DNAphil

I am sad to report, that Erick Wujcik, the great game designer, has passed away. It was made public, months ago that he was diagnosed with cancer. I am a great fan of Erick’s work, and when I first read the news, posted an article, that summed up my feelings for what he meant to me as a GM, and what he did for the role playing world. That post can be found here.

Thank you again Erick for all you have done.  I will not forget the times that I got to meet you and that sense of awe listening to you talk about games and game theory.   My condolences go to Erick and his family and friends, and to all the gamers who were touched by Erick’s games and words.

Normally I don’t get into making houserules or my own custom rule sets. Having rarely mastered the Hard Skills of GMing, I tend to shy away from making too many of my own rules, and am content to stick with what has been written in the rule book. Also, I have had some really bad experiences in collaborative rule building that has convinced me that too many cooks can spoil the pot.

All that said, I started making some home rules for an idea for running a game based on the Global Frequency comic books. And I thought I would tell you how it is going….

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So last week, I talked about the Hard and Soft Skills of being a GM. This week, I am going to look at my own path of GM Mastery and see how my recent understanding of hard and soft skills has given me insight into what things I should do next. Along the way, I hope to inspire you to perform some self-evaluation and start to understand your own path to GM Mastery.

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For the past few weeks, I have been in a kind of low-energy state in regards to gaming. Usually during these times, is when I do some soul searching and explore what gaming means to me, my philosophy on GMing, etc. This time was no different. I took myself out for a quiet lunch armed with my favorite new pen, and my leather covered Moleskine journal and got to thinking about where I am as a GM and what things I can do to improve myself.

As I started some mind mapping over some General Tso’s chicken, it became clear to me that GMing is the combination of Soft and Hard skills, a Ying and Yang of sorts. As my mind map expanded, it became clear to me that my GMing Chi has been out of balance fore years, and that for me to make my next step in my growth as a GM that I would have to restore some balance to my Gaming Chi.

So let me take you through what I came up with during that lunch…

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With the sneak peeks at D&D 4e, coming out on different web sites, I have been hearing a phrase coming up, that has been annoying me. On more than one post and discussion thread, I have heard people talking about how the mechanics for 4e is killing the ability for players to properly role play; that 4e is so crunchy that it is now all roll and not role.

Pure rubbish. Want to know why? Keep reading.

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It is with great sadness that I report, that Gary Gygax, the original Dungeon Master, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and founder of GenCon, has passed away. The story is circulating slowly across the Internet and blogosphere.

I had the honor at this past GenCon to bump into Gary on the convention floor, and have my picture taken with him. I thanked him for everything he had done. D&D was far more than a game for me. It was an escape during a very difficult time in my childhood, a time that I am not sure I would have endured if it had not been for the chance to escape into D&D, and think of fighters and wizards battling monsters for treasure and magical items.

In later years, RPG’s would be the common thread between my friends and I. We gamed all through middle and high school. To this day, nearly 20 years later, I am still friends with all my gaming buddies from high school, and when we can, we get together and game. When we can’t we, sit around and talk about all the games we played in the past.

Fourteen years ago, when I left college for grad school, once again, my love of Role Playing helped me to meet a new group of friends, who became my current gaming group. Over the years we have shared all sorts of adventures together, though Role Playing.

Most recently, I have been attending GenCon with my current gaming group, my high school friend, as well as both my Brother In Laws, and my 8 yr old Nephew. For us GenCon has been more than just a gaming convention, it is a time to bring friends and family together, and a time for us to instill the love of gaming and the sense of adventure into our children.

None of this would have been possible if not for the work and imagination of Gary Gygax.

Tonight I will roll my first d20 in silence….in honor of Gary.

Thanks again Gary….thanks for everything.