|
I’m going to let you in on a bit of background. The picture for this page is actually my sister’s Bible. Everytime I see this I cannot help but smile, no matter what kind of mood I’m in. The story behind this picture was just comical, something I imagine from old cartoons.
You see, my sister was in town for a visit, and in my family, we rarely go anywhere without our Bibles. We had gone out on the town one day and she accidentally left her Bible in the backseat of the car. Of course, we didn’t think anything about it for several hours since we were back home and having coffee (well, I was probably having tea since I do not like coffee). My son borrowed the car to visit friends or go to some event (I don’t remember), but when he returned, he was carrying her Bible ever so gently. The look on his face told me he was mortified about what had happened, and he was truly concerned he had completely destroyed it. He had driven around with all the windows down, and the wind had wreaked havoc on its pages. Of course my sister was shocked, but we all started laughing. After making sure all the pages were still present as some had already pulled free of the binding, we set it on the table and took this picture. Next was the painstaking process of flattening out all the pages again so we could close the book. It took several minutes to do so as the pages are thin. So, everytime I see this picture, I smile. I picked this picture because my thoughts are sometimes like those pages, all jumbled and messy, but still in some semblance of order. I have to look through each one and flatten it out to see if the idea is worth pursuing, or should I just go to the next page. Just a word of advice though, don’t leave a book in the backseat of the car with all the windows down.
0 Comments
All gaming groups go through this. Players are going to have to miss a session here or there, it is inevitable. No one wants to pause the game, yet it is unfair to the one who couldn’t make game night if it continues. So, what do we do?
One way I have handled this was to write that character “out” of the campaign for a night, giving the others basically a one-shot scenario for the session. This works great if you can pull off actually completing a one-shot in one night (which I often cannot do). It can also be a moment that you can work with the missing player as to why their character was not there, giving you a chance to add something special or a new hook into the campaign. The other way I like to handle this is to just pull everyone away from the campaign and do something different. Try a new system, try out new monsters or homebrew rules for the current system, or do something completely off the wall. This keeps the missing player from missing anything in the campaign, and gives others a break. Trying something new, or different, also gives an opportunity for one of the other players to take the GM seat. Often players want to learn how to run a game, or have an idea they’d like to try. This can give you, the regular GM, a break as well. Encourage other players to run a game. It is a perfect time to let them try it out without the long term commitment. No matter what, you will want to keep the missing player involved in some manner if you want to continue the campaign. If you choose to do something completely different, or just take the night off, this can make them feel important and needed to continue the campaign. No matter how you handle players missing a game night, do not make them feel like they are being ostracized. There are many things that you can draw inspiration from. Movies, books, even music can get the creative juices flowing. Sometimes, even reality can bring questions such as “How would I have handled that?” or “What would have happened if…?” These are great jumping points to work out an idea for a story or character. For this corner, we are talking characters.
My most recent adventure in this was while I was building a character for a current campaign that I’m playing in (yes, I play). The system is Pathfinder, so I used the SRD for much of what I was doing. Digging through some of the classes, I landed on Psychic. It looked different enough to me that I was excited to give it a try. Then I asked, “What’s my story?” This was the first time I built a character mechanically before laying out at least a general idea of who this person was. After watching the series “The Witcher,” I got to thinking about how the world is built, its magic and political structures. I decided that my character’s powers were going to be an uncommon set of skills. The abilities would be present at a young age, then trained to mastery in order to become an invaluable asset to a ruler. Now I had her backstory laid out as already stated: showed promise young, trained, then sent to a kingdom as an advisor, but then had to come up with a reason for adventuring with this group of nobodies. Since the group was being commissioned by an allied ruler, and being sent off into unknown/untamed lands, it was seen as beneficial for an advisor, especially one of psychic ability, to accompany the group. They believed this would aid in their chances of success. There I had it. My character, complete with backstory, was ready to go! Inspired by the world of “The Witcher.” When you find a cool idea and want to imitate it, that is awesome! Come up with a story for your character and build from it. Trust me, GMs love it and will add elements of it into the overall plot of the game they are creating as well. This is part of how the story becomes collaborative, it is now a world created together. I am looking at returning to school. It would be for music (remember, bard here), but I know it will take time and dedication. As I am writing this, I am looking forward to conducting a piece or two with a volunteer band in 2024. Studying a score, to me, is like building a story. As a closet writer, some of these stories come easily, others take a bit more work.
Learning the music and its chord progressions builds the plot and theme of the piece. Conducting a group to play it is much like pulling readers into the book, making the characters come to life. I have to be aware of my body posture and facial expressions as I lead the group into the feelings I want portrayed, all while showing dynamics and articulation. It can be quite a balancing act as I show the musical side without letting the musicians get lost. I say this because I want you to know I am not just a gamer. RPG is not my life, and it should not be yours either. Take time to enjoy other hobbies, whether it be crafting, music, writing, travel, or even volunteer work. Allowing yourself to fall into things where you find enjoyment aids in your own self awareness. I have become a more well rounded individual through my involvement in volunteer bands, family, church, sewing, and even at my computer as I write. Not only that, it gives you experiences to draw from when building campaign scenarios or NPCs that the players will encounter. Give yourself time to interact with the real world around you, encounter new faces, visit new places, read a book, listen to a podcast…you might just find your next great campaign. |
AuthorJodie 
Archives
April 2025
Have a question you would like the GM to give her thoughts on?
|
RSS Feed