Ask Me Anything: skeptical_stun

* 4e D&D, yay or nay?
* Hottest gaming hot take?
* Favorite book? Favorite author?
* Cake or death pie?

I never played 4e, but probably not. I tend to like a complicated system, and I hear it got dumbed down a bit. I think I owned a book for 3.5e, but never played the game, nor understood what DnD even was or how to play it.

Hottest gaming take...that's a tough one. I'm pretty well-rounded. My hottest take is probably how much I loved the Dynasty Warriors series, even though it was bad and janky and boring. I recognize all those things as facts but....I still loved the heck out of those games.

Pie. Fight me.

Would you play a Calvin and Hobbes RPG? Or maybe a Spaceman Spiff one? What rule system would you use?

No, definitely not a Calvin and Hobbes RPG. Not because I don't think it would be interesting or fun, but because I know Bill Watterson's feelings on merchandising the character (spoiler: super against it). If you see a Calvin and Hobbes ANYTHING (other than the comics or the books), it was against Bill Watterson's wishes. I really respect a creator that wants to keep his creations in their purest form, even if it means I don't get access to more of it.

That said, I think a pulp sci-fi RPG like Spaceman Spiff (I think it was inspired by Flash Gordon?) would be rad. I have no idea which is the right system for it, I don't have experience with enough of them.

OK, after some discussion, I wanted to find some better examples of art that speaks to me. The two examples in the previous post are essentially of the same vein. Here's the stuff that really lights up my imagination:I do have two frustrations with a lot of character art.

One, it frustrates me how "white-washed" a lot of the art is, and that's speaking as a white dude. There are so many other "looks" to people out there that would give a lot more variety, but much of it ends up vaguely European.

And two, I can't stand female armor design when it shows a ton of skin. I think sexualizing a female paladin to show her belly-button or her bare legs up to mid-thigh is laughably ridiculous. If I'm playing a warrior, I want my lady to have well-built, broad shoulders, scars, and some lines on her face because she's been in the elements for ten years. It feels more authentic, like she's an actual character.

1. Great taste in art. 2. That's so true. Have you ever tried to find character art of a middle aged woman? It's damn near impossible. Female character art ist fresh-faced 25 year olds at a maximum and there is a small collection of old women/grandmas, and nothing in between.

After a cursory search around Pinterest, yeah, I definitely see your point. It's like every female in fantasy fiction needs to be 25, buxom, and gorgeous. There does seem to be a spike in instances of wiser folks (55+), but anything between 30 and 55 seems rare.

Beer or wine?
Star Wars or Star Trek?
New Hampshire or New Mexico?

1. Great taste in art. Simple, uncomplicated formatting with subjects that clearly have stories to tell.

2. The first image reminds me of Skeletor as viewed through the lens of Robert E. Howard or Edgar Rice Burroughs. I would TOTALLY use him as a character or adversary in a game! Maybe alongside a middle-aged & non boob-armored (Evil) Lyn.

3. I appreciate your view on how "white washed" most character art is. There's a distinct format of character that attracts interest and/or sells commercially. RPGs (TT or computer) are still a heavily white-majority fanbase although that's a changing trend. It was games like ShadowRun that drew me back into TTRPG when it came out because representation for me was unheard of outside the super problematic Old West games like Boot Hill...

The converse side of that coin is that you get exploitative, stereotypical and/or offensive depictions of non-white characters by artists. Most of the times feel a lot of those depictions aren't ill-intended but simply ignorant or ill- researched.

4. The AMA Questions:
A) Is there a game setting you like despite the system being a huge let-down? Would/do you still play that game despite it's mechanical issues?

B) what is a genre you feel is underserved in the gaming community? Is there a particular setting or story you'd like to see codified into a game system & setting? If so, what setting and what system?

C) how would you personally rank these game genres:
(most liked to least liked)

Modern, Horror, Hard Sci-Fi (Traveller/Expanse), Soft Sci-Fi (Star Trek/Wars), High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Cyberpunk

Have you ever tried to create your own RPG system? If so, what was the best and what was the worst idea in it?

Definitely beer, I'm one of those craft beer types you keep hearing about on the TV news.

Star Wars, it's what I was introduced to first. Since becoming an adult, I've seen all of Next Generation and I can definitely see the appeal. No other show has measured up, though, and I doubt any will.

New York. (Never been to either NH or NM, though I hear both are lovely in different ways.)

A) Honest answer, I'm not sure. I haven't played many systems yet, even fewer in RL where you get a quicker grasp of the feel of the game. Probably AD&D the handful of times I played it. It felt dry and constrictive, stuff like "No, you can't play that class with that race", and "No, you can't play that class, you didn't roll high enough Charisma" or whatever. I feel like it was still heavily influenced by wargaming and hadn't embraced "rule of cool" or a story-based structure or anything.

B) Hm, another hard question due to my inexperience. Probably something that lets players craft things. For instance, a survival-based game that allows players to flex their ingenuity to survive with mechanics to back that up would be cool, but I don't know if that exists yet or not.

C) Hi/Lo fantasy, then Cyberpunk/horror are tied. I haven't played true sci-fi, so I don't know how much I'd like it or not. I don't think I'd enjoy Modern at all.

Heck no, I'd be afraid to. I have an issue with moderating what I'm interested in, and I rapidly burn myself out on stuff because of it. I think if I tried creating my own system, I would be ALL ABOUT IT for a week, maybe two. Then I'd take a break and never pick it up again.

That and I doubt I'd create something that someone far more talented than myself isn't already in the progress of creating/already created.

I have heard of Perseverant and want to try it. Not sure if it's exactly what you're expecting because it's not well known and hard to find actual plays for, but it certainly prides itself in making characters deal with harsh environments and I thought that sounds interesting

It sounds interesting! I think what I'm looking for is a solution to put more "game" in the game, if that makes sense. I love roleplay, but I also enjoy a challenge that I have to overcome, and a lot of RPGs I've found leave that up to the DM to create all by themselves. That's a tough gig, and it also means that one game with a given system can feel completely different than another just because the DM was better.

Maybe that's the real answer. I wish there were a way to make DMs lives easier without binding their imagination behind what's written.