More tabletop RPG projects - genre simulation

[nobleTiger]

UPDATE: game finished
Well, it's not finished finished, but it's ready to be played and I won't do anything mroe with it until I've played it, which I most likely won't get around to in a while.
Game rules are here and character sheets and other printouts are here. Enjoy!

Okay, I'm entirely aware that there are already at least two Homestuck tabletop RPG projects underway, probably more. I haven't read them thoroughly, but I've seen what their rules concern themselves with. And I believe the rules for such a game should concern themselves with other stuff. Also I just want to try designing my own game regardless of who have done it before, so in either case I'll just ignore the previous projects.

My goal
I want a game that, when played, could have given rise to the canon Homestuck storyline.

Okay, that's definitely shooting high. Change it to "something like the start of the canon Homestuck storyline."

I want a game that has the players suddenly realising that "haha, that bunny he got long ago actually is a plot point now", or "damn I wanted to see how things were going for the Mayor guy but they keep cutting to Jade". A game that can have four player characters where one climbs his house and beats imps with hammers while the other one time travels, jumps over lava and cuts hoards of enemies with a broken sword – at low levels.

Playing this game should be like a combination of reading and writing Homestuck.

Like I said, shooting high.

How this works
There's currently two google docs with the game:
Here's the draft of the actual game. Rules and explanations, no loose ideas. Comments (insert->comment) are welcome though.
And here's a brainstorming doc, free for all to jot down anything in.

The underlying system is from a small game called Apocalypse World. Dice rolls are 2d6+stat, and regardless of situation 7-9 is always a weak success (succeed but with a drawback or twist) and 10+ a strong success. The GM has rules for what to say when, and they include never pre-planning a storyline. Play to find out what happens.

What I need help for
First and foremost, discussion and ideas are always good.

Secondly, the game depends on a long list of possible character moves to take at character creation. And those moves have to be written. Go take a look at the brainstorm document, and see what it's about.

I hope someone finds this interesting!

[Cute_Riolu]

Yeah!!! I'm really psyched for this project. It really resonates with me as a fantastic way to create a homestuck-style RPG. I really suggest you all check out the google docs and contribute. We've got lots of people hangin' around there all the time!


Edit: I think our first priority with this should be to get a playtest-able prototype out ASAP, that way we can screw around with mechanics and see what fits instead of just assuming it fits because we think it sounds cool.

[unvoicedAspiration]

I agree with cute. The first step to that end should be nailing down the basic moves - I think we have a good setup, we just need to sort out the acrobatic fucking pirouette business.

Also, I had some idle time so I've created a character sheet. Not very pretty, but it gets the job done.

[Cute_Riolu]

I'm amused that this project is mostly made by low post count people. :P

[Hikari no Kaze]

Yay! Finally this thread.

Anyways, I'd been trying to figure out what kind of a system would be juuuuust right for Homestuck, and you may very well have hit on it, or at least something close! I'm very excited at what's currently being done, so I'd love to help out, and definitely to playtest once the game's ready to do that... which by the looks of things, won't be long now. I've been discussing some things with one of you guys on pesterchum, and things seem very awesome so far!

[Cute_Riolu]

Speaking of pesterchum, should we use that for discussions relevant to this, or something like IRC?

[Hikari no Kaze]

How are those two different things? <:3

I'd recommend a Pesterchum memo myself. You could even keep it hidden and just post the channel name in this thread, if you wanted to avoid interruptions from random users.

EDIT: A Skype group might also be a good choice.

[Cute_Riolu]

Hmmn. I'd kind of like something that'd keep track of message sent even when you're not on the program, so skype would be good.

[nobleTiger]

I'd need someone to help me out with pesterchum on a mac, because I have't got it to work yet. A skype group, if it actually does that (keeps track of posts when you're not there) sounds good to me (and unlike irc or pestechum I already know how to operate it).

[Hikari no Kaze]

It actually does that. It's why I suggested it. :3

[nobleTiger]

Obviously. I'm stupid.

Okay, I haven't used skype for anything but one-on-one calls before. How do I do this? I tried starting a chat, but 1) I couldn't get the link to work and 2) it seems to be text only, and I imagined something more like a group to which I could send messages or start a phone/video conference. Does this exist or is public chat what there is?

[Hikari no Kaze]

nobleTiger, check your PMs.

Also, perhaps we should all PM NT our Skypenames so he can add us to the group?

[Cute_Riolu]

My skype name is the same as is on this forum.

[nobleTiger]

I'm up and Skyping at least, so I'll take skype names, however you want to.

[nobleTiger]

Okay, so I'm starting to get this finished enough to playtest.

This should be what you need to print out, and ideally, if one or two of you have read the rules and can reference them, the other players shouldn't need to see anything but what's in those character sheets and reference sheets.

I'm very doubtful of playing over internet, and if I were to I don't know what I'd rather use – skype, gdocs, a forum thread, google hangouts or something else?

Who's up for playtesting online, and what's your best suggestion as for how?

[unvoicedAspiration]

I'm up for it. I'm not sure what we would use, but Google Docs sounds like a very interesting possibility, with all of it's collaborative editing features. Anyone have ideas about how that would work?

Also, I recommend this for die rolling.

[PanchromaticRhythm]

Basically you've taken what I was intending with Project: RPGSTUCK and have actually done work on it, instead of just talked about it. Bravo.

[nobleTiger]

Thanks, and thanks for that thread. I can't say for certain I wouldn't have made this without it, but it's where I started.

[Quirk]

So yeah, I got around to reading this, finally.

It's brilliant. That's all I can say on the matter for now.

[Cute_Riolu]

So yeah, I got around to reading this, finally.

It's brilliant. That's all I can say on the matter for now.

Definitely this. :3

[The Cool]

Started up a campaign with my friends, to be played during lunch hour.
We're not doing it homestuckways, because like half the group isnt interested in reading it, but we're testing out the game system.
So far we've had a guy kick a robotic puppy, get blinded, successfully walk up stairs, and explore part of a dungeon, while being randomly texted by two nonintroduced characters.

[The Cool]

And then it was a HS/SP/DnD/MLP/WKYK/TWEWY crossover session

[Zuki]

Apocalypse World is a -sweet- choice of system to base this on, and I recently picked it up for cheap about a month ago. I love the way you've put thought into the hopping from scene to scene and character to character, the one-upmanship, and the need to introduce new facts of setting and rules of play as you go along.

Bumping this after I saw the discussion on RPG.net, and as a reminder to come back and post thoughts here.

Has anyone gotten to play this yet? (Does anyone want to play it, ideally online or in a play-by-post forum format?)

[unvoicedAspiration]

(Does anyone want to play it, ideally online or in a play-by-post forum format?)

I certainly do.

[unvoicedAspiration]

We're doing it, bro. We're making it hapen.