New Game Ideas

[GM Mad]

In addition to re-starting some or all of the old games, I also keeping thinking up new game ideas as well! I'm starting a new thread to list and discuss any new game ideas I may come up with. There has been four ideas rattling around in my head for the last few months. Here they are in no particular order:

Game 1

Working Title's: Aftermath, Fracture, Shattered

Quick description: Fallout done D&D style.

What it's about: The War of the Gods has ended and almost everything has been destroyed in its wake. The Gods are no more, the upper and lower planes are gone and magic is almost non-existent. Hundreds of years later, the last bastion of humanity is gathered in place called Sanctuary (Great Refuge, etc) where they meek out a meager existence. There is only so much food and water to go around, so there are strict population controls in effect. Thus when kids reach 16 years old only so many can stay in the Sanctuary, the rest are sent out into the world. The PC's are those among a group sent out into the world to survive on their own.

In the aftermath of the great war, the world is a strange and terrifying place. There is no organized society or nations, rather a scattering of warlords of various races whose rule is limited by their reach. During their travels, the PC's learn that magic isn't completely gone as was once thought and that perhaps the new gods are rising to fill the missing ranks.

Magic would be limited to only spells and items mimicking spells of only 1st and second level. Clerical magic is based on faith, so would be clerics could still gain spells up to 2nd level. Third level spells and higher require an actual power to deliver them. Mage magic is still possible, but without a god of magic to simplify and ease the process, magic is more deadly to wield. Mage spells drain the life essence from the caster (hit points). Something like 1 hp for a 1st level spell, 4 for a 2nd level spell and so on. Magical creatures-- dragons and the like-- would only be a myth as magic is so rare.

[GM Mad]

Game 2

Working Title: Young Champions: Delta Squad

Quick Description: Champions set in 2009

What It's About: The various Champions games were set in the 1980's, as that's when they started. What would that world look like today, 2009? That's the basic premise.

The PC's are all new students to the YC program in 2009. By this point, it's more like a high school than what we saw before. Students range in age from 13-17 and are split up into squads as there are so many of them. The story would begin at the start of the school year as the would be heroes learn the ropes.

It would be possible to play the offspring of your previous champions characters and the originals might show up in some form as well.


Game 3

Working Titles: Warlords, War Zone, War World.

Basic Premise: D&D game heavy on combat.

What it's about: The game starts out as your typical D&D campaign. However, a portal shows up nearby and invading creatures start to pour forth. The first part of the campaign would involve fighting and driving the invaders back through the portal.

The second part involves taking the fight into the invaders by going through the portal. After passing through the portal, the PC's find themselves in the War World and the portal closes behind them. War World is a vast realm divided into zones. Each zone has its own unique weather features and type of weather. It's possible for an arctic zone to be right next to a desert zone, and so one. The zone the Pc's first arrive in is similar to their home.

Each zone has a ruler and a ruling race that the zone climate is suited for. Some zones are friendly, but most seek conquest. At the center of the War World is zone of the Warlord himself, the one who rules this strange realm. The portals in each zone open seemingly at random to new worlds and those seeking conquest will pour through and attack.

The PC's are challenged to survive in the War World, find their way home, and solve the mystery of the War World itself.


Game 4:

Working Title: Rebels

Basic Premise: The PC fight against the tyranny enslaving their land.

What it's about: The land the PC's grew up in is ruled by a tyrant, or even enslaved by another race. They are freedom fighters trying to liberate their land from a superior force.


Comments?

[fanchergw]

Hi Ken,

Wow, I guess it's been longer than I thought since I last swung by here...

Idea #2 appeals to me greatly, as I love supers and the depth of the existing setting provides a wonderful background for a game.
Idea #1 sounds interesting. I'm a fan of the Fallout series (though I haven't gotten around to playing 3 yet). I've never tried a low-magic version of D&D, so that could be interesting as well. Would this by some variant of 2e, like were used for the previous games?
Idea #3 doesn't really interest me that much.
I think I would need more information on Idea #4 in order to be able to evaluate it.

All that said, I'm not really in a position to start a new game or even continue an old one - as much as I might like to. I'm currently working 50-60 hour weeks (this is being posted from work on a Saturday, if that tells you anything). There are also personal issues at home that I won't bore anyone with. As things currently stand, it's likely to be Christmas or later before I could commit to anything. I would probably want to try playing Yusef again for a while in his private thread to test whether I'm able to stick with a game before committing to anything with other players.

Regards,

Gordon

[Sherra]

I'm a big fan of fallout, so that one sounds very interesting (haven't started Fallout 3 yet either, but on my list).

I really like the idea of the new Champions one as well. I've been looking over a lot of my older characters (from Marvel Super Heroes RPG days) and the majority of them were done while I was in my last two years of high school, and a lot of them were done with the premise of the heroes still being in school.

The constant war one sounds interesting but it might get old fast. It sounds like there would be little time to rest and recover and that wears on everyone after a time. The first idea sounds like it would have a lot of war involved and might be a better balance.

The fourth idea sounds interesting, but I would agree some more info would be needed. Again it could fit in with the first idea as well if you wanted to merge everything together. Maybe a working title "Rebels of a Shattered World." Just an idea...

[GM Mad]

Thanks for the feedback.

Didn't know that there were so many fans of Fallout here. You guys will have loads of fun with 3 when you get to it. I probably should finish my thread and cover the last 3 DLC's someday.

I did purchase via Steam Fallout 1 & 2. Only started Fallout and completed the stuff at Vault 15 so far and not much more. Although I did finally find out where the term "Shady Sand Shuffle" came from!

The first 2 ideas were the ones most developed in my mind at this time, hence they were the most descriptive. Lots of little details are already figured out, just nothing I wanted to reveal at the moment. I do get bored with my own games after a time and wanted something different. While the Champs game isn't quite as different as the other stuff, its set in a different time period and a lot could have happened to the world in the last 23 years.

The D&D Fallout is radically different, but as I said I like to do something different after doing the same thing for so long. It's got potential. Just have to see if there are any other takers. Not sure about the rules exactly for it yet. It might be like we used for the old games, or a hybrid or something completely different. At any rate, it would be rules that allow you to make your character to your own tastes, perhaps even mixing standard classes up a bit.

Yeah, the war game would be hard in an MB form. Live would be different but would get tedious written.

And yeah, Rebels could be combined with Fallout. Not much thought given to it yet, but its a premise that I've never used in a game before, so fresh ground.

[Bruce]

Idea one doesn't grab me due to the rules being used: i.e. I don't know them. The premise sounds enjoyable.

Idea 2. Eerie. Got one friend who's been running that idea under Champions for months and another friend started the same idea under Mutants & Masterminds. Is there a trend here? I could do it I think, if I can get an idea for a kid (again).

Idea 3 . Love it--for a live session. Hard to pull off via BB, e-mail posting I would think. Also rules problems again for me.

(Evil Thought. Consider the Pathfinder rules?)

Idea 4 Can't say much about it. No setting/era provided yet.

[GM Mad]

Hey Bruce! Long time no read!

If I did do the D&D/Fallout combination, it would be a hybrid rule system. It'd start with D&D basics, but go in completely different direction. No need to worry about not knowing the rules, as no one else would either!

Not sure what the Pathfrinder rules are, Bruce.

If I were to start/re-start a game It would have to be at a time where I could spend time concentrating on that. Right now I've been sucked into that black hole of time wasting known as WoW and that's mainly what I've been doing. If I'm going to run something, I want to do it right and not hurriedly thrown together.

Chat rooms are an option. I have an account with Xfire these days and you can create your own chat room. We use it for WOW, as you have the option to change over into a voice chat mode, so we can talk instead of texting in game.

[Bruce]

Here's the URL for the product.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG

[GM Mad]

Ah, thanks Bruce and sorry for taking so long to get around to replying here.

That said, and I've said this before, I am not buying yet another RPG system ever again. Spent way too much money on them in the past.

I have, however, given the Fallout done D&D style game a great deal more thought and my current leanings is to use a modified D&D setting, but use Hero System rules instead. So players can design your own characters and can freely ignore any of those D&D limiting rules that can be annoying. (Mages can't wear armor, and so on.)

Characters would be normals to start with and gain abilities and powers as they go along. This powers and abilities would be shaped by some questions that I ask about your character before the game starts, such as their leanings towards what D&D style class or classes interest them the most. As the game goes along, what would essentially be power ups are found that help you shape your character into your long term goal.

I have the beginning and first real scenario developed in my head, just a matter of filling in other world details. After all, I can't tell you whats out there until I know whats there! I do have much of the world details in mind and how things got to this point, the basic world philosophy and where things are heading towards. Some of which might be really surprising!