Role-playing: why it sucks

For thirtyish years now, role playing games have existed, and I would argue have helped create the establishment of geekdom today. It helped join the geeks together—the mini’s guy, the comics guy, that Tolkien guy and the guy that knew everything about that “Pee-Cee” thing in the corner in ’79 all had something to do together. However, for the great rise of geekdom as has happened (or has this month’s movie openings not proved that?), RPG’s have remained a quiet obscure hobby. Card Games, Video Games, the Comic Book explosion—it’s now hip to be square, as it were…unless you have funny sided dice. Why hasn’t gaming caught on? I think, because there’s a few problems with our hobby. Here would be the Six Not Good Things I thought of at the moment.

Time: It takes a lot of time to play a game, and sadly I think it’s the biggest sin. Any game session that’s not at least four hours long doesn’t seem like anything got done, but…FOUR HOURS?! I mean, something longer than a LotR movie isn’t enough time? I’ve tried multiple times to get my wife involved in the hobby, and each time she says the same thing—“it takes too long. There’s things I want to do beside role play in an evening.”
Even worse, it takes a lot of time to invest BEFORE you play the game. There’s new rules, new worlds, and the fact that most of us know what I mean when I say “Character Creation session”. While they’re fun, that’s like having a “Scrabble prep night” before we break out the word tiles—chatting with friends for a night about how cool Triple word score will be seems not as much fun as actually, you know playing the damn game already.
It’s not that four hours is a lot of time to hang out, but four hours is a lot of time to not get a game done. It’s just there’s a lot of “Negative Time” in a game session. A lot of time spent waiting for someone else, waiting for the math to be resolved, waiting for Bill to come back from the bathroom and John to stop making stupid “Spiderman” quotes with his cleric with are funny but just not helping the game (helping me have fun, yes, but…).

Elitism: I feel as a hobby we have been poisoned by the “gamers are smarter” meme. I have seen—and been guilty of myself—pushing people away. It’s not surprising—we’re a “non-mainstream” hobby thanks to everything from “Satan is in D&D” to “Math is hard!” Barbie dolls. We like our hobby obscure and strange. While I understand where it comes from, it’s a terrible business model. Keeping our product out of the mainstream isn’t the best plan.
On a different tack, our hobby intrudes on a few Freudian issues. While I don’t think we’re pulling Jack Chick comics here, you get into your character. It’s like REALLY getting into why the little dog is a better piece than the top hat in Monopoly—you’re emphasizing with the little guy. You’re making up a history, remembering his parents, becoming involved. All of a sudden, if you loose the game it’s not just you loosing—it’s poor Scotty McScruffy being forced to go back to the mean streets of Baltic Avenue! This makes you WANT to ‘win’, so it makes you want to use any advantage you’ve got, which leads (in part) to…

Complexity: You ever read Cryptonomicon by Stephenson? It’s got a great little section where a guy goes into a college library and starts looking at a dissertation on primitive man and the caloric intake he needed to live, and how this affected art and culture. The character begins using this—a college dissertation—as a basis for a subsystem of an RPG. He goes into detail figuring how many calories each animal would have (probably on a nice chart or twelve) for calories, and of course a size modifier…
Because of the elitism, and because this hobby is all about “simulation of real things”, we tend to get obtuse. We get rules that go into crazy amounts of detail, and we have to start thinking of really weird things to do with dice and math to do it. All of this increases the amount of time needed to do something, and scares people away from the hobby.

Simplicity: I put this in to counter complexity, because it came out of complexity as an issue. A lot of games go very simplistic, which is fine for experienced roleplayers. However, I think that many times simplicity can be too over-reaching, creating a system where EVERYTHING comes down to one simple die roll, for better or worse. This is probably the ‘Lust’ on the chart—I don’t believe this is much of a problem, but more something to keep in mind.
GM’s: Let’s face it—finding a GM is hard. Finding a good GM is harder. Being a GM is a pain sometimes, which, really, is not that surprising. How many games have you run where you’ve caught yourself thinking “oh crud—I gotta plan that…” like it’s a job? The
job of GM’ing is a shockingly hard one for an entertainment source. You’ve got to be a storyteller, a referee, an actor, a director, and an editor. Oh, and there’s a pretty good shot that soon enough (due to the emotional investment in a character, the obscurity that comes with rules, and again the sense of ego that comes into play) you’ll be arguing passionately with your best friends about the best way to use a 12th century weapon—fun! Not to mention the fact that normally the GM has to put even more time in to get something good out of his ‘job’—planning, prepping, noting the page numbers, making up a whole world, etc.

A Terrible Business Model: Most games are aimed at creative people, and pretty much tell you to “go ahead and make things up”. This is a terrible idea if you’re trying to make money—we’re telling people they DON’T need the product. Or, worse yet, the other side of this is the “gotta catch em all” method of merchandising, where you’ll need to get nine books to start really playing the game. I know we’re hoping for Mom and Dad to pay the cost of a Players Guide/DM’s Guide/Monster Manual/Really cool Wizard Hat, but it seems like a better plan to keep that low to let all the kids in. And of course, the biggest problem of all is that we’re a fairly incestuous market—we’re not really aiming at new clientele for the most part. We’re all hoping that RPG.net buys our game, not new kids.

More History!

(Long time no post. But hey! More history! then perhaps, more rules??)

So what the hell are we doing here?

Good question, sonny. First was, well—people were still angry at the humans. Some were curious what kind of world they lived in now, and some were just silly and got stuck here. But for most of us…well, it was to a war among the gods that drove us here…

You remember the Triumverate? The Great Lord, the Finest Lady and the Silent Knight? Well, each of them were what made us, in one for or another. They were more powerful than ten thousand sidhe lords—yes, your liege, I’m being serious. They made everything we know, they cut earth and man from the dreaming, and they…well, they didn’t much like each other. See, they were the only three people that could understand one another, and after a few ages they had run out of things to talk about.
As far as most remember, the Lord and the Lady were both as hitched as their kind could be. They loved each other, but if there was a spat, then neither one of them could back down to the other, and as we all know—spats happen in a marriage. So they ended up being distant, and only seeing each other every once a while (don’t ask me what a ‘while’ is to the gods, mind). Worse still, the Knight had always been smitten by the Lady. Of course, the Lady never paid no heed to the Knight—unless it would anger the Lord, of course. So the three of them didn’t exactly have a charming social life together.
One day, the Knight decided enough was enough. He went to places unheard of, and found magics unknown. He came back a bit differn’t, but he came back strong. He created a spell that was so devious, it would work on a god. He made himself look like the Great Lord, and enchanted the Finest Lady. He sang her songs and danced with her and…well, you know how it goes…
It was, they say, the happiest the Knight had ever been…until, of course, the Great Lord arrived and saw what had happened. In a rage, his voice cracked mountains and broke the sky—as well as the Knight’s magics. From there, it all went downhill. The Great lord knew they had been doing this behind his back for an eternity, the Lady knew that she had been abused by both, and the Knight knew that he would never be happy again. Funny what happens when you know things, isn’t it? Well, the Knight showed off a new trick or two trying to hurt the Lord, the Lord swung back, The Lady got in the way and threw her own supreme might into the scuffle, and suddenly the entire Dreaming was caught in a storm of fire and death.
It was beyond a war, beyond an apocalypse—it was hell. Magics that were more terrible than anything you can imagine happened. The Triumverate called our Progenitors up—the Danana, the Nunehi, the Formorians—but for us, the third-born of the Dreaming? We were as handy to have as ants to a picnic. The armies of our parents marched, and we were driven out—mere innocents as far as they were concerned.
We were pushed back from our great halls to the very edge of the Dreaming—to the borders of the cursed lands of Earth. We ran, and hid. We found a few weak spots, a few places where we could hide and light balefires. This was around the very beginning of human time, as far as they’re concerned. We used our magics and became gods to the humans. Some of us gave them gifts—fire and animals and art. Some of us hunted them in the night.
For a while, we were gods here, and life was good. But that was a short while, and life kept marching on…

The Sad History of Man, pt 1

Here's an alternate history for Changeling. I think it explains a few things, and sets up some stuff I'll discuss later...


So, the beginning of the world….yeah, I wasn’t there either. Of course, no one was—there was nothing made, right? So all we have to go on for that is the Tuatha de Danann’s word. That means “children of Danu”, by the by—so if you can’t tell, they weren’t there either, only the Great Mother, Danu was. Let’s just assume the world got made and keep going, allright? Good.
So anyways, in the beginning everything was the Dreaming. The world was crystal towers, mighty seas, forests that would streatch to the stars, and everything was bigger and better. We, the Fair Folk, were but one of the races there. As I said, we came from Tuatha de Danann, or the Gray Lords—the heroes of battle that drove off the Formori into the deepest nightmares, and brought the Fir Bolg to hide deep in the earth.
These was another race, one that it seemed no one really watched after. Funny old chaps—they were simply known as Man. They were allright, but a bit primitive; most of their sorcery was crude and simple compared to our cantrips, and he had to labor. But he did things that no one else did. He made tools out of rock and wood and bone, and he reigned in the plants he needed. He taught us a great many things, and they got along allright, even if no one really thought about them that much.
The other kingdoms and realms and whatnot didn’t pay that much attention to Man—they weren’t as long-lived as the Trees, or bright as the stars, or as altogether nifty like we—but one black day they made sure that from then on, all would remember the name of Man.
From what we’ve heard there were two brothers. One was a farmer, one was a rancher, and like that old Oklahoma song, they should have gotten along. But they didn’t. We can’t remember why it was done, or who did it, but one brother got so angry, so enraged with his twin, that he picked up a crude tool in his hands, and whith one blow struck down his own brother. His own kin’s blood dripping off the iron ore…The First Murder.
Hold on! No, you’ve got to understand this. There was death back then—it’s not like a lion’s going to eat parsley, right? But that’s for eating, that’s for purpose. There was dying and aging, even if she was a bit more lenient. There was even War, because even with golden ages of magic and power, people will still argue with one another and throw rocks. But a murder…that was killing that didn’t make sense. That was worse than stealing, worse than anything. The Pooka say that one of their kind saw it happen, and he was so shook up by it that it made them all start lying. Because if they lived in such a world where that could happen, what was the point of talking straight?
So the brother tried to hide it, but failed. He couldn’t, because the iron screamed at what he had been forced to do. It echoed out over the world…and then Iron fell silent. Everyone was terrified of what happened. Just taking a life for no reason didn’t sit well with anyone—even the Dreaming. After the Murder, it began to rain in the Dreaming, for days at a time, as the sky and the earth wept for what terrible thing had happened. After thirteen days of bad weather we fair folk, the Nunehi, the Jade Kingdoms, the Rich Lords…everybody went deep into the Tree of Worlds, where the Three Rulers of the World sat. We told them of what happened, and even the greatest of us all was shocked.
What to do? Some said that it was one bad apple…but others said if one could do that, they all could. Some said it was an issue in Man’s court, but everyone was scared by a creature that could do that to their own. Some said we should kill them all, but then wouldn’t we be just as bad? It’s not like they ALL did that…
Finally, the three gods decided on their punishments. The Fairest Lady decided that mankind would be cursed, and that his sorcery would bring little more than strife and suffering. The Green Lord declared that mankind would no longer be a neighbor to any, and sealed him off from the Dreaming with a wave of his hand. The Silent Knight declared that man would have no memory of death, and would fear what was coming.
After the sun set that day, it grew dark. The moon didn’t rise and neither did the sun again. For a year and a day it was dark and quiet, and we all waited…then it was done.
When the sun rose again, finally, we could all feel it. Mankind had been given a tiny sliver of the world all their own. It was cold, it was hard, and they were kept from us by a veil. Some folks went through to see what happened, and they couldn’t get back. The three gods had made two worlds—the Dreaming, and the Cold World. Mankind forgot all the secrets we taught him, mostly. He had to work hard, die, and struggle without hardly any magic at all. As things kept moving we saw the two worlds slip away from each other, with the Far shores moving farther away from the world, and the world becoming more different. He had been cursed to live in a world of darkness and pain, where there would be no magic or sorcery ever again…

Nature Sucks (NoCtD)

Well, the Realm at least. I mean, outside’s pretty cool…except for bugs…and hurricanes…and…

Anyway—The Realm Nature. One of the first things I decided needed a fix. Let’s look at why.
First, it counts paper and rope as nature one. This…seems weird to me. Those are props, by definition. Secondly, it’s focused on organic and inorganic, which is a bit “science-y” for my tastes when it comes to fae magic. This is only level one, by the by. Also, it’s got this habit of stating that I can affect a volcano or earthquake before I can affect “natural carbon-based elements, or the traditional four”.

Say again? My problem with this is—first, that’s weird. Second, there’s that science thing again. Third—isn’t a volcano a bit big to just be affected? It seems that without Scene, me affecting a volcano it going to take a while.

So, anyway—here’s my changes.

REALM: NATURE
O: Verdant Forest: Living Plants or Wood that has not been carved or crafted into a tool.
OO: The Kingdom of Beasts: Living, non-sentient animals.
OOO: Atlas’s Shoulders: Earth, stone, and formerly living plants and animals.
OOOO: Neptune’s Realm: Water and liquids not “attached” to a living source (e.g. not blood).
OOOOO: The Intangible: Fire, air, gas, and other non-material groups.

Why do it this way? First, I think it makes more sense, albeit you still need to be a master of the realm before you can just start a campfire. Second, it creates a better level of distinction, without just granting abilities to control earthquakes. It’s up to you if you want level 5 to handle viruses, radiation, and other “non-classic” elements. I think it’s a bit more “changeling” than the previous realm, and notes the differences between prop and nature—one’s been changed by mortal hands, the other hasn’t.

Of course, now this definately has ramifications for Primal 2: Create Element, aka "we need a mid-level power...oh! about about Create element?!" We'll deal with that one tomorrow...

The New Old World of Darkness

Pardon my Geekery,

However, I've been thinking a lot about the ol' college days where I learned more about the world o' darkness than the real world. Demon hordes, end of the worlds, golden zepplins cruising through deep space....good times, man. Good times.

I don't disrespect the new WoD. It's ok, and from everything I've seen it does decent at doing what it sets out to do--a game of horror and degrading humanity. This was one large pillar of WoD, and I understand why they chose it. But I liked the other pillars better-the crazy conspiracies, supernatural things cruising through the night, all the "bad-wrong" fun that was in a world of monsters and magic with skyscrapers and streetlights.

The biggest change of them all from old to new is Changeling. Vamp, Werewolf, and Mage have gone through changes, but they're all the same thing. Changeling though went from "dreams walking through the real world" to "abused children with superpowers being hunted by some terrible bastard with magic and a wife-beater". Again--I see the point of the game, but that was never what I really wanted to play.

So, after chatting WAAAAAY too long on RPG.net about this, I've decided to fiddle with Changeling: the Dreaming. I'll be posting some of the work I do on here, so if you're interested, lemme know. If you have any ideas or comments, that's cool too. Because, I'm sure I've already had like eight million people check out this blog, as I am the first one to come up with the idea of "Writing things on the Internet". In fact, I'm gonna get a patent--I want a quarter everytime someone writes something down online!

More later.

Da First Blog

Reasons to make this Blog

1. I like doing stuff online.

2. I like kavetching about politics and real-life stuff.

3. I like talking about game stuff--roleplaying games, board games, stuff...you know.

So, this is the point of the blog. For me to write some stuff, show off some of my work, yadda yadda.

More later...