Improvisation

I have the feeling that when most people hear the word "improvise," they think of something that is the opposite of planning, as in "I didn't plan for it, I just improvised." In other words, improvising is the same as winging it. Following this logic, improvisation doesn't require work or planning; in many ways it is the opposite.

I think of improvising differently, perhaps because I have been playing music since I was a young child. As a musician, improvisation is an activity that takes skill and practice. To be good at improvisation requires an understanding of music theory (intuitive and cognitive), a good ear, and enough chops (skill on the instrument) to create the appropriate musical sounds on the fly. Each musician develops improvisation skills a bit differently. For me, it comes from time spent mastering various kinds of scales, rhythms and chord progressions (building on the blocks of melody, harmony and rhythm)--that it what I call "practice." It is very similar to drills performed by athletes. And it is different than learning and playing songs--I consider that "rehearsal." Important and necessary, but it doesn't develop me as a musician in the same way that practice does.

Disciplined Practice & Preparation: A Key to Improvisation

I am able to improvise as a musician because I prepare and practice. The musicality of my improvisation is a result of my understanding of music, a trained ear, and enough skill/muscle memory with my chosen instruments to create something interesting in the moment. When I do not put time and effort into practice, I quickly lose my creative edge and I have a harder time playing something interesting when I improvise.

I find the same thing is true when I am running a gaming session. I am able to improvise best when I am well-prepared and I have put in the necessary time to plan. I am able to draw upon the complexities of the world I am creating and the vast resources of gaming community to respond creatively to player activities during a session. That to me is improvising. I am not smart enough to run a good session by winging it any more than I can create an interesting guitar solo without practice.

I relearn this every time I run a session without preparation, as I have done the last few weeks in our Montporte Campaign. I have been run ragged by work and have nothing left in the tank to devote to preparation and planning. The less I prepare and plan and am forced to improvise, the less I am able to improvise effectively. I just end up drawing blank after blank. I notice myself struggling; it is probably not apparent to the players in any given session. However, there is a cumulative impact on not preparing that makes the sessions less interesting and challenging for players.

Like any analogy, there is a point where the analogy between playing an RPG and playing music breaks down. However, because both music and RPGs have elements of performance art to them and they are also typically group activities, there are a number of analogies that can be drawn. Improvisation is one such analogy.

Catching Up...

Blogging was on the back burner for the month of November. The last big tasks of our merger were on my plate, which included me moving into my new position (COO of a larger organization) while still doing bits and pieces of my old job (CEO of a smaller organization). While the scope of my new position is narrower than my old, I went from leading 65 staff to leading 400 staff. I finally completed the physical move of my office this week and am taking the ton of Paid Time Off that I have accumulated. My body needs it, as I am in the middle of an auto-immune flareup (another reason why I have not been blogging). I am sure the flare-up is due to stress and lack of sleep, so I am mostly sleeping and reading during my time off.

I did get in a bit of gaming in November. I ran one session of the Montporte Dungeon and +Rob Conley (The Bat in the Attic) ran two playtest sessions of his revamped Majestic Wilderlands (combining elements of Fate, Fudge, GURPS, and Swords & Wizardry).

I have some catching up to do with the blog. I have three Montporte Sessions to write about and a few other items that I want to post this month.

Random Gaming Thoughts

A wild week at work. After two years worth of work, our merger closed this week. In our neck of the woods, nonprofit mergers need to be approved by the state Attorney General Office. Things got stuck there for no other reason than they are understaffed. It postponed the merger closing by a day and meant that all of the insurance, banking and employee benefits stuff couldn't be completed ahead of time. So, now I am enjoying a second bowl of tempeh 3 bean chili and a second bottle of Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen.

Random Thought #1: Thinking back on my last 4 or so years of gaming, I see significant shift of focus. I used to spend a lot of time on world building. This goes back to my childhood. Going back to my elementary school days, I made up cities, worlds, histories and even a galactic empire. This has carried over to gaming. I was very much a top down sort of GM. I am now the opposite...bottom up. I create just enough to get a campaign started and then make it up as I go.

Random Thought #2: Another shift in focus is moving away from spending time on house rules, class creation, etc. My focus now is more on the encounter. This is where the action is for me.

Random Thought #3: Gaming intent is important for group play. This is something I learned from decades in management and leadership and, more importantly, by playing music in a number of bands. Things go better when there is a common understanding of purpose and intention. Not that you need to bring in consultants and have facilitated touchy-feely pre-campaign sessions. I just think things go better when everyone at the table agrees with the premise and intent of the campaign, including style of play, etc. I have found this to be very true when playing music. If you want to make a group suffer for "your art," go play in an S&M dungeon with a group of masochists.

Stuff for the Next Issue of The Manor

+Tim Shorts asked me to contribute to the next issue of The Manor (#5). I am planning to submit three different items:

• A haiku (chosen especially for +matt jackson ).
• A short article on mapping stairs. It would basically be some simple plugin equations for figuring out the horizontal run for stairs, based on the vertical distance (and the reverse, as well) for steep, regular and shallow stairs.
• Three or four rooms with puzzles, traps or other interesting feature that can be dropped into a larger building or dungeon. This would go along with an article that Tim is planning on writing.

While I have little desire to publish gaming stuff (much to the dismay of +Rob Conley ), I do enjoy a much more limited role as contributor and proofreader. 

When You Love a Gamer

My Wife: (walking into our home office) What are you working on?
Me: Dungeon maps. (showing her the composite maps of each level). See? Cool.
My Wife: Wow! That is really intricate...Isn't there a way to make money from this?
Me: Ummm...well, maybe. Chris, Tim, and Rob would buy it. Tim and Rob wouldn't be able to stop themselves. That would take all of the fun out of dungeon exploration, but I do have a built-in market. I guess I would have to decide what's more important...all of the hours of fun we'll have exploring the dungeon or making about $10 from the hours of creating the dungeon.
My Wife: (sigh) Yup.

And Then There Are My Other Lives...

I have busy this summer, way too busy. Work has been really hectic, which is not good (except in the sense that I have a job, for which I am thankful). Lots of gaming and music, both good, have been on the docket.

Here is me at work, being quoted in the local paper: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/886575_S--June-Smith-Center--Excentia-merge-organizations.html

Here is me, at work on the bass, funkifizing on Saturday night (the sound quality is not good, but you get the idea): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YQ5L63AHVs (by the way, what you can't see in the video are the four Amish guys that walked into the bar in the middle of the song...such is life in my part of Pennsylvania).

And it is almost Monday...time to grab the virtual dice and game.

Why I Blog

First off, I am really not sure why I blog. So feel free to stop reading at this point. However, lack of content has never held back before and it shall not do so now.

I mainly blog for the social aspect of it. My initial connection with our Monday Night Gaming Group came to me via blogging; in the person of +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor). Yet, despite the social focus, I am content with blogging to a small audience (this usually includes my wife, one or more of our cats, and my Mom...she is so proud to see where my two graduate degrees have led me).

I don't have products to sell, a soapbox from which to preach, nor an axe to grind. For me, it is mostly about  the joy of gaming, the social connections, the laughing with friends while at the gametable, the creativity, and the stress relief. Blogging is merely an extension of those things.

More recently, I have found it useful to use my blog to post campaign information as I GM. Our Monday Night Gaming Group connects via Skype and some sort of virtual gametable (either Fantasy Grounds II or Roll20). It can be difficult to keep track of campaign information, so the blog comes in handy as I can send them links during gaming sessions rather than files.

This is my second go around with RPG blogging. I don't know that this second attempt is a whole lot different than the first, except that I am taking it less seriously. At heart, I am a casual gamer. I don't lose sleep over D&D Next, ascending versus descending armor classes, Kickstarters, a cinematic versus realistic approach to GURPS, or whose posted what on the various RPG boards. I just like to roll dice on occasion, laugh with friends, and blog about it.

Random Table Top RPG Blog Topic Generator

Here is a repost from my old blog (with a few modifications). You'll need a D30 or you can just go here.

1. My Favorite Color of Dice
2. My First TPK
3. Least Favorite Magic Item
4. Which Monster Has the Best Sense of Humor?
5. How To Make Dragons Tougher
6. Random Table of Found Meals in the Dungeon
7. How Dungeon Rock Types Might Impact Adventures
8. The Use of Ships in Traditional Classic Fantasy RPGs
9. Uses for Modrons
10. Darwin Award for Player Characters: Your Best Self-Destructive PC
11. Do Elves Fart?
12. Does Your Campaign Setting Have a Magnetic Field?
13. The Original AD&D 1e Bard
14. Clowns As Monsters
15. Lions, Tigers and Bears
16. Three New Magic Items
17. Clothes and Style for Player Characters
18. The Best Names for Taverns, Pubs, Inns and Bars
19. Fudging Dice Rolls as DM: Yes, No, or Depends
20. Spells with Loopholes
21. Monty Python References During Gaming Sessions: Pros and Cons
22. Three Actual Historic/Geographic Settings that Would Make For Great Gaming
23. New Monster
24. Best Music Before a Gaming Session
25. Snacks: Salty, Sweet or Healthy?
26. What Were They Thinking?
27. Names for Swords
28. Five Things an Adventurer Should Never Be Without
29. Oops
30. Roll Twice and Use Both Topics in One Post

OSR Mega Bundle Giveaway--Compliments of Tim at Gothridge Manor

Tim, of Gothridge Manor, is giving way lots of free--and very cool-- OSR gaming stuff in celebration of his 1000th blog post. First of all, congratulations to Tim. It is a very groovy accomplishment and proof that, with enough perseverance and lack of direction, we can reach the stars of our dreams while pondering sleestaks and pretending to be elves. Secondly, don't waste anymore time on my blog. Get to his blog, comment on his 1000th blog post, and consider yourself entered to win lots of great stuff.

Five for Friday 9: Groovy Lists

G-Rated Beholder

I love lists. Tallest buildings. Best batting averages. Fastest growing MSAs. Here is a list of five posts or articles, each containing a groovy list:

• D&D is Really Scary or How to Run a Rated G Game: A visual tour of how to make your game table less scary.
• Dungeons & Dragons: Celebrating 30 Years of Very Stupid Monsters: Any article that celebrates the Giant Beaver is A-OK in my book (someday I'll write a post about how using an animal control potion on a group of giant beavers resulted in an unintended massacre of a village...it is a painful memory). Be sure to check out the sequel article.
• Hobo's Treasures: I was all-in at "'Hobo Treasures' for a gonzo hobo themed dungeon node."
• Secret Santicore: New Planes Revealed! Inner Plane #2 is #1 on my list.
• Strange Armor: What is your favorite? Mine is the "Living Suit of Tough Meat."

What gaming lists have grabbed your attention and imagination?

Weekend Update: Out and About with My Axe

Me with one of my axes

I have had a couple of busy weeks with music--3 gigs in the last two weeks plus rehearsals. Last night I was the substitute bass player for a three piece blues band. My plan is to set aside my gig money for music equipment, but it never quite works out that way. We usually raid the gig money envelope for cash for our NYC trips. Lately, the money has been going for RPG Kickstarters.

My world of gaming looks something like this:

• Delvin the dwarf in Rob's Majestic Wilderlands GURPS campaign. We started out as 75 point characters in a mercenary band. Having captured the enemy's king and received part of the king's ransom, we have decided to leave the mercenary business and build an inn. We had to get permission of the local bigwig, Sir Kaymus (which took up most of the last session). The next task is getting permission of the local guild. Delvin, who has spent his life as a soldier of fortune, is now faced with the task of learning how to brew ale (a specialty under the GURPS Cooking skill). Up until now, Delvin had little use for such non-martial skills.
• Montporte Dungeon: Our next Montporte session is scheduled for March 4, with me as GM. We are using Blood & Treasure. The guys are working on their characters. I am redoing my hand-drawn maps, using AutoREALM, so that I can upload JPEGs into Roll20. All of those cartography classes I took in college are finally being put to use...although I do have 30 years of rust.
• City of Onyx: I have a pile of notes to organize and some maps to create. Rob Conley has graciously offered to help me on the maps. I am also reading through the pile of GURPS books on our dining room table.
• The Manor: I am reworking two of my homebrew creatures for Tim to use in the next issue of The Manor.
• Kickstarters: Both of the Kickstarters I pledged surpassed their goals (Fate Core and Tavern Cards).

My Random Class

Pic Source: The Handsome Nerd

I used the Custom Class Generator and ended  up with the following. Interesting that I have a charisma prime requisite and can waterbreath but I restricted to using only polearms. That seems about right.

Requirements: none
Prime Requisite: CHA

 

Hit Points

Level	Hit Points
1	1d6
2	2d6
3	3d6
4	4d6
5	5d6
6	6d6
7	7d6
8	8d6
9	8d6+2
10	8d6+4
11	8d6+6
12	8d6+8

 

Armour
Members of this class may not wear any armour.

 

Weapons
Members of this class may only use pole weapons (polearm, lance, javelin, spear).

 

Attacking
Members of this class roll to attack as a cleric or thief.

 

Magic Items
Members of this class have no restrictions on the use of magic items.
Note that, for magic armour, weapons and shields, characters can only use a magic item if they could use the normal version of that item.

 

Breathe Underwater
Members of this class can breathe underwater.

 

Saves
Members of this class save as a magic-user of their level.

 

Advancement

Level	XP required
1	0
2	1260
3	2520
4	5040
5	10080
6	20160
7	40320
8	78750
9	182500
10	273750
11	365000
12	456250

The Dungeon 2: Comparing GURPS and D&D on Dungeon Design

My very first view of a dungeon via Dr. Holmes' edition of Dungeons & Dragons

I have been working my way through the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy material and I have also been following Peter D's Dungeon Fantastic and Patrick's Renovating the Temple. While I cannot speak from personal experience, it is clear to me that running a GURPS fantasy dungeon campaign is not only doable, it could be very groovy. That being said, it is also clear to me that Dungeons & Dragons is a hand-to-glove fit for dungeoneering while GURPS requires a few tweaks. Despite the need for tweaking, GURPS offers up an approach to dungeon adventuring that Dungeons & Dragons cannot readily duplicate as it allows the GM to set aside the most fundamental controlling element of dungeon adventuring in D&D.

Using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1e as my points of comparison, I have made the following observations:

• GURPS DF characters start out tough (250 points) compared to AD&D 1e characters (1st level). 250 points is considerably tougher than the average low-skill militia guard whereas a 1st level character in AD&D 1e has only the slightest edge against a similarly armed 0-level human.
• GURPS characters do advance and gain in strength but this is nothing like the huge power increase that AD&D 1e characters experience.
• GURPS character advancement is gained per session for good play whereas character advancement in AD&D 1e is based on experience points gained through slaying monsters and bringing home treasure.
• Encounter planning for AD&D 1e is simple as hit dice are an accurate measure of power. In GURPS, the ability to move and attack is maybe the best reflection of power but it is much more difficult to assess and compare (at least it is a challenge for me as a GURPS newbie). While old schoolers often mock the concept of encounter balance, the basic design of an AD&D 1e dungeon is built around it. It is a basic necessity.

I have summed up this comparison as a visual (very much a handwaving exercise):

Hidden in plain sight is the fact that the design of a traditional megadungeon and the most fundamental aspect of AD&D 1e, character advancement, are mirror images of each other. Monte Cook made "Things get more dangerous as you go deeper" is #1 Assumption when creating his Dungeon-A-Day project a few years ago. That is not merely a dungeon design convention, it a reflection of the most intrinsic element of the D&D  game system (regardless of edition). It is really a necessity. 1st level characters have no chance against even the wussiest of creatures on the 10th Level Wandering Monster Table.

AD&D 1e character level advancement (the reflection of power) generally matches the encounter difficulties as one goes deeper in the dungeon because it has to. It is the way the developed and it is the way the game works. 1st level characters may survive an encounter with an angry elder titan, their survival is based on running and avoiding (not that this is a bad thing). My point is that the most basic element of dungeon design, Things get more dangerous as you go deeper, is not just an adventure design approach, it is a reflection of how the game system works.

A dungeon that is actually designed around GURPS can start with different assumptions. To be sure, GURPS characters do advance in ability, but it is their starting point that is the primary determinant to their toughness.  A 250 point character and the GURPS system provides the GM (and the players) with a lot more freedom for encounters than is really possible with AD&D 1e. As a consequence, there can be a lot more variety (and surprises) to dungeon design. GMs do not have to adhere so closely to Things get more dangerous as you deeper.

This is a very elementary conclusion; one that is, in the words of my old physics textbook, "intuitively obvious to the casual observer." There are a lot of the observations that could be made and implications drawn. I am interested to gain a deeper understand and also have the opportunity to actually play GURPS Dungeon Fantasy. I have the thought of tweaking GURPS DF along the lines of my first dungeon experience with the Holmes version of Dungeons & Dragons, at least in terms of class and race, but I am not ready to be a GURPS GM quite yet but I am getting there.