No adventure survives contact with the players

If you didn't know I'm a gamer. I've pretty much played it all. Board games. Card games. CCG's. Miniature games. Video games. Computer games. Role Playing Games.  RPG's are amongst my most favorite both playing and running. I've been doing both for the better part of 25 years and I've seen a wide assortment of players.

Some want to just roll dice and kill things. Some want to explore the world. Some want to become their character and immerse themselves.  Some just want to get the hell out of the house and escape their family (I don't judge).  The one thing that they all have in common is the ability to take your well laid adventure and turn it on its head with relative ease.

I enjoy running games. I enjoy the creative process of taking an idea and expanding on it. Map making. NPC creation. I like to think I'm good at it. From the talk of my players they enjoy it, so that's a check in my favor.

My first truly cooked up adventure that I planned for took me about 2 weeks to get together. I don't remember the specifics but it was the first in a multi-year campaign. The adventure  was for West End Games Star Wars.  I had planned the NPC's, their gear, the ships, the over arching goals, and what I thought were the paths the players would take.  I had maps, descriptions, points of interest. I had looked over dozens of pre-generated adventures to get ideas.

I was pumped. Excited. Nervous. It was Game night. I had my GM screen. I had my notes, my maps, my game plan. And within about 30 minutes of the action beginning all my well laid plans went out the airlock. The few subtle hints about where to go went unnoticed (or ignored). I had a player disrupt my bad guy (very cleverly, I might add). What had been planned as a multi-game night story arc was almost neatly wrapped up before midnight. No adventure survives contact with the player.

It was a learning experience to say the least! I learned that copious notes and details are fantastic if you plan to publish your adventure but that in the future I should KISS it. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Oh, I still planned, but most of it was mental. I had an outline of what the goals of the adventure were and some simple notes.  I also learned go off the cuff. To improvise. In some instances to flat out pull it out of my - um, out of thin air.

I also began to ask my players what they wanted. Did they have a particular story arc they wanted their characters to go.  In that I began to tailor my adventures more to the players, trying to avoid the stereotypical tropes that we have all come to know and love. I borrow, emulate, and try to incorporate the best ideas from my fellow GM's.  I do try to plan ahead, knowing what I do about my players, but despite all of that - my adventures still don't survive contact with my players.

The Dresden Files

I've been reading all my life. I've read many different things. Some books I've struggled through, some I've really enjoyed. And then there are some series that I've not been able to put down until I've finished. David Weber's Honor Harrington series was passed around like crack among my friends. We read it and got every new book that came out.  The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher has become my new reading crack.

For those who are not familiar the Dresden Files follow the adventures of Harry Dresden, a modern day wizard and private investigator. That's right, he's a wizard, even says so on his door.  The writing style of the series is hard boiled, first person noir.  It is a detective series told through Dresden's point of view.  He narrates and weaves a compelling tale. Throw in a damsel in distress and some magical bad-ass villains and you have the series. Kind of like Sam Spade but with wands and vampires. You see the world through Harry's eyes, and it isn't always a very pretty picture.  I had never read any detective stories before but these one grabbed my by the shirt, pulled me in, and made me hold on for the ride.

Dresden is a wizard who has led a hard life. He's tall, rail thin, and sports a duster, jeans, and cowboy boots. His trusty staff and blasting rod (think magic wand) are a part of his arsenal, as is the silver pentacle that he uses to focus his magic. He's a sucker for a woman in distress and a connoisseur  of modern geekism and pop culture references.


You learn that magic and monsters are all real. Most people just don't see them because both are hidden in plain sight and usually dismissed.  But the threats are real.  Each novel introduces a new magical concept, from vampires, werewolves, to necromancers.  In every book Harry gets a job as a PI. The jobs are never easy, never as they seem, and Harry usually ends up on the short end of a beating stick.

Magic in the Dresdenverse does not play well with modern technology. Cell phones, computers, modern cars, even microwaves often go on the fritz or even burn out when magic is used around them. Magic is potent and dangerous.

The monsters and fey are not the sanitized versions you see from Disney.  Think the original Grimm's fairy tales mixed crossed with Hannibal Lector. Many of the myths and legends are brought forward and explained. They can be utterly ruthless caring nothing for the sanctity of life.I find the mythology very well researched and interestingly presented.

I discovered Dresden by accident. It was actually through the short lived Sci-Fi channel series. I remember seeing adds for it but never had a chance to sit down and watch it. Alas, it was cancelled. When Hulu first appeared this was one of the shows and I gave it a chance. I was hooked.  The first hit was free, the rest was - not enough. I blew through the series but wanted more.  On a whim I ordered the first three-pack off of Amazon and then the freebasing began.

If you haven't read any of the books go ahead and start with Storm Front.  You can pick it up from just about any bookstore or Amazon.  I'd also recommend the TV-show. If you have Netflix it is streaming! If you like magic, mystery, a dash of daring-do, and no small mix of humor and sarcasm then I think you'll love the Dresdenverse.

Spoiler Alert?!

Maybe it is a sign of me getting older but I am no longer wanting to know everything about a movie or a show before it comes out. With the advent of the internet, digital photos, and the rest it is now all too easy to sneak pictures or script shots off the set. I enjoy the surprise, the mystery, the secret, the unknown of a new movie or show.

Why will you drop $7 to $15 or more to see a movie that you know all the plot points and probably have seen a good chunk of the footage from a spoiler website? What is left to enjoy?  If you spend the entire time waiting for that one scene that you know is coming how much can you truly enjoy the movie?

I guess I'm tired of avoiding so many articles because of the dreaded "Spoiler Alert" that seems to fill so many articles. At least they are courteous enough to put in there. I know it is big business to leak this to the masses, and if there wasn't a market for it then it wouldn't be so rampant. Hell, I've avoided reading the sample chapters that Martin has posted for the next A Song of Fire and Ice novel.

It is a lot easier since I don't have cable. I am not bombarded with commercials or TMZ style shows that blurt out some breaking news.  I also keep my headphones on at work so I miss a lot of the chatter from my fellow geeks who do keep in the know.

Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic when I heard there will be new Star Wars movies. I am also thrilled that JJ Abrams is going to be helming at least first one because of his sense of secrecy.  He's kept a lot of the new Trek movie close to his vest. Some stills were released, characters, but even the trailers have left you wondering just what the hell is going on. I have also purposely ignored articles that leak script ideas.  I want to go into this fresh, not knowing much, and with as few preconceived notions as I can.

Some things have been revealed.   A lot of the original cast will be back if the reports are correct.  They are known commodities, Luke, Leah, Han. My hope is that they are now in positions of authority and that they are there to hand the reins to a new group of younger smugglers, Jedi, and heroes. I plan to remain as ignorant as I can about it until I see the Star Wars logo and hopefully John Williams Fanfare blaring.

I have nothing against the masses who do want every spoiler that comes out.  I just ask that you don't blurt them out and if you post about them warn those of us who still want a little magic when we go to the movies.

Work in progress rewriting!

A fun and sometimes annoying thing that happens to me in the middle of a story is I get a great idea and then have to work it in. Sometimes this is a minor change, sometimes pretty major. I have done my best to actually plot out my current project, including an outline and even a little flow chart on what would characters do. Still, after waking up after a nice nap or a great night sleep I suddenly have an idea “here is how to do X, or this is something Y would do.” This is especially helpful when I am stuck on an idea. I know what I want to happen just trying to figure out who to make it happen and not look too canned.

I know it is part of the creative processes and you cannot plan for all eventualities.  Luckily the new things that are being integrated are not radically changing my current narrative.  I’ve been using a program called Y-Writer. The program helps you the project into chapters and then down to scenes. That way I can make a change to a particular scene and not have to search some ginormous document. I can find it quickly, edit it, or even delete a scene.  I’m still learning the software but I am using it in conjunction with Word. 

The scary thing is what had started as a short story has turned into a 60,000 word piece and I still have chapters to write. They are plotted out but I have to get this stuff down.  In the meantime I keep reviewing and editing what I do have. It is good to take a little break once in a while and go back with a fresh mind.  My steno pad is invaluable as well since I work on scenes or ideas on my breaks and lunch so I don’t forget them.

I have several other pieces I need to review, update, and finish. I am going to try the self-publishing route at first. Has anyone had any success or suggestions for this? If so please shoot them my way!

What is success in music?

A conversation some co-workers(Galindo and English I'm looking at you) of had a while back what was how do you define success in music? Record sales? Concert ticket sales? Radio Airplay?  How many torrents of your record have been downloaded? All of these things for certain. 

Record sales are obvious. If you can get a record to go gold or platinum then you have gotten people to part with their entertainment money to get your music.  Of course, how many times have you listened to a kick-ass song on the radio, gone out and gotten the disk only to find out that 2 out of 8 songs are great and the rest suck? Too many.  Of course this is where services like iTunes makes that easier allowing you to buy a single track.

Record sales is only one part of it. I guess I should say continuing record sales. Vanilla Ice, New Kids on the Block, and Mili Vanili all solds gobs of records. Ganbusters style.   Everyone I in high school blasted “Ice, Ice Baby” yet are now loathe to admit they ever owned it.  Once the preteen/tween girls grew up NKOTB faded into obscurity.  And we all know the demise of Mili Vanili. One can only hope they invested their money as wisely as Vanilla Ice.

Concert ticket sales are in the same boat as record sales. If the demands to see you perform puts butts in seats then you are doing well.  Not to mention the memorabilia that goes with the concert experience.

If you are selling out stadiums and travelling the world, fantastic. But if you have fallen to playing state fares and cheap dives for beer money then I guess you didn’t have staying power.

Radio airplay is a key as well. It helps get your music out to the masses so that they will go and buy your records, buy your concert tickets, and buy your T-shirts.  If you have good rotation you are in the minds and ears of your fans. You do run the risk of being a one-hit-wonder if they only play one song and ignore the rest of your catalog.

How often is your music downloaded, even illegally?  If someone is going to run the risk of a felony, confiscation of your computer, or impossible to pay fines to pay then you have to make sure that what you are downloading is worth it. Do you really want it to get out that you have to pay a multiple thousand dollar fine for downloading Liza Minnelli or Babs?

Who is covering your music?  New bands born a generation or more after the Beatles, Lez Zepplin, or Queen are covering classic songs.  Some do a dead on cover, others put their spin on it. Some of them are really good, some of them need to be taken out behind the woodshed and beaten severely.  

Are you in Rock Band?   Yes it is a video game. Yes it doesn’t really have much to do with playing real music. But it has helped introduce younger listeners to Black Sabbath, the Beatles, and Aerosmith. When my stepson told me turn up War Pigs because he had heard it on Rock Band then I knew Ozzy would live on forever.

For me, a band is successful if I pull out their CD and listen to it years later. In its entirety, not just one or two tracks, but he full record.  Sure a band might make tons of money but if no one listens to your music anymore and no longer buys your music are you still successful? This also goes back to radio airplay. Yeah you might get played a lot but if it is only one or two songs that are all you will be remembered for. Sure a band might make tons of money but if no one listens to your music anymore and no longer buys your music are you still successful?

Are you embarrassed to have that disk in your collection?  Will you risk the ridicule and mockery if someone goes through your playlist or CD collection? Did you erase the track or destroy the disk to avoid anyone discovering your dark secret? This might not mean much for true success but who wants to be known for being an embarrassment?

 I am very discerning with my entertainment dollars so I have to be sure of what I am buying.  Some music I will buy without listening to first just on the brand name.  I may download a track after hearing a song on the radio but I am very careful before I commit to a new CD.

Success, ultimately, is based upon who you are asking and what metrics you use.  What are your thoughts?