Ah, I see!

I'm trying to wrap my head around the PBTA systems, as I ordered the newest edition of Kult - which uses this system, too. I hope to run it someday... assuming my package from Modiphius finally arrives. I'm worried, as it's late :\

I will try to post in-game soon, but in the meantime:

Christmas gift: 2 extra xp points...

Thanks :)

I haven't been posting due to Christmas, but I'll be resuming posting now...

Hmmm... a tentative question: would you like to try out Kult?

Mm, doesn't really sound like my kind of thing...

But it's a PbtA game! :)

That said, it can be rather macabre and heavy...

Yeah, sounds a bit heavier than I'd want. Horror is one thing, but Kult doesn't sound like my flavor of fun...

Now if you want me to make you a little LIST of PbtA games that are not Dungeon World that I would like to play, let me know

Ah, but Kult 4E is the only PbtA game I own...

But speaking of horror: I gather that you're not opposed to it in general. So, where's the line? What kind of horror game would you find acceptable?

PbtA's Monster of the Week game might be okay, if I'm thinking of the right one...

...But I grasp that you don't own a copy... (I've just looked at the playbooks online... for all I knew, it was free, like the core Dungeon World... But... I guess... not...?)

I checked DriveThruRPG. MotW isn't free, unfortunately...

But speaking purely content-wise: what would you say is the important difference between Kult and MotW? Remember we still need to test Savage Worlds, so maybe I could cook up some horror story for that system :)

...First thing that comes to mind: Kult seems too real-world.
...Second thing: Kult seems too grim and serious and... biblical.

Contrast:
--MofW seems more... well, a little more goofy and playful. Just a little, but I think it makes a difference.
--MotW is, obviously, drawing on a postmodern melange of (slightly over-the-top?) pop culture more than, well, whatever Kult's drawing on...

Ah, I see! I think I know what you mean, more or less...

BTW. Kult isn't literally Biblical - it's drawing heavily from Gnosticism, actually. But I get what you mean.

Yeah...

Say, maybe I should have thought of this before-- what about this? It's horror, AND it's entirely free!

https://engineoforacles.wordpress.com/downloads/

I got talked into using it for my Dark Shadows game, and it's worked pretty well.

The only real adaptation we've had to make for RPol is that in the game, they count attending 1 gaming session as being worth 1 xp. Well, RPol is like one never-ending session, so we've counted 10 posts as worth 1 xp. (On one hand, it's a pretty low bar, but on the other hand, it means you always know your XP easily, because you go to the THE CAST section, see how many posts you've made, and divide by 10.)

What'd' you think?

Hmmm. I'll be looking into this. This might be interesting...

... not today, though. I'm really falling on my face today. :\

BTW. How about this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKbEaNjcplk

I actually have that book...

No problem




Mm, I already work with Texas college students all day...

Okay, so I've been thinking about my reply and here's a question: what's the town's layout? Is there any reason why he can't just walk out of town? For example, is the town walled with guards standing at the gates etc.?

Just trying to get a better understanding of the situation.

No, he's just worried about other Alarans catching him before he can get very far, that's all... Particularly Aekins, of course, but he figures that any minute (but there's no telling exactly when), she'll give up on finding him herself, and will rouse the other Alarans to flood the town and search for him-- especially the edges of town...

I'm reading the Ghastly Affairs rulebooks. Hm, they are kind of inspirational :) Would you like to run it? Or would like someone to run it for you?

BTW. What appeals to you about this game? The system or the setting?

I'm running a game using Ghastly Affair based on the old Gothic TV soap opera DARK SHADOWS (1966-1971) right now. (The players all seem to have busy Real Lives, so it's been going VERY slowly since mid-December.)

But yes, I would like someone to run it for me...

Between the system and the setting, I suppose I'd have to say the setting, since the system just seems like simplified D&D (which is good, because both parts (the D&D part and the simplified part) make it easy for me to understand, but it's not exactly a novelty for me. The setting is the novelty...

The setting is interesting, although it might be a bit tricky. The book encourages going over-the-top with the Gothic trappings... I'm wondering whether it wouldn't make the scenarios a bit unbelieveable?

Doing some digging into Gothic fiction right now. It's a difficult genre...

No more so than a Hammer Horror film, I suppose...



Frankenstein, Sheridan Le Fanu-- especially Carmilla, Dracula, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Varney the Vampire, Poe, Jeckyll and Hyde, Coleridge...

Movies like Black Sunday, most of the Hammers...

What aspects of Gothic fiction are attracted to? Dark mood? Strong emotions? Scenery?

Are you interested strictly in the 1760 - 1820 period, or would you be open to a Gothic story set in late 19th century?

The supernatural.

OUT OF the 20 main elements that Ghastly Affair considers to be the main elements of a gothic story, I'd say my favorites are: Hauntings, Monsters, and Mysteries.

(The full list: The Castle, Confinement, Crime, Curses, Dark Places, Desecration, The Despot, Fiends, The Fury of Nature, Hauntings, Innocents, Lovers, Madness, Monsters, Mysteries, Omens, Ruins, Strangers, Shocking Secrets, and Talismans.)

From their list of 100 GOTHIC THEMES AND MOTIFS, my favorites:

33. Ghosts
38. Gypsies
42. Immortality
64. Mysterious Manuscripts
69. Pride
75. Rituals and Superstitions
78. Secret Passages
79. Secret Societies
89. Transformation
90. True Love
94. Vampires
98. Weird Medicine
99. Werewolves

From their list of TYPICAL GOTHIC CHARACTERS, my favorites:
The Bandit With a Code of Honor
The Beautiful Gypsy Woman
The Lonely Vampyre
The Mad Scientist
The Mysterious Strangerat the Door
The Obsessive Demon Hunter
The Old Tinkerer With a Strange Artifact
The Repentant Sinner
The Sailor With a Tale to Tell
The Self-Made Man Whose Past is a Lie
The Sophisticated Courtesan
The Swashbuckling Pirate
The Tormented Artist
The Werewolf Horrified by Himself


I could go on...


Also, I could show you the link to my Dark Shadows game that uses Ghastly Affair... (Half the good stuff is in private threads, though... But only half... then again, I could add you as a player just to give you access to glance at all the threads...)



I would totally be open to that...

After all, that's where Dracula was... and Richard Marsh's THE BEETLE, which in its day was at least as popular as Dracula, but now is almost forgotten...