More Life With Master
Dec. 5th, 2003 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ralphmeltonI finally read My Life With Master (which I discussed here). I have not yet received my copy, but I decided that I felt ethically sound about receiving an electronic copy from a friend, since I have already paid for my own copy. I am both attracted and terrified by what I've read.
The good part is that it's really capturing my imagination. Consider this sketch:
The Master is a mad scientist who's had an encounter with faeries that no one else can see (the Outsiders), and seeks to become one himself. (Which brings out the romantic/rational conflict of the genre in spades.)
One Minion has the Less than Human trait "Cannot see humans, except when reflected in mirrors" (a slight twist on one of the examples in the book), and a Connection to the ethereally beautiful daughter of the mirror-maker, whom he's seen reflected in the mirrors of her father's shop.
Already, you can see that this campaign will have strong themes of Seen and Unseen, and is almost certain to have a scene in which the Master, brutally deformed by his transcendental surgeries, commands a minion, "Yes! Bring me her EYES!"
I am starting to creep myself out here, which is a sign of the game doing well at what it seeks to do.
The scary part is that it's very very far from the tactics-heavy roleplaying I'm used to. I'm left yearning for a lot more guidance on how to run the game and how to make it shine. It's possible that I just have a blind spot here, and no amount of text would make me feel that I really had a handle on it.
Curiously enough, this style of roleplaying is a lot like the roleplaying I did in my MUSHing days. If I try the thought experiment of running My Life With Master online, the answer is immediate: I could run My Life With Master online while standing on my head (except, of course, for the difficulties that would pose with typing). I wonder what the difference is that makes me so comfortable with the idea of running this online, and so challenged by the thought of running this face-to-face?
The good part is that it's really capturing my imagination. Consider this sketch:
The Master is a mad scientist who's had an encounter with faeries that no one else can see (the Outsiders), and seeks to become one himself. (Which brings out the romantic/rational conflict of the genre in spades.)
One Minion has the Less than Human trait "Cannot see humans, except when reflected in mirrors" (a slight twist on one of the examples in the book), and a Connection to the ethereally beautiful daughter of the mirror-maker, whom he's seen reflected in the mirrors of her father's shop.
Already, you can see that this campaign will have strong themes of Seen and Unseen, and is almost certain to have a scene in which the Master, brutally deformed by his transcendental surgeries, commands a minion, "Yes! Bring me her EYES!"
I am starting to creep myself out here, which is a sign of the game doing well at what it seeks to do.
The scary part is that it's very very far from the tactics-heavy roleplaying I'm used to. I'm left yearning for a lot more guidance on how to run the game and how to make it shine. It's possible that I just have a blind spot here, and no amount of text would make me feel that I really had a handle on it.
Curiously enough, this style of roleplaying is a lot like the roleplaying I did in my MUSHing days. If I try the thought experiment of running My Life With Master online, the answer is immediate: I could run My Life With Master online while standing on my head (except, of course, for the difficulties that would pose with typing). I wonder what the difference is that makes me so comfortable with the idea of running this online, and so challenged by the thought of running this face-to-face?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-05 12:50 pm (UTC)Maybe it's easier to type such things than to say them? I know it's "only a game," but computers provide an extra layer of detachment. You're not looking at someone's face and saying this, you're looking at a computer screen. It's just a little different somehow, or at least I think so.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-08 10:52 am (UTC)I would like to try playing this game. I'm still trying to figure out whether I can get into the mindset to do it correctly, however.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-08 11:03 am (UTC)I'd like to talk with you about how to make sure that you're not inconvenienced by some of the details I have in mind (candles and Saturday come to mind).