[DiTV] Thread in rpg.net

[Spooky Fanboy]

If anyone's interested, it's here.

So far, it's converted two people (or at least has them interested in DiTV) at last count!

[lumpley]

I've been really enjoying that thread.

-Vincent

[Neal]

I've been peeping at that thread for a while.  I'm glad it's introducing folks the the game,  but I felt a bit cheated when it became all about one person objecting to the very notion of sin and judgment (or One-True-Wayism) a priori, without having examined the game itself.  I'm glad he finally came around to the idea of taking a good look at a thing before passing judgment on it.

But really, I'm even more grateful for that glimpse of knee-jerk, cliche resistance.  I realized that the feelism and pc repugnance of this one poster held the kernel for a satiric version of DitV. 

Having been born in Los Angeles and raised in Southern California, I decided to call this one Dogs in the Valley.

The players in this modern version serve an aggregate opinion with no real structure or core of belief, but with the force and acceptance of a popular totalitarian theocracy, one which declares that there is NO One True Way, and anyone who says there IS One True Way (or even One Way Which is Better Than Some Other Ways) must be hunted down and dealt with.

As the players drift from Planned Community to Planned Community, talking with members of the Property Owners' Association and various Concerned Citizens, they find that things have "gone wrong" in the Valley.  They find citizens who have been foolish enough to let themselves believe that some ways of thinking/doing are better than others, or that not all opinions matter as much as other opinions, or some such heresy, and they try to re-educate them to the belief that everything's beautiful in its own way, that no one has the right to question your right to be right, and that there is no objective Truth.

In a world of perfect tolerance, the job of the Dogs is to ensure that no community's groupthink slides too far in any direction, because that would hurt the feelings of those left outside the new groupthink.  But as in the original game, reality intrudes.  It's a tough job, judging people because they've had the temerity to use their judgment.  But someone has to do it.

Here's how Bad Things Happen to Good People...

First, someone succumbs to Pride, foolishly believing his views are somehow more true than someone else's.  Pride, enacted, leads to the shaping of and expression of opinions which do not credit all other opinions with equal truth-value, and in a world where everyone has the sovereign right to be correct, that's Injustice.

Injustice spawns Incorrectness, which in turn lets the Misguided attack...  and so on, until the whole Planned Community is forcibly introduced to uncomfortable ideas.

Only the Dogs can stop this from going too far.

Sometimes it's better for one person to be deprived of the ability to form and express an opinion than for many to be made vaguely uncomfortable.  Sometimes, Dog, sometimes you have to pass judgment to prevent judgment.

Do the opinionated deserve mercy?
Do the judgmental deserve judgment?

They're in your hands.

[dunlaing]

Well then, how about a Dogs game based on the Geek Social Fallacies? Or a Dogs in the Forge game where Dogs go from gaming group to gaming group rooting out incoherent play?

[Brand_Robins]

Well then, how about a Dogs game based on the Geek Social Fallacies? Or a Dogs in the Forge game where Dogs go from gaming group to gaming group rooting out incoherent play?

Screw talking, I escalate straight to flaming.

[Bankuei]

I invoke the Authority of the Good Moderator and go for Ceremony.

Chris

[Brand_Robins]

I invoke the Authority of the Good Moderator and go for Ceremony.

I'll give and then start a follow up conflict in which I use my relationship with the community in order to slag your reputation.

[foucalt]

As the players drift from Planned Community to Planned Community, talking with members of the Property Owners' Association and various Concerned Citizens, they find that things have "gone wrong" in the Valley.  They find citizens who have been foolish enough to let themselves believe that some ways of thinking/doing are better than others, or that not all opinions matter as much as other opinions, or some such heresy, and they try to re-educate them to the belief that everything's beautiful in its own way, that no one has the right to question your right to be right, and that there is no objective Truth.

Awesome. I'm guessing Invoke the Homeowner's Association Covenant shows up as Ceremony and Lawsuit shows up as d10 fallout? (think back to bureaucracy as fallout in SS in the Valley)

[dunlaing]

I knew it was a good idea to invest 3d10 in my Thread Drift trait...

[Neal]

I knew it was a good idea to invest 3d10 in my Thread Drift trait...

Yeah, I didn't mean to threadjack or anything.  I just find it irritating when folks use gaming discussions to preen themselves on how open-minded and politically correct they are.  I find it even more irritating when others, rather than simply saying "Okay, go play a game that doesn't hurt your feelings," instead begin to eviscerate the game to please one over-delicate person.

I'm glad some folks over at rpg.net were turned on to the game.  I'll be even happier if they follow through, buy the game, and play it as it's written, spiritual/religious elements and all.  And I emphasize this last bit not because I'm religious (I'm not; in fact, I'm atheist), but because I think the religious element is exactly what gives DitV its freshness and charm.