About
The Racked System is the product of years of imagining, testing, and developing. What started as a simple thought experiment born from a hobby, has turned into a storytelling medium with the goal of building compassion and empathy into the understanding of our past.
- Will Truran
Origin
Having played Dungeons & Dragons for over a decade I began to appreciate the way these fictional stories worked their way into my group's collective memory. I have a hard time recalling facts I was taught in school, but I can share a silly story I was building around a table with vivid detail. My hope is that through The Racked System we can feel history rather than simply memorize it's dates.
But Why?
We often hear the phrase “History Repeats”, but why? Could it be due to the fact we never learn history in a way in which it can be retained... In a way we can see how it applies to our modern lives? An article originally posted in early 2018 shared the results of a poll that showed 2/3rds of millenials couldn't recall what Auschwitz is. Perhaps we can help reduce hate crime by exposing students to events like the Holocaust without requiring them to memoreize dates, but instead engage it on a deeper level.
What is it?
The Racked System is primarily a tabletop roleplaying rule set designed from the ground up to tell stories from the darkest moments of our past. It is rules-light so players can sit down and focus on engaging the story more than the rules. It is prep-heavy, requiring a decent amount of work to be done by the GM, who we call the Narrator. It should be familiar enough for experienced TTRPG players to feel comfortable playing, but different enough that they realize this isn't to be played like those other systems.
Who is it for?
It would be simple to say The Racked System is for everyone, but that wouldn't be very honest. Settings built upon TRS can be played within small school settings, as a way to build upon history lessons. It can be a way for a group of friends to explore their interest in a historical event or possibly an event they saw represented in a movie. No matter who is participating, they will be required to take the setting seriously with little room for jokes or antics. This isn't intended to be the most fun experience anyone has had with a TTRPG, but fun isn't the goal. Those who play should be looking for a deeper more emotional experience and should want to learn about events that actually happened.
