this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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Fiction

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Solarpunk themed fiction. Books, short stories, movies, games... pretty much anything you can dream of!

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When there's a new RPG on the block claiming to do #Solarpunk, I'm obviously interested. Recently, @FullyAutomatedRPG made its way to me via so I'm giving it a look. What does it want to do? (wandering.shop)
submitted 9 months ago by Anaphory@wandering.shop to c/fiction@slrpnk.net
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When there's a new RPG on the block claiming to do #Solarpunk, I'm obviously interested. Recently, @FullyAutomatedRPG made its way to me via @fiction so I'm giving it a look. What does it want to do? It wants to be a kind of D&D for Solarpunk – a big kitchen sink game that becomes a cornerstone for the genre. That's… Hm, I like my RPGs written with a lightning focus on telling specific stories, so I feel like I'll be biased against #FullyAutomated, but let's see. 1/8

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[–] 8petros@petroskowo.pl 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@Anaphory @FullyAutomatedRPG Folks, can you be persuaded NOT to slice long texts so thinly? I can understand if the post is highly structured, so you encourage threaded discussion, assigned to specific sections - I am using this method myself.
But for the longer-winded texts my eyes and mind hurt, seeing your thoughts lethally chopped.
Granted, everything can be written and read in any form (I wrote a porn poem once, in a form of sms log) but not everything is palpable.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@8petros @Anaphory @fiction @FullyAutomatedRPG I think you forget that a lot of Mastodon instances have a hard cap on character number and we would need to self-host or convince our admins to change the character limit for us ;)

[–] 8petros@petroskowo.pl 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@alxd @Anaphory @FullyAutomatedRPG I believe that changing your admin mind is a piece-a-cake, compared to changing the world, as SolarPunk strives to. ;-)

If nothing helps, I offer interested parties free accounts at Petroskowo, much more suitable for serious deliberations.

[–] FullyAutomatedRPG@mstdn.games 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@8petros @alxd @Anaphory @fiction Even if it's not your cup of tea, I really appreciate the examination & discourse!

First: I think it's key to recognize that this is an OSR game. There are lots of great world building games and solo cozy games, etc, but this is meant to give a certain traditional experience. Mechanics are included where necessary - namely combat and progression - but it assumes the players are a group of friends looking to roleplay, get up to shenanigans, and make memories.

[–] FullyAutomatedRPG@mstdn.games 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

@8petros @alxd @Anaphory @fiction

2nd, I think checking the solarpunk bonafides is a less productive analysis than asking what use it might serve.

I think the reimagining of real places like my beloved Los Angeles is a worthwhile contribution to the genre. I think the character creator adds unique guidance for creating PCs that break a lot of RPG molds. And I think the playable adventures offer more substance and style than you might expect.

Also: it's free. It's very, very accessible.

[–] FullyAutomatedRPG@mstdn.games 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@8petros @alxd @Anaphory @fiction

Again, I think criticism is productive. If readers find omissions, I still consider that a way to contribute to their creative process. I hope that just as I can appreciate that this doesn't suit your tastes, you might find this worth recommending to ppl whose tastes you don't share. For folks looking for an OSR game that presents a positive version of anarchy, I think they'll find the themes of infrastructure, community, etc more present than you'd imagine.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction thank you!

Speaking about a positive version of anarchy, have you read / played https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/dream-askew ?

I think especially Dream Askew, which brought us the original Belonging Beyond Belonging, is a really interesting inspiration / direction for such themes.

While it might not be a game for me, I loved the queer community roles for all the characters - and how their story beats function within the narrative.

[–] FullyAutomatedRPG@mstdn.games 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@alxd @8petros @Anaphory @fiction I haven't. I'll check it out right now!

[–] FullyAutomatedRPG@mstdn.games 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@alxd @8petros @Anaphory @fiction Oh, actually I do know this one.

I'm sure it's good, but it's too dark for me. I'm a big softy. I like settings where the only queer strife is the burden of managing drama amongst one's exhausting network of current, former, and future lovers in the welcoming, convivial world we all deserve.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction that's an interesting take, because for me the Dream Askew setting is surprisingly hopeful, because you can feel the community is there behind you. I would feel much... wholesome? safer? hopeful? playing Dream Askew than any game where myself and the other players are not actively integrated within a community.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction if we go into different meanings of communities and positive anarchy, maybe the Hard Wired Island ( https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/354684/Hard-Wired-Island ) would be an interesting direction?

It's a 90's retrofuture cyberpunk, but it goes back to the roots: it is about grassroots movements, social solidarity of the lower class, where the implants don't make you inhuman, they just make you _dependent on the evil corpos which can ruin your life_?

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction The Hard Wired Island, despite claiming to be #cyberpunk , is _almost_ a #solarpunk #ttrpg for me when it comes to presenting its world: it talks a lot about community (both on individual and societal role), infrastructure, non-trivial problems, complex identity, unions, grassroots...

Just read their mini-manifesto:

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction

Capitalism? No thanks. Good cyberpunk is anti-capitalist. It's about how technology without ethics can make social inequality worse. The wealthy use it to cement their power and perpetuate the status quo, while marginalized communities are kept that way. The PCs want to use it to break the current system. They work against their enemies, not for them.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction

Cyberpunk should be relevant. It is a study of where our society could go in the coming years. The issues faced by people in a cyberpunk setting should have some relevance to issues faced by the audience, even if they're not the same. Retro future, present problems.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction

Cybernetics are not inherently good or bad. Like most tech, what matters is how it's used. The problem is that cybernetics often serves the needs of capital rather than people; Any alienating or dysphoric effects come from being reshaped into some corporation's property. There is no mechanic that suggests wearing a prosthetic makes you less human, or prone to mental illness; instead, the tradeoff of augments is adding to your financial burdens.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction

Cyberpunk is not just an aesthetic. Cyberpunk shouldn't just be about the neon-lit adventures of a group of trenchcoat futurists as they amass wealth and power through violence. Hard Wired Island is about a group of marginalized people using technology to try to change the status quo.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction

Many perspectives. Good cyberpunk examines how technology and power intersect in many different communities. As an orbital space station, the city of Grand Cross can and should include perspectives from all over the world. The setting includes cyborgs and androids, but they're not stand-ins for minorities; they have their own identities and issues, which can change depending on how they intersect with other things.

[–] alxd@writing.exchange 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@FullyAutomatedRPG @8petros @Anaphory @fiction this is a take on Cyberpunk I could actually get behind. I still would like them to go a step further, to imagine a world past the corporate capitalism, but as you can see _they are building it_ and they are aware of so many things within their society.