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--- com_online [2025/08/13 06:21] – admin
+++ com_online [2025/08/18 23:31] (current) – admin
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 ===Game Philosophy===
-This is important. It gives you some idea of what to expect from me, as well as what I am looking for in campaign players. Please read [[rpgs:philosophy | this page.]]
+This is important. It gives you some idea of what to expect from me, as well as what I am looking for in campaign players. Please read [[rpgs:philosophy | the page linked to here.]]
+===A bit about narrative RPGs===
+Narrative RPGs are fundamentally different from traditional table-top role-playing games (ttrpgs). In traditional RPGs, the mechanics of simulation are front and center.  Roleplay arises organically on a meta level.  In some (more recent) ttrpgs the story is written as part of the adventure preparation.  The players are expected to follow along a predetermined path.  In videogames, we say that the experience is "on rails." The stories arise out of how the player characters deal with those challenges.
+In narrative role-playing games there are no rails (much like old-school ttrpgs).  The player characters (PCs)are free to go anywhere and try anything, within reason.  Rather than being about tactical simulation, the rules are about the structure of a story. Which is to say the rules are descriptive, not prescriptive. The story itself is created by a combination of PC actions and rolls of the dice.
+Just like in ttrpgs, there are many different playing styles supported by the game. See the page about my [[rpgs:philosophy | Game Philosophy.]] to understand how I play such a game, and what I am expecting of the players in the games I run.
 ===Game Setting===
-<row><col 3>{{user:professork:coverimages:street.webp?200|A city street}}</col><col 6> The game is set in The City of Mist. Everyone just calls it "the city". It has no other name that anybody knows. The city is a mid-sized city by US standards (think Milwaukee or Chicago) and has an over-all midwestern feel in society and architecture.
+<row><col 3>{{user:professork:coverimages:street.webp?200|A city street}}</col><col 6> The game is set in The City of Mist. Everyone who lives there just calls it "the city". If it ever had another name, it has long since been forgotten. The city is a mid-sized city by US standards (think Milwaukee or Indianapolis) and has an over-all midwestern feel in both society and architecture.
 The city tends to be visually dreary and washed out with deep and ever-present shadows. The sort of cityscape that can make an individual feel like a meaningless cog in a giant machine. A deep fog hangs over it constantly adding a cold chill that can be felt to the bone.</col></row>
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 Occasionally, someone resists the mist long enough to see the truth, and another rift is born. </col><col 3>{{:user:professork:com:misty_street.png?200|The mist}}</col></row>
+===Characters===
+Characters are built in session 0 by the players. I recommend, but do not require, that you use the mythos and logos tropes to help guide you in character building. Doing that lets you start with some inspirational ideas before you dive into the weeds of tags.
+At this time, I do not allow Gatekeeper PCs (from Shadows and Showdowns) for reasons.
+I recommend you start with a balanced number of mythos and logos themes, but you are only required to have at least one of each.