#non-violent

"Karoline Leavitt can kiss my ass." ~JO

Trump Weird News - Ice Cream Shop Ices ICE's "Vice" Visits

I think it's incredibly important that kids experience a wide range of challenges in TTRPGs.

THEME: Non-Combat, Heroic Fantasy

Hello there, so I’m going to include games in this recommendation that may not be explicitly for two players, but can be conceivably be run with one player and one GM. This is because a number of duet games are built to provide roles for the players that don’t slot easily into the “GM” and “Player” role. I hope you find something that fits both of your goals!

GROK?!, by Lester Burton.

GROK?! is an adventure role-playing game where you assume the role of an adventurer in a gonzo world of boundless plausibility and use your ingenuity and resourcefulness to overcome strange and perilous threats.

Planet Grok was once a haven for trans-dimensional migrants and a bastion of advanced technomancy, until a cataclysm rendered it a desolate hollow planet. Now, feral monstrosities haunt its chasms, cities float among the clouds, and a derelict space station encapsulates the planet and bathes the world in perpetual phosphorescent radiation. Yet, a new era of enlightenment is dawning. Civilizations grow from the ashes, relics of immense power await those who would learn their lost secrets, and threats of caste warfare loom as leaders vie for power. All the while, a creeping black nothingness peers up through the hollow of the world.

This is a game heavily inspired by a lot of heavyweight games that exist in the ttrpg scene, such as Cortex Prime, Savage Worlds, Numenera… the list goes on. The creator describes a “universal resolution” system that is also “fail forward.” This means that you use the same resolution mechanic for every action your character takes, and instances where you fail still move the story forward. I won’t say that it prioritizes other methods before combat, but it certainly looks like you can play it that way. Aesthetically it’s a bit more science-fantasy, but the digital copy is only a dollar, and the Quickstart is free to download on the Itch.io page, so it might be worth checking out.

A One In A Million Chance At Adventure, by Jocher Symbolic Systems.

This is a game where you play the roles of, often unwilling, sometimes zealous, pawns in the cosmic octarine coloured narrative. Your character is not necessarily a "hero" per se, instead one could possibly see it as being important to the story. Characters like yourself do have a knack for not dying as often as a common mortal (or undead if that has been your unfortune). With this follows that you'll naturally have a higher chance of actually, possibly, doing some heroic deeds, just by sheer mathematical logic. Unless, of course, you are the type of adventurer who'd prefer a cup of hot tea and soft slippers and a reliable day job. That does severely reduce the odds of let's say beheading a mythical beast of ill repute or befriending the immodest wood nymphs of Howondaland.

This is a game designed for two or more players, one picking up a GM role and the rest acting as players. It’s a loving tribute to the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, and is therefore free! It is a setting that provides a tongue-in-cheeck reference to classic fantasy, and uses a 2d10 system to follow your character’s humorous attempts at becoming an adventure, and all of the one-in-a-million outcomes that make their stories interesting.

I like that this game uses narrative points to give your character a chance to do something really cool in situations where they don’t have a realistic chance of success. I also appreciate the de-centring of violence in that there are no health points or systems in place to keep track of physical harm. This doesn’t mean that conflict is impossible - it just means that it has to be figured out collaboratively between the players and the GM. What there is a great deal of focus on, is magic, with some really interesting effects that could pop up whenever you cast a spell.

This game is cheeky and knows exactly what it’s trying to emulate, and if you’re familiar in any way with Discworld, I think you should check it out.

Mausritter, by Losing Games.

Take up the sword and don the whiskers of a brave mouse adventurer in Mausritter, the rules-light fantasy adventure roleplaying game.

It’s a huge and dangerous world out there, and it does not look kindly on a small mouse. But if you are very brave and very clever and just a bit lucky, you might be able to survive. And if you survive long enough, you might even become a hero amongst mice.

Mausritter is, at its heart, an OSR game, and while many OSR games are pretty dark in tone, one thing that they excel at is providing characters with situations in which violence can’t be the answer. The costs of trying to fight something as a mouse are just too high - cats and owls and other large creatures are dangerous endeavours that only large large groups of mice have a chance at defeating. So for a two-player game, you’re going to understand narratively the necessity of using your wits. This game gives you a setting that makes it possible to have a game that mirrors more closely some themes in epic fantasy as well, including a magic system with spells that can give characters an even bigger toolbox when it comes to solving problems.

The Weaver’s Observatory, by Gem Room Games.

The Weaver’s Observatory is a two player dramatic fantasy adventure about an explorer seeking to change their destiny by asking a boon of Fate herself. Set in an ancient tower outside time, the Climber shares memories of their life as they cross a moat of living dye, ascend through the threads of discarded fates, and navigate the mechanisms that construct the fate of all living things without knowing if their request is even possible.

While this game doesn’t explicitly call the two roles within it GM and PC, it was designed for Tunnel Goons, which does use those sorts of roles. In The Weaver’s Observatory, one person is a solitary explorer, climbing a tower to request a boon from Fate. The other is Fate itself, representing the tower and the few inhabitants that reside within. The solitary Climber will encounter puzzles, hazards and guards that they will have to solve, avoid, and reason with - so I don’t see much of combat set within either the style of gameplay or the structure of the adventure.

Climate Activists Disrupt Boston Rush Hour Traffic

On Thursday September 21, more than 35 climate activists from XR Boston shut down traffic around the financial district to demand that the Healey administration ban new fossil fuel infrastructure. Three independently moving groups of XR rebels marched slowly around the intersections of Atlantic Ave and Seaport Blvd., Atlantic Ave. and Summer St., and Purchase St. and Summer St. creating traffic gridlock. The activists communicated that they would refuse to end their traffic disruption unless the Governor made a public statement committing her administration to opposing all new fossil fuel infrastructure projects, including the expansion of airports and gas connections in new buildings.

The activists wore blue shirts with yellow illustrations of the Earth accompanied by slogans "I rebel for..." followed by personalized messages (my kids, a livable future, etc.). They held large banners reading "No New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure" and chanted "Governor Healey, you make the rules, time to ban new fossil fuels," "Massachusetts, don't delay, ban new fossil fuels today."

When asked why he chose to participate in non-violent civil disobedience, Monty Neill, an event organizer and one of the arrested climate activists, replied "My grandchildren are facing a world of climate and ecological collapse, with social crises inevitably following. How bad it will be depends on what we do today. An easy first step in Massachusetts is to halt fossil fuel expansion. Leaders must lead, not see what lobbyists say or fear to ‘spend their political capital.’ Governor Healey and the legislature must act now, no more delays."

Jana Pickard-Richardson, another activist with XR Boston, added "I’m risking arrest today out of love and rage. Love for the millions upon millions who stand to lose their homes, and even their lives in this worsening climate crisis. And rage at the politicians who have wasted decades with incremental actions and business as usual. And now as the signs of the crisis unfold around us, our government still is not acting with the urgency the situation demands."

Over 20 activists were arrested after blocking rush hour traffic for almost 30 minutes. In an August meeting with XR Boston, Climate Chief Hoffer admitted Massachusetts won't make its legally binding target to reduce emissions 50% by 2030, per the 2021 Act Creating A Next-Generation Roadmap for MA Climate Policy. She promised that the Healey administration would release a statement shortly. There has been no statement. We are escalating. Our lives depend on it.

#JakeReviewsItch

Arigatou, Ningen-san!

by Michelle Ma

Price (US): Name your own price

Included In: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality

Genre: Visual Novel

Pitch: Walk through town finding and petting funny animals. A short, bilingual picture book.

My expectations: Looks super cute. I don't see a single written word in any of the screenshots, and its style is completely unlike any other visual novel I've reviewed so far. I'm feeling good about this.