Answering & Not Answering

Thomas Manuel

I. Spotlight

Apologies for spotlighting myself but: over at Rascal News, I’ve launched a new podcast called the Rascal Reading Club. It’s a book club podcast in two parts. The first section is where I read a book (the first episode about the Wardens’ Operations Manual for Mothership) and the second part is where I respond to listeners’ comments. The episode comes with some discussion questions but you’re also free to just share whatever comes to mind.

Our first season is going to be about GM advice and so I’ll be reading either the GM sections of books or standalone GM books. I’m calling this season ‘The Most Impossible Fun Thing’ because GMing is simultaneously this thing that is talked about as very hard to do (and can feel like that) but at the same time is something that people are just doing all the time.

Anyone can join in the conversation, you don’t have to be a subscriber. So check out the first episode, share your thoughts with me, and join the club!

II. Media of the Week

  • See above!
  • But also, Dr Emily Friedman is doing some fun vlogging about organizing game nights and an ongoing experiment in playing more RPGs.

III. Links of the Week

  • For the AV Club, Cameron Kunzelman writes about A Land Once Magic, a worldbuilding game by Viditya Voleti: “The game is, in essence, a provocation to the genre, asking “how do we move fantasy in a new direction?””
  • Grant Howitt previews Salt, the third game in the Spire and Heart series. Howitt is such an engaging writer and there’s some really lovely insight to the process here: “Salt is, then, a love-letter to a man I admire and adore. And that’s how most games happen, really, isn’t it? You find a group of people and you make something for them, about them, and about you… Games are things we do for each other.”
  • On Rascal, designer Gwen C writes some charming responses to our new questionnaire about Infinite Revolution: Overdrive, her colourful game about mechs and magical girls and going very very fast. (Free to read, membership required)
  • It Came From The Bookshelf writes about Imperial Mysteries, a supplement for the first edition of Mage the Awakening: “The new mechanics – being able to bundle up your body and spirit onto a mystic pathway across the Abyss, to actually, literally enter the Supernal Realms as part of a quest-driven magic system that allows players, through the in-setting actions of their characters, to rewrite significant parts of the setting – they’re really fucking good.”
  • Malcolm Craig gives an interview about his research into apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic games as a part of the Doominations series: “These games and their play are these kind of unofficial narratives of the nuclear age, of fear of apocalypse, of dealing with the nuclear threat of interpreting the world around them.”
  • Clayton Notestine writes about the idea of “dominant mechanics”, which are mechanisms in a game that “will take precedence and replace the effects of other mechanics regardless of how those other mechanics are designed or presented.”
    • The example here is HP and how if it’s there in a game, players will focus on reducing it to zero, even if there’s other ways to win a combat.
  • Geek Native writes about Acheron Games, the designers of Brancalonia, and their new game about witches running a cafe.
  • If you haven’t heard about Zine Month, the upcoming event in February, this post lays out some of the history.
  • Emily Entner writes a bookmark-able post for designers about the ideal way to deliver your manuscript to a layout artist.

IV. What am I playing?

I employed one of my great roleplaying insights in Band of Blades this week and want to share it with you. It’s for both players and GMs but GMs will particularly get tremendous mileage out of it.

It’s simple: When trying to roleplay a powerful character, never answer the question.

There will be many situations in which you’ll be trying to play somebody who is in some way meant to be more powerful than whoever you’re talking to. One way to do that is to never answer their questions. But, and this is very important, you must say something that isn’t “no”.

It’s actually important to move the conversation forward and you do this by answers another question. You see, powerful people don’t tell you what you want to know, they tell you want they want to tell you. You can ask them a question but if it’s the wrong question, they’ll imagine you asked them the question they wanted to answer and answer that.

Here’s two example scenes. In the first one, we’re going to do it straight.

Player: Do you know where the monster’s lair is? Can you tell us?

Powerful Wizard: I do and I’ll tell you if you do me this task first.

In the second one, we won’t be answering the question.

Player: Do you know where the monster’s lair is? Can you tell us?

Powerful Wizard: Yes, you can be helpful to me.

Player: What do you mean?

Powerful Wizard: I don’t expect you to come back alive. You’re too weak. You lack the necessary experience points. But if you do, I’ll share the information you seek.

In some sense, this is just good writing. You’ll see this is all your favorite shows. People don’t reply to questions directly. Everything is processed through preconceptions and emotions. I like this technique because it helps me portray characters that aren’t on the same level as the players. It takes a little practice because you have to do it consciously. But it does make almost every scene more interesting.

Maybe to flesh it out more: When trying to roleplay a powerful character, never answer the question that was asked, answer the question you want to answer.

PS: Remember to break this rule, when not doing so would be nonsensical.

V. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

  • Nothing this week!

This newsletter is sponsored by the wonderful Bundle of Holding. Check out the latest bundles below:

  • Sleepy Hollow, a 19th century horror RPG that uses the Year Zero system.
  • Dead Air: Seasons, a post-apocalyptic game with a focus on base building from Italian studio World Anvil Publishing.

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you’d like to know more about my work, check out the coolest RPG website in the world Rascal News or listen to me talking to other people on the Yes Indie’d Podcast.

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