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Somebody wake up Hicks

@jonmarkhicks.bsky.social

2.1K followers 2.3K following 4.8K posts

I'm all about ALIEN '79. I wrote Those Dark Places, Pressure, ALIEN RPG 'Rapture Protocol', Fireteam, Deep Space & other RPGs. Also Tolkien, Robin of Sherwood, Dead Space, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, 2000AD, Star Trek/Wars.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 14d

Every one of my D12-based #TTRPG releases are now Pay What You Want over at #DrivethruRPG - from space to horror to post-apocalypse to fantasy to mystery to cybersynthywave, every one of my games is now free if you want it.

www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher...

#rpg #dnd #dnd5e #roleplaying

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

The idea had nothing to do with me, so instead of sticking to my guns and either restarting the campaign or dropping it I let the players take the lead. It was rewarding both creatively and emotionally.

As a GM I feel I only guide the game; I don't control it.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

They would broker the peace, solve the murder mystery I had in mind, and save the realms, all while trying to keep their secret and not be found out. The game was saved, and while we never finished the campaign it was an epic idea borne out of player input and a desire to collaborate.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

As I wondered how to salvage the game one of the players said, 'We all had personal servants who know us inside out'. From this they came up with the idea that the peace summit was so important the servants agreed to pretend to be the three princes as nobody had actually met these nobles before.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

For example, one of the best ever events in one of my games was when the players were playing three sons of three powerful kings at war travelling south to broker a peace deal. In the second session, during an encounter on a ship, the players roll *catastrophically* bad and they all died - TPK.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

So now I don't create stories I create situations, I try to listen to what the players say and what they want from the game and weave the events around that, and while I have the steering wheel it's them who shout out the directions. Their ideas, desires and input really help to drive the game.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

That's probably old news to experienced GMs, but as a GM who would have been better off writing a novel I was guilty of many a session in which players were witnesses to my creative genius. I didn't realise, or consider, that when you take that agency away from the players it dulls their experience.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

Memorable events evolve naturally, and forcing them only makes the players observers to your story. There's no emotional payoff for them, no sense of achievement, no success.

While GMs can guide the action, players need to feel that they earned the moment through their own actions and decisions.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

Some of the best TTRPG sessions I've ever had were when unplanned inspiration or events struck. When I first started GMing games I tried to force the action and the drama, and I built set-pieces and events to try and shock and awe my group, who I saw as my audience.

But that's not the way to do it.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 4h

I believe in him.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 6h

Perhaps the Pendragon TTRPG would be a good choice for GoT? It certainly has the feel and it would work for dynastic play really well. I wanted to use Pendragon for a Dune-inspired game about smaller houses in the Landsraad.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 8h

Game of Thrones is one of those settings I've always fancied running a TTRPG campaign in. The low-magic fantasy setting is my jam, and I've played in the Green Ronin version and enjoyed it. I own the Sword & Sorcery edition but I haven't run it because D20 games aren't my thing. I might use VsD.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 9h

SOLD! I've enjoyed everything that has come out of Game of Thrones and this doesn't seem like it's going to buck that trend. I've only read some Dunc and Egg and that was a while ago, so I'm looking forward to walking Westeros again.

youtu.be/UPFRItMOgPo?...

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Official Teaser Trailer | HBO Max

YouTube video by HBO Max

youtu.be

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 20h

There's some fantastic stories in the first season of The Outer Limits. After all this time - I haven't seen them for nearly 25:years - a lot of them feel fresh and exciting. It's a great show.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 1d

Jones likes to help me prepare for game sessions.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 1d

This is great - I think gaming is a fantastic way to handle all kinds of mental health issues as it helps people connect and open up.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 1d

This is superb - I'm fully supportive of this. I got into tabletop gaming as a kid to escape a vile situation at home, and I'd have cried out for this kind of support from fellow enthusiasts.

It's a fantastic thing they're doing here.

Jason Matthews @jasondcmatthews.bsky.social · 1d

Someone needs to check the weather in hell. Has it frozen over??? Here is an actually uplifting story about wargaming/wargamers.

Spalding Wargames Club putting mental health on the front line

Members of a wargaming club say the support they have been getting from the sessions are 'crucial'.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 1d

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

I couldn't say no to a Blu-ray copy of Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome, it was only two pounds and the Region 1 DVD I watched in the week had a pretty rough picture. This will be better.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

A publisher would not only have a decent license with a big fan base, they'd have a tried and tested game system with a fan base. The entire brand recognition and overall fame of each would stand it in really good stead.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

With the D6 System available on the OpenD6 license, this could easily be done if someone got hold of the Battlestar Galactica license. The system was perfect for Star Wars as it encapsulated that sense of adventure and action, was easy to mod and house rule, and it just *worked*.

I'd play it.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

Problem solved right there - 'Starbucks bullshit'. Change it from technobabble to technobabblestar.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

All starships are capital ships and Ornithopters are speeders. It'd work.

Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

The Force powers could be easily modified for that.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

Oooh, 2D20 Battlestar Galactica, using that same episodic/scene format.

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Somebody wake up Hicks @jonmarkhicks.bsky.social · 2d

Definitely - there's not a lot the D6 System can't do when it comes to cinematic games.