Purdue Games

Welcome. This homepage and the pages linked to it are maintained by professork in support of his 2024 City of Mist games.

The online City of Mist game will start as one-shots (which typically take 2 sessions.)

The one-shots are open to anybody and beginners are welcome. I will be recruiting for the campaign game based on what I see in these “auditions.” When we have a full body of players for the campaign, it will take over and the one shots will be discontinued. In the event that a seat opens up again in the campaign group, I will be reopening the one-shots until that(those) seat(s) are filled.

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 this page.

• Actor Stance Play. My play-style in RPGs is heavily actor-stance, which means players should try to approach that game like a method-actor playing their character. This isn't a hard as it might sound. We all did it as children playing games where we imagined ourselves as someone else, somewhere else. And you don't have to be great at it as long as you are sincerely trying.

• Mature themes and actions My games are not the place for you to work out your personal power issues. You will NEVER be the strongest thing out there, so watch where you step. We also may touch on adult topics in game. To make sure no one is left feeling uncomfortable at the table there are a number of safety rules I use which will be gone over whenever a new player or players enter the game.

• High IC/OOC walls As players you will likely know more than your characters. I expect you to keep such meta information out of your play. It doesn't mean we don't sometimes discuss things before we play them (see Being Considerate below.) It does however mean seldomly sharing information about your character's background emotional life, and so on with other players. Any sharing should grow out of the natural process of 2 PCs getting to know one another. Dumping that stuff on them IC, just isn't good method acting. Very few people lead off a relationship by dumping all their personal crap on someone else. Those that do, need more counseling then the receiver is in a place to give.

• Strong descriptive abilities Its not enough just to feel your character's feelings, to be part of the story you need to do something about them. *DON'T* try to tell us what is in your character's head (see above about IC/OOC) but *do* describe its effects on your character. What are the externally visible clues? I find it helps to first have the reaction, and then mentally pause to swing the camera around and ask “how do I imagine this looks/sounds.” Something as simple as “Cassandra shifts her weight uneasily and frowns” can create more interesting situations and character growth then a 10 minute soliloquy.

• Game spaces are no politics, no argument zones Politics are what I say they are and if you start to wax political, I will stop you. You get one warning. Bring it up again and you will be uninvited from the game. I really shouldn't have to tell an adult what an argument is, but if you have any doubts, here are some warning signs:

Right now there are people out there who desperately want to debate the merits of AI assisted art. That will not happen here. In general I will not put up with *any* proselytization at my games or in my game spaces. As an artist, with an MFA to prove it. I have my own feelings about this topic. If you are curious you can read them here. But I will not debate or even discuss them in this setting. Nor will I put up with others doing so.

• There is no 'game story.' In any game I run or play in, there are N interlocked stories where N is the number of player characters (PCs). Each PC is the main character of their own story and a supporting character in every other PCs story. I expect players to strive to do both well. There are things to investigate and discover in my games, battles that can be won or lost, but the story is up to you, the players. Tap into your character and tell us what they want to do based on their needs, wishes and goals.

• My games are totally cooperative I expect PCs to be as cooperative as then can with other PCs. I expect players to be cooperative with the other players. Opposed motivations are not allowed *unless* all the parties effected agree to them.

• Character Growth Above all I am looking for interesting, flawed characters who have a lot of room to grow personally. Change is good. Change is interesting if it is well motivated.

• Being considerate Respect your fellow players, their characters and the world they find themselves in. Seek to be a positive force in all three. When I run or play roleplaying games they are non-competitive. Any player who shows lack of equal consideration for others as themselves, as either a player or a character, I will ask to leave. Some of the points above really, in the end, all come down to this.