Scum: We Is Scum

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What is Scum?

The Scum RPG

The Scum RPG is set in 21st century Britain, and focuses on the activities of a small segment of the population - underprivileged teenagers, disenfranchised and derided by society.

It has come into being because of the growing perceived phenomenon of ["chavs"] and of the media's reaction to them. There's not a week that goes by in the UK without some mention of antisocial teenagers, rising knife crime amongst young people or the disintegration of social responsibility.

The game setting puts us in a world that is mostly realistic, but also satirical, in its assumption that the worst fears of the middle classes are true, and that there really does exist an underclass of teenagers that engage in gang warfare, casual knife crime and copious drug use.

The game is humorous to an extent, as it approaches the subject matter with an eye for farce and stereotype. It also makes light of alcohol abuse, of teenage pregnancies and even of murder. It treats these things in a gamist way, incorporating them into game mechanics and making them tools for players to use.

On the other hand, the game is necessarily dark, as you can't explore this world without realising how horrific and gritty it is. This is most definitely a game for mature audiences only.

The balance of darkness and humour is essentially up to the GM, but there's always going to be room for a bit of both.

Its worth noting that the game is called Scum, because this is how the protagonists are perceived by middle class society. The game's author in no way supports this view, but nor does he oppose it - it's purely an observation on media depiction. Its up to the players to decide how they play their Scum. The game doesn't insist on a certain morality, and though quite clearly the protagonists aren't nice people, they're still clearly human beings with human motivations. We don't scratch too deep beyond the surface - this game isn't terribly interested in the socio-economic and political factors that have created the "chav" phenomenon, but rather is aimed at putting the players into the shoes of these teenagers, and letting them see life from a different point of view.

You can call it catharsis, satire or "just a game". Me, I like to think that its at least an original concept.