Don't let your idea of what is "good for the industry" get in the way of actually, y'know, writing a reveiw. I couldn't really get much information about the game from reading this, which is too bad.
Besides, this is an industry with high-class tasteful products like H.O.L. and kill puppies for satan in it -- both of which I like, by the way. So I'm not really sure what the fuss is about.
Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
Personally, I thought the hobby was more vital when everyone thought we were dressing up in black robes and committing unspeakable acts with funny shaped dice.
One of my frustrations with more recent gaming groups is that everything has to be homogenized and politically correct.
In my experience, this results in play that glorifies cartoonish violence and macho wish-fulfillment along a narrow path of predictable and pre-approved masculine themes, while crippling the hobby's capability to explore any premise that holds real meaning in our daily life.
As a result, you'll find groups that blindly commit theft and genocide in D&D while being unable to play Ron Edwards' Sorcerer because they find the premise "too disturbing".
Maybe we could use a few more black robes...
Scott
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I basically agree with everything said about the mechanics and playability. I also agree with the assertions on the author's conduct.
As far as setting the industry back 20 years, that may be a bit too drastic. The newest copy of the FATAL PDF I've seen is from 2004, and to my way of thinking has even more moral atrocities within it's pages.
It was expected that a game like Empire of Satanis would come out sooner or later, as all settings get equal opportunity in game designer's thinking processes.
Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
OK, that's fine. But what about the game? Most of this review seemed to focus not on the game itself but on the fact that the reviewer took grevious offense at the basic premise of the game, and that it apparently did not take an approach that the reviewer believed was politically correct. I read the reviews on RPG.net to see if I might want to purchase a game. If I wanted to read half-formed opinions about games and Satanism...well there are, I'm sure, a multitude of blogs that would serve the same purpose.
To think that the existence of an obscure PDF file will set the gaming industry back 20 years is laughable. The people who once pointed to Dungeons & Dragons as evidence of Satanism in youth culture have long, LONG ago abandoned that idea to hunt for much more useful and expedient targets (like gays, liberals, and anyone who lives in Hollywood). To them, and to the culture at large, D&D is barely a blip on the radar. They don't waste time attacking RPGs anymore, and the ones that do have very minor influence at best on the course of national dialogue. The public perception of D&D and gaming has come a long way since Rona Jaffe's "Reefer Madness" parables, and most see gamers no longer as closet Satanists but just geeks.
Now if you'd be so kind as to tell me more about this game you were supposed to review?
Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnysugar
OK, that's fine. But what about the game? Most of this review seemed to focus not on the game itself but on the fact that the reviewer took grevious offense at the basic premise of the game, and that it apparently did not take an approach that the reviewer believed was politically correct.
Did you read the same review?
He talks about the poor organization and the limited nature of the concept (pure evil being just as stifling as pure good.) And the generic nature of the system, as well.
Disliking the game has nothing to do with being "PC". Kindly put that strawman away.
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Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scripty
Personally, I thought the hobby was more vital when everyone thought we were dressing up in black robes and committing unspeakable acts with funny shaped dice.
One of my frustrations with more recent gaming groups is that everything has to be homogenized and politically correct.
In my experience, this results in play that glorifies cartoonish violence and macho wish-fulfillment along a narrow path of predictable and pre-approved masculine themes, while crippling the hobby's capability to explore any premise that holds real meaning in our daily life.
As a result, you'll find groups that blindly commit theft and genocide in D&D while being unable to play Ron Edwards' Sorcerer because they find the premise "too disturbing".
Maybe we could use a few more black robes...
Scott
Don't misunderstand me, I don't have a problem with dark themes or even games that are politically incorrect. but cartoonish vioolence, and macho wish fulfilment seem to be part of this kind of game. It's an RPG with little or no real group mentality and just as willing to ramrod a player into committing "unspeakable acts" as any rpg has ramrodded players into doing good. in the end it feels less like a game of personal choice and more like a game of childish munchkinsim.
Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
While the game's premise leaves me largely cold, I too remain unconvinced by the reviewer. The game might be very bad (and there's a high probability it is), but the reviewer neglected to argue any of his points. In what way is the system generic? In what way is being evil stiffling within this game?
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Re: [RPG]: Empire of Satanis, reviewed by Jamie Herbert (2/1)
hey all,
the infamous magician, Darrick Dishaw, is here...
i noticed this tremendous surge of hits and sales in Empire of Satanis... ( it's for sale as a book as well as the pdf available at: http://www.CultofCthulhu.net ) ...and decided to check rpg.net on the off chance that another favorable review had come in. low and behold, there was a review! yay! although not favorable, it still gets people thinking about the game.
i fully admit that the layout is amateurish. However, EoS is more original, in its way, than many games out there. there are some rpg staples like d6's, cool weapons, etc., but there are other concepts too like Story Alteration, Hideous Paradise, the Dark Way, the many different types of magic, Color Spheres of Influence, the names and descriptions of unique races... i've played a lot of games with dumb sounding names for races. so i don't think the Kurur-esh, Vahs-vra, Zirakean, Vihm, Guoa-asht, or Lurigeatro are all that derivative.
Empire of Satanis is an evil game about evil creatures, so if you don't want to play a game with naked lusts and desires, don't play it. i've seen GMs offer Players incredible amounts of freedom which they eagerly lapped up, reveling in the lattitude which EoS gives them.
i'm a satanist (that's my religous choice), so i created a game that spoke to me. no one else has to like, let alone play, my game.
p.s. there's new EoS content going up on the website any day now. a free pdf about the sexual politics in K'thana and a 25 page adventure written by a fan called House of Flesh.
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