[RPG] Answering the Question

So back to real blogging, mostly on RPGs, with some intermittent tabletop games and the now and then MtG posts. (And the occasional riff from SinSynn.)

A little while ago, Von posted the interesting Old Stuff Day post and I was interested in the ideas he presented here- the "Less is More" concept for game setting and even to some extent, game description.

I spoke in the comments about an idea for a game I have that is still in development. I mentioned that to me, it can't be nicely summed up in tables or mechanical descriptions; but WHY is a difficult thing to explain.

Not quite. I'm trying. 

I'll blert a little about my game idea, and then walk through the problems I'm facing, and then see if Von (or anyone else) has any comments that can get me on the right path.

The setting is pretty much this; but some major points have been changed around. Instead of "cities", the localities will in essence be islands. The distance between the islands isn't made of water; but rather made of 'void space' that takes special training to traverse.

Another chance since I last visited this idea seriously is the knowledge of other places. Rather than knowing that each place has strange but predictable behaviors, the inhabitants of the universe DON'T know very much about outside lands.

The problems- 

Describing the "void space" idea is pretty tough. I still haven't nailed down exactly how it works. I'm not sure if it's psychic, magical, mathematical; or something else.

Because I haven't decided what the void space IS yet; determining how to traverse it is equally challenging.

What if any wilderness and beasties are on each "island", and why- it seems silly, but "the stuff you encounter' seems to be the crux of both Von and Zak's commentary for gameable material and setting my setting apart. I haven't really considered that yet.

I'm still very much of the mindset that the environment alone (the voids and the inhabitants of the various islands) are treacherous enough without throwing beasts/monsters into it. But somehow that seems lame, and I'm struggling.

System is my last real issue. My concept has wild variations in theme or setting- because it changes everytime the PCs go somewhere new. A flexible system seems to want to lend itself here, but the underlying plot and it's supporting cast mean a deeper system might be needed. I'm looking at 5 different possible systems at the moment, and none of them offer everything I need. So a hybrid might be in order.

(Aside: Anyone have a Mage:The Ascension book they're willing to sell or trade? I have lots of interesting trade material....)

Trying to describe this setting in an effective fashion has me stumped. People ask me "what kind of game do you want to run?" and I have no real way to answer, because I want to run every kind of game.

So how do I answer the question?

Interview for HOP- David Morgan-Mar

I wrote a series of articles about designing better games for House of Paincakes over the past 2 months or so. While I was working on the process and developing material for the series, I conducted a good number of interviews with various people across the internet, as well as some real life folks.

I love the comment section of the HOP site, and my overall series, Musings of a Game Store Owner. It was in the comments that I was first made aware of this next person, his article and the followup ideas he had were great. David Morgan-Mar of www.irregularwebcomic.net :

No, not that guy. Still cool, though! 

Interview for HOP-hereticwerks

I wrote a series of articles about designing better games for House of Paincakes over the past 2 months or so. While I was working on the process and developing material for the series, I conducted a good number of interviews with various people across the internet, as well as some real life folks.


This interview was almost entirely due to a conversation I had with Porky. It was  one of those serendipitous situations where one comment brought thought to another; and ideas tumbled forth unbound; all to my surprise.