[Magical Psychopomp Lotus Guardians] Power 19

[Elliott]

Just as long as I posted the sitch, I may as well post the Power 19.

If anything looks like it doesn't do what I think it does, let me know, please.  Thank you.

MAGICAL PSYCHOPOMP
LOTUS GUARDIAN

a magical girl manga storytelling game

1.) What is your game about?

Short version:  Can you reach enlightenment and help those around you reach enlightenment?  What must you give up to do so?  What will they?

There's a long version, but I'm not going to post it unless you want me to.  It's what'll go on the back cover.

2.) What do the characters do?

As the Magical Psychopomp Lotus Guardians, these magical girls (and rarely, boys) are empowered by Kwan Yin, a beautiful Chinese dim-sum delivery girl and the godess Compassion Herself, and charged to send a Hungry Ghost beyond and help those that the Hungry Ghost has inflicted suffering upon. 

(Kwan Yin sometimes says this is the difference between Truth and Love.  They don't always understand why.)

Sometimes it seems like the two are mutually exclusive...

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?

The Game Master tries to inflict 108 points of Suffering on each Psychopomp Guardian, which forces thier Players to write themselves out of the story in any manner they see fit when the Conflict in which they suffered the 108th point Resolves.  This is done by getting the Players wrapped up in Escalating formal Conflicts.

The Players try to rob the Game Master of Chi Tokens when a formal Conflict finally Resolves.  They do this by losing formal Conflicts that have been Escalated.

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

The setting is the lives of schoolgirls in an unnamed town in Japan, home of Zen Buddhism and a version of the Kwan-Yin myth, and where there's a lot of petty drama to wrap players up in conflicts.

And, dude.  Magical girl shoujo manga extravaganza!

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?

Each player gives thier Psychopomp Guardian a name and four Passions at character creation.  A Passion is simply something that the character deeply loves.  Will they love them too much, or too little? 

For every Passion a Player's character posesses at the start of a game, that Player begins with one Chi token.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?

The game rewards caring enough about something enough to know when to let go of it.  It punishes not caring about anything, or holding on too long.

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?

Care too much, you get a lot of Suffering at once and the Hungry Ghost has your Chi.  Care too little, you get dimed-and-nickeled to death, and the Hungry Ghost loses no Chi.

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?

Passions are used to set scenes and make the player do stupid, wonderful things.  The Player whose character has the least Suffering (go clockwise in a tie) gives a Chi Token to the Game Master and describes the beginning of a scene based on one of thier Passions, then the GM describes how external factors make things go bad.

If they HAVE no Chi Tokens, then the Game Master gives them a Chi Token instead, and describes the beginning of a scene where they make things worse via one of thier Passions, instead.

There's generally a bit of a back-and-forth in conflict - you can't block Execution, but you can block Effect.

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)

Make things much, much worse and directly attack thier characters Passions when said characters fail to even try to get involved.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

When someone has a conflict with something a GMPC does, then the offended Player describes what thier character does about it, and what their character Desires out of it.  (Desire = standard stakes-setting.)  The GM confirms the Desire, then makes a counter-Desire of the Hungry Ghost that ensures that no matter what happens, it's not going to go well unless the Hungry Ghost is destroyed in the resolution.  Then the Player must accept for Conflict to start.

Both the Player and the Game Master roll four six-sided dice.  Any result of a four or higher is a success.  For every success the Game Master rolls, one point of Suffering is inflicted on the Player's character.  If the Game Master meets or exceeds the successes of the player, the Hungry Ghost has provisionally won the conflict.  If the Player has rolled more successes than the Game Master, then the Player's character provisionally wins.  The provisional winner describes how they provisionally won.

Then the provisional loser may Escalate.  To escalate, they describe thier harsher tactics, put a Chi token in the center of the table, count the Chi tokens in the center of the table, take that many dice and automatically roll that many fours.  Then describe how they provisionally win. 

Another player can escalate for either side.

Repeat until someone decides it's not worth it or runs out of Chi Tokens.  That player takes all the Chi Tokens in the center of the table, and loses thier desire.  The conflict then resolves. 

If the Game Master still has Chi Tokens, then the winner must describe how the Hungry Ghost ensures that it resolves poorly. 

If the game master has no Chi Tokens, then the winner must describe how the Hungry Ghost passes on and the conflict resolves well.  Everyone then has a scene where their characters hang out with Kwan Yin, who checks up with them and makes sure that they're all right.

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?

You have to care enough about something to let it go.

That or figure out in midstream that what you fear isn't really so bad after all.

Those are the only ways to make the Hungry Ghost move on.

Either way it's kinda zen.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?

For every 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 Suffering mark a character passes, after a conflict Resolves a player may give thier Character a new Passion related to the source of the Suffering.

After the Hungry Ghost passes on, the surviving player characters lose half of thier Suffering, keeping the odd point. For every 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 or 2 mark they pass below (good luck with that 2), the Player may either have thier character lose a Passion or change a Passion they posesess into any other appropriate Passion.

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

Suffering makes you care about something - or is it the other way around...  That's also the best metaphor for emotional healing I can think of.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?

I want them to care about what happens in game so much that they forget it's just a game... until they realize they have to buckle down and win it.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?

Kwan Yin is very well defined.  I wanted her to be a best friend, not a remote goddess, because dammit, she's Compassion Herself, and she'd WANT to be your best friend if she was working with you.

Otherwise I'm not quite sure.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?

Seeing when people give up, what people give up, why, and what it does to them.

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?

Down the Middle Way.  It's a Shoujo Manga game that actually tackles the fact that these are teenage girls, and that they are growing up.  It's a magical girl game that isn't about how many hit points of damage a combat tiara deals, but that gets the point of Sailor Moon, et al.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?

Small press print runs.  First you get the PDF, then you get the ashcan, then you get the digest sized paperback with the lavish black-and-white shoujo-manga style illustrations.

19.) Who is your target audience?

Shoujo manga fans, first and foremost, most of whom have never played an are pee gee/dee uhn dee whatzitz before, who have lurking within them the deep desire to become a Girly Nar Yinger - the theoretical female counterpart to the Macho Nar Yanger.

[Elliott]

Sorry to reply to my own post so soon, but:

I would like to playtest this, if possible.  Any volunteers?  I live in the Bay Area, California. 

I could probably hold a playtest myself at Endgame, It's Your Move, Games of Berkeley, Eudemonia or Green Griffon.

The Intarwebs, particularly PBP on RPG.net, are also possible.

Or I could give out playtest docs.

[Filip Luszczyk]

As I've been reading this, I kept wondering how competitive the game is supposed to be, actually.

I get the impression that there's a somewhat narrow scope of "proper" choices, and that the game harshly penalized "bad" choices, discouraging the players from doing certain things to the point that there's only one viable way to go. Dunno if that's really the case here, might be just an impression.

I'm not sure if I buy the importance of the goddess and her actual role in the game.

The title sounds good. It didn't the first time I saw it, but after repeating it a few times in my head, it has kind of a nice sound to it.

Also, playtesting the game via PBF isn't very reliable, if it's meant to be played tabletop.

[Elizabeth P.]

As the Magical Psychopomp Lotus Guardians, these magical girls (and rarely, boys) are empowered by Kwan Yin, a beautiful Chinese dim-sum delivery girl and the godess Compassion Herself, and charged to send a Hungry Ghost beyond and help those that the Hungry Ghost has inflicted suffering upon. 

Overall, I like the concept.  My one hang-up is with the Kwan Yin as you've described here.  The thought of the Kwan Yin being the one to initiate actions towards the Hungry Ghosts (or their victims) seems a little "Charlie's Angels" for me.  I can understand the need for it, but are you also considering a way for the players to beginning initiating searches on their own, without being led each time? 

Also, (and maybe I'm just stuck on the Kwan Yin thing) are you considering bringing in other Bodhisattvas as leaders for the MPLGs?  While Kwan Yin maybe the most reconizable by the masses, I think it'd be pretty interesting to be able incorporate some of the others (like Tara).

[Elliott]

Overall, I like the concept.  My one hang-up is with the Kwan Yin as you've described here.  The thought of the Kwan Yin being the one to initiate actions towards the Hungry Ghosts (or their victims) seems a little "Charlie's Angels" for me.  I can understand the need for it, but are you also considering a way for the players to beginning initiating searches on their own, without being led each time? 

Also, (and maybe I'm just stuck on the Kwan Yin thing) are you considering bringing in other Bodhisattvas as leaders for the MPLGs?  While Kwan Yin maybe the most reconizable by the masses, I think it'd be pretty interesting to be able incorporate some of the others (like Tara).

Does sound like Kanchan's Angels the way I wrote it, don't it? 

That's not what I intended.

Rather, the close personal friend of all the PC's, Kanchan, properly Kwan Yin (the goddess Compassion Herself), helped them to fight off the first Hungry Ghost that they perceived, and empowered them to fight the rest, and sometimes helps them do so and heals them between ghosts.

Better?

Also - The game, as written, is more subtle and less punishing than I made it sound.  Playtests, playtests, I must playtest.

As for the name, I'm now thinking of calling this game Reaper Girls - A Shoujo Manga Style-Storytelling Game, with a Japanese name at the top: Kanchan no Shoujo Shinigami.

[Elizabeth P.]

Rather, the close personal friend of all the PC's, Kanchan, properly Kwan Yin (the goddess Compassion Herself), helped them to fight off the first Hungry Ghost that they perceived, and empowered them to fight the rest, and sometimes helps them do so and heals them between ghosts.

That sounds much better.  It definitely gives it a more open feel for future gaming.