Hey, kids! Today we are thrilled to have Tim Shorts as part of the blog to answer us up on 5 questions. I get to game with Tim on a regular basis and, thanks to his invitation, I am part of a groovy Monday Night Game Group. You can find Tim at his blog, Gothridge Manor, and you can check out and purchase his gaming products at GM Games.
What was your weirdest gaming experience?
Weirdest? I think gaming is a weird experience in itself. I remember a game at a convention where a guy (I guess more kid) got so upset his character died he slammed his head on the table. Hard. He caught a 4-sider on the right side of his forehead. It was stuck there. It bled. He cried. I laughed. What can I say, I thought it was funny. Not sure if that's weird, but it's the first thing that came to mind.
Why in God’s name do you choose to publish adventures and The Manor? Isn’t life hard enough? (a two-fer)
I've been writing since I was 17. Mainly fiction of various genres. I love the process. Gaming is such a great way to flex your creativity. The Manor and the adventures were a natural step from there. I've always wanted to do my own magazine. When Christian did Lovaitar I thought "Wow, it can be done." I live in a literary wasteland. I'd only heard a little about zines. Ivy comes from Jersey and she ran with a group that printed their own horror zines. And they were great. And all this time all I really needed was a long armed stapler. Life is hard enough without banging my head on the wall writing The Manor, but when its done and I get to look through it and all the great art Jason Sholtis, Johnathan Bingham, Dylan Hartwell, and my ginger haired wife, Ivy, have done to support my idea it is just cool. Plus there has been a good response to The Manor. The OSR crew are good folks. I'm just here to have some fun with it. So making the zine makes life a little better not harder.
If you were an orc, what would be the name of your tribe?
Sucking Chest Wound. First thing off my head and I like it. Cue it up for the next Manor and get Jason on the phone for me.
What are your three favorite gaming rules or systems? Why? (another two-fer)
I'm going to cheat. I like all the retro clones, probably Swords & Wizardry and Blood & Treasure are my favorites. Then I have to pick what really got me into gaming and that was AD&D. Then GURPS. I've played a ton of games in a ton of genres rolling 3d6s. Some people think GURPS is too crunchy, but you doesn't have to be that way. It's a tool, a Swiss Army knife of systems. Just use the right tool for the right situation. You don't use them all at once.
What was the name of your favorite player character (played by you)? Give us some details (not a two-fer…a question and a command, I guess)
I've had some fun ones, Stew 'the Spike' Nool who was a thief, but thought he was a magic-user. Ronnable, a irritable Dwarf who bit stuff as much as axed it. I played twin half elves, Tamelight and Wildfire who kicked the crap out of an order of monks and took their temple. Ashling a semi-psychotic elf you had the pleasure of adventuring with. Slice Handler, a dagger throwing fiend who took advantage of Unearth Arcana when it first came out. But the best was Draco-Lindus. His career lasted on and off over four years. He started out as a slaver mercenary. Became a mercenary captain. Somewhere in there he kidnapped a duke and ransomed him off getting throw out of the lands of the City State of the Invisible Overlord. Become a champion of a god. Reclaim lost lands on a back of a dragon. Building a small kingdom. Joining the Overlord who had kicked him out. When the Overlord died, it was the reason civil war broke out and changed the landscape of the entire campaign. That was pretty cool.
Thanks, again, Tim.