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28 décembre 2017

Voici qui m'intrigue...

Voici qui m'intrigue...

Originally shared by Côme Martin

L'Envers du dédale, roman-puzzle, roman-labyrinthe, roman aux quatre vents éparpillé dans une boîte, sortira le mois prochain !


Pretty Doesn't Save Black Women

Originally shared by Kymberlyn Reed

Pretty Doesn't Save Black Women

A few months ago there was a meme on my Pinterest wall which claimed to be a picture of a “young and beautiful” Harriet Tubman elegantly dressed in the height of Victorian fashion. This meme alleged the only images of Tubman that we normally see are those with her in a kerchief and/or holding a rifle, looking old and haggard.

Turns out the photograph was of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a young woman of West African royalty whose incredible journey began in slavery and ended with her as the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. A fact I and several others pointed out to whoever posted the image in the first place. It made me wonder where this desire to see a “glamorous” (and fake) version of Tubman rather than the flesh and blood figure who risked her life to free hundreds of slaves, and who spied for the Union Army came from.
It took two films - Wonder Woman and Black Panther - to finally connect the dots on something that has been simmering beneath the surface of my consciousness for a long time.

*

I read an online critique of the new Wonder Woman movie. Now I enjoy a well-written, thoughtful social critique of media (even media that I enjoy, such as Game of Thrones). I understand that art, books and other media do not exist in some untouchable vacuum. That even the best of these endeavors may contain problematic elements. I'm good with that, even if I don't always agree.

While some of the criticisms of the film were valid - like not letting Zach Snyder anywhere near a movie with female characters - ever - (still reeling from the creeptastic pedobear rape-fest that was ‘Suckerpunch’) there was one criticism in particular that made me say “oh hell no, not again” and made me think back to that fake Harriet Tubman meme.

Recently I'd been watching a ton of reaction videos about the upcoming Black Panther movie. Now, most of my fellow nerds of color (and nerds in general) are super excited about this film. One young African man was so overcome with happiness that he started crying. I know I've watched the official trailer like a zillion times and just looking at the elegance of Florence Kasumba, the nobility, the way she carries herself. Add to the cast Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Danai Guerra, Letitia Wright, Phylicia Rashad and it's like a generous heaping of #BlackGirlMagic.

Of course, with all the positivity and excitement, there just had to be the faux-black foot in the mouth types who know absolutely nothing about the character and who don't bother to support Black comic creators (because geek stuff is for ‘white people’ dont'cha know). Amongst those was a ‘Dee Dee Downer’ (not her real YouTube name) who, in her desire to prove how ‘woke’ she was, decided to take a different tack. Her argument was the dark-skinned Black women of Wakanda weren't ‘feminine’ enough for her. That their very looks and physicality rendered them ‘too masculine’.

It's a criticism that I've seen leveled over the years at Black women, especially Black women like Grace Jones, Leslie Jones, Danai Guerra, Venus and Serena Williams, Michelle Obama, and Viola Davis. A criticism with its genesis in white supremacy and heteronormative norms and one that seriously needs to be examined instead of unthinkingly embraced.

No matter how much makeup we wear, the color of our contacts, or the length of our weaves or 4C curls, Black women remain the most unprotected class in America. Our beauty is derided on the one hand, co-opted on another. Little Black girls get suspended for wearing braids. Kendall Jenner gets magazine covers and accolades on fashion blogs. Yet we're still trying to live up to beauty standards that were not even made for us in the first place. Just as respectability politics won't save Black people, supremacist notions of femininity and beauty don't save Black women. Our value and our right to be vulnerable, complex human beings has nothing to do with what we look like and everything about the fear and loathing (and fetishistic fascination) blackness holds.

Pretty doesn't save us. It has never saved us. It will never save us.

*
In Wonder Woman, the two Black Amazons - Artemis and Phillipus - are on the training grounds while the young Diana watches, completely enraptured and wanting to be out there. In those scenes, I felt exactly how that young Diana did, watching these proud and noble women kicking ass and looking great doing it. I admired their strength and their dignity, and yes, their beauty. They were warriors and behaved as such. Frankly, that's what I was there for, to see women of all shapes and colors going full tilt on the battlefield. I saw Black women like me up there on that big IMAX screen in living color, living in a world where their contributions were valued, their voices heard.

Yet, because their characters didn't fit those traditionally accepted standards of beauty, this made them problematic in some eyes. That their image somehow contributed to the supremacist idea that Black women don't need protection nor are worthy of it. However, this criticism ignores the stark fact that no matter how close to the Eurocentric ideal some may strive for, both the dark-skinned field slave and the fairer skinned house slave were still subject to violence and abuse.

Then there's Black Panther and the Dora Milaje. Firstly, this is a popular comic series about a fictional African country that was never colonized by Europe. So why would the standard of beauty/femininity be centered around those ideals? Secondly, Ruth E. Carter, the costume designer for Black Panther, looked to the Masai and the Suri for inspiration - not New York, Paris or Milan. The entire look of Wakanda and its people are centered around an African aesthetic. The villain, Erik Killmonger, has ritual scarification on his upper body, mirroring that of several African cultures.

Neither the Black Amazons of Themyscira nor the women of Wakanda are meant to be the epitome of white supremacist femininity, and that's okay. They - and the women who portray them - have their own beauty, and it's one that we should embrace. Instead of shaming them, we need to do a better job protecting Black women in this racist and sexist system, not policing them because of internalized self hatred. With that said, I admit I'd love to see both Artemis and Phillipus with larger roles in the next Wonder Woman movie. It would be nice for their screen personas mesh with their fully fleshed comic roots.

Quiet as it's kept, why shouldn't we embrace warrior women in our culture? Africa has a long, storied history filled with them - from the Kandake (Queens) of the Kushites (a country that resisted the might of the Roman Empire long after Egypt had become another province) to the Amazons of Dahomey to Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa of the Ashanti who raised and led an army of thousands against the British colonial forces in Ghana.

*

I understand very well how Black women are viewed in our supremacist society. We are either long-suffering Mammies taking care of everyone but ourselves, sexually irresponsible Jezebels aka Baby Mamas aka hoes; or loud, “emasculating” Sapphires. I get the whole ‘strong Black woman’ syndrome, which has its roots in slavery. However, fifteen year old Dejerria Beckton was not an Amazon, still we watched her being slammed face down on the grass by a two-hundred pound white cop. Korryn Gaines wasn't Dora Milaje yet was gunned down by police. Sandra Bland was found hanging in her jail cell. Zerlina Maxwell and Melissa Harris-Perry are both survivors of sexual assault. Thousands of Black women are living (and dying) due to domestic violence. The ones sitting in prison for defending themselves or being ‘ride or die’ chicks. There are thousands of Cookie Lyons’ behind bars right now. Five year old Black girls are considered more knowledgeable about sex than their White counterparts. Who could be more elegant and classy than former First Lady Michelle Obama, yet she was dragged through the swamp of racist bigotry because she wasn't blonde, blue-eyed and thin.

But hey, let's complain about Black women with bald heads. Let's buy into the idea that the two Amazons in Wonder Woman, Ann Wolfe (in real life a boxer) and Ann Ogbomo (in real life a Nigerian heptathlete) are not satisfactorily “feminine” in a world that values the feminine only as a means of oppression or ownership. Somehow their strong looks and dark skin marks them unworthy of esteem and protection.

No matter what we do as Black women, it will always be viewed through the white supremacist lens. We can't be funny without it somehow having to do with lack of intellect. The pretty Black girl often ends up as sassy sidekick or magical negress for the white heroine. We sure as hell aren't allowed to express healthy desire without dealing with our supposed lack of morals.

When we are afforded complex narratives, such as Halle Berry in Monsters Ball or Kerry Washington in Scandal, the only thing a lot of Black people cared about was that both of these women were having sex with white guys. Never mind that Washington’s Olivia Pope is way more than her sexuality (which by the way she owns). Never mind Berry’s heroine was a woman trying to make sense of a her husband's death. Even the remake of Cinderella with Brandy and the late Whitney Houston came under the faux-Black knives for being ‘unrealistic’. How many of these Black people are watching Still Star Crossed? Or don't they believe there were Blacks in Renaissance Europe?

*

I won't cosign white patriarchal notions of beauty, notions that have never ever included Black women to begin with. This whole discussion of looks (coupled with an unhealthy dose of colorism) doesn't help real life Black women in our struggle for equality. Sojourner Truth, one of this country’s greatest figures once said:

“Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”

22 décembre 2017

CHEAP SCREENWRITING

CHEAP SCREENWRITING
This one works like the harm move.
When you want to prevent or clear a misunderstanding, to explain yourself, something important, or to warn somebody, roll+drama. On a 10+ they choose: you’re making it worse or are interrupted and can’t proceed at all. Brace yourself.
On a 7-9 they choose one:
- you are interrupted halfway through,
- someone overhears,
- you’ve given them more than you thought,
- you’re leaving with a misunderstanding of your own.
On a 6- you successfully explain yourself.

In AW, it could be used as a custom move, rolling+weird.

14 décembre 2017

This.

This.

Originally shared by Paul Beakley

Getting ahead since we’re headed into a weekend soonish. Number 8 is deep in my wheelhouse. Pull up a chair, I have things to say.

#8: Talk about your typical approach to preparation for running an RPG. Is there a particular method you generally follow? What use do you make of published setting or adventure material, if any?

I fucking hate prep. I just have no interest at all any more in building and balancing and tactical second-guessing and writing aaaalll that material that might be nice for me but will never make an appearance at the table. Any game I can’t comfortably improvise gets serious side-eye.

That said, I do like thinking about my games between sessions – and if I can’t, like if I don’t have a game going, I feel off-center and unhappy. So I guess that’s a kind of prep.

When I’m noodling between sessions, I think about interesting questions, not interesting answers. Interesting answers is their job, not mine.

Regarding the second part of the question: I super-hate published adventures, usually because they cheat or are not representative of how the game actually works. They also exist entirely outside the context of the characters at my table. My games emerge from the needs and priorities of the characters, so being shoved through a prepackaged situation is just awful.

There are exceptions! Like, the big arcs of The Great Pendragon Campaign and The Darkening of Mirkwood are just great: big enough to fit the character-driven stuff inside. I love that stuff. Sometimes it feels constricting, like, if the characters do something that contradicts the arc. We had a major-ish NPC in Darkening die at the hands of the characters, and it took some hustling to make it make sense down the road. The good big-arc setups will be robust enough to work with those events, because nothing sucks more than plot immunity.

An interesting prep-intensive variant on the big arc was Space Wurm vs Moonicorn. There is legit a lot of prep before the first session of play, although the other players are heavily involved in the initial creation of the game’s five Fronts. Johnstone did a good job of asking interesting questions of the GM to answer throughout play, without demanding it all be worked out in advance. It mostly works. The temptation to go down the prep hole is strong, though. The result is similar to GPC or Darkening: you know events are headed toward the titular characters pursuing their goals, and the rest of the game happens inside that.

I have no use for published setting material any more. If it’s a big canonical download, ugh, no thank you. Very few things aggravate me more than canon fights with players. This is what kills me about Star Wars games, although there are ways around it if you’re not playing a technically detailed game. Gosh, it’s been years since I ran a game with an important setting. Probably good old Rogue Trader was the last time.

I do kind of miss the lonely pleasure of reading and dreaming about elaborate settings. I used to love mining out situations and ideas from, say, Exalted. That’s definitely a legit mode of play, and a provocatively incomplete text can be tons of fun. It’s just not my jam any more.

Really, the only prep I do any more is related to the nontrivial task of getting everyone up to speed on a new tabletop game as fast as possible. My methodology there is pretty well established:

1. Read the rules. All of them. Once.
2. Read them again, this time jumping around as questions occur to me.
3. Flowchart the game’s reward cycles to help me understand the whys of how the game works. (Far less important in freeforms and larps and whatever). I can dredge up old posts where I show this in action.
4. Read the rules again.
5. Write cheat sheets for the game’s primary procedures, if they’re not encapsulated in playbooks or moves or whatever. The process of reiterating stuff in your own voice is my #1 prime learning trick. Teaching is learning, as they say.
6. Make characters and develop a premise from that process, probably developing a relationship map as part of that (but not always – some games aren’t concerned about relationships). I can’t think of the last time I wanted to pitch a premise and have characters made in response. It’s a legit approach, and maybe I should sometime, but I’m so service-oriented that I greatly prefer to wait ‘til characters are done.
7. Run a first session. Try out all the primary procedures, if it’s that kind of game.
8. Reread the fucking rules and update the reward cycle flowchart and cheat sheets, because game designers almost never understand their own games.
9. Optional: start a fight with the game’s superfans, who are convinced they possess special insight into the game’s secrets. Maybe learn something. Probably not.

And that’s it!

#12rpg

pom pom pom pooom les podcasts parlent aux podcasts, des podcasts po po po pooom

pom pom pom pooom les podcasts parlent aux podcasts, des podcasts po po po pooom

Originally shared by Olivier (overb)

Nouvel épisode des Carnets d'un Quarantenaire Curieux : Les Podcasts sur le jeu de rôle
http://olivierverbreugh.fr/index.php/medias/mes-podcasts/18-les-podcasts-sur-le-jeu-de-role
#JdR
#Podcast #JeuxDeRoles
http://olivierverbreugh.fr/index.php/medias/mes-podcasts/18-les-podcasts-sur-le-jeu-de-role

11 décembre 2017

> disengaging from patreon - in progress %%%%%%%

> disengaging from patreon - in progress %%%%%%%

I'd be quite happy to support you elsewhere.

How to deal with bad design suggestions this is not about game design per se, but the same struggles show in...

How to deal with bad design suggestions this is not about game design per se, but the same struggles show in different areas of creativity and technicity. Solutions can be shared.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/bad-design-suggestions/?utm_source=Alertbox&utm_campaign=87b89c0964-bad_design_suggestion_practiced_pattern_2017_12_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7f29a2b335-87b89c0964-24205865

As a player, I specifically mean not-gamemaster (when\re applicable) not-host, are you sometimes the one that brings...

As a player, I specifically mean not-gamemaster (when\re applicable) not-host, are you sometimes the one that brings the X-Card at the table? How do you do that?

#x-card

The 1000 word RPG theory metaphor challenge

Originally shared by Meguey Baker

The 1000 word RPG theory metaphor challenge

Using a key metaphor from your own life and frame of reference, write 1000 words about how that metaphor explains or clarifies your take on role-playing game design and play. Be specific.

By Dec 31, post it somewhere with the hashtag #RPGmetaphor1000.

If you want me to see it, put it somewhere I can see it, like g+ or facebook, or put a link to it and flag me on mastodon: @meguey, or twitter: @nightskygames.

If your metaphor is clear and gives good insight into how you think about role-playing game design and play, you win.

I may send winners an actual award.

Yep.

9 décembre 2017

Pour un débat marronnier des indépendalternarrativogan.


Pour un débat marronnier des indépendalternarrativogan.

Le 20 et 21 janvier 2018, ce sera le BEta Larp, un weekend convivial d’échanges et de rencontres autour du GN, avec...

Le 20 et 21 janvier 2018, ce sera le BEta Larp, un weekend convivial d’échanges et de rencontres autour du GN, avec des conférences, des ateliers, des tables rondes, des mini-gn et des moments festifs.

Le programme exact est encore en élaboration, mais vous avez l'exemple de l'année passé dans ce document très clair : http://beta.larp.be/betafiles/2017/Public/BEta%20Guide%202017.pdf

C'est gratuit, mais il faut s'inscrire. Au château de Hollogne tout près de Liège (Belgique). Possibilité de loger (30€ pour 1 nuit, 40€ pour 2).

http://beta.larp.be/

8 décembre 2017

Harassment in Indie Games: Part 4 (Conclusion) - How

Originally shared by Brie “Beau” Sheldon

Harassment in Indie Games: Part 4 (Conclusion) - How
Content warning: sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence, threats, online harassment, threats of violence, harassment and assault of minors, statutory rape, rape, mental illness, anxiety, social ostracizing Harassment in Indie Games: Part 4 (Conc...

Les 3 derniers portraits de joueuse du blog Et pourtant elles jouent, entretiens enregistrés (audio).

Les 3 derniers portraits de joueuse du blog Et pourtant elles jouent, entretiens enregistrés (audio).

Jenny alias Scarlet Witch est une rôliste tarbaise de 23 ans. Avec ses cheveux de feu et son tempérament volcanique, elle nous parle de sa découverte du jeu de rôle, de son expérience associative ! Quelques anecdotes bien senties sur son expérience en tant que femme dans un milieu très masculin, le tout saupoudré de beaucoup d’humour. https://etpourtantellesjouent.wordpress.com/2017/10/12/portrait-jenny-alias-scarlet-witch/

Fanny est podcatrice à Ludologies, le podcast du jeu sous toutes ses formes. Joueuse de jeux vidéos, elle a longtemps cru que le jeu de rôle papier c’était pas pour elle : « J’avais, parmi les gens que je côtoyais, des gens un peu snobs qui voulaient pas de noob, qui voulaient pas de gens qui savaient pas jouer parce que ça allait gâcher le jeu ». Jusqu’au jour où, il y a quelques années, son copain lui dit : « Mais le jeu de rôle c’est pas ça ! Tout le monde peut venir jouer ! ». https://etpourtantellesjouent.wordpress.com/2017/11/18/portrait-fanny/

Selene est joueuse, meneuse, autrice de scénario, podcastrice à Ludologies (le podcast du jeu sous toutes ses formes), organisatrice de la Queervention qui a eu lieu à Rennes… « C’est à l’école d’ingénieur où on était en internat, où c’était un milieu plutôt intellectuel etc, que j’ai pu faire du jeu de rôle. Et de façon intensive. » https://etpourtantellesjouent.wordpress.com/2017/12/03/portrait-selene/
https://etpourtantellesjouent.wordpress.com/category/portraits/

« Parce que t’as une grosse poitrine »

« Parce que t’as une grosse poitrine »

Je n'avais pas répercuté les derniers témoignage et portraits du blog Et pourtant elles jouent qui continue sa petite bonne femme de chemin.
https://etpourtantellesjouent.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/anonyme-13/

J'aime toujours beaucoup la démarche de Thomas Munier et ce qui en ressort.

J'aime toujours beaucoup la démarche de Thomas Munier et ce qui en ressort.

Ici, Inflorenza Minima

« Depuis quelques temps, je portais un grand intérêt au minimalisme en jeu de rôle (...) Au passage, j’avais un autre défi : accentuer la dimension sacrificielle qu’on avait dans Inflorenza, mais en faire un choix du personnage et non de la joueuse (...)Je voulais pouvoir jouer à Inflorenza mais de façon plus légère (...) Je pouvais enfin jouer dans l’univers forestier de Millevaux sans utiliser aucun matériel. Ni feuille de personnage, ni crayon, ni dé. J’avais des règles très simples qui n’utilisaient ni chiffre ni hasard. Des règles qu’on n’entend même pas quand on joue. Des règles qui se passent même d’explication. Des règles qu’on peut jouer partout (...) Le jeu de rôle sans chiffre, sans hasard et sans matériel a quelque chose de très primitif. »

http://outsider.rolepod.net/inflorenza-minima/

6 décembre 2017

Brie Sheldon is publishing an awesome multipart analysis on harassment in Indie Games.

Brie Sheldon is publishing an awesome multipart analysis on harassment in Indie Games. This is part one (part 2 and 3 are out already). Go read it.

Originally shared by Brie “Beau” Sheldon

Harassment in Indie Games: Who, What, Where, Why, and HOW Part 1
Harassment in Indie Games: Who, What, Where, Why, and HOW Content warning: sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence, threats, online harassment, threats of violence, harassment and assault of minors, statutory rape, rape, mental illness, anxiety, ...

Disons que pour chaque partage, le message est apparu dans le fil de 10 personnes non intéressées ou déjà au courant.

Disons que pour chaque partage, le message est apparu dans le fil de 10 personnes non intéressées ou déjà au courant. Ce qui me paraît extrêmement prudent comme estimation. Ça fait minimum 20.000 spam pour gagner un signet. Bravo les gars.

Je vous ai déjà dit que je déteste les paliers sociaux, que je trouve extrêmement irrespectueux pour tout le monde ?

Originally shared by Black Book Éditions

Avec plus de 2000 partages, un signet a été ajouté à Starfinder !
Et pour fêter ça, une preview de l'une des nouvelles classes les plus passionnantes du jeu : le Solarien !
⏳🔥 Plus que 5 jours pour profiter de la PP et du prix de lancement de 40€ !!! 🔥⏳

https://www.gameontabletop.com/crowdfunding.php?news_id=1719

Sharing as a bookmark, I want to read this later.

Sharing as a bookmark, I want to read this later.

Originally shared by Richard Williams (Epistolary Richard)

This post is shareable
Hand out for What's Hot in Story Games 2017 seminar
This is my one page review of 2017 from what I've seen in the world of story games that I gave out as part of the seminar at #Dragonmeet last Saturday.
The post for the hand out for games released is here:
https://plus.google.com/104855606903841258736/posts/HwAKALVJLzU
I'd be very interested in other folks reviews of the year so if you have them please link them here.
I'll be adding the audio from the seminar before the end of the week.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Dj9hBvfBx2EYgre_nQCTqbJKRqlkHE_8

5 décembre 2017

#12RPG Question 1: You’re running an RPG to introduce new players to the RPG hobby this month.

#12RPG Question 1: You’re running an RPG to introduce new players to the RPG hobby this month. Which game and genre do you choose, and why?

It really depends on the persons, what they know, like and their commitment.

I'd easily go with Fall of Magic, because of the compelling material, the easy and short rules.

If I can interest them in archeology and metaphysical mysteries, I'd run (the french) Sphynx.

If they know and like lovecraftian horror - which is becoming common, Cthulhu Dark is a good candidate. For other cinema-like horror, I'd go with (the french) Sombre. Or Monster of The Week for a lighter mood. Or Murderous Ghosts if only one player.

Otherwise a small heist with Blades in The Dark, with pregen characters and the Crowfoot war.

“If you're not struggling to live, it's your responsibility to organize, to resist, to disrupt, for those who can't...

Originally shared by Meguey Baker

“If you're not struggling to live, it's your responsibility to organize, to resist, to disrupt, for those who can't but want to.”
-Doris Rodriguez

Sometimes we all struggle. When you are struggling, know that it’s ok to let other folks carry on the work. When you are able, carry on the work and take care of those that are struggling.

Sometimes we are struggling in one area but have space and energy to organize in another. Work where you are able.

Remember you are never alone; others are struggling along with you, and working along with you. Find your people and take turns carrying each other.

Hugs,
-Me

2 décembre 2017

Notre nouveau site Internet : https://fate-srd.fr est en ligne.

Originally shared by sioc fate

Notre nouveau site Internet : https://fate-srd.fr est en ligne.


Pourquoi un nouveau site ?

* Afin de clarifier la situation entre ce qui est fait par la communauté et ce qui est fait par 500ng (détenteur et hébergeur du domaine systeme-fate.fr).

* Pour facilité l'administration, le suivit et la gestion du wiki et du forum.

A-t-on perdu des choses dans le processus ?

* Sur le Forum : Oui, il y a eu un message dans le forum qui a été publié entre le moment ou j'ai fait la copie et le moment de la bascule, c'était l'annone de l'existence d'une autre communauté comme source d'inspiration pour du jeu de pirates... et je ne me suis pas battu pour le rajouter.

* Sur le wiki NON et nous avons même enrichit ce dernier, ajout des boites à outils 2 & 3 et les traducteurs de Transhumanity’s Fate ont commencés la relecture de leur traduction.

Ce changement nous à aussi permis de changer la version du forum et du wiki vers leurs dernières versions respective, ainsi que de passer les templates en réactifs pour être afficher sur terminaux mobile.

Nous avons aussi mis en place un anti-spam qui fonctionne ! 185 inscriptions de spammeur rejetés depuis la mise en place du site.

La mise en service a malheureusement coïncidé avec un gros incident chez ovh et nous avons eu une interruption de service de 35 heures environ.
Ayant tout en backup il n'y avait que l'indisponibilité qui était gênante.
https://fate-srd.fr

29 novembre 2017

Mesdames et Messieurs, l'inarrêtable John Grümph !

Mesdames et Messieurs, l'inarrêtable John Grümph !

Originally shared by John Grümph

Il y a longtemps que je bosse (et que je joue) sur une adaptation fort personnelle des mécaniques de base de Rêve de Dragon. Ce n'est plus du tout pour jouer dans cet univers très particulier, mais plutôt pour motoriser des univers maison pour lesquels je cherche à la fois un peu d'héroïsme et un peu de dureté réaliste. Je trouve que l'architecture des persos est bien foutue pour ce juste milieu.
Et donc, en bref, ça se trouve sur mon site : http://legrumph.org/Terrier/?Jeux-de-role/Draconis
Vous pouvez l'imprimer en recto verso et le plier en A7 pour le ranger dans une poche...

27 novembre 2017

₲д₥€$ Wo₹₭$hop (autant pousser le troll jusqu'au bout, et puis juste des $ et des € c'est un peu discriminatoire,...


₲д₥€$ Wo₹₭$hop (autant pousser le troll jusqu'au bout, et puis juste des $ et des € c'est un peu discriminatoire, non ?) avait éveillé mon intérêt avec une résurrection de Necromunda, malgré mes autodirectives anti nouvstalgie.

Heureusement, je pouvais compter sur eux pour se disqualifier. Petite comparaison des jeux entre '95 (on écrivait pas les centaines et les milliers d'années, tu vois, à l'époque on vivait vraiment l'instant présent - carpe saeculum, quoi) et 2017. Apparemment les règles sont toujours dans le même style Games Workshopien. Le matériel est, factuellement, beaucoup plus beau qu'il y a 20 ans. Vraiment. Par contre, passer du jeu résolument tridimensionnel à placement libre dans un décor chaotique qui faisait pour moi l'essentiel de son génial gameplay à un bien sage plateau à cases et à plat :'( c'est d'un triiiiiste. Au revoir GW, merci d'avoir joué avec moi.
Title

Two sides of that fence.

Two sides of that fence.

Originally shared by Jesse Burneko

Forgive me a flippant pet peeve indulgence:

This is a quote from a Cthulhu Dark review: " It envisions that Cthulhu Dark scenarios will be designed and run in a very specific way by the Keeper (despite much of this not actually being especially enforced by the game rules), and proclaims these requirements as dictats from the designer. This is something which inevitably gets my back up because in an RPG refereeing context I hate feeling like a game designer is trying to run the game for me"

I'm sorry, but this is literally why I am buying a game. I'm paying the game designer to tell me how to run their game. I am turned off if this is NOT present in an RPG.

Yes, designer, please tell me how to run your game. I can run my own games just fine. But I am not so arrogant as to believe that my "style" is all encompassing and perfect. I'm hear to listen and learn how to run YOUR game.

Thank you, game designer, for your time and instruction.

25 novembre 2017

“I’m so pissed.

Originally shared by Alan De Smet

“I’m so pissed. Bob’s Wing Joint gave the atomic hot wings, when I ordered barbecue. I called them up to complain, and Bob insisted that I ordered atomic hot. I don’t care how good their wings are, they can’t be trusted!”

“Woah, woah, woah, what happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“This is the second time they’ve done this to me, so I’m pretty sure.”

“Maybe it’s just misunderstanding. You might not have been clear about what you wanted, and Bob just tried to give you want he thought you wanted.”

“‘Barbecue’ and ‘atomic hot’ don’t really sound alike. But this isn’t the first time this happened, so I carefully enunciated and said it twice.”

“Did you really order barbecue? Isn’t it possible that you ordered the atomic hot, then had regrets on your way here? So are you lying to cover up a decision you regret?”

“...”

“Besides, how can I trust you at all? People make bad reviews of restaurants all the time because they’re out to ruin the restaurant’s reputation, or trying to blackmail the restaurant.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you have any evidence that you ordered barbecue wings?”

“I placed the order on the phone, and the receipt is just an indecipherable scrawl, so not really.”

“Well, Bob says you ordered it, and you say you didn’t, so without some sort of concrete evidence, I’ll just have to remain neutral. It’s the logical thing to do.”

24 novembre 2017

Deux paradoxes amusants de la Cellule.

Deux paradoxes amusants de la Cellule.

- Sens, un jeu où les seuls personnages non déterminés de l'univers vont suivre un script.

- Les jdr anarchistes sont des jdr qui placent les règles au-dessus de toutes les joueuses.

22 novembre 2017

Totally!


Totally!

Originally shared by Paul Beakley

Family Values

Because it’s Thanksgiving weekend, here’s an essay on a topic I’ve been thinking about a while.

Maybe the single biggest event in my life that has shaped how and why I play RPGs was becoming a parent. It is a life changing event, and given how big a part of my life tabletop games are, it was inevitable.

What being a parent has brought to my play is an acute awareness of the presence and absence of children in a game: the world, the setting, the situation.

The first time I ran Sagas of the Icelanders, I decided to just litter the community with kids. Any given household with a man and a woman, I’d ask or propose something like “so how many kids, then? Say between three and eight?” And if there was pushback, like they went below three, I’d follow up with something leading like, “So what do folks think is wrong? What’s the gossip? What are you doing to change that?” Stuff like that. And then on my big crazy relationship situation map, every homestead would have lots of little circles for every kid. They’d outnumber adult characters 3:1 or more.

On the flip side, playing a SotI game sans kids would feel weird and empty to me. Did everyone just arrive? Did some fever kill all the kids? How many women are pregnant now and when are they due? I’d try to fill that gap hard with something, anything.

Slip over to a more traditional fantasy game and that awareness is still there. In our Torchbearer game, the party was underground for, what, four sessions? Five? Lots. And of course, they’re on the job in a very dangerous place. So when they finally crawl out with their meager loot and limp into the crossroads town, kids everywhere. It’s a jarring and important division between their day job life and real life.

The world is full of kids. It’s how we keep going. I’m not even talking about het couples, here, although I have a blind spot I’m working on regarding non-het relationships that are, you know, just part of the background. And if they have kids in their families, well, that brings up interesting questions in any setting. Anyway! Not the point of this. I’m just talking about including children if you have even the faintest hope of creating a world that feels real and lived in.

I’ve sat at and listened in on puh-lenty of traditional fantasy tables, largely before I was a parent. And it didn’t seem weird at all to have a town populated only by adult professionals (blacksmith, tavern owner, The Mayor, guards, barmaid, whatever) and a total absence of even the tiniest hint of family life. Or what about mission-oriented futuristic stuff? Pull into the starport in a Traveller game and head over to the bar/jobs board/TAS, no kids to be seen anywhere.

Unless of course they’re a plot device.

I’m not sure what the child-equivalent trope is to fridging but fuuuuck it happens, doesn’t it? The wizard’s minions have murdered your unnamed, faceless children and now you seek vengeance. Or the dumb Fallout thing: your kid has been kidnapped, and now you wander around doing stuff for what feels like years that has little or nothing to do with finding your child. I can tell you, as a parent, I would not be building communities and assembling sweet powered armor.

So it seems to me like gaming settings are divided between carefree child-less free agents (frequently single as well), and messy, real worlds where kids exist and are important. You kind of see it in genre media as well. The slave community in Stargate is filled with children, giving Ra’s child attendants a chilling vibe. Star Wars: A New Hope has zero children at all, making Mos Eisley a very traditional fantasy town. But obviously family life is important in Rogue One, and additional kids run around in the background on Jedha, making it feel like a living community. Mostly kids are just imperiled by super showdowns in Marvel and DC movies, but at least they’re there (the near-total absence of family life in most supers stories is a whole different topic, and it’s why The Incredibles is maybe one of the finest supers stories ever told).

The GM who creates a world without children is like the player who creates the orphaned loner.

Some thoughts on where and how to add kids, particularly if you’re not a parent:

* If you want settings that feel vibrant and real, there will be children present. Fantasy settings especially should feature energetic children of any age that can walk literally underfoot anywhere and everywhere. Sci-fi settings of course have kids too, although they might be less present in professional settings. But there are still families. NPCs know and love people.

* Don’t make child endangerment a go-to plot tool. It’s lazy and gross. But don’t ignore the fact that damned near any parent will be irrationally protective of their offspring, PC and NPC alike. Kids are not ever “acceptable losses” in anyone’s cold calculations.

* Children are not stupid, but they are terrible at risk assessment.

* Kids have their own social networks as well, and will be just as loyal to their circle as they are to their own families. This just escalates with age.

* Look at including a variety of ages. Newborns are a huge pain in the ass, but at least they’re immobile. Pre-tweens are both super-mobile and exceptionally poor at risk assessment. Teens want to act like adults but lack most of what they need to be independent (other than the will).

* All kids are impressionable by every adult they come in contact with.

Have a nice Thanksgiving weekend.

Children's Games
Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1560

15 novembre 2017

I don’t very much like how stat highlights and XP work in AW, so I am often thinking about other way of doing things...


I don’t very much like how stat highlights and XP work in AW, so I am often thinking about other way of doing things (short of simply removing highlights, XP and advancement). I am always breaking 2E’s Seduce or Manipulate Someone move :(

Anyway, here is one way :

IMPROVEMENT
Whenever another player character maneuvers to put you in an ideal position to roll a highlighted, and you do, tell them to mark an experience circle. Whenever you reset your Hx with someone, mark an experience circle.


Here is another way:

IMPROVEMENT
Forget about highlighted stats. At the start of the session, hold 2. Anytime, you can spend 1 to change a 6- roll to a 7-9 or a 7-9 to a 10+. (No, you don’t get to step up to 12+ this way, nice try.) At the session end, spend each you still hold to mark an experience circle.

Miam !

Miam !

Originally shared by Radio Rôliste

Nouvel épisode ! Au programme : Jouer des parties de jeu de rôle, Démiurges et Aquelarre !

http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1581
http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1581

8 novembre 2017

Invisible Predators and Sad Boys, Finale

Originally shared by Anna Kreider

Invisible Predators and Sad Boys, Finale

This is part three of three. Previous posts also public, modding will be heavy.

Fourth: We can’t speak out, because you can’t even believe us about the obvious predators

The thing that Sad Abusive Boys and serial sexual predators have in common is that they are given permission and plausible deniability by the myth of the socially awkward predator and by the Geek Social Fallacies. And because these serial emotional and sexual abusers are so charming, performatively woke, and socially adept, the odds that they themselves will have high status within the community are high. So the consequences of speaking out against predators who inflict lasting damage are often too high to be borne, because victims know that they will never be believed or supported in any real way.

And how do we know this? We know this because dudes can’t even get it right when women speak out AND HAVE PROOF. Jessica Schmidt had SCREENSHOTS of her interactions with Frank Mentzer, and was accused of faking the accusations for attention - despite the fact that she’s no longer even working in the games industry.

And we know this because women who have tried to speak up in the wake of #metoo about serial emotional abusers have been similarly stonewalled, disbelieved, and blamed for their own abuse. When other female developers have tried to speak out against serial emotional believers like John Morke, some of them (like Jacqueline Bryk) have been lucky enough to be believed. But others haven’t.

So this is why women and femmes don’t speak out about abuse. Because dudes, you can’t even get it right when you’re playing on the lowest difficulty setting. If you can’t get the response right when you are presented with OBVIOUS MONSTER HERE ARE SCREENSHOTS AND OTHER PROOF, women sure as shit aren’t going to trust you to get it right on a higher difficulty like “your best friend groped me” or “your business partner is a serial emotional abuser”.

This is it, because I don’t have the energy for a conclusion that ties it all together and makes it sound less angry

Invisible Predators and Sad Boys, Continued

Originally shared by Anna Kreider

Invisible Predators and Sad Boys, Continued

This post is continued from my previous post. Again, this post will be modded with an iron fist.

Second: Sad Boys who make us Save them

At Metatopia, I was lucky enough to play Jenn Martin's Manic Pixie Dream Girls Anonymous (who G+ still won't let me tag???), a serious LARP about a support group for MPDGs who want to learn to stop shrinking their dreams and sacrificing their desires and aspirations in order to support their Sad Boy. In the game, any of this behavior is referred to as “Saving the Boy”, and the structure of the game supports the MPDGs in learning to accept that they are real, whole people and that the role of MPDG that has been imposed on them is dehumanizing and unjust.

This game was hugely emotionally resonant for me, because it gave language to the fact that I have been made a MPDG by Sad Boys before, and that it was a denial of my humanity. It also helped me reclaim some of my humanity from the fact that I am wrestling with a particular Sad Boy in my life right now. And that it is hard and difficult and agonizing learning to assert boundaries around your basic humanity when you know that your Sad Boy won’t tolerate this. Just because you know a relationship has become deeply toxic doesn’t mean you can just turn off those feelings. And when female socialization means that the only scripts you’ve internalized are scripts that force you to accept your lot as your Sad Boy’s MPDG? Removing that toxic influence from your life means fighting your own brain as well.

And friends? Sad Boys are so, so common. Our community is rife with Sad Boys - which is part of the reason why the response to Manic Pixie Dream Girls Anonymous and games like it is so, so fucking strong and why it practically went viral at Metatopia.

Third: Some Sad Boys are skilled emotional predators

SOME Sad Boys are just that. Sad Boys who don’t know how to do their own goddamn emotional labor and need women/femmes to prop up their sense of self worth, since that’s how society has trained them. And that fucking sucks, and the fact that they don’t MEAN to be harmful doesn’t change the fact that they are. But these Sad Boys are the equivalent of the socially awkward folks who accidentally hurt people from my previous post. They are shitty people, but they’re not SYSTEMATICALLY shitty.

There is, however, a smaller number of Sad Boys who are the emotional equivalent of the sexual predators discussed in my previous post, who use charisma, performative wokeness, and emotionally abusive tactics to get women/femmes to be their Manic Pixie Dream Girls. And these Sad Abusive Boys aren’t just looking for emotional labor and validation; often the Sad Abusive Boys are looking for emotional intimacy with a woman/femme who gives them bonerfeels that they aren’t in a position to act on. And when a woman/femme they have made their MPDG finally asserts boundaries and stands up for herself, the Sad Abusive Boy drops her like a hot rock and moves onto the next MPDG, because they know there’s mostly nothing that the MPDG can say that will seem damning to an outside audience.

Again, Sad Abusive Boys are always THE LAST DUDES YOU WOULD EXPECT, because just like the serial sexual predators they invest heavily in relationships with key community stakeholders. They are performatively woke and make all of the right noises at the right times. There are women/femmes who have only ever had positive interactions with them and are prepared to defend their wokeness too! So the women who are targeted by Sad Abusive Boys are even LESS able to speak up about their Sad Abusive Boys than the women who are targeted by serial sexual predators.

And make no mistake, Sad Abusive Boys ARE abusive, and they are JUST as systematic in selecting the women/femmes that they turn into their MPDGs. Except in this case, they aren’t looking to violate physical boundaries. Rather, they are looking for women with an excess of empathy who take on nurturing or caring roles. They befriend the woman with performative wokeness and expressions of admiration for things that are actually qualities they see mirrored in themselves. And they foster emotional intimacy in ways that make the MPDG they are targeting feel special and wanted. Once they have that intimacy, the Sad Abusive Boy uses and dehumanizes the MPDG to do their emotional labor and to gratify their bonerfeels. The Sad Abusive Boy uses gaslighting, guilt, passive aggression, victim blaming, and sometimes threats of self harm to get targets to go along with this. And this relationship always ends one of two ways:

First, the MPDG finally asserts boundaries and demands respect, which causes the Sad Boy to end the relationship if she sticks with them. However, it’s more likely that he will feign contrition and gaslight the MPDG into not sticking with her demands and accepting further emotional abuse. Which is why the scenario that occurs far more often is that eventually, Sad Abusive Boy’s bonerfeels go away. When this happens, Sad Abusive Boy cuts the now-ex MPDG out of his life and goes in search of a new woman/femme to make his MPDG. And when this happens, it is incredibly, HUGELY traumatic - because the Sad Abusive Boy has been fostering a deeply emotionally abusive relationship and emotional dependency.

I know all of this because it has happened to me at least three times. I lost much of the last year to the emotional devastation wrought by my own Sad Boy. And I’ve seen this story play out with other women too.

(To be continued in one more post)

On Invisible Predators and Sad Boys

Originally shared by Anna Kreider

On Invisible Predators and Sad Boys

Before I get started, I want to be clear that this post isn’t connected to anything that happened to me personally at Metatopia, other than playing Manic Pixie Dream Girls Anonymous and getting SUPER FIRED UP ABOUT THIS. It’s more that I came back and read about shitty things that made me make some connections.

Also, this turned out longer than I expected, so I’m breaking it into a few parts.

First: Invisible predators

What most men don’t understand about the predators in our community is the fact that they are largely invisible, because most serial predators are incredibly socially adept and are very systematic about choosing their targets. The myth of the “socially awkward” predator who “doesn’t mean” to victimize people couldn’t be farther from the truth, in almost all cases; someone who is socially awkward can hurt people unintentionally, but when that happens in 95% of cases, they apologize and attempt to make amends - because most people who are socially awkward are self-aware enough to know that they fuck up and are prepared to deal with that.

REAL predators are an entirely different animal. REAL predators are charming, savvy, and manipulative. Predators will charm the heck out of people in positions of power (men), and make sure to invest heavily in key relationships with community stakeholders who hold a great deal of status. They also have a systematic approach to selecting people to victimize that layers in plausible deniability at every approach, thanks to the myth of the socially awkward predator. They will select someone (usually a woman/femme/nb) who seems vulnerable and test a small boundary. If that meets with no complaint, they will systematically escalate, each time making sure that this boundary-testing is a process that is observed by no one who would think to question it. By the time it gets to sexual assault, often the predator has found a way to violate so many boundaries that the victim gets tied up in “I didn’t say no to all these other boundaries, so I can’t say no to this one” - which is a sinister way of making the victim feel complicit in their abuse and ensuring their silence.

The side effect of this is that because the predator is smart and savvy, because they invest in relationships with key community members, because there are lots of people from the marginalized group they target who the predator has never gone after, the community will be prepared to defend the predator to the ends of the earth, thanks to the cover provided by the myth of the socially awkward predator and because of the Geek Social Fallacies. “He didn’t mean it” or “He’s a good guy” or “I’m a woman and he’s never behaved inappropriately with me”... Etc etc.

I know all of this because it’s exactly what happened to me. It started small, putting his arm around me without asking, then saying “this is okay right”. So many small things that spiraled into things I was desperately not okay with, except I didn’t know how to say no since I hadn’t said no to anything previous. The man who attacked me was a predator. Smart, sophisticated, and devastatingly charming. He’s also progressive and woke, someone no one would suspect. Which is why I’ve never named him, because I know I wouldn’t be believed. Or that his behavior would be excused.

In my particular case, I’m lucky. The man who attacked me stopped going to cons and got lots of therapy. I had enough contact with him to feel secure that he won’t hurt anyone else the way he hurt me. But that’s just one instance.

What men need to know is that the most effective and dangerous predators are also the people YOU WOULD NEVER SUSPECT.

Note: This post is public, as the posts that follow it will also be, but I will mod mercilessly and with an iron fist.

6 novembre 2017

Je me suis toujours demandé si Washington DC était loin de Washington de là-bas..

5 novembre 2017

Yeah, I lied, it wasn't the last Metatopia post.

Originally shared by Rob Donoghue

Yeah, I lied, it wasn't the last Metatopia post.

This one's for the dudes. And lest there be any confusion, I mostly mean the cis-het-white-dudes, but more broadly I mean any dudes who might come across that way.

You have a lot of power.

You do. It's not really a question. Even if it doesn't feel that way sometimes, it's a big stick you're carrying around. And, yeah, it's kind of a sucky sort of power, but not much to do about that.

This isn't really news, but it's important to bring up at Metatopia because part of it being a fantastic opportunity for new designers to reach out to the broader world is that it means it's an opportunity for a lot of designers who don't have that same big stick.

And that matters because these designers are trusting you. They are choosing to expose themselves to the risk of your stick because they trust in your judgement and care as part of the community.

I trust you too.

But I don't 100% trust myself.

Oh, sure, my intentions are good, but I get enthusiastic. I get engaged! I can end up waving that big old stick around like it ain't no thing. I wouldn't use it, of course. Of course not! But...well, not everyone knows that. What is friendly enthusiasm to me can end up shutting someone down or driving them off, and odds are good I would never even notice.

That sucks.

But what to do? I can't read people's minds. I can't live in a state of constant fear of how I might be portrayed. Living in a world of eggshells is just untenable. So am I just totally screwed?

Maybe not.

It'd be cool to have a comprehensive answer. Or a deep understanding humanity that makes this all unnecessary. But I don't have those, so I just have to settle for a simple rule or two.

1. Take a moment to breath before speaking up
2. Maybe chill a little.

Now, hell, those are for me. Everyone's different, everyone fights different battles. Maybe you have no problem with chill. Maybe you never interrupt or talk over other people.

But maybe there are one or two little rules you could remember that might help too.

Like I said. I trust your judgement, so use it as you would.

Here is the advice I have received and passed about being a playtester for a game Metatopia.

Originally shared by Ray Watters

Here is the advice I have received and passed about being a playtester for a game Metatopia.

* Be honest

* Don't say a game is OK just to "be nice"

* Don't call things or people "stupid", "dumb" or other pejoratives

* Explain what didn't work for you and why, if you can

* Mention things that felt off or wrong, even if you cannot explain why

* Explain what you liked and what worked for you, and why if you can

* Don't expect a traditional beginning, middle and end. You might just be testing combat, or social interactions, or character building.

* Don't try to "fix" a game by offering suggestions on how you believe rules should be changed

* Don't tell people to change their system to another of your favorite systems

* If someone asks you to ignore "X" because they know it isn't working, don't harp on that during your feedback

* Answer any questions by the facilitator as best you can

Nous avons encore tellement de travail...

Nous avons encore tellement de travail...

Originally shared by Pierre M

Super classe, les stands de certains vendeurs de JDR en convention !

Too late to get it free, but it's only $2.00.

Too late to get it free, but it's only $2.00.

Originally shared by Richard Williams (Epistolary Richard)

This post is shareable
*Teen Detective released (and free for a short time)*
Delighted to announce that this teen detective genre game is now up on DriveThru, designed by myself and with cover art by the talented Aviv Or.
Follow this collection to read more about the design over the next few days:
https://plus.google.com/collection/M-yMSE

Why should I care?
Teen Detective is my take on adapting my favourite investigative game (Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley) for the teen detective genre. If you're down with Cthulhu Dark's ultra-light ruleset, its fundamental trust between players and GM, and you like Veronica Mars or other teen detectives then you should give this a look (and download it, because it's free, but not for very long).

Wait, didn't you release this game about a month ago?
That was Teen Noir (which is still available here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/222346/Teen-Noir ) it's in the teen mystery genre but a very different game. TN is GMless, designed for one-shots, and really about the strain of a friendship group where one friend is guilty and another is going to take the fall. Teen Detective is far more your classic GM brings a mystery, the players investigate, they find the culprit (or they don't) and then put things right however they think best. They're both teen games, but they scratch very different itches.

So this one is like Veronica Mars?
Yeah, right down to the differing motivations between the teens, dark secrets in the families, and maybe even occasionally destroying evidence to protect themselves at the cost of the investigation.

You've heard of Bubblegumshoe right?
Absolutely, but just as there's Call of Cthulhu, Trail of Cthulhu, Cthulhu Dark and dozens of other horror investigative games I'm hoping there's room for both Bubblegumshoe and Teen Detective in the teen mystery genre.

What's this about three different playstyles? Puzzle, Pulp and Collaborative? How can the same game support all three?
The basic levers in the game are Edges, Lightbulbs and Taking Risks (which may trigger your Dark Secret). The different playstyles are all about the emphasis the GM gives each lever and how she encourages their use. I also write about the basic structure of the mystery and advise GMs about how to weight that structure for the different playstyles.

I couldn't have written Teen Detective for just a single playstyle, there are too many players out there who are into investigative games but enjoy very different approaches to them. I want GMs and players to be up front about the way they want to play this game and then support them in that choice. I know from experience that if a puzzle player, a pulp player and a collaborator all try to play with each other their own way they just piss each other off.

Say, hypothetically, I was writing a systemless teen mystery scenario, could I include the Teen Detective rules in the back of my book so buyers could play my scenario without necessarily having another game system?
That's a highly unlikely scenario, but almost certainly yes! Please talk to me first.






http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225578/Teen-Detective

3 novembre 2017

Has malewashing another name, that I cannot find this word?

Hello Fellow Game Designers & Publishers


Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

Hello Fellow Game Designers & Publishers,

It's time we had The Talk, the #Epimas talk. I know, I know. Halloween is barely in the grave and already we're talking Epimas? It seems to encroach on us earlier and earlier every year. But this needs to get out there before folks start asking me individually.

I 'm afraid that this year, I do not have the time to organize & run a full-bore Epimas this year. This is a little sad for me, because it would have been the 8th year in which we did it. It's brought me a lot of joy over those years.

But I'm choosing to treat this as a reason for celebration--a graduation of sorts. This is the dawn of a new Epimas. A decentralized Epimas. I'm inviting you, if you are so inclined, to run your own Epimas promotion this year.

What Makes an Epimas Promotion an Epimas Promotion

• Folks buying games for their friends & loved ones.

That's it. That's all. However you want to facilitate that is up to you. The details have changed a lot over the years, but the way I've done it in past has always looked a little like this:

• Person A buys a PDF bundle for Person B at a bit of a discount.
• Person A immediately receives a copy of that PDF bundle so they can read up on the games & be ready to run them on Epimas Day.
• Person B receives their gifts via email on Epimas Day (Dec. 24th, of course).
• Persons A & B spend all of Epimas Day playing games and generally just makin merry.

But you don't have to make it as complicated as all that! You may, in fact, be smarter if you don't. I am, as we all know, not smarter, so I'll be running my own quiet little Epimas promotion that will look a hell of lot like that. But you do you. Make it your own.

Tell Me About Your Epimas Promotion, I'll Promote It

If you do one, let me know! I'll shout about it on the social medias (socials media?). I'll make a list, I'll check it at least twice. If anyone with a podcast, radio program, or late night TV show wants to talk to me about the holiday, it's rich history, or just its crass commercialism, I'll be sure to mention everyone on my list. Just tell me what you got to offer and where to find it.

A Giant Thank You to Everyone Who Has Celebrated Epimas These Many Years

Game designers, game publishers, game players, friends & loved ones of game players who accepted these bizarre documents as gifts in good grace, thank you so much for all you've done for Epimas in years past. You've all be the best and have made a haphazard adventure so worthwhile. You'll be hearing more about my Epimas in about a month, but until then just thank you.

30 octobre 2017

Trick or treat? We say.... TREAT!

Trick or treat? We say.... TREAT!

Zweihänder Grim & Perilous RPG (a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay retroclone) is FREE for the next 48 hours! Share this link across social media, and let your friends know to grab the illustrated edition entirely for free until November 1st!

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/210516/ZWEIHANDER-Grim--Perilous-RPG--Core-Book?src=hottest
http://drivethrurpg.com/product/210516/ZWEIHANDER-Grim--Perilous-RPG--Core-Book?src=hottest

26 octobre 2017

Je viens de réaliser ceci (grâce à Gaël Sacré) : un jeu de rôle d'initiation ne mériterait ce titre que s'il ouvre...

Je viens de réaliser ceci (grâce à Gaël Sacré) : un jeu de rôle d'initiation ne mériterait ce titre que s'il ouvre concrètement sur d'autres pratiques de jeu. Sinon c'est « seulement » un jeu accessible aux novices.

So, I need to research this some more, but I just read a FASCINATING thing about conversational backchannels.

Originally shared by Rob Donoghue

So, I need to research this some more, but I just read a FASCINATING thing about conversational backchannels.

(Backchannels are the acknowledgements we give when someone else is talking to indicate acknowledgement and engagement. Things like “yeah” and “uh huh” and so on. These are a whole thing in their own right, and it’s something you can get better at if you want to.)

So here’s the thing: someone did a study of the impact of backchannels on STORIES. That is, they had people tell stories to varying levels of backchannel quality and level, and they discovered that it had a direct and palpable impact on the QUALITY of the story. Without good backchannel, endings were delivered poorly, over explained, and lots of other stuff went off the rails. The bottom line is that the speaker is not the only one on the hook for things going to pot when everyone is looking at their phone.

This intrigued me. Obviously it’s related to being a good listener, but “giving good backchannel” offers a space for active improvement without going all the way into active listening. That’s valuable because there are lots of situations (anything one-to-many) where active listening is the wrong tool, but we still would like improvement.

Which in turn leads to RPGs. We spend a decent amount of effort telling GMs to give engaging descriptions and keep player attention, but if the listener is also responsible for the quality of the outcome, maybe we also should consider some player guidance as well.

Which leads to the question of what good backchannel looks and sounds like at the gaming table. It’s probably a little specialized, but the bad backchannel (phones, side conversations, wandering eyes) remains pretty recognizable.

This prospect excites me because it offers a practical route to better games (because it is easier to fix specific things like bad backchannel with action than broader things like bad listening) but it also offers a very concrete manifestation of the philosophical idea that it’s everyone’s table and we’re all responsible for the fun.


(Apologies for typos. I was so excited by this prospect that I wrote this out on my phone. Will review when I get to a real screen.)
http://www.cs.utep.edu/nigel/bc/

Un petit panorama des techniques de sécurité émotionelle pour le jdr pour aller au-delà de la Carte-X https://ptgptb.

Un petit panorama des techniques de sécurité émotionelle pour le jdr pour aller au-delà de la Carte-X https://ptgptb.fr/la-carte-x :

(ce que j'ai repéré, principalement en anglais)

Script Change de Brie Sheldon http://www.briecs.com/p/script-change-rpg-tool.html

Support Signals de Jay Sylvano et Tayler Stokes et Hand Queues de Tayler Stokes, tous les deux trouvables dans le LARP Ugly Girl http://www.gamestogather.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/UglyGirl-CG2015-JS-F.pdf

Support Flower, l'adaptation par Taler Stokes des Support Signal de Jay Silvano http://www.gamestogather.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/SupportFlower-A5-PrintJ.pdf

Bien entendu les Lines and Veils (collectif, la Forge, avec un rôle important d'Emily Care Boss et Ron Edwards) https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/30906/what-do-the-terms-lines-and-veils-mean

Cut/Brake et autres safewords de Nordic Larp https://nordiclarp.org/w/index.php?title=Safeword

Les techniques de débriefing de Lizzie Stark http://leavingmundania.com/2013/12/01/run-post-larp-debrief/

La Luxton technique telle que décrite par Ben Lehman https://plus.google.com/117301572585814320386/posts/DTaEThFLZAR (Merci JC Nau​​​ pour le rappel !) avec un discussion intéressante sur les besoins à satisfaire pour la sécurité émotionnelle (le post fait un léger faux-procès fréquent à la Carte-X, saurez-vous trouver lequel ?).

L'épisode du podcast des Aventureux sur **Les safe-spaces, une très belle discussion sur la Carte-X, la sécurité émotionnelle, le comment et le pourquoi. https://www.lesaventureux.com/podcast/2017/12/1/les-aventureux-plerinage-01-le-safe-space (juste, à mon, sens, c'est un peu dommage de réduire les safe spaces à cela, mais je chipote.)

La conférence de Maxime Victor sur **La gestion des émotions en GN lors des GNiales Paris 2016 (https://youtu.be/gO_nzRTrqF8)

L'épisode du podcast de la Cellule sur **La sécurité émotionelle en JdR, également avec Maxime Victor, en invité (http://www.lacellule.net/2017/10/podcast-jdr-la-securite-emotionnelle-en.html) et de la contradiction.

Safe Hearts d'Avery Alder (https://buriedwithoutceremonyblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/safe-hearts.pdf), qui traite de la sécurité émotionelle dans Monsterheart. La deuxième édition du jeu intègre et développe cette dimension : Monsterhearts 2 est juste remarquable sur la manière de proposer la sécurité émotionnelle dans ses règles. (10$ le pdf pour un bijou de game design, c'est volé http://buriedwithoutceremony.bigcartel.com/category/monsterhearts-2)

Des conseils de Skimy sur la sécurité émotionelle en GN (https://www.electro-gn.com/11168-la-securite-emotionnelle).

Si vous en avez d'autres, n'hésitez pas à les ajouter en commentaire

Attention, à mon avis, connaître la technique, c'est bien mais ce n'est pas suffisant : il faut l'appliquer et réfléchir à son application. Je pense qu'un atelier pré-partie pour entraîner les participants‧es à l'utiliser est au minimum utile, souvent nécessaire. À mon sens, ce qui est crucial, c'est que les personnes soient plus importantes que la partie, que le dialogue pour la sécurité soit possible, souhaité et passe également avant cette dernière.

guillaume jentey​​​ Luke Wayland​​​

22 octobre 2017

(Parce que l'on me l'a demandé, voici un résumé personnel.)

(Parce que l'on me l'a demandé, voici un résumé personnel.)

Le PbTA et les styles télévisuel et cinématographique. Le PbTA (plus précisément : les jeux PbTA à moves type AW) est souvent envisagé comme un type de système permettant / poussant une simulation de genre. Ce qui est vrai. Pour moi une conséquence indirecte des objectifs de design, mais une conséquence bien réelle.

Les moves classiques sont en fait une résolution de conflit telle que popularisée par la Forge : au lieu de résoudre une action plus petite (par exemple : un seul échange, voire un seul coup, dans un combat) par une réponse oui/non (résolution de tâche), le système résout une action plus globale (tout le combat, ou une phase significative de celui-ci) avec une réponse qui change significativement la situation. Dans beaucoup de jeux, cela nécessite un arrêt long de la fiction qui provoque souvent une rupture de l’éventuelle immersion dans le personnage et/ou de la position d’acteur pour passer un temps en négociation des enjeux : qu’est-ce qu’on essaye de résoudre, quelles sont les issues possibles. AW change cela en fixant de manière forte ces éléments à l’avance. Cela permet d’accélérer fortement l’intervention des règles, mais limite les choix de possibles. En rédigeant les moves, bien naturellement, l’auteur.e choisit les possibilités pour coller au type de partie visées, c’est-à-dire au genre.

Beaucoup de jeux PbTA cherchent alors à reproduire ce que l’on voit dans des fictions télévisuelles ou cinématographiques, donc voilà.

Tout cela va orienter/diriger toute la fiction, le jeu.

Second aspect : l’utilisation du langage cinématographique dans les narrations et descriptions. Décrire la fiction comme si on la découvrait à travers un film, une série. Les joueurs et joueuses peuvent décrire divers éléments du langage cinématographique : titres et génériques, musiques extradiégétiques (sauf qu’alors elle ne l’est plus vraiment), séquence pré-générique, bétisier, résumé télévisuel, plans et mouvements de caméra, éclairage, effets de montage (ralentis, coupes, fondus…), mais aussi acteurs, réactions des spectateurs, des fans… tout cela sont des effets stylistiques. Cela est potentiellement totalement indépendant de la fiction générée (séparation fond/forme), mais est généralement conçu en cohérence. Personnellement, je trouve que c’est souvent plus un appauvrissement au nom d’un effet de style, mais bien utilisé et avec parcimonie, c’est bien. Mais là c’est juste une appréciation personnelle, rien de plus.

Comme dans tout design, qu'il soit fait au moment de la conception du jeu ou au moment de la partie, choisir est renoncer, limiter les possibilités.

20 octobre 2017

This is super basic stuff, but I need to remind myself of it quite often.

Originally shared by Rob Donoghue

This is super basic stuff, but I need to remind myself of it quite often.

There is a pattern where a woman says a guy did a thing, he says he just made a mistake and it’s not a thing, she insists while he backs off and apologizes for the mistake while she presses on.

(The thing can be almost anything. This is relevant to harassment, yes, but really almost anything).

In the scenario above, if I’m not pre-invested, my knee jerk reaction is to support the guy, because he’s apologizing and being reasonable while she is very clearly being unreasonable (or perhaps a less kind word).

This is not a good knee jerk reaction because I am getting played.

We’ve talked enough about the woman’s side of it enough to be able to break this down pretty easily. Women eat a lot of bitter, and tolerate a lot of crap, so when they call something out it is usually far past the theshold where a dude would have cracked. This is just a fact of life, but it has the practical effect of meaning that when the woman does call something out, it’s already a high pressure situation, but other people may not (probably don’t) realize it, so her intensity seems disproportionate. This sucks, but if you’re mindful of it and default to listening, you can get around this internal bias.

But it’s worth noting that the guy’s end of this is also a very specific dance.

First, every guy who has been in this position knows that the aforementioned bias is in play, and so long as they can maintain that sense that the woman’s response is disproportionate, he is not really under any threat. He plays to the bias and the audience swings towards him for scoring so. This fact is one of the reasons women often wait so long before speaking up (because they know that this is what will happen) so it’s all a nasty cycle.

No surprises yet, but I want to call out one specific behavior: aggressively apologizing for the lesser offense.

This is a power move. Plain and simple. It:
- reframes discussion to whether or not it was actually the lesser offense
- earns the guy immediate social capital because he was “big enough” to apologize (tip: once you prioritize external validation, apologizing from a position of power is easy and fruitful)
- reinforces the narrative that he’s the reasonable one. After all, he admitted fault!

Anyway, I’ve made some generalizations here. This dynamic is not always along specific gender lines, and these tactics are available to anyone. And it can definitely extend beyond dudes and ladies. But the pattern shows up most frequently in that space.

And the thing is, I know all this, but my instincts are still bad. I still fall for this every time, and the only question is whether I notice I’ve fallen for it. And knowing these patterns helps me spot that, and because of that, I pass them along in case they might help someone else.

19 octobre 2017

Principe de la Colle de Machko : l'explication la plus compliquée est la meilleure.

Principe de la Colle de Machko : l'explication la plus compliquée est la meilleure.

Une définition qui fait genre.

Une définition qui fait genre. Le retour de Aware Studios​. Je sais pas s'il est content ou pas mais moi je le suis toujours de le lire. Encore !
http://awarestudios.blogspot.be/2017/10/faire-genre-part-2-cest-proprement-le.html?m=1

Dear Guy Friends & Colleagues In Games: If you were one who told Jessica this was unprofessional, own it & own that...

Originally shared by Brie “Beau” Sheldon

Dear Guy Friends & Colleagues In Games: If you were one who told Jessica this was unprofessional, own it & own that you enabled Mentzer.

https://twitter.com/Delafina777/status/920489843821486080

Do you know WHY you enabled him? Just like how, with that, you enabled ALL harassers and creeps? Because you protected them. Seriously.

When you tell people that raising awareness, even privately, for creepy & sometimes illegal behavior might threaten their careers? That's it. You're saying "If you don't let this continue, if you speak up, you're not worthy. You don't deserve to work. You're a High Risk Candidate."

Just suck it up, right? It doesn't matter if it's slut shaming, victim blaming, groping, or rape, saying something might get you fired. We are sick and tired, in all industries, all aspects of our lives, of being told that we should shut up and take it so we can stay working.

And every single goddamn one of you who had the sick heart to tell a woman she was doing wrong by speaking about this: You are the problem.

Apologize now. Don't wait. Don't waffle. Don't beg out. Apologize to the people you've shamed and scared into silence. Be better, damnit.
https://twitter.com/Delafina777/status/920489843821486080

18 octobre 2017

Watching a notallmen car crash slowly catch fire while falling off a cliff has me thinking.

Originally shared by Rob Donoghue

Watching a notallmen car crash slowly catch fire while falling off a cliff has me thinking.

One super pernicious thing about notallmen is that, functionally, it is often about men expressing hurt feelings, and the reasons this is not really appropriate at this time (most often because it's an attempt to change the conversation to being about the dude's hurt feelings rather than whatever it was about.

I call it pernicious because, in function, it's the same thing that a lot of guys deal with when struggling with toxic masculinity, which also tells us that our feelings don't matter and we shouldn't talk about them (albeit for very different reasons).

I don't bring this up as an excuse, but rather as a warning to fellow guys who are still dealing with that twitch to notallmen it up when a generalization about men hurts. The right answer is always to stop and think before you post, and by think I mean really think about the context and how much is or isn't about you, and how much your voice needs to be heard right now.

But it might still hurt. Sometimes people we care about manage to kick us right in a vulnerable spot in their upset. Sometimes they connect so profoundly and personally that we feel we must respond, because the only other option is the genuinely shitty "real men don't feel stuff".

If that happens, there are better ways to respond. You can take it to your own platform and share your hurt (don't turn it into an attack).. You can have a private conversation (Later!), and if you don't feel comfortable having that private conversation, then definitely take that as a reason to consider if that is an indication that this might be less personal than you think.

You can also unfollow or mute people. Even if you agree with them, even if you consider yourself "on their side". If it's causing you genuine hurt, then stop. Self care is a necessity, not a luxury.

But above all - think. All this? This is part of the thinking.

And if you are out there, struggling with that notallmen instinct, I'm with you. It's not easy, and people who tell you it is are welcome to live in their bubble of smugness. But it's something you gotta do. And it's something you can do.

You're not surprised Frank Mentzer is a creep.

Originally shared by Paul Czege

You're not surprised Frank Mentzer is a creep. You're not surprised he threatened to ruin Jessica Price's career. You know it's creep after creep after creep everywhere you look. Joss Whedon's a creep too.

16 octobre 2017

[Relecture] Je cherche des personnes pour relire la deuxième édition de mon jeu de rôle Inflorenza Minima (contes...


Originally shared by Thomas Munier

[Relecture] Je cherche des personnes pour relire la deuxième édition de mon jeu de rôle Inflorenza Minima (contes cruels dans la forêt de Millevaux) !

Taille : 50 pages A5. Délai : 26/10/17.

Type de relecture demandé : orthographe, compréhension et/ou game design, à votre gré.

15 octobre 2017

De nouveau une question existentielle...

Le Radio-Roliste d'octobre est là, avec plein de bonnes choses dedans.

Le Radio-Roliste d'octobre est là, avec plein de bonnes choses dedans. Et une nouvelle un peu mélancolique. Bonne écoute !

Originally shared by Radio Rôliste

Un nouvel épisode de Radio Rôliste, on l’on cause de Chrysopée, de Freaks’ Squeele et de Mordiou !

http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1572
http://www.radio-roliste.net/?p=1572

10 octobre 2017

Parfois nous nous accusons (mea culpa

Parfois nous nous accusons (mea culpa ! mea maxima culpa !) d’anthropomorphisme quand nous jouons des aliens, des nailfes (ou des eilns, je ne suis pas raciste). Nous nous accusons aussi de prétendre les jouer, pas de les jouer « réellement ».

Deux réactions à ça :

1. Ça va la tête ? Ce sont des jeux de rôles. J’ai beau monter mes exigences aussi haut que je le veux, c’est du JdR. Tant mieux pour moi si j’atteins des sommets d’interprétation, de compréhension et d’immersion de psyché étrangères, mais à partir du moment où je mets cette exigence dans mon propre chemin, c’est une erreur. Une faute si je la mets dans le chemin de quelqu’un d’autre.

2. Anthropomorphisme, c’est encore bien trop généreux. Sans très sérieux effort, je ne dépasse pas la projection de ma propre culture. Culturo-centrisme-morphisme ?

Et la question de savoir si c’est possible ou pas ? ¯\(ツ)/¯

Non non on est bien en -1950- 2017...


Non non on est bien en -1950- 2017...

9 octobre 2017

Je suis devenu très sage en financements participatifs : 2 en juillet, 1en aout et 0 en septembre.

Je suis devenu très sage en financements participatifs : 2 en juillet, 1en aout et 0 en septembre. Pour octobre, la déferlente actuelle me donne plutôt envie d'être très sélectif que de participer aveuglément. Rien jusqu'à présent et si je lis bien mon humeur, ça risque de continuer jusqu'à la fin du mois... et au-delà.

5 octobre 2017

“We have really piss poor models of communication that long-time players expect as familiar”

“We have really piss poor models of communication that long-time players expect as familiar”

Originally shared by Ryan Macklin

Dusting off my blog again, this time to talk about empathy in tabletop writing, and how we don't do it enough.
http://ryanmacklin.com/2017/10/our-empathy-problem-in-tabletop-game-writing/

Free beta rules for Legend of the Five Rings (L5R). Is there something in the air?

Free beta rules for Legend of the Five Rings (L5R). Is there something in the air?
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/223045/Legend-of-the-Five-Rings-RPG-Beta-Rulebook

The Sprawl (couverture souple, VF) by Khelren (Paperback) - Lulu

Originally shared by Tiburce Guyard (Khelren)

La version française de The Sprawl, l'excellent jeu de rôle cyberpunk à missions propulsé par l'Apocalypse, est désormais disponible en couverture souple sur la boutique Lulu pour 25 euros TTC.

268 pages au format royal (un poil plus grand qu'un roman).

Et avec le code ONESHIP, les frais de port sont offerts jusqu'au 12 octobre.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/khelren/the-sprawl-couverture-souple-vf/paperback/product-23356819.html

3 octobre 2017

C'est curieux comme le jdr "populaire", "potache", "low art" demande de se farcir des règles complexes en cascade et...

C'est curieux comme le jdr "populaire", "potache", "low art" demande de se farcir des règles complexes en cascade et tellement de pages A4 écrites tellement serrées qu'on dirait des études de droit, tandi que le jdr "sophistiqué", "prétentieux", "high art" propose des règles qui tiennent sur une feuille de PQ (fairtrade)...

2 octobre 2017

Des choses que je pense pouvoir être en droit d’attendre d’un éditeur de jdr en 2018 :


Des choses que je pense pouvoir être en droit d’attendre d’un éditeur de jdr en 2018 :

- Comprendre que nous lisons de plus en plus sur écrans : ordis (et pas que sous Windows, les chromebooks par exemple, mais pas que), tablettes, téléphones… Et donc mettre le format numérique sur pied d’égalité avec le format papier, voire en priorité. Et pas en essayant de reproduire le format papier et en laissant tomber tout ce qui ne passe pas, mais en utilisant les avantages du format numérique : table des matières en hyperlien, hyperliens dans le contenu (vers le contenu mais aussi vers des ressources extérieures : liste de lecture de musiques, faq, résumés, générateurs en ligne), notes, accessibilité au lecteurs d’écran / au text-to-speech, format adaptatif à la taille des écrans mais aussi aux contraintes des utilisateurs (taille des caractères et contraste, pour les personnes ayant des problèmes de vue), corrections et mise à jour du contenu…

- Comprendre que le jdr virtuel ça existe, ça se développe. Donc veiller au jeu en ligne : procédures et conseils adaptés ; mais aussi les éléments de jeu au format numérique : les illustrations, les cartes et toutes les images utiles à résolution d’écran (4k + tenir compte des zooms utiles ?), liste de lecture en ligne, feuilles de personnage en documents partagés et intelligents, les fiches et résumés en documents partagés et en image. L’intégration dans les tables virtuelles communes (Roll20.net, Rolisteam, Maptools, Fantasy Grounds…) et un support d’une durée raisonnable.

Bien sûr que c’est un boulot monstre tout ça. Mes attentes varient bien entendu selon l’ampleur du projet.


(L’image de base est CC by-sa 4.0 International by monsterpromo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:00-000-1-1_2015_Dancing_Painter_Show_Salvador_Dali_ver_2_0.jpg)

1 octobre 2017

Things I believe I should be able to expect from a RPG publisher in 2018:


Things I believe I should be able to expect from a RPG publisher in 2018:

- understanding that reading happens increasingly on computer, tablets, chromebooks, phones… hence electronic format of the rules first or at equality with paper format (either a pdf on suitable page and font sizes or a reflowable format like epub), taking advantage of the format (hyperlinked table of content, hyperlinks in the content toward itself but also to external ressources like playlists, faq, cheat sheets, online generators…; notes; accessibility to screen readers / text-to-speech…)

- understanding that virtual gaming is a thing, hence including the useful assets: illustrations, maps, and every useful image as a seperate file at screen resolution (4k + needed zooms ?), online playlist, character sheets as shared, smart documents, cheat sheets as shared documents and as images. Integration into existing virtual tabletops (Roll20.net, Rolisteam, Maptools, Fantasy Grounds…) and reasonably long support.

Of course all this is a tremendous work. Projects' size change my expectations.

(Base image is CC by-sa 4.0 International by monsterpromo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:00-000-1-1_2015_Dancing_Painter_Show_Salvador_Dali_ver_2_0.jpg)

(putting new words on old things) You know how when you tell a story, you skip boring parts, highlight and heighten...

(putting new words on old things) You know how when you tell a story, you skip boring parts, highlight and heighten interesting parts and sometimes move things around to make them more engaging ? Sometimes you want your game to play like what happened, sometimes you want it to play like the story is told.