Hello, I feel I need to introduce myself

My name is Spike

I joined Lurps in October 1999. Since then I have been a member every year despite the many and myriad problems that LURPS has faced, despite the many problems that I have had with the way that the society has been run and the way it's been forced to be run by others.
I was President during one of the more tumultuous times in the societies history where large groups of the society didn't agree with other large groups which caused "among other things" a mass walk out of membership and the creation of Far Shores,
I was LARP rep twice for two years, during which time I instituted a lot of the safety rules that are now taken for granted in an effort to prevent people from walking off adventures with a Limp. I invited Yellow Sign to run their first event in a LURPS slot. I memorably reffed every saturday adventure for a term when other refs simply couldn't be found to ref Stormhaven.
I turned LARP attendance around from regular turnouts of about 6 to regular turnouts of 15+. I arranged regular visits from weapons and armour manufacturers to make sure that LURPS had access to the best possible equipment from the best possible sources without having to pay event admission prices as well.
Five years ago now, Madfae came to me and said "Spike I want to bring VIP back to Lancaster," some readers will remember those early days of meeting in County bar with half a dozen players if we were lucky. Now, with the contributions of many people reading, the player base numbers 20+ regular players, we have run an event that we took LURPS to, and despite some hiccups the system continues to thrive and many people have come to LURPS just to play VIP, some people even returning to LURPS after extended absence.
Although not the greatest table-top ref in the world, (the person I think of as the best knows who they are) I have regularly run games that I hope have been at least memorable and enjoyable. Star Wars, Fading Suns, various ongoing Legend of the 5 rings campaigns and a 7th sea campaign that saw me take up to 15 players due to no-one else being willing to take late comers. Now I have an ongoing Lord of the Rings campaign that I am extremely proud of and I sincerely hope that it goes the distance.
I say these things, not to show off or boast. I don't say these things to make other people feel as though I'm trying to shame them. I'm simply giving some context to where I'm coming from and who I am when I say this.
I love LURPS
I really do, I have poured so much (literal) blood, sweat and tears into the society that it might even cause some people to look at me funny.
But I really do love it. I love meeting new role-players, I love introducing people to my hobby. I love the diversity of the society. I love that we have a place for everyone as we are a society of inclusion as anyone can be a role-player. I would do anything for any member of that society (stopping short of actual crime of course) and no fair maiden has a stauncher defender than LURPS has in me.
I love LURPS as a society of, at best friends but at worst people who want to gather together to enjoy the same things and to be themselves, a place where people can be blow off steam, tell jokes and otherwise escape from the harsh and cold reality around them. Yes we have our faults, (a tendency towards arrogance being the most obvious) but I truly believe that when the chips are down that we are there for each other.
Today this view was shattered for me.
I'm struggling to put this into words and even now I don't want to say anything that might upset or hurt people that are very close to my heart.
Today it was brought to my attention that people in the exec were investigating (this may be a strong term but I am endeavouring to be politically correct) certain allegations that had been made about me and my overly aggressive attitudes towards people. Again I'm using big words to describe what to many people may seem a small thing but to me is something huge. (I'm also using those words to avoid confusion and to be PC).
Now the exec did their jobs well and perfectly and let me say that for the record just so that I am PERFECTLY CLEAR. I cannot fault any of the people involved as to how they behaved or what they did and I would like to take this opportunity to praise as well as thank them for their proffesionalism and the speed with which this was sorted out.
These allegations turned out to be as a result of people taking a reccuring joke of mine seriously and coupling it with misunderstanding my asking a question of a ref.
A joke of mine that I made several times while expressing how much I was looking forward to today and how overjoyed I was to be able to turn up to more lives this year as a standard player/monster rather than a ref.
A question that I asked of the ref to clarify the stats of the monster that I was about to be playing because I had misheard and wanted to be sure I was getting it right.
I cannot tell you how upset I am to discover that people would rather complain about this to someone official rather than calling me on it, or that a joke. A JOKE is taken so seriously that it warrents complaint. I am surely not inscrutable enough that people think I would be serious when I describe looking forward to beating the crap out of the members of a society that I love. People joke about wanting to pumch someone, leather someone, hit them with swords, smash their faces in, rape or even kill someone and those jokes are not taken seriously when some of those topics are REALLY serious or even offensive to many people.
I cannot tell you how upset I am that in society of friends we have to make a formal complaint rather than saying something like
"Spike, that joke was out of line and was quite upsetting,"
or
"Surely you don't mean that,"
or
"Dude, that's not like you are you OK?"
and as for asking a clarification from a ref. How else are you supposed to define what's going on if you misheard. Do I leave it and get the stats wrong, therefore potentially spoiling the adventure for EVERYONE concerned, ESPECIALLY players, or should I ask a question and get the facts right?
which is the right answer.
I am an ongoing system ref and tabletop ref as well as a roleplayer. Sometimes these situations require a display of aggression. The most common being that I am playing a character/monster that is quite aggressive. I am well aware that I am a big guy with a loud voice and (when I put my mind to it) a powerful presence. This is a tool that I as well as other refs have used to get a point accross and I am by no means alone in using these tools to get the job done. Does this mean that I am going to get complained about when I do this?
How about reffing situations when I see someone cheating or being unsafe. SOmetimes waiting until afterwards and getting the LARP ref to sort it out doesn't cut it. What if they hurt someone or themselves in the meantime or spoil several peoples game while the LARP rep is elsewhere. Both of these are situations that have come up, and both do sometimes need a loud voice to stop the situation developing further ie
"TIME STOP, THERE IS A CAR COMING, GET OFF THE ROAD,"
or
"TIME STOP, THAT IS UNSAFE, STOP IT,"
and
"TIME STOP< PERSON A WE NEED YOU OVER HERE NOW! TRADE WTIH ANOTHER MONSTER, now that was against the rules so why are you doing it?"
In the past, refs have been responsible for the facilities that they use, including rooms for tabletop and booked for live events so people need to be told off for leaving them in a state so this is another time where a display of aggression is appropriate when all else has failed to drive the message home. Fortunately the LARP reps have taken the responsibility for that one now so I don't ned to worry about it anymore, but in the past if the room had been left a tip it would have been the system refs that got it in the neck.
But it would seem that these things are now going to get me complained about. In a society of friends I must watch what I say. I can't afford to make jokes any more because people might take them seriously and complain about me. I can't afford to vent in the society for fear that people might take it seriously. I must guard myself. Guard my sense of humour and my opiinions in case omeone might get offended and complain.
It's all very well saying that I won't let this happen in the cold light of day. It's all very well saying "I will not change my sense of humour" or "I'm not going to stop telling people that they are wrong when I think that they are wrong," but secretly, deep down, I will.
Because it's not just the words that I say that will get me in to trouble and this is due to this immortal line.
"It's not what you said, it's how you said it,"
One mans tone of anger is another mans reasonable voice. One persons tone of joking is another person tone of sleaze or slime.
And you can't argue it, short of saying, "that's not what I meant," to which the responce is "Well that's what it sounded like and I want an apology,"
Words cannot express how upset I am over this. It literally crippled me. I nearly gave away my Live kit and donated my RPG books to the library. I nearly quit VIP and knocked the Lord of the Rings grip on the head. THis is not an exageration so please don't think I'm being melodramatic. The only reason that I didn't it because Madfae spent a significant period of time talking me down from that course of action.
That was how much this upset me.
I felt like I couldn't face people, I hid from them.
ME
I HID FROM THE MEMBERSHIP OF LURPS.
Because somethings that I had said while I assumed that I was amongst friends were taken in a non-friendly manner and suddenly I couldn't look people in the eye any more.
And if people don't feel that they can come and say to me "that Joke was innappropriate," or find me over intimidating, then what business do I have running activities or taking part in a society that sees me in this way.
I don't know who this person or persons were as (correctly) anonymity is used but isn't anyone else dissappointed that LURPS has to have a stringent complaints procedure?
I don't have much else to say but a couple of disclaimers.
1) Yes, I had a row with the LARP reps today. This was due to a completely SEPERATE incident and that has since been resolved. But for the record I want to say that that incident was COMPLETELY unrelated to what I am talking about here. Anyone who thinks or says that the two are connected is wrong.
2) I would like to take this opportnity to once again thank Madfae, Lentil and Felix (all online references) for their sensitivity, understanding and support over this matter. I would especially like to thank Madfae for preventing me from doing something that I would have later regretted.
3) I hope that the majority of people who are reading this agree with me. I am confident that what I am talking about here, is the actions of a couple of people and I do not wish to tarnish everyone with the same brush and that I am largely preaching to the converted.
4) THis post will not be cut, removed or edited so don't bother asking. I want this post to be read by as many people as possible.

Despite all of this I find that I still love this society. Despite the turmoil and the upset I still love it and will continue to work towatrds making it better.
But this hurts, it really does and it has changed LURPS for me for the worst and although I hope I will regain my original feelings towards it, for now the vision is somewhat tarnished.

Spike

Signing off

This is a call to arms

I am honestly dissappointed that I haven't had chance to get near my internet connection before now to spread the word.

Go and see District 9

right now.

If not right now then as soon as you can.

I know some people have been unsure about whether or not it's for them, or if they should go or if they would enjoy it.

This is sci-fi done right, it tells us about ourselves and talks about what we are like as human beings. Galactica is something else that does this well and too few "real" dramas are asking these questions and as such it's down to the sci-fi to do it.

District 9 is intelligent sci-fi masterfully made and it's a story well told with characters that are all too human and recognisable.

People don't make sci-fi, or even movies, like this very often and we won't get it again unless people see it. We need to tell people that we want more like this and the only wa to do this is by voting with our feet and going to see them when the opportunity arises

Go and see District 9. YOu will squirm and shout and punch the air shouting "Fuck yeah"

I promise

Spike

Click the link and behold a true badass

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/42318

If you don't want to see that movie then why are you reading my journal?

Spike

*Warning angry Spike*

So I've just come back from a day that hasn't been the easiest day in the world to read the comments from my recent post.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am horrified, disgusted and appalled at the behaviour I have seen.

I have never made any pretences about what I use my journal for. Sometimes I want to rant, get things off my chest, do some writing and give it to audiances, but amongst my favourite things that I like to do is to spark debate. Well debate was sparked and many people did exactly what I hoped they would do, which was comment and add to the discussion as a whole.

That is what these kind of posts are for.

What they are NOT for is to insult, criticise and offend people.

For this reason the offending comments and the comments that got posted in answer to those have been removed in an attempt, misguided though it might be, to forestall problems before they arise.

Further I would like to take this opportunity to apologise in public to those people that have been hurt by the post and it's resulting comments. You will be hearing from me personally shortly.

I have left the original post up, as well as most of the comments as some people have commented that the discussion was a useful one to have, if I am wrong and people want the entire thread removing then please contact me privately and it will come down.

Debate can, and should, happen without offence to either party.

Spike

Just to be clear that I won't be talking about PVP in MMORPRGS.

So it turns out that it's quite a touchy subject and last week I had this rather simple (and obvious) fact thrust into my face.

As some of you know I was involved in helping a certain person of the acquaintance of many of you, to run a LARP event. How it went is the subject for an entirely different post that probably won't get made as I still haven't ordered my thoughts about it. But suffice to say, that from the players perspective it looked great. It was obviously a first time event for a first time working together ref team and with a little tightening up it could turn a good event into a great event. Feedback from players included such lines as
"wow, being a ritual magic user actually works,"
and
"hey, I've just done this magical healing rite on that guy over there and it says n the spell discription that in invoking the magical properties of the fertility goddess to heal him I might be pregnant, am I?"
(ref reaches for pouch for result)
"wow, cool, I'm pregnant."
also
"You mean, Ghost fences actually have an in game effect?"

In short, the majority of the feedback was positive. The majority of the negative feedback is as a result of PVP.

You see, the set up of the event was that there were three largish groups of players. Each one of them had their own agenda and desire for their guy to be High King. Now two of these groups were particularly against each other. We will call these people Group A and Group B.

Group A wants King A to be High King and Group B wants King B to be High King. Now Group A are remarkably against PVP. They are used to systems were events involve Players against monsters and as a result players should band together against whatever threat the refs have put together. PVP is limited in their minds to facing off and spouting propaganda at each other.
Group B however are remarkably competitive and pro PVP. Their history comes from events where all of the plot is player generated and as a result a lot of the combat is PVP. If you don't like someone and you find them walking alone by themselves then you do for them.

One night on the event a small number of group A followed a larger number of Group B back to Group B's camp. Unfortunately Group B had a very good scout in their employ and spotted them. With three members of Group A versues sixteen members of Group B, the results were predictable.
The following night, another of the Group A players, who had been mouthing off (using largely accurate information) against Group B, got spotted walking throught thw woods, alone. At night. Previously (I know because I was standing next to them at the time) Group B had decided to do for this particular character if the chance presented itself. The chance did, again with predictable results.

So which side is right?

It's a difficult question, and speaking as a ref, I'm not sure there is a correct answer.

PVP is shit, it's horrible, I've been involved as a player, more times than I care to remember, and as a ref, considerably more time's than that. Unless you're careful, hard feelings will crop up on both sides, people (understandably) get upset. If it gets really bad, accusations of OC bias and OC insults get thrown around nad in the worst case scenario, one or more players leaves the game/system.

But PVP is also necessary as an outlet for characters and RP can rarely exist without it. In a world without PVP, it would be impossible to play a Lawful Good Paladin for example. A mage turns up who is, by most definitions, rather amoral. In a game with PVP as an option the Paladin can tell the mage that he will behave otherwise his head will be removed. If a PVP was not an option then said mage can flaunt his evil acts whenever he likes and all that the Paladin can do is sit there and fume while he loses alignment points (true story folks, the redeeming feature is that the mage player, me, didn't know that PVP was banned.)

PVP is an outlet, and sometimes a plot device that a clever ref can take advantage of to add to the game.

But therein lies the difficulty. As a ref, how do you manage this when it does come up. Speaking personally, when pvp comes up, that's when I find myself really reaching for the rules. I ref it down the line, without emotion (as best as I can), I don't point out things that either player might have missed unless a player says that they have a skill in scapology for example, I make sure that the information received on BOTH sides is IC, both before and after and that's pretty much all I can do.

Personally speaking, as a ref, I think that you can't ref what's going on in someone's head. You can't say things like "Oh that guy's too competitve and is only doing this to win" nor can you say "That person is my friend and if this goes off against him/her they will be really upset.

If a person is playing in your game regardless of how well you know them, or how well you dislike them then they should ALL be treated the same and according to the rules.

As a player, whether you are going to do the deed, or receive the deed. YOu should make sure that your decisions for doing so are absoultely IC. You shouldn't decide to kill someone and then find a reason for you to do so. Always bear in mind the feelings of the person that has just been killed, they will be upset and angry so treat them with respect, don't dance around and crow your victory to the heavens, if you can offer apologies and buy them a drink.

As onle last word, before any kind of campaign starts. Decide what kind of thing you want. If yo want a party that is at each other's throats then say so, but if you want a party that will work together and, overall, be friends and work together, then say that as well. If you are a player, then ask your ref what he/she wants from their players, you may want to play a devious, cunning plotter, and there might be room for that, but if you turn up and butcher the players when the ref has been saying that he/she is looking for HERO'S then don't be surprised if you get black looks.

In short, PVP is hard, but even the slightest hint of it can only add to a game.

Discuss

Spike

Just to let people know. We had difficulty accessing the system to do downtimes. We intend to grab people before the game and go through downtimes there and then so please arrive in plenty of time tomorrow

Thanks

Spike

Today I took Erfalaswen to my house where we watched the Blu-ray of Kindom of Heaven Directors Cut.

Some of you will have seen the theatrical cut when it came out at cinema and the majority of people fond it "kind of good but a little bit meh".

A while ago I found a reviewer talking about Kingdom of Heaven as though it was one of the finest pieces of cinema that the world has ever seen. I was intrigued. I had enjoyed the movie but I hadn't thought it was particularly "great" I read a little of the review and discovered him talking about entire sub-plots that I couldn't remember. Having scrolled up to the top of the review I discovered it was about the directors cut of the same movie.

I followed it up and treated myself to the movie. I had been meaning to pick up the theatrical cut anyway when it was cheap and thought that it could be interesting.

I was blown away.

First and foremost, let me say this first piece of controversy. Orlando Bloom can indeed act and frequently does. I am of the opinion that he needs a good director to be able to pull out the best in him and get him to do something other than "stand there and look pretty". See him in Elizabethtown and this before you judge his talent. In this he plays a man that is coming through grief. The Theatrical cut suggests that he is just being moody emo boy, but in this movie it shows that his wife is only recently dead and he has a dream that shows how much he loved her and the child that they so nearly had. The subtleties (yes you read that right) of his face show so much sadness and the memory of sadness that it is sometimes heartbreaking.

Then consider that several entire sublopts were killed including the very tragic tale of the queens son. I'm told that after she saw the theatrical cut Eva Green refused to do any publicity for the movie at all and after seeing these scene I can understand why. Believe me when I say that all of her best work ended up on the cutting room floor.

This and so many other small points. Jeremy Irons voice. Alexander Sidig proving that Star Trek actors other than Patrick Stewart can ACT. (As an amusing anecdote in the extras, apparently Sidig is used to not getting roles because he was in Star Trek so he walked into this audition to see Ridley Scott bouncing out of the chair to shake him visibly by the hand saying "wow man, you played Dr Bashir. I loved that show," and later discovered that he was the only choice for that roll. Brendan Gleesan playing slimey, and an actor I don't know and have never heard of playing Saladin and weeping for the dead.

I know people have said that Some movies benefit from a Directors cut. The Abyss, The Lord of the Rings movies, King Arthur, Aliens. But this is the one that has been elevated the highest from a mediocre movie to a genuinly great movie.

Just as an aside as an interesting point. The movie has fanatics on both sides, good and wise rulers on both side and young men who sympathise with their enemies on both sides and the thing that, especially in the modern world, made me both snile and cry was a line often heard from both sides as an excuse for violence "God wills it,"

Give Kingdom of Heaven a second chance as the Directors Cut. You will like it.

Also Ghostbusters the videogame rocks.

Spike

"I put little faith in religion. I have seen to much religion in the faces of murderers and fanatics who have spilled too much blood in the name of religion. But holiness is different. Holiness is in a mans heart and mind when he decides to be simply 'A Good Man'"

Hi folks

long time no post, I make no apologies for this, there is a reason for not posting and that is mostly to do with an incident at the beginning of the year that very nearly got me into a great deal of trouble. So at the moment I'm taking the viewpoint that if I'm in any doubt, I should bitch about it down the pub and not in a public forum,

however

I think this subject is pretty safe.

I want to talk about endings, specifically endings for video games.

Recently I've been trying to play catch up on a variety of video games that I've bought and then, for a variety of reasons, which mostly boil down to being too busy, I've never finished. Games that are on my list include things like GTA4 and Farcry 2 and others that will just start a torrent of hate, but I enjoy them, so there.

I've noticed a worrying trend. I can't remember a game that had a reasonably happy and satisfying ending.

Warning, spoilers.

I've never made any secret about my love of good storytelling. But good storytelling invariably involves having a good and satisfying ending.

Very recently I've completed Mirror's edge, the most recent Prince of Persia as examples. Both fine, if flawed games and both indicative of two of the major faults, the first being the unfinished story and the second being the downer ending.

Mirrors edge is a good game, unfairly punished by critics in my opinion. I think it was miss sold by publishers and should carry a warning that it shouldn't be played if you are already tense. It basically consists of several lengthy foot chases over various stretches of urban terrain where you are running away from the bad guys. The ending is a very good final set pice, one of the best since the first Max Payne. A level where at first glance you should defeat all the bad guys and then beat up the big bad. However it turns out that you do the entire thing really quickly with a clever bit of movement (which is what the game's about anyway) and save your sister. This done I sat back and waited for the denoument to tell me what was going on. I was wrong the game just finished with the two heroines standing on the edge of the skyscraper staring out over the city.

I've since found out that this is due to an effort to get a sequal and a series out of this game. But this is no excuse. An ending of ANY kind of story should leave you emotionally satisfied at what has happened, not leaving you feeling, well....

To put it a bit more lewd. It would feel a lot like masturbation without the payoff, lots of grunting and sweating for almost nothing.

The second sin is something else we're seeing a lot of recently.

Prince of Persia, another solid game, worth £10-15 a lot of fun, rounded out by two very good and well realised characters, the inter-play between these two characters is amongst the best dialogue I've heard in a computer game. The ending is spectacular, a real emotional gut-punch. I'm not going to give it away, but it's all about love and what you are prepared to do for it. In a lot of ways I kind of wish the rest of the game was up to the potential of that ending.

The problem was that it left me feeling so depressed that I had to read a Garfield comic to get over it.

What happened to a happy ending. One of my favourite games of all time, Wing Commander 3. I saved the world, found the traitor, got the girl and sailed off into the sunset, all plot threads tied off in a good way. Happy player.

Fahrenheit also got it right, good ending, happy ending with good character.

KOTOR. Saved/destroyed the universe, got to seduce/torment the member of the opposite sex. Good ending.

And then the bad, KOTOR2 fantastic game, spoiled by unfinished ending. NWN2, dullish game, beat evil god, few screenshots of stuff and an overwrought voice telling me that I was never seen again.

Thinking about some of the other games that I've discussed. GTA4, downer ending, MGS4 downer ending, Mass effect a to be continued ending (although this was one of the better ways to do it.)

Any creative writing class will tell you that the ending is almost as important as the beginning, so why do people so often short change us on this side of things.

I know that some developers say that the game is the important thing and that the point of gaming is to enjoy the journey for the journeys sake, and I suppose that's true, but dammit, I don't half find it frustrating

Spike

Signing off

The movies quotes quiz

1)I'm not mad, I'm just ahead of the curve.

2)"You know Superman? Oh my god Oh my God, I'm having a.... Are you aware of Garfield?" Cloverfield guessed by Lentilthelegume

3)"define hoedown"

4) We did what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do!

5) Are you like a... crazy person?
I'm quite sure they will say so.

6) Y'know that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeeeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it lasts.

7)I love hitmen. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad.

8)It's the wood that should fear your hand, not the other way around. No wonder you can't do it, you acquiesce to defeat before you even begin.

9)Look, can you do me a favor-can you look out the window for a second? See my father? He's the guy in the green car? Let me tell you about a dream, a boy's dream, and a man's promise to that boy. He looked him in the eye and said "Son, I' gonna buy you a car, but I want you to bring me two-thousand dollars and three A's." OK, I got the two thousand and two A's. OK, here's the dream. Your B minus? Pfff! Dream gone. Kaput. Sir, just ask yourself... What would Jesus do?  Transformers guessed by Lentil the legume

10)Merciful Father, I have squandered my days with plans of many things. This was not among them. But at this moment, I beg only to live the next few minutes well. For all we ought to have thought, and have not thought; all we ought to have said, and have not said; all we ought to have done, and have not done; I pray thee God for forgiveness.

11)Oh, I see, what I should do is, er, come home and say "Hi honey! Guess what? I walked into this house today, where this junkie asshole just fried his baby in a microwave, because it was crying to loud. So let me share that with you. Come on, let's share that, and in sharing it, we'll somehow, er, cathartically dispel all that heinous shit". Right?

12)I mean, everybody and their momma knew you don't just come up and talk to Miles Davis. I mean, he may have looked like he was chilling, but he was absorbed. This one hip couple, one of them tried to shake his hand one day. And the guy says, "Hi, my name is...” Miles said, "Get the fuck outta my face, you jive motherfucker, and take your silly bitch with you."

13)Damian, what's the dealie dude? Are we gonna blow up this tree line or what? Tuk-Tuk and Kim got the blue balls and I wanna let em squirt it for a go... Peter, can he hear me?
That's C-4, dipshit. Put that back. I said a detonator! I need some dudes who speak American god dammit! He's making a fucking sweater here, I'm tryin' to put Tiger Balm on this jungle's nuts.

14)It's not so much the heat, it's the humidity that'll kill you.

15)It is no insult to a dead man to say that he is dead

A quick call out for help.

Not so long ago I asked what people listne to when they're driving and why? (thanks for the responces that I got in person by the way)

Now I'm asking, what do you find yourslef thinking about on a long distance drive?

Please take the time to repsond and I will be most grateful

Spike

In case anyone needed evidence that there is justice in the world.

Today I was walking through the Market arcade on the way to get some milk for work when I saw the following situation. Two girls, playing truant (I know this as they were in uniform and it was well after 9am) were stood on the benches in front of Next, smoking. (for those who don't know, this particular arcade is non-smoking as I believe most are or have to be. As I watched one girl (they were both rather chavtastic) finished her cigarette, held her arm out at ninety degrees and dropped the butt on the floor and looked around as if to say, "I'm too cool for all you people, look, I smoke. AND I've just DROPPED the BUTT ON THE FLOOR. AND ID DON'T CARE"

Now I've got nothing against smokers, if you guys want to do it then fair enough, but there was something about the arrogance of these two that just got my back up.

Then, the planets aligned and God looked down upon me and said,
"don't you worry Spikey one, I've got this,"

A big burly security guard with the biggest shit eating grin I've ever seen snuck up behind them. I was too far away to hear what was said but I did see him point at the no smoking signs and make the girl pick up her butt before I could see no more by virtue of walking around a corner.

Further proof that it's the little things in life that make you smile.

Spike

Soylens Viridis Homines est

Or, for the uninitiated. The continuation of an old piece of creative writing that I got the inspiration for several years ago. Started about two years ago and then gave up on as I ran into a wall and couldn't get past it.

A little while ago, due to some encouragement from Erfalasen I tried again.

But before I get onto that and before people who don't care about reading my stuff scroll further down/up their friends page, a question if I may.

What kind of music do you listen to when driving/walking and why?

If people could answer this question to help a poor wriiter then I would be very grateful.

So, to continue with the tale

Part 1 can be found here:
http://spike369.livejournal.com/8732.html#cutid1

Part 2 can be found here:
http://spike369.livejournal.com/18273.html#cutid1. It's kind of mid entry so may take some work to find it.

and now for part 3:( part 3 )

Thoughts and constructive criticism welcome

faithfully submitted

Spike

I am FAT man

So then

It appears that I might have started a debate.

Goody, I like debates, although they always leave me (and this time is no exception) with the vague feeling that I've horribly offended someone.

Oh well.

Two things to add today, the first is about cooperative storytelling and the second is about ending the campaign.

So I believe we were on

7) Cooperative storytelling: This is something that I've only (relatively) recently started using and it was an idea that I was given by cousin Jez. Jez told me (and I'm paraphrasing) that, we all use role-playing for different things. Some people like to kill things and take its stuff. Others (like me) like roleplaying as a storytelling method. In these cases there are TWO people involved in writing the story. The first is the ref who is responsible for providing the world and the over arching plot, the second is the player who is responsible for providing the characters and the smaller level plot. Therefore storytelling through a roleplaying game should be a collaborative experience. Both people should be involved in making stuff up and driving the story forward in new and interesting ways so that (and this is important) BOTH people gain some measure of enjoyment and satisfaction from the story.

I will admit that I'm still testing this method out and my guinea pigs are the Lord of the Rings players. The very first session that I ran was a sit down with the players. We created characters, we discussed the background of the world, character background was discussed, all pretty standard stuff. Then I took each player aside and asked them to tell me what they wanted from the character, what they wanted from me and where they wanted the character to go.

As an example one character told me that they wanted a love interest and they wanted this love interest to be something or someone a little bit off the wall. The reason was that this character was very focused on one thing and that one thing only and the player in question thought that it might be interesting to give the character something that will break his focus and give him something to worry about in a completely different direction.

I also occasionally take players aside and ask them how it's going, if there is anything they want me to change, does the focus need shifting, do they want me to introduce something, remove something. Are they having problems etc.

I also encourage players to come to me if they have are having a problem, so that if their character is going to far down a particularly unpleasent path, I can help them get that character "out of the hole".

So far it seems to be going quite well and future developments will be forthcoming. I do however reccommend it. Getting the players involved is fantastic and works, after all, it's their game too.

8) ending: I find this really difficult, made even worse by the fact that of all the campaigns I've ever run, only two have ended naturally. The rest have either died due to players not getting on, players having other things to do, lack of inspiration, Term ending, real world considerations and party explosion.
On that last one the worst example was a 5 rings game run many moons ago where we had a real, intense session, there was an oni corrupting the steel of the most famous swordsmithing institution in rokugan so that these swords which were reputed to be perfect and pure, were in fact tainted. It was really good, there was some wonderful role-playing, some good dramatic (even if I say so myself) narrative moments and an epic combat. However at the end of the session, the game died because, and I'm not making this up, the players had this conversation.
me:Ok guys, just so I can prepare for next session, what's everyone doing next?
Player 1: well, I have shadowlands taint and my family will hate me for ever if I try and live with it, so I'm off to the nearest temple to commit seppuku to prevent dishonour to them,
Player 2: I died earlier in the session so I'm still making my new character.
Player 3: Well, I have failed in my duty, so I'm leaving the party and heading back to family lands where I will ask permission to commit seppuku and as I earlier publicly flipped off my lord I'm likely to be killed on sight.
Player 4: I'm going with him (pointing at player 3) to finish my chronicle of his life.
Player 5: (looking around the other players faces then shrugs) My best friend is dead, and my other friends are heading off to kill themselves so I'm left by myself. I'm going to get drunk.
Oddly enough I got a round of applause after that session and some of those players came to me afterwards and told me that it was one of the best sessions they'd ever played in.
Then the game died.
But anyway. Endings are important. But in both cases the ending that I ended up going with was not the one I had in mind, but in both cases I was walking somewhere and then I realised what the ending was going to be. Star Wars (which is the game I've discussed most on Live journal) went from the planned action filled extravaganza to a more quiet and introspective ending.
So my experience in ending games is limited. Have others felt the same way?

Spike

Last surviving member of the Nostromo....signing off

So long time no post

no real reason to really. Not that I don't have things to say but I have hatred in my heart towards just about everyone at the moment and if I unleash my bile and hate on an unsuspecting world then I am afraid that they would drown and at the least I would offend large numbers of people, so discretion being the better part of valour, I have decided to keep quiet.

But I have had a discussion in mind and wanted to share it.

I've been reffing quite a while now and have a disgusting amount of experience but I'm always willing and wanting to try new things, so I'm just going to list some stuff and see what people think. Comments are welcome and indeed encouraged from both players and refs.

1) Flashbacks/cutscenes. This is a technique that I've never used and have never heard of it being used, but I am curious and whenever I mention it to someone their responce is invariably "Oooh,". The point is that there is often large dramatic events that have happened in the past or elsewhere in the world that would be really cool for players to get involved in, but they don't becuase these events happened many eons ago, or they're going on in a completely different part of the world from where the PC's are.
It was suggested in some long lost ref guide, which suggested this to be used in long term campaigns where the players might want a bit of a break from existing characters and want to do/play something else for a bit. The ref turns up with some pre-gens and some templates, tells you the situation and then runs one or two sessions on this subject before returning to the main storyline.
I've never used this, and I don't think I've heard of it being used. Can anyone shed any light on it before I implement it and the players hate it?

2) Shitting on the players (The Die Hard effect): This was given to me by the L5R 1st ed reffing guide. The theory goes that players like to have it hard. They like to feel the risk, they like to have the odds stacked against them in such a way that they get concerned that they can't possibly succeed in their goals. However at the end of the day, they also want to win.
This is extremely accurate in my experience. However there are several problems. It only applies to short term games or one-offs. Because in long term campaigns or plots (real life time as well as in game time) it can feel oppressive with players feeling as though they can never catch a break. This is often made worse by groups where the ref knows whats happening and has the end goal in sight, however it's time based and players are running around doing other things (faffing) and as such delaying the conclusion, which in turn makes the player feel worse.
As a ref, you can tell the player that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but telling them what it is spoils the story.
The other problem is in ongoing campaigns, you get to the end of one storyline, the players have won, they feel great, however then the next storyline starts. People don't want to go through that again. (very realistic and can make for some great role-playing, a soldier with Trauma problems etc) After all, haven't they just won, against all odds, and now they have to go and save the world AGAIN, all the while the ref is there saying that this is the plot and plot and stories require conflict. Walking through a plot without conflict is like walking through Disneyland.

3) In the room vs out of the room. In every game, info needs to be passed on to an individual player by another PC or NPC. There are two ways of doing this. The first is, ref/player takes person out of the room for private conversation, or they do it in the main room so everyone can hear.
In the room: The bonus for this is a story telling one. Sometimes these conversations are long and involved, and when one of these people is the ref, it can stall the session. Also taking people out of the room can mean that certain players are only getting part of the story, so doing everything in the room means that those players have something to listen to and can hear the full story.
The down side is that it can cause difficulties with larger groups, other players might be disruptive, it might influence unintentional metagaming, it can leave other players uncomfortable and even offended at hearing two other characters talking. Also it cuts down on role-playing. Imagine this
NPC tells Player 1 plot
Player 2:"Wow, you were talking to that Wizard/suit/AI for a long time, what did he say?
Player 1:"Blah, you heard it all so I'm not going to repeat it."
This cuts out bias, opinions and thoughts from the mixture that might have made for better RPing.
Out of the room: combats this, the player is forced to tell the other player what they said and can throw in their own comments or even leave stuff out.
It means that players are better able to compartmentalise OC and IC information.
However, taking players out of the room every five seconds can disrupt a session even more and can leave players in the room getting bored, or falling out of character and losing the tension of some time previous while they wait for that dream sequence to finish.

4) PC vs NPC command: Imagine a military game. Do you make the leader of the unit a PC or an NPC. If an NPC then the ref has more control, however players may find this frustrating as they want to do their own thing. However PC command can lead to bad feeling or this:
Command PC: "Do this,"
Normal PC: "No,"
Command PC: "Ok, now I either have to shoot him for disobeying my orders or I send him off the line,"
Ref: "either way that's new character please".
This is an extreme example but not beyond the realms of possibility.
Also do you make the party entirely autonomous from the start or do you give them some remote NPC commander that gives them a mission and then leaves it to the players what to do.

5) close plotting vs loose plotting vs player driven plot: Do you properly write the plot really closely and confine it so that there is little wiggle room by the players, do you plot it loosely and give more control to the players or do you just set up the world and leave the players to it.
This is really hard and is largely down to ref and player preferance. It is a tough balancing act. Too much constriction and the players will either chafe at the restrictions and rebel, or they might blow up the game (No ref, we actually dislike elves and have no inclination to go and help them). Too little and players get bored and wonder what they could be doing instead.

Most of these are down to personal choice and is dependant on what style of game you want to run and who your players are. Personally I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

Does anyone have any more or any thoughts on the ones I've mentioned.

Spike

Because I can

Hey folks with the first journal entry actually being written at home, for the first time in GOd only knows how long.

So I was reading some information about someone that I respect and kind of admire when he got asked a question, his answer was quite uplifting and something that could possibly do with some discussion. 

He's a film critic and he was on a panel with another well known critic and the question that was asked was

"Which is your favourite kind of review to write, the bad reviews or the Good review."

The first critic stood up and said that he prefferred to write the bad reviews. Once you have written that you like a movie there's nowhere else to go, you can say which bits you liked or loved and that there is pretty much nothing else to say, however when reviewing a bad movie then the creative and hate filled juices really start to flow and you can get on with describing in minute detail how utterly horrifyingly bad a movie can be and how much you loathed it and how bad it made you feel.

My guy stood up and took him to task arguing that when you write a good review then you can still talk about how it made you feel, how a good romance could remind you of what it felt like to fall in love for the first time, and how a good action movie can take you away and transport you into another world, where men are men, women kick ass and the bad guys twirl their mustaches. A good movie can be uplifting just as much as a bad movie can be depressing and in describing that you can inspire more people to go and see a movie that deserves to be seen rather than wasting good column inches on a rubbish movie.

This got me to thinking. Is it actually more fun to talk about the bad things in life rather than the good things?

Just sitting here thinking about it, there is often a lot of talk about the bad movies/games/books than about thegood ones. We describe how annoyed we're getting with such and suchs game/character/book/movie and then go into considerable detail how about how terrible it is and how much it wanted to make us retch. A lot of the time when we discuss the good bits we say wasn't THAT great? and then move on, when instead we could talk about why it was great rather than why something else was bad.

Couldn't we, instead talk about the good things and use those things to reccommend a good book/movie/ref/game to our friends and hopefully make their lives a little bit better as a result, even if it's only a few hours in front of a TV screen where we take them to another world.

In other news, I've been taught how to meditate. 

Far out

Spike

Ommmmm

Hi folks,   the following post was written a few days ago

 

 

just cos I feel left out.

1)What do you think of farmers? You think they're saints? Hah! They're foxy beasts! They say, "We've got no rice, we've no wheat. We've got nothing!" But they have! They have everything! Dig under the floors! Or search the barns! You'll find plenty! Beans, salt, rice, sake! Look in the valleys, they've got hidden warehouses! They pose as saints but are full of lies! If they smell a battle, they hunt the defeated! They're nothing but stingy, greedy, blubbering, foxy, and mean! God damn it all! But then who made them such beasts? You did! You samurai did it! You burn their villages! Destroy their farms! Steal their food! Force them to labour! Take their women! And kill them if they resist! So what should farmers do?  Seven Samurai, guessed by BrightRoar

2) We have an unusual problem here, Jane. You obviously want me dead, and I'm less and less concerned for your well-being. 

3)But I was hoping to meet a girl on the Australian trip!
No man, African war zone; ship of death! 

4)My dear Adso, we must not allow ourselves to be influenced by irrational rumors of the Antichrist, hmm? Let us instead exercise our brains and try to solve this tantalizing conundrum. 

5) SWAN!!!  Hot Fuzz as guessed by Bodybag Pilgrim

6) I knew a sailor once, got tangled in the rigging. We pulled him out, but it took him five minutes to cough. He said it was like going home.  The Prestige, as guessed by Moradrel

7)I thought you were supposed to go into shock! I'm not in shock! It fuckin' hurts! 

8) The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.  The fellowship of the Ring, Guessed by BrightRoar

9) That's right. During the filming of 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,' three of the horsemen died two weeks before the ending of principle photography. This is nothing, this is nothing. This is... this is... this is act one- The War.

10) And that's how she got to the same party as me. Oh shit. I skipped something. Damn it. This whole robot bit. I made a big deal, then I like totally forgot. Fuck, this is bad narrating. Like my dad telling a joke. "Oh, wait back up. I forgot to tell you the cowboy rode a blue horse." Fuck. Anyway, I don't know if you want to see it now, but here's the fucking robot stuff for your viewing pleasure. Can I say "fuck" more? 

11) There's a diffrence between a failure and a fiasco. A failure is merely the absence of success. Any fool can achieve failure. But a fiasco, a fiasco is a disaster of epic propotions. A fiasco is a folk tale told to other's to make other people feel more alive because it didn't happen to them. 

12) One time, I was at this party... and I was sitting on the couch with Amanda McKinney. She was just sitting there, looking beautiful. So, I lean in to kiss her, and I realize I have gum in my mouth. So, I turn to spit it out and put it in a paper cup. I turn back, and Amanda McKinney throws up all over herself. I knew the moment it happened, it was a miracle. I could have been kissing her when she threw up. It would have scarred me for life. I may never have recovered.

13) No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!  The Incredibles, Guessed by BrightRoar

14)We are now up against live, hostile targets. So, if Little Red Riding Hood should show up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bitch.  Dog Soldiers as guessed by Bodybag Pilgrim

15) I spent four hours on the internet and I couldn't find one single case of a 16-year-old girl's heart just stopping. I spoke to three different doctors and not one of them could tell me exactly what happened to my daughter. 

16) If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.  Pirates of the Carribean The curse of the Black Pearl, Guessed by BrightRoar

17) You're ghostin' us, motherfucker. I don't care who you are back in the world, you give away our position one more time, I'll bleed ya, real quiet. Leave ya here. Got that? 

18) Guess she don't like the cornbread either

19)Oh... guys? Don't stay in here all day. I had to take the batteries out of the carbon monoxide detector; it was beeping all night.

20) You're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen.