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Post by ripx187 on Feb 10, 2018 14:23:31 GMT -5
The D&D setting itself is a mishmash of very strange things. I'm sure that if a psychologist did a study of our notes they could learn quite a bit about us. Of course, to do this, they would have to know how to separate the official game rules from the areas that we deviated from them. When it comes to setting, the interactions between “it” and the rules are very different. The more modern the rules, the more that the rules suppress setting. Those of us who refuse to update typically do so because our settings are completely independent of the rules. We don't let them dictate what is and what isn't. What is and what isn't is our version of the past that we wish it had been, or perhaps it is even stricter than that? Our milieu reflects a deep personal fantasy of how we believe things should be right now.
In another thread, a couple of people avoid sexual situations in their games, believing that they are doing this to keep things kid-friendly; personally, I think that it is always an odd custom that we parents (myself included) are more likely to expose my kids to violence than of sexual topics, but whatever. My question to you, dear reader, is can you identify something in your personal milieu or a gaming philosophy in whatever world that you play, that may identify something about you that you may not know about yourself.
For me, I like gritty pulpy worlds, however for whatever reason work is always easy to come by. Jobs are everywhere! The economies may not always be money based, but everybody seems to always be making a living. This may change when war comes to town, but for the most part, everybody always seems to be busy.
To reach an age of being elderly is very rare, but those who are able to beat the odds are always taken care of and hold high places in the communities they live in.
Children have jobs too, sometimes these jobs really suck, but my attitude towards small kids is very high. If you want a simple job done, or find out some dirt on anybody hire a child. Adults tend to ignore them but they are always the heroes in their own minds. They may not always have parents, but they have each other. A very strange and rosy take on Oliver Twist, I guess. Maybe I got it from the fiction that I read as a child, preferring tales that featured young protagonists. Hire a man to guide you through town and he's likely to betray your trust, but hire a child and they never do. . . well, not too badly.
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2018 14:40:14 GMT -5
Coming on the heels of the other recent threads, I want to encourage people to post in this thread solely what you like about your own setting or someone else's. Beyond that please bear in mind the new rules we have added earlier today. If you really don't like what someone else posts then best to just stop reading and not comment or report it and not comment in thread.
With these things in mind, I will for now allow this thread to go forward as I find the topic interesting.
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2018 14:51:56 GMT -5
In another thread, a couple of people avoid sexual situations in their games, believing that they are doing this to keep things kid-friendly; personally, I think that it is always an odd custom that we parents (myself included) are more likely to expose my kids to violence than of sexual topics, but whatever. My question to you, dear reader, is can you identify something in your personal milieu or a gaming philosophy in whatever world that you play, that may identify something about you that you may not know about yourself. For me this comes down to three things. One, I am not comfortable with presenting sexual situations to other peoples kids in game, particularly since I have had kids as young as 6 play IMC from time to time. Two, were I the age to have my own young children, in a public settings is not were I would choose to educate them on these things. I would choose a more private setting as best for both the kids and we the parents. Three, when I have children IMC I do a few things in regards to violence: A. Not the primary option B. I never put them in the position where they are fighting and killing other humans, IMC with children I make it clear cut good versus evil and the evil is not human. C. I help them to be clear about the difference between fantasy and reality - all the more important since many adults have trouble with that concept There are probably other things but for this specific topic these are the primary things that come to mind. I am not someone who is given to a lot of introspection and I am not sure what this all says about me. |
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2018 14:55:00 GMT -5
As far as what my gaming with adults says about me, I am running the pbp down below which is really only getting started, but hopefully it will run for quite a while and you can psychoanalyze me based on it, to yourself, all you want.  |
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 10, 2018 15:03:33 GMT -5
Oh boy. I hope that I don't step on anybody's toes. I started writing this this morning, went outside and moved some snow, ran some errands, then finished it up. I wasn't aware of the change of policy. I would like to encourage everybody to stay positive as well. I know that by nature I am a discontent and I make some poor lapses of judgment. I don't mean to. If this topic or any of my responses need to be removed do so. The only people who I expect to put up with my craziness is my family, so you folks are off the hook.  |
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2018 15:05:38 GMT -5
Oh boy. I hope that I don't step on anybody's toes. I started writing this this morning, went outside and moved some snow, ran some errands, then finished it up. I wasn't aware of the change of policy. I would like to encourage everybody to stay positive as well. I know that by nature I am a discontent and I make some poor lapses of judgment. I don't mean to. If this topic or any of my responses need to be removed do so. The only people who I expect to put up with my craziness is my family, so you folks are off the hook. I suspected as much which is why I went for clarity. |
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Post by hengest on Feb 10, 2018 15:16:28 GMT -5
I don't have any developed setting in use at present. Probably my past efforts would suggest that I have difficulty following through on my half-baked ideas! The closest thing to an embryonic setting was the little map and story I did for the contest for this board almost two years ago (feels like a hundred). Those who are interested can interpret those items as they will. If I figure out anything to say about it, I'll return to this thread. Nice idea, ripx187. |
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 10, 2018 15:16:51 GMT -5
In another thread, a couple of people avoid sexual situations in their games, believing that they are doing this to keep things kid-friendly; personally, I think that it is always an odd custom that we parents (myself included) are more likely to expose my kids to violence than of sexual topics, but whatever. My question to you, dear reader, is can you identify something in your personal milieu or a gaming philosophy in whatever world that you play, that may identify something about you that you may not know about yourself. For me this comes down to three things. One, I am not comfortable with presenting sexual situations to other peoples kids in game, particularly since I have had kids as young as 6 play IMC from time to time. Two, were I the age to have my own young children, in a public settings is not were I would choose to educate them on these things. I would choose a more private setting as best for both the kids and we the parents. Three, when I have children IMC I do a few things in regards to violence: A. Not the primary option B. I never put them in the position where they are fighting and killing other humans, IMC with children I make it clear cut good versus evil and the evil is not human. C. I help them to be clear about the difference between fantasy and reality - all the more important since many adults have trouble with that concept There are probably other things but for this specific topic these are the primary things that come to mind. I am not someone who is given to a lot of introspection and I am not sure what this all says about me. You play a very specific and very old-school public game. There is no way under the sun that I could manage that, or be comfortable DMing of other peoples kids. God bless you Admin Pete. I don't know too many people that can handle that. My games are ripe with introspection, double meanings, and moral conundrums. My audience could enjoy your games, while yours would no doubt tar and feather me  |
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 10, 2018 15:29:30 GMT -5
I don't have any developed setting in use at present. Probably my past efforts would suggest that I have difficulty following through on my half-baked ideas! The closest thing to an embryonic setting was the little map and story I did for the contest for this board almost two years ago (feels like a hundred). Those who are interested can interpret those items as they will. If I figure out anything to say about it, I'll return to this thread. Nice idea, ripx187 . I haven't the ability to psychoanalyze anybody, and I don't want anybody to think that that is what this is about. I suppose that the true question is what does how you manage your NPCs say about you as a person? What trends are apparent as just a given in your games that you never thought about before, but you tend to do? No need to get overly deep. With my own examples, my worlds, on the outside are really bad. I mean REALLY bad. But there is a kindness and sense of charity that hides in the corners of everyday life which I wasn't really aware of. |
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Post by mao on Feb 10, 2018 15:38:35 GMT -5
One of my old players suggested that "Mysantia" was an anagram of "my Insanity"
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Post by Crimhthan The Great on Feb 10, 2018 22:22:04 GMT -5
My campaign is well past 400 years of game time and the majority of the characters are descended from early characters 18 generations back. I don't know what that says about me other than I like continuity and longevity. The world is at times very dark and gritty and at other times quite different. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. I suppose I see the world in black and white with little or no gray areas. I'm of the "I know it when I see it school" and I have no trouble making decisions. I also have no trouble calling evil, evil. Death is ever present in my campaign although not as prevalent as it was back in the day. My campaign has a fair bit of ritual to it. We do funeral pyres for the dead and honor their names. The Hall of Heroes hold the names of those who went before and we celebrate their deeds. Respect is something you earn as you go through life. Liars, cowards and thieves get a just and final punishment.
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Post by Dartanian on Feb 10, 2018 23:14:03 GMT -5
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 11, 2018 0:14:11 GMT -5
The D&D setting itself is a mishmash of very strange things. I'm sure that if a psychologist did a study of our notes they could learn quite a bit about us. Of course, to do this, they would have to know how to separate the official game rules from the areas that we deviated from them. When it comes to setting, the interactions between “it” and the rules are very different. The more modern the rules, the more that the rules suppress setting. Those of us who refuse to update typically do so because our settings are completely independent of the rules. We don't let them dictate what is and what isn't. What is and what isn't is our version of the past that we wish it had been, or perhaps it is even stricter than that? Our milieu reflects a deep personal fantasy of how we believe things should be right now. In another thread, a couple of people avoid sexual situations in their games, believing that they are doing this to keep things kid-friendly; personally, I think that it is always an odd custom that we parents (myself included) are more likely to expose my kids to violence than of sexual topics, but whatever. My question to you, dear reader, is can you identify something in your personal milieu or a gaming philosophy in whatever world that you play, that may identify something about you that you may not know about yourself. For me, I like gritty pulpy worlds, however for whatever reason work is always easy to come by. Jobs are everywhere! The economies may not always be money based, but everybody seems to always be making a living. This may change when war comes to town, but for the most part, everybody always seems to be busy. To reach an age of being elderly is very rare, but those who are able to beat the odds are always taken care of and hold high places in the communities they live in. Children have jobs too, sometimes these jobs really suck, but my attitude towards small kids is very high. If you want a simple job done, or find out some dirt on anybody hire a child. Adults tend to ignore them but they are always the heroes in their own minds. They may not always have parents, but they have each other. A very strange and rosy take on Oliver Twist, I guess. Maybe I got it from the fiction that I read as a child, preferring tales that featured young protagonists. Hire a man to guide you through town and he's likely to betray your trust, but hire a child and they never do. . . well, not too badly. I rarely run game for kids but when I do I moderate content for them. But in my personal campaigns for adults I run fairy Grim Dark oriented games, though I don't role play sexual encounters - sex & such are referred to. If you are timid you will not like my games, but I grew up watching Horror films at an early age & dealt with traumas growing up, so some of that bleeds through in all my creative work. But that said my worlds are not all oppressive dark places but have bastions of light. When I create worlds they mirror own own in that slavery, rape, murder & other vile things exist; I also create cultures that develop based on real world facts - darker peoples live in southern climes nearer the equator, while paler peoples live in the northern climes. Migrations color how peoples are dispersed throughout the world away from their native lands; just like in ours. I have a deep respect for other cultures & try to express that through creating vibrant cultures that may mirror those of our world in one way or another. Also in my world there are homosexuals & hermaphrodites, just as they are in the real world & in myth. They are treated in a respectful manner. If my setting has anything to say about myself - is that I understand the darkness that dwells in man; but deep down desire to embrace the light still dwelling in the heart of humanity.I also refuse to compromise my vision even if it might offend thin skinned folks (me being polite). |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Feb 11, 2018 0:48:15 GMT -5
Even in (use Ward Bond's voice here) "my sinnin' days," my campaign (it was all one campaign, no matter the time or location) reflected my perception that humans were individuals who were for the most part, principled and doing their best. When formed into groups, they tended towards mobs and bullies, motivated by fear and laziness - and a little lonely. Oddly enough, it was my Call of Cthulhu modern sections of my campaign that prompted my introspection and search.
All violence and sexual antics were at the 1946 John Huston and whoever directed "the Glass Key" (I'll remember about 3 in the morning and won't be able to get back to sleep) level, with effective fade-outs. When kids and one Junior Miss America were ever in the group, we managed well within a Disney "Night on Bald Mountain" level, which is plenty scary enough for anyone who watches and listens.
Most of all, I always believed in heroes and am, in my old age, delighted to have seen heroism become more observable as time goes by.
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Post by mao on Feb 11, 2018 11:02:26 GMT -5
Most of all, I always believed in heroes and am, in my old age, delighted to have seen heroism become more observable as time goes by. This i one of my core beliefs in DMing, even when PCs are first, they are still head and shoulders above 99% of the peeps. Also my wife says that my core character as a player is> every char I play is Capt America |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Feb 11, 2018 11:21:14 GMT -5
There yuh go. Roger McKenzie expressed amazement how Brubaker degenerated Cap. "How hard is it to write Steve? You cut him and he bleeds red, white, and blue!" We agreed that Steve was Captain America before he volunteered for Project Rebirth, and the best mirror of his personality is George Washington having grown up in a Depression Era Jewish slum, never giving up.
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 11, 2018 15:04:50 GMT -5
My campaign is well past 400 years of game time and the majority of the characters are descended from early characters 18 generations back. I don't know what that says about me other than I like continuity and longevity. The world is at times very dark and gritty and at other times quite different. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. I suppose I see the world in black and white with little or no gray areas. I'm of the "I know it when I see it school" and I have no trouble making decisions. I also have no trouble calling evil, evil. Death is ever present in my campaign although not as prevalent as it was back in the day. My campaign has a fair bit of ritual to it. We do funeral pyres for the dead and honor their names. The Hall of Heroes hold the names of those who went before and we celebrate their deeds. Respect is something you earn as you go through life. Liars, cowards and thieves get a just and final punishment. 400 years of game time?!? That is some epic play! I am too fickle and I never seem to be happy with what I'm doing. I always love my current setting, but I'm always thinking about the next one just a little bit more. I cannot ever seem to turn that "What if" off. |
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 11, 2018 15:35:03 GMT -5
Interesting. There are always heroes and villains in my worlds. Typically I use a demographics scale: Each class has so many leveled NPCs on a continent or in the world, but there is only 1 member of each class that is a master at 20th level. I don't always know who this NPC is, but he or she is always out there. Players compete for glory and recognition. I want competent NPCs to sustain a world, the Person in charge of keeping peace in the Outlands has a lot to do, but he is capable. It always drove me crazy how in the early days of Batman the police were just idiots, or even going back to Sherlock Holmes and how Doyle would constantly insult Scottland Yards. They aren't DM characters, they can either assist or hinder depending on how any interaction goes. The players also find it rewarding to gain credibility with strong NPCs. Finding allies is kind of a reward in and of itself, isn't it? These NPCs are mortal, I don't go out of my way to protect them, and one has to pay attention while using them so that they don't take over the game, but add to it.
There are always bigger fish in the water.
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Post by simrion on Feb 11, 2018 17:57:57 GMT -5
Seeing that the games I currently run (3.x, Pathfinder) are rules/crunch heavy I pretty much run published materials. Just not enough time in the day to create stuff and jot down pages of stat blocks. When I run my preferred versions (B/X od AD&D) I can literally make adventures off the cuff. Invariably bits of the various sci-fi and fantasy books I've read through the years will bleed into the campaign. Glen Cook's The Black Company is a personal favorite and the Ten Who Were Taken have made appearances, with serial numbers filed off of course ;-)
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 11, 2018 20:19:14 GMT -5
My campaign is well past 400 years of game time and the majority of the characters are descended from early characters 18 generations back. I don't know what that says about me other than I like continuity and longevity. The world is at times very dark and gritty and at other times quite different. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. I suppose I see the world in black and white with little or no gray areas. I'm of the "I know it when I see it school" and I have no trouble making decisions. I also have no trouble calling evil, evil. Death is ever present in my campaign although not as prevalent as it was back in the day. My campaign has a fair bit of ritual to it. We do funeral pyres for the dead and honor their names. The Hall of Heroes hold the names of those who went before and we celebrate their deeds. Respect is something you earn as you go through life. Liars, cowards and thieves get a just and final punishment. 400 years of game time?!? That is some epic play! I am too fickle and I never seem to be happy with what I'm doing. I always love my current setting, but I'm always thinking about the next one just a little bit more. I cannot ever seem to turn that "What if" off. I am the same way ripx187, I am a creative guy & love world building; I even did so when I was a player & during my drought years. Create new & interesting settings fills me with joy. |
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 11, 2018 20:23:57 GMT -5
Seeing that the games I currently run (3.x, Pathfinder) are rules/crunch heavy I pretty much run published materials. Just not enough time in the day to create stuff and jot down pages of stat blocks. When I run my preferred versions (B/X od AD&D) I can literally make adventures off the cuff. Invariably bits of the various sci-fi and fantasy books I've read through the years will bleed into the campaign. Glen Cook's The Black Company is a personal favorite and the Ten Who Were Taken have made appearances, with serial numbers filed off of course ;-) I can't bring myself to run either 3.5 D&D or Pathfinder too crunchy, Rolemaster2/Classic isas crunchy as I'll go; but I've gotten to the point now that I'll only run OD&D, B/X or a clone derived from them from now on with the rare genre game from time to time. Even then I prefer to home-brew my settings or house-rule established ones to fit my needs. |
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Post by The Master on Feb 11, 2018 22:07:06 GMT -5
My campaign is well past 400 years of game time and the majority of the characters are descended from early characters 18 generations back. I don't know what that says about me other than I like continuity and longevity. The world is at times very dark and gritty and at other times quite different. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. I suppose I see the world in black and white with little or no gray areas. I'm of the "I know it when I see it school" and I have no trouble making decisions. I also have no trouble calling evil, evil. Death is ever present in my campaign although not as prevalent as it was back in the day. My campaign has a fair bit of ritual to it. We do funeral pyres for the dead and honor their names. The Hall of Heroes hold the names of those who went before and we celebrate their deeds. Respect is something you earn as you go through life. Liars, cowards and thieves get a just and final punishment. 400 years of game time?!? That is some epic play! I am too fickle and I never seem to be happy with what I'm doing. I always love my current setting, but I'm always thinking about the next one just a little bit more. I cannot ever seem to turn that "What if" off. I've only gotten up to about 90 years of game time so far. We go through about two game years for one real world year. |
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Post by simrion on Feb 12, 2018 19:39:09 GMT -5
Seeing that the games I currently run (3.x, Pathfinder) are rules/crunch heavy I pretty much run published materials. Just not enough time in the day to create stuff and jot down pages of stat blocks. When I run my preferred versions (B/X od AD&D) I can literally make adventures off the cuff. Invariably bits of the various sci-fi and fantasy books I've read through the years will bleed into the campaign. Glen Cook's The Black Company is a personal favorite and the Ten Who Were Taken have made appearances, with serial numbers filed off of course ;-) I can't bring myself to run either 3.5 D&D or Pathfinder too crunchy, Rolemaster2/Classic isas crunchy as I'll go; but I've gotten to the point now that I'll only run OD&D, B/X or a clone derived from them from now on with the rare genre game from time to time. Even then I prefer to home-brew my settings or house-rule established ones to fit my needs. I hear you Ebon though RM is it's own kind of crunch without a doubt ;-) I run what the majority will play and repition hf as made 3.x/Pathfinder manageable, especially when I enforce core rules only. No "splatbooks" allowed lol and pre published adventures take much of the prep work out of the equation. |
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Post by simrion on Feb 12, 2018 19:40:03 GMT -5
And I come to places like this forum to live my OD&D fandom vicariously!
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Post by The Master on Feb 13, 2018 13:31:58 GMT -5
And I come to places like this forum to live my OD&D fandom vicariously! By that do you mean that the people you game with won't do older games? |
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Post by simrion on Feb 13, 2018 19:05:03 GMT -5
And I come to places like this forum to live my OD&D fandom vicariously! By that do you mean that the people you game with won't do older games? Exactly |
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 13, 2018 20:13:14 GMT -5
The cool thing about OD&D, and especially Arneson's methods, the only person who has to know the rules is the Dungeon Master. I kind of think that it is more of a philosophy than a coherent set of rules. Once you are ready to start a new game, they don't know where they are, but they know the area. I know that my players were very resistant to the idea too but eventually changed their mind.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Feb 14, 2018 2:04:12 GMT -5
The cool thing about OD&D, and especially Arneson's methods, the only person who has to know the rules is the Dungeon Master. I kind of think that it is more of a philosophy than a coherent set of rules. Once you are ready to start a new game, they don't know where they are, but they know the area. I know that my players were very resistant to the idea too but eventually changed their mind. This speaks directly to my heart. I suppose why I gravitated to Tunnels and Trolls early wasn't just because I could understand the rules, but because the rules are so minimal. It's why I enjoy this forum and can appreciate what OD&D was trying to do - and can run it gleefully now. After a lifetime in the service of Uncle Sam, I have an allergy of rules. |
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Post by mao on Jul 7, 2018 15:25:30 GMT -5
I am absolutely sure my settings do not exist in an alternate dimension: somebody would find a way here and kill me.
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Post by Admin Pete on Jul 7, 2018 16:06:02 GMT -5
I am absolutely sure my settings do not exist in an alternate dimension: somebody would find a way here and kill me. For exposing hidden secrets? |
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