Doomsdays & Dystopias Wrap-Up

While I got a fair bit more last year, I still enjoyed this theme quite a bit!  The GRIMDARK theme might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps less than science-fantasy.  But, oh well, this was a theme I wanted to do for a long time.  None the less, this has been a learning experience.  All the same, some of the bloggers who participated last year weren’t able to join in for this year.  But, to those who were able to join in?  You have my thanks!  Thanks for making this celebration of the dark and dreadful a truly fun one!   That said, onward to other things.  But in the meantime, here are this month’s contributors for my theme!  Please, check out what they have to offer!  And as always, give the RPG Carnival a try yourself!  It’s tons of fun and well worth the effort!

Anyway, enough babbling out of me!  Here are the contributors for “Doomsdays & Dystopias”:

• Daemons and Deathrays
  • Doomsdays & Dystopias RPG Blog Carnival – The post to kick things off, in which I discuss why GRIMDARK stuff is cool!
  • Conflict in Dark Worlds and Genres – I take a look at the role of conflict in dark settings and themes, plus supply some anecdotes on games I’ve been in.
  • Post-Apocalyptic Rules Revised – I update some rules for corroded equipment, radiation, decrepit buildings and anomalies.
  • Mutant Monsters – Here’s an assortment of all sorts of hellish and horrifying things spawned by toxic chemical, radiation, strange powers and more!
  • Murder Machines and Killer Cars! – A Brutal Game Show from the GRIMDARK Future!
• Pitfalls and Pixies – The Iaraan Faur – Faith of Pitfalls creates a sylvan race blighted and mutated by pollutants and radiation, turning them into grim and hateful creatures.
• Bound-Incubus – All the spooky worlds – Tony talks about what the World of Darkness universe means to him in terms of gaming, sub-culture and more.
• Sea of Stars – Doomsdays and Dystopias of Sea of Stars – Sean of Sea of Stars tells us about the darker side of his setting, examining catastrophes and harsh societies within his world.
• The Wandering Alchemist – Angels and Demons – John of Wandering Alchemist discusses how a proxy war between fiends and celestials have left his world battered and scarred, especially against the forces fo chaos!
• Tales of a GM – Grimdark Interludes – Phil from Tales of a GM takes a look at games with elements of “GRIMDARK” and his own experiences with it.
• Teylen’s RPG Corner – [Actual Play] The Last Night – 1st V5 Pre-Alpha Playtest – Teylen gives a run down of a Vampire the Masquerade V5 playtest, set in the ever stark World of Darkness universe.
• Stories and Other Such Distractions – How I create characters for Cyberpunk 2020 – Phillip of Stories and Other Distractions gives the run down on character building for one of the most famous cyberpunk games out there, 2020!

Stay tuned for Kobold Press and their theme of “Magic” for August 2017!  You can find out more here!  Again, a big thanks for everyone who was interested in the darker side of gaming fiction!  Till next time, gamers!

IMAGE CREDIT: Wasteland 2 Promotional Image – Obsidian Entertainment

 

July 2017 RPG Blog Carnival: Doomsdays & Dystopias (Dark Genres and Settings)

While I enjoy tons of heroic settings with noble characters ensuring good in the world, I’ve always loved truly grim and dour settings.  I speak of worlds that fit the “GRIMDARK” moniker that’s been affectionately used.  For those who don’t get the reference, it refers to Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K tagline, which states that “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war!”  I’m speaking of places blighted by impossible evils, dystopias where any sort of righteousness and passion is repressed, a sinister universe that is out to destroy you, nuked out wastelands where the remains of society struggle to continue or scrap the last bits of the old ones… but you get the point.

So, why is my theme essentially “dark settings and dark themes”?  Sounds depressing, I know.  After all, spending too much time in an overly dark and oppressive world can wear one down, right?  Not exactly!  There are many reasons why dark settings are truly fascinating.  Before I turn the carnival over to you, let’s take a look at why starker settings can be awesome.  (Or if you prefer, skip down to the bold text.)

Super-Science and Sorcery Roundup

For starters, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to contribute to this month’s theme.  While many themes have come and gone through carnival history, I’m not too sure many have really tackled this idea in depth.  Perhaps it’s due to the fact the genre hybrid of science-fantasy isn’t as popular as it once was.  Perhaps people just wanted to tackle something else that tickles their fancy.  Both are very fine reasons.

At first, I was hesitant to make the theme about science fantasy.  The reason was that it’s very much a niche flavor within a niche hobby.  I love it, but I figured not too many other people shared that same love.  None the less, plenty of fans came out of the wood work to support a pretty cool concept, if I do say so myself!  Mages and dragons meets techno-crafters and giant robots!  I mean, come on!  That’s pretty darn cool!  Also yes, RIFTS was one of my favorite settings way back when… how did you guess?

Anyway, I’m gonna stop prattling here and get to showcasing this month’s RPG Blog Carnival posts.  Here are the posts for the August 2016 theme, “Science Science and Sorcery!”

EDIT: Added missing links

 

 

6d6RPG: The Monster in the Machine – jfoster merges machinery with the strange and supernatural to create some fascinating and unsettling new monster ideas!

Anarcarnivàle: Any technology sufficiently advanced… – Clark proposes ideas on fusing magic and technology together with the help of historical scenarios.

Brynvalk: Cold Iron Corruptor – Faith from Brynvalk mashes classical fantasy creatures of the Fae with Sci-Fi elements such as cyborgs and mutants.

Crossplanes: F@NE For Savage RIFTS – Mark from Crossplanes creates a creature for the science-fantasy world of RIFTS, now compatible with Savage Worlds.

Daemons & Deathrays: Expedition to Barrier Peaks – Brian (Me) of Daemons & Deathrays has devoted the month to converting a classic module to D&D 5th Edition.  These posts consist of:

• Part One – Robots
• Part Two – Plants/Fungi
• Part Three – Monstrosities/Mutants
• Part Four – Other Monsters
• Part Five –  Module/Odds ‘n’ Ends

Forgotmydice: Astounding Tales of Science Fantasy – Grynning examines Clarke’s Third Law in its relation to the Sword and Planet genre, as well as figuring out how to run such games in D&D.

Forgotmydice: Warlock Patron of Interest – Griss makes a pact with a new warlock patron, The Machine.

Forgotmydice: ‘Tis New to Thee – Trevor transports people from a Modern world into the realm of Fantasy thanks to a new background!

Forgotmydice: From the Red Hills of Mars – Robert channels John Carter in the blog’s August 2016 finale by creating Green Martian stats.

Forgot my dice: Allons-y! – Trevor makes an intellectual and scientific sub class for the Ranger.

Mythus Mage: Are You Sure? – Alan dissects genre and treats magic as a science.

Notes of the Wandering Alchemist: Science-Fantasy Trinket Table – Based on the PHB, John has made a table of random trinkets you can incorporate into your games.

Rollcall: Reskinning to Maximize a System’s Range – Rollcall shows how simple it is to reflavor fantasy RPGs into science fiction.

Tales of a GM: Serpentfall in Heroquest – Phil takes from “The Day After Ragnarok” setting to build an epic interlude with a helping of science-fantasy!

Temple of Ravens: Super-Science and Sorcery – Anthony of Temple of Ravens ponders Sci-Fi series like Star Trek and how to run them within the realms of D&D and beyond.

 

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