I’m going to try and take part
in the #RPGaDay writing prompts for 2021. The idea is there’s a prompt every
day that asks you to write about something in RPG’s you really like. There are
a couple of alternate prompts offered but I’m going to try and do the main one
every day. If you want to try it yourself, you can head here for the calendar
for this year.
I
talked about this a little in an earlier post. I really like games that make me
think differently. I’ve spent a lot of my early years with gaming in a cycle of
enter room, kill bad guys, and take their stuff. It didn’t matter wat game we
were playing they all sort of worked that way.
I
started in D&D where this was pretty much the default for us at the time.
After that we dabbled in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles where we didn’t get a
lot of loot, but the other two steps were still pretty much the same. For a
while we played Shadowrun and even though there was some new thinking in that game.
We needed to talk to the client, gather information, and plan the job. After
that it was enter the room, kill the bad guys, and take their stuff. It never
really changed.
The
first game that really shifted the needle for me on this was Legend of the Five
Rings. My first character for L5R was a drunken samurai duelist. I was designed
to fight people and take their stuff. For the first couple of sessions that’s
what I was. I looked for a place to get into a fight. I waited for my moment to
get in there and smite my foes. We eventually got it; sort of. We were attacked
by a group of monks and a demon. Everyone else immediately leapt into the fight
with the monks. I charged at the demon.
This
was my first interaction with combat in L5R and this is where I learned just
how deadly the game can be. I’m not going to get to deep into the mechanics
here but I will say that a fluke roll allowed me to do around 80 damage. In a
game where most of us could take around 10 points I had done 80. I would
realize a bit later that if I could do that much damage on a lucky roll then so
could everything in the game. I couldn’t just kick in the door, kill the bad
guys, take their stuff, and repeat.
I
needed to play in a way where combat was to be avoided. I needed to think
differently. That led me to paying more attention to the setting and how my
reputation reflected on my family and how their reputation reflected on me. I
was suddenly the very public custodian of my family’s reputation. I was also
drafted into service for the Emerald Champion, the head of the Emperor’s
security. Which meant that my actions reflected on her and in turn on the
Emperor. Which meant that if I pulled the kick, kill, and take plan then I was
making them look bad and the consequences of that were very decisive.
I had
to start thinking like someone who had grown up in this world. Someone who was
very aware of the negative consequences of these expectations. I needed to
adjust to the idea of court, poetry, and art. We role played a tea ceremony
because it was part of the ritual for the events in one particular adventure.
These are the things I would not have thought of before this. The game had
mechanics to reinforce thinking in a way that worked in this world.
I have
more stories from this campaign than almost any other I played in because it
was the first time I really had to get into the characters head space. I had to
learn to think like my character.
I really
enjoyed this experience and it’s colored all of my gaming moving forward from
that point. I actively look for those games that make me adjust my thought and
decision process to focus on how this world makes things work. I don’t always
find it, but when I do, those games are precious gems in my experience. They
also make some of the best stories.
I’ll
be back tomorrow with my thought on flood.
Until
then, stay safe and be well.
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