Murderhobo Game Setting

So all this talk of murderhobos had me come up with a game setting...

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The Land of Fallen Heroes

Alurence was a land blessed by the Allia, Goddess of Adventure as the home of heroes and adventurers. Young men and women, chosen by the Goddess would suddenly gain phenomenal abilities to wield blade and spell, and became champions of good and civilization, driving out monsters, defending villages on the frontier and ruling the population fairly and wisely.

Until they failed.

In the 113th invasion of Alurence, a horde of goblins, orcs and demons descended on the capital, defiled the temple to Allia and razed the city to the ground. Many Alurien heroes died repulsing the invasion, but those that survived... started to change. From stalwart defenders of the people they became selfish and cruel, barging into people's homes to steal their possessions, killing anyone who would defy them and wandering from place to place bringing death and robbery to the towns they once protected. New adventurers chosen by the Goddess suffer the same fate, their personalities changing, their selfishness ramped up while their restraint for violence toned down.

In this game, you play townsfolk who's just had about enough from these wandering, murdering ex-heroes. They are much stronger then you, but few. You must drive them away from your town, but do it cautiously, for doing a heroic deed attracts the attention of Allia, and her blessing is the last thing your town needs.

Too many games not enough writing

I have too many games.

Don't get me wrong, I really love playing roleplaying games. I like telling stories and creating challenging scenarios to challenge people with. Ulitmately though, they aren't writing. Writing will enable me to reach more people and entertain more people then any session at a roleplaying game table ever could.

I got some writing done last weekend, a good long 6 hour stretch which resulted in some 3000 words written. In that time, while I was writing, I became aware at how hard it was, and how much work I was going to have to put in to get really good at writing.

That work will take time, and unfortunately, that time will need to come from somewhere. I can't sacrifice work, since that is what enables me to live my current lifestyle, so it will have to be from my games.

I'll need to prioritize my games and my community building efforts. Ultimately they will have to be subservient to my writing. I have two writing projects I need to work on and one of them has a deadline.

So for skill, and for writing I'll need to limit my game time. I do this though with a heavy heart.

Why I am an Ally

I can actually care about fashion... and scents!

I am an ally because being straight is not a choice.

I'm a straight guy. I'm probably the last person you'd think who'll support the LGBT movement. I mean most of the "traditional" gender beliefs are biased towards my gender and orientation. Why should I support it?

It's because that I see there are benefits even to a straight guy like me.

Firstly, it's made me more confident in my own sexuality. Just like being gay isn't a choice, being straight isn't a choice either. There is absolutely zero chance of me turning gay by associating with gay people because... I can't turn gay!

This counteracts a fear of "contagion" that had been ingrained into my boyhood beliefs by my conservative society. This has allowed me to become comfortable with and empathize with the non-heteronormative orientations. It's like there's a whole class of people with different life experiences that I no longer feel fearful about.

Secondly, because of this, I can explore parts of my personality that lean away from heteronormativity. Like, for example, feeling more conscious about how I look and what clothes match with what, and men's grooming products, things that are not traditionally associated with "manly" concerns. I've also learned to be comfortable in finding men attractive. I'm not attracted to them sexually (I am straight after all) but I do appreciate them in an aesthetic manner and I've grown comfortable with the parts of me that enjoy looking.

Finally, it has really opened my eyes to the fact that the world is simply more complex then we ever imagined. There aren't just two genders, there's a whole spectrum of sexuality and it's very complicated and lots of people live in that spectrum. But despite all that, these are all PEOPLE and all deserving of love and respect regardless of who they are attracted to (or not attracted to). There is beauty in diversity that exists in harmony. An ideal world for me is a world that accepts this diversity.

This is why I am an Ally and why I support the rights of LGBT people to marry those they love, to live with dignity and to not suffer from discrimination. Straight people have nothing to fear from these people because being straight is not a choice.

Relaunching!

I've tried to blog about stuff in the past, and failed miserably. Now, in aid of my writing habit formation, I'm going to blog again.

But unlike before where there'll be just fiction snippets. I'll add other things here too. Stuff that until recently, could only be seen on my Facebook feeds. So you'll see an eclectic range of topics here from politics to news to technology to fiction and general geekery.

The view outside my window. Yes, Manila traffic.

I'll post something every day, or at least try to. Welcome to the Beacon!