I completely agree with the idea that the gaming system should mesh with the intended setting, but in my experience, it is difficult to have complete freedom as a GM when the eventual setting is going to be inhabited by your players. In my time GMing (about 6 years), I've noticed that my players tend to resist systems that lack advancement in the form of levels. Myself, I prefer a point based system, e.g., Shadowrun, Tri Stat or the Storyteller System, but when I present this to my players, they seem hesitant to abandon their preconceptions about levels and rolling high on 20 sided dice. Maybe this says more about myself and my players, but I view the the gaming system as a link between the players and the game, so when I find myself with players who need a square peg and a game that needs a circle one, I usually have to go with the "more accepted" d20esque system.
Let There Be Law
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Thank you so much for that list of rule systems keyed to genre - that's a very useful starting place for further research even if you couldn't annotate all your choices.
In the past, I've endorsed the opposite argument - that the rules are immaterial next to how the GM implements them and the specific dynamics of an individual RPG group. You haven't entirely convinced me that I'm wrong, but the Traveler example at least got me thinking that the effort required to house-rule certain rule-sets to accommodate certain play types rather than learning a new system would fail a cost-benefit analysis.
In the past, I've endorsed the opposite argument - that the rules are immaterial next to how the GM implements them and the specific dynamics of an individual RPG group. You haven't entirely convinced me that I'm wrong, but the Traveler example at least got me thinking that the effort required to house-rule certain rule-sets to accommodate certain play types rather than learning a new system would fail a cost-benefit analysis.
It is my belief that expectations play a great part in the feel of the genre. Hard-core rpg players may associate a particular type of system with a particular genre but players new to rpg's may not yet have this association.
Last monday I started my first Call of Cthulhu campaign. It used the d20 rules even though I have read many preferences to Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system. However, because of my( and that of two of my player's) familiarity with the d20 system I chose the d20 variant. At least in that first session it worked wonderfully. And I think this is because of the expectations of the players. I told them most of their characters will die or go insane, if they're lucky, that this was a horror game. They knew freaky things would happen, they knew they would not be mighty knights and wizards. So just a minor power outage in a train had them freaked out
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My point is, were my players familiar with the differences between Basic RolePlaying Call of Cthulhu and d20 Call of Cthulhu, they would react very differently to last monday's game. Knowledge of systems creates associations with genre. Without that knowledge, the minds of players are a blank canvas for the GM to paint his world upon.
Last monday I started my first Call of Cthulhu campaign. It used the d20 rules even though I have read many preferences to Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system. However, because of my( and that of two of my player's) familiarity with the d20 system I chose the d20 variant. At least in that first session it worked wonderfully. And I think this is because of the expectations of the players. I told them most of their characters will die or go insane, if they're lucky, that this was a horror game. They knew freaky things would happen, they knew they would not be mighty knights and wizards. So just a minor power outage in a train had them freaked out
.My point is, were my players familiar with the differences between Basic RolePlaying Call of Cthulhu and d20 Call of Cthulhu, they would react very differently to last monday's game. Knowledge of systems creates associations with genre. Without that knowledge, the minds of players are a blank canvas for the GM to paint his world upon.
I recently had a similar revelation myself to the major focus of the article--having finally purchased a copy of the above-mentioned Legend of the Five Rings main book, I finally understood why, in that game several years ago, my duelist samurai was pretty capable up until the moment we converted to d20. Suddenly I had a 5% chance to let slip from my hand the physical representation of my entire family line, every time I made an attack, as opposed to the 0% chance of a botch under the aforementioned "Roll and Keep" system. Things were changed considerably, and I think if the game had continued the cultural feeling of "perfection is its own goal" would have fallen completely apart.
I would also like to mention PARANOIA at some point in this thread, because [information redacted] are used to determine [censored] success or [information not available at your clearance level], which I think is a very fun, capable, and adaptable system design philosophy.
I would also like to mention PARANOIA at some point in this thread, because [information redacted] are used to determine [censored] success or [information not available at your clearance level], which I think is a very fun, capable, and adaptable system design philosophy.
I don't generally aim to play in a pre-packaged setting, but rather to create my own setting. If/when I do want to play in a pre-packaged setting, though, I will generally use a pre-packaged rules set. For instance, my Star Wars campaign used the West End Games D6 Star Wars rules.Kaihlik said:
I will second the recommendation of Mutants and Masterminds for a superhero RPG. The character creation has a staggering amount of customization in it, making for just about any superhero you can come up with.
Wait, now I'm confused. I thought L5R started out as a D20 game, but then in later editions (3rd and the upcoming 4th), they created the new "roll and keep" rule set.Archon said:
My new most favorite game of ALL time, Eclipse Phase, has some really neat examples of how rules and setting work together. In EP, everyone has cortical implants that allow them to download their consciousness in and out of different bodies...so a lot of the stats are not really based off your BODY - there is no constitution, strength, endurance or anything - but rather, you have aptitudes that represent how much you can push your body...but shittier bodies have ap-caps that prevent you from pushing them beyond what they can do. So, an unmodified human body has an ap-cap of 20, while a Splicer has 25 and so on.
Where your character really shines are skills: Everyone has a bugfuck ton of skills, due to the ubiquitous availability of mental patches, accelerated simulations for training, and the fact that most everyone is...well, functionally immortal.
And because the biggest threat to your character is not physical injury - cause you can just resleeve in a new body - they have rules worked out for all the psychological wear, tear and trauma that can be inflicted on a transhuman's mind.
It's very flexible, easy to learn, and has some fucking AWESOME shit.
(buy it now)
Where your character really shines are skills: Everyone has a bugfuck ton of skills, due to the ubiquitous availability of mental patches, accelerated simulations for training, and the fact that most everyone is...well, functionally immortal.
And because the biggest threat to your character is not physical injury - cause you can just resleeve in a new body - they have rules worked out for all the psychological wear, tear and trauma that can be inflicted on a transhuman's mind.
It's very flexible, easy to learn, and has some fucking AWESOME shit.
(buy it now)
I agree that setting and rule set go hand in hand. I'm STing an Exalted in a Shadowrun-like setting (with some Exalted to explain why there's Exalts) and it was pretty tough to make it all work together.
Exalted's setting is so huge that you can have pretty much every genre in that setting. The surface area is a bit smaller than Earth's surface, but only 30% is covered in water.
Want a western game? The South is a big desert and wasteland. Over there, people use firewands (think flame-throwing pistols and rifles).
Want a game with ruin exploration? The Scavenger Lands is full of destroyed First Age cities and tombs full of ancient artifacts.
Want a game of politics? The Realm is the seat of power in Creation with families of Dragon-Blooded with their eyes on the Throne.
Want a pirate game? There's plenty of water in the west. There's a big group of demon worshiping pirates called the Lintha.
Want an empire building game? There's a "mini-game" called Mandate of Heaven to put rules on kingdoms organisation, interaction and growth.
Want a mecha game? There's plenty of artifacts and some of them are called warstriders. They are big piloted armors. In the 2nd edition core book, they even suggest "And I'll form the head" as a theme for your game.
Want a horror game? Heroic mortals trapped in a shadowland / underworld can be pretty scary. You're not really powerful and there's plenty of monster.
Want a "weird reality" game? The Wyld is all around creation and it's the definition of chaos. Where creation and the Wyld overlap, it makes for pretty weird things.
There's even a limited supplement that came out called Dreams of the First Age that gives plenty of info about playing a game in the first age to make a kind of sci-fi game. (But no space exploration)
Exalted's setting is so huge that you can have pretty much every genre in that setting. The surface area is a bit smaller than Earth's surface, but only 30% is covered in water.
Want a western game? The South is a big desert and wasteland. Over there, people use firewands (think flame-throwing pistols and rifles).
Want a game with ruin exploration? The Scavenger Lands is full of destroyed First Age cities and tombs full of ancient artifacts.
Want a game of politics? The Realm is the seat of power in Creation with families of Dragon-Blooded with their eyes on the Throne.
Want a pirate game? There's plenty of water in the west. There's a big group of demon worshiping pirates called the Lintha.
Want an empire building game? There's a "mini-game" called Mandate of Heaven to put rules on kingdoms organisation, interaction and growth.
Want a mecha game? There's plenty of artifacts and some of them are called warstriders. They are big piloted armors. In the 2nd edition core book, they even suggest "And I'll form the head" as a theme for your game.
Want a horror game? Heroic mortals trapped in a shadowland / underworld can be pretty scary. You're not really powerful and there's plenty of monster.
Want a "weird reality" game? The Wyld is all around creation and it's the definition of chaos. Where creation and the Wyld overlap, it makes for pretty weird things.
There's even a limited supplement that came out called Dreams of the First Age that gives plenty of info about playing a game in the first age to make a kind of sci-fi game. (But no space exploration)
Good article, I agree that you should always lay down rules before any game with a new group, not just in-game rules but out of game rules (No punching, drinking, etc)
P.S. Why do liches almost always have to be evil, why can't there be a neutral or even good liches?
P.S. Why do liches almost always have to be evil, why can't there be a neutral or even good liches?
I know this is off topic, but seriously its really bugging me (like the itch you cant scratch) what course at Harvard Law school lets you do thesis projects on the impact of MMO's rules on their associated communities? Not being a native of the US I might have miss understood something, but I didn't think Harvard really focuses on game theory, psychology or anthology.
I know its off topic, and I apologize but its one of those things that keeps bugging me.
I know its off topic, and I apologize but its one of those things that keeps bugging me.
Rather then zombify the thread for a previous one of these I'll just put this here for the universe to see.
Harkening back to your article about the agency theory of fun and that razz, you said that not fudging die rolls makes it more fun in the long term. Spot on, today I got to play for my first time and even though I would call interference when I got a 1 on an attack roll AToF would pop into my head and I'd go with it. I ended up spending several rounds grappling Kobolds which of course led to the inevitable "I'd like to make an improvised weapon attack with the kobold I'm grappling." and "Can I use it as a shield." So my fumbling my long sword ended up being more fun then rerolling the attack and my temporary +2 AC bonus saved my skin from several attacks. Oh and I borrowed your sexy paladin idea (you know what I mean *wink* *wink*).
Obviously I'm not the seasoned vet that could pick a ruleset and make a campaign, but as I go on and get better I do plan on figuring out some way to make an MTG PnP game. One day, then wizards will give me a job and I'll live happily ever after.
Harkening back to your article about the agency theory of fun and that razz, you said that not fudging die rolls makes it more fun in the long term. Spot on, today I got to play for my first time and even though I would call interference when I got a 1 on an attack roll AToF would pop into my head and I'd go with it. I ended up spending several rounds grappling Kobolds which of course led to the inevitable "I'd like to make an improvised weapon attack with the kobold I'm grappling." and "Can I use it as a shield." So my fumbling my long sword ended up being more fun then rerolling the attack and my temporary +2 AC bonus saved my skin from several attacks. Oh and I borrowed your sexy paladin idea (you know what I mean *wink* *wink*).
Obviously I'm not the seasoned vet that could pick a ruleset and make a campaign, but as I go on and get better I do plan on figuring out some way to make an MTG PnP game. One day, then wizards will give me a job and I'll live happily ever after.
Hey Macris, just wanted to say I love your articles on Check for Traps. By far the thing I loved most was when you attacked the concept of railroading a few articles back in "It's not your story." I think players should be able to influence events more than just by acting as dice rollers. I am actually sort of surpries I never commented on your articles before. Anyways, keep up the good work man.
Luke, the course was called "Internet & Society," taught by Professor Jonathan Zittrain. Harvard Law School was at that time a leader in the developing fields of cyber-law, with Zittrain, Charles Nesson, and Larry Lessig all working out of something called "The Berkman Center for Internet & Society". Larry Lessig had recently written a book called "CODE" in which he argued that the code of the internet, i.e. its technical infrastructure, was effectively its "law"; if you code privacy into the net, then you have privacy. If you don't code it, then the law doesn't matter, your data's not private.Luke Cartner said:
The premise of my law school paper was that you could evaluate "code as law" by doing a comparative study of 3 massively multiplayer games to ascertain how differences in code resulted in differences in the game's society. For instance, what happened if you coded in player-versus-player combat? Player housing? And so on.
I was inspired to write the paper by reading Isaac Asimov's Prelude to Foundation, in which the creator of psychohistory realizes he can evaluate psychohistory's usefulness by testing it on a small case before applying it to the large.
Not even Harvard Law could escape the gravitational collapsar which is my nerditry.
Small point, but Call of Cthulhus game mechanics was taken directly from Runequest. The only addition was the san rules. Runequest, in my opinion, was the best heroic fantasy game there ever was. None of the rigidity of D&D classes and it escaped the 30's pulp magazine feel that pervades D&D. You felt like you were in real functioning bronze age world and half expected to meet the troll Achilles or the Broo Gilgamesh.
There are some pretty seasoned RPGs talked about here. Not that there's anything wrong with that in theory.the antithesis said:
Thanks for Clearing that up, as I said it struck me as strange as it seemed to measure behavioral elements rather than legal.Archon said: