Evolving the Game

White Box to 5th ed.
Over the decades I have spent a lot of time reading and playing tabletop fantasy roleplaying games. Some I only read because I was curious or the game came recommended, some of those I borrowed ideas from for use in other games. Some games excited my imagination enough to want to play and I have been fortunate enough over the years to get to play most of those. A few remain on my "hope to play someday" list. I have occasionally dabbled outside the realm of fantasy, but only briefly with the exception of Call Of Cthulhu, which I refereed for several years. I started in this hobby when it was still very young and the game choices were very few, mostly variations on the most popular roleplaying game itself. I have always preferred the DIY, customized approach to roleplaying and the systems that lend themselves to that approach, but have on occasion been very impressed with a game played straight-out-of-the-box. Acquainting myself with some of the multitude of independent press roleplaying games has given me more ideas and thoughts about how to tailor a game than I will ever be able to use. Borrowing terms from GNS Theory, I have enjoyed what could be termed gamist, simulationist and narritivist style games and have even run games written for one style in another style, which is not that hard when it's largely DIY. In fact modification of a currently popular game system is how I usually am able to continue to run the kind of game I really enjoy most. I have spoken often of how much I enjoy the white box rules and the free-wheeling style of innovative DIY game associated with the LBBs. The white box influences most any game I referee because I bring that style of gaming, that mindset of going outside the rules, replacing systems, improvising and expanding upon that I first learned playing white box into the game. This approach to refereeing has allowed me to continue to run virtually the same milieu or setting for decades using popular rules of the day. Dreadmoor started out as just a cool name (or at least I thought it was cool) for the world that existed outside of the mostly dungeon adventures I ran.  When I acquired a published game aid I found a place for it in Dreadmoor. When the newest edition of the game was released I tweaked the rules to fit how I liked to run things in Dreadmoor. Eventually I acquired a better feel for and understanding of what Dreadmoor was about and it really began to shape whatever version of the rules I used. I am finding this is mostly true for whatever game I am running.  Once I get a firm concept, vision, feel for the milieu/setting/world, the game seems to flow from that using the rules to help a story set in that world emerge from play. Understanding the in-game world has become key for me to understand what I want the rules to do. There are other approaches a referee can take, but I am currently pretty comfortable with how this is working for me. It's all about evolving as a referee, evolving the setting and the game.