Trying to run a campaign of this and frankly, I've no fucking clue where to start. I know this is a pretty niche system (being, you know, not DnD) but does anyone out there have any stories/helpful insights/tips for an aspiring DM and overall new fa/tg/uy?
>>45915726
What parts of the setting are your group most interested in? You'll need to settle on one region, maybe two due to how difficult and dangerous travel is.
Each region has a general sort of theme, from all-out war between humanity and psychonauts in Franka, Purgare and Pollen to the guerrilla warfare between two human factions in Hybrispania to the strange internal politics of Borca and Balkhan.
The core of the setting really lies in Borca, Justititian and the Protectorate so if you're just starting off, it's probably best to start in Borca and maybe incorporate one of two of the neighboring regions. Whatever you do, don't try to make it a game about wild adventures around the entirety of Europe from the very start. Travel is meant to be a very fucking dangerous thing in Degenesis.
>>45917954
It's also kind of pointless, because on a certain level it's all the same shit. Post-apocalypses tend to run into the problem of player apathy because they go overboard with the theme of how "humans are the real monsters" and give the audience nobody to root for and nothing to give a shit about. You would never like or want to fight for any of these clans unless you happened to be one of them. So you can either fight that tendency by making sure the PCs are insiders with NPCs they care strongly about before any combat begins, or you can embrace it and let them go full murderhobo and carve a swath of destruction through the mapful of unlikable characters.
>>45918437
Actually, a lot of the clans are only able to produce anything of value through cooperation. The Protectorate is a fusion of Judges, Spitalians and Chroniclers creating a genuinely civilized place to live with a reasonable level of technology, healthcare and education. Heck, the reason why Africa is so successful is because it's dominated by three cults that were working together from the very start and proceeded to wreck Europe's shit.
Also, let's face it, the Psychonauts are by far the bigger monsters than humanity, with the Sleepers and Marauders only being monstrous to a lesser extent.
>>45918503
If we're judging them by how well they cooperate, Psychovores win hands down. Humans are more evil because they only cooperate *sometimes*
>>45918552
My argument was more that you have plenty of reasons to care about other cults because they only produce good things when working together. There's a lot of hope inside of the Degenesis setting and I'd say there's more than just player apathy.
If your players don't give a shit and just go full murder-hobo, that says more about them than it does about the setting.
>>45915726
Limit the scope. Focus on one region and maybe 3 cults. Flesh that out. The smaller you can keep it, the easier it will be to manage.
Start with the scenario in the book if you want, or use In Thy Blood. The problem with Degenesis is too much inspiration, too many themes, because it is a forest of plot hooks. In itself this makes a lot of sense, but you can't drag it all into your game. It's a buffet and you're diabetic. Pick and choose.
>>45920295
This. Trying to make a game where you've got African Anabaptists, Frankish Palers and Hybrispanian Hellvetics exploring all of the known world and cults of Degenesis and more is just asking to burn out.
>>45918611
What do I care if they produce good things for themselves? That's not a reason for me to care about them. They could all die, as they probably will when their livable habitat gradually shrinks away to nothing, and it'd be all the same.
>>45921760
Not just for themselves but all civilized people around them.
Besides, you could apply this nihilistic way of thinking to literally every single RPG, not just Degenesis.
>>45921812
Other RPGs have something going for them other than a hackneyed premise, a bunch of racism, and an unjustifiably high price tag.
>>45921960
Oh, so you have an issue with the game itself. You could have said that in the first place so neither of us would have had to waste time discussing the issues.
>>45920295
I am running a game where the group is traveling a lot. So far it hasn't been so deadly but I plan on upping the ante soon. It does help that two of the group are scrappers with good orienteering.
Failing to limit the scope has been one of my biggest issues so far. It hasn't done anything bad except prevent me from hocking the players with a solid plot line for them to follow. I just hope I can get to kind of cement some kind of central plot before something dum happens and the characters naturally go their own way.
>>45922101
Well, scrappers have to travel as a part of their profession. If you have two in your party, that's a pretty good reason for moving about a lot since they'll need to raid different scrap-sites.
Depending on the motivation of the rest of the party, you could try to set up rumors of an absolute mother lode of Bygone technology. That's bound to lure in any Chroniclers and Scrappers in the party, it's just the rest of the team that's an issue.
>>45922101
Give them a problem that cannot be addressed through official channels. They have to rely on their own initiative. This will lead to problems. Then spin those problems into your story while keeping the original objective on the horizon.
Take cues from the setting and from the players, but don't get lost. Focus on your developing story.
>>45915726
It's honestly not a good first game for a new DM, especially if your players are new too.
You lose out on SO much familiarity by not playing in a more cliché fantasy setting for instance.
When you're just starting out you need to have some common ground and stuff that everyone recognizes, with bog-standard fantasy settings you get all that for free, with degenesis everyone really, really, really needs to read up a lot on the source material.
>>45918437
>my personal subjective experiences are universal
I have literally never had that impression. It sounds like you just focus on the negative aspects that are totally up to interpretation anyway, and just whine a lot.
Story structure and character depth are not tied to any specific setting.
>>45923127
People have the right to say if they think something's bad.
