Ask Me Anything: CancerMan

The first question has to be about the origin of your username. CancerMan. Wait, what?

@adam Hey, that is my opening question!

Best experience as a player? Here on GP and out there in the real world

Best experience as a GM? Here on GP and out there in the real world

Username was grabbed from a mix of cigarette smoking when I was younger, my Zodiac sign as Cancer, and being male. I've tried to use it ever since, everywhere I go.

People say there's a remarkable resemblance to the Cigarette-Smoking Man from The X-Files, but that's likely a conspiracy theory or a gosh-darn coincidence.

IRL, my best experience as a player was during college, rolling up an AD&D 2e halfling ranger geared with little magic except for a crossbow +1. I was teamed up with a party of fully-decked out min-max characters with custom artifacts, and was the only survivor of a near-TPK against an army of monsters that were created by the DM as a direct counter to what the party had. I might not agree with the DM's style of game, but being able to thwart that army by being sneaky AF was quite enjoyable.

On GP, I have too many best experiences to choose just one, so I'll pick the first. In Secret of Bload, my fighter got Plane Shifted to the Elemental Plane of Water, and through sheer luck, dice rolls, and DM-fiat managed to find someone that could help before my character drowned. Also ate some hallucinogenic ice that may or may not have had daemonic properties.

Truthfully, a lot of really good player experiences are found here on GP. We've got a great community.

As for being a GM, my best experiences are usually when players enjoy the scene. It can be as simple as someone saying that the descriptions I give are immersive, or just seeing how engaged they are.

How did you find GP?

Are you cancerned about the growing number of puns on this website?

If you could remove one class from D&D and instead invent a brand new one to replace it, which would you remove and would would you add?

In your profile you only have DnD and Shadowrun games.

Did you try any other systems? What did you like/ don't like about them?

Also. A friend of mine described Shadowrun as 'smashing massive Excel-tables' because of the extensive character creation process. Your thoughts on that?

What appeals to you about PbP as a gaming medium?

Did you struggle to move to 5e? What was your poison before then?

Some of these questions will be better answered in a "How did I get here" response.After my AD&D experience in college, I basically dropped RPGs entirely. There weren't other groups and nobody played any other systems. I still kept my books and on occasion would satisfy that D&D itch by running solo "what if" scenarios with character experiments; create a character, see what it does.

I literally knew nothing about 3rd and 4th editions as I didn't really look. I got into Warhammer 40k as a hobby, collecting and painting miniatures, and visited a local game store for supplies. I discovered they had a weekly hobby night where people gathered to play whatever was the rage, though D&D was still far from my mind and I only spent my time at the miniatures table with the other builders and painters.

Fast-forward to 2015, and Critical Role hit the YouTubes. I gleaned a few aspects of the new D&D 5e system and it reaggravated that RPG itch, especially by how open and unrestricted it felt compared to AD&D. I think there was a related video describing how the art in the PHB was inclusive and shying away from the barbarians in bikini chainmail tropes, and it intrigued me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't spare the time to join in the weekly hobby nights at the LGS. My child was entering school and playing tee-ball, and as a coach I basically adopted twelve to sixteen other kids for 2 or 3 hours every weekday afternoon and all day on the weekends. I couldn't even maintain my miniatures and I still have figures that are unpainted or not built.While I spent my online minutes on another forum, there was a call for players from BullOctorok for their Secret History of Bload D&D 5e game. I extended my interest, got the URL for GP, and have been here ever since.

I didn't really have anything between AD&D 2nd ed and D&D 5e. Perhaps that big gap meant that I could slip into D&D 5e without any preconceptions. Not being restricted to anything was really refreshing, and I had no problems adjusting to the rules.

The format of play-by-post is perfect for my current lifestyle, balanced as it is with a job, family, and other obligations.

Back in high school, my friends and I dabbled in AD&D and Shadowrun, as well as Call of Cthulu and a couple of contemporary military-esque systems whose names escape me at the moment. I had a lot of time back then and learning new systems with friends was an enjoyable collective effort. I didn't like CoC because spending two or three hours to create a character with decent history and connection to the other players only to die two minutes in, was unappealing. I enjoyed Shadowrun because it was like a mix of D&D and Blade Runner, and I liked the idea of a small black-ops or mercenary group trying to survive the seedy underbelly of conglomerate corruption.

As for the Shadowrun system itself, I think I enjoy the concept more than the implementation. I created a Rigger on GP for a Shadowrun 5e game that I really liked, but my concept of a mechanic and driver that doesn't use drones just didn't seem to sit well; the rules seemed to imply that a Rigger must use drones, otherwise they're useless. The game idled out afterward and I've never looked at Shadowrun since.

Now the Shadowrun video games by Harebrained Studios? I love them.

Unfortunately, I've had to make the personal decision to limit myself to just one system. While I'm sure the community here can easily help me figure out a new system, I feel that I can't afford the mental headspace anymore to fully grasp and comprehend things to pull my own weight in a game. Meanwhile, I am familiar enough with D&D 5e that I can step in whenever needed and just dive into the roleplay.
So long as these word plays don't punch down on anyone, I could cansider a few healthy doses to be copacetic.

CancerMan, among your many qualities you are one of the most dependable players I've met. I've seen you hold together faltering games through impeccable participation and a refusal to quit. For example, one time in our Dragon Heist the whole group was struggling to post and the game was stalling. Your Paladin, Alastriona, with a Dex of 8 and clad in heavy armor pushed the story forward, leading a stealthy sortie despite having the worst possible odds a D&D 5e character can have for succeeding at stealth checks. It was the lifeblood of the game. Alastriona carried us through a rough patch and once everyone was posting again we were in a more exciting place.

I've seen this play out in other games too. You seem to have a strong sense of commitment and an admirable posting endurance. Are you like this in other aspects of your life? Have you engineered this by being selective in the games you run or the types of characters you play? What's your secret?

I think it comes down to how I view relationships. I value integrity in people and I consider it a personal duty to honor my commitments and I expect others to do the same. If a promise cannot be kept, I expect honest and open communication so that we can work things out or part amicably.

This integrity and honesty applies to myself as well. If I feel like we are stuck in a morass, I first look inwardly to see if there's anything I can do or change in order to proceed forward. I have to be honest with myself and understand my limits so as to either overcome them or acknowledge that I can't, and sometimes both involve doing something out of my comfort zone.

As it applies to PbP RPGs, that means trying to sneak through a sewer in heavy armor with disadvantage and a negative modifier. It's tactically unsound and the odds are against me, but I must remember that failure does not mean the end of the game. As a coach, I understand that nobody is perfect in baseball*, and mistakes become opportunities for growth; the same holds true in fictitious and imaginative settings like RPGs.

* And if anyone says that X player had a perfect game (especially pitchers), don't forget that they've got a full team backing them up.

If you work, what do you do for a living?

Bonus question: Tell us about some of your favorite foods!

My job title is "IT Specialist." I am on an Identity Access Management team supporting a university system, programming scripts and libraries to process account information from various identity sources and disseminate to the various identity consumers.

Wow, favorite foods. Too many to list individually, but the cultural cuisines I enjoy include Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Mexican, Hawaiian, and Chinese. I also like a tasty hot pot, especially when I can use the leftover broth to make zosui.

Long time reader. First time asker.

What's your experience as a mod here been like? Best thing you've seen? Worst thing you've seen? Things you'd like to see posters do less and/or more of?

If you turn on the TV, or are flipping channels, what's a movie that if it's on, you will absolutely finish watching the rest of it?
What's a pet you would have if it wasn't illegal?
Favorite Marvel character that is just a copy of a DC character, or vice versa?

For the most part, this community is one of the best I've seen in online spaces. There are always differences of opinion and conflicts are inevitable, but I think people are capable of reaching an understanding of one another if they at least remain open and accepting of those differences. It can be difficult, especially when one's words or actions present a legitimate harm to another person, but I'd like to believe that a majority of people aren't cognizant of the implications and through education we can all be in a better place. Many of us have implicit biases depending on where we grew up and the community around us, but we can change them if we want to improve.

The converse can also be true, where we become too cemented in what is right that we fail to give someone their opportunity to better themselves. I personally have had moments where I've used what I thought was an innocent term, and afterward received education on why that term was problematic. I've since apologized and strive to not use that term anymore. I do know that for targeted individuals or groups, the constant offenses are exhausting as they have to stand up for themselves yet again. For those that I have hurt in some way, I can only be sincere in my apology and efforts to improve. I can't take away the hurt, but I can hope that I am given the chance to rebuild the relationship.

With that in mind, the best that I've seen from the community is when we've reached that shared understanding, where people who thought there wasn't a problem were made aware of the problem, and they've attempted to improve the dialogue. The worst is when one person becomes so cemented in their position, that even if they're right they are intolerant or unaccepting of a person's ability to change.

I don't mind any of the classes, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Artificer; it just feels like D&D could still be D&D without it.

I apologize, but I can't think of a new class I'd add. It feels like anything I come up with can already be accomplished by an existing one.I'll watch anything by Hayao Miyazaki.

I'd go with Captain Marvel.

For an illegal pet, it'd probably be the sand cat.

THEY'RE THE CUTEST LITTLE MURDERERS!!!! <3