What should I do next?

[JohnG]

Ok so Ember's going to reading and playtesting and while it may come back to me in need of a massive overhaul I'm pretty confident that what I've put together is playable and enjoyable.  I'm not holding my breath but since it's reaching project end I'd like to think about what project I'm gonna work on while I'm supporting/promoting/supplementing Ember during and after its release.  The following is a list of ideas that I've taken from the "this may be a good idea" to the "I think this is definitely a good idea" phase so I want people's opinions on which one they like the best and wouldn't mind seeing me post huge explanations and requests for help on.  Without further ado...

Shadows of Atlantis

In ancient times the gods elevated their favored servants, the Atlanteans, to the position of being the most powerful nation in the world.  As time passed the Atlanteans advanced culturally and scientifically beyond anything anyone could have imagined, eventually declaring themselves to be gods and turning their backs on the deities who had raised them up to power in the first place.

The gods were not pleased and they rallied the tribes of the Earth to strike down the blasphemous wretches, sinking their entire continent below the waves so that they may never rise up again.  At least that was the plan, and if it had succeeded then the world would be identical to our own.  However the gods failed and Atlantis was victorious, turning the plan of the gods against them and drowning most of the world in water.

After the massive flood all that was left was the Atlanteans, a few large parcels of land, and countless small islands all over the massive worldwide ocean.  The tribes scrambled to survive, squabbling over what islands they could find while being forced to submit to Atlantean rule or have their entire race wiped off the face of the Earth.  Since that time the tribes have toiled under their allegiance to the decadent Atlanteans while also battling among themselves for resources and precious land.  Some continue to worship their gods in secret and plot revolution and revenge, others simply abandon civilization and live as they please while relying on their ship and the bounty of the sea to get them by.

(This is definitely more of a steampunk setting with gunpowder, new gadgets, and so on.  Also very much a game about sailing and pirates, in fact I came up with it when I was on a bit of a pirate kick and trying to think of a good original setting to play a pirate in heh)


Walpurgisnacht

One would think that the death of Adolf Hitler would be something to celebrate, and for a few wonderful hours it was.  How could the Nazi Warmachine, crippled and dying, live without it's fuhrer?  "The Heart of Germany has ceased to beat.  The Fuhrer is dead." Declared a woeful Joseph Goebbels and with that the world should have seen the end of the war in Europe, but that was not to be the case.  With the help of SS Doctor Helmut Kunz Goebbel killed his children, soon after his wife poisoned herself and he shot himself.  Their suicides marked the end of a dark ritual, a horrific last ditch effort and pact with forces from another world to rescue the Reich from destruction.

As the shot ended Goebbel's life, his blood spilled in the Fuhrerbunker and a portal to realms we dare not contemplate was opened.  Fallen nazi soldiers rose up with burning eyes and unholy strength and utterly decimated the ally forces, sending them into full retreat as the true masters of the third Reich revealed themselves.  A demonic army crawled from the ashes of Berlin, picking up the tattered flags of Nazi Germany and rallying the battered soldiers behind themselves.  Soon massive beasts of muscle and claws tore Sherman tanks to pieces, winged beasts knocked Spitfires from the sky, and Germany reclaimed all of Europe, including Great Britain, in less than a year.

Now the remains of the United Kingdom have fled to Greenland, the USA is dealing with the largest influx of refugees in history while European governments in exile operate from Northern Africa.  The Red Army is crushed and broken and only the indomitable will of Stalin has kept it intact, but March 5th 1953 he fell dead and it may not be long before all of Russia follows him under the weight of a demonic army they are hardly equipped to deal with.

It is with the hopes of saving their world from the forces of hell that the OSS has been reformed into the Agency on Occult Warfare.  Through the training of soldiers and agents with paranormal abilities they hope to level the playing field and maybe some day liberate Europe again.

(Characters would most likely play civilians, soldiers, resistance fighters, and members of the AOW.  Think Spycraft with demons.  Obviously this game is inspired by games like Resistance: Fall of Man, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and things like that.)


When Darkness Falls

In the lonely hours voices whisper their cruel lies to you, no one loves you, why keep going at all?  Most of us push these thoughts away and go on but some of us can't, and these are the people who fall prey to the wicked spirits that haunt humanity.  For the most part the dead dwell in purgatory until they've been cleansed and can pass on to the afterlife, but others have learned that they can have power and they can reach the wretched living again.  Revenge can be theirs, all they must do is feed on humanity's suffering and grow stronger until they can tear through the veil between the living and the dead and exact their revenge with bloody savagery.

Only the Aegis group, formed centuries ago by exiled Templar knights, know the truth of our world and only they can keep the ghosts at bay.  With psychic powers and paranormal research they hunt the ghosts and send them screaming back to the abyss, and with guns and guts they bring them down when they find their way to our world.  For some time it was merely a matter of vigilance, ghosts play their cruel games and as long as they're caught soon enough they'd never come through.  That was until a new player emerged on the field, the White Queen.  She rallied the cruel and vengeful ghosts into an army, overwhelming the world of the dead and turning it into her own twisted empire.  Now the creatures are organized, they are precise, and the Aegis group can't keep up.  What is the White Queens plan and can she be stopped?

(Obviously players would be Aegis Group operatives.  Researchers/Agents/Soldiers/Magicians/Exorcists etc.  This is very much a paranormal investigation type game but there are no monsters like vampires and such, just ghosts trying to twist and corrupt humanity until they absorb enough negative emotion to tear open the veil and do some serious damage.  Obviously this lends itself to a long slow investigative game that may result in a long hard battle at the end, though there are human cults and ghosts who can possess people so there are enemies out there for more action oriented gamers.  I'm considering a diceless system for this game.  Setting's not locked down but I'm pretty close to being happy with it.)


Xian

In ancient times a great philosopher uncovered the secrets of Tao and inscribed them upon 5 scrolls.  He happily brought his knowledge to the rest of the world but it was not long before it was corrupted and he was ashamed for what he had done.  Realizing that only by earning such knowledge could one be ready for it he hid his scrolls among the 5 elements, Wood, Water, Earth, Fire, and Metal, where he hoped they would never be found as he could not bring himself to destroy them.

For centuries warriors have struggled to find these scrolls, some to exploit them and some in the hopes of making the world a better place, for with their knowledge came immortality and the power that only one-ness with the universe could bring.  Others remained neutral, fighting against the efforts of both sides and following the will of the ancient master that these scrolls never find their way into the hands of man again.  With skill, Qi, and willpower these warriors have fought spectacular battles but made no progress, still they fight for the ultimate prize and the power to change the world.

(Kick butt chop sockey kung-fu action.  Running on walls, catching arrors, etc.  This one's all about action, also slated for diceless.  The setting for this one is the only one that's still on the napkin as it were.)


Emergency!

No one really expected the war to come home, but it did.  Bombs and soldiers, they were all there before anyone realized what was happeneing.  Now your home has been shelled and you're running through the ruins of your city instead of fleeing with the refugees.  Why are you doing this?  You're a firefighter, EMT, police officer, doctor, or maybe a nurse.  Whatever you are you know that without you people will die, so how can you run?

Emergency may or may not have a setting of its own, it's meant to be a game about the people who save lives every day while soldiers and politicians get the glory.  Maybe there's a war, maybe rioting, the outbreak of a disease.  Whatever's going on, players will be the heroes who don't get the glory of being an Ace or taking an enemy bunker.  Instead they'll be protecting the people, triaging good friends, fighting for the lives of others instead of fighting for their own.  Obviously there's plenty of opportunity for action, maybe the enemy is in your city and you're on a rescue mission to save captured civilians, or there could be criminals and riots, but the game is meant to have excitement without the need of violence.  Firefighters have to race against the clock to save as many people as they can before the building collapses and they might not have time to save everyone, sounds way more nailbiting than stepping out with a minigun and mowing down the enemy I think.  I've mentioned this game in a couple posts in the past, it got an excellent response then so we'll see what people think now.


Gods Gone Wild!

Call the elders!  The wine does not intoxicate!  Oh my, no one can die!  What's going on?  Call the priest!  The Gods are missing?!

This is a lighthearted spoof of a game where the gods have gone missing and of course without them the world simply does not work.  Players not only create their character they also create their tribe and their gods, leaving the GM to design the world around them.  The Players must journey out and find some way to get the gods back to work or who knows what might happen?!  The few times I played this as a testing platform for Ember's system it was great fun, I don't think I've ever seen a group laugh so hard.

[chronoplasm]

I like the Atlantis one, but I think I would like it better if you could squeeze Lemuria and other lost cities and continents in there. Hyberboria could be cool too. Perhaps Hyberboria had an alliance with Atlantis and was spared from the flood for this reason?
If you could fit the Cthulhu mythos in there too, that would be awesome. Maybe some of these tribes are trying to raise the city of R'lyeh just so they could try to live there?

[JohnG]

woah easy Chrono my name's John not Robert E. Howard lol

[chronoplasm]

lolz

It also kind of reminds me of that movie Water World.
I think all of these settings have a lot of potential but that first one just resonates with me more for some reason.

I'm not too keen on the second one to tell the truth. I just think the Nazis+supernatural thing is a little overdone. I'm still alright with Hellboy and all I just think the whole thing is getting a little cliche.

[Will]

My vote (if vote it be) would be for Walpurgisnacht or When Darkness Falls.

[JohnG]

Chrono: yeah I do see a lot of Nazi occultism but I don't really it in RPGs.

Will: hehe not so much vote but opinion noted lol

[whiteknife]

Gods gone wild is my favorite. I think that there needs to be more comedy RPGs out there in general, and this sounds like a good addition.

[Ron Edwards]

Hey John,

I don't think you meant for this thread to be a poll, but it's sort of turning into one. Can you specify its topic a little bit, so a discussion can occur rather than a panoply of opinions?

Best, Ron

[JohnG]

I see your point Ron, no problem, hopefully this clears things up. :-)

I'm looking for what people think about the settings, not just which one they like, though I do appreciate what praise I've received.  What sounds exciting about them, what's not so exciting, what kind of mechanics you'd favor, and can you picture yourself running a long campaign in the world not just quick oneshots.  It's been a while since I posted any of my writing but for those of you who've seen my Ember posts, which one do you think would work well for my style. 

I do agree that comedy RPGs are in short supply and Gods Gone Wild has certainly been a "just for the hell of it" project I go back to now and then.  Maybe it's time to give it the attention it needs, still I do love my other settings so please pick them apart.  Leave only bleached bones in the sahara desert of your imagination til we figure out which one of the little bastards managed to sneak off to the oasis while you were busy.  The fallen will most likely be revived in the future anyways so don't be afraid to rip holes in the one you like most too!  Thanks in advance and thanks for the opinions I've already gotten.