The Patrician Gaming Subculture

Greetings, Veeky Forums. I come to you as a representative of a quiet but active gaming subculture. I was inspired by to dip in and discuss the games preferred by our scene, which has been rather successful in remaining true to the high standards we set ourselves, and thought I may as well start a thread discussing it further and soliciting further questions on the subject.

First, the term "Patrician" I am using in a very specific sense here to suggest a combination of both elevated tastes and at least a certain amount of social capital. Not social in the sense of wild partying, mind! Cultured, small soirees are much more our speed. The point is that we draw people into our circles largely on the strength of personal invitation by members being able to vouch for the inductee's commitment to the hobby and their overall good character. We hold ourselves and each other to high standards; that isn't to say we never fall short of them, but when we do, we give each other friendly but firm reminders of what is expected of us and that typically does the trick.

Naturally, our primary Veeky Forums entertainment constitutes tabletop RPGs, with immersive settings and quality roleplaying performances a priority, and absolutely no miniatures combat; we are VIP season ticket holders in the Theatre of the Mind, if you will.

D&D we have no truck with, though. It is fine as a proletarian entertainment, but all but its earliest editions are sculpted with the lowest common denominator in mind - and OD&D is too simplistic for sophisticates like us to have much truck with. We are bemused by the OSR, which resembles a blue collar worker's endless tinkering with an old car engine, but do not partake of it.

In my next post I will restate our major gaming tastes as delineated in my original postings.

The true connoisseur of tg plays games which are either out of print, old editions, or have miraculously kept going more or less on the same commercial level they have since their golden age without ever suffering an invasion of normies.

Typically the best stuff is material that emerged in the 1980s and still has a healthy fan community surrounding it. WFRP 1st edition is a great example, as is Harnmaster. Tekumel, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Traveller (Classic only) represent the finest fruit of the 1970s, though one might amuse oneself momentarily with a Tunnels & Trolls solo adventure if you want something a bit lighter.

Ars Magica is a rare example of a game which, after a decline, managed to pull itself together, with the 5th edition actually being the finest version of the game out there; the same is true of Pendragon. Generally, though, the nerd of true taste and refinement understands that new editions of games rarely constitute improvements. RuneQuest 2nd edition, set in Glorantha, is held to be the best version of the game and Chaosium's plans to make this the basis of their upcoming new edition of the game, if executed competently, would certainly prove their worth to the community.

As far as other Chaosium games go, early (pre-4th) editions of Stormbringer! are held to be the best, whilst Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition is accepted to be a good presentation and overall improvement so long as it is understood that the more "narrative" optional rules included are strictly to be considered training wheels for players used to more modern gaming styles and can be happily ignored by more sophisticated groups. Despite Call of Cthulhu's massive popularity, its community tends to be more sophisticated than the D&D-playing proles, and it has retained an admirable level of continuity between editions, with the result that it is far easier to get a high-quality group together than it would be in any other game with a similar popularity level.

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Gaming developments from the 1990s onwards are largely trash, with a few exceptions, and should be regarded with utter suspicion; a patrician gaming group might run a one-off or short mini-campaign of 1st edition Vampire simply for laughs, but go no further into the creative abyss of World of Darkness nonsense. The only game to truly master the modern-day occult horror genre is 1st edition Kult. Likewise, cyberpunk (including stuff like Shadowrun) is a genre for plebs easily distracted by flashy neon lights.

The gamer of sophistication appreciates crunch done correctly, married to a setting adapted to said crunch. Phoenix Command does not see much play in the sophisticate community, but it's a useful exercise to try and see if you can parse its rules, much as teaching a student Latin grammar may not see much use in day-to-day life but helps them master skills and qualities they can use elsewhere. Rolemaster 2nd edition paired with the Shadow World setting is the preferred repast of those who prefer rules-heavy games.

MERP, however, is derided as the boorish oversimplification both of Middle-Earth and Rolemaster that it is. In one of the rare exceptions of modern game design attaining true artistic value, The One Ring is held up as the gold standard both of in-print RPGs and of efforts to bring Professor Tolkien's creation to life on the tabletop. (The Pendragon-like assumption of adventures being spread out over years is especially welcome.) In our circles we celebrate it, and cautiously welcome the news that Cubicle 7, its creators, are looking to WFRP 1st edition for tonal guidance on its new edition of that game.

That, at any rate, is a taster of what the intellectual elite of the hobby are playing. Any questions?

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I am not sure of the relevance here, since I'm largely talking about we, in my particular circles, especially enjoy. Our criticism and disdain for offerings we find inferior should not prevent those of different tastes enjoying them.

Alright, alright, here's a (you), spend it wisely

This pasta gets riper every time I see it.

Also >5th edition Ars Magica

Enjoy your cruft and straight-jacketing into hackneyed fiction. True patricians savour second edition Ars Magica in all ways, as it pares away the excess (though you sound like a modern epicurean anyway) and reveals the gem that shines as the true heart of the game.

A legitimate opinion, though the depth of historical research in the better 5th edition Tribunal books (Faith & Flame and The Lion & the Lily, for instance) and the sourcebooks describing historical institutions is what tends to tip the scale for us.

Much of the cruft is largely linked to extended efforts to flesh out the history of the Order of Hermes, but we don't mind that so much since it helps convey the sense of being part of an institution with centuries of history.

2nd edition I would favour for a campaign which put a much lesser emphasis on historical detail, though, so congratulations on your discernment there.

>D&D we have no truck with, though. It is fine as a proletarian entertainment, but all but its earliest editions are sculpted with the lowest common denominator in mind - and OD&D is too simplistic for sophisticates like us to have much truck with.

This statement alone outs you as a pseud of the worst kind.
You are just a poser trying to signal your perceived virtues.

>In my next post I will restate our major gaming tastes as delineated in my original postings.

It's always a little saddening to me when people regard the display and cultivation of virtue as somehow worthy of contempt.

If someone genuinely holds a quality to be virtuous, but does not strive to both reflect it in their actions and embody it, in their bearing, as an example to others and encouragement to their peers, then either they are not sincere in their beliefs regarding virtue, or not willing to live virtuously. Either alternative is indicative of a lack of character.