What Else Is There To Do?

In a previous post - All We Do Is Fight - I lamented that when playing most Fantasy RPGs, it seems like the sessions consist of one uninspired battle after another and little else. 

This isn't really the case of course; there are usually roleplaying moments sprinkled here and there. Even so, the overall feeling I get is that of a monotonous slugfest and I end up getting pretty bored pretty quickly. 

As noted in the commemts of my prior post, most Open World/Sandbox RPGs in other genres don't appear to suffer this problem or at least not to the same degree. Let's see if we can import some ideas from those games over to Fantasy and answer the burning question, 'What else is there to do in a Fantasy game besides Combat?'

First, let's go over non-combat activities one might undertake during a typical dungeon crawl. It kind of surprises me that I've not seen these used much (if at all) in the last half dozen or so Fantasy outings I've participated in.

Other things you can do in a dungeon include: Environmental Hazards, Exploration and Mapping, Negotiating with Intelligent NPCs, Puzzle and Riddle Solving, and defeating Traps.

Great, now that that's out of the way let's go have some real fun...

Build

I wrote earlier this year about my penchant for having the Player Characters in RPGs not be Murderhobos but rather have a Base, a place to call headquarters and/or home. In old D&D I recall that building a stronghold of some kind was a thing at 10th level or what have you but why? That is, why wait until then? With the amount of gold and other treasures the PCs amass by the half-way mark (somewhere between 5th and 6th level lets say), a decent sized party of adventurers should be able to afford a small domicile in the campaign city or even a decently large place on the outskirts on the outskirts of one of the smaller towns. 

Building isn't limited to bases. In one of my Winghorn Guard campaigns, the PCs were assigned to an outpost in what would best be described as a environment much like that of New Mexico. A 'Keep on the Borderlands' if you will (wink). Water was scarce and farming difficult. This got two of the Player Characters thinking. One was a mechanically minded Dwarf and the other an Eastern Monk/Mage type who could command water (think a Waterbender from Avatar: The Last Airbender). Together they worked to aid the Baron and his people by helping to construct additional wells and an irrigation system.

Another campaign saw the PCs discover an old, abandoned port town with a dilapidated pier and docks. They vanquished the undead sea monster that haunted the place and as a reward as the King if he would grant them the port so they could restore it. He agreed and over the course of the campaign they turned the ruined town into a thriving place once again. 

D&D PCs do so much destroying. Try Building something for a change!

Explore

I've always wanted to run a Fantasy version of Traveller or Star Trek; the Player Characters are the owners of or officers on a Sailing Ship, traveling across the open sea to find far off lands, meet new peoples and monsters, and discover the ruins of ancient civilizations. I've come close, using elements of this idea to influence other campaigns I've run (see below) but I've never done a game dedicated to exploring the Magical Medieval Final Frontier.

This could link to many of the other ideas such as Commerce, Politics, and of course Survival. Maybe you're not just exploring for its own sake but in order to open and expand trade routes. Your kingdom could be on the look out for resources but so are rival kingdoms in the same vicinity. Once you reach your new, uncharted land you're going to need to find food, shelter, and a way to adapt to the climate and terrain. Plus, there will surely be people and/or monsters there so Social Interactions and Combat are a possibility as well. 

One of the things I love most about Space Adventure Sci-Fi is that the PC group usually has their own Starship. I've discussed this many times but a Starship provides a safe haven, a means of transportation, a weapon, and many other features that spice up a campaign, giving the PCs and the GM more adventure options. Why can't a D&D party have a seagoing vessel that serves much the same purpose? Perhaps XP and/or Gold can be spent customizing their ship. They could go on a quest to have the ship enchanted to do something incredible like travel underwater or have the figurehead at the prow speak. The ship itself yelling out, "Pirates on our Starboard!" or "Land Ho!" would be awesome. 

Maybe an XP bonus if you're the first to discover and name a new land, species, etc.?

Trade

Trade is a major element of the Traveller RPG and to be honest, I've always wondered why it isn't a big part of Medieval Fantasy games. Not only are Fantasy RPGs classically driven by an obsessive search for wealth but they paradoxically have little to actually spend that money on. Hopefully this section will give players and GMs some inspiration on what to do with all that coin. After all, you have to spend money to make money.

Sell: Crawling into underground labyrinths in order to slay horrible monsters and steal their valuables is no way for a decent person to make a living. Don't you have any marketable skills or talents? If so, have you ever considered starting your own business? You know, selling your services or crafts to those with capital who are in need of what you've got? 

In campaigns past I've seen Player Characters start and run taverns, mercenary companies, and a shop that buys and sells magical components and items. One idea I like related to this is having a set of alternative, lower level PCs who can mind the store while your main PCs go off on adventures to find materials, ingredients, suppliers, etc., or vice versa. You could also mix and match in a 'Troupe Play' style similar to Ars Magica.

Does your business have to pay taxes to the Duke? Protection money to the Thieves' Guild? Maybe you've got some kind of deal with the powers that be in exchange for the PCs assistance when special circumstances arise. I hear you can get a major tax cut if you're the party that killed the invading goblin horde. 

Shop: Shopping is the bane of many gamers' existences, gamemasters and players alike. I've spoken to more than a few gamers who simply hate 'shopping episodes'; session where nearly the entire time is taken up by buying gear. Others absolutely love to go shopping in-game, sampling the wonderous wares of a medieval marketplace and interacting with a multitude of merchants.

Personally, I'm in the latter camp but with a distinct caveat; I like shopping trips the way I do them (and any GMs who handles them in a similar way). Basically, if you want to spend X number of silver and gold coins on more rope, some flint and tinder, and another 20 arrows, you can just do so. You don't need to roleplay that out. That's 'off camera', behind the scenes type stuff.

You roleplay shopping when you want to order a custom suit of armor for your familiar from a lady blacksmith your contact in the next town over recommended. You can discuss details, negotiate price, get to know this unusual smith and maybe add a new contact to your list in the process. You roleplay shopping when you want to get the lowdown on local gossip and rumors from the Barkeep who's Tavern you've been frequenting for nearly a year of adventures by now. 

My players have gotten to know many a shopkeeper, tavern wench, and traveling merchant over the decades of gaming in my D&D-But-Not world of Aerth. In that time they've gotten discounts, rare items, invites to special events, made contacts, friends, created rivals, and generally had a blast. Sprinkle in some unusual kiosks and storefronts selling exotic foods, rare potions, and even fantastical familiars and your players will be begging to visit the marketplace!

Don't think of shopping as merely an exercise in bookkeeping but an opportunity for world-building and roleplaying but with potential mechanical bonuses to boot!

Finally, something has to be said for a full on Merchant campaign, modeled on many a classic Traveller game as mentioned above. Forget simply buying and selling, you could be the ones transporting goods across the great seas of your world! Navigating safer and/or faster routes, dealing with pirates,  making deals that benefit entire nations and drop a pretty penny in your own pockets as well. 

I feel like am barely scratching the surface here. There are sooo many other things a PC/Party could get into I would need a whole book to discuss them all. There's Crafting Items, Creating Spells, Politics and Court Intrigue, Religion, and of course, Romance. The toughest part of making this post was trying to figure out where to begin and where to end!

I'll finish here for now but I'd love to hear from you all out there - What non-combat activities do you and/or your gaming group enjoy? 

Now on to more harrowing Halloween fun...

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Barking Alien

Who's Who and What's That

Variation of the Ghostbusters Logo based on

the operning of 'The Real Ghostbusters'

Design by That's Art Folk

The book 'Who's Who and What's That' - an up-to-date copy of which is located in the Ghostbusters Firehouse Library; specifically in the second bookcase, third shelf, dead center - is a resource for the occult and paranormal community that is more accessible to the layman than the rarer and more obscure Spate's Catalog or Tobin's Spirit Guide. 

The tome serves as a highly useful reference to those interested in identifying the wide variety of spectral entities and supernatural miscreants one can encounter in the defense of our world from theirs. With Halloween approaching, it is very likely your Ghostbusters franchise is about to get really busy. The information in this book should be be quite helpful, so we here at The Home Office would like to point to a few key entries that our research tells us are likely to pop up...

It has been established in our own Ghostbusters canon that the weeks leading up to Halloween get busier and busier, often culminating in a major incident around October 31st. While you never know what might manifest during this time, there are certain beings more likely to appear than others. 

***

Note that Who's Who and What's That introduces some additional and alternative Descriptors applicable to the Ghostbusters CDI System.

Conditional: A wide ranging Descriptor that covers any entities who manifest when a specific condition is met. The criteria can be nearly anything, from 'Appears in the evening of the first day of Autumn, usually at sundown, every year', to 'Whenever someone says the ghost's name three times'. Sometimes referred to as Triggered, this Descriptor can be seen in the description of The Fall Bearer (aka The Ghost of Rottinghume Manor), as well as below. 

Paired: Most PKE Manifestations appear singularly, one being appearing by itself. On occasion, multiple ghosts will appear simultaneously or come into being separately and then gather together. In specific instances, there will be ghosts that only appear in a group; none of the individuals can or do appear without the others. This type of manifestion receives the Descriptor Grouped. A less common but notable variation of this is Paired; when two entities appear together and only together. Paired Ghosts have a connection with each other that makes tougher to deal with in unison. Remember the Scoleri Brothers? They're a perfect example of Paired paranormal beings.

Tempered: Rare Descriptor indicating a spectral being who places a self-imposed limit on the nature or amount of damage and chaos it causes. This sort of entity will only create mayhem up to the point of its own choosing. 

Examples of this would be a ghost who tries to terrify everyone except small children, whom it shows kindness towards, or one that screams and throws things so long as no one is looking at it.

Sometimes the criteria it has set for itself is subtle or at least not especially obvious at first (such as Sweet Tooth - see below).

These beings should not be confused with those who deserve the Descriptor Constrained or [less commonly] Restricted. These ghosts are limited by some being or condition outside themselves. 

***

The Halloween Hater

AKA: The Ghost of the Grand Market Mall T-Mart, Foresaken Clerk

CDI: Focused, Conditional Repeating Phantom or a Class IV Full-Roaming Fog.

The Halloween Hater is a ghost with a grudge against the holiday and her goal is to take the fun out of the spooky season every year it comes around. In life it is believed she was a Puritan Woman by the name of Foresaken Clerk (an earlier version of the name Clarke, generally referring to a scribe). She was critical of her Irish and Scottish neighbors, specifically angered by their annual All Hallow's Eve celebrations. Each year she would dress up in festivity appropriate garb and sabotage the holiday activities. She was finally caught by a young Irish girl who pointed out Foresaken was participating by pulling 'tricks' on her kinfolk, all while in disguise. Flustered and infuriated, Foresaken ran back home but accidentally fell in a ditch, hit her head on a rock, and died. 

Fast forward to modern times and the popular discount department store T-Mart, taking up a large portion of the Grand Market Mall, is haunted by Foresaken's ghost, which appears every year as soon as Halloween themed candy and costumes go on sale. Her main goal is to either damage the display and merchandise or frighten away customers. Things have escalated in the last two years as a new manager thought of using Foresaken's presence as a means of bringing people in to the store. 'Don't be a Halloween Hater!', say signs showing an illustration of Foresaken, 'Come to T-Mart, your one-stop Scary Fun Shop!'.

Foresaken is not amused.

The Halloween Hater appears as a full-torso apparition that looks like a Puritan Woman in her early 20s. She wears clothing typical of New England Puritan women of the late 16th or early 17th century. The ghost has no clear feet, as is typical of full-torso entities, and instead 'ends' in a dimly glowing fog. Her head covering hides the exact spot where Foresaken's skull collided with the stone that did her in. The horrible wound beneath is visible when Foresaken uses her Frightening Visage ability. One important detail is that she appears with a journal or diary of some kind, one which she will do anything to protect. The Halloween Hater will not let anyone touch this book, whatever it is. 

In addition to transitioning into a Terrifying Visage and being able to Physically Push things, Foresaken has a rather limited but strangely effective psychokinetic ability, Psychokinetic Trip. This causes anyone targeted to trip over nothing and fall prone if the Halloween Hater gets more Successes than the person's Athletics Attribute. Note, this is not 'if she gets more Successes than the target does when they make an Athletics roll'. This is more Successes than the target's stat. For example: If she tries to trip Professor Gabriel Zimmerman, she needs to roll 3 or more Successes, as his Athletics stat is 3. He does not get an Athletics Defense Roll as the attack is invisible and essentially comes from nowhere.

Now, if he knew an attack was coming and he decided to run, Foresaken would have to get 6 or more Successes as Zimmerman has the Signature Skill 'Run' at 6 Dice and that would be an appropriate defense. Again, not a Defense Roll but a better chance of avoiding the attack and its effects. It's less about distance and more about Foresaken being able to concentrate on a clear target. 

Scenario Idea: A local female celebrity of some kind (influencer, musican, politican)  comes into the T-Mart to buy some Halloween stuff for herself and maybe some friends or her kids. The Halloween Hater goes crazy! Foresaken keeps tripping the woman and anyone she's with, frightening them and pushing displays on top of them. Turns out the woman is a descendant of the Irish girl who pointed out Foresaken's hypocrisy almost 200 years ago. 

Sweet Tooth

AKA: The Candy Counter Ghost

CDI: Focused, Tempered, Non-Terminal Repeating Phantasm or a Class V Free-Roaming Vapor

First appearing in Brooklyn, NY around the end of the 19th Century, the 'Candy Counter Ghost', later dubbed 'Sweet Tooth', became the bane of the numerous immigrant candy makers who established New York as the [now unsung] capital of the candy world. As more and more confectioners came to New York City and set up shop, the menace of the gluttonous Sweet Tooth ghost grew greater and greater.

This Phantasm traditionally appears and wrecks havoc in candy stores or sweets factories, eating everything in sight from jujyfruits to junior mints, then suddenly stopping and disappearing once again. This has been its pattern for decades.

A few renowned occultists in the late 30s surmised that this particular Vapor ate as much as it liked but never so much as to completely eliminate its food source. That is to say, it never consumes so much candy that any of the confection crafters is preys on are forced to go out of business. Still, it haa hurt the livelihoods of a great many people and continues to do so whenever it reappears.

Personally, I would lean into this and have the entity wrestle with the paradox; it loves candy and will consume all it can but not too much 'cause then there won't be any candy and the candy makers will go away. At the same time, there is sooo much candy! Why not eat it all! Oh wait... It's enough to drive a Reoccurring Phantasm mad! 

Many of Sweet Tooth's appearances across the past 100+ years have been random, however it's guaranteed to show up during candy focused holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and especially Halloween.

The Candy Counter Ghost resembles a typical Class V Vapor upon first manifesting; the entity is off-white in color and appears to be made of soft chewing gum, taffy, or stale marshmallow. As Sweet Tooth consumes candy he begins to take on blotches of color as if stained by the lollipops and gumdrops he's eaten. Sweet Tooth also gradually increases in size during its treat consumption rampage.

Another side effect, and one that relates to Sweet Tooth's only unique supernatural ability, is that its Ectoplasmic Residue becomes thicker than average, turns pink and/or lime green, and extremely sticky. The Phantasm uses this syrupy slime to hinder or trap pursuers. In addition to passing through things and leaving Ectoplasm behind, Sweet Tooth is able to project it forward, downward, or backwards out from its lower torso. (Opponents Slimed are at a -1D penalty to all rolls for one round per Sweet Tooth's Successes using Extra Sticky Slime in addition to normal Slime rules). 

While Sweet Tooth always appears during Candy-centric holidays, it isn't considered 'Conditional' because it appears randomly at other times as well. 

Scenario Idea: A posh new Candy Pop-Up Shop opens and its taking a lot of customers and money away from a veteran, Mom-and-Pop confectioner whose been around since the early 20th century. The latter finds an incantation in an old book that enables them to summon Sweet Tooth and sick'em on the competition.

Trick and Treat

AKA: The Terrible Trick or Treat Twins

CDI: Paired Non-Terminal Repeating Spectres or Class Vs Free-Roaming Masses

These two peculiar paranormal perps were difficult to classify but were eventually given the designation of Class Vs (Class Five-'S') They seem to manifest as sentient, mobile Halloween costumes, usually simple bedsheet ghosts, roughly the size of middle school children. They possess a faint green glow (like glow-in-the-dark' toys from the 80s) that is much more easily seen at night (like glow-in-the-dark toys from the 80s). Note that they have feet and wear rubber soled boots or perhaps high-top sneakers. In addition to their costumes and footwear, the 'Twins' (as they are often called) carry plastic Jack O' Lanterns often filled with candy. Note that these are real, not Ectoplasmic, though everything else about them is. 

The exact origin of these two entities is a mystery. They first started to appear in urban and suburban areas along the Eastern Coast of the United States during the mid-to-late 1930s. They disappeared following the Great Depression, with no known reports of them again until well after World War II. Since the early 1970s they appear in a far wider range of geographic areas, though exclusively within the continental USA. 

When the Sun begins to set on the night of October 31s, these two ghosts will appear amid all the other local trick or treaters and try to blend in with the crowds. They will never go more than a few feet from each other, tend to lag behind largely groups, and rarely speak or interact with anyone durings these times. When they do their voices sound like raspy male children around 12 years of age. They keep their sentences short and use a limited vocabulary. 

Trick and Treat's M.O. is to wait under there is no one else in front of a house or apartment and then knock on the door saying, 'Trick or Treat' in unison. If they are given candy, they give the person a nod or slight bow before leaving to the next house. On occasion, Treat has even been known to say thank you.

If they are given anything else...fruit, money, chapstick..they will stand in front of the person for an awkwardly long moment in complete silence before slowly walking off. Trick will then egg the house, throw toilet paper all over it, or some other suitably childish 'revenge'. Now, if they are given nothing, the consequences can be much more severe. Trick has been known to let all the air out of someone's tired, stick rocks up their tailpipe, leave flaming ectoplasm poop on the person's doorstep, and in one instance 'he' dropped fireworks down their chimney into an active fireplace.

The response is also effected by how the person in the home is perceived. If they give nothing but explain they are poor, retired and can't easily get to the store, or some other reasonable excuse, Trick is much more lenient. If the person in the house is nasty to the pair in any way, Trick's actions will scale up accordingly. 

On some occasions, Treat will feel bad for someone who has very little but gives the pair some sort of candy, even if its a single chocolate kiss or life-saver. When this happens, he will leave them candy! Usually it is a lollipop or candy bar. 

Both Trick and Treat have the ability to Manifest Objects from seemingly nowhere and can Physically Move things roughly equivalent to what the average adult Human can lift and move. 

Scenario Idea: Trick and Treat enter an area where no one seems to be home. Trick wants to wreck havoc, Treat wants him to wait. Finally they discover a Halloween Party for the neighborhood kids and their families being thrown at your Ghostbusters HQ. The Twins will knock and if invited in, they'll participate in the fun a little before disappearing and leaving behind a bunch of candy. If barred from entering, scrutinized, or otherwise made to feel unwelcome, Trick will cause all manner of chaos - up to and including shutting down the Power Grid!

That's all for now. Remember Ghostbusters, Another Ghost, Another Dollar.

Who ya gonna call?

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Barking Alien

Spooky Wishes and Pumpkin Spice Dreams

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's October and you know what that means! It's time for all the jumpin' jack o' lantern, ghastly, ghoulish, freaky fun we can muster here at Boooing Alien! Muwahahaha!

Ain't she a Scream?

What's up my Beastly Buds and Paranormal Pals? I've got a ton of hearty horror and spooky silliness planned for this 'Ectober', including but hopefully not limited to: 

Campaigns and One-Shots I Have Known returns with creepy campaigns and spectral scenarios of Halloweens Past.

Some frightfully funky game ideas, like Scare Score and Morbid Curiousity.

Material for my homebrew Ghostbusters RPG including new Ghosts, new Ghostbusting Gear, and even some Adventure Ideas! 

Fortified with Essential Violence and Ministers!

Last year I had big Halloween blogging plans that amounted to a lot of nothing. Dead on Arrival one might say.

This year I began prepping a few months back so I should (hopefully) have enough material to really make a go of it. Last year's Halloween will Rise from the Dead and Stalk the Living, this time for sure!

Expect to see other posts as well, those of a non-Samhain nature that is, as I still have a few things on my mind from before the coming Spooktacular.

So get out your cauldron, surround yourself in a cloud of darkness, and light a candle inside that pumpkin.

Barking Alien is going full-on Haunted Mode!

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Barking Alien

All We Do Is Fight

One of my biggest disappointments when I play Fantasy RPGs as a player is that it all comes down to combat. 

What? This again?!

It often starts out very promising; there's a story afoot, a chance for exploration, possible character interactions, and then...the fighting starts. The problem is, it never stops. It's followed by another encounter with hostiles, and then another, and before long everything you do ends in violence. 

Sure, Combat is a major element of TRPGs in general and let's be clear, I'm not a gaming pacifist who never wants to see some action of the physical conflict variety. It just feels as if in most of the Fantasy games [specifically] I've been in, that's all there is. 

At best, World-Building and Character Interaction feel a little on the light side. At worst, the game is just one boring fight bleeding into the next, none of them particularly distinctive or memorable. Fantasy, for all its tactical features, wide-range of weaponry and armor, and of course magical spells, features some really boring combat. 

I'm not sure what it is about Fantasy combat but I usually find it very bland and flat. It doesn't feel kinetic or dynamic as I've suggested incorporating in the past.  Part of the issue, in my experience and opinion, is that Fantasy combat is always so heavily regulated. The place where the crunch is loudest in these sorts of games is often in the encounter mechanics, making fights long, slow, and tedious.

There is also the typical Pass/Fail nature of the Attack Rolls in the majority of Fantasy games. As I've discussed elsewhere, this often results in a situation where if you didn't build your character 'correctly', you are likely to miss fairly often. A miss, followed by a round of other people's actions, followed by the high chance of missing again results in wondering why you're even there. In a small party of 3 players and their PCs this might not be so bad but imagine a [decently sized] group of 5 or more participants. It can be grueling for even the most patient of gamers.

So what can be done?

Don't play Fantasy Games. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 

What? You want more? Fine. I've really spoiled you all...

I think some ways of improving the bog standard Fantasy fight are probably pretty obvious; changing up the terrain, actually making said terrain matter mechanically, using opponents placed above and/or below the battlefield, and use of evocative descriptions. Nothing you haven't heard of or thought of before.

That said, please bare in mind that 'mechanically mattering terrain' need not only hinder or impede the PCs. It should be something they can use as easily as it might be used against them. I've had PCs in snow covered Tundra slip on the icy ground or have their actions penalized because of the frigid cold but also let them throw snowballs at opponents and escape by sliding down the snow covered hills on their shields. 

Battle in the sky, underwater, while swinging across a jungle chasm on vines, or any other non-typical way of trading blows with adversaries!

I also think a Fantasy game that functions less like a 50+ year old wargame and more like...get this...a Fantasy game...might be really fun. I always find it hilarious that in a game of flying carpets, elves shooting fiery balls of death from their hands, and treasure chests that try to eat you, so much attention is paid to...teehee...tactical realism. Realism! Bwahahaha-ha-ha!

Fantasy? Yes.

Realistic? Muwa-Bwahahaha-ha-ha!

It's pretty clear to me that most Game Designers haven't been in any real fights. I'm not talking about serving in the military; that is a completely different experience that has very little to do with the kind of combat you see in most RPG campaigns. Complex strategy doesn't really apply when five or six people jump four others in a dark, dank tunnel or the your group of pals is suddenly accosted by a bear-sized chicken covered in scales with a snake-like tail.

Let's see some moves like finding that one weak spot in a Dragon's armored body or spraying an area with holy water or greek fire to watch a horde of undead burn. Sure, it's super exciting to have the power of...um..*read read read*...not getting a penalty in Mounted Combat. Cool. Wow. I am beside myself with how great that -yawn- is. 

Finally (for now...), give the players something else to do. What can happen in your world of mystery, magic, and monsters shouldn't be limited to just stabbing things or bonking them on the head. Yes Combat can be great for getting the blood pumping and the mind racing but if that is all there is it makes the game seem simplistic and unimaginative.

It's like looking out upon a grand vista of wonders and saying, "Can you believe all this is open to us? Let's go find an animal and hit it with a rock."

Really? That's the best Fantasy can do?

Humans. *Shakes head*

In a follow-up post I will discuss other things PCs could be doing other than fighting. I will also introduce an idea that I've talked about before but which appears to blow people's minds when I bring it up.

See you soon,

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Barking Alien

The Bright Side of Light Games

JB, Wizard King of Curmudgeons, made a post on his blog B//X BLACKRAZOR wherein he speaks extensively (and then some!) about the 'wrong-bad'TM evils of 'Light Games'.

I recommend going over there and reading it, though be aware it might take some time to do so, perhaps even multiple sittings.  

The post gave me the idea to write one of my own about how awesome Light Games can be, as many of my current favorites fall into that category.

To be clear, this isn't a 'Point-Counterpoint' response and I don't intend to get into a debate with JB. His reasoning and opinions are his own and needn't be argued with by the likes of me. He is a very particular fellow with a very particular view of a very particular game.

I don't like that game. I don't enjoy playing or running it. I would much rather spend my limited free time with the great many games I do enjoy and, as stated, a lot of these would be considered 'Light Games'. 

Now, Light Games is not a term I think I've heard or seen very often, so you'll see me interchange it here with the term I'm more accustomed to, 'Rules Lite'. Also, I will be addressing the subject in very general terms, mentioning specific TRPGs as examples or points of reference when and where it's useful. 

Take it Light

Let's get the obvious and expected reasons for liking Rules Lite games out of the way first; Simpler rules and fewer of them means the game is easier to learn, explain, prep for, run, and play. In addition, play is usually faster as everything from Character Creation, to Combat, Task Resolution, and Experience/Character Improvement has less complexity to it. 

As we get older we have more responsibilities and less free time. Assuming the average adult TRPG enthusiast has maybe 24 free hours of leisure time and only 4 or 5 of those alloted to actually playing their game of choice, do you want to spend that time agonizing over mechanics and looking up rules in your preferred corebook during a session or would you rather use that time to do research, find cool images, and then hit the ground running and proceed at a smooth, exciting pace?  

I'm sure for some the answer is, "I like worrying about all 6 PC's Encumbrance Initiative Modifier! Give me so much crunch my breakfast cereal is gravel!" Well OK then, go for it! Knock yourself out. For the rest of us, we want to get to the part where we explore the game world and defeat monsters. We'll be doing just that while you're still looking up the Movement Rules by Terrain and Weather in Chapter 25.B. 

A Little Light Reading

In the time it takes to learn, let alone master, some of the more crunchy, complex TRPGs, one could get a working knowledge of a half dozen Rules Lite games. This allows you and your group to sample a variety of different approaches to mechanics, genres, and settings. One of the big hurdles I heard about when trying to get gamers to try a new games is they don't want to take the time to learn a whole new set of rules. That makes sense if you are only familiar with rules that take a long time to learn. 

Learning 6 Rules Lite games in the time it takes to learn one Rules Heavy one may sound like an exaggeration but consider my own experience and obession passionate interest in Japanese Tabletop Roleplaying Games.

It took me less time to fully translate and understand Meteor City-Star Rainy Days, Tokyo Ghost Research, and the recently obtained Zookyo Island (basically a Crime Drama/Thriller take on Disney's Zootopia) then it did to get a handle on the Cypher System. Cypher isn't super Rules Heavy per say but compared to the the games I mentioned above, it feels almost cumbersome.

I've said many times in the past that my feeling is most RPGs are 20-30 page workable games buried under 300+ pages of overthinking and unnecessary junk. Sometimes you'll find a game where those 30 pages are more than workable; they're downright good! Maybe really good! It's also possible some of those 300+ extra pages contain some interesting and useful stuff. It just like game designers over design and over write the majority of games on the market.

Cypher comes in at 450 pages [for the PDF]. Meteor City is 58 pages, Tokyo Ghost Research is just 28 pages, and Zookyo Island is 40 pages respectively. That makes those three games together 324 pages less than Cypher. See what I mean? Much easier to read through all of those in less than half the time it would take to read the core Cypher rulebook. 

My point isn't 'Smaller is Better'. My point is simpler and less complex is easier to comprehend and explain to others. It's each to remember as well. If done well, it means a more direct design that gets to the crucial features quickly.

Light on My Feet

Another benefit related to the above is the ability to ad lib and improvise feels much easier in Rules Light games. There is less of a concern/fear that making a decision on the fly is going to have rippling ramifications that 'ruin the game' for everyone involved. 

Especially with games where the base Task Resolution mechanic is the same for virtually any and all actions, if you are unsure how to ajudicate something, default to that base mechanic. Easy peasy. And once again, since a mistake or bad call is unlikely to impact a dozen other sub-systems, if your judgement wasn't perfect you come up with something better for next time without much muss or fuss. 

In full transparency I just couldn't get into the Cypher System and complete acknowledge my difficulty in wrapping my head around it isn't due to its complexity but rather how the rules are explained and all the subsystem elements that I find don't gel with my gaming style. 

Light on Calories, Heavy on Flavor

I'm a tinkerer. It's who I am. I like to customize, modify, kitbash, and adjust things just so. 

It is much easier to change or even add rules to a Light Game. Too many houserules and adjustments to a Rules Heavy RPG can result in the whole thing collapsing around your ears. Rules Light games are far more forgiving in this regard. 

I remember my first [and arguably] most successful long term 'Well Known Fantasy RPG' campaign. Over the course of the 4 years or so that I ran it (which included playing it several hours each day, Monday through Friday, in the Summers) I made a lot of modifications and houserules. Each one was specificallydesigned to give the game, the world, and the characters a certain feel. Eventually, I looked at my book of notes on the game and wondered, 'Am I really even playing Well Known Fantasy RPG anymore? If not, why am I still using it at all? Why not find or make a game that does all these things I want to do?' 

I admit it was fun to customize Well Known Fantasy Game but in the end I switched to a simpler, less rigid, more flexible set of rules that suited the game I was running much better. 

***

I could go on and on with this subject (not unlike JB did with his post) but I have other projects going on I'd like to get to - many related to what would definitely be considered Light Games. I hope I gave you some idea of why I personally love Rules Lite games so much. Honestly some of my favorite RPGs right now are Rules Lite and I would rather run and/or play any of them a thousand times over than have to sit through one of the clunky, slow dinosaurs of gamings heyday. 

Yes, I do love Champions [4E], Yes, I love Traveller. Those are the exceptions though, not the rule. 

Sign me up for ALIEN, Footprints in the Night, Ghostbusters (Original, InSpectres, Mine), Meteor City - Star Rainy Days, Smurfs, Star Trek Adventures*, Super Happy Sentai Hour, Teenagers from Outer Space, Tokyo Ghost Research, Zookyo Island, and more...

Stay tuned and see what pops up next,

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Barking Alien

*Star Trek Adventures is arguably not Rules Lite but it is essentially a much less complex game than any of the previous versions of Star Trek. In addition, I find it really easy to run and to me it has the same feel as many of the Light Games I enjoy. 

I also ignore 30% of the mechanics. 

Bye now!