Hi! This wasn't written on the day in question; I'm backfilling here. Because I didn't start writing these until the 16th, but I decided to give it a whirl anyway. Expect these to be a bit more brief than usual. We good? Good. Let's blog, homies.
RPGaDay
2017 Day 4: Which RPG have you played the most since August 2016?
A toss-up between Fate Core and Shadowrun 5th edition. I don't play nearly as much as as I GM, and both games that I was supposed to be in went through some serious changes, due to logistics, player preferences, and my own mental health issues1. Thankfuly, the GM is a SUPER BOSS2, so that turned into a brief Lords of Gossamer and Shadow game, and eventually, SR5. It's been lovely, and I have officially broken all of the Street Proverbs. Delightful stuff!
The other game was always going to be Fate, it just went through some iterations. Then we all saw Dr. Strange, and wanted to be mages, so M:tA by way of Fate happened.
Great fun.
In terms of time spent, my GMing probably outweighs my playing by 2x - which is actually a lot of playing for me!
* * *
1 - The willingness to work around people's issues is hugely important to me; I was super thrilled, and more than a bit relieved, when it came back around to me. The game in question was In Nomine, which is a fine and lovely game. Nothing wrong with it.
But.
I was crashing against it hard, and it was difficult for me to enunciate why. Without divulging too much personal stuff, the answer was in its cosmology, which was triggering me on a level I couldn't get past. It was embarrassing and illogical, but I couldn't turn it off. And this is the important thing to remember about trauma, and triggers in general - it's not about being "offended." I am in no way offended by a monotheistic, Christian worldview. There is much to admire about it, and the adherents to that philosophy include many wonderful people.
Understand; I'm not offended, or even upset, at that, nor the idea of portraying someone within it. But the framework was too much for me to separate from my own context, and so the game became about violence against children in my mind, and I couldn't shake that.
Like I said. Embarrassing. But still present. Knowing that they were illogical associations didn't make them go away, anymore than knowing that depression isn't logical fixes it, or that wanting a broken arm to be normal again knits up your bones.
2 - You boss, you.
3 - Quasi-Victorian Gothic horror setting, where humanity's knowledge of science comes from pacts with literal demons from actual hell. Shades of Faust, the Dishonored games, and drawing from similar influences as the (excellent) Blades in the Dark. The first GE game, and definitely influenced by its "anything, at a cost" philosophy. Tentatively titled Dirkwall Chronicles.
4 - Magical Space Opera, with noble houses and Periodic Table Elemental Magic. Dune meets L5R meets fables about European fae. FTL travel is accomplished by making small bargains with the otherworldly entities that live in space overlaid with our own - you need a noble mage to negotiate passage, or no FTL for you.
Hence, the spice flows.
The other game was always going to be Fate, it just went through some iterations. Then we all saw Dr. Strange, and wanted to be mages, so M:tA by way of Fate happened.
Great fun.
Hey Killstring did you know people are writing about stuff they've gm'd in response to this question?
Wait, wha-
Totally happening
That's not what those words mean.
deal with it
ugh, fine.
As a GM, it's been Gehenna Engine all the way. Outside of some playtests for Strands of Fate 2 and Infinity, I've run 3 lengthy campaigns (we're talking hundreds of hours of play time); one in my "Dark City3" setting (now completed), one in my Sidereal Demesne4 setting, and one based on Obsidian's underrated Tyranny PC RPG.
 |
| It's a whole thing. |
* * *
1 - The willingness to work around people's issues is hugely important to me; I was super thrilled, and more than a bit relieved, when it came back around to me. The game in question was In Nomine, which is a fine and lovely game. Nothing wrong with it.
But.
I was crashing against it hard, and it was difficult for me to enunciate why. Without divulging too much personal stuff, the answer was in its cosmology, which was triggering me on a level I couldn't get past. It was embarrassing and illogical, but I couldn't turn it off. And this is the important thing to remember about trauma, and triggers in general - it's not about being "offended." I am in no way offended by a monotheistic, Christian worldview. There is much to admire about it, and the adherents to that philosophy include many wonderful people.
Understand; I'm not offended, or even upset, at that, nor the idea of portraying someone within it. But the framework was too much for me to separate from my own context, and so the game became about violence against children in my mind, and I couldn't shake that.
Like I said. Embarrassing. But still present. Knowing that they were illogical associations didn't make them go away, anymore than knowing that depression isn't logical fixes it, or that wanting a broken arm to be normal again knits up your bones.
2 - You boss, you.
3 - Quasi-Victorian Gothic horror setting, where humanity's knowledge of science comes from pacts with literal demons from actual hell. Shades of Faust, the Dishonored games, and drawing from similar influences as the (excellent) Blades in the Dark. The first GE game, and definitely influenced by its "anything, at a cost" philosophy. Tentatively titled Dirkwall Chronicles.
4 - Magical Space Opera, with noble houses and Periodic Table Elemental Magic. Dune meets L5R meets fables about European fae. FTL travel is accomplished by making small bargains with the otherworldly entities that live in space overlaid with our own - you need a noble mage to negotiate passage, or no FTL for you.
Hence, the spice flows.
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