Dungeon Squad! + Coin-Op Mechanics Playtest
My wife and sister-in-law agreed to play a game with me last night. We played for about 2 hours total, with a half-hour prep time which I believe will shorten in the future. We used Jason Morningstar’s Dungeon Squad! (with some extra stuff from Jim Adams [meepo on Dragonsfoot]) as modified by me with my Coin Op system (previously known as the Arcade Emulator, although I’m unsure if this title will last, either).
First, some background information: My wife and sister-in-law have not had extremely good reactions to RPGs in the past. This was as a favor to me. As it turns out, they liked it and it wasn’t a half-bad game after all.
So, I had printed up some adventurers earlier with the help of RPGClassics’ Shadow of Mystara Shrine and some character sheets from Skathros’ Forbidden Fortress module. I gave them a pair of scissors to cut out their characters and some tape to have them add it to their Character Sketch area of the sheet. My wife chose a Cleric (Joziah) and a Dwarf (Carlos), my sister-in-law chose an Elf (Eneen J.) and a Mage (Magnus).
I explained what they should place in the top section (Wizard, Warrior and Explorer). An interesting thing occurred – none of them chose an Explorer as their highest or lowest stat. Either I didn’t sell the aspects of Explorer or they just weren’t interested in it. I can see why, maybe – their experience with Sword and Sorcery is limited, and it sure isn’t called Sword, Sorcery, and Skulking, now is it? I then had them buy their equipment. Note: buying two offensive spells is useless if spells aren’t differentiated. I felt that even differentiating different rules for spells was too much for effective buy-in for my wife and sister-in-law. My wife chose her spells on her own (fireball and lightning), but they were also the only two spells I mentioned during the description of spellcasting. We came up with a reason to go into the dungeon (Holy Water from a pool to save the King). I also had them come up with something they wanted their characters to do or get out of the dungeon (but ran out of time to have them pursue them :( ).
Things that worked well: The coins were used widely for extra attacks and dodging attacks. They also came up with it as a use to counter-spell a spell I was casting. I had items (weapons, spells, etc.) cost a nickel for a d6 and a nickel more for a d10. They both instinctively knew that it was a representation of the ‘treasure’ they were collecting along the way. They also instinctively ‘broke down’ treasure if it wasn’t usable (a d10 sword was broken into two nickels because they didn’t need a weapon). Traps seemed to work fine (a one penny trap that tried to hit everybody once was distributed as one penny to all of those that succeeded). When they really needed to do something, they paid the pennies even though it went back to me. When my wife wanted her sister’s character to heal her, she both paid a penny for the extra action and had her character pay the other character. I really like that dualism.
Things that didn’t work well: I went from an easy enemy strategy to a boss fight, and it had a high whiff-factor. A boss (8 to hit) with d10 armor and 40 HP was a long, ugly fight. A seasoned group might have been better, but I’m wondering if an 8 to hit is too much, or if the armor was the killer feature. Something to work out! We wanted to play for two hours. I set my budget at two quarters (one for each player). It would have taken us about another hour to finish out that budget. Also, I think I may require two characters per player, or rework the one quarter per player starting budget.
Now, I know that I’m referencing stuff that hasn’t been written out yet. I hope this post makes sense. I’ll get this written soon.
UPDATE
Some things I forgot:
1. One character will win each session by having the most value of coins. I don’t have a reward for that, though. Also, do you count coins that were spent on self-improvement.
2. Just like weapons that aren’t on the sheet counting as d4 damage, so do spells. Healing was adjudicated to be a d4 as well, and I limited it to once per level (the dungeon had levels …) This was quite arbitrary and I don’t know how I’d rule on it.
3. My wife had an idea for the dwarf to have a Racial Hatred at one point. I ruled that it was just another weapon. She could spend a penny to get a second attack and it would be equal to an extra d4 damage. But, now I’m wondering if just having the attack roll or damage roll mirrored (rolling a second die and taking the best of the two) might have been a better idea. How much would you charge for that? I’d definitely make it up to the player to activate something like that. That is, you wouldn’t declare what sent you into a rage when you bought the aspect. You’d just have to spend a penny to activate it for the encounter.
4. I wanted to implement this but never had a chance: Pay a penny to find a certain kind of item in a room or on a creature, e.g. a Healing Potion, a Scroll of Fireball, etc.
Shadow Over Mystara Arcade Emulator 2
What I like to do when it comes to ideas like this is to go ahead and sign up to do it. My sense of guilt about canceling usually means that I won’t back down and I’ll bring something fun to the table.
So, that’s what I did! I’m signed up to run Shadow Over Mystara Arcade Emulator using the 1st Edition (Rules Cyclopedia) ruleset. Here’s hoping that someone wants to play!
Live 4 Justice: Hyper Demon Kung-Fu High School Battle-Date RPG
Live 4 Justice: Hyper Demon Kung-Fu High School Battle-Date RPG
超-悪霊武道高校 TRPG + デート！
We’re Here to Save You, Mr. Bierce
Refer to original posts here and here
So, I spoke with my biggest responder on this project (Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Fame) and he said:
Fred: you still have my interest, though going to ‘kill’ from ’save’ is kind of an about-face.
and i’m trying to sort out my thought there :)Me: Hmm, true.
Maybe they could still save him, as in save his soul.
That’d infuriate the old bastard.Fred: maybe your actual game lives between the two of them
it’s about “do something about bierce”
and the progression of the game is folks figuring out which they want to do
maybe even with some of the system enforcing a split in agendas if you’re okay with PvP results
e.g., half of you want to save, half of you want to simply eliminate whateverMe: right on
Fred: that’s my 5 seconds of impression :)
So, we’re back to Saving that damned soul, Mr. Bierce. Not only because Fred said so, but he’s also threatened to stalk me if I don’t make this.
The Bible
What a bunch of lies. The afterlife has nothing at all to do with suffering in Hell or a glorious Heaven. Get that nonsense out of your head. As a matter of fact, I won’t be mentioning any more biblical terms so as not to confuse you.
The Afterlife
When you finally make it to the afterlife, you find out that it is a House Divided between the Husband and the Wife. They’re married, see, but they’re also tired of each other (eternities will do that to you). So, since divorce can’t happen in a scale such as theirs, they’ve separated. They both live in the Big House. Upstairs is the Husband’s, Downstairs is the Wife’s, and the middle is where they meet when they choose to do so (that’d be where you and I live). And when they meet (via their Proxies, usually), they have Agendas.
Everyone, pretty much, wants to go Downstairs. The Wife throws a better party, don’t you know? But, see, the Husband has a better PR department. Everyone thinks they want to go Upstairs. They eventually learn better. But, some stuffy ones, they make it Upstairs and stay there.
You never make it to either Party (Upstairs or Downstairs) on the first try (the Husband doesn’t trust newcomers, despite his fervent wish to have a rockin’ party; the Wife is struggling against her Husband’s PR and needs the workers). You have do a stint for the respective hosts in the Middle back in the living world and when your time is up again, you’re get to try again, for real this time (suicide just gets you another stint).
The Husband doesn’t like a sausage fest and rarely allows men Upstairs. He only does so when his Wife can’t stand the guy and makes her Husband take him. The Wife is the most equitable of the two, since she likes a little variety in her big party Downstairs.
The Proxies
Once you make it to either Party, you get your hand stamped and you can go back whenever you want. Getting to the Middle is a little bit of an ordeal (you have to say your goodbyes and that takes a while), but once you’re there you’re acting on your Host’s behalf as a Proxy. You’re also the boss of any first-timer trying to complete their job for your Host as well.
Los Pistoleros
So, that thing I mentioned about the demographics of the Parties? Here’s where it comes into play. Since Downstairs is overflowing with men, the Wife makes a good chunk of them permanent Proxies. You know the guy that always shows up but is made to go and get another keg or pick someone up? That’s what I’m talking about. Always at the party but never at the party.
These guys are called Los Pistoleros. Why Spanish? Ask the Husband and Wife, I don’t know. They think it sounds better rolling off the tongue, I guess.
Las Arcángelistas
So, the Husband has his own Proxies, and due to his demographics, it has to be gals. No one looks better in wings, anyway.
So, why does all this matter? It didn’t, until Ambrose Bierce came along.
Ambrose seduced the Wife. How? He knew how to speak her language, was all. And, since she’s actually left the Party to hang out with her new man, the Husband isn’t too happy. He’s sent his Arcángelistas to solve the problem. But, since he won’t be leaving his Party unless someone makes him, Las Arcángelistas will solving the problem on their own. And, since the Husband dictated ‘free will’ in the Middle, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.
Can you hear that? Sounds like the bikes of Las Arcángelistas. They’ve come to solve some problems.
Shadows of Mystara Arcade Emulator
So, I have this obsession with the D&D arcade games. They’re just plain good.I have them both emulated on my PSP and enjoy them pretty often. I bought the Rules Cyclopedia just so I could have the rules that the game was based on. Imagine my surprise when the rules were barely even used. Nothing in there about Level 1-3 swords, nothing for combos, nothing for special maneuvers.
So, I was talking with my friend Rich Miller (Cthulhu’s Librarian, if you only know him via ENWorld and Eighth Deadly Sin at CM) about the upcoming ENWorld NC Gameday. I was pondering what to run (cuz I love to run game for Gameday):
Me: You know what would be neat?
Rich: whats that?
Me: I was going to set up a game just like the arcade. Game runs along pace. If you die, you’d give up your spot or something.
I might do something with extra lives.Rich: Hehe buy the gm a candy bar for more life
Me: We could play with a pot. Nickle ante. Winner takes all. Or, penny ante.
Rich: Not nickels, QUARTERS.
Me: I can’t make people pay real money :P
But, what if the money were part of the game? What if I brought it with me?
Ignoring system for now, check this out:
Goblins – 1 penny
Gnolls/Skeletons – 2 pennies
Owlbears/Hellhounds – 3 pennies
Ghouls/Dark Elves – 4 pennies
So, that pretty much crovers the gamut of regular enemies, right? What if it costs me that much to put those creatures out? And what if you get that much treasure when you beat them?
So, you’ve just killed a group of goblins (worth a penny per player in your group). What do you do with that penny?
Fighter – Add 1 hit to your current hit chain – 1 penny
“Take that!”
Thief – Sneak up on an enemy that knows you’re there – 1 penny
“Sneak, sneak, sneak …”
Mage – Ignore an attack because you cast Mirror Image – 1 penny
“Now you see me …”
Dwarf – Knock ‘em down! – 1 penny
“Har! Get up, ya ugly thing!”
Elf – Make one creature attack another for one hit – 1 penny
“Can’t you keep up with me?”
Cleric – Your battle vigor renews you – 1 penny
“By Cuthbert, this is fun!”
Nickels would be generated from bosses and from hoarding pennies. Nickels get you really special abilities.
Quarters would be generated from hoarding nickels. Quarters get you another play when you’re knocked unconscious.
Don’t forget treasure chests as a source of coins, too. But here’s the fun part!
If you use a coin for your own ability, it goes back to me for further creatures! If you use it to activate someone else’s ability, they get to keep the coin. Teamwork at its finest!
Tear Themselves Apart
Here’s an idea I’ve been mulling around in my head.
Some organization (a Company in the Shadowrun universe, the Government in Dark*Matter or Delta Green, the King(dom) in D&D) gathers together some top operatives that are necessary to complete a mission. However, we the audience know that the organization really just wants the target neutralized and doesn’t care if any of the operatives make it back. So, they choose operatives with histories with each other. Just before the mission starts, however, they ‘block’ that history from the operatives’ minds, all the while knowing that the mission itself will break down the mental blocks in the operatives heads’. The best possible scenario is to have the operatives complete their mission, remember what they’d forgotten, and Tear Themselves Apart.
The players would decide on a setting and a mission and create characters. Gameplay would determine when revelations would be made, and either a dice roll or some card draws would help determine what kind of screwed up history the characters share. Gameplay would end when the mission is completed. A winner is determined if there is only one left standing. If more than one is left standing, then they fight to the death. The Game itself has won if all are dead after the mission is complete. Finally, if all die before the mission is complete, a sequel might be played if the players so desire. Fun!
The only other idea I have for now is what the characters would be like. A character would have five Features or Aspects, rated as such:
12 – Ultimate Badass Feature
10 – Badass Feature
8 – Pretty Damn Good Feature
6 – Good Feature
4 – Not so Good Feature
When playing the game, you start with a d12. You have to roll the rating of your Feature or below to succeed.
When a conflict starts, the player determines which Feature they will use to be successful. If they are successful, they take the Feature’s rating in [Fallout]. If they fail, and aren’t willing to accept the consequences, they have to move up the chart to another Feature. You then roll that Feature’s rating in d6s – and for every point over that they succeed, they accumulate that amount of [Fallout].
[Fallout] is this thing that you accumulate which will either lead to Damage or Remembering.
What happens when you start to remember? Is it mechanically reinforced?
When you start to Remember, you would get one of three details in one of (# of players) Connections. These details would be a Relationship (Son, ex-Wife, Partner-in-crime, Target), the History (wants to kill me for my inheritance, caught me cheating, got screwed because of my turning State’s Evidence, foiled my assassination attempt), the Focus (which character in the game is it). I’d imagine that the more you knew about the Focus, the more of a ‘trump’ you’d have if you two went face-to-face. For example, if my character knew all three facts about your character, but your character only knew two things about me, I could kill you, even if both of us chose our Ultimate Badass Feature. I guess kind of like Trust in the Mountain Witch? I’ve only played once, so I never got the feel for how Trust was supposed to work.
How are these memory bits created? In advance? Collaboratively? On the fly? By other players? Round robin, a la carry?
I was thinking that there would be categories revealed through card draws. Everyone would know it was a Family Member, you’d decide which one and narrate what you knew into the audience – not necessarily directly into the fiction.
I’m thinking that you’d have your character and two relationships. One would be someone that, based on your imagined history, deserves your hatred and death. The other, based on your imagined history, deserves your love and protection. This would mean that not only would characters start standing up for the others but that the game wouldn’t be quite so grim. It would also mean you wouldn’t have to have a reason to kill everyone – more than likely, any character would either be directly or indirectly involved in either of your two relationships.
We’re Here to Kill You, Mr. Bierce
Demon Hunters in a Wild West that Never Was.
Except that it’s not Dogs in the Vineyard :P
Ambrose Bierce has seduced the Devil herself, but hasn’t come out of the deal unchanged. Challenge the King of America’s demonic minions and fight your way to the Great Cynic’s Throne to save God’s wife, whether she wants to be saved or not!
Take on the roles of Las Arcángeles as they battle cynicism, pessimism, sexism and demons to better the world.
