Opinions on Game Name please

[JohnG]

It has come to my attention that the name Schism is being used already so I'm working on a new name. The game is a near future setting where the apparent peace of the world is only a front to keep the people happy while a war rages in the underground.

I'm currently tossing around the following names.

Illusive Union [no illusive isn't a typo]
Frailty
Insurgency

Any opinions would be welcome since I'm a little stuck on this one.

[Mark Johnson]

I am not thrilled with any of those choices, but I will say that Frailty is the weakest of the bunch.  I would suggest that you come up with a synonym for Schism, but unfortunately the best, rifts, is also taken...  

http://Http://www.bartleby.com/62/01/S1330100.html lists a bunch of synonyms for schism.  How about Strife?  Or maybe some creative rearranging will help.

I am not sure if this is really a post for Indie Game Design... maybe Publishing?

[JohnG]

I dunno if even publishing would be the right spot.  This one seems like the closest forum to what I need.

Maybe Bedlam would be a good alternative?

[Andrew Morris]

Yeah, none of those three names grab me, either. Although, of the three, I actually like Frailty the best. My Latin is horrible, but how about Bellum Occultus (hidden war), or something like that? Or maybe Undertow, as a play on the "hidden currents" of the world's politics?

[JohnG]

Ahh!  You know I was thinking of the more violent upheaval I wasn't even considering the behind the scenes manipulation and politics.  Undertow is definitely now a contender, thanks! ^^  Also I'll check the latin on that but isn't Arcana the word for secret?  Maybe Bellum Arcana [Secret War] so it doesn't carry the occult thing, that could be misleading genre wise.

[Andrew Morris]

If I recall my Latin lessons correctly, arcanum is reserved for religious or mystical secrets, whereas occultus just means hidden or concealed. So, strangely enough, arcanum technically carries on occult meaning, while occultus, in fact, does not. Funny, huh? Anyway, in English, both arcane and occult carry mystical connotations, so don't base your decision on that.

[JohnG]

maybe Shadow War?  I'd use latin but Shadow is Umbra in Latin and White Wolf is lawsuit happy from what I recall lol.

[Andrew Morris]

Heh, well, however lawsuit-happy White Wolf might be, I don't think they can sue you for using a word in a different meaning than their "Umbra." But hey, I'm not a lawyer. Shadow War sounds cool, but I think I've heard it before...I just can't place it. How about Pax Infidus (untrue peace)? I think it's actually supposed to be Pacis Infidus, but the former sounds cooler. If you want to go the Latin route, you should talk to someone who knows more than a few half-remembered classes from years ago. Or how about False Peace? Insidious Peace? Anyway, that's about all I can think of at the moment.

[JohnG]

don't necessarily have to go the latin route.  I think Shadow War was a video game or something.  Maybe just Pax would work, kind of an ironic title?  Peace is enforced but it's not real.

[JohnG]

Another possibility.  How does Sedition sound?

[ethan_greer]

For what it's worth, a quick brief brainstorm yields "Dissent," "Dissidence," and "Dissonance."

[contracycle]

"Facade"

[Tobias]

You might want to expand slightly on what characters do in this game. For instance, if the characters are also torn between differing loyalties, for instance, 'Inner War' and such titles could work.

Other ideas:

Turmoil
Violent Chrysalis

[Ron Edwards]

Hi guys,

Well, it's the big bad moderator. StrongBadMun, we'll need more information, specifically about what it's like to play the game.

1. What do characters do? Do they have a choice whether they fight for the authorities or against them? Do they have missions to run? Do they have a shot at establishing their own authority in the foreseeable future of play?

2. What do the players do? If they were all sitting at a table together, playing this game, would it sound different from most other RPGs or not? How much referencing of rules would be going on? When - during combat or not any more during combat than any other time? Would little tokens be pushed around on the table or not? What would they represent?

Gotta have this and much other similar information. Otherwise this thread will just continue as word salad and contain nothing of any conceivable use to you that a thesaurus couldn't provide.

Best,
Ron

[JohnG]

Thanks for asking specifics Ron, I'm terrible at figuring out what I need to say when I'm just tossing it out without a guideline.

1.  Characters either belong to the large organization [Pillar] that maintains the stability of the post-WW3 world or they are members of an underground organization [Exiles] who fight against Pillar's iron totalitarian grip on their world.  

Starting characters will typically be members of Exile "Packs" or one of Pillar's "PacSquads" [Pacification Squad].  Packs are the small commando groups that do the actual damage to Pillar, PacSquads are a sort of commando police who enforce Pillar's control in the wastelands.  Of course non-combat characters are also available and very vital as well.

The world also has large areas of unused land that can be taken over and built up by players of either allegiance who are interested in such things.  Also Exiles can create their own Clans or Citizens of Pillar can make their own Agencies once they have the influence required.  [Clans and Agencies being the largest organizations around other than the central leaderships of the Exiles or Pillar.]

There is also the option of playing neutrals

2.  Gameplay is meant to be somewhat thoughtful.  A shootout may hurt the enemy but it won't do the same damage as a virus snuck into their computer mainframe.  Both groups would be faced with the bleakness of their existence whether it's from the all powerful big brother government, or from living in the abandoned wastes of post WW3 earth.

I would hope that it would sound different from most RPGs, of course there's nothing new under the sun and even I see simalirities in the setting.  Rules are fairly straight forward and open to interpretation but most of the important information will be right on the character sheets.  Combat is also fairly straight forward but may involve a few more rule checks than normal play.

Tokens could or could not be used depending on the group or GM but if they were used they'd most likely be the individual characters instead of large groups of combatants.  Most weapons can kill a starting character in one shot if the damage roll is high enough and I've done what I could to make it so a more experienced character/NPC couldn't simply chainsaw through those with less power.

The over all feel of the game for Exiles is meant to be an uphill struggle where they question if their freedom is worth so much sacrifice and loss.  Debating with themselves if they're right to want their freedom or if they should just fall in line to save their own skin.
 
For Pillar players it's meant to be a struggle of morality, whether or not the peace they have is worth the heavy price it brings, and whether the Exiles are enemy of peace or freedom fighters of a just cause.  Of course for either side there's the possibility of some really cool fights and big explosions!

I'll be posting my mechanics up on the forum soon once I have them in a semi-coherent order.  I made them from scratch, so hopefully it's at least somewhat original and somewhat playable.