lol 8 replies
New discussion point!
Science-fiction, fantasy, modern, or other? Possibly even some combination thereof?
I really enjoy both sci-fi and fantasy role-play, though I favor sci-fi in particular. I love creating new and interesting technologies based on current science, they're still fantastical and off in la-la land, but it feels fun to have it be based on 'real' concepts.
Yes! ...Aw, must we choose?
Thinking about it, my group has played all three types of fantasy. No "hard sci-fi", AKA what I'd prefer "science fiction" to mean, but we did play futuristic fantasy (Shadowrun).
That was just one relatively short (2-month) campaign though. We also played a Caribbean pirates session ("Poisoned" alpha, I ran that).
By time, I think we mostly played DND fantasy. But we've been playing New World of Darkness modern for a looong time now, and I still sorta love it. Vampires, Demons, (Christmas of 1984 interlude in DND), back to Vampires...
Setting a game in modern times is strange in a lot of ways. The behavior one expects in magical fantasy RPGs might have a lot more consequences. And even if the modern setting is magical, normal people tend to be very mortal (Not just WoD, but Cthulhu). Bullets often graze, but a single moderately-fortunate stab or shot can wreck someone's day. Not like DND where
epic level 7 heroes are mostly immune to commoners.
My current vampire was almost at peak human resilience even when she was human, and now she's a relatively long-lived vampire with supernatural resilience. But three nurses (quasi-vampire... things) attacked her one round, cutting around her dodge and armor, and nearly took her out of commission in one round. They weren't even super lucky! It's just that in such settings, you're expected to
avoid getting stabbed with scalpels.
You're supposed to use non-combat skills to engineer situations where you aren't getting attacked. Because every time you're attacked, the DM is rolling
exploding dice. Did I mention there are no attack-of-opportunity or zone of control rules? If you melee, you better have friends to drag you away if you're unlucky.
Fortunately, in such lethal fights, people aren't interested in finishing off the unconscious. If they can even tell the difference in the heat of battle (3 second rounds).
I meant to talk about futuristic settings but this has rambled too long already. I like them, and I kinda want to see more. But really, I like all three. (tendency towards modern maybe)