What is the weirdest RPG you own or what RPG can you not get anyone to play?
Mechanical Dream
>Characters reside in the world of the dual world of Kaïnas and Naakinis, a 30,000 mile disk lit by a sun-like orb called the Pendulum. This disk is surrounded by the Sofe, a 40-mile-tall wall of black ether that kills that few, if any, have ever returned from. Kaïnas (the rational world) and Naakinis (the mythic world) exist with overlapping topography and ecosystems. Flora and fauna of Kainas are scaled normally by real-world standards, while Naakinis exists on a much larger scale (such as the "Kioux" trees that reach many miles in height).
>The Pendulum spends roughly ten of each day's thirty hours beyond the Sofe, creating night-like darkness. During this time, a phenomenon called "The Dream" manifests, becoming stronger as less and less light permeates Kaïnas. The Dream is a fabulous and dangerous world that overlaps with reality. It is initially hazy and hallucinatory, becoming as solid as reality during the darkest parts of the night. Areas where the Pendulum does not shine are affected by permanent manifestations of the Dream.
>The Aran world is a separate existence, accessible only in places the Pendulums' light cannot reach (underground or deep underwater). It is fiercely primordial, rejecting inorganic matter and operating by rules entirely different from reality. The creatures inhabiting Aran are unpredictable and poorly understood.
>The vast majority of the setting's population depends on the weekly consumption of the orpee fruit to survive. Without orpee, a rapid and excruciating death is guaranteed. Orpee naturally concentrates a life-force called "eflow" that fuels life. The politics and economics of Kaïnas are primarily driven by the collection and distribution of orpee, as it is an absolute requirement for life.
One of my weirdest games is Lesser Shades of Evil, a post apocalyptic fantasy RPG where a family called the Kingsways masterminded the destruction of modern human civilization, using amazing technology to create a new world and set themselves up as a set of benign godlike figures, to nurture and aid their new, superior humanity. Unfortuantely, one of the Kingsways went bad, murdered or exiled the others and the world has gone to hell.
There are a lot of PC options, but the default is Angelions, uploaded human minds that are held in a sphere of crystal. If it's ever shattered you die, but otherwise you're immortal. You can puppet bodies that are attuned to you, including controlling multiple at once, and the game in general tends towards mythic politics, intrigue and adventure. The system is also utterly bizarre, with the option to roll d6, d10 or d20 pools. The d6 pools are generally the safe and reliable option, while d20 pools allow the chance to get extremely high results, with the d10 pools sitting as a middle ground between the two.
Noumenon(?)?
>>44463366
>Noumenon(?)?
Doo doo dah doo doo...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ezRFBnWBKg
Roller Coaster Tycoon RPG, though getting people to play isn't a problem.
>>44463163
I own that book.
I wanted to give the publisher some $ for being batshit insane.
I picked this one up. It seemed like a cool oddity to have in my collection. I know my group will never play it
>>44463943
The book is a fun read
this desu
Someone in the group challenged me to find a game more unplayable than Nobilis. I succeeded.
Fucking Normality. All the way down and up and diagonally right.
>>44463163
I actually really like some of the things in that book.
On the other hand, if I were to run it, I'd want to set it before the deluge.
>>44464363
Why is that game thousands of dollars on amazon?
>>44464988
Relatively small print run and its infamy as being unplayable makes it tickle the neckhairs of autists everywhere, so they're keen to buy it and have it either to 1.) Play it, 2.) 'Fix it' 3.) Coffee table decoration / discussion piece
Hah, I own the same one OP.
>tfw no one wants to use the bible as a sourcebook except you...
>>44464399
I've traumatized people with Normality before. That game is definitely a thing.
>>44464363
I would have gone with Eoris.
>>44467874
Doesn't come close to Noumenon, doesn't hold a candle to Normality.
>>44467465
Pull a SMT IV on them. Set things in a medieval fantasy setting, but then have them find all these biblical references out the wazoo, and start including things from Testament.
>>44467465
I have tried to get my friends to try it but they complain about it being a Christian game. I tell them Christians weren't a thing in the old testament but they kind of shout me down
>>44467465
Tell them there's a possibility of banging angels.
Don't mention what kind.
>>44468420
Point out that you can play as Babylonians, Egyptians, and Canaanites (and Hittites with the supplement), and that if you wanted to, you could be Sodomites getting revenge on Israel for the destruction of their cities.
>>44468757
This looks pretty awesome, actually.
>>44464363
Why does Nobilis have an 'unplayable' reputation? The 2e book is full of sample characters, has a sample campaign, and has two examples of play, one of which extends for like ten pages.
>>44468830
It's remarkably good in my opinion.
And while the Sodomite thing was more a reference to their likely location in Canaan, homosexuality isn't listed as a sin for the Canaanites (and other non-Israelites), so if that's a problem for players, have them be that culture.
Hell, let them play a male Qedeshot if they want to, I'm not the boss of anyone.
>>44469036
The Old Testament seems of oddly mute on whether outsiders really should be thought of people at all...
Weirdest? Either The Legacy of Zorro or The Lawnmower Man RPG (I love licenced games).
One I can never get anyone to play? Cartoon Action Hour (I love genre emulation - I've been hemming and hawing over Fight! The Fighting Game RPG bundles).
>>44463163
>what RPG can you not get anyone to play?
Everything that is not D&D.
>>44463163
Can you be a wizard?
>>44469661
Not even Pathfinder?
>>44463163
Tribe 8
Spirituality, demons and hope in post-apocalyptic Saint Helens Island, Montreal.
>>44469627
License game seem to be utterly forgettable skin Jobs of other systems, or completely insane attempt to try to work the source material into an rpg. There is no middle ground.
>>44468757
I've tried that. They keeo saying it will turn into a Christian vs Islam debate. If I try to show them more or say anything against that they say "Look the debate is already happening, proof enough not to play"
>>44469760
Pathfinder is D&D with the serial numbers filed off.
>>44470641
Why are you playing with a bunch of faggots who can't even play a goddamn game without getting their panties in a twist and chanting fedora ackbar?
>>44469732
See >>44468757
Only the Egyptians and Babylonians have Wizards, and they're both a little strange.
The Babylonian Magi are astronomers, they use magic through devotion to the stars themselves. To get new spells they don't copy from spell books (and in fact have none,) but instead go on pilgrimages to learn stellar lore. (Turns out Balthazar found the infant Christ because he wanted to learn how to cast Meteor Swarm, who knew?)
The other, Khery-Heb, are the Egyptian readers of the scrolls. As such, they fucking love scrolls. Sometimes they're even better at scribing spells to scrolls, and then using them, than they are at just casting them.
>>44470641
Then they're morons.
Just steal from the game anyway. Slowly introduce Qedeshot, Prophets, and Spies.
Announce you're doing away with alignment and introduce piety instead.
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Baron of Munchhausen. In this game, you play as a group of -preferably noble- guests at a party, sitting around a table and telling the most bewildering stories about their travels and adventures, while having the other players poke holes at your tale. You get gold coins for good, consistent tales, and you have to drink wine if your story falls appart. The idea is that you get progressively drunker the more you fail, so it's a downward spiral.
The whole thing is written from the perspective of The Baron himself. For example, he insists that, if possible, the friends you invite to play this game are of noble origin or at least from respectable families.
The only time I've been able to play it was when a friend gifted the book to me for my birthday many years ago. A shame, really, as Terry Gilliam's "The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen" is my favourite movie.
>>44463163
I got Testament from a Paizo warehouse sale for 1 USD (in print form). Though I haven't run a game explicitly set there, I've stolen a lot of material for various purposes. A very good book, in my opinion.
>>44464399
Just read the 1d4chan article on this. What the entire fuck? Where can I read more about this?
>>44472126
http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/normality/comment-page-1
Here you go, friend.
>>44472341
Not sure if I should thank you, but I will.
>>44472341
Well, I already don't like the author.
>>44464472 here.
Okay, let's say I want to run a game before the flood.
I'm figuring that as well as the bible, I should crib from mesopotamian myth as well. And I'm working on the divinity front.
These are the deities I've got so far, since a more polytheistic approach would be fitting. The names are just titles at the moment:
Sky Father (Anu, YHVH, Kumarbis, El)
Storm Lord (Enlil, Baal-Hadad, YHVH, Teshub)
Sea Dragon (Tiamat, Rahab, Leviathan, Yam-Nahar)
Air Mother (Ninlil, Lilith, Lamashtu)
Plague Demon (Pazuzu, Resheph, Nergal)
Any other suggestions for Antediluvian gods?
>>44470641
>>44469036
>>44468757
It's rules for village making and mass combat are pretty interesting (because I haven't heard of any till recently)
thing is i'm more interested in 5e these days so before finding a party I have to deal with converting everything.
and yeah Old Testament can be seen as a pantheon of gods with Yahweh being the god of the Israelites.
Hellas: Worlds of Sun and Stone.
I want to play GREEKS IN SPAAAAAACE.
>>44471165
My only friends... kek
>>44470641
Add in concepts from mythender, pic fucking related
>>44474142
Sounds like a pretty cool guy
How can you have Christians vs Islam in a game set before both Christianity and Islam?
Hackmaster 5e. I started rolling some characters with some veteran greybeards and by the time we started two of them died of old age and I missed all my college exams.
>>44475437
sure, anon
>>44463219
Holy shit I saw this thread and was JUST about to post Mechanical Dream. To this I'd probably add the following:
>The ten sentient races range from hyper-intelligent plant creatures to biologically engineered supersoldiers to tribal warriors that wear living, evolving armour. None are 'human', though the industrial Gnath come close, and each is distinct with their own unique advantages and, quite often, disadvantages. One race in particular feels a constant desire to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others, even their enemies, while another has a small chance of going completely insane during the Dream.
>A small percentage of the population (heavily implied to be what players actually play) can manipulate the eflow in their bodies to produce supernatural effects. These Echoes come in a dozen varieties; Mind Chemists can enter people's minds physically (think the Alice video games), Awakeners can give life and motion to inanimate objects, and Overlords have dominion over the actions of people, and also a natural knack with vehicles.
>Character creation is a mixture of point-buy and dice rolls. Players get 50 points to spend on their Race, which ranges from costing 5 to 50 points, with certain races having advantages over others. They then get 50 points to spend on their Attributes. Instead of buying stat values directly, they spend points to improve their dice odds. For example, for physical stats they could roll 3d6 four times, assign the four results to their four physical stats, or they could spend 5 points to roll five times, or more points to roll 4d6 take the highest three. They do this for their physical, mental, and social stats, and they can spend points left over from Race here. Then they get 50 points to spend on buying levels in Skills, ranging from 0 (completely incompetent) to 10 (master), and they can spend left-over points once again. Finally they can spend all left-over points on Extras, like positive qualities or Echo powers.
>>44463219
>rejecting inorganic matter
So, there are no rocks in Aran?
>>44463296
>Corvus went bad
Uhh... have you forgotten that Ambrose literally began to believe in his created god? And that he imposed cruel limitations upon man and Angelion alike?
Well, considering that Corvus has barely done anything to try to remedy the madness of the world the Kingsways created, then I guess it is fair to say that he went bad.
Jesus Christ, the Ascent System... I'm not sure if it's genius or stupid. It certainly makes an admirable attempt to mechanically model the ENORMOUS possible range of stats.
>>44467628
Eoris isn't unplayable, it's reasonably close to a d20 version of Storyteller.
>>44475877
I gotta agree with this anon. It's just a d20 based dicepool system, which is weird but not nonfunctional.
It's just the translation is very awkward.
>>44476021
>translation
It's English-only.
>>44476110
Translation probably wasn't the right word.
It reads as if English wasn't the writer's native language, which considering the company behind it is from Columbia that may be true.
If English was the writer's primary, they must have had a shitty editor.
>>44476217
>Columbia
Colombia? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia
>>44475877
Yeah, I meant Colombia. I guess I have a shitty editor too.
http://www.essencerpg.com/#!eoris-essence-rpg-creators/c1y14
>>44476021
It's pretty much just Dnd if d20 was a dice pool Systerm.
>>44476490
Guess how I know you've not read the books.
Low Life's probably the weirdest.
It's a post apocalyptic setting where nearly every possible world ending threat happened one after the other and the only inhabitants left are the degenerate mutant offspring of humans, twinkies, bugs, aliens, and a few other odds and ends. Most of human history has been subject to a long game of telephone, so you have some weirdness like Jesus and Elvis being mashed up into the same person.
It runs on Savage Worlds with a few unique twists like a necromancy based school of magic based on manipulating nuclear sludge, another school of magic based on storing and releasing magical smells, and a build your own weapons table since there isn't really such a thing as a standard sword in the setting.
>>44476545
>>44476552
Well i have seen the character sheet in all it's insane glory. But the base dice resolution isnt weird at all. You even have the same 5% chance of a critical.
Speakinga savage worlds, I get why medical care after 1941 gives you a +1, but why would medical care after 2010 be a +2? Did we discover some penicillin 2.0 on the last five years?
Anyway strangest I think you have seen is that one where you Play as people reincarnated as bugs traveling thought some hotel on under world to achieve enlightenment.
I did like the Domino based task resolution.
>>44474852
My friends are fedora tippers that won't listen to reason
>>44468757
I always found it funny that every single group can get Paladins and Blackguards.
You can be a gigantic dick or a divine hero in any of the groups.
>>44480901
Yup. The stats at the back for different biblical figures has Moses and the Pharaoh both having Paladin levels as well.
Of course, Paladin code of conduct not enough for you? Are you an Israelite? Why not become an Nazirite like Samson!
>>44479519
>Domino based task resolution.
I wanna read this now.
>>44482303
+8 HOLY FUCK
That's one hell of a feat.
>>44482923
yes, but it is Mythic, the increased-power-level version of Pathfinder. Different standards.
On Her Magesties Arcane Service, which is an awesome combination of Elizabethan England, Torchwood, and... actually, yeah, that's pretty much it.
Character creation and advancement uses a lifepath system, and it is assumed that you are going to go on one or two adventures per year IC, at most. Everything else is setting up your own little fort, with options for spies, fancy boats, libraries, and the like.
Classes range from WoD style Hunters of weird shit who have the blessings of god to Half-Angels to Paladins who's creation lead to a demon being let out of hell to wise people who can read peoples futures, mess around with herbs, and create pocket dimensions.
>>44482965
Nah, same term but not the pathfinder sort of Mythic.
iirc Mythic in this meant 'Directly granted by a god, super ask your GM'
>>44483073
Shit, got links? My players would love this!
>>44483488
I'm with this anon. Actually sounds pretty entertaining.
>>44482923
Only one mythic feat per character though. And all at the mercy of the GM.
Other mythic feats include: becoming immune to one form of weapon damage (piercing, bludgeoning or slashing); becoming unable to be slain by anything less than massive damage, destructive magic, or a duel with the enemy champion; being able to ignore the differences between divine and arcane magic; being able to drive divine vehicles; or getting the mark of Cain.
