When I say "Setting Generator", what do you imagine?

droog · January 13, 2007, 09:54:16 PM

As to which 'camp' I'm in, it depends as always on the game. Random tables are good for certain things, one of which is giving the sense of recurring events. They're not always of use, and in many games I've found them quickly to become nothing more than a list of suggestions.

RPGPundit · January 14, 2007, 03:18:43 AM

Quote from: droogWould it be out of place to mention that DitV hasn't got a 'Town Generator'? The chapter is called 'Creating Towns'.

Yes but the way I've always heard it called was something like "town generator"; and everyone gushing over how fucking incredible a "system" it is, when all I see is a glorified sophomoric essay.

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Hastur T. Fannon · January 14, 2007, 04:57:23 AM

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI do, however, exert strong editorial control over planets and animal encounters.

Anyone remember the Travellers cartoon from White Dwarf? They once rolled for a random encounter because the gun bunny was getting bored and produced an elephant-sized apex predator (or whatever the equivalent in Traveller terms was - it was big, scary and had lots of teeth and claws)

In a shopping mall

JongWK · January 14, 2007, 11:10:03 AM

Quote from: KenHRHeh, speaking of setting generators, this link was posted at RPGnet.

It's incredibly hilarious. I mean, check this premises:

Premise: Primitive hockey players stick it to the Man in post-apocalyptic Tokyo.
Genre: Western/Crime/Epic

Premise: Delicate yaks seek transendence on a sentient planet.
Genre: Epic/Dungeon Crawl/Western

Premise: Convervative swashbucklers enact bloody rituals as nanotechnology ushers in a new era of civilisation.
Genre: Thriller/Drama

Premise: Married midgets play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in a ~~transparent ripoff of~~ respectful homage to Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
Genre: Action/Adventure/Cyberpunk

Premise: Zombie barons get in touch with their inner child across infinite dimensions of time and space.
Genre: Martial Arts

droog · January 14, 2007, 02:16:44 PM

Quote from: RPGPunditYes but the way I've always heard it called was something like "town generator"; and everyone gushing over how fucking incredible a "system" it is, when all I see is a glorified sophomoric essay.

What's good about town creation in DitV is that it reliably produces a situation that will challenge the players. That's one reason why it's easy to run.

Could you make up your own towns without it? Sure, if you're an experienced GM who can think that way. DitV makes it quick and easy for anybody, and it also leaves room for you to bring something to the picture.

So it's all very clever, and if anyone thinks it's obvious I say that you should have written it all down before Vincent did.

hgjs · January 14, 2007, 03:30:11 PM

The thing that comes to my mind is a random table-based setting generator. Just seeing the title of this thread caused me get enthusiastic about the idea, and I am most disappointed not to find one in this thread.

Spike · January 14, 2007, 04:55:21 PM

I don't necessarily need random tables, but a simple essay on the topic strikes me as a pointless waste of time as well.

RPGPundit · January 14, 2007, 05:12:33 PM

Quote from: droogWhat's good about town creation in DitV is that it reliably produces a situation that will challenge the players. That's one reason why it's easy to run.

Could you make up your own towns without it? Sure, if you're an experienced GM who can think that way. DitV makes it quick and easy for anybody, and it also leaves room for you to bring something to the picture.

So it's all very clever, and if anyone thinks it's obvious I say that you should have written it all down before Vincent did.

They did; pretty well everything that was in there was in other RPG books over the years in one form or another. There was nothing radical or new about it.

All it amounts to is Vince Baker telling us how the game has to be exactly the way he as designer wants it to be. Its not even about giving the GM options, its about forcing him to follow the designer's vision. So it sucks.

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droog · January 15, 2007, 12:49:23 AM

Quote from: RPGPunditIts not even about giving the GM options, its about forcing him to follow the designer's vision.

Well, if you like, but I think it's more about Vincent holding people's hands.

RPGPundit · January 15, 2007, 01:36:05 AM

Quote from: droogWell, if you like, but I think it's more about Vincent holding people's hands.

To me it looks way more like holding a gun to their heads, especially since the system effectively does the same thing to the GM too.

Baker's got issues. He was clearly bad-touched by both mormons and a GM at some point. Possibly a Mormon GM.
Good god, that's it: he was aggressively fondled in a bad place by Tracy Hickman!

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droog · January 15, 2007, 01:46:29 AM

Quote from: RPGPunditTo me it looks way more like holding a gun to their heads, especially since the system effectively does the same thing to the GM too.

Baker's got issues. He was clearly bad-touched by both mormons and a GM at some point. Possibly a Mormon GM.
Good god, that's it: he was aggressively fondled in a bad place by Tracy Hickman!

You added that slur in editing. Must be slipping.

The thing is, it doesn't matter if Vincent Baker has issues, same as it doesn't matter if your favourite writer had issues. I think Vincent built a very clever game that I simply can't see as holding a gun to your head, any more than any other game out there. He tells you how best to play his game, and you play it some other way strictly on your own. I see that as honest advertising.

Don't like it? Don't play it. Simple, right?

PhishStyx · January 15, 2007, 01:52:11 AM

I don't need any GODDAMN FUCKING PUSSY RANDOM FUCKING SETTINGS.

I want my setting to be MY FUCKING WAY.

ANYTHING ELSE IS BULLSHIT.

DevP · January 15, 2007, 02:08:33 AM

Quote from: PhishStyxI don't need any GODDAMN FUCKING PUSSY RANDOM FUCKING SETTINGS.

I want my setting to be MY FUCKING WAY.

ANYTHING ELSE IS BULLSHIT.

LIKE FUCK, MOTHERFUCKER!

DevP · January 15, 2007, 02:13:23 AM

[edited out b/c teh dumb]