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Worlds of Design: Making an Adventure “Believable”
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<blockquote data-quote="RareBreed" data-source="post: 8669532" data-attributes="member: 6945590"><p>I believe I've written about this before, but back in the day, many TTRPGs had characters who were for the most part regular humans (so minimal "rule of cool" chances) and were in a mostly realistic setting. A sampling:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Twilight 2000</strong>: Average joes surviving the apocalypse of WW3 (most characters were not even elite Spec Ops miltary types)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Aftermath, The Morrow Project</strong>: Also post-apocalypse, but a little more fantastic (mutants and some anachronistic tech) but still all plausible</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Traveller 2300</strong>: the natural progression of the TW2k universe and was hard sci fi (I'd even argue Traveller was more realist than space opera)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Justice Inc, Daredevil, Gangbusters</strong>: 20s-30s RPGs where your characters were normal, though the setting might have some zany Pulp over the top setting (eg, Flash Gordon or Lost Worlds type pulps)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Recon (RPG Inc and Palladium</strong>): realistic RPGs set in the Vietnam War</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>James Bond 007, Top Secret, Mercenaries Spies and Private Eyes:</strong> Top secret agents in a mostly realistic setting (even the gadgets were realistic for the most part).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Many GURPs settings</strong>: From their historical focused settings (eg WW2, Napoleonic, Celtic, Viking, etc) and even Transhuman, a vast array of settings for GURPs was in the realist camp</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Boot Hill</strong>: Western RPG (that I only played it once but loved it) with nothing over the top like say Deadlands</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Behind Enemy Lines</strong>: an early WW2 RPG which I only read the rules and never played, but was historical WW2 (no cthulhu, Konflict 47, DUST, or other alt WW2 kind of fantastical setting)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Bushido, Sengoku</strong>: Both excellent and very realistic settings for feudal era Japan (they did have rules for Shugenja/Gakusho in both systems, but you could play a very realistic setting or in Sengoku a "Chanbarra" style "rule of cool" setting)</li> </ul><p></p><p>Since I kind of stopped playing in the early 90s and only kept up via websites and reading games, I wonder when TTRPG's became deluged with the fantastical and "rule of cool"? My RPG history is somewhat unusual in that (A)D&D was more of a foot note in my playing rather than being a substantive part of it. I played more Middle Earth Role Playing than AD&D and probably almost as much Runequest (both felt far more realistic and enjoyed them more than AD&D). Looking at modern incarnations of D&D and Pathfinder, I can't help but think, "so super hero fantasy is what people like now?".</p><p></p><p>I'm definitely in the realist and even simulationist school of roleplaying, which sadly means that there's not much out there for me anymore. My favorite campaign of all time was playing a Vietnam War setting using the infamous Phoenix Command Combat System. I personally never found it super complex as everyone thinks it was, and I liked the verisimilitude and tactical crunch of the system (IMHO, it still has the best ever initiative system I've seen in an RPG). Did it play fast? Not exactly, but the tension made up for it. It also made you have to think much more tactically than in "rule of cool" or fantastical games.</p><p></p><p>For me, roleplaying is about "what if" more than escaping the drudgery of the "real" world. But I still want a world that feels real, because for me, it makes accomplishment all the more sweet. To each their own, but it does seem like the RPG no longer caters to folks like me.</p><p></p><p>And I wonder how that came to be. I wonder why in almost all RPGs now, you have to play some ubermensch who has all these cool powers to use and in settings that I honestly can't relate to? Free League is one of the few companies I know of putting out games where you are mostly still normal Joes in mostly realistic and plausible settings. From Tales From the Loop, Twilight 2000 4th edition, Aliens, to the upcoming Blade Runner. Maybe the Swedes enjoy this style of gaming too? Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of their game engine, especially because I think it is not conducive to crunchy realistic rules. Still, I applaud their effort of making games in the mostly realistic camp.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RareBreed, post: 8669532, member: 6945590"] I believe I've written about this before, but back in the day, many TTRPGs had characters who were for the most part regular humans (so minimal "rule of cool" chances) and were in a mostly realistic setting. A sampling: [LIST] [*][B]Twilight 2000[/B]: Average joes surviving the apocalypse of WW3 (most characters were not even elite Spec Ops miltary types) [*][B]Aftermath, The Morrow Project[/B]: Also post-apocalypse, but a little more fantastic (mutants and some anachronistic tech) but still all plausible [*][B]Traveller 2300[/B]: the natural progression of the TW2k universe and was hard sci fi (I'd even argue Traveller was more realist than space opera) [*][B]Justice Inc, Daredevil, Gangbusters[/B]: 20s-30s RPGs where your characters were normal, though the setting might have some zany Pulp over the top setting (eg, Flash Gordon or Lost Worlds type pulps) [*][B]Recon (RPG Inc and Palladium[/B]): realistic RPGs set in the Vietnam War [*][B]James Bond 007, Top Secret, Mercenaries Spies and Private Eyes:[/B] Top secret agents in a mostly realistic setting (even the gadgets were realistic for the most part). [*][B]Many GURPs settings[/B]: From their historical focused settings (eg WW2, Napoleonic, Celtic, Viking, etc) and even Transhuman, a vast array of settings for GURPs was in the realist camp [*][B]Boot Hill[/B]: Western RPG (that I only played it once but loved it) with nothing over the top like say Deadlands [*][B]Behind Enemy Lines[/B]: an early WW2 RPG which I only read the rules and never played, but was historical WW2 (no cthulhu, Konflict 47, DUST, or other alt WW2 kind of fantastical setting) [*][B]Bushido, Sengoku[/B]: Both excellent and very realistic settings for feudal era Japan (they did have rules for Shugenja/Gakusho in both systems, but you could play a very realistic setting or in Sengoku a "Chanbarra" style "rule of cool" setting) [/LIST] Since I kind of stopped playing in the early 90s and only kept up via websites and reading games, I wonder when TTRPG's became deluged with the fantastical and "rule of cool"? My RPG history is somewhat unusual in that (A)D&D was more of a foot note in my playing rather than being a substantive part of it. I played more Middle Earth Role Playing than AD&D and probably almost as much Runequest (both felt far more realistic and enjoyed them more than AD&D). Looking at modern incarnations of D&D and Pathfinder, I can't help but think, "so super hero fantasy is what people like now?". I'm definitely in the realist and even simulationist school of roleplaying, which sadly means that there's not much out there for me anymore. My favorite campaign of all time was playing a Vietnam War setting using the infamous Phoenix Command Combat System. I personally never found it super complex as everyone thinks it was, and I liked the verisimilitude and tactical crunch of the system (IMHO, it still has the best ever initiative system I've seen in an RPG). Did it play fast? Not exactly, but the tension made up for it. It also made you have to think much more tactically than in "rule of cool" or fantastical games. For me, roleplaying is about "what if" more than escaping the drudgery of the "real" world. But I still want a world that feels real, because for me, it makes accomplishment all the more sweet. To each their own, but it does seem like the RPG no longer caters to folks like me. And I wonder how that came to be. I wonder why in almost all RPGs now, you have to play some ubermensch who has all these cool powers to use and in settings that I honestly can't relate to? Free League is one of the few companies I know of putting out games where you are mostly still normal Joes in mostly realistic and plausible settings. From Tales From the Loop, Twilight 2000 4th edition, Aliens, to the upcoming Blade Runner. Maybe the Swedes enjoy this style of gaming too? Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of their game engine, especially because I think it is not conducive to crunchy realistic rules. Still, I applaud their effort of making games in the mostly realistic camp. [/QUOTE]
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