Satanic Panic! (Power 19 answered)

[chronoplasm]

This is one of the two games I've been working on off and on. I think I'll take a break from Pathodyne for now to get some feedback on this.

1) What is it about?
Say what you will about Satanism, but if it's anything to me, it's good inspiration for a role playing game. Sure it might be angsty and hedonistic, but thats good material for an RPG. Theres some overthetop humor of the dark and tasteless variety in there too. I'll go more into the setting later, but the basic theme of the game is LaVeyan Satanism.

2) What do the characters do?
The characters seek to fulfill their carnal desires (or not, if they should so desire) in a world that, on the surface, seems to have been turned upside down (in truth the world is as right-side-up as it ever was, just more visibly so).

3) What do players do?
Players create characters, role play, roll dice, and screw around while the Grotto Master creates a setting, handles rules, and narrates.

4) How does the setting reinforce what the game is about?
It would seem that hell has broken loose in Chicago of all places and theres strange hellish monsters running around all over the place.

5) How does the character creation of your game reinforce what the game is about?
Players start by choosing at least one of the seven deadly sins for their character (they can do more than seven if they want.) Then they distribute points amongst the three main stats, Glamour, Wonder, and Awe, which determine the character's appearance, demeanor, and ability to cast satanic magick. Then theres skills and stuff, but mostly chargen relates to the bible and sins and stuff.

6) What types of behaviors does your game reward?
Well, it is possible to go through the game as a good christian resisting sin and whatnot (with some nice abilities offered as incentive just to shake things up a little) but mostly the game rewards hedonism and shock value.

7)  How are behaviors punished or rewarded in your game?
Indulgence may come with some side effects that may need to be overcome, but it is an important resource in this game that is a neccessary resource in this game for casting magick. Purity can get you a force field, sure, but no mind control or fire-balls.

How are responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in this game?
Grotto Master rules all, the rest, take what you can and pass the rest along.

9) What does your game do to command the player's attention, engagement, or participation?
It gives the players the chance to play out their decadent fantasies in a scifi setting which may include shotguns and demons. Also, the book would have pictures of monsters with titties.

10) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
Players roll three d6 for everything.

11) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what the game is about?
3 d6= 666.

12) Do characters in your game advance?
As characters strive to fulfill their desires, they may discover new desires or new ways to satisfy their desires. Satisfaction comes with power, but it might also come with a price. However, those prices may counteract one another. For those kinds of characters, the game turns into a balancing act.
Characters who chose to resist temptation may find themselves either fighting an uphill battle or fall into insanity.
All characters start in our world, but as they progress through the game into the other world, the game gets wierder and wierder. Characters must adapt to these changes or inevitably die.

13) How does the character advancement reinforce what the game is about?
Character advancement relates not only to the idea of Satanism, but to Christian sources like Inferno or Paradise Lost.

14) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to instill in players?
Satisfaction, or catharsis. The feeling of getting something out of your system.

15) What areas of your game recieve extra attention and color?
The magick system and the setting would recieve the most attention. The game's mechanics are essentially built around the magick system as thats the part of the game that takes the most inspiration from the Satanic Bible.

16) Which part of your game are you most excited about?
I'm excited about the theme. It's not overly original, but I hope it will be nice and polished.

17) Where does the game take players that other games can't won't?
To a world that actually isn't as bad as it looks.

18) What are your publishing goals for this game?
Right now I only intend to play it with friends, but if playtesting goes well I might sell it online and maybe get some advertising through the CoS's website or through Radio Free Satan if they ever put that site back together again.

19) Who is your target audience?
Satanists, or crazy teenagers who draw pentagrams all over everything.

[Vulpinoid]

While I can see the potential fun in your game (after all there were some great aspects to Demon: the Fallen, and playing the dark side in "In Nomine"), I can see that there are people out there who will take huge offence to this sort of product and point to it as a symbolic proof that all roleplaying is about devil-worship.

You're walking a dangerous path...but if you play your cards right and keep a certain tongue-in-cheek element to the product it could be a whole heap of fun. Don't write it up as seriously angsty and cathartic, because some time down the track there will be a copy of your book found in the room of a teenager who shoots down a bunch of kids at their school...such a kid might be attracted to a dark game about the futility of the world, and how they need to indulge in their sins every once in a while.

I'm not saying don't write it, I'm just saying be careful, because there are a whole heap of people out there who are looking for people to take legal action against. This is exactly the kind of product they'd target.

Just my opinions...take them or leave them.

V

[chronoplasm]

That is an excellent suggestion.
Of course it is meant to be tongue in cheek. I want to have a Wonder spell in there called 'Create House of Candy'.
Part of the reason I want to make this game is to poke fun at all the people who call role playing games satanic and evil.
The availability of magick-defense as a reward for playing sin-free is supposed to be a compromise here. Christians aren't the ultimate death of the world in this game any more than Satanists are, nor are Satanists portrayed as the salvation of the world. I plan on having some villains in the game that simply take hedonism way too far. It's possible in this game to play as a good christian protagonist and defeat evil incarnate. That is an available option even though it isn't what this game is intended for. It is also possible to be completely neutral in this game. Thats would probably even be a really good strategy and there will certainly be a plethora of skills that a non magickal character can take advantage of.

[chronoplasm]

Oh, one more thing I should have added in the first post:
If I publish this sucker, I'll try to get permission from the CoS to get this included in the book.

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

by Anton Szandor LaVey

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

3. When in another's lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

9. Do not harm little children.

10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

This game is about hedonism. Eat? Drink? Have sex? Okay, heres some magick points. You get weapons in the game, but not for slaughtering children. If you do that there will be penalties, including a heavy loss to your Wonder score.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

I think the comment that "It might offend someone" is both obvious and uninteresting. This is a forum for helping people design the games they want to make, not the games that will please and soothe unspecified persons somewhere out there.

Part of the reason I want to make this game is to poke fun at all the people who call role playing games satanic and evil.

You're familiar with Jack Chick, yes? Pretty seminal reading for this purpose. It's also kind of interesting that White Wolf disseminated a pseudo-Chick pamphlet at one point for purposes of promotion.

I'm almost horribly tempted to suggest that the game's physical format either be such a pamphlet, or incorporate the familiar pamphlet design into the visuals somehow.

Best, Ron

[chronoplasm]

Ah, Jack Chick, my old nemesis.
Hmm... try to make rules so simple I can fit them into a tract-sized booklet? That sounds like a challenge sir.
...actually, I doubt I can fit all of the rules into one booklet. Maybe break each chapter up into seperate tracts.
Another piece of inspiration I might use is this letter that a guy on the street gave me. The paper this man wrote describes how Satan used to send him telepathic signals until Jesus saved him.

Creating your character:
First choose one or more of the seven deadly sins as your character's favored sin (Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath).
You start out the game with four character points plus one character point for each sin you added.
Spend your points to buy skills, traits, spells, or add points to your base stats:
Glamour, Wonder, and Awe.
You can also put negative points into these three stats to gain more character points.
Once points are distributed amongst your stats, you choose once of them to help determine health points, another to determine will points, and the last one to determine sanity points.

Glamour
Glamour is the power to manipulate magick and your surroundings using sex-appeal. With your limber body and powerful pheremones, you can turn the people around you into drooling slaves and even render demons spellbound.
In addition, Glamour helps determine your dextery, as flexibility is an important tool in the art of seduction.
Glamour spells (no descriptions yet):
Distract
Stun Man
Stun Woman
Cause Rivalry
Seduce Man
Seduce Woman
Blood Rush
Stun Angel/Demon
Stun Crowd
Scent of Insanity
Seduce Angel/Demon
Seduce Crowd
Dominate

Wonder:
Wonder is the power to manipulate magick and your surroundings through kindness or guilt. Wonder surrounds you with an aura of niceness that makes you appealing to children and animals and causes all but the most vicious enemies to hesitate before attacking. Enemies that do attack may be eventually destroyed by their guilt.
Wonder spells:
Create Baked Good
Charm Child
Charm Small Animal
Create Wondrous Toy
Water into Wine
Create Bread and Fish
Charm Medium Animal
Walk on Water
Cure Blindness
Cure Deafness
Create Wondrous Gift
Miraculous Healing
Create House of Candy
Charm Large Animal
Create Gingerbread Man

Awe
Awe is the power to manipulate magick and your surroundings using cruelty and fear. It also determines how much damage can be done in combat as fights aren't won by the strongest man or the most clever fighter, but by whoever is most willing to permanently fuck the other guy up.
Awe Spells:
Glare
Burning Grip
Freezing Grip
Cackle
Evil-Eye
Howling Wind
Fireball
Dance of the Dead
Lightning Bolt
Smite
Basilisk Gaze
Fire and Brimstone
Blast of Burning Hail
Summon Force of Nature

[chronoplasm]

OK, so I'm trying to figure out how I want combat to work. I know for skill checks and combat, you roll three six sided dice. I know that I don't want to have skill substats in the game. I'm thinking you simply buy a skill like "Automotive Repair" and instead of giving you a modifier it lets you reroll one of your dice when doing a "fix car" check (you can take skills like this multiple times and they stack).

My idea for combat is first, roll d6. Put one of them into speed and add your Glamour modifier to it, put another into defense and add your Wonder modifier to it, and put the last into attack and add your Awe. This doesn't really appeal much to me though as I would like more options in battle. Maybe not simulationist exactly, but a little more strategy than this, you know?
I am thinking that maybe something can happen when you roll the same number on two or more dice. Maybe do it like Yahtzee (remember when they were saying Yahtzee was Satanic?) Actually, maybe this is more like playing a slot machine.
You have a little sheet with the following listed on it:
Minor:
Two ones
Two twos
Two threes
Two fours
Two fives
Two sixes
Major:
Three ones
Three twos
Three threes
Four fours
Five fives
Six sixes

When you roll one of these, put a check mark next to it, then add an extra effect listed next to that number combination to your attack. When each one has a check next to it, you get to chose some kind of uber-powerful attack to do.
Like the regular skills that let you reroll a die when making a 'fix car' check or something, you get skills that let you reroll dice during battle. This lets you improve the odds of getting the number combination you want.

So... am I unknowingly ripping anybody off? Would this even work? Broken, underpowered, not enough strategy?

[Vulpinoid]

I think the comment that "It might offend someone" is both obvious and uninteresting. This is a forum for helping people design the games they want to make, not the games that will please and soothe unspecified persons somewhere out there.

Don't get me wrong Ron, bu when first reading through the Power 19, I wasn't sure if the game was designed to be a serious take on Satanism or a tongue-in-cheek and fun exploration of the dark side.

While I agree that in most circles the comments are uninteresting and obvious, there are other groups who still flail their arms wildly and start screaming about satanism at the merest mention of roleplaying games. I don't think it's helpful for the community to ignore these fanatics and zealots while be become insulated in our own little world saying "it won't happen to us"....or "people stopped thinking that way long ago."

For all the talk here at the forge about the "new era of roleplaying" and breaking away from the ideas of the past, we don't want to be viewed as extremists who go out of our way to offend folks. That's a sure fire way to bring the whole comics code fiasco into the role-playing industry (sure that was decades ago...but these sorts of things have a nasty tendency to rear their ugly heads time and again once spawned).

Now that I know more about the way the game has been conceived, I have more confidence.

Again...just my opinions...take them or leave them.

V

[chronoplasm]

Sorry about that. I should have made things more clear in the first post.
I think it might also help if I discuss the setting a little bit.

Twenty years ago, a bookstore in Chicago mysteriously disapeared.

In the year 1998, an interdimensional portal opened up in Chicago, connecting it to another planet known by it's population as 'The Otherworld'.
Two decades before, a bookstore from earth appeared there. The shop keeper taught the aliens english and how to read books. First the aliens tried to read the bible, but they got bored when they got to the part about geneology and gave up. Then they found The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey and thought that was kind of cool.
By performing the rituals in the book, they found that they could manipulate the planet's psionic field and perform magick. They made the shop keeper, Dan, into the Black Pope of Otherworld and built their own replica of Chicago around the portal.

When the portal opened up in our world, people thought it was the end of the world. It seemed as though the gates to hell had opened and demons were pouring into our world. Some charismatic individuals gained the power to perform biblical miracles, and pointed to this as proof of God's existance. Scientists however are quick to point out that atheists and trained chimps can wield the power of magick too. It seems to have less to do with one's belief in a higher power and more to do with the strange radiation leaking in from the other world.

The chaos and intense telepathic force of the invent drew the attention of two interdimensional factions that have been fighting for centuries. Seeing potential new allies, they take on the identities of angels and demons in order to try and buddy up to the two sides of the conflict.

[Vulpinoid]

This could work with a kind of "Silent Hill" concept. With this pseudo Chicago around the demon's side of the portal being a gateway between realms. Some are captured in the pseudo Chicago, fighting for what they believe is the end of the world, while magic users are able to step between the "real world" and the shadow world, drawing off the energies of each to work miracles/curses/spells in the other.

Those who are killed in real Chicago could end up in the pseudo Chicago if their sins were great enough...maybe it's like a Purgatory?

Perhaps living people in real Chicago are drawn into pseudo Chicago when they have nightmares?

There's some good potential in the concept.

V

[chronoplasm]

What if it works both ways?
Maybe those who die in the other Chicago end up in the real Chicago?
Perhaps the aliens living in the other Chicago are drawn into real Chicago when they have nightmares.
What if it has nothing to do with the psionic field or the interaction of the two worlds, but with the angels and demons trying to merge their reality into ours?
Or perhaps it has something to do with the ancient artifacts in the other world that cause the psionic field? At some point players may have to figure out what caused this portal to open up in the first place?

Another idea I had was that later in the timeline, islamic terrorists launch an attack on the other Chicago and then we end up with an American/Otherworlder coalition fighting the war on terrorism with the help of a red, white, and blue demon named 'Al-Shaytan Al-Akbar', or 'Great Satan'.