Game-y Game

Something I've noticed about play-by-email (pbem) roleplaying games is that they tend to not be...games. The nature of the medium encourages contemplation and a relatively slow pace of play compared to the urgency of tabletop games. This has worked well for the Zanzer D&D campaign that I DM. A posting rate of approximately once-per-day allows the players to contemplate actions that are safe or fun, etc. or whatever play goal they have for their PC. As DM, the slow pace allows me to describe the environment and develop the plot in greater detail and in a way that doesn't necessitate a significant investment in preparation that may or may not payoff. For this reason, I don't foresee myself DMing a tabletop rpg campaign anytime in the near future.

Recently I've been contemplating ways to make my next pbem campaign more game-y with a sense of immediacy and urgency similar to what is felt at the table. I've come up with a few simple ideas and house rules for that purpose:

a) Focus on dungeon adventuring. This isn't a necessity, but I feel that fantasy roleplaying is most game-y when in the dungeon, in general. The next house rule and my campaign idea will further exemplify and require this.

b) Next is a house rule inspired by "The Triple Secret Random Dungeon Fate Chart of Very Probable Doom" at Jeff's Gameblog. I may just use Jeff's chart as written, but the concept of 'session' doesn't really apply to pbem roleplaying. My idea is to define a 'pbem session' as a month of real time play. At the end of each month, we roll to see if and what doom has met the adventurers who are still in the dungeon. I choose a month-long session simply because it is easy to track, but a month may be too long or too short. It can be adjusted. I like how the house rule serves as an extra reminder of the unpredictably dangerous nature of being in the dungeon for too long a time. Best to get out of the dungeon before time runs out and hope you don't run into any wandering monsters that might delay your retreat. It also functions as an abstract system for supply management. You can only stay in the dungeon for so long before you run out of mundane survival supplies. Similarly, it introduces a time constraint on dungeon delves, which encourages planning, focus, and decisiveness.

c) Last is a house rule for rewarding spontaneous and brisk play: Grant bonus experience points per post written. Something along the lines of: 10xp per post per PC level. Just a little bonus to encourage the kind of regular participation that a game-y game thrives on. Theoretically, PCs could level up with just a strategy of parley or evasion. Nothing wrong with that if it's what you enjoy.

My hope is that these few ideas will produce a unique pbem roleplaying experience. Perhaps a drawback of these house rules is that they limit the types of campaigns that can be played with them. Not only does it require relatively compact dungeon adventures, but also a focus that allows the PCs to get right into the thick of things without much wandering around or ambiguity of purpose. My next post will introduce such a campaign that I am developing.

Caveman

I started writing this almost two months ago! After two rewrites, finally, I've finished it.

Are there any "caveman" rpgs out there? I watched a movie called Quest for Fire awhile back that got me thinking about it. I suppose most fantasy or generic rpgs could be house ruled to run a caveman setting, or a rules-light indie-type rpg could be designed. In any case, the game rules should emphasize the aspects of the caveman genre that define it.

I'm using the caveman term loosely here. Living in caves. Primarily Stone Age technology. Little to no civilization or farming. In more precise terms, for much of mankind it was before the last major ice age ended 10,000 years ago. For a caveman rpg I wouldn't necessarily aim for scientific accuracy, but instead use it for inspiration if it would be fun and ditch it if it's getting in the way of fun. I liked how Quest for Fire did just that, drawing upon scientific evidence (archaeological, linguistic, etc.) to supply and constrain its themes, but, within those constraints, the movie was creative and fun.

I took away two major caveman themes from Quest for Fire: fire and language.

What's the big deal about fire? In the movie, fire represents the caveman's relationship to his environment. It lights the night, cooks food, fends off predators, etc. Without the ability to make it, fire is rare and must be found near lightning strikes or lava flows...or stolen from other clans. Being a clan's "Keeper of the Flame" is serious business. Finally, the discovery of fire-making technology is a major event.

What's the big deal about language? In the movie, language represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman. Language enables transfer and preservation of knowledge. Communication and mutual understanding. Representations and explanations. Agreement and disagreement. Treaties and declarations. Praise and curses. Politics and judgment.

If I have a complaint about Quest for Fire, it is that it imposed modern conclusions onto the caveman. There was nearly nothing that portrayed or suggested the magic or spirituality that cavemen experienced as reality. Such things would be welcome additions to a caveman rpg, in my opinion. It would bring the game closer to the fantasy genre. For me, that's just fine and, frankly, the whole point. For example, instead of:

- Fire represents the caveman's relationship to his environment
- Language represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman

...switch it around so that:

- Language represents the caveman's relationship to his environment
- Fire represents the caveman's relationship to his fellow caveman

My mind boggles at the possibilities. A. C. Clarke's Third Law never interested me much. To me, emotion and poetics are more fertile sources of magic than is technology.

But anyways, if I ever get around to making a caveman rpg*, it will have a focus on fire and language. I'm sure there are other aspects that are worthy of including in a caveman game, but these two interest me most at the moment. I have no idea how fire and language would be represented and applied in the game, but it would definitely be more than just the ability scores and skill checks that other rpg systems use. Any ideas?

(* Other rpgs I want to make:
* Minstrel of the Dawn: the Gordon Lightfoot rpg of masculine nostalgia.
* "Some say he's dead...some say he never will be." The mountain man fur trapper rpg inspired by Robert Redford's Jeremiah Johnson
* Katz and Maus: the rpg of Jewish "Nazi hunters" and their prey in South America.)