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    BASTIONLAND - Juicy Details

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    Elder Cunha

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    BASTIONLAND - Juicy Details

    Uploaded by

    Elder Cunha
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    BASTIONLAND_ Juicy Details

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    7 views3 pages

    BASTIONLAND - Juicy Details

    Uploaded by

    Elder Cunha

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    BASTIONLAND

    A BASTION OF ODDITY

    We d n e s d ay, 1 3 N ove m b e r 2 0 2 4

    Juicy Details

    Nova wrote about the concept of Hyperdiegesis, teaching me a new word in the process. I chimed in
    on discord, so I get a nice mention in there too.

    I guess it's the text version of this artwork thing I wrote about before. An intriguing little detail that
    makes you wonder about an unexplored element of the setting.

    I love them in films and books, where I can decide to breeze past it or let myself imagine what lies
    beyond the mist.

    In RPGs I find them great sources of inspiration as a GM, but I probably wouldn't use them at the
    table as-written. If my version of Obi Wan is going to mention the Clone Wars off-hand then I'd
    probably have at least a rough idea of what the Clone Wars were.

    The Clone Wars are a good one to chew on, because I think it's a detail that has a medium amount of
    juice.

    A juicy little detail should immediately impart something to the reader, even if there's no further
    explanation in the text.

    By that measure, "You served my father in the Clone Wars" is okay. Clone is an interesting word, and
    it conjured as least a few possibilities to mind. Let's explore some alternatives.

    "You served by father in the Second Zalthkar War" is bad. Really bad. The word "war" is broad, and
    kind of boring for such a horrific concept. Zalthkar certainly isn't helping out either.

    "The Seventh Zalthkar War" is still bad but better. At least we can start to imagine that Zalthkar is a
    war-torn place, or perhaps the name of an ongoing enemy.

    "The Zalthkar Revolution" gives us a bit more juice. At least now we have a stronger notion of what
    Obi Wan was up to.

    "The Zalthkar Massacre" would give us something to chew on. Which side was Obi Wan on here?

    But I don't think "The Clone Massacre" sounds right. Perhaps "Clone" is a juicy enough word that it
    needs the relative dryness of "War" to really shine through.

    There's a reason why this is all especially interesting to me right now.

    Do you ever think about nerve stapling?


    As I've shouted before, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a masterclass in delivering a game setting. The
    nerve staple is a delicious little juicy fruit that exemplifies this.

    You see the icon above as a button on the control panel for each of your colonies. Using it supresses
    unrest, though it also counts as an atrocity, which can have diplomatic ramifications.

    The game never explained to me what the nerve staple was. Even though the icon is evocative, the
    name alone does so much of the heavy lifting. You don't need the game to explain what happens
    when you hit the "nerve staple" button and your colony's unrest decreases. The juice flows fast.

    I'm trying to tap into that energy for the setting of MAC Attack, with one example being a pretty
    obvious nod to the nerve staple.

    Each faction gets a little quote underneath the portrait of their leader. Like this guy:

    But then further down the same page you also get a quote from one of the other factions, offering an
    alternative look.

    I suspect I'll never forget the nerve staple.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site
    the week after its original publication.

    If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.
    Chris McDowall at 11:06

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