The RPPR AP podcast site is now up

[Salkovich]

I feel the need to mention that Eclipse Phase, in spite of being murky at times, is a far more interesting setting than Wild Talents. Superheroes are dumb fun, but EP brings some up seriously thought-provoking questions about transhumanism, gender identity, and the meaning of consciousness even with some internet yahoos playing it.

so i ain't just dumb, yall

Agreed. The superheros are a lot of fun and the game style makes those sessions go quickly. That said, with the way Ross runs games, single length WT episodes are fine because it doesn't leave a cliff-hanger in the middle of the scenario. The EP games ought to be double-length so they can be cohesive.

[clockworkjoe]

I feel the need to mention that Eclipse Phase, in spite of being murky at times, is a far more interesting setting than Wild Talents. Superheroes are dumb fun, but EP brings some up seriously thought-provoking questions about transhumanism, gender identity, and the meaning of consciousness even with some internet yahoos playing it.

so i ain't just dumb, yall

 

[Z]

I feel the need to mention that Eclipse Phase, in spite of being murky at times, is a far more interesting setting than Wild Talents. Superheroes are dumb fun, but EP brings some up seriously thought-provoking questions about transhumanism, gender identity, and the meaning of consciousness even with some internet yahoos playing it.

so i ain't just dumb, yall

 

Muhammad Ghost Macabre

[SimonLucid]

Superheroes are widely accept (nowadays) while Transhumanism and other such subjects covered by Eclipse Phase are rarely known to the populous. Superheroes are just easier to get if you are coming from Average Joe on the street. It's difficult to explain Transhumanism to some people, trust me I've had people get confused with Dystopian stuff let alone having to explaining some of the Transhuman concepts.

[Salkovich]

Superheroes are widely accept (nowadays) while Transhumanism and other such subjects covered by Eclipse Phase are rarely known to the populous. Superheroes are just easier to get if you are coming from Average Joe on the street. It's difficult to explain Transhumanism to some people, trust me I've had people get confused with Dystopian stuff let alone having to explaining some of the Transhuman concepts.

It's not the concepts. It's the simple fact that so many different things are possible to happen in an Eclipse Phase game. If you miss the crucial sentence where the PC says he's hacking into the mesh and all of a sudden you're listening to an Alice in Wonderland nightmare romp, it's a little confusing.

These games just require some more focus.

[Shallazar]

Are there some facts to backup shorter episodes equal increased attention span?

Two three hour episodes seems about as easy to understand as one six hour episode.

And sometimes one episode just doesn't do it. I need the dosage to be upped.

OR A RANSOM FOR DIVINE FIRE so we can get some APs up in herr before xmas. I think this would please everyone. Or just post all the games with Tom in them and no others ever.

(My sister made the tea so all blame for this verbose post is on her head.)

[Salkovich]

Are there some facts to backup shorter episodes equal increased attention span?

Two three hour episodes seems about as easy to understand as one six hour episode.

And sometimes one episode just doesn't do it. I need the dosage to be upped.

OR A RANSOM FOR DIVINE FIRE so we can get some APs up in herr before xmas. I think this would please everyone. Or just post all the games with Tom in them and no others ever.

(My sister made the tea so all blame for this verbose post is on her head.)

I'm not sayin' the shorter episodes equal increased attention span, I'm saying that Ross-run WT games are MUCH more likely to be a contained adventure in a single-length episode, whereas a Caleb-run game usually spans several sessions, thus a double-length episode is required.

WT is also not so chock full of abstractions as Eclipse Phase can be.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Yep, I'd say we've learned well by this point Caleb is nearly incapable of running a game that lasts only a single session. I think Wage of Sin is the only thing he's done that didn't run over.

I consider that a positive quality. Makes scheduling more difficult I imagine.

[Dom]

Don't forget Think Before Asking. It was pretty long, clocking at 4:18, but it was a single session. It did a pretty complete picture, and nicely tied up most ends.

I agree that Caleb running two sessions isn't a bad thing since they turn out pretty epic, but I would say that his mental timeframe for the sessions is about 4 hours, while most of the RPPR crew sees a normal session running for 2 and a half or three hours. Again, not a bad thing since it lets Caleb prepare even more for the next session while keeping some of the unused content of the session.

[Salkovich]

Don't forget Think Before Asking. It was pretty long, clocking at 4:18, but it was a single session. It did a pretty complete picture, and nicely tied up most ends.

I agree that Caleb running two sessions isn't a bad thing since they turn out pretty epic, but I would say that his mental timeframe for the sessions is about 4 hours, while most of the RPPR crew sees a normal session running for 2 and a half or three hours. Again, not a bad thing since it lets Caleb prepare even more for the next session while keeping some of the unused content of the session.

A point, but Think Before Asking involved only two PCs. Things get done a lot faster when there's that few players.

And I agree about your second point. It'll be interesting to see how that lays out in a campaign.

[Tadanori Oyama]

I wasn't sure about where Think Before Asking fit into the situation since it was a pre-made adventure rather than one Caleb created on his own.

It does lend credit to the idea that two PCs makes for a faster game since Think Before Asking and Wages of Sin where both only two players.

[Salkovich]

I wasn't sure about where Think Before Asking fit into the situation since it was a pre-made adventure rather than one Caleb created on his own.

It does lend credit to the idea that two PCs makes for a faster game since Think Before Asking and Wages of Sin where both only two players.

From what I can tell, Caleb's adventures run long because he has fully-realized personalities for every single NPC he creates. His games are a lot more roleplaying-intensive as a result, and so take longer.

When Ross runs games, they're like great television. Self-contained but episodic, with a balance between character development and plot, with pacing as tight as can possibly be.

When Caleb runs games, they're like a great novel. In-depth characters, highly detailed world-building, plot that involves layers of motivations and machinations, with a climactic pacing.

Both are awesome, just different.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Fittingly enough one makes sense for a media director and the other makes sense for an English major.

[clockworkjoe]

It's a genre thing too - Caleb pretty much only runs mysteries. I run a variety of genres but favor action/sand box style games.

[Dom]

So, are we getting a new episode of the Heroes of New Arcadia today?