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<blockquote data-quote="Dias Ex Machina" data-source="post: 4809860" data-attributes="member: 58907"><p>June Marks two important events. One is the release of the Amethyst FreeRPGDay module, Hearts of Chaos. The second is the publication of the second issue of Goodman's Level Up magazine, which features an article on Amethyst. The article features some of my best writing. I tried to lock down in under 2500 words everything about Amethyst I love. I tried to write from what I know, as if selling it to myself rather than trying to imagine what readers would want me to say. There are no rules in the article, just pure setting and imagination. All the aspects of the setting are touched upon but even this does not fully encapsulate everything we are trying to achieve. All the work we put into the four techan classes or the new races or paragon paths was time consuming and enjoyable but it's the setting that I have the most fun writing for. It's not often a role playing game is released that tries to inject a heavy dose of philosophy in its presentation. </p><p></p><p> It is more than the simple conflict of chaos and order (order being the force of evil and chaos being the force of good) but also about freedom of choice. I am dealing with similar issues in NeuroSpasta but that game directly goes after consumerism and the definition of a democracy in a growing capitalist society (yeah, you just read that). Amethyst proposes what kind of choices people would make when faced with the possibilities of not being tied down to any ethnicity, any government, or any religion. Even your own genes can't claim control of your actions as the fae run against the normal inclinations of a biological creature. Humans wandering the world of magic are placed under that same pressure. </p><p></p><p> In bastions, people have the reliability and safety of technology so they can live longer and happier, but they are by no means free. The chaos of the world around--the very freedom of endless possibilities--actually keeps those people trapped. The freedom of anarchy keeps those in bastions from being completely un-tethered. They would claim this is the sacrifice one must make. If you want to be content and safe, certain liberties need to be lifted...not unlike certain controversies occurring around the world today. In the real world, we see government regulations lifted in exchange for a free market, which ends up creating chaos, forcing governments back in to regulate it. In Amethyst, bastions are formed from a united need to survive and maintain the traditions of technological man and with the parables to their old ways, the people may believe themselves in a democracy but they are not, as their desires and wants as well as their need for safety dictates the actions of their leaders. Politicians, meanwhile, maintain power over their population by using their fear of the outside world to limit their liberties. Those in the fantasy world, despite being under equal threats, have an expanding landscape to their own. Limshau and Abidan, for example, are ruled under positive ideologies, with an optimistic view of the future. It makes you wonder what kind of world we would have if you were to remove all borders, ethnic conflicts, and erase the rampant consumerism the free market has make us believe is necessary. In many ways the order/chaos conflict of Amethyst can also be read as a clash between freedom and suppression--where the freedom is the limitless scope of imagination and the suppression is the maturity of the individual into the role of pacified consumer.</p><p></p><p>And this is a role playing games, folks...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dias Ex Machina, post: 4809860, member: 58907"] June Marks two important events. One is the release of the Amethyst FreeRPGDay module, Hearts of Chaos. The second is the publication of the second issue of Goodman's Level Up magazine, which features an article on Amethyst. The article features some of my best writing. I tried to lock down in under 2500 words everything about Amethyst I love. I tried to write from what I know, as if selling it to myself rather than trying to imagine what readers would want me to say. There are no rules in the article, just pure setting and imagination. All the aspects of the setting are touched upon but even this does not fully encapsulate everything we are trying to achieve. All the work we put into the four techan classes or the new races or paragon paths was time consuming and enjoyable but it's the setting that I have the most fun writing for. It's not often a role playing game is released that tries to inject a heavy dose of philosophy in its presentation. It is more than the simple conflict of chaos and order (order being the force of evil and chaos being the force of good) but also about freedom of choice. I am dealing with similar issues in NeuroSpasta but that game directly goes after consumerism and the definition of a democracy in a growing capitalist society (yeah, you just read that). Amethyst proposes what kind of choices people would make when faced with the possibilities of not being tied down to any ethnicity, any government, or any religion. Even your own genes can't claim control of your actions as the fae run against the normal inclinations of a biological creature. Humans wandering the world of magic are placed under that same pressure. In bastions, people have the reliability and safety of technology so they can live longer and happier, but they are by no means free. The chaos of the world around--the very freedom of endless possibilities--actually keeps those people trapped. The freedom of anarchy keeps those in bastions from being completely un-tethered. They would claim this is the sacrifice one must make. If you want to be content and safe, certain liberties need to be lifted...not unlike certain controversies occurring around the world today. In the real world, we see government regulations lifted in exchange for a free market, which ends up creating chaos, forcing governments back in to regulate it. In Amethyst, bastions are formed from a united need to survive and maintain the traditions of technological man and with the parables to their old ways, the people may believe themselves in a democracy but they are not, as their desires and wants as well as their need for safety dictates the actions of their leaders. Politicians, meanwhile, maintain power over their population by using their fear of the outside world to limit their liberties. Those in the fantasy world, despite being under equal threats, have an expanding landscape to their own. Limshau and Abidan, for example, are ruled under positive ideologies, with an optimistic view of the future. It makes you wonder what kind of world we would have if you were to remove all borders, ethnic conflicts, and erase the rampant consumerism the free market has make us believe is necessary. In many ways the order/chaos conflict of Amethyst can also be read as a clash between freedom and suppression--where the freedom is the limitless scope of imagination and the suppression is the maturity of the individual into the role of pacified consumer. And this is a role playing games, folks... [/QUOTE]
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