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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 4466377" data-attributes="member: 43283">I haven't been able to run this yet, but part of that is because the one person that would be willing to play (my wife) doesn't really have a "cool!" reaction to the premise.Kid, monster... it's ok, it's just not something that wows her.However...One nifty thing about MaOCT is that the premise can be shifted a bit, and has the potential to lead to some rather interesting games. See, what you've really got is A) The character, B) How the character can kick ass and make a difference, C) The relationships that are involved and get messed up. It's kinda sorta got a bit of a parallel in that regard with PDQ (powers Truth & Justice, Zorcerer of Zo, Questers of the Middle Realms, Ninja Burger, and others). In Truth & Justice you can (As Fred Hicks said) "Punch a superhero in their girlfriend". You can model Spiderman and his problems with his girlfriend by having the Quality "Dating MJ" take damage.I've mentioned these ideas before in other locations, but I'll float them here:ElricMaOCT can do this sort of thing pretty easy, assuming everyone is going to have their own Stormbringer. Stormbringer shows up and all kinds of stuff goes wrong for Elric. But he really _needs_ the blade as well.SupersIt'd be an interesting take on supers in general if the abilities are built/modeled as monsters. Especially if the powers _want_ to be used. Part of fixing you monster is spending time with it, just like with other relationships. So if you get messed up in your super powers, part of fixing them is going to be going off and doing superhero-type stuff.FantasyThat kick-ass sword the Fighter has, those spells the mage can cast, that insufferable holier-than-thou religious person sitting across the fire from you... those "iconic" bits that let a fantasy character rock out are done up as monsters. I'm pretty sure that you'd even be able to handle a skill-monkey type like the thief types; their facility at doing what they do is almost supernatural. Some mage's might have their monsters be literal demons that they bring forth, others would treat "magic" as if it were an almost living force, constantly tempting them to unleash it...But it's doesn't have to be a "single" thing. Instead of just having the kick-ass sword, maybe the fighter has a kick-ass sword, some stylin' armor, that shield that returns when he throws it. The mage doesn't just have to have "magic" and cast spells; the "monster" can be spell casting, along with a Wizard's Staff, a couple of rings, maybe a crystal ball...ShapeshiftersYeah, that's pretty easy. It might be an interesting alternative for those folks that are kinda wanting to do a modern/urban game where characters are Werewolves (or whatever) but don't feel like doing the White Wolf thing.Anime/ Anime High SchoolIt seems like a lot of anime shows feature characters that have some sort of ability, and then they've got all kinds of different stuff go wrong in their lives as a result. Always running around trying to balance things, and keep folks from figuring out what's really going on with them.PokemonYou know you want to do it...MechaThis one... it'd be a bit trickier. As with a number of other premises, the "monster" winds up being something that others can see/know about. The trick is thinking about what it is the "monster" is doing; in other words, why does the character have/need the powersuit/mecha in the first place. Once you reframe the idea of mecha stuff a bit, it doesn't seem any more unreasonable than anything else.The MatrixA few different ways this one could play out. The obvious one would simply be that the monster is the abilities that the character gets once they jack into the Matrix.ExaltedI only know about this game in passing. The bits of premise I've heard rock, the system makes me want to beat myself in the head with a rock. But all those nifty exalted powers sure do sound like the monster coming out to play...ShadowrunOh yeah, all kinds of different possibilities here. Mages, cybergear, racial abilties...It doesn't really take much to start thinking about other ways to reframe the premise.I'm sure at least some people are thinking, "Well, why not just use Reign or Wild Talents instead?"To me, the ORE (One Roll Engine) system just felt "bleh". It seemed kinda fiddly and it's definitely funky. MaOCT on the other hand clicked for me. I took a gamble in getting it, and part of why I did is because it's (apparently) a trimmed down version of the ORE system in the first place.Another thing I like is that separation of stuff. There's the character, which has stats and skills. Pretty "ordinary" and basic. And then there's this whole other thing, and that's how all of a sudden the mundane and ordinary is transformed into something extraordinary.And it's not just "this is how the character rocks compared to mundanes", but also "what does this mean for them as they try to lead an 'ordinary' life." It's a chance to have characters that can tower among mortals (or at least loom a bit), but still be able to explore the "human" side of said characters.</blockquote>

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