/ Cory Doctorow / 10:05 am Tue Sep 13, 2016
Kickstarting Lotus Dimension, a pacifist RPG
Lotus Dimension is a tabletop, D&D-style role-playing game in which characters advance through nonviolent means -- a game that incorporates "amazing sci-fi and fantasy storytelling while also incorporating principles of nonviolence inspired by peaceful protests, historical leaders and the tenets of peaceful philosophical practices."
The creator, Scott Wayne Indiana, has already created and playtested a basic rulebook and has fully funded his $15,000 kickstarter to develop more advanced rules. $25 gets you a full ruleset.
One player acts as a guru guide, leading the other players through each quest. (The first quest, included in the Starter Set, is called "Liberation in the Zeppelins.") Players brainstorm together to solve problems, evade or defeat monsters or villains, overcome obstacles, deploy magic, obtain treasure and other rewards, free prisoners and find the way forward -- all while causing the least harm possible.
Which can be super tricky. How do you escape imprisonment or confront a threat without using swords or spells that cause harm? How do you defeat an opponent to overcome obstacles and win treasure if your strategy has to consider your opponent's desires, safety and well-being as well as those of yourself and your own team?
Through the challenges of each quest, players build their characters' inner strength, mindfulness and wisdom to advance to new levels.
Lotus Dimension - A New Game
[Scott Wayne Indiana/Kickstarter]
crowdfunding / Games / kickstarter / pacifism / rpgs
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