Altared States

c2023 Ordo Octopia. All Rights Reserved.

Spell-work is waves of intent.

Intention is energy. It is made of Attention focusing a mental-emotional grid empowered by a source energy. Often emotions and beliefs connect with the source energy to sustain the intentional grid. 

Altared States

The psychic splurge overspill of a person going crazy to control affects those around them, connected with them. 

We call it a net: it is a grid (a mental construct of things arranged in places in relation to each other) but it is floating and unstable. 

When a classic altar-mage places items on an altar in relation to each other we observe a system of references symbolising a world. 

Post-modern chaos magicians applied this same concept to associations beyond the classic altar framework and hermetic elements. They use personal references and often temporary associations. 

The grid is the arrangement of concepts which form the stable references of our world. A net is when a grid is cast and is in process of affecting others who will be affected by the new arrangement. 

Those who serve Freedom and require it to function reject and resent any slavery involved with others pinning them and structuring their world and life experiences for them without consent. It is against free will required to evolve. 

Thus, the aware universally reject chaos sorcerers and their machinations. 

Tabletop Role-Playing Games and Magickal Ritual

A game-board is an altar. The spell is the planned mission. The elements are the puzzles and locations to be progressed through as the spell is weaved. The story is the actual journey through the symbolic elements regardless of the planned mission. 

A good game-board is flexible and can sustain many diverse journeys. 

A good altar is flexible and can sustain many diverse spells. 

What we puzzle through on the device of a game-board is a process of focus of our attentions to set our grids. 

Thus, the play-session is to cast a net. This is tabletop roleplaying as spell-work. Once seen it cannot be unseen. 

How Do I Know This?

I have been unwilling target of a narcissistic abuser who self-identifies as “a Witch”. Who is in terms of D&D Alignment Chaotic Evil. 

One who frequently has a mental breakdown to the point of being accurately defined as unstable. Professionally diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, of which Oppositional Defiance Disorder is a component. 

As far as I am aware nobody has professionally diagnosed her as Histrionic & Malignant Narcissist, although to my experience that descriptor hits the nail on the head better than any other. 

Experience with this persons ‘psychotic thinking’ necessarily requires delving into those places by way of comprehending what it is we are dealing with here. This person is also psychic. 

This is where communicating with others about the reality of the experience takes us ‘Outside Of The Box’ in accurately describing what it is like dealing with Chaotic Evil Chaos Sorcerers, in the real world. 

See also:  Psychic Attack

Machination Is Not Machinery

In the old days, back when it all began, people had a thing called imagination. Then came the age of televised propaganda. As technology developed so did society, so too did culture. Gradually over generations The Imagination was whittled away by faster and more portable digital dopamine hits until those blessed with it became regarded social lepers. 

The only entertainment people have become capable of accepting is the same endlessly regurgitated routines which televised propaganda has deemed safe for their enjoyment. Anything outside of this is branded as potentially dangerous. It is shunned for being too weird. 

Back when it all began the people who enjoyed roleplaying games were deemed too weird for the general culture but they did it anyway. Now thanks to televised propaganda having finally absorbed the roleplaying hobby into mainstream after only half a century, what was too weird for the older generations is now considered acceptable. 

Unfortunately in 2023 those who are considered too weird for the new older generations are still considered too weird, are still shunned. 

This is why you have heard of the outdated, clunky and mechanical monstrosity which is D&D but have not heard of sleeker post-modern equivalents made by indie hobbyists who do not dominate the corporate marketplace and cultural sphere. 

Simultaneously the dumbing down of society means anything too different from the acceptable normalisation process of televised propaganda is regarded as irrelevant at best and at worst it is socially acceptable to scorn it. 

In the eighties was Satanic Panic over D&D 1st edition. That discrimination and prejudice has not gone away. It still targets the same demographic; those blessed with imagination and with intelligence to see through the restrictions of The Machine State. Outside-the-box free-thinkers which televised propaganda frequently casts into hero roles are in real life persecuted for being too different to accept. 

I’m not endorsing any morally-dubious extremist groups latching onto recent social movements in attempt to normalise themselves, such as has happened with the now-emerged LGBT movement which universally and rightly shuns TRIGGER WARNING the P word. 

I am simply talking directly about The Imagination and its role and impact in our lives.

For us it was therapeutic, coming-to-terms with whatever within us vs pressures from society beyond us. Finding a place to fit our emotions and express self-discovery into a world often unfathomable in its coercion conforming us all to apparently insane and contradictory delusions nevertheless accepted as normality. 

It used to be that roleplaying games were a safe-zone to explore taboo topics such as emotions and those considered anti-social by the televised propaganda machine such as originality. It used to be a fertile place to encourage and develop The Imagination for all involved. 

Now it’s not. Now the copyright owners who did not invent the concept of freeform storytelling which our prehistoric ancestors enjoyed for free while gathered around a campfire beneath the stars, have become cultural gatekeepers for what you do in your own house. 

Now people resonate with written texts created by machines, which have passed corporate safety tests to avoid being sued for endorsing the wrong thing. 

What people do not resonate with is humans blessed with intelligence and imagination. Genuine creatives. 

Back in the day, we would create and encourage genuine creativity around the tabletop in groups of developing friendship circles. It was fun. 

A GamesMaster would make up the story as he went along, using the players suggestions to bounce from. Railroading players into pre-created adventures was considered a mistake of mindless amateurs. Sometimes we did not even use dice. 

It was not ever about funding the fledgling rpg industry, which is now one of the largest growth industries in the western hemisphere after fast food and military weapons. 

We could argue that consumer communications devices has stagnated in its development at this time and that voice-activated AI will soon replace it all.

Will there be AI storytelling GamesMasters? 

Yes there will.

Will we pay a premium for doing what we used to do for free? 

Yes we will. 

Will we consider ourselves doing it the right way because of that? 

Yes we will. 

Will we have as much fun doing it that way? 

Arguable.

Will we be developing human skills doing it that way? 

No. We won’t.

Is Imagination still a valid thing for human consciousness, evolution and culture? 

Fuck Yes. 

Yes it is and more than ever. 

“Imagination is not imaginary.” Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, founder of the Order of the Golden Dawn (pre-Crowley). 

Game Strategy

 

Game Strategy is a lifelong study. 

It relies on:

1 System Of Analysis 

2 Knowledge of Responses 

In storytelling roleplaying games the GameMaster uses these two items to keep the story progressing regardless of the random chaos which players throw at it. 

Best method is to use the Player innovation and weave it together with the Story arc. We use the symbolism of a rail-road to imagine the story arc as it would play out with no players at all (only NPCs) and with the players doing exactly what the perfect textbook responses should be in an ideal world which of course rarely happens. 

The GMs task is railroad the PCs onto the track? Subtly without overt denial of their imaginations and suggestions. 

‘Railroading’ is a GM fail when used as a method of operation. 

Occasionally ‘railroading’ occurs as a necessity to deal with by explaining the Players imagination takes the story outside the scope of the 1-shot capabilities although it is better suited for world-building in a Campaign. This is a lesser of two evils. 

The GMs task is to integrate the Players imaginations into the story to enhance the otherwise basic and boring adventure path. 

This is much preferable because it gives the players validation. It is the validation they are paying you to experience through the medium of fantasy adventure scenario. 

What Is D&D?

“What do you think Dungeons and Dragons is? What defines it for you? Is it the art? The settings? The rules? Besides the name what do you think makes it different than any other fantasy rpg? If you prefer D&D, why?” 

@RogueScholarMDC  (Twitter)

It was what they originally achieved; a feeling of living in a state of wonder captured in The Hobbit, LotR, when discovering it for the first time specifically the part where the Hobbits leave the Shire, as metaphor for going into the world beyond childhood and experiencing anticipatory taste of adulthood before you get there. Prolonging of disbelief. Tolkien connects this symbolically with entering Forests (through the Hedge, into Mirkwood, Fangorn). 

D&D 1st ed does the same with the Moria encodement as Players delve into the game.

The magic evoked by escapist fantasy which we fast become immune and hardened to by dealing with real life hardships and the mundanity of what used to be exciting. 

“Those were simpler times.” Or is it “Those were better times” I can’t recall

But D&D is multi-level. The challenges of overcoming traps and tricks, riddles and battles, getting the gold, defeating the nemesis, saving the world, drinking by a tavern hearth afterward and telling the tale… 2nd edition opens up the world to Arthurian mythologies, the lands…

That was my generation ‘back in the day’ before videogames and Willow. We had books for inspiration to share adventures with our friends. Source mythologies became Dragonlance and soon became Stormbringer. The original passion was lost into derivations and developments.

It became corporate during the 80s, lost its connection to that folk-origin feeling of creative people discovering a new wonderful thing for the first time. For a while it balanced a fine line between catering to a need for living in all the potential worlds, and capitalising (milking the cash cow). Pretty much what D&D became after the 70s energy was wrung dry out of it. 

D&D is now a political tool for pushing woke agendas by using drama to provoke reaction. 

And to charge $ for doing it.

“What do you most look forward to in ttrpgs?”

@SabrinaTeenWitch (Twitter)

That’s a good question. 

Storytelling challenging the Players & GM alike towards critical thinking. 

The feeling of having some amount of control in life (albeit a fictional one). 

Alleviation of boredom. 

Exploring consequences for actions.

It’s not the characters I care about levelling up so much as watching that happen in the players as result of game sessions. 

Being involved with developing an immersive universe.

RPG arena

  

The role-playing games industry has always been a place where two things are happening. 

The most important thing:

It is a place where people can develop their imagination and freethinking skills, emphasising and encouraging our ability to think for ourselves through a diverse range of situations. In many ways it is a safe practice zone for real life, exploring consequence and accountability. 

Older and experienced GamesMasters train people through the traditional ancient devices of storytelling and game mechanics in motivation-based decision-making processes which require and develop clarity of thinking and sometimes morality checks. 

The other thing occurring is: dark triad trait controllers enjoying the power they wield over a group of zombies who they can railroad for the enjoyment of all, some more than others. 

The mechanics of subDom from BDSM culture can be overlaid on the gathering of gamers for sessions exploring scenes. In many cases the same language is used in both cultures.

As ttrpg* is generally associated as a kids game, not so many people are confident (or experienced) to publicly discuss about that. 

Despite which the demographic of post-millennial ttrpg associated sales is exponentially within the 30-50 age range, predominantly white men. I have not the data for pre-millennial sales to compare. It is probable the same individuals buying ttrpg stuff as kids are still the same individuals buying ttrpg stuff as adults. 

*ttrpg ‘table-top role-playing games’, including both pen&paper games and miniature war-games (which often overlap). 

Both involve “the rolling of the dice” indicating and symbolising a risk element involving chance and invoking fate. 

Orcs & Trolls

  

The new copyright owner does not get to tell me I’m wrong for playing the original game how it was originally intended to be played by the original creators. 

An Orc is a monster. Half-Orcs exist only because monsters raped human women. How are they genetically compatible? Orcs used to be Humans before they became monsters. The source material describing Orcs explains that. 

Monsters symbolising the very worst qualities of ourselves gives us an opportunity to eject them. Mythology simultaneously warns and guides us. Our ancestors were wise beyond our insight. 

The world was not as safe as it is now. Forests and caves of Europe hid uncivilised demi-human murderers for countless generations. 

A part of our passion for roleplaying games is epigenetic trauma-healing of collective-consciousness. It’s less than a century since ww1 ww2. Perhaps why guys like #ttrpg battle simulators. 

—-

The delusion that it is okay for them to abuse somebody so long as the general belief is that person is an abuser who deserves it. Inventing, lying, fabricating evidence and manipulating events to justify the targeted abuse. Group reinforcement from an echo-chamber who use the degradation of their target in attempt to elevate themselves above the very behaviour they are themselves doing but blaming the target for. 

Castle Cult Casino

 

The Castle is the Dice

It’s a casino.

You gamble your life every time you go in there.

It is run by a cult.

In that there is an enigmatic yet mysterious figurehead, an inner circle, an outer circle, then everybody else. This pyramid hierarchy system is simple. 

The everybody else category of people are generally fleeced for everything they have whenever they come into the castle.

Yet, somehow, if they leave, they leave with a smile on their face, feeling satisfied and planning to return. 

‘If’ they leave is a reminder that there are dungeons below the castle. The denizens of said dungeons are a tradable commodity with the everybody else.

There are six possible directions in or out of any room. Seven if you use magic (which requires power ups). 

Dealing With A Door

A door is a riddle, a puzzle, a portal. It’s all good and easy if the door is open. If not a way must be found to persuade it to open. This may be use of an appropriate key, appropriately appropriated. It may be the uttering of an enchanting mouth noise.

At The Gaming Table

The first thing you should notice is the floor is chequerboard. The room is the gaming table. Astute travellers will question where the pieces are. Wizards will ponder the rules, which is of course what makes them wizards. 

There may indeed be a symbolic wooden tables and benches in the centre or at the side or one end of a room. Whatever is upon it is also symbolic.

A banquet feast means you are eating the food of the place, taking its energy into yourself. While this sustenance may be nutritious, or poisonous, it has the effect of imbuing, the energy of the place into you. Snacks are available to ensure this continues. 

The Rules

Rule One

The more complicated a system is, the more potential for confusion, error and manipulation, there is within that system. 

Rule Two

Every occurrence of a variable increases complexity of the system. 

Therefore it increases potential for confusion, error or manipulation. 

Variables add complexity. Complexity is defined in terms of variables. 

Rule Three

Assumption creates deviation, complexity, variation. 

Nothing is ever so complicated than preconceptions. 

By this, the visitor exposes all. 

*Extrapolation of Rule Two;

There is flow (yin) and there is gate (exchange). 

Gate is a variable. 

Gate either: splits flow, changes state or direction of flow, streamlines two into one, makes more or less complicated (distillation / derivation). 

Gate is alchemical. 

An example is a dice roll. 

TBC

I am writing this blog entry as the words and ideas come to me in my spare time for the sake of it. 

This concept is intentionally fully compatible with The Infinite Castle supplement for Brains&Brawn RPG, both available from DriveThruRPG. B&B and TheInfiniteCastle are copyright Ordo Octopia. 

The Castle Is The Dice  is also compatible with the open-license free-to-all SLOP game system. The idea cane from a randomly generated AI art picture used to illustrate SLOPs (the illustration with four characters, each representing an element, each representing a statistic from that game system).

SLOP

Yes, I grew up on 80s video games as a kid.

You need 3 stats: 

lives, speed and oxygen. 

Also power-ups. 

You need 4 stats. 

And magic. 

You need 5 stats. 

Can’t we use power-ups for magic?

We need 4 stats. 

SLOP

Speed Lives Oxygen Power

Sorted.

Applying this to role-play game system, I would be tempted to use a scale of 1 to 5 which fit snugly with the D6-1 or alternatively, D6, where rolling six is a massive power up that gives you another dice to roll.

Fire = Action = Speed

Earth = Body = Lives

Air = Mind = Oxygen

Water = Emotion = Power 

It may be imperfect but when you’ve only got four statistics to do everything with its not bad.

Oxygen is valuable if you live in space or go underwater. Or delve into a stinky cave where the wind never blows.

Staying true to the video game genre, power ups are not innate, they come from discovering them in the environment or nabbing them from other characters.

Your character starts with 1 Power point. 

One PowerPoint is worth one D6. 

As we are using oxygen for intelligence because it relates to mind in the hermetic tradition of alchemy, the first three stats; speed, lives, oxygen, define your characters abilities.

You get nine points to arrange around those three stats. 

Each stat must have at least one because to have zero in any of the means you’re dead. Not unconscious; dead. You can have no more than five points per stat, the maximum under normal conditions.

So it is possible you can assign five points to one stat and two points to two of the other stats. 225. Or 234. Or 333. Try not to be boring. 

To test any stat against yourself, roll 1D6 and get equal or less than the stat rate. 

To compare any stat competitively against somebody else, roll 1D6 and add the relevant stat rate.

RPGcults

The role-playing games culture, communities and industry has always been a place where two things are happening. 

The most important thing:

It is a place where people can develop their imagination and freethinking skills, emphasising and encouraging our ability to think for ourselves through a diverse range of situations. In many ways it is a safe practice zone for real life, exploring consequence and accountability. 

Older and experienced GamesMasters train people through the traditional ancient devices of storytelling and game mechanics in motivation-based decision-making processes which require and develop clarity of thinking and sometimes morality checks. 

The other thing occurring is: dark triad trait controllers enjoying the power they wield over a group of zombies who they can railroad for the enjoyment of all, some more than others. 

The mechanics of subDom from BDSM culture can be overlaid on the gathering of gamers for sessions exploring scenes. In many cases the same language is used in both cultures.

As ttrpg* is generally associated as a kids game, not so many people are confident (or experienced) to publicly discuss about that. 

Despite which the demographic of post-millennial ttrpg associated sales is exponentially within the 30-50 age range, predominantly white men. I have not the data for pre-millennial sales to compare. It is probable the same individuals buying ttrpg stuff as kids are still the same individuals buying ttrpg stuff as adults. 

*ttrpg ‘table-top role-playing games’, including both pen&paper games and miniature war-games (which often overlap). 

Both involve “the rolling of the dice” indicating and symbolising a risk element involving chance and invoking fate. 

“Zombies cannot think clearly. But they can hate.”

The delusion that it is okay for them to abuse somebody so long as the general belief is that person is an abuser who deserves it. 

Inventing, lying, fabricating evidence and manipulating events to justify the targeted abuse. Group reinforcement from an echo-chamber who use the degradation of their target in attempt to elevate themselves above the very behaviour they are themselves doing but blaming the target for. 

Although not literally the enactment of parlour-games in the sens du boudoir, the non-physical elements of BDSM, emotional and mental cruelty and deviations, most certainly is extant. 

CheckList80

Wales Valleys 

HomeBrew Rules for D&D 

1980s 1990s 

The “What do you want to do?” checklist. 

Kill it 

Fuck it

Fight it

Steal it

Drink it 

Burn it 

Ignore it

Forget it

This came from the Welsh Valleys Player Groups and caught on across (at least) three counties (that I knew of). Not through any fault of my own; I have always promoted character development and story content over hack&slash. 

As a kid and young teen I had a wide social group because of extra-curricular activities and changing schools. We didn’t have internet and mobile phones back then so I lost contact with so many people from the old days. 

In our rpg sessions we quickly dumped the time consuming laborious necessity to use Character sheets at all. Introducing new people to the game, often girls and younger nerds, the same way older nerds had introduced us to it, to optimise the actual playing time, the story content time, plus lack of bits of paper and dice available meant our cultural playstyle was improvisational and quick. 

“What is your character?”

Barbarian, Wizard, Evil-Wizard, (the colour-specific) Knight, Elf-Maiden, Fairy-Princess, “I dunno” generic Adventurer, Strangler, and Ninja-Assassin were the most popular character types. 

“You have one weapon according to your Character type.” 

It was always the most obvious thing. 

Next, no matter what adventure the GamesMaster improvisational thrust the group into…

“You are all gathered in the courtyard of the Castle.”

…the following sequence of events would happen. 

Strangler: “I strangle the Elf-Maiden.” 

The stranglers Aim and conditions for winning the game are to strangle as many people as possible preferably everyone before someone permanently prevents it. 

Ninja-Assassin and Knight: “I kill the Strangler before he strangles the Elf-Maiden.”

Gamesmaster: “Strangler is dead.”

Elf-Maiden “I thank the knight by taking him into a room in the castle.” 

Ninja-Assassin: “What about me?”

Elf-Maiden: “oh wait, I thought you were the Knight and he is the Ninja-Assassin.”

They sort it out.

Elf-Maiden: “I don’t really mind, really.”

GamesMaster: “What is everyone else doing while this is going on?”

Knight, Elf-Maiden and Ninja-Assassin characters get bored and wander off somewhere together. As far as they are concerned they have won the game by achieving their character goals of using the story to justify wandering off somewhere together in real life. 

At this point it’s contemporary to elucidate how in the social groups I was involved with even during the late 80s early 90s there was a 50/50 chance the Knight and Ninja-Assassin players were male or female while the Elf-Maiden and Fairy-Princess players were always female. 

GamesMaster: “Who is left?”

Fairy-Princess: “I wake the Strangler up.”

Strangler: “I’m dead.”

Everyone else: “I thought he was dead.”

Fairy-Princess: “I am a Fairy and a Princess so I am using my Fairy-Princess magic to wake the Strangler up.” 

GamesMaster: “Fair enough. Strangler, you’re alive again now.”

Strangler: “I thank the Fairy-Princess. No wait a minute do I know she has brought me back to life?” 

GamesMaster: “I don’t know. Fairy-Princess does he know you have brought him back to life using your magic?” 

Fairy-Princess: “No it’s a secret. Nobody knows.” 

There is a fifty-fifty chance the Strangler character is male or female. The same rule applies for the Barbarian, Wizard, Evil-Wizard. “I dunno” generic Adventurers are always usually male. Nobody knows why or if they do they’re keeping quiet about it. 

Barbarian: “I get bored and punch the Wizard.”

Wizard: “What? Why?”

Barbarian: “I’m bored.”

GamesMaster: “Okay. You punch the Wizard. Wizard what do you want to do?”

Wizard: “I cast a spell of Niceness on the Barbarian so he doesn’t hit anyone again.” 

GamesMaster: “Say your magic words.”

Wizard: “Ahamabalamba” 

As far as the Wizard player is concerned he has won the game because everyone laughs and half the people repeats the Wizards magic word. It is a moment they have all been waiting for. This word will be repeated occasionally for several weeks by various members of the party even when the rest of the party are nowhere around. Such is the power of magic words intuited during spontaneous roleplaying sessions. 

Strangler: “While everyone is distracted with laughter I strangle the Wizard.” 

It is the perfect set-up. The Strangler has struck at the most opportune moment. 

Everyone: “Shit.” 

GamesMaster: “The Wizard…”

Everyone: “Yes?”

GamesMaster: “…is…”

Everyone: “Yes?”

GamesMaster: “…dead.”

Everyone: “Nooooo!!!”

Elf-Maiden: “Hey you didn’t all cry out like that when I was strangled!” 

Everyone: “We did! We did!”

GamesMaster: “You don’t count, you’ve wandered off somewhere into the castle.”

Strangler: “I strangle the Adventurer!”

Generic Adventurer: “It’s not your go.”

Strangler: “Everyone was distracted again by the Elf-Maiden interrupting.”

GamesMaster: “This is true but it’s still not your go. Some of them haven’t had a go at all yet.”

Generic Adventurer: “I stop the Strangler!”

GamesMaster: “How do you do that?”

Generic Adventurer: “Do I have a weapon?”

GamesMaster: “Yes you have a sword.”

Generic Adventurer: “I stab him.”

Everyone: “Gasp!”

GamesMaster: “Where do you stab him?”

Various people make various suggestions. 

Generic Adventurer: “In the funniest of places!”

Everyone laughs. 

GamesMaster: “The Strangler is dead. Again.”

Everyone (including the Strangler), speaking almost but not exactly at the same time so every voice is individually heard in its own space as part of the collective: “Again.”

Strangler: “Rats.”

Everyone laughs. 

Evil Wizard: “I cast the Death Spell.”

GamesMaster: “Who do you cast the death spell on?”

Someone: “The Dreaded Death Spell!”

Someone else: “Dreaded Death Spell of Doom!”

Some other people, chanting: “Doom! Doom!” and “Death and Doom!”

Evil Wizard: “EVERYONE!”

Everyone (including the dead people): “Noooo!!!”

GamesMaster: “Including yourself?” 

Evil Wizard: “Er.” A dramatic pause of baited breaths ensues. “Hang on a moment, I’m not sure yet.”

GamesMaster: “Everyone is dead.” 

Most people feel they have won the game because they have successfully  accomplished their characters goal. Some feel they have won simply by taking part in the adventure. Nobody really cares much that they’re all dead. 

Next week will be another variation of the same story with some minor changes, most probably with different people playing the different parts. The session was a collective ritual. 

I swear to the Gods we did versions of almost exactly this same session multiple times with different people playing different roles in different ways and in different places. 

The strangest thing of all is some of the groups didn’t know anyone else from the other groups or even have any awareness that they existed, aside from myself to observe the progression and compare sessions. I swear was not generating it myself. I usually always played the Wizard or Generic Adventurer, not a lead role. 

I spent years trying to explain to people about ‘speakers of the cosmic script’ ‘tapping into something’ and ‘underlaying structures affecting us collectively and subliminally’ before the movie The Matrix came out and now everyone says ‘oh the matrix’ whenever anything like that happens, which it does a lot more often than most of us are willing to be openly aware of. 

Sometimes the boys would play without any girls around in which case the story developed very differently. See: Player Checklist. To this day I still have no idea at all what female-only roleplaying sessions are about. I might possibly be grateful for that.