What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?
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This is just to gauge some general interest. What would you be more interested in a new game that isn't a) WoD, b) Super Hero, c) Historical L&L*
Theme & Setting #1 - Our World of Terrifying Dreams
Game opens on a normal day in 2018. Global warming is causing the weather to be shittier than normal. People are just trying to make a buck and get by. But then it happens. People think it's Korea or Russia attacking, except they soon learn that whatever is happening is happening all across the planet. Explosions, violent storms, and earthquakes all strike at once... Tears in reality open and all manner of monsters, terrors, and myths fall out of them. Spilling into the world in the Great Rending of Reality.You are someone who was there when it happened. You lived through a werewolf attack on your office. Or maybe you were pumping gas when a horde of zombies burst out from underneath the concrete and tried to chew off your arm. Or maybe you were running from your life from strange tentacled monsters when a glowing woman with a sword made of starlight saved you.
Or maybe you're a stranger from The Dream. You were going about your normal life-- hunting vampires, leading a pack of werewolves on a sacred hunt, ruling over your faerie court, whatever it was you were doing --when suddenly your world was rended open and you fell through a portal into a world with far less magic then you are used to.
Are you a human trying to recover from the monsters of the movie screen and your dreams suddenly becoming real? Are you a "monster" suddenly stuck in a world were your magic isn't as godlike as it once was? ...are you a human being slowly being warped by magic that is suddenly in your world?
Theme & Setting #2 - Courts of the Sacred Seeds
Your world is very different from our own. At the age of majority you were given a choice: Which of the Sacred Courts will you join? You were born with an element (unless you're one of the unlucky Seedless), and typically you join the Court that represents the elemental seed within yourself. Is fire Seeded inside of you? Can you summon flames to your fingertips? Can you walk through a blazing fire without being hurt? The Court of Embers is typically where you will go. But maybe you have the ability to call the rain from the sky, or summon droplet of fresh water...
You are Seeded of Storm but you have no court... You might go to the Court of Frost, or you might go to the Court of the Sea. Or you could walk the long, struggling road of trying to found your own Court. It'll be difficult for the Sacred Courts are loathe to let go of their powers. You'll have to fight all of them:The Court of Embers (fire / heat)
The Court of Frost ( snow / ice / cold)
The Court of Groves ( vegetation / nature)
The Court of the Sea ( ocean / rain / salt-water)
The Court of Winds ( air / wind / non-rain weather)
Setting & Theme #3 - Lost in the Stars
You are a member of the crew or a passenger on the Ariadne, the last hope for humankind. The ship was set to find the nearest planet that might be habitable. However, something happened... There's a terrible shaking and lurching of the ship, and when the smoke clears... the Ariadne is no where near Proxima Centauri, in fact no one knows where you are...What you do know is that there are hostile and terrifying aliens, and their ships have just started to open fire on the Ariadne. Escape must be made before anyone can address "where are we".
- The Court of Sacred Seeds would have some L&L theme to it, but wouldn't be a historical "lets crib real world feudal systems".
** This is supposed to be a pole but it's not letting me.
*** I'm not like taking a complete vote of "if this gets enough likes I'll do X" but I have a Digital Ocean giftcard from the PyBundle, and a bunch of Python books. So I might work on something, since I have to use my DigitalOcean funds by August ... uh something.
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DOUBLE POST.
This isn't really meant to be a discussion on mechanics, HOWEVER. If any of these ideas super grab your fancy and you know JUST WHAT SYSTEM you would use for'em, I'd love to hear it.
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#2 by a lot
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I like the premise to #3, but I think it needs work. What you have is the start of a scene here, perhaps the one that kicks off the game.
Maybe take the Ariadne and start to head home through the aliens. Take a bit of Voyager and Robotech, and mix that with a lot of Event Horizon and Star Control 2.
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@roz Any particular reason? What kind of themes would you assume you could explore with that little idea-bite? What kind of themes would you HOPE to explore? Is it the idea of magic? The potential for a court-ish system? The potential for political intrigue? I know there's not a super lot to go off of, but it's meant just to be a seed (ehehehe) of an idea rather than a full fleshed pitch to people. So based off of what little is there, what interests you and what would you want from it?
@ganymede said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
I like the premise to #3, but I think it needs work. What you have is the start of a scene here, perhaps the one that kicks off the game.
Maybe take the Ariadne and start to head home through the aliens. Take a bit of Voyager and Robotech, and mix that with a lot of Event Horizon and Star Control 2.
Yeah, that idea seed is a little less fleshed out than the other ones. And when I mentioned it to @skew and another friend I got "oh is that like a BSG game" or a "SG:U?". It's basically just pulling any and all sci-fi tropes of "lost in space". Further from that... I think the game's course would be three chapters to start:
- Escaping the hostiles.
- Finding a home?
- Establishing that home.
- ...To infinity and beyond!
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I rather like #2, and "not cribbing real world feudal systems" makes me like it more. But then I am fond of L&L type games.
#1 is probably my second choice, but I don't dislike #3 -- although if it were me I would push it a little more in a Metamorphosis Alpha direction.
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@cobaltasaurus said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
- Escaping the hostiles.
- Finding a home?
- Establishing that home.
- ...To infinity and beyond!
I was thinking more:
- Escaping the hostiles.
- Heading home on the ship, which will be treated as home.
I guess I'm just fond of the Macross Saga.
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- By a very wide margin. But I'm a sucker for a space opera/exploration/worldship story. =D
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@cobaltasaurus I strongly lean towards #3, because SPAAAAAACE, but #2 is a very close second!
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@cobaltasaurus Well since you had to @ me and summon me here... #1
Admittedly having everyone stuck on a dang spaceship does sound like a fairly fun theme. Plus easy setting for a MU. Wonder if you could pull of similar with a modern setting. Not the "spaceship exploration" bit, but the "locked in a small space". Like a small town that you can't leave for reasons.
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Then you'd have M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, and we all know how that ended up.
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@cobaltasaurus said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
@roz Any particular reason? What kind of themes would you assume you could explore with that little idea-bite? What kind of themes would you HOPE to explore? Is it the idea of magic? The potential for a court-ish system? The potential for political intrigue? I know there's not a super lot to go off of, but it's meant just to be a seed (ehehehe) of an idea rather than a full fleshed pitch to people. So based off of what little is there, what interests you and what would you want from it?
I like MAGIC and I especially love ELEMENTAL MAGIC and also I like COURTS and INTRIGUE.
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@skew said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
Like a small town that you can't leave for reasons.STOP GIVING ME IDEAS.
@jennkryst said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
@cobaltasaurus I strongly lean towards #3, because SPAAAAAACE, but #2 is a very close second!
I like the Space idea, but I've a mild worry that people would want it Hard Science, and would get upset when I accidentally give the properties of a Red Dwarf to a White Giant or something.
@roz said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
I like MAGIC and I especially love ELEMENTAL MAGIC and also I like COURTS and INTRIGUE.
tiny whisper me too
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@cobaltasaurus said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
... Hard Science
I see your hard science, and raise you a mix of #3 and #2, with some Spelljammer style nonsense.
...
...
and by nonsense, I mean amazing fun.
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@cobaltasaurus said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
I like the Space idea, but I've a mild worry that people would want it Hard Science, and would get upset when I accidentally give the properties of a Red Dwarf to a White Giant or something.
The only kind of hard science I like is when someone sticks something biological into me.
Doing Enterprise shit is boring.
Doing Voyager shit is better.
Doing SDF-1 shit is awesome.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
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@ganymede said in What Do You Want In A New Game (3-options)?:
The only kind of hard science I like is when someone sticks something biological into me.
Something something Court of Groves, something Evil Dead something.
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I've been spamming @roz, but I'll toss a little bit of a worldbuilding here-- Doing some thinking about the second idea. And here's some thoughts on it.
What are the races/classes?
Society is loosely defined by two castes: Seeded and Seedless. Seeded are effectively nobility, tends to run in the families. Seedless are effectively the common folk, the occasional Seeded is produced but if your family doesn't have magic ... you probably won't have it.Why "Sacred Seed"?
Magic is worked through mana. There is a plant that produces a rare flower which is believed to be concentrated mana. Creation myths say that a great evil once threatened <insert race name>, and in desperation they sought out these plant which before hand had been poisonous to them. And planted the seed within the hearts (literally) of fifteen or twenty of their greatest warriors. Legend says only five survived, gaining the ability to wield elemental magic... Their children inherited the ability to wield magic, but with every generation the "mana" in their bodies has lessened. So a religion and economy has built around the tending, growing, and preparation of the sacred flower, so that magic may be still be used.Why the Five Courts?
Legends say that the Founders of the Five Courts were the great-great-great grandchildren of those Legendary Warriors -- the First Seeds. After several generations it became apparent that the families of those legendary warriors were going to be able to spread magic through the entire civilization. But it brought with it chaos and a bit of civil unrest, because not everyone in those families had magic... And common bastards were also born with magic. A hundred years after the First Seeds saved the <insert race> from <insert legendary enemy>, they started a civil war. Commoners using magic to tear down the families that refused to acknowledge them... Until the five strongest of each "element" stepped forward, and created a new system of rule.Nobility was no longer >fully< a matter of blood and familial lineage, but granted to those who could prove that they were Seeded. Fast forward to present day: The Seeded rule over the Seedless. Each of the five courts guards a garden of the sacred fruit, so that the other courts cannot strip them of power. Being born Seeded means that even if your parents have no magic you are elevated after you prove your magic (though you are looked down upon, and have a lot to prove to the wealthy older families with generations of magic users). ...being born Seedless into a family known to have magic users is worth than death. Many parents will simply cast the child out when it becomes clear they have no magic.
Becoming Seeded From Seedless?
Oh, yes, it is possible. The leaders of each court and their trusted second knows ...some of the ritual to Seed someone. However, the majority of people who go through the process die... and the rules are loathe to grant the ritual to anyone. For when you become Seeded directly from the Sacred Flower, rather than being born... Your power is Greater than those born with magic. There are a few historical incidents where someone was Seeded, and then turned around and performed a coup upon the Court Leader that granted them the ritual.Black Market & Shady Operations
While the Five guard their gardens, it is almost impossible to completely keep anything from the masses completely. There are shady gardens where people grow less pure version of the Sacred Seed and sell it to those who do not want to go through the Courts. Some of these places offer the "Seeded Operation". There is a graveyard in <part of grid city> where bodies are found almost every other month, with gaping holes within their chest and the sacred flower growing out of it...How Do You Get Mana?
All people -- even the Seedless -- are innately born with a little bit of a Mana (there are terrible cults that will sacrifice Seedless for their untapped Mana). But you have only so much of it ... But you get it back by consuming the fruit of the Sacred Seed. It can be cooked, brewed into a tea, fermented... Eating it raw gives you a lot of mana, but tends to have uncomfortable side affects... Cooking it gives you less but makes the gaining of that mana a little bit easier.Cults of the Dark Seed
There are two whispered of and feared cults of the Dark Seed. Those that abduct Seedless and sacrifice them for their untapped Mana. Either addicted to the slaughter and dark rituals, or because they cannot bear to eat the Sacred Seed because it is too harsh on their body and so they fall to their only other option: Sacrifice. The second cult is that which gains temporary access to elements other than their innate ones through the cultivation of Tainted Fruit produced from the failed Seeding attempts. ...in fact there are whispers that it's even darker: Some of this cult abduct Seedless and attempt to Seed them just to cultivate these tainted fruits, and gain access to whatever element that person would have had, had they lived. -
I really really like #3
#1 is good too because of the post apocalyptic vibes.
Hello! Long time listener, first time caller...
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@lithium I like #1 because it gives a lot of freedom over what you want to play. Want to play a sparkly daypire? Sure! Setting allows it-- you might get mocked for it, but it's perfectly allowed. Want to play a terribly deformed hard-as-hell-to-kill vampire? Setting definitely allows that as well. Want to play a murderbeast with a heart of gold but who can't control his werewolf side? Definitely allowed. Want to play the Prettiest Fairy? Allowed!
#3 ...I have a little more trouble worldbuilding for. But I would personally play it! >.> Someone else make it!
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Last little bit of worldbuilding before I go back to my Python lessons:
Who Are The Rulers?
The Five Courts are ruled by the King/Queen/Monarch of <Element>. Their children are Prince/Princess of <Element>. They typically have a "Crown <Element>" which signifies which of their children will take over ruling the court when they retire/die/move to the country/whatever.Royal Seedless?
Royal Seedless are Rare. Very, very rare. Because their parents tend to cast them out and immediately work on having a child to replace them, sometimes going as far to name that new child the same name. Or, in other cases when it becomes public knowledge that a Queen/King has produced a Seedless, they are usurped by their political rivals. It is used as proof that that bloodline is failing and a new one must be put in place. This is normally a cadet branch of their family, or even a first cousin-- sometimes even a sister or a brother. Very, very rarely does a King or Queen produce a Seedless child, keep them, AND manage to keep their Crown.New Seeded?
What happens if you come from a Seedless family and are found to be Seeded? You petition to join a court-- typically one that aligns with your element. And they granted you the title of Seeded. Unless you do something very impressive all you are granted is this title, and a small sum of money to establish yourself within the Seeded District... If you do something impressive, have some political allies, or somehow manage to climb the rungs... You might be granted land, a higher title (say Baron, or Count, until I think of some other term). In other terms: Being a new Seeded from a Seedless family is like a commoner being granted the title of "lord" but not being granted land or any holdings. They're given enough money to move into the nobles area, but probably in the poor nobles quarter of it...
