The Gauntlet: Hail Satan – Page 34 – The Gauntlet G+ Archives

Having travelled many on many flights, I get pretty tired of the preflight safety brief.

Having travelled many on many flights, I get pretty tired of the preflight safety brief. If I was ever approached and asked to give the speech, here is how my version would go:

Attention passengers, please set your tray tables in the locked position and your seats upright during take off and landing. Everyone who does not know how to use a set belt, stand up. Everyone remaining in your seats, demonstrate to those less fortunate how those belts are keeping you down. In the event that our landlocked flight manages to land in a large body of water and you are not dead, your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device. Should you be so fortunate, a life vest will be located under your seat. Put it on around your neck and inflate. If it doesn’t inflate, it may be punctured or need foreplay to achieve inflated status. To resolve these issues, completely submerge yourself in the water that is filling the cabin, locate the suggestively shaped tube conveniently located near your face and blow. If you see bubbles, you may want to abandon that life vest. Back to a better scenario when we are still in the air: should the cabin lose pressure, a face sucker from the move Alien will drop from the ceiling. Place the face sucker firmly on your mouth, tighten the straps and open wide. Pull the tube straight to encourage the flow of eggs, I mean oxygen. Lastly, if this list of hypothetical tragedies has not freaked you out enough, you can always read more from the pamphlet on the seatback in front of you, or image living out Snakes on a Plane. Thank you.

I’d love to read your thoughts on this as it will expedite my lay over.

Hello all, I am new to the Gauntlet community and am excited to start playing some games!

I heard there is someone who is developing a game called Candy Mountain Combatants! The game sets players against one another. What would your combatant be like?

Who’s up for a quick game of Eoris Essense? I will need each player to bring roughly half a dozen #2 pencils.

http://i.imgur.com/CIZuh.jpg

I think it is important, from time-to-time, to revisit the Geek Social Fallacies.

I think it is important, from time-to-time, to revisit the Geek Social Fallacies. Here, for your consideration, is the text of GSF#1, which is the most pernicious and destructive of the bunch. Let it be a lamp to guide us in the cold, dark night:

“GSF1 is one of the most common fallacies, and one of the most deeply held. Many geeks have had horrible, humiliating, and formative experiences with ostracism, and the notion of being on the other side of the transaction is repugnant to them.

In its non-pathological form, GSF1 is benign, and even commendable: it is long past time we all grew up and stopped with the junior high popularity games. However, in its pathological form, GSF1 prevents its carrier from participating in — or tolerating — the exclusion of anyone from anything, be it a party, a comic book store, or a web forum, and no matter how obnoxious, offensive, or aromatic the prospective excludee may be.

As a result, nearly every geek social group of significant size has at least one member that 80% of the members hate, and the remaining 20% merely tolerate. If GSF1 exists in sufficient concentration — and it usually does — it is impossible to expel a person who actively detracts from every social event. GSF1 protocol permits you not to invite someone you don’t like to a given event, but if someone spills the beans and our hypothetical Cat Piss Man invites himself, there is no recourse. You must put up with him, or you will be an Evil Ostracizer and might as well go out for the football team.

This phenomenon has a number of unpleasant consequences. For one thing, it actively hinders the wider acceptance of geek-related activities: I don’t know that RPGs and comics would be more popular if there were fewer trolls who smell of cheese hassling the new blood, but I’m sure it couldn’t hurt. For another, when nothing smacking of social selectiveness can be discussed in public, people inevitably begin to organize activities in secret. These conspiracies often lead to more problems down the line, and the end result is as juvenile as anything a seventh-grader ever dreamed of.”

This is the campiest thing I have ever seen in my life…and I can’t wait!

http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/1/5959087/the-quest-abc-larp

Despite playing more roleplaying games on a monthly basis than probably any other human on the planet, I don’t get…

Despite playing more roleplaying games on a monthly basis than probably any other human on the planet, I don’t get too involved in forums or the various community wars (I’m too busy actually playing games – see how that works?)

That said, I occasionally follow a link or click on an article, and I’m regularly struck by how aggressively hostile a lot of folks in the OSR community can be. I mean really vicious, sexist, and homophobic stuff. What’s up with that?

I freely admit elements of the story game community can be pedantic and/or pretentious, but you rarely see outright vitriol.

Alignment vs Actions

This is another rant about alignments. Sorry.

I feel that some people view the alignment of their characters as a justification for unreasonable behavior and party in-fighting. It always brings the game to a screeching halt when someone says “my character is ____ so i do ____” or “it makes sense for my character to do that because he is ___”.

Your character should be a person, who decides upon his or her actions with a rational thought process. I suppose you might like the idea of playing an irrational character, “why did I stab that guy? because of puppys!” or “I flipped a coin, looks like i jump into the lava pit”, but you won’t make a good party member and the others should probably abandon you as fast as possible. Some say neutral characters can do whatever they want or might be totally nuts. but this is a non-reason. your character can not do anything because he is neutral. he doesn’t accept the idea that what he does is good or evil but he does it because he felt it was right/best/necessary at the time.

rational people sometimes do what they want and sometimes do what is necessary. They generally have a better, or at least more interesting, excuse then “I am one of 9 ethical/societal archetypes”. Your character has friends and family that were killed by goblins, so yes you kill that goblin child. Your character can even feel conflicted about it later. Your an evil scum bag and the wizard is holding all of the magical loot. you could slit his throat in the night and run off with everything but your character joined this group to stop a greater evil, or it would be suicide to run off alone, or the others might catch and kill you. either way its probably best to negotiate with the party. you’re an honorable knight of the white goddess of happy flowers, and the nasty self serving thief just got himself turned to stone. you could abandon him and probably no one would mind since he is such a jerk, but he is helping you on your quest and it seems kind of cruel to just leave him. Alignments or your characters ethical/societal beliefs affect how they view their actions and the actions of others. They do not physically stop or enforce your characters actions.

I think part of the problem may be the limited nature of selecting one of a small subset of choices. Some people might feel that they are obligated to follow that choice. I think it would be better to ignore the alignments entirely or invite players to write their own mottos or drives. Rather than “Good” a character “will always help those in need”. Instead of “Evil” a character “Always looks out for himself first”. Also the party needs to be held together by a common goal or even by friendship. A character might not like what another is doing but they are on a mission or he tolerates it because the other guy has saved his life several times. If your character simply cannot accept the actions of the others you should say “It seems like my character would abandon this party” and create a new one or do something else. equally if you notice a character in your party is having trouble accepting what you and the others are doing, maybe your characters should show some concern and dial it back. They know this guy and don’t want to chase him off.

Just try to play your character as a person and be prepared to justify your actions rationally in the context of the story. Don’t just say that you are ___.

As some of you may know, Rob Ferguson is leaving us soon to make his fortune in the dark and mysterious Orient.

As some of you may know, Rob Ferguson is leaving us soon to make his fortune in the dark and mysterious Orient. I was surprised when he told me this. Here is how the conversation went:

Rob: Will you look into the mirror?

Jason: What will I see?

Rob: Even the wisest cannot tell. For the mirror…shows many things…things that were…things that are…and some things…that have not yet come to pass.

Jason: Umm, I don’t see anything.

Rob: I know what it is you saw, for it is also in my mind. It is what will come to pass if you should fail. It has already begun. She will come to take the Gauntlet. You know of whom I speak.

Jason: I mean, I can just give you the Gauntlet, if that’s what you want.

Rob: You offer it to me freely? I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this.

(At this point, Rob begins to glow and starts shouting).

Rob: In place of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! With gams stronger than the foundations of the earth! All will love me and despair!

(Rob stops glowing and catches his breath).

Jason: Are you done?

Rob: I pass the test. I will diminish and go into the East, and remain Rob Ferguson.

Jason: I really don’t want to manage this thing by myself, though.

Rob: You are the Gauntlet bearer, Jason. To bear the Gauntlet is to be alone. This task was appointed to you, and if you do not find a way, no one will.

Jason: It just seems like so much trouble. I don’t think I can do it.

Rob (leaning-in and placing his hands on my face in a motherly way): Even people with the smallest gams can change the future.

So, after the game last night, we got talking about Rifts.

So, after the game last night, we got talking about Rifts. Now, that is quite possibly one of the worst rule systems ever devised. It is also one of the most problematic settings in terms of cultural stereotyping.

That said, I kind of want to play it again (just a session or two). Maybe it’s just nostalgia talking (I used to mainline Rifts in high school), but I’d be curious to dust it off and see if anything can be done with it.

Maybe a fast and dirty PbtA version, a la World of Dungeons?

The end of continuous campaigns! Literal patent trolls want to take your characters way and tell you how to game! …

The end of continuous campaigns! Literal patent trolls want to take your characters way and tell you how to game! Looks like it’s time to bring out Comrade Jason on the big guns!

http://www.geeknative.com/46075/games-publisher-attempts-patent-rpg-mechanics/