What I learned today

I sat down while the kids were at school, and decided to work on my GM/DM/AM/referee skills a bit. That's Game/Dungeon/Adventure Master. I've been reading a lot of blogs about how to be better, tips for newbies, and general improvement. Most of them agree on the first rule: This is a game. Games are fun. If it isn't fun, do something about it.

What makes it fun? Personal involvement for one. The players need to be emotionally attached to whats going on in our shared world. I want them to want to slay the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl). Because he is messing with their friends and their family. He is the one who set fire to the General Store. He burned down the Warrens. He is sacrificing the towns people. He is planning ... well, you get the idea. Emotional involvement on their part will make the gaming experience much more intense and memorable.

We did not actually sit down and "play" tonight. I reviewed my notes from our first session where we generated their characters. Luxord is a human fighter. Stevo is an elven mage. Sonic and Zoey are halfling rogues. I discovered some ... things ... about my children. When I summarized those things, it surprised me. My son's characters wanted to improve themselves, just to be the best. The best fighter. The best wizard. (His master sent him away because he couldn't teach him anything more.) My daughter wanted to go out and help people. Wow. What a difference. I've never really seen them in that light before, and it was an eye-opener. I'm not sure its a totally accurate representation of them as individuals though. But, I do think they are too young and inexperienced to create characters totally unlike themselves. Frankly, I'm surprised my daughter is playing a male character at all. (This is cute though. He's on the road to be with her. He got lost. He seems fairly clueless and inept. I wonder if this says something about her view of men in general, or someone in particular.)

After supper, I pulled my daughter over, and talked with her about her two characters, Zoey and Sonic. I knew they were cousins, but where did they come from? A farm. Why are they out on the road? To help other people. What skills do they have? Parents? Siblings? Home life? Village, forest, mountain, farm, city? We sculpted the background of her characters, and it was fun for both of us.

Then on to my son's two, Luxord and Stevo. Luxord's parents died when he was 15. Stevo's died when he was 15, too. (That doesn't look good for me, but, he's reading the Harry Potter books. So, I hope its a HP thing, and not a wish to be orphaned.) Luxord's little brother is apprenticed to a blacksmith, while Luxord does odd jobs. "Oh, you're a loafer," said Faith. "No!" "Yes!" we both said. "You won't get a job. You just do enough to earn money when you need it." "No!" Well, that's what it sounds like to us. Stevo was apprenticed to a wizard when he was 40. (Stevo is an elf, so ages and timelines are ... weird.) What did he do in the intervening 25 years? We don't know. Loaf? Odd jobs? He said he'll have to think about it.

When we were done, he said character/world building was just as much fun as actually playing. Cool. I think so too. I also learned quite a bit about my children as I reviewed my notes. I hope this game of ours proves to be character building in more than just one way.

The Adventures Continue ...

So far, our family game time has been a mixed success. The kids love it. I love it. Faith won't play, but I'm not blaming her. Its just not her thing.

Unfortunately, each game can from one hour, to four or more, and it takes a fair amount of prep time, which I'm not getting during Christmas Break. I'm not getting much free time period during "vacation." I'm sure most parents know what this is like. But, the kids go back to school on Monday. Then, I can go back to playing games, reading, writing, surfing the internet, and now "prepping."

This "prepping" is a lot like writing for me. I need to know characters, their histories, motivations, ethics, and so forth and so on. I need to know the lay of the land, politics, religion, politics, natives (human, non-human, aggressive, etc.) It is "creation" at its greatest. I love it. But instead of typing it all up and posting it, I get to live it with my children.

They each have two characters they are running. Ryan has a human fighter named Luxord, who left home to see the world. He heard stories of his father's youth and how exciting it was, so left when he was big enough. His other character is an elfin mage named Stevo. (Steve-o? Well, its his character, I guess.) He was trained for years by a local wizard, who finally told him he had taught him all he could (which left him as a level one? whatever).

Hope has two halfling rogues. I guess she likes rogues, and halflings. *shrug* Hers are cousins named Zoey and Sonic (which is Ryan's current favorite video game). They left home because Zoey wanted to go out and help people. Sonic justed wants to be with Zoey.

I laid out a piece of paper, and started drawing a map for them of the town they started in. On a hill, I drew a large building. They both automatically knew it was a church, and Ryan's first response was "I need to buy good clothes. I can't wear armor to church." lol That's too funny. Now, if I can just get him to stop wearing shorts and t-shirts to church IRL (In Real Life.)

They (Zoey & Luxord) found lodging in a local inn. After a day or two, Ryan realized they needed to go find jobs, so they could continue living in-doors, and eating, and buying other supplies.

I've learned a couple things about my children from this time. First, both are fairly timid. They run into one monster, and immediately want to run back home and heal up, rather than pushing on. I don't suppose that is a bad thing, in children. But adults? Well, we'll see how they turn out.

Secondly, they are somewhat responsible. Hope's first order of business was to secure room and board. They don't sleep in the woods. They don't hunt. They don't break and enter. (I'm not sure she knows what a "rogue" is.) Ryan suggested they find jobs to support themselves. Most gaming experiences I've been through didn't involve jobs. It was usually "kill things and take their stuff" to make money. They may get to that point, but right now they have jobs.

I see places in the game where they aren't doing things the way I would. I suppose their age and inexperience is the reason for that. They haven't played a game like this before. But, then again, they haven't had much experience at life either. Both of these will change.

Oh, I just have to add, after our last gaming session, Ryan said it was more exciting than video games. High praise indeed.

Connecting with Ryan

About a year ago, a friend told me about "Knights of the Dinner Table," a comic book about old-school table-top RPGer's. (That's "role playing game", for those who don't know.) The most (in)famous today would be World of Warcraft. Back in the day, it would have been Dungeons & Dragons.

In one of the earliest issues of the comic, the gamers are told they enter a peaceful meadow, with butterflies and flowers. So, they gear up for the inevitable sneak-attack-ambush from death dealing bad guys. But the GM (the game master) tries to tell them there is nothing there. "It's peaceful."

"Off in the distance, you see a gazebo."

"I shoot it with my crossbow."

"uhhhhh ...."

"And I throw a fireball at it. What is it doing?"

"Doing?" responds the GM. "Nothing. Its a gazebo. Its just standing there."

So, they throw everything they have at it, and burn it to the ground. Because gazebos must be big and fierce and have lots of treasure. Riiiiiight.

Its hilarious, if you're a gamer. After reading through the dozen that I have, my son decided he wanted to learn how "to game."

Well, okay. I played a little bit back in college, for a few months. Then I ran a game called DragonRaid for our church youth group. After college, but before I got married. It was a Christian role playing game designed specifically for discipleship. There was an Overlord of Many Names (God) who sent his son (Jesus) to lead the Once Born (the unsaved) into the promised land, and become Twice Born (Christians). It was all very blatant and straight forward. You fought against bad guys whose primary attacks weren't physical, but temptations. You needed to memorize scriptures for various effects. Your armor is the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, etc. You get the point.

Anyway, it was designed for a GM, and several players. Not a one-on-one session. So, I started digging around the internet, and fount a HUGE selection of games out there. Free ones. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Western. Cyperpunk. Future. Past. And even a few Christian ones.

Several of the smaller ones were generic. They gave the basic barebones of the game mechanics, and let the GM design the world. Soooo, I decided to run with a simple one, and design a generic fantasy world to drop my son into. He can run around, bashing things, and I'll have some one-on-one time with him before he hits those turbulent teen years.

Deuteronomy 6.7-9 commands that I talk to my children about God and his laws while we walk and talk and sit and eat and everything. Well, with a car, we don't walk too much. And sharing as few meals as we do these days, we don't sit and eat much either. BUT, this is my chance. I can walk from one end of Narnia to the other with my son this way, picnic on the moon, eat dessert in an old saloon, and go swimming across the oceans of Middle Earth.

I'm looking forward to this. I think it will be fun. I'll let you know.