RPGaDay 2022 #31 When did you first take part in #RPGaDAY?

 I've actually been doing RPGaDay since it began. Like I said yesterday, the thing I probably am the most in my gaming life is a collector and that early "shelfie in prose" set of prompts appealed to me.

I kept going more or less out of habit and to try and extend my readership with the gaming public. Not sure if that worked.

It also reminds me to put myself out there. Without some sort of pressure, it's very easy for me to crawl into a very small hole and hide from the world. I know that's not really good for me, so some reminder to interact with people and get out in the world is important.

With any luck, I'll use this writing group to work on my gaming content and keep things updated here.

RPGaDay 2022 #30 What should #RPGaDAY do for its 10th anniversary next year?

 When RPGaDay first started, it interested me because it was a chance to talk about the games on my shelf. A sort of written "shelfie," if you will. Since I was very much a collector (still am when I can get away with it), that appealed to me.

The other thing that I am is a GM. While I haven't run as many games as I've collected, I've enjoyed answering questions about games I've run or that I want to run.

 While I do enjoy playing at times, I have never really been able to do it enough to collect a lot of stories to fill all of the questions about playing.

If I had a suggestion, it would be to have questions that either work for a player or a GM, or maybe questions that can be "flipped" to apply to someone on either side of the screen.

RPGaDay 2022 #29 Who would you like to see take part in #RPGaDAY?

Kris Newton.

I know that I mentioned him before, but I really appreciate his insights.

He's not much of a blogger, and he's stepped away from podcasting for the foreseeable future, but he's a brilliant guy and a heck of a player and GM.

Also, John, Rudy and Chris from the San Diego Roleplayng Association Meetup group. Mostly because I know them only very casually/virtually and it would be an opportunity to get to know them better.

RPGaDay 2022 #28 Style Sunday: Roll 1d8+1, tag that many friends with your favourite RPG cover art.

 Tooting my own horn a bit, I'm going to say that my favorite cover art is my own. Well, not that I did the art itself, but I did commission it for the cover of my game, Adventures in Oz: Fantasy Roleplaying Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.

Although AiO is not technically licensed, there's a tendency for games based on existing properties to feature the main characters on the cover in some way. Star Trek RPGs usually have the cast from one of the shows on the cover, for example. Some other games will have characters on the cover that resemble the characters you could be playing. The most recent Star Trek RPG went this route, with unidentified Starfleet characters on the cover.

I didn't want to put existing characters on the cover of AiO for 2 reasons. First of all, one of the main reasons to do an Oz RPG is to expose people to the wider world of Oz from the books and putting Dorothy & Company on the cover would feel like just another retread rather than offering them something they might not have seen before. The second reason is that I had intended to release my own edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and they were going to be on the cover of that.

In fact, because of that plan, I commissioned the same artist to do both covers and intended them as companion pieces. The WWOz cover featured the characters from that novel, while the AiO cover featured characters from the deeper canon that shared some similarity with one of those characters. So I wound up with the best of both worlds: I got canon characters that fans of the novels could appreciate, while those coming with fresh eyes would see something familiar, but also distinct.

RPGaDay 2022 #27 How has the character changed?

In terms of what they've done in play, Ealdred hasn't changed at all.

She only existed for about 2 weeks in total and maybe saw 2-3 days of in-game action during the initial run of the campaign. Not enough time for much to happen. And when things start again, she'll be reset back to her original state.

On the other hand, she's grown quite a bit in my head as I've been preparing this campaign.

One of the reasons that I pre-rolled my random encounters was to make sure that I knew what I was doing. Have that time to learn a monster's stats and powers. For neutral and friendly encounters, it meant taken the time to roll up quick personalities for them.

But the one thing that I didn't count on was having not just weeks of prep time for the campaign, but ultimately years. It's been over two years since I rolled her up with all of her quirks and treasures. And while there are other encounters on that list waiting to be unveiled, Ealdred is notable for being the most friendly of them and the most likely to be a powerful ally for the party.

RPGaDay 2022 #26 Why does your character do what they do?

 She hasn't gotten the chance to do much, but Ealdred's goal is to rule a country. This was randomly rolled from a table.

But exactly why she's chosen this goal for herself is something that I still need to work out.

One of the other thing that I rolled for her is that she is secretly religious. Exactly what this means in the "blank map" scenario I've worked up is very unclear. There are no established churches and the divine landscape is as undefined as the terrestrial. It could simply be that she believes that she has a Higher Purpose of some kind, which makes sense considering her advantages. She's a werebear (whether she knows it or not), has a bear companion and a lair full of treasure.

Or maybe her ability to understand alchemy is an indication of a generally high intelligence and she's got some idea of Natural Order and Natural Laws. Her desire for a more orderly world could extend from science to politics.

The other option is that exposure to the PCs influences her. They've been charged with the mission of establishing civilization in this newly created world, and her exceedingly positive Reaction roll could mean that she's an eager ally on this mission. It could also mean that she's infatuated with one of the party members and is trying to help/impress them.

RPGaDay 2022 #25 Where has the character been?

Unfortunately, Ealdred has not traveled far.

For one thing, she hasn't been alive very long. In my initial run of the campaign, she encountered the party on about Day 12. Exactly when she'll turn up in the next run of the campaign has yet to be determined.

Also, even though she's technically a "wandering monster," she is encountered in her "lair." So until she appears, she has no fixed abode. Even if I were to tell you which hex she appeared in during the initial run, it wouldn't help you predict where she'll turn up next time. Just know that her bear companion Garey Hancy will not be far behind. Even she realizes that he shouldn't be left unsupervised for very long.

So all she's really seen has been the Starting Forest. It's a placeholder name that I hope the players will improve upon once the campaign begins. Though there's no guarantee that anything they come up with will be an improvement. Knowing players, they're just as likely to name it something dumb/vulgar than significant. Which is part of the fun.