FANTASY AND FASCISM
By Alex Ness
February 25, 2025
MID WINTER GAMES TO ENJOY
I have fond memories of snow days. Not because I am freakishly a fan of shoveling for days. In one later time, my wife had an unplanned 5 day extended weekend, between fun adults have, we also were able to devote time to enjoying some Super Mario marathons. But in high school I was able to experience some great gaming, when snow struck, since my friends who lived more rural would go to school, but it would be canceled just prior to their arrival. Working their way to my home, they'd show up and we'd have a weather caused impromptu gaming session. It would be longer period of time devoted to RPGing. Or other fun games but even more so, we had time to engage without an upper level time limit, since we'd have shoveled and nothing more was needed.
(Click to enlarge images)TO USE REAL WORLD SOURCE MATERIAL IN YOUR RPG PLAY
There are people who mock ttRPG players, the games, and the efforts made. But what people do not understand who live outside the games, is that aside from magic and such, the conflicts and problem solving found in RPGs are normal if also unusual. The games allow people to realize an agency in life, able to act without the barriers found in real life.
I didn't follow my life interests of history and international relations to enhance my RPG games. Both of those enhanced the settings I used, my life as a writer, my goals in understanding the world outside of my own. But my games have a distinctive flavor, due to what I've researched, read dozens of books about, and watched in the form of documentaries and various news oriented stories of the adding unto the existing archaeological records.
This isn't meant to make it seem like I am a genius or know more than others. I have friends who have more knowledge without researching than myself, who spent years trying to learn. But I do mean to say, RPGs might not be the highest aspiration of mankind, but they aren't, overall, silly, juvenile, or meaningless. They come from knowledge of the real world. And a game master's ability is only made better with knowledge.
I received many emails to my gmail and received many inboxes over at my Facebook page about my recent adjustment to include more RPGs, as well as music. It isn't more difficult, but takes more time to focus on more subjects. There are ways to improve one's game, whatever the game. There are and have been excellent magazines collecting ideas, game event reminiscence and creating community. The same can be said for products that feature collections of specific kinds of game aids meant to deepen ones experience. Scenarios of adventures take the form of works meant to be short immediate boosts, perhaps offered when the DM has not had time to prepare, or, as in the case of the Primal order, the ideas within present a depth that can only otherwise be achieved with research beyond the normal measure. There are game aids meant to be a supplement to enhance record keeping, and there are new RPGs that offer new outlooks at how gaming might be done if the particular game group might be better served.
A CANCELED RACIST
M.A.R. Barker taught university levels courses in history, anthropological studies, and religious studies courses. He was a highly skilled and intelligent man. Over the years he developed a game system featuring works inspired by the courses he taught, and became moved by the cultures and the information he shared. The table top RPG EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE was a "culture first" gaming world. It didn't have many participants, but those who entered into it found a great deal more than the typical tropes of the ttRPG world. It was a creative work that seemed to express the joy and areas of interest in the world Barker had taught. If you are trained, being able to work in that field with that training, it requires effort, intellect, and depth of interest to occupy a seat in a department, and an interest by students in that area. Barker did that, and worked until he had enough time in grade to retire.
Teaching a subject that fascinates you, to learn systems of historical advancement, economy and ethnicity, religion and philosophy is a wonderful thing, yes? Well in this case, the credulous outlook of this great admirer of cultural facts and ideas, adapted more than just the naming. He adopted the Anti-Semitic outlook that the region's religious and ideological cultures often held. His creative work dug even further in those kinds of thought. Beneath pseudonyms, he wrote fictional work that held a racist terrorist who spouted the many views that haters of Jews spout. He was canceled by RPG game culture. But, did it then suggest that all his writing was stained by the dark hidden truth of the motives and thoughts of a quiet racist? Knowledge is in itself worth keeping. But the speaker of it, the creator of the paradigms, are not allowed to continue just because they were the first to do so.
Professor Barker passed away in 2012, and by that time few were introduced to the fact that he was not only bright and able to write, but hateful. He died prior to dealing with the new and angry response to his works. His work had quality but as such, it is a shame that his toxic views shared brain space with his gaming world, informed by his academic studies.
Lastly:
Reviews are generally from hard copy or live performances, but I do consider digital works. However, I have a dislike of the format of digital, as is reflected in the case of my own work, I have given away literally hundreds of ebooks, being a worthless avenue for my artistic work, and not having worth when purchased from Amazon.com. However I would very gladly review CDs, games, books & comics, in any format. Write to my email for directions how to make it happen.
LINKS
MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
MY PUBLISHED WORKS
Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry
No comments:
Post a Comment