“Yes, it is rare and wonderful indeed.”

“A point in every direction is the same as no point at all.”

The unusual and extraordinary are tropes woven into the fabric of RPGs. It is rare indeed to find an RPG that doesn’t have something just a bit unusual involved. For many gamers, certainly for most my age, playing in games with magic around every corner was an experience we had often. While this was exciting for a time, for many of us the sheen on the plethora of magic swords and potions began to dull.

If we aren’t careful, playing RPGs can turn into season after season of the show “House”. That show is great fun, but rare diseases are…..rare. Yet somehow that one hospital manages to attract patients with the most obscure maladies so frequently that they become commonplace. We can end up painting ourselves into the same corner while running an RPG, no matte what genre.

Sure, some genres are all about weird stuff and excitement at every turn. But many are not. The really freaky and exciting stuff shines and hits you in the gut because it is so rare. However, if you hardly ever pull the crazy switch, then the sessions run the risk of becoming a bit bland. Leaning just how much of a twist to add takes time, but its worth it when you get the feel for it.

As a sign used to say at one of my first jobs, “Anything well done in this kitchen is very rare!”