My love for the game is waning;

[Holister]

Hi guys.

I've been an avid gamer with a love for the game for 17 years. However, I find my interest in the game waning. My game has pretty much moved on, my best friend is out of reach for another year, and even Lazlo seems about as active as a morgue.

I am looking for some excitement and something to do to revigor my interest in the game, but it seems like all the guys I am used to gaming with (on Lazlo) has all vanished. I am running on empty for the idea department, but would love to get involved again. So if anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears.

Thanks

[Gallahan]

You state realities present in almost any game that you love, and don't get the opportunity to play often. Having been in the military, I've grown accustomed to making and "losing" friends. You don't really "lose" them. You don't really, necessarily, "lose" them, but surely you or they eventually move away in a year, two, three or four. And then you have to start over again, sort of. For each friend lost, you hope to gain a new one, a new player in an ongoing game.

And, there are many stretches where the GAME is still there, ---by "game" I mean your gaming BOOKS. The gaming materials are there, and you have no players/GM. Dry periods in the desert of limbo between intense oases of FUN. For the "in between" times, I would give my books a good read-through, from front to back. How many of you have actually read EVERY PAGE of BTS from front to back? I haven't, to this day, and I was an early fan of the 1st ed.

Also, do research. Take a break from the "game" part of it and do some research. Research? Yeah. Research: read horror novels; watch horror movies; read books on how to WRITE horror stories; and, acquire and listen to your very own library of horror movie soundtracks. And, if you are in the GM-side of things, write your own adventures to be played when you encounter your next group.

Roleplaying games are similar to MAGIC THE GATHERING in that when you aren't actively dueling someone in a card game, you're prepping your deck. BTS is the same way. When you aren't playing, you're prepping your characters, your adventures. Spend the "down time" researching so that you create RICH characters/NPCs. Spend down time immersing yourself into the genre by listening to the music, watching the movies, reading the novels/short stories, and coming up with your own ideas for characters (if you're a player) and/or stories (if you're more of a GM).

Or, simply take a break and come at it again in several months or years when it feels fresh again.

Just some thoughts.

[mrloucifer]

Well played sir!

[Gallahan]

Well played sir!

Why, thank you Mr. L. Your feedback is always highly appreciated.

While reading through my reply, I realized that I'd left out a good chunk of that "in between time."

A fantastic, highly beneficial avenue for slow gaming times is research. One of the best things to research is, indeed, *real world* paranormal events. There are many, many areas of the paranormal, and each area has a plethora of possibilities. You might find yourself *captivated* by real world research. Some interesting colors of the spooky spectrum are:

UFOs, Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti, Chupacabra ("goat sucker"), ghosts/hauntings/poltergeist, government cover-ups, Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, ectoplasm/mediums, stage/"real" magic, etc. You can google a lot of this, but there's just something about getting your own book, reading it, and then placing it on your shelf (by then with underlining, highlighting, dog-earred pages and sticky notes throughout). As you read more into different subjects and aspects, or delve deeper into a single area, your shelf will slowly fill with books that are a testament to your private research. You might decide to keep these as reference pieces and refer to them from time to time as you're creating future characters or writing future adventures.

Reading these real world, non-fiction books will add invaluable information into that great, ever-simmering stew in the back of your mind where ideas are subconsciously formed. And, it's a lot of fun learning about things in our actual world. This is one of the UNIQUE things about BEYOND THE SUPERNATURAL: you can become a better player and a better GM by researching ACTUAL SUBJECTS in our very real world.

Plus, there are associated subjects which will REALLY help ROUND-OUT your abilities as a player and a GM. For me, it happened when a gal wanted to play an FBI agent who specialized in forensics investigation. In real life she was Air Force Security Police, and I knew I had to maintain an air of credibility. To do that, I went to the library and checked out several books on forensics and crime scene investigation. I learned REAL WORLD details, ---rather morbid ones--- about forensics and the FBI. I quickly became familiar with investigative proceedures, history of the FBI, forensic science and it's colorful terms (post-mortem lividity, cadaveric spasm... etc.). It was really enjoyable, and guess what?

The knowledge you gain from real world research is much more valuable than the knowledge you gain from a monster manual or some other gaming book. You suddenly have *real world* knowledge and this increases your ability to contour and shape the roleplaying world of BTS.

Real world subjects that help you in BTS are almost countless: journalism, forensics, martial arts, ---essentially ANY profession a character can be, if you learn it, it adds to your personal store of knowledge ----and that helps the real world YOU.

So, in the down time, maybe put on a horror score mix to listen to while you're reading up on how to properly conduct a real world paranormal investigation or forensics investigation or firefighting techniques or whatever gets your fancy. Usually, if you are a GM, you have to be the master of these kinds of knowledge so your players can't get over on you, or simply, like for me, you want to be credible when it comes to something you didn't know too much about (other than what you see on TV) beforehand.

Also, another idea is to get involved with one of the hundreds of paranormal investigative societies/groups/teams out there --everywhere. Surely one is nearby. Go on a real world ghost hunt. Write an article about it for your blog, diary, personal journal, and/or newspaper submission. Write a letter to the editor.

The point is to enjoy learning about something in the real world that will also benefit you in the BTS world, either as player or GM, or both. It's fun, and it really somehow adds another layer to that thing we call YOU.

[Holister]

Hi again.

Thanks for the advice. I already blew through the Netflix horror "instant view" section and seen about 60% of the normal horror inventory; heck you should see my queue. Anyway, I quess Im just in a funk. I used to be able to crank out stuff weekly, sometimes daily. Perhaps its just a case a writer's block. The thoughts are up there, I can hear the voices, but somewhere between there and here something gets lost in translation lately.

So I would like to try something. I want to write a story here on the forum piece by piece when it comes to me. Maybe a chapter a week. At the moment it would involve some characters of my own (ignoring Lazlo stuff and just going with something of my own design for now). I will not make reference to Lazlo or the characters there unless you want to be included as a supporting character, background character, bit part, or a major character. But as I said, it would be a weekly thing just to see how things go. If it goes well, I may make it bi-weekly.

The setting of course will be Cypress Cove, but a " normal " small town version. Ben will be my main character, but is a normal town sheriff with no affiliation with the supernatural as of yet.
As far as he is concerned at this point (in this story anyway), the supernatural, paranormal, and the occult is all just bunk. His friend Carter is knowledgable on the subject and tries to convince Ben otherwise. Other characters include Kelly (a non-werewolf version; just a normal bartender at The Brick and Ben's on/off relationship). Duke is of course in the story (Ben's dog).
Molly is in the story as well, but as Ben's natural daughter from his first wife who died in a car accident several years before the story takes place leaving Ben to raise his young daughter on his own.

Of course for this story to go anwhere, I would need a plot. I am thinking supernatural horror as I do not like slasher or serial killer type material. I also want to avoid religious horror; those satanic stories just don't sit well and always appear to world encompassing. The same I think can be said of sci-fi horror as I don't want " military " intervention, aliens running amok, or the FBI showing up. I want realism blended smoothly with the elements of horror, and that might take time which is why I am looking at weekly installments.

I feel that the protagonists of the story as characters need to develop over the course of the story while working on discovering and eventually defeating the threat (what ever it might be). Ben will be of course starting at the equalivant of 1st or 2nd level, all others will be 1st level (except for guest cameo characters).

Well what do you guys think thus far. I know it might seem extreme for me to toss out what I have, but sometimes you need a fresh start. If that mean tearing down the old to rebuild for a better new, it might be worth it.

[mrloucifer]

Well played sir!

Why, thank you Mr. L. Your feedback is always highly appreciated.

And well played on the 2nd time around as well!

[Rallan]

Hi guys.

I've been an avid gamer with a love for the game for 17 years. However, I find my interest in the game waning. My game has pretty much moved on, my best friend is out of reach for another year, and even Lazlo seems about as active as a morgue.

I am looking for some excitement and something to do to revigor my interest in the game, but it seems like all the guys I am used to gaming with (on Lazlo) has all vanished. I am running on empty for the idea department, but would love to get involved again. So if anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears.

Thanks

You're going to have a bit of trouble finding BTS players to game with, largely because Palladium really dropped the ball when it came to supporting the game. 1st ed BTS only ever had one suppmement (the "Boxed Nightmares" boxed set) published in the early 90s, and then it sort of sat there doing nothing, which meant it faded off game-store shelves because there were no new books anyone was buying, which meant everyone except diehard Palladium fans forgot about. And when BTS 2nd ed came out in 2005, they published it without rules for magic (which is a major part of the game) and without many monsters to squish (another major part of the game) because those would be covered in the first two sourcebooks...

... which never came out. So anyone who bought the corebook is basically stuck with half a game, and no idea when they'll ever get the chance to buy the other half (and no idea whether the other half will even be worth buying).

So pretty much your only chance in hell of running a BTS game is to find a gaming group, convince them to play BTS instead of something else, run it yourself, and make virtually everything up from scratch, because Palladium has totally blown any chance it had of reviving the game line.

[mrloucifer]

I disagree... completely. I've never had an issue recruiting people to play in my games, regardless if I advertised the games as "Beyond the Supernatural" or simply as "A modern day supernatural horror RPG".

P.S: His issue isnt with finding players for his game.

[Lord Z]

Hey there Hol,

Maybe it's just time to take a break. Try some games you've never played before -- in completely different genres. BtS will still be there when you feel like going back to it.

[Gallahan]

Hey there Hol,

Maybe it's just time to take a break. Try some games you've never played before -- in completely different genres. BtS will still be there when you feel like going back to it.

Good points from L and Z, both.

And, I agree. Sometimes when something burns brightly, it burns quickly. You sound like you're burned out on the game for a bit. When that happens, --with anything really-- it's time to take a break. Do things completely different. Maybe even take a break from gaming altogether for a week, a month or a year. Okay, a year is a bit much, but you get the idea. If/when you come back to it, like Z said, it will still be there. But, you'll have a fresher perspective. Maybe have some crazy ideas that will blossom into something magnificent.

Some people switch from game system to game system, world to world, type of game to another type of game (board, card, RPG, chess, etc.) to keep things fresh. Others simply leave gaming altogether, and go hiking/camping a lot, or fishing, or take up fencing or kendo or raquetball... It's important to have a well-stocked buffet of activities to keep your mind on its toes. Just some thoughts...

[bar1scorpio]

If you're looking for stuff to mine for ideas, try looking for various Creepy Pastas, I mention Candle Cove in another thread.

[Tearstone]

I'd really enjoy reading this. In fact, knowing I was sick and that I might not return (as well as losing my drive for Lazlo), I did what you're abut to do: quarantined Wie in a fictional town and when I felt like it: wrote for her, and when I didn't feel like it, moved on for a bit.

It worked for me. Now that I might be back, I have a few story ideas, a few possible posts, and my drive is back at a comfortable and healthy level.

I've had to do that with Razor and Sakura, but also I haven't been posting a lot due to my life being up in the air, but yes, they're still alive, and they're still out there.

[Vrykolas2k]

Maybe it would help if anything new was published for the game... that generally stimulates ideas.

[Lord Z]

BtS is better represented than some other lines in Rifter at least. We are maintaining two nice web communities between this forum and the .org. If we can get the Lazlo Wiki rolling, that will be three.

Here is a fun little exercise for us amateur horror writers. Think of the last thing that scared you. It probably won't be paranormal. It could have been a near-miss in your car. It could have been a spider or a cramped space. It could have been the time you were mugged. Write a short story about a fictionalized version of that event.

Speaking of challenges, I am reminded of the Agency Creation Challenge from last month. I think I finally have all of Cybermancer's prizes squared away. I have some prizes picked out for the next contest also. Are we ready to start another Creation Challenge?

[mrloucifer]

Are we ready to start another Creation Challenge?

Well, I'm ready to judge it.

[Xar]

Here is a fun little exercise for us amateur horror writers. Think of the last thing that scared you. It probably won't be paranormal. It could have been a near-miss in your car. It could have been a spider or a cramped space. It could have been the time you were mugged. Write a short story about a fictionalized version of that event.

Good example. Two nights ago, when I was in bed, I kept hearing a recurring vibration kick on, then a thump. It was mechanical, but it wasn't regular. Mostly, it was worrysome, as I have had lots of water problems in my house. However, while trying to troubleshoot what this was, I was listening out my window while determining that the vibration/thump was my neighbor's furnace...I heard something walking around my backyard at 2:30 in the morning. I couldn't see anything, and it was constant, but quiet, rustle-crunch in the leaves and snow. Probably a tomcat, but after the other strange noise, it was just a little scary. One could definately build something from that.

[Lord Z]

Yeah Xar, that's the stuff!

I have news. I know the BtS forum isn't the best place for it, but I don't think many of us frequent the Other Games forum. I don't...

Our first online game of Madness of Cthulhu wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. We are starting a new game soon, possibly to be roleplayed at www.playbyweb.com. I might instead do it at www.nexusnine.net or start a Google Wave -- depending on the preference of the players. The Madness of Cthulhu rules are still in the playtesting phase, so you wouldn't have heard of it (except maybe from me).

The next game takes place in Prohibition Era of Lovecraft Country. Players take on the roles of monsters hunting for the vanished loot from a recent bank robbery. The Episode is entitled, 'The Hainted Holler.' Anyone interested?