Holiday Nerds

I am now indelibly marked as a nerd. My brother gave me a tattoo for the holidays. I, of course, got a nerdy one. My skin proclaims me a member of the Jedi Order. I am nerd, hear me snap hiss.

The holidays have brought me a few more nerdy things as well. I now have a travel table for my laptop and Star Wars bath products. My efforts at being less gamer-sized have been hijacked by all of the goodies. Oh well, it will get back on track after the New Years.

Filkers: The majority of the group is excited about making CDs, singing in performances, and going to filk conventions. A couple of people just want to continue to sing off key in the basement. As a result, project business will be kept to the internetz and house filks will be kept for just singing off key in the basement. Some of us are going to Conflikt in January, which is a filk convention in Seattle.

Friday Group: We've been getting concepts onto paper and will be running actual sit down preludes starting in January. I have the strong feeling that I may spend a large amount of time role-playing on the road trip to Conflikt. The ST and I are both going to the filk con.

Saturday Group: My Star Wars game has been hiccuping of late. With the holidays themselves, people being out of town, other people being sick, etc. gaming has been erratic. When we do game, we get a lot done and have a good time. Currently, we are wandering around Endor with our Ewok.

Sunday Group: Eclipse Phase died. One player is a trucker and can't attend regularly and the other one was stolen by a woman. This left the GM and I. We've decided to watch Firefly on Sunday nights until we get more players who can make it regularly.

Change is Good in Gaming

Just as with all hobbies, if you do the same thing for too long it becomes stale, even routine. With gaming it's even worse. You get to know your fellow players and storytellers/dms so well that you can predict their character types, reactions in scenarios and plotlines. That's when the games stop being exciting and even can become a chore or obligation.

I was there. For years my gaming has consisted of nothing but my regular Saturday dice group and the Camarilla's Live Action Role-Playing games. I really do enjoy my time with the majority of the gamers involved with both groups. They're very nice people that I would love to drink beers with and take bowling. Unfortunately, I have gotten to the point of being able to map out the plots, character choices and internal politics.

Since the Saturday dice group rotates campaign settings routinely and its as much about hanging out with each other as it is the gaming, I want to keep hosting them in the Nerd Cave. I honestly look forward to my dogs going berserk when the gamers show up on Saturday nights. Right now, we are playing the d20 Star Wars RPG and our campaign cycle is going to be Exalted, then Scion, then whatever we vote one. Our GM seriously needs a break though. The poor guys needs a chance to play. I wish I didn't suck at running a long term dice campaign. I do fine in LARP campaigns and apparently run real fun convention and event dice games, just not long term dice campaigns.

My decision was to drop the Camarilla completely. I've retained my membership in the club, to support our local Domain. I will also show up for socials and parties, as I really do like the people involved. The games are just ridiculously stale and isolated. I've tried switching things up, but I'm either an asshole for questioning their world view or lazy for not doing enough. I'll stick to hanging out with them, not gaming with them.

With dropping the Camarilla, I find myself with insane amounts of personal time. Any large scale organized play group will eat up a lot more time than just the games themselves. I still want to game, though. So I've found other "new" groups to play with. I've also dedicated more time to non-gaming fannish activities like Filk, cosplay, conventions, and... this blog.

A bunch of my old high school buddies decided that they wanted to play a game I'd never heard of before. This has resulted in my hosting a chunk of my original Utah gaming group on Sunday nights for Eclipse Phase. So far, I like the game system and love the nostalgia of blowing up baddies with these guys for the first time since the very early 90s.

I'm also very excited about gaming with a group that I've never sat down and diced with before. Some of the filkers have decided to organize a Friday night Vampire: the Masquerade game in the Filk Dungeon at the home of one of the filkers. I've diced with a couple of them and LARPed couple others, but there are some that I've never gamed with... ever. I'm also not the host. I just need to show up with my share of the munchies and park my butt in a chair. That game will start in January.

I hope to provide a monthly update on each of my gaming groups. Right now they are all being sketchy due to the holidays, which I totally understand. If take away anything from my rambling, don't give up on the hobby if you find yourself bored. Step out of your comfort zone by trying a new game, a new group and even a new character archetype.

P.S. The hosting thing is my own fault. I'm horribly allergic to cats and for some reason, most gamer household are infested with the creatures. So, unless a cat-free alternative is available... games are at my house in the Nerd Cave.

Cthulhu Christmas

Cthulhu Christmas Chorale
Words by Terence Chua

(To the tune of "White Christmas," by Irving Berlin)

I'm dreaming of a dead ci-ty
Where Deep Ones swim in depths of night
Where Cthulhu's sleeping
And stars go creeping
Until the time when they are right.
I'm dreaming of a dark fu-ture
Ruled by that Three‑Lobed Burning Eye
When the Old Ones' returning is nigh
And the universe will go bye‑bye.

Happy Hanukkah Everyone!

(I'm Spending) Hanukkah In Santa Monica
Words: Tom Lehrer
Tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LslsgH3-UFU

I'm spending Hanukkah, in Santa Monica,
Wearing sandals lighting candles by the sea.
I spent Shavuos, in East St. Louis,
A charming spot but clearly not the spot for me.

Those eastern winters, I can't endure 'em,
So every year I pack my gear
And come out here to Purim.

Rosh Hashona, I spend in Arizona,
And Yom Kippa, way down in Mississippa.
But in Decemba, there's just one place for me.
'Mid the California flora,
I'll be lighting my menorah.
Every California maid'll
Find me playing with a dreidl.
Santa Monica, spending Hanukkah by the sea

Christmas Filk for Cannibals

SOYLENT GREEN
Words: David Weingart © 1981
Music: Silent Night (traditional.)

Soylent Green
Tasty Green
Strangest food you've ever seen
Little crackers for you and me
Made from friends and neighbors
Made from neighbors and friends

What is Filk?

Now there is a loaded question. According to the Wikipedia definition "Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor." Filk is largely about science, computers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc. It can also be about current events, our pets, crazy co-workers, etc. My favorite definition of filk is oft quoted by a musician friend of mine, Kathy Mar. "Filk is anything that happens in a Filk circle."

For me, filk represents music about my life and the things I'm interested in. My preference is for the parodies, political thoughts and funny songs. Unlike popular music, filk is about participation. When you go to most musical events you are there to listen to professionals perform. At filk events, even "pro" concerts, you are expected to sing along.

Which brings me to the filk thing that eats up most of my time. The filk group I am a part of, Utah Filk Organization, has been working on an archive of filk songs and lyrics. It started as an attempt to turn personal filk binders into something more portable and useful at our local convention. It has since become a community thing where we share our resources with other Filkers by projecting lyrcs on the wall at conventions. We also plan on establishing a web portal where folks can get lyrics from us for free. Mind you, we will only distribute materials that we've been given permission to do so. The last thing we want to do is prevent artists from selling their own songbooks. If you are an artist and want to give us permission to give out or link to your lyrics/chords feel free to comment.

Update and Change of Project

I've decided to change the focus and intent of this project. Yes, I am a gamer. I am also involved in a lot of other aspects of fandom as well. I will be adding my participation in filk and Star Wars fandom into this blog. I also re-dedicate myself to writing. There will be at least one post a week. Feel free to poke me if I don't keep my commitment.

Character Type Interactions and the Players

Just as players tend to fit into one or more of the previous post's categories, those same players tend to play "to type." There are obvious examples of this and less obvious ones as well. Every gamer has encountered at least one of those players who won't play anything except a specific race or class, whether they fit in the setting or not. When I was a teenager, I went through a phase where I wouldn't play anything except a Jedi. My referees (who were all older than me) were very nice in accommodating this, even in fantasy settings. Luckily, I grew out of that sort of silliness and only play them in Star Wars.

I've encountered people who will only play Paladins or Clerics of a specific deity, even if that deity doesn't exist in the game. There have also been those people who will only play a Dwarf or an Elf, when the game won't support such things. These are obvious examples of playing to type. This kind of player can only be handled in one of two ways as a referee, indulge them or just be very clear that the type isn't allowed in your game.

The less obvious examples are people who always play a certain personality or political type, yet the outer coating of the character changes. This can range from someone who always plays the rebel outsider to someone who always manages to work their personal New Age world view into their concept. The first example would be the person who in Vampire: the Requiem plays the Carthian and in Star Wars prefers the Smuggler. The second example is the person who in Dungeons and Dragons plays the Druid or Ranger and in Werewolf: the Apocalypse prefers the Child of Gaia. These are comfort zones and we should always expect players to stay within a certain range of their comfort zones.

The only time that the less obvious types are a concern, is when you have two or more people whose comfort zone would always be in opposition. Some play styles (per my last post) and character types are just not compatible. As fellow players and referees, we will need to remind folks that they aren't being targeted or that the other person doesn't hate them.

My personal example would be two folks I've gamed with for several years each. One of them likes an obtuse and free-flowing game, thus tends to play intellectual manipulators and enjoys using obscure philosophical, intellectual and political resources. The second person prefers a predictable beer and pretzels approach to game, so tends to play characters that fit into a pretty specific structure and doesn't waste much time with intellectual details. These two people constantly find themselves at odds in various games.

Neither of them have a superior play style or type. Their play styles and comfort zones are just not compatible. Most players are mature enough to realize that it's just in game and not in the real world. If the players tend to take game personally the referee may have to take more direct action. When a group is large enough, such as a LARP or tournament game, this can be handled by keeping such people away from one another. As a referee, do your best to keep the characters busy at opposite ends of the game.

If you have a smaller game, or it's impossible to keep them away from each other, the referee may have to sit them down. This can be uncomfortable, but ignoring the problem will only make it worse. It will need to be made clear that they aren't the victim/s, it's just a matter of incompatible play styles and character types. If they tend play less intellectual characters, the group's intellectual elitist will always target them. If they always play the anarchist, the establishment characters will always oppress them. Certain types will always target certain other types in game.

If they can't accept this, they may want to look at other gaming options. I have several gamer friends that I avoid playing games with. I love them outside of game and have great times swapping cheesy stories with them. On the other hand, we don't game well together. Nobody likes to lose players to hard feelings, but sometimes not being in the same game as someone that makes you miserable is the only option. It is a game, after all. It's supposed to fun.

Player Archetypes

Every player has their own goals and desires. One player may acquire and accumulate Phenomenal Cosmic Power, but never use it unless they absolutely have to. Another player may hate the very idea of flashy but impractical abilities to the point that they mock other players for using them and even petitioning the game company to remove them. Lastly, there is always the player who accumulates and uses these sorts of abilities because they love their effect.

There have been quite a few archetypes proposed over the years. Most of them are targeted at the stereotypical Male gamer and target a specific genre. I will try to take the archetype into a more general categorization that can be applied across genres and players.

Casual Gamer: This archetype games to hang out with their friends. They aren’t there for the game itself, as they would move on to whatever game or activity their friends moved on to.

Diva: This archetype has to be the center of attention. They tend to become upset and disruptive if they lose their position at the group's center of attention.

Dungeon Crawler: This archetype is interested in killing the monster and gaining experience. Role-play encounters will bore this player, since they just want to get back to the action.

Explorer: This archetype loves to explore the game world. They are happiest when immersed in a detailed game setting.

Funny Guy: This archetype is out for a good time and will do anything for a laugh. As long as they and the other players are laughing, their actions don’t have to be logical or make sense in-character.

Griefer: This archetype plays to have an effect on other players. This can range from annoying the other players to directly attacking the other players’ characters. They get their enjoyment out of Player Versus Player content.

Meta-gamer: This archetype uses knowledge that the player has to advantage their character, even if the character does not have that information. This can include monster stats or the backgrounds of other characters. Sometimes this is intentional. Others it is an inability of the player to separate information.

Power Gamer: This archetype is out to “win” the game, even if the game isn’t designed to work that way. They Min Max their characters and tend to focus on the rules over story content.

Role-Player: This archetypes is interested in developing and portraying a complex character. They prefer to talk through a situation or outthink their opponents.

Specialist: This archetype plays one type of character only; ninja, Jedi, paladin, Elf, etc. This can relate to character class, race or type. They tend to become angry if they can’t play their character type in your campaign, even if it wouldn’t make any sense. An example would be a Drow in Serenity.

Storyteller: This archetype loves games that tell a continuous and involved story. Everything in the game should fit into this story; role-play, combat, etc. They have been known to sacrifice their own characters in the name of story.

Thinker: This archetype has fun by solving challenges through strategy and planning. They love battle maps and puzzles.

For most of these archetypes, combination is likely. Most players do not fit exclusively into one category; you will find a person who is part Role-player and part Meta-gamer, or even part Funny Guy and part Casual Gamer.

EDITED: 04/08/10 12:40 PM

Welcome to my new project

Just to give you an idea of what to expect from this blog and who I am:

Mostly, I will be telling funny stories from my games and sharing my views on what a healthy, enjoyable gaming group is. I don't have kids or want kids; so don't look to this blog for parenting vs gaming issues. I really can't help you, other than to tell you how the other gamers feel when the kids somehow become a disruption to the group.

I'm a rare breed; the middle aged, female gamer. My social skills don't suck, I'm gainfully employed in a technical field, own a home and I bathe on regular basis. My books are out-breeding the weeds in my garden. Outside of gaming, most of my hobbies are geeky. I like filk music, fannish media, MMOs, dressing in costume just to freak out the mundanes and I've been collecting Star Wars stuff since Episode IV was just Star Wars.

My gaming habit started from the time I could read and count. I've played role-playing games off and on since 1979 and live-action rpgs since 1993. Some of the people I currently game with have been part of my gaming group since 1992. Other have joined in the last couple of years.

I've played every incarnation of Dungeons and Dragons... and the Star Wars RPG. My gaming tends to focus on White Wolf and WotC products. I've played a lot of games other than those; Rifts, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Traveller, etc. I'm also open to trying new games. As far as LARPing; I'm a long term member of the Camarilla, I've played in a local boffer LARP, and I'm always on the lookout for some Amber Diceless.

On the MMO front; I've played Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes and I'm eagerly anticipating Star Wars: The Old Republic. I'm not really a console gamer, nor am I really into CCGs/TCGs. Though, I've dabbled in both. My board game collection is threatening to eat my books. I suspect they have secret battles while I sleep.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. My goal is to publish at least once a week. I also appreciate questions and comments.