The Reason for the Age
By Ryan Nock
Imagine if one day the whole world woke up and agreed with you.
That was the hook that led to this entire adventure path. I’d long had in mind the images of starry nights obscured by the steam of enchanted industry, of ghosts in a theater, a colossus broken free, and a woman standing on its shoulder regretting her role in the disaster. I was fascinated by all the revolutions that had gone on during the Age of Enlightenment, just slightly predating the era most ‘steampunk’ emulates. I’d been high on Obama’s inauguration and crestfallen at political impediments to the changes I hoped he’d make.
But I didn’t have a core idea, something complex enough to keep gamers involved for potentially years of adventures, and something compelling enough to me that my muse would keep shoving me until it was complete. Then, while brainstorming setting factions in an email thread with E.N. Publishing’s owner Russ Morrissey, I wrote
“And here's what I think the villains are up to. We've already got factions with clearly delineated philosophical differences. Insular homeland protection, technological superiority, nihilistic greed, the supremacy of secrets, revenge and the ascendancy of nature, and peacemaking. The conflict isn't existential, but philosophical. One age is about to end, another set to begin, as foretold in the stars.”
I’m writing this foreword on November 5th. For Russ, it’s Guy Fawkes Day, so I’ll admit that a little conspiracy – with the right amount of explosions and villains burned on pyres – can be fun. I certainly hope the campaign we’ve written is fun for you. For me, though, this evening is mere days from the US Presidential election, and the fact that I don’t actually live in a fantasy setting hasn’t managed to stop America from believing in two distinct, barely compatible realities.
By the time any of you read this, the election will be decided, the seal closed, and the stars will turn along one course or another. The next morning we won’t wake up and all agree with each other, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept that this is how the world will always and forever be.
Roleplaying games are escapist, yes, but at their best they are also emboldening, empowering. We battle monsters that exist only as words in the air, and we triumph with the aid only of clever thoughts and clever friends. The dice won’t always go our way, but through games we can be heroes.
If all you take away from your Zeitgeist campaign are memories of heroism, grandeur, and adventure, I’ll be honored I could be a part of that. But perhaps, as you and your friends grapple with forces that seek to dictate what the perfect world will be, you’ll consider the works of great thinkers past and present, and be empowered with the courage to lend your voice too to the panoply of philosophies arguing the future into being.
