It’s week three to answer questions I should have answered one day at a time. Sue me.

14. Favourite convention purchase? 

The goodman games Deluxe Judges Guild Special collectors edition Vol 1 and 2. Big enough to break a man in half, and chock full of amazing material. Cost a pretty penny though.

15. Favourite Con module / one shot? 

At UK Games Expo 2019 I played in a lot of RPG games. My favourite by far was the scenario ‘Forget Me Not’ by Brian M. Sammons. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the GMs name, but he did a great job of pulling all the investigators together and running the investigation. This scenario uses a hackneyed plot device, amnesia, but it does it so with big brass bells on. The player characters are all members of a Ghost Hunting TV show, we woke up in a van wreck with no memories at all. We began figuring out just what the hell happened, and who we were. Eventually we ran into something rather eldritch, as is oft the case in CoC. I will give no more spoilers as it’s a great scenario and would encourage horror gamers to seek it out. I’ve ran it multiple times since and its become a go to for when I feel like running a horror module. 

16. Game you wished you owned? 

I can immediately name the two games I want to own. I want to own them because I want to play them. I haven’t bought them because I doubt I’d ever play them. They aren’t RPGs.

First is Crusader Rex. I really like chit based war games. I really like being blind to opponents power in war games. And look at that box art, it’s glorious. Give me chainmail, a tabard and glistening jowls. I want to put myself into the mind of a crusader general for a few hours. Would anyone play this with me? I’m dubious. It doesn’t seem the most exciting game unless crying DUES VULT gets you turgid. This is why I haven’t bought the game. I know few people on this level. But, damn it, I want to.

The second game is Divine Right. The janky TSR board game from 1979 that mixes diplomacy, combat, area control and role-playing; all in one baby. Like Crusader Rex, I love the art style, and after reading far too much about it I just know I would enjoy playing this game. Again, I have doubts that I could convince anyone to play it with me. I do have a strange idea that I could use the Divine Right map and lore to run a high level od&d and chainmail campaign. I might do that someday.

17. Funniest Game you’ve played?

My board gaming group picked up a copy of Mountains of Madness. From the box art, and obvious Cthulhu mythos trappings, we were not expecting a hilarious game, but a hilarious game is what we got. It’s a cooperative game where the players progress up a board collecting artefacts and attempting to escape Antartica by microlight plane. The only problem is that the player cooperation soon gets sidelined by the insanity mechanics encountered on the mountain. This is when the hilarity ensues. Some notable madness mechanics include, ‘only being able to talk to people who wear a finger moustache,’ ‘repeating everything you hear,’ ‘only being able to talk if you conduct the conversation like a symphony,’ ‘being required to stand at least ten foot away from all people,’ and other such menacing mechanics.

We weren’t expecting this to be a funny game, but once it got going we were all raving like maniacs. Hilarious.

18. Favourite game system? 

I’m playing a lot of house ruled BX d&d at the moment, so this is currently what I’m into. I’ve also been playing some 1e AD&D and really enjoy it. I’m looking forward to learning more of the nuances of 1e and will likely run some games soon. I’m also partial to Swords & Wizardry and want to play more of that system. The compatibility of these OSR systems makes crossing their rules and pilfering procedures very easy, which is essentially what my house rules are.

19. Favourite Published Adventure? 

I like a lot of adventure modules. Picking one feels like an impossible task. But I must abide and answer the question, so I dig deep and answer truthfully. The one module that I have returned to again and again, which has been a source of immeasurable fun, is a little Modern Day Call of Cthulhu module called ‘In Media Res’ by John Tynes. It’s just about the perfect horror one shot, it doesn’t require the heavy rules of the game, is totally immersive, highly action orientated, chock with inter-party conflict from the get-go, and its balls to the wall ballistic. I love it, and no other scenario I have ever ran has compared. I have ran this scenario eight times and keep coming back when I find a group who haven’t played it. I won’t give any spoilers because it’s something to be experienced.

20. Will still play in twenty years time? 

Some form of OSR Dungeons & Dragons, without a doubt. I feel the original versions of the game embody pure potentiality. There is so much gameable material out there, around fifty years worth, so one couldn’t possibly run short of inspiration. Its a totally malleable system, it can be sword & sorcery, it can be fairy tale, it can be horror, it can be political, it can facilitate a game of low life criminality, or the sagas of conquering kings. OSR D&D is everything you could ever need, and all the things you never knew you wanted.