The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[CleverNickName]

@Gradine, your RPG is hilarious and fun, and you should be proud of yourself!

Myself and two friends just played it. I was Breeze Vanderbuilt, 14F, lover of Yaoi Fanfic. My two besties (a lover of vampire romance and a lover of tennis) spent two hours getting our fabulous selves to the coffee shop. Along the way we were accosted by the MF police three times, construction workers twice, and my bestie's crush like, oh my god can you even believe it?! I made it to the shop with plenty of Joy left over for my pumpkin spice latte, but my besties were really struggling because seriously, ACAB.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I run...well ran...a lot of 1920s Call of Cthulhu before switching to Cthulhu by Gaslight 1890s. I found that most players couldn't tell the difference between old and 1920s. By that I mean, despite giving them a list of stuff that was recently invented in the 1920s they'd all still talk about music from the late 1930s, movies from the 1950s, etc. It was brutal. So I swapped to the 1890s and horse-drawn carriages...and to them that meant medieval. Ugh.

I have been prepping to run a Weird Conpiracy 1870s game soon. It is interesting how much stuff tracks easily, and how much we take for granted. The only music recording medium, for instance, is the barrel piano, or a music box for a portable music player. Most people might just burst into song if they feel like it, during a trip, waiting in line, or whatever; if they have a small portable instrument like a mouth harp or the recently-invented harmonica, they might play that or provide accompaniment to someone else. Movies don't exist, but you can see a magic lantern show (some using the chromatrope for brilliant color) instead, and plays and musicals are extremely popular. The telegraph exists, but that still means a delay in reaching the people you want to talk to. Up until 6 September 1869, in fact, it took four months to get from New York to San Francisco or vice versa; with the Railroad it suddenly only took a week. Newspapers intersperse fiction with news, with no indication of which is which and no reporter bylines. The most popular Church in the US right now is not any of the ones you're thinking of, it's the Spiritualist Church. It's going to be super-interesting times!

 

[Thomas Shey]

I have been prepping to run a Weird Conpiracy 1870s game soon. It is interesting how much stuff tracks easily, and how much we take for granted. The only music recording medium, for instance, is the barrel piano, or a music box for a portable music player.

Technically the foil player existed, but it was only a novelty. You have to wait a couple decades for the wax cylinder players to be a real thing.

 

[Ryujin]

Technically the foil player existed, but it was only a novelty. You have to wait a couple decades for the wax cylinder players to be a real thing.

Phonoautograph in the late 1850s, but not prevalent until the late 1870s, when it was "reinvented" by that thief Edison.

 

[overgeeked]

I have been prepping to run a Weird Conpiracy 1870s game soon. It is interesting how much stuff tracks easily, and how much we take for granted. The only music recording medium, for instance, is the barrel piano, or a music box for a portable music player. Most people might just burst into song if they feel like it, during a trip, waiting in line, or whatever; if they have a small portable instrument like a mouth harp or the recently-invented harmonica, they might play that or provide accompaniment to someone else. Movies don't exist, but you can see a magic lantern show (some using the chromatrope for brilliant color) instead, and plays and musicals are extremely popular. The telegraph exists, but that still means a delay in reaching the people you want to talk to. Up until 6 September 1869, in fact, it took four months to get from New York to San Francisco or vice versa; with the Railroad it suddenly only took a week. Newspapers intersperse fiction with news, with no indication of which is which and no reporter bylines. The most popular Church in the US right now is not any of the ones you're thinking of, it's the Spiritualist Church. It's going to be super-interesting times!

Sounds like it. Good luck.

After awhile I just stopped caring about even vague historical accuracy. It was less work to invent a whole world and set games there than trying to pin down real-world history (fairly easy) and get the players on board (literally impossible). I think Doctor Who-style gonzo anachronisms was more their speed, but unfortunately none of them wanted to actually play Doctor Who.

 

[J.Quondam]

I have been prepping to run a Weird Conpiracy 1870s game soon.

Out of curiosity, what game system are you planning to use for this game? (I've been thinking about a similar setting concept recently, but haven't landed on a system yet.)

 

[trappedslider]

There is always the option of just not engaging? I know that's crazy talk, but it just might work..

 

[BookTenTiger]

Am I alone in noticing that multiple threads are just turning into the same exact discussion?

 

[Scribe]

Am I alone in noticing that multiple threads are just turning into the same exact discussion?

Probably not, depending on which threads. There are consistent themes, and consistently drawn lines in the sand. I blame social media.

 

[Mad_Jack]

There are any number of super-power sets that only work properly because they're chronically underutilized. You just have to accept it as a genre convention or the whole genre blows up.

Whenever someone asks what superpower I'd like, instead of flight, invisibility or any of the others, I always say... Quantumkinesis.

What is quantumkinesis?

Telekinesis effective all the way down to a subatomic level.

Fun with Physics, anyone? - I get to do all sorts of things that would normally require about two dozen other powers.
And screw tossing cars at you, I'll just reach into your head and move half a millimeter of your spinal cord half a millimeter to the left...

The only way I was able to come up with a character who had that power and make them still somewhat usable as a main character in a story was to stipulate that the guy is limited to only doing what he can wrap his still-normal-human mind around - i.e., he has a list of individual "tricks" that he's taught himself to do, and using his power too much or pushing it too far will endanger his sanity and humanity. (For example, if he ever went nuts and lost his sense of self, he might actually physically discorporate.)
He could go all god-mode if he wanted to, but then he'd either literally asplode or even worse end up ascending to become one of those cosmic-level entities and stop caring about humanity or the planet at all. And he likes this planet - it's where his friends live and where he keeps his stuff.