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So I haven’t been posting because I was away on a vacation. Might as well do the rest of the entries in one go!

13) Most memorable character DEMISE

Most of my characters survive, I think. I can’t recall a specific character death that was particularly memorable or cool.

14) Favourite CONVENTION purchase

I don’t really visit conventions that much these days? And the one I used to go to a lot, Ambercon, doesn’t have any kind of commercial presence. I think Tales from the Loop, which I at Spiel in 2017 is the one I like best. Such a beautiful book.

15) Favourite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT

My cyberpunk scenario International Waters is the thing I’m most proud of.

16) Game you WISH you owned

I wish I owned more MERP modules, though that’s not a game. These days, even back catalogues are available in PDF form, so if there’s something I really want, I can get it. (Unless, of course, the license has expired…)

17) FUNNIEST game you’ve played

Probably Paranoia. We used to play second edition in the style that was later named ‘zap’…

18) Favourite game SYSTEM

If I have to choose, then the Apocalypse World Engine is my favourite. It’s so very versatile to adapt to a specific genre, and yet plays very fast.

19) Favourite PUBLISHED adventure

I’m currently running a group through the series of scenarios in Tales from Wilderland for The One Ring. I skipped two scenarios (the Laketown one and the Elf one) because they’re just not that great, but the rest of them is very good, and it all builds up to a very satisfying climax. We’re currently in the Dale scenario, and the characters have to hold a bridge against an uncoming army(!) of orcs. It’s so nicely heroic.

20) Will still play in TWENTY years time

Looking at the games I am playing at this moment, I think the Amber Diceless RPG is the only one that I also played 20 years ago, and I might still play it 20 years from now.

21) Favourite LICENSED RPG

The One Ring. There have been many different Lord of the Rings RPGs, but this one is the best themed one. It runs smoothly too.

22) Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase

Eh, I don’t tend to buy a lot of stuff second-hand. But the batch of Shadow World modules I got from the Cthani memorial auction are very nice. Iron Crown Enterprises made some nice modules.

23) COOLEST looking RPG product / book

Tales from the Loop. It started out as an art project, and it shows: the illustrations are so, so good. Add the clean layout and it’s a really cool set of books.

24) COMPLEX / SIMPLE RPG you play

Most complex: probably Pathfinder 2e. All of the options with all of their own special case rules…

Simplest must be the Amber Diceless RPG. As player, you never have to engage with the mechanics!

25) UNPLAYED RPG you own

….I plead the fifth.

26) Favourite CHARACTER SHEET

I really like the Roll20 character sheets for The Sprawl. They are so thematic, in that 80’s greenscreen aesthetic. And they have a lot of automation in there too, so it’s easy to play with it.

27) Game you’d like a new EDITION of…

Nobilis. It’s such a cool, high-concept game, but the rules and procedures are not explained clearly. It deserves an edition that is easy to play and easy to run.

28) SCARIEST game you’ve played

I don’t like horror games, so the games I play don’t tend to be scary.

29) Most memorable ENCOUNTER

Eh. If you have been playing RPGs as long as I have, there have been so many encounters that it’s kinda hard to pick one…

30) OBSCURE RPG you’ve played

A friend from highschool wrote an RPG based on the Hitchhiker’s Guide, called Interstellar Insanity. It wasn’t very good at evoking the feel of the source material and it never went anywhere.

31) FAVOURITE RPG of all time

Tough one. By sheer number of hours played, it must be Rolemaster. By best implied setting, it would have to be Ryuutama. By concept, it is Nobilis. By versatility, it is the Amber Diceless RPG.

I should have realised that RPG-a-Day would be in August, and yet I only discovered yesterday that it was once again going on! Instead of spamming you with an entry every day (does anybody even read them?) I’ll do chunks of them, probably mostly in the weekend. If you wanna participate too (apparently it’s the tenth iteration!) you can find the originating entry here.

1) FIRST RPG played (this year)

Looking back in my agenda, it was probably Vaessen, on the evening of January 4th. A few people from the now-defunct game club in the city have decided to keep on organising the ‘change roleplaying cycle’: GMs can offer a single-scenario game, and players can join. It’s a great way to play a wide variety of games. We played a published scenario, and it was a lot of fun with that group, but we did need a bit of hand-holding to bring it all to a close.

If you like Call of Cthulhu but wished it was less mythos and more folklore, then Vaessen is for you. I’m not a fan of CoC, so this didn’t make me run out to buy the game.

2) First RPG GAMEMASTER

This year, or ever? If ever, then I wrote about that last year. But if this year, then it was probably The One Ring. I’m still running a group of former colleagues through the Tales from Wilderland scenario collection. The going is slow, but we’ll get there in the end.

3) First RPG BOUGHT (this year)

Looking through my library, that might actually have been the Hillfolk bundle from the Bundle of Holding? Or maybe I had bought it before, but I downloaded it all mid-April, so…

4) Most RECENT game bought

That would be the Root RPG bundle from, again, the Bundle of Holding. I have GM’ed a Root RPG quickstart, and I was impressed with how tight the setting was presented — but I was not interested in paying full price for the RPG itself. So when it rolled onto the BoH, it was not a hard decision to get into it. I’ve been reading the books, and it’s a nice system, but I miss concrete advice on how to construct a clearing. Also, the setting is very bleak. Not sure I will ever get to bring this to the table.

5) OLDEST game you’ve played

Probably Rolemaster, which came out in 1980? Or, if we’re only talking about this year, then it’s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I’m playing in a three-session Ravenloft scenario. AD&D is such a mess, I don’t understand why people miss the good ole days of THAC0.

6) Favourite game you NEVER get to play

Amber. Nobilis.