h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Prophet,
Saw your posting on drool thread about N.Z ancestors, your not from oxfordshire by any chance? My Dad has traced our family tree back to there. Anyway pop over for some and if you feel like a chat or maybe I'll just see you around when I'm ing


Helelou

We're more from East Anglia really - we being myself, White Hart and family - but there may be some Oxfordshire in there. I do know that one of our ancestors was an astronomer and a bit of an adventurer. I keep meaning to find out more about him from my Mum.

Anyway, welcome to H2G2. Happy ing.

Actually, I think the fact that half our relatives have moved to East Angular is a bit of a red herring...I'd say we were pretty much Hampshire in origin, certainly the lot with the NZ connection. And Irish before that...I think it was pretty much all Sweetmans (men??)...

Hey, hows it going. Sounds like you lot liked to play the field
What are sweetmans? forgive my ignorance
<cheers.
Helelou

must learn to preview

Sorry for confusing you Helelou2...Sweetman is the surname of the branch of the family who moved to NZ.

If it means nothing to you then I guess we aren't distant relations!

I wouldn't know, my dad is the one who does the tree stuff he's here his researcher name is Peter J
Its his hobby, well one of them,but I will leave a message for him and find out( he comes on line once a week,so we can talk)and get back to you if you want

Helelou(maybe your cous!)

Hi,
I noticed you mentioned role playing. I used to play when I was with my ex (he's a very good DM)but I was first introduced to RPGs by my first boyfriend We used to play Traveller as well as D & D.
Unfortunately when I left my ex, I had to give it up as the only other group in town was a bunch of very geeky adolescents more interested in my tattos(espesciaaly the large red draon on my chest),than in my playing skills
There is still no decent group in town,- they followed my ex to Adelaide! !

Helelou

That can be annoying. My current group's pretty good, but my God it can be an effort getting them going. Half of them seem content to just sit there and listen to the game roll past them.

The current session - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, run by yours truly - is going better, as the prime candidate for not doing anything is a fan of the show, which is keeping him running.

If you're at all interested, some of the games I've run are written up at the Lost Vegas Public Library. Once the Buffy game is finished it'll go up there too.

Finnally getting a chance to go through my back log ! !
Do you know of any virtual groups that play? I think that would be interesting to try

Hel2

I don't really know any virtual groups. I don't have a reliable enough connection to play virtually anyway.

Oh, and my Mum gave me a full run down on the family heritage, but I've forgotten it all now.

So did my Dad, but most of it went in one ear and out the other, where my family came from doesn't really interest me, It's where we are at now that is more interesting
Pity about the virtual stuff, I miss playing,as I spent hours over my characters,Backstories and all.
Ooohhh that sounds like I'm a sad case, I think I was just intensive,like to have everything organised
Stars, that sounds bad too
giving up

Hel2

No, no; I'm much the same. I had a long discussion with a friend of mine re the value of a detailed backstory. He feels that it is often used as an alternative to having an actual character, where I feel that good backstory has enough details that you know where the character might be coming from without looking like the whole story of their life, after which everything else is just waffle.

What often heps is if the GM takes the players through some character background, so that they have all the important bits sketched out: Vendettas, regrets, lost loves, and assorted other pain. I did this in the Buffy game, so that I - and the players - had at least a vague idea of how their character first started fighting monsters, what was important to them and so forth, without tying it down too much.

You see, the other thing I always found was that characters rarely ended up the way I wrote them. For that reason it was best to leave a little latitude for development in the backstory. It's like in Stargate where you have episodes where you suddenly learn that Daniel has a mad grandfather, or that Sam's mother is dead, or that Teal'c is a two-timing adulterous scuzzbag.

Hem.

Oh, and I just remembered: Isle of Wight. That's where the family set out to NZ from.

My ex insisted on backstory to some degree, so the character has reasons for what they do, rather than just appearing and rushing in for no reason

Isle of Wight ay? I'll pop over and tell my Dad, and see what he says

Stars, I miss playing

Hel2