tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16108211451690060832024-03-13T23:55:51.022-07:00Roll for SanityAn RPG blog. Mostly about tabletop and laptop role-playing games.Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-48523121093047012102022-08-17T16:54:00.001-07:002022-08-17T16:57:26.446-07:00I'm Working on an RPG Book<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Some of you may know by now that I'm writing an RPG book. I started on it two weeks ago. My plan was to learn how to use Scrivener, which I had bought a couple years ago and hadn't really used yet. It was just a matter of me thinking of something to write about.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For years, I wrote technical manuals. But never any fiction. In a way, RPGs are fiction. A month ago, my train of thought was to write an adventure module for Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition. Then I thought about writing or designing an RPG. That idea turned into writing a book on how to role-play.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Role-play for what though? Using what game system?</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Well for starters, I wasn't sure if I could write in the style I wanted to using Scrivener. I looked at other writers RPG books to see what layouts and font styles I liked. I also looked at how chapters and sections were outlined and how the page numbering was shown.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Once I got the page design the way I wanted, I could then start on the actual writing of the book. That has been the fun part so far. In the back of my mind though, I'm not all that thrilled that I've chosen to use software that is primarily used for creating young adult fiction and romance novels. The very technical features of the software hinted that it could be used for creating very technical as well as prose writing. For now, I am just trying for my book to not look like a 15-year-old wrote it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">To that regard, I've given up fighting Scrivener to make it do the things it can't really do. I'll just have to KISS while writing my ideas in the chapters. In the end it will be very easy to read. While at the same time, the role-playing topics will seem very complicated to readers who already think of themselves as role-players.</span></div>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-69021409286895645862022-07-19T21:19:00.001-07:002022-07-19T21:19:38.895-07:00Marc Miller Interview<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a2EKi_YXmT0/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/a2EKi_YXmT0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-33505518314484258412022-07-19T21:18:00.001-07:002022-07-19T21:18:59.518-07:00Marc Miller, Creator of Traveller RPG<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/BKrVtzuwP-E" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-48447786334088245002022-07-13T20:22:00.001-07:002022-07-13T20:22:49.076-07:00🎲 GATEKEEPERS 🎲 How to encourage and facilitate in-character role-play<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/O7Y2AyV7NqA" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-66044671114101139882022-07-12T18:17:00.005-07:002022-08-17T16:56:57.884-07:00Which RPG Systems are my Favorite<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Text in a vlog? Sure, why not. Let's go with some Verdana font. Some computers may have issue using it, but whatever. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I just wanted to say something here on the subject of which RPG systems are my favorite.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I general, I pick (or I should say, I find) a new RPG system once every ten years that interests me and that I'll actually buy. (I found two in one year, though! Amazing!! That will probably never happen again.) The key to my liking of an RPG is not the setting of the game, but the system. The die mechanics of the game. Well, sometimes the XP and leveling up system don't bother me if written minimally. I simple loathe XP and leveling up in games.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">But if there are no classes used in a game system, that will make up for the waste of pages used to explain how XP and leveling up work in a game, which I'll ignore anyway in the book. What I do like to see in a good RPG system are skills. Skill-based games are the way to go in 2nd-Gen RPGs. The three RPGs that I'll be listing below as favorites of mine are all skill-based, as well as 2nd-Gen systems.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The reason why I like 2nd-Gen a lot is not only because of the skill-based system, but because the skills are unified. Each skill does not have its own mini-game such as the ones listed in 1st-Gen RPGs, where using each skill requires opening the rulebook to see how the skill works and how it can be used. Because each skill is different, each one should have a different rule written for it, obviously. That was Gygax's approach to his 1st-Gen game design he used in his adventure games.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">What little role-play there was at the table to begin with was halted every time a player asked the DM what their character could do. Only the DM could read and explain how a skill worked to players. Some DMs would just skip the skills section of the books and have players make save rolls for everything. Watered-down 1st-Gen games are the worst to play in.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Since I come from a role-play perspective, meaning that role-play comes first during a game session, I want nothing to do with a game system that halts role-play. Game systems should never get in the way of role-playing at the table. Die rolls should be made quick and also resolved quick with no more than a hiccup during a game. Die rolls involve rolling equal to or over target numbers that are difficulty levels. This is the beauty of 2nd-Gen RPGs.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And since there are people here that prefer to read than watch videos, I can always post another page answering what was said above just now.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And here are my favorite RPG systems:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Mongoose Traveller Second Edition 2016</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Total Party Skills 2022</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">CORE Micro v3.0 2022</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-74815075909666074262022-06-23T20:53:00.001-07:002022-06-23T20:53:20.327-07:00Roll for Sanity: What Product are They Selling Here?<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/lCL80UjlQOg" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-71405969194761059062022-06-23T20:52:00.003-07:002022-06-23T20:52:30.912-07:00Roll for Sanity: How Not to Run a Sandbox<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/yUgLHUS0bLA" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-35098809298120809072022-06-23T20:52:00.001-07:002022-06-23T20:52:08.908-07:00Roll for Sanity: Story World Prepping<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/pDHjlFsJnM4" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-63127572042764878212022-06-23T20:51:00.001-07:002022-06-23T20:51:33.243-07:00The DM's Kitchen: The Requirements to Be an Elite Role-Player<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/TqcBlTzSnv0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-6780116505281980032022-06-21T20:25:00.003-07:002022-06-21T20:25:47.047-07:00Roll for Sanity: More Bisexual Lighting in Mongoose Traveller<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/v7kZjAKc02s" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-71443131991896751312022-06-21T20:25:00.001-07:002022-06-21T20:25:07.742-07:00Roll for Sanity: Human Die Rollers<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QEoJtuhZGjo/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/QEoJtuhZGjo" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-68814573595812183062022-06-21T20:24:00.001-07:002022-06-21T20:24:13.531-07:00The DM's Kitchen: Don't Use Theater of the Mind<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/cPO4CS1A8Xc" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-25420716243614201702022-06-21T20:23:00.001-07:002022-06-21T20:23:21.949-07:00Roll For Sanity: Gatekeeping Role-Play<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/tkCuRUpoetM" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-66049667282035212632022-06-20T20:40:00.001-07:002022-06-20T20:40:16.505-07:00The DM's Kitchen: Improv<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/BcfTK4Y6L28" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-59173483733282443472022-06-20T20:38:00.002-07:002022-06-20T20:38:45.827-07:00Roll for Sanity: OS Revisited (More About OSR)<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/V1GoXGfTYVg" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-71858317697000641672022-06-20T20:38:00.000-07:002022-06-20T20:38:00.301-07:00Roll for Sanity: What Does OSR Mean to You?<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/De74j5lcaDE" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-48162899267828589232022-06-20T20:37:00.001-07:002022-06-20T20:37:18.421-07:00Roll for Sanity: This is Why I Don't Use GURPS<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/6qTQvqILXgU" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-66654681504785785832022-06-19T18:08:00.001-07:002022-06-19T18:08:26.428-07:00Total Party Skills RPG: Wounds and Encumbrance<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/JHozj96csyQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-45447268216135245592022-06-19T18:07:00.001-07:002022-06-19T18:07:45.592-07:00The DM's Kitchen: All RPGs Are Just Toolboxes<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/8eD-Ly1Wu9g" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-60881843262544684622022-06-19T18:06:00.001-07:002022-06-19T18:06:24.946-07:00Traveller RPG: SectorGen 0.1.0 (Beta)<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/rpNwV1R7fes" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-34715848362374352622022-04-22T10:09:00.001-07:002022-04-22T10:09:26.745-07:00Marvel Multiverse RPG: Who is this for?<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/7BTpZqjIUsE" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-84758247170678474482022-03-16T16:24:00.001-07:002022-03-16T16:24:15.842-07:00A Guy in a Dress Reviews the Mongoose Traveller 2022 Core Update<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/1TeieqWINcU" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-69161929005608398742022-03-01T23:19:00.001-08:002022-03-01T23:19:09.223-08:00Traveller RPG: ASINIE is Red Zone for a Reason<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/GO6aF2BpUSk" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-66918441776077986182022-03-01T23:17:00.001-08:002022-03-01T23:17:26.940-08:00Mongoose Traveller 2e RPG Rules (discuss)<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/xEJZxoF_koM" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1610821145169006083.post-42961750976403780442022-03-01T23:16:00.001-08:002022-03-01T23:16:51.873-08:00Total Party Skills RPG: List of Attack Actions<iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z4hC5GgLHX4/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/z4hC5GgLHX4" frameborder="0"></iframe>Shawn Driscollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570554975738301255noreply@blogger.com4