Hello there! I am considering an idea of a new RP – this one sex-based political one. Basically, the players take on roles of corrupt politicians in a middle-sized town. For a public, they are people with a certain image they forged... in reality, they are all corrupt politicians. The previous government fell due to corruption and affairs, and now, it’s their turn in the unstable new alliance. Now, the new members of government, have to do everything that is in their power to gain more power, riches, support and influence – all the while, discrediting their opponents. At the same time, the politicians will of course include into their vices. Character creation would include political party (liberals, conservatives, greens, communists, nationalists, etc.) program and electoral promises (more police, removing refugees, building new roads, etc.), choose their support base (fishermen, teachers, police, lesbians, etc.), relations with other parties and politicians (enemies, friends, allies, past betrayals), sins of the past (slept with the professor to have better grades, took part in a gang-bang that included refugees. Etc.), history... The game would include creating plots, fulfilling electoral promises (or not), creating crises to remove attention from their mistakes, dealing with crises, making deals with various groups and political parties... and lots of sex that would include all of those. For now – just thinking about it.
In my it may be interesting but not in modern settings. Some fantasy,/historical/science fiction or something like that yes, but modern politics isn't for me.
Hmm... doing it in a historical setting, well, I will probably not be doing that one with this setting. You had any particular era in mind? A fantasy setting would probably be somewhat hilarious, (orge or goblin serving as a speaker of the house - screaming order, while breaking table with a mace) I am mostly inclined to sci-fi setting, from those you offered. Including some aliens, space elves, maybe Orks, etc.
I like the modern day political setting, but I think real life political ideologies shouldn't be included. Better to keep ideology vague, imo.
Yeah, it's not a bad idea, but... if I want present-day corrupt polititians I just have to watch the news...
So, only rightist leftist and centre? Or only names of the parties and what they stand for? In that case, the sci-fi setting or fantasy setting would be better. Huh... maybe fantasy setting with a touch of Terry Pratchet? ... No, I lack that kind of imagination and insanity... Only with a far lesser amount of sex affairs So, either Sci-fi or Fantasy setting?
I'd be interested. Maybe a Cyberpunk setting? 1980s style? Edit: or 2040-2050? Could throw other races into the mix too if you wanted. Not dissimilar from Shadowrun.
Honestly, once the word "politics" is added to literally anything, everyone who joins is asking for trouble, just speaking from experience.
I mean...I kind of dislike the idea of having to play one that's innately corrupt or the like. I'd have to think about it a bit.
Certainly not modern settings just feels like a fire ready to be lit . But i could see a fantasy or a sci-fi /cyberpunk setting
So, to sum up, the general feeling is that modern politics is a big no-no. Furthermore - the established ideologies is a touchy subject... so it should be dropped... The corrupt element of the politician is also a problem for some. ... Hmm... that's more difficult than I thought. So, the setting needs to be changed. The possible settings would include sci-fi, cyberpunk, steampunk... maybe alternative 1930s. I would prefer a 'civilised' setting, so I am not really eager for a Fantasy or historical setting. A new set of ideologies would need to be set... like Asari-centrist, anti-technology, Goblin-superiority, to establish cross-race-breeding laws etc... I actually would have to sit on this and think of a few... As for corruption - well in some cases it might be a new politician (player's character) dealing with the corrupt establishment and having to play their game to do anything - how would they deal with it? The things would just be easier for corrupt (pragmatic) politicians.
One of the very first things I learned taking Political Science courses in college was: "Politics = Conflict Resolution". Governments have a finite number of resources to satisfy an infinite number of wants; as such, it's all about prioritization. Everybody wants something, but you don't have the ability to give everyone everything. You have to pick and choose. This naturally generates conflict and drama. A prime setting for a story or game. Which is why I'm excited to play! Modern politics have a number of sensitive issues that I expect players don't really want to touch. ex/ racism, sexism, homophobia (ist-ah-phobes). We'd rather they be non-issues. That is to say a world like Star Trek where people have moved beyond petty and inconsequential differences. (Although obviously not Star Trek in nature; conflict there is typically allegorical with "the other" standing in for modern society.) A couple of things with this. First, in my experience there is so much confusion about "What is a (insert political ideology)?" that unless you've taken a political science course and learned what each of the ideologies believe and why they believe them; even if you think you do you probably don't. Modern mainstream and (especially) social media have thrown so much mud that even the mention of (insert political ideology) generates disdain, rejection, and even outright hatred. Which adds to why people don't want to do a "modern" game. I think this is more to do with being "forced" to play a corrupt politician. As you well know, players like freedom of choice rather than being pigeonholed into a specific roll. Thankfully this one can be easily fixed. Keep the "town" itself corrupt or as you said in your last post "pragmatic". That way if players want to play an "honest politician" the story becomes: What happens to an honest person in a corrupt town? Again this leads to conflict and drama! For me these ideas are spot-on perfect! I would say you don't have to completely eliminate current political ideologies, just reduce them to their fundamentals. Social Conscience vs. Personal Liberty. The former believes that each person has a responsibility to the society "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy, while the latter believes the government should only provide a framework for governmental interaction and leave everything else to private citizens.
Honestly, I feel it's wrong to compare modern politics to fantasy ones. It's wrong to paint orcs and elves as examples of minorities. They do that in Ready Player One where the orcs are supposed to be this metaphor for black people....which doesn't really work at all. In order to accept they are somehow an example of minorities, kind of requires you to believe that black people are like orcs. Which means you have to think of what the author is actually saying then. Are you saying that black people are stupid and naturally prone to violence? Because that's way, way, worse than any pretense or message of tolerance the author was trying to preach. X-men, cyborgs, demons and what have you are not good metaphors for minorities. To take X-men's whole allegory of homosexuals in it's universe, sort of requires that in that case, homosexuals actually are a danger to society, and there is an actual terrorist group of homosexuals plotting world domination. It....sounds a little ridiculous, doesn't? Gay people. lesbian people, trans, are all just still regular people. To give them superpowers where they could easily kill someone by blinking really defeats the purpose of trying to paint them the same as everyone else. I have yet to develop any gay laser vision. I have yet to see the lesbian couple in the apartment across from me walk through walls or rob banks with their superpowers. Because they're ultimately regular people who aren't a danger to anyone any more than a normal person can be. That's why I hate things like people saying things like "Oh, wow, Superman is feeling alone for being able to break planets in half! Just like me!" The metaphor doesn't really work. And hell, given how many times superman turns evil which is just about constantly, it's more surprising people just let it go and anyone who is sort of wary of him is always treated as in the wrong and the bad guy. Comic books, fantasy creatures, and alien species that populate themselves by brain parasites, really cannot be held in the same light or viewpoints we can with our own species in the real world. The morality does not apply in the same way and it's honestly, really dumb, when people want to treat mistrusting vampires who literally drain people's blood as the same as not trusting someone based on their skin. The metaphor. Does. Not. Work.
@Auraicide I understand and partly agree with what you've said. Except for one thing. This I would argue is subjective. It may not work for you, but that doesn't mean the metaphor doesn't work. For example: I don't associate the X-Men with homosexuality. I associate them with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Charles Xavier I find is clearly a parallel for Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while Magneto is a parallel for Malcolm X. The two represent alternate viewpoints of how to deal with racial tension in society. One wanted to work peacefully and co-operate with the majority towards building an integrated, and diverse society that was accepting and respectful of all peoples; while the other argued for complete segregation and forming a nation independent of its parent, further, that if faced with persecution and violence people should respond in kind. The fantastical elements ie: superpowers, aliens, and time-travel can be completely removed and the core of the subject matter remains the same. While that too is subjective; for me: the metaphor. Does. Work.
Not that I want to defend Ernest Cline or anything, but I think you might be thinking of Netflix's Bright? Ready Player One just had one black character who's avatar was an orc?
It's covered more in his books, namely the sequel Ready Player Two(Haven't read it? Don't, it's terrible. For many, many, other reasons than this.) He does essentially this whole diatrabe relating to Lord of the Rings of how the orcs are dark skinned and all the good guys are white......which again, in order to equate orcs to minorities requires more than just having different skin tones. It requires parallels that you'd actually believe. Orcs are full on not a good example of minorities. They do not represent anything. The closest would be barabrian culture which if you seriously want to equate to minorities in modern day society......that really says more about you than the thing you think you're criticizing. To try and equate to them to any particular group of humans is only going to make the author, look much, much, worse.
Ah, it's so nice to see such a developed discussion on this subject So many political subjects... yeah, maybe cutting those off and switching the RP to a new setting will be for the best. You do realise, that Star Trek portray an idealistic (near-)Communist society (with most of the said society, inactive)? That aside, these problems are also what define today's politics and social problems. Removing them would leave the RP much... poorer. And I am not talking about the players having those vices, but the society... The solution would be crafting new problems and society... so, I think Sci-Fi setting with a new crafted world would be the safest bet. {Winces} ... Yeah, I did a mistake with narrowing the character creation too much. Basically, it means I will need to construct a rather detailed environment, for players to start up. The current Idea is that the setting will be about an off-world colony on some planet. I will need to create geography, the natives (and relations with them) and environment, history of the colony - including its home country, history with other species, city's geography and local structures, businesses and economy, military forces, major social groups, corporate interest... That will be a looottt of work. Hmm... we might also throw away the ideologies altogether... or degrade them to propaganda level. That's why, I plan on crafting new politics, instead of simply copy and paste. The politics are the mirror of history, environment, problems and social structure. That's why they are regional - that's why, democracy will probably not work in some... other areas of the globe, while at the same time, it's unlikely for Nazis to return to power in Europe. But that is probably a talk for another thread in the general section. Really? They did that? I could disagree or agree with that. It depends. If there are a couple of dozens of Orcs and elves in human town, I disagree. Orcs and Elves are the minorities. If there are a couple of dozens of Humans in Elven/Orc town, I agree. Orcs and Elves are not the minorities. Yes, it sounds ridiculous. It's what they are, not what their political views are. But! Switch 'homosexual' with 'Communist' - people would believe it... they did during the cold war... and some people did not differentiate between homosexuals, communists and Jews... (ironic, considering the Homosexuals and Jews were the victims). It might be ridiculous... but being a politician does not necessarily mean doing the intelligent thing. Just look at Brexit - a disaster, yet many people still support it. Why? Because politicians were able to sell an idiotic/catastrophic idea as the best thing for the nation. And people still believe it. There are shortages of petrol and food reported, and people still support Brexit. Because Brexit was a good sell.
Yes, Cline did that. This thread isn't about his books, but that is a whole plot point in ready player two. Spoiler alert. The book for many other reasons aside from that, really, really, sucks. It can basically be described as just a fake fan, referencing popular media to try and show you how cool he is for knowing what things are. Spoiler Aside from that, I think a way to help with designing political systems and characters would be for them to have both positive and negative attributes, to present them as less just...how to say...comically super evil to the point it just gets a little dumb? Like....maybe Barbarian tribes while they expect all citizens at a certain age to apply to war, they are largely indifferent to gender or nobility politics provided they prove themselves to be a good enough fighter in action. An order of monks that uses drugs as part of the course to find enlightenment though with strict controls on their use. Demons trying to prove they are separate from underworld clans and not an innately destructive force, though very elitist and caste based. I'm not saying you have to use any of those things. Those are just examples of how someone may make a fantasy group that can't really be held in comparison to modern day political groups.
Thanks for the ideas - and nice new avatar. The one about monks made me laugh. I think it would be not out of character for Terry Pratchett to use it. But I get what you are trying to say - no evil for the sake of evil.
Working on history... Just so you know what kind of a mess the politics might be Welcome, to 'Sanctum Mesa' Spoiler: history History: 1. Foundation and Establishment Date: 701.1.5 …with the fall of Cetrilon Star Dynasty, chaos ensued and many new states came to be. Following of series of local conflicts that are called ‘The First Inheritor War’ the situation stabilized and new states were mostly established. The Skador Dictatoriat was one of the most powerful of successor states. The state was controlled by a military junta, which propagated human-centric policies. Dusk Moon was a lush earth-type planet. It was not colonized to this point by Cetrilon Star Dynasty for three reasons. First, because of it’s hostile fauna, made colonization was too troublesome. Second, it was a world bordering with the Asari Republic and the thirtieths between dynasty and republic forbade the colonization of the planet. There was also a question of the local Elven tribes. Peaceful natives who were considered the owners of the planet. Their fragmented society was not as developed as Cetrilon Star Dynasty and they were isolationists. But the tribes were willing to trade. Non of this was a problem for Skador Dictatoriat. Following repressions against former enemies and political opponents, a penal colony on Dusk Moon was created. Soon, the command of the Dictatoriat found the local natives an easy victim. Entire villages were kidnapped overnight. The Elves were enslaved and spread among the Skador Dictatoriat’s worlds. With the development of the slave trade, the penal colony was changed into a slave town – Sanctum Mesa. It became a hub for the slave trade in the sector. With the Asari Republic protests, a military base was build in the city. With the larger military presence, the slavers made even bolder raids onto the local populace. Soon, the majority of Elves were captured... 2. War Date: 724.11.24 Not being able to stabilize the internal situation and with the poor economy, the Skador Dictatoriat decided to seek a solution to its problems outside. It started a series of wars against the inheritor states of the Cetrilon Star Dynasty. It was to both, get their resources and divert its population’ attention from local problems. What was supposed to be a series of locals of raids developed into Second Inheritor’s war, when Skador Dictatoriat’s 4th fleet was annihilated. The Dictatoriat could not allow such an affront to go unanswered. Soon Skador Dictatoriat’s and it’s puppet states - The Coalition of Stabilization declared war on the rest of the Inheritor’s states - The Accord of Preservation. With the eruption of conflict, it was decided to move some of the military factories far away from the borders. Sanctum Mesa was one of the beneficiaries of this policy. Personal weapons factories and corvette factories were built in the city. After a couple of years of brutal war, the ‘Free Elven Movement’ made its first terrorist attack. In the following months, many more attacks shook the Sanctum Mesa – culminating in the ‘Blue Friday Slave Rebellion’ - a short but brutal slave rebellion. After the suppression of the rebellion, the Dictatoriat accused the Asari Republics – that sold rebels the weapons – of interfering in their internal affairs. The tensions started on the borders between the two states. 3. Fall and reestablishment Date: 728.9.31 The Dictatoriat’s 39th Recon Fleet exchanged fired with Asari’s 12th Escort Fleet. The incident was entirely accidental and started a war, that neither of the two states wanted. Dictatoriat’s forces were tied in conflict with the Accord, the Republics had an economic recession due to internal corruption and it’s government was unstable. Nevertheless, Asari’s military was ready for action. Asari’s 4th and 15th fleets attacked and occupied Sanctum Mesa, freeing it’s slaves. Date: 729.3.1 Attacked on multiple fronts, experiencing multiple rebellions and coups, Skador Dictatoriat collapsed. The Accord of Preservation and Asari Republics started a lengthy peace conference. The Dictatoriat’s government was in chaos, It took them a few months to even to send a proper diplomatic party. When the peace finally came, the Dictatoriat was all but dismantled. It’s core worlds were heavily fined. Its territories were either divided between its successor states or annexed by the winners. By the insistence of Asari Republics, the Sanctum Mesa was made a new independent state. The intention of Asari Republic was for it to serve as a buffer state… So came to be the first Republic of Sanctum Mesa. Date: 736.7.29 Six years after the peace, the Republic of Sanctum Mesa faced internal turbulence. The peace have left the Republic broken socially and economically. The government in charge has failed miserably to solve the problems of the young Republic. After four years of ruling, the party in power fell apart into a number of smaller parties, all fighting for power. The next two years were pure chaos, which ended with early elections. Now, the political situation is shuffled again, as the new politicians enter the stage... is made so far. Might change few things, or rework the entire setting later... After that, there will be a setting of the modern political situation...
