Monday, August 10, 2015

The Joy of Yetis


Developing role-playing scenarios in the paranormal media realms has been a wonderful experience for me. Sometimes it's a catharsis, other times it expands my horizons.

Many years ago, when I scripted out "The Horrible Fate of the Haunted House Hunters," I vicariously stuck it to the horrible shows about ghost hunting. You can ask Peryton, I have fits when watching the silliness of various "paranormal research" groups' antics on TV. I ghost hunted, for free beer, back in the Aughts ('98-'o2), so I am a bit snob when it comes this hobby-- I was the audio guy after all. Every time I've ran it, it has changed into a whole new narrative. Having ran this adventure some eight times since and it's a gift that just keeps giving.

Along with the fun of dealing with big-feet in North America, the yeti (homo sasquatchi) has been something of eye-opener. While writing "Yetis, Yet Again" for my T&T adventure, I came up with trappings of the setting around the players. Though it was cartoonish and campy, I had studied into the nationalities of Tibet and Yunnan (western Chinese cultures). It wasn't just the folklore. I've never been a fan of "the Orient" (women, RPG supplements, and whatnot) so if not for the Abominable Snowman, I never would've thought to read up. I find I am enjoying the reading of east Asia histories and moving westward and northward.

Getting behind the moth-man has been a study of social psychology, as well as developing a creature, actually more than one, for the table-top. Throughout the Castle of the Moth series, though I have some very specific details about what is going on, quite often the players develop their own story-arcs and come up more terrifying shadows than those that I have written.





Now I just have to get these pieces released, if only so I can get to see the artwork.


No comments:

Post a Comment