From the comments on SFPP...


Hi, Kris.

I'm not sure why, but on the drive to work this morning, I found myself thinking about our discussion of Amber. In trying to express why it seems to me that ADRP is *such* a perfect game for the books (recall: I've only read the first series and have no desire to go further). I knew this in my gut, but I had to run it through my head in order to put it into words.

So I started with the classic thematic question: "What is Amber (the Corwin books) *really* about?" It seems to me that it is about dysfunctional family relationships. Dysfunctional families are born out of chaos (as is the royal line of Amber), constantly surrounded and battered by chaos (the Black Road), drawn to chaos in their own relationships (Corwin's affair with whatshername--Daria?), they torment one another (Eric vs. Corwin), voluntarily bring chaos within the family (Brand), and focus all their attention within the family, i.e., only what goes on with other family members matters, outsiders are to be used and discarded (how many named characters are there that aren't members of the royal family? Maybe a dozen across 5 books?).

Also, one cannot simply forget one's dysfunctional family (Corwin's amnesia doesn't help him escape his family--he recreates his problems). The only way to overcome the dysfunction is to acknowledge where you've been and become your own person, laboring to avoid the mistakes of the past (Corwin makes his own Pattern).

It seems to me that ADRP is so very perfect for this *because* it is a dysfunctional game, as written. The attribute auction is there to promote competion and rivalry from the very beginning. The fact that scores are rated primarily by comparative value enhances this. The fact that the comparison value can be re-evaluated by the GM based on the real world players making appeals to "This is also a Strength contest because..." is aimed at making each game session into a series of squabbles and begging for GM indulgence. How beautifully dysfunctional! It even encourages you to suck up the the GM in the form of character portraits, journals, etc.

ADRP, Sorcerer and My Life with Master are games about dysfunctional relationships. Sorcerer & MLwM seek to set up a functional dynamic among the *players & GM* so that they can all explore the dysfunction of the *characters* from a better perspective. It seems that, as written, ADRP seeks to replicate the dysfunction of the *characters* in the relations of the *players & GM.* No wonder so few people play it as written, and so many drift it into something functional and fun.

--Michael S. Miller

The referenced conversation revolved around why I'm working on my OtherKind variant and why With Great Power might be another option.