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* '''The Disposable Children''' | * '''The Disposable Children''' | ||
− | In ''Scum'', life isn't worth much. There's a hundred teenagers like you on the estate, and all of them have started in the bottom of society, and will likely end there | + | In ''Scum'', life isn't worth much. There's a hundred teenagers like you on the estate, and all of them have started in the bottom of society, and will likely end there now. Teenage mothers beget at least half a dozen mewling sprogs each, and they'll go on to be teenage parents themselves. Numbers multiply and there's always another child on the way. Life ends easily with the stab of a knife or with a drug overdose. Those that survive have little to do but perpetuate the cycle of misery. |
* '''Hedonism''' | * '''Hedonism''' | ||
− | The key to happiness then, is to live for the moment. The ''Scum'' are hedonists in | + | The key to happiness then, is to live for the moment. The ''Scum'' are hedonists in thr truest sense: they drink, have sex, smoke, take drugs and fight because there's nothing better to do, and nothing to lose by doing so. The game systems in place encourage this sort of attitude - if you want to succeed you have to embrace the hedonistic aspects of life, and throw yourself into danger. You shouldn't be worrying about consequences, but instead living for the self-gratification of the moment. |
* '''Filth''' | * '''Filth''' | ||
− | The world of ''Scum'' is dirty, in every sense of the world. In depicting the world and in shaping the scenarios the GM should be aware that he should be viewing through a lense of grime and filth. Graffiti lines every wall, glass is always broken and rats rummage through uncollected trash. The ''Scum'' move through this dirty world comfortably, because its all they've ever known. The filth of the streets should be reflected in the NPCs as well. Everyone's dirty somehow - everyone has a guilty secret, be it sexual perversions, a secret drug habit or a warped and bigoted mind. In this sort of setting it becomes easier to see our protagonists as the heroes (or at least, anti-heroes). They might not be paragons of good behaviour, but there still not as f**ked up as the generation above them, and at least they are still young enough to change... | + | The world of ''Scum'' is dirty, in every sense of the world. In depicting the world and in shaping the scenarios the GM should be aware that he should be viewing through a lense of grime and filth. Graffiti lines every wall, glass is always broken and rats rummage through uncollected trash. The ''Scum'' move through this dirty world comfortably, because its all they've ever known. The filth of the streets should be reflected in the NPCs as well. Everyone's dirty somehow - everyone has a guilty, dark secret, be it sexual perversions, a secret drug habit or a warped and bigoted mind. In this sort of setting it becomes easier to see our protagonists as the heroes (or at least, anti-heroes). They might not be paragons of good behaviour, but there still not as f**ked up as the generation above them, and at least they are still young enough to change... |
* '''Sex''' | * '''Sex''' | ||
− | Tied in with hedonism and filth is ''sex'' - we're talking about teenagers here, with little supervision and an attitude of "do what feels good". Is it any wonder that sex is a major theme? The protagonists happily have quick and dirty sex in the piss-stained alleys, or give each other hand jobs in darkened corners of sticky nightclubs | + | Tied in with hedonism and filth is ''sex'' - we're talking about teenagers here, with little supervision and an attitude of "do what feels good". Is it any wonder that sex is a major theme? The protagonists happily have quick and dirty sex in the piss-stained alleys, or give each other hand jobs in darkened corners of sticky nightclubs. |
* '''Dark humour''' | * '''Dark humour''' | ||
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==21st Century Britain== | ==21st Century Britain== | ||
− | This game was written in 2009, though the setting it depicts could have been from any time in the last 10 years, and probably will be relevant for at least a few more years | + | This game was written in 2009, though the setting it depicts could have been from any time in the last 10 years, and probably will be relevant for at least a few more years. |
Britain in 2009 is hit hard by the credit crunch, just like anywhere else in the world. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is head of a sinking ship, as the bank systems freefall into crisis after crisis, and the government throws billion after billion into jumpstarting the economy. | Britain in 2009 is hit hard by the credit crunch, just like anywhere else in the world. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is head of a sinking ship, as the bank systems freefall into crisis after crisis, and the government throws billion after billion into jumpstarting the economy. | ||
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==The Estate - an Urban Setting== | ==The Estate - an Urban Setting== | ||
− | The | + | The Council Estate is where the nation used to hide its poor - blocks of flats would be built in the cheapest and most run down areas. The nature of the area and the population would drive down property prices, and determine the services. High street clothes shops would be replaced by discount-shops and charity shops. Restaurants would be replaced by chippies and kebaberies. |
− | These days, thanks to some bright spark in government, every new build site has to have an area of "affordable housing". Instead of lumping all the poor in one place, they're everywhere. The net result is the same as the poor are still ostracised by middle class | + | These days, thanks to some bright spark in government, every new build site has to have an area of "affordable housing". Instead of lumping all the poor in one place, they're everywhere. The net result is the same as the poor are still ostracised by middle class neihgbours, except now the communities of the poor are that much smaller. |
− | The setting of ''Scum'' is | + | The setting of ''Scum'' is in the inner city, and focused around a small geographic area. Everyone round here is poor, though the borders between the estate and the world of the middle classes is now blurred - you could walk five minutes and find yourself "up market", and then walk another five and find yourself in the next estate along. |
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− | Everyone round | ||
It doesn't really matter though - the lines that keep the scum in are lines of psychological territory. The ''scum'' know that this is where they belong, and that these are their streets. They gather at the same places every night, and subconsciously patrol the same routes. | It doesn't really matter though - the lines that keep the scum in are lines of psychological territory. The ''scum'' know that this is where they belong, and that these are their streets. They gather at the same places every night, and subconsciously patrol the same routes. | ||
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Like a punk, a chav has his own musical genre. He claims certain genres of rap (especially white boy rap and UK garage music) as his own, though he isn't defined by these musical tastes. | Like a punk, a chav has his own musical genre. He claims certain genres of rap (especially white boy rap and UK garage music) as his own, though he isn't defined by these musical tastes. | ||
− | However, unlike a punk, the chav isn't yet accepted into the mainstream | + | However, unlike a punk, the chav isn't yet accepted into the mainstream, and unlike a punk the chav isn't in any way political. The chav isn't looking to tear down the status quo, he's just looking to get drunk, have fun and do what he wants. |
Also, unlike the punk, the chav has yet to take their monicker as a badge of pride. Call a chav a chav, and you'll get him angry. Call a punk a punk, and they'll be happy to be recognised. | Also, unlike the punk, the chav has yet to take their monicker as a badge of pride. Call a chav a chav, and you'll get him angry. Call a punk a punk, and they'll be happy to be recognised. | ||
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As roleplayers, we have to take our anti-heroes and turn them into protagonists that we can care about and relate to. | As roleplayers, we have to take our anti-heroes and turn them into protagonists that we can care about and relate to. | ||
− | The approach that this game takes is to look at common media, and look for depictions of anti-heroes. | + | The approach that this game takes is to look at common media, and look for depictions of anti-heroes. A good match here is '''pirates'''. |
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− | A good match here is ''pirates''. | ||
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Like pirates, the chavs are seen as the ''scum of society''. They are feared and loathed, and exist outside of the system. Like pirates, the chavs are hedonistic, drunkard and money-grabbing. They both mix gregariousness with a treacherous nature. They both approach violence and sex casually. | Like pirates, the chavs are seen as the ''scum of society''. They are feared and loathed, and exist outside of the system. Like pirates, the chavs are hedonistic, drunkard and money-grabbing. They both mix gregariousness with a treacherous nature. They both approach violence and sex casually. | ||
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Its a small step then to take elements of pirate stories, and to layer them onto the setting of ''Scum''. How much you want to do this depends on your style. | Its a small step then to take elements of pirate stories, and to layer them onto the setting of ''Scum''. How much you want to do this depends on your style. | ||
− | A subtle GM might just take certain themes - buried treasure, mutiny and the like - and use them as background elements | + | A subtle GM might just take certain themes - buried treasure, mutiny and the like - and use them as background elements. |
A GM who wants to emphasise the theme might take piratical tropes and modernise them. Perhaps walking the plank might be a gang's way of executing someone, but making them walk off a building's edge rather than into the sea. A map with X-marks-the-spot might be a London Underground map with a big X over one station. | A GM who wants to emphasise the theme might take piratical tropes and modernise them. Perhaps walking the plank might be a gang's way of executing someone, but making them walk off a building's edge rather than into the sea. A map with X-marks-the-spot might be a London Underground map with a big X over one station. | ||
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* Acquiring a big stash of money or drugs. | * Acquiring a big stash of money or drugs. | ||
* Getting hold of a book of "perfect racing tips" that predicts how horse races will be fixed for the next year. | * Getting hold of a book of "perfect racing tips" that predicts how horse races will be fixed for the next year. | ||
− | * Getting into the Pop | + | * Getting into the Pop Stars competition, and winning through fair means or foul. |
* Getting into the Big Brother house. | * Getting into the Big Brother house. | ||
* Stealing a winning lottery ticket. | * Stealing a winning lottery ticket. | ||
These motivations arise as the next get-rich-quick scheme arises, and hence tend to be the basis of game scenarios. | These motivations arise as the next get-rich-quick scheme arises, and hence tend to be the basis of game scenarios. | ||
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==Scum Culture== | ==Scum Culture== | ||
− | This is a list of things that the protagonists are likely to like and appreciate. | + | This is a list of things that the protagonists are likely to like and appreciate. This is not intended as criticism of any player who might share these tastes, by the way: |
− | * '''Music:''' Lily Allen, The Streets, Blazing Squad, N-Dubz | + | * '''Music:''' Lily Allen, The Streets, Blazing Squad, N-Dubz, So Solid. |
− | * '''Food:''' | + | * '''Food:''' Doner kebabs, fried chicken, chips, burgers. |
− | * '''Drink:''' Cheap lagers (Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters) for the boys, Alcopops (WKD Blue, Smirnoff Ice) for the girls, additive- | + | * '''Drink:''' Cheap lagers (Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters) for the boys, Alcopops (WKD Blue, Smirnoff Ice) for the girls, additive-hevay shots (Shotz, Afterburner) for everyone. |
* '''Drugs:''' Weed, almost universally. Ecstacy for about half. Cocaine for about a quarter. Heroin for about one in ten. | * '''Drugs:''' Weed, almost universally. Ecstacy for about half. Cocaine for about a quarter. Heroin for about one in ten. | ||
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[[Category:Scum|We Is Scum]] | [[Category:Scum|We Is Scum]] |