How are your Gnew Year Resolutions coming?

It’s been 3 months since the last update, so it’s time to see how some of the Gnomies have progressed:

John: My resolution was to be more mindful of prep this year. The one big game I ran, and a few smaller games at conventions, all saw me prepping a lot more than I usually do. I still had to improvise in the games when things went off the path I’d prepped for, but I had a much better idea of what was happening in the background. When a combat would unexpectedly break out, the fact that I had some NPC stats written up really helped. I also paid a little more attention to what I kept with me as far as mapping and game aids were concerned. I made sure that whatever random maps or mapping solutions I carried with me were going to be useful to the session I intended to run. It added some time to my pre-game planning time, but it made sure I carried less around with me and was able to use what I brought.

Troy: As I said in the previous quarter, I’m waiting to go camping and take part in other situations where I’ll be deprived of my GM aids so I can emphasize a narrative style in a full game. Honestly, as my homebrew game uses a 3.5/Pathfinder RPG hybrid, and most of the players are keen to utilize the game’s many tactical combat aspects, there seems to be little opportunity to stretch in this area. However, in small mini games and other impromptu play situations, I have endeavoring to practice this “theater of the mind” when I can. I don’t think this is a case where you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But I think I’ll need to be running a game where tactical combat is less important than descriptive combat.

Walt: I’m still waiting on that Dragon Age adventure to materialize, but in the meantime GenCon is offering a new opportunity. I’m the Event Organizer for Cubicle 7 and one of my usual players is running as a GM. I’m waiting on a The One Ring adventure to be prepped, after which my player will run it with me as a player. I almost had the opportunity to run Doctor Who for the same reason, but the player involved prefer I run through it.

That’s where we stand so far, how about you? Have you kept your resolutions, changed them, or abandoned them?