Good Idea/Bad Idea: Game based around fairly helpless PCs

Genocide Device · #1 06-21-2012, 12:57 PM

Note: feel welcome to call this a **** concept, but If you can't give me a constructive reason why, I'm just going to ignore you.

The purpose of this is to play out a horror movie as a role playing game. It's not entirely unlike Call of Cthulhu but allows for many different plot alternatives than just the Mythos. In any case, I wanted to get the feel of Call of Cthulhu without using their rules which also opens the player base up a bit. If you've ever played CoC, you'd know that winning is an impossibility, having your character go completely insane is an inevitability, and survival is your only real hope. Well this is kinda like that except more open in form so you can use GURPS or d20 Modern.

I call this setting "Survive Till Dawn"

The basic plot? You are an average Jane/John thrust into extraordinary though terrifying circumstances. This could be anything from a Zombie Apocalypse, to an HP Lovecraft encounter with the Mythos, to an Alien Invasion. Whatever the antagonist, your character ends up on the wrong side of its nasty bits and must do whatever is necessary to survive. However, its important to note, that dying isn't the end. Actually, sometimes leaving the biggest greasy blood soaked smear is half the fun of playing this game. There are limitless kinds of scenarios, hundreds of possible player option in each, and you're not committed to any one character. Rewards are given to players, not to character, so, if a character dies or if you get board with them, you lose nothing. Cool gear and feats are retained by players from each scenario and transfer over to their next character.

The plot starts when the clock strikes 7pm that night, and doesn't end until 7am the next morning (not literally, I mean in game time. Each thread usually represents one or two hours in game time, depending)

Important game notes:
You don't get you play anyone of extraordinary measure. You are not an orphaned, lone wolf, soldier of fortune, disgruntled cop, who is armed to the teeth and ready to go Ash on some ugglies. You are a nobody, run of the mill, person with a job, a 401-k, and probably a family. You do not get to play Batman

This means templates are taken right out of the D20 modern "Professions" list right down to their equipment. You get that and nothing more. If we decide to use GURPS 4th, you get 100pnts and likely only 1/4th of your starting money. The trick is to imagine mundane skills that could possibly see you through to the end.

Go ahead and fight for meta game reasons to take guns for classes that shouldn't have them. I'm going to tell you right now, they will do you little good. 9 times out of 10 -and anyone who has played call of Cthulhu can tell you- guns are useless. Also remember, that Betty Crocker former Prom Queen and Home Maker will likely not be sporting an AR-15 while she's out on her daily shopping trip even if she's a card carrying member of the NRA. While I can see her carrying a little sporty .38, as noted above, don't bother, it likely won't do you any good. You'll likely survive longer if you pump up your movement speed.

Please try to make quirky interesting characters. Feel free to work out pre game relations between them. It will increase your odds of survival if you team up. You should not be playing emotionless, seen it all, hardened, unmotivated, orphans with nothing to lose. The better your role playing, the more bonuses and after game loot you'll receive.

There will be NO EXP given out for this game. If your character survives till 7am the next day, they will be rewarded with better starting equipment, special game bonuses and feats. If they survive more than one Scenario (say 2 or 3 depending on how well they do) they'll be awarded an automatic level.

You cannot play someone with special knowledge of whats going on unless you survive a scenario or two and then we'll talk. You can, however, use your natural awareness as a player of cult classic horror as meta knowledge. I'm going to tell you right now, if you have your character run up the stairs as apposed to out the front door, your character is gonna die. If you have your character hit the big ugly once with a baseball bat, drop the bat and run for his/her life, your character is gonna die. Remember, cardio, and double tap.

Don't get upset if your character dies. There's always the next scenario, you will never loose any rewards, and rewards are based mostly on Role Playing, not how long you survive. Further more, have fun, or why bother playing?

WoLT · #2 06-21-2012, 01:35 PM

As long as you outline specifically in the advert what you intend to run you'll attract that kind of player.

There's also a ton of players trying to get into games, so pretty much any well presented advert will get attention. Just make sure you list it as a one shot with deadly consequences and explain the setting.

That should attract the right kind of player.

Genocide Device · #3 06-21-2012, 02:04 PM

I suppose it is important to note that this is not a one shot and dying is hardly the end of game play. This game is based upon scenario after scenario which is casually mentioned in the set up but perhaps needs an upfront explanation.

Thank you WoLT

WoLT · #4 06-21-2012, 05:50 PM

No worries man. I would suggest you peek at the gm guide for advert format and it will adress all of these issues. Basically though, as long as you explain what you are running well and make advert cool you will attract the right players for your game.

Genocide Device · #5 06-21-2012, 06:29 PM

What I'm saying though is "Does this sound appealing?" and looking for reasons yes or no. See, the last time I ran it, it ultimately fell flat on its face and no one gave a reason as to why they quit. Sometimes that just happens but all of them seemed amped to play and one in the game, one by one, fell of the face of the PbP without explanation. Could be boredom, could be a dislike of the actual presentation, or it could have been the plot (a possessed dude ranch). Unfortunately I'm hesitant to run it again unless I have someone give me a suggestion or two.

WoLT · #6 06-21-2012, 06:51 PM

Well, again, you just need to attract the right party, even interest checks (not done in this forum fwiw) Dont mean much until you get the game running. What one player group quits on another will love. Speaking as someone who plays in your games it's not a problem with you being a good gm or not, just that not every game is a home run with every group. I would recommend raising the bar for applicants with your advert, make them work to get in with a.writing sample or something, otherwise they wont be as invested in the game. If you are choosey with your player selection process you increase the chances of success, but at the end of the day it is still a crap shoot. There is no perfect formula to select players, just things you can do to help increase chances of success.

You might try asking them to be familiar with the players guide too. That tends to make people more reliable because they have a better sense of what is expected.

Genocide Device · #7 06-21-2012, 08:03 PM

I'm not going to make it a requirement but if you link it here I'll link it in my ad thread.

WoLT · #8 06-21-2012, 10:54 PM

The PBP Players guide, New Member Guide and GM Guide are all always linked in my signature as well as the PBP GM Academy and some other resources.

Genocide Device · #9 06-22-2012, 10:52 AM

Thanks for that WoLT =D

kingmonkey · #10 06-28-2012, 01:08 PM

First off, there are, believe it or not, no bad ideas for games, only flawed executions. The idea of playing a victim character is a nice contrast to the typical goal of most games. The only advice I would offer is to ensure, when crafting encounters and challenges, that there is a backdoor for the characters. It's all well and good to say that three lonely hikers are trapped in a cottage besieged by a werewolf, or whatnot, even if that encounter is hopelessly one-sided against the players as long as there's the appearance of potential victory for the players. Even if it's an illusion, players who are game for the challenge will enjoy the painted exit door.

Genocide Device · #11 06-28-2012, 03:48 PM

Yeah, I'm not out to get the player. My goolies are out to get the player characters. I've totally played under power triping GM's before and I feel that sorted itself out when every one quit playing. You sort of cant pull that in Play by Post and not have everyone blackball you as a GM. However, i think your touching on something here. The problem could also, in part, be back doors that aren't obviose or get out of death free cards that are too obviouse. The idea is to make the consequences seem real and the fixes probable.

kingmonkey · #12 06-29-2012, 04:07 PM

Don't get me wrong. I am entirely opposed to being a DM vs. the players. It's against the very drive of RPGs, in my opinion, as the ultimate goal should be a collaborative effort in storytelling.

What I mean is that the players must enter the game under full apprehension that their character may well face doom during the game. It's not a matter of remaining unattached to the character, but rather a chance to explore the character's humanity and spark in the short time they have together. It gives them the drive to play that much harder in the face of their oncoming doom.

Gamers who only play games with the goal of "winning" will not be a good fit for this type of game. You want the "journey, not a destination" type of players. Once you've got them, it's up to you to write a game that has an actual winning scenario, just not one that they're very likely to ever achieve. For example, in my above scenario, three hikers vs. a stalking werewolf is actually a survivable scenario, under classic rules. All they need to do is find a silver weapon. It's entirely a realistic thing to attain, just not easily. You've given them a task (survive) which can be achieved, it's just not likely to happen before they get mostly or entirely mauled and eaten.

Genocide Device · #13 07-01-2012, 11:28 AM

yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I should probably place in the ad that good RPing comes with more reward than surviving. Noble Sacrifice, and Stupid but Successful rules from Palladium games always seemed like they were rewarding players for having fun, taking chances and good role playing. I try to emulate that. As you may know RIFTS sorta fits into the same survival horror theme, especially if you play the CS. Most troops don't survive their first day in bad lads on the rim at level 1 but for some reason the setting expects it. In that case it was only fair cause whatever killed you was drawn completely randomly, even if there was no chance in hell of taking it down. Under those circumstances a good DM let dead players keep EXP from things like Noble Sacrifice and Stupid but Successful rules and move them to their new character.

kingmonkey · #14 07-06-2012, 12:18 PM

You raise a good point. While I'm entirely used to playing mortal characters in supernatural settings, for example, I've never heard of someone playing Trooper #72 in an MDC-type setting before-- the janitor on board the SDF-1, panicky idiot from The Poseidon Adventure, carpenter in Waterdeep. To incorporate the no-power into a setting that almost always gets populated with gum-chewing-ass-kicking badasses would be a nice twist.

Vinegar Tom · #15 07-06-2012, 01:48 PM

This entire concept is massively flawed. Firstly, what, precisely, is the point of role-playing somebody no more skilled than yourself who almost inevitably dies in a horrible fashion, just like you would if a zombie apocalypse somehow occurred for real, other than to allow the GM to get off on his own personal power-trip? That's the message I take from this post, and I can see exactly why people drift away from your games without even bothering to tell you why. If you don't understand that players need better motivation than the promise of a lengthy description of their entrails being gobbled up by unstoppable monsters, you ain't never gonna get it.

And by the way, CoC does not inevitably result in a totally negative outcome for the PCs. There's a big difference between assuming that, although an apocalypse triggered by omnipotent superbeings with whom the PCs cannot meaningfully interact is ultimately inevitable, PCs can at least attempt to forestall it (see The Dunwich Horror for further details), and a scenario where the GM just says: "Ha ha, I am God, and you are doomed - let's see how long you can fend it off!" I can see precisely why any game based on this premise would fail very quickly, as indeed yours have.

Constructively, such a game would have to work on the basis that even an ordinary person has huge advantages over any individual monster of the generic variety they're up against - zombies, for example, are very, very stupid. Characters in movies are taken completely by surprise and don't know that, but they're also the puppets of the director. PCs should never, ever be puppets of the GM, and that seems to be what you're after here. Give them a chance to work with their strengths and actually advance in some way, and you might have a viable game. Otherwise, you might want to give up on PCs entirely and just write short stories in which everyone dies in horrible ways because you say so.

Oh, by the way, your spelling needs some work. When you say that your "goolies" are out to get your players, you should probably be aware that if you mean monsters, the correct spelling is "ghoulies". For citizens if the UK, your "goolies" mean your testicles.