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Cognitive Convenience

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 I saw this post the other day, and figured it needs some unpacking. It's a really interesting idea, and it's something that I've described in the form of an "accepted shorthand". If a story is set in the current world, an author doesn't need to provide all the necessary information because the reader can be assumed to know the basic context for the narrative... they know that gravity works and how it generally affects things, but they don't need to know the scientific reasons why... they know that money can be used to buy things, but don't need a degree in finance. Cognitive convenience is actually pretty cool because it lets people generally get on board with things quickly, and then focus on the differences that might actually be pertinent to the story. Much the same applies to RPG sessions. If we can use some short-hands by saying... it's just like this movie, or it's like that TV series, but with a bit of that thrown in... then we get ever...
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Variant RPGaDay2026 - Days 7, 8, and 9

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My first thought for this batch of characters was to make them in Mage: the Ascension, and I then had to think about what traditions might be the most likely to fit the various prompts.    Batch 3 (MtA) Intellect – Mercy – Fair of Face (Verbena) My thoughts here are a medic of some type, so I could have gone with a "Progenitor" or a "Verbena". Mercy says "Verbena" to me more, and fair of face is giving me those vibes too. I'm seeing a young herbalist witch of some sort... actually no, I'm going to shake things up and go with a vet. "Gwendolynne Santos" Goal: She lives in a working class area, where people something to live for and in a lot of cases that's their pets. She runs a small veterinarian clinic and provides services to people who can't afford it. She just wants the people in her local community to be happy. Obstacle: She knows that there are folks out there who prey on the vulnerable, and who will kill and animals, ...
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Evidence of the 3-way Tension

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It's always interesting when I see something that generally seems to support the ideas I've been working with... The key takeaway here for the three-way tension is the sentence "Table culture determines lethality more than system or campaign length", and that's a distinct part of the theory. The GM/Narrator is pulling toward a level of lethality in the session, The players are pulling toward a level of lethality in the session (and these two forces may be working together against the system, or may be working against one another with the system as an arbitrator). The system has an intended level of lethality as suggested by the designer... it's the balance of these three distinct forces that creates the flavour of the game with regard to the lethality (and any other "measurable" feature).  X
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Variant RPGaDay2026 - Days 4, 5, and 6

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I've started running a hybrid Cyberpunk 2020/Red game at my local game store, and three character concepts jumped out at me for this string of 3x3 prompts. Batch 2 (Cyberpunk) Drive – Charm – Loving and Giving (Rocker) These prompts in the context of cyberpunk could probably go with a "Media/Reporter" type, or a 'Rocker" but I've always found the rocker to be the more subversive and interesting of the Cyberpunk characters. It's also one of the harder ones for a player to pull off in my experience, so I'll use them as the NPC archetype here.  "Becca <the Bass> Orlov" Goal: Becca is a bass player in the metal band "Forgotten Filth". They've been working hard to make a name for themselves, and  Obstacle: The band don't have a label and this has made it hard for them to get regular gigs across the city. This has often meant that they've needed to do "independent contract" work for local promoters to ...
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