Brian Bloodaxe
It's been a busy month.
Read
I've been doing some research into StoryGames. I have no problem with the actual games, but more and more I feel like story gamers hold some game theory opinions which seem opposed to my own understanding of what RPGs are. So I've been trying to find some where this theory comes from and if we are really talking about different things. A few requests for places to start my investigations lead to many suggestions to read up on the Forge. This was somewhat disappointing.
The Forge quickly decided what all the answers were and basically stopped analysing anything 20 years ago. 40% of roleplaying history and probably 80% of RPG game development has happened since Ron Edwards decided he had solved gaming with GNS and the Big Model. Still if that's what I've got I went and found some late-forge/early storygames to read.
The Annotated Sorcerer - Ron Edwards talks about Ron Edwards' Sorcerer. Phew. It's hard work. It flicks between Ron passive aggressively putting down every other RPG and Ron admitting that bits of his own game also weren't great. If this was the cutting edge of gaming in '97 (or whenever it was written, I think it was '97), then we have certainly come a long way since. I did not find anything interesting for my theory research here, it's such a weird little game which almost entirely focuses on wizards who have made a demon pact which grants them unlimited power and certain doom.
Burning Wheel & the Burning Wheel Codex - This one is even more dense. There's some really interesting mechanics for character generation and development. The complex procedures for duels and negotiations are again weirdly specific. The whole thing looks difficult. I had hoped there would be interesting essays in the Codex but it's all very Burning Wheel focused.
Dogs in the Vineyard - This is a fantastic little game. I really want to read what Vincent had to say about fruitful voids, but I haven't gotten that far yet. I've been reading bits of Vincent's blog too which has been good.
Everway - This proto-story game is still a good read. In itself it is pretty trad but you can see that it inspired a lot of later developments. That said, I was surprised by how GM-focused it is.
I've got plenty more reading to do, but recommendations for more are welcome.
Play
Mausritter - My regular Monday group played through one of the adventures from The Estate. It was about a boat race and was a lot of fun.
Delta Green, Impossible Landscapes continues to be excellent.
Finally, I played a session of Blades in the Dark for the first time.
Run
Mothership - This was great! I loved the new 1e version of the system when I read it and if anything it is even better in action. We played the adventure The Haunting of Ypsilon 14 which was also great.
I ran some old school D&D for some kids and some Offworlders at a local convention, but I think I mentioned those already in the general thread.