I love to roll physical dice. I love random encounters and events because as a game master those elements of an RPG allow me to be surprised and to enjoy something that can unfold outside of my expectations. Random encounters or reaction rolls of NPCs allow me to enjoy the world I created for the players, as a player myself. I'm most at home as a game master when I'm chucking dice in a sandbox world. Besides the randomness of dice, I also love the mechanics of a RPG - the rules and activities (usually governed by dice) that make it a game and not just a story telling exercise.
Story to me has always been what happens when dice are thrown and players interact with each other and the game world. I've never been one for linear adventures, as a player or as a game master. I'm not dogging that type of game, it's just not what I enjoy. And I mean linear in the sense that a story is to be followed, that there is a plot already in place before the game starts, that players need to be railroaded and put back on course if play is not developing to fulfill the story that was supposed to happen. I don't prefer them in video games, and I don't prefer them in tabletop role-playing games.
So as I've been reflecting on my play so far with this 80's Psi game, I'd like to start incorporating more game mechanics. Narrative and story has been no problem at all. This is where Mythic REALLY shines. The story part has been a lot of fun, and Mythic makes it easy for narrative to develop. It's a little tedious to type as I imagine what plays out, but it's also been a good exercise and a way to record the game not only for myself but for others interested in reading.
How can I incorporate more game mechanics and dice rolls? I'm going to start by posting a separate page for David's schedule. And I'm going to be tracking time in more detail. This doesn't mean I'll zoom in more, in fact it will enable me to make decisions when I fast forward time a few days - if that happens. I'll be making use of GURPS monthly job rolls for David's performance, because these details could impact the game. I've touched on this already in a different post. David's Guilt Complex, which could trigger Chronic Depression, might impact his ability to do research or teach. These all have dice rolls. If David's job suffers, it can impact the story. In regard to time, GURPS assumes an 8 hour rest period. Because of David's Workaholic disadvantage, the rules state that to take this disadvantage he needs to work an extra 1/2 a day in a work period - basically a 12 hour work day. Considering time needed for adventuring (i.e. investigating psychic phenomena), and then just basic life stuff, he could suffer FP (fatigue points), and some of his psi abilities are determined by his FP. It's all related. BTW, the dates I started using at the top of each scene are taken from an actual 1981 calendar I found.
In games that feature combat, that can be a really fun part of the game. Obviously, with a system like GURPS (if you choose to use the more detailed rules), combat can be a great way to interact with the crunchiness of the system. In a game like this 80s Psi solo experience, combat is not really a part of the game. Part of me did this deliberately. I've actually never played in an rpg that didn't feature combat. So I really wanted to engage more with other parts of GURPS, viz. the character building tools like Advantages and Disadvantages. Disadvantages especially can give a mechanical basis for role-playing your character - which I love. I wanted to play this particular game using the Basic Set, which consists of the Characters and Campaign books and make up the core rules of GURPS. But I also own Social Engineering and that is a really cool book that gives mechanics for, well... social interactions. Some might say, "why roll dice for parts of a game that you can just role-play?" I think that question only betrays a certain gaming style, and I do think all styles are valid if they are fun for the player. I love mechanics and dice rolls, so I really enjoy using these parts of the game when I can. [edit: since more mechanics and rules are what I'm looking for, I actually think I am going to try and incorporate some additional rules from Social Engineering]
I'm probably going to try and stick to just using the Basic Set for the time being. I really want to see how much of the game I can play using the core GURPS rules. Other ways to bring in more of the game of RPG will probably be rolling more dice for reaction rolls with the NPCs. And if I can find more ways to involve David's skills on his character sheet, I'll start doing that more.
One surprise for me is how David's Chronic Depression has taken over part of the game in the last few scenes. I didn't really envision how that would play out. I didn't take Chronic Depression as a Disadvantage for David, but this is being triggered by his Guilt Complex. It's made the game have a sort of dark twist to it, which I don't mind exploring at all, I just didn't expect it to come into play as much. It brings another game element for something to roll on, given his self-control roll, so I like that part. But it could make the game into something a little boring if overdone - like constantly rolling to get out of bed... Now, how it impacts his social life, i.e. his psi investigations, or perhaps his job - that could have interesting consequences.
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