RPGaDay8: Favorite Character

I do not have one.

I suffer from two major drawbacks in this area: 1) all of my characters are my favorites, 2) I used to move around a lot, and due to the constant relocation I never really had time to develop a character.

When I finally did settle down in one place, I became an almost permanent GM.  There have been a few characters that I enjoyed playing, even just enjoying character creation, but when it comes to blows, my love for the character always stemmed from the quality of my GM.

Now, I have a favorite character for each player I have had.

Bob - Jimmy "The Squid": a grifter in a Noir LARP that I ran for a month or so.  He introduced so many plotlines just by trying to keep the other players from killing him that I made him carry around a piece of paper and a pen.  "What Jimmy the Squid don't know, he makes up!"

PeterAmthor - Hate: Squad leader for a SLA Industries group I ran. Good ideas, kept the group in line and focused at all times.  Great background, always working towards revenge on the Skin Trade for taking his little sister.  Had long term goals, got the job done, and would risk it all to make sure that the right thing was done.

SiokoTi - Don McGuiness: rough and tumble Frother KMS from Hate's squad.  Completely loony.  Never paid attention, like a meth addict with ADHD and a futuristic scythe.

Jason P - Roger "I'm a badass" Halton: throughout the entire time Jason played this character, the character only hit running speed twice.

Those are the big ones off the top of my head.  There are plenty more but I cannot remember the names of the characters.  A half-dragon (basically, he was a human raised by a dragon) who was not only willing to use a scroll that forced the Elven population of the planet to save vs death, including a party member, but he was also the type to cast directly from his spellbook if the situation even slightly warranted.  Blessed dice allowed him to create a similacrum of his father (a blue dragon), which he used as a mount.

I have been routinely blessed with great players, their characters are my real favorites.

RPGaDay3 2014: First RPG Purchased

As stated in a previous post, Dungeons and Dragons was given to me, so does not count as first RPG purchased in my book.

That brings up the grand possibility that the first one actually purchased was, again, James Bond 007!

Yes, the first game I game mastered was the first game I actually purchased.  Up until that point, I was merely a player.

I must have enjoyed it immensely, as I seldom play, most of my RPG experience from the time this game was purchased has been 'behind the screen.'

It needs to be said, at this point in history, the early 1980's, the Cold War was very real.  With my father being in the military at the time, we were painfully aware that if missiles were launched, we were a target.

This may have something to do with all of the kids on the military bases being huge James Bond fans.  We watched the movies, he was a hero to us the same as John Wayne.

We understood the need for people like James Bond in our reality, they kept the bad guys at bay.  But it was not some kind of Rambo kill them all setup.  Spies were classy, and smart, not to mention they had toys that made even Batman jealous.

In my mind, there has probably never been a more real RPG than the Victory Games James Bond 007.

RPGaDay2 2014: First RPG GameMastered

I am not 100% sure about this, but the first game I actually remember GMing was James Bond 007.

Talk about a cool game!  Who does not want to be a secret agent with cool toys and a license to kill?

The introductory adventure is actually the Island of Dr No!  Rules for ranged combat, SCUBA diving, gambling and just all around being cool and sophisticated.

Looking back, there were definitely some strange things going on, system-wise, but the game really was fun.

Now, even though I still love the game, I cannot fathom running this for a group of people the way it sits.  As per the James Bond universe, there are only ever nine "00" agents.  These agents are usually solo, or working with SAS agents.  For a long time, there were only 2 or 3 of us playing at a time, so it was no big deal.  As I grew older, and found more gamers, running a game of JB007 became something of a problem.  Everyone wanted to be a "00" agent, but who can blame them?

I still have the same boxed set from way back when, and the Q Manual.  In the 90s I was able to pick up a copy of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Thrilling Locations and For Your Information.

I still absolutely love this game.