Challenge Accepted

Mailanka has put out a challenge. And I have decided to bow gracious and politely, to take him up on that challenge, even though it took me a few attempts to get going. Specifically, his challenge for me was to write about GURPS. For those who are not initiated in the ways of Generic Universal RolePlay System, or GURPS is a roleplay system. So much for tautology club.

I have played in quite some of Mailanka’s GURPS games, including the amazing G-verse, and the epic Cherry Blossom Rain. And this made me want to run a game on his level. The kind of roleplaying game that has the players craving for more. For years I’ve tried to emulate him, often in GURPS, but also in other systems, and for years I’ve been failing. 

To make it clear how Mailanka and I differ - Mailanka is a methodological overpreparer who always thinks through his games months in advance. He has notes that can fill binders and as you can see from his Psi-Wars notes, he prepares to minute detail. I've noticed that I am not my teacher. I am a very ad-hoc oriented gamer, with a short attention span and a need and urge to play off my players. So where I've been failing in the past - I have been using the wrong methods for the kind of person. This is the reason for my failure. It is because I have been trying to be him. It is time to be me. 

And this is where the blog comes in. This will be my attempt at finding my own style, my own brand of gaming – the gentleman style of gaming. Thought out, well executed, versatile and stylish. Through this blog I will exploring this game style and making something that is my own, and I will teach you how to do so as well.

My first series of posts will concern how I will convert a failing GURPS game of mine into something more successful, and something I feel comfortable with. It will be a case study where I will be trying to explain what I am doing, so I can learn by teaching.

Because, to cite Kung-Fu Panda:
If you only do what you can do, you'll never be better than what you are.