Author: Tadeusz (---.popsite.net)
Date: 07-03-2004 22:41
Hey Mike,
1) I still owe you a rebuttal of your position on Biblical usefulness in science, history, and something else. I'll get to it. It should be relatively easy, as if I remember right, you took a really extreme position which requires only one example from each field of the three to finish your position.
2) On this latest article, I think the line between America and Nordic might be better drawn as a so-called "realist" vs. romantic line. You prefer no supernatural elements, and a story of people who are not at all in control of their own destiny, and are often on the fringes of society, just surviving by hanging on with no particular brilliance, and so forth. Americans have plenty of character immersion; its just we rarely have games where characters are totally pathetic (except for 1st level D&D. Few things more pathetic than an old school mage who has already cast his sleep spell. Heh, heh. And Call of Cthulu and Paranoia, and probably a few other ones.)
Maybe this Nordic scene isn't such a great groundbreaking thing after all except for the utter lack of supernatural elements, and I'm pretty sure someone can point out an American game that has that as well.
Now that I've made a killer point and the fans have gone wild, let me extend an olive branch. I'm pretty sure many larpers worldwide are envious of the lengths of set design you guys go to (submarines and roomfuls of flower--its pretty cool.)
Now let me ask you a question? Is a story without supernatural elements, and with characters mostly the subject of experiences beyond their control superior to say the Odyssey with its monsters, magic, and a hero able to outwit the villains?
If you make an arguement that we need both, then I'm with you. But if you want me to burn all my SF books because they are insufficiently artistic, including any copy I have of Fahrenheit 451, well I cannot sign on.
Now that I've slammed you about, let me go to my third point which is not related directly to the article.
3) I've just about 99.80% finished another project entitled Grim Futures. Its an examination of the possible ways the present day could become a grim future with something like eight alternate realities that were once very similiar to our own before they mostly went badly wrong. (Nuclear winter, a true ruthless American empire which Europe sings teh praises of because they're too scared not too, a deal with China to split the world and a Total Surveillance Society, nuclear genocide, and a world in which smallpox starts the Dark Ages are some of them).
I've already got one guy to agree to write up another viewpoint than mine. Some sort of America is evil world.
I wondered if you wanted to write up another world showcasing your POV and style. It would have to be suited for tabletop, and probably single-player solo questing.
When I read of your refugee camp game, or the bomb shelter game it occurs to me that that would be cool.
The only supernatural elements would be 1)The hero is a dimensional traveller 2)Death is not the end for the hero, it merely means he travels to another dimension.
YOu could add more, or you could pretty much put in a power block that says "anything supernatural at all beyond bare minimums or advanced technologically or psionically beyond the level of this world does not function in this world." That would keep the player from pulling out his plasma cannon and blasting a hole in some tanks. He'd still have his plasma cannon, it would just be a useless paperweight. The PC would still be able to pray, receive atonement for sin if his religion allowed that, but it would nix any sort of (running from the subtle to the obvious)guidance, or luck, or curing of ills, or bolts of fire from heaven.
Tadeusz
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