I briefly mentioned a heart-warming RPG fusion on Day 7 Couple. Part of how I fused Ryuutama, Golden Sky Stories and the Changeling games was to apply a comfort filter, dramatically downplaying the many dark aspects in Changeling. A Studio Ghibli like version of the Dreaming allows for the Ryuujin role from Ryuutama to fit nicely, in this case being a helpful Fae/Chimera. I love the Discworld, another guiding idea is: do the opposite of what the Lords and Ladies would do. 😉
Fusing games can result in a confusing mess, a familiar comfort blanket ruined, so to speak. Thankfully, so far this fusion has gone well. I think partly because I’ve played lots of Changeling tabletop, so I am familiar with the darkness of the game. Additionally, the wife and I spent many years immersed in Fae plot at Lorien Trust LARP, which massively ‘borrowed’ from Changeling.
This Tuesday, we will have another session walking along the cliffs and gaming; not like a LARP, but a pleasant walk and talk. I am planning a picnic. I look forward to the next adventure of our comfort blanket.
Street Fighter RPG
I‘ve briefly pondered running Honobono (heart-warming) style SFRPG sessions. Chibi versions of the World Warriors are of course Super Kawaii. My wife is not interested in learning the SFRPG combat mechanics, planning a fighting career, etc., but she did like how cute the fun tile-matching game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is. 🙂
Another game direction I’ve considered is the Respite Realm I mentioned for Day 13. Maybe a game borrowing heavily from Spirited Away, besides spirits, fighters come to rest and learn. Does a warrior trick the young girl in to lending them one of Yubaba’s trinkets, resulting in a Bison like threat to the Mortal Realm?! Hmm, almost something here. 😉
"Hmm, actually I'm not sure if this 'pillow' is comfy enough. I'd have to sleep on it." "No way! Besides you've done this joke before." "Aw come on! You know how hard it is to leave my comfort zone… heh."#RPGaDay2020#ttrpg#dnd#pathfinderpic.twitter.com/16HhVqwvHz
> More often than not it's the latter, because in RPGs we are both the cast and the audience – and as good audience members, we naturally don't want to interrupt, we politely wait for a scene break or other stopping point! #RPGaDay2020
#RPGaDay2020 Day 16: Comfort. The Mother of Light comforts those who follow and worship her. But what about those who don't? Who is going to comfort them?
#rpgaday2020 Day 17: Comfort. Playing #dnd and other #ttrpgs with friends online, and having freelance game design work to do has been a massive comfort during this difficult period 😀 pic.twitter.com/syMaIXdlv6
Safety tools are a cool new(-ish) dimension of play, and safer mechanics/safety built into a game is imo a cool specific form of this! More than just asking "what's unsafe in this game?" you can ask "how can I bake safer play in from the start?"
— Speak the Sky✨#trophytrifolds (@SpeaktheSky) August 18, 2020
This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.
Today’s prompt stimulated many thoughts, so I consulted my #PieChartofIndecision, but I kept adding things to it! I read and watched other #RPGaDay participants’ answers and many of the topics I’ve been pondering are well discussed/summarised.
Not being able to gather for tabletop is bad enough, so of course there is no LARP for me this year. I knew some people have taken their LARP games online, primarily playing their LARP character via virtual Tabletop sessions; typically a no-no, but understandable in these tough times. I have several games on the go, but I’ve been toying with this idea myself.
Forest had me reminiscing about an old Scouts Guild events (Lorien Trust, UK). The organisers had arranged for a guide with actual expertise in woodlands to teach us IC. Always excellent when someone with such in-depth knowledge teaching things, plus it added something rare and special to that event; the pyrotechnics were special for that one. I have spent a lot of time camping, taking long hikes, but I’m also aware that being in the UK, our forests are better labelled woods, being mostly small, safe and lovely. Forests are something more, some nice posts below about this. 🙂
Whilst browsing I watched Paco’s video. I started to write a reply to it, but then also took inspiration from it. Check it out:
I have played in several sci-fi games that included forest scenes, but on reflection I couldn’t think of that many experiences; typically the games were set on spaceships, stations, bases, focusing on machinery or virtual spaces. I thought Paco made an important point about most Sci-Fi RPGs and the lack of nature. Some good analysis. Are the genre expectations boxing us in (priming)? Which I guess is a part of Paco’s reasoning. I also wonder whether part of the reason the focus of various sci-fi games is the way it is, is due to striving to differentiate things to our other genre games: fantasy, urban, near future, etc.? Is this the same logic that many Sci-Fi writers also use, thus perpetuating the genre tropes? Tropes RPG designers/writers then drawn upon.
A powerful old sci-fi movie comes to mind: Silent Running. In part because of the amazing ending credit song: Joan Baez ‘Rejoice in the Sun’!
I have made some notes in my game ideas to run file: the lives of people aboard an interstellar lifeboat, taking a generational journey after the Earth was devastated by an ELE asteroid strike. The crews understanding of both nature and machinery being of equal importance, in part the size of the ship and the amount of plants and wildlife aboard. A Warhammer 40,000 version of a generational ship lost in the warp also came to mind, but too much GrimDark! To tone things down, this could have be taken down a grimy cyberpunk route, but I’m inclined towards something more HopePunk. Many game systems, but currently I’m leaning towards Trinity Continuum, maybe even Aberrant. Exciting, but another project that I feel would require me to research numerous topics more.
SFRPG Plant Imbued
Background: Plant Imbued (nickname Treants).
This background expands the type of Elementalists, the difference being the character’s connection to the planet has manifested as an ability to interact with plants. Like other Elementalists, Plant Imbued characters are drawn to environmental concerns.
Appearance: As the character gains ranks in Plant Imbued, their appearance becomes slowly less human. This also provides the character with a source of plant material, so the link between their background and expensive Special Maneuvers, but not earth or water but plants, is important.
Psychology: A Plant Imbued’s psychology can lean towards that of Earth or Water, but they are still individuals. Of course some are driven by more fiery passions, in part because of the harm done by many humans to plant life.
Many prefer to split their time between humans and going deep in to more natural terrain. Some even choose to be solitary, living deep in nature.
Soak Modifier: a Plant Imbued can choose to have:
None (neutral).
Same as Earth
Same as Water
Special Manuevers: Some from Earth and Water – needs more playtesting, for now experiment. 😉
Like with other Elementalists, there is the prerequisite of needing the background rating equal or higher than any Elemental specific Special Maneuvers.
Regeneration (1) but only via photosynthesis. If an Arena does not have access to sunlight, or an artificial light source that mimics sunlight (most don’t), the regeneration maneuver will fail.
The character can still their use their powers when in a sterile area, like a laboratory, etc., Optional: maybe things are a bit harder?
Ponderings: Plant Bending, like the members of the Foggy Swamp Tribe. Force of Nature. Swamp Thing & D.C. The Green, Treants, Dryads, Gaia & Garou. Etc.
Other Peoples’ Answers
Anthony Boyd @Runeslinger choose to explore Lever for day 6, another room on the dungeon map
Hoje é dia de mostrar a incrível escultura que Giovane do Monte fez para a arena de Blanka, permitindo sessões incríveis de RPG pic.twitter.com/XqZtspOSe2
So many TTRPG view the forest or wilds as this incredibly dangerous place. I would love to design a game where you are the forest and civilization / its people are dangerous. Lean into that idea. Maybe you are a giant spirit of the forest?
— Joel Salda runs The Big Tabletop (@Saldamandar) August 6, 2020
What's interesting to me about this one is that while we assume 'forest' is a pretty universal concept, it still means different things to different people.
#RPGaDay2020 6-Forest. A forest is not just a bunch of trees, it can be a border (physical/supernatural), place to find rest, betrayal, birds, temptation, intrigue, insects, comradery, death or enlightenment. pic.twitter.com/O9Xfj7Fyln
While it's been my pleasure to play hundreds of RPGs, there are a few dozen I've read cover-to-cover and studied without ever getting to play. The Ghost Dog RPG is probably the top of that list: a David Pulver game designed specifically for 1-on-1 gaming. pic.twitter.com/B4eRqAv3pp
#RPGaDay2020 j6 Super thème aujourd'hui, j'ai envie de hurler "COURS !" *badum tssssss* Bref, en JDR, je vois les forêts comme… ben comme des donjons en fait. Sauf qu'on peut s'y perdre beaucoup plus vite et se faire embusquer absolument partout… 1/5 pic.twitter.com/eaUrkfhjTQ
Forests brings me to one of my favourite Poleis or districts of Theoros, Setessa where buildings and forest are woven together. Women make up the bulk of the population hold most of the leadership roles, when young men come of age they leave Setessa and 1/2 #RPGaday2020
Moongrove Of A Million Spirits: Trunks of silver-green bamboo soar overhead, rustling faintly in the lack of wind; and every year the Moongrove spreads. And every slim shaft contains milky opals in its nodes; every opal, a ghost drawn from the soil …#RPGaDay2020
#RPGaDay2020 for 8/6 is Forest. When it comes to biomes that I want to better include in my games, forest is probably the top. I set my first Apocalypse World game in dense woodlands that had reclaimed civilization, and I'm currently writing unique flora for a Genesys campaign.
Forests don't feature prominently in my games. I grew up in the suburbs, have spent my adult life in the city – I don't really know forests. I like bushwalking, but my imagination goes to cities, oceans, the sky before it goes to forests.
This is a non-exhaustive list; I still have many posts to read today, so I might be adding more links. I’d recommend searching the hashtag and judge those great answers for yourself: #RPGaDay2020, some people use #RPGaDay.
Batjutsu 