All #RPGaDAY questions - click for full-size graphic.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2017 by David F. Chapman and RPGBrigade. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK. I'm modifying per suggestions from S. John Ross as well as applying my own interpretations. Comment with your answers or links to your own posts!

Day 2 - What is an RPG you would like to see published?

Much like Day 1, I'll open with the true and unhelpful answer, which is "all of them." This question also needed a dose of interpretation. One part of me thought of it as "what's an idea for a non-existent RPG that you want to see happen?" and another part of me thought "what's an RPG that is in development that you're looking forward to seeing hit the shelves?" I don't have any particularly strong leanings for the former, as I'm kind of gaming omnivorous in a way. Actually, it's probably fairer to say that I get more excited by games that I didn't know I wanted until I saw them. So that, and the fact that I try to keep an ear to the ground as far as games-in-development go, had me leaning toward the latter interpretation. So what's in development that I would like to see published?

The title that I've been looking forward to for some time now is Pasión de las Pasiones, a Powered by the Apocalypse hack by Brandon Leon-Gambetta about the portrayal of a telenovela (or Spanish soap opera). I had the good fortune to playtest an early version of this game at Metatopia, and it was, firstly, a riotously good time. Moreover, the game is particularly interesting to me in a couple ways. One, there are a couple layers of the fiction, insofar as players are portraying a telenovela, which means they're putting on a show for a fictional audience, but they are also playing characters in a telenovela, meaning the in-fiction world is real to the characters. There is not, however, a layor for "actors," in the sense that that there is no character awareness of the in-game fiction, but the game itself serves to support the tropes and style of a telenovela all the same. Things that happen in the fiction that would affect the audience of the show in specific ways carry mechanical weight, and so are important to the players, and that importance to the players helps drive the characters. And who is this fictional audience being affected? The very non-fictional audience of other players in the game. It's a very cool mechanism for keeping everybody involved in the fiction, even when they're not part of the scene. Not that the hammy characters and melodramatic plots wouldn't be enough on their own, but it's still a cool aspect of the game.

Because my experience with this game thus far was with playtesting an early version, my usual caveats apply that the details of the game may of course be different upon publication. Also, this game is probably closer to publication (in a way) than many others I could have named for this answer, in that there will be an ashcan edition available at Metatopia 2017! If hanging with game designers and playtesting the latest hotness is your thing, I can't recommend the con enough. It takes place in November, and as with all Double Exposure cons, is held in Morristown, NJ. If you want to check out new contenders for RPGs that you would like to see published, definitely come on down and check it out!

Besides being a game designer, Brandon is co-host of the Stop, Hack, & Roll, a podcast in which he and his co-host James discuss a lot about game design and rules hacking. They have great conversations, and they're a great duo to listen to! If RPG discussion podcasts are a thing, definitely give it a listen. And don't forget to keep an eye out for Pasión de las Pasiones!

All #RPGaDAY questions - click for full-size graphic.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2017 by David F. Chapman and RPGBrigade. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK. I'm modifying per suggestions from S. John Ross as well as applying my own interpretations. Comment with your answers or links to your own posts!

Day 1 - What published RPG do you wish you were playing right now?

For the sake of honesty, I'll first reveal the true answer, which is "all of them." That having been said, for the sake of having something to write about, my choice for the more practical answer is Blades in the Dark by John Harper.

For my own peace of mind, I decided not to name a game that I've already played, because I am all about trying new games. Blades was the first title to come to mind, mostly because I'd just recently finished my read-through of the rules, and because I also recently listened to an episode of The Misdirected Mark Podcast dedicated to a particular piece of rules tech from Blades, Position and Effect. The game is about portraying a criminal group in a fantastical Industrial Revolution-era city and trying to advance your crew from petty criminals to major players in the city's underworld. I'd call it a gritty game; the tone is certainly dark (e.g., the title), and the game is such that there is danger at every turn. Characters are living a constant struggle against the law, other criminal organizations, and their own personal vices. I, personally, consider it to stretch the definition of Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA), but regardless, its design roots in Apocalypse World are unmistakable. Because of that, it takes advantage of a modern, strongly narrative system, yet still offers the challenge and excitement of seeing a party of low-level pipsqueaks grow into a powerful cadre of badasses. This is another reason I wish I were playing it right now: it would probably mean that I'm involved in a multi-session campaign, which is a hard thing to make time for these days.

Something that jumped out at me in considering this question and this game is that I specifically want to play Blades in the Dark, as opposed to run it. Similar to AW, Blades is low-prep for the GM and a "play to find out what happens" type of game, but the system contains a lot of moving parts for the GM to handle, so it's a lot harder to just pick-up-and-run than it is to pick-up-and-play. I should note that this is not a distinction that I often consider; I subscribe to the school of thought that the GM is another player in the game, and if another title had come to mind when I asked myself this question, it probably wouldn't have mattered so much if I wanted to play the game or run it. Blades is an outlier, though. Most PbtA games perhaps ask the GM for rules familiarity (not even necessarily mastery) but not much in the way of campaign prep before the game starts. Blades has a lot going on, though, and the GM has to be prepared to keep track of a lot of both short- and long-term processes as play progresses. I don't think this is a bad thing, I just think if this question asked specifically about running a game, I may have had a different answer.