Current mood:

cheerful

A Roleplaying Salon?
I’m looking to put together a roleplaying group, but I want it to be a bit different. This isn’t a group to play one game, that we hope lasts for 15 or 30 sessions. I’d like to form a group where we play a range of different games, ideally games that we’re pretty new to, and for a short run each. This is not the group you want if you want to play a long running D&D campaign.

Obviously, I need to discuss the details with those interested so we can come to an agreement we’re all happy with, but there are a number of things I’d like as a jumping off point.

Aims and attitudes:
- Meet to play and try new games
- Willingness to try games and concepts that don’t immediately appeal.
- Short run games of 3-6 sessions only, so if we try something and it sucks, not too much is lost. I hope this will encourage willingness to try things that players are not dead keen on. It’s ok to take a risk on something that wouldn’t be your cup of tea if it went for 20 sessions, because it’s only going to last 4, and you might have fun doing something different in the mean time.
- Willingness to play in different styles in different games.
- Willingness to take on different roles, maybe try GMing for the first time ever if you’ve never done that, or be a player if you’re used to GMing, within your comfort zone, but looking to maybe stretch it a bit.

This may sound very different from what you want from your ongoing roleplaying. Same here. Personally, I want to do this as well as ongoing campaign roleplaying. I play in a couple of games that have been going for years; I love them to bits and wouldn’t give them up for the world. But I also want to do other things. I want to try new games, learn new skills, and renew my creative energy with different people. I think it’ll be fun, and I think it will revitalise my regular gaming. And it would let me try things out that might break the long term games I’m in. Does any of that sound familiar to you?

Ideally, I’d like this group to have an atmosphere a little like a salon, in the literary gathering sense, where we can play and discuss games that are new to us as an end in itself, rather than as part of a search for the One True Game. I’d like people who, if they love one of the games we try, may keep playing it at another time and location, and still keep trying new things with the Roleplaying Salon.

As for what games we might try? I’d like to suggest Polaris, Dogs in the Vineyard and My Life With Master, but I’m keen to hear other suggestions as well.

Logistics-wise, I live in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, close to a train station, and I can potentially host. My preference is to meet once a month (not too infrequently, but not so often as to mess with people’s regular gaming) either in the evening, or on the weekend. But that’s probably better discussed between those interested.

If you think you might be interested, and want to discuss this idea further, please let me know.