Ask Me Anything: skeptical_stun

Biggest regret in a game - the thing you wish you'd done differently?

I noticed you stopped GMing recently because of time pressure. How much longer was it taking you to GM Vs play?

If you were a character, what would your trinket be?

If you could wish for any feature to be added to GP, what would it be?

What is the story about your username?

What drives your RPG passion? The story telling or...

Do you apply your interest in martial arts to your approach to combat and combat descriptions in games? If so, how? If not, why not?

Why do you like deserts so much?

What's your favorite ballot by a rock band?
Favorite famous person that passed away at age 27?
Favorite tabletop board game?

Is it nice there today? Did you finish your shed?

D&D 5e questions:

Classes: Favorite class? Least favorite class? Are you a fan of multiclassing, and if so what's your favorite combination of classes?

Spells: Favorite spell? Least favorite spell? Are you a fan of multicasting, and if so what's your favorite combination of spells?

Monsters: Favorite monster? Least favorite monster? Are you a fan of multitasking, and if so what's your favorite bonus action to take in combat?

Hoo boy, all sorts of questions to stroke my vanity! Let's get started.

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TO ADAM:
In my first ever TTRPG, we were playing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1e). I was playing a Witch Hunter obsessed with gaining more power, and another PC was a bumpkin, played to be naive. When we beat the BBEG, the bad guy (I believe it was some kind of undead god or other) made a deal with the bumpkin to be carried around in the bumpkin's body like a vessel. It was made pretty clear by NPCs that this was a bad idea and would end with the bumpkin being the next BBEG, but the player knew that and was OK with it. As we were sailing away in an airship, my character found his, alone, leaning over the side. My Witch Hunter had a brand new firearm item, was obsessed with power, and was played towards the evil side...but I got cold feet and did nothing. What I SHOULD have done was had my Witch Hunter shoot the bumpkin (which I knew the player would be ok with), but I got cold feet because I wasn't sure if it was the "right" thing to do in the game. It sticks out to me because it would've been an awesome moment and would've been perfectly in-character for my Witch Hunter. I should've just shot the guy.
The actual DM posts took about twice as long as a "character" post, but the hardest thing was how much planning I had to do outside of actually typing. If the characters were in a sewer dungeon, I had to plan out the dungeon, decide what was in each room, WHY each thing was in each room, maybe some loot, various types of encounters, etc etc. I found the typing things out, RPing, and running combat to be the easy part, but the overall planning was certainly harder for me. It was my first ever try at DMing, I should've just run a module rather than homebrewing something. It would've been good to keep some training wheels on.
Something to fidget with. I'm a big fidgeter, always have been. My go-to is usually pens, and I've lost count of how many I've lost over the side of ships/docks, down sewer drains, or broken due to dropping them while fiddling around with them. A good trinket for me would be something that returns to my grasp if I dropped it, but can be interesting enough to play around with. Maybe something that bounces or floats. (And before anyone asks, no, I'm not a fidget spinner or pop-it guy. I've never understood anyone spending money on stuff like that).
Probably an app of some kind. I love what Rolegate has done, but their method of play engenders shorter posts, and I like the detailed writing that forums encourage. If not an app, I want a text-to-speech tool that reads all of my posts in Adam's sultry British accent.

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TO RUNEKYNDIG:
It's from a random word generator. As I get more into my studies of cybersecurity, I get more paranoid. I would normally use the same username I use for everything else, but I realized it means if someone wanted to, they could track me across a dozen different sites, and that bothers me. Nowadays, each username is completely unique.
Improv and worldbuilding. I love getting into the head of a character and figuring out what they'd probably do. I also love exploring a world that isn't really there, I find it to be a comforting escape. There's also something really fun about creating a character with a history and interesting quirks. I sort of fall in love with each one I create.

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TO CHALRYTHARENDIR:
I got into martial arts for the camaraderie, exercise, and the pure joy of it, but I also really like the mechanics of how a human body can be manipulated by another. I sometimes use it, but because I move around so much, I can't stick with a school long enough to become good at any single one. That, and with kids I can't be gone 2-3 nights a week, so it's been quite a while since I took any lessons. I really ought to dig further into my combat scenes and make it seem more interesting/action-y.

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TO BOWLOFSPINACH:
Haha, the Discord name and the homebrew setting were a coincidence. I've always thought desert fantasy was underserved (Is anyone else sick of standard temperate forests?), and there's a lot of cool mythological desert-based material to draw from, so that's why I wanted to play there. My Discord name is because my online handle for the last 20 years has been Desert Fox. I read it in a book about WWII, but I got sick of people asking if I like Nazis, so I dropped the "Fox" part.

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TO CRAZYBIRDMAN:
These are SO specific and I really dig it. Hm. Without getting into what is/isn't a ballad, I'd probably say "Home" by the Foo Fighters. Between my various jobs, I've spent a lot of time traveling and away from those I care about, and "Home" really nails that homesick feeling. Even listening to it right now as I type, it makes me want to cry.
I had no idea the 27 club was a thing until just this moment! Super weird. Jimi Hendrix. I would've loved finding out what else that guy was capable of, and I love his music.
Gun to my head? Probably chess. It's such a ubiquitous game, there's always someone around that knows how to play. It scratches an itch for strategy and puzzles that I can't quite get somewhere else, and there's a MILLION ways to play it, whether against a friend, a computer, puzzles, strangers, or with a board of live human beings (I've only done that once).

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TO QRALLOQ:
Haha, yeah, I finished the damned shed. Mostly. I had three days between work and when our guests arrived for Christmas, and I built the shed and a huge Murphy bed during those days, but I didn't have time to get the doors on. Whatever, it keeps the rain off the bikes and lawn equipment. And yeah, it's ok here. Cold. We got more snow than this area has had in years on Monday morning. It shut down the whole town for a couple days, but it was absolutely gorgeous on the trail behind our place.

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TO LEN:
Rangers or barbarians are my favorite. Rangers because a lot of the mechanics intrigue me (who doesn't want a pet?), and barbarians because of how basic, strong, and fun they can be to play. I've never multiclassed in a game, but I had an idea for a Barbarian/Ranger multiclass that, while not strong, seemed like it would've been a fun combination.
I really like spells that ask the player to use their imagination, so probably the Illusion or Enchantment spells. Minor Illusion is so much fun for such a low-level cantrip. Honorable mention to Mage Hand. Least favorite spell...the ones that people cheese. Guidance seems like a bad design choice, or Goodberries, or Healing Spirit.
Goblins. They seem kind of weak, but conniving. I love the idea that they're devious little jerks who run away but are the first ones to leap upon a weak adversary. The few times I've gotten to use them as a DM, I play them with a fair amount of nonsense and humor. There's a podcast called Dumpstat that has an episode dedicated to discussing the goblins and their Forgotten Realms lore, and I love the ridiculousness of that race. The way I understand it, when they die, nothing good happens to them, they're weak in life and punished in death. To me, this means they'd do ANYTHING to avoid dying, so if they're on the losing side of a battle, they'd absolutely make a deal of some kind. Also, "Booyahg" means "magic", but "Booyahg booyahg booyahg" means "magic goblin sorcerer", and I think that's absurd and hilarious.

Cool that you are into cybersecurity. Me too, even it all self-taught.
That is a paranoid trait that I should properly pick up. runekyndig is perhaps overly used for anything gaming related.

What made you study cybersecurity?

I've been meaning to get out of the aviation field that I'm in for a while now. It can get me to my retirement from active duty, but if I want to continue my career, most of the options sound either boring or are underpaid. I don't particularly want to change the oil on some rich dude's Cessna when I'm in my 50s, you know?

The main thing that got me thinking about it was the podcast Darknet Diaries. I've listened to every single one of their episodes, and I'm endlessly fascinated by that side of things, in particular where technology and geopolitics cross paths (nation-state hackers). Then a special assignment was advertised that I got into (the second time, I was turned down the first time and had to wait a year), and the rest is history.

Also the pay is really good and there's a huge demand. And I haven't gotten to work in air conditioning in over a decade, I'm pretty excited about that part.

Dude, you can't drop a hint to the best cybersecurity podcast without a link :)

Darknet Diaries podcast I have heard all of them all. I also enjoin Smashing Security podcast

- Favorite video game genre, if any? Favorite game in that genre?
- Have you played any board games based on video games (XCom, Plague Inc, Fallout, etc.)?
- What mechanic do you like more in 13th Age as opposed to DnD? And vice versa?
- Do you know any cool dessert recipes that don't use eggs (or aquafaba)? I like baking, but I can't stand cooking with eggs, and aquafaba is a bit awkward to make when no one in your family eats beans. XD

(continuing on my "if you were a character..." idea)

If you were are character what would be your:
* Alignment
* Primary stat
* Dump stat
* Ideals
* Bonds
* Personality traits
* Flaws
* Three fears
* Three hopes

(the last two aren't standard but my IRL DM uses them)

What Is you favorite piece of Art you've used in a game as character or as GM and what draws you to that piece of art?

Hm. I'm not sure I've got a favorite genre necessarily. There are definitely ones I gravitate towards. I really enjoy competitive FPS's, though I can't git gud at them anymore. Story-based RPGs, roguelikes/lites, metroidvanias, and the occasional survival game I really enjoy. I also like platformers, but I they have to be good in other ways. Celeste was the last great platformer I enjoyed, I played Subnautica a couple years ago and it made my all-time favorites list, Hades is on there, too. I've been playing a lot of Halo Infinite recently, but it's like an abusive relationship sometimes. I don't know how long I'm going to hold onto that one for.

I don't get a chance to play many board games, unfortunately. We move around every 3-4 years, and it's hard to make friends that want to play board games. I've been picking up cooperative board games to play with the wife recently, we've been enjoying Pandemic. Unfortunate timing, admittedly.

After reading through a lot of 13th Age, I've been seeing 5e show its age and its creaky joints. A lot of spells aren't well designed in 5e, and there are a lot of holdovers that are only in the game because they've always been in the game. I see 13th Age as an upgrade in a lot of ways from 5e. Though, I really enjoy the nonsense number of magic items that can be fiddled with in 5e.

Cool dessert recipes with no eggs....hm. I don't cook a ton of desserts, but I've been enjoying making ice cream recently, and many of those are egg-free. Alton Brown had an interesting avocado ice cream recipe that I enjoyed that didn't have any eggs. I also really like candied pecans, but unless you have some way to melt sugar, my recipe uses egg whites as a wash for when they're baked. If I'm looking for specific recipes, reddit is usually where I head to, there's a ton of food/cooking communities over there.
Adam is over here bringing out some big guns. These are hard.
Alignment: Lawful good. I'm surrounded by rules and regulations, as much as I'd like to say chaotic good, it would be a lie.Primary Stat: Intelligence, probably, or Constitution. I don't seem to get sick very often, and I tend to have fewer injuries/chronic pain than other folks I know.Dump Stat: Hm. Hard to say. I'm not terribly buff, but I do go to the gym occasionally (I've dropped off recently, but I need to start heading back). Maybe Charisma, I can't convince anyone to do anything, and I've never been a part of the "cool kids club" at any workplace/school I've been to, I kind of sit in the middle of various circles.Ideals/Bonds: I have a hard enough time deciding these for a character that I'm making up as I go. If I have to choose one for myself in RL, I'd be here for a week. That, and people are such an amalgam of circumstances that they're ever-changing.Personality Traits: Probably being somewhat quirky but easy to get along with, and a twisted sense of humorFlaws: When I get tired, I get quite irritable, impatient, and generally no fun to be around. Which is unfortunate, because life keeps me tired often these days.Fears: I don't know if I've got three (that I want to type out and face right at this moment). Failure is a big one, probably the biggest. For more mundane fears, I used to be terrified of spiders but I'm trying to face that one. I'm still uncomfortable with deep water. I'm quite a strong swimmer, but something about not knowing what's below you, or swimming way off the coast with goggles and looking down and it just....turns to black. Ugh. I got certified to scuba dive to help face that fear, but it could only do so much.Hopes: I think (hope) that in the grand scheme of things, life on a macro level gets better as time goes on. Maybe not every day or every year, but in general. I constantly hope I'm doing right by my kids, that they won't grow up with some kind of complex, or make a few bad decisions and ruin their lives. I hope I'll have a self-driving car and that self-driving cars alleviate the nonsense traffic that people have to deal with every day. That or teleportation.
Another tough one. I don't rightly know, to be honest. I tend to prefer character art that has a story to tell rather than some standard white background character that looks cool. I don't have a favorite because I love them all, but they have to stand out somehow. I wish I had a better answer, but it's one of those "I don't know art but I know what I like" situations.

As a for instance, one of these two images is dripping with flavor, the other seems...like a cool character, I guess, but it doesn't tell me a story by viewing the image:




I don't spend as much time poring through character art as I used to. I enjoyed doing that, I need to pick that up again.

Follow up question: Is your return key broken?

I bet he's low-key nagging you about the 13th Age character sheets. 😆

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - it's SS's subtle and clever humour going over my head.

Well played, SS.

Bahaha, I'm neither that clever nor that subtle. I appreciate that someone thinks that I might be, though.

I lost about 15 minutes of work on my first long in this thread when my computer crashed, and I've been composing other answers as an auto-saving email draft and copy/pasting back over. Evidently some of the formatting was lost. I'll fix it a bit later.

* 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.