Demon City: Read Thru, Part Two

 

Welcome back! This week, we're continuing on with my read-thru of Demon City.

This game has found me in the middle of a really interesting transition, and it's relevant for this part of the read-through, so we're going to get into that first.

Yes, There is Objectively Good Design in TTRPGs

We have to get this out of the way, because apparently it's a controversial point. There's good game design, as an objective reality.

I will define what good design is for the purposes of this blog post:

Design that, when used properly, gives back more than it takes.

Random tables are objectively good design. They almost always give back more than they take. Obviously, it's possible for implementation to screw up a random table. Yes, it's possible to screw up implementation, but it's pretty hard to really screw up a random table. The point is, a random table takes a load off the GM that allows him to not spend so freaking much mental power during the game. It is objectively better to have a random table over not having one. Sorry not sorry.

There is also bad design:

Design that, even when used properly, takes more energy than what it gives back. 

The entirety of F.A.T.A.L. is an example of bad design. Overcomplicated, bloated, and needlessly detailed... oh and it's also one of the most hatefully stupid games of all time. Hilarious to read, though!

1:1 PVP Is Superior

So, for the last month and a half I've been running a 1:1 PVP  game, also known as a Braunstein. The players are all inherently against each other, and plotting against each other, Diplomacy-style. I don't plan situations, I just take their orders, make sure they make sense, and then adjudicate how everything collides together. Then, when the play sessions come up, I just focus on shaking things up as hard as I can, forcing the players to reconsider what they're doing.

And it is objectively the most fun I have ever had running a game. Just flat out. It's not close, it's not subtle. I don't plan. I don't push. I don't even think about the future. I manage. I just sit back, people fuck around, and they find out.

I have had a more meaningful time. You've got tape, right on this blog, of some campaigns I've run that are magical. Actual magic. 

But I have not had a more fun time running a game, ever. It's awesome.

Yeah, I spend "just about" as much time adjudicating actions between sessions as I did prepping, if not more so, but it's not prep: it's play. It's not work, it's fun! I'm having a blast! I get regular installments of this completely unhinged fantasy EVENT. All for the low price of setting up the scenario and telling everyone not to play nice.

So, to recap, 1:1 PVP gets me more enjoyment for far less work, if not less time, and has pretty much redefined what I want out of a game.

So This Game Found Me At An Interesting Juncture

Two months ago? I would have eaten this game up with a freaking spoon. Immediately. 

But Father Time is fleeting and cruel.

Now, I am absolutely not in the target audience of this book, not anymore. See, you have to convince me that leaving 1:1 PVP would be just as worthwhile as running it. And that is an ask. A real ask. Because I now got a system that automatically maintains moment, right through missed sessions and weird adult life schedules and other basic problems of "stop time" in RPGs, and I am absolutely happy with it. You have to really sell me on playing this game at this point.

The sections we're covering in the book today are the Host advice, worldbuilding help, actual pitches for campaigns, and some "sketches" to help the Host riff.

The Host Advice

Oh man, Father Time is so cruel. This should have stolen my heart. And two months ago, it would have. There's a distillation of all the different kinds of horror "plots", sorta like plot infrastructure for Hosts to use, without railroading players. And this section is brilliant. If you're not running 1:1 PVP.. you need to read this section. Like, you owe Zak S for this part of the book, alone. Zak breaks down different kinds of plot structures that players can move around in so thoroughly and well that it would be stupid to not get the book.

But, given that this wasn't two months ago? But was just read a few days ago?

Yeah.

I don't particularly need it. Which is incredibly weird. It's so well-written, and I could see adapting some of it, particularly the "dungeon style" plot, but this is fantastic advice for something I don't plan on doing that much anymore. It is, without a doubt, the best guide for "stop time" TTRPGs ever written.

Not close.

Worldbuilding Help

I loved literally every sentence in this section. The book breaks down how to access archives, how Uber drivers can be useful, and how the FBI actually works in a way that I find relevant. There's not a bad word in this section, other GMing guides should be legitimately ashamed that they don't think to put stuff like this in their games, and if they do, do it better. Kthx.

Seriously. Again, this is S+ tier stuff. Literally no notes.

Campaign Pitches

How the fuck is this section even better???

So, Zak breaks down how to make distinctive campaigns, with little modifications and hacks to the system to reward certain kinds of actions. If you're playing the game, just steal these ideas, outright. But if you're not, this section is a masterclass in manipulating the system lightly to provide a compelling campaign pitch to your players. Literally it's all perfect. This one section sells me on running Demon City by itself. I cannot praise it enough. There's about a half-dozen pitches in here, and they's even a Stranger Things kinda a pitch, and it's awesome.

Sketches

So, this one's a bit of a weird section, but it's essentially a bunch of just half-baked enough ideas that you can insert into a campaign. There's tons of ideas on how to weaponize crime in the interest of horror games. This section is worth revisiting, from time to time, to have it jog your imagination. Zak S literally rewrote how I think RPG books should be written, with this one section.

So Yeah. 

Demon City is an absolute masterclass in TTRPG design. Zak S cooked here. The Host advice is the best "how to actually run horror without railroading" material I've ever read. The worldbuilding section is criminally practical. The campaign pitches are pure rocket fuel, and the sketches section single-handedly raised my standards for what an RPG book should deliver.

If you're running traditional stop-time games—especially horror, mystery, or modern-day campaigns—you should buy this book yesterday. It will make you a better GM, full stop. Even if you never run Demon City itself, the ideas here will level up whatever you're doing.

But for me? Right now? It's bittersweet.

This game found me at the exact moment I fell in love with something else. 1:1 PVP has ruined me (in the best way). It delivers consistent chaos, player-driven drama, and zero prep guilt in a way that feels almost unfair to everything else. I still love what Demon City is doing. I respect the hell out of it. Parts of it will definitely leak into my Braunsteins. But the honest truth is I'm not rushing to switch back to traditional campaign play.

Father Time is cruel like that.

This was Part 2 of my read-through, focusing on the GM-facing material. There's still at least one more part to go. If I do not see you next week, I do not blame you.

It is no easy road.