I'm not a fan of playing roleplaying games by email. My few experiences with this style of roleplaying have been mediocre at best and at times terrible. I had played out scenes of ongoing face-to-face campaigns and decided from there that I had no interest in this style of game. Sure, it was nice to play out one-on-one conversations via email, but any time a third character or GM was involved it became awkward. Plus, I found it very difficult to "feel" the character I was playing when the character would only say a few sentences in an email and then I would wait several hours or days for the reply.
So, I was a bit disappointed to find that Michael Kucharski's "Mercy and Forgiveness" Ambercon campaign was starting to have a lot of roleplaying via email after the con. Right away, players were emailing eachother and fleshing out some of the scenes in between scenes we played at the con. Still, I really enjoyed playing my character, Anoki, and I was willing to try.
It's almost six months later and while this experience has not changed my opinions of email gaming, it has given me some more insight in where email gaming shines. Some of the scenes between and Anoki and just one other character have really helped to define his relationships with these characters. It has also helped me to remember who he is. I may play Anoki in a game at Ambercon North, but if not for that I would not have played him for a year by the time next year's game came around. Thanks to the email roleplay, I am keeping the character fresh in my imagination.
One thing I have noticed is that some players/GMs are better than others at leaving you an opening and giving enough information in the email that the plot doesn't drag. Unfortunately, it's not always so. Sometimes the other player writes too much without leaving any obvious option in their text for the other player to insert their reactions. In one scene I played out with another player, his character had had poured a glass of gin from his bar, handed it to Anoki, made a toast and drank before I had a chance to reply. Anoki doesn't drink alchohol. (An admittedly rare thing amongst Amberites, Anoki does not drink for religious and social reasons.) The other problem I've had is when a player or GM doesn't give you much and the scene seems to crawl. If the GM is GMing a fight and all you email out each thrust, parry and maneuver, a scene takes forever and I quickly lose my interest. Another player character and Anoke have been fighting against some giant "wolf-like" creatures for weeks and my enthusiasm is long gone.
Gaming: "Mostly Diceless"
We played Unknown Armies last Thursday. The game system really fits the way I've always liked to play: "Mostly Diceless." I don't mind playing with no dice and I have nothing against games where dice is rolled a lot (Champions is one of my favorite games) but when I GM, I like to have the occasional dice roll. Most actions, even most fights, don't really require dice rolls. If your highly trained Knight meets up with an Orc guarding a Pie that he wants and he decides to fight him instread of offering to buy the Pie, then why bother rolling. The outcome is pretty much a given. The only time a dice roll should be required is when the outcome isn't a given AND it is important to the scenario. Otherwise, don't worry about it.
Of course, when the outcome is very important, it's nice to be able to let the dice fall where they may. I may have said this here before, but I'd like to say it again. As the GM, I want the players to succeed. I want them to live. The dice don't care. This adds a real threat to the game. They might not succeed. (In my games they usually do, but it's not a given. I don't think it should be.)
Unknown Armies seems to support this kind of roleplaying. The basic percentage that a skill is listed at is the chance that a character succeeds in the worst case scenario. Anything less and why require a roll?
Unfortunately, in last Thursday's game, I could tell the GM was not used to putting the dice aside. He had us roll for some pretty mundane things. I've never played with B. as a GM before, but I know he usually GMs a D&D game and it showed. Hopefully, this week he'll be more comfortable.
One of the things I'm really liking about UA is the "sanity" system. UA is a game of modern horror and magic. Like Call of Cthulu, characters will be exposed to all kinds of stress that could possible push someone over the edge. In CoC, Investigators are given sanity points that slowly deplete until the poor sould gets an all-expense paid trip to teh asylum. In UA, they broke the different types of sanity tests in to categories like "Supernatural", "Helplessness" and "Violence." When a character is exposed to these things they may become hardened that type of test or they may start losing points. Becoming harened against something can be almost as dangerous as losing it. A character who becomes very hardened to violence may shoot a hostage to get at the bad guy. The character is so desensitized to violence that they don't feel the wrongness of it anymore. "The girl was dead no matter what, Chief. I had to make sure the guy didn't escape."
My Champions group is going to be taking a break from the superhero gig again for a while starting this week. Bill has volunteered to run Unknown Armies. The system sounds really good. It's percintile based and sounds like a great alternative system for Amber roleplaying.
Here is how he described it in his email:
There are four stats in UA: Body, Speed, Mind, and Soul. You have 220
points to divide among all of them. 50 is human average, 70 is normally
human maximum, and 30 is considered atrophied or retarded. Soul, for
purposes of this game, is a rough mix of Ego and Charisma; it's your empathy
stat. I don't think I have to go over what all of them do for experienced
players like you, nu?
You also must choose a brief description for your stat. For example, Neo
from the Matrix might have:
Body 55% (A little wiry)
Mind 40% ("Not too bright, though")
Speed 80% (The Chosen One)
Soul 90% (Inexplicably charming)
Then, choose your skills. You get several skills for free, though you can
buy them up:
BODY:
General Athletics 15%
Struggle: 15%
SPEED:
Driving 15%
Dodge 15%
MIND:
Conceal 15%
General Education 15%
Notice 15%
SOUL:
Lying 15%
Charm 15%
Now here's an important thing to know about UA character creation; yes,
these stats are low. Most of the time, under non-stressful circumstances,
you won't have to make a roll - or if you do, it'll be equal to the stat
it's based on. These stats are based on what you could do UNDER THE MOST
STRESSFUL CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND. Anyone can target shoot, sure, or study
Aikido - but when someone suddenly appears behind you, charging down a dark
alleyway with a knife and yelling, "I'MA KILL YOU MUF****!", well... I think
we all know the story about the brown belt who did well in class but just
broke down during his first real fight. Likewise, we've all lied about our
whereabouts or charmed a stranger at some point - but how well do you lie or
win someone over when Vinnie the Snake is holding a gun to your head,
saying, "If we find out you're wrong, your brains are gonna be all over that
wall!"?
Not well, probably. That's what UA is based on, and a lot of standard UA
characters have no skill over 30. Buy your skills accordingly.
Anyway, you have X points to spend on each skill, where X is the relevant
stat, and 15 bonus points to spend where you like. For example, if you
bought a 60% Body stat, you have sixty points to buy on Body skills, and if
you really wanted to be bodyriffic, you could spend another 15 total.
There are two things to note about the skill process:
1) I GIVE YOU NO LIST BECAUSE THERE IS NONE. Make up your own, and feel
free to get creative. If you buy enough Struggle, maybe it changes from
Struggle to Beat The Shit Out Of Someone. My character in this weekend's
game had such Mind-based highlights as See The Threads In The Tapestry
(figure out who benefits from any given action), Got You Now (rattle someone
significantly when he has an advantage on them), and he also had the
Soul-based Face In The Crowd (he wasn't very noticable and could fade away
when he wanted to).
Other examples:
Body: Crack Your Knuckles Ominously, Hold Your Breath, Hold Your Liquor,
Large And Hard To Move, Enduring Torture, Lifting Heavy Stuff
Speed: Do Two Things At Once, Fast Draw, Squirrely Reflexes, Pick Someone's
Pocket, Blow A Guy's Brains Out, Snatch, Skitter Up A Wall
Mind: Respect My Authority, Doublethink, Hypnotherapist, Photographic
Memory.
Soul: Friends Everywhere, Aura Sight, Commanding Presence, Good Old
Whatsisname, Play Dumb, Vocal Imitation, Sing The Blues, Getting People To
Buy You Drinks.
2) ONE SKILL IS YOUR OBSESSION. It doesn't necessarily have to be your
highest skill, but it should be reasonably high; it's what you do well, what
you get up in the morning for. You rarely fail at this, since it's what you
live for, which means that you get to flip-flop rolls for this skill;
meaning if you wake up in the morning and all you can think of is Beating
The Shit Out Of Someone at 55%, if you roll a 93 - normally a failure - you
can flip-flop that into a 39, which is a success.
Lastly, you need to choose your three Passions: Rage, Fear, and Noble.
Everyone in the game has these hot buttons that drive them, and even the
scummiest criminal has a soft spot - Hitler did want to make Germany a
better place, after all. These are a phrase or a one-sentence description
of the things that will send you into a fury, terrify you, or cause you to
rise up against your better (or worse) nature. They do have a couple of
important game mechanic meanings, but we'll leave those for now; suffice it
to say that if you choose them in character, they'll both help and hamper
you, just like any other passions.
(I woke up thinking about this. I don't remember what got this idea started. By the time I was conscious enough to know what I was thinking, the whole scenario was there.)
Two Minutes to Midnight (alternate title- Strangeshadow)
Amber and the Courts of Chaos have been on edge since the end of Random's reign. While the diplomats have avoided a full-scale war, the threat lingers. Now, Chaos has developed the ultimate weapon. Their new doomsday weapon could destroy Amber and it's neigboring shadows with ease. Experts believe that it would also cause a chain reaction that could destroy the universe. To protect themselves they have designed to be set off if anyone tries to attack the courts. Are they insane? Are they actually crazy enough to build such a weapon? It appears they are, but there is no need to worry. Dworkin is back and he has developed his own weapon. The clock is ticking.