allow
   Character development and the accumulation of a ‘personal history’
   should be pursued.

5. Use the simplest rules you can find that make sense to you. I
   personally prefer a system where either a d10 or d100 is used for
   practically all rolls; occasionally I include d6’s for a smaller numeric
   range of inflicted Damage. All Skills are expressed as a percentage; all
   Stats (rolled against when no Skill is available or applicable) are
   factored up to a percentage. Details of specific ‘current conditions’
   can be included as modifiers to your action resolution rolls by applying
   +/- 5% toward the target number (Action Value) prior to rolling. Simple.
   Fast. Effective.

   The rules you choose will often reflect the seriousness of the
   stories you wish to roleplay. Humorous games, where Character death
   rarely occurs (though great pain and embarrassment is frequent), are
   well suited to a minimalist system — even diceless. Serious games,
   where Character death is a real and ever-present danger, may require
   more specific rules, to convince the players that the GM is unbiased
   when they reveal that a Character has taken a bullet to the leg and must
   now suffer wound trauma. Use the level of detail that is right for your
   game. Be consistent and fair.

6. Only roll dice when necessary. There are two situations where it
   is desirable for a GM or player to roll dice: a) When an action
   resolution result is required that can’t reasonably be provided by a
   direct GM response, and b) When you want to scare a player into
   thinking that you’ve got something up your sleeve and thus keep them on
   their toes — this is an artificial means that the GM can use to instill
   tension into a situation when the players’ roleplaying skills are not
   capable of adequately providing it for their Character. At any other time you can simply provide a description of the
   outcome of a Character’s action attempt.

7. Don’t hold back a Character. If a Character’s desired action seems
   at all plausible (given the genre you’re playing) let them attempt it
   and use the outcome (successful or not) to stimulate the plot of the
   adventure. Some GMs will limit their players by stating that their
   Character can’t even attempt a specific act. This will only result in
   timid players and a less exciting game. Try not to deny Characters the
   opportunity to attempt things — let the players set their Characters’
   own limitations based on their experiences of past failures.

8. Play to the Characters. Try to get to know each Character’s
   distinctions and then over the course of the adventure provide at least
   one event or encounter specifically geared to their interests, skills
   expertise, personal traits, or weaknesses. If another Character takes
   the bait instead, go with it. However, if you’ve constructed the
   situation correctly, it should be clear that the party must address the
   situation through the targeted Character.

9. Go with the flow. This is crucial to stress-free Gamemastering and
   difficult for some to apply. If you’ve established an outline or script
   for your plot in advance and the Characters take a sudden turn which
   causes them to omit a location or event, let it go. Remember, the
   Characters don’t know what cool thing they’ve missed — they’re
   responding to events as they’ve encountered them. Concern yourself with
   what ‘logical’ encounter or event the Characters would experience on
   their new course, rather than worrying about what they could have seen.

10. Let the Adventure write itself. If you’re GMing without a
    predetermined and detailed plot, pay attention to what the Characters
    say and do and use their successful actions (and failures) as windows of
    opportunity to introduce Gamemaster Characters and events (e.g., a
    crisis or opportunity requiring a quick response) into the developing
    story. When you confront the Characters with an event or encounter try
    to consider two or three possible outcomes to the situation and how they
    might impact on the plot. Just ask yourself: “What 3 possible things
    could happen next?” Then, when the Characters act in response, you can
    smoothly present whatever events that flow logically from the situation.
    If the Characters act in a way that you did not consider, again, go with
    the flow and see where it leads. You will often be thrilled by the
    results.

Kevin Davies is the president and creative director of Peregrine,
http://www.peregrine-net.com. Peregrine produces the humorous roleplay
games MURPHY’S WORLD and BOB, LORD OF EVIL, plus ADVENTURE AREAS
miniatures gameplay surface, GRIT miniatures rules, and ADVENTURE AUDIO
background music. We are always looking for new writers and playtesters.

I recently spent an evening playing two multi-player computer games with four other people. This was an entertaining way to spend an evening and it got me thinking about computer games, role-playing games and possibly why our hobby is shrinking (so people tell me). What occurred to me whilst playing was that for a lot of gamers, computer games might well be a satisfactory replacement for role-playing games.

Computer games are the digital predators of existing and potential role-players.

Now, before a load of ’serious’ role-players decry me as an idiot for even suggesting that computer games can duplicate the role-playing experience let me say that a computer game cannot yet re-create a quality, intense role-playing session. This will not be possible until we have a computer capable of totally duplicating the job of a good GM; this would mean a computer capable of emotion, and skills in dramatic delivery and storytelling. Now, we have established that fact let me also say that this is as far as I take the argument, while others would follow on from this to the conclusion that computer games are inferior to role-playing games. The problem with this conclusion, and also the problem with the ‘computer games are never as fulfilling as role-playing games’ argument is it assumes you have a good GM, and that you are playing in a campaign with a modern view of role-playing: character development, story, atmosphere and so on.

Regrettably, I do not think the average role-playing session meets these criteria, and as a result the average player can find his need fulfilled by the modern computer game. I will explain, using various styles of play.

The dungeon crawl, or hack ‘n’ slash style gaming is essentially a computer game in another format; I don’t think I will get much disagreement from anyone on this issue. Now, go back a number of years and role-playing (or Roll-playing) the dungeon adventure was still better than playing it on the computer. If I were given the chance between Dungeon Master on my Atari ST or my teenage GM’s latest dungeon in AD+D (this is going back some time, mind) I would have chosen the AD+D game. Why? Simple, it had a social element, I was with friends having a laugh and no doubt talking about loads of other subjects while we gamed. Also, even at this tender age (13-14) I was role-playing the showdown with the master villain in the deep core of the dungeon, which was cool because we got to face off with him verbally as well as with swords, bows and spells. Now, I can easily see why gamers who have only experienced role-playing at its most basic (if that) level drift to computer games. Doom. Diablo. Half-Life. Delta Force. All these games provide a better experience these days; some of them even have better plots and a better sense of drama. They can also be played together, within an interactive computer world - thus the social advantage of the role-playing game is removed. One of the games we played at my recent multi-player fest was Delta Force, it demanded more co-ordination between players, and created more tension and excitement than any other roll-playing game I had played in. I was there, on that hill, shooting the terrorists through my sight, hoping to rescue the hostages. In short, for this style of gaming the computer is already a better GM.

Why bother with the effort even the basic role-playing session demands?

Of course, not all games are basic dungeon crawls or hack ‘n’ slash affairs. This does not mean they are character driven masterpieces either. Not all games are about story or characters; they are often about the resolving of tasks or the realisation of objectives. I would even go as far to say the average role-playing campaign is about goals, objectives (and to some extent winning) with the characters just being basic vehicles to interact in the world. Little strong role-playing goes on, players’ regularly pass character knowledge without speaking character to character and the majority of discussion goes on between players as if they are resolving a puzzle. This is not a dungeon bash, nor hack and slash, but neither is it role-playing as storytelling. Basically a game is being played, and little effort is being made to lift the hobby beyond that of a game. If a player is happy with this style of play, fine, but how far is it removed from say, a session of Baldur’s Gate? They seem very similar to me, especially since this game can be played multi-player and probably has a better plot than the one GM has scavenged together. No rules to figure out, and dodgy descriptions to endure, it is all there in graphical splendour, a puzzle to solve, a task to complete.

Why bother with the effort that a role-playing session demands?

Okay, now we come to the nirvana of role-playing, true character-driven drama, role-playing as storytelling. The computer cannot replace that, right? Of course not, but in this hectic world where fitting a campaign of this quality in seems ever more difficult, could it come close enough to tempt one away to the easier option? The example I can use is Final Fantasy VII. I have spent a good number of years on the outskirts of the role-playing hobby (for various reasons) and one of thing I did to satisfy my role-playing urge was to play FVII in a very dedicated way. I was absorbed by the story, the drama of the character relationships and was elated when a character realised his dreams, and saddened when characters died epically as part of the plot. It is a game, but it also tells a story. I realise little role-playing was going on, but this is only half the reason why I play in role-playing games, the other reason is to feel part of a well- written book, comic, TV series or film. I believe Final Fantasy VII filled this need admirably. Obviously, a good role-playing campaign is better, but due to modern life this seems forever harder to achieve. I would also say I would prefer buying and playing Final Fantasy VIII then playing in any of the other two styles listed above (more exercise in dice-rolling than anything else).

Role-playing has the potential to be as interesting and as involving an experience as literature, good TV or cinema, but I believe the average role-playing game being played does not reach this potential. This is fine, it is a game and as long as people are happy with it, no one should have any complaint. At the same time, all the more serious role-players casting generalisations about the nature of computer and role-playing games should really step back and think about it. The pros and cons of each style of game are relative to what you have been exposed to, a good majority of people may have experiences that tell them computer games and role-playing games are much closer together than you (or I for that matter) would like to believe. If this is the case why write adventures or design dungeons? Is it no wonder then that the young (the fresh blood of our hobby) do not take up the hobby or drift from it? Why go through the learning curve to realise what could be when the shelves are full of interactive, multiplayer computer games? Hell, your mates play these, but they would think of you as strange if you told them you did role-playing.

If role-players can so easily be pulled into the seductive simplicity that is the modern, networked world of computer gaming (and as demonstrated above, some may not be making any sacrifices based on their experience) is it not possible to pull the potential role-players who play computer games into our hobby? After all, Final Fantasy VII sold on a music industry scale, and as such it represents a large pool of people who could be interested in traditional tabletop fair.

Can we work to make the crossover easier?

Yes, and to some extent this seems to be happening as TSR is going to release an introductory role-playing game based on the hit computer game Diablo. I am not an observant industry analyst, so I cannot give you a well argued analysis of how this product will fair, but to me it is an interesting trend, and a positive one. After all, Video Games are mainstream, and can launch movies, comics and novels and role-playing games need some of that action. The Diablo RPG will be a full game, and will serve as an introduction to role-playing, ideally it will be advertised in every box of the computer game, and made available in every computer games outlet across the world; next to all those collectable card games that seem to have become ‘cool’ enough (profitable enough really) to take valuable shelf space in these high profile stores. I hope that the Diablo RPG does more than sell to existing role-players, but to do more than that it needs to be visible, and pitched as the way to play a more dynamic version of Diablo now, rather than waiting two years for the next computer game. You never know, it just might work?

I hope it has some success, as role-playing games do now need to steal some of the success of computer games, as potential role-players exist in their masses, and it is computer games they are playing. At the moment, it is computer games that are stealing from our hobby.

I have been lucky, and have played in campaigns that have ensured that computer games are only a short-term distraction - I always find the images, stories and characters in my head and the drama resulting from these elements can only be realised by GM’ing a good role-playing campaign with good players (or writing a novel, but this is another issue). Still, the hectic nature of modern life and the problems of finding/coordinating 4-5 busy people means that I still look at Final Fantasy VIII on the shelves, and wonder if I should just lose myself in that rather than wrestle with all the issues of running the various campaigns I have in my head.

It would be easier? I hope I can reverse this trend in myself, and I hope the industry can reverse the trend as well.

Puppetland is a roleplaying game in which you are a Puppet in the Maker’s Land–a special place which the Maker created to keep the puppets away from a terrible war in the real world. The puppets lived without fear, without any hands to control them or strings to pull them. The only human in Maker’s Land was the Maker, who would mend and repair broken or torn puppets. All was happy in Maker’s Land.

Then came Punch, who slew the Maker with his great mallet, taking his flesh to make a new, cruel face for himself and made six puppet-servants called his Boys. Punch was now the Maker-Killer, and those who didn’t obey his commands would suffer greatly.

But, in the small village of Respite, which lies across the great lake of Milk and Cookies, there is a puppet named Judy, who once loved Punch but does so no more. She was there when Punch slew the Maker, and caught the Maker’s last tear in a silver thimble. With this tear, the Maker can be brought back to life. Thus, puppets that declare themselves free of Punch’s terrible rule gather to Respite, and plan for the day they overthrow Punch.

Welcome to Puppetland, where you assume the role of a puppet. This puppet can be one of the following: Finger Puppet, Hand Puppet, Shadow Puppet, or Marionette Puppet. Each has certain things they can and cannot do (for example, the Shadow Puppet can dodge things thrown at them, but can not get wet, because getting wet kills them!)

Once you choose a puppet, you take the character sheet and draw your puppet. This puppet will be the actual size of the puppet, so be careful in how you draw it! Then you write down what the puppet is, what the puppet can do, what the puppet cannot do, and add three additional things to each list.

There are Three Rules that makes playing Puppetland special. The first is a game of Puppetland lasts only an hour. During the game, a week can pass by, but “the time passed is the time in which the tale is told”. During the next session, the characters will find themselves safely in bed. The second rule is when your sitting at the table, what you say is what you say in character. If you want to say something out of character, you have to stand up and say it. And if you want to do something, you have to state is as something your puppet would say, like: “I think I shall finish reading this book.” The third rule is: imagine that a game of Puppetland is a tale being read by an invisible reader. Better make that dialogue colorful, folks.

Another thing about Puppetland is the Jigsaw Puzzle found on the character sheet. If you do something the puppet can’t do, or take damage, you fill in a piece of the Puzzle. Once the Puzzle is filled in, the character will be gone forever after the current session.

That’s enough about Puppetland–let’s talk about Power Kill.

Power Kill is a roleplaying metagame–not an actual game, but an additional layer of a game to an RPG you are currently playing. The setting is the Real World, and only comes into play during and after the regular gaming sessions. What it all boils down to is that the Power Kill Character (PKC) is the real character, and the roleplaying character is the schizophrenic character, and the Power Kill sessions are psychiatric sessions. From there, it gets stranger…

The Verdict:

Puppetland is a diceless roleplaying game, and a good one. This game is meant to capture the feel of a children’s storybook, which is why the author insists on in-game dialogue and narration. It’s a good effort, and worth taking a look at.

Power Kill, on the other hand, is absolutely odd, but it’s also worth a look, if only for the questions it brings into focus (which will not be brought up here, as the Power Kill section is only three pages long!). Since you can get both for one price (a low price at that), Puppetland/Power Kill is worth picking up.

Introduction

In nature, the success and survival of a species is determined by
its ability to adapt to changes in its environment. This includes competition
from other species in the same niche. The species that does not change does not
survive. During the middle of this decade, new competitors were introduced to
the RPG niche. At the same time, the environment of publishing was changing. In
the wild, these events would be called selection pressures. They necessitate
change.

As members of the RPG market, we must help guide our hobby into
adaptation. But what new form should we take? What changes need to be made? The
answer depends on what our competition looks like and what advantages we can
take from the new environment.

The Competition

Though sales are already starting to recover, the RPG industry
took a big hit to the groin in the mid-nineties. For an already small-money
market, this was nearly devastating. (Fortunately, a lot of high-quality games
emerged from that dry spell, but that’s a topic for another day.) There are no
clear answers to why sales dropped so drastically, but two culprits are commonly
singled out:

Collectable Card Games (CCGs) - Following in “Magic’s”
footsteps, these games hit the same niche market as RPGs, and they hit it hard.
There is some contention over whether CCGs pulled people into the hobby or
distracted them from RPGs. Personally, I think it did a little of both, with the
harm done pretty much negating the good.

The real damage was done by the simple fact that CCG fans dumped a
lot of money into them. Most, if not all, of those dollars may have otherwise
gone into RPGs. Potential role-players were faced with the choice of spending
their hard-earned twenty bucks on either an RPG supplement (that they would
need, say 3 other people and lots of free time to play) or couple booster packs
of cards (which they would need only 1 other person and 15-30 minutes to
play).

You make the call.

Computer Role-Playing Games (CRPGs) - In my opinion, these
games are the real competitor. They take people who may otherwise be drawn to
RPGs (imaginative people who enjoy sci-fi and fantasy) and distract them with
immediate, full-sensory experiences. These are the, perhaps, less creative
people who would rather play than GM. CRPGs supply them with the same challenges
as RPGs (combat, NPC interaction, abstract puzzles) without having to find a GM
and, coordinate schedules with other players, learn an entire book’s worth of
game mechanics, etc, etc, etc.

However, both CRPGs and CCGs are sorely lacking in two of the
aspects of RPGs: Socialization and Creative Expression. Admittedly, CCGs require
a little social interaction, and network games can provide the same. However,
neither involves the same group dynamics as sitting down with a bunch of friends
and role-playing face to face. This goes beyond simple socialization, it creates
community. (Remember that term, as I’ll be coming back to it later.)

The creative aspect of RPGs is what the competition can’t touch.
They create the world, the cards, the weapons, the characters, and you just
accept what you’re given. On occasion, companies might accept feedback and
suggestions, but the actual development is still done behind closed doors. Yet,
who hasn’t looked at these games and thought, “Ya know, I could do this so much
better!” Even if we absolutely love the game, each of us has our own spin we’d
like to put on it. RPGs not only encourage players and GMs to create their own
material, they require it! Players create characters, GM create plots, NPCs, and
even entire game worlds. Even when using supplements and ready-made adventures,
some creative license must always be taken. Things must be improvised on the
spot.

Short of writing fiction, I can’t think of anything that offers
more chances for creative expression.

RPGs on the Internet

So, those are our competing species, complete with their relative
strengths and weakness. Now, we have to identify the environment we’ll be
competing in. As with most things in the last few years, I’ll be focusing on the
emerging landscapes of the Internet. Even amidst the industry’s economic
downturn, the Internet hosted a growing community of role-players. Particularly
in our fight against CRPGs, the Internet will be an important venue.

Looking around the Gaming Outpost, I see a far higher percentage
of “GM-types” than I see at my local gaming club. I can only assume that, like
aspiring authors, they are attracted to the Internet by the easy access to
exposure. e-Publishing a far easier than traditional magazine or book
publishing. As someone once said, the Internet allows us to be ignored by more
people than ever before.

As a consequence, there is a fast-growing market of free and
self-published RPGs to be found online. Some of these are just knockoffs of
traditionally published games, but most are highly original works. They find
innovative solutions to common RPG flaws, bring all-new worlds and concepts to
gaming, and otherwise advance the hobby as a whole.

Finally, the loci for most of this innovation seems to be mailing
lists or discussion boards. Most sites with at least one game have, or point to,
a place where fans can talk about it online. Often, the designers participate in
these discussion, too, creating a direct link from customer to creator.

What does this all mean for the industry? It means that, on the
Internet, there still exists significant demand for the social interaction and
creative freedom of traditional RPGs. These are survival advantages that the
competition does not possess. Surviving, even thriving, in our new environment
depends on our ability to leverage those advantages to their fullest effect.

The Next Evolution

Now we get to the meat of the issue: What will RPGs be like in the
next 5-10 years? Integrating business with the Internet is a major goal for most
industries, and role-playing will be no exception. However, RPGs stand to reap
even greater rewards, for the reasons given above. They have unique
characteristics that compliment many aspect of online business.

New Emphasis on Creativity

The growing number and impact of self-published RPGs will create a
new emphasis on original settings and creative design. (This trend will be
helped along by the profusion of rules systems already available on paper and
online; as it becomes less possible to break ground with rules, it will become
necessary to break ground with settings.) We’re already seeing this in many of
the “indie” games on the web.

Personally, I can’t help but see this as a Good Thing.

Virtual Communities

To satisfy our need for social interaction, the prevalence of
virtual communities (established via mailing lists and discussion boards) will
continue to increase. At the same time, companies will open their doors further
and further to feedback from their fans. (This is simply a good business
strategy. It is far cheaper to catch a bad game before publication than to
revise it after.)

In addition, the power of the Internet to bridge vast distances
will allow the gaming community to grow as a whole. No longer will finding a
gaming group be a matter of scouring your local town for recruits. Instead,
like-minded people from around the world will be able to gather around their
favorite game sites and online magazines for news and discussion. As online
communication technology advances, these forums will become more and more
similar to meeting in person.

At the least, this will consolidate a small niche market scattered
too thinly across a number of countries and continents. At best, it could lead
to a revival of the hobby and an explosion of new ideas that draw in even more
potential gamers.

Increased Customer Participation

Combining these two factors, we will see steady blurring of the
line between player and designer. It is a very short step from monitoring
discussion boards to accepting feedback officially, and an equally short step
from accepting feedback to accepting submissions for supplements, game fiction,
etc. This is the ultimate expression of a creative, social gaming community.

Such a strategy makes sense from multiple angles. First, as
mentioned above, accepting feedback before publication is more economical.
Beyond that, allowing fans to participate directly in the development of a game
line fosters stronger brand loyalty; who wouldn’t sink a few dollars extra into
a game they had personally contributed to? Fans will also feel more invested,
both in terms of time and ego, in the success of that game and its publisher.
Everyone wins.

Case Studies

Unfortunately, I haven’t really gone out on any limbs with these
“predictions.” Much of what I’ve just talked about is already happening. The
real question is: Will it succeed? Only time will tell. The curious might want
to keep an eye on few pioneers…

Deep 7 href="http://www.deep7.com">(http://www.deep7.com)

This interesting group has already made the move away from
traditional publishing to e-publishing. All of their games are available via
pay-per-download from their website. Beyond that, they also host a message board
(aka, “virtual pub”) and accept submission ideas from the public. One of the
biggest obstacles many people cite for online RPG companies is simply getting
people to download and print their own stuff. Deep 7 is on their way to finding
out.

Dominion Games ( href="http://www.dominiongames.com">http://www.dominiongames.com)

These folks are already blurring the lines between player and
designer. Their rules system is viewable online and free to all, as is their
first game setting. Both of these will be continuously updated, creating a
“living RPG.” Web forms encourage fans to send in their “bugs,” comments, and
submissions for future inclusion. This is fan participation a step above and
beyond.

ImEG

My company, Immersive Entertainment Group, was formed a few months
ago specifically to pursue these new kinds of RPGs. Our goal is to allow fans to
contribute directly to a single world, much like what Dominion Games is doing,
but taken to a greater degree. We will combine fan fiction, RPG products, and an
online, multi-player game to develop worlds in real-time.

For more information, take a look at our inspiration, href="http://www.starshield.com">The Starshield Web Project, or our first
solo endeavor, The Erebus
Project.

Conclusion

Evolution is a chaotic and mysterious thing, even in the world of
hobby gaming. The above is simply my analysis of the present and expectations
for the future. At the very least, I hope it got you thinking. Role-Playing is
unlike other industries in that it relies on a great degree of independent
creativity from its players. We can, and should, use that creativity to help
make sure our hobby continues to thrive.