Special: the RPG

[Chris Goodwin]

This is something I've been working on recently.  I feel like I'm opening up my aorta and letting it drain into this posting (sorry for the imagery, folks) but I'm ready to let it out into the world.  I think.  

Suggestions are gladly appreciated, especially on the name.  The game is a little rough, not having been playtested yet.  

Here's the teaser:  

You are a regular person who has discovered that you are special in some way. You have a power that most humans don't possess.

You've just met a bunch of other people with the same power. What now?

It's intended to be a sort of Scanners meets Firestarter sort of game.  It's about a bunch of people who have a strange power find each other somehow, and how they go about their lives afterward.  The government is out there doing all of the things governments like to do in these sorts of stories (mainly, either having created them in the first place or being on the lookout for them so they can capture them to force them to work for the government and/or vivisect them to see what makes them tick).  It's very Sim-my overall, I think.  

Is this something people might be willing to play?  

It's about 43K so far.  I'd have posted the whole text here, except that I can't seem to post HTML, and I don't think people want to read unformatted ASCII.  Would people rather that I post larger snippets or the whole thing here?

It's currently posted to my web page at http://home.comcast.net/~archer7/special.html.

[Tomas HVM]

Hi Chris,

this sounds promising to me.

- What kind of powers are you talking about?

- How do you profess to engage characters in scenarios?

- How one-dimensional is the "government"?

- Have you considered what interest corporations may have in the powers?

- How would the church react?

- Are there NPCs with similar powers about?

- Where/what do the powers come from?

- How do close relatives and friends react to the changes in the characters? Are the changes invisible, or perhaps monstrous?

- Is there any believeable way to describe these powers? Is that a goal in this game?

[TonyLB]

Tomas has got lots of questions.  I've got just one:  "Why should the characters do anything at all?"

It seems to me that you've gone out of your way to say that keeping your head down, not using your powers and not meeting with others of your kind are what the game rewards.  

If every single player decides that's what their character is going to do and buys hooks accordingly, can the group still tell a story worth hearing?

[Tomas HVM]

I've read a bit here and there in the text now. This comment is limited to one paragraph.

Under "Possible types of power" you list several powers, but offer no definition of them. You end the list by saying: "These aren't the only ones, just suggestions".

This is a weakness in design. You fail to investigate, discover and define the central element of conflict in the game. You fail to lay open the possible venues of development in the powers, the possible complications and weaknesses assosiated with them, and a possible source from which they originate. You fail to make this the central theme of the game design. Ultimately you fail in supporting your players of your game, as you in fact leave them to cope with this themselves, on the spur of the moment, ingame. De you really expect them to be able to create ingenious and central game details from scratch? Feed their fantasy before you expect anything, please! Engage their intellect before you let thier imagination loose, please!

I consider this paragraph to be essential to the game. As it stand, it is weak-weak-weak design!

I see no reason to handle such a central element in so vague a way. I suggest that you define the powers better. They are central to the game. The whole concept is based on them, so they will be in focus. You have to focus on them too, a bit more than you have.

Give up some versatility to make a more stringent backdrop for the players to act on. If "anything goes", as you suggest, you will have hell making it hang together. The average GM will have troubles too, making scenarios, leading the game, inventing interesting twists and turns. "No limits" is usually equivalent to a dull game.

The rest of the paragraph on "types of power" is good, giving good advice on how to use them ingame. I like your statement that any use of powers to enhance atmosphere is GO!

[Nathan P.]

I think your current level of detail for Powers is fine, and it looks like a fine game after a breif readthrough.

One thing...

Typically, at the beginning of a session or arc, use of Power is less likely to be opposed and is pretty useful for small things. As a session proceeds, there is more at stake, and uses of Power increase accordingly. (Charlie at the end of Firestarter isn't lighting anyone's cigarettes!)

Oh man. This is great. I would love to see a mechanic built around this, which would probably involve building seperate Power stats into the game, but you already kinda have them anyway. In fact, I think you should make your optional rules on relative power levels part of the game right from the getgo - it gives some structure to them that can then be filled in by the group as to what it actually is, etc. And I think the idea of Powers actually getting more intense as the stakes get higher is awesome.

I'll take a more in-depth look later, hopefully...

[Chris Goodwin]

Thanks for your comments, everyone.  I appreciate all of them.  

Tomas:  What would you prefer to see?  Hard and fast rules, for instance this is telepathy, this is how it works, with power level X you get Y range?  Or would worked examples suffice?  

Nathan:  You're okay with the current level of detail.  Would more detail a la what Tomas is looking for turn you off?  

Tony:  You've shown me where some of my blinders as GM and writer are.  My assumption is that, if nothing else, life continues to happen around you.  Okay, maybe the mundanities of life are a little too much for gaming, but I've been assuming that if you don't go looking for adventure, it will come looking for you.  For example, okay, let's say you and your group want to go hide somewhere.  Inevitably, others with Power will find you, whether it's newbies looking for a safe place or opposing groups who feel like they are the Ruling Council of the Mind, who want to control all telepaths (or whatever).  They will find you by the same means you have found each other.  And they may not all share the same values as you -- they may not feel like hiding from the government, or from the other factions of those with Power (which I mentioned, but only in passing and as a possibility -- is more development of this warranted?)

Is this the kind of thing you are looking for and, if so, would you like to see it made more explicit in the text?  

I guess, in general, are you (the general you, not just you guys specifically) looking for more information that says "This is what the setting is, this is how powers work, this is what the government does or will do, here are some sample organizations and their agendas"?

[Tomas HVM]

Tomas:  What would you prefer to see?  Hard and fast rules, for instance this is telepathy, this is how it works, with power level X you get Y range?  Or would worked examples suffice?

I'd prefer to see independent design, of course, so I am not one to tell you how to make your game.

However: the presentation of your game focus on the powers. The powers is THE thing that makes the characters in the game special. To find the actual paragraph vague and uninspiring, is the last I expect.

I'd like to see:
- some thoughts on how to use the powers (given already, good)
- some real info on what the powers are, limitations and possibilities
- speculations on the source, possible sideeffects and consequences of use
- some advice on how to make these powers the hub of play
- advice on how to maintain a "realistic" world with these powers at play
- a strict limitation on what powers to use in the game

It may well be that you have covered some of these issues in other parts of your text, or aim to do so. If so; good!

I'd like to comment on the last point: the "strict limitation". My experience is that a focused design is a better design. When you strenghten your focus you enable a deeper dig into the theme, and come up with more issues worthy of play. And; it usually gives you a more original design too, because you have to be inventive to present any new issues in game terms. I like that! A designer should challenge his intellect every day, delving deeper and deeper into the theme he is writing on. There's a time  for everything. Dig deep first. Make good wrapping later. Investigate your theme, and extract the great issues, before making it enticing and viable for ordinary gamers.

Good luck!

[Sydney Freedberg]

Tony:....I've been assuming that if you don't go looking for adventure, it will come looking for you....I guess, in general, are you (the general you, not just you guys specifically) looking for more information that says "This is what the setting is, this is how powers work, this is what the government does or will do, here are some sample organizations and their agendas"?

I'm not Tony but I ostentatiously agree with him 90% of the time.

What "we" are looking for is NOT "more information." What we're looking for is bullets in what's so far an unloaded gun, gas in a so far empty tank -- something that will DRIVE adventure.

Yes, you can have random bastards with various agendas keep coming after the PCs who keep on saying "just leave us alone!" But that (a) gets old fast (b) puts your players in a passive role, so they may get damn bored (c) puts all the responsibility on the GM, who may get damn tired.

What you need is not the ranges, effects, details etc. of powers, but something about them that inherently propells people with powers into exciting situations -- something that makes them want something, fear something, do something.

The game Sorcerer is a great example of this because your character's powers are all demons and thus inherently problematic and hard to control; Tony's Capes (check my sig for link) is another good one because using superpowers incurs emotional stress (debt) which can in turn be a source of more power.

[TonyLB]

This is, indeed, one of the 90%.  Sydney has said what I would have said, only better as usual.

[Dangerboy]

I don't know the mechanics, but what if the scope of the power grew larger each time it was used?

For example just to set this up:
Let's say I have ... Pyrokenesis (I'm Charlie) at Lv.1. let's say that area is equal to 5ft x the Lv. and damage is equal to the level. I use the power twice and it goes up to Lv.2 then four times for level 3, and so on. Let's say I have a trait called... Willpower, or something that let's me know that once these powers hit a certain level, I'm going to have a harder time controlling them.

I'm just using this example as an idea.

[Chris Goodwin]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.  

I'd like to table discussion of the mechanics for a while and focus on the central hook of the game, as that seems to be the weak spot.  I'm also going to need to take some time to think on this and write some more.

[Spooky Fanboy]

Chris:

Sorry if I'm late. I just had some ideas based on what you wrote.

First, I'd check out the above-mentioned Sorcerer and Schism, a supplement written by Jared Sorensen for Sorcerer. This may not be what you're going for, (and probably isn't, based on what I've seen of your game so far,) but might give you some ideas on how to drive play.

Second, let's riff on the idea that Dangerboy brought to the table. Yes, you have a special power, but it tends to get stronger and more unpredictable as you use it. What do you do? Well, in order to get your Cool-based Power-control Skill up, you have to train with people who are in the same boat as you; no one without a Power has a clue about managing them. And while it seems to the character that his Power is becoming more manageable, in reality, his Skill is getting better with it through training.

If you go with this, the best way I could see this being managed within a Simulationist game would be to have a separate time to increase Powers (only during conflict/high-stress situations in game) and the Control Skill (only during downtime or after the game wraps up.) To further add to the fun, you might want to add character goals to the game right at creation, and basically rule that they can only get worked on and completed (the players will only get the XP reward) during a downtime phase. This sets up a metagame tension for the players: do I spend my time working on my character's personal goals, or do I train myself on how to use my Power so people don't get hurt? Either choice could potentially cost them.

As for increasing Powers (which begs for two ratings going this route, one for Potency, one for Control), you could try setting a rating during character creation, and have it automatically jump to the next level if the character spends a Fun Point during conflict, at the cost of a penalty to the Control Skill roll next time the Power is used. For added fun (borrowing from Primaeval Press' rpg Symmoria), have the character state two outcomes to the use of his Power before the Control roll is made: one being the outcome the character wants to happen, the other being the outcome that the character dreads will happen. As long as the bad outcome is as bad as the good outcome is good, they roll. Succeed, and the good outcome happens. Fail, and the character hopes he's able to live long enough to clean up the mess. Either way, the GM gets to run with the scenarios the character made before the roll, also taking into account the Potency of the Power as well as what the character wanted to accomplish. (Hee hee hee!) Doing this will kill most "superhero" tendencies outright, as people only love superheroes when they can control their powers, and also make the desire for training that much more intense...at the potential cost of interfering with characters achieving their goals, which is where they should get the prime chunk of their experience from.

These are only suggestions based off of what I've seen of your game, take or leave. You stated quite a few times that you don't want another superheroes game. Well and good, but what stops the characters from steamrolling over the normals they meet? (Yes, there's peer pressure, and yes, the normals outnumber them and tend to get hostile around things they don't understand. Still, a clever Special can get around those restrictions to the point where even a truly resourceful GM is going to give up.) If the Powers aren't under control, and there's always the risk of the hit shitting the fan, that's a whole 'nother ball game.

So how do you prevent the players from turning turtle and not involving themselves in any conflict? As GM, don't give them that chance. Bring it to their doorstep. Tie their Goals into the situation, so they have a reason to get involved. Up the stakes to where they're burning Fun Points and end up having to use their Powers.

The point I'm reiterating (others have made this point previously) is this: Without having a clear idea for what you want from this game, you won't even get mechanics that reinforce what you want to have happen. Once you nail down the types of stories this game is supposed to tell, figuring out which mechanics best suit those types of stories is easier. Right now, it seems like you've got a very basic idea for a game (people with powers, but not superheroes), but you're also looking at mechanics that could be lifted without modification for any type of game. You can't have it both ways: either you're creating a universal set of game mechanics like FATE, Fudge, or GURPS, or you have a specific type of story you want to see happen and you thus need mechanics that will reinforce that. (I'm guessing that it's the latter option.) Don't worry about limiting player options; that's a chimera that's wrecked too many other games. Great games that have gone this route successfully are Sorcerer, The Dying Earth, My Life with Master, and many others. They set out to tell a specific type of story, and nailed down how to do it mechanically. Paradoxically, restricting player choices in no way diminished the fun that players have playing these games. Either they tuned into it, or they didn't like them. But that's a risk you run with every game out there, even the "generic" ones.

And looking at the meter, I see my $0.02 has expired. It's an interesting game concept so far, let us know how it turns out.

[Spooky Fanboy]

Chris:

Sorry if it seems like I'm stepping on your toes. From re-reading your last post, you've already decided to go back to square one and solidify your game's theme.

Hopefully, if you decide to follow the "powers that can go out of control" route, I've at least given you some ideas you can use as you see fit.

If not, cool. Just let us know how the game is coming along.

[Dangerboy]

Just to backup Spooky, the two stats for powers is a cool idea; one for potency and one for control. This really works out if the potency aspect increases without the player having any control over it, like spooky said during high stress, or may a 'natual 20' kind of thing. Once a PC is hovering around potency surpassing control, that PC will be sweating bullets... especially if losing control can potentially alert 'the government'. To further pin down the theme I think you're going for a 'natural 20' type roll may induce a short term bedlam where the power runs amok, despite being fully successful (maybe too successful?).

Just some food for thought.

[Rick James]

Newbie here so forgive me if my questions sound stupid. But is this a text based game or graphical. If its graphical (whitch I'd say it is) What are you using to write it (languages, tools, software etc.) ?