Hi there! I just wanted to tell you what my dream RPG should have.
Hi there! I just wanted to tell you what my dream RPG should have.
First, I never liked settings with too much detail. I prefer just some rough sketches and options to customise them to my liking. I also like human-centric fantasy with truly mysterious and mythical magic, not necessarily rare - just not as mundane or "scientific". So magical healing, magical universities, magical robots and so on are a no-go.
I don't like city settings with all the politics and struggles for power, I prefer large swathes of wilderness dotted with some points of light - small villages where tight communities endure hardships together - and possibly with fairy folk hiding deep in the forests and monsters lurking in the deepest caves.
I also enjoy heroic fantasy, where characters might be flawed or struggling, but are generally heroes who want to make the world a better place, embarking on long and perilous journeys and exploring the wilderness.
As for mechanics, I think that the idea of PbtA is brilliant, but I have mixed feelings about the style of AW and some other games (which I found unbearably pretentious), and I don't get their fixation and insistence about including sex moves. I like sex as much as the next guy, but I really would prefer that Game of Thrones be focused on the actual game of thrones and less on boobies. I'm also not a big fan of fixed playbooks, I prefer a more open ended character creation process.
Finally, I never play in large groups, 2-3 people (including me as GM) is max. I also like to play solo or GM-less with my brother just to see what weird stuff we can come up with.
And seriously, I'm not even stretching anything to better fit the description of Ironsworn, this is LITERALLY dream come true. So thank you, Shawn. You made a middle-aged Polish geek very, very happy.
First, I never liked settings with too much detail. I prefer just some rough sketches and options to customise them to my liking. I also like human-centric fantasy with truly mysterious and mythical magic, not necessarily rare - just not as mundane or "scientific". So magical healing, magical universities, magical robots and so on are a no-go.
I don't like city settings with all the politics and struggles for power, I prefer large swathes of wilderness dotted with some points of light - small villages where tight communities endure hardships together - and possibly with fairy folk hiding deep in the forests and monsters lurking in the deepest caves.
I also enjoy heroic fantasy, where characters might be flawed or struggling, but are generally heroes who want to make the world a better place, embarking on long and perilous journeys and exploring the wilderness.
As for mechanics, I think that the idea of PbtA is brilliant, but I have mixed feelings about the style of AW and some other games (which I found unbearably pretentious), and I don't get their fixation and insistence about including sex moves. I like sex as much as the next guy, but I really would prefer that Game of Thrones be focused on the actual game of thrones and less on boobies. I'm also not a big fan of fixed playbooks, I prefer a more open ended character creation process.
Finally, I never play in large groups, 2-3 people (including me as GM) is max. I also like to play solo or GM-less with my brother just to see what weird stuff we can come up with.
And seriously, I'm not even stretching anything to better fit the description of Ironsworn, this is LITERALLY dream come true. So thank you, Shawn. You made a middle-aged Polish geek very, very happy.
Yes, for those of us who prefer solo or small group gaming and enjoy a heroic fantasy/sword and sorcery feel, Ironsworn has hit a sweet spot.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Maciej Kozłowski! I tried to make a game that I wanted to play, and I'm thrilled it hit a sweet spot for others.
ReplyDeleteSex moves in PbtA games aren't about "boobies," they're about character vulnerability and interconnection.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Downey You know, every single time I say that I don’t like Tarantino’s movies because they are too violent someone will jump on me and tell me “but they are SUPPOSED to be this way! You don’t understand anything!” . I know! I get it! I really do! I just don’t like it, that’s all! So please, by all means, enjoy your interconnection enhancing sex moves. But please, please stop educating me and just accept that I just like my games without certain distracting aspects. Sigh. Rant over. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI actually have never played a PbtA game with sex moves, and don't know as I would be comfortable with it myself (maybe the one from Sagas of the Icelanders, since it's mostly about conceiving children). I just felt like you were mischaracterizing them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, Tarantino is mostly garbage.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Downey Yep, I may be overreacting, but I've had people explaining me why I don't understand the stuff I don't like so many times that it really gets on my nerves. As for my mischaracterisation - well, I'll be first to admit that Monsterhearts wouldn't work without turning on and sex moves as it's a game about supernatural teenage drama after all. But in the original Apocalypse World it feels crammed in because Vincent Baker, a brilliant designer otherwise, has to have sex in every game he writes. Because sex in RPGs is a must if you want to be truly indie. And if you don't want it, you're not ready for this mature game which touches on difficult subjects.
ReplyDeleteMy comparison to game of thrones was not accidental - the show is incredible, but it has an unhealthy fixation on sex and violence which seems to be there just because it can. And it has lots of defenders who say that it has to be there because it somehow makes the show better. Now if I wanted to see sex every twenty minutes I'd watch some porn with a plot. If I wanted excessive violence I'd watch some gorn movie like Saw or something. So when I want to play a fantasy/SF RPG, just let me have the darned fantasy and SF. Is sex really the only way to show character vulnerability or interconnection? Couldn't they just talk? Or do something nice together, like have dinner? Open up to one another?
Or, I don't know, otherwise BOND with each other? If only there was a game that had this mechanic...
Maciej Kozłowski At the risk of leaving the wrong type of footprints in the internet sand, I will say that though sex has its place, it just feels... icky? to me, sitting around a table talking about it like it's an open forum. Of course, I'm almost 50, so... meh. Maybe that's why I find I like playing RPGs solitaire-style. No ickyness. :D
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree with what you're saying! (Though I still like Tarantino's stuff, yeah, it could be toned down a bit.)