Post by Heikki Toivonen on Mar 20, 2005 1:21:44 GMT -5
When playing this rpg, keep the following things in mind.
1. In this rpg, there is no such thing as absolute good or evil. There are people who do bad things, but every character is required to have depth and purpose. And for "bad" actions, there should be some motivation, such as mental illness, socio economic status, or the belief that these "bad" actions are a means to some greater good.
2. There is fantasy on a very limited basis. However, OFFICIALLY there are no supernatural forces, and anything that seems to be fantasy should be taken as a metaphor or not looked at as a serious aspect of the world.
This means that OFFICIALLY there are no God, angels, demons, miracles, ghosts, spirits, high beings, etc. to guide or help characters. Characters can still be religious, but you should keep in mind that if there are highter forces they are not blatantly obvious or open to interpretation. This can be a little confusing. Just think of this as like our world today. Some people may believe in ghosts, angels, or vampires, some people may even claim to be vampires, but that doesn't mean they exist. You may play as a fantasy character as long as you realize that most people won't believe you.
3. This rpg takes place in a time when capitalism is near its end. It is a time similar to today, but it is not today. This means events may occur which you disagree with or don't think are realistic. For instance, it seems unlikely today that France and the United States would go to war over anything or that Germany would pull out of the EU, but these are things that are possible in this world. It is based off of reality, but allows for some imagination about the course of world events.
4. This rpg comes from a socialist perspective. I admit this is not a perspective that most of you share. We are open to new ideas and a variety of characters. However there are some things that are simply given in this rpg by virtue that it is run by socialists. The main thing is that this is supposed to represent the final years of capitalism, or the death agony of capitalism. In this rpg, the death of capitalism is a given. Revolution is a given.
5. The goal of this rpg is to be unlike other rpgs. It is supposed to be intellectually challenging. The goal of this rpg is to teach something that applies to the real world. I come across many rpgs where you learn elven languages or all about some made up anime world, but the goal of this rpg is to foster growth and real world knowledge. Playing this game you will learn more about politics, terrorism, other places in the world, and UN, and so on.
