Houses of the Blooded
I don't know why I haven't made this post sooner. (That's a lie. I know why. This is my apology). So those of you who still have me friended and are fans of 7th Sea I really suggest you take a look at Houses of the Blooded. It can be found here
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"Houses of the Blooded is a game about tragic obsession."
Notice that this asserts that obsession leads to tragedy. All I want to know is what is the expectation of play.
Is the expectation that we all accept that and simply help each other play that out in as colorfully interesting a way as possible?
OR
It it more like a question. Does obsession lead to tragedy? And the play group is intended to challenge each others thoughts and assumptions about obsession (via the created fiction) to the extent that a full range of outcomes is possible from actually achieving love and revenge while staying relatively sane and stable to total personal destruction. (Note the former doesn't have to be EASILY obtainable, just possible).
The former I'm not interested in. It's the later I want to do. As usual I point to my current favorite game Sorcerer, a game about dealing with demons for power. The game points out that it has four broad outcomes:
Outlaw - The character prevails demons and all!
Retribution - The character prevails but at great personal cost.
Redemption - The character prevails but only after casting off his demons.
Destruction - The character crashes and burns.
(Side Note: A player can not "pick" one of these for his character nor can the GM deliberately drive the game towards one. The game makes it impossible for any one person to determine what kind of outcome the game is heading towards. The best you can do is choose character decisions that are consistent with your in-the-moment feelings about the fiction and discover in retrospect where that all ended up).
All I want to know is: does Houses of the Blooded support a similar spread of outcomes or is it simply about celebrating one or two particular outcomes?
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The sort of longer answer is that while I've played the game only focusing on the tragic aspect - where you play towards an amazing tragic outcome for every character, the system is more than flexible enough for you to explore obsession and it's possible outcomes.
The game does not box you in to any one outcome, and it definitely allows for different things to happen. You can 'win' the game and achieve something other than a tragic end. What does win mean? It's different for every character.
The best comparison I can draw for this game is the comedie del'art - Italian/European Improv Art from the 16-1700s. You're playing characters from the pillow books, plays, and operas of the ven, not nec. the ven themselves. So the stories are dramatic, in the moment, exciting and changing. What does it mean for the outcome? Many different things, and it's hard to tell, and like Sorcerer you're very much in the moment. When things get heavy it is hard to deny the GM or the other players pushing you towards a goal you, the player, may not have wanted, but that your character probably desires. Pushing in the sense of offering you style points to go for whatever it is.
Do you live in SoCal? John is running a LARP ver. of the game this coming weekend. Or if you're somewhere else, check out the www.housesoftheblooded.com forums and see if you can find another game, or even run it yourself.
It's hard describing the game without having played it, and from what you have said I think you'll enjoy the game.
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I really have no interest in the LARP version. LARPing just isn't my thing.
I'm very committed to giving the game a try. As I said, I keep getting drawn to it. So we'll see.
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Have fun!
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