Stephen Allen
Online Nickname: @wadledo.bsky.social
Introduction
Hello, I am Stephen Allen, a Librarian and Tech Educator who lives on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. I have been playing and running Role Playing Games for 24 years, building worlds and telling stories in part made up of everything I have read and experienced from Role Playing Game authors and creators. Becoming an ENNIES judge means that I can give back, more than to just my Players, but to the TTRPG community as a whole.
Why do you play/run RPGs?
I enjoy building worlds and creating collaborative stories with my players, allowing everyone at the table to experience something new and personalized.
The ENNIES requires a major commitment of time and energy. What resources do you have that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other individuals be assisting you? Does your family support you?
I have a very supportive local gaming group through my FLGS, Vanguard Skills, and I come from a family of readers, who are very supportive.
Judging requires a great deal of critical thinking skills, communication with other judges, deadline management, organization, and storage space for the product received. What interests, experience, and skills do you bring that will make you a more effective judge?
My work as a librarian involves a lot of esoteric problem solving, collaborative efforts, hard deadlines, and management of materials. I also previously ran a bookstore, which involves a fair bit of many of the same challenges.
What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like? Do you consider yourself a fan of a particular system, publisher, or genre?
My tastes for games change, like many do. Currently, I have a strong interest in OSR systems such as Shadow of the Weird Wizard and Stars Without Number, though some smaller, single player games like Stoneburner and Dawn of the Orcs has struck my fancy. I have a fondness for Savage Worlds, Deadlands in particular, and I have an Exalted tattoo, the Chosen of Secrets Caste mark, on my shoulder.
List (up to 5) games you’ve played in the last 2 years. What drew you to playing them? Which did you like best and why?
I have only run games for the past several years, because, for the most part, I enjoy running games more than I enjoy playing them.
Have you been a game master in the past 2 years? If yes, what games have you run? What made you decide to run those games?
Deadlands: The Weird West: I’m a big fan of supernatural westerns, and Deadlands is an old favorite. I like Savage Worlds relative straightforwardness to rolling and difficulties, which make combat and play go smoothly, and I really like the historical setting, I learn something new every session.
Geist: The Sin-Eaters: I like nWoD, now CoD, though primarily the secondary Splats. Changeling, Mummy, and of course, Geist, which I usually run almost ghost powered Super Sentai, though this game was more of a slow burn Old Gods of Appalachia.
Red Hand of Doom converted to 5e: Red Hand of Doom is one of my favorite DnD adventures, and I have run it a few times. This went rather well, we had a solid group of 4, turning to 5 later, that went all the way to the end of the adventure.
Eat the Reich: A con game I ran for Necronomicon Providence, I love the technicolor cover and the art is overall gorgeous, it makes a great one-off, though the staying power isn’t entirely there, which it doesn’t have to, really.
I have also been running one-shots for DnD 5e 2014 for my library for the past several months for a motley and ever changing group of 8 – 12 year olds, who take to rolling dice and fighting over treasure like fish to water.
Summarize the criteria you would use to determine if a game deserves to be nominated for Best Game.
Best Game needs to do something interesting in a way that makes it stand out as building off of what has come before in the hobby space, while also being pleasing to read, play, and run.
How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed?
As a librarian, I occasionally am called upon to check and see if something should be included in our collection.
There are a few different criteria that I look for, but the ones that apply here are readability, and presentation.
Readability is how well the words and concepts flow from the author to the reader. If the author can convey their thoughts within the text effectively, then the reader should be able to discern something of the rules and systems that they are presenting, allowing the reader to utilize the information well.
Presentation is how well those words and concepts are shown on the page or screen. If the space is used effectively, if art fits with what is happening on the page or within the work, if the information is organized well then the reader will be able to reference concepts and systems without undue pausing and take in that much more of the information.
I also don’t think there is such a thing as bad design, just design that is not articulated as well or as effectively as they could be, or concepts that have not been expressed completely by the author.
How would you like to see the ENNIEs change? What should remain inviolate?
Having used the ENNIES to make purchasing and recommendation decisions for the past several years, I like what you are doing for the most part.
