Interested RPGNet thread on the Virtues / Limit Break mechanics in Exalted. There’s some interesting discussion about the kinds of drift and metagame-think regarding this part of the rules, which some consider to be important to the core story of the game.
Self-promotionally yours: my review of Active Exploits Take 2, a diceless roleplaying system from Politically Incorrect Games.
Meant to link these a week ago: Making Games for Poor Kids (RPGnet) and Chris’s take, Loaded.
I’ve been trying to figure out, myself, if storygaming is necessarily a hobby for the middle-class / upper-middle-class, or if it can be possibly more accessible than, say, video gaming. (It’s already been said that video gaming could become the “new golf” of the 21st-century leisure class. Hence I coing a new phrase, golf2.0.)
Of course, there’s no shortage of cool, free games out there, just a shortage of broad exposure.
SteveD, RPGnet darling and generally cool guy, tried to ransom Walk the Line, basically a Serenity RPG with a great name and some really interesting mechanics. He tried to ransom it, but there were some copyright ramifications that forced him to cancel.
Nonetheless, it seems like SteveD is still going to revise the game (to make it more law-proof). Read more about it here.
It’s like if you sign up for cable television, and the customer rep tells you, “Oh, by the way, you also get this hippopotamus. We’ll bring it over when the technician comes to install your cable, and it will live in your backyard for as long as you subscribe. It’s loud, and it smells bad, and a significant portion of your monthly bill actually goes toward the care and feeding of the hippo. You should also be aware that the hippo’s proximity will cause problems with your signal reception, and occasionally cause you to lose service altogether. And yes, you’ll still be billed for those times.”
And you’re like, “Uh…is there any way I can get the cable without the hippo?”
And she’s like, “Sorry, no. It’s a package deal.”
From a commment on Andy’s thoughts on RPGnet, which is highly trafficked but also usually overloaded. Forums without a search function? Ouch.
Wakboth: That adds to the thrill of using lampreys as a weapon of political assassination! And what if the prince doesn’t like them, and you end up killing some minister supportive of your cause, who instead overgorges himself on the tasty little suckers?
DevP: You’ve been reading George R. R. Martin, haven’t you.
Wakboth: Yes, I have. Does it show?
DevP: Just a bit.
“RPG = storytelling” was the Big Fat White Wolf Fallacy of the ‘90’s. RPG’s have more in common with a going to a party, jamming with a garage band, or attending church than telling a story. If you really need a metaphor to describe RPG’s, you may as well pick one that has some degree of utility. It’s past time to let the “storytelling” metaphor die and move on.
Blue Seraph on RPGnet
Are you ready for Dwarven Jihad??? Here’s my take:
The Dwarves were created by the Gods.
They rebelled.
They evolved.
They look and feel mortal.
Some are educated to think they are mortal.
There are many warriors.
And they have a Plan.
Perhaps replace “mortal” with “lawful-good” above. Yeah!
Folk were talking about possibly adding “roleplaying bonuses” to Dogs in the Vineyard”, but the consensus was that the Social Contract among players was where a problem was really at. DannyK’s interpretation:
The price of a stripped down, narratively driven system like the DitV system is that the system doesn’t provide as much protection against asshats. That’s common to a lot of Forge-baked games. You could narrate your character god-modding and killling everybody n Chicago in hand-to-hand combat in a PTA game, and there’s nothing but the contempt of your fellow players to stop you.
Does that make them bad games? Of course not. It just means you have to be careful who you play them with. “Will allow you to play with asshats” is not a very good design goal for an RPG.
But really, Brand reminds us:
Of course, this is the same with D&D.
GM: “The orc comes swinging his sword at you, what do you do?”
Player: “I tell him I like toast”—player pushes forward a natural 20 and grins.
GM: “The fuck?”
Player: “I like toast with a natural 20. That’s critical toast liking.”
GM: “Right… the orc ignores your toast liking and kills your ass. Go roll up a new character.”
Of course there’s still a need to put more structure onto the rules / pre-existing social contract, rather than straining the ad hoc social contract further. But dude: toast.