I've only run this game in short bursts, so I can't say whether I have either the ingenuity or the stamina to run it as an ongoing campaign. That said, I have three suggestions:
A) Don't look at it like other RPG's. Nobilis just doesn't facilitate the same kinds of experiences as old-school dungeoneering. The characters can do things backwards through time after all. Instead, take the game as a philosophical exploration of Themes. Take the contrast between the Prosaic and Mythic worlds. If you can hold it, this two level apprehension of game events is not unakin to something like a Glass Bead Game fugue - on one level, there is the visible action, but on the other invisible but pointed-to level is the allegorical meaning. This experience can be very intense, especially in a group format, with the characters representing universals.
B) I have problems with the setting too - my issue focuses on the outside of creation being too smiliar to the inside. But the setting is just meant to suggest possibilities. If you're foundering on the game text, return to the source materials. Specifically, read Sandman again. I always find that if I'm lost, hitting some Gaiman will reorient me and remind me what I'm getting at. It also helps to know that this a game capable of telling stories other games simply can't. Taking full advantage of that allows you to haul out all those experimental ideas that would never fly elsewhere, all those weird non-linear one-shots and characters and notions that never quite fit. Before a game, I pick a theme and daydream, free associate, meander. I last ran an Easter weekend one shot, and chose Easter as my central idea - I ended up with Spring Goddesses returning from Hell's ransom as converts, mulitple Jesii from parallel worlds, some who sacrificed themselves and some who turned their powers on the oppressors, Oestre's cosmic eggs and breads transforming random mundanes, the Passover Angel of Death who destroys those with unmarked doors, and so on...
C) If the mechanics aren't for you, tweak. I don't think dice are wise; but if you don't like the attribute names, change 'em. As for diceless, I think it adds to the experience - the System Matters. I like it, though it took some getting used to and I wouldn't use it for other games. Play around with it, see if you get the hang of how the bidding works. It's a game of chicken for narration rights.
I would say: don't give up. This game is a gem. |
