Geek Girls Rule #41 – The Second GGR Podcast: Interview with Privateer Press President, Sherry Yeary

Geek Girls Rule Podcast #2

The second Geek Girls Rule! Podcast, wherein I interview Sherry Yeary, President of Privateer Press. The interview was a load of fun and I hope you all like it. Also, Sherry was kind enough to offer that if any of you out there had questions for her that you could post them in comments here or email them to me (sirriamnis@gmail.com) and we will do another podcast in the future answering your questions.

So, please listen, and forgive my, ahem, throaty voice. I’m still recovering from the illness of Doom. And please, do send me any questions you’d like Sherry to address in a future podcast.

Also, I am in the middle of playtesting a new game. I hope to be able to publish it within a few months. It is a narrative game played with tarot cards about Casanova seducing young women, and them trying not to get seduced. So far responses have been positive. I’ll probably tell you more after this weekend’s playtest.

In other news, I will be at Gamestorm at the end of March. I hope to see some of you there!

Geek Girls Rule! #40.5 – Conquest Northwest!

Wow!  We had an excellent time at Conquest Northwest this weekend.  We didn’t get there until 11-ish Saturday morning, and after reg-ing we went straight down to the Story Games Lounge, and pretty much stayed there until midnight.

We were in a smallish conference room with a long table and exceptionally comfy chairs.  One end of the table was dedicated to In a Wicked Age for the entire day.  I only played two chapters, but my buddy Jordan jumped in right after getting there, and apparently didn’t play anything else all day.  In fact, during the last chapter of the night, Jordan announced that once he bought the pdf, he didn’t intend to ever play another game.

The first game I played of the day was Don’t Rest Your Head, run by Mr. Geek Girl What Rules.  This has become his favorite pick up game to run.   I played a misanthropic toy store clerk.  Our friend Marcy played a thief with a massive head wound.  Our friend Lukas reprised his character from an earlier game, a lawyer who had recently Awakened.   Marcy’s character ripped off a jewelery store, and once we crossed into the Mad City, her take changed into a glowing ball of gold that was the key to memories.  We walked into the middle of a war between Tock the Clockwork policeman and his men, and the Wax King.  We eventually gave the key to the Wax King in return for all the memories Marcy’s character had lost as a result of her head injury, and the cessation of the war.

While we were playing Don’t Rest Your Head, Joe MacDonald, the creator of “Perfect,” ran The Prince’s Kingdom for my friend Chris, and Alan from Story Games.  Jordan jumped in as a NPC when his first chapter of Wicked Age got done early.  After that, the Mister ran a scenario called “The Kegger” with the Two-Die system, based on the kegger at the end of “Dazed and Confused.”

Then Marcy and I ran out to buy two of the best dice box in the world, of which I will post pictures later.  The Mister and I both have them.  It’s this set of smaller plastic bins which snap into a larger framework, which then snaps together so you can carry it like a briefcase.

When we came back, Marcy and I joined the Wicked Age end of the table, for the first Chapter that Jordan was running.   We had a blast.  Then, Marcy went off to do something else while Jordan and I played in a chapter that Alan ran, and I got to totally screw with Jordan’s character. Mwaa haa haaa!!!

While that was going on, Joe MacDonald ran a session of his new game “Dostoievskayan Murder Ballad.”  Apparently it involves a lot of yelling with thick, fake Russian accents.  It sounded like they were having one hell of a time.

After all that, we recorded a podcast for the Mister’s “Stabbing Contest” Podcast, and then left for home.  Once he gets it up, I’ll link to it here

I’d just like to thank the Con Staff at Conquest Northwest for running a superb gaming convention, and specifically to Sophie (Anenome on Story Games) and Tony Dowler for making the Story Games lounge a reality.  It was a great time, and I met some really great people.

Geek Girls Rule #40 – Play Outside Your Gaming Group

I think one of the reasons that the “Gamer Infidelity” excerpt from the Part-Time Sorceress book annoyed me so much was that Mister Geek Girl What Rules and I are all about playing as many games with as many people as we possibly can.  For years, because of geographic isolation living in a small city in Eastern Washington, the Mister was somewhat limited in his options for people with whom to game.  He did eventually find a few more people to game with outside of his original group, but the core group didn’t shift a lot.

Now, when I FIRST started gaming at 19 I did play with several different groups.  Then when I moved to that same crappy town in Eastern Washington with the Mister, I found my gaming choices severely curtailed.  While I was in Grad School they were curtailed further and I was only gaming on Sundays, over here in Seattle, with the same group of guys, for about three years.  Don’t get me wrong, they were a great group of guys (and included the Mister), but I really missed the opportunity to play different sorts of games that they just weren’t into.

Ever since moving to Seattle, the Mister has had multiple gaming groups, and so have I.   In fact about a month before I actually moved back, I had GMs recruiting me to join games.  It was awesome.  And it still is.  I’ve settled into a steady set of four gaming groups that meet pretty much all my gaming needs.  I have the Sunday Group, which the Mister usually GMs which alternates between GURPS and various Indy Games.  There’s the bi-weekly Saturday Group, which is currently playing Amber Diceless.  There’s the once monthly Girl Game, currently playing Unhallowed Metropolis.  And the once monthly Hippie-Pinko-Commie-Black-Leotard-Indy Friday Game, currently playing Don’t Rest Your Head.  So, yeah, I average four gaming groups.  And I’m generally good for a pick-up game of just about anything… Except D-20.  Ok, that’s not true. I’ll even play D-20 with the right group of people.

The thing is, each of these groups does something for me that the others don’t.  The Sunday Group tends to be a little more traditional, dice-rolling style gaming.  The Saturday Group lets me play a super-political, social interaction-heavy game with a group of people who are REALLY into that.  The Girl Game has a tendency to be more Victorian gaming than I really thought possible, and very ROLE-play heavy.  And the Hippie-Pinko group is several people who have not gamed in ages, plus three or four of us who game a LOT, which is an entirely different dynamic, and as the name suggests, focuses on the more “solve conflict with interpretive dance” type of indy games.

I really do not know that I could get all of my political-gaming, gribbly combat monster gaming and froo-froo black leotard gaming needs met with just one group.  And I think limiting yourself to one group/one game is just that, limiting.  There are SO MANY GAMES out there.  The Indy Gaming Explosion is a beautiful thing.  Really it is. Check out Indy Press Revolution.

Now, not everything is everyone’s cup of tea.  I do not like D&D. I’m sorry, I just don’t.  I don’t care for the system one bit.  I’ll read the source material like crazy, love the Monster Manual, but I can’t take the system.  And there are going to be hardcore D&D people who think I’m insane when I gush over In A Wicked Age or Don’t Rest Your Head.

The thing is, unless you experiment with different types of gaming, you’ll never know if maybe there’s something out there you might like a little more.  I think a lot of Gamer Ennui stems from going with what you’ve always done, gaming with the same people you’ve always gamed with, and getting tired of it.  Gaming with all these groups makes me appreciate all of my gaming buddies, and the different types of games.  Sometimes I just want to huck dice, kill shit and take its stuff.  Sometimes I want to explore the complexities of social interaction.  And sometimes I want to be a superhero.

Seriously, give it a shot.  Find another group, create another group.  If you never thought you could GM, check out some GM-less games like the Shab-al-Hiri Roach or In A Wicked Age.   Or throw caution to the winds and GM something.  The worst that can happen is your gamers say, “Aah, I’m not really into this.”  Or, go to a gaming convention and play demos.  There are quite a few more gaming conventions than I was originally aware of, all over the country.  Not to mention, most sci-fi conventions have a gaming track and gaming rooms. 

Really, there is more to life than just D&D or just GURPS or just Indy Games.  I can enjoy the merits of all of them.  And yes, I’ve even promised to give D&D 4th ed. a try when it comes out.  I’m being lured in with the promise of a Spelljammer-type game with space-going Drow as British Navy.  Sigh.  Can’t you just see the lovely black skin and white hair with the brocaded naval officer’s jackets?

ETA:  I will still be at Conquest Northwest this weekend, but will probably not run anything.  I had to cancel the Girl Game this week because I still have no voice.  In case you were wondering, the official diagnosis is Whooping Cough.  The vaccinations wear off.  Just saying.  However, I am no longer contagious.  I promise.

Geek Girls Rule! #39 – Teeth, Part-time Sorceresses and sundry errata

Teeth. Go. See. This. Movie. Seriously. It’s a horror movie about Vagina Dentata. How could you possibly not want to see this? Dawn, played by Jess Weixler, is an enthusiastic supporter of her school’s chastity pledge group. When she is raped by a male chastity supporter, something inside her bites off his penis, leading to his death. There are two more emasculations, and one sleazy gynecologist gets his fingers bitten off. The movie takes a very tongue and cheek look at the “dangers” of adolescent female sexuality. The actor who plays the son on Nip/Tuck plays Dawn’s tattooed, pierced Bad-Boy step-brother. The movie is definitely played with an eye toward dark humor. I really liked it, but then again, I really liked “Ichi the Killer,” so take it as you will. One woman in the audience, after it was over, said, “I want that to be MY superpower.” I don’t know about that, but it was one hell of a fun movie.

Ok, because a million, brazillion people have asked me what I think of that “Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress” book, I’ll come clean. I haven’t read it. I don’t intend to read it. It’s not a case of sour grapes. Really.

The deal is:
A. I don’t play D&D. I have a couple of times, but it is not my preferred system. And even though odds are good that I’d get all the humor. It’s just not my thing.

B. I’ve read several excerpts, as people can’t seem to resist mailing them to me, posting them on LJ, whatever. I don’t care for her writing style, I just find the writing in “Sorceress” (or at least the excerpts I’ve read) a little too “Tee hee, see us gamer girls are girls just like you! Tee hee!” for my tastes. Granted, as I’ve said before, I’m not particularly good at being a girl in general, so this could be just me. And the excerpt on gamer “infidelity” just made me gnash my teeth. I have, at any given time, four or more gaming groups. Sometimes the only common denominator between them is me. So I find the concept of being pissed at your fellow gamers for gaming with other people really annoying.

I know, I know, sisterhood and unity and all that, but I just have no interest in the book. So, please quit asking me if I’ve read it, telling me I should read it, etc…

Some events you may want to know about:
I will be at Conquest NorthWest in Bellevue, WA on Saturday February 16th, pretty much all day in the Story Games Lounge. If I can get over the Hacking Cough of Doom enough so that I can speak for more than two sentences without my voice cutting out completely or a massive coughing fit, I will run something. Probably Little Fears as it is my favorite!!! Mr. Geek Girl What Rules will be running Don’t Rest Your Head, and possibly something else. We will only be there Saturday, as Friday night is the Girl Game, and Sunday we have a gaming group. I know for a fact that there will be at least one game of In a Wicked Age.

GameStorm in Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA March 28-30, 2008. The Mister and I will be down there for the whole weekend. His grandparents gave us money for Christmas with the command to spend it on us, not bills. So, we’re gonna go be dorks for a whole weekend in a place with room service. Go us. I know there will be a strong Story Games presence, but I’m not sure who’s running what just yet.

If you’re a gamer girl or boy, I urge you to come check out these events. I’m really looking forward to both. And if you happen to see a short, round redhead wearing all black with bloodshot eyes croaking at someone about something, it’s probably me.

Oh, and if you are in Seattle, the Varsity Theater has held over Teeth. Go see it. As my buddy Aaron said, “I cannot wrap my head around how fucking awesome this movie is!”