Game Pitches for 2021

Games
5

A few thoughts:

  1. I agree with trying to find something that has few enough mechanics that we don’t get into the weeds, but enough that, when presented with a “So, what do you do now?” the game offers at least a few options to narrow it down or start off with.

    E.g., last M616, going up vs P’tronic, esp. as I had set it up, I was pretty sure it was going to be a Direct Engage or a Defend roll. I decided on Direct Engage when I realized that I could “take” something in the abstract, P’s sense of being the Hero in all of this. Didn’t quite work out (yet, perhaps) the way I had intended (I was hoping it would shatter his confidence, or otherwise hobble him, instead of making him into even a bigger short-term menace), but it was still a fun moment, esp. for a PC that is still figuring out what being a hero really is.

    Anyway, the belabored point is that the game gave me some very broad suggestions (attack, defend others, plus all the base moves), but didn’t get in my way of making a physical confrontation into a psychological one.

  2. I actually had to go back to see what it was I didn’t like about FitD / Scum & Villainy. The bottom line seemed to be feeling (a) the system got in the way, and that (b) the team interaction wasn’t what I was looking for at that point.

    I don’t know if I ever did a post mortem on Fellowship, but I did sort of on Demigods, fwiw – (a) character concept that turned out far less satisfying than I had expected, and (b) taking a while to figure out how to make it work with others and in conflict).

  3. We also have the famous Proposed Game List, as well as the Unproposed Game List. Some of this has already been mined, but to bring those suggestions/non-suggestions together.

  4. Quick responses to the ideas above.

    • Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk - I concur with avoiding in-the-weeds mechanics. I’m not a yuge BladeRunner fan, but I’ve never actually run in any sort of cyberpunk setting, so I am willing there.
    • Neon Black - I read the notes on FitD as a system, plus my notes referenced above. I’m willing to consider the possibility that FitD could be less in-the-way than we experienced.
    • Starforged - Space exploration sounds fun. Without diving into the weeds, the philosophy behind the game sounds fun (“quest-driven mechanics” is interesting), though the subsequent commentary on fiddliness are not encouraging. I concur we want a GM, but it sounds like the game supports whoever takes on that role, which is also good. I am good either SF or Fantasy.
    • Alice is Missing - sounds fascinating, though it’s kind of a one-off.
    • City of Mists - “Urban fantasy, pulp mystery” sounds like it should be good, and Fate+PbtA also sounds doable, but I am sensing low enthusiasm for how it turns out. With a mechanics eval of 6, doesn’t appear, all told, as the best choice.
    • Urban Shadows - I’m not sure the catharsis of punching out people over politics outweighs the unpleasant burden of “acquiring political power and personal favors”. I like PbtA, but this one is conceptually a hard sell for me.

  5. General note: I want to play game, with a character I can enjoy, a setting that’s intriguing, and, most of all a good set of players. The last of which I feel confident I will get here regardless, and that’s the most important, as for me RPGing is about storytelling with friends. I’m happy to have a go at any of the above that people are enthused about.

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