The SoapVox

Ye Obligatory Bio

"Vox Ludator" is (broken) Latin for "Voice of (a) Gamer"; it's also the net.handle of one Bryant Berggren, who finds that "Vox" is a lot shorter and easier to spell than his real name. :] For those who absolutely need to know who they're reading, I'm 23, male, of Scandinavian/Dutch descent, and greatly resemble a "Dilbert" or "Far Side" character rendered in three dimensions.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to scream at me, fire off a message to me at voxel@TheRamp.net.

Roleplaying games, from Dungeons & Dragons (the grandfather of the genre) to Feng Shui (the punk teenager of the genre), are my first love -- given a choice between them and the Internet, I'd have to give up my account. Lucky for me, the Internet strengthens the hobby instead of competing with it.

Gamemaster's Prerogative: Home Rules

Godel's Proof established that any logic system composed of a finite set of rules will always be incomplete; one can always construct valid statements within the language of that system which can not be proven true or false.

Since roleplaying games are, in essence, a system comprising a finite set of rules, it might stand to reason that Godel's Proof applies to RPGs. In plainer English, it might just be impossible to create a game that doesn't need home rules.

So, even with games we love, we tinker and fuss -- and bully for it! Home rules are more than just gamemaster whim -- they're an outlet for both creativity and ingenuity, the stuff from which future editions of the game might be written. They personalize the game, add character to campaigns, help define the depth and scope of a GM's vision to his players, and increase the potential flexibility of the gaming system.

And once in a blue moon, they might even fix a problem. :]

But it's a bad idea to spring homebrew rules on a player arbitrarily, without warning or reason. Temporary rulings should always be noted as possibly temporary, and permanent changes to printed rules should be noted to new players as soon as possible.

Okay, I'm done lecturing. The curious are encouraged to examine my standard homebrew revisions for the following game systems; if you see something you'd like to lift for your own games, be my guest!

• DC Heroes, 3rd Edition;
• HERO System (aka Champions, 4th Edition);

The Mad Scientist's Laboratory

My life would be a lot duller (and my gaming less rich) without the correspondance of my friend Erol K. Bayburt, chemist, card-carrying Mad Scientist, and Evil Genius for a Better Tomorrow. With his permission, I've compiled some of his more interesting (and benevolent) musings for the Laboratory here; more evil plans you'll have to wait to read about in the news. >:]

• Genre Conventions: Superheroes
• The Evil That Heroes Do: An examination of how fiction conspires to cover-up those nagging character flaws.
• Hero%: A new method of handling HERO System skills and combat, using percentile dice.
• A Theory of Phases: A look at how HERO System Phases really function.

The Archive: Papers & Projects

• The 5 Gamers: An examination of five basic gamer stereotypes.
• Gamer Taxonomy: A different look at classifying gamers, in this case following the pattern of Linnean taxonomy.
• Shooting Yourself in the Foot (RPG Edition): Revision of the classic computer humor, now aimed at roleplaying games.
• SAT (Standardized Alignment Test): A simple (or simplistic) test you can give PCs to determine their AD&;ampD alignment. Originally created for a "play yourself as a character" campaign.
• The Big Lie -- TSR and the Internet: a while back, TSR, Inc. started a policy demanding the removal of all material even remotely related to Dungeons & Dragons from the Internet, on the (mistaken) assumption that any reference or use of D&D's game mechanics and rules was a violation of their copyright(s). Here's the story of that policy, and where they went wrong.

E-Wrestling

I don't get people who try to talk me out of being a fan of professional wrestling, on the grounds that "it's all fake". Well, of course it is ... do these people think Independence Day was a documentary? Nobody over the age of 12 watches professional wrestling for the "sport" -- you watch it for the plot. It's just a testosterone-based soap opera.

In any case, if you are a wrestling fan, a roleplayer, or both, you too might get into e-wrestling -- that is, play-by-electronic-mail fantasy wrestling games. Floating somewhere in a nebulous zone between rotisserie baseball leagues and full-fledged RPG campaigns, e-wrestling promotions allow one to take on the role of one or more professional wrestler(s) and/or manager(s) in a fictitious wrestling federation.

• Allied Wrestling International: I'm currently one of three cooperating Promoters for this e-wrestling federation, which attempts (with varying degrees of success) to adhere to a high standard of verisimilitude in play.
• The original AWI home page (mirrored here).
• RingMaster, 3rd Edition: A pro-style wrestling role-playing game system, suitable for PBeM play. Similar to the WWF Adventure Game by Whit Publications, RingMaster is more detailed, more flexible, and more streamlined; the aim is to resolve matches as intuitively as possible, with all the style and flair of actual pro-wrestling action.
• BODYSLAM! Game Rules: An development of the RingMaster 1st edition, written by Jerone Mitchell.