Re: LARPS & Glorantha

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Mon, 6 May 96 22:11:19 -0500


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.

  1. (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.
  2. 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.
  3. (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


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