What's your favorite setting?
Seriously, think about it. What setting do you play in, or have played in, that you could probably play in forever and not get tired of it? Do you prefer high fantasy with the clash of good versus evil, magic running rampant, and noble heroes to fight dastardly villains? Perhaps the dystopic and high tech worlds of cyber-punk catch your fancy? The heroics and drama of space opera? Just what setting do you love so much you could play in it forever, or seemingly forever?
For me, I have a lot of settings that I really like. Fantasy is always good, as is space opera. I'm a particular fan of the Halo universe and Star Wars if you want to get into detailed specifics. But I'm not sure what setting type I could play in forever unhindered. In fact, if I had to choose I'd probably cop out and choose super heroes.
Why? Well, you can do anything with super heroes. You can be a rogue, prowling sky scrapers and making impossible thefts or the avatar of a god who fights with sword and shield against the forces of darkness. You can be a detective, moving through shadowy corners to find that next clue. You can be involved in titanic space battles that swing the fate of the universe with every blow. Plus you can fly. That's pretty awesome right?
I think with all my hankerings and tastes, and even despite the fact that I've been really jonesing hard for some space opera in my life lately, that if I had to choose a favorite it'd be super heroes. There's just so much you can do with them.
What about you?
This is going to sound like a plug, but since the guys who make this game haven't got their latest edition ready to print yet, I'm going for it anyway.
ReplyDeletetwo guys I've been friends with for years have spent most of that time working on their own game from the ground up, world and setting. heavily inspired by the Lankhmar books, the thing that makes it such a great setting is that it takes the idea of fantasy types and puts them in a city setting where the kind of behavior that wouldn't be a problem in the wilderness needs to be tempered in the city. It presents its own challenges, and promotes role playing over violence as conflict resolution.
I see nothing wrong with plugging stuff you like. That's kind of the point of discussions like this. Got a link? Expound more on how it works. :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite setting is Space Opera- Star Wars to be precise. Been running a campaign since 1991. The characters have gone from low level grunts to major players in Galactic politics. Fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteThat having been said, I've been dieing to do something in a 'low' Fantasy setting with D&D rules with the magic cranked back a little (in regards to how much of it there is in the world, that is).
As far as pre-packaged settings go, there is one that I absolutely love: The Free City of Haven, published by Gamelords in 1981. It, and its supporting materials present one of the most awesome city settings I've ever come across, even if the final piece to the puzzle was never released. Here is a link to the boxed set, but there was a lot of support material for the setting as well: http://www.diffworlds.com/haven.htm
Out of simple curiosity, does your group still use the D6 mechanic or have you hopped systems as they've come out? Is your group planning on trying the FFG system when it releases?
DeleteFor that matter, what's it even like running a game for 20 years? I go like 18 months and I'm itching for something different.
We still use the D6- though by now we've added house rules. It would still be recognizable to anyone familiar with the original system, though.
DeleteI will likely buy the FFG game at some point, just to see what they're doing with it, but I can't see switching systems at any point, unless they REALLY do something awesome.
As far as the 20 year thing goes... short summary. We played on a weekly or twice-weekly basis for about two and a half years (at college) before folks went their separate ways. There were typically some breaks during the summer of those two years. For me as a GM, those summer breaks were a great time to recharge my creative batteries.
After those initial 2+ years, we got together about once every year to play for about two days at a pop. Lately, we've been getting together twice a year, gaming for 2 days or so each time. So really, the 20 years may not be as impressive as it sounds. But it is still remarkable for me AND my players. None of us have had such a long-running group before. Amazed I am still friends with these great folks after all this time and time apart.
So, you see, the HUGE breaks between playing sessions is probably what has allowed us to continue as we do. I have a lot of time to 'recharge' and they have a lot of time to anticipate. So when we DO play, everyone is really focused.
I totally understand the '18 months and out' thing. No matter how good the game, there comes a point where you can get burned out. Honestly, that's what has happened to most of my campaigns since.
That is still super awesome. Glad it has held out for you. :) I know how much gaming can be done in a 2 day binge.
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