1) on FW "emulation" goals
2) on the relevance of "sex" in FW and the mentioned fantasy novels
-
1)
I'm glad that the list could help you :)
But as I mentioned... FW is really not trying to "emulate" a specific source. Rather, I was dissatisfied with the usual brand of emotionally immature and superficial fantasy adventuring games that were almost exclusively focused on escapism and power trips. I wanted something more humane and multi-faceted, that could also be "fantasy".
So FW does not take inspiration from specific sources, but rather from "fantasy literature in general". More on this can be read in a post I made a while ago on The Gauntlet forum, here.
There I also talk about playing LotR by way of FW.
I am not familiar with Redwall specifically, but maybe you might like the (partial) actual play of the Assassin's Cheese game I played with a group of friends :D
Howl's Moving Castle would be a perfect source of inspiration:
- Howl has powerful magics but deep personal problems. Through the story he evolves from a hurt and spoiled brat, to a healthier and more complete adult.
- Sophie is a common girl with big dreams but little confidence, with serious self-image problems. Through the story she grows a lot, overcoming her fears and doubts.
- Other characters would probably be more NPC material, as they don't seem to have equivalent agency and depth and arcs... but they are ALL presented as "people" and as such they are never throw-away characters, they never feel expendable. From Calcifer impersonating the whole castle, to the Scarecrow, the weird dog, the young apprentice... even "the villain" Witch is made human and somewhat understandable and relatable, even endearing.
- And the story is about how war negatively affects people and the things they love and care about. It's perfect FW material! One could use FW to play something different, but similar enough in all the ways that matter :)
-
2)
I think we might be experiencing a couple of communicative disconnects. Let's see if I manage to express myself in a way that makes sense :)
Also... everything I'm about to write is just me trying to clarify what I understood of your messages, and replying to that.
I don't want to put words in your mouth that are not yours. Feel free to correct any part I might have misunderstood ^_^'
Reading your previous posts I got the impression (and maybe I am wrong) that in your eyes merely mentioning the existence of sexuality in a story is a big deal for that story.
If we read a story, and the page says something like "...we could hear them having sex in the other room..." it is a big deal.
If we play FW and thanks to a move a player says "...as my PC speaks, some people in the audience get closer together, holding hands or passing an arm around each other, sharing eloquent looks..." it is a big deal.
I think that there might be a disconnect in this. In how we define what is and what is not a big deal for a story (and a game that produces stories).
To me, sex is NOT a big deal, because it is such a fundamental element of the human experience (and thus the stories we tell about it) that I barely notice it, and it would require specific focus and intention to make it into a big deal, to highlight it as one of the main thematic elements of a story/game.
So I read your posts and I hear "it's a big deal". And in my mind "a big deal" means that sex is central to the gameplay and the stories it creates. In my experience this might look like Apocalypse World, where how a PC experiences their intimacy with others is one of the main themes of the game. Or like Monsterhearts, where discovering your PC's sexuality and relation to gender norms is one of the core focuses of the game. Or like the dumpster fire that was Charm, where the teenage-bait advertisement was all about "this game has sex in it!". Or the bizarre D&D Book of Erotic Fantasy, featuring uninspiring and tactless rules to measure a PC's sexual stamina :P
(2 amazingly positive examples, 2 embarrassingly negative ones, for balance sake)
And to this I say no... FW world is not like that. FW is not about sex. So it's also It's not a big deal ;-)
And I say the same thing about the novels I mentioned before. Sex is not the main focus, so it's not a big deal.
But while writing this I notice how, if one changes perspective, it IS a big deal XD
FW is about people. People relations are largely driven by sex. To me it's invisible, but the moment you try to purge this element from the game... then it becomes a big deal.
And here there might be a second disconnect.
When I talk about "sex" I mean anything "sexual" or that obviously implies it. For example I easily spot sexual content in Howl's story :)
The character of the Witch is portrayed as being obviously lustful for Howl, both for the power he holds, and for his young pretty face. And after she is cursed, a good part of the "fun" of the situation and character specifically comes from the obvious cringe of an old woman hitting on a young man.
Sophie herself deals with more than one sexually charged situation, as she struggles with her feelings of being undesirable. It's a CORE element of that character :)
And the soldiers and young women from the various cities in conflict are often shown as quite obviously being sexually active, and in sexual pursuit of each other.
If you tell me that there is no sex in Howl's story, I say "no, there is".
But because it's not graphic and explicit you say "no, there isn't".
So when in FW you notice something that could potentially lead to an explicit description, and in itself uses explicit words such as "lust" and "fuking", for you it already is a big deal... and you express it... and I react to it using my parameters for what a big deal is to me... and I say that it's irrelevant... and you say "no, it is relevant"... etc ^_^
Interesting analysis... let me know if I have completely misunderstood you and have gone on an hallucinated tangent trip XD
Anyway, this distinction is relevant to me because of what it means.
If sex is not a big deal in FW, then you can ignore it and use the game to play the kind of sex-less stories you want.
If sex is a big deal in FW, then you can't ignore it and you won't be able to play the kind of sex-less stories you want.
To this I can say:
- FW is, among other things, about people and their relationships and their emotions
- FW is not about graphic and explicit depictions of sexual intercourse
If you are OK with the first point, then I think your group can safely use FW to play any kind of fantasy story they want, no problem.
If you need for graphic sexuality to not be depicted in the game... they can effortlessly do it.
If you need to purge any possible reference to sex from the play content... it's also doable and 100% up to the players.
If you need to purge any possible reference to sex from the game text... that's harder, but doable as there is no pervasive use of such language. But here and there it is present. So you'll have to do some redacting on your side :)