When lives co-world (2)

This second instalment has been a long time coming. The first summarised itself thus:

The point is then that there's plenty wargamers and roleplayers have in common, and much to learn from the complementary ways of doing things. Part of my interest with this blog is placing the two side-by-side and seeing if they can't get closer still.

Since I wrote those words we wargamers - specifically 40K players - and roleplayers - specifically D&D players - have been bickering in our more or less separate groups, about labels regarding competition in the first case and the relative merits of the various editions in the second. Oddly it seems there are more heated disagreements within the groups than between them. There's not much left to say on either subject, and the sum of my thoughts I've already put in the comp post and post on ruleset size.

Perhaps these groups have too few points of contact, too little shared surface for friction? Well, no. The third blogroll to your left is the much discussed fuller spectrum, listing blogs on more than just one approach, presenting a mix of game types or storytelling with miniatures. These guys presumably belong to more gaming communities than most. Not much sign of conflict though. And even where a less blended blog focuses on one style of gaming, there are those which happily embrace other approaches, again with no obvious difficulty. Unknown Destination for example might be described in simple terms as an old school D&D blog with a thing for miniatures, while Galaxy in Flames I could comfortably say is a 40K blog with an interest in the narrative of the wider game world, in this case the 41st millennium.

The particular subject I'm going to dwell on today was trailed a long while back here, and it was summarised like this:

... rather than the base being an extension of the miniature and a link with the tabletop, the miniature is actually an extension of the base, and the base is a part of the game world.

The models that set me on the path were this power-armoured space marine at diceRolla and this terminator-armoured at A Gentleman's Ones. What's so special about these, you might ask, isn't this a common approach? Well, yes, especially the first, and increasingly the second too thanks to themed resin bases and more imagination. And that's great. See WarPaint's new gretchin for an idea of how subtle but effective it can be - and he made the landscape himself. For a different style, try the home-made Eldar-themed bases at The Dark Workshop. Since then I've seen more examples of the second too - this dreadnought at Truddenia is a good example.

So what do I want to say? Slightly different things to each group, then more to all.

Wargamers - they were cool models weren't they? Something we'd probably all do given the time and funds. Well that's a big step. That's an expression of love if not necessarily for the game world, at least for the imagination. Even if you feel the need to paint your army according to the liveries and markings laid down on high, you can still stake your claim to the world in how you model the the base. You tell the story. Why not carry that into the game? Why not overturn conventions, move out in new directions and make up negotiated rules on the fly for cool and unexpected events, or even possible events you'd love to see? That base is the portal to a new world of opportunity. If 40K's your thing, look into Kill Zone, just updated, and The Codex Project.

Roleplayers now. Hard to say how we feel about those miniatures, isn't it? We might well have wondered at the brutal ugliness of the designs, and scrap and barbed wire might not be our idea of an attractive game world. Maybe some of these can inspire, or some of the excellent links from this discussion? Going beyond the specifics, we love exploring spaces, corners of rich worlds. As roleplayers we almost certainly work from maps, and might well mark progress on a map in some way, quite possibly with miniatures. Geomorphs are all over the place at the moment. Well, why not go a step further and make some map elements more permanent? You could start with key items and features, something like these, these and this at Dr. Willett's Workshop, then move onto corridor sections and generic, re-usable rooms. How about a special set for the campaign showdown? Materials are cheap - polystyrene and plaster is quite possibly how most of us start, and details and paint can come later. For inspiration you could browse the 'Mapmaking merry' series here, listed lower down the right-hand column; of the four so far, the first and second might suit you best. I'll aim to get a big new post up in the next few days. But why? For a different kind of expression, for time away from the number crunching and paper, from pencils and dice. Indulge the artist within, get tactile - show yourself in another medium. It's a breath of fresh air, and will likely give you a different understanding of spaces and decor that will feed back into games.

The message for all of us then is this, and very simple: look at what we can laern from each other, from what are essentially very like minds. It might be summarised as metaphor in this: think into the landscape. What does that mean in practice? Take a look at these two posts for some sense of it, the first here at Hungry Ghosts, the second here at Nesbet Miniatures. We're interested in gravity, fauna and wind. Simple, but very powerful effects, that not only make the model look better, but help make the game come alive too. See what can be done with just a bit of imagination. If you're modelling that world, using greenstuff to get the effect you want is much easier than you might think, as I'm trying to show with the 'Porky models' series. The first Ork to come out of the project is here. Orks might not be your cup of tea, but greenstuff doesn't need to mean greenskins. For only this one model I've made pouches, monstrous teeth, a bracelet, cables, a strip of cloth, straps of leather and a pair of mushrooms, among other elements, all of which have uses beyond this context, and if I can do it, you most certainly can. If you're visualising that world in other ways, perhaps think how you can help visualise it better, by getting certain parts out of the mind and into reality, and freeing up capacity for exploring the lesser-felt details.

Our gaming worlds clearly overlap. In a certain sense then, some bickering between the various groups would be a good sign - it would mean the emotional connection is there too. If you want to start now, I'd be happy to host it. That said, we might try to bypass the bickering in this and get straight to fruitful discussion and debate. That's our scenic base - to explain the photos - our shared, open window into the hobby, the flora binding the ancient edifices and the fun falling like soft snow to cover the decrepit barriers.