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The Eiffel Tower gets slightly bigger every year. That's because it's alive and slowly absorbing the girders and I-beams from the other buildings in the city. The French government didn't want to alarm its citizens, so they made up a story about it being built by an architect, but that's not what happened at all. In fact, despite its name, the Eiffel Tower isn't really a tower at all.
If ever you get tired of responding to questions about "rp-forward" games with verbosity and pedantry (which, to be clear, heaven forfend you do, I love reading those posts) may I humbly suggest the (in my opinion highly entertaining) alternative of telling people "Good Society will probably work for you" and refusing to elaborate?
You know for a fact that if I ever resorted to a bit like that it would be Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine.
#I am only vaguely familiar with the game #why would recommending Chuubo's be a bit in this case? (via @moltensludeinbrainattack)
The structure of the game manages to hit a remarkable number of features that folks who think "RP forward" actually means something and isn't just a marketing phrase would typically regard as categorically excluding a system from being "RP forward", while looking nothing like the kind of game you'd tend to picture based on those features.
You don't want the mechanics sticking their nose into every little thing? Chuubo's is so intensely preoccupied with mechanising the mundane that forming intentions to do things is a rules-mediated action. There are specific target numbers for stuff like "do it correctly", "look like you actually know what you're doing", and "be happy with the result", and without a relevant skill or resource expenditure, the best outcome you can ordinarily achieve is "make everything worse".
You want to do stuff because it "makes sense for your character", and not because it gives the most points? As far as Chuubo's is concerned, those are the same thing. Just living your everyday life is framed as a kind of quest, with milestones and XP triggers and whatnot; this is a game where you might actively look for excuses to "have a conversation in a poorly lit place" or "gaze contemplatively over a large body of water" because your personal quest line awards XP for doing that.
You want a game that will let you make up whatever character you want and doesn't expect you to faff about with "classes" and "levels" and such? Not only does Chuubo's effectively have both of those things, it's so strongly opinionated about what sorts of characters are appropriate that it recommends you use pregenerated characters until you get a good feel for the milieu. One of those pregens has a character sheet that's twenty pages long – and you might assume that means most of it is just a big tedious lore dump, but it's not.
And on top of all that, it's not combat focused (because it has no formal combat system) and doesn't ask you to roll dice all the time (by dint of the technicality that it's a diceless system), so it can't readily be dismissed as "not RP forward" on any of the usual grounds. It's a slice of life game about adolescent gods attending high school. The kid who owns the titular Wish-Granting Engine can turn into a giant snake.
The only reason to actually play this game beyond novelty is if you have a supreme case of writer's block and are running behind to turn in a manuscript of an azumanga-esque 4koma chapter
Not true.
It's also a very solid choice for running Homestuck.
It is ABSOLUTELY intended to be played! It is probably even my currently favorite ttrpg, if I had to pick only one. (There's an argument to be made that some of Jenna Moran's works, such as Wisher Theurgist Fatalist a.k.a. "WTF," are more thought exercises than traditional games, but 1. people can and do play WTF; and 2. Chuubo's is very fully in the "intended to be played" category.)
In reblogging this from you, I'm kicking this post into dedicated Jenna Moran fan space, so I wouldn't be surprised to see you get additional, better answers, but I'll at least start:
Prokopetz is, I'm pretty sure, largely framing this description of CMWGE (as it's commonly abbreviated) to make a point challenging how people think about game mechanics in the first place. In practice, though, playing Chuubo's feels tremendously organic, with the greatest difference between itself and other ttrpgs I've played being that, despite not being GM-less, players have way more agency to simply declare that a thing happens because it fits with their character's story.
Indeed, all these described mechanics are a way of keeping story logic front and center with CMWGE: your character does not learn and grow through defeating enemies, and even XP from just attending a session is downplayed. Instead, narrative beats are what concern you—both big milestones and smaller ones. A strange dream or "imagine spot"; a moment where a character tries and fails to voice their feelings; the first time wielding a forbidden power—all of these can have narrative heft to them. You're encouraged to linger in quiet moments, but also to be unafraid in declaring that now is the time for your character to step up and do something incredible.
This is, likewise, why the game measures "intention" strength for actions. (And, to be clear, just like in other games you're used to, you don't need to set intentions for narratively insignificant actions any more than you'd be expected to make a dice check for them. It's just that a much broader span of actions could be narratively significant, in a game like CMWGE.) Intention, as a system, ends up highlighting two things: first, the way that characters who seem mythically powerful in one area may genuinely struggle to do things like "navigate a customer service conversation like an ordinary human"; and second, to show how hope, passion, and the wishing power of the heart can allow even "ordinary humans" to accomplish wonders.
It takes some getting used to, to be sure. But having felt what it's like to have my character's losses and (to be blunt) crashouts be truly leaned into as advancing the story productively? Having my "moss Galatea" character finish her storyline by having her two partners cut out her heart that they might collectively plant it in a forest grotto, allowing her to transcend to a kind of godhood? And it's not just allowed but actively encouraged by the narrative beats of her arc "quest"? Holy shit.
Yes, yes you can play Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine. You absolutely should play Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine.
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I threw together a little rec list for fans of Murderbot :)
This is aimed at fans of the novellas and the TV show and I tried to capture various different elements of the story and characters.
Text of slides below the cut
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Adult science fiction novella
Imagine Sherlock and Watson if Watson was a sentient, traumatized spaceship and Sherlock was a human detective investigating a murder
Faster-than-light travel, deep space unreality, mind-altering herbal teas
Spaceship POV
The spaceship really enjoys reading/watching period dramas
Vietnamese-inspired sci fi setting
No romance
One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adult science fiction novella
The grumpy last survivor of a catastrophic time war lives a solitary life…until other time travellers try to disrupt his carefully curated retirement
The main character has a pet dinosaur
Darkly funny, misanthropic narrator
If you liked Murderbot’s first-person POV in the books, you’ll probably enjoy the narrative voice of this novella
The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman
Young adult dystopian thriller set in a walled city ruled by assassin guilds
Isabel Ryans is a former child assassin and the daughter of a notorious scientist
Wanting nothing more than to live a normal life, she escapes and assumes a civilian identity…but finds her past and her assassin training harder to leave behind than she’d hoped
“Raised as weapon” character grappling with violence, morality, and friendship
Aromantic asexual main character with PTSD and severe hand scarring
No romance
The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmooor
Adult dark fantasy novella
Scythulf, a wolf shapeshifter, was raised to be nothing more than a pit fighter until he’s rescued by Brennus, a knight who offers him a new life
When Scythulf accidentally kills a corrupted nun, his only chance at redemption is to run with the Wild Hunt, a trial of blood and courage
“Raised to be a weapon” protagonist; aspec rep; strong platonic bonds
Aroace protagonist; aroace nonbinary queerplatonic partner, queernorm fantasy world
No romance
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Adult science fiction novel
A motley spaceship crew finds adventure and friendship on their voyages through the universe
Episodic storytelling and found family dynamics
Interesting alien characters and cultures
Queer characters + F/F relationship
Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura
Adult fantasy novel
Adrien Desfourneax, a disgraced physician turned professor of magic, finds himself investigating a dangerous curse while grappling with his own mental health and a dangerous ally
Gay main character with bipolar disorder; autistic-coded side character
If you love rotating TV!Gurathin in your mind, you will probably find Adrien a very interesting character
Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Young adult fantasy/dystopia
A young ghost hunter joins forces with the ghost of a supersoldier to traverse the underworld in search of the lost ghost of his partner and answers about their post-apocalyptic world
Characters shaped by ruthless dystopian worlds learning to claim their autonomy and identity
Strong M/F friendships that don’t turn into romance
Aroace-coded main character + no romance
Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie
YA science fiction novel
Hundreds of years in the future, the last survivors of the human race travel through space in a fleet of ships, searching for a new habitable planet to settle
When two girls join the order of cyborg soldiers who keep order in the fleet, they find themselves questioning their loyalties as violence brews
Explores bodily autonomy and privacy through sci fi elements
Main characters of color + ace main character
No romance
The Outside by Ada Hoffman
Adult science fiction novel
Cosmic horror x space opera
In a galaxy ruled by AI gods and their ruthless cyborg-angels, young prodigy scientist Yasira develops new technology that could change the trajectory of humanity–until her work backfires and is declared heretical
Offered her life in exchange for hunting down her vanished heretical mentor, Yasira must decide who to trust as her world’s fate hangs in the balance
Autistic lesbian main character of color
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Adult satirical science fiction novel
Ensign Andrew Dahl is excited for his new position on board the the starship Intrepid…until he begins to realize there’s a mysterious pattern of low-level ensigns like himself dramatically dying on missions…and the reason why might reshape his very understanding of reality
For the enjoyers of the TV’s take on Sanctuary Moon being a Star Trek parody
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
Adult science fiction novel
Anti-colonial space heist
Maya Hoshimoto, an art thief turned grad student, finds herself pulled into one last job to retrieve an artifact that could save an alien species–and possibly doom humanity
Alien-human friendships, explorations of sentience and consciousness
Japanese diaspora main character with chronic migraines
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
Adult science fiction inspired by classic horror stories
Demeter is a spaceship that transports humans across galaxies–except her passengers keep dying in mysterious paranormal murders
To prevent herself from being decommissioned, Demeter must track down the ultimate evil behind her passengers’ deaths: Dracula
In a near-future dystopian America, salvager Valentine runs odd jobs in the wastelands of Utah in hopes of earning enough for the gender-affirming care he desperately needs
When he encounters Osric, an AI forced into an android body, he’s offered a job that could pay him everything he needs–but at the cost of his own morals
Explores sentience and autonomy through a science fiction lense
Android/human romance
Gay, trans man main character with ADHD; gay main character
Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot
Adult science fiction novel
In a galaxy ruled by three warring rival factions, gunslinging inventor-turned-thief Rig has abandoned her former faction and is happy as a rebel–until her former faction ransoms her twin sister for what she stole from them
Alongside her librarian girlfriend, a mysterious bounty hunter, and a network of resistance contacts, Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her sister–and maybe tear down the factions for good
Rip-roaring romp of a sci fi story full of action
Alien protagonists
Lesbian main character; amputee representation
Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden
Adult science fiction novella
Scorn is a state-of-the-art AI investigator who becomes entangled in brewing corporate warfare
When Scorn wakes up one day day on the moon with no memory of zir past ten days, ze begins a hunt into zir own past that leads them to uncover far more explosive truths than ze could have expected
my friend you are off your rocker if you think this thing is even getting close to one of my ring slots I know better than to make that mistake after putting on one of your amulets and being turned into a newt for a week
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I recently learned an old French euphemism for bisexuality. It means to be powered "by sail and steam," and it absolutely comes from a specific flavor of 19th-century ship.
HMS Terror and Erebus were bisexual, you heard it here first.
I just turned to my partner naked in bed after fact checking this post and screeched “DID YOU KNOW” and he looked guilty and said “Well I thought it was one of those things a zillion people had already sent to you…” and I said “they had NOT” and he said “this is a catastrophic failure of man and nature” and I could not agree more
honestly one thing about his dark materials that never sat right is how few people can separate from their daemons. "but it hurts" people do shit that feels bad for long-term gain all the time, like exercise. "but seeing a person with no daemon is revolting & upsetting" yeah killing people is also revolting & upsetting but there are tons of people who willingly sign up for jobs where you kill people. you're telling me that people with bird daemons just... accept that their daemon can never really properly fly?? that people with fish daemons just never get more than a couple yards from the sea?? they don't try to "exercise" by stretching the bond beyond what is comfortable? "let's see if we can get to 15 feet today! if we manage that next week we can try for 16!" there are no services that will do it for you, strap you down to a chair and put your demon in a box and slowly inch the box farther and farther away? there aren't jobs that require you to get your bond stretched? i'm reading the secret commonwealth now and it's so clear how useful having a free-roaming daemon is for spy/surveillance/investigation work; how is it not standard practice for spies, detectives, career burglars to do this?
and that's not even considering the number of people who this would happen to because they were bullied or abused as a child ("oh but touching someone's daemon is taboo" yeah so is sexual assault but that doesn't stop everyone). what easier way to demonstrate power over someone than to hold a piece of their soul in your hand and pull?
the Hyatt Regency Cambridge is still standing today (funky interior intact!) and they have recently announced their intention to unionize under the banner of UNITE HERE! Local 26, the hospitality and food service union.
In 2009, Hyatt fired nearly 100 housekeepers across three of their hotels in the Boston area, prompting swift backlash from workers that ultimately ended in a one million dollar settlement from the company in 2014. When we fight, we win!!!!!
If you are visiting the Boston area and intend to stay in a hotel, please patronize unionized properties (go to local26.org for a list)! Your dollars go right back into the workers’ pockets, and the service you’ll receive in return is top notch. And if you see workers picketing the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, please come say hi and make some noise with us :D
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The seemingly-simple question "What's the largest number printed on a Magic card?" is unfortunately complicated by imprecise definitions of "largest", "number", "printed on" and "Magic card". I currently have six candidates with varying degrees of validity
kaledo-art
yousharknotpass
vaporwave
pixelskylines
