Bar RPGs

[Ben Lehman]

Ladies and gentles, I present you with:

Over the Bar
...

Brilliant!

The only problem is that I don't drink.  Is there a Teetotaler's Supplement?
Perhaps you just need to use a Drinking Proxy (kind of like a pinch hitter)...

IB>  Hmm... That's a tricky one.  Since drinks are the "juice" of the game...

Here's an idea.

Teetotaler's Supplement:  Any participant who does not care to drink is assigned a "capacity" by the other players.  This can be determined medically by body weight, body mass index, body type and height, or it can be randomly assigned by whomever cares to do so.  Every time the teetotaler cares to "take a drink," they merely deduct one from their present "capicity."  When they are out, the are considered "drunk" for the purposes of gameplay.
  Capacity can be marked by coins, bottlecaps, or other such devices, or it can be tracked on a napkin, or it can be tracked in the head of said teetotaler, provided that they are considered trustworthy.  (It is not recommended that other participants attempt to track these values in their heads, for obvious reasons.)
  To keep in the spirit of the game, the Teetotaler can drink some non-alchoholic drink at the appropriate times.
  In competitive challenges, it is recommended that the Teetotaler drink something reasonably difficult to down quickly, like carbonated soda.

Advanced Play Rules:
  For physical actions drink beer, whiskey, or vodka.
  For mental actions / perception, drink some other hard liquor.
  For social actions, drink some fruity mixed drink.
This can be extrapolated to other uses.

Game Slogan (with apologies to Mr. Edwards):  How much are you willing to drink to get what you want?

yrs--
--Ben

P.S.  In all seriousness, the Teetotaler rules might actually make a pretty nice "lite" game, although remarkably similar to xiombarg's design.  The fact that the game ends when two participants run out of "juice" prevents the "end of the session blues" factor whilst still punishing spendthrifts.

[Daniel Solis]

Great thread concept!

Though I'm not much of a drinker or road tripper, I have thought once or twice about on-the-spot "hey, let's play a game!" games. I once had this wacky idea about a system where the character creation was based on observation of real people, right there in a public setting.

Say you're in a bar playing an RPG. You see some big, beefy biker dude playing pool over in the smoky corner. You pick him. That's your character. No stats, no numbers or even descriptions of what he can or can't do. It's all about what that fella looks like he could or couldn't do.

Player: "My character lifts the table in a fit of anger and decks the no-good pool hustler."

(GM looks over at the "character.")

GM: "Yup, you're successful."

Player: "Sweet. Now I'm going to write a sonnet and study the intricacies of 12th century Russian literature."

(GM looks over at the "character," now scratching his ass.)

GM: "You fail."

That particular idea struck me while sitting on a bus and thinking, "Hey, what would happen if this bus were suddenly transported someplace freaky?" Sure, it's all superficial, rather judgemental caricatures of people who may, in fact, overhear your possibly offensive impersonations, but that's why I'll never playtest it. :)

[Ben Lehman]

[shameless plug]
This is a note to let people know that Over the Bar 1st Edition is now available, for free*, as a PDF.  The rules are slightly updated from this thread, and it also includes an advertisement for our first supplement and printing instructions.  Presently distribution is strictly limited to giving me a private message over the Forge, although I may upload it to a website at some point in the future.
[/shameless plug]

yrs--
--Ben

*  With the caveat that, if you ever have the chance, you buy me or Tim Alexander (the production coordinator and publisher) a drink.†

†  Jon Tweet, Ron Edwards, AnyaTheBlue, and Emily Dresner excepted.

[Emily_Dresner]

Ben, you are my hero for the day.

[joshua neff]

I think a slogan could be: "Over the Bar. It's not just a beer-&-pretzels game. It's shots, too."