Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?
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Re: Highlander (Films)
Everyone hates on the idea of SPEHSS ALIUMS and ranks 2 as the worst of the films, but never even acknowledge the Existence of the Source.As for 'interesting stuff over the eons'... there is a reason why, when I play a vampire or immortal or some such on a game, I literally tell other people 'Vampire is like highlander... all the old people know everyone else, and half our RP should be flashbacks to previous encounters where we actually met and other shit happened. Usually conveniently relevant to present day dramaz!'
Although... maybe it says something about the concept that too few people actually take me up on the offer.
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@Jennkryst I actually love flashback scenes.
If I had ever done the parody game (supernatural TV shows reality, essentially, complete with all the cheese and 4th wall breaks), people would have been able to get an XP bonus for 'gratuitous flashback sequence' (which is such a staple of the genre it's not even funny).
On a more serious note, Tailka had 'defining moments' as an option rather than backgrounds on her game, and I'd planned to steal and expand that to include flashback scenes like this for more serious projects, with extra incentives if it's a flashback to help a new character integrate with the existing characters on grid to best hit the ground running. It helps new folks get started, and fills in more for the existing characters -- a win all around, I think.
Maybe no one has taken up the offer, but, damn, there are really cool reasons they maybe should sometimes.
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@Jennkryst
I dunno, I really enjoy the whole 'oh, you fucker, I haven't seen you since the French Revolution. I was sure that your head was ash in a basket!' But I come from an interconnected LARP background where that's a common thing that goes on, so I'm predisposed towards it.@surreality
That's one of the things that I found intriguing about the Leverage RPG, is that you use flashbacks as an in-game resource. I like your idea of 'using flashbacks to integrate new characters,' as well. -
@DarkDeleria said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:
Yeah, I've thought about that too. In the sense that you always have a large group of players that always wanna be the "special ones" but not enough people wanna play the "others." In a way (and someone may throw monkey poop at me for mixing things a bit), but Red Rising game could use the same kiiiiiinda system as Exalted--but maybe the focus is on Gold and Gold politics on one of the planets. Maybe award additional XP, bonuses, hugs, handies in the back alley (joking on the last part) for those wanting to play other colors: such as Obsidians and The Stained. Oooooooor....you could create a game based on the ending of the last novel in the trilogy, and the Golds on the outer rim.
I know that he's working on a 4th book that's meant to take place several years after Morning Star. Could use that or an "alternative version" of post Morning Star. Again, just thoughts
Setting things in the Rising, or in the Solar Republic after it's quasi success, would probably be the best bet yes, along with having the default character as a Gold. It is not as if after the main characters 'win' at the end they have ejected all Golds or event brought actual equality into the fold, even in the area they take control of. The Rim planets remain untouched and crush their local revolutions, likewise for the inner planets where the loyalist fleet flees. They 'just' get Earth, Luna and Mars and rather than completely wiping out the existing regime? They take control of it from the top down then pass reforms (no slavery), etc. I suspect that plenty of Golds remain in the republic and even if a lot flee, many would retain positions of influence and power.
They would not have that inherent assumption of utter social superiority though and lower colour character could definitely better them in specialist areas if you set up character generation properly. In setting, a Gold fighter pilot would typically be a squadron commander and better than all or almost all of their subordinates even at their specialist field, but you have people playing lower colours as the exceptions to the rule. So Stained champions able to butcher Gold knights in melee combat, or the Blue who is a better space captain than almost everyone else, or the Carver/Doctor who is retained to fix up mutilated main characters, etc.
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Numenera + other Numenera stuff is up on Bundle of Holding.
So is Rifts:
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Numenera-2017
In case people are curious and want to collect.
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@JinShei I would love Discworld, but I think that the number of people who can do Discworld humor is... one. In the whole world. And he's not with us anymore.
ETA: @Bobotron I love the Leverage RPG Flashback mechanic, think it's the best possible way to cut down planning sessions (which are fun in TT, but agonizing on a MU*) without shorting characters/players the opportunity to plan/have planned, and use the mechanic in just about every game I ever run.
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Leverage is a gimme system though.
Which I suppose makes it perfect for MU* play.
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@Seraphim73
I guess I'm the odd man out in that I LOVE doing planning RP sessions. -
There is a Netflix show called 3% that I want to pull some elements from for a thing, at least, if not the setting itself.
Post apocalyptic setting, there is a hypertech island where only the worthy can go. Like, there is a rigorous screening process... psych, physical, intellectual, willpower. Mainland folks scrounge to get by, and the island gives no shits. Paraplegic? The 3% on the island have a shot to fix that.
But there aren't enough supplies to go around for everyone. So only the 3% of people allowed on the island have access. Which is kind of shitty and unfair until you get to the M Night Shabalabadoo-ian twist at the end, which I leave hidden, cause SPOILERZ.
...
...
Where was I? Oh. TLDR, basically like Exalted, where the PCs are powerful shitlords and the NPCs are lame masses who had the chance to be awesome, but didn't live up to the challenge.
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@Jennkryst I liked the 3%, thanks for reminding me, need to finish watching that.
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@Jennkryst Settings based/depended on canon 'secrets' of any kind would either not work too well for a MU* if set at the time of the original work, or they are set so that the advantage of instant familiarity with the material is negated.
For instance place a Lord of the Rings game around the time of the books and every other character will 'know' about the Ringbearer's mission. You can place it fifty years after Sauron's fall and then you miss out on a lot of elements that make that Middle Earth recognisable and popular.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Bobotron I enjoy doing planning sessions in TT, and I actually quite like doing them on MU*s too... but they bog plots down like CRAZY. Unless you can get everyone (including the GM) together ahead of time, and find some good way to provide "all" the information about the job, I think it's a brutal waste of time (no matter how much I enjoy it when it isn't a brutal waste of time).
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@Arkandel That's why I want some elements pulled from it, if not the actual setting. I was leaving the twist at the end hidden for folks interested in watching it, but basically, there is a reason why the island folks know that everyone there is worthy of living there. Everyone of them used to be from the mainland, and they all had to pass the tests to gain acceptance.
'But what about the babies born on the island?' There are none, because the final test is chemical sterilization. Nothing on the island is inherited. It was earned, because they proved themselves worthy.
But yeah. PCs are shitlords with every advancement and luxury, separated from the unworthy peasants. Sounds like your standard L&L game, but without all the 'uniting houses by breeding' subplots.
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@Packrat: Why are we not making this a reality??
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The Coldfire Trilogy would make for an interesting world for a mush. I don't know how popular the series was but it's a series that's stuck with me since I read it long ago.
Then when it's all over and the rest of you are ready for Dead Animal Pickup, I'm gonna go balls deep into Dahl. But only because she asked me to. Sweet-like. - Riddick (2013)
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@ThatOneDude I loved those books, but they'd need to be set either before the books, or at least before the ending of the last book.
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The Shades of Magic trilogy, which I am finishing.
I am already sort of working in my head with ideas on how to use nWoD rules for it, to be honest.
Because I would play the FUCK out of all of that.
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@DarkDeleria Because making games is hard and requires a lot of time/mental energy!
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I got permission from Michelle West to do a Sun Sword game. Every time I sit down and start to contemplate it though, the amount of work involved makes my head hurt. Trying to somehow capture enough to get the feel without overwhelming people with unnecessary details...oh man.
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@Sunny I feel you on this. I love -- love love love -- some world-building, but the amount of info needed is not easy for something that doesn't have an RPG book handy that people can get and read through.
That said, most games involve at least one RPG book that someone has to get and read through. (Or a television series to watch, or a series of novels, etc.)
It is unlikely that even if you put down a lot of details and information on a wiki and MUX, it still isn't going to be as much as you'd find in your average RPG corebook. Even if most people skim and flip around, they usually end up reading about a third of it, and many read the whole thing. Others read multiple books.
If people can read for WoD or any other game system or setting, they can read for yours. The collective freakout over being asked to read detailed setting and game system information on a wiki -- especially if there is no corresponding media to watch or read necessary -- is just a little silly. (By which I mean it's a lot silly.)
Have summaries, with further detail people can delve into if they're interested and/or want or need more depth for their character (or for other characters they're interacting with when and if it becomes relevant), but the people who claim to be overwhelmed by unnecessary details are often enough the same people who have read -- at the very least -- the core WoD sourcebook from cover to cover before they play somewhere, and there's some bullshit to be called on that particular complaint for hypocrisy.
If somebody can read a corebook for an RPG, which most folks do, they can read a game wiki.
tl;dr: organize the info well, and anybody who complains there's too much information who has ever made a character on TR or FC with a zillion splatbooks required for reference gets an anime-style mallet to the skull, which will conveniently appear out of nowhere for this exact purpose.
Oh fucking well.
