But there’s one problem – I’m not really smart enough to talk about games or give thoughtful reviews.  And I can barely articulate my opinions without being offensive.  So, I only posted a few… posts.

Even though I’m currently burnt out on gaming (and on hiatus), I still have a creative itch that has to be scratched.  So, I thought up a bunch of ways to offer resources to other gamers, resources that don’t really require intellectual brainpower on my part, just creativity.

Instead of bogging down Sam’s site (Roleplaying Pro) with a bunch of stuff, I created my own site, STUFFER SHACK.  It’s my first real website, and thus far I’ve learned, like, tons.

In the STUFFER SHACK, you’ll find all kinds of things to steal: gaming tools, adventure ideas, encounter ideas, character backgrounds, NPCs, enemies, and even new monsters.  There’s also a gallery, and a directory of RPG sites and RPG related sites.  Don’t worry, not all of the resources there are from me; much of the content is submitted from other bloggers (thank you).

Anyway, I’m particularly proud of it.  Check it out and drop a line.  Feel free to steal whatever you like, it is a stuffer shack, after all.

Thanks again Sam for letting me shamelessly plug my role playing games website, the STUFFER SHACK!

-Chris

Faction Vs Faction
Every detention facility will have multiple groups vying for control within the establishment. These factions may be racially-based, geographically-based, class-based, or separated via a variety of other ways. Sometimes it will be as simple as the inmates versus the guards. Other times it may be a powerful group of inmates working against other inmates. They may be attempting to take control of a particular area in the jail or prison or eradicate another opposing faction.

This is one of the areas that can provide the most opportunity for roleplaying within a jail or detention facility. I recommend making multiple factions, both large and small, both weak and powerful, and then other non-affiliated groups that tend to fill in the gaps. In a more ‘hardcore’ detention setting, all new entrants in the facility will be pressured to join a group. Only the strongest of individuals will often be able to not join a group and survive unscathed.

Fight
In a jail or prison settings fights will be extremely common and potentially deadly. These fights may occur in an out of the way location where the results are only discovered after the fact or they may occur in broad daylight in view of hundreds of other inmates or guards. The fight could be an inmate on inmate fight or an inmate versus guard fight. There could also be multiple fights at one time or even a riot.

The motivation for the fights will initially usually be unknown to the guards or civilians working in the facility, but very often all of the inmates in that particular unit will know it is coming. Good luck getting anyone to talk about it though. No one wants to be known as a snitch, especially in this type of environment. And if anyone does talk about what they know and this information is leaked to the inmates, you may just have another fight on your hands.

Natural Disaster
A natural disaster such as an earthquake, fire, tornado, flood, or other similar incident can wreak havoc upon a jail or prison. What happens if a unit catches on fire? Inmates in that unit will have to be moved by the guards and transferred to another temporary holding area in the facility. If the disaster is big enough, they may have to be transferred to another facility altogether. Couple this with the fact that these types of hasty transfers under a situation of duress can lead to inmates attempting to escape in the confusion…

Facility Searches
Searches and lockdowns are a daily part of work and life in a detention facility. Often cells, units, or areas will be locked down so that the guards can do a systematic search of the area. They are often looking for contraband such as weapons, drugs, messages, or illegal items not allowed within the facility. This can lead to tension between the guards and inmates if not handled properly. Also, it can lead to very interesting discoveries that can kick off an adventure of the gamemaster’s choosing.

Corruption
The detention facility may be run be either a government or corporate organization. Often those that work in the facility aren’t paid well for what they are put through on a day-to-day basis. This can lead to bribery or corruption within the facility, which allows inmates to acquire items or privileges that they might not otherwise have access to. This behavior often escalates, starting with something small and moving up to very large things. Corruption can eventually lead to extortion or blackmail. Eventually, the guard or civilian may get in over their heads and feel the need to remove the inmate that is bribing them from the picture. Or, the inmate may decide that it is now time to ‘roll over’ on the guard or civilian and expose their corrupt ways.

Escape
Escape attempts are always a hallmark adventure when playing in a detention setting. A group may attempt to infiltrate and extract an inmate or the inmate or inmates may attempt to escape on their own. It could be something that is a long, drawn out plan that takes a long time to implement. Or the escape attempt could just be the inmate waiting for the right time and moment to make a run for it.

Escape attempts, whether successful or not, will often include the lockdown of the facility and a formal investigation afterward. The investigation will be there to determine if all policies and procedures were followed by staff and if any other inmates were involved in assisting with the escape attempt.

Transfer
Detention facilities often do not operate in a vacuum alone from other detention facilities. There will constantly be transfers in and out of detention facilities as inmates are moved from one facility to another for various reasons. This can introduce a host of new problems when a new inmate enters the facility.

This new inmate may smuggle in contraband on them or messages from another facility. These messages con contain orders or hits from inmates that are in another facility. These orders will be carried out in the current facility for someone that may not even be held in that jail or prison.

The transfer itself can be a scene for conflict and adventure as well. An inmate may know the date they are being transferred and where they are heading to. So they may make an escape attempt during this time. Or, they may inform others on the ‘outside’ about the date and specifics of their transfer. This information will allow them to make an attack on the transfer vehicle and help their comrade escape.

Suspicious Circumstances
There are always things that happen in detention facilities that no one seems to know how it happens. There could be a large stash of drugs found in an area that cannot be attached to a particular person. Machinery can show up damaged but no one knows why. Alarms can be triggered in certain areas but the trigger of the alarm remains unknown. Inmates can die of undetermined causes. A sickness may strike a particular housing unit that leads to it being quarantined from the rest of the facility.

Detention facilities can be very volatile and unpredictable places. Pretty much anything you can think of can happen there. And pretty much any character that could be found in a universe can be found in a detention facility. It isn’t just your street thugs, thieves, and career criminals. There are middle and high society criminals as well from all ages, races, and background types.

Adventures in a jail or prison can be inserted into almost any type of campaign in any setting. They can be played out for as short of duration as desired or a very long, long time. It doesn’t matter if the player characters are made up of heroic characters, mercenaries, or villainous ones. The setting itself has almost limitless opportunities for adventure in a small and confined area.

What is your favorite adventure that you’ve gamemastered or played in a jail or prison setting?

I believe finding the perfect roleplaying game (if it exists) would come down to three different things: Group, Setting, and System. To find the perfect game you’re going to have to understand what your gaming group makeup is like, what type of system they like, and what setting they prefer to play.

Finding a good group can be very difficult. I heard it stated recently that, “The ‘nerd community’ is one of the most accepting groups of people out there.” It made me chuckle because I believe it is true. The gaming community as a whole really accepts any and all types of people. Despite this, it can be very difficult to find a group of four to six people that can fit this hobby in their schedule at the same time and have fun together.

Settings to roleplaying games can vary widely. There are a wide variety of setting types such as fantasy, modern, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and many, many more. Even within these setting types, you’ll have individual worlds that have been created with there own unique flavor. For example, just in the fantasy setting alone you have Dungeons & Dragons, Palladium, Pathfinder, Earthdawn, and the list goes on. Even within the fantasy setting of the Dungeons & Dragons game, there are many different and more specialized settings under this one!

Even if every player in your gaming group likes the same setting type (which isn’t always the case), they may not like the same specific game world. Even if they do like the same game world, there can be specific preferences to what timeline in that setting the group is playing, or what specific geographic location they are playing in. There are so many variables when it comes to setting that it can be very difficult to find one that everyone in the group is one-hundred percent happy with.

System choice can be just as complex as setting choice. You can go with a rules-lite system or a system that has a lot more crunch to it. In my early years of gaming, I preferred systems with a lot of rules that I could satisfy my appetite for reading and finding new game nuances. Today, I don’t have as much time to devote to reading gaming manuals, so I prefer more rules-lite systems that I can pick and choose what I need more easily.

I’ve thought long and hard about ‘the perfect game’ in regards to roleplaying. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no perfect game (for me at least). There are many games that have aspects that I like and dislike. Even the games that I like the most have things about it I wish I could change. Also, everyone gets tired of playing the same game over and over. Personally, to me ‘the perfect game’ is the one you’re having the most fun playing at that moment in time.

What do you think? Is there a ‘perfect game’ for you and your gaming group?

I’ve had a thought rolling around in my head for the last year or so. Our gaming group has mostly been playing in two or three different Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition campaigns. At first, many of us disliked the game. But after giving it a chance there are many aspects of the game we have come to love. We love the miniature based combat, character progression, and the massive amounts of supported products that are continually being pumped out. Also, the tools it gives the Dungeon Master is phenomenal in making a solid adventure, of appropriate level for the players, in a quick and efficient manner.

The one negative to the points listed above is that I am now expecting this level of quality and support with other games. Many of them just aren’t delivering. Has D&D 4th Edition broke me and my gaming group? Have our expectations of current games completely changed because of 4e?

My favorite roleplaying game has, and probably always will be, Shadowrun. The current edition of the system requires so many house rules to be introduced to balance out things in the game. It also is fairly difficult to setup a game as a Game Master when compared to some other systems.

All Palladium products, including Palladium FRPG, Rifts, Robotech, and many more suffer from the fact that their systems core mechanic hasn’t changed in decades. There is a reason why you don’t see Palladium games being played often at conventions. It is because the rules are so messed up and up for interpretation that it would make playing a game like it at a convention nearly impossible. And yet, Palladium games often have some well thought out background stories and plotlines in their games.

White Wolf has some spectacular games with a simple to use storytelling system. However, I don’t see their products focusing as much on miniature combat as I would like. Plus, as a Storyteller you must be extremely familiar with the entire World of Darkness. There is a lot to read for the Game Master before he is even able to start creating a campaign. He needs to know the world better than his players. This can be difficult for someone starting with the game because there is a lot to read.

When it comes to D&D 4th Edition, they do a great job at making character creation easy, learning the rules is simple, creating adventures is easy, and the game overall is quick and easy to learn. They focus a lot on miniature combat (which is a bonus for my group). I want to find that in another game right now. I see games out there that have some of these elements, but maybe don’t combine all of them. Or maybe these games do have all the elements that D&D 4th brings, but they don’t bring them as well.

Any suggestions for trying out a game that is easy for the Game Master to setup, easy for the players to learn the rules, has good character progress, and good miniature combat?

Feel free to tell me why I may be off-base on my critiquing of some of the other games listed in the article, such as Shadowrun, Palladium Games, or the World of Darkness.

As I sat down to begin listing my perfect components one thing became immediately clear; the most important part of achieving gaming nirvana is to “know thyself”.  Figure out and analyze the things that make you tick as a gamer.  It’s not just a matter of listing what you like or dislike about gaming, but also developing an inherent understanding of your own personality traits; your own quirks, flaws, assets, and habits, the qualities that you as a gamer bring to the table.  Of course this takes a great deal of honesty with yourself, but in the end you may discover your own path to roleplaying nirvana.

For me I’ve divided my quest for gaming nirvana into four broad components; my role at the table, the other people I game with, the genre of the game, and lastly the game itself.  For my perfect experience each of these components would have to perform certain functions and meet certain criteria. 

My Role

For me this is one of the easier components to achieve.  I’ve gamed enough years to know that when it comes to roleplaying I enjoy gamemastering.  I like the GM’s role because it gives me a chance to flex my creativity, play numerous character roles, and most importantly because at heart I am a story-teller. 

I know a few additional things about myself that impact my role and my game decisions.  I don’t like playing in “mini-campaigns” and changing up every few months, I like long term campaigns (a year or more).  I don’t care to place my emphasis on developing a single character (as a player) instead I want to develop worlds and stories.  Overall, for me the role of gamemaster is simply a perfect fit that brings me closer to my perfect game.

The Players 

At its heart roleplaying is a communal group activity, so needless to say whom I game with is every bit as important as what games I play.  I think every person looks at this a bit differently.  For some people gaming with a specific group is way more important that the game itself.  I’ve known groups who’ll tolerate a total ass in their ranks just because they are a long-time friend.  Other groups look for diversity and different approaches to gaming.  Still others look for social game tastes compatibility.

When it comes to the others at the table I’ve made a few discoveries about myself over the past couple of decades.  First of all, smaller is better.  While I used to enjoy big games (and sometimes still do at conventions), I much prefer the atmosphere and intimacy of having just three or four players at the table.  Also I look for players who are enthusiastic about roleplaying, the genre, and the game system we’ll be using.  I know everyone is different but nothing drains my creative energy like a player who isn’t as excited about the game and the campaign as I am.  In my perfect game each of the players would love the setting, genre, and rule set as much as I do.

The Genre  

Although I enjoy a wide variety of genres, from sci-fi to old west, post-apocalyptic to Victorian pulp, I seem to always come home to the one that first grabbed my imagination, fantasy.  My preference may have been forged by The Lord of the Rings and Dragonlance in my youth, or maybe it’s just an inherent love of magic, monsters, mysterious places, and heroic adventure. 

Fantasy appeals to me on an instinctive, gut level.  It is the genre where I feel the most creative energy flow, where the stories and plot-lines come easiest, where NPC’s write themselves, and the place where epic legends are born.   For me fantasy is the place that allows me to tap into the creative collective conscious and explore the Jungian archetypes of myth and literature.  That’s not to say other genres can’t do the same, but for me fantasy just fits the way I think and create and brings me another step closer to the perfect game.

The Game 

This is the category that has changed and evolved the most for me over the past 30 years, of course it is also the category that has changed and evolved the most in and of it self.  I’ve experienced the gamut of game systems; from simulation based “realistic” systems to free-form abstraction and everything in between.  I’ve played percentile based systems, d20, d10, and d6 variants, even card-based games. 

These days I can tell pretty quickly if a game system meets my needs.  In general a good system for me is one that embraces the following concepts:

Abstraction

• When I was 14 I loved rolling on a critical hit chart to see if I lobed off the bad guy’s arm or head.  These days however I enjoy more “open-endedness” in my gaming experience.  I like games that keep things like health and experience abstract giving me more room for adaptation.  I have no need for a “realistic” system; I have a real life for that.  However, there is one critically important component that an abstract system must possess…

Internal Consistency

• One my biggest pet peeves in game design are rules that are not internally consistent.  When I see a game that requires me to roll high for some checks, and low for others I immediately move on.  Games that have rule “sub-systems” that don’t enhance the game in any meaningful way or combat systems that have very different mechanics between ranged and melee combat also make me pass on the game.  I’m looking for games that have a well-developed, internally consistent rule set that embraces things like consistent definitions, keywords, and professional layout and presentation.

Easy to Learn & Teach 

• Maybe it’s because I’m inherently a bit lazy or maybe it’s because of how often I need to teach games but either way I want rules that I can break down and easily present in bite-sized player-friendly chunks.  I run five to ten games a year at various conventions and love introducing new players to the hobby.  For many newbie’s the whole concept of “roleplaying” can be difficult enough without throwing a bunch of strange, ill-logical, inconsistent rules at them.

GM Friendly! 

For me this has become the single biggest factor in my choice of game to play.  I need a game that understands that the best bet to a great game experience is by making the experience great for the guy running the game.  To be GM friendly a few things need to be in place:

• Clear and easy to understand rules
• Lots of GM support (reference material, downloads, software, game aides etc.)
• Rules that encourage but don’t inhibit
• Easy to make consistent, fair, and logical ad hoc decisions
• Simple NPC creation and stat blocks
• Creatively inspiring
• Fun to run!

A rule set that can deliver all of the above (and maybe more) is definitely one that has the potential to allow me to find my perfect game.

All of these components form the path for me in finding my gaming nirvana.  And, much like spiritual nirvana, it is a journey not necessarily a destination.  But that doesn’t make walking the path any less important…