Author Topic: Sode #11- Grit in your Game  (Read 10230 times)

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Radijs

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Re: Episode 11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #20 on: June 01, 2008, 07:07:53 PM »
I just finished a session of the second campaign I'm running (alternating every other sunday) and having listened to the podcast on grit recently I realized that my campaign worlds are usually pretty gritty.
But not gritty in the way that you have to struggle uphill to make sure your grandma doesn't waste her social security.
You see its a part of my style to set the PC's up to be a part of a really epic tale. And maybe that in itself is a nice subject to analyze in gamology. But more of that later and/or in another thread.

That sunday's campaign world is a relatively small empire, a theocracy made up of a group of large islands/small continents floating in a sea of clouds. Where one god (Amon-Re) made this world and the empire that rules that world. At least thats what everyone believed in the beginning.
The truth is radically diffrent. There are more of these groups of islands. But these groups are so far apart that the dirrigibles cannot reach that distance.
There used to be a network of magical portals linking the diffrent groups together. But for a reason unkown (probably war) these links where severed.
However some knolwedge of these networks remained in ancient lore and legend.
So at the beginning of the campaign, after a few non-connected adventures so the party could build up some synergy I get them hunting a cult thats trying to reconnect these groups. They are doing it for the completely wrong reasons.
At the same time, or rather a very long time ago a race of alien creatures (represented by mind flayers) has begun an invasion of the empire.
With the portals dead they had to cross the vast amount of space inbeteen the groups in airships. So they bioengineered a gigantic living ship that basically had to serve as a terraforming ship, colony ship and as a forward base through which the Flayers could begin their takeover.
The PC's find the thing shortly after its crashlanding on one of the outer islands, learn that there are these Tsochar things on board that take over human bodies.
They blow the thing up after a very scary dungeon crawl through that living ship but they do learn that some of those Tsochar escaped before it blew up.

Just today they learned that these Tsochar have infiltrated the cult thats trying to renew the connection as well as several people high up in the various arcane guilds and other important places. It might even be true that the people who are their allies are either already infected or prone to be infected fairly quickly. In other words right now they are finding themselves being hemmed in by enemies and allies who are becoming less then trustworthy.
As they put it quite nicely: "We're F*cked. Hopelessly F*cked."
Really grim and gritty I'd say. But in the end, assuming they make it to the end :). In the end they will become the heroes of the empire by vanquishing these terrible foes, beating back the invasion saving the girl etc. etc.

I realized that my other campaign, on the thursday evening is pretty much the same kind of flavour. I've put the PC's in mortal peril, I've placed the world they are in in mortal peril. Everything is bleak, dangerous. People are more likely to see them as a threat rather then as a boon.

All this, I think makes the campaign more memorable as the PC's begin to score the big victories against their enemies and indeed wind up saving the world, or whats left of it.
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Meg

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Re: Episode 11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #21 on: June 03, 2008, 01:16:44 PM »
So, to call back to the idea of Grit in games, there are quite a few threads about gritty games at ENWorld. 

Here's one. 

And another that seems to be upset that 4e isn't as gritty as 3.x

And an argument that 4e presents a Gritty world

Thoughts?

Mine are that for the most part, people are thinking that grit = chance for death and we tackled that issue in this show.  D&D at is core rewards triumph and gives you sparkling new treasure for defeating evil.  That alone is proof that D&D is as gritty as Star Trek. 

You can have gritty descriptions, and a grittier game then some, but if you want a gritty game, you've got to look beyond D&D.
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olothfaern

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Re: Episode 11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #22 on: June 03, 2008, 03:01:21 PM »
No love for George R. R. Martin as far a writer of grit?  Also C.S. Friedman, especially the first Gerald Tarrant book 'Black Sun Rising'.  Pan's Labyrinth was also pretty gritty.  As well as Band of Brothers up to the 'Why We Fight' episode.
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heffroncm

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Re: Episode 11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #23 on: June 03, 2008, 06:17:52 PM »
Meg has pegged my feelings on this as well.  D&D is not well suited for a gritty game.  You certainly can make it happen, but you end up fighting the system mechanics.

The closest thing to a 'gritty' system I've played has been oWoD.  It's a lousy system and a lousy setting, but I definitely got that sense of constantly struggling just to keep from sliding backwards.  The big problem was the system didn't make it fun.

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #24 on: June 30, 2008, 12:05:39 PM »
So why didn't you guys mention Sin City? I think that Sin City is a great example of a gritty movie and graphic novel. The story with the red light district and the attempt to stop a war between the cops and whores was amazingly gritty.

Meg

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #25 on: June 30, 2008, 01:14:34 PM »
As I was editing the episode I  :facepalm because we didn't mention Sin City.

Definitely very gritty.

Remember though that the list wasn't meant to be comprehensive at all- just examples. 

I'd still like to hear what others have to suggest for gritty media.
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altpersona

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #26 on: August 08, 2008, 02:07:05 PM »
add to the list of grit example movies : Old Boy.
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altpersona

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #27 on: August 08, 2008, 07:46:04 PM »
ooo, meg said chekov with out saying star trek in the same sentence...

the cat coat story was fantastic...
The goal of power is power. - idk
We are not descended from fearful men. - Murrow

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jcm

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #28 on: August 27, 2008, 03:27:53 PM »
The Clint movie where he made the midget the sheriff was High Plains Drifter...

...

 :-[

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Darth Krzysztof

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Re: Sode #11- Grit in your Game
« Reply #29 on: September 01, 2008, 09:17:59 PM »
Grit can get in your GM's eyes no matter which game or setting you're using, and then it'll get into your eyes, too.

There are certainly grittier games & settings than Shadowrun's, but you'd never know it from the way our GM ran it. We -never- caught a break, not once. And all the fantasy elements do very little to alleviate the gritty atmosphere when they're all out to get you.

My character was a PI (although not a very good one), so once it became a solo campaign focused on him, the tone also became very noir.
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