The 17 Trials of Queen Mab

[Maugh]

This is a one-session, stand-alone roleplaying game that was designed as a party game for this last halloween.  It can handle a LOT of characters, (we ran 8 players, and it could have easily been done with more,) and has very simple mechanics, (using a coin toss rather than dice,) that can be explained in less than five minutes.  The game is great for introducing the uninitiated into the realm of role-playing, and made for a really stellar halloween party.  It takes about 3 hours to play, all things considered.


What's the game about?

The game is about a group of characters who are taken from their homes in their sleep and forced to endure the trials of the fey.  It's very cynical and death-heavy, but gives a great sense of suspense for the players, keeping them on their toes even after they've died once or twice.


Important Mechanics

There are 12 'roles,' that can be given out, very loose class-like descriptions with simple taglines.  "The warrior can attack and injure or even kill others,"  "The pyromancer can manipulate fire arcanely,"  "The thief can steal without being noticed."  PLayers can do anything that they can justify within these abilities.  The success of any hazardous or probability-laden attempt to use these skills is resolved with a coin toss, heads means success, tails means failure. 

Characters die A LOT.  But the dead characters' ghosts will still accompany the party, (and can be communicated through the party's shamman role,) and will still have some importance throughout the trials.  There are several ways to revive characters later, so people stay involved.  Lots of death will keep the players involved and on their toes.

Early in the game the players will be struck by a curse, such that one of them dies every 15 minutes.  This encourages them to stay on task, moving the quest forward.  (30 minutes would work better for smaller parties, but 15 minutes worked fine for us.)

No character sheet is required, so long as the players can remember their characters' name and their chosen role.

The game is complete and the full game rules and campaign, (a whopping total of 10 pages,) can be found here, on the download page at the bottom of this site:  mayhemrpg.com

Hope someone enjoys this.

[Maugh]

I was wondering if I could get some kind of a read and review for this.  The document is quite short, as I mentioned above, and I could use the feedback.  Isn't that what this site is for?

[Catelf]

You have obviously encountered the same thing that i have on this Site:
You must be very patient... and/or very lucky, to get any responses at all, it seems like.

Now, to not break the Rules for the Forum:
I like the idea, and i'd like to try it. However, i have no-one to try it with, and if i had, i probarbly would be Playing instead of being online, and read this.......
I wish you the best.
                Catelf.

[Rikiji]

Overall it's well written.  The trials are suitable for a trip into fairyland and the basic concept is interesting.  It looks shallow - in that it doesn't appear to have a lot of replayability - but it does look like a fun one-shot if you have a large enough group of people. 

What sort of feedback are you looking for?  You say it has tested well in play (which means this thread should technically be in the Playtesting forum) so where do you feel it needs work at this time?

[tleeuwenburg@gmail.com]

It sounds like good fun, but not the sort of game which I personally play. It sounds great for one-off games with a good number of people, and possibly also good for new roleplayers. Could be enjoyable for 'theme' sessions.

Cheers,
-Tennessee

[Callan S.]

Hi Maugh,

Have you ever had someone drop something on your desk, then look at you to react without saying anything?

If you have some questions about your game you'd like to ask people, it'll make it more of a conversation rather than a 'Here's something - now react to it!' situation.

[Maugh]

Not precisely.  If you're a book editor, and someone drops a book manuscript on your desk, in a publishing firm, then there's a certain assumption:

"What do you think about this manuscript?"

In this case, this is a site dedicated to the development of games.  What I would like to get feedback on are the mechanics, the setting, and the story.  What are its strengths?  What are its weaknesses?  What would you change if this was your project?

Hopefully that helps.  Really, it would be nice for somebody to just read it and tell me what they think about it.  It's just a read/review.  We do it in fiction all the time.  I don't understand how that is hard.

[Catelf]

Hello again!

.... I think i will give those here an example in simple thinking, they might need it.
On the other hand, i think i'll try to explain to you why they think as they do.....

Just so all reading this understands: Yes, the below is an example in "simple thinking", and Yes, i mean every word of it.

I Love the Setting and the Story, and thinks they would hold for a campaign, even, one where the Characters occasionally wake up, only to get dragged into it next night agin, and again, ..... until the final trial is overcome.
I'm not sure whether the Rules would hold for it, though, but if it were My Game, i'd certainly try them as is(, first, rather than just replacing them automatically with my own System....), to see if they would hold for prolonged scenarios.

Now, most, or many, that gives advices here at the Forge, cannot express themselves as such, but want to go far more into depth with the game, and also likes those who present their Games to put very specific questions.

Who am i kidding.... You can look at the threads & Topics that i've made, what problems one obviously might have here at the Forge.
I'll help any way i can, though, but sadly, playtesting isn't one of them.
Best Wishes,
                           Catelf.