RPGaDay 2026 - DAY 13 - STRAIN

STRAIN

The biggest Strain on my ability to catch up with and continue posting for the RPGaDay Challenge of 2026 has been the fact that as of last weekend I've been really sick with the flu. That is in addition to work, life, side projects, and all the other facts that usually make August a tough go for blogging. 

My apologies to all my readers and I hope to get back on schedule but don't be surprised if the next few posts are a bit of a cheat in order to reach the point of being at least roughly concurrent with where I'm supposed to be. 

Ya'know, like this one.

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Barking Alien

What Drives Your Campaign?

In a comment on my A World of Adventure post, the ever emerald TheKelvinGreen responded to my desire for a open world exploration focused campaign by saying, "I've always wanted to play in a completely open exploration game. Alas, I only ever get to play mission-based or plot-heavy games, with little exploration."

My hearts go out to Kelvin to be sure. At the same time, his statement got me thinking about I what such campaigns would be like. TRPGs with 'little exploration' are not something I'm deeply familiar with. More or less exploration I can conceive of but 'little' just doesn't compute in my adventuring-into-the-unknown oriented brain.

I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about campaign design as it relates to games that are Mission Driven, Narrative Driven, and Exploration Driven. 

Mission Driven

In my mind, a Mission Driven campaign has the PCs largely reacting to and engaging with adventures given to them by an outside entity. The typical Mission comes from a patron; an individual or group capable of hiring you to go perform a task for them. It could be a wealthy merchant, a secret government agency, or even a regular person who needs your character's/party's particular set of skills and abilities. 

Examples of strongly Mission Driven campaigns would be most Superhero games, most Star Trek games, Espionage, and Ghostbusters. 

Superheroes are alerted to criminal activity by the Major or the Trouble Alert.

Star Trek characters are sent to investigate strange anomalies by Starfleet Command. Espionage parties get assignments from Control.

Ghostbusters receive a call from the Manager of a Fancy Hotel about a Ghost.

It is also possible the one giving you your Missions is antagonistic towards your party; you work for them to pay off a debt or their harm you or someone you care about if you don't. In either case, the scenarios come to the PCs and they largely wait for that to happen. Like Firefighters, they don't [usually] roam the streets looking for fires but instead are on stand-by until a call comes in. 

Narrative Driven

Narrative Driven campaigns feature the party of PCs going on an adventure for reasons conditional to the story being told. Maybe its to avenge the destruction of their homeland, to prove they are worthy of being the rulers of a kingdom, or because their dying mentor told them of a great treasure hidden in a distant place. The adventures they go on are all tied to a story and driven by emotions and personal goals. It could be THE story, an overarching tale that influences the entire campaign but it could just as easily be about the members of the group helping one another in pursuit of all of their individual stories. 

Examples of this are tough for me to come up with as this sort of campaign can be created in nearly any kind of setting or genre. A Dungeons and Dragons campaign COULD be Narrative but so could a Horror, Superhero, or virtually any other kind of game. The key is story first and everything else after. 

I can see a number of games of this nature also have Missions and Exploration within them, though I'll address more on this towards the end of the post.

Exploration Driven

By far my favorite type of campaign and the one hardest to execute these days (see below) is the full on Exploration game where a map is made or a region described and the 'adventures' depend on where the PCs want to go and what they want to do there.

Often the Exploration is connected to some idea or theme that governs why the group of Player Characters are exploring the area they're in but what happens because of that motivation is anyone's guess. Once the PCs interact with whatever their destination has in-store for them things can literally go in any direction.

This is my preferred way of running Medieval Fantasy games, Traveller and other Spacefaring Sci-Fi, and I've used it to good effect in other genres as well. There are several games that are traditional viewed as Mission Driven that I think benefit from being a mix of Mission and Exploration (keep reading and you'll see what I mean). 

What Actually Drives Campaigns

Generally speaking, most campaigns are a mix of all these classifications. At least mine are and I would imagine so are most of yours.

Granted, the particular 'levels' of each would vary from Gamemaster to Gamemaster, Genre to Genre, and Campaign to Campaign. For the most part, my Star Trek campaigns are mainly Mission Driven with a great deal of Character Narrative and a good amount of Exploration. Likewise for Superheroes. My Traveller, Star Wars, and other Sci-Fi Space Adventure campaigns are mainly Exploration, with a great deal of Character Narrative and a good amount of Missions. While my Fantasy campaigns tend towards a Exploration, Narrative, Mission format, The Winghorn Guard games [being heavily influenced by the Superhero genre) are Mission, Exploration, Narrative. I think Ghostbusters would be considered Mission, Narrative, Exploration. 

A campaign missing any one of these elements would be pretty odd. These are the key ingredients of Tabletop RPG campaign and adventure design at its most basic after all [IMHO]. I can honestly say I would want to run or play in a campaign with no exploration and no story of any kind. No missions? It's weird to say maybe but I feel that's the only one I could do without and at the same time, I can't imagine an ongoing game that doesn't include missions.

The biggest issue I face these days is that Exploration Driven games require proactivity on the part of the players. You need the people participating to enjoy looking around and interacting with your world or universe. I ran a Traveller campaign not that long ago wherein the PCs were hired by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service to help them complete the Grand Survey, since the IISSS didn't have enough ships to cover the entirty of Charted Space. Basically their job was to explore the planets in a particular Subsector, catalog key stats and information on them, and report back to the IISS on their findings. If they found particularly useful data such as major resource deposits, a hidden pirate base, an unusual lifeform, or whathaveyou, the PCs would get a 'finder's fee' bonus.

One of my players just couldn't wrap his head around the idea. He didn't understand what we were doing. What was the 'Mission'. He needed to be told, 'Go to Planet A. Do X thing', or it was all too vague for him. Exploration for exploration's sake wasn't a strong enough motivator for him [even though I made it clear he and the other PCs were also getting paid with bonus for more interesting finds]. The game didn't last that long and it made me overly nostalgic for my own High School campaigns of exploring just for the thrill of finding something new. 

What about you? What's your preferences and what do you actually end up running? 

Let me know. I'm really curious!

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Barking Alien

On A Blue Note

My recent lackluster excursion into Medieval Fantasy Solo RPGaming had me really down; moreso than I would have expected. It was made worse by a poor purchase I made specifically for this experiment, hoping the product I bought would be useful for my endeavor*. It was not and in fact it is so lame I can't see myself ever using it but more on that later.

I really dislike wasting time and money. Grr. Sigh.

Luckily, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel and that light my friends, is blue...

I'll be running The Smurfs RPG this week! Woohoo!

With some of our regulars out we'll be skipping the next session of the normal campaign and playing a Smurfs one-shot instead. I am officially cheered-up as I haven't gotten the chance to run The Smurfs in what feels like a long while and, as you probably know by now, I absolutely love this game! 

It looks like Nick will be return to play Sir Smurfsalot - The Questing Smurf, Ray will reprise Spelly Smurf, and Will will be coming in with a brand new Smurf Girl from Smurfy Grove by the name of Smurfevergreen! 

I'm genuinely looking forward to this and will be spending today working up my adventure (as much as Adam works up adventures that is). Later in the week I'll give you all the aftersmurf report. 

Until then, smurf you later my fellow Smurfs!

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Barking Alien

*A Mini-Review of Roll & Play Press's 'No Place Like Homebrew':

I don't normally do product reviews of this sort but I was not happy with this purchase and I wanted everyone out there to be aware of what the book was all about. If you are new to tabletop roleplaying games in general and Dungeons and Dragons 5E specifically, this product might be of interest and use to you. 

If you have been playing for 10 years or more, have played games other than D&D, and have what I have to assume is a modest amount of creativity, you can probably skip this book. It has 252 pages of stuff, ranging from deities and locations to creatures and more locations that you've already come up with or read before on a blog, in a magazine, or any number of other places a dozen times already. Nothing in it, as far as I can tell, is of particular noteworthiness. 

The book is oddly organized, at least to me, though perhaps Fantasy gamers are more accustomed to the thinking process that went into this. For example, it starts with REALMS, a whole section on sample worlds and settings which certainly makes sense but its then filled with things like Deities, Celestials, and other otherworldly entities. Is that where most people start their world-building? With the Gods? Is that the first thing I need when trying to put together an adventure for my party of players and their PCs? Felt a little strange to me. 

Their idea of cool and interesting monsters are Bulettes but their gold-colored, Corgis with extra legs, and Pink Hounds that don't tire. Wow. Breathtaking. Also, thank goodness for an Index at the end of the book because its not like all the creatures are in one creature section. Instead they're scattered throughout the book (as are NPCs and other elements) based on terrain type. That makes sense, can't fault them for that, but I found it hard to know where to look to find something I'd previously read without use of the index. 

At $54.99 for the physical book (not including shipping) and $29.99 for the PDF, I can't recommend this for your money. I've far more exciting and innovative ideas to plug into your campaign for free or at a much lower cost from blogs, forums, magazine articles, and the like.

This product gets a 5 or maybe 5.5 out of 10 from me.

Something Strange in Your Neighborhood

Well...it's been a minute, huh?

Sorry for the long hiatus but I really needed a break as my personal, professional, and yes, creative endeavors required my full attention. Don't worry, everything is good.

This blog is, after all, something I primarily do for fun and because [without it] my constantly bubbling ideas would eventually overflow and drive me quite mad if I didn't write them out somewhere. While very important to me, it doesn't 'pay the bills' if you know what I mean, and Real LifeTM must come first.

Although...more on that below. 

Yesterday was Ghostbusters Day! In truth, tomorrow is the actual anniversary of the release of the original film, while yesterday was the Ghostbusters Day Event held annually in NYC at the Firehouse of Hook and Ladder 8. Although I was unable to attend in person this year, I did keep up on the announcements and news coming out at the event, with the most interesting thing [to me] by far being Ghostbusters: Night Shift - a Netflix Animated Series coming out in 2027. Check out the logo!

Personally, I really like it. Classic but with a twist!

While we don't have a lot of solid information about it yet, we do know that the showrunners are Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan. They were joined by Ghost Corps executive producers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan to announce the series at yesterday's event.

Furthermore, its been revealed that the show is being done by Flying Bark Productions, the studio that gave us Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Stranger Things: Tales from '85. 

This news makes me feel it's as good a time as any to announce a new project I'm working on; I will be producing an RPG System Agnostic collection of paranormal perps for use with your favorite games related to capturing, containing, and creatively counteracting pesky poltergeists titled, 'Hosts of Freaky Ghosts'!

Based on my various past posts about spooky scallywags from my previous paranormal policing campaigns, this is largely going to be a PDF of enemies - and possibly an ally or two - for West End's Ghostbusters RPG, Memento Mori's InSpectres, Ewen Cluney's Spooktacular, and with a little work, any such similar game using a like-minded premise and your rules of choice. I will be putting in up on DriveThruRPG hopefully in time for Halloween of this year.

A note about the art - potentially:

I've developed a technique in which I draw the ghosts by hand, upload them into one of several AI Art Generators, get a 'new' image, then spend an hour or more modifying the result to my liking using Photostudio, occasionally redrawing it quite a bit. In a way these are certainly AI slop images but they are AI slop images sourced from my own original illustrations. Which, let's be honest, are also slop. 

Is it OK to use these in my product that's going to be for sale? What does everyone think? I really like how it comes out in the end and it saves me time as I'm never happy with my own art and can spend hours and hours on the smallest piece redrawing it because it isn't 'perfect'. Often, I'm still not pleased with it in the finished art. Curse my somewhat talented but neurodiverse brain chemistry!

Using the method I have described, I get images I really like, though the ethics of it are very gray in my mind. I am prone to still seeing these pictures are AI and therefore unethical regardless of how much of it is my own work. If even 1% of a given images isn't really mine, do I have any right to call it an illustration I made? Certainly I can't receive money for it. Right?

Let me know what you think in the comments and please be civil and constructive. I don't won't to produce something people aren't going to like on the grounds that I've used AI at all. I respect that view. I am only considering it because its my own art the programs are trained on. 

I appreciate your time and thoughtful input. 

Later days,

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Barking Alien

The Dice Man Cometh

Gamers love dice. I'm a gamer so, ergo, I should also love dice. And I do...kinda.

Not gonna lie, these are beautiful.

Rant incoming...

Recently, I've been on the look out for a Fantasy RPG and a lot of new Anime/Manga/JRPG inspied ones have been promoted via Kickstarter, Backerlit, and Gamefound. Last Arc: Tactics Analogue, Legends of Akeroth, and Twilight Sword spring immediately to mind. Unfortunately, nearly all of these games share one element in common that really turns me off. I've been disappointed when I look past the pretty pictures and nifty settings and into the mechanics; a lot of them use multiple die types. 

I have grown to dislike games that use all the different polyhedrons. I prefer it when a game uses just D6s, or just D10s, or even just D20s (though that tends to be my least favorite die - too swingy). Pools of the same die are fine by me (preferred in fact) but using six or more different types just feels unnecessary and inelegant.

I know this isn't the case but I equate using all the dice with the clunky, limiting, inefficient games of yore. Given the many and varied ways I've seen the idea of 'only D6s' used to create systems from the complexity of Champions to the simplicity of Smurfs, my gut reaction to those developing a game with six different shaped dice is, 'Why? It isn't needed. There are easier [and better] ways to go about this.'

It's not just Fantasy games either but I did starting thinking about this more and more as I went on a quest to find a game that I really want to go on a quest with. The upcoming Superhero RPG from Free League, 'Invincible', based on the Image comic book and animated streaming series of the same name, uses only 6-sided dice but the recently announced Justice League Unlimited RPG uses all of the [basic] types. This instantly put a little frown on my face. I really like Invincible but I don't want to like more than I do my beloved DC Comics and from a cursory glance at both...that is exactly my feeling!

Frustrated by the dynamics of this situation I did the unthinkable, though more as an experiment than anything else, and put a host of very specific criteria into an AI language program, asking essentially, 'Can you make a Fantasy Tabletop Roleplaying Game with no Classes or Levels, Rules-Lite but suitable for Long Term Campaign play, that utilizes only 6-Sided Dice in its mechanics?' I expected to get junk but thought it might inspire me to create my own from scratch once I saw how bad the result was.

To my utter shock and dismay, the AI created a damn good, playable game. It was almost perfectly what I wanted. I did have to make a tweak here and a modification there but overall I was very impressed. I thought, 'so an AI can make a really cool D6s only Fantasy RPG but no creative person in the gaming industry can?' I know I'm being hyperbolic and I don't mean that literally but...well...its not a completely unfounded assessment either.

Most of the D6 only games lean towards Science Fiction or Superheroes: ALIEN, Champions, Star Wars, Tales from the Loop, Traveller, and the various incarnations and variations of Ghostbusters from the original to InSpectres to my kitbashed hybrid. While I am sure there are Fantasy TRPGs that use D6s, few seem to hold the kind of charm for me that any of the aforementioned games (except the Smurfs that is). 

My favorite Medieval Fantasy experiences have come from Ars Magica, traditionally using only D10s. I think Modiphius's 2D20 System might make for a good Fantasy game but I have yet to test that theory. 

Anyway, those are just some thoughts that have been on my mind recently so I thought I'd shout them into the void. If you stayed to actually read through this you are a true Barking Alien fan and/or should probably seek professional help. 

Talk again soon,

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Barking Alien

Where My Head Is At

First, my apologies for the long delay between posts and what appears to be my own RPG internet challenge left uncompleted.

It appears to be that way because, as of this writing, it is indeed, incomplete. I haven't finished the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge I created back in February of this year and while there are a variety of reasons for both this, that's not [exactly] what this post is here to address. 

It is related though. It's more to discuss why I haven't blogged at all. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I didn't finish an internet challenge. Surely I could just post my apology and move on, right? Well...no.

I have had a lot on my mind lately, both personally, professionally, and in the area of Tabletop RPGs. Unfortunately, my combination of ADD, Anxiety, and a connected Task Paralysis state meant that I could not start writing about anything else if the challenge wasn't fully done. I couldn't post at all due to the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge being unfinished but my brain being full of other subjects and ideas such that I couldn't focus on the subject at hand to complete the challenge.

A self-inflicted Catch-22. A vicious cycle.

So what about this post here? This is a post and its not an installment of the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge. You're correct and that is how I'm planning to get around my own mentally induced hurdle. It's just Part 1 of my plan though.

Part 2 is the trickier bit; I will be posting some other RPG thoughts I've been having, and there are a lot of them, but I do intend on getting back to and completing the challenge. When I do, when all 28 entries are totally finished, all the related posts will be dated for February 2026, including the two entries I did in March. For me, this enables my to 'Start Fresh' but also feel like I did what I set out to do. It will also make it easier for both you the reader and for me myself, to locate the challenge entries for any future reference. 

Does that make sense? Probably not but it makes sense to me.

Thank you for your time, your patience, and your continued interest and viewership. 

We'll talk again soon,

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Barking Alien

Getting Into Character

No response here or on Facebook regarding my continuing with the 31 Day / 31 Characters Challenge so I guess I'm done. Since this series of posts isn't grabbing anyone's attention or interest, I'll just bow out and go one to discuss other things.

Next year I'll get back to posting memorable characters from campaigns [and one-shots] of the past.. 

In the meantime...

I've been thinking analytically and introspectively about why I don't like Character Creation in most Tabletop Roleplaying Games. In some ways its pretty easy to comprehend, I think...

When I create a character, it's a concept in my head. The character is simply an idea for a component of the adventure, setting, or whathaveyou. It is envisioned as serving a purpose; they are an obstacle, an ally, a love interest, comedy relief, or an example of 'local color' to give the game...well, um...character. 

As I tend to GM far more than I play as a Player, my 'Gamemaster Brain' is at the forefront of my approach to characters. When I want or need a character that does X or serves X purpose, I create them. I make them as interesting as I can so that the players in my game get invested in said character and their role in the campaign, whatever that may be. I'm aware that some GMs have been known to roll up their NPCs in systems with random generation and the very idea is baffling to me.

Why? You need a bandit, you stat up a bandit. You need a wise and powerful Jedi Master, you give them more dice where you feel they need it. Do you really want to roll up a handsome and seductive spy just get a really low Charisma/Comeliness score? That's...well...dumb IMHO. 

As a player, my outlook is not so different. Say I need to come up with a character for a Star Trek game set during The Next Generation Era. OK. What is everyone else playing? I see...no Doctor or Science Officer yet, huh? I do love playing the Science Officer when I get the chance. As for a Species, ooh, so many options.

In any game where non-Human Player Characters are a possibility, there's a very good chance I will play a non-Human. Hmm, I've never played a Kasheeta, a matriarchal dinosaur-saurian species that first appeared in the Federation Council chambers of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Yeah, that'll be interesting. I love seeing TOS and TOS Movie Era Aliens in later periods. The Kasheeta can seem arrogant, aloof, and off-putting but aren't really. It's a cultural thing I can creatively expand on and add my own twist to. I like it. 

The point it, I didn't roll this character up. This is an idea for a character that I came up with and can now extrapolate from and build upon. What I want now is a rules system that allows me to make this character in the game.

Therein lies the key to why I like or dislike a game's Character Creation. I don't want a system that gives me a character and tells me what they can do. I like creating a Character outside of any system and using an RPG's mechanics to make that character to the best of my [and the game's] ability. This is why I like Champions, Smurfs, Star Trek Adventures, Star Wars D6, and why I don't like D&D and 'Playbook' games like Blades in the Dark and Apocalypse World. Don't tell me who my character is and what abilities they are allowed to have. Tell me all the options available and I'll pick the ones that fit my character. 

This dynamic is a big reason why I don't like playing most Fantasy RPGs other than Ars Magica, which I love. Most Fantasy games have hard and fast Classes that give you particular skills and abilities and Races that only have or do specific things. Ars Magica says, here are a variety of different kinds of characters that fit the setting. They're all made of points. Here, I'll give you that amount of points so you can make what you like. There isn't a Wizard Class, there are characters who can have any combination of talents and skills including casting spells and we call that person a Wizard (or a Mage in Ars Magica proper). 

That's it for now. Onward...

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Barking Alien

Faces of The Stranger

 The 31 Days / 31 Characters Challenge

is upon us once more!

Originally I had planned on going with a particular theme for 2026 but as I began exploring my chosen concept I decided it wasn't how I wanted to open 2026.

Instead I'm going to lean into the original intent of this challenge and create more brand new characters then I have in the past. Considering the fact that I primarily showcase PCs and NPCs from the games I've run and participated in over my 49 years in the hobby, this will be a big change, at least for me.

In fact, it might prove sort of difficult.

Unlike the majority of the TRPGamers out there, I don't generally enjoy the process of 'Character Creation'. Mechanically that is. I love creating characters! I just find most systems for generating PCs kind of tedious; an often limited set of options that I have to slog through to get kind of close to the idea in my head.

There are exceptions of course, systems where I truly enjoy Character Creation but they are usually ultra-simple like the Smurfs RPG or Meteor City - Star Rainy Days or strangely rather complex like Champions. I also really like games that hit that sweet spot in the middle thanks to the mechanics effectively reflecting the setting or genre; Ars Magica and Star Trek Adventures come to mind. Basically, I like Character Creation that gives stats to the concept I've come up with in my mind, outside of any system.

I also tend to dislike games where you create your character purely or largely through random die rolls. There have certainly been instances where random generation gave me an idea for a character I hadn't planned on making [yet still enjoyed] but outside of Traveller, that was mostly in my earlier years when that was pretty much all there was. 

So, how am I going to make this fun for me and also useful? Well, the latter is easy; focus on games I might actually use someday and character who can double as either a PC or an NPC. Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard, right?

Wish me luck gang.

Before I go, I want to wish everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, who comes to the Barking Alien blog a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year! May 2026 be better than 2025, 2024, 2023...well, you get the picture. Thank you for taking the time to visit this small corner of the internet and reading what are surely the delusional yet hopefully entertaining scribblings of a madman. . 

See you next year,

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Barking Alien

Another sad passing to announce is that of Tim Kask, a playtester of the original Dungeons and Dragons game, the first real employee of TSR, and the first editor of Dragon Magazine, actually starting with its predecessors, The Strategic Review and later The Dragon. 

Even though his beginnings in the hobby were by way of wargames, particularly those of Avalon Hill, Kask once wrote in what was intended to be the forward to Eldritch Wizardry that, "D&D was meant to be a free-wheeling game, only loosely bound by the parameters of the rules." Later he wrote, "It all starting going bad with the publishing of AD&D, The Player’s Handbook. Here come the rules lawyers, the nitpickers, and the homegrown experts. The fun started to leech away within months. Now there were dicta, dogma, and regulations; gone were the days of guidelines."

While I do not have a particular fondness for the D&D of those days in the Golden Age of TRPGs, I do appreciate and respect the hobby's history and noteworthy personages. Tim Kask definitely qualifies as one of the forefathers of what we do and if I may be so bold, I think he and I would've gotten along just swell. 

Rest in Peace. Godspeed.

To Our Fallen Champion

It is with profound sadness that I must announce the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, William Corpening.

William Corpening

1969-2025

My friend of nearly 40 years, William passed away on December 20th from complications related to cancer.

An extremely inventive and quick-witted individual, William remains the greatest Gamemaster I have ever had the pleasure to play under. This is especially true when it comes to his favorite game, Champions. His original Superhero universe, Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 or more properly, 'The Age of Champions', was the single most enjoyable experience I've had as a player. I learned so many things that improved my own GMing by watching, listening, and talking to him about game design, theory, and our personal views on the subject of the craft. 

Readers of this blog will be very familiar with Will's talent even if they might not immediately recognize his name:

He created the Champions 'Age of Champions' setting I use to run most of my Champions campaigns. You find the history of his world here and here. 

He created Kineto.

He created the Parallel and Alternate Earth Naming/Cataloging System I still use for my Superhero campaigns to this day. 

As a player, he portrayed a host of fun and memorable characters including Robert 'Robbie' Stadler in our Ghostbusters: The Home Office campaign and Vulcan First Officer and Tactical Officer Commander Sovik in Star Trek: Renown. 

This only scratches the surface of all the incredible characters, events, concepts, and locations Will came up with over the years. I could go on and on about my friend and his amazing ability to bring his ideas to life. 

I will end here for now but this will not be the last post that mentioned William Corpening. Not by a long shot. 

Rest in Peace my brother. You are gone but you'll never be forgotten.

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Barking Alien

31 Questions For Barking Alien - Phase II - Question 8

For Question #8 the deep seated Kelvin Green hits me with an inquery that can only be answered by telling a very personal story so grab a tissue, hold a loved one, and get ready for this Hallmark Holiday Special.

Unless you're a Vulcan or an Android. Then by all means carry on as usual.

Was there a time when you stopped playing rpgs or "fell out of love" with them? What brought you back?

2004

In 1995, on my third day of work at an Anime and Asian Pop Culture Entertainment store in New York, my boss took me aside to tell me that the young lady who'd just walked in was one of their best customers so far (they'd only been open about three months). Thing was, she REALLY knew her stuff and sometimes she'd ask for things and about things that...frankly they had no idea what she was talking about. He asked me to help her out as I was the biggest Anime fan on staff (yes, of an Anime store).  Her name was (and remains) Selina.

I talked to her and tried to help her find what she was looking for. We hit it off right away. She was smart, funny, indeed very knowledgable, and while I wouldn't say this to anyone else at the time, downright adorable. Over the next year she came in regularly and we spoke often, becoming as much friends as customer and retailer. We often joked about meeting outside the store to watch Anime together and compare notes. 

Then something changed. One day I was out sick, rare for me, and she asked my co-workers if she could get my home number 'cause she was worried about me. I was so greatful and talking to her actually made me feel better (or at least less depressed and anxious, which used to happen whenever I got sick). Not too long after, on a very hot day, she came into the store with a Ramune (Japanese Soda) and had one for me as well. My co-workers and boss teased her for not 'bringing enough for the whole class'. I remember she blushed, honestly embarrased, and I knew why she'd brought one for me specifically. It was clear we both really liked each other. 

About a month later we got together for that Anime watch and it turned into a first date. That turned into 'going steady' and a year after that we were living together. We stayed together for about 10 1/2-11 years, 4 of which we spent married. 

At some point pretty early on I convinced her to try RPGs. She already read a lot of Fantasy novels, liked Sci-Fi and Fantasy movies, read X-Men, watched Anime and read Manga. She even wrote Fan Fiction and original short stories. She had all the interests and talents of a great gamer but hadn't gamed. We fixed that, first with classic Traveller, Mage, and Ars Magica, and then eventually AD&D 1E. Yep. I adored her so much I was willing to run D&D. That's love brother.

Our first trip together was GenCon, the one where 3rd Edition made its debut. He attended a few after that between other trips. She had a good job, made much more than me, and things were good for a long while. Until they weren't. 

I have no interest or desire to regale you with what went wrong but by 2007 or so we were divorced and didn't talk for a while. It was a good two years or so. Maybe close to three. During those three years, I didn't play any RPGs. I couldn't. Gaming had become something we did together; it was a shared passion. Without her I just couldn't find it in myself to enjoy the hobby and I wasn't feeling especially creative. My muse was gone. Thinking of gaming made me think of her and that just made me sad so...yeah.

After the three-year gap I started feeling like not gaming was doing more to put me in a sour state of mind than gaming without Selina, so I went to my FLGS to see if anyone I knew might be running or playing anything. That was tough too. For 10 years I had shopped at that store with her. The owners have known me since I was 14 and I know their family. Selina became part of that relationship so having to go in and explain why she wasn't with me...ugh. 

Anyway, I sat on the sidelines of a game or two and then joined in on one or two and got to know some old friends all over again, plus meet some new ones. Eventually I offered to run Mutants and Masterminds and before I knew it I had a campaign with 9 players showing up on average. Never less than 7 and we maxed out at 11 for one or two sessions. It was here I met my dearly departed friend Dave Cotton and a few of the other guys who would become regulars at my tables for the next decade or so. 

Eventually I got a call from Selina, who had opened up a Tutoring Center in Brooklyn specializing in helping ESL kids (English as a Second Language). Most, practically all, were Chinese and the Center was near Brooklyn's Chinatown. She asked me to help teach the kids on weekends using...Tabletop RPGs. She had this idea and when she explained it to me I immediately started spitballing on how we could pull it off. She loved the idea and I ended up working for her for a few years. Unfortunately the Pandemic hit and it was no longer viable to operate the way we had been. Selina moved to an online model but it was difficult for me as working at the Center gave me less time to build my own business. Reluctantly we parted ways once again but stayed in touch. 

It's been a while since we've spoken, a few months or so I think, but we're still friends. She is unlike anyone I have ever met, strengths and flaws included, and I feel (hope) we'll always be friends in some capacity. She was my first true love and while I've met some truly wonderful women since, I will likely always see Selina as the one person in the world whose weirdness best matches my own . Maybe there is another. Time will tell. 

In the meantime, I am still gaming and I really hope she gets to as well. She was and probably still is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, TRPG players I have ever known and just a truly good person. 

Note: I wanted to put a picture of her while she was 'in the act' of gaming here but I couldn't find one where she actually appears to be playing. Most of the pics I have are just her laughing hysterically at the gaming table because, well, my Jersey Group. That pretty much explains everything. 

You can see her character Ceren-Dee Windrake here.

Onward...

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31 Questions For Barking Alien - Phase II - Question 4

In the mood to step on a land mine? No? Suit yourself. More for me...

Question #4 comes from my buddy Will L.,

What is your opinion of the increased use of AI tools to generate artistic and written assets in the tabletop RPG industry? Can you share any insights of how stalwarts of the industry are reacting to the usage?

The key word in the first part of the question, which in my mind defines what is being asked, is 'industry'. I am therefore interpreting this as 'how do I feel about the increased use of AI art and writing in professionally produced and sold products.'

Well...I'm against it. 

Now don't get me wrong, I think AI Art is fun to 'make' and I do use it in my personal games and here on this blog. AI Art is a quick, easy way to generate images to show my players and viewers. That said, I spend about an hour or two [minimally] on each image, modifying them in Photostudio and often adding elements drawn by yours truly. When finished, the piece often looks quite different from what the AI Art program created. 

Thing is, I'm not selling any of it. I am not using any AI generated material, artwork or writing, in any product I claim to be my own creation and then attempting to make money on that product. I don't see that as ethical for all the reasons AI work isn't wholly ethical. Almost more importantly, I see it as kind of defeating the purpose of RPGs and the Gaming Hobby.  

RPGs are a business, no doubt about it. The goal in selling a game, whether you're a big company like WotC or a small, independent creator on itch.io is to make money. At the same time, if paying the bills is your only motivation, there are a lot of other, far more lucrative careers you could undertake. No, if you're someone who takes the time, energy, and brain power to make RPGs, you are [to some degree] a creative person who feels the need to, well, create.

So you are putting your heart and soul (metaphorically speaking) into a gaming product and yet you're going to let ChatGPT write it for you? You're going to use AI Art when there are hundreds of artists out there dying to work as an illustrator? Why even bother? Step away from the computer, put away the notes, and go get a mundane job. You aren't a creative. You're too lazy for that esteemed calling.

As for the second part of the question, how the 'stalwarts of the industry' feel about the situation, I really couldn't say. Honestly I'd be curious to find about what the well-known pros think about the subject myself, as it would inform me on whether or not I am going to support their projects. I would definitely be less likely, if not completely unlikely, to buy anything from a company not using real people to make creative works. 

At the same time, as contrary as it may seem, I don't think it would effect my decision to 'purchase' free or pay-what-you-want materials. I've seen a number of Japanese Indie TRPG items with AI generated art but the majority of them have been free to download or under 300 Yen (roughly under $2 USD). If they look really good and I'm only going to find them usefulk in my personal game, I might spend the two bucks (though more likely I wouldn't). Free though? Sure, why not.

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Barking Alien

You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

Last December I ran a series called '31 Questions for Barking Alien' in which readers of the blog sent inquiries on various subjects via Comment, Email, or social media (such as Facebook) to yours truly and I proceeded to answer in as effectively and entertainingly as I could.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN!

I had a lot of fun doing this last year and I think some of the response posts were pretty good. Comments were decent, with some nice interactions between you all and the blog which I really do appreciate. 

To this end, please send any questions, queries, or inquisitives to this blog via Comment on this posts or any other going forward, my email at barkingalienATgmailDOTcom, or you can contact me via Facebook Messanger as Adam Dickstein. 

I am really looking forward to this so throw those questions my way! In 2024 we got to 15 questions. Can we beat that? We shall see...

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Woe, Is Me - I Want to Run Fantasy

So, there's this guy I know...

He really doesn't like Medieval Fantasy of the type you see in Fantasy RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. He really doesn't like the game mechanics the majority of Dungeons and Dragons style RPGs use to facilitate running campaigns in that genre. At the same time, he really, really wants to run a Medieval-ish / Sword & Sorcery-esque Tabletop Roleplaying Game campaign.

Me. I'm that guy.

Beginning next year, I plan on running a [vaguely] Medieval Fantasy RPG campaign with the intent of making it a fairly long term mainstay for one of my groups. 

No, you read that right. No, this isn't a practical joke, I haven't gone mad, nor am I a Parallel Earth doppleganger of Adam from some twisted Mirror Universe. I just...let me explain..

I am Feeling Inspired

There are a lot of reasons for this including but not limited to: 

• I haven't run an ongoing Fantasy campaign for a while and I’m feeling nostalgic.
• I've been inspired by a blog project I am working on to appear early next year.
• I've been inspired by other bloggers discussing Dungeons and Dragons and it makes me what to do something different.
• I've been inspired by various Fantasy Anime, Manga, and RPGs. 

I Love a Challenge

I've had a great year running and playing Ghostbusters, the Wizarding World, Smurfs, Star Trek, Star Wars, and various Superhero games. All things I'm [generally] good at. I can reliably, more often then not, create a good time for my friends and I playing and Gamemastering these genres, settings, and games. 

Fantasy is not so easy for me. It requires a lot more thought, creatvity, research, and patience. Patience with the game, the genre, the players, and myself. The toughest part is always keeping myself interested. 

I really want to give it a go though. It's been a while since a have in a long term, open world fashion the way I once did.

I also want to find or create a system for running this type of game that I don't despise*. 

I Have Some Ideas

I actually have some thoughts on what would make for good 'adventures' or rather, NPCs and happenings going on in a Fantasy world. Many of my ideas are still in the early stage and will need some fleshing out before 'going live'. 

I also need to see what kind of characters the players come up with, as I usually try to intergrate the PCs into the world, the world into the adventures, and therefore the adventures into who the PCs are and what they're all about. 

I'm Driven By Spite (In a Good Way)

I must admit that I have a negative personality trait that makes me want to do a thing after encountering or experiencing that thing and thinking 'that could have been better'.Few things get me as fired up about running a particular game as finishing a bad game and believe it could have been really good.

That said, its not like I've been in any bad Fantasy games lately. In fact, I participated in a short, good one not long ago. Fun as it was, it ended up feeling just like every other Fantasy game and the rule mechanics of the RPG, while functional, eventually felt a little flat. I also vastly prefer running Fantasy to playing it [unless we're talking Smurfs, which I find really fun to play]. 

Then there are all the blog posts out there talking about the various incarnations of D&D. Each one I read makes me want to do it differently, do it my way, and to veer away from the kind of things that made me grow to dislike D&D in the first place. 

I know, it's a terrible reason to want to run a game but sadly it often works for me.

That's it for now. I'll probably be discussing this on and off again as we approach 2026 and the launch of whatever this ends up being.

Later days,

AD

Barking Alien

*OK, that's a little hyperbolic. I don't despise all Fantasy games. Just ones with Classes, Levels, Hit Points, Miniature/Wargame Based Combat, Treasure Based Experience, and Inflexible and Uncreative Magic.

So...a lot of them. 

Let Myself Get Spooked

Rose Witch by Atomic Marshmallow

Well here it is the end of October, Halloween itself in fact, and I didn't get to a faction of the stuff I planned on posting. Between work, actual gaming, and some other Real LifeTM stuff, I simply didn't have the time or energy to fully embrace Halloween the way I wanted to.

Honestly I should've seen it coming. Over the past few years, October sees some of my lowest post counts. It's just too busy a month. *Sigh* There's always next year.

 
Then there's the follow-up post to my last entry on reworking Traveller Double Adventure 5: The Chamax Plague/Horde, which has taken 12 days to write and still isn't finished. This is extremely disappointing to me. Most people fail to complete things in far less time.

I just found it too difficult to describe how I recommend running these two scenarios. My approach to adventures is such that there are too many potential variables, adjustments, and changes that can happen or be made that its virtually impossible [for me] to explain how to run my personal take(s) on Double Adventure 5.

It's a problem I've encountered many times over the years. More than once I've been commissioned to write adventures (both personally and professionally) and simply couldn't do it.

How do I explain what happens when the PCs confront a key NPC (for example) not knowing what they're going to say, when in the session they're going to speak to him, and whether they've investigated anything about the person before talking to them? Most pre-made scenarios produced by professional game designers don't bother thinking about these things, preferring to railroad gamers down a limited path of specific choices to get them to where they 'need to be'. Aaand that's why I don't use them. 

One of these days I'll have to explore this further but the bottom line is I freaked myself out trying to get this 'right' and as a result I didn't get it done in time. I will try to get back to it sooner rather than later but right now I have other stuff on my mind. 

Hope you had a Happy Halloween everybody! 

Here's to November...

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Barking Alien