De-escalation

had the amazing opportunity to play this game! character creation was quick, fun, and gave me a clear vision for my frog person (Betty Bootleg who sells magic vinyl records). character choices are evocative and diverse. Our crew was made up of personas from all walks of life, which was the cause of fabulous interactions.

when we actually played the game and had to resolve a situation without using violence, it was one of the most cathartic gaming experiences in my life. when we were locked out of the most obvious choice (combat) the group started a great conversation on how to deal with our problem, which led to an amazing event in the Metropolis (the game’s setting). the stats and skills reflect the non violent direction of this game, and inspire coming up with a non violent solution -> this is where the play excels at.

GM section is robust and full of advice and prompts to run many games in this unique setting. For experienced GMs it is a breath of fresh air - a new challenge of taking violence out of the equation. It is a bit reliant on prior rpg knowledge for new GMs, but it is an easy game to set up and offers great tools to keep the players engaged.

overall it’s a well thought out game that doesn’t betray its theme. I would recommend to play this game at least once to experience the joy of de-escalation :)

I played this game as a crooked lawyer named Dimsdale Pondbottom, and we learned about institutional violence and ghost law.