Gotta love RPGs that don't top 20 pages. Makes this project a little easier.
The Game: Outré Realms: A Roleplaying Game of Weird Adventure
The Publisher: Mystic Beard Games
Degree of Familiarity: None, but there ain't much to it
Books Required: Just the one
You know, I've been in this hobby for a long time, and although my first RPG was TSR's Marvel Superheroes, not D&D, I'm well familiar with the early editions of "the most popular RPG." I actually kind of "rediscovered" 1st Ed D&D (that is, I discovered I had the books in my room) in the late 80s, and I remember reading them, designing dungeons, and listening to Scarlet & Black while I did it. The idea of designing a dungeon, and having the kind of formulaic feel to doing so, appealed to me and the way I design scenarios - I'm happy to improvise but I like to know what I'm changing things from. (This is probably why I gravitate to investigative games, but I digress.)
All of this to say: I understand having a fascination for old expressions of a game. What I don't understand is the fetishization of "old school" gaming, in terms of game philosophy and emulation. Is it is a cousin of other kinds of philosophical conservatism? Fear of aging? Stubborn, dogged insistence that "it was good enough for us, gol' dangit?" I have no idea.
(And please note: This is not me saying "I don't get it" to mean "this is bad." I'm saying "I don't get it" because I don't get it, mostly because I'm up earlier than usual today, the dogs are snoozing, and I don't feel like playing video games so I'm gonna ramble before I make a character. If this game is your jam, fuckin' jam on it.)
Anyway, Outré Realms, in addition to having an accent mark, is, well, this:
And I don't really get it. But whatever, let's make a character. (Oh, and there's no sheet, grumble grumble.)
So! I am first asked to visualize a concept for my character. You know, I like playing spellcasters, and it's been a while since I've made one, so I shall lean in that direction. I don't know how magic works in this game specifically, so probably I should look at that. Just a mo.
OK, wow. Magic isn't based on a huge spell list (didn't figure it would be, since the game is only 13 pages) or on memorizing spells (yay!) but on a much more freeform thing - your difficulty, as it were, depends on how impressive and permanent you want the effect to be. I can roll with that. So I think I want my sorcerer character to be interested in the intersection of magic and faith - a wizard who also takes worship and intercession from the gods seriously. Maybe he was studying to be a cleric and something took him down a different path. I hate to be cliché, but maybe he realized that while faith is one thing (and in a fantasy world where gods exist it actually makes sense!), religion and temples are an institution, and not really what he was looking for.
Why sorcery, though? I'll noodle that. On we go.
Second step is race, but it doesn't have a mechanical effect. I think I want this guy to be human. I could work in his central conflict to any race, of course, but I think human is fine.
Next is stats. Our four stats are Fighter, Intercessor, Sorcerer, Thief (FIST!). I put a 4 in one stat, 2 in two others, and 1 in one.
Well, I think Sorcerer pretty obviously gets the 4. I'll put 2s in Intercessor and Fighter, and then 1 in Thief. (I wish I could switch 2/2/1 to 3/1/1, but whatevs.) Because I'm a gangsta havin' fun a sorcerer, I get to have a trivial and moderate magical effect I know how to produce. So, wait, I do have to worry about spells? Hang on, better reread this.
OK, weird. I get a number of sorcery effects per day equal to my Sorcerer stat, but it doesn't say anything about defining what the effects are. Well, assuming that the effects I "know" are just things I've practiced, I'll say my character's trivial effect is to summon a small object within sight and weighing a pound or two to his hand (so, "mage hand," but even weaker), and his moderate effect is call up a bright light that stays behind him and his companions, hindering anyone looking at them (and making them look cool and backlit).
Derived traits! Blows & Setbacks. Blows is Fighter x 2 (4), and Setbacks is Intercessor x 2 (also 4). Easy enough.
One weird trick! I like this, and I humbly submit that early D&D would have benefited greatly from this kind of narrative freedom. This is just one cool thing my guy can do. I want to tie it into the whole Intercessor vs. Sorcerer thing, but not mimic the Intercessor abilities. So let's say my guy can hear divine messengers talking - they're all over the place and most of the time they just go about their angelic/demonic/shamanic business unnoticed, but my guy can hear them if he concentrates. They don't necessarily talk to him, but it's still a pretty good way to size up what's happening on a mystical level.
Finally, need a name and a description and suchlike. My guy's name is Ynthim. He's handsome in a dad kind of way (rugged beard, somewhat thick bod). He's got a measured way of speaking and he tends to take weird pauses in the middle of sentences, usually because he just heard a spirit say something and he's trying to listen. Most people think he's an Intercessor upon meeting him; he believes faith and one's relationship with the gods is an interesting discussion and talking about sorcery is about as interesting to most people as talking about math.
That'll do it! Like I said, no sheet.
No comments:
Post a Comment