Do enough people still check in often enough to run anything here? Be honest if you think you'd flake out after a week or don't check this board more than once a week. For pbp, I like really simple rules so things move at a turtle's pace instead of a snail's pace. Aim for 3-5 posts/week.
Here are things I could run. For all but the last, I'd use simple rules set that I wrote with only 6 stats: job, group, thing, good at, suck at, equipped as. Maybe throw in a 7th stat such as sanity depending on the game. No other skills/feats or anything.
1. Cthulhuesque, not strict in canon, either 1920s or modern. People caught in a situation, not all of them likely to survive.
2. Similar to #1 but the crusades as a backdrop. The starting point is a small group of knights/monks/mercenaries/servants/hangers on who had to separate from the main host and are rushing through the Balkans to catch up.
3. Multi-dimensional mashup. Characters from any reality who have wound up or made their way to a dreamlike dimension where each person's rules of reality surround them like an invisible bubble. You are all trying to survive and thrive at the most exciting and dangerous place ever: The Mall at the Center of the Multiverse. Imagine a Douglas Adams or a Spider Robinson feel.
4. Inspired by the dos graphics adventures of old, a light continuous dungeon crawl. Elves have banished people they don't like to a huge underground complex. No huge background needed as everyone starts as a new arrival. Try to survive and explore. The rules are inpsired by Dungeon Squad, Old School Hack, and Usagi Yojimbo. Everyone has values in the 6 knacks of Violence, Avoid Trouble, Find Stuff, Resiliance, Red Magic, White Magic. Then you have Tricks that are like feats. Simple rules, easy to die quickly if you're stupid or unlucky.
New Game?
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Nicephorus
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Maybe? I rather like the idea of a knight brother, whose a little more brother than knight. Searching the desert for relics of a lost age! Job: Crusader Knight, Group: Knights of Lazarus, Thing: Leper, Good At: Researching ancient texts, Sucks at Riding, Equipped as: "Knight"? Mace, short falchion, mail coif and hauberk, Shield, Spear and some scholarly stuff?
Of course, Playing a bootlegger whose trapped in something ain't to bad either. Some kind of shotgun and probably a pistol too. Job: Boot Legger, Group: Mafia Birddog,Thing: WW1 Marine(?), Good At: Driving, Suck at: Repairing Vehicles, Equipped as: Armed Bootlegger
I just don't know how reliable I can say I will be. But if I can be I'm interested.
Of course, Playing a bootlegger whose trapped in something ain't to bad either. Some kind of shotgun and probably a pistol too. Job: Boot Legger, Group: Mafia Birddog,Thing: WW1 Marine(?), Good At: Driving, Suck at: Repairing Vehicles, Equipped as: Armed Bootlegger
I just don't know how reliable I can say I will be. But if I can be I'm interested.
I suspect that people who speak or write properly are up to no good, or homersexual, or both
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Nicephorus
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Cool. Three is enough to start something.
Let's go with 1920's Cthulhu. I'll post the rules in the next few days. Instead of Chaosium's rules, we'll be using some dirt simple rules that fit on 2 pages. Part of character generation will be deferred to during the game, so you can make decisions about your character after you've seen part of the story.
Here's two possibilities. If people don't like either one, I have others.
1. Shipwreck on small island in mid-Atlantic. Obvious goals of survival and escape. Tiny island to explore and find strange stuff.
2. You're all on a commercial bus from Boston to Maine for reasons of your own. Shit happens. Yea I know buses don't sound exciting but it works for putting a handful of strangers together in a sparsely populated part of New England and I've run it before in live play.
Let's go with 1920's Cthulhu. I'll post the rules in the next few days. Instead of Chaosium's rules, we'll be using some dirt simple rules that fit on 2 pages. Part of character generation will be deferred to during the game, so you can make decisions about your character after you've seen part of the story.
Here's two possibilities. If people don't like either one, I have others.
1. Shipwreck on small island in mid-Atlantic. Obvious goals of survival and escape. Tiny island to explore and find strange stuff.
2. You're all on a commercial bus from Boston to Maine for reasons of your own. Shit happens. Yea I know buses don't sound exciting but it works for putting a handful of strangers together in a sparsely populated part of New England and I've run it before in live play.
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Nicephorus
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Nicephorus
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AtemHutlrt
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For those wondering what I'm talking about, I'm guessing that Nicephorus is shooting for something at least similar to his SERGE system, but don't bet he hasn't made any changes! Still, if you're looking for a head start on thinking about your character, it seems like a pretty reasonable place to start.3278 wrote:My character is basically done - using the old system posted on AB...
And if it's not SERGE at all, blame Bone for implying it would be. Dick.
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Nicephorus
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Nicephorus
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Ok, you can download the 2 page rpg system from here:
https://slashtmp.iu.edu/files/download? ... 5924JPfAsx
Just-in-Time chargen: Serge has only 6 bits that define your character: job, group, thing, good at, suck at, equipped as. When you post your character initially, post only 3 of these, one of which must me what you suck at - this is what everyone else present already knows about you or that is visibly apparent. You can fill in the rest as you go, a max of one per post. You can have it all planned out or you can make tactical decisions based on the game, as you wish. You can't add something to affect a roll in my post but you can affect one of your rolls in the same post. You may not want to fill them too quickly to keep an ace in the hole. The initial selections represent what people would know from looking at you or from casual conversation. They also shouldn't be anything that would get you kicked out of polite company. For example, you might start with a job of travelling wig salesman. Later in the game you could add last of Indian shamans who uses scalps in rituals.
example: (after the appropriate die roll) The mild mannered Miss Scarlet grabs the mugger out of the air and slams them onto their back. (At the bottom of the post: Martial arts 2.)
Die Rolling: We'll use the online die roller Invisible Castle for all rolls.
http://invisiblecastle.com/
When you want to do something, go to the tab Roll Dice
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/
Fill in Ride Interuption as the campaign name - so I can look up all of the past rolls and your character name . Under Notes, a word or two on what action the roll is for. Paste either the link or the results and note at the bottom of your post.
All of the rolls will be of the form 1d4 - 1d4 + some number. The last number is from your ability and any modifiers.
If I've already posted the difficulty of a task or the ability of an opponent, you can then use the die rolls to then narrate the outcome as well. If you don't know the difficulty or you're not sure if your ability applies directly, state the action and the roll and I'll narrate the outcome.
Posting Guidlines 1. Make posts of moderate length most of the time. In natural conversation, people don't say 1000+ words without letting someone else talk. On the other end, 5 word posts don't give other players much to react to. Quick reaction posts to the actions of others are fine as long as you have other longer posts.
2. Only one action that requires a die roll per post. Something requires a die roll if it's risky and has a bit of difficulty, like fighting someone or defusing a bomb. If your character is looking at something obvious, driving in non-stressful conditions, or doing an every day task, you don't need a roll.
3. Use 3rd person present most of the time. Put game mechanics stuff in [] at the bottom of the post. So, you'd describe your action normally, then put the corresponding ability used and die results at the bottom. Put OOC stuff in the OOC thread or preface it with OOC at the bottom of the post.
4. Take modest liberties - you're part of the story, feel free to make up details that aren't plot critical and make standard assumptions.
examples:
GM mentions an expensive looking room but nothing else. You might add something like "Lou drops onto the Ottoman and gestures at the painting. "That's an original Geisel. From his color poem period."
GM mentions a kitchen. You have your character run in and grab a knife out of the drawer without needing to ask if there are knives in any drawers.
5. For substantive posts, post a few times a week if you can. Instead of using a strict turn structure or having everyone post to me and I summarize, the posting frequency will serve as the passage of time and the turn structure. You can't post again with an action that requires a roll until the GM and one other player have posted since your last post. That means that slow people will get skipped - it's better than the alternative of a game dying waiting for everyone to post.
https://slashtmp.iu.edu/files/download? ... 5924JPfAsx
Just-in-Time chargen: Serge has only 6 bits that define your character: job, group, thing, good at, suck at, equipped as. When you post your character initially, post only 3 of these, one of which must me what you suck at - this is what everyone else present already knows about you or that is visibly apparent. You can fill in the rest as you go, a max of one per post. You can have it all planned out or you can make tactical decisions based on the game, as you wish. You can't add something to affect a roll in my post but you can affect one of your rolls in the same post. You may not want to fill them too quickly to keep an ace in the hole. The initial selections represent what people would know from looking at you or from casual conversation. They also shouldn't be anything that would get you kicked out of polite company. For example, you might start with a job of travelling wig salesman. Later in the game you could add last of Indian shamans who uses scalps in rituals.
example: (after the appropriate die roll) The mild mannered Miss Scarlet grabs the mugger out of the air and slams them onto their back. (At the bottom of the post: Martial arts 2.)
Die Rolling: We'll use the online die roller Invisible Castle for all rolls.
http://invisiblecastle.com/
When you want to do something, go to the tab Roll Dice
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/
Fill in Ride Interuption as the campaign name - so I can look up all of the past rolls and your character name . Under Notes, a word or two on what action the roll is for. Paste either the link or the results and note at the bottom of your post.
All of the rolls will be of the form 1d4 - 1d4 + some number. The last number is from your ability and any modifiers.
If I've already posted the difficulty of a task or the ability of an opponent, you can then use the die rolls to then narrate the outcome as well. If you don't know the difficulty or you're not sure if your ability applies directly, state the action and the roll and I'll narrate the outcome.
Posting Guidlines 1. Make posts of moderate length most of the time. In natural conversation, people don't say 1000+ words without letting someone else talk. On the other end, 5 word posts don't give other players much to react to. Quick reaction posts to the actions of others are fine as long as you have other longer posts.
2. Only one action that requires a die roll per post. Something requires a die roll if it's risky and has a bit of difficulty, like fighting someone or defusing a bomb. If your character is looking at something obvious, driving in non-stressful conditions, or doing an every day task, you don't need a roll.
3. Use 3rd person present most of the time. Put game mechanics stuff in [] at the bottom of the post. So, you'd describe your action normally, then put the corresponding ability used and die results at the bottom. Put OOC stuff in the OOC thread or preface it with OOC at the bottom of the post.
4. Take modest liberties - you're part of the story, feel free to make up details that aren't plot critical and make standard assumptions.
examples:
GM mentions an expensive looking room but nothing else. You might add something like "Lou drops onto the Ottoman and gestures at the painting. "That's an original Geisel. From his color poem period."
GM mentions a kitchen. You have your character run in and grab a knife out of the drawer without needing to ask if there are knives in any drawers.
5. For substantive posts, post a few times a week if you can. Instead of using a strict turn structure or having everyone post to me and I summarize, the posting frequency will serve as the passage of time and the turn structure. You can't post again with an action that requires a roll until the GM and one other player have posted since your last post. That means that slow people will get skipped - it's better than the alternative of a game dying waiting for everyone to post.
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Nicephorus
- Bulldrekker
- Posts: 213
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:23 pm
Date: June 1934, weather has been hot and dry
Location: You are on a bus that has just left Boston headed for Maine.
Characters: Anyone who has reason to travel on a bus. Maybe relocating for work, running from trouble, seeing family, whatever. Characters and NPC are assumed to have not known each other prior to a couple of hours previously.
The bus has a policy of no fire arms or illegal substances. Guns can be checked as luggage if the bus is notified. Bus drivers never check for weapons or anything else unless it's obvious.
Location: You are on a bus that has just left Boston headed for Maine.
Characters: Anyone who has reason to travel on a bus. Maybe relocating for work, running from trouble, seeing family, whatever. Characters and NPC are assumed to have not known each other prior to a couple of hours previously.
The bus has a policy of no fire arms or illegal substances. Guns can be checked as luggage if the bus is notified. Bus drivers never check for weapons or anything else unless it's obvious.
Asking me for a password.Nicephorus wrote:Ok, you can download the 2 page rpg system from here:
https://slashtmp.iu.edu/files/download? ... 5924JPfAsx
Would you like free, local storage, ie on the Bulldrek server, without passwords or limitations? Know how to FTP? The server here is communal, so lots of people have storage space here, for pictures or game documents or whatever. Makes roleplaying a lot easier. Let me know.
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Nicephorus
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Nicephorus
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- Posts: 213
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:23 pm
William James Nichols
Dark-haired and quick-eyed, athletic and distant, Will Nichols seems like a man apart. More concerned with the sight and the properties of a thing than the reasons or motivations behind it, Will can be brusque to the point of rudeness, blunt to the point of cruelty, all without comprehending why.
A very well-traveled photographer for the National Geographic, Will is being sent ahead on assignment to document logging operations in Maine’s Machias River valley. He is significantly aided in this endeavor by his observational skills: though in no way supernatural, they can be as eerie as they are useful. Lost your keys? Ask Will to look. Going hunting for pheasant? Bring Will along. His eyes see no better than anyone else’s, nor do his ears hear better: he simply notices the information they bring him better than others do.
Job: National Geographic photographer 2
Group: ??
Thing: Noticing Things 3
Good at: ??
Suck at: Social Conventions
Equipped as: ??
Dark-haired and quick-eyed, athletic and distant, Will Nichols seems like a man apart. More concerned with the sight and the properties of a thing than the reasons or motivations behind it, Will can be brusque to the point of rudeness, blunt to the point of cruelty, all without comprehending why.
A very well-traveled photographer for the National Geographic, Will is being sent ahead on assignment to document logging operations in Maine’s Machias River valley. He is significantly aided in this endeavor by his observational skills: though in no way supernatural, they can be as eerie as they are useful. Lost your keys? Ask Will to look. Going hunting for pheasant? Bring Will along. His eyes see no better than anyone else’s, nor do his ears hear better: he simply notices the information they bring him better than others do.
Job: National Geographic photographer 2
Group: ??
Thing: Noticing Things 3
Good at: ??
Suck at: Social Conventions
Equipped as: ??
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Nicephorus
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- Posts: 213
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:23 pm
Raymond Giles Kelly
Raymond Giles Kelly, Or Sergeant Kelly as he's known to many who meet him was 17 when he enlisted in the USMC and joined the first world war as part of the American Expeditionary Force. Kelly participated in the heavy fighting in Belleau Wood and mustered out as a Corporeal. Returning to the Appalachian farm he was born on, Kelly struggled for the next 10 years to keep the family farm operating after his father, Charles Edmund Kelly died under mysterious circumstances.
Kelly's occupation is indistinct, with him making noncommittal statements that he is a courier, or messenger for private companies. However, his stiff and disciplined nature silences many of those who question him, and when questioned about the slight limp he has, he will recount his experience in WW1, especially how he earned his purple heart from German Mortar fire.
Job: ????
Group: US Marine, non active 3
Thing: Tough Bastard 2
Good at: ????
Suck at: Running/jumping/etc(Limp, bad right knee)
Equipped as: ????[/b]
Raymond Giles Kelly, Or Sergeant Kelly as he's known to many who meet him was 17 when he enlisted in the USMC and joined the first world war as part of the American Expeditionary Force. Kelly participated in the heavy fighting in Belleau Wood and mustered out as a Corporeal. Returning to the Appalachian farm he was born on, Kelly struggled for the next 10 years to keep the family farm operating after his father, Charles Edmund Kelly died under mysterious circumstances.
Kelly's occupation is indistinct, with him making noncommittal statements that he is a courier, or messenger for private companies. However, his stiff and disciplined nature silences many of those who question him, and when questioned about the slight limp he has, he will recount his experience in WW1, especially how he earned his purple heart from German Mortar fire.
Job: ????
Group: US Marine, non active 3
Thing: Tough Bastard 2
Good at: ????
Suck at: Running/jumping/etc(Limp, bad right knee)
Equipped as: ????[/b]
I suspect that people who speak or write properly are up to no good, or homersexual, or both
Yeah, I thought about playing someone useful, like a university professor, or a doctor, or a lumberjack, but I've never played CoC before, so I thought it might be interesting to play a character whose role will parallel my own: noticing things for the first time. Besides, in CoC, I guess "useful" is pretty relative, anyway.DV8 wrote:Ha, that's cool. I played a National Geographic photographer once in a CoC game. He met an untimely death in the woods trying to capture a shot of some behemoth pushing over trees and such.
Lord Jonathan Arlington, III
"Jon's quite a character and a damned fine student when he decides to stop chasing skirts around long enough to focus. At first I wanted to have him expelled, but politics, you see. His father, the Earl of Waterford in the peerage of Ireland, donated handsomely to Trinity College and so I was instructed not to create too much of a fuss. He showed periods of brilliance, which is why he graduated with the marks that he did, and then he'd spend six months wasting his time and his father's money. Then the Germans threatened the safety of the world, and suddenly he started paying attention. It's said that his father never paid attention until The Great Hunger struck Ireland, perhaps he takes after his father more than I care to admit. He paid attention and it seemed to give him focus. Too much focus! So much focus that the damned fool decided he should enlist! When he came back from the front I welcomed him back into my classroom and he seemed calmer, more mature. Still a rascal, but a much more focussed rascal. He eventually left and went to build telescopes, leaving his estate in the hands of representatives. He is still running away from the responsibilities of his station, of course, but at least he's doing something good in the world."
Job: Dilettante
Group: ??
Thing: Adventure
Good at:
Suck at: Patience
Equipped as: ??
"Jon's quite a character and a damned fine student when he decides to stop chasing skirts around long enough to focus. At first I wanted to have him expelled, but politics, you see. His father, the Earl of Waterford in the peerage of Ireland, donated handsomely to Trinity College and so I was instructed not to create too much of a fuss. He showed periods of brilliance, which is why he graduated with the marks that he did, and then he'd spend six months wasting his time and his father's money. Then the Germans threatened the safety of the world, and suddenly he started paying attention. It's said that his father never paid attention until The Great Hunger struck Ireland, perhaps he takes after his father more than I care to admit. He paid attention and it seemed to give him focus. Too much focus! So much focus that the damned fool decided he should enlist! When he came back from the front I welcomed him back into my classroom and he seemed calmer, more mature. Still a rascal, but a much more focussed rascal. He eventually left and went to build telescopes, leaving his estate in the hands of representatives. He is still running away from the responsibilities of his station, of course, but at least he's doing something good in the world."
Job: Dilettante
Group: ??
Thing: Adventure
Good at:
Suck at: Patience
Equipped as: ??
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Nicephorus
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