Take the Driver's Seat

There has been a good bit of discussion triggered by ChicagoWiz's recent post about the OSR needing to do more than retread old material. I wanted to weigh in with some words of my own.

There has been a sordid history between RPGs and the settings they use. There have been licensing issues out the wazoo. Sometimes it is difficult to adapt a setting to RPG gameplay. There was much speculation lately about Star Wars and who would develop the RPG license. Some properties like Serenity/Firefly were only partially developed and have so much untapped potential it makes one cry.

What is one to do?

One of the reasons I have for making my own material is because it solidified my ability to write supplemental material. I don't have to be enslaved to some IP.

Often settings are actually not designed very well for RPG play. They may be designed only for cinematic storytelling and lack the support infrastructure. RPG play is best conducted where there are "dungeons" to explore. And creating dungeons in settings like Star Wars can be a challenge.

In Cascade Failure, I am building the infrastructure into the setting to support rpg play with beloved elements like light sabers, battlemechs, and so on. Yes, RPGs exist for those elements in their native setting. However, they lack dungeons and other elements to really catapult rpg play forward.

Sometimes, we get so attached to IP that we discount our own abilities to work around them. Perhaps the best way to enjoy battlemechs is NOT with the official Battletech IP, but using your own rules to use them with a more generic system. Or Star Wars. Or Serenty/Firefly. Or whatever floats your boat.

So get out there and write it yourself. You will enjoy it more!

Forget about Blackmoor and EPT. They don't hold a candle to our collective creativity.