Martin Ralya of Treasure Tables returns to the blogosphere

Micah

Micah

In case you haven't heard, Martin Ralya, the author of "Treasure Tables":http://treasuretables.org, probably the #1 tabletop RPG blog, has returned to blogging after a long hiatus.

He's coming back with several co-authors under the new moniker, "Gnome Stew":http://gnomestew.com

So, if you're looking for top-notch RPG advice, be sure to check out Gnome Stew. While you're there, don't be afraid to leave comments and links back to your campaigns here on OP! :D

FemmeLegion

Heck, I've just been slogging through the Treasure Tables archives, since this is the first I've heard of them.

Micah

Yeah, Martin posted pretty much every day for something like a year. Most of it was pretty good advice, too.

Still, I hate to say it, but I think the D&D advice blog market is a little saturated. There's really only a handful of topics that they keep going back to over and over:

# Can the DM also run a PC?
# Don't railroad your players!
# How do I kick out a problem player?
# Battlemat or no?

Well, maybe it's a little better than that, but I swear I keep seeing those same 4 things over and over...

DarthKrzysztof

Meeting Jennifer over on Treasure Tables is the reason I'm here on Obsidian Portal. I'm very fond of TT and Martin, and I'm glad to have him back.

The fact that the TT forums are still buzzing so long after the blog went on hiatus speaks volumes about the man and the community that grew up around him.

EDIT: There's one other evergreen blog/podcast topic, which, oddly enough, Gnome Stew "just used":http://www.gnomestew.com/hot-buttons/hot-button-playing-in-drag: "Do you let your players play PCs of the opposite gender?" I'm _stunned_ that this is a hot button issue...

IceBob

Two of my players consistently play characters whose gender is the opposite of their own - I never even considered it odd. I wonder what that says about my group?

darkliquid

bq. I’m stunned that this is a hot button issue

For me personally, it's not an issue, but as I commented on that very blog post, I tend to find most of my players being silly, or worse, my GM being silly. Oddly enough, the silliness only occurs when a _player_ is 'in drag', the GM gets away with it just fine.

FemmeLegion

I just got back from A-Kon. Six of the seven modules I ran were attended by this one teenage boy who decided his cleric of Heironeous had a mortal failing of lechery (when folks would go shopping for equipment in towns, he'd hit the brothels, that sort of thing - though such actions were always presented as an aside, thank the gods). I think I would much rather have seen him try to play as a female character, just to see perhaps some roleplaying rather than wish fulfillment. ;)

I know there is motivation in MMOs to play cross-gendered. Sometimes it's as simple as "I'm going to be staring at this avatar's butt for hours on end - it might as well be one at which I'd enjoy looking!". I know of guys who play female characters because female characters get extra attention (which often translates to gifts and in-game help), and I know of girls who play male characters because they don't *want* the extra attention (those gifts and help also come with clumsy attempts at flirting).

The reason my handle here is "FemmeLegion" is that every character I have seriously played so far has been female, and I do that because...(sigh) I'm one of those roleplayers who pretty much defaults to having her characters be idealized versions of herself. So I don't feel like I can truly adopt a masculine mindset or outlook on the world. I have a male character rolled up and ready to go (Sebastian), and I know his backstory, but I don't know _him_, so when he had a cameo in our campaign I felt very awkward playing him.

Micah

bq. I’m one of those roleplayers who pretty much defaults to having her characters be idealized versions of herself.

Same here. I try to diverge out, but I always wind up playing the same default do-gooder. I only hope that I'm better when I play NPCs.

Micah

So what do you guys think of Gnome Stew? I started following it, but quickly got tired. It just seems that there isn't really that much to say about GM'ing, and it's all been said before.

I've also stopped commenting as much, because it takes a long time to write a well thought out comment, and I don't think anyone really reads them anyway, especially if the comment isn't in the first 5 or so.

DarthKrzysztof

bq. It just seems that there isn’t really that much to say about GM’ing, and it’s all been said before.

It's true that most (if not all) of what they've covered has been done before, on Treasure Tables or elsewhere. And I've been hitting several different RPG blogs and podcasts of late, so I can't say that the Stew is really standing out from any of the others.

But this is the first time that this stuff has come up while I'm actually running a game, so it all seems fresh enough to me. And I do read the comments, even if I'm terrible about commenting back on them.