A bit-o'-brainstorming in the morning
I've created this as a catch-all, sort of a place for those of you who may be interested in dropping ideas for what you'd like to see.
I've got a good deal already dreamed up, however nothing is written in stone... in fact, not much is written in anything; but I digress.
So please, if you feel the desire, help a brother out.
The setting so far takes place in the modern world, probably around the year 200X, I picture the area to be a large cityscape (similar in ways to Gotham, or Metropolis from DC Comics) but with a certain darker coloring (a splash of the World of Darkness.)
The story, I'm going to play a little close to my vest for the moment. However, I will let this much out: It is unlikely that you will be embraced by your fellow citizens, it is unlikely that you will become "uber-powerful", and to survive you'll likely need to depend on one-another, albeit that may be easier said than done.
The mechanics of this game/setting/story are totally up in the air, I have experimented with a number of thoughts and none seem to work just right. I plan on this being very open-ended, and more role-played than roll-played, meaning that for the most part not a lot of numbers are going to be used to denote success or failure, healing or damage, etc.
Edits/Clarifications:
- Your character will possess special abilities, be them gifts or curses that is for you to decide.
- These abilities are not hereditary but rather induced by "agents of change" which you will learn more about before the game begins, suffice to say, while you may possess some powers that are familiar to comic book fans, you will not fall into the more common origins of alien, mutant, etc.
19 comments:
Sounds interesting, but I'm not quite sure what the premise is. Are we "powered" people, or average?
As for a system, I have a suggestion that Soren is familiar with. It's called the "point" system, and it's used for a diceless roleplaying game.
Basically we all start with 100 points to divide between four basic skills: Strength Endurance Psyche and Warfare. Then the players "bid" for the highest place in these skills. Any leftover points can be used to buy items, followers, powers, etc. Any interest? I can go into more detail if you're interested.
Well... I suppose it couldn't hurt to answer that question. Look for a slightly altered original post for a change to take place in the near future.
But, yeah, the goal would be for each of you to become "specials" someone with abilities and skills honed far above those of average men and women in society.
However, there are going to be some restrictions... these abilities that I hint at won't be hereditary, rather they will be "induced" by "agents of change" and the story at first will be for you to learn to comprehend and control your new-found gifts/curses.
As for the point system, I'm intrigued... I like the idea of betting on what you may or may not want. That would introduce a very unique situation as none would posses the same "alterations" and would prevent uniformity (which is something that would not bode well for the success of your group nor the story.)
Please, keep the comment and question coming, I will make efforts to edit the original post to include these answers, but for the most up to date info always check this thread for new comments.
I'm getting more and more excited, how about you(s)?
I was kind of liking the idea of you assigning powers. No, we shouldn't get to choose what we're born with, and you can avoid powers that will completely derail your story.
I'm not sure how this bidding thing works, but I'm game.
If I decide to go along with the point system, I can still choose to limit which abilities are still welcome.
Like I said, I'm open for suggestions. I was playing around with a few ideas and will likely keep a number of them, but were you to introduce something that catches my eye (or my creative spark) then I wouldn't see why not to incorporate that into the game to make it more interesting.
Alright, here's the basic laydown of each stat, which is obviously subject to change at your whim. Strength handles martial arts, physical power (how hard your punches hurt), and interestingly enough, resistance to harm. This reflects a layer of muscle that comes with working out often.
Endurance affects all other stats. It's basically how long you can stay standing in any sort of confrontation, how quickly you heal, how long you can keep marching. If you're close in a fight with anyone, say you have 50 points in strength and your foe has 55, if you can stall long enough you might be able to overcome this weakness with a superior endurance.
Psyche handles magic stuff, including mental battles. How often you can use magic, how powerful it is, and overcoming someone's will are all included in this stat. Very fun.
Finally, warfare. Warfare includes battle tactics, and using any weapon, gun, sword, whatever. It also includes your ability to play chess, or any strategy game.
So, what do you think? Soren can fill in any blanks that I may have overlooked. I like the idea of being given a power, as opposed to chosing one. I'm looking forward to it.
Interesting. I'm not sure how much psyche may be, as I wasn't prepared to introduce magic... just yet.
However, I have decided to blend the two ideas. I'll be handing out the general globe or sphere of power (Dan should recognize that term) but will allow for some gambling regarding powers accessible in each sphere. I think. For now, anyhow.
I'm currently working out a bible for the game, and it's totally helping me.
Sweet, I'm really looking forward to it. I can see how Psyche could be a problem, and the system certainly can be improved, for example I find that warfare tends to be something of a broken stat, but I guess it's up to the GM.
Oh, the bidding might be a little hard to do, seeing as it usually takes place with all parties present, but I'm sure that we could pull it off. We could open a scene just for that, basically we go through one skill at a time, until no one is willing to go any higher. Later, new points can be given out (like experience points, but much rarer. You can try to go higher than another person later, if you want, but how that works is really up to you.
Yeah, I like that thought... that maybe the simplest way for us to all communicate. I'm hoping to get one more player in on the group, I'm going to entice either Tim or Jason (most likely Jason) to see if he's got the time.
I think the bidding is going to overlook the "special abilities" as one character won't have access to another and it would make sense that you all begin on equal footing in that specification. However, I do believe that bidding on skills, (i.e. first aid, electronics, hunting, etc.) may be what the bets focus on.
Just a note, those listed skills may or may not exist in the final version, as this is still a work in progress.
I am pleased with the progress I've made so far. As I have locked in the spheres and their associated powers as well as brief identifiers for each.
Hopefully tonight I will get a chance to go over skills/know ledges/etc and composite together a list that I believe is broad as well as definitive enough.
Sweet, when will we know what spheres we're getting? Can I assume that the others won't know to start?
No one will know what their starting sphere is until Chapter 2. Just before that time, I will message each of you privately (and hopefully I'll have all of your email addresses by then) to let you know generally what that may entail.
However, to get a full understanding you're going to have to play the part in Chapter 2, which I currently have titled, Induction
So, what are these spheres? Are we talking about spheres from Mage? Cause that'd be amazing, but possibly a bit more flexible than one would expect for a superhero. What sort of things do you envision us doing with these powers? Are we going to be crime fighters? Freedom fighters against our dystopic society? Will we use our powers to set up our own totalitarian utopia? Do we just fight against other's with powers? I think to give any kind of useful input I need some idea of what you want to do with this. Not plot details, but theme or general direction.
The city that this takes place in is called Century City it is a virtual modern mecca and has been considered by those of the religious right to be a rebirth of Babylon. Some take that as a good thing, others not so much.
Century City boarders the Atlantic Ocean, and has a few large rivers that carve through it's massive acreage, bringing trade and tourism on an hourly basis. However, besides the massive shipping and import markets that burden the river ways, Century City also brings millions of dollars to the government via corporate agreements with many multi-national conglomerates.
Besides the glimmering stars of industry, the fore-fathers of Century City would be proud to know the municipalities of this fair and wondrous city boast one of the worlds most well recognized universities; Century City University.
CCU welcomes students from the four corners of the globe and it's all-star staff of academics have published or garnered so many publications that the Library of Congress made a unprecedented recognition of this milestone with a massive granite structure in the form of an open book slowly twirling on it's axis, welcoming any who so desire to learn.
All you currently are aware of is that one of the divisions of Amalgamated Industries, Inc. has been canvasing the campus as well as many affluent sections of Century City requesting any male or female, between the ages of 18 and 29, with a good bill of health, to participate in a medical study that offers many generous benefits to those who are selected. An offer like this does not come often to the student of CCU, and while you may or may not consider yourself an apt candidate, the promise of a two-year fully paid scholarship on top of a cash payment of five thousand dollars to those who are accepted, whets the appetite of the majority of the student body.
Sweet. When're we gonna start?
Heh, patience grass-hopper. I still haven't heard from Soren... I hope he'll be interested.
Plus, I haven't even had a chance to grab the skills info yet.
I doubt I'll have that time tonight, but I propose that tomorrow I'll post a "Setting" thread with some rules on what a starting character should consist of.
But, until then True Believers!
That sounds totally sweet. We get to be medical experiments. I wonder what they'll do to us. Will it hurt? Will it scar us mentally? Will there be side effects? Of course there will...
Alright ya little monkeys, I've just posted the Prelude to my game. Get reading, get imagining, and get publishing!
Who you callin a monkey? I've got no tail, so doesn't that make me an ape?
If you aren't sold on a system yet, check out Wild Talents. http://www.arcdream.com/wildtalents/learn.html
Now, that's an interesting system for sure.
I don't know if I'll shell out the cash for it, but maybe I'll see if I can find it on a .torrent site or something just to get a feel for the mechanics a bit more.
I know that there would be some alterations to the system, since you guys aren't allowed to know what your power sphere is until after the game begins.
Say it with me now, Power Sphere!
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