The Name Game

Names have magic. Some primitive cultures believed that to give your name was to give another person power over you. And tales mention that if you ever meet a demon, you should try calling it by it’s true name and see what happens.

I believe names do have power. If chosen correctly, names help define your character. A poor name falls flat. When I choose names for characters, I spend hours cruising sites on names and looking through various language books for the name that fits just right.

Brainstorming through words helps. So do watching movies and reading books. Even billboards can give you good naming ideas.

Take Jake Verona from the game boards at Escaping Reality, for example. The first name was an easy choice. I’ve always liked the name Jake. It’s my nephew’s name, after all. But I was at a loss for a last name. Nothing seemed to fit.

Then while cruising home from Costco several months ago I saw a billboard for a new development of condominiums in the area. There it was: Verona.

Some Naming Silliness

I never intended to get too deep or serious with this post. I really just wanted to write out a meme. So, here’s something fun for each of you. Find your special names by filling out the prompts and have a laugh. Drop your answers in the comment section if you feel like it!

Who knows? Maybe you’ll get your next great character name out of it.

1. Your rock star name (your pet, current car): Lakota X (VTX1800 is a little too sci-fi)

2. Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Phish Food Steel Toe (ugh)

3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Wolf (wasn’t that a beer?)

4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Connar Lawrence (now we’re getting somewhere)

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, the first two letters of your first name): Oed Ha (I prefer Darth Reason)

6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Black Colada (What the hell kind of super powers would this guy have? Commanding a legion of African Sparrows and dropping coconuts on the citizens of Metropolis?)

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): Frank John (meh)

8. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Polo Snickers (ok, Snickers aren’t my favorite, but it was funny.)

10. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Sorry, going to have to pass on this one. I can’t remember my 5th grade teacher’s name.

11. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Do pagan holidays count? Pass.

12. Cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Cantaloupe T-shirt (huh?)

13. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Scrambled Egg Sequoia

Seriously though…

Naming characters really does take a lot of thought and consideration, unless you’re building a red shirt. Put as much effort into finding the right name as you would with all the other details of your novel or character concept.

Your characters are your children, so name them well.

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The NPC: You Name Him, You Keep Him

NPCs are the non-player characters that flesh out the holes in your game. They’re people on the streets and in the stores, the ones that player characters ask for directions and the ones who drop important clues that move the game.

An NPC might have a big role to play or just a little one, depending on the purpose. The NPC might appear long term within the game, or it might show up for only a part of a scene and then disappear into obscurity.

Can I Name Him?

I’m notorious for creating NPCs I end up keeping forever. Some of my most memorable STPCs (Storyteller Player Characters) started out as NPCs. Recently while writing a scene with one of our players, I tossed in a filler NPC to chauffeur a car. Before I knew it I found myself fleshing him out on the fly and actually liking him.

The character just sneaks up and before you know it, he or she has a full name, a history unfolding, a personality, and a few interesting quirks.

One of the many private jokes inside the world of role-playing games is based on the characters who wore red shirts in the old Star Trek series. Characters wearing red shirts almost always died in the episode. If they had a name, well, you could expect them to be around for another episode or two.

A character with a full name just about guaranteed the character would be around even longer.

A Word of Caution

NPCs are addictive to both STs and players. Players have a tendency to rely on the NPCs, sometimes heavily, so create them sparingly.

Also, too many NPCs means you’ll eventually find yourself overwhelmed keeping up with all of them. Trust me, I know. I’ve had as many as 12 NPCs that turned into STPCs at one time. It gets a little out of hand. The little buggers are as addictive as potato chips.

Learn to recognize the ones worth keeping, and give the rest a red shirt.

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Book Review: White Wolf Vampire Clan

I mentioned a little while back that Hunter: The Vigil would be released this month. I figured I would wait for the release before ordering some other White Wolf source books I had my eye on, namely two of the new Clan books for Vampire: The Requiem.

A few days ago, I realized that GenCon was now in full swing. No doubt, many a World of Darkness fan now had Hunter in their hot little hands, so I toddled on over to Amazon to see the reviews.

Why did I choose Amazon and not the White Wolf store? White Wolf and I have a love/hate relationship.

I love the World of Darkness system. Always have; always will. But White Wolf doesn’t treat their fan-base very well. I’ve had quite a few bones to pick with them over the years, and so has James. Their customer service is terrible. Their books are less expensive on Amazon, and if I have to buy books to support my habit, I’m certainly not going to give anyone more money than I have to.

But that’s for another post on another day. I digress.

Of Ventrues and Daevas

Back to our regularly scheduled program:

I enjoy when the Vampire or Forsaken books go into detail on tribes, clans, lodges, and covenants. It’s a peek behind the curtain and helps me flesh out other aspects of my characters with a little bit of supernatural history.

In the past, these source books have been very well done. The Werewolf tribe books were great. They all followed the formula of a history of the tribe, new gifts and merits for each auspice, and a few more interesting goodies at the end of each book.

Last night my Ventrue and Daeva clan books arrived.

The covers were impressive. Both were a nice combination of sleek gloss and silky matte finish. (I’m a sucker for that matte finish). The stock they used for the paperback covers was impressive; it was nice, thick cardstock to withstand the rigors of LARP or tabletop gaming.

Visual Overload

This is where tranquility ended. I opened Daeva: Kiss of the Succubus and my brain nearly exploded.

White Wolf often offers a few pages of short fiction stories at the beginning of many of their source books highlighting the content of the book. As I began flipping through the pages, I wondered where the story ended and the source material began.

It was much the same as Scion: Hero. White Wolf’s source books used to only have about six pages of prelude. Scion broke that rule with over twice that number. Many people felt as if White Wolf was pushing their signature characters for that particular system rather than leaving creative doors open for players to create their own characters.

It was the same with my new books. In addition to the 112 pages of clan information interwoven with story, there was enough graphic bling to make even Liberace roll his eyes. Some pages looked like a graphic novel; others looked like handwritten notes with paperclips holding them to the page. Still more were written in the dreaded Courier font, one that looks like it came from a typewriter to simulate that… Well, that the page came from a typewriter.

It gets worse. Other pages had four or five different fonts all on the same page and still more pages written with mock handwriting.

Make It Stop, Please!

I’m sorry. I would love to give you a review of the actual contents of the book as far as mechanics and my opinion, but I can’t get past the graphic chaos.

In the past, the clan and tribe books used some of the graphic elements here and there. The designers sprinkled them like spice. It was just enough to make the books beautiful.

I feel like someone in the White Wolf art department ran in and said, “Okay, boys! We’ve got an order for one with everything on it. The works!”

No. No. I repeat, no. I like pretty, but I like information too. I don’t want to read page after page of a Ventrue’s personal diary or be blasted with horrible graphics. I mean, sheesh, if the writers at White Wolf are so hard up on putting out fiction novels, then do it already!

(Yes, that was sarcasm. White Wolf has fiction novels based on the games. We won’t go there today.)

But That’s Not The Worst Part

The worst part is that I’m an obsessive collector of series. When I have one, I must have all. Like a train wreck, I’ll eventually dive back into these books simply because they’re there, taunting me and egging me on to discover the information within.

So, I have to buy the next book, Savage and Macabre: Gangrel, slated for release in September only because my beloved Cole Morrison has the clan roots in his bloodline.

What’s a fan to do, I ask you? Maybe someone out there has been brave enough to read these books. If so, I’d like to hear your take on them.

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Finding Your Writing Space

Let’s take a break from the world of role-playing and look at the other driving force behind this blog: creative writing.

It’s hard for some to get into the mood for writing. We have plenty of excuses for that lack of inspiration. The laundry needs to be washed, the house is dirty, the desk is cluttered, it’s raining, it’s too nice out… You get the idea.

Where do you draw the line and say, “Enough is enough”?

When Perfect Really Isn’t

There’s really very little in the house to distract me. My roommate works, so I have the house to myself all day. No need for an office door. The cats are scarce. No one telephones (except maybe Mom when she hasn’t heard from me in a while). No one drops in for an unexpected visit.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining. Sometimes having the perfect environment can be just as bad as having one that isn’t. I still have to figure out what works best for me. I have plenty of distractions throughout the day, and most of them arrive in the form of instant messaging and email.

I work on graphic design on my computer in the office for eight hours or more a day. By the time I need to write, I’m tired of sitting in that comfy office chair and staring at the dual high-tech monitors. Some people would kill to have my quiet home and that office. By the end of the day, I don’t want to be there anymore.

Finding Your Writing Space

Every writer has his or her special place for writing. Hemingway had the tropics, Kipling had a desk on the landing of a staircase in a swank hotel, and Stephen King has his office - with a door.

Finding your space doesn’t necessarily mean creating a physical space for working, although that is a big part of it. Finding your space is a way of getting your mind prepared to focus on the task. Your space is your trigger. When you go there, your brain knows what you’re going to do – and it does it.

For me, taking the laptop into the living room and sitting on the couch with my feet up and the TV on in the background is heaven. James constantly asks how in the world I can work with the TV on. It’s easy for me. The pictures on the screen aren’t words. The opposite is true when I work on graphics; I listen to music. See? It all balances out.

At night, I can let my words pour out. It’s like setting my mind free to wander. Even King admits needing AC/DC cranked up on the stereo while he writes. The louder the better, he says.
What sets your mind free? What helps you to shut out the world and dive into that blank page?

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Letting Go of You When You Play

Role-playing comes easy to some people. They slip on a persona and they let themselves go in a character personality that isn’t theirs. They have no problem “playing pretend” at all, and other players may even wonder who the real person is.

Other players find that role-playing isn’t so simple. They struggle to figure out what their character might do, or say, or think, or feel. They look around and wonder how some people do it. Then they believe they’re no good at the game at all.

The problem isn’t a question of talent or ability. The issue is, in its essence, the ability to let go.

Role-Playing Isn’t for Wierdos

Some players feel silly. What will others think if the character goes on a rampage or explodes in destruction? They may live with a whisper in the back of their mind that they have to keep their cool and look put together – both player and character.

The result is a character that never truly lives his or her own life. Emotions are dampened by manners and common societal rules of behaviour. The truth is that, in a role-playing game, the rules of behaviour aren’t at all the same as real-day life.

Realism counts – but so does action, thoughts and feelings. To truly come alive, a character must leap off the pages or the gaming table, as the case may be. The player must embrace the persona wholeheartedly and without reservation, living every moment larger than life – even if that persona is one of shyness and quiet introspection.

Live Vicariously Through Others

Role-playing is a wonderful way to experience, at least in part, the freedom to do what one wants, to feel what one feels and to think what one thinks. Your characters allow you the opportunity to do whatever it is that you couldn’t do otherwise. Live vicariously through them with all your heart.

Where else can you become that tough-ass chick who walks around with a switchblade? Where else can you explore sides of insanity, allowing the character to slip deeper into his own mind?

Nowhere, that’s where. Role-playing isn’t real life, and in an imaginary world, everything comes true, from one’s deepest desire to one’s absolute freedom of expression.

So let go. Play without reservation. Live without fear. Try anything you’d like, no matter how crazy or silly it seems. You might be thrilled at the response you receive, and you’ll certainly end up revelling in a game without boundaries.

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Using Current Events In Your Game

As storytellers, we’re always on the lookout for more fodder for building fantasy worlds. One of the best sources is the evening news or your Yahoo or Google homepage.

I’m talking current events.

In a game like Escaping Reality, when the period is modern day, plenty of events are happening in the news, and these can add depth to your game and your characters. Whether it’s a natural disaster, political scandal, or a local murder mystery, you can take these events and work them into your game.

Maybe your setting is in California - so how did the wildfires there affect your local residents in game? If you want to get even more detailed, maybe one of your characters was from California and the fires affected his home and family.

Other events, like political scandal, could have a darker, twisted agenda. Why was that senator killed? It sure looked odd on the surface. Dig a little deeper and let your mind go wild. Maybe one of the local (or even national) Kindred groups had their eyes on a bigger, more far-reaching goal? Killing that senator because he knew too much and he’s in the way is a good start for an excellent plot.

To take this a step further, dig out old history books or watch a few hours of The History Channel. Watch Discovery too, for that matter. Has an ancient relic just been discovered deep in the Holy Land? What if that artifact was cursed or had some other supernatural significance?

Once you start thinking that the world is indeed your oyster, sources for materials and plot ideas go much further than the collection of gaming books on your shelf.

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Dealing with Power Gamers

Power gamers aren’t fun.

There’s nothing worse than a player who lives only for more power, more toys, more skills and more victory. Other players end up feeling like their character has no way to contribute and reason to exist.

Just ask Big-Shot Hero over there. He doesn’t need Puny Weakling.

Power gamers who can’t get enough glory, strength, victories and treasure quickly becomes an annoyance for everyone else. Games are group environments, and it’s important that everyone have fun.

Here are some solutions that can help restore fun for everyone involved.

Talk to the individual with the “me, me, me” mindset. The person may not realize that he or she is being a power gamer. There’s nothing wrong with saying, “Hey, a few of us are feeling a little left out – everyone needs a turn to shine.”

Establish new rules that enforce sharing. As Storyteller or Dungeon Master, it is your job to correct the situation so that everyone has fun. Change the rules. Limit character advancement. Make it harder for stronger characters to reach new levels or abilities.

Give each player a task with a specific reward. Force character groups to work together to achieve a single goal. Have tasks that only a specific character can complete and make each character important to the game.

Let the little guy shine. It’s easy to think up obstacles that require power to overcome. Try a challenge that can’t be resolved with power and requires quick wits, small bodies, specific skills or certain abilities instead.

Take some power away. Create a reverse situation where the one to collect the treasure is stripped of power for a period and has to regain it slowly. Have a sickness strike characters that saps the strength of the strongest.

Scrap the game and start over. This solution is a harsh one, but it truly is best to start over rather than end up with a bunch of unhappy players muttering about another whose character sweeps up everything.

Can you think of other ways to help correct a power gaming situation?

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Humans versus Supernaturals: Winner Guaranteed?

Some characters come with handfuls of strength, abilities, gifts and skills. It seems like they can do it all and then some. Powerful characters can be very intimidating at times, especially when your character is just a human.

The meek shall inherit the earth, they say, but remembering that is tough when your lowly David is facing off against Goliath.

Remember, Goliath had a weakness. Everyone does. Characters have weaknesses too, no matter how big, powerful, strong, magical or supernatural the character may be.

It’s still quite common to hear a player say, “This isn’t fun. My human character doesn’t have a hope in hell. That supernatural character is too powerful.”

We believe that there is no such thing as too powerful. Everyone has a weakness. There are only players who have no interest in finding the chinks in the armor, who want the easy solution presented to them.

There are certainly situations that are more difficult. Yes, human characters may find it a complex challenge to face supernaturals with all sorts of abilities. The game can seem unbalanced.

But it is not. There are abilities humans have that supernaturals don’t have. There are weaknesses that supernaturals must hide lest they be hunted down and killed. There are even mental triggers and cracks. A tough exterior or a high ego likely hides a very tender spot of emotion.

Ever see a grown man cry? Trust me; they do and can. But you need to find the right button to push.

Players must use their brains to find solutions, solve mysteries or reveal the hidden weaknesses. A defeatist attitude that sees only the character strength never goes far. If all you can see is what a character can do, give up.

Or look deeper. Find the weakness. Look for the tender spot. Reveal the softer side. Discover the fault. Delve deep and dig.

You may realize there’s a very human side to every supernatural.

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