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Messages - Ezechiel357

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31
Excellent work, Caleb.
As GM myself, I would like to highlight my favorite aspects of this campaign.
The structure, the campaign "walked" us around a fair share of the universe, each tier focussing on one type of society/world. Each tier was also associated with a strong theme, like sacrifice or moral dilemna.
You also integrated nicely the PC's background in the plot to make the story that more personal.
Details of the opponents, that were never just punching ball or target practices. Each one of them has its specialties, making the confrontation that more unique. Whether it was the station deathtrap with a fight in 0-g (was it Luna tier ?), the commando operation (Luna bank), Basilisk, Titan... wide range of opponents, with all different abilities.

Thank you very much to you and the RPPR team for the excellent entertainment.
And the poster is spot on !  ;)

32
RPGs / Re: I've got a game, but now I need a system.
« on: April 25, 2013, 02:24:31 AM »
For a group of new players, not too much into game system, I might go with FATE. As a old gamer, it took me a little while to get my head around the concept as it is so far from what I am used to read, but once my brain made the leap, it looks very smooth.

If you want equipment (or lack of) to be a big deal, you can handle within the system with items Aspects, possibly allowing some stunts. You can also attach some interesting Aspect on valuable items which can triggers some Compel (Pricey camera, giving bonus on related journalist job, but also a compel like attracting unwanted attention, or delicate to handle).

Handling combat situation with chocking smoke and random stuff like that is easy by creating Scene Aspect, which can be either used to create Advantage or force a Compel.

33
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Horror
« on: April 10, 2013, 04:59:10 AM »
Creating a truly unsettling atmosphere is hard to do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.
I had several experience with the same group and depending on the overall mood, it can works very well or goes more into the direction of slasher-comedy instead of really horror.

What worked so far:
- Unstoppable plague affecting the players. They have a countdown ticking inside themself. They were in Africa - Nairobi. They find out that a cult situated in some suburbs of Nairobi was summoning some powerful entity (a form of Death's avatar) and at the same time, it was spreading a plague around the center of summoning. So the PCs were thorn between trying to stop the summoning, hoping to find the nexus of the summoning before the plague killed them or they going far away to heal. As long as they were within the influence of the plague, it was incurable. Mechanically, everyday, they were loosing one hit point (in my game they only have 4 to 6). Getting the plague was not systematic, so there was still plenty of healthy people around them and it was not yet identified as an epidemic, but because they met the herald of death, they were all contaminated.

- Slow creepiness creeping. The story start when the PCs arrived in an abandonned town, with some traces of zombies presence (but weak). Then as they spent more time investigating, they discover some very disturbing things: a wall with a patch of flesh blister - small, but spreading. As night comes, strange howlings, shambling shapes in the dark, cars and vehicles not working anymore (we are trapped !). And somewhere quite far, a beam of light from the sky to a small location. The race is on to reach this place, a old, but peaceful cemetery, void of any undead and creepy things: it is under the protection and the blessing of the three Moirai, Atropos more specifically. This is were they discovered that they have been selected as agents of the Moirai to stop the Zombicalypse.... and they wake up when there car hit a bump on the road. They felt asleep in the back of their car and were pulled in a prophetic dreams by the Moirai.

What worked well in the second example was that the strange things appeared really slowly - a bit like in a lot of Stephen King book - everythings seems normal, but strange, alien elements are introduced one at a time until it becomes clearly a place of horrible corruption and decay - a vision of what the future could be if they were not acting.
Until the "bump on the road", my players really believed that they stumble on a place of complete corruption and decay, which was spreading.

34
RPGs / Re: RPPR Listeners: Who gets to play on a regular basis?
« on: April 02, 2013, 09:12:56 AM »
Luckily play on a weekly basis.
One game of Call of Cthulhu, Beyond Mountains of Madness, as a player.
And every other week, I am running my Ars Modernica campaign.

Far is the time of Thursday-Friday-Saturday nights games...

35
RPGs / Re: GURPS Open World Zombies help?
« on: April 02, 2013, 09:06:16 AM »
Since I run a Apocalyptic campaign recently, including base setting and improvement, maybe here are some ideas for you.

Initial base: instead of giving them a base, let them choose amongst a few options (three bases), with different pro and cons for each.
Example:
- a military bunker in a forest: easy to defend, but no land to grow food around, possible contamination with chemicals, high presence of zombie. May or may not have some spare supply, usually include generators and even water purifier (but are they running, are they contaminated ?)
- a farm converted by a sect retreat (like Waco tragedy), with a decent fence, farmable land. Not as sturdy as the military base, but more potential for autarcy. Far from the next city - gas consumption will be a limiting factor to organise raids to retrieve missing goods.
- a luxurious 6 story building in the middle of the city. Good security system - however some glass walls on the ground floor should be quickly replaced by sturdier materials. Proximity of the city and relative ease of access to retrieve goods. No cultivable lands, however a glasshouse and hydroponic farm on the rooftop could be installed since there is already a swimming pool.

Depending if you consider having magic or not, an aura or some source of power can also be additional advantages.

Your campaign will go through three phases (or maybe even four depending when you start).

Phase 0: during the apocalypse -  the PCs have to survive the raise of the dead, whatever triggers the Zombocalypse. Very likely, they are limited with what they have on themselves or in-house when it started. Survival is based on a daily (even hourly) basis. You might skipped this phase, or run it as an introduction scenario with disposable PCs (which may or may not be immuned - if they survive, they are  ;) )

Phase 1: after the apocalypse. They are survivors. Now, survival is planned on a weekly basis. Pillaging for food, gas, ammo and locating a place to settle. It should become obvious than staying on the run is not sustainable: having to always move means you never have a strong shelter and you need to find gas on a weekly basis if not more, and if you have wounded people, it becomes even more a strain. Do they pick up some people that most of the time will be a responsability and a burden (more mouth to feed and to protect), but could from time to time provide some unnexpected help (having a unique skill; surgery, speaking a dead language, having some visions or other supernatural ability). Fresh food availability is decreasing rapidly as after a week or so it naturally spoils.

Phase 2: settlement. They have found the place they believe is suitable. They need to reinforce it and plan for the longer term: how to become self-sufficient for food - pillaging super market might only last so much. Fuel is not hit by peremption date, but securing it might requires taking more and more risks. This is where crafts and technological skills become more prevalent: how to install solar panel - impossible to make new one, but salvaging is very much an option, how to heal fractures, wounds and diseases, how to repair a water well and so on. Ammo can become scarces. Training with other, more primitive but easier to maintain weapon might be required.

Phase 3: expanding. The daily life might not be bright, but at least food is sufficient to prevent starvation and the protection of the settlement from zombie hordes has been proven. The PCs are not anymore on survival mode, they can start thinking on the future: how to reclaim more territory, finding out other survivor camps, what did cause the zombocalypse and can it be stopped, is there a mystical ritual to banish the invasion from the dark dimension ?

As zombies varieties, there is an excellent book called "Zombies of the world"  :D.
For my campaign, I had those various types (all undeads):
- Basic zombie: stupid, slow, hungry, but relentless, more or less blind but gifted with the ability to sense living people within a certain radius. Easy to avoid alone, easy to outrun, but PCs needs to sleep, they don't. Adjust their ability to track to your taste/need;
- the ghoul: faster, more agile than a human, cunning (but not intelligent), rare. In group of 3 to 10. Have talons and can climb walls, tears tile from a roof. More dangerous than zombie and useful to test a security perimeter. Cannot carry mission, only driven by hunger;
- the bloated corpse: a huge (3 to 5 meters - 9 to 15 feet), obese, monstruosity moving as fast as a human (hence slow for its size), able to "discharge" zombies from its belly. Cunning, but still not intelligent. Able to take controls of zombie around it - range of the ability up to you to decide (sight, 100m, 1 km, or more);
- the hunter: intelligent, as agile as a human, rarer than ghoul, able to raise dead animals (especially dogs/wolf) that it uses to track people. Act usually alone. Can set trap. Good for harassing a small group of PCs.
- the mist bearer. Similar in appeareance to a regular zombie, but intelligent and more agile, rare. Surrounded by a green, heavy mist which raise dead bodies. Can control every type of zombie. Motivation to be decide by the DM - or simply driven by hunger;
- the delicious corpse. Look very much like a living human, including a warm body (although no pulse). Exudes strong pheromons at will, which makes people form both sex fall for it. They are not contagious except when exchanging bodily fluids. Intelligent. Rare. Used by power behind the scene to enter and weaken stronghold. Their victims don't turn immediately into zombie, the process takes several days, during which they behave like human, but follow order from the delicious corpse. After 7 to 10 days, they rot and becomes mindless zombies.

The three first types can easily be seen as variant of the basic zombie type and can go with more or less any setting. The three next one are more suitable if there is a power behind the scene to explain their existence - and magical background is almost a requirement to justify their existence.

That's it for now.

36
RPGs / Re: GURPS Open World Zombies help?
« on: April 02, 2013, 07:39:47 AM »
For a "Building system", I used two variants in my own game:

- First one, the PCs spent XP points ot "buy" features for their bases. It is on a voluntary basis, hence putting a little tension: do I keep XP to make myself stronger or should I spent it to make our base better ? And to justify the XP expenditure, I describe it as the PCs spending time to improve the base.

It will require some works from you to come with a list of improvement and their costs. They are structural improvements (tougher walls, better security systems, & cie), services improvements (having a workshop, a lab, a arsenal, a hospital...) and allies (troops, specialist like doctors and so on).
Each of this items can translate either in some bonus to test, the ability to perform certains actions (like having a lab to work on a cure) or having access to some competences when no PC has a skill.
Maybe calculating the value of XP to have a certain competence or a certain bonus, then add a -50% (or more ?) modifier because it is static and linked to a location ?

- Second one, the project system. When PCs want to achieve something, assign a difficulty to the test and a value to reach for completion of the project. Every X days or weeks, each PCs contributing to the project can role a test. In case of success, tally the margin. Once the total margin of success reach the cap, the project is completed.
The second system is more adequate if timing is important and PCs need to make choice on where to focus their effort. Also, because of the mechanics of adding several results, it avoids that a single role determine the outcome of weeks or months of effort.
The Second system values also some survival competencies that are often set aside, like all crafting skills, Architecture, masonry and so on. When I used this system, I also add the option of taking voluntary malus to increase speed: each -1 taken as penalty to work faster translate in a +2 bonus on the margin in case of success (the way to interpret it, the PC is taking more risks, no double checking is work, increasing his chances of failure, but in case of success, build it faster).
Again, you have to do some work upfront to gage/decide how much point is worth a 3 meter electrified fences around a whole perimeters.

Finally, there might be a third option. From time to time, I use some GURPS books as they are a gold mine of information of specific topics. They are rules for Gadgeteering and building magical items, maybe also to build some more "basic stuff" can be found and adapted to to build a base.

Good luck. From a couple of experience where my players had to build their base (or covenant since they were mages), they enjoyed that part.

37
General Chaos / Re: Things Players have destoryed in Round 1
« on: March 09, 2013, 02:06:50 PM »
It was GURPS Super game, with 500 PC characters.

My character did not have any offensive power, but was a decent shooter, although without any superpowers linked to it.

The big bad guy was ultrafast running up and down buildings.

Me:  "Well, I load a 6th bullet in my gun and shoot" (my PC was careful and was only having 5 bullets in his gun, to prevent from shooting himself accidentally).
DM: "X malus because of speed, distance,..."
Me: 3 (on 3d6), "err... crit, I hit"
DM: "Grumph, ok, roll location"
Me: 4 (on 3d6), "err... head shot"
DM: "Grrrrrumph, ok, roll crit effect"
Me: 18 (I believe, memory a bit fuzzy), "err... negate all armor", followed by significant damage.
DM: "You killed my 900 points NPC".

Never, never underestimate the power of a .357 Magnum. It might not be the most powerful gun, but it is the deadliest as far as I know ;-)

38
RPGs / Re: GM/Player Dynamic
« on: February 11, 2013, 03:56:31 AM »
What is a good player and what is a good GM ?
 :)

Yeah, I know, I hate when somebody answer my question by a question.

A good player could be seen as somebody who "solve" the scenario or as somebody who "stays" in character. I believe the 2nd one is the most entertaining, but if the story cannot progress because of the antics of one character...
Then there are all shades of gray that longtime players would learn when to stay in character and when to "bend" a bit there character for the greater good of the storytelling.

A good GM is somebody who is able to come with an interesting story (creating a plot which is not obvious, contains a few surprises and good NPC), can ensure a smooth game without downtime, can balance a fight (giving the feeling that the PCs risks there live without outright killing them), knows well the rules to not loose too much time looking in a book, immerse (how many times Tom shouted "Immerse me Ross!") the players... In this case, getting in character is only a fraction of the skills required to be a good GM.

In my case, my players regard me as a very good GM, but I am considering myself only as an average player because I do not stay always in character and tend sometime to let my knowledge override the character knowledge.

Is it possible to be good GM if you are a lousy player ? I guess it depends what makes the player a lousy player and how quickly he can learn. I believe that a GM with a good story, well organised, but not able to be good comedian will still be a good GM. Sure, his NPC will all have the same voice and tone, but a good story can make up for it. However, a lousy story told by a good comedian might be fun once, but afterwards, it will become pretty boring.

It is much easier to be a good player than good GM.

39
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Violence in gaming.
« on: January 23, 2013, 02:48:59 AM »
Quote
Is it true that the Swiss have a secret language?
No.
But we've got your IP address and your location. Please, don't leave your sit as we consider it an obligation to answer your question personnally and in great detail. Don't run, don't shout, we are your friends. And no Romansch is not a secret language.

Quote
I am just wondering if while you were here(I live in Sacramento California), you may have noticed a difference between what is available in Sweden vs. what you can find in The USA.

Edit: In the media that is. Video Games/Movies/TV ect.
Regarding movies, the same are showing in Switzerland than in the US (as long as they are distributed outside of US), and I would say, there is probably less censorship regarding sex/nude scenes than in the US (cf Basic Instinct for those who remember). Violence in movies is not specifically censored.
Movies are rated PG & cie, I would say more or less on the same scale than in the US.

As a side note, Singapore (where I lived for 2.5 years) has a much tougher censorship - Planet Terror from Rodriguez for example was forbidden to import, so no shop got it (but I could get it through Amazon though).

Regarding games, there are regularly outcries in the newspaper regarding such and such video game being too violent/promotting crime & so on (like GTA), but I do not remember having a game being formally banned (at least big title). And unless it would be banned in every neighbouring country, it would not be very effective - considering the size of Switzerland, 3/4 of the population live within one hour drive from a border (with France, Germany, Italy, Austria or Lichtenstein - which I only mention for the sake of completeness  ;)).

Do we have more violence ? Since a decade or so, violence is on the rise - fight, brawl, assault -  and respect towards authority (police, train & bus controller) has drop a lot - when they check your ticket in train or bus, it is no more a single controller, but it is a group of 3 or 4 because there was too much abuse and violence towards them.

Is it linked to more weapon ? I do not think so, because you don't see more guns being involved.
Is it linked to movies/games ? who am I to say.

What is a fact is that a lot more foreigners are involved in violent crimes than Swiss citizen (we have about 20% foreigners in our country), so for me it looks like it is more linked to education, culture and integration in the society than weapon availability - but again, I am not a sociologist.

Hope it brought some light on my little country way of life.

40
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Violence in gaming.
« on: January 22, 2013, 07:39:07 AM »
Flawless P, are you talking to me, because if it is the case, I am Swiss from Switzerland, which is not the same than Sweden...
Both have small population, but that's about the only common point Swedes and Swiss have. And the two first letters of their country.

There is about 2'000 km (so roughly 1'200 miles) between our borders, so we are not exactly neighbours, we don't speak the same language, Switzerland does not have a coastline or oil fields, but we do have chocolate, watches and dubious bankers.

41
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Violence in gaming.
« on: January 21, 2013, 08:28:54 AM »
My only qualification to jump on this topic is to be Swiss. I am not a psychologist or a fireman expert, but I do follow news in what is happening in my country.

First, regarding firearm.
The military service is compulsory for every male citizen and you have to do your "class" for about five months around the age of 20. Once done, you are responsible for your gun that you take home, with a sealed can of bullets (20, enough for one charger).
The rifle is a military weapon, capable of short burst or full auto (I gave this details because I read in newspaper that there is currently heated debated about banning automatic gun).
You will be entrusted with the weapon until you reach 35. During this time, every year you go for a 3-4 weeks military training, and you have to attend on a separate occasion a test shooting (about an hour). At each military training, you have to show your sealed can of bullet to prove that you did not use it.
So unless you have been found unfit for millitary duty, or you requested to do civil service instead of military service, you will have a rifle at home, with a can of bullet ready to use (if you don't care of the consequence).
When I turned 35 (when you are removed from the army list), I was asked if I wanted to own my weapon (which I refused instantly), but it is possible to own it. Your rifle will be modified not to be able to shoot full auto or 3 bullet burst and you will have to attend every year the shooting practice.
I do not know now, if you can still keep your gun after you turn 35 or if all rifles are kept in arsenals.

About once or twice a year on average, there is problem involving shooting (with or without killing, with or without military weapon) (out of 7 mio people to put in comparison with US population of 300 mio ?).

Having lived about a year in the US recently (California) I can make some comparisons.
Switzerland does not have a gun culture. Not at all. Yes, there is alot of guns amongst the population, but owing a gun is a responsability not a right. That being said, every year, there is in Switzerland the biggest shooting competition in the world with around 130'000 participants during a week end. It is a one-of-a-kind celebration, as there is no other "big" competition and amongst all my friends and colleagues none is remotely interested in guns (and they cover a large spread of the community).

However I remember that in the US, there is regular advertisement on TV, you can get gun in Walmarts and so on (which was baffling for a guy like me :-)  ). No judgement on my side, simply making a comparison between two countries where guns number are high, but where the takes on gun-ownership is very different.

Regarding the gun issue, there is currently also a heated discussion in Switzerland on gun control. Very recently, having national registry of gun has been rejected by the government, the responsibility will be left to the 26 cantons (equivalent of US states), which obviously makes it much less efficient. People (and government) are fully aware that a lot of weapons are in circulations, and it seems that a fair amount of ex-military rifles are sold/stolen/lost without their owner notifying the proper authority. Which is a concern, but everything takes a very long time to evolve in my little country (geological scale is more adequate to track change in Switzerland than human calendar  ;) ).

42
RPGs / Re: Question about introducing people into role playing games
« on: December 12, 2012, 09:18:13 AM »
Streamline the character's sheet: remove all competencies, do not plan skill challenge. If skill is needed, improvise a test using the characteristic + half level of the relevant class, otherwise nothing.
For example: for any outdoor survival skill (tracking, identify animal/plant, build), only druid, barbarian and ranger can take it.
For social skills (psychology, detect lie, interrogation & cie), only bards, priest...

It is rough, but it is simple and will meet their requirements.

Or even more simple, don't do skill roll: if they have the required class in their group just say "The ranger, with his keen eyes spots the trail left by the gobs. However, he is not sure of their number", or "Despite your best efforts your are not able to get information in these streets: either nobody knows what you are looking for, or they are so scared that they refuse to talk to you".

Of course, makes pre-gen, maybe level 3, so there is a bit of varieties in powers without being overwhelming. Have Power cards ready for each of them (there is various free software on the net which let you print or customise those).

Then have a good scenario, even if it is only hack and slash: they could play a group of orcs and gobelins (don't bother with racial abilities, just reskin barbarian, ranger, shaman or fighter for orcs, and thief, sorcerer for gobs) with the task of gathering intel on a tower in the swamp, which will make a good spots for an advanced outpost.
They might get attacked by another clan of orcs who also want to control the tower, they might fall on a human caravan which was ambush by something (which would let them think that the swamp is not unhabited) and some jellies or other mindless creatures transported by the caravan are still around, etc...

I just found that outdoor hack slash is  more interesting than the basic door/room/monster/treasure.

43
RPGs / Re: A Call of Cthulhu Christmas Scenario
« on: December 05, 2012, 04:14:30 AM »
Well, various area to explore.

You can travel to the Dreamlands: a desperate child (mother sick, dad dead) the night of Christmas remembers the happy Christmas he had a few years ago when there was a big family party. Powered by the strength of his despair and his strong dream, the block he is living in is moved to the Dreamland... as well as the investigators who were just celebrating X-mas at one friends appartment, nearby.
The kid control his dreams and could play cruel pranks on people he feels are responsible for his mom's sickness (the doctor unable to cure her), for his dad death (maybe the company who employed him and was giving him assignment far from his home)... slowly, some entities are creeping into the child's dream bubble and pray on other persons (the child is too strong to be targeted by them).
To survive, the PC's have to identify the cause, reach the kid, and convince him to "go back to sleep" to leave the Dreamland - but he is happy there...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_(toy): Shoggoth-R-US...
Mysterious family disappear ? Only their cloths remains !
Mi-Go are testing a new dissolving Shoggoth to clean a small town situated above a source of rare ore needed for some uncanny purpose.
They developped a new "dormant" Shoggoth and with the help of a few cultists/human puppet, they implemented it in the nearby toy factory. The release of the mini-Shoggoth was supposed to happen only after X-mas (according to their human contact it woulde be the most suitable period to insure maximum spread), once the toys were distributed to the whole town.
(Un)fortunately, an operator brought back home a sample for his kids earlier and through some unfortunate manipulations woke up the Shoggoth (trying to micro-wave the slime, presence of strong wifi signals combined to some mineral in the kid's collection) who ate all living organic matter, then dissolved in thin air.
The new Proto-Shoggoth is asleep and should woke only through a specific signal emitted from a Mi-Go station (complexe set of wave-length and radiation). Unfortunately, it can also be awaken through a combination of more mundane items (to be determined by GM) - which happen with this family.
For the PCs (maybe a group of Delta Green agents) it is a race to find out:
- what killed the family (although the Shoggoth disappeared in thin air,it left some strange chemical traces, there is also the packaging of the toy)
- how to prevent the Shoggo-toy to be distributed
- who is behind it (the packaging of the toy is brand new and is not find in any shop, combined with the fact that one of the parent is working in the toy factory are good clues)
- find what triggers the awakening of the Shoggo-toy
- clean the Mi-Go base with the Shoggo-toy (destroying the emitter would be a good way to delay the destruction and could be considered a marginal victory)

To add a twist: after a few days, the missing family reappears. Dissolving a whole population would only attract far too much attention to the MiGo operation. After the Shoggo-toy dissolve a family, it disappears in the underground where it slowly transforms in the family it digested. They look like perfect copy and from far acts and talks as human. However, they can only do what they were doing in the past and cannot invent or do anything else. They act like perfect "clockwork" meat-puppet.
Advantage for the PCs, the Shoggoth loose its strong digestive property and cannot revert to its more destructive form, but the meat puppet can defend themselves, according to their previous human abilities. In fact, the meat-muppet shoggoth can be killed like regular human. However as long as they are only wounded, the meat puppet are still fully functional (another clue of their inhuman nature).


Last suggestion, this year X-mas is also coinciding with a specific star alignment which will allow "The-1000-Wishes-Man" (a incarnation of your favorite Nyarly)  to be called on earth. In his incarnation, he can only act by granting wishes... The whole meaning of "be careful for what you wish" will never be as true as when "The-1000-Wishes-Man" reaches a nice, wealthy area, where a lot of powerful executives and self-made men live... And strange accidents/deaths start to happen at an accelerating rate. And because it is happening in a wealthy neighborhood, a group of police men and investigators is quickly rushed there (the PCs, who can be local officer or police investigator, coroner & cie).

By getting clues, they will find that in nearby towns a few similar incidents happened. Place on a map, those incidents make up a trail which lead to the original place of invocation of "The-1000-Wishes-Man", where they could find the place of the ritual. The sorcerer who called "The-1000-Wishes-Man" asked to be imbued with more power and The-1000-Wishes-Man possessed his body, imbuing him effectively with more power than he ever dreamed of... The sorcerer book can still be found nearby, with explanation of a ritual to call the king of the Djinns who can grant any wishes, but only one per person.
He will return home when 1000 wishes have been granted. Some stories in the book suggest that he might have cause the fall of ancient civilisations like the mythic Atlantid, the Babel tower or some suitable civilisation of GM choice.
But maybe a well crafted wish could send him back home earlier. However, it will be probably impossible to undo all the mayhem created by other wishes in the meantime.

There is one episod of Supernatural which is based on a similar plot, a magic coin giving incredible luck to his owner, but also his untimely death if he would loose the coin...

44
RPGs / Re: Lighthearted RPGs
« on: November 30, 2012, 03:24:16 AM »
It depends as much on the setting (the world) than the scenario.

One successful, fun, but not "toony" game I ran was for an Ars Modernica campaign (to make it simple, more or less a Mage-like setting).
The players had to win a competition against a team of dark fae to earn a favor from Titania. It was a game of traditional, old shinty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinty).
Not to make it a simple roll contest, I planned for each round two or three events (with some daring moves from each team, some unforeseen events like a hords of magical spiders running across the field and so on). Each team was scoring points during those events - not only based on success but on how daring, acrobatics, entertaining was the actions, how much the crowd was on their side.

In between each periods (there was 3 periods in this shinty match, one during day time, one at dawn and one in the evening, altering abilities of faes, becoming more powerful), there was break where each team had to perfom in front of the fae court (with Titania or any important fae you see fit for your plot).

To transpose the learning of my game, I found out that what made it successfull was:
- ban lethal force (or make it not worth using), so there is no pressure to "kill the other before he killed me", and in fact too nasty move could be sanctionned by boo-ing of the crowd, loosing points for the team; alternatively, makes killing people really difficult - they are knocked out for a few rounds, come back to their sense and join the fray again, possibly with some malus)
- gives more weight to style than pure efficiency (giving bonus for entertaining action)
- provides plenty of props (elements of decor) that the players can use (if players ask "what is there around ?", reply "what do you want, what are you looking for ?" and make it available if it is plausible to be around).
- come prepared with sequences, small actions, tag line to keep the momentum - It is not always easy to improvise this kind of game as the rythm should be sustained.

Games where the system support specifically this kind of style:
- Dying Earth (set in Jack Vance world of Rialto the Magnificent) - for style above efficiency, for encouraging bluff and wordplay instead of swordplay
- Feng Shui - I believe PCs get malus if they keep doing the same action from one round to the next (like simply shooting, or boxing round after round) encouraging description from PC to show how different is this punch from the previous one
- Hong Kong Action Theater

Hope it helps

45
RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder
« on: November 30, 2012, 02:48:33 AM »
Parasitc mushrooms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps)
For a Cthulhu game, it could be a new tool developped by Mi-Go scientist to control a small community.
The mushroom will link its victime through a common mind hive, control by a gigantic, but static mushroom grain, itself at the service of Mi-Go.

Symptoma of the contamination could be the appearance of small "mushroomy" protuberances at the base of the neck, or on the skull (usually hidden by hairs until it becomes too long).

For Heroes of New Arcadia, the 'Shroom-man, the guy who has the ability to generate all kind of useful and funky mushrooms could create such parasitic creature, which could help him expand his awareness.

However, since he seems a rather good guy, what if he was victim of a parasitic mushroom. Due to his nature, he is more sensitive that usual human to this infection, and it is diluting it personality amongst many other mushrooms pods.
He starts to act crazy and loose control of his action, spreading his mushrooms everywhere - maybe trying to absorb everybody in a collective mushroom colony.
To stop him and help him recover his sanity, the heroes must find and destroy the several mushrooms pods which are holding a part of his personality.

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