Ramble - The Blorbed RPG as an Extraction Game

Today was a long shift at work and I'm a bit eepy, so bear with me if this is a bit more stilted and rambly than usual: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins may actually be my 2022 GOTY... even though I've only just started it recently. The reasoning there will become more apparent in a later post, as will my love of Lethal Company and Let It Die. I guess this is kind of prequel in my Cinematic-Post-Verse? 

Let It Die's Fighter Freezer probably had an indelible impact on my brain... as did that whole game...

The big thing I want to talk about eventually is the Player. What a peculiar role it is. Where the GM can just sit there and lie all night, pulling all kinds of puppet strings, the Player may be at a loss. What are their goals? How should their character act? Where do they fit in and what things can they affect? All of this has been talked about by people with more extensive blogs and wider experience than I, but I want to pitch you on a new flavor of player role. One driven by my own love of princess play, blorbed settings and games that minimize the ludo-narrative dissonance caused by being people at a table instead of adventurers in a dungeon.

The set-up is two part: Firstly you (the Player) will (at the most zoomed out view of play) be totally yourself. No secondary identity, no special powers, no realigned morals, just you. And you (the Player playing yourself) have now been sat down with your friends to play a game. The game is simple; a GM has set up an extensive open world that you'll be dropped off in. Your "avatar" will come in the form of a relatively fragile PC whose body you'll inhabit. They have some ties to the world but no real history there, a stranger in a strange land.

Let's say, for example, that setting is a wide network of defunct subway tunnels in a post apocalyptic world. You begin as someone stepping off a train into this territory with a simple goal; Gather resources (guns, money, magic crystals) then summon back the infernal train that dropped you off here to bank your earnings at an untouchable HQ. An HQ where you once again inhabit the body of yourself (the player) and can plan your next move. At this HQ you can store companions, extra PCs, gear, etc. You can even make some purchases and upgrades before re-entering the true "world" of the tabletop game.

In essence the Tabletop Game's open world is more like that of an extraction shooter, the goal being simple: Can you get enough loot and get out before your fragile PC dies? [*1]

OK OK but isn't that kind of already the set up of West Marches and similar works? Well yes and no. Sure West Marches has an HQ that heroes venture forth from in search of riches to extract and safely return but there's some issues. Firstly (narratively) to preserve the sense of place in the world "new hires" (eg new PCs rolled by old Players whose old NPCs die) would need to be "caught up" which can certainly be hand-waived but that feels... off. Secondly PCs in West Marches (supposedly) have some kind of stake in the world they live in. They have history, goals, wants and dreams. All things that are incredibly bothersome when they don't align with your whims as a player. Lastly the HQ in this scenario gives players a truly safe and diegetically secure space to horde their riches away from prying eyes (either of other players or NPCs). 

What the Extraction Shooter tabletop game tries to set up is a game divorced of traditional backstory and script writing at the table, and one that instead embraces and fully focuses Player interaction, play and emergent narrative (while not totally sacrificing immersion nor a compelling setting to explore). No longer is Glorp Fumbussy the protagonist, who must constantly think of keeping his Paladin's oath, but instead Glorp is just a flesh automaton that the IRL player Richard Cummings is using to interface with the world as he continually plumbs the depths of the occult. In many ways it's the type of game I itch to play, one where I'm free to explore, interact and collect and don't necessarily have to worry about weaving a narrative, so much as letting one emerge from the adventures I get up to within that world. One where consequences can be grave, but also my accomplishments can help my next character get a leg up. [[There's a variation on this I'm doing with WILD, but that game will likely still have a bit more backstory in characters]]

It's less Baldur's Gate more Minecraft. Less Silent Hill more Lethal Company. I'm still able to inhabit that world, but no longer am I tethered by the need to act out backstory and motivations beyond my own. I am living and playing purely in the moment. Moreover player knowledge becomes instantly diegetic, your ability to look things up becomes a potent tool. The PC (while robbed of some identity) is made infinitely stronger by having the full power of the Player behind them. Heck you could even have it work that to a degree the PCs are their own people, allowing themselves to be "possessed" by the player.

I've especially refrained from labeling this kind of game an RPG, because it actively rejects and ignores a variety of things that make an RPG special. It focuses play over story in a way that I find often can rub people the wrong way (which I totally get). But to me (as someone who is also an avid and enthusiastic story gamer) I feel like it could provide a welcome break, one that's easy to drop in and out of at my leisure.

Lots to consider, lots more to talk about next time. But I wanted to get this out here for now in case anyone had any cool insights or directions they'd want to take this kind of idea.

[*1 : For those unfamiliar with the extraction shooter, the premise is a large multiplayer PvP sandbox where you and a variety of Players are dropped into a bounded world with a set time limit.Your goal is to grab as much as you can before extracting with the loot. Character perks are usually lost on death but you can store and selectively unvault equipment. Certain areas are more dangerous than others and extractions can be particularly hazardous if an enemy player is trying to poach your haul.]