As MOB said, LARPS can only be done once a year or so. When I dwelt
in an area with an active LARP population, I was still only able to
go to 3-4 a year, tops. They're exhausting, take all weekend
(ideally), and are incredibly difficult to write properly,
choreograph, and cast.
I see RPGs as bearing somewhat the same relationship to
LARPS that computer games bear to RPGs.
You can't play an RPG every night unless you (a) have no
life and (b) have no job. On evenings when you want a bit of a game,
and your pals aren't around, you can turn on your warm, humming
friend Mr. Computer and play some mindless junk. Of course, when
it's RPG night, Mr. Computer is conspicuous by his absence. In the
same way, of the 51 weekends of the year in which no Gloranthan LARP
is taking place, a certain portion of these weekends can be used
for RPGing instead. But for this we need to have an RPG.
Sandy P.
>*Note that Tales would publish more scenario material if more
people would
>submit 'em!
I have to admit that I don't use published scenarios myself
(except for those which I personally had a hand in). For three
reasons, one indefensible, one reasonable, and one gripe.
- (indefensible) -- when I run a game, I always have a
suspicion that my players expect me to use only my own stuff, seeing
as I'm a Famous Game Designer. If I used canned material I have an
irrational fear of defenestration.
- My campaigns are usually set in unconventional corners
of Glorantha. It's remarkably hard to take a scenario set in
Lunar-occupied Pavis and warp it enough to fit into the East Isles.
If I'm doing _that_ much work, I might as well make up my own
scenario. Also, power balance has so little resemblance to my own
campaign that I need to make up my own NPC stats & tactics anyway.
- (WARNING: UNWARRANTED GRIPING AHEAD) Modern Glorantha
scenario writing is largely done by skilled GMs and writers. The
bright side is that the scenario NPCs etc. are cool and have
personalities. The dark side is that the scenarios are often _very_
specific as to locale, type of party, local politics, etc. to the
point that it is ten times harder to fit it into (say) the East
Isles than even BORDERLANDS would be. Sun County platoons
investigating chaos rumors; Pavis cityfolk politicking Morocanth;
etc. I don't mind the good writing. I do mind the unusability of the
scenarios, to the point that more and more often, PCs are provided
with the scenarios, because even the authors realize that no
conventional campaign will be able to shoehorn their party into it.
What's my solution? Don't have one, really. Nobody would
want a generic scenario (we can all write our own). Don't want worse
writing.
Sandy
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #542
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html