Quote from: Christopher Brady;991949But it begs the question what does the OP mean with the term.

The best guess I have is to take a look at some of the campaign logs posted on Pundit's blog. A recent DDC campaign update, for example. Or maybe this Traveller one.

I've read a few of these on the rare occasion that I look at his blog, or seen some of his posts in G+ communities. I don't know if they fully qualify as "Gonzo". They usually elicit a WTF is this shit? reaction from me, and they seem ridiculous as shit. Maybe they're gonzo.

Quote from: Edgewise;991640Venture Bros. is gonzo as fuck.  It's the only one on the list that represents a pure embodiment of the ideal.

Could you explain what the platonic ideal of gonzo is? Because I know what everything on the list is, but I don't see how they're arranged in any kind of order. What are the criteria for gonzoness? It seems that some posters in this thread think it means "surreal" and others think it means "zany slapstick".

My own definition leans toward surreal and psychedelic. When I think of gonzo scenery, I imagine Jack Kirby's cosmic comics or Moebius or Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards".

Quote from: K Peterson;991966The best guess I have is to take a look at some of the campaign logs posted on Pundit's blog. A recent DDC campaign update, for example. Or maybe this Traveller one.

I've read a few of these on the rare occasion that I look at his blog, or seen some of his posts in G+ communities. I don't know if they fully qualify as "Gonzo". They usually elicit a WTF is this shit? reaction from me, and they seem ridiculous as shit. Maybe they're gonzo.

Well, he thinks they're gonzo. That much is clear from his writing. The problem is that he boils so much down into a blog entry that I can't tell if it's just relentless "hey this is gonzo!" one thing after another, which is how it reads, or if it just comes across that way due to his condensation of a session into a few paragraphs. The way it reads, I'd run for the hills rather than be subjected to it as for me it gets old very fast and nothing is gonzo or strange when everything else is equally odd and goofy. But again, that could just be how it comes across in print. Less is more when it comes to "gonzo."

Quote from: Dumarest;991969The problem is that he boils so much down into a blog entry that I can't tell if it's just relentless "hey this is gonzo!" one thing after another, which is how it reads, or if it just comes across that way due to his condensation of a session into a few paragraphs.

Then I guess it's up to the Image Latakia - smoking man to provide some answers, and a definition.

Quote from: RPGPundit;990792So, what's the most Gonzo you'd be willing to have in a campaign and still play?

AD&D 1e has enough gonzo in it. See also Thundarr the Barbarian.

Quote from: Xuc xac;991968Could you explain what the platonic ideal of gonzo is?

I can give my own definition for this admittedly imprecise term.  For me, gonzo is best described by a set of traits:

- genre blending
- indulgent and fun
- unsubtle and in-your-face
- irreverent and humorous
- violent without being dark
- self-aware without being self-parody

That sort-of captures it for me.  Something might still be considered gonzo without hitting all of these, and maybe there are a few other aspects that I'm forgetting.

Quote from: Doom;991346Yeah, we need to have some idea of what "Gonzo" means here.

It's difficult to define "gonzo" without presenting multiple examples for comparison.

It's not just a measure of general weirdness--it's that, correlated with a measure of how many elements that are at least implied to be out-of-genre are likely to show up.

Let me take a shot at this. Let's say I'm pitching a game where we play Samurai.

Gonzo Level 1 is the premise, played straight. So we're in ancient Japan, and the PC's are going to be Samurai. They may be sword-wielding warriors, or they might simply be wealthy aristrocrats--Samurai means both of those things. We're aiming for historical and realistic though--so no magic, monsters, or time-travelers. If Ninja show up, they're going to be historically-accurate Ninja, darn it. Dramatic sword duels, political intrigue, and warfare are the order of the day.

Gonzo Level 2 is the premise, plus any weirdness you want to include that is thematically related. So we're playing Samurai, and there are going to be Ninjas, and they're going to be guys that are dressed in black pajamas and can mystically turn invisible. Martial arts that allow superhuman feats are on the table. There might even be monks with magical or spiritual powers, and we might sparingly run into a Kitsune or something, but it will be played for mystery and subtlety. We might not actually be in Japan--we might be in a fantasy land based on Japan. Someone somewhere probably has a magical katana created by Masamune.

Gonzo Level 3 is even more open. It's the premise, plus weird shit implied by the premise, plus extra stuff that the GM finds appealing. Someone might get to play a Ninja or even a Kitsune. Yokai and mystical martial artists are plentiful. You can start the game with a magical katana created by Masamune. We might fight Shaolin monks, or confront one of the Ten Thousand Immortals, who has mastered Daoist alchemy. We might have period-appropriate guest stars from other lands--a plate-armor wearing knight from medieval Germany, perhaps. Expect a fire-breathing half-Oni Ninja at some point.

Gonzo Level 4 is anything that could remotely be connected to the premise. The Daoist alchemist might have built clockwork robot minions. There's a portal to Jigoku that Bakemono are pouring out of, and the Tengu have teamed up with the Yeti to shut it down. Dim Mak, One-Inch Death Punches, Vibrating Palms, and wire-fu swordsmen flying through the air are things you see in every session. A talking Tanooki Ninja who rides around on a kite is an acceptable player character. Samurai warriors with indestructible swords regularly slice war boars in half. It's not quite anything goes, but it's getting close.

Gonzo Level 5 is anything goes. Wicked Daimyos summon Ninjas made of solid shadow. Time-traveling gunslingers show up to battle Cthulhoid entities from beyond the stars. The Terminator shows up, and the only one who can help us stop him is Mr. T. Gamera is the friend to all children! You can never be certain that your Samurai PC isn't about to be beamed onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  


Personally, I like to keep my games somewhere between Levels 3 and 4.

Quote from: Koltar;990845Really depends on how you define 'Gonzo'.

Well, the point of the examples given in the poll are meant to reflect the spectrum of what I define as Gonzo.

Quote from: Ulairi;991490Venture Brothers was a cartoon from like 10+ years ago that was a play on the old Johnny Quest cartoons. It's funny but I don't know what makes it Gonzo. I was a big fan but  the show came and would disappear for like years before coming back. It's like 14 years old now so I don't even know what happened to it.

Um, Venture Bros. is still on. Their latest season was last year, if I recall correctly.

Quote from: Edgewise;991640Venture Bros. is gonzo as fuck.  It's the only one on the list that represents a pure embodiment of the ideal.  Wes Anderson as gonzo?  C'mon, Wes Anderson is quirky.  I don't see any gonzo there.

The Life Aquatic is quite gonzo.  Hell, just about anything with Bill Murray in it tends to be at least a little bit gonzo.

Quote from: K Peterson;991966The best guess I have is to take a look at some of the campaign logs posted on Pundit's blog. A recent DDC campaign update, for example. Or maybe this Traveller one.

I've read a few of these on the rare occasion that I look at his blog, or seen some of his posts in G+ communities. I don't know if they fully qualify as "Gonzo". They usually elicit a WTF is this shit? reaction from me, and they seem ridiculous as shit. Maybe they're gonzo.

Yes, both of those campaigns were/are very gonzo.

My games always run the extremes, either not at all gonzo, or highly gonzo. My Wild West campaign has practically no gonzo in it (well, except for Paddy the bear, but he's an actual historical fact). Dark Albion had only a tiny bit of gonzo, mostly due to stuff the PCs themselves put in.

My DCC game is the most Gonzo RPG campaign I've ever run. It might be the most Gonzo RPG campaign anyone has ever run, period.

Quote from: RPGPundit;992822Well, the point of the examples given in the poll are meant to reflect the spectrum of what I define as Gonzo.

Too many of us weren't familiar with the movies.

And for Koltar's post, where would my example from the first page go? (Gonzo for us is really the PCs interactions with the NPCs.)

Quote from: RPGPundit;992822

Quote from: Koltar;990845Really depends on how you define 'Gonzo'.
Well, the point of the examples given in the poll are meant to reflect the spectrum of what I define as Gonzo.

Oh, well based on that definition my answer has to be Blue. No, yellow....

Quote from: Bren;993039Oh, well based on that definition my answer has to be Blue. No, yellow....

No, no, no. The answer is always fish.

Quote from: Tetsubo;993054No, no, no. The answer is always fish.

Your reference escapes me. Also, and I did not know this, apparently the answer is always pork.