Friday, July 11, 2014
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The Fast Forward Button
For serious. Can't believe Haylee is going to be 10 freaking years old this year. Bennett is starting school this year too. WTF. Feels like I blinked and now I'm going to be 40 in a minute. Saying I'm going to be 40 in a minute feels so weird and foreign, lol. Hard to explain, but I'm sure you guys understand.
Edit: Unintentional historic post #10,000 for the blog. How'bout them apples.
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Not For Elzar
I read a little about Boyhood and watched the trailer and I think I'd be a sobbing mess if I tried to watch that thing. I'm a little teary just thinking about it. My kid is 8 and it's shit like this that makes me realize you blink and the time is gone - I don't think I could bear watching 12 years slip in the span of 2 hours.
It sounds amazing, but I'm going to keep trying to deny the passage of time, keep trying to forget, keep trying to keep myself from realizing what's happening until it's too late and I'm dead, thank you very much.
It sounds amazing, but I'm going to keep trying to deny the passage of time, keep trying to forget, keep trying to keep myself from realizing what's happening until it's too late and I'm dead, thank you very much.
We went to see the film Boyhood tonight and it was excellent. It's from Richard Linklater and it follows this single mom and her two kids from when they were little to college. The gimmick is it was filmed over 12 years with the same cast and crew, so you see this kid go from 6 to 18 and it's pretty surreal. I love most of his movies (dazed & confused, before sunrise, waking life, etc), so I was on board with the style, lots people just sitting around bullshitting. But the "filmed over 12 years" is a fucking trip and something you just gotta see.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Yeah, I think the thing with DW is it's explained from a sort of reverse pov than usual. It's trying to get you to focus on describing things ("the fiction"), then figure out when a rule applies to it, rather than focusing on the rule first. Not really that novel of a concept but I think it could've been explained a little more clearly. I think it'll run smoothly though.
Microscope!
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DEE EN DEE
Man I'd kill for some RPG action (note to NSA handler, not the rocket propelled grenade variety).
I've been lurking like an asshole for a while, just been crazy slammed with the new job, training, learning, dad'ing and all that real life stuff. HOWEVER, I only have about one more week of "hardcore" training / testing left and then I should be able to come up for air again. Yay! Going to be doing a lot of 10 hour shifts, which gives me 3 days off a week (double yay!), then sometime in August, moving to 12 hour shifts, which will give me a 4-on 4-off, 3-on, 3-off schedule which is HELLA YAY! Only working about 14 or 15 days a month is going to rock.
tl;dr: I'd be hella down for some gaming action, but not for about a week, and then M-W (if my vote even counts, lol).
Also.. anyone else still playing Payday2? I haven't done a lot of gaming the last little while but was enjoying it at the higher levels. Would love to hook up with you guys again for some heisty good times.
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Yes. The Library.
- When I say library, I mean the same library r00d checked Microscope out from....
- I'm fired up about M.Scopington, too! I think we sort of avoid RPing the Scenes for now and will mostly just describe stuff, but I also think we might get caught up in the moment? Reading through the Scene example shows there is some gamesmanship in how you play the scene, but I don't think that's as interesting to us (or maybe it will be)?
- I'm finished with DW and I agree about it reading a little weird. After re-reading it, or at least parts, it makes more sense and I imagine it will be a little iffy the first game, or at least the first part of the first game.
The whole game boils down to Moves, and then how well you do with each Move you try and what the results and subsequent triggers are. There are different Moves for your standard stuff, like Hack and Slash or Volley, with a few catch alls for when other moves don't apply, like:
"Defy Danger
When you act despite an imminent threat or suffer a calamity, say how you deal with it and roll. If you do it...
* ... by powering through, roll+STR
* ... by getting out of the way or acting fast, roll+DEX
*... etc. for each stat
On a 10+, you do what you set out to, the threat doesn't come to bear. On a 7-9, you stumble, hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice."
(on a 6-, the GM gets to have some REAL fun with you)
So, you would roll defy danger if say you want to run across a hail of laser beams a la 3PO and R2 on the Blockade Runner at the beginning of Star Wars (DEX), or you want to try and push through a pair of guards as they try and close the town gate (STR) , or maybe disarm a bomb that is ticking down but you have no training (INT), etc.
There are all sorts of other Move triggers that enable the GM to 'do something' to make the game more exciting, challenging, or interesting and kinda the whole game system is the back and forth between the two.
- I'm fired up about M.Scopington, too! I think we sort of avoid RPing the Scenes for now and will mostly just describe stuff, but I also think we might get caught up in the moment? Reading through the Scene example shows there is some gamesmanship in how you play the scene, but I don't think that's as interesting to us (or maybe it will be)?
- I'm finished with DW and I agree about it reading a little weird. After re-reading it, or at least parts, it makes more sense and I imagine it will be a little iffy the first game, or at least the first part of the first game.
The whole game boils down to Moves, and then how well you do with each Move you try and what the results and subsequent triggers are. There are different Moves for your standard stuff, like Hack and Slash or Volley, with a few catch alls for when other moves don't apply, like:
"Defy Danger
When you act despite an imminent threat or suffer a calamity, say how you deal with it and roll. If you do it...
* ... by powering through, roll+STR
* ... by getting out of the way or acting fast, roll+DEX
*... etc. for each stat
On a 10+, you do what you set out to, the threat doesn't come to bear. On a 7-9, you stumble, hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice."
(on a 6-, the GM gets to have some REAL fun with you)
So, you would roll defy danger if say you want to run across a hail of laser beams a la 3PO and R2 on the Blockade Runner at the beginning of Star Wars (DEX), or you want to try and push through a pair of guards as they try and close the town gate (STR) , or maybe disarm a bomb that is ticking down but you have no training (INT), etc.
There are all sorts of other Move triggers that enable the GM to 'do something' to make the game more exciting, challenging, or interesting and kinda the whole game system is the back and forth between the two.
I'm totally ready for Microscope! It's a fun concept I can't wait to try out. I don't know if the Scenes are going to get uncomfortable like mini-Fiasco sessions, but I'm willing to work it out.
I can't wait!!! ARRRGH! I can make it work whenever - the kiddo's bed time is pretty much 8pm like clockwork, so anytime after that, or a day when I don't have day shit to do (which is kinda rare but whatevs).
I can't wait!!! ARRRGH! I can make it work whenever - the kiddo's bed time is pretty much 8pm like clockwork, so anytime after that, or a day when I don't have day shit to do (which is kinda rare but whatevs).
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
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The Library!
I love it. Please tell me that you also told these opinions, at high volume, to a very patient librarian.
The interesting thing about what you say there is 13th Age is certainly much lower complexity than 3rd or 4th ed. I still have PTSD from spending 2 hours on the carpet of my room at me and enr0n's place statting up 4 bad guys for the big fight we never played. I totally hear what you're saying though.
Have you got through Dungeon World yet? Any thoughts? I found that it reads a little confusingly, but after looking at a couple of threads about it and sort of thinking about it, I think it's a very simple rules system. Keep in mind I have incredibly low reading comprehension.
The interesting thing about what you say there is 13th Age is certainly much lower complexity than 3rd or 4th ed. I still have PTSD from spending 2 hours on the carpet of my room at me and enr0n's place statting up 4 bad guys for the big fight we never played. I totally hear what you're saying though.
Have you got through Dungeon World yet? Any thoughts? I found that it reads a little confusingly, but after looking at a couple of threads about it and sort of thinking about it, I think it's a very simple rules system. Keep in mind I have incredibly low reading comprehension.
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I Checked Out 13th Age From the Library
And have mixed feelings, which I will now tell you about because none of you asked.
- I LOVE the 13 icons and the rolls before the game (better after the previous session ends, IMHO) that helps drive some of the story!
- I LOVE how epic and rules-heavy the game reads - it's like a super-sexy D&D for 23 year old Elzar!
- I HATE how many rules there are! I cringed at the leveling charts and the basic attacks that all the characters get. It seems so dry and pedestrian at this point in my aging gaming career. Apparently my brain is currently not in a very 'standard RPG fare' mindset - bring on the high-narrative, group-sourced history, dynamic action, low rules, limited/no GM RPGs for me, sir!
(BTW, anyone notice how talking about RPGs has generated the longest and most numerous posts on teh blogz in quite some time? I think we need to do something about it)
- I LOVE the 13 icons and the rolls before the game (better after the previous session ends, IMHO) that helps drive some of the story!
- I LOVE how epic and rules-heavy the game reads - it's like a super-sexy D&D for 23 year old Elzar!
- I HATE how many rules there are! I cringed at the leveling charts and the basic attacks that all the characters get. It seems so dry and pedestrian at this point in my aging gaming career. Apparently my brain is currently not in a very 'standard RPG fare' mindset - bring on the high-narrative, group-sourced history, dynamic action, low rules, limited/no GM RPGs for me, sir!
(BTW, anyone notice how talking about RPGs has generated the longest and most numerous posts on teh blogz in quite some time? I think we need to do something about it)
What are you implying o-rugs!? :)
I could see a couple cool things you could do with Microscope. You could use it to create the history of the world up until a certain point, and then start the game at that point. Great way to fill in the backstory of the campaign without the GM having to do a bunch of expository heavy lifting/write a bunch of campaign documents that nobody will read.
You could also start the game in the middle somewhere, which would be fun.
And you could also do a "generational" game where you play characters at certain points along the timeline.
I like it!
I'm willing to play or run, whatever. This week is not great, but I could probably figure something out from Sunday onward. Drop a couple options and let's see what works!
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On another note, to not be nerdy for a minute, let's talk about the new Legend of Zelda game for the 3DS. I don't know if any of you guys have that system but I picked up the new Zelda game for it (Link to Another World) and played it obsessively until I finished it last night. It had me by the balls. By, the, balls.
I could see a couple cool things you could do with Microscope. You could use it to create the history of the world up until a certain point, and then start the game at that point. Great way to fill in the backstory of the campaign without the GM having to do a bunch of expository heavy lifting/write a bunch of campaign documents that nobody will read.
You could also start the game in the middle somewhere, which would be fun.
And you could also do a "generational" game where you play characters at certain points along the timeline.
I like it!
I'm willing to play or run, whatever. This week is not great, but I could probably figure something out from Sunday onward. Drop a couple options and let's see what works!
---
On another note, to not be nerdy for a minute, let's talk about the new Legend of Zelda game for the 3DS. I don't know if any of you guys have that system but I picked up the new Zelda game for it (Link to Another World) and played it obsessively until I finished it last night. It had me by the balls. By, the, balls.
Vice does a lot of cheesy click-bait articles, but sometimes their shit is amazing. They did this interview with these guys who snuck into Neverland and took pics:
http://www.vice.com/read/exploring-michael-jacksons-abandoned-neverland-ranch-760
And then they just released more pics from it:
http://www.vice.com/read/more-photos-of-michael-jacksons-neverland-ranch
http://www.vice.com/read/exploring-michael-jacksons-abandoned-neverland-ranch-760
And then they just released more pics from it:
http://www.vice.com/read/more-photos-of-michael-jacksons-neverland-ranch
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garfbert
I picked up Microscope and will check it out! (I just googled it to see what it's about, and like the 3rd result was the pdf, i feel dirty, eeeeeh)
Fucking Garfbert is funny as shit. Start at the beginning because there's this narrative that starts to run parallel to it all that's funny.
Fucking Garfbert is funny as shit. Start at the beginning because there's this narrative that starts to run parallel to it all that's funny.
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Collab, FTW
Yar, we should all be online together to 'play' Microscope, at least at the beginning. I see no reason why we couldn't do it async since you can dictate Scenes as well.
jr0n - In
R00d - In
Elzar - In
Enron - doesn't like computer time with friends after work
Denis - ???
We could seriously do like an hour some night just to get the ball rolling and see what happens. We could even do it in a chat window if a call or vid conference is too dicey (but its much more fun to vid).
And yes, it's all off the top of yer dome. Of course you could come to the table with idears in advance so you can sort of guide and direct the history when it's your turn, but there are no charts or anything.
A few more tidbits of info:
Each round someone rotates into the role of the Lens. The Lens chooses a theme for the round and gets to play two nested items on their turn. Then the rest of the players play one item, but it must be in the theme nominated by the Lens. What that theme is, I'm still a lil' unclear about, but I think it would be like the "Boogedy Boogedy Tribe". Then after everyone plays, a Legacy is chosen by the Lens. The Legacy (I think) is a person that was interesting to the Lens that turn. The Legacy can be then used by others in following turns, or ignored, or replaced the following round by a different Legacy.
The game/tool/toy/exercise continues until the players want it to end, either because they think it's good, they don't like it anymore, they've run out of time for their session, or whatever. Old Microscopes can of course be picked up and played with at a later date and time.
The recommendation is to be bold! Build, destroy - nothing is sacred!
jr0n - In
R00d - In
Elzar - In
Enron - doesn't like computer time with friends after work
Denis - ???
We could seriously do like an hour some night just to get the ball rolling and see what happens. We could even do it in a chat window if a call or vid conference is too dicey (but its much more fun to vid).
And yes, it's all off the top of yer dome. Of course you could come to the table with idears in advance so you can sort of guide and direct the history when it's your turn, but there are no charts or anything.
A few more tidbits of info:
Each round someone rotates into the role of the Lens. The Lens chooses a theme for the round and gets to play two nested items on their turn. Then the rest of the players play one item, but it must be in the theme nominated by the Lens. What that theme is, I'm still a lil' unclear about, but I think it would be like the "Boogedy Boogedy Tribe". Then after everyone plays, a Legacy is chosen by the Lens. The Legacy (I think) is a person that was interesting to the Lens that turn. The Legacy can be then used by others in following turns, or ignored, or replaced the following round by a different Legacy.
The game/tool/toy/exercise continues until the players want it to end, either because they think it's good, they don't like it anymore, they've run out of time for their session, or whatever. Old Microscopes can of course be picked up and played with at a later date and time.
The recommendation is to be bold! Build, destroy - nothing is sacred!
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undead-chicken?
I now have a much better understanding of the systems you picked up. The world-building meta-game/toy sounds awesome, I'm in. Is it all off the top of our domes, or is it like "here's a list of 100 DARK options - roll or pick"? Signed up for that wipeboard site too! Looks cool.
I see your microscope board - I don't know if I'm supposed to do anything else now, but I assume we would be online and do it together.
I remember reading about Burning Wheel - sounds pretty interesting. You're right that the crunch factor probably crushes any e-gaming, but if there were regular live-games, sounds like a fun system to delve into.
Mines of Madness
I'm reading this module/adventure that came with the last D&D Next playtest that sounds fun. It was written for one of the PAX cons, and it's basically a difficult 1-shot in the vein of Tomb of Horrors. If you guys want me to run it as my follow-up to CHILL™: Carnival Adventures of Spooky-Town, I'll do it!
I see your microscope board - I don't know if I'm supposed to do anything else now, but I assume we would be online and do it together.
I remember reading about Burning Wheel - sounds pretty interesting. You're right that the crunch factor probably crushes any e-gaming, but if there were regular live-games, sounds like a fun system to delve into.
Mines of Madness
I'm reading this module/adventure that came with the last D&D Next playtest that sounds fun. It was written for one of the PAX cons, and it's basically a difficult 1-shot in the vein of Tomb of Horrors. If you guys want me to run it as my follow-up to CHILL™: Carnival Adventures of Spooky-Town, I'll do it!
Monday, July 07, 2014
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Toh'oh Microscope?
History building is the purpose of Microscope the Game. However, it's really more of a worldbuilding tool or exercise (or activity) when used prior to an RPG. It's actually sort of like a toy, really. The only reason, I think, that it's considered an RPG is that when you add a Scene, which is 'below' an Event, you ask a question, choose some characters, and role-play the answer to that question. So the RPG element is mostly a vignette within the history that might or might not actually have any impact on the history (at least at first glance).
So for example, if the Event is "Oceans fall to reveal previously submerged settlements" someone could choose to add a Scene there. To begin, the person may pose the question "How did the falling oceans affect the Boogedy Boogedy tribe?" Then the person rules out certain characters and requires others for the Scene. This person says no members of the Boogedy Boogedy tribe may be present in this Scene, and TikTok the Medicine Man and Raool the Outsider must be present. Then each player picks a character (if there are 3 players, and only 2 required characters, then someone needs to create a third character (Raools friend, Gozer) on the spot, or could use a previously defined character, etc.) Then the Scene creator sets the Scene: "Continuing his vision quest to find meaning in why so many had to die, TikTok approaches a man (Raool), perched on the precipice of an immense drop - a ravine that TikTok does not recall from his previous travels." Then the players sort of act out, or describe in turn what and how each of the characters in the Scene answer the questions asked. Maybe it turns out that the ravine is so immense a scar on the land, that the Boogedy Tribe was actually swallowed as the ground split, and the ocean poured into the ravine washing the Boogedy Tribe away. Raool can confirm this as he was trading with the tribe days before the terrible quake hit. Gozer has moved into the ravine to see if anyone from the Boogedy tribe remains.
(Wow, again that was long)
Anyway, that little bit of roleplaying makes Microscope a 'game', I guess. Dungeon World is very much about 'leaving large parts of your map unfinished so the players can create a purpose for visiting'. Combined with Microscope seems like a fun time. Throw in some 13th Age connections (that at least has come ties to the crowd-sources world building) and you have the potential for some fun little RPGing! Or at least a fun background in which to run really dry, uninspired, boring games because the DM is tired from working and raising a family - time will (might) tell!
I am getting more and more bummed that I sold off those games at Kubla!
So with Microscope, is the world-building the whole point? Or is it like a first-session thing? Either way it sounds cool. Another RPG with a shared world-building component is Burning Empires (which I sold!) which is a conversion of Burning Wheel (which I sold!). It's set in some comic-book scifi universe and is themed around alien invasion. It's set up as an oppositional (GM vs players) campaign of fixed length, about 8 sessions if I remember right. Anyway, you spend the whole first session "burning" the world the campaign takes place on along with the PCs and the most important individuals in the campaign. I never got far enough in the rulebook to really get a good bead on the rest.
Burning Wheel is probably WAY too crunchy for our group (heavy rules, basically requiring buy-in from everyone in the group) but it's fun to browse through. Although it is not set up with worldbuilding or as an oppositional game like Burning Empires. It's also sort of default Tolkien-fantasy themed.
Another RPG I've been getting a little interested in is The One Ring. enr0n and I played this at Kubla in 2012 and even with a not-so-stellar GM, it was lots of fun and a very interesting system. Basically it's set in the time around the Hobbit, focusing on the Mirkwood area, and has lots of interesting flavorful mechanics built in around traveling, companionship and so on. Like anytime you travel there's a whole little minigame you play. Anyway, they just came out with a revision edition PDF and the hardback releases later that year, I may pick it up when it comes out (and then sell it to you for cheap at Kubla in 6 years).
So with Microscope, is the world-building the whole point? Or is it like a first-session thing? Either way it sounds cool. Another RPG with a shared world-building component is Burning Empires (which I sold!) which is a conversion of Burning Wheel (which I sold!). It's set in some comic-book scifi universe and is themed around alien invasion. It's set up as an oppositional (GM vs players) campaign of fixed length, about 8 sessions if I remember right. Anyway, you spend the whole first session "burning" the world the campaign takes place on along with the PCs and the most important individuals in the campaign. I never got far enough in the rulebook to really get a good bead on the rest.
Burning Wheel is probably WAY too crunchy for our group (heavy rules, basically requiring buy-in from everyone in the group) but it's fun to browse through. Although it is not set up with worldbuilding or as an oppositional game like Burning Empires. It's also sort of default Tolkien-fantasy themed.
Another RPG I've been getting a little interested in is The One Ring. enr0n and I played this at Kubla in 2012 and even with a not-so-stellar GM, it was lots of fun and a very interesting system. Basically it's set in the time around the Hobbit, focusing on the Mirkwood area, and has lots of interesting flavorful mechanics built in around traveling, companionship and so on. Like anytime you travel there's a whole little minigame you play. Anyway, they just came out with a revision edition PDF and the hardback releases later that year, I may pick it up when it comes out (and then sell it to you for cheap at Kubla in 6 years).
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FATE Schmate (Mediate) or How this became the longest post ever.
Hallucinate
Dessegregate
Mediate
Alleviate
Try not to hate
Love your mate
Don't suffocate on your own hate
Designate your love as fate
A one world state
As human freight
The number eight
A white black state
A gentle trait
The broken crate
A heavy weight
Or just too late
Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
Now devastate
Appreciate
Depreciate
Fabricate
Emulate
The truth dilate
Special date
The animal we ate
Guilt debate
The edge serrate
A better rate
The youth irate
Deliberate
Fascinate
Deviate
Reinstate
Liberate
To moderate
Recreate
Or detonate
Annihiliate
Atomic fate
Mediate
Clear the state
Activate
Now radiate
A perfect state
Food on plate
Gravitate
The Earth's own weight
Designate your love as fate
At ninety-eight we all rotate
Hallucinate
Dessegregate
Mediate
Alleviate
Try not to hate
Love your mate
Don't suffocate on your own hate
Designate your love as fate
A one world state
As human freight
The number eight
A white black state
A gentle trait
The broken crate
A heavy weight
Or just too late
Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
Now devastate
Appreciate
Depreciate
Fabricate
Emulate
The truth dilate
Special date
The animals we ate
Guilt debate
The edge serrate
A better rate
The youth irate
Deliberate
Fascinate
Deviate
Reinstate
Liberate
Liberate
Liberate
Liberate
-------------------
Wow, now that the INXS song is finished, on to the blog post!
I skipped the whole FATE tie-in because the part I was directed to was called the cluster creation which is a group effort star cluster creation for the Diaspora game, which is basically Traveller. Each player has a hand in creating the world everyone will eventually play in so I thought I would check it out. As it ends up, it might have been ill spent cash for my purposes, but it was an interesting read none the less.
The Microscope system is much more interesting, however. TL;DR it's a way to group create an entire history of something from start to finish, high to low, and everything in between. Its played on notecards, and basically you start with an overarching premise "An ancient empire rises and falls", then create the bookend periods (written on a vertical notecard), the start and finish of the history you will tell and if the theme will be dark or light, so:
Start - After a Malthusian event, an isolated group of nomads organize (Light)
End - The Great Empire, loses the struggle to maintain identity and control as it is stretched thinly across the lands (Dark).
Next, players take turns adding periods (vert), events (horizontal, sub period) , and scenes (vert, sub-event)to the timeline. So:
Start - Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - End
Start - Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - Civilization flourishes (Light) - End
Then beneath each period, more details can be determined via events, so:
Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - EVENT Oceans fall to reveal previously submerged settlements (Light)
And next, below that event: EVENT Tribes emerge imbued with strange powers (Light).
So then another person can look at this and see that there are two Light events under a Dark period and decide to stick an EVENT(Dark) somewhere in that period to darken the mood and build on the story. Then the next person might create a new period and explore a different part of the timeline altogether. Names and legacies may be added, etc. and certain bits and options can be considered taboo for anyone to use at certain parts, like "this world has no elves", then everyone is bound by that taboo, but it can me sort of manipulated so a future event or period may be "Discovery of ancient, extinct elven civilization", or something.
Anyway, the Dungeon World tie in is of course we create the world together so we have an idea what's going on, and then pick a point (possible the end of the last period) to start adventuring. We know where the world has been, what the history is, and can leverage that in our games, gods, races, dungeons, mythos, etc.
Wow, that was long.
EDIT: No idea if this will work, but I linked my gmail account to a collaboration site, and created this example to give you a better idear. Looks like the site would be PERFECT to do this virtually... DO EET
https://realtimeboard.com/app/52233305/Microscope-test-board
Dessegregate
Mediate
Alleviate
Try not to hate
Love your mate
Don't suffocate on your own hate
Designate your love as fate
A one world state
As human freight
The number eight
A white black state
A gentle trait
The broken crate
A heavy weight
Or just too late
Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
Now devastate
Appreciate
Depreciate
Fabricate
Emulate
The truth dilate
Special date
The animal we ate
Guilt debate
The edge serrate
A better rate
The youth irate
Deliberate
Fascinate
Deviate
Reinstate
Liberate
To moderate
Recreate
Or detonate
Annihiliate
Atomic fate
Mediate
Clear the state
Activate
Now radiate
A perfect state
Food on plate
Gravitate
The Earth's own weight
Designate your love as fate
At ninety-eight we all rotate
Hallucinate
Dessegregate
Mediate
Alleviate
Try not to hate
Love your mate
Don't suffocate on your own hate
Designate your love as fate
A one world state
As human freight
The number eight
A white black state
A gentle trait
The broken crate
A heavy weight
Or just too late
Like pretty Kate has sex ornate
Now devastate
Appreciate
Depreciate
Fabricate
Emulate
The truth dilate
Special date
The animals we ate
Guilt debate
The edge serrate
A better rate
The youth irate
Deliberate
Fascinate
Deviate
Reinstate
Liberate
Liberate
Liberate
Liberate
-------------------
Wow, now that the INXS song is finished, on to the blog post!
I skipped the whole FATE tie-in because the part I was directed to was called the cluster creation which is a group effort star cluster creation for the Diaspora game, which is basically Traveller. Each player has a hand in creating the world everyone will eventually play in so I thought I would check it out. As it ends up, it might have been ill spent cash for my purposes, but it was an interesting read none the less.
The Microscope system is much more interesting, however. TL;DR it's a way to group create an entire history of something from start to finish, high to low, and everything in between. Its played on notecards, and basically you start with an overarching premise "An ancient empire rises and falls", then create the bookend periods (written on a vertical notecard), the start and finish of the history you will tell and if the theme will be dark or light, so:
Start - After a Malthusian event, an isolated group of nomads organize (Light)
End - The Great Empire, loses the struggle to maintain identity and control as it is stretched thinly across the lands (Dark).
Next, players take turns adding periods (vert), events (horizontal, sub period) , and scenes (vert, sub-event)to the timeline. So:
Start - Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - End
Start - Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - Civilization flourishes (Light) - End
Then beneath each period, more details can be determined via events, so:
Derp Derp tribe re-discovers lost majicks (Dark) - EVENT Oceans fall to reveal previously submerged settlements (Light)
And next, below that event: EVENT Tribes emerge imbued with strange powers (Light).
So then another person can look at this and see that there are two Light events under a Dark period and decide to stick an EVENT(Dark) somewhere in that period to darken the mood and build on the story. Then the next person might create a new period and explore a different part of the timeline altogether. Names and legacies may be added, etc. and certain bits and options can be considered taboo for anyone to use at certain parts, like "this world has no elves", then everyone is bound by that taboo, but it can me sort of manipulated so a future event or period may be "Discovery of ancient, extinct elven civilization", or something.
Anyway, the Dungeon World tie in is of course we create the world together so we have an idea what's going on, and then pick a point (possible the end of the last period) to start adventuring. We know where the world has been, what the history is, and can leverage that in our games, gods, races, dungeons, mythos, etc.
Wow, that was long.
EDIT: No idea if this will work, but I linked my gmail account to a collaboration site, and created this example to give you a better idear. Looks like the site would be PERFECT to do this virtually... DO EET
https://realtimeboard.com/app/52233305/Microscope-test-board
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Re: combining RPGs, it's because we're going down the rabbit hole that eventually leads to elzar and I renting a table at Orccon to sell our new game. "It's a combination of Microscope, Diaspora, Exalted, Call of Cthulhu, Pinochle, World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game, Quarriors, house-ruled Quarriors, and Carcassonne!" And I couldn't be happier.
ANYWAY, I hadn't heard of Diaspora/Microscope, but Mythic GME is the overlay system we used to play DCC GM-less a while back. So that's kind of a free ocmbo.
Is Diaspora a FATE game elzar? I hope you can explain it to me. I actually sold off FATE core at Kubla because I couldn't quite wrap my head around the system and was like, "We'll never play this!!!" Just goes to show, never sell anything, ever. Right now FATE is quite the darling on rpg.net, so you can definitely poke around the threads there if you're interested.
Oh and I missed out on the Dungeon World kickstarter btw. Actually even at the height of my kickstarter madness I didn't back any RPGs (well, with exceptions: a sourcebook for DCC, and Exalted 3rd ed.). Although I do regret missing the DCC module KS that gradually turned crazier and crazier until it ultimately turned into a huge adventure/gazeteer box set. I actually went to back that one and it had closed 18 minutes prior. D'oh!
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It is the nature of intelligent life to destroy itself
I was reading about the Fermi Paradox tonight at work, and I think my favorite explanation for why we haven't found alien civilizations is in the title. Then at least I can sort of ignore the melting ice caps and general destruction of the Earth. It's in our DNA.
Why do you think we haven't discovered any aliens yet, or do you think we have? The zoo hypothesis is pretty rad too.
Why do you think we haven't discovered any aliens yet, or do you think we have? The zoo hypothesis is pretty rad too.
Gonna be dead-honest Elrick: "Diaspora and Microscope combined with the Mythic GM Emulator" sounds super complicated to this layman! If it somehow makes sense to you, then I'm all for playing if you get something organized, but just those combination of words sound CRAZY compared to just "D&D 5ed".
The 13th Age innovations sound pretty awesome. I like that mega d6 counting up. That sounds like such a simple but fun complication to encounters.
I will virtua-chat with you guys whatever you want to play.
The 13th Age innovations sound pretty awesome. I like that mega d6 counting up. That sounds like such a simple but fun complication to encounters.
I will virtua-chat with you guys whatever you want to play.
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