So I’ve been working on a full writeup of that Straight Paranoia game I did at KublaCon this year, and I’ve started to realize something.

This is kinda hard.

Maybe I’m just not in the right headspace for this today.  But I think the reality is that I underestimated how much information is really necessary to write something like this up.

Anyone who has watched me run a game can attest that most of my games are run off cocktail napkins and paper scraps.  Paranoia and Convention Games being what they are, it’s hard to write extensive character backgrounds and set up complex plot scenarios.  Most of the time such things are used primarily to stuff into laser wounds or start large fires in the HVAC ducts, and I’ve adopted a GM system that revolves primarily around having a Mission Briefing, Some Interesting Gear, and not going any further than that.

So when I set out to write up the Straight module I recently ran, I found myself getting to the Mission Briefing, and character kits, and I just sorta… ground… to… a… halt.  In practice, that’s exactly how it played out – I had the breifing, and great character backgrounds, but was absolutely unable to write any further.

So now, here I am trying to write up the module after a playthrough, and I have to fill in all those sorts of things that may come up for other people.  Like, well, the Briefing Officer’s name, or maybe her skills.

The experience has me reflective and introspective, much like I was after I initially ran the scenario.  I’ve always said that I didn’t do extensive game prep because I spent little time using the game prep materials and more time flying from the seat of my pants to deal with unexpected player curveballs.  Now, I’m not sure which one really came first, and I think that I’ve probably been using “player curveballs” as an excuse to not prepare fully.

My earliest experiences as a GM were alcohol-fueled descents into madness that centered around Changeling (though what we played bore only a passing resemblence to the actual game).  I can remember doing some game prep for these games, but remember also that it was a difficult group to control, one which sometimes intentionally went left when the plot was going right.  I was flying blind fairly early.  Sometimes it worked.  Sometimes it didn’t.

It’s not like this is a new or unique problem – I haven’t talked to a GM who hasn’t had to deal with this particular issue.  But today’s experiences have gotten me thinking.

Maybe it’s not that I have to fly by the seat of my pants, and maybe I don’t really have to be prepared for anything.  Maybe I just feel most comfortable when I’m improvising.  Or worse, maybe I’d not capable of anything else.

Food for thought (my own, at least).

-D

PS – because I’ve written so much about Paranoia lately, the next post will not mention it at all.