Yesterday’s post was a bit maudlin. Okay, perhaps a lot maudlin. But that’s occasionally the way it goes when you look back on something you really enjoyed.
Now it’s time to move on. Skimming through the reviews, I did notice a fair number addressed how well the product fit into the reviewer’s game. Now some of these were complementary, others less so. But whether those reviews were positive or negative, they do highlight something I thought everyone knew:
Your game is your game.
What I mean by this is, due to the (relative) open nature of this little game of ours, the game you run/play in is unique. As a result, to expect any product, especially an unofficial supplement, to fit your game is clearly unrealistic. More to the point:
- Expect to make modifications to anything you purchase, perhaps even major (however you want to define a term like that) changes.
- Also remember the reverse: the more specific a particular product is, the more likely your need to make changes and the greater those changes are likely to be.
I tried to keep these two things in mind when I wrote any product, and certainly the Dozens. The goal was to create a product whose contents could, both mechanically and flavorly (is that a word? I don’t think that’s a word) be plugged into any game with only minimal changes.
Taking such an approach will, of course, ensure the product will not match your game. But it wouldn’t have matched your game anyway because I don’t play in your game.
Happy gaming,
Michael Hammes
GM Workbook 