Hello,

Nick Moffitt's Sloat and Larkin was one of the few entries that make me go, "Hey, that's a really neat and unexpected use of the terms." It starts with solid and evocative Color, very much along the lines of Gene Wolfe's fiction, including an interesting use of "rat," plus excellent use of "suburb." Oh, and Nick, you got me with Jug and Carrot - totally mystifying at first, then very cool.

The problem is, all of that disappears completely after the first introductory bits. It seems odd that the character boxes aren't tied to the Sloat/Larkin thing, for instance. Not only does the Color dry up and vanish, but no Situation emerges whatsoever from any of the rest of the game. I have absolutely no idea why I'd want to play a character, or rather, what the character might want to do. The introduction presents an unmoving image; the system moves, but is featureless relative to the image.

The system itself is interesting, a nuanced version of The Pool / The Questing Beast, and very intriguing. I'm a little concerned with how the Stash would stay sizeable, but that will work out through playtesting.

So it's like these two arrows are aimed at what should be a single point, but either they aimed at two different points, or the target's too far off to see. Or the beautifully detailed but empty body of a car, and the engine for a motorboat sitting next to it. It supports my general point that Situation is the key - here we have Setting, System, Character, and some great but disconnected Color ... but not Situation which lets me see how they work together, or prompt me to put them together.

Minor system point: I'm not sure that the Stash would stay big. Any thoughts on that?

Also, Nick, tell me about how'd you'd prep for play? What situations would you envision prepping? And how, relative to the players and characters? What would the real-life dialogue during the first half hour of play sound like?

Best,
Ron

This one struck me as not being enough for a stand-alone game -- but the basic premise would make a great expansion to an existing rpg.  The best part is, it could work in multiple genres; fantasy, modern fantasy and sf could all accommodate such a plague.