February 2015 – Weird 8

The Companion is Finally Live!

The Masks of Nyarlathotep, if you didn’t know, is often hailed as the greatest Call of Cthulhu campaign of all time, and even gets logged as one of the all time great RPG campaigns of any genre. But one of its problems is that there is a lot of room left in the story — there are so many details undocumented, questions unanswered. It’s a great campaign but could really be so much greater.

More than five years ago, Bret Kramer came up with the idea of building a companion for the campaign, and the Kickstarter for that companion is finally live. Back in 2009 I wrote a number of pieces for the book, one of which was about how to run and organize the massive game. Apparently I had some good stuff to say, because it’s one of the first pieces in the book, and my name ended up on the cover.

There is a lot of vaporware in the tabletop RPG world — material that people write that never sees the light of day. The Companion was definitely heading toward that and I am so excited and proud that it is finally going to be published. I distinctly remember writing my Companion pieces on my deck in Oregon, with my work laptop in front of me and a beer next to me and trying very hard to stay focused on completing what I had agreed to. I was so desperate to complete something, to be a part of a project, and I had no idea it would take so long for it to see print.

More importantly, I really wanted to write something that other people would read and understand and be thankful for. My key contribution for the Companion is the keeper introduction, wherein I try to help keepers wrap their heads around the enormous task of running Masks. I really enjoyed writing the piece because I felt like I had something to say and the writing came easily and naturally. You mean people want to hear what I have to say about how to run a better game? I was glad to step up and write all I could on the matter.

And with the Kickstarter now up to 20k pounds (~$30k), it’s clear my contribution is part of the greater whole that people are excited to support. The project is finally a success, and though my part in the overall book (which is bigger than Masks itself) is relatively small, it’s huge for me.

For me, 2015 is a year of “out with the old” as I not only take care of some health issues that have been dogging me for a while, but also try to clear my backlog of personal and writing projects. That the Masks Companion is finally done and going to print is very cathartic to me as it validates some efforts that have been sitting around for at least five years, and allows me to move onto other pastures.

The timing couldn’t be better.

4 Keys to Preparing for Successful Con Games

This weekend is one of my favorites for the whole year — Dundracon, the longest running gaming convention in the San Francisco Bay Area, is here! I have been attending DDC since seventh grade and, aside from some gaps in the mid-90s, I’ve been to most of them since. I love DDC for many reasons — it’s got all sorts of games, is run very well, and all my friends go there — and every year I run (at least) one official RPG that both keeps my GMing skills hot and gets me in the door for free.

Last year I ran HWLL twice and it was too much. When you’re running your own RPG, especially when it’s tied to an in-progress Kickstarter, there is a lot of pressure to do it right. Running two games last year was too much of that pressure and I promised myself I would run only one official game this year. Well, I may be running only one official game, but I have been pressured into (okay – volunteered, I’m an attention slut and I just love running games too much) running two more games, so now am running three games — one Trail of Cthulhu, one 5th edition D&D, and my own Cthulhu Dark scenario Sun Spots.

The TOC and D&D games are really just for friends, are not “official” games where I have to wonder at what sort of gamers I will get, and will start when I get my friends together, not at a specific time. They’re also written by other people, which is something I don’t normally do but realized that was the only way to run additional games and not lose my mind. But still, it takes effort to run a good game, whether official or not, and I want to cover the things that I do to prepare for running RPGs at conventions.

The feedback I get tells me I run a pretty good game, but not only am I always looking to improve my game, I also hold myself to pretty high standards. I also know some pretty awesome GMs who do many of the same things I do to prep for their games and I like to steal good ideas whenever I can. Here are some things I’ve found are key to running a great RPG at a convention:

Own It – First and foremost: be a goddam professional. You need to treat this like your job, and show up firing on all cylinders. To start, whatever it takes, show up 10-15 minutes early, all your materials in hand and ready to go. There is nothing that builds early player skepticism than having all the players sitting at the table 10 minutes early but the GM is 10 minutes late (this happened to me last year). Especially if you are fortunate enough to have people show up early because your game is overbooked, you want to show that this is your game. Then, start on time, unless you need to wait for pre-registered players. Even then, only wait ten minutes maximum. If a player can’t make it to your game by then, too bad. And again, if you’re lucky enough to have a full game and people are waiting to get in (what a compliment!), communicate directly with them on what they can and cannot expect. For me, I take players first-come, first-served, and will take the names of people like waiting for a table in a restaurant. Other GMs randomize. Regardless, communicate what your plan is, how many possible spots you have, and set expectations out the game. Own the game from the go and your players will quickly realize who is in charge.
Provide Everything They Need – I know it seems odd, but some GMs barely provide enough to get the game going. You, as a player, must provide dice, pencils, scrap paper, etc. Some GMs may even expect you to bring paper to use for your character sheet. Screw those guys (it’s unprofessional). You bring PC sheets, probably already filled out as pregenerated characters, but hey why not also bring snacks, chocolate or even bourbon. I like my players to use special dice, so I bring those too. If I’m playing in a game I’ll bring the rulebook and other supplements to share. Basically, bring everything your players need to play your game — everyone will love you.
Be the Ball, Billy – What does your game look like when it’s a total success? Can you see it in your mind? Athletes have been using visualization for years to win medals, so why can’t you? Days before the con, picture in your mind how the story will go, where the fun/quiet/exciting parts are, and how the whole thing will end. See yourself and the whole group having a great time, see everyone creating great memories and collaborating on an amazing game, one that people talk about for years. Spend some time thinking about your game well in advance and give yourself room to improve and grow. Sure, it may not go perfectly, but the preparation will help you create the best possible experience.
Go Big or Go Home – Finally, if you’re running a game at a con, you have all the permission in the world to make your game as memorable as possible (as you’re not restricted by an ongoing campaign or your friends’ pre-existing expectations), so why not make it as great as possible? Just as you’re going to own it and be a professional, don’t be afraid to put all your eggs in one basket (as it were), killing, maiming and driving PCs mad, all with the goal of creating (with the help of your players) the best game everyone had all convention. Nothing bugs me more than a tame con game — people pay good money to come to a con, and it’s your job to make it worth their while. Bring all your best ideas, craziest stories and wild inspirations for your players. Whether this is just from creating cool props and PC sheets (see above) or by killing everyone off in one big explosion in the end, leave nothing out. Give people something to talk about, and they will tell their friends (awesome) and come back for more (even more awesome).

My Tour with Sleater-Kinney

I’m so blissfully ignorant. I’m on tour with Sleater-Kinney, covering their return to rock as a music journalist and it seems so damn quaint. They all still share a bed and hotel room together, and we laugh and joke as we get ready for their first show on their tour in Olympia, their original hometown.

I’m fitting in well for the first day. I call them “guys,” get to sleep in bed with them, and have started asking those probing questions that a serious rock journalist asks in order to build rapport in a short time. My question is “what is the fictionalized version of you like?” (Not a very good question, I admit.) Carrie answers, “just me but not real.” Corin wants to answer me later. Janet’s in the shower.

Then someone lights up a joint, which kicks off the fire alarm and everyone is heading out to the first show. Fred Armisen is with us, dressed in drag, and Corin shows me the tweet of mine she’s kept — in it, I declare my undying love to her as a rock goddess. She smiles and I wonder if I will end up kissing this woman.

Then my cousin shows up outside the hotel with a gun in his bag, which he fires into the air, and things turn weird and I shift and suddenly… I’m awake, it’s 3am, and it was all a dream. Oh, but for a moment what a beautiful dream.

Clearly Sleater-Kinney is on my mind. They’ve just released their eighth album, No Cities to Love, after an eight year hiatus, and it was well worth the wait. But I’m not going to provide a straight-up review of their album. With a score of 90 over at Metacritic, their new album clearly has all the positive reviews it needs. No — I want to talk about why Sleater-Kinney is so damn important to rock music.

See, the thing about the new record isn’t just that it’s great, that it sounds amazing, that Sleater-Kinney is back in full form, or that everyone agrees how amazing it is. Fact is, it may be the most important rock record of the decade. Because it’s not that easy to make an Important Rock Record these days, and those who attempt it face an uphill battle against every Important Rock Record that has been recorded before. But I’m pretty sure No Cities to Love is pretty fucking important.

First and most important, the album has momentum, is momentum. Right out of the gate with the first song, the album propels itself with an immediacy most bands would die for. This isn’t just about up-tempo songs — it’s about keeping the listener engaged with back-to-back energy that keeps you hooked, won’t let your attention slip. Song after song goes by, the longest still clocking in just four minutes, and each and every one means something. From the existential and practical crisis of opener “Price Tag” to the rock anthem guitar hook of the closer “Fade,” Sleater-Kinney knows how to construct song after song of immediate, focused rock. This band knows how to rock better than just about any band out there today and this album is the proof.

The band’s secret weapon in all this is Janet Weiss, perhaps the most underrated drummer in all of rock history. Much is continually said of Carrie and Corin, and people rarely take the time to understand how critical Janet is to the band, but good God this woman can drum. It’s not enough that Janet has rock-solid tempo and seems to find all the interesting spots between the dual guitar attack from the front of the stage. For such a straight-forward rock band, there is nothing straight-forward about Weiss and her drumming. Sure, she can provide the pounding and thumping needed to propel the rocker “Surface Envy” forward. But “Fangless” has a off-center funk that most drummers could not pull off, while “Gimme Love” has a mid-phrase hiccup that many drummers would not even know what to do with. With every song Weiss brings a wealth and wide spectrum of creativity and agility that is extremely rare in today’s music. There are very few touring bands with such an amazing backbeat and yet she gets no glory — she is truly a secret weapon.

All this leads me to Sleater-Kinney themselves — the real secret weapon. Sure, those in touch with indie rock know and worship the band appropriately. But they will never have the surprise Grammy win of The Arcade Fire, my parents will never like them, and most people won’t get past the howling vocals. Which is perhaps the biggest reason why they’re so important — part of rock music needs to go against the grain, to be counter-culture, to show what’s wrong with the status quo. Sleater-Kinney does just this. The ten songs on the new album clock in at under 40 minutes — again the immediacy is palpable — and they say things about our world that no one else says. This record shows how three women can make their own way in a world dominated from top to bottom by men and sacrifice nothing along the way. Finally, the band demonstrates how to pull of a come-back, returning to recording and touring on their own terms, all while refusing to compromise their songs, their sound, or their souls.

This all comes together in this Important Rock Album. And, really, it’s the true mark of a great rock band.