Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Wednesday Comics: DC, November 1983 (week 4)
Friday, August 23, 2024
Weird Revisited: Setting History Should do Something
My thesis is that history in rpg books is most useful/good when it does something. Possible somethings are:
1. Helps to orient the reader (mostly the GM) to the themes/mood/flavor of the setting.
2. Directly establishes parameters that impact the player's adventures.
3. Provides "toys" or obstacles.
It is unhelpful when it does the following:
1. Describes events that have little to no impact on the present.
2. Describes events which are repetitive in nature or easy to confuse.
3. Provides few "toys," or ones that are not unique/distinctive.
Now, I am not talking specifically here about number of words or page counts, which I think a lot of people might feel is the main offender. Those are sort of dependent on the style/marketing position of the publication. Bona fide rpg company books tend to be written more densely and presumably read more straight for pleasure. DIY works are linear and more practical. My biases are toward the latter, but I am more concerned with content here. I do think in general that economy of words makes good things better, and verbosity exacerbates the bad things.
Let's get into an example from Jack Shear's Krevborna:
Gods were once reverenced throughout Krevborna, but in ages past they withdrew their influence from the world. Some say that the gods abandoned mankind to its dark fate due to unforgivable sins. Others believe that the gods retreated after they were betrayed by the rebellious angels who became demons and devils. Some even claim that the gods were killed and consumed by cosmic forces of darkness known as the Elder Evils.Looking at my list of "good things" it hits most of them. It helps orient to mood and theme (lack of gods, dark fate, unforgivable sins), it sets parameters for the adventurers (cosmic forces of darkness, no gods), and provides obstacles (demons and devils, rebellious angels, elder evils).
That's pretty brief, though. What about a wordier example? Indulge me in an example from my own stuff:
So, the good stuff: orienting to theme, mood. etc. (deep history, memeplexes, super-science, transcendence as old hat, names suggesting a multicultural melange), setting parameters (a fallen age compared to the past, psychic powers, vast distances), and toys and obstacles (psybernetics and a host of other advance tech, Zurr masks, Faceless Ones!)
But wait, have I done one of the "bad things?" I've got two fallen previous civilizations? Isn't that repetitive and potentially confusing? I would say no. The Archaic Oikueme is the distant past (it's in the name!). It's the "a wizard did it" answer for any weird stuff the GM wishes to throw in, and the source of McGuffins aplenty. The Radiant Polity is the recent past. Its collapse is still reverberating. It is the shining example (again, in the name) that would-be civilizers (and tyrants) namecheck.
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Wednesday Comics: DC, November 1983 (week 3)
Monday, August 19, 2024
The Collected Planes
Friday, August 16, 2024
The Return of Flash Gordon
"Gordon's alive?!"
That's right, the Flash Gordon comic strip started by Alex Raymond in 1934 has returned in a new incarnation to the (digital) comics page on the website Comics Kingdom. Cartoonist Dan Schkade relaunched the series on October 22, 2023, and has been doing daily and Sunday installments since.
Schkade's continuity starts right after the defeat of Ming (in Raymond's 1941 strip) and tells the story of what happens as the uneasy alliances of the revolution fall apart and the different kingdoms jockey for power. I think it's a novel approach: something fresher than either a complete reboot we've seen so many times or bland "further adventures" in a world without a strong central conflict.
The weekday installments tend to carry the story forward, but the Sunday strips offer a summary of the previous six days from the perspective of a specific character, which serves to both catch you up and give insight into the characters.
Check out the strip here.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Wednesday Comics: DC, November 1983 (week 2)
Monday, August 12, 2024
Eternian Icons for 13th Age
Alvin Lee |