I figure some folks here in The Gauntlet are already familiar with SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists.

I figure some folks here in The Gauntlet are already familiar with SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists.

I figure some folks here in The Gauntlet are already familiar with SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists. The PDF went up on DTRPG yesterday:

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/247973/SIGMATA-This-Signal-Kills-Fascists

I was a KS backer so I downloaded it right away and had a chance for a quick skim before I went to bed last night. Wow! I expected this game to be fun but the book includes whole essays devoted to an intro and analysis of recent modern insurgencies like the Arab Spring, and provides a practical, real-world introduction to the “ethical insurgency” model baked into the core of the game. If you care about politics these days–especially if you’re learning how to effectively organize against fascist elements of society–I don’t think you’ll find a more gameable examination of theory and praxis than this.

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/247973/SIGMATA-This-Signal-Kills-Fascists

36 thoughts on “I figure some folks here in The Gauntlet are already familiar with SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists.”

  9. A friend complained that the factions that make up the resistance are somewhat bizarre. On a quick skim I have to agree. Why no marginalized communities? Why no students? Why no liberals? It’s only libertarian militias, faith groups, billionaire funders, and the communist party.

    Beyond that I’m reasonably excited for the game.

  10. A friend complained that the factions that make up the resistance are somewhat bizarre. On a quick skim I have to agree. Why no marginalized communities? Why no students? Why no liberals? It’s only libertarian militias, faith groups, billionaire funders, and the communist party.

    Beyond that I’m reasonably excited for the game.

  11. Sam Zeitlin these are good questions. I’m new to the community so I’m not sure how much political discussion is allowed. My apologies in advance if I step over any lines. 🙂

    I’ve seen a lot of criticism leveled at this project from people all over the political grid. Most of it has gravitated around the idea that the game is either too far left, too far right, or too centrist. The creator has been pretty visible in his responses to these criticisms and it’s painted a pretty clear picture of his intentions. In particular, this segment from an interview answers your question about why there are no liberal factions (emphasis mine):

    “You can’t counter the grotesque with good manners. That’s when I started thinking about the radical. Can the radical be a counter to the grotesque that traditional liberalism cannot? Again, I identify as the type of liberal who most people hate—but I acknowledge that liberalism is an incomplete counter to what we’re dealing with today. So I wanted to explore the radical as an answer.”

    (source: https://antidotezine.com/2018/06/01/sigmata-antifascism-fantasy/ )

    I don’t have as clear an answer for why there isn’t a marginalized community or a student community represented in the factions. If I had to guess, I’d say both of those categories could be sub-groups of one of the existing four factions. What I know is that the art direction focused on diverse representation, so we can see Receivers, other Resistance members, and everyday citizens who could all conceivably come from a marginalized group.

    If nothing else, it’s clear that this is an ambitious project with pointed goals. Within that framework (and with the wealth of text and visual aids throughout), it should be easy to insert whatever specific flavors you’d like into the Resistance, the Regime, and the people caught between them. A lot of those flavors are already heavily implied.

  12. Sam Zeitlin these are good questions. I’m new to the community so I’m not sure how much political discussion is allowed. My apologies in advance if I step over any lines. 🙂

    I’ve seen a lot of criticism leveled at this project from people all over the political grid. Most of it has gravitated around the idea that the game is either too far left, too far right, or too centrist. The creator has been pretty visible in his responses to these criticisms and it’s painted a pretty clear picture of his intentions. In particular, this segment from an interview answers your question about why there are no liberal factions (emphasis mine):

    “You can’t counter the grotesque with good manners. That’s when I started thinking about the radical. Can the radical be a counter to the grotesque that traditional liberalism cannot? Again, I identify as the type of liberal who most people hate—but I acknowledge that liberalism is an incomplete counter to what we’re dealing with today. So I wanted to explore the radical as an answer.”

    (source: https://antidotezine.com/2018/06/01/sigmata-antifascism-fantasy/ )

    I don’t have as clear an answer for why there isn’t a marginalized community or a student community represented in the factions. If I had to guess, I’d say both of those categories could be sub-groups of one of the existing four factions. What I know is that the art direction focused on diverse representation, so we can see Receivers, other Resistance members, and everyday citizens who could all conceivably come from a marginalized group.

    If nothing else, it’s clear that this is an ambitious project with pointed goals. Within that framework (and with the wealth of text and visual aids throughout), it should be easy to insert whatever specific flavors you’d like into the Resistance, the Regime, and the people caught between them. A lot of those flavors are already heavily implied.

  21. Fair enough! Happy to discuss here, then. Below is the relevant part of what I posted.

    During the campaign, the creator responded that he picked the factions to reflect various historical movements, and he wanted ones that could have both heroic and problematic aspects. He also noted that the game comes with alternate settings by diverse creators full of other factions, plus a supplement for making your own.

    I think this is a reasonable response, ultimately, but it raises some questions about how to set up the game. Historically, so many revolutions HAVE been ultimately coopted by one or more of those four groups. I definitely get the desire for uneasy alliances and power struggles in the game. But when we’re talking about resistance in America, a theme that runs very close to home, it seems (1) wrong to think of those as the only or main forces, and (2) equally wrong to take groups like marginalized communities and portray them as dangerous in the same way that fundamentalism or organized communism was in historical revolutions.

  22. Fair enough! Happy to discuss here, then. Below is the relevant part of what I posted.

    During the campaign, the creator responded that he picked the factions to reflect various historical movements, and he wanted ones that could have both heroic and problematic aspects. He also noted that the game comes with alternate settings by diverse creators full of other factions, plus a supplement for making your own.

    I think this is a reasonable response, ultimately, but it raises some questions about how to set up the game. Historically, so many revolutions HAVE been ultimately coopted by one or more of those four groups. I definitely get the desire for uneasy alliances and power struggles in the game. But when we’re talking about resistance in America, a theme that runs very close to home, it seems (1) wrong to think of those as the only or main forces, and (2) equally wrong to take groups like marginalized communities and portray them as dangerous in the same way that fundamentalism or organized communism was in historical revolutions.

  25. Sam Zeitlin (cross posting here) Yeah, I remember asking him a little about that in the interview. I haven’t yet had a chance to sit down and read through the material fully. I get the sense Walker feels strongly about being “accurate” with his fictionalization. Not realistic, but following what he knows about those movements. You can see some of that in Cryptomancer’s fantasy analogue.

    I suspect you’re right and that to make the play more palatable (to my sensibilities at least) it may take some tweaking. But I say that from only a cursory read.

  26. Sam Zeitlin (cross posting here) Yeah, I remember asking him a little about that in the interview. I haven’t yet had a chance to sit down and read through the material fully. I get the sense Walker feels strongly about being “accurate” with his fictionalization. Not realistic, but following what he knows about those movements. You can see some of that in Cryptomancer’s fantasy analogue.

    I suspect you’re right and that to make the play more palatable (to my sensibilities at least) it may take some tweaking. But I say that from only a cursory read.

  27. Thanks! I see your position a little more clearly now. As to your points about emulating resistance in American:

    1) The presence of supplements with new factions means the game doesn’t position the “core four” as the only factions. And like you say, those core four have co-opted many revolutions in the past so maybe they are the “main” forces? I’m not sure about that point, but I appreciate you giving me this food for thought.

    2) That may be one reason why the creator chose not to include a faction that’s a blanket representation of marginalized people. Marginalized people are scapegoats far more often than they are revolutionary actors, so maybe it’s appropriate that they’re not part of the core four. Along the same lines, I can remember two of the supplements in particular: one focuses on COINTELPRO, MK ULTRA, and the Black Panthers while the other focuses on indigenous resistance on indigenous land. Maybe the best way to make marginalized groups the protagonists without portraying them as dangerous is to put their backs against the wall? To make them clearly the defenders of their own lives instead of a force that seeks to radically alter the world outside their lives too? It’s another thought that will require reflection on my part.

  28. Thanks! I see your position a little more clearly now. As to your points about emulating resistance in American:

    1) The presence of supplements with new factions means the game doesn’t position the “core four” as the only factions. And like you say, those core four have co-opted many revolutions in the past so maybe they are the “main” forces? I’m not sure about that point, but I appreciate you giving me this food for thought.

    2) That may be one reason why the creator chose not to include a faction that’s a blanket representation of marginalized people. Marginalized people are scapegoats far more often than they are revolutionary actors, so maybe it’s appropriate that they’re not part of the core four. Along the same lines, I can remember two of the supplements in particular: one focuses on COINTELPRO, MK ULTRA, and the Black Panthers while the other focuses on indigenous resistance on indigenous land. Maybe the best way to make marginalized groups the protagonists without portraying them as dangerous is to put their backs against the wall? To make them clearly the defenders of their own lives instead of a force that seeks to radically alter the world outside their lives too? It’s another thought that will require reflection on my part.

  35. Thanks for sharing. I rolled my eyes when this product was first announced. I figured it was just cashing in the 80’s nostalgia boom, cashing in on lazy anti-Trump rhetoric, cashing in Marvel superheroics, etc.

    However the author has a serious brain and an excellent grasp of his worldview. I will definitely check this thing out now. 🙂

  36. Thanks for sharing. I rolled my eyes when this product was first announced. I figured it was just cashing in the 80’s nostalgia boom, cashing in on lazy anti-Trump rhetoric, cashing in Marvel superheroics, etc.

    However the author has a serious brain and an excellent grasp of his worldview. I will definitely check this thing out now. 🙂

Comments are closed.