Welcome back to my Sunday interview series, dedicated to interviewing Puerto Rican gamers and creators. Today’s post is a personal treat.
It is a great honor and a happy occasion to talk with my good friend and fellow GM, Mario. I knew who Mario was before I met him. I knew people who played with the “Cayey Game Master” (Cayey is a municipality in Puerto Rico), but I don’t think we met until 2009, when we started organizing the Puerto Rico Role Players.
He joined the Facebook group early on, and we had a lot to talk about as longtime GMs, contemporaries, and people who had played similar systems for many years.
When we had our first informal gatherings to meet other members of the Puerto Rico Role Players, he was there. He’s been a staple of Geeknics and events. I even got to play in one of his mythical Mariotóns (day-long marathon gaming sessions with dozens of players!).
While we don’t see each other nearly as often as I would like, I am always happy to see Mario!
When I reached out to gamers and creators for interviews, Mario was kind enough to answer my questions for this series. I am thrilled to write this and am always happy to call Mario a friend.
Let’s get to the questions.
Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you create for your adventures?
My name is Mario Agrait Rodríguez. I am from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. I have two kids; one is 29 years old, and the other is 9 years old. The older one is a GM and has his own group. They both started playing as soon as they learned not to put the dice in their mouths and to roll them for the first time.
I love cinema, literature, and crafting my own game scenarios and scenery. I have been Game Mastering since 1986, when I discovered AD&D and OD&D. We have been playing in the Mystara campaign world since we started, first using 1E and then moving to 3E.
The way I like to work is by keeping my campaigns moving forward, well-documented, and feeding them with players’ ideas and contributions. Each new campaign has all the previous campaigns as background. They can even cross paths with old characters. For that, I have been using Obsidian Portal, a wiki-type service, since 2011. All my campaigns are there.
The other side of gaming that I love is crafting terrain and props. We use miniatures and crafted scenery to play large battles. I love painting and crafting my own scenery. My players also love miniatures and help with my crafts.
How would you describe your art or creative endeavors as a GM?
I allow myself to be inspired by everything: poetry, literature, popular culture, current events, history, comics, TV series, movies, and even dreams. I follow an organized path to assemble all ideas into something coherent that works inside the campaign or as a new campaign. They know everything they think can and will be used against them.
When I tackle an idea, I ask simple questions like: “Will this fit my campaign?” “How can I use this idea?” “How can I make this interesting to the players?” “How can I tie this idea to previous material?” Then I move to bigger questions. I feed from my players’ brains like a Mind Flayer!
Another trick is to study the material you are using and try to fill in the blanks before the players ask for something you haven’t prepared. Whenever I can, I review what I have created and add information. I complete missing data such as genealogy trees, character descriptions, gear stats, new spells, and much more.
How did you discover TTRPGs?
This is possibly one of the weirdest RPG stories I know:
- A boy named Eric was into reading Science Fiction and Fantasy and wanted to play D&D. His mother gave him the Red Box OD&D set as a gift. He didn’t have anyone to play with, though.
- The boy named Eric decided to give his neighbor, Luis, the Red Box OD&D set as a gift.
- Luis took the boxed set to his friends, and they learned to play. Luis didn’t want to be the DM, so he gave the Red Box OD&D set to Ismael as a gift.
- Ismael became the DM and continued playing when he moved to another city to study at the university.
- Ismael and I met at the university. We were from different cities. He showed me the game and gave me the Red Box OD&D set as a gift. I then became a DM.
- I moved to another city and met a boy named Eric, who had wanted to play D&D all his life but didn’t have anyone to play with. He became my friend and one of my players.
- My friend Eric was the first owner of the Red Box OD&D set I used for playing. See event #1.
Do you actively play TTRPGs? What are you playing right now?
My group and I played OD&D for more than 20 years, and around 2002, we switched to 3.0. We have adapted some rules from 3.5 and Pathfinder and added our own house rules into the mix. We found the 3.0 system good for customizing characters, especially for experienced players (some members of my group have been playing with me for 30+ years).
We also play other games: Space: 1889, d20 Modern, d20 Future, d20 Shadowrun, DC Heroes 3rd Edition, and Gamma World 4th Edition. I’m the GM on these campaigns. Some of our players are GMs on their own campaigns, playing d20 Modern, D&D 3.0, 3.5, and 5E. I also used to play Star Trek by FASA and Shadowrun 2nd Edition, and I still have the manuals.
We are currently playing d20 Shadowrun, but it is very possible that we will move back to D&D 3E shortly (depending on the feedback from players, as they are having tons of fun with SWR), and I’m already working on the material for the next D&D campaign.
What projects are you currently working on?
Painting like a hundred minis. That is a story that never ends. Crafting different terrain and new buildings, an inn with removable floors and furniture. There is a telescope and a planetarium to add to the old wizard’s library and laboratory. And there is a small tree house for gnomes. I also just finished crafting a scabbard for my younger one’s plastic sword.
Where can people see your projects and learn more about your games?
On Facebook, our group is called “Stray Dogs Role Playing Gamers”.
Here are the Obsidian Portal links for my campaigns:
- Tales from Mystara: https://d-d-3-0-tales-from-mystara.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
- Gamma Rifts: https://gamma-rifts.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
- Into the Shadows: https://d20-shadowrun-into-the-shadows.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
- Justice League – A Better World: https://justice-league-a-better-world.obsidianportal.com/wikis/main-page
Any closing thoughts?
My players are the biggest highlight of my campaigns. I am very honored to play with them. I think that, on my part, the biggest achievement of my games is still having the capacity to surprise players after all these years. Something that makes them come back for more. It is either that, or they have some secret desire to get new psychological scars each week!
Some of my best GMing advice: Concentrate on the story over the rules, and on the players over the rest. Once you commit to a gaming date, don’t change it; be consistent. Take the time to hear your players’ ideas and to incorporate them into the world. And take time to rest your mind, by playing other games or by taking a vacation from gaming.
And finally: Keep rolling those dice until the day you die!
