Politics

For all of us residents of Fort River, last season was rough -- almost all physical, with one major fight after another. First it was the Brotherhood, then the even more ruthless Anti-kids. There were some very major battle scenarios. A lot of people did a lot of stretching to make sure these scenes came off as realistically as possible. (Well, as realistic as it can be for a bunch of 21st Century players trying to create scenes we can't possibly have experienced!)

Anyway, we're trying to make the current Season-3 different. We've had enough of "Big Bads" and big battles. So ... what are our options?

The most obvious one, a place we haven't gone yet, is politics. Think "The Tribe" Season-2 and Danni's crusade to have a bill of rights and a list of crimes-and-punishments that all the city tribes agreed to and signed off on.

This is an area KTDARPG hasn't explored. I'm thinking we're due to head in that direction. Fort River is facing riots & an upsurge of anarchy. There is no control, but there is a desire for a future that's better than what we've had so far. We've just published a "Declaration of Independence." Now what do we do with it?

My fellow players may be a bit skeptical, but bear with me. It's through politics that people have a basis to interact with each other. Yes, there are rules & structures & forms. Whether you're talking interpersonal politics or the kind where you give someone representative power over you ... the rules are pretty much the same. As are the outcomes. For KTDARPG, this can mean:

• You develop new ways for characters to relate to each other.
• You create new situations & learn more about the game-world.
• You allow for a different kind of character growth that can be very revealing.
• You find out who you can trust ... and who you can't.
• You find out how good you are at judging other characters as well as other players.
• The maneuvering is much sneakier -- about as far from physical fighting as you can get!

As our players struggle for alternatives to the blood-n-guts we're tired of, don't be surprised if the view of Fort River & our characters gets more and more personal. Time to find out just exactly who some of the new characters are. Also time to gauge how our old friends have changed. We've loved and lost and grown up a bit (well, some of us have). I'm looking forward to seeing how these changes are reflected in-game, and to the new drama that grows as we get more personal with each other.

-Chyna
Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"