The Wild Has Returned!

[Nathan]

Howdy,

Actually have had time to write again, so here she is... the new, nice-looking (in my humble opinion) the Wild : http://www.mysticages.com/wild/the-wild.pdf">Get it now!.

So here is what I need:
- How does the game look, layout-wise?
- How does it read? Clear or unclear?
- Do any rules need to be added/removed?
- Anyone want to playtest it?

And, yes, that is Jared's name in the credits.

Thanx,
Nathan



[ This Message was edited by: Nathan on 2001-06-07 16:59 ]

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Nathan,

I think you need some more "scenario meat," perhaps through examples. Come up with problems for the CHARACTERS that raise issues that are important for the PLAYERS.

What came to my mind was Princess Mononuke ...

Best,
Ron

[Jason L Blair]

Don't forget Prince Duomissile. :wink:

I agree about The Wild needing more meat. I don't really feel like I'm there. Put me in there! Put ME in THERE! The wild is such a good idea. I wish I had the scratch to print a "Forge Collection."

[Nathan]

Hah!

Thanks guys... It was a surprise to me that the new rules ended up being a mere five pages, but that does let me get on to some new stuff...

As for meat, would settings be appropriate?

Or are you looking for just some plain starters in the game - like adventure ideas or scenario ideas?

I've got a couple of settings in the bin right now, and I've thought about a scenario maker for the game... sort of a build an adventure on the spot game..

Nathan

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Nathan,

"So what's the game about?" And here we go straight into G/N/S. Listen up folks, because here's where I think this whole deal gets involved in game design.

We have "the vision." We have the notion that the player-characters are animals, and that it's not really "realistic" in the sense that foraging and mating would be the priority during play.

So now it's G/N/S time.

GAMISM
This approach relies on knowing WHO is competing with WHOM. GM vs. players? Players against one another with GM as ref? Players vs. the system with GM as system-rep? Or some combination?

Think of "arenas" for this competition. Think of rewards and losses - what would "losing" mean, and are there different degrees?

SIMULATIONISM
The priority here is to have a solid, reliable means of resolving "what if" questions that won't break down under complex conditions. See, that's Simulationism - treating the RPG experience as a series of physical "what if's," and making sure that the group is never at a loss for the "what then."

You can apply that principle by either (1) going system-heavy, with lots of contingencies laid out in advance; or (2) system-light, with a generalist mechanic designed to cover broad categories. Either way works.

Another decision is whether to extend the "what if" concept to plot, as well as individual events. If you do that, then you'll need to dictate the pathways of scenario design (like Call of Cthulhu) or even whole story arcs (like Vampire or L5R).

NARRATIVISM
This approach relies entirely on the role-playing content being relevant not only to the characters, but to the players. That relevance is called "Premise" (based on the writings of Lajos Egri) - an issue that emotionally involves someone EXTERNAL to the action (like an audience member, in the case of traditional media).

You'll need a Premise for this approach no matter what. For Princess Mononuke, it is the conflict between the harmony of Nature and the power of Technology - they cannot both be right, yet here they both are. Playing a character in this context REQUIRES action that is relevant to the issue.

Many options exist within this approach. For instance, you can let the Premise reside mainly in the setting (as in Hero Wars), or mainly in the characters (as in Sorcerer).

Mechanics that encourage Author stance are recommended, and the degree of overt Director stance should be considered.

For scenario design, you can encourage the use of Intuitive Continuity, or perhaps the Relationship Map method.

IN CONCLUSION
All right, so much for the broad view. After considering these larger goals, and by picking among the wide variety within each one, then it's easy to move to character creation, resolution system(s), and mechanics of all kinds. It's a matter of picking Currency and D/F/K and related matters in a coherent fashion. And that would be stuff best discussed in the 201 forum.

Best,
Ron