Backgrounds, and also a Name Change

I didn't like the former name for the blog, so I went with a change, since it's still so early in the process. This should do a better job of reflecting the FRP theme. So I think that's pretty cool.

Game Related

In terms of game projects, my normal gaming session is current subject to a hiatus. Which means that as far as game materials are concerned, all there's been to do has been to write. One of the major sub-projects that came up recently was trying to make a better background generation method. Here are a few points guiding me:

• Even a 1st Level Fighter is a Veteran. Even a 1st Level character has already seen some shit, and spent a good part of their life training to that point.
• Following the above, rolling for a background should not look like rolling on a list of professions. The class of a character already informs their professional skills. Further skills should reflect those learned during that path of career progression.
• No skill sub-systems. Therefore, whatever "skills" are noted should be things that can be described in under a sentence and have minor impacts on the game, if they do anything at all.
• The material needs to be randomized and supplementary to basic character generation. It should be an optional element of a game system.

The closest thing to emulating a number of these features is the Traveller character generation method (specifically CT in this case, what with the whole old-school theme) - something that can be tacked on with the same ease as making three or four extra rolls (little more than determining starting cash) while also being easily expanded upon. Since there isn't a statistic for social class built into the D&D style of character generation, I've determined to instead patch in a modification of the Arduin background generation. The whole project still needs to be smoothed over a lot more, but a copy of the work so far is pasted here.

Besides this, I've been cleaning up the main game rules document and refining the classes. The linked CryptPad file lists what appears to be a lot of classes, but thats's a bit of a misnomer. What I've been doing instead is working with the framework used to create kits in 2E to generate sub-classes that trade offer up certain advantages or restrictions from the standard classes. I wouldn't say that they're inherently balanced, but I think that's okay (if you rolled that Charisma 17 and can put up with being committed to the Church and Crown, you deserve a freebie, Paladin). It has the additional perk of allowing "race as sub-class" which removes the need for a section on race selection and firmly frames the game as "majority human" while requiring less tables and being more flexible than "race as class". Hurrah for simple solutions!

Non-Game Related

I'll have to add Ergo Proxy to my list of top shows (both television and animated) - and probably no less than top five when it comes to that. I worry a bit going into shows like it because of the risk of entering into the "2deep4u" problem. It's not an accusation that worries me a great deal, simply considering that quite often, shows get that label without really deserving it, especially when you start looking into the psychological genre. That's not the case here - so long as you pay attention, even the most ridiculous episodes or scenes can be puzzled out within a few minutes. It manages to have a few exciting action sequences, but this never where the highlight is, and only come across as the occasional bonus. One other thing of note is that rather than being the typical child character tossed in by some lazy writer as way to make the plot happen by screwing things up, Pino ended up as my new benchmark for 'well written child character' in media.

Ironic that the AutoRiev ends up more of a real girl than some child actors.

The only problem is that it's hard to talk about the show without giving away something. There's a reason the OP for the show doesn't kick in until a few episodes into the series, and even by that point, it still gives information away (in theory - this will be viewer dependent). It's a strong work in the psychological and science-fiction genres, and if you know a bit of philosophy or religion, you'll get a few extra bonuses along the way. As for where this intersects with gaming - the middle episodes provide a lot of great examples for encounters that go outside the normal 'monster with a statblock', and it's hard not to feel the gears in your head turning when you see a lot of the show's setpieces and technology.