DissenterKnight wrote:

I just tripped over your Batman RPG using Cortex Plus and I’m a huge fan just from what I’ve read. I love it.

How do you find the Smallville system works? I’ve purchased it (Origins last year), but I’m concerned that a system designed to put players in tension -if not outright conflict- might have some issues. Maybe it’s to many years at a D&D table chant the mantra of “never split the party… inter-party conflict kills…”

Thanks. I’m really proud of this game. It’s one of my longer running campaigns and it’s been a ton of fun to run. We just did the first session in No Man’s Land (Assuming you’re semi-familiar with Batman storylines) and it was a blast.

Anyway, so funny story about how we picked up Smallville. My friends and I have been doing an RPG podcast for the last the years. At one point we went off on how absolutely shitty Cortex is. We hated Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, and Supernatural. I’ll spare you the details, but we spend a good half-hour just ripping these games apart. After the episode released I got an e-mail from Cam Banks, the head designer for Leverage and Smallville. Turns out he’s a big fan of the show and wanted us to take a look at the games he was responsible for. He promised us they were different than the old Cortex game and send us free PDFs of the games. I took them and filed them away laughing. I hate the Smallville TV show and Cortex so why would I read this? Skip ahead five or six months and a friend of mine wanted to run a “Superheroes in High School” game. We tossed around ideas for systems and I jokingly mentioned Smallville. Later that night I actually pulled up the PDF and scanned it, hoping for some content we could lift from the game. I ended up reading over the whole game and just being blow away. I encouraged my friends to read the game and they loved it too. Next episode, we apologized to Cam and became some of the biggest supporters for MWP and Cortex around.

So, back to you question. Personally, I like how the Smallville system works. I’m a fan of party conflict but most games don’t handle it very well. Smallville’s system makes it rewarding to argue with other players. If you just remind everyone that they can’t ever lose control of their characters, most players have no problem with it.

One of the biggest strengths about a party-conflict style game is the overall level of player interaction. Instead of one player arguing with the GM’s NPC while everyone else sits there and listens, you get two players talking between each other. A good GM can spin the game to get all of the players talking amongst themselves, everyone in the game interacting with the story. No one sitting there, waiting for their turn.

See, the D&D Anti-Party Conflict mentality tends to stem from how that system handles arguments. If I’m the Rogue and I want the Fighter to do what I say, I roll Bluff or Diplomacy. If I roll high enough, the Fighter has to believe me. I got a 47 on my Bluff check, you loose. The mechanics take away the opposing player’s free will.

In Smallville if I want you to do what I say we have a conflict. If you don’t Give In, you never have to do what I say. Arguments become more about whats at stake. If you really don’t want to do something, another player can’t FORCE you to go along. However, if you’re on the fence and the other player picks up dice… You can just give in.

That said, most players still shy away from party conflict. It’s been breed into us after years and years of traditional gaming. Don’t split the party. Don’t argue. It’s PCs vs. GM. Even in my Gotham game I tend to find the players working together more than working against each other. The system handles that fairly well but it’s not the real strength of the game. If you’re looking for more of a Us vs. Them superheros game, I’d say keep your eyes open for when MWP’s Marvel game comes out. We’ve been in the playtest for it and it’s more “party” focused than Smallville. It’s also really good.

I’d say give Smallville a try. It won’t be for everyone but it does some really interesting stuff. Plus, the Pathways system is a ton of fun by itself. It also takes some of the heavy lifting from the GM, which is always a good thing. Honestly, I can’t say enough good stuff about Smallville.

Anyway, if you have any questions about specifics feel free to ask. You can check out our podcast too (www.BearSwarm.com) and we talk about Smallville from time to time.

-Rob.

I want to elaborate on why I think this is a terrible idea. After the break, I’m going to talk about how Arkham City made me realize that character advancement in table-top role-playing games is broken.

Arkham City came out on Tuesday. Arkham City is the sequel to Arkham Asylum, a critically acclaimed video game. Everyone is saying the same thing about the game.

I am (the Goddamn) Batman.

I couldn’t agree more. From the start of Arkham City you feel like Batman. This is true of Arkham Asylum as well, but since Arkham City is the new hotness it’s what I’m going to focus on. If you haven’t played Arkham City, feel free to substitute Asylum. The same ideas apply.

From the moment you don the cowl and look out over a rooftop you’re given a plethora of gadgets and attacks. All of these unique abilities can be looked at like the majority of special powers in table-top role-playing games. Except, you get to start with all of them.

I start Arkham City as Batman. It seems like in too many table-top role-playing games I start playing as Bruce Wayne… outside the Monarch Theater… As his parents are gunned down in front of him. Completely helpless to the events happening around him.

There is a certain appeal to that but I have to spend game after game, week after week, in order to eventually be Batman. That just seems tedious. Why can’t I just skip ahead to when I’m Batman and start playing the game?

This doesn’t mean I’m a perfect character either, or even a complete one. Just look at Arkham City. For as much stuff as you start out with, you also start with a ton of potential stuff to get picked up later. Arkham City even rewards you with XP and Level Ups, like a traditional table-top role-playing game.

As a bit of a tangent, I want to talk about a concept my buddy John exposed me to  that I absolutely abhor. John holds the idea that character advancement isn’t an important element in a table-top role-playing game. He’ll cite examples in film and literature of characters who “never advance” and while I agree with what he’s trying to say, I disagree with the message.

Keeping with the Batman analogy. In a table-top role-playing game, John thinks a player would be able to buy off Batman’s flaws. He could get rid of Batman’s lost parents or self-destructive relationship with Selina Kyle\Talia al Ghul\Every Woman He Ever Fucking Meets. While John’s right about this, Batman shouldn’t be able to “improve” by eliminating his lost parents, there is still a very important element of growth and advancement for the character.

If Batman didn’t have a strong experience point system, he’d never have been able to buy a new side-kick when Dick Grayson became Nightwing… or when Jason Todd was beaten to death. He’d not be able to modify his gear to take done Freeze or upgrade the Batcave with wireless internet. Character growth shouldn’t be looked at as a way to make a character more powerful, but as a way to expand their repertoire. Character’s need to evolve, and experience points can help us simulate that.

It’s this author’s belief that game designers and game masters need to start approaching their groups like how Arkham Asylum approaches Batman. You get to start out being as awesome as you need to be and then the challenges need to be presented at that level. As long as you don’t let your players steamroll through everything, as long as you tug at the chinks in their armor, they will find a way to grow, change, and advance.

What I’m trying to say, if I want to start at Level 6 who am I hurting? As long as all the players feel like equals and still have something to strive for, why do they need to slog through game after game of sub-par characters?

Just a thought.

Designed by Fraser Ronald
and Rob Justice

Your Game is really simple. It is designed to foster a sense of well-wishing and camaraderie… while being a total dickbag about it.

The goal of Your Game is to be the last person to wish someone a good game. It starts out as a simple dialog between two gamers heading towards different games.

Rob: “Have fun at your game, Fraser.”
Fraser: “Yeah! Have fun at your game too, Rob.”

The game has now begun. After the initial volley the game can be reduced to simply saying “Your Game” back and forth but not while within line of sight..

Rob now has to wait for Fraser to break line of sight before he can run back up to him and say, “Your Game.” Fraser can then fire a “Your Game” back at Rob, but only as long as Rob is within Fraser’s line of sight. If Rob manages to duck out of sight before Fraser can reply, it’s up to Fraser to hunt down Rob for his turn. If Rob can’t escape then he needs to break line of sight and try to catch Fraser off guard again.

The game only ends when both players simultaneously say “Your Game” to each other. It’s a lot harder than you’d expect, but it’s totally possible. At the end of the game whoever successfully said “Your Game” last is considered the winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OS9wZGb_3g

There is a lot of debate over if that promo was a “Shoot”, meaning that Punk went off script and spoke outside of Kayfabe, or a “Work”, meaning that the whole thing was planned and approved. Also, Kayfabe is the term wrestlers and fans use to describe the illusion that wrestling isn’t staged. One thing we can agree is that Punk broke kayfabe. Unquestionably. Here’s a transcript of Punk’s promo. I’ll point out the kayfabe breaks after.

John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me.
I want you to digest this because before I leave in 3 weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest.

I don’t hate you, John. I don’t even dislike you. I do like you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back.

I hate this idea that you’re the best. Because you’re not. I’m the best. I’m the best in the world. There’s one thing you’re better at than I am and that’s kissing Vince McMahon’s ass.

You’re as good as kissing Vince McMahon’s ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don’t know if you’re as good as Dwayne though. He’s a pretty good ass kisser. Always was and still is.

Whoops! I’m breaking the fourth wall! (Punk waves to the camera)

I am the best wrestler in the world.

I’ve been the best since day one when I walked into this company. And I’ve been vilified and hated since that day because Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. That’s right, I’m a Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar. And he split just like I’m splitting. But the biggest difference between me and Brock is I’m going to leave with the WWE Championship.

I’ve grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahon’s brass rings that it’s finally dawned on me that there just that, they’re completely imaginary. The only thing that’s real is me and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I have proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, even in commentary! Nobody can touch me!

And yet no matter how many times I prove it, I’m not on your lovely little collector cups. I’m not on the cover of the program. I’m barely promoted. I don’t get to be in movies. I’m certainly not on any crappy show on the USA Network. I’m not on the poster of WrestleMania. I’m not on the signature that’s produced at the start of the show. I’m not on Conan O’Brian. I’m not on Jimmy Fallon. But the fact of the matter is, I should be.

This isn’t sour grapes. But the fact that Dwayne is in the main event at WrestleMania next year and I’m not makes me sick!

Oh hey, let me get something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now, you are just as big a part of me leaving as anything else. Because you’re the ones who are sipping on those collector cups right now. You’re the ones that buy those programs that my face isn’t on the cover of. And then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face and get an autograph and try to sell it on Ebay because you’re too lazy to go get a real job.

I’m leaving with the WWE Championship on July 17th. And hell, who knows, maybe I’ll go defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Maybe…I’ll go back to Ring of Honor.

(Punk looks at the camera and waves)

Hey, Colt Cabana, how you doing?

The reason I’m leaving is you people. Because after I’m gone, you’re still going to pour money into this company. I’m just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is going to keep turning and I understand that. Vince McMahon is going to make money despite himself. He’s a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he’s not a billionaire? Because he surrounds himself with glad-handed, non-sensical, douchebag (censored)  yes men, like John Laurinaitis, who’s going to tell him everything he wants to hear, and I’d like to think that maybe this company will better after Vince McMahon is dead. But the fact is, it’s going to be taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.

Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon alright. We do this whole (anti) bully campaign

Mic cut off.

The first thing that hit me was when he said Dwayne. Of course, that was intentional. Punk even references breaking the fourth wall. Up until that point this was another, fairly standard, heel promo. After that Punk uses some no-no words and names. He calls himself a Wrestler. A term that WWE has treid to bury for their company. They are Superstars and Sports Entertainers. Heck, even WWE is an orphan acronym now.

Paul Heyman. It’s fairly common knowledge to Smarks (the wrestling term for fan’s who know a bit about the behind-the-scenes side of things but aren’t actually insiders) that Haymen isn’t a very well loved figure in WWE. Then Brock Lesner, who’s departure the WWE is rumored to have been less than excited about.

Those seemed intentionally aimed at Smarks. We know Heyman and Lesner. We know how things went down. Punk was just getting our attention here. He then goes back to cutting a fairly standard heel promo, insulting his boss and the fans. Then… New Japan and Ring of Honor are mentioned. This is, again, more Smark service.

It’s also a huge no-no. You don’t talk about the competition, because WWE doesn’t have competition. Just MENTIONING Ring of Honor might encourage fans to check them out. It’s like Coke mentioning Pepsi. You just don’t do that.

Colt Cabana. On a side note, I saw Punk and Cabana wrestle years ago in Minneapolis. Punk suplex Cabana off a Pepsi machine and I knew he’s be big some day. This mention was, again, Smark service. That’s fine though, there has been a lot the casual fans can keep up with too.

Then the promo cuts out right as Punk was about to talk about WWE’s absurd anti-bully campaign. I’ll save my feelings on that for later, but lets just say that WWE is delivering two messages and I’m not sure which one they really support. The abrupt ending and mic getting cut makes this feel more like a Shoot.

Well, is this a Shoot or a Work? A lot of people have great arguments for each side of the debate. It’s a Work because it happened in the first place. If it was a Shoot the WWE would have cut his mic sooner. It’s a Shoot because Punk broke all sorts of rules and did, eventually, get his mic cut. What do I think? I think it’s somewhere in-between.

Here’s what I think went down. WWE is lobbing to keep Punk on roster, why wouldn’t they be? Punk pushed into getting a Shoot promo. He went back stage and producers that if they let him Shoot, off script and from the heart, he could get every WWE fan talking. I think WWE took a chance on Punk to see if he could really deliver, and he did. I also think he went too far and that when the mic got cut. Insulting Vince and his family isn’t anything new. Breaking taboos and rules happens from time to time. But when Punk called out the anti-bullying campaign, I think someone backstage decided it had gone on long enough.

I think it was a Work in that it was planned. I think it was a Shoot in that no one knew what Punk would say. Then I think it was a Work because it went over so well. Look, we’re all talking about it.

What do you guys think?

Anyway, after the break is my dream. I’m assuming no one’s really interested in it. I’m posting for my own personal amusement.

It was the start of a party, only a few people had shown up. I was sitting on the floor with Mike, Elder, a few generic dream friends, and these three girls. Two were generic and one was chubby. Everyone was teasing the chubby girl, not mean spirited but friendly ribbing. I could tell she wasn’t taking it too well. I thought she was a nice girl so I asked if she wanted to go outside with me while I smoked.

We stepped outside and she asked why I wasn’t smoking. I told her that I just wanted to give her an excuse to get away from the group. We walked around outside for awhile but she mistook my kindness for interest. She started nudging closer and closer, then she was holding my arm, then she was dragging me down to the ground.

I was starting to get nervous because I really didn’t want to be here anymore. Then I heard some more guys getting out of a car and I called over to them. The walked over, pulled the crazy chick off of me and started joking about how she must have thought she was Dean Malenko, the man of a thousand holds. One jokingly stunner’d me and we all laughed. Then we started talking about pro-wrestling, which turned into jokingly hitting moves on each other.

The dream then skipped forward, the party was in full swing. Maybe fifty people were there, most generics but I recognized an old friend (no idea who, just that he was an old friend) and Luke Meyer. Everyone had cleared out the room and there was a pro-wrestling match going on in the center of the crowd circle. I was chatting with Luke. A second bout started before the first finished and spilled into other parts of the house.

The dream skipped again and I was waking up in bed. Not my bed, an unfamiliar bed. I could tell because the sheets felt different. I looked around and in the dark I couldn’t recognize the walls. There were a couple hallways near me, I was in a living room on a spare bed. I still didn’t know where I was and I started to panic a bit. I hate waking up and not knowing where I am.

Then one of the girls from earlier comes into the room and I recognize her as someone’s girlfriend but I don’t know who. She sits down next to me and asks if I know what I was dreaming about. I tell her I don’t and she says I was terrified. I kept tossing and turning and that my face looked troubled. She said she didn’t like that I looked like that but she couldn’t wake me. That’s why she wasn’t here when I woke up.

I got out of bed and she started showing me around the house. The place was totally trashed and she was telling me little stories about it. That table was smashed when Rock, she says it like it’s someone pretending to be the Rock, decided his match was tables match and that he needed to hit the Rock Bottom through it. That wall was smashed when Jericho threw Stone Cold through it. Again, all the names said jokingly.

We make our way into a storage room, still surveying the carnage. Then she grabs me and starts to kiss me. I pull her back and ask her about her boyfriend. She says she only has eyes for me. Then she tells me they broke up last night because he kept teasing the chubby girl. I was the only one who was nice to her and didn’t even get mad when she got all crazy. This girl thought that was really sweat and got into a fight with her boyfriend about it. Then the dream starts to get graphic, I’ll keep those details to myself, when someone else walks into the room. We don’t know who it is so we stop what we’re doing for a moment and wait for them to pass. Then my alarm goes off and I wake up in real life.

Wikipedia trivia: if you take any article, click on the first link in the article text not in parentheses or italics, and then repeat, you will eventually end up at “Philosophy”.

I wanted to test this. So I swung over to Wikipedia and hit the random article button.

Looks like we’re starting with Bustarviejo.

1. Bustarviejo
2. Municipalities of Spain
3. Ceuta
4. Autonomous communities of Spain
5. Political divisions of Spain
6. Spanish Constitution of 1978
7. Constitution
8. State (polity)
9. Social sciences
10. Umbrella term
11. Subset
12. Mathematics
13. Quantity
14. Property (philosophy)
15. Modern philosophy
16. Philosophy

Now, I’m curious… What if I started with Philosophy.

1. Philosophy
2. Reason
3. Rationality
4. Mental exercise
5. Alzheimer’s disease
6. Dementia
7. Cognition
8. Thought
9. Consciousness
10. Mind
11. Panpsychism
12. Philosophy

It’s kind of neat. Try it out for yourself.

Ever since I saw the announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death I’ve felt uneasy about it. I recognized why immediately. I don’t feel comfortable celebrating the fact that a soldier killed a man, no matter how terrible, violent, or vile his life may have been. Then I saw someone post a Martin Luther King, Jr quote and it said, more eloquently, what I’ve been feeling.

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.
Jessica Dovey

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr

That’s part of it, a large part of it. The other part is how everyone is calling this a victory (or Obama’s victory… or Bush’s victory… or whatever political party you support’s victory) when I don’t really believe it is. Killing one man solves nothing. Killing Bin Laden only takes away the public figure head of al-Qaeda. The organization isn’t going to crumble and fall simply because “We got him!” All reports indicate that al-Qaeda is a cell operation, capable of independent operations with or without a lead cell. Saying we’ve won anything is like saying you beat cancer because you did a biopsy.

Update: Even I was fooled by the inaccurate quote. I’ve re-attributed.

“I Write Only For Me.”

This is a partial lie that I’ll tell. There have been things I’ve written only for me. They have never been posted on this site or any other site. Some of them have been shared with close friends but it was less to share my work and more to share myself.

Then there is the only caveat. There are things that I write primarily for myself but then share with the world. What I’m doing right now is a prime example. I don’t intend for anyone else to read this or care, but I’m willing to share it with the world. At the end of the day, I’m writing this for myself.

The things I feel were the most successful were the things I’ve written not for myself though. I’m very proud of my work on Danger Close and that wasn’t written for myself at all. There was a comic book I was writing with a friend back in Minnesota that wasn’t for myself. I acknowledge that anything I write that I want to feel successful than I need to share my writing.

So, a partial lie. I write the things that I want to write, but I write them for you.

“It’s Okay That I Didn’t Write Today. Or Yesterday. Or The Day Before That.”

Another partial lie. I don’t think it’s Okay that I didn’t write yesterday… but I still do it. At the end of the day that’s really splitting hairs though. I need to hold myself to a higher standard. I need to make the time to write. Even if it’s a couple hundred words. Every writer I’ve ever spoken with told me it’s important to write SOMETHING daily. To never fall out of the groove. Maybe I’ll start that tomorrow.

“I Just Don’t Have Time To Write.”

I say this. It’s not that I don’t have the time to write, it’s that I prioritize other things over writing. Like working my day job, recording & editing the podcast, prepping & running my Gotham Nights game, spending time with a lady friend, and playing video games.

I suck at time management. I don’t have time to write because I waste my time. Much like the last question, I need to break this habit. I need to make the time to write. I also need to make the time to go to the gym. Maybe tomorrow.

“I’ll Write Later!”

I just said that. I say it because I fear commitment. If I say that starting tomorrow I’m going to spend one hour a day writing and then I don’t I feel guilty. If I say maybe, I’ll see what I can do, and I don’t get around to it then I feel fine.

I suppose I should commit to writing if I want to be a writer.

“This Helps Me Write (And I Need It).”

I don’t really say this. Inspiration helps me write but I pull inspiration from everywhere. It’s a shitty rainy day today and it makes me want to start on a detective noir story I’ve been thinking about. My morning DCUO ritual didn’t inspire me to write, my drive to work did.

“I Don’t Care About Money.”

Yeah, I don’t say this. If I could write and get paid for it, I totally would. I care a lot about money. I have student loans to pay off.

“I Have To Build My Platform First.”

I’m not sure what Chuck means by this…

“I Don’t Need A Platform”

Again, I’m not sure. I might say this. I don’t know…

“Oh, Drat, My Creative Spark Has Been Extinguished.”

I’ve said this. I say this all the time. God damn, I say this a lot. I kill projects because of this.

Of course, the only advice I’ve ever heard on this is just to push through it. I’m just not sure how to push through it…

“I Never Find Writing Advice Helpful!”

I think I just said that too. Albeit in a different context. It’s not that I’m perfect, it’s my imperfections. I understand ridged structures just fine, like when to use your or you’re, but its the abstract shit that fucks me up. Like I said above, how do I push through when I’ve lost my inspiration? How does one “Just keep writing”? Maybe I need to read more advice…

“I’m Just No Good.”

You would think the podcast would have stopped this lie. I’ve learned, I KNOW, that there is a market for anything. Even the shittiest hack writers have an audience. Even something as pointless as Bear Swarm! has regular listeners… and not just one or two.

I think the problem with this lie is that it’s not about my work being good or not but about it not living up to my standards. I read something I’ve written and think, “That sure is no George R.R. Martin.” and then trash it. I know it’s an unreasonable standard but it’s what I keep thinking.

This brings me to my big question. What are some bands you think would make good theme music for groups of World of Darkness factions? If you had to pick one band to theme a Mage Cabal around, who would it be? What about one artist for a Hunter Cell? Who captures the vibe of a Geist Krewe? I’m really curious to hear your ideas.

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