Casting Shadows

Today’s #RPGaDay Question:

Who would be on your dream team of people you used to game with?

• Of all the people you have gamed with in the past, who would you like to bring together to play as a group?

Some may take this as a divisive question, and I wish that there were something I could do about that. It is about choosing some from many, but like all the other RPGaDay questions, it is about sharing positive ideas and connecting with others. To that end, this question is about recalling all the people you have gamed with before and choosing a specific mix of them for a specific mission: having fun in a particular game. 

Just like my friends know not to call me for games I don’t like, and expect me not to call them for games they have no interest in, this question is concerned with getting the right people for the job. It is not about picking the good from the bad. Who would be the best mix of people for a specific game, played a specific way? A dream team. A group with a simple mission: have fun.

The game:

For this question, let’s tease Blue Planet one more time. It doesn’t complain enough about not getting a chance to be a campaign.

At a basic level, that means I need to recruit gamers of my acquaintance with an interest in Science Fiction, and a bit of an adventurous side to handle the many dangers of Poseidon’s urbanized and natural environments.

Going deeper, as the game lends itself so strongly to being a sandbox, I would need a group with a developed habit of exposing themselves to the setting material, exploring options, and coordinating with each other to make a fit they all enjoy. I need people who are able to sacrifice a cool character concept in favor of one with more hooks to and synergies with the group, and then get themselves in motion as a group. As that is the majority of the people I enjoy gaming with, that is not a very helpful rubric for recruiting my dream team, but is an important foundation step.

The gamers:

Blue Planet offers a lot of character options, and its primary setting of Poseidon is a dangerous and semi-lawless frontier. It is ripe for a layer of Blade Runner and Alien type corporate pressure and conspiracy that can serve as a sort of tension on and friction between characters that can fuel roleplay, but does not have to lead into character vs character conflicts. This bit of mental framing of the what the campaign might come to be helps refine player recruitment to the dream team, but I need further limitations. The range of great choices is still too broad.

If I limit the question completely to the concept of ‘former’ in the sense of ‘not now’ I can eliminate a large group of people from the question.

Done.

All you current players? Eliminated.

I will also limit this question to the living. That helps a lot, too.

With those limitations applied, the choice becomes a bit easier. In the end, it shakes down to Brian Ridge, David Pass, John Alan Large, and John Drury.

Now the fun part is, “Why?”

I would try to recruit Brian because of his masterful way of crafting concepts that suit the genre and tone of the game down to the ground. I really enjoyed gaming with him in Seoul, and hope to do it again some day.

David I would try to recruit to the dream team because of his mastery of IC communication of his character’s inner life, and his elegant way of handling tough topics such as conspiracy and intrigue within the group.

I would seek out John Large and John Drury for similar reasons. They both have an easy way of joining new groups, and are quickly able to establish clear character traits, as are Brian and David. With a game like Blue Planet, I would hope that the group of characters would soon make their mark on this cruel and wet frontier.

John the former I would additionally hope to entice to play due to his quick grasp of new games, and his broad view of how a scene is one tiny part of a story.

John the latter I would also try to nab for the team for his enthusiasm and ability to give and receive feedback. For any game to be successful, that sort of contribution, over and above an excellent character portrayal in game, is necessary, I feel.

As four is my preferred group size, particularly when the chance of secrecy and intrigue is on the table, this recruitment drive comes to an end. I am glad this isn’t something like Fantasy Football…

You

Who would you recruit? For what game? Why?

Share your ideas and tag them with #RPGaDay

Tomorrow’s Question:

What types or source of inspiration do you turn to most often for RPGs?

• Either as a player or as a GM, what kind of media or experience helps inspire you for play?