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 Blog Carnival – Conflicts in Dark Worlds and Genres

Welcome back, gamers!  I usually homebrew stuff and this is a complete change of pace for me.  That said, I’ve been meaning to write pieces examining things within games in addition to homebrew.  As it is, I’ve branched out with gaming recaps and those seem to reach some sort of audience, so I’ll continue to experiment.  That said, homebrewing is still my prime focus.

Back on topic, last time I opened up the carnival by looking at why I think people like darker genres and topics in their games!  Today’s post is deeper focus on dark settings in regards to conflict; whether it’s problems from society, the self, the environment or even forces beyond our control.  One can’t have a darker story without extreme conflict, to the point it’s usually quite oppressive, or repressive in some cases.  Sure, there are more examples than what I’m talking about, but I could go on and on about that.  Also, I like rambling some anecdotes about old games I’ve played it, because I really love sharing gaming stories with everyone when I get the chance!

Author’s Note: I know, it’s a change of pace.  Like I said, I’m not abandoning homebrewing.  I promise.  Also, this one is a little more mature oriented than other posts, touching upon rougher subjects.

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.)

RPG BLOG CARNIVAL AUGUST 2016: Super-Science & Sorcery

This has been quite an exciting year for Daemons & Deathrays!  It marks me expanding my site content through new ideas and concepts.  It also will mark me making the leap to digital distribution and sales!  *fingers crossed!*  Above all, it’s the third time I’ve participated in the Blog Carnival.  In this case, spearheading this month’s theme!

On that note, the theme for this month is “Super Science & Sorcery.”  In other words, science fantasy.  This hybrid genre embodies a mixture of motifs found in both science fiction and fantasy fiction.  The origins of the genre stem from a time when speculative fiction was significantly less concrete in its terminology.  On one hand, you had harder science fiction typically written by people in directly scientific fields of study.  On the other hand, you had lighter and pulpier science fiction.  While they explored a variety of themes found in the genre, they weren’t as concerned with creating a world cemented in tested theories or making it feel exactly like our own world.  These range from Buck Rogers radio serials and b-grade midnight movies to fantastical epic stories like Star Wars and The Masters of the Universe.

In terms of tabletop hobbies, the concept of science-fantasy is as old as the grand parent of roleplaying games itself!  David Arneson’s Blackmoor made homages to aliens, high technology and even Star Trek.  Gary Gygax brought a spacefaring vessel (likely from Metamorphosis Alpha) into the world of Oerth via Expedition to Barrier Peaks.  The Post-Apocalyptic wastes of Gamma World and the western frontier of Boot Hill had options to bring strange gizmos across the planes via the Advanced D&D DM’s Guide.  Gygax’s friend and co-founder of TSR, Don Kaye, made a character that transported to Boot Hill and learned the art of the shootist.  Upon returning to Greyhawk, he was decked out in cliche cowboy gear and sixguns.  After Kaye’s passing, Gygax honored his character as a minor deity of magical technology.  During 2E’s run, Dragon Magazine had a plot involving invasive evil robots called “Sheens”, as well as an adventure called “Tales of the Comet” with a similar theme.  As the years continued, we saw a few steampunk articles for Dragon magazine, the D20 Modern roleplaying game, Gamma World revisions for new editions, Dragonstar, 3rd Party settings like Amethyst, among countless other genre mashups for the game.  With that, the concept of Science-Fantasy within the realm of Dungeons & Dragons (and roleplaying games in general) is far from new and far from over.  Beyond the realms of D&D, we’ve all sorts of works arise over the years: Warhammer 40K, Titansgrave, Shadowrun, Skyrealms of Jorune, RIFTS, the list goes on!

So, you may be wondering where you all fit into this strange theme?  For this month, I’m asking you to share any Science-Fantasy RPG goodness you have with me!  Stories, homebrew, etc!  Please, comment down below with a link to your creations.  Despite the D&D-centric nature of this blog, I encourage you to explore any RPG game or story within the realms of science-fantasy that works for you.  At the end of the month, I’ll do a round up post involving all of this month’s contributions.  Here’s to a successful month of mutants, magitech, machine men and more!

For more information on the RPG Blog Carnival, please visit here.

Image Credit: RPG Blog Carnival – Reis O’Brien