Every so often I get an idea for something to write about and jot it down by creating a post and putting the idea in the title, and saving it to 'drafts'. 80-90% of the time these later get worked up into full posts, or else deleted. But there are some that hang about in the ether, always the bridesmaids and never the bride, until I forget entirely what they were originally supposed to be about. These lost souls sit forlornly as 'drafts' in perpetuity, hoping in vain for rescue. So I thought I would drag some out into the open to give them some fresh air and see if anybody can do anything with them. Your duty: pick a title, and then write a comment or post in your own blog to correspond to it.
Here are some that caught my eye:
- What Is So Bad About Space Knights?
- On Being Grateful
- Types of Campaign by PC Class
- The Appropriate Subject of Complaint
- Isekai/Other World PCs Must Be Special
- The Psychic Importance of Other Worlds
- Deep Wilderness
- Great Places
- Games Workshop Doesn't Like or Care About You [this possibly is a title that could in itself be an entire blog post]
- Slaad-punk
- Syphilis [I cannot now even begin to imagine where I was going with this...]
- Why These Treasures?
- The Philosophy of Elves
- The Importance of Adventure-Site Insularity
- Shitty Fairy Tales and the Importance of Death
Have at it - I hope these poor blighters can find a loving home.
Class as mode of play within the same game:
ReplyDeleteI prefer classless games, so the ways of PCs interacting with the world define what the "game" is. Lately, I've been thinking about a contained setting (say, medieval Corsica) that can be interpreted and reinterpreted through the lens of type of game. Examples: Judges of the Bishopric bring law and order to the hinterland; merchants of ecclesial-economic rivals establish contacts throughout the ports and villages; former members of the Emperor's Bodyguard have become River Kings seeking fame and fortune along the coasts as told by their runes; bounty hunters dispatched by the Council of Nine to apprehend criminals sheltering in the Wild Barons' domains; adventurers leave the towns to seek fortune in the ruins of manors and churches; scholar-priests rush to reclaim ritual items and texts from the ruined religious sites.
The amount of combat, sneaking, social interaction, and research could help to flavour the type of game. Are you a "fighter" seeking combat? Are you a "rogue" trying to access sites? Are you a "scholar" interested in gathering knowledge? Are you a "merchant" building contacts? Perhaps a "bard" travelling between communities offering your services? All this said, maybe the type of character you have differs based on faction and party - the scholars and merchants have their bodyguards. Ultimately though the type of campaign you have can link to the classes used especially if you allow the campaign type (e.g., "paladins") to guide gameplay. This adds to the tropes of delinquent adventurers or virtuous heroes. What I've been interested in how these layers of gameplay can texture the same setting and game in a modular way. I guess part of this is allowing the setting themes to become classes themselves.
I like this idea of a setting which has different 'modules' for different classes or PC types. Nice thinking.
DeleteDeep wilderness is the hexcrawl equivalent of the Underdark. Ordinary wilderness encounters are defined by human proximity. We find a ruin: who was here? A castle: how far do its knights patrol? A caravan: from which settlement do they come and to which are they bound? Likewise the ordinary dungeon is defined by its connections to the surface: can we get to level four by going down the well? Where does the shaft of sunlight on level 7 originate? Deep wilderness and the Underdark are fundamentally inimical to human life, they are defined by having no easy way to or from civilization. To flee here requires total desperation but places one beyond pursuit. To adventure here requires planning and supplies: there will be no foraging for game, no resting at an inn.
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteThe Philosophy of Elves - https://hardlyworthmentioning.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-philosophy-of-elves.html
ReplyDeleteVery good! Will read it carefully.
DeleteYou should write all of these, starting at the bottom and working up. Also, I bet your syphilis post was about exploration contaminating the explorers’ home upon their return & how this should happen more in games.
ReplyDeleteYou must be psychic - your comment triggered the memory that it was indeed that.
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