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(TFT) Rant repost
[disclaimer: If I offend with what follows, blame me for being full of
myself. This article is kinda long winded anyway. I suggest as a group we
ignore it. Just click delete, or next page now. ]
[second edit: this is sooo long that I have a summary here. Just read
these lines and then hit delete.]
I If you want to role play, just get two people together.
II Now that we see we can act.
III The 26 letter alphabet is to hieroglyphs, what TFT is to D&D.
IV The genera has been done before.
V Yes.
VI What ever ultimate bad guy we can create.
[third edit: yes, I posted this already in serial format. But I did so
backwards. I think you will find it has a completely diffrent message when
read forward.]
"To make a popular game requires popular culture"
- Milton Bradley, founding principle
I. Milton Bradley started out very small.
They are property of Hasbro now, but at one point they were a giant.
According to the research I did they took scraps from their fabric factory
and glued them to pencil boxes. These sold very well.
Does anyone remember that children used to go to school with a "pencil
box?" They would keep their eraser, glue, and little sharpener in there.
Milton Bradley sold a box that was not only covered in pretty fabrics with a
nice textured feel, but they included a free toy as well. This was the
birth of the Milton Bradley toy company.
The fabric cost them nothing as it was actually a waste product of their
fabric shops. Kids with the colorful pencil boxes were the envy of other
students. The other pencil boxes of the time were lucky to even be color,
let alone textured. And it had a toy!
I have no idea, but I suspect at the time the teachers liked the new
pencil boxes. The only current equivalent that comes to mind is the Game
Boy and Cell phones. But teachers do not like these things at all.
It's not so much that the popular culture has changed, which it has,
it's that Game Boys, and Cell phones do not make better students. Consider
role playing games when they first hit the scene. DM's and players alike
found themselves doing more research, interested in learning more, and
putting a premium on informed accuracy.
Teachers like the "Harry Potter" books, or so I'm told, because it makes
students _want_ to read. Some would even hazard to say "_want_ to go to
school so they can be with their friends." Just like Harry. Be that as it
may, where does that leave us?
Back in the night; having some friends over, sitting around the kitchen
table, rolling up characters, and eating munchies was popular culture.
Things have changed. Is the kitchen table dead? I don't know. But this I
do know...
What finger do you ring a doorbell with?
If you think of your index finger then you are from my generation. The
index finger IS the button pushing finger. But if you thought of the side
of the thumb you are from the current generation. This is because kids in
class send Instant messages to each other while pretending to look at the
teacher. They hold the cell phone below the desk top with one hand, and
punch in the Instant Message with the side of their thumb. A by product of
this is that kids from this generation will push a door bell with the side
of their thumb as well. The thumb _is_ the button pushing finger.
supporting evidence...
http://blog.innovationctr.com/index.php?p=31
Consider Japanese high school students. They get together after
school. Maybe at a coffee shop, maybe an arcade. But the point is they do
not plan this in advance. As soon as school is out they Instant Message
each other, and the meeting place is spontaneous.
It has become a social Faux Pas (or False Step) to not have a Cell
phone. If you miss the meeting of friends because you don't have a Cell
phone, or you don't have batteries, the _bad_ is on your head. You are out
of the loop. The circle will close without you. Now if you want to be part
of the popular culture of the after high school meetings and social
gatherings in Japan you _have_ to have a cell phone. Not "Mommy i _want_ a
cell phone". It is "Mommy I _have_ to have a Cell phone" or I will be an
outcast and untouchable.
The location of the kitchen table matters not at all. Being connected
to the network when this days' table is picked does.
I conclude section (1) with these words. If you want to role play, get
two people together.
But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them,
"He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her."
- John 8:7
II Personal Identity in society.
Our Zeit Geist (spirit of the times) was individualism. The role
playing games of the time reflect this. Experience points are recorded on
the individual's character sheet. A magic item is possessed by one
individual or another. Individuals can gain status, power, and rewards in
our role playing games.
I submit that the wheel has turned. Follower ship is the new Zeit
Geist. Just as the Taoist say, everything is followed by its opposite; day
by night, war by peace, life by death. So too Individualism is followed by
joining, membership, and belonging. In a word; followership. These kids
don't want to be Harry Potter. If you have noticed. They want to go to
"Hogwarts" They want that membership.
The popular culture, the Zeit Geist, is one of belonging and tribal
identity. A version of D&D of this day would have statistics on a 3d6 scale
like "number of clubs joined", "chance of fitting into a new club", "ability
to leave a club on good terms", and/or "ratio of successful clubs formed, to
clubs I have made that failed." Accomplishment points are awarded to the
club, not the individual. This "club" won the national spelling bee. This
"club" scores higher on finals than the school average. This "club" has
consistently successful events. In Harry Potter, there is much ado about
winning the "house cup".
Who was more important? Alexander the Great, or the watershed moment
of Greek history when he came to the front. In an age of individualism one
focuses on Alexander himself. In an age of followership one focuses on what
a great team the Greeks were. How they had great levels of followership.
Legendary even.
Napoleonics wargamers have re-enacted waterloo. What if Napoleon had
done this? What if Napoleon had done that? Followership is interested in
other kinds of re-enactments. What If Ney had followed orders instead of
going impetuous. What if the Old Guarde had not lost faith and broke ranks.
Who is more important? Ford or the assembly line? Bill Gates, or the
operating system? Euclid, or geometry?
I conclude this segment with these words. "Now that we see we can
act."
"All geometric systems are equivalent and thus no system of axioms may claim
that it is the true geometry."
- Poincari
III
News Headline reads "Howard Thompson HID the rights to TFT with the
golden unicorn!"
http://www.tintinologist.org/guides/books/11secret.html
Or let us assume that he did. Even if he did, and even if I had them in
my hand, I'm not sure that republishing them would get entry into the gaming
world. I have often wondered how to word a pitch to this effect though.
"You gotta distribute this game for your own benefit. TFT was once #2 only
to D&D itself." But that's a fine point of a negotiation phase of only one
part of a long business plan. Using it as an "on cover" marketing splash
seems counter intuitive as well. Why would one say that their product is
number two?
I would see similar, if not the same, problems with republishing
Euclid's Elements. The original Greek foundation of geometry. Republishing
basic geometry is not an advancement of the arts and sciences. The many
fabulous derivative works of mathematics since Euclid though are
advancements. Geometry has lead to some incredible works of brilliance and
insight. Clubs of mathematicians have been invaluable to this, and they
still exist as of this writing.
That's thousands of years of work and evolution of thought. What
happened to Howard Thompson, and why is TFT still not known to the gaming
public at large. Scratch that! That's the wrong question. Try this one
instead.
If Howard Thompson's vision of TFT was so much better than Steve
Jackson's can we finish it without him? That is to say, can we bring the
body of work to a better conclusion than Howard did, both without him, and
his phantasmal copyrights. I hazard to say yes.
I believe Howard wanted to up-scale TFT. Have individual counters
represent squads. And that one of his main criticisms of Steve's work was
that it was too individualistic (my words) and that he put no work in on
squad level conflict. Maybe wisely so, for Howard's squad level rules leave
much to be desired.
===================================
===================================
Math Detour
===================================
===================================
Consider this derivative of TFT's foundation.
Giant
ST 8 x 3 hexes = 24
DX 9
IQ 7
ergo being a 3 hex creature costs 8 extra points.
my math instincts tell that a 1 hex creature (like a humanoid) should cost 1
extra point. So in reality starting humans are 33 point characters. One
point goes to being one hex in size.
if we presume a "square" rule here for the cost of hexes...
a 1 hex creature costs 1 extra point,
a 2 hex creature costs 4 extra points,
a 3 hex creature costs 9 extra points,
but a 4 hex creature costs 16 extra points.
Riding Horse
ST 11 x 2 hexes = 22
DX 11
IQ 5
= 28 points
+ 4 points for 2 hexes
= 32 points
1-hex dragon
ST 12
DX 12
IQ 10
= 34 points
+1 for 1 hex
= 35 points ( I recommend ST 11, DX 11)
2-hex dragon
ST 8 x 2 = 16
DX 12
DX 12
= 32 points
+4 points for 2 hexes
= 36 points (the precise point that exp cost per point jumps to 250 instead
of 125)
4-hex dragon
ST 7 x 4 = 28
DX 13
IQ 12
= 32 points
+16 points for 4 hexes
= 48 points (A very experienced character. No wonder dragons' attributes
like DX and IQ seem to go up so slowly for their age)
===================================
===================================
End of the Math Detour
===================================
===================================
Is this the underlying formula that was denied to Howard? I doubt it.
Is this formula good enough to recreate all creatures in TFT? Not by a
long shot. There is still natural armor, the ability to speak languages,
opposable digits, can the creature learn talents, a ton of other unspoken
factors. And let's not forget the many other things that are now considered
Advantages/Disadvantages by gurps.
But I do feel that it is close enough that all the creatures starting
statistics could all be brought in line with a formula of this nature. This
alone is enough to create an advancement in the art and science of TFT. A
newly copyright able material. One that both is the original and swallows
up the original in one bite.
Another draw back is that the above is just the math. What is really
lacking is the flavor. The art of the game itself. Somantics aside there
are other types of derivative work. There are different mathematical
approaches, and there are different conceptual approaches. Take for
instance this different version of TFT. (once again, also an advancement I
hope).
V.S.R.P.S.
(pronounced veh-sur-ps)
the Very Specific Role Playing System.
"We are members of gate mapping society. Join us in exploring new
lands and cultures. Find out who the ancients thought it was important to
maintain trade with. Delve into the mysteries of the lost gate technology.
Maybe we will be the first to come back with a lost spell. It shocked us
all, when the gates were discovered, that magic actually works on the other
side. But we are not the only ones going through and learning to cast these
powerful spells. There are other societies with questionable motives racing
against us. And there is a rumor that the ancients even knew how to raise
the dead. Do we want our enemies to get this power and not us?"
The Very Specific Role Playing system is a game of exploration,
dramatic scenes, and high adventure...
You get the general Idea. Here are some more, in the briefest of one
line explanations.
a) "You play a magic item controlling a character. If that character is
killed by a monster you play the monster. Follow the life of your magic
item, be it to the heights of glory or the depths of hell. But if you are
captured by another magic item you have to start over. Captured magic items
can be traded in to buy new enchantments for yourself.
b) "The GM will tell the players information that their characters are
specifically not allowed to know. The players must play their character as
though they didn't know, until the GM reveals the info in some random or
pre-planed campaign event." Willful role playing is a game of dramatic
moments.
c) "The players will take 30 min to design a labyrinth and populate it
with monsters. The GM will then take a series of small adventuring groups
in to see if they can beat it." Turn the adventure around. They players
have secret books of knowledge that only the GM can't look at. Can he
conquer your lab?
d) "We always knew the day would come when magic would present us with a
bill for all the work it has done for us. Will we survive?" Realize the
darkest fears of the Mnoren. End the world with magic!
e) "When amassed, treasure creates monsters in the surrounding area at
one monster character point per one hundred dollars, per week." Amass
wealth, and fight to preserve that wealth.
f) "Each player gets 250,000 silver and 576 character points for starting
equipment, and starting figures." This isn't melee, it's War!
g) "Now that the Mnoren have landed, the labyrinth is our only safe
haven. Who knew all these dungeons were designed so we could hide from our
former masters?" At last the question has been answered; where did the
Mnoren go? We threw them off Cidri once before. Can we do it again?
h) "Nature has ST infinite, Create Elemental, and is mad at mankind."
Can your team survive long enough to make the peace?
i) "Every starting character and monster equals 32 points." Play any
character in the book. None of the spells exist yet. Invent them first and
your team may conquer the world.
j) "Every space walker learns Fresh Air by the age of 14." TFT on the
Moon is a space opera game using fantasy rules.
I conclude with these words. The 26 letter alphabet is to hieroglyphs,
what TFT is to D&D.
IV Nope, not done yet.
I searched a long time to find the TFT news group. The D&D newsgroups
(and there are tons of those) have more noise than signal. I have all these
ideas and stories, but I want to find people who are literate in the
language I speak. It's lonely being the only TFT'er in a D&D crowd. Many
of the debates seem like wasted time. TFT doesn't have many of the problems
the D&D players are still pushing around. That and I want to share some of
the insights I've had, and some of the moments my players have had. But I
need a TFT community to do it. Starting out a thread in a D&D newsgroup
with "in this other game I play..." just doesn't work.
Not only do I find what I'm looking for, but the TFT news groups has
more intelligent posts than any other newsgroup I've ever seen. More on
topic, to the point, and accuracy oriented than many tech newsgroups.
Everyone here speaks the same language. And Fluently at that.
So I start to have a blast. I write my stories, share my rules
interpretations, even get to offer feedback. Feedback that is not only well
received, but appreciated. It's like some kind of Valhalla come true, where
the warrior can fight all day, and at the end of the day is whole again. I
really enjoyed some of the comments on my "General Test of Melee/Wizard
Knowledge"
Like this one ... still one of my favorites. A wizard is using magic
rainstorm to heal a water elemental 4D a turn, while draining 10 fatigue to
get 2 for himself. He has invented the unlimited fatigue battery. I asked
"how would you rule?" I chuckle every time I read this reply.
Thu, 25 Mar 2004
NO. It doesn't work, because it is too weaselly, and I don't allow
weaselly stuff in my game.
John J Hyland
http://tft.brainiac.com/archive/0403/msg00041.html
This is the same feeling I had when I started to play TFT. In fact this
is the same feeling I had when I started to play D&D. I guess the sequence
goes like this. D&D is way better than movies, TFT is way way better than
D&D, and the TFT newsgroup is even better than TFT itself. But what now?
We are ready for it to be new again. Do we pursue this feeling by seeing it
in the eyes of others, by becoming evangelist and converting the heathen.
To take joy in seeing their eyes opened to the simplicity and fuel of TFT.
Should I write post after post on how to indoctrinate gamers to this game.
To turn TFT into a cult and spread it around like a virus? The classic "I
have secret knowledge" ploy, like the mad sorcerers of old.
errrr, I think not.
What then? Transcend the meta game? Make the meta-meta game. Seems
too nebulous. A game where you can attack and destroy optional rules.
Where you can buy new rules for the campaign with your character points.
Wouldn't it wind up being nothing more than something called The Game Trip,
and from there quickly become a punch line.
What about The Reality Trip. We use TFT to document the current world
around us. To leave a gamers perspective on current life for posterity.
Books and movies rated on a 1-6 reaction scale, vacation trips laid out with
the saving throws needed to make them work. A job table built from real
jobs with the real world fatalities worked in as risk. Seems tedious.
Is it the word Fantasy? The actual word Fantasy. Many of my players
over the years have left for Sci-Fi games. But they always got tired of
them and came back to TFT. Is there something about about Fantasy that is
timeless. Could we bottle lightning again? Take everyone on the "Trip?"
How about this. I don't feel any moral obligation to do any of the
above. To be blunt the ideas above don't quite move me. And what TFT means
to me is probably not what TFT will mean to the new kids. The key points...
a) FRPGs felt like eating forbidden fruit, but now it is passe. It is
the norm. Everyone has heard of D&D now. The days when it was rare to find
some one who has even _heard_ of role playing are now passed.
b) Computers games may be a poor substitute for actually sitting around
a kitchen table and listening to each other, but the big MMORPGs are making
buckets of money.
c) Do we even know who our market is, and if we listen to that market
will they really ask for TFT.
I conclude with these words. The genera has been done before.
V The last word I have to offer.
Gee David, this has been an awfully negative post. This isn't like you
at all. Is this why you have been so quiet lately.
Not in the least. No. I just haven't been camping or skiing this year.
Not even hiking. I'm a much better GM after I commune with nature.
Like the shamanistic tradition, it's not a good story unless it heals
the tribe somehow. Planet of the apes (the original) talked about racism to
great effect. Jaws showed us how preserving a flow of money can override
the interests of the people it is supposed to benefit. Star Wars was the
first thing Hippies and Conservatives could agree on since before Nixon.
They would sit in the theater side by side and point at Darth Vader. "Now
that's a bad guy."
No one is probably listening by this point anyway. So I'll tell the
truth. At least the truth as I see it. D&D was legendary to me because of
Demigorgon and Orcus. I consider them the two prime bad guys. I consider
them to _be_ D&D. At least the old D&D that I first encountered.
Gurps is fine an all, but their world books are just that. "Here we
made a world for you so you don't have the fun of making your own." Gurps
doesn't produce a book about a single bad guy. There is no one character
that people can say the name of and People immediately see the whole of
gurps.
New D&D has some of the success of old. And it turns out that many
AD&D3E players talk about Elminster. Some of them with reverence and awe.
But he's not quite a bad guy, just full of self interest really. A bit of
an individualist to the extream.
In fact isn't a dragon itself the ultimate bad guy from old mythology
and legend. Hmmmm, makes me think about the name Dungeons and Dragons. We
could rewrite that game, just call it "Satan and his prisons". Isn't "the
dragon of old" a synonym for Satan in some traditions. Just spit balling
here. If you've ridden this far, take heart. The barn is in sight.
TFT did something strange. While it turned the muddy waters of D&D's
rules into clear water, and eminently more drinkable water at that, it names
not a single prime bad guy. Unless you count Tolenkar. But we all think of
the supplement when his name is mentioned, not the agenda and motives of a
major bad guy.
So is there really anything to sell in TFT? Is there an Elmister, or
Darth Vader, or Demigorgon? Maybe in our individual campaigns there are,
but not in TFT itself. In fact, and this may surprise you, TFT is very
meta. There is no named bad guy. There is only a combination of two rules
that if you bend and mangle them, then stand back and squint, defined what
evil "IS". And that is all.
Consider: TFT has an explicit definition of evil written right into the
rules. Did you know that? Well don't take my word for it. Check it out.
Page 15 of Advanced wizard says...
"PENTAGRAM (C): Creates a magical barrier which keeps out evil
influences."
Now if we couple this with the second spell after that....
"Pentagrams, wards, and other magical protections WILL stop an astral
body."
Hmmmmmmm..... Is this saying that an astral body is an evil influence?
I conclude with this word. Yes.
VI Final conclusion
We choses something, anything. A dragon, a demon, a green slime, it
doesn't really matter. We give it a name and make it astral. We make it
astral; stardragon, or spritdemon, or ghostslime. We call it evil absolute.
Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am suggesting that we create a new vision of
Evil. More specifically an evil name. Like Ahriman, the Hindu version of
individualism as it is represented in opposition to grouping and unity. But
that's not new is it. How about Jed?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahriman
I conclude with these words. What ever ultimate bad guy we can create,
it needs a name.
David Michael Grouchy II
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