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Hans Messersmith
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
Freder: It was their hands that built this city of ours, Father. But where do the hands belong in your scheme?
Joh Frederson: In their proper place, the depths.
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I'm very pleased to annouce that your next Geek of the Week is both august and perhaps a bit dangerous. He is...
Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
Jason is the designer of two games that you really must play before you die: Grey Ranks, which is the only game that has ever moved me to tears of sadness, and The Shab Al-Hiri Roach, which is the only game that has ever made me question whether playing it might be a sin. That takes talent.
Here is how he introduces himself:
Quote: I'm half of Bully Pulpit Games (with my partner Steve Segedy, who also haunts RPG Geek). BPG has won a number of awards for our games, including 1.5 Diana Jones Awards for Gaming Excellence, Indie RPG of the Year, and others. Our game Fiascohas been translated into Italian, Portuguese and Russian, with Polish, French and Spanish on the way. I've been a guest of honor at Denmark's Viking Con and Italy's Lucca Games and Comics. In addition to my work with BPG, I've written for Pelgrane Press and Red Moon Medicine Show recently. I've helped build and judge a variety of RPG contests, including Little Game Chef, and I've participated in Game Chef since 2005. In more serious gaming territory, I'm a consultant on and designer of games for teaching and learning, primarily for medical and public health education. My clients have included Kaiser Permanente, the Innovation Learning Network, and the Schools of Nursing and Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
I'm pleased that Jason has agreed to be Geek of the Week, and am eager to see his answers to your many questions.
Here are his two truths and a lie, with an animal theme, and that suggest Jason may not be a man you want to mess with:
Now my questions, to start things off:
1) What in sam hill is top-roping?
2) Teddy Roosevelt, discuss.
3) Most of your games have a, let's call it dark, undercurrent (although in the case of The Shab Al-Hiri Roach it's more pitch black). So, what is the happiest, most sunshiny role-playing game you ever played that you really enjoyed and could recommend?
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Barad The Dwarf
Belgium
De Haan
Got some sanity left?
Come over to the RPGG Tavern, I buy you a drink.
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Congratulations!
here are my usual questions.
- What's you're favorite monster?
- What's you're favorite beer or other drink?
- Wich boardgames do you prefer?
- What's you're favorite meal?
- Will you congratulate you're BGG and VGG counterpart and ask him/her some questions?
- What was the most strange character you've ever created?
- How far did you get in the Dungeon of Doom?
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Old & Chaotic Evil Bob
United States
North Attleboro
Massachusetts
do you want to be my new host
I am EVIL, do not try to change my alignment
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Congrats Jason !
enjoy your week
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Bossko B.
England
Brierley Hill
The Black Country
BAZINGA!
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Congrats Jason on being Geek of the Week
 Bucket of dice or minimal dice?
 Is there an RPG related story that always makes you laugh?
 What is your most used RPG book?
 What is your most prized RPG possession?
 If you could visit any RPG world for real which would it be?
 If you could own for real one item off one of your player character's character Sheets, what would it be?
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Troy
United States
Los Osos
California
Come enjoy PolyCon XXX in beautiful San Luis Obispo, June 22-24th! www.polycon.org
This overtext is far more interesting than I am.
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Congratulations Jason! Have a great week!
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Peter
United States
Carol Stream
Illinois
See I told You
You'll Get Over It
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Congrats!
(1) What's the most embarrassing thing you've done at the game table?
(2) What's the most common time you hold gaming sessions, and why? (Daytime, Evenings, All Nighters, etc.)
(3) You've just finished writing your first RPG book. You've got an interested publisher, but they want to change an aspect you feel is important. Not making the change is a deal breaker for the publisher, do you allow the change or look elsewhere for publishing?
(4) A local group you know is about to run one of your favorite RPGs. You're invited but a member of the group is a person who you don't like gaming with. This person isn't a bad person, their style of play just grates on your nerves. If you don't play, chances are you won't have another opportunity to play this RPG for a while. Do you join the game or take a pass? Why?
(5) You are running down an unfamiliar passageway from an opposing force which you cannot beat in a fight. Your quickly approaching a closed door. You have a ring of keys, a metal bar and a vial of corrosive liquid. based on your most commonly chosen character type, what would you do upon reaching the door?
(6) If you had to chose one, would you choose to play a GMless RPG or one designed with Game Master needed? Why?
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Bruce McGeorge
United States
Lawrenceburg
Indiana
Hey you kids, get off my Avatar!
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Congrats Jason!
 What is the best RPG purchase that you've made in the last year or so? Why?
 What is your next likely RPG acquisition? Why again?
I mean... you still buy RPG stuff don't you? Or do you get all of your RPG stuff for free?!? 
 I didn't realize you were doing stuff for Pelgrane... Anything in development that you can tell us about?
Enjoy your week!
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Marshall Miller
United States
Medford
Massachusetts
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What did your mom think about your gaming growing up? What does she think now? (Crossing fingers and hoping your mom is still alive)
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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Congratulations, Jason. I hope you have a good week answering questions.
-Do you like familiar settings in your games, or do you prefer to play in settings away from where you live (or explore)?
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Rishi A.
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Hey Jason! Congrats!
1. Is there any game that you've played recently that makes you think, "Damn! I wish I designed that!"?
2. What's your favorite non-RPG game?
3. Where do you see storytelling RPGs going in the future?
4. Is there any particular mechanic or element that you've love to see incorporated into an RPG but haven't figured out how to do?
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Whoa, take a few hours off to participate in a local zombie lurch and suddenly there are a million questions! I am honored.
Top Roping.
Teddy Roosevelt: We like the Colonel around here, faults and all, what can I say? He was a colorful dude. Any President who was partially blinded while boxing in the White House has my attention and respect.
The happiest, most sunshiny role-playing game I have ever played and that I really enjoyed and could recommend would be Frederik Jensen's Montsegur 1244, a game about love, friendship, trust, faith and inevitably being burned alive as a heretic.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Barad_the_dwarf wrote: What's you're favorite monster?
In the Apocalypse World game I'm currently running, there is some terrible thing called The Choke. Nobody knows exactly what it is but the players are all scared of it. So that's my favorite right now.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: What's you're favorite beer or other drink?
I'm a sucker for Abita root beer.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: Wich boardgames do you prefer?
I just bought King of Tokyo, I love Memoir '44, but most of my play is cooperative board games like Pandemic and Castle Panic.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: What's you're favorite meal?
I think the best thing I ever ate was an Icelandic hot dog from a street vendor in Reykjavik.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: Will you congratulate you're BGG and VGG counterpart and ask him/her some questions?
I will! Thank you for suggesting it.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: What was the most strange character you've ever created?
So many ways to answer that. I've statted up myself, of course, which was pretty strange. Does a historical person count? Because I played Ota Benga once. I played a single family across generations in Microscope, that was unusual.
Barad_the_dwarf wrote: How far did you get in the Dungeon of Doom?
Three rooms? Not very far.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Ugavine wrote: Bucket of dice or minimal dice?
I have a very fussy collection of dice - minimal numbers of each polyhedral in red, white and black. You sort of need a bucket to play Fiasco(well, 20d6 anyway).
Ugavine wrote: Is there an RPG related story that always makes you laugh?
I always laugh when I think of Doc Greenley, a steampunk physician my friend Robo played for a long time. He had a dart-shooting gun, and he had darts that injected various chemicals - some lethal, some that knocked people out, and some that made them feel better - and he'd mix 'em up and forget the order. So he'd shoot a bad guy and we'd all cross our fingers.
Ugavine wrote: What is your most used RPG book?
The Story Games Name Project by a mile.
Ugavine wrote: What is your most prized RPG possession?
My copy of FGU's 1976 edition of Bunnies and Burrows.
Ugavine wrote: If you could visit any RPG world for real which would it be?
Yuuyake Koyake for sure. Pretty much every other world is a nightmare of sociopathic violence.
Ugavine wrote: If you could own for real one item off one of your player character's character Sheets, what would it be?
The first character I ever played, an OD&D wizard named Bulldrag, acquired one million gold pieces! So either that or a PGMP-15.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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These are awesome questions!
Astinex wrote: What's the most embarrassing thing you've done at the game table?
You'd have to ask my crew - I'm sure they'd think of better stuff. One time I spent a lot of time creating this elaborate backstory and all these well-realized NPCs, and one of them was a bard who sang a song, so I wrote and "performed" it before my horrified group. That was pretty embarrassing.
Astinex wrote: What's the most common time you hold gaming sessions, and why? (Daytime, Evenings, All Nighters, etc.)
I'm in two groups with pretty similar schedules. We play once a week, starting at 7 and ending around 9:30. That's what works for us.
Astinex wrote: You've just finished writing your first RPG book. You've got an interested publisher, but they want to change an aspect you feel is important. Not making the change is a deal breaker for the publisher, do you allow the change or look elsewhere for publishing?
Dude, publish your own book! I did. There are so many resources, and producing your own professional-quality physical and electronic materials has never been easier. Never. Been. Easier.
Astinex wrote: A local group you know is about to run one of your favorite RPGs. You're invited but a member of the group is a person who you don't like gaming with. This person isn't a bad person, their style of play just grates on your nerves. If you don't play, chances are you won't have another opportunity to play this RPG for a while. Do you join the game or take a pass? Why?
No, I'd pass. I want to play with people whose company I enjoy.
Astinex wrote: You are running down an unfamiliar passageway from an opposing force which you cannot beat in a fight. Your quickly approaching a closed door. You have a ring of keys, a metal bar and a vial of corrosive liquid. based on your most commonly chosen character type, what would you do upon reaching the door?
We can't beat them in a fair fight. So I'm the guy who parleys with them, slows them down, negotiates our "surrender" while my crew distributes that corrosive liquid, which is going in some fool's eyes on my signal.
Astinex wrote: If you had to chose one, would you choose to play a GMless RPG or one designed with Game Master needed? Why?
This is a question about the distribution of authority, and my answer is that I want to play a game where authority has been thoughtfully distributed, where it makes the most sense for the game. If we're playing Lamentations of the Flame Princess I'm totally down with a GM who does all the GM stuff, because that's the sweet spot for that type of play. If we're playing Sign In Stranger obviously that's not the right way to do things. One isn't "better" than the other and I don't have a preference as a player.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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brumcg wrote: What is the best RPG purchase that you've made in the last year or so? Why?
I only buy games I know I'll play, with few exceptions. The game I've bought and played most recently was Shelter in Place, which I got to run a few weeks ago. It's really fun.
brumcg wrote: What is your next likely RPG acquisition? Why again?
I need to finally buy a print copy of Apocalypse World, which I run a lot. I've been bumming my friend's copies.
brumcg wrote: I mean... you still buy RPG stuff don't you? Or do you get all of your RPG stuff for free?!?
I usually get a comp copy of any project I contribute to, and I only contribute to things I'm really excited about playing. I also playtest a lot, and occasionally I get something free out of that as thanks. But nobody just sends me stuff, which is fine with me.
brumcg wrote: I didn't realize you were doing stuff for Pelgrane... Anything in development that you can tell us about?!
Nothing from me that I can discuss, but I will put in a yeehaw for my friend Clinton's game, Owl Hoot Trail, which is coming soon and is roundly awesome.
Thanks for the questions!
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Mease19 wrote: What did your mom think about your gaming growing up? What does she think now? (Crossing fingers and hoping your mom is still alive)
My mom is fine - I saw her today and she was dressed up as a creepy geisha, so all is normal with her. She supported my RPG obsession from ages 11 until now and even went to bat for me in school - I was a lackluster student failing math, and she brought a copy of The Morrow Project to a parent-teacher conference to show them the sort of math work I was capable of when properly motivated. My mom is really fantastic.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Hi Eric,
Red Wine Pie wrote: -Do you like familiar settings in your games, or do you prefer to play in settings away from where you live (or explore)?
I love boring, prosaic, run-of-the-mill settings. I like real history, I firmly believe that you can never create something more outrageously weird than actual events that have transpired.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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vestige wrote: Congratulations, I've really enjoyed your games and look forward to learning more about you!
Thank you very much! I'm honored.
vestige wrote: Is there a particular character type to which you gravitate (mechanically or personality-wise)?
I tend to play smart-aleck tough guys. It is my not-so-secret shame.
vestige wrote: What's your favorite place to visit (either local or exotic)?
I love to travel, so wherever I am going next is my very favorite place! Gaming has taken me to Denmark and Italy and I feel like I've made friends all over the world through my games.
vestige wrote: Is there an RPG product that you think is vastly underrated and deserves some spotlight?
Always! My immediate response when asked this is Matthijs Holter's game Archipelago II, which is a beautiful and well-made game that has brought me countless hours of excellent roleplaying.
vestige wrote: What's your favorite part of RPG Geek?
I like to browse the catalog and discover things I've never heard of, jumping from topic to topic.
vestige wrote: Have you ever tried a play-by-forum game?
I have! It's not for me - way too slow! They are fun to read through, though.
vestige wrote: Beach, countryside, or mountains?
I love mountains.
vestige wrote: Do you (or did you in the past) go to gaming conventions? Why or why not?
Man, I'm a regular at Origins and Gen Con, and went to both this year. Next year I'll go to one or the other, as well as (likely) PAX East and a "Fiascon" in Oakland, California. I'm getting ready for our regional con, MACE, right now. See you there!
vestige wrote: What got you into RPGs? Did you have a favorite game as a kid?
My older brother was my first GM, playing OD&D. We migrated to AD&D and then Traveller.
vestige wrote: What is the best thing about having your own game company?
Well, I have a partnerso I can't do whatever I feel like. But it is nice to set our own deadlines, to make sure our product is exactly the way we want it, to share it in the way we want to, and have complete freedom in that regard.
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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hammerman wrote: What is your favourite role playing game?
I can't really have a favorite, sorry, I love so many different games.
hammerman wrote: What is your favourite dice?
As mentioned above I have a very austere and small collection of functional dice.
hammerman wrote: What is your favourite book?
I read constantly, I just read John Dies at the End and loved it, I adore Thomas Keneally, and I am a huge Barbara Tuchmann fan.
hammerman wrote: And film?
Aguirre the Wrath of God, City of God, Come and See (Idi I Smotri), Tears of the Black Tiger, Fitzcarraldo, I just saw Little Otik again on a big screen and that was great.
hammerman wrote: Chose one: Sword, Axe or bow?
AND MY AXE!
hammerman wrote: A genre you have never tried and you would like to?
I'm about to play in an American Larp for the first time in a couple of weeks! Excited and unreasonably nervous.
Thank you for the questions!
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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Rishi wrote: Is there any game that you've played recently that makes you think, "Damn! I wish I designed that!"?
Apocalypse World, which just keeps getting better the more I play it and run it.
Rishi wrote: What's your favorite non-RPG game?
We play a ton of Pandemic around here.
Rishi wrote: Where do you see storytelling RPGs going in the future?
Great question. I think we're going to see a lot more games that have highly structured narratives and combinations of creative prompt and constraint, balanced variously. Experiments with crazy distributions of authority that reinforce premise. An end to character monogamy where that makes sense - everybody playing one guy, everybody playing anyone, two people playing one character while one person plays three. This eventually shaking out into best practices after a few years of RPG design cage matches. Exciting times!
Rishi wrote: Is there any particular mechanic or element that you've love to see incorporated into an RPG but haven't figured out how to do?
My big obsession right now is incorporating player physical skill into roleplaying. For example, how do you introduce a tactile component that influences resolution? What does that look like and how do you make it engaging, fair, and fun?
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Jason Morningstar
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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sbszine wrote: Do you have a day job?
I do indeed.
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Matthew Gagan
United States
Portland
Oregon
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1) Most of your games seem to have a relatively tight focus for the kinds of characters played and their starting situations. Fiasco and some of your other more recent projects have an "oracle" element, where players choose and/or arrive at some of the elements of play randomly.
What do you think about oracle elements for role-playing games, both as they appeared early in the hobby and in their more recent incarnations? What is their role, what might be done with them that hasn't been emphasized up until now, and do you expect them to continue to be a strong influence on your future designs?
2) There are elements in some of your designs that resemble those found in some boardgames. Are there recent (last decade) boardgame mechanics that you've thought might be fruitfully applied to role-playing game design, ones you've not yet applied but are considering? What do good boardgames do well that some role-playing games might do well to mimic?
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Do you (or did you in the past) go to gaming conventions? Why or why not?
What got you into RPGs? Did you have a favorite game as a kid?
What is the best thing about having your own game company?
