The Great Conjunction (RPG DESIGN CONTEST)

[Wik]

Dude, that sounds pretty cool. I think there's room enough in this competition to allow two post-apoc games. It sounds like there are going to be a few awesome entries at the end of this, eh?

[Jack7]

I'm also trying to figure out a way to incorporate a token-pooling system with different colored tokens representing faith and reason.

I too incorporated faith and reason into my game design, though not as a token system.

I intend to participate unless work precludes me. So this is my entry post.


Name: Jack

Title: Transformations (Working Title - subject to later alteration)

Summary Statement: Nothing works as predicted, and few things are as they appear. God and magic are both well beyond mortal control. And so Dwarves, Elves, Giants, and Men all seek to transform what is not, into what can be.


I already have working draft notes of the races, professions, how arcane magic will work (I am employing a system that to my knowledge has never been done in a game before), how the relationship between God and divine magic (ditto to arcane magic) will work, and so forth. I have some of the background/support/milieu material in sketch form as well as ideas for the ruined city (I will probably be using a fantasy version of the city of Troy, in which the ruins of the city consist of more than one layer/level of old city/historical ruins).

I'm also considering some ideas regarding magical items, how they will function, not function, and be capable of transformation.

I may try to fold the whole effort into my previous ideas regarding setting, or I may let it stand alone.


I'm assuming we retain all future/publication rights to our project, is that correct James?

[fuindordm]

I'm glad to see we have some contestants! Please feel free to edit your summary statement if you feel the need.

Here's my own idea:

B. Mathiesen, The Jewel of Faith. In a parallel Biblical age, the Children of Oshem have been punished for their hubris. Their minds no longer understand the Words of Creation, while their bodies have diminished and diversified. Amid angels, djinn and myriad daemons, humans now forge their own stories and build the first Empire.

-----

The rules will probably be fairly traditional for RPGs, drawing freely on the dozens of games I've read in the past, but each mechanic will be selected and perhaps modified to support the atmosphere I have in mind.

The innovative thing about it will be a mechanism for the players to take turns GMing even within a single session. I would like to create a game that supports the "stories within stories" structure of the Arabian Knights--so that if a player takes a fancy to some element of the main plot they can 'interrupt' the action to spin off a sub-adventure (or maybe just a tall tale). The DM becomes one of the players, and everyone is rewarded for taking part in increasing the depth of the world.

I have some nebulous ideas in the back of my head for how to justify this within the setting and create incentives for this sort of behavior among the players and GM alike.

[Jack7]

I like many of the ideas being generated so far.

I see a lot of potential for interesting developments regarding the use of both Divine and Arcane magic.

I forgot to ask James, what exactly are the formatting requirements? What kind of formats do you want to accept?

I know you want them posted openly on threads, or linked, but in interests of hosting space would it not be better to submit them to you? 50 pages is a lot of space and assuming there are quite a few entries...

[Wik]

Jack: Since there were no claims on ownership, you would still retain all publishing rights. That being said, if you wanted to try and publish something you've submitted elsewhere for free, there may be a bit of snag.

I think the games should be posted in a public forum, if not here then on some free site. I mean, I want to read them all and play them all!

A lot more works with religious nature than I thought there'd be. I mean, really, they all have a bit of the religious in them, don't they? Great minds, and all that jazz, I guess.

As for formatting, I personally plan on Times New Roman text, size 10.5, with slightly smaller tables. Two columns, with size 12 titles per section of text. Small indents, and single-spaced.

Way I figure it, Drakeh would have given us parameters to follow if he really cared about it. That being said, I think it'd be lame for someone to submit an entry in size 7 font so they can sort of bypass the page restriction.

[Wik]

Originally Posted by fuindordm

B. Mathiesen, The Jewel of Faith. In a parallel Biblical age, the Children of Oshem have been punished for their hubris. Their minds no longer understand the Words of Creation, while their bodies have diminished and diversified. Amid angels, djinn and myriad daemons, humans now forge their own stories and build the first Empire.

I think it's about time for someone to take a look at a biblical RPG - I mean, there was that d20 supplement, but it never really took off. I think a fantastic biblical game could be a lot of fun, especially when you start taking from other sources.

The Multi-GM angle should be a lot of fun - it was something I was considering doing, too, though to a lesser extent (in my ideas, players could spend tokens to temporarily become a GM to alter the story a bit, maybe introducing an NPC or altering an event). I ran into some snags that I Couldn't get over, so I'm curious to see how you deal with the design problems.

Another great thing about going biblical is free art is going to be very easy to find - any clip art site is going to have a huge range of usable art.

Looking forward to seeing what you produce.

[Jack7]

Jack: Since there were no claims on ownership, you would still retain all publishing rights. That being said, if you wanted to try and publish something you've submitted elsewhere for free, there may be a bit of snag.

I think the games should be posted in a public forum, if not here then on some free site. I mean, I want to read them all and play them all!

That's why I asked. I may compete then, not publicly or for the win or prize, but for the feedback on design principles.

That is when I've completed the effort I would send copies of the project to whoever wished for review, and they could play-test them, but I wouldn't post publicly, especially the proprietary materials.

A lot more works with religious nature than I thought there'd be. I mean, really, they all have a bit of the religious in them, don't they? Great minds, and all that jazz, I guess.

I noticed that too.
Personally I'm as anxious to redesign the principles upon which Divine magic operates as I am to redesign the principles upon which Arcane magic works.

I also like Fuin's idea of angels and daemons (and of Arabian Knights, though I'm not gonna pursue that angle, I think it will be an excellent background for magical development), and had already started out with an idea of directly interjecting angels and demons in my game as background agents, guiding, assisting, or opposing players, though not directly involved as parties. I think there will be some aspects of parallel development in many of the projects.

I also want to reintroduce the idea of "Heroism" as central to fantasy RPGs. As central an idea as magic, and related to magic.

[Jack7]

I think it's about time for someone to take a look at a biblical RPG - I mean, there was that d20 supplement, but it never really took off. I think a fantastic biblical game could be a lot of fun, especially when you start taking from other sources.

I completely agree. My world setting uses real world religions in it, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and since the party is based out of Constantinople it is both real world, and "Biblical" for it's age (the time period in which it is set, circa 800 AD). That is everything in the setting of the human world is involving cultures derived from historical and Biblical roots. But it is not biblical per se, that is I didn't set out to write a game or even the setting in the active biblical ages. Rather the Bible and many of the things that happen in it serve as the historical, cultural and religious basis of my milieu. And yet it has been the most popular and interesting setting my players have ever gamed in according to them. And I think that is probably because of the combination of Real World History and Real World religious themes.

I cannot be absolutely certain Wik but I think Green Ronin did a Biblical game. I went there one time doing research for developing my background in Constantinople and think I saw one. I didn't buy it though, I ended up buying their Medieval Player's Manual.

[fuindordm]

Thanks for the kind words, folks. The mechanics are pretty fuzzy still, but the themes are something I've been thinking about for a long time.

For one thing, I've never found the typical Fantasy Pantheon very satisfying. So for a while now, my games have been toying with the idea of Fantasy Monotheism and how it could play out.

When I say a Parallel Biblical Age, I'm not thinking about RPing on Earth. It's more of a thought experiment on how some of the most evocative Biblical themes might have played out in a monotheistic fantasy setting. As you can probably tell, one of those themes is the legend of Babel.

My idea for one form of (arcane) power is that while no one can understand the True Speech, magicians can still record and use fragments of it. The meaning and grammar of the True Speech lies forever beyond the reach of mortals, so the fragments people have managed to record appear as powerful but illogical spells. No one can learn this language, even though texts are available; at best they might notice that a certain syllable or pattern appears in most of the known fragments that evoke fire. The greatest intellects might be able to put together new sequences that are grammatically valid through a combination of inference, dedication and luck. Most magicians, however, learn their spells by rote.

Another form of magic would bargain with and/or control the spiritual beings that inhabit the world. This would blur the line between arcane and divine.

It's great to see everyone's ideas for how magic can be something more than an arbitrary plot device.

Cheers,
Ben

[Wik]

Originally Posted by Jack7

I cannot be absolutely certain Wik but I think Green Ronin did a Biblical game. I went there one time doing research for developing my background in Constantinople and think I saw one. I didn't buy it though, I ended up buying their Medieval Player's Manual.

Yeah, it's called "Testament". It's the one I was talking about when I said this:

Originally Posted by Wik

I think it's about time for someone to take a look at a biblical RPG - I mean, there was that d20 supplement, but it never really took off. I think a fantastic biblical game could be a lot of fun, especially when you start taking from other sources.

***

While I'm on the computer, I think I should mention something to those who are considering entering but are holding back because they may think they can't come up with some crazy-original stuff (I mean, we have a lot of fringe entries right now that seem pretty neat). Here it is: you don't need to re-invent the wheel.

There is plenty of room for someone to enter a classic D&D game with a few minor variations - making it more anime, more wuxia, more gritty, more video-game, or more Harry Potter are all angles you can pursue here. You do not need to go the route that's been pursued so far, that of lofty design goals and whole new takes on familiar themes. You can win this competition with something more traditional.

I guess I'm saying is, don't let us wordy blowhards scare you out of competing. Anyone can win this.

[Jack7]

I guess I'm saying is, don't let us wordy blowhards scare you out of competing. Anyone can win this.

Good advice. Simple often beats complex in usefulness.

When I say a Parallel Biblical Age, I'm not thinking about RPing on Earth. It's more of a thought experiment on how some of the most evocative Biblical themes might have played out in a monotheistic fantasy setting. As you can probably tell, one of those themes is the legend of Babel.

My idea for one form of (arcane) power is that while no one can understand the True Speech, magicians can still record and use fragments of it. The meaning and grammar of the True Speech lies forever beyond the reach of mortals, so the fragments people have managed to record appear as powerful but illogical spells. No one can learn this language, even though texts are available; at best they might notice that a certain syllable or pattern appears in most of the known fragments that evoke fire. The greatest intellects might be able to put together new sequences that are grammatically valid through a combination of inference, dedication and luck. Most magicians, however, learn their spells by rote.

Interesting approach to the True Names principle of magic and Divine magic. I like the interjection of the story of Babel as well, and your take on it. If that's the case then you might find this website interesting as a set of ideas about language and Divine language.

Meru Foundation Research: Hebrew Alphabet, Genesis, Geometric Metaphor, and Kabbalah

For one thing, I've never found the typical Fantasy Pantheon very satisfying. So for a while now, my games have been toying with the idea of Fantasy Monotheism and how it could play out.

Not very satisfying, nor very useful as regards Divine magic. I couldn't agree more.

[Loonook]

Well... here are the basic ideas which have come into my mind:

In a small town deep in the backwoods, Ezekiel Raymond Feldspar keeps a room full of bright lamps. A coot amongst a society filled with them, Feldspar always claimed knowledge of things from beyond the known world. Having explored for half of his hundred and ten years, his collection of glass, paper, and other illuminations was beyond reproach.

In 2003, Ezekiel Feldspar's remains were found, and his famous collection had been broken apart, spread to the four winds of his property. Even now, some say you can hear strange noises in the hills around Feldspar House, and many refuse to go there.

That which is too powerful, too great for the human mind to comprehend is cast away by the collective will. Those who forget, the Sleepers, refuse to believe that such a great claw into their fragile psyche could truly exist. However, there are a handful of men and women who collect the signs and sigil of societies long forgotten. The Lamplighters keep their counsels to themselves, but they must fend against the Marti, those who have taken on the aspects of these old cultures and seek to return them to their former glory. Between these realms lie a thousand banes . . . and a thousand boons.

History breeds knowledge, knowledge breeds power. Tapping into the powers of forgotten rites, through blood, bone, and mind, propel the coming Age.

---

Really bad off-the-top, but it'll come together. Hopefully.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

[Andor]

Meanwhile I'm going to give myself the working title of "Magic: The Slathering. A game of magial jams and jellies."

Not too much is settled yet but I'm working on a charater generation system centered around the use of legos.

Or maybe not....

Interestingly most of entries so far are going the exact opposite direction from me on religeon, with an emphasis on monotheism and organized religious structures. I figuring on more of a 'Land of 10,000 gods' feel with a very personal relationship with the gods (for those who bother to have one.)

I will state that if my system can't give you these guys as PCs, I'm not going to bother entering it.

[Jack7]

Andor, I know who the first guy is... but is that second dude the GEICO Caveman?

[RandomCitizenX]

Figured it was about time to post my pitch, since details are finally starting to come together enough:

Name: Black Magic Blues

Genre: Noir/Pulp

Summary: Magic is everywhere, but few possess the determination and skill to cultivate the limited powers found in nearly everyone. In the wake of the last great war, when horrors of both technology and long forgotten arts were unleashed, countless secret societies and rebel groups have sprung up with the hopes of seizing power. When the chips are down will you rise to greatness or be ground into dust by those who succeed? The system itself is being built around a fairly free form magic system and character advancement that gives players greater control of their character's story.

[jdrakeh]

Originally Posted by Jack7

I forgot to ask James, what exactly are the formatting requirements? What kind of formats do you want to accept?

I know you want them posted openly on threads, or linked, but in interests of hosting space would it not be better to submit them to you? 50 pages is a lot of space and assuming there are quite a few entries...

Posting them up here or hosting the files yourself are the options, I'm afraid. As I mention earlier, I really can't set up a mail server/file archive/etc to process or host your submissions for you.

That said, you can use free services like Mediafire or Rapidshare to host your submissions, or host them on your own server (if you have one).

Any format that doesn't require me to use some high-dollar, relatively obscure, software to read it is fine (so, no Quark submissions, k?) HTML, RTF, PDF, DOC, TXT and such are just fine.

[Andor]

Originally Posted by Jack7

Andor, I know who the first guy is... but is that second dude the GEICO Caveman?

No, that's one of the preachers from "The life of Brian." The one going one about the god with seven heads and seven swords.

[fuindordm]

Originally Posted by Loonook

Well... here are the basic ideas which have come into my mind:
In 2003, Ezekiel Feldspar's remains were found, and his famous collection had been broken apart, spread to the four winds of his property. Even now, some say you can hear strange noises in the hills around Feldspar House, and many refuse to go there.

...The Lamplighters keep their counsels to themselves, but they must fend against the Marti, those who have taken on the aspects of these old cultures and seek to return them to their former glory. Between these realms lie a thousand banes . . . and a thousand boons.

This is very evocative stuff, Loonook. Call of Cthulhu meets The Lost Room? There are lots of ways to spin this into something with a uniquely dreadful atmosphere. I look forward to hearing more...

Ben

[fuindordm]

Jack7: thanks for the link. Its true that the magic of True Names is kind of old hat, but at the same time it's one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in human mythology. So I don't feel too bad about including it. :-)

Originally Posted by Andor

Interestingly most of entries so far are going the exact opposite direction from me on religion, with an emphasis on monotheism and organized religious structures. I figuring on more of a 'Land of 10,000 gods' feel with a very personal relationship with the gods (for those who bother to have one.)

I don't see much organization of religion yet, actually, though that may come with time. I like the "small gods" idea too, although what distinguishes an army of relatively weak gods from the animistic worship of 'spirits of the land, family, tree, cooking-pot...' ?

You could borrow from Wraith and let each player RP anther player's personal god. :-) It might degenerate into mutual back-rubbing if all the gods are benevolent, however.

Ben

[Jack7]

Its true that the magic of True Names is kind of old hat, but at the same time it's one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in human mythology. So I don't feel too bad about including it. :-)

Indeed it is, and no I wouldn't feel bad about it.
There's very little new under the sun anyways.
To each generation though it is as if the world is reborn - until, that is, they learn it is in fact, very, very ancient. And that what is new is new only by virtue of the fact that it is so old that it was long ago forgotten.

I visited your website by the way and found it interesting. One of my jobs is as a non-fiction writer, and many articles, white papers, etc. that I write involve materials in the various fields of science.

I thought you had an interesting take on vocabulary as the basis of communicative effectiveness and simplicity of understanding. Being an amateur philologist, and having always been interested in both the science and art of communications, I read over your site with some curiosity.

I may visit your site again some day for other projects.