This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Gonzo Gaming: Genre or Attitude?

Started by Pierce Inverarity, June 29, 2007, 12:36:49 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages 1 2 3 4
User actions

Settembrini

#30
June 29, 2007, 08:34:01 PM
Harnmaster has the Airmasters. How do they fit in?
If there can\'t be a TPK against the will of the players it\'s not an RPG.- Pierce Inverarity

jrients

#31
June 29, 2007, 08:44:18 PM
Who the heck are the Airmasters?
Jeff Rients
My gameblog

Settembrini

#32
June 29, 2007, 08:48:01 PM
The ones wo fought with the Earthmasters.

I think they are in fact Aliens, but I always remained a player. So any HM DM here to enlighten us?

EDIT:
Quote- HârnPlayer, Entry 'Airmasters':
 
"According to legend, an alliance of monsters that came... from beyond
the stars to wage war upon the Earthmasters... and as the Ancients
stood for peace and beauty, so the invaders cared only for war and
destruction... The greatest appeal of the legend is that it explains
the disappearance of the Earthmasters."

Also, watch this thread for "realistic gonzo mindset"
If there can\'t be a TPK against the will of the players it\'s not an RPG.- Pierce Inverarity

Pseudoephedrine

#33
June 29, 2007, 09:41:06 PM
d02 is fucking awesome. I've PbPed it two or three times, and it keeps on getting deleted as spam.
Running
The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin\'s Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

"Elves don\'t want you cutting down trees but they sell wood items, they don\'t care about the forests, they\'\'re the fuckin\' wood mafia." -Anonymous

David R

#34
June 29, 2007, 09:43:43 PM
Quote from: CalithenaJorune and Harn are not gonzo; the setting of Chivalry & Sorcery is not gonzo; Ars Magica is not gonzo; Pendragon is not gonzo.

(Just to make the contrast class clear. Gonzo =/= teh kuhl. I played in some fuckin' lame gonzo campaigns back in the day, let me tell you.)

I demand to know why Jorune is not gonzo...also what the hell does "teh kuhl" mean ?

Regards,
David R

Koltar

#35
June 29, 2007, 11:31:13 PM
Quote from: David RI demand to know why Jorune is not gonzo...also what the hell does "teh kuhl" mean ?

Regards,
David R


 Thats the oh-so-hip internet way to spell "The Cool". Why the hell people on the internet can't learn to spell "THE" I've never quite figured out.

 By-the-way, the poster formerly known as Jim Bob does a great parody rant of that style or typing and posting.

- Ed C.
The return of \'You can\'t take the Sky From me!\'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUn-eN8mkDw&feature=rec-fresh+div

This is what a really cool FANTASY RPG should be like :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-WnjVUBDbs

Still here, still alive, at least Seven years now...

David R

#36
June 30, 2007, 12:21:04 AM
Thanks Koltar, I thought it was "teh Kewl"...late again to the party :o

Regards,
David R

J Arcane

#37
June 30, 2007, 12:49:33 AM
How the hell did this thread go 37 posts without anyone mentioning Gamma World?  Or Metamorphosis Alpha?
Bedroom Wall Press - Games that make you feel like a kid again.

Arcana Rising - An Urban Fantasy Roleplaying Game, powered by Hulks and Horrors.
Hulks and Horrors - A Sci-Fi Roleplaying game of Exploration and Dungeon Adventure
Heaven\'s Shadow - A Roleplaying Game of Faith and Assassination

Halfjack

#38
June 30, 2007, 01:34:41 AM
Quote from: J ArcaneHow the hell did this thread go 37 posts without anyone mentioning Gamma World?  Or Metamorphosis Alpha?

I miss my old copy so.  Metamorphosis Alpha that is.
One author of Diaspora: hard science-fiction role-playing withe FATE and Deluge, a system-free post-apocalyptic setting.
The inevitable blog.

TheShadow

#39
June 30, 2007, 06:59:56 AM
Quote from: David RI demand to know why Jorune is not gonzo...

Regards,
David R

Jorune has the genre-blending elements, but it never struck me as gonzo, unlike say Arduin or Blackmoor...it's too coherent and was never about being a badass or "kuhl" or whatever.

And I have to mention Tunnels and Trolls as teh Gonzo, in the best possible way.

TheShadow
You can shake your fists at the sky. You can do a rain dance. You can ignore the clouds completely. But none of them move the clouds.

- Dave "The Inexorable" Noonan solicits community feedback before 4e\'s release

Abyssal Maw

#40
June 30, 2007, 09:18:48 AM
Quote from: SettembriniI´d postulate the opposite. If you come to 3.5 character builds with a gonzo mindset, you spare yourself a lot of aesthetic grief.

It´s mostly the AD&D 2nd Edition Ren Fair romanticists that dislike 3.x.

Totally true in my experience!
Download Secret Santicore! (10MB). I painted the cover :)

stu2000

#41
June 30, 2007, 10:30:19 AM
Mostly attitude, though certain genres tend to support it.

I've seen Arduin played completely straight--though that takes work. But I've never seen a Feng Shui game fail to go off the chart. Over the Edge ought to be unavoidably full-bore gonzo, but it can be played nice and easy, too. Space 1889 seemed to want to be very stodgy, but sooner or later, you find bat country.

I think when the game text (as opposed to the rules) is written with a very folksy, enthusiastic style--or when it's simply written poorly--players feel more comfortable to go gonzo with it. Urban Fantasy should be one of the top five full-bore king-hell crazy-ass gonzo extravaganza genres, but the typical style of writing in the books seems to discourage it. Of course that can be overcome.

It's like how "comedy" games, like Toon, Tales of the Foating Vagabond, Gatecrasher, etc. aren't necessarily funny in play. But Unknown Armies, which is presumably dark and forbidding, frequently becomes hysterical.
Employment Counselor: So what do you like to do outside of work?
Oblivious Gamer: I like to play games: wargames, role-playing games.
EC: My cousin killed himself because of role-playing games.
OG: Jesus, what was he playing? Rifts?
--Fear the Boot

Caesar Slaad

#42
June 30, 2007, 11:06:40 AM
Attitude. I could play the same game at two different tables and have it be gonzo or non-gonzo, accordingly.
The Secret Volcano Base: my intermittently updated RPG blog.

Running: Pathfinder Scarred Lands, Mutants & Masterminds, Masks, Starfinder, Bulldogs!
Playing: Sigh. Nothing.
Planning: Some Cyberpunk thing, system TBD.

Settembrini

#43
June 30, 2007, 11:21:52 AM
QuoteBut Unknown Armies, which is presumably dark and forbidding, frequently becomes hysterical.

Please elaborate!
If there can\'t be a TPK against the will of the players it\'s not an RPG.- Pierce Inverarity

stu2000

#44
June 30, 2007, 11:41:28 AM
I don't know if it's gallows humor, or the players "whistling by the graveyard," or the over-the-top mindsets of the folks who want Real Ultimate Power, or just the dark humor embedded in the game universe--but my Unknown Armies scenarios always escalate (or descend) into a wild frenzy of full-gonzo insanity.

It may just be me. I see the humor in the setting and it appeals to me, so I tend, maybe, to draw it out more.
Employment Counselor: So what do you like to do outside of work?
Oblivious Gamer: I like to play games: wargames, role-playing games.
EC: My cousin killed himself because of role-playing games.
OG: Jesus, what was he playing? Rifts?
--Fear the Boot
Print
Go Up Pages 1 2 3 4
User actions