Storium Theory: Inaction In Action

Sometimes, I see players make comments in a game, explaining why they haven't made a move in a challenge so far:

"I don't think this is something my character knows how to deal with."

"I'm not sure she cares about this."

"I think he's just kind of stunned right now.

"She doesn't know what to do."

Sometimes these are indications of a problem in the story - if all of a narrator's players are telling him their characters don't care about the current situation, it is probably time to revise the situation and figure out how to better relate it to the story at hand.

But...more often, they're a statement that is actually pointing directly at a very interesting opportunity for the character: A chance to make inaction your action.

When you're writing the story of a challenge, things are happening, whether your character is acting on them or not. Each move drives the timeline of the challenge forward. When a card is played, something happens, and the challenge moves positively or negatively, or just towards the end of its story.

So...if your character, for instance, doesn't know how to deal with something, and chooses not to act...that's a choice. And that's his "action" for that moment in the tale.

So let it be an action! Make your move! Show your character's uncertainty or confusion about what to do! Show how your character hasn't cared about the situation, if that's the case, and chooses to ignore it! Show how the situation has left your character stunned, or how he's tired and needs rest, or how his injuries prevent him from joining the battle!

Sometimes, those things are treated as reasons not to make a move, but...that's not what they should be. They are, in fact, excellent opportunities to make moves.

Especially...especially...if you have either Weakness cards to play, or a Subplot.

I'm stunned. I'm confused. I'm shell-shocked. I'm injured. I'm exhausted. I just plain don't care about this.

Those are all excellent weakness plays.

When a situation is ongoing and your character chooses not to do anything about it, that's a great opportunity to show what starts going wrong with the situation because your character is not preventing it. Philosophically, there's nothing really different here from if things start to go wrong and your character tries to prevent it and fails because of a Weakness, right? Something goes wrong either way. The difference is just that your character, in this case, didn't do something to stop it instead of doing something but getting it wrong.

What about Subplots? Well, Subplots are great for these situations too! When a character is shocked into inaction, when she finds something she doesn't care about, when he struggles to understand what he's supposed to do in a situation...those are great times to explore the other mysteries in a character's life or the things the character does care about. There are some excellent subplot moves available that show how the character withdraws into themselves, or starts thinking about how all this ties in with their personal problems, or tries to examine where they are right now...and because of all that, something starts to happen in the current situation, and they're not really sure what to do in the face of it...or even if they should do something.

A subplot isn't a weakness play, mind, so chances are nothing ends up going outright wrong right away, but you can certainly hint that something will! While your character is distracted by his own thoughts, or full of self-doubt, or struggling with what he's supposed to do, or disinterested in what is happening, how does the situation evolve?

If your character doesn't seem certain of what's going on, or doesn't know what to do, or just plain doesn't care...don't just drop out of the challenge. Use that to advance the challenge.

Now...one more point on this. Especially in the case of a character that "doesn't care" about a challenge, this can actually be a great way to figure out what would make them care, and therefore explain how a Strength comes into play, or at least how they get involved in the challenge despite their feelings. If you find yourself thinking that your character just wouldn't get involved for some reason or another, put a little time into thinking about what might happen because of that decision.

Then, write a move based on that...and maybe, maybe midway through the move, you'll realize the character now does know what to do, or does care about the situation, as she sees what is about to happen, or starts watching something she does care about slip away.

Maybe that leads to the character using a Strength and turning things around after all. Or maybe the character ends up doubling down on fear or uncertainty, or just takes the wrong action, using a Weakness. Or maybe, the character's Subplot drives him forward, making him engage with the challenge now that he's seen what it could mean if he doesn't.

Now...this isn't something you need to pull in all the time. (And to be clear, if you find yourself constantly trying to figure out why your character would get involved in something, it may be time to talk to the narrator about how to make your character mesh better with the story.) But there are times when an inability to think about something that your character would do can itself be precisely what drives the story forward and makes an interesting situation.

Don't overuse this, but...keep it in the toolbox. It's a handy trick to pull out and it can lead to some astonishingly interesting moments for a character if used properly.

Remember Spider-Man and Uncle Ben...sometimes, when your character doesn't take action, that ends up driving his story more than anything else.

Ten Advantages Of An IBM PC/XT Over An IBM PC

If you are looking for an early PC-compatible "8-bit system", the IBM PC and the IBM PC/XT are good choices.  They sold well, are built to last and "just work".  But while you may want to get one of each, if money or space is tight, I would suggest trying to find an IBM PC/XT over the IBM PC.  Some reasons why are as follows :


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You say "obsessed" as if it is a bad thing.

Crowdfunding A Game's Development (LTUE – Panels 3 Of 4)

Crowdfunding has become a viable option for raising capital to complete a project. The tabletop gaming industry has a strong presence in crowdfunding. For game developers this presents great opportunities and unique challenges. Not every crowd funding campaign is successful. So how do you determine if crowdfunding is right for you and how does it work?

Two weeks after LTUE (website), I moderated a panel on this crowdfunding at SaltCon (website).

To Use or Not To Use, That is Your First Question

You should first decide if you want to use crowdfunding, and if it is right for you. It is not for everyone. There are several criterion to consider in deciding if crowdfunding is something you want or should do. You might even decide to change your mind as you work through the process in one direction or the other.

Crowdfunding takes time and energy. Not everyone is suited for or desirous of running a business. This might not seem like part of crowdfunding. However, crowdfunding is part of marketing, which is part of having a business. If you're looking at starting a campaign to raise money, then you are going to be involved in the other parts of business management. Some developers want to focus on designing games; therefore licensing or having someone else publish their game might be a better option.

Are you looking to create a one-off sale or build a business? The campaign you are looking to run will be different if you are working to create a brand that goes into other projects. How you invest your money in the campaign and from the campaign will be different along with how you want to manage your communications and growth.

How much control do you want, or can handle? This is along the same lines as having time. I've met developers who want full control of their final product. Those who want that level of control like self-publishing and building their own business. Others don't want to have to be involved in concerns that are not about game design. Again, licensing and finding a publisher or partnering with someone who wants to do that has worked for them.

Some projects are not well suited to crowdfunding. A good project for crowdfunding meets the needs of price point, availability, and the ability to create buzz in the desired community. One point emphasized was your product needs to meet expected return on value. If your game has a $20 value and the cost of making a copy is $50, you most likely won't have a successful campaign. If you do get the funding and you haven't priced it correctly in the campaign, which leads to availability problems.

Some crowdfunding campaigns are about getting sponsors who will invest in the development of a project, like a movie. For games, running a campaign is more like placing pre-orders. You should have a product ready to move into production. You can find many stories about how people and companies have been blackballed by the gaming community because they weren't able to meet the dates they promised. Those projects created excitement and then a major let down.

Consider if you have a project creates excitement, and to what level. Do research on similar games that have been campaigned on your chosen platform and other platforms. You should be looking to create a buzz about your game and your campaign which will get people talking about what you have—create enthusiasm through the community by talking about it in other locations. Your campaign needs to meet the expectations created in the buzz, so be certain that you are able to deliver on any promises made.

Before Going to a Platform

Know what your short and long-term objectives are. Before you start your campaign, you need to know if you're working to sell this one game or if you are starting a business to sell future games. If this is a one-time project, you are going to need to approach it differently. One-time events will have different levels to consider and will have a different business plan. Again, this seems like a simple question to answer. Remember that a crowdfunding campaign is part of your business, providing a level of marketing, no matter which way you are planning. It needs to be integrated into what you want to do. It is not the end all of your project, only one of the steps.

After you build a plan for your project or business you need to determine who is going to take which actions. You might want to do everything yourself, get a few select people, or hire someone as an employee or contractor. The only right way to do this is to know what you want to accomplish. Matching people's skills to your needs can be difficult, but the rewards of putting this all together can pay off.

I've interviewed several developers on their Kickstarter campaigns outside of these panels. The main reason given for unsuccessful campaigns was not having a clear understanding of what they wanted and a plan of how to get there.

Incentives

Don't give everything away. Pricing is an area you need to research. How much is everything going to cost to produce, print, package, ship, etc. There are horror stories out there of people who undersold their products and then ended up not being able to fulfill their commitments. Some have even driven successful businesses into bankruptcy. This goes for not only the basic product at the base backing level, but for the incentives you plan on providing. Know what you have and how you are going to deliver to your backers.

Don't promise something you don't have. Stretch goals are a part of many fund-raising campaigns. They can bring in a lot of extra money into a campaign. At the same time, those incentives can kill your project on the backside. If you don't have something ready for delivery, you might want to hold off promising it as an incentive. Promotional materials need to be delivered when promised to build your credibility.

I have an experience with a backing I did when everything was delayed. The game came out late. The promised special pieces were later, the promised expansion was even later. It wasn't until after all that happened that backers found out the project had been delayed because the developer ran over cost (bad plan and price point). They produced some games to start fulfilling their commitments and others to sell to raise money so they could fulfill the rest of their obligations. They also informed us the promised expansion had challenges that came out during playtesting and needed to be redesigned. I felt slighted on multiple levels.

This is also an example of needing to keep in touch with the people who are interested in your game.

Communication

Before the campaign begins, communicate to your base of supporters about the upcoming events you have planned. That means you need to collect contacts. To collect contacts, you need to be playtesting and sharing your game. Schedule time with local game shops. Attend conventions. Find those people who are interested and like your game and how to keep in touch with them. Then let them know about the progress you are making in the development.

Before the campaign begins is when you need reviews done. Reviews help people make a decision. Find good ones and get the game in their hands so they can get the review out. My fellow panelists at SaltCon urged having video reviews. They also agreed with me that you should look for other outlets like podcasts and written ones. These all address different audiences and usually focus on different aspects because they are produced in different media. There is also a difference of opinion about paying for a review. Some were for it while others pointed out that a paid review is an advertisement. You have to decide what is best for you—so research reviewers.

During the campaign, you should be sharing new information daily. This is work time. This is really important if this is your first campaign and haven't built credibility with a large audience. Be responsive to questions and concerns. Work with your team to spread the word as far and wide as possible. The objective of communication during the campaign is to keep people talking about (buzz) and coming back to check on the campaign. If you hit new levels in backing, tell everyone. Remind them what is now part of the release and what the next level has. Some people will go back and increase the amount of their backing if the campaign is closing in on something they want.

After the campaign closes you still need to keep in contact with everyone who showed interest and who has backed your project. The next few days can mean a lot in terms of additional sales of the original items and associated material. It was reported with the proper follow up, some campaigns increased by 50% with after campaign sales. You also need to make sure you have correct shipping addresses for all of your backers. But don't stop there.

While the project moves forward, keep everyone updated on the progress. People have now invested their money in your project and many of them will look at it as their project. Treat them that way. Let them know the progress and set backs as you get closer to fulfillment. This information will go a long way in providing satisfaction and building a reputation for your next campaign.

Final Thoughts

This is a time when all sorts of products and services are raising money through crowdfunding. Some of them are solid products and projects while others are nonsensical. None of that really matters though because your project is yours. You have to feel right about what you are doing.

Crowdfunding is an option you can use. If it is a viable option or not, is dependent on what you want to do with your project. There are people and companies who can help with a campaign in terms of coaching and providing resources. Go into a campaign after doing your research and developing a plan.

No matter which path you take, total self-publication, licensing, or selling the game outright, I wish you the best and hope your desires are fulfilled. I look forward to seeing your name on the game shelf.

Fellow Panelists

LTUE (information from program guide)

Marion G. Harmon is the author of Wearing the Cape series and the writer of Wearing the Cape: The Roleplaying Game and the Barlow's Guide to Superhumans sourcebook. wearingthecape.com.

William L. Munn is a writer and tabletop gamer. Will has written for gaming companies lie Gallant Knight Games, where he contributed to Tiny Frontiers: Revised and Cold Shadows. Currently, he's working on Zorro the RPG as a writer and producer. Will has a deep passion for storytelling, gaming, and writing. In his free time, you'll find him playing and running tabletop games with family and friends. liamwrites.com.

L. Palmer is the author of The Pippington Tales, where motorcars bump down old city lanes and fairy godmothers are disguised as high-society gossips. In between exploring fantasy worlds, she works in public service and lives in South Texas. lpalmerchronicles.com.

Daniel Yocom runs Guild Master Gaming, which has supported tabletop gaming and other things geek. It includes reviews of games, books, and movies. Articles also appear on other websites. He has short stories published and is working on his first novel. guildmastergaming.blogspot.com.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Facebookand Twitter(@GuildMstrGmng).

Zak S And #MeToo

Just before going to bed, I noticed a post on MeWe about Zak S. 

Normally, it would be about one of his books, since he is a good writer, and because by this time, I think a lot of people are tired of his drama, his attacks, his harassment, his arguments, his blocking people, his influence on such people as James Raggi and things like Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

It turns out that his former girlfriend just came forward with her story, corroborated with several other women, about Zak S' abuse, assault, and sheer awful behavior towards women.

Here is the public FaceBook post of Mandy Morbid.

Having been in conversations with Zak S, as well as, having lived in a hobby/industry where he parades around like the imaginary king of social justice and roleplaying, I 100% believe these women.  Zak S. absolutely seems capable of what's described.

I feel bad for those he's hurt.  I hope their recovery is swift and sure.

Authoritarians need to be recognized, confronted, and defused ASAP.  Don't wait.  Don't appease them, don't give into their demands, don't bend over backwards... just don't. 

I heard that Zak S. was a socialist.  Normally, this wouldn't be the time or place to mention this.  In fact, at any other time, self-identifying as a socialist would be a "Who cares?" moment, rather than a sub-section of this #MeToo moment.  However, with President Donald Trump coming out and saying that America will never be a socialist country in his State of the Union address, I think it's topical.

Socialism is based on government control. As government expands, that control broadens and strengthens. Power, especially when centralized like that, leads to horrific abuses. Like people being imprisoned and/or killed if they don't conform.  Of course, authoritarians like it when they're the ones in control.  They like to set everything in order - their order - that others have to follow... or else.

Well, I'll never lay down for tyranny.  I don't care if it's Zak S, a foreign power, "democratic" socialists (like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) within our United States, SJWs, armed and masked SJWs (Antifa), or anyone else. 

The moment you try to force me to live by your arbitrary rules, against my self-interest, I know it's time to fight back.

Here's to fighting back against tyrants!

VS

p.s. James, I expect a full retraction of your statement disavowing Jordan Peterson.  He's a goddamn Canadian treasure, and as you're probably aware, the world doesn't have many of those.  Treat him with the admiration and respect he deserves.

Download Batman Arkham City On PC With Proof In Hindi (Black Box) [All E...

Harlequins: Making It Work

Chopping up yo faces.

So.. my last post about Harlequins might have been a little too negative.  Don't worry though, just because I'm talking real sometimes doesn't mean I'm going to give up.  You guys have to remember that even though I'm a competitive player, I'm not WAAC.  Think about it:  I've been playing pure Kabal Dark Eldar since 3rd.  I have never owned a single Coven unit because I don't like the playstyle and I despise the fluff.  So what does this mean?  That means that I'm going to be playing boatloads of Harlequins and trying to get them to work on the table.

I've been constructing a lot of lists in the last couple of days with the new book and I've had a lot of thought experiments.  Here are some of the topics that I've thought about the most the last couple of days:

• How viable is Harlequins as a standalone army?  They're so expensive and it's really difficult to get them to work from a raw points-effectiveness standpoint.  The more Harlequins you take, the less other "good stuff" you can take from allies.
• Speaking of allies:  What makes a good ally for Harlequins?  Do you take them with Eldar or do you take them with Dark Eldar?  What about both?  Do you even have enough points to take both?
• There are a TON of Strategems that I think Harlequins generally depend on.  Your model count is low, so you really need to spend CP on them every chance you get to make them worth it.  I think Harlequins might be one of the most CP-heavy armies in the entire game from what I've seen.
• For my playstyle, I'm going to keep the army mechanized because I need to be able to preserve the fragile assault units inside while delivering them across the table.  However, I did think about big units of Troupes a few times because of all the overlapping and stacking buffs.
• What is the best Form that I should take with my army?  I'm mainly thinking about Soaring Spite right now because my forces are mostly mechanized, but I'm also eyeing Frozen Stars for damage, Midnight Sorrow for tieing things up, and Silent Shroud for practicality with Eldar shenanigans.
• I'm still working on the best layout for my Troupes, mainly because I'm focusing on 3 key design principles:  The Form matters, but cost-effective units matter more.  The Troupe must be able to be a melee threat to all targets.  The first Fusion Pistol is a must, the rest is luxury.

With that said, I got started working on some basic list principles:

• Build with as much CP as possible because you should be using Harlequin Stratagems at every chance to keep the army alive.  This means double-Bat is a must-have.
• Build with some kind of Black Heart so you can bring in Cunning and introduce Vect so you can repress enemy bull-shittery while having a CP-farm on your side.
• Build as many threats as possible:  Keeping your Troupes alive so they can make a cost-effective return means you have to introduce some serious threats on your side of the table.

Should I take more Dark Eldar?

Here is the first list I came up with after some tweaking:

Soaring Heart
2000 // 13 CP

Soaring Spite Bat +5

HQ:
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86

TROOP:
5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, 2x Fusion = 118
Starweaver = 99
217

ELITE:
Solitaire = 98

+++

Black Heart Bat +5

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91
Cunning, Living Muse

Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91

TROOP:
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47
5x Warriors, Blaster = 47

PARTY BOATS:
Raider, Dissie = 80
Raider, Dissie = 80
Raider, Dissie = 80

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125

>>>

Firepower:
12 Disintegrators at BS3+
24 Splinter Rifles at BS3+
6 Blasters at BS3+
2 Blasters at BS2+
6 Shuriken Cannons at BS3+
6 Fusion Pistols at BS3+
2 Fusion Pistols at BS2+

The list design here was really easy because I think all the right notes.  I originally had Razorwings in the army because I really like having some kind of air, but I didn't have enough boots on the ground for me to be truly influential.  When I first began army list construction, I noticed that I was hesitant to turn my Black Heart Spearhead into a Battalion.  I kept finding that second Archon as a bit of tax, but then I remembered just how many times I'm going to use Harlequin Strategems throughout the game.  While the firepower of the list looks pretty small, one can't remember the absolute monster that is Harlequins in melee once they get there.  With all 5 Players in a Troupe having 4 S5 AP-2 attacks, things are going to get all kinds of disgusting once you actually get in there.  To make things more exciting, I'm planning to make one of the Troupe Masters The Great Harlequin for that tasty re-roll 1s to Hit bubble.

Or should I take more Eldar?

Alaitoc Soaring Heart
1999 // 14 CP

Soaring Spite Bat +5

HQ:
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86
Troupe Master, Caress, Fusion = 86

TROOP:
5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

5x Troupe, 5x Caress, Fusion = 109
Starweaver = 99
208

+++

Alaitoc Bat +5

HQ:
Farseer Skyrunner = 135
Doom, Mind War

Warlock Skyrunner = 70
Protect/Jinx

TROOP:
5x Rangers = 60
5x Rangers = 60
5x Rangers = 60

FLYER:
Crimson Hunter Ex, Lances = 175
Crimson Hunter Ex, Lances = 175

+++

Black Heart Spearhead +1

HQ:
Archon, Huskblade, Blaster = 93
Cunning, Living Muse

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125
Ravager, 3x Dissies = 125

>>>

Firepower:
9 Disintegrators at BS3+
4 Bright Lances at BS2+
2 Pulse Laser at BS2+
6 Shuriken Cannons at BS3+
3 Fusion Pistols at BS3+
2 Fusion Pistols at BS2+
15 Ranger Long Rifle at BS3+

This one is a bit different and I might be stretching myself too thin.  I've already dropped the Solitaire (which hurts my heart greatly) to make room for some Eldar allies, while greatly decreasing the amount of DE I have in the army.  The Black Heart detachment has been reduced to a small footprint just for the CP farm and fire support, but I've introduced fighters back into the mix with 2x Crimson Hunter Exarchs to give some heavy lances while the Doomseer and Jinxlock go do their thing.  I still have Rangers to be backcap but otherwise, I find this list a bit light on boots on the ground.  Missions might also be a problem, which is why I'm slightly in favor of the first list.

Regardless of which list works out to be better, both lists have a sizeable Harlequin presence with a lot of melee pressure.  The Caress' across the entire army really puts out some good threat, as well as the 22" moving and shooting Shuriken Cannons and Fusion Pistols without BS penalty.  Hell, I even have a pet unit in the first list because I think the Solitaire is the coolest thing ever.  With CP/Ravager farms in both lists, Warrior/Blasters in the first list, and Crimson Hunters in the second, which list do you guys like better?

Huzzah 2019 Game 1

Not quite home yet but there's time for a blog post.

Rob and I RV'd nicely, arriving at our destination about an hour apart after each making an approach march of about 1,000 km. How's that for converging columns?

Rosmark's forces deploy. To keep things simple I set out a few terrain pieces and we deployed symmetrical forces. 

Rob had grabbed a free table and there was just time for a test game of Howard Whitehouse's new A Gentleman's War rules.

I proposed 3 objectives: the 2 houses and the hill. Victory going to the one who held 2 at the end.

The Shuffling-Bushwackers deploy. (I may have spelled that wrong...or maybe I've accidently used the Rosmark slang for the enemy....) 

 After lots of page flipping we were ready and the first card was drawn.

The game was atable! (Sic)

Red for Rosmark! Whats the range on artillery again?"..."FIRE!"  
First shot, first blood.

Rob's Light infantry seized the first house and he was going to take the hill easily.  I used 2 brigade moves to drive him out and occupy the whole village.

"Ah, this is going to be easy....HEY! Where'd that cannon ball come from? Oh well, 5 of my troopers can easily deal with 6 of his." 
First cavalry melee, 5 dice for me: 1 hit, 6 dice for Rob: 3 hits. Doubled and Shaken...Morale test:1.....
"RUN AWAY!"

 Meanwhile, on the far flank, my light infantry whittled down his Hussars significantly and he pulled back. "I shall answer him with my Lancers" (Sorry, just rewatched Waterloo last week) 
Not a great day for my cavalry but at least my lancers didn't run off the board.

The result of a long(ish) multi unit firefight. 

 In the centre and left the game settled into an extended firefight where having my supporting artillery closer and my troops more concentrated and rolling better seemed to be balanced by Rob's troops being  more than a little bit stubborn.

It couldn't last forever though. As MacDuff's Grenadiers closed in on the annoying gun, the  Shoeffen-Busch-Hagen army dropped below 50% of units unrouted and on table. With  both houses being well garrisoned by my troops, Rob gave the order to retreat.

The game is up.

The rules are quite easy but in a few areas there is slightly more detail than I am used to and the charts are more detailed. Won't take long to learn and remember the commonly used bits but there was a lot of page flipping and I was surprised later at how many little things we missed or got wrong on the first go. A QRS, especially a periodic specific QRS would have been useful and will be once we make one.

Overall though, the game was quick, fun and exciting. In the end, victory felt satisfying and earned after hard fighting and manouevring rather than being a random event decided by dice.

We broke for supper with 4 Nova Scotian gamers and 4 HAWKs from Maryland seated around the table. The conversation was lively and it was only when Jeff started a round of self-introductions that I suddenly realized that I was the only one there who knew everyone in both groups and considered them all friends, in some cases friends over decades rather than years. Felt good to have that change.

After supper we had to step out smartly for Rob and I to get our game set up and underway, but that's a post for another day.