Dan and I have been working together in different ways for many years, friends first, then collaborators on art projects, a graphic novel, and now TTRPGs. We have a mutual trust and understanding, and it’s the most natural thing in the world to form a co-op, an organisation built on working together for the benefit of all. We’ll go into the structure and reasons for the co-op more in future, but I thought I’d start off with a short example of my thoughts on TTRPGs and my writing process.
I’ve been going over our latest project, ECO MOFOS!!, thinking about how to build it from the small scrappy game that it started as through to something that represented some of my ideas on what a TTRPG should be. Yochai Gal’s Cairn has always been a touchstone, but I cut out the section on Principles initially, thinking that the people who picked up ECO MOFOS!! through Itch.io would probably be familiar with the play-style anyway, and would want to get straight into creating characters and playing the game.
But as this thing has grown (80 pages at the last count) it felt more necessary to lay out some first principles, to create a foundation for the culture of play that runs through the game. So I sat down to create my own version of Yochai’s elegant summery, and in the process realised quite how powerful this kind of text can be to help foster a shared set of ideas for the table, a common culture.
So here’s what I come up with:
Principles
Overview
ECO MOFOS!! is a weirdhope future world of wonder and horror.
GM and Player Punks
The Guide and Moderator (GM) is there to portray the situations, NPCs (non-player characters), rules and narrative clearly, while acting as a neutral moderator. From situations, either devised or generated through play procedures, stories of wonder and resistance will emerge.
Fiction First
This is a game of talking, describing and reacting to situations in a weird future. Dice are there to help create the world, through randomness and tables, and act as a chaotic element when risk is unavoidable or the situation needs change.
Principles
The GM and the Punks each have guidelines that help foster a play experience defined by critical thinking, exploration, and an emergent narrative.
Be like water
A Punk’s role is not limited by their Adaptations. Punks are agents of change and are liable to change themselves in the process. Imagination and ingenuity finds a way.
Death
Punks may be awesome, but they are also fragile, vulnerable to mental and physical harm. Death is always a possibility, but it is never random or without warning.
Growth
Punks are changed through Adaptations and the crazy loot they can salvage, but are always looking for their haven, their Glade. Seek out Key Items so that Adaptations can occur, and Hermits so that a Glade can be found.
Punk’s Choice
GMs provide Punks with as much information as possible so they can use their smarts and their guile. Risks should be clear, with a bunch of options on the table. Every choice matters.
Shared Objectives
Punks are chaos, but players need to trust each other to embrace the shared setting, character goals, and party challenges. The Punks are normally working together towards a common goal, a team.