Entries are by date, starting at the earliest.

WISH- Successful NPCs
I think one of the things that I have found in my games is that the more enjoyable (non-villian) NPCs have unique voices. I don't just mean that the GM uses a different voice when they speak, (although I do...

GAME WISH: Game Systems
Ginger asks: Describe three systems you have gamed under: one you thought was good, one you thought was all right, and one you didn’t care for. What were the good points and the bad points of each system? Did...

WISH Secrets
Sometimes the plot of a game requires a GM to keep secrets. Is it better for the GM and other players to keep most out-of-character knowledge secret, or to assume that players are capable of keeping in-character and out-of-character knowledge...

WISH: GM Role
This weeks WISH question comes from Meera:What is your idea of the relationship between GM and player? Is the GM a host, an adversary, an enabler...?There's been some excellent WISH questions the last couple of weeks and I've been meaning...

WISH: That Was Then, This is Now
Ginger asks: In the gaming you are doing lately, what do you miss from earlier games? What works so much better you never looked back? Three examples?What I Miss:I miss trying out new games. Besides Unknown Armies, I haven't played...

WISH: Props
I don't use a whole lot of props in my games but sometimes the right picture or right piece of music comes along and I use it.Pictures are worth a thousand words. It's true. To that end, I've started collecting...

WISH: Equality
From Ginger: The typical party of PCs appears to be composed of equals. They may have Nodwickian henchlings or distant authority figures, but in most of the games I've played, the PCs are equal with respect to each other. Is...

WISH: Unconventional Characters
Do you prefer to build a character with a unique concept, or do you prefer a simple or more standard concept to start with? Do you find that your preference correlates with a preference for elaborate initial backgrounds or with...

WISH 36: Supplements
Ginger writes: Today's WISH is not about game systems, but about supplements:What do you think about supplements to game systems? Do you like the additional material, or are you just annoyed about spending the money for the additional rules? Name...

WISH 52
This weeks WISH asks: Robin Laws identifies several types of gamer in his book of GM tips: The Power Gamer, the Butt-Kicker, the Tactician, the Specialist (plays one type only), the Method Actor, the Storyteller (plot and pacing fan),...

WISH: Character Backgrounds
For this week's WISH, Ginger asks:Do you like to have bits and pieces from your characters’ backgrounds appear in the game? Do you write hooks into your character background for the GM to use in the campaign for your character?...

WISH: GM Role
Eventually, I plan to copy over all my WISH answers and other game meme answers to this blog from my old one. These are repeats, but I figure this will make them easier for all to find and read. Plus,...

WISH: Multiple GMs
Ginger asks: Have you ever played in or GMed a game with more than one GM? What was your experience with it? What were the strengths and weaknesses of having multiple GMs? Was it positive or negative? Would you do...

Game WISH 69: Non-RPGs for RPGers
Ginger asks:Recommend three non-RPG games for RPGers. Why do you recommend these three? Settlers of Catan. OK, it's a game I recommend to everyone, but I recommend it to gamers because of the political aspect of wheeling and dealing with...

Wish 72: Character Interrupted
WISH 72 asks: Talk about a few characters you had to stop playing before their stories felt finished. Where do you think they would have gone? I would say that there are three main reasons that a character stops getting...

WISH 74: I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...
Ginger asks: Name three or more supplements (or core books, for that matter) for existing game systems that you’d like to see. Why? What inspires your interest in these supplement? What existing supplements or materials are you using instead? I guess I'll handle this by the systems I play and/or run: Amber- Any new supplement would be welcome. I can't describe how tired I am of explaining to people that Amber is not a dead game. A collection of original shadows with ideas on how to use them in an Amber game would be extremely cool and could be of use by a GM of any game where characters routinely travel through dmensions as well. I would also be happy to see a supplement that breaks down points for buying different variations on the Amber powers. For example, how much to have Pattern Imprint and be able to walk shadows but nothing more with it? I've seen many GMs come up with their own lists of alternate versions of Amber powers but it would be nice to have an "official" version. In fact, this could be a great way to launch an "Amber: 2nd Edition." Let me dream. Buffy/Angel- A big 'ol book of original demons and supernatural creatures along with plot hooks for them. I'm thinking something like GURPS: Creatures of the Night but with stuff more suitable for the Whedon-verse. I'd also like to see a book that clarifies a lot of the Unisystem rules. I like having a simple and flexible rules system, but I'd also like to have rules available when I want them. Right now, there are a lot of gaps in the Unisystem....a lot of situations that the rules don't cover. I don't have too much of a problem coming up with rules on the fly, but it would be nice to have rules for things like...say.....vehicles, already. (Note- There has been some hints on the Eden Studios message boards that a Unisystem Vehicles book is coming out that will be usable for all the Unisystem games.) Champions- Hero System Lite. The Hero System 5th edition book is the most amazing set of rules I have ever read. It can handle every genre you could think of and has all the rules you will ever need. It is also a huge, intimidating book that will scare off a lot of potential players. Its $40 price tag alone is enough to send a lot pf players somewhere else. GURPS got around this problem with GURPS-lite, a simpler version of the GURPS rules that doesn't include all the extra rules that aren't usually needed. They have been putting the GURPS-lite rules in the back of books like GURPS: Discworld and GURPS: Hellboy, making each of those books a stand alone game that does not require the GURPS Basic rules to be played. I'd like to see the same thing done with the Hero System. World of Darkness- I would say I'd like to see them do books about the end of the world, but they are already doing that. After they finish ending the worlds, I'd like to see them introduce new versions of the Goth-punk worlds that simplify them a bit. The rules would need some huge improvements and they could get away from the 13 clan/tribe/tradition/kith format that they have been using. Let the characters personalities and powers be what seperates them. Not their clans. Dungeons and Dragons- I've said many times that I think that the GURPS sourcebooks are some of the best sourcebooks ever made. I'd like to see some sourcebooks for D&D that borrow some of that elements. For example, if you flip through a D&D monster manual, it looks like some dry stats and description. The only things in them that really fire up the imagination is the color art....which is extremely cool. I'd like to see some sourcebooks that give more story ideas with the stats and tips on how to adapt them to your campaign or how to make creepy creatures creepier and mysterious creatures ...errr....mysteriouser. I'd also like to see a good set of alternate d20 Fantasy rules that gives much of the same feel without the level based progression. Something like Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds for the Fantasy genre.

More thoughts on gaming supplements
I was going to write up something about what makes a good game supplement, but I remembered I had already written that for a previous WISH. You can see it here: http://www.skyseastone.net/nuadha/hand/001563.html...

WISH: Three Word Summary
Ginger asks us to: Sum up one or more games that you GM or play in 10 words or less. (Three is best, but not everybody is that pithy.) Don’t restrict yourself to current games if you have great ones in the past. Systems: Amber: No more dice. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lots of Drama. Call of Cthulu:Run to survive. Cyberpunk 2020: Dodge for cover! D&D 3.5: Level up! Dreaming City: Work in progress. GURPS: Lots of skills. Hero 5th Edition: Fun with math. Masterbook: Miss this system. Mutants & Masterminds: d20 done right Nexus: The Infinite City: Don't get lost. Nobilis: Diceless perfection. Og!: Limited vocabulary Palladium: Pretty pictures. Paranoia: You're not authorized. Star Wars (West End): Wookies are tough! Stormbringer: Black sword bad. Storyteller: Needs work. Tales of the Floating Vagabond: Let's go bar-hopping! Current Campaigns: Gillian the Vampire Slayer: Beware of shadows. RDU: Put on hold. Secret World: We are screwed. Connemara: Army of Darkness A Far Distant Shore: Now, I remember. Malta: Ready to hack. (My character is a computer hacker.)

WISH 83: Character mottos
Ginger asks: What are your characters’ mottoes, in ten words or less? Quotes and formal mottoes encouraged. Currently active characters Mr. Jones, the invisible man (aka "Ghost")- Keep your head down! Griffin, the Pattern Knight- Without hope, all is lost....

WISH 84: The Fantastic Five
For this week's Game WISH, Ginger asks: What five games would you love to run/play if you had a willing group and a weekly time slot? Just five? I'll try.... Nobilis- I've been wanting to run this setting since the...

WISH 90: Genre Favorites
Ginger asks us to: Pick three to five genres and name the best RPG for that genre. Why do you think it’s the best? What makes it better than others? What are its downsides?...

Game Dream #1: P.O.V.
Doc is continuing the tradition of Ginger's Game WISH as the Game Dream. When Role Playing Games are discussed, the subject of first-person versus third-person character narratives sometimes surfaces. When you play a character, do you assume first-person, using your...

Game Dream 3: Me or Memorex?
Doc asks: Some people play RPGs to enjoy a viewpoint or way of acting that they just couldn't do in real life. Others seem to play characters whose motivations are more their own. And some folks do all of the...

Game Dream 4: Dude, Read This Book!
Doc asks:What is the role, if any, that movies and books play in your campaigns? When entering a new genre, how important do you feel seeing (or reading) a good genre example becomes? Have you ever been assigned a "mood"...

Game Dream 5: Cooperative Storytelling
Doc asks:To what level (if any) do the groups you usually play with encourage communal creation of the game world? Are the players spectators, or do they actually have a say in the plot (moreso that just guiding it by...

Lunchtime Poll #1: Back in Time!
The first Lunchtime Poll asks: What is your favorite historical period for RPGs, and why? I haven't had much time to play in or run games set in historical periods. I ran short campaign based on The Voyagers! TV show...

Luchtime polls #21: Spinoffs
Lunchtime Polls asks: This week’s question has no right or wrong answers—just give me your opinion. What’s the best media tie-in game out there—Star Wars? Buffy? Take a position and explain it. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your opinions!...

IRE 20: Lost Creature Found
Jvstin writes: Some of the most exciting news today has nothing to do with Presidential News Conferences or the price of oil or anything like that. No, the news that the extinct Ivory Billed Woodpecker may not be quite as...