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I’M HERE TO HELP YOU…

A lone figure emerges from the treeline behind the base you are guarding. You wonder what he is doing. He doesn’t have a gun and he is heading towards you and your partner. “Don’t shoot me”, he says, “I just want to talk”. What do you do? Your initial surprise has sent adrenaline coursing through your system; you’ve been waiting for some action and want to light someone up.

What do you do? Your commander is in the CP not twenty yards away. You have to protect him.

What do you do? Your mind races, your heart pounds and your finger is itchy. This isn’t your father’s paintball game. This is Scenario Paintball.

Things like this happen all the time in a scenario game. What you may or may not do can be boiled down to a simple question. Do you trust this person? Your answer determines if you shoot or talk. Scenario games are unique in that they create situations where it is sometimes better to talk to another player than to shoot first and ask questions later. When you decide to take on a major role in a scenario game, you are going to be attending meetings and contacting the opposition for any number of reasons that are going to put you in situations where you could be shot on sight. It’s part of the game director’s plan that each side have people who will interact with each other as part of the storyline.

A well-run scenario game will have many of the same features as a good movie. There is the basic story or plot that pits one side against the other for whatever reason. Let’s just keep it simple and say the bad guys versus the good guys. Within those two groups will be characters that have personal issues to deal with as the scenario unfolds. A good role player will get into character before and during the game and try to act as that character would. But one problem that sometimes arises is that teammates and/or others have a perception of that person based on real life interaction and they may not see the character.

I have seen cases where there will be a current bias about the player based on what his or her character did in a previous game. Perhaps it’s a tribute to the good acting job they did in an earlier game that causes this. (And paintball players seem to have very long memories about past events.) But keep in mind that RPs seldom have recurring roles at every game they play. Just because Arnold was a spy last year doesn’t mean that he is not a loyal good wizard this year. He just may be the key to solving the riddle that gives your side the victory for this game. So give him the opportunity to play out his role.

For many teams who play scenario ball there exists a friendly rivalry between them and another team. They have played against each other on numerous occasions and they each want the bragging rights of saying that they beat the other team. But you can always find them shaking hands and having a good time before and after the games. They know that playing against each other makes them better and even helps others enjoy the game as well. It shows in the respect that they have for each other. The same holds true for role players. Each time you match your wits with another RP you are placing a large amount of trust in their ability to act out the character that they are playing for the game. You are trusting that the regular players are at least going to listen to your story before they light you up on your way to the meeting behind enemy lines. They in turn have to decide to trust your character's word.

So where does this lead you? It depends on how each little scene plays out in the game. It depends on how well the RP sells himself or herself to both the good guys and the bad guys. It depends on if the regular players see the RP as part of the unfolding story or as an easy target for elimination. When role players have their meetings or try to talk their way into the other side’s camp, a good RP should understand that there is a certain amount of risk. At best they risk losing their props. At worst, they risk getting hosed at close range. It’s all part of the fun. Believe me, it really is fun as long as the game is just a game. Any time there are problems, it is almost always due to a standing “shoot on sight” order on all role players. This rarely ever happens now, but it has occurred in the past. Usually when that happened, there was a prevailing distrust of all players in general and not just the role players. When a command staff has no trust for the people playing, then the game just doesn’t have the fun level.

Neither the good guys nor the bad guys get the bang for their buck that they anticipated. Thankfully this is very rare in scenario paintball, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the game producers. So just what is the bottom line for trusting role players on the field? That, my friend, is going to be entirely up to you. Forget about what Arnold did last year and consider the context of the game at hand. At best, you might gain valuable props, points and intel. At worst, you might get faked out of your shorts. So what? You just learned something and you needed a change anyway.

Trust me. I’m a role player.

Randy “Dragonman” Zeilinger

Randy “Dragonman” Zeilinger is one of the recognized role players in the scenario scene. Whether generalling or playing a part he is always looking to advance the sport and the players in it. You can reach him at rzeilinger@wideopenwest.com. Come back next month and see what Randy continues to teach about the secrets of Role Playing at a 24-hour Scenario Game.

So here is the last part of the 2 part series interview with Viper. What are you guys thinking about these older articles? I have gotten quite a few emails that like them. Is this something you guys are interested? Or should I just go back to being a blow hard? ;)

Editor: Here we conclude our interview with Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry, owner of the Viper Scenarios and one of the principals in PaintballMaxx.

SN: So how many T-Rev’s were at BSG?

Viper: I think there were 5 there and that ended with Warcraft. And that is memorable because of the building of Orc Village, one of the objective bunkers out there at BSG.

SN: So what made you decide to leave BSG?

Viper: Well we were outgrowing the venue. The playablity of the field was still there, but because the whole field was playing area there was no where to expand for parking or camping. We had people parking up and down the highway.

SN: So where did you move after that?

Viper: We went to Twisted Texas for Heavy Metal, and it was a cool field. Kinda of long a narrow, and wouldn’t have been suited for a bigger game then we had. There was only a couple of 100 people. There were big tanks and other items, it had a post apocalyptic look to and it fit the game very well. We did a game at Extreme Combat games in anticipation of doing a T-Rev there but it didn’t work out. So I met the guys from Paintball USA and they are really nice guys. I went out and walked the fields and it
was everything I needed. Large playing areas, camping space, parking space and most importantly room to grow. The field has a sand base so it drains really well.

SN: And that would have been T-Rev VI: Starcraft right?

Viper: Right, the field fit really well for that theme and with the number of players. So it was a very good game for us.

SN: So what made you decide to hold a large finale type game so early in the year?

Viper: Well because Wayne started the whole Grand Finale thing, but ask yourself does it every end? I mean when you finish his game are you done? No you start right back over in January finding the next game that you can play. So realisticly the cooler months is the season out here. So instead of the end of the calender year, it is actually the end of the cooler seasons. After T-Rev it normally gets warm around here. And then we have our Twilight Zone game which kicks off the cooler months. We do have games during the warm season but they arent quite as big as the T-Rev and Twilight Zone. So with that I didnt see any paticular time to have you biggest game, just pick a time when you have
nice weather.

SN: So what do you think about the politics of scenario paintball? It seems that every where you look there are scenario games going on. I mean in the near future we could have well over a hundred games in year? What are your feelings on that?

Viper: I think the down side to that whole thing is that too many people, I’m not going to mention any names, but I have been to a coupel of events that just weren’t good games. These people had read about scenario games in a magazine and thought ‘hey we can put one of these on’ and they had never even to one to see how it was. How anything was put
together. And that is ok, but for the players that this is their first time ever seeing a scenario game it really is not a good thing . Those players walk away basically thinking that scenario games is a waste of time and money. And it may take several years before they work up the courage to try them again. And then they go to a well run scenario game and they say ‘hey this is the greatest thing in the world, how did I miss this?’

SN: What do you think about playing other producers’ games? Good or bad?

Viper: Well, for me or for the players?

SN: Both, you and the players.

Viper: Well as far as me, that’s when I get to go play. I mean it goes back to me being a paintball player first and a scenario director second. And I think a lot of the better aspects of my events have come from going to other producer’s events and seeing what works and what doesn’t. And I say other producers, but for years it was Wayne Dollack. I also went to a couple of games Tommy Hill put on with Big T Productions. I also play MXS games when I get chance. I think it’s good for business and in turn it’s good for the players.

SN: So you like it when other producer’s come out to your events?

Viper: Absolutely, I like it when any of the industry come out to the events to play. I value their patronage in a different way then my players. It shows that they are interested in providing a level of service to the players in the game that is not seen in some venues at all. For awhile I even used to play in my own final battles, just so people could understand that I was paintball player. Now I do still go out there and ref in the final battle, and it has now just gotten to where we need every possible body on the field to make sure that safety is covered in the games. I like to see event promoters come out, because just like when I go play their games, they get the chance to just play the thing that they love. And that is scenario paintball.

SN: So what do you think the biggest draw to scenario paintball? I mean you have been around since it’s inception. And it is the fastest growing segment of the paintball industry. Even more then tournament players, scenario has proven it is not just a niche market. What do you think caused this?

Viper: I think that a lot of paintball players are kind of timid when it comes to trying out scenario. The rec ball fields basically instill into them that the next level is tournament play. Just like any sport the pinnacle of the sport is considered to be competitive play. But a lot of people when they get there find that all of that in your face attitude just isn’t for them. And scenario’s fall in between, there is a sense of accomplishment in helping out your team. It’s more of a thinking man’s game. Tournaments are a about 80% reaction to something. It's quick and intense and gratifying in its own right.

SN: And the biggest detraction?

Viper: Most of the people, I think that are afraid to try scenario are rec ball players who think that rec ball is all there is. They think that if they don’t have a team to run with then they won’t have any fun. And what they need to realize is that the family atmosphere that pervades scenario paintball won’t allow that to happen. A team will say ‘hey you can run with us’ and teach them the rules of the game.

SN: So where do you see scenario paintball in 5 years? I mean what will be the thing to take it to the next level. I mean something will have to do it. Soon you’ll have done all the movies, played all the stories. There is talk of Hollywood can’t do anything orginal anymore, it’s all just a adaptation of something that’s already been done. What do you think about that?

Viper: To be honest I really don’t know. I mean a few things that may come into being is with the dropping price of night vision, you’ll see that become more in tune with night play. It won’t make you superman on the field, but it does help give an edge. But if a player is in camoflage or hiding in the shadows then you wont be able to see them. You’ll just see the players that roam around thinking that since I can’t see anyone no one can see me. But the more people who have it, you’ll see an different style of play emerge. People will play the night, like they do during the day.

SN: What about technology? I mean, not in the markers per se but in other areas of technology.

Viper: There are several companies that have approached me with different types of technology. Like perimeter warning devices and other things like trip mines and remote cameras. I mean one of the draw’s to playing scenario is the toys that are out there. Remote control mines and go karts that made into tanks are just some of the starting things that are coming. But it will really depend on these companies getting the support from the players and providing the money for the R&D development it will take to do it.

SN: What about wireless items anything like that?

Viper: Yeah I am working on a wireless system that will place laptops in the bases and the missions will be sent in. Then all you have to do is hit print and it will print the mission cards including a little map on how to get to the location.

SN: What about monitors and cameras and things like that. I know that some of the spectators that come out to support their loved ones in the game would love to see them. What do you think about that?

Viper: Well unfortunately, unless you change the format in some way the only spectators to a lot of the things that happen on the field are the actual paintball players. There are things that go on even the players don’t know about because it happens at different places on the field.

SN: So if you had one thing you would want people to take away from this interview, what would that be?

Viper: Customer Service. It’s all about making the customer happy, whatever it takes. We try very hard to make sure that the lines are small. Several things we do is provide the forms online, we take the payments, paint sales is brisk and we provide two air fill stations on each side of the field. We open the paint before it’s given out to cut down on the lines there as well. And we have a few other ideas that hopefully in the future unless you walk on the field, the check in process will be so easy and painless that more players will be out there playing.

Editor: Be sure to visit, www.viperscenarios.com, for more up to date information on this company.

Since I posted the article about the interview with MXS, I thought it only right to post the first part of the one I did with Kerry 'Viper' Rosenberry. Stay tuned for others like Ben Toricelli of MPP Games and Spiro 'Black-Cat' Mamaligas of Black Cat Scenario Games.

Editor: This month and the next, we will be interviewing Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry, owner of Viper Scenarios, a Houston based scenario company that specializes in the 24 hour game format. Be sure to check back next month as well.

SN: Well, I am here with Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry of Viper Scenarios. Thanks for having me over, Kerry.

Viper: Sure thing, I can always sit and talk about paintball. As we have found out the last four hours.

SN: Well, let’s start from the beginning. How did you get involved in paintball?

Viper: Well over a decade ago, I was living in Crystal River, Florida and a friend of mine bought two Splat Masters. And I had never heard of paintball before that.. He messed with them a little bit and got bored with it. I thought that ‘hey this looks like fun,’ so I bought them and the shop goggles that came with them. Me and another friend went across the street to the woods and hunted each other for about 4 hours straight. And I said ‘Man, this is the coolest thing in the world, but there has to be somewhere we can do this with more people.’ So we asked sporting goods shops, Army surplus stores, everybody we could think of. We finally got told about this place in Ocala, FL called Survival Zone. We got their phone number and got a recording that they played every other Sunday. So we got about 6 of us together and drove over to Ocala. We showed up with our 2 Splat Masters and as we walked up we heard the other players with their Tippmann SMGs just cutting loose. We looked at each other and thought, ‘oh God. We’re gonna die.’ So we went back to the car, threw the Splat Masters in the seat and went up and rented PGPs, figuring they had to be better than the Splat Masters we had. So we played that first day and that was where I first met Wayne Dollack and Diane Howe and a bunch of other people, who were on a team called Marion’s Raiders. Cause it was Marion County and in honor of the Army unit. So I played that first weekend and I was hooked. I went back home and got out an APG (magazine) and bought a Brass Eagle Nightmare long barrel pump. I was back the next time they played, and then I started playing more and more. I got inducted onto the team. Somewhere in there, they came up with the whole Scenario Game concept.And we started doing those as a team. Writing, reffing and such. The first games were night games, and then the idea was brought up to do a weekend thing: so the 24-hour format was born. Funny thing is that we were doing it as a team to raise money to play tournaments. But after playing a few of these games, we found out we didn’t care about tournaments anymore because we had discovered a whole new style of paintball.

SN: So what brought you to Texas? Being that you were from Florida.

Viper: Well I got a yearning to do something different and go somewhere different. I ran into a guy who I had known from when I was younger. Come to find out he had played for Marion’s Raiders before I had come along. So we decided we were gonna travel and find something new, so we went up to Atlanta. Then we rode on into New Orleans and other places, checking out the economies and such. When we got here, I figured it was a good place to stay. And I’ve been here ever since.

SN: So how did Viper Scenarios get started? I mean, I figure you started back up playing paintball again. Right?

Viper: Well, yeah, but there was nothing here that was like what I was addicted to. So every three months, I would gather all the paintball players I could convince and we’d go to Florida. I told them there was this cool 24-hour role-playing scenario game where you play all weekend and goes all night. I took 15 players in a RV to play “Odessa Quest;” Diane was the general of that one. I told everyone I could about them, I even talked to a few field owners about trying to bring Wayne Dollack out here, but I could never convince them. So none of it ever happened.

SN: Is that how you met Patrick McKinnon?

Viper: Yeah, I had a girlfriend at the time. We were visiting her family in Southwest Houston, and I saw a sign that said paintball. So I came back later and that was where I met Pat. He owned a field called Brazos Survival Games and it was right before we were going a Wayne game. So Bill “Z” McClure and I went over to BSG to get a little game time in before the event. We met Pat and struck up a friendship; he seemed like a really nice guy. He said he couldn’t go on such short notice, but when we got back, he heard us raving about it and he said, ‘that’s it; I got to go to the next one.’ I said ‘It’ll be another three months.’ In the meantime, Z and I became refs out at BSG and when the next game rolled around, Me, Bill, Pat and Jamie - Pat’s daughter - went to the game. That was actually the first weekend the paintball team, Blitzkrieg, was formed. We went out and played, and all the way back Pat just raved, ‘Oh we gotta do that.’ So not wanting to step on Wayne’s toes, I told Pat that if he would sign Wayne up to do a game here in Texas, then we would do one in-house as well. Kinda build up an interest in scenario before Wayne comes out to do his game. So Pat said, ‘Sure, let’s talk to Wayne about it.’ So we set up the (BSG) game and we did the first one, the Texas Revolution. Technically it was the 2nd Texas Revolution since all those people fought the original Texas Revolution back in history. We called ours ‘T-Rev II’ and it was basically Texas against the world. Actually, in retrospect, if I had known that I would have been doing this as a business, I would have made the game a little more PC. Because it was basically the New World Order telling Texas to lay down their guns, and the Texans saying ‘No way are we gonna do that.’ That was what it was about, so I am sure there is a government file on me somewhere. But we did the game and it was successful.

SN: And where was that game held at?

Viper: At Brazos, Pat’s field. We had just under a 100 people and about half were comps and refs. But it was a fun game. I learned a lot and Pat learned a lot. So we set up the game with Wayne, and because he didn’t really have a name out here, there really wasn’t an interest. In actuality, scenario games weren’t even known out here and Wayne just had them in Florida. He didn’t travel like he does now. So he wound up dropping the game, because there wasn’t enough players signed up, so Pat talked to me and we decided to do another one. So we did ‘Escape from New York’ and we had a little more interest and a little more enthusiasm. So Pat sat down with me one day, and said, ‘You should do this as a business. We could do games here and you could have your own business.’ I had owned businesses before but they were more mainstream types of business. You know, a lot of paintball players have pipe dreams of starting a business and it supporting them, but fortunately this has been taking care of me and my family for awhile now. So Pat had some radios and other things that he had that made it possible to do the game, so I said ‘why not?’ And we struck up a contract for me to do games at his field. And it grew from there.

SN: So how many games has Viper Scenarios done altogether?

Viper: I honestly don’t know. I would have to look at the web. But if I am not mistaken, 34 games total.

SN: How long has Viper Scenarios been in business?

Viper: We are coming up on our sixth year in business and it has been a great experience.

SN: So what do you think attributed to the growth of the T-Rev games?

Viper: Once we got started on doing them, it took off due to a lot of things. Patrick is really good at the psychological ends to a lot of things. He figured that the key to having a big event is saying it is the big event. Like Wayne’s Grand Finale or PMI’s Last Blast. The event makes the event. You tell everybody that this is the big event and people will support that and be there because they want to be at ‘the big event.’ He said ‘you could do this as a annual thing and call it Texas Revolution every year. Pour everything you have into the game’ and that was what I started to do. I started saying ‘If you are only gonna make one Viper game this year, this is the one to make.’ We’ve had people from as far away as Australia, Norway, Germany, England, South Africa and China fly out to the event. Plus, people fly in from all over the country, and it’s because we put so much effort into making this event the biggest and best event of the year. And because the large numbers are there that just makes it more enjoyable; more of a large event to come to. So people hear about it, read about it and say, ‘ have got to keep coming back to it.’ A lot of people will come back to the smaller events, but for the most part, once a person has been to a TRev, they tend to come back to them.

SN: So, how do you come up with the storyline for a T-Rev? I know that last year you had the Shadow War campaign but the T-Rev was ‘Quest for the Holy Grail.’ And it had nothing to do with the series.

Viper: I try to go with something that’s mainstream; something that’s playable. But it has to have certain characteristics of playability. When the ‘Matrix’ first came out, everybody kept saying, You should do a Matrix game. It would kick butt, but I looked at it. And it would be these six guys against these six guys, and you have the rest of the players walk around with no gun, oblivious to what is going on. There wouldn’t be any fun in that game. Now, I could name the game the ‘Matrix’ and it would draw people, but it would just be using a name to get people to come to the game, and I won’t do that. I look at playability more than anything. You gotta have two sides that are fun to play on. They have to be distinct sides. I mean, you couldn’t have a game called ‘Rambo.’ One guy against everybody. Now what kind of fun would that be? So you need two sides, a third faction if possible, in a very playable storyline. Like this year with the video game, or with a movie or something in history that can be used for the storyline. Then I bounce it off of staff members, and other people who play paintball, and I go from there. There really is no set formula. Another thing that I have started: one year we do a serious game, where it’s get out there and fight, and then the next year we do a light-hearted game, where it’s just about being silly and having fun. We did ‘Starcraft’ two years ago and it was fun and intense, and then last year we did the ‘Quest for the Holy Grail’ and everybody got to be silly and dress up and act out the Monty Python movie. But it was still a very good game with a lot of playability while maintaining the theme of the game. This year we are doing ‘Command and Conquer 2: Red Alert’ and next year we are tentatively set to do something I am calling ‘Cartoon Wars.’ And it will basically be: we’ll set a pre-reg. date and it will then basically be a first-come, first-serve on what cartoon character you want to be. And it will be everyone from Boris and Natasha, Beavis and Butthead to Kenny from Southpark. And I sure wouldn’t want to be Kenny, cause you would get shot a lot. We’ll probably have a few non-player characters that interact with what’s going on. Like the Road runner and Wile E. Coyote. The whole skit of him trying to eat the roadrunner, complete with Acme rockets and bombs and props that don’t work right. But that’s just something we’re batting around here.

Come back next month and finish reading the Viper interview. We’ll get more into the games, and the man behind the Viper Scenarios.

More articles by Dragonman, I will be putting up more and more articles. Including some awesome reffing stuff by the best Ultimate Ref to ever put on boots and strap on yellow, Bobby 'Darkman' Gogolin. But that is forthcoming. In the meantime, I hope that these role playing articles will stimulate people who scream about 'spirit of the rules' when they realize that this was written in 2002. ;)

Last issue of Scenario News, we took a look at a simple perspective of what a Role Player (RP) is and isn’t. For the next few months, we are going to try to get more specific of what make a RP a little bit different from the majority of the players who attend and enjoy scenario games. This month’s submission takes a look at motivation. What is it that makes someone want to stand up and be noticed for his or her actions on the field that makes them do a little more than run missions and shoot at the other side.

Whether the RP is a first timer or someone who has been doing this for a long time, there seems to be a common bond. They generally put a lot of time into getting into the overall theme of the game. From the time that the Game Director (GD) publishes the storyline, the RP will spend hours, weeks or even months researching as much information about the story and the character that they will portray. It always begins with a request to the GD to allow them to take on a particular role. The research helps you convince the GD that you are the right person for the role. If you’ve read every Dr. Seuss book a hundred times and have a cat suit, striped hat and can cook green eggs and ham you might stand a good chance of getting that role. Let the GD know that you are the perfect player for the part. Let them know that you are willing to stand up and be noticed as something other than just another player in green camo. Especially let the GD know that you are willing to go the entire game doing whatever is needed to help keep the storyline flowing. You will be asked to do a lot of things during the game.

TANGO player Mike Rosebrook looks at RP like this. “ The role player makes the scenario game actually work. They bring sub plots to the game, score points, bring props into play, etc. I’ve been at games where a significant role player just skipped out on their role, which resulted in a serious loss of missions, role meetings and direct.” Mike further points out “it might be easier to be Merlin’s Assistant for a game…rather than being Merlin the Magician himself the first time out.”

That’s the motivation factor. How hard are you willing to immerse yourself into the role? Are you willing to read the book the story is based on? Watch the movie over and over again to learn how to properly say “Ah’ll be baack” Will you make or buy a costume to wear during the game? Tommy (Big T) Hill hand made an incredible staff of power for a game last year that had crystals, blinking lights and was a functional LAW rocket as well. The GD will have props for you so you don’t necessarily have to go into that depth in acting out your role but it can certainly make it interesting for the other players on the field. Plus it can give the GD a plot twist that they weren’t expecting. But one thing to keep in mind for your motivation factor is that if you think that you are going to dominate the game, you’ll find out that you are mistaken. The RP is not an omni-powerful entity on the field. There are limits and the GD will let you know what they are.

So let’s be honest about this. Not everyone has the desire to pretend to be Robin Hood for the weekend. There is nothing wrong with this, people are motivated by any number of reasons just to go out for the weekend and escape from the reality of everyday life. The RP takes that energy and channels it a little differently not only for personal gratification but also to help the other player enjoy a little “suspension of disbelief”. It’s all about having fun, meeting new people, having fun, entertaining other people and of course having some fun.

In upcoming editions, we’ll look at other aspects of RP such as entertainment props, value added, research, imagination, honesty, misconceptions and even egos. If there are other role-related topics that you are interested in talking about, please drop me a line at randyz9@home.com.

DragonMan
(Most recently appearing as Randall Flagg)

Dead-By-Dawn has been a powerhouse team in a lot of ways. First and foremost they are the greatest prop builders that I have seen as players in a long time. And Doctor Doom has built some crazy things that shoot rockets over the years. I miss playing with the guys or against them as they were always a lot of fun and you were guranteed that when they hit the field you were going to get it brought your way. It is no wonder that I ran this article in Scenario News, because these guys know how to get awards. People always ask me what is the recipe for success in getting awards and making an impact in the game. I think the guys from Dead-by-dawn sum it up here. Enjoy!

By Barry Solomon and Michael Marks
Team Dead by Dawn

It had gotten dark when I decided to reinsert into the MXS MI-2001 Scenario at Camp Blanding in Florida last year. Played out in an intense military urban warfare center, the game bordered on sensory overload. As night fell, the battlefield became even more incredible. Slipping through the low brush, I was approaching our base when one of our sentries stopped me.

“Halt, and be recognized. What team do you play for?”

I responded, “Terrorist Cabal” since I was playing a vile terrorist bent on destroying the forces of good.

“No,” he said, “your team.”

I immediately corrected “Black Rain” the name of the fictional squad of terrorists that we were portraying.

His muzzle climbed warily, levelling at my chest. “No,” he responded more firmly, “your real team!”

“Oh, Dead by Dawn… DBD!”

The sentry de-fused immediately. “DBD…? You guys are OK. Go ahead.” He stepped aside and let me proceed to the Cabal Base.

Thinking back to the moment, it’s really no wonder I was confused. In addition to all of that, I had my real name, my radio call sign, “Godzilla”, and my character card, which clearly stated that I was a dangerous terrorist named, “Snake” who was also a combat engineer. It made me think back to a poem I had once heard:

Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m schizophrenic, and so am I.

The incident raised a good question however: with all of the different versions of “you” playing a paintball scenario game, which of them is the most important? Which of them can truly make a difference? How can you make the transition from being just one of several hundred paintball players on a field into someone that is going to help win the game?

What Wins Scenario Games?

The first question is a simple one: what really wins a scenario game? This may seem patently obvious, but for many people the answer might be a bit surprising.

It’s not generally simple body count or on-field heroics that win a game, although both can be a lot of fun. But unlike rec ball and speedball, scenario paintball is far more than mass individual carnage. It’s about the story, a carefully woven fictional setting that is oozing with clues, plot twists and goals aplenty. The key to winning in scenario paintball is in understanding these goals and achieving them. To take a famous quote out of context, winning really is how you play the game.

Scenario paintball is a game of points, generally awarded for successfully completing a series of missions. At times, elements of a mission may have very little to do with traditional paintball skills. In some instances, completing a mission may only be a matter of getting to a particular place on the field at a particular time, finding a hidden item or gathering intelligence on the enemy. Sure, most of the time you will need to fight your way there, or use your paintball skills to secure some area of the field. But make no mistake; the run-n-gun of traditional paintball is only a means to an end. Scenario ball is a game of the mind.

Let’s compare two players and see how this works out. Player A, sporting a warp-fed Mark-III Thundercannon, decides to freelance. Spraying paint like a technicolor fire truck he becomes a berserker, mowing down opposing players as he carves a swath into enemy territory. In a godlike fury he manages to eliminate a hundred opponents and closes in on the enemy base. Sadly, at the moment of truth a cringing base defender with a Sidekick pops him with a blind shot from behind a bunker. So what did Player A accomplish? While our hero’s tales of valor are something that he will no doubt tell his grandchildren, in terms of helping his team win, the individual player has likely accomplished very little, perhaps nothing. Player A was an individual, not part of a team.

Compare this to player B, who takes a mission to go to a particular place and meet a mysterious role-playing character. It is very late at night and he is the only player at the base to take the mission. With dim prospects of survival he goes it alone. He sneaks down the field, hugging the shadows and crawling through the underbrush. At one point he has an opportunity to blindside a roving enemy squad, but alone he would be sure to be eliminated in the process. Sucking dirt, he lets the squad pass. Reaching the rendezvous point, he meets the role-player and is given an object, unaware that it is a critical key to the game (the detonator, cure to the plague, or key to the enemy code...) He hands his mission card to a nearby referee and gets valuable points for his side. Then he returns to his base with the prize, the mission heralded as being crucial for winning the game. By focusing on scoring points, Player B became part of a team.

Obviously these examples are oversimplified to illustrate the point. The reality of combat involving hundreds of players is a simple one; it is nigh unto impossible to dominate the field for very long as a pure run-n-gunner. The more effective you are, the more hostile attention you will draw. At some point getting whacked becomes inevitable. Since body count generally earns no points at all, you’re playing for your own fun and not necessarily the good of the team. While “basic foot soldiers” are essential to any military engagement, the smart players learn when and how to play as a team within a team. When that happens, games are won.

Being a Team within a Team

A small group of players with the right attitude and work ethic has the ability to dramatically affect the overall outcome of a scenario game. In a huge game in Pennsylvania with over a thousand players, a squad of only seven of our guys were credited with 950 points of a total 1800 points scored by the winning side. The point is not made as a boast: we are self-admittedly some of the slowest guys on the field. And it wasn’t a case of being bad-asses: even in our wildest tequila-enhanced post-game bragging sessions we couldn’t begin to approach that conclusion. Any seven players grandstanding in a battle that large would get wiped out faster than you could blink.

In reality, it was nothing more than reading the rules of the game and paying attention to how the points were awarded. It was moving objects back and forth on a precise timetable and not getting sucked into fights that were pointless. For the last three hours of the game the squad was almost completely unseen, scoring as many points as possible for as long as possible.

It was playing for the team.

You will notice that terms like playing skill, speed, and shooting ability are not mentioned here, as in this example they were largely untested. It was not until the last seven minutes of the game that the enemy figured out what was going on and turned their attention to crushing our small group. Sadly for them, even a handful can hold for seven minutes. Worse yet, killing some of us earned them nothing… the points we had scored over time were already in the bag.

So how is it that seemingly only a handful of guys read the rules? Sadly that simply seems to often be the case. “Veterans” of traditional paintball have ingrained habits. Newbies often default to freelancing. Reading the story is often an alien concept. At your next game ask a random handful of players what the game is all about. The lack of answers may shock you.

So how do you avoid this tar pit and become a hardcore scenario team player? Consider some of the following strategies.

Start Off with a Basic Plan – Read the rules and decide in advance what your group of players are trying to accomplish? If you’re just looking for large-scale paintball mayhem and ignoring the whole scenario side of the game, that’s fine. Your group should make your General aware of this. As mentioned before, every army needs it’s foot soldiers and a General will want squads to simply take ground or hold it. However, if your group is willing to run missions, you will discover the real magic of scenario play. Suddenly you are an elite band on a time-sensitive mission to rescue a downed pilot, or de-fuse a ticking time bomb. It adds an adrenaline rush that raw run-n-gun can never approach.

Squad Organization – If you want to contribute to the missions system, your next decision is how you will run as a unit. If you are playing solo, try to hook up with a squad on-field. From our experience we’ve had a lot of fun and made some good friends along the way. Hanging with guys who get to know you is a good way to cut down on friendly-fire hazards as well!

If you are part of a team, will your team try to stay together and act as a single unit? From a mission perspective, it is probably better to keep your group together and arrive at your base with as many of your players as possible. This may require your team to wait at your staging area as players are eliminated, possibly by-passing a reinsertion, so that you arrive as a solid force instead of a trickle. Or you could arrange for your team members to always reinsert at a specific time, say at the top of each hour. This may impact some individual playing time, but the overall quality of your playing might be better if you are working with teammates and contributing to missions.

Planning Your Time – How much of the game do you intend to play? In a 24-hour game many players find themselves crashing out in the wee hours of the night, causing armies to dwindle on both sides. Will you attempt to maintain an on-field presence for the entire scenario, even if it only amounts to a player or two, or will your squad play for more limited durations, but always at full strength? Your General should be interested in this information as well. With fewer players on the field late at night, your ability to play a big role goes way up. There may not be enough players on the enemy side to run missions, or few defenders to stand in your path. Your squad may elect to take a break during the first afternoon and concentrate on showing up in full force during the late night portion of the scenario. It’s your choice, but better made in advance and as a team.

Player Roles – Scenario games allow for a limited amount of role-playing characters, often with special abilities. These characters can often have a dramatic effect on the game if played smart, or prove useless if their abilities are squandered.

In like manner, many scenario games offer players the option of attributes, such as Medic, Demolition or Combat Engineer skills. If your squad has a player with any of these attributes, their value at a given momentmay be greater than yours. A Medic may be able to keep many players in the game. Similarly, a mission may require a Demolition Expert to destroy something or a Combat Engineer to rebuild it. Even if your squad is at full strength and has reached an objective, it may be impossible to complete a mission without one of these players available.

This brings us to the team-oriented subject of self-sacrifice. In normal paintball there is never a reason to die for somebody else. In scenario ball, sacrifice may become critical to ensure that a role-player or uniquely skilled player can accomplish a mission. If one or more of your players is selected to fill a role, it may be very effective for the rest of your squad to act as bodyguards to ensure the survival of these key characters. Staying back and getting eliminated while holding off the enemy may be huge to your team if it allows a special character to accomplish a key mission objective.

Use Your Radios – Scenario paintball games generally allow any individual player to have their own radio. As a squad, it is in your best interest to meet and settle on something that will work for most or all of your players. Many players are currently using FRS or GMRS radios, which can be equipped with accessories such as earphones, boom microphones, and push to talk buttons. Pick a channel and security code and communicate with your players. This will allow you to keep track of players on the field, and figure out who has been eliminated. When players reinsert, they can use the radios (and a map or grid coordinate system) to figure out where they should go to rejoin the squad. Alternatively, a reinsertion group could call their remaining on-field stragglers back to base so the group can accept a mission. The radio can be one of the biggest assets in ensuring that your squad acts as a team instead of a number of individual players.

Props and Costumes – You can add to the overall effect of the scenario by assembling your own props and costumes. While scenario producers will generally supply all of the props they need for the game to run smoothly, anything you can do to add to the ambiance of the game will make it more fun for everybody. Scenario producers generally don’t have all the time they would like for the creation of numerous props, and will often welcome your additions. Before the game, get your props approved. The scenario producers may add these to their official game inventory, meaning that the props may be put into the game and have points or mission objectives associated with them. Alternatively, your props may be approved as simply decoys – you can bring them on the field, but they do not function or have any particular game value, other than adding to the overall atmosphere, or confusing your opponents.

As to costumes, that’s really more of an individual matter of taste. Again they can add to the game’s atmosphere, or may allow you to easily identify your team members from out of a crowd.

Story Writing, Smack Talk and Scheming – Most scenarios are set up months in advance. Several producers maintain web sites with elaborate story lines and character development, which helps build interest in the games. Again scenario producers may not have as much time as they would like to provide this information. If you wish to contribute, many of them will welcome the assistance. Or you can add your own posts to the web sites and keep the stories moving along. These threads, if well written, are very exciting and add hype and interest.

If you are inspired by something you have read about the event, you may also wish to contact the scenario producer directly. They are often open to ideas (within reason, of course) and will sometimes be willing to make modifications to the game to accommodate them. However, keep in mind that the scenario producers value overall game fairness. If they give you the ability to bring on a special prop, some sort of bomb for example, they will probably create a similar device and give it to the other team for their use.

Putting It All Together

So how does a bunch of slow, old guys manage to win a Most Valuable Team award at a major scenario paintball game?

First and foremost, have a clear vision of what is important – namely the scenario. Read the story, it really is important.

Play Team: Put the needs and goals of the “big team” ahead of everything else. Communicate with team leaders and look for opportunities to pitch in any way you can. Take on missions, complete them, and earn valuable points for your side.

Next, consider taking on a character or a skill and use it effectively. As the character, add to the pre-game hype and storyline by participating on the producer’s message boards. This tends to elevate the excitement and level of play across the board.

Lastly, take a shot at building and using interesting props that are appropriate for the game. When you set out with the goal of making the game better for everybody, you are always a winner.

And if you’re minding the team’s business and a paint-slinging furball just happens to present itself, sometimes you just gotta let out the old battle-cry and go for the glory. After all, what are you gonna tell the grandkids?

Other accounts of scenario paintball madness and numerous team action photos can be found at the Dead By Dawn website, http://www.dead-by-dawn.org.