Magic metal

[Jarx]

This was an idea i've had for a roleplay though i dont know how to make work, anyway the idea is that the characters are rock-musicians using their instrument for magics. So depending on what instrument you use, you have different skills and different types of magics. For instance, Guitarists have skills like riff and solo and have magicattacks with can be seen as a revolver, powerfull but slow. Drummers have Rhytm and Super-rhytm and it works as a gatling gun.
The first skill, riff and rhytm, are ordinary attacks, you must unleash starpoints inorder to use solo or super-rhytm.
If anyone has ideas for a system that could work for this, feel free to say it. Feel also free to steal the idea.

Jim

[Eero Tuovinen]

Well, that kind of setting ideas go pretty well with a wide range of systems. I'd go with Nine Worlds for this myself, but that's just me. The Shadow of Yesterday and Dogs in the Vineyard also have robust base mechanics that are almost certainly moldable into whatever you're envisioning. Obviously, the best thing to do is to play some games to see whether they have what you need.

An important point to consider, however, is that you've not really specified what the players would be doing or caring about in the play process here. So my above suggestions might be way off. Do you imagine that the magic metal characters would face challenges they overcome with their magical music? Would becoming a great star be a given, or would play determine the moment-to-moment success of characters in their endeavours? Would relationships play a part, or would play focus on how the magic is used to bash things with magical attacks? All these and more are options you need to choose or close off before you can really say which system is right for you.

[Jarx]

Well, I thought that if you formed a band, your magic would become stronger and therefore better. And yes one of the goals could be to become a star, but it could be other things, depending on what the GM wants to have in his story, it could be demonic rockstars that try to take over the world and you must stop them or a real BATTLE OF THE BANDS! tournament. the last one should be the main theme. There also should exist a Power and Dexterity where Power is the effect of your magic and Dexterity is how long you can play, this should go down every turn and when your damaged.
Maybe you should be able to dodge the opponents magic but then it should be only a basic number minus the instrument, so if you have dodge 10 and if you use a drum, you got 1 in dodge. Please don't just say the name of the system but say how it kind of works with dices and such. I also want to have a weapon mode of the instruments where guitars are like an axe and drums like nunchucks. so maybe you can have a warrior type also?

[Eero Tuovinen]

Actually, the idea discussed in this thread seems to be right up your alley, if I'm not mistaken. Just replace the social combat with jamming.

[Noclue]

Paul Tevis has of the Have Games, Will Travel podcast has a review of Mortal Coil after playing it at a local convention in which their group decided to play a punk band in a world in which music was magic and "the Man" had taken control of the music industry in order to control magic. The punk message of anarchy was very fitting as they battled to free magic and music from government control. The game sounded incredibly cool. Mortal Coil allows the players to determine what magic is or does, but the GM decides the cost characters have to pay to use it. I am very eager to try it out myself.

[Jarx]

Want I want this game to be is like something in between(Movienerds, listen up!) the musical fightscene in KungFu hustle, the rock of in Tenacious D: The pick of destiny and the Shaman King tournament. And the magic is what kind of song you play, so Nightcrawler by Judas Priests summons the nightcrawler, but you can also write your own song to make your own magic, for example: If you made a song called Flaming blade, a giant blade on fire is coming towards the enemy. If you just play a riff of the song, you roll it's damage, but if you play the Solo, it's damage is the double plus it's easier to hit someone with the solo.

[Eero Tuovinen]

Yeah, I can see what you're going for. So, what's the next step? What kind of product were you thinking of? Why are you thinking of designing this game? I mean, there are lots of methods for going forward here, but it all depends on your goals for the game idea you have here. We name-dropped some existing rules frameworks (Mortal Coil is a good call; thanks, Noclue), because what you have here seems to be an evocative setting idea.

This is just a stab in the dark, but what do you think, would you find it useful to go play a game about this topic? What game systems are you familiar with? I've found that sometimes the best thing you can do to a new and evocative setting idea is to play it a time or two with different systems with an eye for what you're doing. After having some actual play under you belt with the idea, you can consider the following questions:
- What were the characters doing in the game?
- How did the rules system support the activity?
- Did the rules lack anything that the setting would have needed?
After that, I find, I'm often in a much better position to continue designing a specific game system to capture what my idea is really about. The shortcomings of the existing system give me a clear perspective on what my game needs to do to do justice to my original idea. I also get an opportunity to analyze and develop the original idea into a more extensive framework for my actual game.

[Jarx]

Well the systems i've had some experience with are all custom made for specific games like the swedish Neotech and Noir, a dystopic roleplay that takes play in Sandukar. But it should use d6, thats pretty much what I know for system. though i have an idea for a system that might work for this. So since then i've made some sketches for characterfolders.
I'll post it together with a rough version of the rules later on.