Friday, December 7, 2018

Initial Inspiration - The Reaches

By Christopher Robin Negelein
For many GMs, tabletop RPGs are a gourmet meal. For many players, RPGs are comfort food.  
Over the years, I see lots of GMs hunger for a bit of variety in what they do. They want to try new game systems or even new genres. 
The challenge, though, comes from their players being quite happy with the status quo. They may say they want something different, but what they really mean is “different, but the same.” 
I actually had a love/hate relationship with AD&D for a long time because it was always an uphill battle to fight the inertia at the game table to try something else. That changed a little when White Wolf hit the scene, but the new thing quickly became the next old habit. 
Esper Genesis tackles this issue by putting a familiar game engine into a different genre with new classes, races and star ship rules. And it’s paid off with me constantly hearing things like “now I can finally get my Traveller/Gamma Word campaign going,” or “Now my players will let me run a much wider gamut of things at the table.” Though it’s not a secret that D&D has had science fiction in its veins since the early days.
What’s less obvious is that it has quite a bit of the Wild West/Weird Western as well. The core set up (a group of traveling misfits who braved the lawless wilds and are forced to save town from a local terror as a matter of survival) is right out of Spaghetti Westerns and Joe R. Lansdale. 
So there have been a few attempts to make D&D Westerns, and they followed the same philosophy of new classes. But when it came to races, Dwarves where often prospectors and Orcs wore sombreros. That last bit is a tad tone deaf in 2018. Regardless none of them caught on despite letting wizards cast spells with their six shooters. (How cool is that!)
Then I read Joe Abercrombie’s Red Country and my head exploded.
The story is set in his First Law grimdark fantasy setting, which would feel familiar to any Game of Thrones (Song of Fire and Ice) fan. A secondary world where blood, sweat and ambition put subtle and low-key magic in the backseat. Red Country took us a place called the Far Lands that was almost a pure Western in a fantasy world -- and the result was an interesting weird spin on Fantasy.
On the surface it seemed to be an easy formula:
  • Pistols = throwing knives and hand crossbows
  • Shotguns = heavy crossbows
But there was much more going on as I dug in. 
 As you can see
I really appreciated how he did the trick and there was some buzz at the time about how he was going to reinvent the fantasy genre, but since then he hasn’t revisited the Far Lands since.
The great thing about being a writer, though, is that if you can’t find something you want to read then you have a another reason to write.
So putting ten-gallon hats on elves and having wizards do some spell-slinging didn’t catch on. Maybe it’s time for another approach, give players something that's “same, but different.”  They can have their elves and rangers but discover a new fantasy landscape that intrigues them because it has some oddball features and challenges. Something the OSR crowd has been enjoying for years. 
Those features will be the likely result of tweaking the setting to allow GMs to bring their Wild West adventures into the game and keep their creative juices flowing. 
So that’s my goal. A setting that on the surface can be played with as a fantasy game with a truly strange new land for players to explore but also inspires GMs by letting play around with a genre and a campaign they ordinarily wouldn't be able to pull off. 
I’m aiming for the sun, let’s see how much I get burned.
Even the grid can not save myself from the horrors of my own artist skill!
P.S. Yeah, I've been working on this idea for a while now.
Love what you’re reading? Not only can you get the Cypher goods early, but also discover exclusive early 5e content, world building and related fiction on my Patreon! You can also check me out at DriveThruRPG.com
  

33 comments:

  1. We have sell some products of different custom boxes.it is very useful and very low price please visits this site thanks and please share this post with your friends. war robots hack

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. game of sultans hack

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is extremely fascinating substance! I have completely delighted in perusing your focuses and have reached the conclusion that you are right about a hefty portion of them. You are extraordinary.  https://bestgamingthings.com/the-game-we-cant-wait-to-play-left-4-dead-3/

    ReplyDelete
  4. It was a very wonderful post!!! Thank you for your great work sharing with us. I am very glad to read your blog and I want more updates about this topic...

    AWS training in chennai | AWS training in anna nagar | AWS training in omr | AWS training in porur | AWS training in tambaram | AWS training in velachery

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for helping people get the information they need. Great stuff as usual. Keep up the great work!!! Slot890

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gaming can likewise improve family connections, as a portion of these games can and ought to be played together. Watch Dogs Walkthrough

    ReplyDelete
  7. On the off chance that you are doing a work which includes eight hours of work, you require some unwinding toward the day's end. You might be pleased to realize that there are free web based games which can really function as a pressure buster. flarefiles

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is likely in light of the fact that they're too bustling tallying their cash acquired by making games that individuals really need to play. Envision that. Possibly the issue isn't that pre-owned games negatively affect the offer of new games at the same time, the issue is rather that game designers need to improve games that gamers are eager to address full cost for. Chanong

    ReplyDelete
  9. Another viewpoint that individuals will bother a game engineer or maker about is portrayal. Should I say, an absence of portrayal which isn't restricted to race, body type and message in the game. free table games

    ReplyDelete
  10. Likewise I might want to improve my gaming abilities with the best gaming gadgets later on also. In any case, there are incalculable gaming gadgets yet the absolute generally epic of them I have highlighted beneath which can improve the best gaming abilities in the 2018 with no molecules of uncertainty. รีวิวrtสล็อตออนไลน์

    ReplyDelete
  11. Consequently, it is basic that educationists are ceaselessly considering the utilization of advanced gaming as a learning instrument in study halls. Establishments are additionally utilizing inventive approaches to use the computerized advantage for upgrading the learning experience at schools. PCGamesTorrents Site

    ReplyDelete
  12. You need to make 4 sword handles. So what number of wooden logs do you require? One. For the actual sword it takes two bits of iron. You need to make 4 swords, so what amount iron do you require? Eight. See what I mean? Contingent upon what you're making and the number of that thing the formula can call for bunches of assets or only a couple.
    unblocked games ez

    ReplyDelete
  13. Pushing ahead we anticipate: better illustrations, quicker processors, additional drawing in games, you get the thought. Yet, not all that we're expecting will be a reformist development for gaming. At any rate, all things considered, play slope

    ReplyDelete
  14. In case it's a game where there is no gathering framework except for you can in any case work with others, also known as free for fall, and you can chat with them there may in any case be an objective that must be finished with numerous players. Click Speed Test

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  16. For more news,please head over to our website,mmopixel has an awesome offer for you. You can purchase GW2 eden Gold or GW2 Legendary Weapons from us whenever you need any of them.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sports Betting Champ, John Morrison, likewise went through just about 10 years, going over the donning information base,poker qq terpercaya

    ReplyDelete
  18. This "game" is seriously and will even give you continuous input that says you'll see quick outcomes. joker123

    ReplyDelete
  19. JOKER GAMING 2021, the hottest online slots website of the year 2021 JOKER SLOT minimum deposit 50 baht, minimum withdrawal 150 baht, the easiest slot to crack, SLOT JOKER automatic deposit and withdrawal system.slotxo

    ReplyDelete

  20. Thank you for playing games at our website.makampoppop002slotxo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello, today we have an online game website to recommend.
    It is an online slot website that is easy to break, high bonuses,
    jackpot prizes, many more, but better than that. New members get 50% now, if you're interested,
    let's learn more. at this link
    SLOT ONLINE
    XO SLOT
    SLOT

    ReplyDelete
  22. Here are a few instances of notable motherboards makers where you can peruse for your ideal gaming motherboard: ASUS, ABIT, MSI, XFX, EVGA, Intel, and Gigabyte. retro bowl unblocked games

    ReplyDelete
  23. Play however much you need and win however much you need. No one will show you out you can have full trust on internet based casino.카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  24. There is no substantial meaning of games as it might change with a singular's inclination and calling. Games can be characterized as a "framework in which players take part in counterfeit struggle, minecraft server list

    ReplyDelete
  25. It provides me with the complete customization of my own desire with each point I can pivot it. go my blog

    ReplyDelete