There was a thread about Transhuman Space on rpg.net, a game I initially got very buzzed about. I bought the books, read them, tried to work out how to run it and failed utterly.
The fact the books basically include no advice on how to run adventures in a very unusual setting does not help.
They're now on my sale list, I still like the game, I just have no idea what to do with it and ultimately that destroys its value for me.
What about you? The reasons may differ, but are there any games about that you'd like to play but for some reason can't? And why not?
Quote from: BalbinusWhat about you? The reasons may differ, but are there any games about that you'd like to play but for some reason can't? And why not?
Exalted. I can't finish the fucking book. There are very cool ideas in it, but it's too clunky and there are a bajillion of Charms... and the same reason I don't run D&D. I can't finish reading the book. I get bored when I read the Feats thing.
Also, in both games statting NPCs can be hell.
Yeah, I'd love to play THS because I adore the types of books that have informed it. I can even think of a few things to do with it but I simply can't deal with GURPS. Far too much number crunching and the core book is SO boring to read because it's like 400 pages of nothing but crunch and tables.
Adventure! is another game I'd like to play because I think it's really nicely put together but while I quite enjoy pulp things from the point of view of a passive observer, I can't write pulp to save my life. I feel uncomfortable with the contrived nature of the genre.
Dying Earth. I'd really like to have a horde of Cugels fight amongst themselves, but it's not likely I'll ever get there. My current group is great, but they don't exactly excel when it comes to improvising flowering dialogue. Apart from that, Vance's thesaurus-speak doesn't translate all that well.
(Gee, I remember the time when they were trapped in some dream and had to talk in rhymes to the person dreaming... I was expecting quick couplets and they took ages to compose whole poems.)
Dude, there IS such a thing as having unfair expectations of your players.
Mine is Broncosaurus Rex. It's probably my favorite game that I can't run. Mostly because I've never encountered anyone who wants to play it.
Even after all my friends became Firefly fans, "Firefly with Dinosaurs" still didn't get them stoked enough to want to play it.
::sigh:: I so want to play that game...
I tried running Nobilis once. Other people seem to dig it, but my session was an utter trainwreck. The mechanics felt awkward rolling around in my brain and the setting was vast and unsympathetic. Sometimes I'd like to try again but why push a boulder up a hill when so many other games are more willing to meet me halfway?
Angel/Buffy.
Love the shows, love Cinematic Unisystem, but can't ever seem to get a game going (both because I have a hard time coming up with ideas as a GM, and because so few gamers I've known seemed interested).
Mythus: Because I'm having a hard time finding people to play with.
HackMaster. I just could never convince my group to play it.
Rifts. This is purely a subjective issue. I have the roughest time coming up with adventures and when I do, the group inevitably wants a stick wielding barbarian next to a glitter boy. It isn't just the difference in technology, I just have trouble with a lot of the concept.
Like I said, though, a lot of other folks have no such problems.
Bill
Quote from: jrientsI tried running Nobilis once. Other people seem to dig it, but my session was an utter trainwreck. The mechanics felt awkward rolling around in my brain and the setting was vast and unsympathetic.
Eh, in practice that setting is exactly as vast as you wish it to be. You could even run an entire campaign without the PCs ever stepping outside their Chancel, instead concentrating on the various problems that might trouble the realm, such as local Banes or unexpected guests from beyond space and time: Creation is certainly immense, but there's no need to go wandering around the worlds of Yggdrasil unless that's what the group
wants from the game. As for the mechanics (as seen here) (http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=29563&postcount=5), they probably prove more confusing to gamers who have grown accustomed to randomizers, but I've found that complete newbies get used to the system very quickly indeed.
SLA Industries. I just like the feel of it. I've played in a couple of short campaigns - 2-5 sessions a piece and I would like to do more. Not enough interest amongst the people I know.
May I provide a variation? This is a game I'd like to play again, but can't.
I ran exalted for a span off and on for three years, it was a great campaign and we all had fun. Now, for the life of me I'll probably never run or play it again, even though I'd like to. All I can remember is how weary I could get running a combat between exalts. It was flashy, but gods was it not only drawn out, but in a more complicated fashion than a typical D&D slugfest.
In retrospect, I've always been lucky in that folks ask me to run the kind of games I enjoy: Nob, Mage, Puppetland... Sailor Moon comes up in a conversation, and someone mentions that she would like to try out the RPG. Another player notices Engel on my shelves and promptly says to give him a call if I ever start running it. So this really has never been a problem.
Engel? wow... that's a game that sank without a trace. Christian Apologia: The RPG.
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalChristian Apologia: The RPG.
Actually, considering the truth about the "angels" in the game, there's no evidence whatsoever that Christianity is any more valid in the setting than any other religion. It's science fiction, not fantasy.
Right now I'd like to play anything at all...
Middle of the school year and I've yet to encounter a play group. I've decided to stay the hell away from most of the FLGSes in the area for personal reasons, which makes it hard to meet new players.
I heard a couple guys talking game in the student canteen a week ago. Might strike up a conversation, see what they're up to.
Enjoy what you have, you lucky SOBs!
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalEngel? wow... that's a game that sank without a trace. Christian Apologia: The RPG.
I'd argue it's more blasphemous than an apologia.
Well, I would argue that, but I fear it would help sell it to you...
My main issue with it was that it was a massive bait and switch.
Wasn't it that it suggested it was all about the christian apocalypse and instead it was kind of a post-apocalyptic RPG where most of the action involving God and the angels took place off-screen?
I got the impression that it was an apologia because, like most "heretical" games it failed to really engage with the religious material and say anything interesting about it.
It was like Dogma or The Life of Brian... it doesn't really talk about the big issues but some of the less controversial stuff going on out in the suburbs.
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalWasn't it that it suggested it was all about the christian apocalypse and instead it was kind of a post-apocalyptic RPG where most of the action involving God and the angels took place off-screen?
Well, the PCs actually
are Engel, but...
Spoiler
they have been created by the Church from stolen children through the genetic engineering and nanotech of a forgotten military supersoldier project, and brainwashed into believing that they are messengers from God. If these "angels" ever discover the truth, they are drugged into thinking that they are returning to Heaven and then incinerated.
I've just browsed through some Engel books, and it always hit me as basically yet another WoD-ish conspiracy game with lots of class, erm, power groups, with a rather bad post-apocalyptic twist. And done with D20, for maximum market penetration.
If you really want to play in the foot steps of angels, Seventh Seal isn't all too bad. Just give your players some Preacher comics before and you're set ;)
Ah... lovely. These are supposedly protagonists?
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalAh... lovely. These are supposedly protagonists?
Like I said, my issue with it is the massive bait and switch.
For Angels, Children of Fire is the best thing out there and has the added benefit of being free.
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalAh... lovely. These are supposedly protagonists?
Yup. That's admittedly a heck of a twist to spring on the players if they weren't aware of it in advance.
AH... now Preacher's one of the few works I can think of that's about God but which really engages with concepts from Christian theology in an interesting way.
EDIT: You just have to get over all the "shit eating faggot" remarks.
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalAH... now Preacher's one of the few works I can think of that's about God but which really engages with concepts from Christian theology in an interesting way.
Really? Perhaps I underestimated it, when I browsed it there seemed to be a lot of stuff trying a bit too hard to shock me.
Hellblazer didn't use to be too bad on the topic, but in a sense what is there to say?
I have always wanted to play Paranoia, but have never met anyone running or willing to run it.
Preacher's a bit juvenile but you have to look at the final volume to really get the point. Actually, now that I think about Russell T. Davies' The Second Coming made the same point...
When it comes to commenting on Christianity there are four ways that an Atheist can go.
1) Rejection - the view that all of these beliefs are irrational and as such there's really no point in dwelling on any of them.
2) Academicisation - the view that christian myth should be treated much like any other kind of mythology. You mine it for symbolism and for anthropological data but it's no more true than Norse myth.
3) Apologia - the view taken by Monty Python and Dogma; regardless of whether or not God exists, this is still good solid moral philosophy that has a value in our society.
4) Politicisation - the view that not only is religion worthless because god doesn't exist or isn't worth believing in but the actual substance of Christianity's moral teachings are so bankrupt and distorted that even if God did exist he would not be worthy of anything other than toppling as ruler of the Universe.
1 doesn't lead to art, 2 leads to anthropological works, 3 is the favoured path and 4 is surprisingly rare.
Quote from: SosthenesI've just browsed through some Engel books, and it always hit me as basically yet another WoD-ish conspiracy game with lots of class, erm, power groups, with a rather bad post-apocalyptic twist. And done with D20, for maximum market penetration.
I
like the twist, though, and the setting in itself is wonderful. But yes, as I've said before, that mangled d20 variant used in the English translation would have to go.
Well, I wouldn't say that Preacher was all that interesting in its depiction of the truth behind the Judeo-Christian religion. Nor was it a grand treatise about the US of A.
Which is exactly the point, I never could see myself playing a game (see, back on topic) where I truly want to go too deeply into motivations behind religion. If I play something with a similar background, I want to be sure that the truth is _there_, not that the players discover them. I'm doing my soul-searching away from the gaming table and don't want to scare away my players with meta-physical nonsense.
See, there's the Richard Dawkins book, and there's the Monster Manual. Don't mix those two...
I don't mean that the players are supposed to discover the truth or soul search, I mean a game where the nuts and bolts of christianity are engaged with and, actually, god turns out to be a bit of a shit.
In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas actually does this surprisingly well as the forces of good and evil are not really any better than each other and Heaven is portrayed as this infinite office full of in-fighting bureaucrats.
It just bothers me that people take "blasphemous" approaches to religion and then absolutely refuse to stick the knife in, preferring instead to focus on some tangent.
Tried reading Engel once, but the text font made my retinas scream with pain and threaten mass suicide.
Transhuman space is a hard one to get people into, so'd spacemaster privateers.
Aaaah... spacemaster.
"Aaaaaeiiii! pirates!"
"It's okay... they have grenades!"
*sounds of Pirates failing their throw rolls and having grenades explode at their feet*
Quote from: BalbinusReally? Perhaps I underestimated it, when I browsed it there seemed to be a lot of stuff trying a bit too hard to shock me.
Yep, I felt the same way. I love Garth Ennis and I loved this title, but I didn't feel like it had anything that profound to say about religion.
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalPreacher's a bit juvenile but you have to look at the final volume to really get the point. Actually, now that I think about Russell T. Davies' The Second Coming made the same point...
When it comes to commenting on Christianity there are four ways that an Atheist can go.
1) Rejection - the view that all of these beliefs are irrational and as such there's really no point in dwelling on any of them.
2) Academicisation - the view that christian myth should be treated much like any other kind of mythology. You mine it for symbolism and for anthropological data but it's no more true than Norse myth.
3) Apologia - the view taken by Monty Python and Dogma; regardless of whether or not God exists, this is still good solid moral philosophy that has a value in our society.
4) Politicisation - the view that not only is religion worthless because god doesn't exist or isn't worth believing in but the actual substance of Christianity's moral teachings are so bankrupt and distorted that even if God did exist he would not be worthy of anything other than toppling as ruler of the Universe.
1 doesn't lead to art, 2 leads to anthropological works, 3 is the favoured path and 4 is surprisingly rare.
I think that Anton LaVey's Church of Satan held #4 as their central tenet.
Quote from: mattormegI think that Anton LaVey's Church of Satan held #4 as their central tenet.
I think that's the general gist of his politics. Personally I can't stomach the ritual magic side of Satanism.
Quote from: mythusmageMythus: Because I'm having a hard time finding people to play with.
I would play with you, but you'd have to keep character generation short, I only have three weeks of vacation next year... :D
Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalI think that's the general gist of his politics. Personally I can't stomach the ritual magic side of Satanism.
PT Barnum in a big, black cape.
Quote from: ColonelHardissonHackMaster. I just could never convince my group to play it.
Likely because the game is, quite literally, a hyperbole
joke about byzantine game rules? And jokes are only funny when they are happening to
other people. ;)
One of our players tried to convince us to play that once too, when it first came out. I read select portions of it. It was funny to look at. Then I thought about actually using the rules for any extended period and cringed. Then went into a flashback and blacked out. When I came too I was lieing in the gutter with my underwear on my head, a fist full of dice with waxed filled numbers in hand, and "OH GOD, NOT MORE RANDOM ROLL TABLES!" scrawled on my chest in red enamal paint.
Quote from: VellorianI would play with you, but you'd have to keep character generation short, I only have three weeks of vacation next year... :D
:)
In that case you can play an alfar; they're pretty short.:p
Quote from: blakkieLikely because the game is, quite literally, a hyperbole joke about byzantine game rules? And jokes are only funny when they are happening to other people. ;)
One of our players tried to convince us to play that once too, when it first came out. I read select portions of it. It was funny to look at. Then I thought about actually using the rules for any extended period and cringed. Then went into a flashback and blacked out. When I came too I was lieing in the gutter with my underwear on my head, a fist full of dice with waxed filled numbers in hand, and "OH GOD, NOT MORE RANDOM ROLL TABLES!" scrawled on my chest in red enamal paint.
Anyway, the main reason they wouldn't play was that it wasn't d20. They didn't want to switch systems.
Hmmm..to somewhat wander back to the main question, I'd like to play In Nomine but I can't get any of my players into it, same goes with Serenity. Damn picky players...
Quote from: ColonelHardissonAnyway, the main reason they wouldn't play was that it wasn't d20. They didn't want to switch systems.
I thought his reason was more convincing.
Quote from: mattormegPT Barnum in a big, black cape.
More like Crowley meets Marylin Manson but yeah... pretty much. Art school agit-prop designed to wind up people you don't like. I'm a big fan of that kind of thing but I see nothing subversive in chanting.
I think the problem is that between my generation and that of Crowley and LaVey there's been the rise of the new age movement. So for them doing a ritual is playing up to the stereotypes of satanists but from where I'm sitting they're a couple of new age twats who probably stank of incense.
Quote from: BagpussI thought his reason was more convincing.
Maybe, but I was actually there and knew the people.
---humor-impaired Spikey