Social Commentary
- Thread starter the Jester
- Start date
I always use current events in my games. From 9/11 I had the Wizard Guild Towers destroyed, to start my adventure, which lead to the Wizard War.
Most current is the story of the Snakehead fish invading US ponds. They are EVIL! EVIL I say.
Most current is the story of the Snakehead fish invading US ponds. They are EVIL! EVIL I say.
Sorry to get all Sartre on you, but I'm suspicious of folks who claim to be apolitical (or who claim their art is or, in this case, campaigns are). Just because you haven't consciously chosen to include a political stance doesn't mean you haven't included one by default. Does your campaign feature the clash of Good and Evil? If so, then it's probably political on some level. The question now remains, are the politics you espouse unconsciously the kind of politics you would preach?
Desdichado
Hero
Of course! You want your players to identify with the situation in the game, so I always add issues that are metaphors for things going on the real world.
I try hard not to make any value judgements about them; even blatantly evil things like terrorism or genocide, but the PCs are quick to make their own value judgements anyway.
But if the situations didn't mirror the real world, at least in some way, how could they do that?
I try hard not to make any value judgements about them; even blatantly evil things like terrorism or genocide, but the PCs are quick to make their own value judgements anyway.
But if the situations didn't mirror the real world, at least in some way, how could they do that?
Buttercup
Princess of Florin
I think every DM colors the game with their personal worldview. If I create a villain, naturally they have characteristics that I consider evil.
I certainly don't try to put current events into my game, though. I frankly couldn't bear to create a medieval version of the World Trade Center attack. It would seem, I dunno, sacreligious almost. Certainly in poor taste. Not to mention that it will be years before that horror has faded enough for me to create fiction referring to it.
I certainly don't try to put current events into my game, though. I frankly couldn't bear to create a medieval version of the World Trade Center attack. It would seem, I dunno, sacreligious almost. Certainly in poor taste. Not to mention that it will be years before that horror has faded enough for me to create fiction referring to it.
Pull up my soap box
As a DM I list out for my players what I see as evil, these are things like 'race' sacrifice, cannibism, cold-blooded murder, so-on. These are my views that I have forced on my players. They are what the detect evil spell works on, my world myth.
Now I have politics - this is what the state/church/guild/tribe says is evil or wrong or against the law. They don't make you evil but I let my players take a stand on them if they want to.
As a DM I list out for my players what I see as evil, these are things like 'race' sacrifice, cannibism, cold-blooded murder, so-on. These are my views that I have forced on my players. They are what the detect evil spell works on, my world myth.
Now I have politics - this is what the state/church/guild/tribe says is evil or wrong or against the law. They don't make you evil but I let my players take a stand on them if they want to.
Acutally, this thread just reminded me, there is a d20 Afghanistan game that came out recently. I really wish I was joking, because it seems like incredibly bad taste to me (your mileage may vary), but in it you play as a US soldier (or squad, or whatever a group of more than one soldier is called) fighting the taliban and al-queda.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
After a whale stranding near a city my PCs tried to do a 'Save the Whales' thing - thats until the natives turned up to harvest the meat. - So we had a little confrontation over indigenous rights to cultural harvest vs the Green mentality
My 'Agents of the Church' campaign feature a Priest who was molesting children in the Church hostel and thus allowing the Demons to enter the Sanctuary.
I read on the net somewhere about a plot which involved a group of Orc women and children coming to town to hire adventurers to find out what had happened to their menfolk (who had gone out hunting and hadn't reurned)
- The PCs find out that the Orc menfolk referred to were the same group of Orcs that they themselves had encountered and slaughter a week before.
My 'Agents of the Church' campaign feature a Priest who was molesting children in the Church hostel and thus allowing the Demons to enter the Sanctuary.
I read on the net somewhere about a plot which involved a group of Orc women and children coming to town to hire adventurers to find out what had happened to their menfolk (who had gone out hunting and hadn't reurned)
- The PCs find out that the Orc menfolk referred to were the same group of Orcs that they themselves had encountered and slaughter a week before.
Mythtify
First Post
Social commentary usualy happens in the game wether the DM means it too, or not. As we are the writers of the game, a bit of ourselves comes through. We are products of the society we live in, so our feelings on that society will be reflected in our fiction, if we want it to or not.
I try to take measures to ensure that my personal few points on life don't overwelm or dictate a game though. I have very strong christian beliefs. This effects how I view things in the real world. I play with poeple who have similar, vastly different, and no religious beliefs. I make an effort to keep moral issues in my games from being based upon "christian" themes. The game isn't meant to be a way for me to express my view points to my friends. We have conversations for that.
Furthermore, I try to keep current events out of my games. This is my escape from the world. If the real world starts to invade my game, its time for me to go and do something else.
I try to take measures to ensure that my personal few points on life don't overwelm or dictate a game though. I have very strong christian beliefs. This effects how I view things in the real world. I play with poeple who have similar, vastly different, and no religious beliefs. I make an effort to keep moral issues in my games from being based upon "christian" themes. The game isn't meant to be a way for me to express my view points to my friends. We have conversations for that.
Furthermore, I try to keep current events out of my games. This is my escape from the world. If the real world starts to invade my game, its time for me to go and do something else.
Zerovoid
First Post
I suppose alot of social commentary slips into my games. I realized that I almost always cast the church as being secretly evil in the campaign worlds I create. And I'm much more likely to have rich bad guys that mistreat poor people than a downtrodden indvidual who desperately resorts to evil. Sometimes I do it on purpose, but I think its usually my own world view coloring the situation.
On 911 and DnD: After that happened, the first thought I had was, "Wow, I wish my characters could pull off something like that." I immediatly felt ashamed, and repeated to myself that obviously I was completely against the attack, and regretted that people had died, etc... But the way that adventurers in operate is alot like terrorists. PC's want to destroy the evil empire by killing its evil wizard ruler, or smashing the magical crystal that gives its soldiers their power or something. We want to blow up the Death Star, because its more exciting than starting a reasoned discourse, using the democratic process, or staging a boycott against the blacksmith. We conduct covert acts of destruction, because there's no way that our four PC's can stand up to the goblin king's large army of conventional forces. Trying to fight them openly on the field of battle is something only a lawful stupid paladin would do! But, its ok because we're the good guys.
On 911 and DnD: After that happened, the first thought I had was, "Wow, I wish my characters could pull off something like that." I immediatly felt ashamed, and repeated to myself that obviously I was completely against the attack, and regretted that people had died, etc... But the way that adventurers in operate is alot like terrorists. PC's want to destroy the evil empire by killing its evil wizard ruler, or smashing the magical crystal that gives its soldiers their power or something. We want to blow up the Death Star, because its more exciting than starting a reasoned discourse, using the democratic process, or staging a boycott against the blacksmith. We conduct covert acts of destruction, because there's no way that our four PC's can stand up to the goblin king's large army of conventional forces. Trying to fight them openly on the field of battle is something only a lawful stupid paladin would do! But, its ok because we're the good guys.
