Do There Really Need To Be Words. Are Em Dashes Not Enough

do there really need to be words. are em dashes not enough 

the distinction between board games and TTRPGs only exists in your heart baby

i am once again asking you to watch the 2019 shakespeare in the park production of much ado about nothing

the thing is that I don’t entirely disagree with the idea that “parody should arise from a love of the genre” but the more I consider it the more I think it’s reductive. bc like. how are we defining genre? if someone who loves Fantasy in the broad sense despises sword-and-sorcery barbarian-hero types, or the concept of an “adventurer’s guild”, or stories that are about war or stories that aren’t about war or stories that rely too heavily on the assumption that monarchy is fine actually – are they not allowed to take the piss? are they not allowed to say “this is shit and I’m tired of pretending otherwise?”

I think it would be more worthwhile to say that parody should arise from engaging with the genre in good faith. if you make a parody based on a shallow or straight-up incorrect understanding of a work then yeah, obviously it will not be very funny or insightful. if you work to meet things where they are and understand why they are what they are, even if your conclusion is that they suck ass for it, you’re more likely to make something insightful. like. I don’t think Cervantes was out here writing Don Quixote and thinking the whole time “ha ha chivalric romance whips ass actually.”

REMEMBER: oh gods, this one will be a bloodbath...

MASTERPOST

We're doin some noir!! I've had this feeling for a while that Fate would be a good system for noir, because it's a system all about people who are competent in different ways, using their own resources and the tools around them to get what they want. I think to do noir in a lot of systems, you'd end up with a party of oops all detectives, and all the interesting antagonists like the fatal/e or the local corrupt business owner would have to be GM characters. Whereas here the players get to play with those archetypes, and all push-pull the story around with their own agendas. It ended up quite light-hearted and silly by noir standards, but I'm pleased with how the game supported the genre in terms of everyone's secrets and ambitions driving things!

▶️ Now playing in the Studio

Cadence Fairchild’s first big case washes up on her doorstep one rainy night in Fosshythe.

Follow us on your usual podcast app - search Merely Roleplayers or head to www.merelyroleplayers.com

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Vikki as Cadence Fairchild, baby-faced P.I.

Ellie as Cam, cinnamon roll newshound

Alexander Pankhurst as Regonald Skinner, infamous corrupt businessman

Helen as Stella Sylvester, woo-woo femme fatale

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Fate (Condensed)

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman