Quick ruinedcitycrawls - and Conan on Necromunda?

For a little background for this post, go read this one at The Tears of Isstvan then this one at Hill Cantons. It's aimed at tactical roleplaying, but you can find an introductory ruleset for that here.

It's all about managing the complexity of a ruined cityscape that's occupied and prowled, and the key elements are the map, faction territories, depth, locations and activity.

                                                                                                                              

Who framed Conan le Barbare?

I found this and had a blast. I think it's worth a look for several reasons, not least given the last post and feelings about Conan. It gave me an idea too. Framing is common in cinema and literature, but less so in gaming so I've put some suggestions lower down.

Framing then. It could be used to set up a stand-alone roleplaying session or wargame, just to play with the usual format or content, or could be part of a less linear campaign, with the outcome affecting the reality doing the framing. Here's a list of possible forms.

1. dream - the obvious one; you could make the game rulebendingly weird, or add references to the framing reality, maybe as symbols, or foreshadowing events
2. fantasy - this is more interesting; if it's a simple fantasy of superiority, maybe the fantasising character or a faction gets a reroll per turn, or the GM fudges
3. flashback - another obvious one, also suitable for those references to the world outside the frame and maybe providing information, although the individual experiencing the flashback would presumably have to survive it; then again, it could be more the Cold Lazarus kind, or the mind could have been uploaded
4. psychoanalysis - this could be interesting, and could be used to play up an aspect of the game or a character's life, while the free association idea could see the action jumping around, in a wargame maybe as mini scenarios or multiple tables; re the aspect, as a contrast to the fantasy, the game could focus on a failure, or comedy of errors, with the character being forced to reroll, although the need for survival might suit a game less about danger and more about status say 
5. regression - this might work well later in a campaign, to develop a character by revealing early life, maybe a repressed memory, or even a past incarnation...
6. cross examination - this could work on the subjectivity of truth, by having each player able to rewind or blow-up a detail of the action to show how it really was
7. interview - it might be best to understand this for practical purposes as some blend of a cross examination, fantasy and psychoanalysis, depending on the self-importance of the subject and the nature of the interviewee and audience
8. reality media - if this is more The Truman Show, the NPCs or other players could be in on it, actively working with the GM, or able to manipulate events in a wargame (the fundamentals deck could work for this); if it's a Big Brother-style show, the other characters or individual squads in the force could be playing to the audience, represented by something as simple as testing a score to keep order in a wargame, or a set of criteria to meet to make it big in the framing world

But if all of that seems just too serious, well then I do have to ask: "What is best in life?"

_

Barbarian and phoenix

A quick thought on cinema, and adaptation of books. Reading one or two reviews of the latest Conan, I was struck by the way so many of us hope movies will be true to the source material.

I'd guess a factor in the degree to which a movie is faithful is the readership of the book and the audience expected for the movie. A movie for general release is a product, maybe primarily a product, maybe even only a product for some.

If it has to sell, it can't upset too many people; minorities call the shots less often of course. So maybe we should read more? But then books are also products - maybe privacy gives a sense of ownership, obscures faults?

Gaming could well belong to us already too. So how long until we own the movies?

_