Fermat’s Last Stand Coordination Thread

All right, let’s make this happen.

I would like to start a new Dungeons & Discourse campaign. If you’re totally confused, see here for the rulebook and here for the last campaign log.

As you might be able to tell, the game will be confusing and un-fun unless you know a lot of philosophy. The last campaign required, for example, at least a minimal level of familiarity with Hobbes’ theory of government, Richard Dawkins’ atheism, p-zombies, and Russell’s paradox. This game will require about the same amount of background knowledge.

But we had a lot of fun last time and everyone was able to follow without any trouble. So you are interested in participating, please leave a comment below with the following

– Are you interested in playing?
– Are you interested in DMing?
– If both, which would you prefer?
– Are you interested in doing this in meatspace? If so, where do you live?
– Any time preferences (like “not on Saturdays” or “only on Saturdays”)
– Any scheduling preferences (like “once a week”)
– If playing, a one-sentence description of your philosophical beliefs (eg “libertarian atheist reductionist”) so we can try to get our parties as diverse as possible
– If you have a strong preference to be in the same game as someone else
– Contact details

If I’m really lucky there will be enough people to organize into several groups that satisfy everyone’s preferences. If I’m not, I’ll throw everyone together and dub the resulting mess a party.

I know there are a couple of groups that have been set up already. They obviously don’t need to comment here, but I would like to get in contact with the DMs of these groups for a few reasons. First, we should set up a mailing list or something to compare ideas and strategies. Second, I want to give you the campaign material.

At the moment, this will take the form of a promise of several songs which I have not written yet, plus a plot which I sort of have. The plot is very bare bones and does not contain encounters or puzzles or dialogues or fleshed out settings. It’s basically an outline for constructing a campaign rather than a campaign itself. This is for a few reasons – I’m not too good at fleshing out campaigns and don’t want to limit you to what I’ve got, plus I plan to make a lot of the details up as I go along. That means DM volunteers need some experience or clue what they’re doing (unlike me, but I’m volunteering anyway).

I’ll try to have parties worked out by the beginning of March and then we can finally start this.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

36 Responses to Fermat’s Last Stand Coordination Thread

  1. Scott Alexander says:

    – I would like to DM.
    – If there is a Berkeley group, I miiiight do it in meatspace
    – No strong time preferences, but Mondays and Wednesdays slightly worse than elsewhen
    – Contact at scott[at]shireroth[dot]org

  2. Sam Burnstein says:

    – I would be interested in playing or DMing in meatspace, in Berkeley. Quite a bit of experience with each.
    – No strong time preferences.
    – Contact at sburnstein((at))gmail(dot)com

    • rickjs says:

      – Are you interested in playing? Yes, though I have read few phobosophical tomes (consider that many “philosophers” are actually in fear of knowledge. Be alert for phrases like, “You can’t know ______ for certain.”).

      – Are you interested in DMing? Probably not qualified for this, though I have DMed since 1974.

      – Are you interested in doing this in meatspace? If so, where do you live? Yes. Berkeley.

      – Any time preferences (like “not on Saturdays” or “only on Saturdays”). Weekends tend to get booked, but can work if scheduled in advance. Weekdays mostly OK.

      – Any scheduling preferences? once a week

      -description of your philosophical beliefs
      Lazy rebellious heroic Bayesian. Fictional meta-physicist (I have a metaphysics that has been tuned by years in actual use as the foundation for super-hero role-playing games that included magic-users.)

      – Contact details 805-890-2514 voice / text ; Rick period shfhs att gmail period com

  3. falenas108 says:

    I’m DM-ing, though it meatspace and with a group of friends. I’d definitely be interested in being on a mailing list.

    Would you recommend I start with the campaign already in the rulebook, or the new one?

  4. Romeo Stevens says:

    I’m interested if someone else can DM in mountain view/the south bay

  5. When I play with my DC DnD group, I just NPC (basically improv villainous dialogue for antagonists and subtly insert any exposition the DM requests). I like this more than executing combat mechanics.
    I’m in BK and would prefer to do in meatspace
    My job has pretty variable hours
    Scott knows who I am and where to find me 🙂

  6. Joe says:

    Potentially interested if online or in London.
    I’m a consequentialist utilitarian and generally plump for the libertarian view on matters political.

  7. Thomas Eliot says:

    I’m in Melbourne, Australia, and would like to play in any format. I am already attempting to organize a meatspace game here, which anyone else is welcome to join. I would like to play, not DM, and am available any time with advance notice except Wednesday evenings my time-which is to say, 10pm onwards Tuesday evening Berkeley time, if I’m converting that correctly.

    I’m am an atheist materialist liberal leftist determinist or maybe compatabilist utilitarian who would be interested in virtue ethics if tere were rules for them and is a sort of reformed communist turned capitalist

  8. Avantika says:

    Being in Bangalore, India, I can’t play in ‘meatspace’ (I am trying to get some people interested, but a Bangalore group doesn’t look likely to happen anytime soon). If there is a possibility of playing this online I definitely want to.

    Contact at avantikalal1990 at gmail dot com

  9. Slow Learner says:

    I am based in the West Midlands (UK), so online seems to be my only practical option, though I’m happy to play in any way available!

    I am a consequentialist reductionist, with broadly social democratic political leanings and an aversion to dogma, unnecessary jargon and theism in that order.

  10. ari says:

    I am interested in throwing peanuts at people playing this on IRC.

  11. Ben says:

    I would be interested playing, not DMing, games in Oxford, London and Princeton. I prefer meatspace.

    Compatabilist, Libertarian, scalar consequentialist (complex basket of goods, including non-existant people, bite the bullet on overdemandingness objection and accept fanaticism modulo empirical stabilisation assumption as a response to Infinite Ethics), skeptical about axiom of Replacement, reductionist, materialist, philosophical anarchist, Error Theorist, Nominalist about universals, Disjunctivist about sense data, accept the Levelling Down Objection, believe Russell was right about the word “the”, accept the gricean account of implicature…

  12. Charlie says:

    If you have words and want a take on what tune would go with them, I would be very happy to provide songwriting help.

    Playing online would be fun, and I can DM in a pinch.
    Thursdays no good, weekends great.
    May attempt to devil’s advocate the heck out of postmodernism.
    Contact by replying to this comment, or by knowing my email 🙂

  13. David says:

    Highly interested in playing (meatspace or otherwise). I’m in New Haven until the end of May and DC after that. Atheist/reductionist/consequentialist, generally scientific approach but with a philosophical soft spot for existentialism (Kierkegaard is wonderful when he’s not completely wrong). Contact by replying to this comment.

  14. Moshe Zadka says:

    It seems a bit soon for me (I have a 1-month old baby), but if you do a another campaign later on, I will totally be into it!

  15. Nathan says:

    Never done anything like this before but definitely want to be on this list if at all possible.

    Location: LA, or more likely Internet.

    Philosophies: Conservative/libertarian, generally utilitarian, one-box on Newcomb, hardcore dualist and big fan of free will, Bayesian, empiricist, Christian. Linguistic descriptivist. I’d probably play either a reductionist empiricist type or a Christian apologist instead of mixing and matching like in real life.

    Contact by replying.

  16. Michael Vassar says:

    I’d like to try, but worried about competing commitments.

  17. ozymandias says:

    I’d be interested in online. I’d prefer Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but I’m flexible. I can be emailed at ozyfrantz at gmail dot com. I’m a vaguely leftist utilitarian nihilist skeptic/materialist type.

  18. Karl says:

    I was a player in the last campaign (Macx) and would be interested in playing or even DMing. I’m an atheist materialist liberal libertarian capitalist utilitarian compatibilist. Contact at twistortheo at gmail dot com.

  19. @Johnwbh says:

    I’d be interested in doing it online. I have no strong day preferences, but I’m in GMT timezone unlike most of you (as far as can tell).

  20. Tarn Somervell Fletcher says:

    I’d be interested in playing, but there’s little hope of a meatspace games here in Christchurch, NZ.
    Times: the timezone makes it weird, I might be able to just go along.
    Atheist Naturalist Reductionist Consequentialist/utilitarian, left on politics but it’s a mixed bag.
    somervta@yahoo.co.nz

  21. Pleeppleep says:

    I would love, love, love, love, love to play, but I’ll probably only be able to if we do this online. Never roll played before, but I’ve read a lot about it. I’m determinist, materialist, consequentialist, with leanings toward libertarianism, weak solipsism, and existentialism.

    • Karl says:

      Okay I’m curious, what do you mean by weak solipsism?

      • Pleeppleep says:

        I suppose it would have been more accurate to say “effective solipsism”. I believe everyone live in a world created by them and inseparable from them, but a person can’t directly control his or her world because it corresponds to outside patterns of contrast.

        If you’re determinist and materialist you probably agree with that, but I might assign more significance to it.

  22. Gyokuro says:

    I’d love to DM for a group I’m putting together in the meatspace. We’re kids and only I have a grasp on philosophy, but it’ll be a fun way to learn some awesomeness.

    Contact me at M8R-jdq2f@mailinator.com

  23. tster75 says:

    I’d be interested in playing online, if this is still open. I’m in an Australian timezone, I’m available most days, but preferably weekends. Atheist, consequentialist, materialist, generally far-left politically.
    me at tster75 dot com

  24. aretae says:

    I’m thoroughly intrigued. I’m available late evenings, and I live in San Antonio, a couple miles from Sister Y. Not interested in DM’ing, for time.

    Philosophy in one sentence:
    Hayek, Hume, and Hanson have engendered in me a core of aggressively anti-rationalist (anti-Plato, Berkeley) anti-verbalist (territory/map/words + tacit knowledge) pro-inductivist fallibilism while Deming, Beck, and Boyd have convinced me that feedback systems are the universal win with no other systems coming close.

    Addendum: My blog is pretty clear about my philosophy.

  25. Pingback: Fermat’s Last Stand: Game Rosters | Slate Star Codex

  26. Pingback: RPG emergency! | Slate Star Codex

  27. Jim Kennedy says:

    If this is still open, I would be interested in playing. I would have to do it via internet, though. Thomistic Catholic, Metaphysical Realist, Objective Ethicist/Natural Lawyer (and actual lawyer). Very interested in playing. I have played a lot of D&D in my time, but usually as the opposite of my natural LG alignment.