There are some songs that I will probably forever associate with RPGs I’ve played in the past. Here’s a couple with some commentary on them

Negative: Frozen To Lose It All (youtube / spotify)

The main theme from our Buffy: The Vampire Slayer RPG campaign “Apocalypse, Cleveland”. The song actually is very TV-Theme-esque, and in some regards, surprisingly close to the actual Buffy theme. It was played every time there would be a “title sequence” in the “TV show” that was being simulated. An effect that worked quite nicely, even if the players kept protesting about the song (not many Negative fans on that group). We had plans to cut and mix the song to a TV-sized length, but the campaign ended too soon for us to ever get around to it. One of the players made a note after the campaign had ended, that she had heard the song on the radio and it had taken her a while to remember which TV series theme it was. Every time I hear it, I see in my mind the imaginary credit roll that was described during the game.

The nice thing about having an “opening theme” is that it allows a soft descent into the game. Especially if used in concordance with re-introducing the characters at the beginning of the session with it. You can also use it as an audio transition from a pre-story text (like flashbacks, alternate views and such that help set the game without actually being so “part” of it) to the actual story. Think of the James Bond shtick where there is an action sequence before the credits, then the title sequence, then the actual movie.

Depeche Mode: Waiting for the Night (youtube / spotify)

The ending theme for our very long-running Space Master campaign “Quiet Night” from the nineties. The song was used as a wind-down piece after an action-packed game. It was a custom to let the song play a bit before commenting on how the game had been. What has to be said about the song is that it is wonderfully multi-faceted, to the point that new connections between it and the game can still be found even these days. Latest conversation we’ve had about this was only a couple of months ago with one of the original players of Quiet Night, who now runs 3:16 for us. We talked how surprisingly fitting the song is to that game’s themes, some of which are quite much the same as QN’s were.

As said, having an ending-theme helped with many things. It was easier to bomb the characters with a cliffhanger when there was an audio cue to the end of the session instead of just saying “okay, it’s over”. Also, the “agreement” of listening to the ending theme for a while before saying anything gave the song quite big importance – everything done was reflected through the rose-tinted lenses it provided.

Shinjuku Thief: Waltz of the Midwives (sadly no online source)

The bread and butter of my nineties horror campaigns. One of the most disturbing pieces I’ve heard, ever. Starts slowly and bursts into cacophony and laughter of witches. One of our gaming group still starts very loud protests if I pull the CD out, saying that he doesn’t want to hear the damn song. Ever again. If you manage to get your hands on the song, you’ll understand why

There are these rare songs that get played in different games, without it feeling an attempt to somehow undervalue the other game. Usually when you hear a song in a game you’ve heard somewhere else, it doesn’t work that well. The “Imperial March” example on this is probably the best I’ve heard – when you play “Imperial March” when your main baddie enters a scene, you either undervalue your baddie or the song. If your bad guy is original and awesome, it is now tainted with unnecessary burden of the imagery from the song. On the other hand if your bad guy is not as awesome as Darth Vader, you’re paving the way for a disapointment on the players’ part.

Bobby Womack – Across 110th Street (youtube / spotify)

One of the songs defining my old Rakennus campaign. I don’t remember if I used this in the game that much, but it was a song that I listened a lot to when creating the campaign and toying with the ideas for it. The first games were set in the 70s and it really fit that. And later, when years rolled by, it started being about the nostalgia to the good old days. But, as said, I don’t think this one is one for the players, more a personal piece.

The songs that inspire the campaigns can be really varying. I remember listening to the weirdest pop songs when designing some horror-scenarios. These are the songs that never probably get heard by the players, but they’re the ones that usually have the biggest effect on the games.

Songs from the CoW :

College of War has been the longest-running campaign I’ve ever had, which means there are many songs that I associate with it. There’s the Academy theme from Utena (couldn’t find it on the ‘tube or spotify, sorry) that’s been playing every single time the College has been introduced. There’s the Death Theme (youtube) that’s been there for the various incarnations of Death in the game (he’s really a nice bloke, usually). In the latest campaign, there has been Opening (YT/spotify, YT/spotify) and Closing themes (YT/spotify), and character specific songs and whatnot. The latest CoW has probably been the first campaign where I’ve actively used music with Finnish lyrics on the background – A big step for someone who has regarded Finnish lyrics as somehow uncool or “common” to be used in RPG soundtracks.

The Future

Well, I haven’t been using strong thematic music for Henryn viimeinen iso keikka, and will probably steer clear of it for the next 4 games. I’d love to use some stuff like Cobra Starship, Panic! At the Disco, Paramore and Hey Monday on the soundtracks of some future games, but I think the players would want to lynch me if I did that. Technology has allowed some steps soundtrackwise that haven’t been available before – the use of laptops for music management, mixing tools to help having with the sudden pauses caused by switching from scene to another, spotify to create playlists that are collaborative, sharing the work of finding the right tunes with your friends that way. And there are always the friends who make music who can be exploited if push comes to shove.

I can’t emphasize how much I love Leverage. A heist series that goes from one heist to another, not sticking around with big boring plot lines. Instead it builds a lovely thematic canvas from the characters through what the continuity is built. It’s a wonderful example how an old-school show that has one or two plots per episode can still hit the viewer in this age of Lost-alikes that won’t forgive if you’re missing five minutes of the show. The two-parter season finale just started this week and will reach a conclusion next week, so it’s safe to talk about things they’ve been building this season.

And to be honest, the real gem of the show are the characters. A true rogues gallery – the Mastermind, the Socialite, the Brawler, the Computer Kid and the Thief. The Mastermind is an old insurance agent, who has moved from “White Knight to Black King”, selects the “jobs” the group performs and cordinates the effort. The Socialite is an old opponent of his, a con-woman extraordinaire who can sell any personality she decides to, to anyone she’s chosen as her mark (except the Mastermind, of course). The Brawler’s true to his description, capable of taking down anyone he comes across in hand-to-hand combat. The Computer Kid hacks cellphones, CIA databases and security systems with no problems at all. And the Thief is held back by no acrobatic feat or a lock that she comes across. A perfectly balanced and diverse group for any sort of a heist. Just like they should be.

But they’re built as flawed, each one. The Mastermind is an alcoholic and hell-bent on the death of his son. The Socialite is in love with the Mastermind and let’s her delusions of being a great actress on stage as well as off it take the better of her if the opportunity arises. The Brawler has a dark past where bad things have happened. The Computer Kid loves things like Star Wars and internet. And the Thief is something of an Aspie. What is done well about these flaws is that they’re not overplayed.

The Mastermind is a functioning alcoholic, and like he says “the trick is not to get hung up on the alcoholic, but to celebrate the functioning part” – it is a flaw very much present, but in the end, it doesn’t make him a trembling mound of flesh, hovering over the latest bottle. His son is the ghost that pushes him forward. The Socialite’s relationship with the Mastermind and her obsession with her acting are things that make her quite sympathetic, distracting from the fact that anyone in her role must be a bit of a sociopath. The Brawler and The Computer Kid neither are socially incompetent, in fact both can be quite the charmers. The Brawler is a very warm character with surprising insight and intellect, the dark past just a thing that comes to haunt him sometimes, but he’s not trapped in it. And the Computer Kid. Well, it’s the age of the geek, baby. The fact you understand Star Wars or World of Warcraft doesn’t mean anymore that you can’t interact with the opposite sex. To be honest, the Computer Kid is probably the best Fast-Talker in the group, which is something the archetype would never normally be associated with. The socially awkward one is the Thief, but instead of a geek she’s displayed as eccentric and childlike, a very likable character. And with her overbearing focus in life being money and thieving instead of something we wouldn’t be interested in hearing about, it’s a very working angle on her.

To put it simply, each of the characters is one step away from being a dull stereotype. The show’s creators have pretty much taken the archetypes and given them an attribute or two that somehow humanizes them, instead building them with some that would make them look even more badass version of their base model. And then they’ve made sure that the quality isn’t too overbearing. And the formula works brilliantly. The characters come off as human. Food for thought for the next time you’re thinking of writing characters.

So a player from our gaming group asked me to help him get a new tattoo – my job was to compile a composite from his source material to a form the actual artist can work with. He asked me to do that about a year and a half ago. Well, now it’s out of my hands, and as suspected, that’s a good feeling. And kind of weird one at the same time. The stuff I tinkered with will eventually find form on someone else’s skin. There is something near-sacred about that. My own view on tattoos is on some level close to semi-mystical reverence. Things etched on the skin telling a truth more deep than all the clothes and mannerisms out there. My father still wears the “Sailor’s Shallow Grave” tattoo on his arm, even if he hasn’t been sailing the high seas in years. He’s not exactly proudly presenting it to people, but it’s something he’ll have for life and no amount of suburbanizing will take that aspect of his life away from him. Of course there are stupid tattoos (although some behind that link are really awesome), I’d love to think that quite a good portion of people, when selecting a tattoo, attach some meaning to it.

So when in RPGs someone has a tattoo, it’s quite sad for me to see what it’s usually there for.here seems to be three typical possibilities why it’s there. 1) It’s cool. “The mysterious stranger has this awesome tattoo of a thundercloud on his face that is so fetch” 2) It’s magical “The mysterious stranger’s tattoo shoots a burst of salami at you” or 3) it’s to mark the wearer as a part of a group “The mysterious stranger’s thundercloud tattoo means he’s part of the thunderous pasta chefs’ ninja-pirate group”

It’s very rare to see a tattoo in RPGs (both in sourcebooks or actual games) that’s there beyond those reasons. In other media tattoos that are there for the character instead of for the story somehow aren’t that uncommon anymore (Battlestar Galactica‘s the first that comes to mind). But not in RPGs, really. For example, in the d20 Future campaign I’m currently playing, two or three of the characters have high profile tattoos, and if I recall correctly, all of them are of type 2. And any tattoo we’ve come across on NPCs have been of type 3. Maybe some of them have started as Type 1s, but moved to the group identity thing quite fast. None outside that.

I try to recall my own campaigns, but can’t come up with many that had tattoos in them outside the “Look at Me, I’m Important” -sphere. I ran a campaign called Käärmeuurna (Snake Urn) that had a minor theme of body modification in it. I think there might have been a character with a tattoo that wasn’t there because it was important or especially cool. But most likely I’m lying if I’m saying that. I do vaguely recall that one of the player characters getting a non-uniform, not-just-for-cool, non-magical tattoo in that very game, but that might have been something she was planning on getting, not really sure if she really actually got it. Closest to getting a normal, character-based tattoo on any game so-far, I think.

The sad thing is that having a tattoo on a character quite easily falls into the superficial cool side instead of anything else. Might be time to actively change that in the next campaign I run. And in case one or more of the people in our gaming group are reading this, I’ll ask you: Have we had regular, “human” tattoos in our games?

Brit Sci-Fi. The big flag-bearer for that these days is Doctor Who, naturally, with the spin-off Torchwood that will air this year over the pond on BBC: America “only short while after it airs in Britain”. Many of us older, classier folk will point to direction of Sapphire and Steel, and some of the more self-important people remind that Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes could be seen as Sci-Fi as well. And then there are the classic flying-in-space stuff. But I don’t really want to go into those, more to the couple of not-so-high-on-the-eye-candy ones the new Doctor Who has paved a road for.

And there is a good number of mention-worthy ones. Not maybe great in a Hollywood quality way, but if you’re willing to give them the benefit of doubt and have a healthy tolerance in your suspension of belief, they’re pretty watchable. At least in a campy way. Being Human, a story of a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost, sharing an apartment and coping with their own problems, both supernatural and mundane. What makes it so great is the certain low-key feel it has. The ghost is just a regular girl, with no fancy special effects. The werewolf is a bit dorky-looking and the vampire. Well, the vampire actually manages to pull of quite a good vampiric feel, if he wasn’t so scruffy. But the things it does are subtle and in my mind, don’t try to force you a direction like many other shows do. There are no actual bad guys (ok, well, there are, but they’re just being human) and the label and line of being a monster is blurry and pushed to the background. The people in it look real and feel real. Just enough makeup to make them look nice on camera and clothes selection that doesn’t scream stage costumes, or even TV-costumes. The rough really brings out the humanity better. And in this show it works really well. Also, it doesn’t hurt that they actually seem to toss episodes online on the site that you can watch, even outside Britain (at least works fine here in Finland). And Edit: they took the episode offline from the page, which means it can’t be viewed in Finland anymore, which is a shame. Bad BBC3. Bad. No cookie.

The second show I wanted to mention, to contrast a bit on the rough bit is Demons, which ended last week. The rough in this one isn’t in the actors, in fact two of the four leads could be considered A-List actors on the Brit standards. It pops in when the writing comes in and the horrors of the universe are revealed to us. The fact that we’re supposed to be scared by people in dog masks dancing around is more than a bit far-fetched. And beyond the stage makeup, it’s like the writer was asked to take the basic premise of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and switch a few words around so that no-one notices. We have a British young guy, who comes from a long line of Smiters, who hunt the half-lifes (vampires and such). He is being guided by an American older guy. Whereas Being Human played things low-key, Demons is pompous and falls to the “cool is everything” traps where-ever it might find them. The characters are written with mystery and awesomeness and whatnot in them, and of course this means that the viewer doesn’t develop any sort of a bond to them. And when things turn to such that there should be an “OMG, can’t believe he/she did that” moment, it’s more like “Ok, he/she did that, who cares?” For something having such high profile actors, the show is, as someone put it “utter tosh”. It is best watched as a warning tale, nothing else.

And the third one is one that’s running for the third year – Primeval. The new episodes were supposed to start on Valentine’s Day, but apparently they’ve delayed the launch somewhat. The show is utter rubbish, but in a good way. The premise is pretty much “People hunt prehistoric creatures in modern times” (or “Torchwood with Dinosaurs”). There is a good deal of time-travel involved, and (if you don’t want to get spoiled on the first season ending, skip to the end of this paragraph now) the first season ends up with the main character screwing up the time line and returning to an alternate version, which is an awesome stunt to pull. The second season toys with the idea even further, and frankly, can’t wait for the third to start.

You could say that the show’s Jumping the Shark a lot. They don’t really mind going the “this might bring us more viewers” route if they can. They geekify things and even included raptors to the show on the second season, because they just happen to be cool. But seriously speaking, they had the first panties shot of the cute female lead in the first episode, and that kept happening for the first season, so we’re not really talking about a show that’s trying to pull in viewers by being something written by Shakespeare. But unlike Demons, the show has that nice rough Brittish edge. No unnecessary flaire, just low-key dinosaur hunting. It’s a dreadful, dreadful show. But very a lovable one. The TvTropes page for the series is pretty much a shining praise for the sheer camp-ness.

Other recent shows worth mentioning are Survivors and Dead Set, that both deal with an outbreak and the handful of survivors from it. Both shows are above the quality of any of the stuff mentioned above, so I won’t “really” include them in the list.

Well, first episode of Dollhouse has now aired. I wouldn’t be a fanboy if I wasn’t excited. Sure, there were faults – things were way too clear cut for the Lost-age audience. I mean, everything about what was going on got underlined at least twice. But from what I’ve read, executive medling is somewhat to blame for that. The episode we saw wasn’t the original pilot. The original pilot episode will be aired later (next week?).

In case you’re still unfamiliar with the premise, the show is about persons (well non-persons, as they by default have their personalities erased) who get implanted with memories and skill sets and hired to do scenarios where those skills come in handy. The implanted personalities aren’t without flaws. As a character in the show says – “It’s a whole person. Achievement is balanced by fault, by a lack. Can’t have one without the other. Everyone who excells, is overcompensating.” Sound familiar as a roleplayer? That’s a point-buy system in a nutshell right there. To be good at something, you will have to play down on some other areas. If looked at from a certain angle, it’s about the same thing as a group of roleplayers who play a series of one-shot games. New problems to solve each time and new characters with appropriate abilities. But in the end, it’s the same people pulling the strings. Going to cool places, doing cool things. Being an expert. Being something that you’re not.

Another thing I just have to mention is the soundtrack. The sound of cymbals, bells and chimes echoes Ghost in the Shell on some levels and apparently I’m not the only person to think of using Lady GaGa’s Just Dance to background music on a situation where there is some personality uncertainity issues going on. The sound of the series is very distinctive, which is good, as it will hopefully build a strong subconscious connection with the show. From the creepy wind-chime like quality of the Dollhouse’s soundscape to the more controlled, rythmic sounds used when on the field. (edit/by the way: the other two songs I recognized on the show were The Duke Spirit – Into The Fold (the car chase scene) and Front Line Assembly – Civilization (the necklace scene))

I’ll probably have much more to say about this after a few episodes when the big picture gets opened a bit more.

P.S. Amy Acker’s hot. Even with scars and insecurities.

Well, we won’t be seeing Dollhouse on Finnish channels yet even if it airs now in the U.S., but it’s a great thing for the Nordics still. The Company P is producing/has been producing a game that runs alongside the series and allows another entry point to the world of the series. I’m personally interested in the production more from the TV side than the interactive game side – will be good to hear and see how Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku are able to pull it off again. Buffy ended over 5 years ago. And of course, the lottery of the situation will be if Fox pulls the plug after 6 episodes, deeming the series too expensive to produce compared to yet another reality show.

While Eliza is great with her physical side, I always liked the way she handled the more quiet scenes, the sincere ones. Mainly in Tru Calling, but I think she had a couple in Buffy as well. Beneath all that tough-girl bravado. And Joss hasn’t lost his touch. We all know this from Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, which just rocked. Will be really good to see how it works out.

I know I will be keeping a close eye on the show, so expect more posts about this once it’s clear how the actual pilot turned out.

Welcome to Knutepunkt 09!

We have recieved your registration form and your payment and are happy to welcome you to Knutepunkt 09 at Haraldvangen.

Yay. Seems like I actually will be going there. Which is sweet.

This is almost one of those internet memes, but not really. It’s an NPC building exercise that’s fun to do every now and then. Character creation with some musical influences. Originates from the good old days when I used to GM Vampire: The Masquerade.

Basic rules: Random songs from your full playlist to tie to each of the things mentioned, then improvise, forming a character as you go along. Decide the setting and the primary role you want to build the character into before rolling with this thing.

Well, going with Buffy-esque setting, set in Finland. This one will be a “big bad” character.

1. Character gender/sex

Dead Can Dance – Song of the Nile

A very soft song. Feminine in a way. Some serenity to it. I’m thinking a heterosexual woman who has lost her someone and now in stages of mourning.

2. How is he/she physically

(The Real) Tuesday Weld – Waltz for One

Another graceful song, full of elegance and physical frailty. Dancer maybe, ballet or something like that. Not strong either.

3. How is he/she socially

Gogol Bordello – Super Taranta!

Very outgoing, anarchistic, chaotic, energetic. Maybe not that beautiful, but something raw and wild.

4. How is he/she mentally

Placebo – UneedmemorethanIneedU

Bit lost on her own, come to rely on others for answers. Now has her own way and maybe someone has to rely on her… Generally a bit weak willed.

5. How would he/she be described

John Murphy – The Beginning

The sounds in the beginning make me think of someone in the media. Maybe a reporter. Someone who would be good in front of the camera. Then there is chaos, panic. And the end makes me think of far away things, childish things.

6. What’s his/her “edge” (depends on the setting what that means)

Metallica – Carpe Diem Baby

ok… the lyrics scream a “Lost Boys” Vampire to me.

7. What’s his/her motive

The KLF – 3am Eternal

*glares* A song about “the ancients of mu mu”… I refuse to comment on that.

8. Now put it all together while listening to this tune

The Cranberries – Twenty one

There is the a strong contrast between the serene, cold and the passionate, fiery in everything about this character. She’s been something else than she is now. Maybe due a loss. She can’t cope with things. I really like the idea of a media professional, a reporter. Maybe a documentary maker, who stumbled onto something she wasn’t supposed to. Ok, I’m a bit inspired now by the Witch from Left 4 Dead, but maybe she’s seeing the universe in a completely new light. The whole universe.

So…

Tanja is a frail twentyish media student who was filming a documentary about some old iron age grave site with her fiancé when they stumbled upon something that was left on this side of the world from Beyond. Her fiancé got devoured by the fragment, but she survived. Different. Now she’s half-awake, half-aware, walking the line between the real world and the Beyond. Other things from the Beyond are drawn to her, which is the reason she’s a “big bad” for the story. She’s very energetic personality. Charming even. She’s suffered some physical scarring (frostbite-like scarring on her neck and chin) from her encounter, but her force of personality makes up for such minor flaws.

She is something of a “flower person” now, seeming to enjoy her unique perspective on the world in a way that appears almost childlike to an outside viewer, but she will fly into a wild rage if disturbed, full of new claws and fangs and other sharp things of Beyond producing from her flesh. At first, she’ll be easily swayed by the other Beyond entities to do things they want, but will eventually she’ll develop a sense of purpose and try to open up a rift to the Beyond to bring her fiancé back, which is an even worse thing, since it’ll be the end of the world as we know it.

Probably would play the character more to the “childlike harbinger of doom” direction if I were to use her in my campaign. Have her waltz somewhere and disappear, leaving the things that followed her there wreck havoc on things. Also, since she’s quite dualistic character, almost split personality, would probably keep her as a NPC the players can talk to and interact with, until her role in things would be revealed.

The original thought of Lost Boys vampire got tossed aside in the final writeup, more going with the “split sky, part sea, shake world” -direction from the song.

In preparation for the upcoming Dollhouse, I watched Eliza Dushku’s previous series, Tru Calling from DVD and as usual, some thoughts arose.

For those who don’t know what Tru Calling is about or don’t have the muscle strength to click on the link about, the show’s sort-of-premise is “Cute girl relives days, to prevent nice people who died and asked her for help not to die.” Funnily, that’s fact only maybe in the pilot. What makes the show very watchable in comparison to other series with clear-cut formulas is the fact that the formula is there only to be broken. It is specifically indicated in a few episodes that when things happen the “Cute girl relives days, to prevent nice people who died and asked her for help not to die” way, they happen off-screen. The main character relives days and saves people, mostly on Mondays and Thursdays. But when we get to see it on screen, there is some variation to the pattern.

It might be something small like “the guy who needs saving isn’t a good guy” or “it’s not about saving just one person” or “It’s about saving not only the person, but your own life also”. The writers are very aware of the core concept and know how it can be explored. And what they were planning doing with it was quite awesome as well. Shame it never got explored better. But in a world where even the best shows tend to get stale because they don’t have the guts to explore the show’s concept more often, Tru Calling was really a nice exception.

And yes, not to disapoint the eager, I will go on to a gaming tangent on this one as well. Puzzle games are really great at this. You are given a set of tools from the start. You start by solving the simplest possible obstacle with the one tool you’ll end up using most. And level by level you are presented with new problems you can solve using those tools. Usually the end levels need you to wrap your head around every concept you’ve learned and possibly understand how certain basic rules you thought existed in the beginning are broken. It’s a shame that games outside the puzzle genre rarely use this to their advantage. Or it might be so that once you include that pattern to your game, the game gets classed as a Puzzle game. Portal being a good example of the latter.

Would be interesting to see this pattern expand to other games. In MMOs, this can be seen when people do things like “Let’s try to complete this instance with sub-optimal group setup” and in some games, people are giving themselves restrictions on what they can do so they have challenges. Typical way games seem to raise the bar these days is just increase number of enemies or make you smash things with bigger reaction times. But very rarely you end up with a situation where you find yourself constantly exploring the awesome things you actually can do with the resources you could have used from the beginning.

I fully endorse this and will join the effort of spreading the word about it. Not that I would be buying anything from Arkenstone after the job they did with the layout and general readability of the Finnish translation of PTA anyhow.