Kitchen Sink Settings - RIFTS

I have never played in a kitchen sink setting before, much less played in a game that uses a kitchen sink kind of rules set, so I didn't really know of the term until just recently.

But, the guys at RPG Circus continue to be a fantastic source of information around the web. They semi-frequently bring up the totally crazy game/setting RIFTS by Palladium Books. i have never had the chance to play this game, much less even pick up the book ( though I recognize the cover from my game shop days).

From the way this game sounds, I think it would be a LOT of fun to play a game like this. I really enjoy the blending of settings, styles, tropes, etc., and RIFTS sounds like it is a great mix of mecha, fantasy, and all other kinds of great gaming fun.

The other thing I realized is that I am trying to build a kitchen sink setting myself. I want to mix lots of different genres together, if for no other reason than being able to have the same characters jump between game styles and types of play every few months when we get tired of playing in a certain style. If all these different game elements are all contained within the same world, it makes it easy to keep track of characters and leveling and allow the same characters to have an extremely varied experience.

If you were to play a game like RIFTS using a game rules set like we see in 4e, would it be an enjoyable experience for you? Would you like that style of play? Interested parties await your response.

Going Beyond Super Fantasy - Hyper Fantasy ??

This post is sort of a follow-up to the post I made a couple of days ago about Super Fantasy, which was a post inspired by the guys over at RPG Circus.

So, what I am curious about is if there is something that goes beyond Super Fantasy, or if we can pretty much call anything that is in a fantasy setting, but which goes beyond having, just a little fantasy, as "Super Fantasy"? This topic interests me for a couple of reasons: first, I guess the obvious thing is why we label these things at all (though I guess I understand the answer to this question), but the second reason, what is the end-all of super fantasy?

If we postulate (ooo big Matrix 2 words) that Super Fantasy is defined by seeing things that would typically be very rare in a standard fantasy world on a much more regular basis, to the point that these things that would be rare become accepted parts of daily life (a.k.a. the Dragonborn at a bar), at what point does even the Super Fantasy idea get surpassed?

The reason I bring this up is for a couple of reasons. The setting I am working on now would at least be considered a Super Fantasy setting; there are beastfolk running about wielding steam powered Gatling guns, and Tiefling Samurai in Power Armor. This is at least a Super Fantasy setting, but does it go even beyond that? If you take things like Steam Punk or Cyber Punk and put them into a Fantasy world, does that Fantasy world become something very different? Is there a different kind of label we put these type of games and settings under? Is this Hyper Fantasy? what?

I would be inclined to say, NO. I don't really want to keep this labeling process going further than it already has been taken. I would be inclined to label anything in a Fantasy setting that takes what would normally be considered rare and makes it day-to-day as Super Fantasy, so, I guess my setting would be considered Super Fantasy as well.

Fantasy vs. Super Fantasy Comparison and Preferences

As I had mentioned in a few of my earlier posts, I have been really loving the RPG Circus podcasts recently. They provide a plethora of interesting discussion on gaming. And, yet again, in one of their early podcasts, I would like to go back in time to do some discussion about the difference between Fantasy and Super Fantasy, especially as I see it in the 4e published WotC material.

Unfortunately, I don't have a link for this one, and I forget which podcast they discussed this topic in (it isn't written in their show notes), but I would think it is around the 5-8 range of Season 1.

The topic they touched on, very briefly, was the fantasy vs. super fantasy campaign. Standard Fantasy, by their definition, is what you would get in a more historically realistic world (as I see it). Although their are monsters and demons walking about, you don't see them in your day to day dealings. In the Super Fantasy world, things are, well, pretty wild. Skyships are common, magic is everywhere, and it would not be uncommon to sit next to a half-dragon at a bar sipping on a brewsky.

The majority of the folks at RPG Circus mentioned that they prefer to game in the standard Fantasy setting. This is a preference for sure. I guess, I would fall into the other category. I really prefer games that are Super Fantastic. I don't know if it something that comes with being a fairly young gamer (yes, I am fairly young when compared to the rest of the community on the RPG Bloggers network), or maybe it is just something that varies from person to person. Either way, I really prefer gaming in worlds that are totally different than the one in which I live in on a day to day basis.

If you look at the published material that WotC is putting out for 4e DnD, it would certainly seem like they are moving in a more Super Fantasy direction. Eberron, it would definitely seem, is a Super Fantasy setting. Dark Sun, although going back to more of a Conan style world, is also seeming to move into a more Super Fantasy direction, especially with WotC putting out rules for Dragonborn in the setting.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing either. In my opinion, it takes a lot of work to put together a Super Fantasy world that actually holds together and doesn't fall apart (this is what I am afraid my setting is going to do). Putting together a more classic fantasy setting, I would think, is a bit easier to manage. However, this could be a very blatant error in judgement.

Which do you prefer? Fantasy or Super Fantasy?

Shadow of the Colossus - esq BIG CREATURES @RPG Circus

I have really bean enjoying RPG Circus over the last few days. One of the coolest things they talked about, which I have always wanted to do myself (and hopefully will be doing in my current setting) is the creation of BIG CREATURES that are actually really, really big.

In season 1 Episode 3 of RPG Circus, they talk about drawing inspiration from things you see in the world. One of the examples they gave of this was creating monsters that mimic those of Shadow of the Colossus for D&D 4e. These creatures aren't something that can easily be slain, but rather, are something that the players can climb around, attack, and also try to bring down via a variety of skill challenges.

If you remember, I brought up the 12 Great Beasts of the World in one of my previous posts regarding my current homebrew campaign. I wanted to make these 12 Great Beasts modeled after the 12 Animals of the Zodiac, but also have them be totally twisted and extremely large in size. Bringinng one of these beasts might be an adventure all of its own. An extremely dangerous adventure, but one which could be extremely fun and world changing for the players.

I guess all I really have to say is that good stuff is good stuff. If you look at a game like Shadow of the Colossus, you really can't help but want to have something like that in your role playing game.