Ask Me Anything: WarDomo

1. How did you get into tabletop games?
2. How many RPG books do you own? Which system/setting do you have the most books for?

Do you use statistics in calculating the odds in your game? If so, what's the most interesting problem you've looked at.

Do you use movie references in your games?

Do you think Florida is really as crazy as people say? Or is Miami exempt from the madness?

I quite enjoyed the Exalted intro game you ran before. Any plans of doing that again in the future?

You've been a while around here.
What was the thing that made you say "wow, now we're talking" and which - if any, almost made you say "screw this"?

What is the story behind your username

Hi WarDomo! What genres of movies do you like, and what's your favourite movie you've seen in the last five years from your favorite genre?

What have your favorite characters been here in GP.

What kinds of music do you like?

We're not going to see you on one of those "Florida man..." lists are we?

Kidding aside, as a movie buff, what movie would you most want to promote specifically to gamers? Specifically, one that you think might be an overlooked gem.

D&D Black Box starter set when I was 10. AD&D 2e books around the same time, but I never really played it with a group. High school is when I really got into it with a lot of Vampire and Werewolf (I think it was 2e at the time). Played a little Vampire LARP in college and 1st Edition Exalted. Then I didn't play for a LONG time until around the same time I started GP and trying to play some videochat games with high school friends. I also started playing in person with a group that started at my local library.
Let's start easy with physical books that I still have in my possession: Exalted 1e core and dragon-blooded book; new world of darkness core (1e); AD&D 2e PHB, DMG, and Arms & Equipment guide; Star Wars D20 core book; and 2 Dragon-Ball Z RPG books.

PDFs.... Let's just say I have a lot! I'm a sucker for humble bundle and bundle of holding deals. I've also recently been backing several Onyx Path kickstarters for Exalted 3e/Essence and several 2e Chronicles of Darkness games.

Very much so. In particular, the variations of the storyteller system dice mechanics. Exalted in particular has a lot of magic effects that play with your dice pool. So roll a handful of D10s, reroll 6s, 7s and above are successes. I love AnyDice for this.
Probably more than I'm even aware of. I have often been guilty of speaking in movie quotes.
Yes, and sorta. The Florida man meme is real, though I'm sure if you replaced "Florida" with any other place you could find funny replacements that work. Florida has a weird mix of climate, people, and wide variability in socio-economic status in close proximity that just allows more opportunities for crazy stuff to happen. Miami is not exempt from this, but it does have a much different flavor than a lot of the rest of Florida. Far more influenced by the Caribbean and South America, but just as nuts. It is after all where the whole "bath salts making a dude eat another guy's face" happened.

That was a great game! I definitely am the vocal Exalted minority here on GP. Before my most recent hiatus, I was trying to get a game going with the recently kickstarted Exalted Essence rules. Life happened and I wasn't able to come back to that. I'm back now but I've been bitten by the Forbidden Lands bug. If I start another Exalted game, I owe it to the folks from that Essence game to see if we want to start that back up again.

After that, I think the next game I would start is another 3e Exalted game.

Wow, now we're talking: There was a very short-lived Sabbat Vampire game we played and we roleplayed out the Sabbat Vaulderie for our coterie. We all really got into it and it got a little weird in the best way. I really wish that game would've kept going....sigh. I also had an excellent game of Reflections with Genisisect that really just worked. My long-running Victorian Age vampire game with Qralloq had a ton of moments like that

Screw this: Mainly just a couple of rare bad eggs on the site that were very critical and complainy. No need to point fingers, but they serve as a reminder to thank your GM and tell them that they're doing a great job and you appreciate the work they put in for your entertainment.

UGH! I hate my username. I've used some variation of "domo" in my usernames as it's part of my last name. There was a brief moment when I was trying WarDomo on for size and I signed up for this small PBP site that I had just heard about on a podcast. It doesn't matter I probably won't be on that site for the next 6 years!

I love so-bad-they're-good movies with a passion. My absolute favorite in recent memory would be Willy's Wonderland starring the illustrious Nick Cage. If you haven't seen it, go do yourself a favor and go now.

I'm a big horror fan. I thought Bird Box, Get Out and a Quiet Place were pretty great new entries in the space.

I'm invested in the Marvel movies, but admit that some are better than others. I mostly just marvel (that one's for you bowlofspinach) at the fact that we live in a world in which the highest grossing films of all time are about comic books. The 12 year old in me is still just amazed that a significant portion of the world knows who Rocket Raccoon is.

Comedy is great too. My most recent two favorites in that genre would be Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and Always Be My Maybe (a rare rom-com that actually lives up to it)

Vittorio Giovanni, my Vampire The Masquerade character from the previously mentioned Qralloq game for sure! My favorite NPC was from a short-lived post-apocalyptic zombie game I ran. He was an Elvis Impersonator and he ran this community. He was called the Peanut Butter King.
Pretty much 90s rock. Pearl Jam in particular.

Maybe you already have!
I love Tucker & Dale Versus Evil! From a gamer perspective, I see it as a bunch of murder hobo PCs terrorizing the throw away NPCs that you just meant for color in a scene. It plays with traditional horror tropes excellently. I love to use that as a reminder to give motivations to NPCs and not underestimate how PCs can misunderstand things. Cabin in the Woods did a lot of this too, but most people know that one.

I haven't seen many of those movies, so thanks for that! I'll put them on my list. I can confirm that Always Be My Maybe is a great movie in many ways.

Keanu Reeves is so great in that one!

My 'Trademark Question' ©Antiproduct: What do movies and television get wrong about your job/career?
What are some of your favorite fan theories about movies?
What is your favorite movie based on an SNL skit?
What's your favorite board game right now? And could the most famous person alive with the same first name as you, beat you at that game?

Don't know a ton of movies/tv shows that prominently feature statisticians, but I'd say the greatest misconception is how much of our time is spent preparing and cleaning data or documenting methodology rather than actually producing models or any kind of useful forecasts/predictions. It's kinda like firefighters that spend very little of their time as a percentage actually fighting fires, but far less heroic :)
I don't spend a ton of time reading speculative stuff about movies, but I did read the grand unifying theory of pixar movies once and that was pretty clever. It's the theory that the witch from Brave is actually Boo from Monsters Inc and that all the pixar movies are connected.
Great question! I think a lot of people would say Wayne's World. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but I absolutely love A Night at the Roxbury
Oof, in terms of actual playing I've been playing a lot of two-player games: Sheriff in Nottingham if I had to choose one.

I've only gotten to play once, but I really enjoyed Gloomhaven too.

I think Bryan Cranston is probably the most famous one these days (clever way to get my first name btw :) ) and I think he would definitely beat me at Sheriff of Nottingham. Gloomhaven is co-op so probably not.

I was able to see Captain Marvel and Shazam as a double feature at the drive-in. 12-year-old me was ecstatic.
Now, at this point, with so many Marvel movies out, and so many people invested in them, is it considered rude to schedule an event (birthday party, wedding etc.) the same weekend a new Marvel movie is released?

Not in my opinion. I'm getting old now and opening weekend is not a deal breaker for me. If someone would rather go to a movie than your wedding, then they can go ahead.

What do you like best about your favorite TTRPG games? What's the appeal of Exalted?

Why....I thought you would never ask!

Hands down, the greatest appeal of Exalted is the setting. Animism abounds with a little god for everything. Huge celestial bureaucracy. A global superpower crumbling under it's own weight, a civil war looming. The return of legendary but flawed heroes at a time when powerful enemies are amassing from within and outside of Creation.

The game itself you play a near-god-like being from Day 1 and you only get more ridiculous from there. It's a game not about what you can do, but what are the consequences for what you do.

I also love the combat system. The back and forth of Initiative until you can land a decisive blow really supports a more narrative combat. But it doesn't stop there. The systems to support social conflict, crafting, war, construction projects all have the similar levels of attention paid to them and have real meat on their bones. It's crazy to think, but a Bureaucracy based character is actually viable in this game.

That brings me to Sorcery. Magic in Exalted is bigger and more flexible. There are a few set spells like Death of Obsidian Butterflies that can literally level a battlefield (also as a starting character), but you can do Sorcerous Workings that are only limited by your imagination.

oh, and Warstriders! 30-ft mechs.... yes please

Now I'm just rambling and want to play Exalted.... look what you've done.