#RPGaDay 15: Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?
I have no idea what this question really means. I’m starting to question whether there was a lot of thought put into some of these. I guess, maybe, this is asking which RPG do I enjoy tinkering with the rules of, or changing things about?
In D&D and other fantasy setting games, I almost never run anything in a set, establishing setting. I’m perfectly capable of doing it, but I find reading up on an existing setting like Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk to feel a little bit like homework (Although I am tempted to try something Ravenloft-ish). I struggle to keep the different pantheons clear and all the geographic information. After I’ve been playing for so long, a lot of that stuff blends together. What I find is, if I create my own settings from the ground up, it cements itself better, and I can weave some of the world building details into my narrative story elements. Thematic resonance in the world building in the character arcs can be a really powerful tool. If you have a world where the gods are dead or departed, for instance, that can have profound impacts on the culture, society, and the characters themselves. Everything should grapple with those questions.
So for just about any non real world setting game, I like to adapt my own. Even in real world setting games like the World of Darkness stuff, I like to tweak things. I don’t tend to run games set in big cities that almost none of us have visited, for instance. Almost all of my World of Darkness games were set in Lawrence and Kansas City growing up. Having actual real world geographic knowledge helps ground things so much more. And if you don’t have that, then make up your own places, so you can fake it. That’s how I roll. How about you?
For the month of August, I will be participating in #RPGaDay. I haven’t posted much on this blog about my love for role-playing games, and for a while, I wasn’t really acknowledging that love myself. But RPGs were my entry point in the the geek lifestyle, and they are very important to me. I’ll be exploring my relationship with RPGs all month with these posts.
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