Author: Chris Shorb

Wow, awesome!

http://www.bigbadcon.com/big-bad-world/

Has anyone ever heard of this RPG? I own it, and have skimmed it. It’s got a unique premise; but has a very traditional rules set (d20 +Skill/Stat vs target #).

http://www.world-tree-rpg.com/world-tree-a-role-playing-game-of-species-and-civilization/

http://www.world-tree-rpg.com/world-tree-a-role-playing-game-of-species-and-civilization/

If you like the RPG Masks, and you like reading fiction, I have to direct your attention to this online novel called Worm. Well, it’s more like 10 novels, clocking in at 1.7 million words (Song of Ice and Fire to date is 1.7 million words). It’s complete, and it’s so so good.

It’s got teenage superheroes, end of the world, violence, gore, angst, and even a bit of romance here and there. It has parallels to Harry Potter, in that the protagonist eschews typical authority figures instead choosing loyalty to her friends and family, regardless of “good” or “villain” labels applied.

Oh yeah, and a lot of hard moral and ethical choices are given to the protagonist, and she frequently rolls 7-9 (not literally).

So far (I’m on chapter 22 of 30), it is very internally consistent – which appeals the old-school continuity geek in me. Note, author wrote 1.7 million words in about a year and a half. Take that GRRM…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – especially if you hate sleep and love to stay up late reading.

https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

I have to imagine there are some folks who might be into a LARP about viking families in strife from the creators of Burning Wheel…

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burningwheel/inheritance-0?ref=machi

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burningwheel/inheritance-0?ref=machi

Please name games that are EXCELLENT, in spite of the fact that they are not powered by the apocalypse?

Maybe they are excellent because they are not PbtA?

Basically, I’ve started thinking to myself when I hear of a new RPG: “yeah, great – but why not just make it PbtA?”.

I need to break out of that mindset (don’t I?) – and so need some suggestions for games that Definitely are better because they are not PbtA.

Are there any?

I was listening to Episode 28 of The Guantlet Podcast, with Richard Rogers from way back last October. In that episode, Rich said he’d design a Baseball RPG. Just so he knows, I’d be part of that Venn intersection.

We could call it Pastime, and I’d design it in some way like Night Witches. In other words, you’d have a “game-day” phase; and then a “game-time” phase. Campaign arcs would be “seasons”.

Characters wouldn’t “die”, but instead be traded away; or sent to the minors; or retire; or even injure out (although they might still be able to participate in the “Day-time”.

There can be scandals that happen during the “game-day” phase that might harm the player too.

Time Period – the birth of baseball, late 1800’s – at least that’s the time period that appeals to me. Any time before the 80’s and steroids. (One cool possible story idea is the breaking of the color barrier)

Of course it needs to be A*W.

Playbooks: The Rookie, the Coach, The Prima Donna, The Ace, The Obsessive, the Player’s Union Rep, The Pretty Boy (for Jason Cordova)…

GM is called the Umpire.

Adversaries include other teams, other players, upper management, journalists.

You would have both individual moves, and maybe team moves (maybe…).

Some Umpire principles could be (beyond the standard like address the characters):

Foster Nostalgia

Ratchet up tension

Everyone’s got an angle

Umpire Agenda items could be:

Portray the Golden Age with a Grey Cloud

The game’s not over until it’s over

Play to Find out What happens

Sprinkle things related to Yogi Berra malapropisms, just because.

Ok, that sort of just sprang out of nowhere. Wow.