I can't believe that April is nearly here.
For many years now I have participated in the April A to Z blogging challenge. Blogging every day is not really a challenge for me anymore; 15 years into this and I still have a lot to say. For me is to find something that I want to talk about for a month straight AND provide you my reader the same sort of content you are used to. That's the real challenge.
I debated on whether or not to do it this year. But I came up with an idea and told my wife. She thought my idea was dull (it was) and instead suggested the topic I am going to do now.
So allow me to present to you,
The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories for NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars.
The idea here is present to you a conspiracy theory and then how to bring it into your NIGHT SHIFT games. I have my list ready to go but I do reserve the right to alter it as the discussions here take me.
A few notes.
1. I, generally speaking, do not believe in ANY of these conspiracy theories. I have spent the last month reading about them in earnest and while many are fun, some are downright racist and/or dangerous.
2. I am not supporting any of these conspiracy theories. Quite the opposite. They a fiction of the same level as my own "Generation HEX" or "Weirdly World News." So while none of them seem to stand up to real scientific scrutiny, they can be fun for an RPG.
3. YES there have been some conspiracies that have turned out to be true. The plot to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was one. But I am not convinced that the people doing that (the Black Hand) had WWI as their goal. The suppressing of dangerous chemicals in cigarettes and the plot to keep the exploding tanks in Pintos by the Ford Motor Company were others. JFK was killed by a lone gunman and 9/11 was a plot by Al-Qaeda and not the US government.
For these, I am keeping an eye on the Conspiracy Chart as created by Abbie Richards.
I am going to avoid some topics for various reasons. My first requirement for anything here is "will it be good in a game?" So if you are wondering why I pick some topics and not others that is usually the case. For example right now "P" is a toss-up between "Phoenix Lights" and "Paul is Dead." Phoenix Lights have more game-related uses, but the "death" of Paul McCartney is an old favorite of mine.
My goal is to try to include NIGHT SHIFT stats and rules as I can. I want to get the word out on my favorite RPG. I will try to situate them in the various Night Worlds when and where I can. So many of these ideas can be great fodder for Weirdly World News or even my Valhalla, AL setting.
This could be very fun!
Oh, this sounds great fun! Can't wait to follow along each day. I do loves me some conspiracy lunacy ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf "I" isn't The Illuminati (my gateway into this wild world back when I was at school and had just discovered Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy), I'll be very disappointed.
The "Titanic Never Sank" one is the one where they switched it for its sister ship, right? I'm not sure how to make that gameable, but it'd be interesting. For the same reason I'd to see "Paul is Dead" since that was also always one of my old favourites (and for a twist, you could always do the reveal that everyone but Paul is dead, the delightful follow-up theory).
ReplyDeleteI loved aliens and UFOs and cryptids growing up, so conspiracy theories were always closely adjacent. They may be a bunch of bunk, but I do still hold out hope for the chupacabra. I love that little guy.
What a great topic for the A-Z challenge. I love how you offer suggestions to incorporate them into your game. Have to figure out how to use some of them in my D&D campaign.
ReplyDeletehttps://skokiedungeonsanddragons.weebly.com
Great topic and I appreciate your sensitivity and thoughtfulness to diving into such a dicey one!! https://www.inspiredpossibility.com/blog
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