The Storyteller running an adventure is the Director. They can coach their players on the tone they are seeking with any campaign, whether it’s a grim and sorrowful Mike Flanagan-Directed Black Ballad, or a whimsical low-stakes Tim Burton take on the same source material. Life can be hard enough as it is, and sometimes a group might worry that a particularly serious and immersive game, ran in the classic World of Darkness style, might add to their stress level rather than taking away from it. That doesn’t mean that the starker adventures like The Red Opera or The Black Ballad need to be off the table for them, simply that the Storyteller might choose to direct them with a more lighthearted flare.

Metaplot in tabletop RPGs has proven to be among the most strangely divisive features any game line can offer. For a brief definition, in the context of RPGs Metaplot generally refers to a set of canon events that slowly reshape a fictional setting over time. Traditionally Metaplot was offered through a slow drip feed of information in supplemental books, though it was sometimes also updated in large chunks in new editions of core books. While Metaplot bore a poor reputation as of the mid 2000s, I think we need to reassess its role in the hobby. Honestly, I miss it.

The Crit Awards nominees are up, and low and behold, we are nominated for Best Setting! Let’s take a look at the compe… er… our friends who are also nominated!