Quote from: Spike;1111432Kult. 1e, though, not that abomination wearing a Kult skinsuit that was 3e.

I mean, I could have said Fading Suns, but I think someone beat me to it...

Quote from: Aglondir;1112224Is Kult 3E the one they recently Kickstarted?

Quote from: Itachi;1112237Nope. The recently Kickstarted one is the 4th edition and is officially called "Kult: Divinity Lost". Looks pretty good, BTW.

Quote from: Spike;1112243Ok, so I'm off on edition numbers, somehow.  Divinity Lost LOOKS beautiful. Its a gorgeous book, no doubt, but its a terrible take on Kult on just about every level.

Quote from: Itachi;1112277What do you think is terrible in it? Never played it, but Ive read it and it looked pretty good to me. I've always thought the original rules supported poorly the game's central themes, while the current ones seem to do it much better.

Quote from: Itachi;1112237Nope. The recently Kickstarted one is the 4th edition and is officially called "Kult: Divinity Lost". Looks pretty good, BTW.

Quote from: Gagarth;1111537:-( Not a lot of Blue Planet on there http://slangdesign.com/rppr/?s=blue+planet

edit: Found some at  a different url http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/category/systems/misc/blue-planet/

Quote from: Gagarth;1112315If you like PbtA.

QuoteCharacter creation starts by choosing an archetype out of the 25 on offer. Twenty are Aware (e.g. the Careerist, the Fixed, the Deceiver etc); the PC is knowledgeable of the world's inconsistencies. Four are Enlightened (the Abomination, the Death Magician, the Disciple, the Reverend), with an advanced understanding of reality and unlocked powers. These require different stories and challenges. One Archetype (the Sleeper) is special, and can only see play following a GM's approval seeing how disruptive it can be to the game. Rules are provided for players to create their own archetypes, should they not be satisfied with the ones on offer. An archetype covers the dark secrets, disadvantages, advantages, attribute modifiers, looks, and relations of the character. Some are mere suggestions, and the players can opt for something different.

Dark Secrets are windows into traumatic, mystical, or guilt-laden episodes in the character's past. I am counting 17 of them, each with a selection of personal drives. As an example, Forbidden Knowledge leads to 'reveal the truth to the world, 'acquire power or knowledge', 'explore the forbidden truth', 'fight the enemy', and 'escape your pursuers'.

...

The Madness is the part of the book that guides a GM towards organizing a game of Kult. The rules should be hidden, and everything should be translated into a narrative. The GM should use a blend of paranoia, of insinuation of the supernatural, of questions whose answers are slowly revealed, while at the same time offering opportunities to the characters to be cool. The game operates in scenes (what other games would have called encounters), which may be anything from an investigation of a murder scene to pillow talk between a PC and his lover. A story is a campaign, an amalgamation of many scenes that make narrative sense. Just as PCs have Moves the GM has some of his own. Soft GM moves are preventable, hard moves are not. Examples of moves include capturing someone, creating problems for future resolution, dealing damage, using disadvantages etc.

Due to the dark and horrific games that the game deals with, the players have to adhere to the Horror Contract; it is literally called that, i.e. the players agree to help the GM scare them along with the characters. This supposes a lot more than building atmosphere, staying in the scene, being purposefully unpleasant as a GM etc. It presupposes knowing your players, so that your can scare them. A simple method of communicating discretely and in advance which topics a player does not wish the campaign do deal with will eliminate the unwanted, as opposed to the wanted, unpleasantness.

Setting Up A Story is a short chapter with advice on how to create Kult campaigns. The advice is very practical, and almost becomes a formula. Kult is the only game I know with a 6-page chapter devoted to the First Session alone, with all kinds of advice on how the PCs meet up, what is the context etc. Kult is a contemporary game, yet it doesn't have to take place literally today. It can be situated in the last days of the Soviet Union, in Harlem in the late 2000s, or in Yugoslavia during the bloody wars. Amongst others, the GM will use an Intrigue Map, a web of hubs and links that connect people and events. The more a campaign progresses, the more the map will adapt and grow.

Quote from: Itachi;1112343Here, a review of Kult: Divinity Lost:

https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/18/18031.phtml



Some art from the book:

Quote from: CRKruegerOh good, yet another classic RPG setting turned into a narrative shitshow.

Quote from: Itachi;1112403Yeah, because a system that fits badly or completely ignores it's subject themes is the way to go. Yay for "classic" games. :rolleyes: