OOC The RPF Interview Thread - now interviewing DarkLordoftheFins

Welcome to the official, new, and improved RPF interview thread! I am your host, Darth Kronos, and in this thread we will be conducting interviews for your fellow role players.

Simple, right?

Here's how it works:
- If you wish to be interviewed, send me a PM, and I will put you on a list. Depending on how many requests I get, the wait could be long, so bear with me if that happens.
- A typical interview for last for around 10 days. I'll do my best to keep the questions coming, but the interviewee must also be swift with their answers.
- Questions will usually relate to role playing and Star Wars, but there could be outliers.
- Regular members are allowed to ask questions as well, so don't be shy!
- Interviewees don't have to answer questions they are uncomfortable with.
- Obey the ToS, as always.
- This is not a social thread, so take your extensive OOC conversations elsewhere, please.

Alright, rules are over. Send in your PMs, and allow yourself to be grilled by your fellow role players!

 

List of Interview Dates (hopefully more to be added later on):

@LordTroepfchen - June 2nd
@HanSolo29 - June 12th
@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha - June 30th
@DarkLordoftheFins - July 10th
@Bardan_Jusik - July 20th
@Sinrebirth - July 30th
@Adalia-Durron - August 9th
@Jerjerrod-Lennox - August 19th
@QueenSabe7 - August 29th
@Corellian_Outrider - September 8th

I look forward to interviewing all of you, even if only four actually signed up.

 

Hey!

I think it's (finally) time for our first interview.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME THE ONE-AND-ONLY, @LordTroepfchen!!!

1. Let's start with something simple: how are you?

2. Okay, now that's out of the way, here's a little something more broad. What inspired you to join the RPF in the first place? Was it more of a coincidence, or did you lurk for a while and finally decide to join? More specifically, what made you stick around all these years?

3. I've noticed you've been a GM for a little while, and a fairly popular one at that (uwu). What inspires you as a storyteller and GM, be it your likes and dislikes in other stories, personal experiences, or otherwise?

4. How do you like to craft your characters?

5. Do you prefer character-driven stories or plot-driven stories, and, as an extension, which method do you think fits the RPG style better (if at all)?

Sorry this took me so long. Will you ever forgive me?

 

Hey and thanks for the warm welcome. So I do them in cohorts ... first three questions for now ...

1. Let's start with something simple: how are you?

I am quite fine. Thanks. How is everybody else today?

2. Okay, now that's out of the way, here's a little something more broad. What inspired you to join the RPF in the first place? Was it more of a coincidence, or did you lurk for a while and finally decide to join? More specifically, what made you stick around all these years?

Actually I was aware of it for a while, but I played in other places. Being pretty old I am one of the guys who remembers sessions over IRC chat etc.

Anyway at some point my German speaking friends (@SirakRomar especially) decided to come here. Our other activities had died down pretty much and I had too much time at hands, so I signed up and joined my first game. 128ABY - The Sith-Imperial War by our today's Mod Sinrebirth it was. Was quite interesting to play in English at the beginning, but turned out to be quite rewarding as an experience. Starting in such an excellent game the experience was quite addictive. Nowadays I have problems doing this kinda thing in German. Doesn't feel natural anymore.



3. I've noticed you've been a GM for a little while, and a fairly popular one at that (uwu). What inspires you as a storyteller and GM, be it your likes and dislikes in other stories, personal experiences, or otherwise?

Oh that is an interesting question and I could probably answer this very short or quite long and considering this is an interview ... let us go with long shall we?

I am from this Generation that grew up with Spielberg and Cameron and thought this is the beginning of a certain storytelling tradition. We believed events would be the thing for the foreseeable future and world building was the thing. Stories got more and more elaborate and also took more and more attention to follow them. Then things changed. They really did. The modern age of Television and Franchises arrived and kinda changed the whole set-up. Scalability is the major point, quality is defined differently. Truth is we are living in an age in which Alien would be a Netflix movie, Star Wars a TV Show and Blade Runner would never get made. That is not a bad thing. Comic movies are the new thing ... I just couldn't adjust fully in my mind. I long for classical stories pretty much rooted in the storytelling traditions of the nineties. So I try to update nostalgia ideas usually.

So from time to time I get a grip on an idea and need to do it. That is usually how I got into GMing. I wanted to do SW Horror, so I did The Cold Embrace. I wanted to do mystery (and a beginner game) so I did Silent Cities. Fin's now legendary The Sins of the Saints attracted me because it was over-the-top unique and creative and yet very blockbustery. Tadah. Three years of Co-GMing. The Crossing and Villian were in my minds for years in some form. They are all very story-driven plots with character journeys. I feel like everything over 5 players I could not handle.

I think especially as Co-GM I was drawn to classical world-building games. Therefore Star Wars always interests me less as a GM. I feel like the original settings feel like my home ... or felt like it.

Because I actually recently kind of retired from GMing. Feeling The Crossing - my last game that survived more than a few weeks - was pretty much as good as I get and wanting to go out on a high point ... so I actually recently told myself to not pursue this for a while. When something like Candlewood came along (classical 90s Small Town Horror) I could not resist obviously and jumped on board to CoGM. So Co-GMing is something I am gonna do more probably.

 

How do you like to craft your characters?

Oh usually I got an idea right away about the character. If not I don't join. But every character has a thing and a journey and I try to find that journey and make this my story. I played Emperor's and Serial Killers, Monsters and Psychopath, but I always believed they had a story to tell and I always tried to tell it.

 

5. Do you prefer character-driven stories or plot-driven stories, and, as an extension, which method do you think fits the RPG style better (if at all)?


I wanna be told a good story when I come here. That is the true reason why I hang out here.
But ...

Both versions in a pure form is boring. Actually I think plot-driven games that have no character development are probably pretty strange stories to be told. A game in which I can write with my character all I want without ever being bothered by anything happening is probably not a game.

So it is a question of the mix. That being said, I believe a great plot driven game is the best way to have a character driven game. Because a plot that is well designed gives a character the chance to develop. The events shape the character. He reacts to the triumphs and defeats the GM throws at him. The defeats are often even more fun when you look at the game in retrospect.

 

So I understand we can ask questions?
I got a few ...


6. What is your relationship to Star Wars nowadays?

7. You said above you consider the Crossing your best game, what did you consider your greatest failures and why?

8. What character was the hardest to play for you and why?

9. You had not GMed since Sins of the Saints ten years ago, what made you come back here?

10. You actually have been Co-GM to many games, probably more so than any other member of these boards. How do you approach being a secondary GM?

 

Hi!

11. In playing in an RP, versus hosting, what is the most frustrating thing about handling a group of players, i.e., having to do with multiple plotlines, interacting during posts where there is a great deal of interactivity -- e.g., dialogue between two players and you have to wait until the next player posts their part before you can answer?

12. Concluding a subplot versus ending the game, what ways have you found the most satisfying, a solid wrap or a close /conclusion even with loose ends?

13. What kinds of characters have you steered away from, in terms of comfort: like age, (not being able to write teenagers for example), or steering clear of playing an established character in SW? (E.g., leery of being Vader)

14. Other fandoms you might GM for-- e.g., Marvel, LoTR, Trek?

 

Okay ... three more today ...



6. What is your relationship to Star Wars nowadays?

Complicated at best. I feel like voiding the EU left a scar and the new Star Wars has so far done little to fill the gap I feel is there. I don't know the universe anymore which I found so at home with. I don't hate the new movies. Not at all. I just feel like the new EU is borderline irrelevant.

7. You said above you consider the Crossing your best game, what did you consider your greatest failures and why?

133ABY - The Cold Embrace. Playing the sistergame to Fin's Masterpiece 133ABY - The Dark Odyssey was an uphill battle and I even brought the game to a conclusion ... but it wasn't what I imagined. I did not manage to get my idea into updates and the game and that was kind of a ... disappointment.

8. What character was the hardest to play for you and why?

Thomas the Serial Killer. Just because he was so dark and perverted and realistic. I hated him. Everybody hated him. We had epic villains in that game, but Thomas was a human and he was a guy I might know and drink a beer with. Did not help we picked up quite a few real locations and people from our real life to embed them into the SotS Hamburg storyline. There was a scene where Thomas talked to a guy I was pretty sure it was Fin including himself in the game.

 

So a few over morning Coffee ...

9. You had not GMed since Sins of the Saints ten years ago, what made you come back here?

Just felt like it and loved The Crossing. I just felt I know what I wanna do. Honestly I expected to get zero players and book it under "tried it" and then I got this wonderful cast. Rest is history as we Germans say ...

10. You actually have been Co-GM to many games, probably more so than any other member of these boards. How do you approach being a secondary GM?

Oh usually I pick an area which can need some special attention and I try to do what I can to make it work and serve the game. All for the game. Played Karl, Adam/Cain and some other guys in SotS to give these characters the special attention a player can bring them to make Fin's vision of the game a reality. In Candlewood I helped shape the story a bit, serving as sparring partner for the horror elements. Also shadow-GMed the monster (meaning Sirak posted updates written by me). If I love a game I just wanna see it happen. I am happy to play, I am happy to give a GM a little extra brain cells or writing power. I always felt this is very very rewarding. They are kinda your games and the same time not really your problem.



11. In playing in an RP, versus hosting, what is the most frustrating thing about handling a group of players, i.e., having to do with multiple plotlines, interacting during posts where there is a great deal of interactivity -- e.g., dialogue between two players and you have to wait until the next player posts their part before you can answer?

I gotta say I am pretty chill in regard to this as a player. Also I usually like to play with a bunch of people I know well and usually I don't gotta endure too much of this. But as a player I always trust the GM to move us forward if necessary and otherwise I simply wait. Having played for such a long time I am ready to endure a few frustrating moments for the good!

As a GM I am very aware of pacing. It is my main paradigm. I try to move plotlines. It is a bit like a rock concert. You play for those who show up, not for those who don't. So I try to keep the pace up. If players interact and enjoy it I let them. If someone goes missing I move on.

But important is to avoid or prepare for the usual traps. Don't start with a meeting or make sure it does not last longer than two updates. Don't get players en masse into a room and expect things to speed up. If you do that as a GM you gotta realize it costs you time and pacing (and probably gives you a great scene).

In general I feel dialogues with more than two or three players are not working so well in this medium. If you do it, a combined works often best. Simply because people write less and update faster than doing full posts. It is generally stuff you need to be aware of and then usually the problem goes away itself as a GM.

The most frustrating is certainly ... as player and GM ... if people go missing amidst a cool scene or plot and the whole thing dies down. I hate this, as everybody else probably does.

 

12. Concluding a subplot versus ending the game, what ways have you found the most satisfying, a solid wrap or a close /conclusion even with loose ends?

I am a sucker for ending games. I am loving my character arcs to be concluded and the journey to come to an end. Doesn't mean you gotta answer every question, but the purpose of a character should be fulfilled and his story should come to a conclusion. Not too soon, but eventually. I just feel that is immensely rewarding. Doesn't always happen, but if it does it feels ... like an accomplishment.

13. What kinds of characters have you steered away from, in terms of comfort: like age, (not being able to write teenagers for example), or steering clear of playing an established character in SW? (E.g., leery of being Vader)

Females. I am just not good at playing them. I think I actually did it only once and that character turned out to be almost gender-neutral (Darth Imperial in 128 ABY). Even as a GM my female characters are often more mysterious which is my way to cope with being unable to write them properly. I love female characters generally, just cannot do them really well.

Male characters ... if he interests me I like to play all kind of characters. Played Palpatine, Luke Skywalker, Wolf Sazen ... played serial killers, monsters and angels, psychos, heroes even ... a little kid once. I think I enjoy villains a little more.

 

14. Other fandoms you might GM for-- e.g., Marvel, LoTR, Trek?

Actually an interesting one.

I am quite a Nerd and watch all three franchises mentioned above and also many others. But lately I have mostly tried to create my own worlds. The Crossing is another take on superheroes and so would Villain have been had it catched enough player interest (regrettably it didn't). So I can't say I have though a lot about adopting franchises.

The games I considered for my final outing as a GM were:

COLONY - A game about a colony build on an unknown planet.
TRAUM - The game of three people who share a dream every night. Or is it the other way around?
ZERO - A game about two men negotiating over the phone ... about what might be the end of the world.

You see? All not franchise based.

If I did a game based on a franchise nowadays (I mentioned I am retired as a GM?) it would probably be something more obscure like a Death Note game or a Blade Runner game ...

Star Trek could actually be quite a challenge. Not my challenge, as I basically dropped out after DS9, but the team nature of the show makes it probably a perfect game for a dedicated crew.

 

15. You have been around for a decade now, becoming quite an oldbie ... how have games changed in the time you have been around?

16. Anything you miss nowadays?

17. What was your favourite scene you ever played? Or the top 3? Give us a little stroll down memory lane!

 

This turns out to be excellent interview. So just one question ...

18. This year Sins of the Saints (SotS) turns ten years old. I believe for many of us that game was a defining moment in the RPF and also the end of an era. Fin has once done in interview going pretty in depth into the experience of doing it. But little is known on how you two worked together and what was your role a co-GM back then. Would you mind telling us a bit about this time?

 

15. You have been around for a decade now, becoming quite an oldbie ... how have games changed in the time you have been around?

When I began here the huge flagships were quite a thing. What we consider large games today were actually considered mid-sized. We had games with 20 to 30 players. That was quite a difference.

Also many GMs were actively trying to create such flagships. Also we had many EU themed games. Legacy theme, X-Wing theme ... those are now almost rebellious acts against the mouse.

There were many players back then who have vanished over the years. It is the nature of such boards, but nowadays we got much less of a player base.

Also back then we had a very active Mentor mentality in Ressource thread. The people wrote pieces on GMing and where appreciated for it. I remember "Market Theory" or "3 Act Model in RPing" being quite influential back then. Was good fun! Fin's "3 rules of GMing" are still my guideline.

Also we had more games back in the days. Was not uncommon for active games being pushed to page 2 if you did not update for a few days. There was crazy stuff around. What we did not have were so many one-on-ones. Actually I don't remember any. So the changed forum gave way to new ways of doing this! Kinda amazing actually this idea was around ten years ago but took until today to be done.

And training games. Games which were designed with newbies in mind. We had so many newbies back then these games could actually easily grab eight players or so.

16. Anything you miss nowadays?

Maybe the flagship games. It was kinda cool to have everybody and then some newbies in a game.

Newbies. The constant float of new writers back then were great. We had some great and surprising people show up bringing their special flavor to the boards.


17. What was your favourite scene you ever played? Or the top 3? Give us a little stroll down memory lane!

Oh that is hard.

Okay. Palpatine's return in @BobaMatt's As Father as Son. I believe this was my best post I have ever written. I loved how it took everybody by surprise when I made my entrance. And I was very proud of it!

Number two, Kira Romar vs. Eydan Skorne final duel in @Sinrebirth 128 ABY. I wasn't even in that scene but it was the final duel between @SirakRomar's tortured young Jedi character and @DarkLordoftheFins Imperial Knight turned Sith Lord. A story over a year in the making. Several players linked to it. Until today the best lightsaber duel to ever grace these boards. I was sitting at my computer waiting for the next update.

Number Three ... oh that is hard. First one that came to my mind was @DarkLordoftheFins Sebastian LEGO Stein and @HanSolo29's President Kurt Roland in my own the Crossing. How LEGO stopped time and then just appeared in Oval Office was totally spooky. A scene so full of suspense (I did not know how it would end as Fin surprised me with this move). Incredible. I was actually nervous my plot would be ruined by an American President being executed by a Street Artist with awakening superpowers. Instant classic.

Funny how I was only involved in 1 1/2 scenes of my favourite scenes here, right?

Honorable mention ... the first time I interacted with players I did not know around here ... 128 ABY opening space battle against @GrandAdmiralJello's Emperor and then @BobaMatt's Kol Skywalker and @sprintabm's Ratep Snetarin picking up @SirakRomar's cry for help into the force as Eydan Skorne beat her to pulp in their first duel on the ground of the same battle. I remember thinking "wow, that feels so connected" for the first time. You get used to this, but I did not know this from other boards. It was amazing.

 

18. This year Sins of the Saints (SotS) turns ten years old. I believe for many of us that game was a defining moment in the RPF and also the end of an era. Fin has once done in interview going pretty in depth into the experience of doing it. But little is known on how you two worked together and what was your role a co-GM back then. Would you mind telling us a bit about this time?


Okay, I could probably talk a lot about it, but I feel with the interview series Fin did there and many Q&As and conversations we almost got "An Oral History of SotS" here.

But sure ... here is the Making of SotS - The Sancho Panza version:

Anyway, no idea when Fin came up with it, but we lived together back then ... like ... RL flatmates, in Hamburg Germany. We one day talked about what he wanted to do next and how he believed that the "Aria of the Soul" game by darthramza would have had been very different had it taken a less conservative approach to religion. His pitch was basically ... modernize Milton. Include modern theology about determinism, Kabbalah, intelligent design theory, evolution, Nietzsche and create an apocalypse game based on this. I was right away thrilled. He told me ... angels and the devils are human fairy tales, but what are they based on? What if a part of the power creating the universe did split and become independent? Fascinating idea. I was right away willing to support! So he began to detail major plotpoints ands settings ... time travel, mystery, influences, tech and divinity ... it was all there. So I told them how I would not have clear antagonists, but keep them all in grey areas, motivated by major human strains of development. An Angel of progress and Science, an Angel of theology and one of psychology. We sat there all night, smoked cigars and drank ... something. Probably water as I can't recall getting drunk. Over the next days we continued to discuss and finally I had such a good grip on these three to four characters he asked me to play them. As a Co-GM it was my job driving plot progression through impersonating these characters that could never be player characters, but give them the attention player characters had. So that is what I did.

Becoming one of his official co-GMs (@Republic_Anvil the other doing the US storyline) I began read his updates and sometimes wrote parts I felt would help. I was inspired, like most players. I loved this were four storylines only slowly coming together. I was hungry to see the twists materializing. We got a great cast, amazing players and we ran it. Pretty soon we realized it was a big game. The biggest ever done in an original universe created on the site. But Fin was keeping it all together so well, I could fully concentrate on providing dramatic moments and drive central plot points. We had a blast. Officially we did four games. The Sins of the Saints, The Sins of the Fathers, The Sins of the Sons and All the Sins of the Saints. It really felt like one run. Also we were quite proud fresh players joined us with every installment. Well, we basically changed little on our Modus operandi until the end. Fin wrote updates, I played my guys and reviewed stuff and added spice when possible. We discussed plots, but Fin always had an idea of the overall progression. I must say I had a hard time letting go when it ended. The story concluded, but I felt like many characters still had legs to walk. But Fin was adamant from the beginning a game about a central mystery needed resolution and not overstay it's welcome. The botched LOST and BSG finales were something he did not want.

For years afterwards I played with the idea of a sequel, prequel, sidequel. I never found anything worth doing ... never had the courage after Fin told me he would not be part of it. Many ideas about the game world and mood later became the DNA of the Crossing. A game originally planned as a spiritual successor, but eventually becoming it's own beast.

 

@LordTroepfchen

19. What, in your opinion, are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a writer?

20. When you were a GM, how much of the game did you plan ahead of time? Was it a lot, a little, somewhere in between, and why?

21. Do you prefer portraying legacy characters (like Luke or Vader) or Original Characters, and why?

 

Getting a little into your "body of work" some questions on your more famous contributions ...

20. How did you come up with Dark Luke in Twilight?

21. You mentioned the almost famous Palpatine entry scene ... if I recall right getting you a "Best Player" award with one post! How did you approach writing it?

22. How did you feel about writing same characters under different GMs?

23. You did a lot shadow updating on Candlewood you said (and so did @SirakRomar), so how did approach writing horror?

24. What was the hardest post you ever had to do? What posed the greatest challenge as a writer?

25. How do you structure your OPs?

26. What does the future on these boards hold for you?

 

19. What, in your opinion, are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a writer?

Actually that is hard to say. I feel like I am good at delivering dramatic moments and larger than life characters. So that is my strength probably. As a GM I have often been told I am cinematic and that is something I am proud of as I aim for this.

Weakness, despite not being a native English speaker and therefore having probably a limited vocabulary and strange grammar ... I'd say I am not good at describing sceneries. I usually got a hard time working on it, letting atmosphere do the job for me. Also I feel like sometimes I struggle with internal thoughts. Especially as a player I feel my posts are sometimes "clumsy".

20. When you were a GM, how much of the game did you plan ahead of time? Was it a lot, a little, somewhere in between, and why?

I plan a lot actually. I got the major plotpoints and use an eight sequence model as used in films. Then within the events I know are about to happen I leave my players complete freedom and restructure if they go of the rails. That is often most fun.

The art of GMing is for me to have a good plan and leave enough room to adjust. If you know your NPCs and world that is actually the fun part!

21. Do you prefer portraying legacy characters (like Luke or Vader) or Original Characters, and why?

Oh I do characters, usually I don't care who they are as long as I got a good idea how they tick. Any character becomes a set of character traits when you play him for some time. What I am looking for is the familiarity that when I read an update ... I KNOW what the character is going to do.

But I love playing original characters in AU games. I loved doing the Emperor in AFAS and I also love doing Luke the Sith now in Twilight. Putting new spins on existing characters is so much fun.

Then I have characters who I developed through several games. Hoole the Weequay Dark Jedi I played for a decade. Matt Andrews my current character I played as an NPC and then it became my Character in The Reckoning and will probably return in more future games. Those are probably my favourite ones.

 

Okay they keep coming ...

27. Any games you wished you had joined?

ManCubs (I missed) and All my Dreams I Drown (I was spoiled). Both seem like massive fun and brilliant storytelling and therefore right up my alley. But there were many games over the year where I thought they were pretty cool but I missed my chance. @Spycoders games.

28. Anything you would love to play that never happened or was never brought up?

Despite what I mentioned ... a Cop Thriller! I always wanted one of those. A Star Wars galactic underworld game! A Jedi Training game. Anything Kotor would have made me happy.

There was once a game by an Australian guy whose username I can't recall. He was in SotS. It was a who-doin-it on a Yacht. Totally brilliant. He wanted me to write all dialogue in German so there is a language barrier. It sounded so cool. Then he vanished.

29. You mentioned you considered your earlier games failures? Any lessons learned there you wanna share?

Expectations make GMing painful. I had three games I considered being "big, bold and cool" and all three just did not work for various reasons.

I had one which I considered a potential failure and it was my best. I was just so grateful for my players and what they did there I felt obligated to give my best without feeling pressure. Once I realized I was probably concluding it and the big finale was happening ... GMing got harder again.

So I think as GM doing this as a hobby and for fun your motivation can be killed by your ambitions and expectations.

Take the cards your given and play them right. Play the best game you can. Don't worry about perception. Just do it and enjoy!

 

Well, I know Lawbreaker from another forum where things are done very differently. He seems to have lurked here for a while and when he came over he asked for my opinion if a game like in all my dreams I DROWN could actually work here ... also he wanted to steal that title from a game I had planned originally. So we chatted a bit and ... I totally knew all the twists of the game by the end of the talk. Classical case of Spoiler! I still hold it against you @Lawbreaker to not give me a fair warning! Actually same happened on Candlewood. I jumped at Co-GM there.

 

30. The big one ... having played for ten years here and for God knows how long generally in the internet post-by-post roleplaying games ... what does it mean to you? How does it affect your "real life" and why do you think you have been faithful to this particular hobby?

 

30. The big one ... having played for ten years here and for God knows how long generally in the internet post-by-post roleplaying games ... what does it mean to you? How does it affect your "real life" and why do you think you have been faithful to this particular hobby?

Okay, that is quite a question.

Honestly I am not actually a very young guy, I am in my mid-forties and ten years ago I would have said I am just having fun and that is it ... but I did roleplaying in the internet since the nineties when roleplaying companies organized games over IRRC chats. My English was so bad back then I was often criticized for being a total mess of a roleplayer. So I skipped to German and then ... did that one for quite some time, as I was working in one of Germanies first Internet cafes. Hard to imagine nowadays, but we actually were looking for usecases for the Internet long before money and data were transferred there or advertisement became a thing. Among movie critics, party pictures and an ongoing novel Me and a friend championed the idea of doing Cyberpunk 2020 rounds on the net. Back in the days RPG was big and upcoming with new systems like World of Darkness shifting the focus to new methods of storytelling. After some short lived attempts we actually got a quite stable crew together playing weekly 5 - 7 hours chat sessions of Cyberpunk and it turned into a campaign called Black Storm Rising. Why am I telling this? Well for one it is a fun fact as I recall two good friends of mine joining this chat we nowadays know as TheSithGirly and DarkLordoftheFins. Fin was actually a little bit young for the mature content back then and a constant point of discussion.

So what does this mean to me?

Apparently more than I care to admit.

I have been in the army and left, been a martial artist and changed jobs three times and all these things in my life ended, but here I am ... forty something and still writing updates for games. I still enjoy it.

Also a question I ask myself ... for a guy my age I got a surprising amount of "old friendships", but ... would that be the case had I not have had a reason and cause to stay in contact with them? I think not. So for me and many and my friends this served a very social purpose probably. We had something to do which allowed us to share some great experiences without the distractions of reality and our lives. Unemployed or CEO? Happy or sad? Broke or rich? Doesn't matter, we come online and write our posts anyway and I see that XY has posted something and I read their posts and got the feeling of having spend time with them. It is a great way to retain the connection. So what does this hobby of mine means to me? First and foremost it means I can enjoy something with people. Not only my real life friends (some of them might have converted into online-friends as we haven't seen each other in years), but also the people you meet online of course. Friends you ever met and have only a very rough idea about who they are ... but people you shared a part of your life with you consider the most enjoyable part often.

But even that is not all. It would not work as a social-super-platform. I love good stories. I always did. I also love to write, but I am no way good enough or motivated enough to do it in any professional capacity. But I also love the stories people tell me here of which I can be part of. Having my own Star Wars epic, mystery blockbuster, sci-fi thriller ... that is quite something. I love having that. I must say when I sit down in the evening and read a little on the boards before getting to bed it gives me some joy. It is a little retreat.

I used to be obsessed about it when I was younger. Easier to obsess when you were younger, I guess. But even today I read a post and smile if I like where it is going and I can't wait to read along.

Truth is, would I not do it at all ... I'd miss it. I will probably have a break or two over the years and maybe the time and passion to GM might be missing ... but if I am honest ... if there are only two people left in the internet doing post-by-post GMing ... except me being one of them.

 

Today is your last day to get in any last-minute questions for @LordTroepfchen! If you have any, hurry up and ask!

I've got a few non-role playing questions that I am required by law to ask.

1. What are your opinions on kittens?

2. What's your favorite dinosaur?

3. What does Star Wars mean to you?

Also, you may have forgotten about these. If not, then it's totally fine.