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Five[fold] Questions Meme [Fist]. From ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eiviiaru. Yay?
1. What, in your opinion, is the worst game ever that isn't an absolute Shall Not Be Named-style travesty?
Hm. I could cheat on this and say Wraethuthu, because it's technically on the tier below the Three Evils of Gaming (TWSNBN, RaHoWa, Synnabar). I will instead say Rifts; while I haven't played it, I've read the sourcebooks and lurked on the fora. It has all my least favorite shortcomings -- inelegant, clumsy system, incoherent setting, massive power-creep (as a design goal, no less!) and a creator with delusions of grandeur.
2. Favorite and least favorite Charm?
Ah, a hard question. (Fine, half of it's hard.) I'll start with least-favorite and say SSP. The concept that a 5/4 MA Charm can basically render six spells obselete -- and screw over a sorcerer *even more* than countermagic, and be cheaper than the least of the countermagics -- is bullshit, IMO. I am a great fan of RSB's work, but everyone makes mistakes, and that was certainly one.
Favorite? Ah, that's harder...but I'd have to say Breath-Draining Prana. I like its power and I like its thematics, and it helps a scholarly Abyssal retain combat effectiveness. Close runners-up include Terrifying Apparition of Glory, Essence-sight Charms as a whole, and Generalized Ammunition Technique for comic effect, and probably some others. Oh, and Shaping Combat.
3. Do you have any plans for the Demon Code?
I have no plans for the demon-code. It rose from the primordial ooze of my playlist without my volition and its development has been a matter of chance. I can only assume it will continue to improve itself as my library grows larger.
4. If you invented a program that could stab people over the Internet, what would you do with it? Besides stab people. That's obvious.
Cleanse fandom and the Forge with blood and steel. Then develop a protective technology and sell them both for great profit. I figure I can keep that up for a couple of years before competitors show up, by which time I should be ridiculously wealthy or possibly in prison.
5. Have you been keeping up with the latest Identity Crisis/Infinite Crisis/Whatever Crisis DC Is On Now stuff, and if so, do you have an opinion?
I fear that I have no idea what you're talking about. Possibly could you elaborate?
1) What's the single best session you've ever had roleplaying, and why do you think it was so effective?
Uh. Lessee. There are really two, I think; one from Mage and one from Exalted. The Exalted one was the climax of the first story arc; the party, then consisting of Akio (Jared pre-Harbinger), Eileen (Lindsay), Sosostren and Kayin (Mike), was racing against time to stop the Empress' funerary celebrations from summoning her back to Creation. That was when they first met and defeated the Lady of Blood and Bone, and that battle was awesome IMO -- the first fight the PCs had to think their way through and that was a serious challenge for all concerned. Then there was a race against time to unweave the sorcerous wards protecting the Deliberative Chamber, which they cracked with two rounds of ceremony left to go. With one round left, Kayin pitched a firedust grenade into the ritual circle, incinerating the book containing the rites and causing an uncontrolled discharge of Infernal Essence that leveled the Imperial Palace. I think I managed to guage the fight pretty much dead on, and I managed to pull all the timing and pacing issues together and keep people on the edge of their seats, not actually knowing whether they would succeed or fail.
The Mage one comes from *way* back when, when I was still running Technocrats and Traditionalists as semi-separate groups and dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was one of the first times I'd run the groups together, and I was flipping back and forth between them, and somehow that came together and clicked into perfect pacing.
Runners-up to this question include the Liana's Wedding New Years session (which I only disclaim because I'm not sure how much I had to do with running it) and Davien's Maze from my summer Exalted campaign with Evan (Litany) and Seth (Grey Fox). On some days, Davien's Maze rises over the other Exalted thing because the horror stuff I was doing worked so insanely well.
2) What system do you wish you'd been able to run and never had the chance to?
That would be systems. :-D And here's the list...
--Nobilis. Someday I will run this. Somehow.
--Weapons of the Gods. No explanation required. I also really want to play this.
--New-Mage. It's pretty sweet.
--Spycraft 2. Yeah, it's d20, but it's also really slick.
--L5R, which I will also probably do at some point.
--Almost certainly one or two I forget.
3) What's YOUR favorite one-shot off the list?
Toss-up between Sidereal Pizza Delivery and Locus Ohtori.
4) Suppose you got the cheap-o version of the Quantum Leap Accelerator, and can change one thing from college. What would you do differently?
Declare for Math instead of Physics. Save me a year of suffering, kick my GPA up so that I might be employed now, all kinds of benefits.
5) Planning on any more game design after Ashari? Maybe something scifi we could do?
Not planning on any, but that's mostly because I'm not letting myself think about anything but Ashari right now. The possibility certainly exists, I'm just not going to let myself split focus yet. Something sci-fi-ish is a definite possibility.
1) Favorite RPG character you've played.
As of right now I'd have to say Vares, back from Matt's game -- he certainly had the strongest relationships and the greatest emotional impact of all the characters I've played. My answer might be different if you ask me tomorrow, though.
2) Favorite NPC you've created.
Hm, that's a tough one. I think it's a toss-up between Ravenna and the Lady of Blood and Bone, with Brightwing as a close runner-up. Ravenna was a Nephandic villainess I created as a foil for one of my PCs (and the climax of a temptation arc) in my Mage campaign; she died there and was restored to life by a much more powerful Nephand as a weapon for use against the party, and we ended up devoting an entire story arc to killing her permanently. She managed to earn the not-so-affectionate nickname of "the Uberbitch" among the party.
The Lady of Blood and Bone was another villainess, a Dusk-caste Abyssal in service to the Mask of Winters from the game I ran at Williams. As her sobriequet suggests, she armed herself with weapons of her own extruded bone and armored herself in her own blood (Resistance/Melee build), and she was fond of Artful Maiming Onslaught. She was a serious challenge for the PCs without being uberdominant, she debated philosophy between attacks and she was obviously sincere in her loyalty and her beliefs. When she died defending her master, the party honored her.
Brightwing was based very heavily on Soujiro from Kenshin, a child-Solar brainwashed by Yurgen Kaneko and his Zenith circlemate into a perfectly loyal and terrifyingly powerful assassin. I include him mostly because of the reactions he inspired in my PCs at the time; on his defeat, he asked for death as penitance for his failure, and the Night caste of the circle granted his request. The ensuing conflict almost came to blows. It was a pretty powerful moment and one that I was quite pleased with.
3) Top 3 books/authors. Why?
1. Banewreaker and Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey. The series adds depth and complexity to the classic fantasy story, it appeals to my moral relativism and it's incredibly well written.
2. Barry Hughart. Perfect blend of humor and drama, in that the humor accentuates and emphasizes the plot without overpowering it. I like the Eastern-fantasy setting a lot, too, and he's also a skilled writer.
3. Timothy Zahn. What can I say? He's awesome. He writes complex, well-realized, interesting worlds, with strong characters and plausible, intriguing plots. He also knows when to handwave and when to give detail, something a lot of SF authors could stand to learn.
4) What do you most want to be doing with your life in 5 years?
Ideally, I'll be working as a programmer in the research sector (at SAO or Lincoln Labs or a similar place). Whether I'll get that opportunity remains to be seen.
5) What is the demonic engine playing right now?
Doomhammer's Legacy from the WarIII OST. Not entirely sure why, though it could be a comment on the previous answer.
As per the laws of this meme, comment if you want me to question you.
eiviiaru. Yay?1. What, in your opinion, is the worst game ever that isn't an absolute Shall Not Be Named-style travesty?
Hm. I could cheat on this and say Wraethuthu, because it's technically on the tier below the Three Evils of Gaming (TWSNBN, RaHoWa, Synnabar). I will instead say Rifts; while I haven't played it, I've read the sourcebooks and lurked on the fora. It has all my least favorite shortcomings -- inelegant, clumsy system, incoherent setting, massive power-creep (as a design goal, no less!) and a creator with delusions of grandeur.
2. Favorite and least favorite Charm?
Ah, a hard question. (Fine, half of it's hard.) I'll start with least-favorite and say SSP. The concept that a 5/4 MA Charm can basically render six spells obselete -- and screw over a sorcerer *even more* than countermagic, and be cheaper than the least of the countermagics -- is bullshit, IMO. I am a great fan of RSB's work, but everyone makes mistakes, and that was certainly one.
Favorite? Ah, that's harder...but I'd have to say Breath-Draining Prana. I like its power and I like its thematics, and it helps a scholarly Abyssal retain combat effectiveness. Close runners-up include Terrifying Apparition of Glory, Essence-sight Charms as a whole, and Generalized Ammunition Technique for comic effect, and probably some others. Oh, and Shaping Combat.
3. Do you have any plans for the Demon Code?
I have no plans for the demon-code. It rose from the primordial ooze of my playlist without my volition and its development has been a matter of chance. I can only assume it will continue to improve itself as my library grows larger.
4. If you invented a program that could stab people over the Internet, what would you do with it? Besides stab people. That's obvious.
Cleanse fandom and the Forge with blood and steel. Then develop a protective technology and sell them both for great profit. I figure I can keep that up for a couple of years before competitors show up, by which time I should be ridiculously wealthy or possibly in prison.
5. Have you been keeping up with the latest Identity Crisis/Infinite Crisis/Whatever Crisis DC Is On Now stuff, and if so, do you have an opinion?
I fear that I have no idea what you're talking about. Possibly could you elaborate?
1) What's the single best session you've ever had roleplaying, and why do you think it was so effective?
Uh. Lessee. There are really two, I think; one from Mage and one from Exalted. The Exalted one was the climax of the first story arc; the party, then consisting of Akio (Jared pre-Harbinger), Eileen (Lindsay), Sosostren and Kayin (Mike), was racing against time to stop the Empress' funerary celebrations from summoning her back to Creation. That was when they first met and defeated the Lady of Blood and Bone, and that battle was awesome IMO -- the first fight the PCs had to think their way through and that was a serious challenge for all concerned. Then there was a race against time to unweave the sorcerous wards protecting the Deliberative Chamber, which they cracked with two rounds of ceremony left to go. With one round left, Kayin pitched a firedust grenade into the ritual circle, incinerating the book containing the rites and causing an uncontrolled discharge of Infernal Essence that leveled the Imperial Palace. I think I managed to guage the fight pretty much dead on, and I managed to pull all the timing and pacing issues together and keep people on the edge of their seats, not actually knowing whether they would succeed or fail.
The Mage one comes from *way* back when, when I was still running Technocrats and Traditionalists as semi-separate groups and dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was one of the first times I'd run the groups together, and I was flipping back and forth between them, and somehow that came together and clicked into perfect pacing.
Runners-up to this question include the Liana's Wedding New Years session (which I only disclaim because I'm not sure how much I had to do with running it) and Davien's Maze from my summer Exalted campaign with Evan (Litany) and Seth (Grey Fox). On some days, Davien's Maze rises over the other Exalted thing because the horror stuff I was doing worked so insanely well.
2) What system do you wish you'd been able to run and never had the chance to?
That would be systems. :-D And here's the list...
--Nobilis. Someday I will run this. Somehow.
--Weapons of the Gods. No explanation required. I also really want to play this.
--New-Mage. It's pretty sweet.
--Spycraft 2. Yeah, it's d20, but it's also really slick.
--L5R, which I will also probably do at some point.
--Almost certainly one or two I forget.
3) What's YOUR favorite one-shot off the list?
Toss-up between Sidereal Pizza Delivery and Locus Ohtori.
4) Suppose you got the cheap-o version of the Quantum Leap Accelerator, and can change one thing from college. What would you do differently?
Declare for Math instead of Physics. Save me a year of suffering, kick my GPA up so that I might be employed now, all kinds of benefits.
5) Planning on any more game design after Ashari? Maybe something scifi we could do?
Not planning on any, but that's mostly because I'm not letting myself think about anything but Ashari right now. The possibility certainly exists, I'm just not going to let myself split focus yet. Something sci-fi-ish is a definite possibility.
1) Favorite RPG character you've played.
As of right now I'd have to say Vares, back from Matt's game -- he certainly had the strongest relationships and the greatest emotional impact of all the characters I've played. My answer might be different if you ask me tomorrow, though.
2) Favorite NPC you've created.
Hm, that's a tough one. I think it's a toss-up between Ravenna and the Lady of Blood and Bone, with Brightwing as a close runner-up. Ravenna was a Nephandic villainess I created as a foil for one of my PCs (and the climax of a temptation arc) in my Mage campaign; she died there and was restored to life by a much more powerful Nephand as a weapon for use against the party, and we ended up devoting an entire story arc to killing her permanently. She managed to earn the not-so-affectionate nickname of "the Uberbitch" among the party.
The Lady of Blood and Bone was another villainess, a Dusk-caste Abyssal in service to the Mask of Winters from the game I ran at Williams. As her sobriequet suggests, she armed herself with weapons of her own extruded bone and armored herself in her own blood (Resistance/Melee build), and she was fond of Artful Maiming Onslaught. She was a serious challenge for the PCs without being uberdominant, she debated philosophy between attacks and she was obviously sincere in her loyalty and her beliefs. When she died defending her master, the party honored her.
Brightwing was based very heavily on Soujiro from Kenshin, a child-Solar brainwashed by Yurgen Kaneko and his Zenith circlemate into a perfectly loyal and terrifyingly powerful assassin. I include him mostly because of the reactions he inspired in my PCs at the time; on his defeat, he asked for death as penitance for his failure, and the Night caste of the circle granted his request. The ensuing conflict almost came to blows. It was a pretty powerful moment and one that I was quite pleased with.
3) Top 3 books/authors. Why?
1. Banewreaker and Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey. The series adds depth and complexity to the classic fantasy story, it appeals to my moral relativism and it's incredibly well written.
2. Barry Hughart. Perfect blend of humor and drama, in that the humor accentuates and emphasizes the plot without overpowering it. I like the Eastern-fantasy setting a lot, too, and he's also a skilled writer.
3. Timothy Zahn. What can I say? He's awesome. He writes complex, well-realized, interesting worlds, with strong characters and plausible, intriguing plots. He also knows when to handwave and when to give detail, something a lot of SF authors could stand to learn.
4) What do you most want to be doing with your life in 5 years?
Ideally, I'll be working as a programmer in the research sector (at SAO or Lincoln Labs or a similar place). Whether I'll get that opportunity remains to be seen.
5) What is the demonic engine playing right now?
Doomhammer's Legacy from the WarIII OST. Not entirely sure why, though it could be a comment on the previous answer.
As per the laws of this meme, comment if you want me to question you.