Blade Runner rpg - having trouble getting sucked in

[payn]

I think there's an ample amount to interpret, but I bristle at Scott's idea being definitive when it's never fully made clear in the film and that he's always been alone in saying it. Again, I find him to be his own worst enemy when it comes to making films.

I think it's been many years since he's made a good movie, but I like his ideas on BR.

 

[MGibster]

I mean I think there are other clues, though I'm just saying what Scott said.

No, you're right, there are other clues. I think your interpretation is valid even if I don't share it.

 

[dragoner]

I think there's an ample amount to interpret, but I bristle at Scott's idea being definitive when it's never fully made clear in the film and that he's always been alone in saying it. Again, I find him to be his own worst enemy when it comes to making films.

Scott is sort of definitive though. I think I remember Ford saying that he played Deckard as human, though Jeter wrote that the Blade Runners were all replicants.

Edit: I will also add that I am fine with it either way, I think it is supposed to be ambiguous to add to the feeling if replicants are actual people or not.

 

[Justice and Rule]

Scott is sort of definitive though. I think I remember Ford saying that he played Deckard as human, though Jeter wrote that the Blade Runners were all replicants.

I mean, Scott isn't definitive because there's nothing definitive in the film. It doesn't matter what Scott says outside of it, even with is stuff in there it's still ambiguous, and his opinion is just that. It goes against what the actor, the writer, and the producer have said on the topic, as well as Dick himself, who has laid out in the past why him being human is important thematically.

 

[Helena Real]

I just received my book and starter set and, after reading all the intro material plus character creation rules in the Core Rulebook, I have to say that I'm deeply satisfied with the game so far.

And yes: this is pretty much a game about playing cops, but I don't feel like it's copaganda. Quite the contrary, I'd say. All of the archetypes, for example, are variations on being terrible people, not some power fantasy of "upholding the law" and being the "good guys" fighting the "bad guys" (AKA criminals).

In fact, the reward mechanics in the game are very much suggestive of a strong critique of the Blade Runners' role, from my perspective. The Promotion Points get you more specialities by following the law, it's true, but you can also lose them by bending or breaking the rules. Specialties are a way to increase your character's abilities, but a lot less relevant than skills overall, I think.

And what's the only way to increase skills? To gain Humanity Points which, at least as far I've read, can only be acquired by avoiding the most problematic behaviors Blade Runners are supposed to engage in on a regular basis. So, from a mechanics' point of view, the game rewards are a push and pull between doing cop sh*t and being more compassionate, humane, etc., with an emphasis, I'd say, on the human side of things.

All in all, it seems to me like a great adaptation of the original film's and novel's world into an RPG. Is it an RPG about playing awful people? For sure. But I think it doesn't glorify that awfulness and, instead, seeks to confront all players with the challenges and consequences of trying to be human in a deeply inhumane world. And I think that's an RPG not only worth having, but one that I'm looking forward to run at some point.

At least for me, RPGs that offer great mechanical support to "fantasies" (in the broadest sense of the word) other than killing outsiders to get richer and more powerful are more attractive than any heroic fantasies that have little to no self-awareness or sense of self criticism.

 

[payn]

I just received my book and starter set and, after reading all the intro material plus character creation rules in the Core Rulebook, I have to say that I'm deeply satisfied by the game so far.

And yes: this is pretty much a game about playing cops, but I don't feel like it's copaganda. Quite the contrary, I'd say. All of the archetypes, for example, are variations on being terrible people, not some power fantasy of "upholding the law" and being the "good guys" fighting the "bad guys" (AKA criminals).

In fact, rhe reward mechanics in the game are very much suggestive of a strong critique of the Blade Runners' role, from my perspective. The Promotion Points get you more specialities by following the law, it's true, but you can also lose them by bending or breaking the rules. Specialties are a way to increase your character's abilities, but a lot less relevant than skills overall, I think.

And what's the only way to increase skills? To gain Humanity Points which, at least as far I've read, can only be acquired by avoiding the most problematic behaviors Blade Runners are supposed to engage in on a regular basis. So, from a mechanics' point of view, the game rewards are a push and pull between doing cop sh*t and being more compassionate, humane, etc., with an emphasis, I'd say, on the human side of things.

All in all, it seems to me like a great adaptation of the original film's and novel's world into an RPG. Is it an RPG about playing awful people? For sure. But I think it doesn't glorify that awfulness and, instead, seeks to confront all players with the challenges and consequences of trying to be human in a deeply inhumane world. And I think that's an RPG not only worth having, but one that I'm looking forward to run at some point.

At least for me, RPGs that offer great mechanical support to "fantasies" (in the broadest sense of the word) other than killing outsiders to get richer and more powerful are more attractive than any heroic fantasies that have little to no self-awareness or sense of self criticism.

Thank you for the write up. What happens if you lean too far into or out of the job?

 

[Helena Real]

Thank you for the write up. What happens if you lean too far into or out of the job?

At least as far as I've read, if you don't rest enough (days are divided in 4 shifts and you need to dedicate at least 1 shift to relax in some fashion), you cannot get rid of stress and start adding more stress (1 per shift without rest).

In the case of going too far out of the job, you need to make a Connections roll (a skill). If you fail, you get a disciplinary action. If you lean too much into the job, you won't get Humanity Points which, in turn, won't allow you to improve your character, as Humanity Points are the only way to improve your skills. In other words: you won't get XP. So, the game is not so subtly pushing you to act less like an ideal (sic) Blade Runner and more like a human being, regardless of whether you're a human or replicant.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Context certainly matters. You likely wouldn't get a lot of people to sign up for Addict: The RPG of Emotional and Physical Abuse, but Vampire the Masquerade has had a lot of success over the years. The game has predator types, which is the primary method of how they get their blood. Some examples of predator types includes Alleycats who are brutes beating people up (mugging them) and drains them, a Cleaver is someone who feesd from their mortal family or friends, a Sandman sneaks up to people who are sleeping to drain them, and a Siren is someone who feeds almost exclusively on someone during or while feigning sex. Any player who picks Siren, needs to come to grips with the fact that their character is a serial rapist. Hell, my players were directly involved in human trafficking and all the horrors that surround that.

But the game doesn't treat the player characters as if they're the good guys, and that's really important. You're a monster who has to survive by doing bad things. Even if you manage to avoid doing those bad things for a while, there's a good chance you'll lose control and hurt someone you love. How do you hold on to a shred of your humanity while surviving?

On the other hand, most groups instead play VtM as Underworld: The RPG (no, not that one, the movie), which is, of course, the snake eating its own tail.

Especially in the 1990s, VtM was the game of katanas and trenchcoats and skin-tight PVC-clad vampires being awesome. Agonizing about addiction and abuse was something that Justin Achilli told them the game was about, but the game as played, not so much.

It sounds like, for better or worse, Free League made a game that's harder to disentangle from its thematic goals (two additional decades of game design evolution will do that).

I loved the Time of the Thin-Blooded -- vampires standing in for homeless crack addicts -- but I would be surprised to learn it got much playtime back in the day.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

From the 5th edition entry on Sirens, "You feed almost exclusively during or while feigning sex...you think of yourself as as sexy beast, but in your darkest moments, you fear that you're at best a problematic lover, at worst a habitual rapist." I'mm going to go ahead and ask, why is it okay for this kind of thing to go on off screen? One of the criticisms of The Godfather is that we never see the negative impact the Corleon's business has on regular people which helps cast them in a more sympathetic light. Would we feel so badly for Sonny if we saw him squeezing protection money out of a small business owner just trying to get by? To me, it's more problematic to ignore the negative aspects of the monster you're supposed to be role playing. It's what leads to superheroes with fangs compaigns.

For the record, you are playing VtM my preferred way. I just don't think it's the way most VtM player do it.

Being an awesome sexy vampire killing machine is, for better or worse, something with broader appeal than "vampire rapist."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think a lot of people miss that Deckard is a replicant, even after Scott said it with Gaff leaving the origami unicorn on the landing.

In at least one of the 10,000 official cuts of the movie, Deckard also has the eyeshine that replicants have. Scott clearly thinks Deckard's a replicant, although Harrison Ford apparently disagrees.