Hell for Leather + Art + New Rules = [URL=http://cobwebgames.com/index.php/downloads/]BETA[/URL]!

Hell for Leather Murder equals extra dice

Hell for Leather - the GM-less roleplaying game of pay-per-view bloodshed - is a fast flowing action game of explosive death and murder. Using a tower of dice to resolve events, it’s tense, speedy and shallow. Perfect for a night of cursing and rivalry.

So, yeah, it's violent and stoopid. But also kind of sexy.

APs:
[URL=http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=11223]Steal the Prime Minister's eyeballs[/URL]
[URL=http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=11158]Cosmetic Surgery with fuel rods[/URL]
[URL=http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=11045] Taser in the face?[/URL]
[URL=http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=10991]Terrorise Kuala Lumpur?[/URL]

Anyone wanna play?

I admire your pitch, Sebastian. It's got a great attitude and the tower of dice sounds really interesting. There are two things that would tip me over the edge into checking it out:

1. Could you give me an indication of the game's setting (or how you come up with the setting when you play)?
2. Could you give me an indication of the types of stories you play using Hell for Leather? Is it every player against each other, or everyone in pursuit of vengeance, or what?

I could probably figure those things out in the time it's taken me to type this message, but I figure it'd also serve as some (unsolicited!) feedback on your pitch.

Absolutely! (Excellent questions!)

You play a team of contestants running across the globe, monitored by a gruesome game show called “Hell for Leather.”

The Show

The game show, Hell for Leather, follows an advanced tactical military unit called the Hunters who track down and butcher contestants as they flee toward their objective. You play those contestants.

"Anyone can cash you in as a prize, from the old lady behind the net curtains, to the freelance syndicates. You’re a walking lottery ticket, the answer to a man’s prayers, a two-legged diamond mine. Eligible claimants can phone the Network with a tip-of, or just deliver your head in a sack. Last week some kid won twenty grand cus his dog found a contestant’s wrist bone in a bus wreck. It’s a tough old game."

The Stories

The kinds of stories the game engenders are co-operative, us versus the man, gory satires of modern "reality" culture. The game was inspired by R. Bachman's book The Running Man (not the film). When play begins, you collectively conjure up "Checkpoints" for how the story will evolve, sort of like narrative milestones (First we escape the submarine, then we blow up the Statue of Liberty, and lastly we kidnap the 1st lady to get us access to our team's Objective).

That kind of shenanigans.

As you guys come up with your own Checkpoints, you could as easily pick

1. Face our darkest fears
2. Kill someone we love
3. Bring a nation to tears

as

1. Blow up the Smithsonian
2. Cross the Atlantic
3. Sneak into the Giza Necropolis

Hope that answers some of your questions. Thanks for the feedback. Its rare to get it unsolicited, and it tastes all the yummier.

That's excellent, Sebastian. Thanks ... and the idea for the game looks really exciting (I'm a big fan of the Running Man novel). I will check it out.

Are there, like, actions that you'd like us to take after reading it? I assume you'd like people to play and post about it, but are there any specific areas in the rules you'd like people to start threads in Playtesting about?

All I can say is...wow, this is an excellent idea. It evokes so much imagery in my head right now, it's not even normal... I'm gonna bring this to my group and see if we can try this out.

Thanks for your support amigos.

If you do get a chance to play, I'd love to find out how your group compensated (if necessary) for clumsiness. Hell for Leather requires a smidgeon of skill, and although there's a couple of handicap suggestions, I know I've only scraped the surface. Thoughts are welcome.

Also, how many times did you have to read the chapter on Story Pips before you got it? I've not tested that part of copy yet. And what do you think of the First Game Checkpoints? Are they too remote? Do they ask too much of you, or is the challenge of evoking Myanmar a positive thing?

I'd also like to read a playtest. If you don't want to post a huge, mega one, No Problem. Just a couple of characters from the game, one fun thing that happened and one thing that went wrong. Easy. As. Pie.

Beta testing has closed. Thanks everyone who got involved.

If you're too late for testing but you're super eager to get involved, come to the website and get in touch.