I wrote long ago about creating an RPG system based around Sanderson’s fantasy trilogy Mistborn. Since I am quite the procrastinator, it’s not that surprising that Sanderson eventually wrote his own roleplaying system to use with his game and just recently released it. I’m liking what I’m seeing so far – he solved some of the balance issues I had been grappling with using the magic in his world, and the game flow feels nice and casual, which is awesome.
As I was thinking about his system, I got to thinking about the reasons I enjoy roleplaying games, and specifically running campaigns:
- I really enjoy imagining about 80% of a scenario and then telling my friends and seeing how they fill in the rest. This is basically exactly the blueprint of an RPG adventure. (Percentages may vary.)
- I love exploring fantasy worlds – the structure of them, the tone and the characterization of their inhabitants, the crazy epic things that can happen in them so different than our world.
- I like surprising my friends.
- …and finally, I enjoy the process of creating (or helping to create) a team and the shared sense of accomplishment, even if it is for an imaginative adventure.
It’s been a while since I have participated in any playing or running of an RPG, but I hope that running my short Mistborn campaign will rekindle my interest. (As an aside, I have been playing the first “boardgame campaign” I’ve ever encountered – Risk: Legacy – and OH MAN is it awesome. I’ll be posting about that in some shape or form soon.)