The Guest GM

Over the past year or so, my little Friday Night Gaming Group has been locked in ferocious combat against the overwhelming forces of the evil Empire in "Star Wars: Saga Edition - Dawn of Defiance".  For those who don't know, Dawn of Defiance is one of only a handful of adventures released for the Saga Edition game set before WotC sold the rights off to the folks at Fantasy Flight Games.  Since I didn't have those books at the time, but I did have the full library of Saga Edition games, I went with that.  Really there was no other reason.  And I know Saga Edition gets a bad rep for poor mechanics, unbalanced combat, and ridiculously overpowered d20 characters - we still manage to make it work.  It's all in the storytelling, and Dawn of Defiance does not disappoint in that regard.  Every element you love of Star Wars exists in this lengthy 10-book-long campaign designed to carry your players from level 1 all the way to level 20!  Space battles, lightsaber duels, infiltrating a Hutt palace, visiting a Jedi temple, it's all in there.  They wanted to build something that encompassed as much of the Star Wars experience as possible, and I have to say they succeeded like none other, and none since.

This moment totally happened in our game, too!

We're not done.  Like the movies, Dawn of Defiance is broken up into 3 main parts, and we're just about to embark on the third and final chapter in our saga.  But before we moved on, an interesting concept was brought to my attention while watching the Star Wars cartoon - because yes, I do still watch cartoons, that really shouldn't surprise you by now.  Anyway, I noticed that while the entire season might have a specific goal or overall story, they made room for episodes that allowed everyone to really get familiar with the backgrounds and motivations of a single character.  What a neat idea!  We could do that.  Have a series of short mini-adventures, that may only last a day or two, that allowed us to get to know everyone else's characters a bit more.  Rather than put that burden on me, as my attention was focused on the bigger picture, I thought - who knows the player's characters better than the players?

Hell, I can't even remember your character's name half the time...

Getting the players involved at this level, letting them create their own mini-adventure to really play out their backgrounds, letting us get to know their motivations and quirks, has been a great experience.  Several players got an opportunity to be the Game Master for the first time ever.  Others used it as a chance to inject a little of their own unique imaginations into the world.  It made the universe bigger, and it allowed for a level of character growth I don't often get to see in a campaign.  I know it's not easy for a GM to give up his throne, let alone his world, to the destructive and often malicious minds of the players.  But I for one recommend it, especially if you're into the whole "character development" thing.  Players just be sure to run your entire mini-adventure story past your GM first, so there's no conflict between what you want to do and the bigger campaign storyline.

"So my character's background is like this..."    No.  Just, no.

Returning To The Pen

I feel I owe you all an apology for being gone for so long.  Life happened.  That's all the excuse I can offer that doesn't make me sound like I'd abandoned my writing like a neglectful parent abandoning his kid in a car seat... for years...  But now that I'm back at the keyboard, my fingers shuffling along at a moderate yet familiar pace, I'm hoping muscle memory will return my creativity to its former glory, newly expanded by life's experiences.

"...damn"

I know getting back on the cliched bicycle won't be easy, but if it were easy we'd all be best sellers.  My new writing schedule begins this week, and has me diligently working on new literary pieces of fiction that will hopefully allow me to regain some trust with my fans - because there's not many of you and I love you all please don't leave me - along with new blog entries every Monday to let you know how my game is going.  That's right, we still game.  Every week.

"Vin Diesel still plays D&D, your argument is invalid."

What exactly am I working on?  You mean aside from a certain fiery redhead that people have been asking for?  Oh it's way too early for me to say.  I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back, in earnest, with my heart set on sharing my stories and a mug of coffee at the ready.

A huge thank you to everyone who picked up a copy of my book.  Your responses were overwhelming and continue to surprise me and humble me.  70+ reviews on Amazon (as of today) for an unknown first-time self-published author?  That's unheard of!  You're all awesome, and you've inspired me to get back to the keyboard and finish what I started.  I look forward to sharing my next adventure with you!