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| The Oracle at Delphi |
The so-called “Golden Mean”—as a philosophical concept, mind you—dates back literally thousands of years to the days of Aristotle and
Plato. Supposedly, as one entered the
revered Oracle of Delphi, two sayings were inscribed on the doorway: on the way in, “Know thyself”; on the way
out, “All Things in Moderation”. And,
sure as anything, gaming tends to take a page from greater themes in life and
in philosophy in general.
On its most basic level, balance must be achieved in terms
of theme—even in the most dire of horror games like Call of Cthulhu or Kult,
moments of success, lightness, and even humor must break up the oppressive
atmosphere. Even in a light-hearted or
humorous game like Paranoia or ICONS has to come with degree of threat,
else the players have no reason to actually play. Role-players role-play to have fun, but also
to tell a unique, collaborative story.
If there’s no story, the game loses focus and falls apart. If there’s no fun, well…what’s the point?
I’m going to avoid going on another “Wizards of the Coast
has it wrong” rant, but I will cite another of Rodney Thompson's editorials, this
time as a grand step in maintaining balance in design. Here, Thompson expounds upon the
ratio that the 5e/D&D Next team intends to hold up in their coming
rules-set. Essentially, they’re shooting
for a 1:1:1 split between exploration, role-playing, and combat. While I think that that ratio can work well
for D&D, it’s obviously not a sure-fire ratio for every game—just try having that much combat in a Call of Cthulhu campaign and see how long
your investigators survive!
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| General Treister: The inspiration for our Admiral Birmingham |
Our weekly Deadlands game,
in many ways, has walked both venues of this treacherous balance for the
duration of the game. Interestingly
enough, I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve become such a fan of the
setting: while nominally a horror
setting, it’s one where the players can achieve real victory against the forces
of darkness; while full of ‘wacky’ mad scientists and hexslinging hucksters,
Western genre tropes are played straight to the hilt. In our sessions, we regularly drift directly
from the high action of steam-wagon chase scenes and gunfights, to creeping
investigative horror, to outright comedy—just ask ChaoticFrederick and Chris II
about Confederate Admiral Birmingham’s waffle iron!
Without that variety, without those alternated scenes, our
game just wouldn’t be the same. And,
fittingly enough, Deadlands (and the Savage Worlds rules behind it) provides ample
opportunity for flexibility in this regard.
Players are able to pick the skills, the edges, and the powers that
provide them the most “awesome” for their XP.
And, that’s really the way it should be.
As I’ve mentioned in some of my prior design previews for Cold Steel Wardens, I’ve spent a good
deal of my original design work establishing a degree of parallelism in my
first draft. Physical and Mental Strain
run on parallel tracks—literally on opposite edges of the character sheet—and
contribute equally to a burgeoning Hero’s well-being. Skills are broken up into five categories of
five Skills each, making them easy to manipulate and remember. Those Skills have a nearly even distribution
of linked Vitals, ensuring that no “dump stat” arises and that every choice—every
XP spent and every choice made—matters.
But what about theme?
Surely, Cold Steel Wardens
would suffer in this regard, as the game itself revolves around the
rain-spattered dystopia of Iron Age comics?
Well, yes and no. While
maintaining mood is going to be of great import for any would-be Warden, the
comfort and enjoyment of the table must always remain paramount.
As for maintaining that Golden Mean? Well, it seems I’ve already come across an
answer for that…
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| Pendulum Theory! |
While Pendulum Theory isn’t going to be part and parcel with
Cold Steel Wardens, it’s a near and
dear thing to carry over the innovations of The
Pendulum Method into running a solid session of Cold Steel Wardens.
Stay tuned, friends and neighbors! Grand things are in store!
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