I’m a student interested in making a small indie tabletop game. After much poking and prodding by my mentor I’m posting the initial idea for my game Chrysalis.

The player takes on the role of a teenager in a city much like their own who start hearing voices. What they thought to be the first sign of some serious mental issues is in actuality a parasitic alien who has formed a symbiotic relationship with the character and is communicating with them. The alien wants to go home and the player has to help them do it despite secret government agencies, curfews, rivals, and quirky parents. To make up for the inconvenience and help their young host out the bond the alien forms with them allows for the use of some pretty awesome powers.

An interesting quirk I thought to add to the game is that each player takes on the role of a human host as well as that of an alien symbiote that does not belong to their character. There’s nothing like that little voice in your head to help get things moving.

I’m a little confused as to how to present this as it is not going to be all about stats and numbers although there is going to be a basic stat setup to allow for player actions. I don’t quite know how I’m going to work the human/alien player interaction into the mechanic yet either although I have a few ideas.

I thought it would be cool to not pigeonhole the player into a set type of power(s) and allow them to create them themselves and put a spot for it on the character sheet. Maybe the players get different types of mental powers or the get abilities that correspond to the various elements let them have fun with it. I want the game to be easy to pick up so simplified stats would be a plus like Mind, Body, and Spirit with specialized skills and character flaws.

I’m new at this so any feedback is good feedback. Any ideas?

A while back there was a thread on player-made attributes/skills that you may find helpful seeing that you are going for something similar.
Sounds like a fun game. I have never played anything like it but i find myself wishing It was a video game so I could go play it (now). Being that I like tabletop games far batter than video games leads me to think you have a fun idea. Something that appeals to he kid in us? Maybe thats why I want to play a video game - as I so often did in my youth.

a few questions:
1) Is there an existing system that you see this game playing similarly to or is there just the idea of the alien host.. etc?
2) What kind of conflicts/encounters do you see the characters as having to overcome? More specifically how do they overcome them?
3) Do you want there to be a Game Master or more of a GM-less/GM-full game? [sub](I did not know these types of game exsisted until I joined the forge.)[/sub]

Thank for the thread link!

I think the game could definitely appeal to the players inner child, which is why I want to leave a bit or room for player made shenanigans in the character creation process with the skills.

There isn't one specific system I'm trying to pull from right now but I think I would be lying if I said fast and loose games like 3:16 and The Agency: Saving the world in a groovy kind of way didn't influence my thought process. In my meager experience with tabletop games the groups I've played with never relied too heavily on numbers and rules.

Some of the conflicts I can picture involve sneaking out the house, learning to control the new abilities, trying to runaway from or defeat a mutated creature or another host without destroying the school, overcoming character flaws, escaping from suited men/women. Those are the most basic ideas, I can think of some pretty wild ones I''d include if I played though. Maybe infiltrating a base or lab or even visiting the alien home world and convincing them to not invade. I can see the aliens as being "teens" themselves as well or making the ages of the alien vary. Like a secondary character.

I picture the game with a GM definitely though the responsibilities of the GM aren't set in stone yet either. I can see the players having a hand in creating the environment the game will take place in but only to a degree.

I think people can relate to the Mind, Body, Spirit thing. That works. I'm curious what purpose the distinction serves, in your mind. Say you let the players write freeform traits under those three categories. Is this a decision about Color (I want to portray my character as mentally strong but physically weak) or is there a mechanical bite to this choice? For instance, the GM might have the power to say that a conflict is physical and only Body traits apply.

It will definitely add Color but I'm all for making it more meat for the mechanic. I want to try giving it a few limits to see what will happen if say for example, out of the 3 traits the player can only be strong in one, mediocre in another, and weak in the last. Or perhaps I'll make it so that the player can only have up to 5 stats/skills they can put into the 3 categories and can allocate them how they please.

On the one hand a simple pass/fail d20 roll could suffice but on the other hand if I don't add a stronger tie to mechanics there is no real point to the stats and anything can be decided with a d20 roll. A list of possible "Skills" to add Color can be included int eh character sheet can be added and call it done. The thing is that hen arguments will probably occur over what a player can and can't do if that is the case.

"You can't lift that! Your character is a science geek with asthma! There is no way you could lift the blockade from the door!"

What you're talking about here is all about what makes an interesting conflict in your game.

I am imagining that my geek-with-asthma character is trapped in a room where the oxygen is running out. What kind of play do you want to elicit? I imagine that as a player I want to showcase how my geeky, asthmatic character manages to escape--probably with the help of his alien mindsuck buddy, or at least while my alien friend berates me for getting us trapped in here. I'm pretty sure that the game won't be improved by my character dying. Do we really want to fail this roll?

So what if we take it for granted that I succeed. How can we make this cool? First, the GM asks me, "How do you get out?" I have to describe something plausible. If I say, "I lift the rocks!" the GM can shake her head and tell me that I'm too weak and out of breath to do that. Maybe my alien symbiot gives me a burst of adrenaline or superhuman strength and I can do it. Maybe I describe how really I'm using a metal pole as a lever, so I'm moving it using brain power. In none of those situations do I need to make a roll. I just need to find something about my character that makes sense in the fiction, and I have to convince the GM and other players that it works. I don't need Mind/Body/Spirit stats (as numbers) at all. I need a list of useful qualities, such "engineer training." The GM needs a list of things to cause trouble for me, such as "asthmatic" and "weakling."

Another option is taking it for granted that I succeed, but rolling to see what it costs me. If I succeed, I can do it with no nasty consequence. If I fail, I succeed, but bad stuff happens to me. I lift the rock, but strain my back. I get out, but my alien symbiote gets sick from the exertion.