Alright, everyone. We’ve looked at reading like a GM in novels, and in Text-based roleplaying. So what could possibly be left behind?
Find out by clicking here!

Well, I just found something very fun on the Internet. On DriveThruRPG, there was a Pantheon Generator for free download. It was created by a group called Chaotic Shiny Studios. These generators include things like the aforementioned Pantheon Generator, a Crowd generator, even (humorously to my mind) a Zombie generator. I suggest you all go check them out!
But wait, there’s more!

So, for those that haven’t seen Instant Game yet, I’ve even had a comment from one of its two creators, the brothers in charge of Animalball Games. On their frontpage, they state:

“Many moons ago, Animalball dreamed of making really cool games and then selling them as pdfs. Then reality cracked us over the head and explained that you can’t make money selling pdfs. So now we just make really cool games and let people download them for free. Enjoy.”

I ask that everyone download it.

But, I was hoping to make something relatively “new”, at least for me. As often as I can, perhaps once a month or so, I want to put up an “Instant Challenge” – that is, develop a story using items rolled from Instant Game. The more you can create, the better. I don’t know what I’d award for stuff. Or if there would be a “winner” as such.

Instant Challenge, February 2010

Instant Setting:
Setting: Microworld
Tone: Parable/Moralistic
Things: Atomic Monster (Historic)
Things: Alien (Fortunate)

Instant Story:
Opposition: Traitor
Action + Thing: Hunt + Computers (Clear)
Action + Other Thing: Win + Religious Fanatics (Giant)

So tell me, what comes up in your mind?

UPDATE: Sorry, HTML and I got into an argument. It is fixed now.

Sorry, today’s post is non-existent. The snow caused me to be outside all day. I apologize whole-heartedly for that. See you on Friday if the atmosphere permits.

Last week I quickly discussed how to read novels like a GM, i.e. what to pull from them. I will admit freely – this post is late, and will be far later than is comfortable for me. But I’m going to go over that which actually inspired this series.

Text-Based Roleplaying
Some of you may look down on those of us who supplement our tabletop gaming with online, freeform roleplaying. That in itself is something to be discussed, but I will accept that the two skillsets are complementary but distinct. But either way, each game has its own character sheet, just as with a tabletop game. Most of the time, these require histories – ranging from drastically short to overly long. So what can we take from this?

These players hand you backstories. Think about that, then look back at AD&D, and another topic I’ve discussed, Robin’s “Laws”. Most of what you will see there are the kind of player who are involved for the ‘kick’ of beating enemies. But to be able to transition from that to players with an emotional investment in their character as an individual is a great thing.

Look for ideas like:

• Relations (great for kidnappings and/or murders)
• Family Heirlooms (Awesome things to destroy or steal)
• Vanity (Consider having them outclassed, or caught in a fight and have their “beauty” destroyed)
• Past loved ones (They just handed you a villain on a silver platter)
• And lastly, Childhood Friends – these have great potential.

As with the last one, this is a short list of pointers. I’ll see you next week.