Hi There!
Max Headroom here for Network 23, broadcasting live from 20 seconds into your future, and What I Wanna Know is ...
Who's first on Chalmers?
No, scratch that, I meant to talk about censorship. What is censorship? Who does it, and why, and do they use an approved lubricant? Is it ever justified? What constitutes pornography? Just how far does freedom of speech extend?
And where does plant abuse fit into all this?
A non-violent, one-session systemless module for five adults, loosely based on the Max Headroom video series. Players must look at censorship, a complex issue replete with grey areas and moral dilemmas, reduce it to black and white terms that the average viewer can understand, and present it in a three-minute sound byte between Cola commercials.
Warning: This module is restricted to players aged 18 years or older. Graphic situations and scenes within the module may offend some players.
I had originally intended to write a module to explore censorship and freedom of speech; however, once I set to it, I realised how vast a task that would be, and restricted the coverage to just those issues surrounding erotica. It is somewhat stylised, and treats serious issues (pedophilia, exploitation, government corruption) in a manner that some people may find uncomfortably flippant. The light tone is deliberate, to keep the emotional level down and hopefully encourage players to think rather than going with their first gut reaction to each scene. I hope I've asked some interesting questions, and leave it to the players to answer each question for themselves.
Max Headroom and all related characters are copyrighted, and owned by someone else.
NVE was first run at NonCon '93.
If you are a GM interested in reading or running this module, Email me with details of your role-playing background and experience, and the kind of group you are playing with. Also tell me what file formats you can read, the original is in MS Word 6.0 format but I can translate to a few others (also specify if you can un.ZIP files). And no, there is no cost involved. I would appreciate hearing feedback on how the module went for your group, or any other comments you may have.
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