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April 9, 2020

“‘The days of your life’ refers to in-game time…”
Posted by Avram Grumer at 07:44 PM * 17 comments

Blacow* speaks of four players: the Wargamer, the Power-Gamer, the Role-Player, and the Story-Teller.

The Wargamer, what does he say? “What foe do we fight, and what is the lay of the land?” You, in turn, shall describe the battlefield, and challenge his tactical abilities, including the morale check for his henchmen.

The Role-Player, what does he say? “This is what my character would do!” By using his character motivations as an excuse to indulge his antisocial behavior, he has placed his own enjoyment ahead of the other players’. You will rattle his dice by saying, “That is not how we do it at my table;” — “my table,” not his table, because if he keeps this up, he won’t be invited back!

The Power-Gamer, what does he say? “Where is the loot?” Thus you shall say to him: “With clever play and good fortune, you may win your way to treasure and XP.”

As for the Story-Teller, you must develop a plot thread for him to follow, as it is said, “It is because of this that your character finds himself in a predicament…”

* “Aspects of Adventure Gaming,” Glenn F Blacow, Different Worlds #10, Oct/Nov 1980

Comments on “‘The days of your life’ refers to in-game time…”:
#1 ::: Will Frank ::: (view all by) ::: April 09, 2020, 09:43 PM:

Why is this game different from all other games?

#2 ::: BSD ::: (view all by) ::: April 09, 2020, 11:15 PM:

My character was a wandering barbarian, and he went down into the dungeon with a small party and became a leader of a great nation...

#3 ::: Avram ::: (view all by) ::: April 10, 2020, 01:23 AM:

I feel a bit bad that Cory Doctorow linked to this and described it as “a gamer’s haggadah,” and maybe folks’ll follow the link expecting an actual whole haggadah, not just a Four Sons joke.

I don’t have a D&D-themed haggadah, but a few days ago someone posted a haggadah-themed D&D adventure on Reddit. Maybe that’ll do.

#4 ::: Dave Harmon ::: (view all by) ::: April 10, 2020, 08:26 PM:

I sat in on ZOOM Seders for each sister, but understanding things was a problem -- even for the first one it was fairly tough, but for the second one with over a dozen participants, I could barely follow anything.

It occurred to me at the time that all the voices were coming from the same place, which was killing my hearing compensations; after the second one, I realized that even IRL, a table with a dozen-plus people around it would be a pretty hellish hearing environment for me.

The second sister E-mailed a PDF of her Haggadah for the year, noting that most years they have an extra item on the plate representing some issue for that year. Their incomplete list of prior items (I E-mailed and reminded her of the orange, for female rabbis):

* FREE TRADE COFFEE BEANS - There is still slavery in the world
* SAFFRON - Something small can make a big impact - what do you want to change this year?
* GUMMY BEARS (KOSHER FOR PASSOVER) - Animal cruelty
* OLIVES - Our hope for peace in the middle east - and around the world
* FREE TRADE CHOCOLATE - Slavery still exists within the US - children/teens/people in the sex trade, immigrants forced to work to pay off their trip, LGBTQ who feel they have no other choice to survive
* ORANGE PEPPER - Orange is the color of gun violence prevention
* PINE CONE - The symbol for mass incarceration problems in the US
* HOMEMADE PICKLES - Remembering our traditions - Pickles are something that were made for hundreds of years and became an afterthought on the side of a plate but they were actually added to our diet to help with digestion.

This year's "item" was an empty space:

*EMPTY - We are reminded of all we are missing this year during COVID-19

#5 ::: Erik Nelson ::: (view all by) ::: April 11, 2020, 04:36 PM:

This looks a little like a quotation from Sun Tzu also

#6 ::: dcb ::: (view all by) ::: April 12, 2020, 10:27 AM:

Avram: that's wonderful!

Dave Harmon@4: I like your sister's idea. I remember the orange a few years ago.

#7 ::: CHip ::: (view all by) ::: April 22, 2020, 06:23 PM:

Well, that's a blast from the past: I vaguely recall a question on NESFA email ~recently, but aside from that I haven't seen any indication of Glenn in a few decades -- I drifted away from D&D after a few months in the mid-1970's (Glenn was known for putting SF monsters in his dungeon -- RAH wormfaces, Valerians, Dilbians, and even (at my suggestion, as I was leaving) vatches) and he drifted away from SF fandom as Apaloosa faded. The reference is especially strange because he mentioned being schooled by severe nuns; I don't know whether he got involved in Judaism or simply thought the parallel was fun.

#8 ::: Joe in Australia ::: (view all by) ::: April 26, 2020, 07:37 AM:

If the spambot had only left one comment –
It would have been sufficient for us!

If only one comment had been left by the spambot –
It would have been sufficient for us!

If by the spambot only one comment had been left –
It would have been sufficient for us!

DRINK THE SECOND CUP OF WINE

#9 ::: dcb ::: (view all by) ::: April 26, 2020, 04:39 PM:

Joe in Australia @19: Dayenu!

#10 ::: sl1pp3ry k01 ::: (view all by) ::: June 08, 2020, 08:22 PM:

Mary Aileen, I may know what is happening. Please reach out to me soon.

#11 ::: Greg Costikyan ::: (view all by) ::: September 02, 2020, 12:49 PM:

See also the Bartle player types:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartle_taxonomy_of_player_types

And Quantric Foundry's taxonomy, which is based on in-depth research and actual data:
https://quanticfoundry.com/#motivation-model

#13 ::: Buddha Buck Sees spam ::: (view all by) ::: January 12, 2021, 08:21 AM:

I don't know if I love "Game", but I know I don't love being played.

#14 ::: John M. Burt ::: (view all by) ::: January 18, 2021, 05:56 AM:

I attended a Seder once, at my Quaker Meeting, with my late wife, Kathe, whom you knew as Older and sometimes as Older and Better. She told me about how she had conducted a Sukkot with her grandmother, not knowing at the time it was a Jewish practice, and had concluded in later years that her grandmother was a Primitive Christian.
Kathe was appalled when she saw an ad for a plastic Sukkot shelter. I suggested that a more appropriate "modern" Sukkot shelter would be an actual survival tent which the family would cook in, dine in and camp in overnight, thereby ensuring that all of their gear was in working order.
Just in case....

#15 ::: dcb ::: (view all by) ::: January 18, 2021, 10:22 AM:

John M. Burt @17: Thank you for sharing those lovely recollections. The idea of camping in a survival tent and checking everything works is great in following the spirit of the law - the idea of an impermanent shelter. Unfortunately the rabbis decreed that while the roof of the Succah had to provide more shade than light, you have to be able to see the stars through the roof...

#16 ::: Xopher Halftongue ::: (view all by) ::: January 18, 2021, 10:38 PM:

dcb 18: So you use one with a transparent roof and use a transparent fly. Right?

#17 ::: P J Evans ::: (view all by) ::: January 19, 2021, 11:16 AM:

18
A parachute would work for that - there's a hole where the lines cross, and you can see the stars through it. (Light goes through the nylon, too.)

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