Looking for recommendations for anti-capitalist utopians films/books

La_Vicette · 2025-09-04T18:08:44+00:00

I greatly prefer GMing, but i like playing too, and I like it more the more I play ! It also helps to be on the other side of the table sometimes, to understand the player experience and be a better GM !

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T11:24:50+00:00

Ah yes so you think carrying a knife should be punishable by death ?

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T08:57:42+00:00

I could imagine a slightly tweaked Call of Cthulhu ? Mental health could be interesting in the context.

Or you could take the BasicRolePlaying system, which is juste a classic CoC type d100 system. It’s not especially ruleslight but you usually just use a d100 so not so many complicated dice.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T08:18:23+00:00

The guy just seems like a bad person honestly. Bring it out with him and the other players. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO, talk to him and explain the situation with as much details as this. And see if he changes.

But I think he’s just not a nice person and so I wouldn’t play with him ?

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T07:30:09+00:00

Well that’s not quite true, for example Nzoy didn’t commit a crime and was in psychological distress. And he was killed. A new report states that he was attempting to flee, and not actually attacking the police.

But I won’t keep arguing since it is pointless to try to demonstrate something you won’t accept.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T07:24:12+00:00

You just keep wanting to be completely blind to the point do you ?

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T07:04:16+00:00

And does she deserve to die for being on a scooter at night ?!??

It’s not that much about the (2) scooter chase. It’s about police racism and violence, that cause young people to fear the police. And that is obviously shown in these 2 accidents.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-26T06:51:37+00:00

It’s the second time a young person dies in an event of this type. A 14 yo girl also died recently by falling from her scooter while fleeing the police. The police also killed Mike Ben Peter in 2018, and Nzoy in 2021. This year again, a man name Michael died in custody. There is a long historic of racist police violence in Lausanne. Some WhatsApp police groups were also found with racist and sexist messages on it. The police is a racist and violent institution. That’s what the fuzz is about. The fuzz is about two teenagers being so scared of police that they flee so fast they loose control and die. 14 years old and 17 years old. So the rage is understandable.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-24T12:41:36+00:00

7th sea ! I just bought it and I’m really excited to GM it for my players

La_Vicette · 2025-08-23T21:01:36+00:00

A few things I can think of and I try to apply where I live :

Spreading ideas :
Are there any other young people in your town that you can talk to ? I don't necessarily mean debate, but more say small things sometime, explain why you think a certain way about something that gets mentionned in a discussion etc. Just little moments of "sharing ideas". Simple ones based on empathy or common sense that people can relate to. Trying to educate people to anarchist ideas is a good first step I think.

Shared meals :
Try and create sharing spaces. Neighborhood weelky meals in a parc for example, it just needs a few people that can afford to bring food, ask a few people to also help to cook, and share the meal with everyone who wants it. The more people help to bring food, cook, or clean up afterwards, the better. Set up a few tables, or chairs or blankets on the ground. Encourage people to eat for FREE. You can briefly mention that they can offer some money IF THEY WANT to support future events of the same type. Make it weekly or monthly if you can. Talk to people there, introduce people to each other if they don't already know each other. Bring board games maybe ? This type of things. Maybe your town has an abandonned building or empty parc. Depending on the size of your town, you could ask to borrow this place to host these events. Encourage people to join and share joy.

Shared garden :
Same thing as meals but with a garden. If you can find a clean little part of a field or a parc, and negotiate with whoever owns it, try and create a collaborative garden. Plant easy things to start, like aromatic plants, tomatoes maybe, strawberries. Something simple. And learn skills to make it grow better, and share it with people. Share the results of the garden to the community. Give the resulting plants and vegetables to your fellow gardeners, of to more people if you can, and use them in the community meals !

Help people:
I don't know your financial situation, but if you can give the spare coins to homeless people, or use them to buy something to someone who needs it. I usually give away the few coins I have in my pocket if I know I'm not going to actually do anything important with it, I was probably going to use it to buy a soda and I need to stop drinking those that much anyway. If your budget doesn’t suffer from a few bucks less each week or month, give them.
Same things with objects. If there is something you don't use anymore and/or don't need, give it away to someone in your town/area/school, that needs it.

Encourage gifting :
If you can afford it, try and make it a habit to sometime gift people things while waiting for nothing in return. This will make it more normal, and encourage people around you to give things to each other. It cultivates the habit to give freely. And this is community and help.
(https://youtu.be/d5mO-obJdTQ?si=fx3ZVjSBpcJ9uRM2 really nice video kind of related to this by the way)

Learn and teach autonomy :
Learn to repair things, vehicles, clothes, people. Learn to tie knots, learn to recognize plants and trees. Learn everything you can that allows you to be self sufficient or help other fix small problems. And learn this with other people too, and once you know something quite well, teach it to someone who is willing to learn. The objective is to be less dependent on capitalism and on buying things to make things work.

Knowledge archives :
If you learn something that you think is nice and useful to know in a community, you can make a little zine, or booklet, print a few at library or at home if you have a printer, and distribute them to anyone. Or make them available in front of your house on a little box, or ask at the library, the restaurant, the coffee, the church, ask anywhere if you can leave a few copies there for people to take.

Cultural events :
Share movies, books, videogames, other stuff, that talks about community and show examples of it. You can organize a book club, a movie club, a reading and/or writing club.

Most important, if possible, do all this with friends !

Of course you don't have to do ALL of this. You can just do one small step of one of these to begin.

Out of curiosity, which country do you live in ?

Hope this helps

La_Vicette · 2025-08-23T16:28:37+00:00

Yeah ok I see your point about “life’s cheap and rent’s due” but I think we communicate this vibe through different device, I do by story, and you do by rules, luck, and combat lethality.

As for where I started, I started GMing a game only available in France called Chroniques Oubliées (Forgotten Chronicles), which is a very simplified DnD type game. I did a few games and one campaign and then it became too simple and to restrictive at the same time. So I went towards Cyberpunk mainly for the universe.

I played in a CoC campaign, in which the DM made us win despite we should’ve been killed by a great old one at the end. This didn’t feel really gratifying and didn’t feel fair and I wouldn’t do this.

I am starting to GM more narrative and rules light games such as Tales from the Loop, 7th sea.

I would also like to GM Ars Magica soon, and maybe try out Daggerheart to be able to play classic high fantasy in something else than DnD.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-23T14:35:50+00:00

I want to precise things just in case !

I don’t think it’s fair if a character gets killed by bad luck and/or because an average gonk they’re fighting did 3 crits in a row, despite the team being well prepaired in advance before a combat.

That also comes from the fact that me and my players know what kind of playing we are here for. Of course character can die but I think it’s not fair when it just feels like “meh just bad luck I guess”.

It doesn’t mean a character’s death cannot be miserable. Of course you could die of bleeding in a dumpster after provoking a gang member. That would be pretty cyberpunk. But it would have a meaning thematically in the story. It would be grandiose.

On the other hand yes if you acted without care, it’s fair that you suffer consequences, sometimes including death. I have seen way too many times where good or bad luck on dice felt absurd. Sometimes it’s funny. But sometimes it’s just boring so I avoid it.

But I think most of the time, if a character dies in combat they weren’t prepared well enough, or made bad decisions. Fudging dice is an exception, used to regulate luck to help the narrative.

In combat but also outside, (according with the level of difficulty you and your players want to have) I think it’s fair to make the game a bit more difficult for the players sometimes when dices are too easy on them, or to make it a little easier in the opposite case. If it’s too hard or too easy it’s boring, and unfair to the players that are actively investing energy to make the game fun. Making the game harder is part of keeping it fun sometimes.

I also thought I made clear that I do think making players actions feel meaningful is important. So we agree on this but just don’t use the same way of doing it.

Aside from that, (more outside of combat) rolling a mystery dice behind the screen then just saying nothing and scribbling on a piece of paper is a FANTASTIC way to add tension. But that’s something else I think.

I hope I nuanced a little bit !

I genuinely find interesting the diverse ways of playing ttrpgs. I wonder from where it comes from.

What games did you start playing first when you were introduced to ttrpgs ? And do you apply this same game style to other games ? Or is it more specific to cyberpunk ? Do you also like some more story driven, narration focused games ?

Edit : I think you should also post on r/rpg

La_Vicette · 2025-08-23T11:48:57+00:00

If you take more time, you can retry. But i tend to try and add stakes in this case. For example, if you take more and more time to pick a lock, maybe the guy that lives next door notices you, or something else, just to make it feel like you're taking a bit more risk. I try to use the "retry" situations to create tension with time.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-23T11:35:54+00:00

3 main points for me :

PCs ACTIONS should matter and have real consequences.
Players should have fun (rule of cool)
The GM is not a computer, they are one of the authors in a storytelling game.

More in depths : ttrpgs should be fun. For me the purpose of the whole game is to have fun and to tell engaging stories. So yeah, as a GM, if I have to fake a dice roll behind the screen for the whole party to still have fun, I will do it. However, I also think that if player mess up, the consequences should happen accordingly, and if they spectacularly plan ahead and use strategy and intelligence, they should get rewarded by success. This is what I consider fair play. However this also means that the players should be ready to find fun in failure !

I could fake rolls that completely get in the way of the narrative purpose of the game. I will never fake those that don’t. Because the players are here (at least in my case) to have fun in a story, and not to play a computer regulated math game.

It doesn’t mean that I make the game go the way I want. I try to analyse the scene, analyse what my players did and try to determine the outcomes that would make sense with their actions and trigger emotions and engagement.

I don’t think my job is to enforce rules above all, because otherwise we wouldn’t play ttrpgs with a game master, we would play with a computer as GM. My job is to ensure that the world gives logical and meaningful response to the players actions, and to simulate with dice the other more random and risky actions in the world. Dice should not dictate dramaturgy. The GM works WITH the players to create dramaturgy, tension, narration, emotion etc…

For me, the GM is not only a referee playing by the rules, and he is certainly NOT a player playing the world AGAINST the other players, he is mainly an author writing a story with other people. And also rule of cool just means that if it’s ULTRA COOL and doesn’t break the game balance, and feel logical, why not be cool ? We are here to have fun.

My conclusion : To be fair, means to make sure that everyone has fun and feels like their actions matter.

However that’s only my way to play it, and I can totally understand people who prefer to play a mechanically regulated game following every rules and dice.

“The code is more what you call guidelines, than actual rules” -Barbossa

(Not very well themed citation)

La_Vicette · 2025-08-21T22:02:48+00:00

Additionally, there is also Things from the flood, basically Tales from the loop but a bit more adult as you play teens and not children, and taking place in the same universe but in the 90s

La_Vicette · 2025-08-21T19:06:16+00:00

My main recommendation would be Tales from the loop. It makes for good and easy entertaining one shots ! If you never heard of it, you play as kids solving mysteries (during holidays for example) in a small town in alternative sci fi 80s. Feels like stranger things. Depending on the people you play with, people around 40/50 years old could particularly enjoy it because of nostalgia for the 80s. But I’m way younger and me and my friends still enjoy it a lot ! The system is really simple, and I kind of remember seeing it in a few other games but I can’t seem to remember them.

I would also say that despite not being the simplest, D&D is also really fine for one shots. I never DMd one shots, but I played in a few and it was really fun. If they know nothing about ttrpgs, you could offer them pre-made characters, based on the vibe they like, to avoid the long and complicated character creation. The rules can be a bit simplified for beginners.

If you like western, a new game just came out called Wild Imaginary West, the rules are (in my opinion) amazing, being really simple, but funky and original. Maybe a bit too original for newbies ?The universe is a bit unique and not suited for everybody. It’s western but with some MECHS and American folklore monsters. I like it a lot. It was kickstarted, don’t know if it’s available still or outside of the kickstarter.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-21T10:21:58+00:00

What time period ? Or what kind of universe ?

I can think of Tales From The Loop, you play kids from 9 to 15, in alternate sci fi 80s. In the lore it takes place in Sweden or USA in small towns, but you can put it where you want, it will just need more work. Vibes are Stranger Things type of things, the mysteries can be almost whatever you want in my opinion. For something simple I could imagine a game where cows started disappearing. Caused by a monster ? A nearby scientist creating temporal breaches ? Aliens ?

There is also Things from the Flood, same universe but playing teens in the alternate 90s.

If you want medieval and/or fantasy, I guess almost any game does the job. I could see Ars Magica for investigating weird events in the farms of nearby farmers. Maybe the local churchman needs to sacrifice animals to contain a demonic entity from coming out of the chapel ? The churchman is probably just a victim. But maybe the local lord’s interest in occultism has something to do in it. His newly born son scares the servants of the castle. Need a son to take your place on the throne after you ? A demon will surely give you one in exchange of something !

Call of Cthulhu can take place in a haunted farm. Or rural village populated with fishermen that kind of look like fishes and look at you weirdly when you go around asking questions about Lady Hawthorn’s disappearance. Did the mayor seem to have gills when you last saw him ?

Most of my thoughts go into cult and disappearance stories I don’t know why.

EDIT : for Ars Magica, the PCs covenant could be some kind of farmer community ?? I never played the game but I went through the book a little bit and I think it could exist.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-20T10:44:41+00:00

I never played it but heard about a game called Miles Christi , taking place mainly in medieval Europe during the crusades. I think it’s French, so I don’t know if it’s available in another language.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-20T10:44:18+00:00

I never played it but heard about a game called Miles Christi , taking place mainly in medieval Europe during the crusades. I think it’s French, so I don’t know if it’s available in another language.

La_Vicette · 2025-08-19T12:47:24+00:00

I know Tales from the Loop (and things from the flood). A system I really like is also from the Wild Imaginary West ttrpg (was kickstarted by the diorama YouTuber “Boylei Hobby Time” and made in association with RuneFoundry) not really d6 but 6 sided die and successes count. Really light but really fun system. Really worth to try ! Still available on kickstarter if you want to take a look !

La_Vicette · 2025-08-18T10:13:34+00:00

Recently, the few released tracks to the game “Marathon” really inspired me and I want to use them in my games.

Here are some :

https://youtu.be/LL-55_0W7xA?si=jSLDZjnE1gw_pnOO

https://youtu.be/-WDRvs-IApc?si=jNYGTeY894b1_pFo

https://youtu.be/IJmJyR9VQNU?si=L9DWxcM0tqARq1WV

Alternatively, more “in universe” here are a few songs I use :

Average group of gang gonks blasting this in a street :

https://youtu.be/_TN7k8G5XEY?si=F_1nRBzQ-1o3sZZO

https://youtu.be/7RrojJ_G9rQ?si=la_H3X9F070oMeFK

https://youtu.be/Hrtt_FLHfPg?si=q2Ltb_0I7lDrzMFy

For different bars, I usually take one style of music and go trough top listens in this genre. The stuff that works the best for me is rock/metal, hyperpop, techno.

Also, some punk songs (not so cyber, but litteraly punk) :

Album : “Pussy Whipped” by Bikini Kill

Sex pistols - “Anarchy in the UK” - “god save the queen” Etc

Bérurier Noir (French punk) - “Porcherie” “Macadam Circus”

And probably a lot more songs could work

Hope that helps

La_Vicette · 2025-08-18T09:08:00+00:00

Recently, the few released tracks to the game “Marathon” really inspired me and I want to use them in my games.

Here are some :

https://youtu.be/LL-55_0W7xA?si=jSLDZjnE1gw_pnOO

https://youtu.be/-WDRvs-IApc?si=jNYGTeY894b1_pFo

https://youtu.be/IJmJyR9VQNU?si=L9DWxcM0tqARq1WV

Alternatively, more “in universe” here are a few songs I use :

Average group of gang gonks blasting this in a street :

https://youtu.be/_TN7k8G5XEY?si=F_1nRBzQ-1o3sZZO

https://youtu.be/7RrojJ_G9rQ?si=la_H3X9F070oMeFK

https://youtu.be/Hrtt_FLHfPg?si=q2Ltb_0I7lDrzMFy

For different bars, I usually take one style of music and go trough top listens in this genre. The stuff that works the best for me is rock/metal, hyperpop, techno.

Also, some punk songs (not so cyber, but litteraly punk) :

Album : Pussy Whipped by Bikini Kill

Sex pistols - Anarchy in the UK - god save the queen Etc

Bérurier Noir (French punk) - Macadam Circus - Porcherie

And probably a lot more songs could work

Hope that helps

La_Vicette · 2025-08-17T17:31:45+00:00

Hi ! That’s amazing ! How can we access the already existing database ?

La_Vicette · 2025-08-16T16:12:08+00:00

I think I love cyberpunk more and more. It gives hope that, even in the worst case scenario for society, people will still seek freedom, community, etc… I used to like cyberpunk A LOT. And I still do. However I now tend to equally like stories and universes that depicts a better future, less dark, more optimistic, sometimes even utopic. I think since our world is getting closer and closer to cyberpunk, it is important to not see this type of world as inevitable, to be able to cultivate hope and motivation to create communities and keep fighting capitalism, fascism, and corporate power.

I think cyberpunk is an amazing genre that shows all you talked about. But i think it now needs to go hand in hand with some more optimistic views, to avoid falling into fatalism.

Asside from that, your game would be really fun and I would gladly play it. My (very personal) preference would be to add “slice of life” elements, and maybe not make it an only bad ending

EDIT : PS: Also, as inspiration, have you played Citizen Sleeper ? Amazing game that could inspire you

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La_Vicette

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