I've got an idea for a very minimal RPG, but I want to run it through the /tg/ machine to make sure the numbers add up to something playable. The premise of the game is that the players are each members of the aristocracy, steeped in ennui and with waay too much money to spend. Each session, the owner of the household gathers the PCs and suggests a gentlemanly wager, such as a game of auto polo (pictured), a balloon trip around the world, or a spirit quest with the savages. At high tea, the party discusses the rules, makes wagers amongst each other, and trades backhanded compliments. Afterwards, they go on their wager, and insanity ensues.
Currently what I have is 4 main stats, Athletics, Fortitude, Education, and Wit, plus Social Standing, which is basically your money and charisma (and would grant equipment based on the score), and Moxie, which would be fate points/action points. Players can write down 3 skills the character has, and perhaps a single flaw. I was also thinking of adding in archetypes, of which players could choose one for a small bonus, like Man of Science, which would increase your education, or Curiosity, which would grant you an extra skill (but would only be available to players with low social standing.
I'm still working on a scoring system, based on how objectives are completed, what is wagered at high tea, and so on. I also recently had the idea of unspent moxie giving a bonus to your score, and winning the bet (getting the highest score) promotes the character in the gentleman's club, granting higher social standing, and perhaps a few other bonuses. Getting too low of a score though would force the already nihilistic aristocrat to contemplate suicide, and be forced to roll on the suicide chart (which my friend is designing...it's looking very darkly humorous).
Point being, I'm terrible at numbers and game systems, but once this is compiled, of course it would be condensed into an ideally 10 page-ish pdf for /tg/ to use at their own table. Something good for a one shot adventure, or an ongoing game for when not everyone can make it to the regular session.
Sounds like a pretty cool premise op. I'd suggest a faithful (and optionally foreign) manservant as a skill
>>43560025
Yeah, I was thinking of putting them in equipment, along bloodhounds, medicines of the Orient, etc. I was also thinking of a dueling subsystem, but it might make the game more complex than I intended.
>>43560424
What are the dice-rolling mechanics like?
>>43560575
Well, that's what I need help figuring out. I was thinking skills would let you roll two dice and take the highest, and add the relevant attribute (athletics or whatever), but I really don't know enough about game design to balance it out well. I've been playing a lot of traveller, so I'm leaning d6 for that reason. Also, bonus pints for high lethality, because it's funny.
Maybe the physical and mental stats are damage tracks, and get damage when you get hit? 1d6 damage from a pistol, spread between athletic and fortitude, for example.
>>43560958
I like the damage track idea with the stats. You could have stat zero cause different kinds of defeats:
Athletics 0 - permanently maimed
Fortitude 0 - killed in a messy and spectacular fashion
Education 0 - lobotomized and reduced to a drooling mongoloid
Wit 0 - goes full on criminally insane and must go on killing rampage at first available opportunity
Obviously, damage to fortitude would be by far the most common kind, with athletics a close second. Education and wit would probably only be suitable for when characters are exposed to eldritch bullshit. Or maybe you could lose a wit point from being humiliated or extremely jealous and go nuts over someone having classier business cards than you, like in American Psycho.
Those all might be fairly dumb ideas, now that I type them out. Oh well. I tried. Please keep us updated on this, I'd love to play it.
>>43560958
The board game betrayal at house on the hill has a similar system where you have trackers on four stats that move up from buffs and down from damage and failed rolls, I would definitely recommend taking a look at how they do it.
>>43561491
I really like that American psycho thing. It'll make high tea very important for debuffing your opponents. Anyone have ideas on dice or Stat generation? I'm thinking 2d6 each for stats, and 1d10 for skill rolls
>>43561760
2d6 and 1d10 sounds good.
Or you could do a really simple point buy and make skill rolls stat + 1d6 vs target number. A 5 could be something barely challenging, gradually increasing up to a 10+, really, really hard.
Divide 15 points among your 4 core aristocratic proficiencies. Max 5 points each, minimum 1. Extra perks and equipment like a loyal oriental manservant, a set of dueling pistols (perfect for dual wielding), one of Ford's new automobiles, a bag of sharp throwing axes, etc could be made available at different point costs. You could have a big shopping list of things. It'd allow for a lot of fun customization without making things too complex.
Good idea!
Idea: what if players could wage their social standing, equipment, and other stuff during high tea? Make the challenge harder on yourself ("I shall be blindfolded for the duration" "I shall be the first to cross the finish line...backwards!"), and wager stuff, which has to be agreed upon unanimously by the other socialites. They could even all make the same wager!
