Game Of Game Of Thrones

The return of Game Of Thrones looms large over geek culture once more, and with it my thoughts once again turn to epic fantasy, deconstructions and reconstructions.

I know I keep thinking about this and not doing it, because it would be a lot of effort to make an interesting world for the players to run amok in. It would have to run for quite a while as well, an academic year if not longer, to build up enough that when the armies march and the dragons fly it will seem to matter. This is entirely possible, but again, a lot of work.

I wouldn’t want to do the level of action fantasy RPGs usually feature, with a fight or two every session and dead orcs by the dozen. Intrigue, politicking, socialising and romance might feature more heavily - so when swords are drawn it has a bit more impact. Maybe not go all-out deadly, but consider long-term wounds like Pendragon as a deterrent. And of course saying that it’ll be low on action before we start.

Then again, “Intrigue, politicking, socialising and romance” pretty much sounds like Vampire... but hey, that rarely escalates to marching armies and flying dragons. Sometimes, but rarely...