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Aberrant: Aberrant PBP Games


Jordan

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No offense guys but Aberrant is over 10 years old and it's age shows; horribly. Mechanically speaking there is very little that can't be reproduced in other games and fluff-wise the setting is so full of holes and inconsistencies that and ST is going to have to do some heavy work just to get the setting to make sense (and be relevant again).

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Seriously If you guys are that desperate for an Aberrant game why don't one of you either run one or cop the setting to a better system?

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Jordan - It can still be fun romp, though, and I think that's what people are missing: a somewhat darker but still four-color superpowers game. Changing the bulk of the setting or the system does significantly change the flavor of play. Using the setting and another system (even if it's a better system) isn't going to really feel​ like an Aberrant game, at least to me.

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That is a fair opinion even if I don't totally agree with it. One of my suggestions was for one of them to take the initiative and run aberrant themselves instead of just bemoaning the fact that no one is running it.

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Also I'm not really advocating changing the bulk of the setting, but an ST really does need to go through it and figure out what works for him and what doesn't. They also need to figure out answers to the inevitable stuff that crops up around the less well thought out portions of the canon (and there is a lot of that).

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That is a fair opinion even if I don't totally agree with it. One of my suggestions was for one of them to take the initiative and run aberrant themselves instead of just bemoaning the fact that no one is running it.

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Also I'm not really advocating changing the bulk of the setting, but an ST really does need to go through it and figure out what works for him and what doesn't. They also need to figure out answers to the inevitable stuff that crops up around the less well thought out portions of the canon (and there is a lot of that).

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This is a fair question, except that PLAYING is the whole damn point. I just got finished running an Aberrant home game, what I want: is to PLAY. I've been a GM/ST/DM for years but I can count on two hands the number of times I've been able to just freaking PLAY something I wanted instead of running it. It's more than a little excruciating.

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Surely this has happened to you as well?

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What Mala said. If you change either the rules or the setting it won't *feel* the same. Sure I could port my favorite abbie characters into another system but they would lose something. However the revised storyteller rules that Aberrant uses *do* lend themselves well to other settings with their inherent flexibility and toolbox style definitions. The archived game Theomachy (originally from EONOnline) was a great example of an adaptation.

Round Robin ST set ups usually fail for the same reason the so called open world games usually peter out. Games need a strong central vision to have longevity. Similarly the best tv shows also have a singular showrunner or a duo: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Community, etc...

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Then strap up and offer to run it because if one isn't running now it's likely no one going to start just because you guys want it. I'm betting you'll have to wait until the reboot to see much interest.

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@Jordan: Ok, I get it....you're not into Aberrant anymore. That's fine. Some of us still are. I still play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, D6 Star Wars, and 3rd Edition Shadowrun.

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As for "strapping up" as you say, frankly, some people make good STs. I am not one of those people. Playing one character is one thing...being responsible for a universe, and plots and such? That is another thing. Never been good at running games, in part because I don't have the time/mental resources to do so. On the other hand, my favorite DnD DM, as well as my former housemate *only* DM. They get their kicks behind the screen, and do it fulltime (in the case of the latter earning money from it!).

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Usually when I have a game concept (for I am excellent at the bigger picture world-building stuff), I'll go recruit a DM, and usually other players. Had to go through 5 DMs who kept abandoning the game before I found one for my Dark Sun idea. However, those forums have WAY more people on them. This is a much smaller and rather more tight knit corner of the web. I'm an old-school veteran and former mod of the now defunct EON Online (EurOpNet) which was absorbed by NPrime! when it's membership attrition became too much. Gamers move on I guess. Frankly the fact that Chosen has kept the lights burning bright around here is amazing, and I'm glad that all my old adventures and characters are still archived here.

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honestly i wasn't trying to cause a debate about wether people think its outdated or a great game or what not. i personally just stumbled across this website a while back when i was looking for info related to aberrant and decided to see if there was even a game running let alone one that had room. personally the round robin idea isnt a bad one however i do agree that those style games have a tendancy to fall apart rather quickly. as for stepping up and running the game i'd rather not at this point and time since i was personally trying to step away from st'n in the first place since IRL i am the st for all my groups white wolf games and personally i tired of st'n i just want to sit back at the moment and be a player.

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on another note ive personally tried out dang near every other super hero rpg on the market and am not a personal fan of the system. i personally think that white wolf had decent product with the system that they had created for aberrant and personally have enjoyed the plots.

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now im not against the cannon being thrown out as long as the rule set is still in place but then one would have to do just as much work to write up a new world with a functioning history and current events and organizations, unless one is using an already existing world (ex. the marvel universe). it just seems to me that the amount of work that one would have to do to fix the cannon would either be more or less.

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plus if aberrant is dead as it has basically been said then why have so much aberrant related material available upon the website. for this is very misleading for anyone looking to possibly join a game that they enjoy IRL and are trying to expand upon there player base.

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honestly i wasn't trying to cause a debate about wether people think its outdated or a great game or what not. i personally just stumbled across this website a while back when i was looking for info related to aberrant and decided to see if there was even a game running let alone one that had room. personally the round robin idea isnt a bad one however i do agree that those style games have a tendancy to fall apart rather quickly. as for stepping up and running the game i'd rather not at this point and time since i was personally trying to step away from st'n in the first place since IRL i am the st for all my groups white wolf games and personally i tired of st'n i just want to sit back at the moment and be a player.

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on another note ive personally tried out dang near every other super hero rpg on the market and am not a personal fan of the system. i personally think that white wolf had decent product with the system that they had created for aberrant and personally have enjoyed the plots.

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now im not against the cannon being thrown out as long as the rule set is still in place but then one would have to do just as much work to write up a new world with a functioning history and current events and organizations, unless one is using an already existing world (ex. the marvel universe). it just seems to me that the amount of work that one would have to do to fix the cannon would either be more or less.

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plus if aberrant is dead as it has basically been said then why have so much aberrant related material available upon the website. for this is very misleading for anyone looking to possibly join a game that they enjoy IRL and are trying to expand upon there player base.

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We still have an Aberrant game pop up in the boards - Razor's Edge was just one example of a recent game. It's just way less common than it used to be as more and more of the hardcore Aberrant players moved to other systems or have stopped coming here. Honestly, I'd set your account up to receive an alert for posts in the New Game Recruitment folder and wait. Someone will run one again, even if it is the OP's release. We'd love to have you around and play with us, but I totally understand waiting for that right game. :) Our IE game would allow you to make an Abby character and interact with the people there, but there's no ST and it's pretty much driven by the players. Since there are only a few right now, you might not get much action there either.

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And if you'd like to join us in chat and just get to know us while waiting for the game you want to show up, we'd like that too.

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thank you dawn for i wasn't trying to start an argument at all. in fact all i was doing was just looking for a game. i've actually looked over several different websites pertaining to aberrant and this one seemed to be the most readily active site. plus on a personal note while some of you have a distaste for the aberrant system i personally have a distaste in all d-20 systems. so with that i can understand right where some of you i coming from, however it was not nor was this my intent to try and start any kind of problems with anyone. so with that i will apologize for unintentionally being the cause.

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No worries. Some of us can get a little fervent in our loves/hates. I almost posted a comment about my feelings on Aberrant and OP's upcoming release, but I realized that this wasn't the place for it. I get that we all want to make sure that our opinions are known because we want to know who shares them.

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If you need help setting up that alert, let us know. And feel free to come to chat to talk to us. :)

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could be fun, however i couldn't really say considering the last pbp forum i was on ran everything that way for the most part. they had 2 set st's but the entire story was collaborative, and while everything started off well i ended up leaving due to my character being stuck for like 2 weeks because i was apparently responsible for handling the npc i was dealing with and my character at the same time. i personally felt that handling said st was not my job since it was not my story and it was the job of either of the st's. which started a fight so i left. personally i deal with the fighting in games that are being run IRL and am not really looking for that here. i personally just want to play a character for a change and be the running the game. but they if theres not one available then its a moot point and oh well. in the end id be willing to give IE a shot.

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just no one ask me to join an NWOD game i utterly Despise & Loath that system with a passion.

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btw how do i set up that alert

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I know lots of people who hate the generic setting of NWOD but not so much the system itself.

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Well... here is my question then, new guys and Sky... can you handle collaborative style play? Still overarching rules and perhaps a rotating ST per thread, but otherwise everyone has a say in the story as well?

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I've only played in a "collaborative" Scion game, but quickly that setup fell to me being the only ST. I've never collaborated in STing a PbP game. I'm actually still pretty new to the PbP concept.

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about NWOD its the setting and the changes in the rule set just cant stand it. i've been a WOD player since 1999 and pretty much have run in or have run every version of the WOD universe and the NWOD edition. my group and i gave it a chance just like we have every other system that has come out and been brought to our table, but NWOD and 4th ed D&D were ones we metaphorically speaking threw away and were never to be touched again.

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Yeah as I was trying to say earlier, "collaborative" games typically either end due to lack of focus and guidance, or one person gets stuck in the ST role and either embraces or resents it.

If someone wants to ST a game, then commit to it. "Collaborative" just strikes me as a euphamism for "I don't really want to ST."

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To be fair, STing is a lot of work for someone, particularly on a PbP game. You're doing most of the writing, the planning, etc. It can be very rewarding but it's also draining. Burn out can occur easier as the game is drawn out over longer time and everything - all scenes/combats - tend to go on for longer. So when an ST gets a chance to share that burden with several, it's a little rough to get told that they don't really want to ST. They're already STing. They're already doing a lot of work. They want a break from it.

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I know that it sucks for players who want a game that isn't being run but it's unfair for those players to complain when ST's don't jump up and run a game. It's really hard work and unless you've done it, you really don't get how much work it is.

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I wasn't saying it isn't "hard work" (and I use parentheses, because ideally it's fun for the person). I know how much time and effort it takes...which is why I don't do it. I don't have the time, and even if I did, I suck at the nuances of plot. I'm more of a big picture person. I get inspirations for games, sometimes dabble in world-building, but I'm not so good at the personal level of detail to actually navigate those worlds.

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But really, I have a DnD Dm right now who *only* DMs...because that is what is fun for him to do. In his own words it is his creative outlet and relaxation.

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I wasn't suggesting that anyone share the burden...in fact I am suggesting the opposite out of practical experience. It takes a strong guiding vision and drive to run a game for any length of time, and I don't find that shared open world settings, or a collaborative are either very satisfying (to me personally) or successful (observed).

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I don't think anyone should do anything they aren't totally into, though it does miff me when people start games and gather players only to abandon them before the game even starts, or shortly thereafter. I'd say to be a good ST/DM your life should be stable. If you are stressed, having work, relationship, or financial woes, or you use gaming as an escape, then best to not try and start up a game. SO many times I've seen STs just quit because they didn't have their RL ducks in enough of a row to take on a storytelling commitment. Similarly, if you feel you "need a break from it" then again, you probably shouldn't be running the game. Storytelling should be a labor of love.

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Of course the opposite is often just as true...you see fine, stable, inspired DMs get a game going only to watch it peter out when players lose interest, hit RL troubles, or simply vanish.

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PbP is hard, though I've found getting regular email addresses/Skype handles works wonders for being able to ping people and check in when they are absent from forums for awhile.

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Jordan, Sky, Rebecca: the next time you guys want to argue, please take it to PMs. You've made Morkoll feel like he started shit which he did not and that's not a comfortable feeling. Also - and I don't know why I have to say this - it makes the community as a whole look bad when a guy rolls up and says, "Yo, gotta game for me?" and we say "No. Hey, person over here, you suck." These posts can be read by the next guy looking to start a game, and he may decide to avoid the landmine that Morkoll stepped into and not even bother to join. It makes us look really unfriendly, when most of us are very welcoming to new people.

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Morkoll - on behalf of the community, I apologize. Most of the time, we try to chill out and have a good time, but tempers do flare. I'm sorry you got caught in it.

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And yeah - love the avie. :D

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MOVING ON. :D

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Clearly, people want an Aberrant game here, and not a collaborative effort. That's cool, I'm all for more games. The issue is the ST. We had one community member step up only to have real life swallow him. I know that if there were someone up to the task here, they'd step up and try. I know that I can't do it - my life is way too insane right now to allow for that.

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So what are our options?

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1. Find an ST on another board. That's not a bad idea, but poaching STs from another site feels icky to me. How would we feel if someone came to us and said, "I see you run Aberrant games but I want you to run them over here at a site you have no loyalty to?" I'd not want to see that happen here and in good conscience couldn't advocate someone doing it for us.

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2. Find an ST without a site who wants players. This actually has merit and is less icky than the option above. Sky, you offered to recruit: how about you post ads on sites that allow those kind of advertisements for an ST? I'm not talking about going to other gaming sites and asking unless they have a policy about being open to recruitment for other sites (do we have a policy here? I don't remember one). It will limit the range of sites we can use but is less questionable ethically.

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You'll probably need a couple more players: we have Morkoll and yourself wanting an Aberrant game, and if the concept is interesting enough, you might pick up a few spares from this site. But you might want to put out an all-call for two or three players (depending on the desires of the ST for game size, of course) rather than count on the players here.

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Sky, you don't have to run, but I think you're going to have to do some work to get what you want here. Good luck. :)

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Most of the work comes from persistence I have found. And it's corollary patience. 2 is probably not viable, because finding PbPers almost by definition means you find them on the web, on a gaming site. As for 1...like I said I can find someone on the Playground or Mythweavers...but they are probably 100% likely to want to host it where I find them. In rare occasions I have found DMs on the Playground willing to come and rescue games abandoned by DMs on Mythweavers...though that is a slightly easier sell because most of us DnD players host our character sheets on Mythweavers even if we game mostly on the Playground (I use both, as well as Plothook).

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Would be cool to get a game going here though...I can try (and all of those sites are at-will...no one is going to accuse anyone of "poaching" a DM, since people can play and run games wherever they please; there's not competition).

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Yeah...this place can be a bit of a mine-field, something I wish I would have known coming in. Mostly it's fine, but some people here don't get along. Some people have also mellowed out considerably over the years. I think a lot of the active users here also have stressful lives, and come here to escape, which is good, but when people get too wrapped up in the fantasy world, and an argument happens, then they take it even worse because they wanted to relax.

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But yeah, if you have leads on a game, please keep me in mind, and I will do the same for you,

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And please, try not to let the haters here poison you against me (I've seen it happen all too often). Despite what they might tell you happened over 5 years ago, I'm actually a capital fellow, and have been enjoying grand PbP adventures on 4 other sites quite successfully for the last 8 years.

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