Indagare Nogitsune
Adventurer
Not sure what sort of interest there will be in this, but it's worth trying.
Overall Setting:
1) It's likely going to take place in a city of some sort since, thematically, that's likely the first thing people think of. Something based on New York or London would do nicely, though other cities could work. Something akin to Gotham City could have a large appeal.
2) Suburban or rural can happen. In fact, rural can be even more chilling than urban. At least in a city, someone might hear a call for help or notice someone's gone missing. In the countryside, with miles between houses and forests, marshes, and swamps about who would hear? Who would notice? If there are plenty of places to dump a body in a city, there are even more in the country.
3) Guns and some more modern features (telephones, radios, and even televisions) are going to have some part in the setting. Dirigibles, trolleys, busses, and trains are also likely to show up. Cars might as well, since exciting car chases are a thing.
The Issues and Possible Solutions:
1) The classes would need updated to fit the theme.
--Since the Hardboiled stuff takes place in the range of the 1920s to 1950s, the usual arms and armor are not likely going to be in place since they won't fit the theme. That said, "bullet proof" vests could exist.
---A) Artificers, Bards, and Rogues would hardly need to be changed. Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards simply appear in era-consistent garb with, perhaps, the Wizards having an air of the scientist about them.
---B) Fighters would have the gunslinger option for a fighting style. Others could exist (especially if the city is like Gotham where weird stuff is the norm). Monks also need little change other than, maybe, attire. Clerics and Paladins are going to need some kind of help fitting into the theme.
---C) Rangers and Druids would make for good environmentalists. The Rangers could also serve as bounty hunters.
---D) Barbarians would likely fit in as general brawlers and Blood Hunters have ties to monsters which fit in thematically.
2) The genre usually has one protagonist: the detective who solves the crime. This is obviously not going to work for a roleplaying group unless there's an agreement on who gets to play the Holmes. The best solution to this is a detective agency all the players work for or help out with. Each of them would have talents that help the team succeed in a given mystery/situation.
3) Killing things tends to be frowned on.
--One of the key things adventures get to do is slay enemies without the law coming after them for doing so (most of the time). That said, secret cults and organizations tend to operate so far outside the law that finding them and slaying them also tends to take place outside the sight of the law. This isn't even getting into mobsters.
While Noir is often used synonymously with "hardboiled" a distinction exists. First, the similarities:
1) Both genres deal with corruption from within and without the system.
2) Both genres started around the 1920s and 30's and became fiction staples.
3) Both had their heyday in that period, though they lasted through the 1940's and 50's.
4) Both are still popular, but it's rare to find either created in a more "modern day" setting.
Differences:
1) The hardboiled story is almost always a detective story. It deals with a person who tries to abide by a moral code despite the corruption of society and who is willing to try and help others, even if it feels like a losing cause. The detective's actions can influence society for the better.
2) The noir story generally involves a victim, a suspect in a crime, or an actual criminal. This person tends to be self-destructive. There's never any clear morality.
1) Both genres deal with corruption from within and without the system.
2) Both genres started around the 1920s and 30's and became fiction staples.
3) Both had their heyday in that period, though they lasted through the 1940's and 50's.
4) Both are still popular, but it's rare to find either created in a more "modern day" setting.
Differences:
1) The hardboiled story is almost always a detective story. It deals with a person who tries to abide by a moral code despite the corruption of society and who is willing to try and help others, even if it feels like a losing cause. The detective's actions can influence society for the better.
2) The noir story generally involves a victim, a suspect in a crime, or an actual criminal. This person tends to be self-destructive. There's never any clear morality.
Overall Setting:
1) It's likely going to take place in a city of some sort since, thematically, that's likely the first thing people think of. Something based on New York or London would do nicely, though other cities could work. Something akin to Gotham City could have a large appeal.
2) Suburban or rural can happen. In fact, rural can be even more chilling than urban. At least in a city, someone might hear a call for help or notice someone's gone missing. In the countryside, with miles between houses and forests, marshes, and swamps about who would hear? Who would notice? If there are plenty of places to dump a body in a city, there are even more in the country.
3) Guns and some more modern features (telephones, radios, and even televisions) are going to have some part in the setting. Dirigibles, trolleys, busses, and trains are also likely to show up. Cars might as well, since exciting car chases are a thing.
The Issues and Possible Solutions:
1) The classes would need updated to fit the theme.
--Since the Hardboiled stuff takes place in the range of the 1920s to 1950s, the usual arms and armor are not likely going to be in place since they won't fit the theme. That said, "bullet proof" vests could exist.
---A) Artificers, Bards, and Rogues would hardly need to be changed. Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards simply appear in era-consistent garb with, perhaps, the Wizards having an air of the scientist about them.
---B) Fighters would have the gunslinger option for a fighting style. Others could exist (especially if the city is like Gotham where weird stuff is the norm). Monks also need little change other than, maybe, attire. Clerics and Paladins are going to need some kind of help fitting into the theme.
---C) Rangers and Druids would make for good environmentalists. The Rangers could also serve as bounty hunters.
---D) Barbarians would likely fit in as general brawlers and Blood Hunters have ties to monsters which fit in thematically.
2) The genre usually has one protagonist: the detective who solves the crime. This is obviously not going to work for a roleplaying group unless there's an agreement on who gets to play the Holmes. The best solution to this is a detective agency all the players work for or help out with. Each of them would have talents that help the team succeed in a given mystery/situation.
3) Killing things tends to be frowned on.
--One of the key things adventures get to do is slay enemies without the law coming after them for doing so (most of the time). That said, secret cults and organizations tend to operate so far outside the law that finding them and slaying them also tends to take place outside the sight of the law. This isn't even getting into mobsters.
And I did post one class modification idea- the one on AC adjustments.
