The 7-Day RPG Contest [Voting is over!]

[wasmeister]

I spent the full seven days creating The Body Horror RPG, it was a concept I had whilst determining which genres hadn't been turned into role playing games yet. I found the idea of players fighting their own bodily changes whilst figuring out why something so monstrous would be inflicted on them interesting. I'm quite proud of the Mutation dice mechanic and how it ties in with the body locations as I don't think it's been done before, especially as I wanted the body to be the focus of the games rules. I appreciate that its a grim setting but that was the design goal, but I wanted a glimmer of hope to exist for the players. I am currently in the process of writing a scenario for the system which I will post in due course. I hope you enjoy the game and I would more than happy to entertain any comments or criticism you may have. Good luck to all the entries.

 

[EP]

I'm really hoping to get to reading some of these entries over the weekend (c'mon, free time!). Looks like quite a wide variety of very indie games in here.

 

[Anubis Dread]

When I read that people were having trouble downloading Godsrealm I had a minor panic attack -_-; Thankfully it seems that the issue is resolved now, or at least was only experienced by a couple of people.

I was pretty confident going into this thing, but seeing all the other entries is more than a little bit intimidating. Most of them are very high quality, and all of them are more prettily arranged than my own 'word.doc turned pdf' >.>

As it seems to be becoming the new fad, here's some things I would have included in my RPG if possible:
-actual images
-a section outlining an example of a game to help show what a typical turn might look like
-a second tie in game where you play mortals in the game your gods make. Turns out making a game to cover literally everything you could make in human imagination is a little beyond me
-I just realized that even though the entire RPG is fantasy themed, there are no rules to prevent turning it into a modern or sci-fi world. I consider this more a feature than a bug, but if I'd thought of it I'd have included a section on playing other genres.

Thank you for accepting, and good luck to everyone else! But especially me, please vote Godsrealm

 

[JMBeraldo]

Oh, we're still pitching?

So, Context RPG!

It was an idea I've been brewing for a short while, of focusing on a game that was easy to learn and that would allow both players and narrators to get right into the adventure and build as they go. Really, who needs tons of extra rules, numbers and esoteric rules no one remembers anyway?

When I first played RPGs some 20+ years ago, I didn't really know what I was doing! English is not my first language and, despite the fact that I learned it pretty early, when I was 11, my grasp of D&D and AD&D rules was more out of my imagination than anything else. My friends would come up with actions and solutions and I'd rule them based on the situation. Did it make sense based on what we played so far? But my feeling is that today's RPG systems add too much crunch, when in fact players need only guidelines and their imagination.

I hope you guys try Context and let me know what you feel about it. I believe this could be an awesome system that is just calling for a number of unique game settings with MAYBE a few more rules here and there to spice things up!

 

[kitsune9]

Hi all,

If you haven't checked out my game, The Empire of the Raven, I'll explain the mechanics and story a bit here.

It's a game of 17th Century "Europe-type" world that is about exploration, colonization, and reclaiming lost magic from ruined civilizations. However, while exploring, many of the monsters and horrors that awaits in the deepest regions are mind-shattering, other-worldly and most who seek riches either die horribly or go back mad.

As for the mechanics I use a 3d8 system in which each die is a different color. A red die (Damage die) determines the base damage plus the attack. If your attack is successful and you've rolled an 8 on the Damage die, it explodes so you can roll again and keep adding up the damage as long as you get an 8. A white die is called the Fortune die. If you roll an attack and get an 8, you get a Fortune point, even if your attack missed. Fate is smiling upon you. The last die is a black die and is called The Grim. Should you roll an 8 on that die, you get a Grim point which slowly corrupts your character. The propensity to commit violence (and using certain insanity-risking skills) exposes a character to corruption. If you earn enough Grim points, your irrevocably corrupted unless you have Fortune points to counter them. Should you roll an 8 on both the Fortune and The Grim, you get 2 Fortune points and 2 Grim points.

You can use Fortune points to influence your actions such as increasing or mitigating damage, turn a miss into a hit, etc. Should the Fortune point require a roll, if you get a natural 8, it explodes. If you have any Fortune points leftover at the end of the adventure, they are converted into experience points for character advancement.

Monsters can use Grim points against you though there is a limit. They can use your Grim points against you to increase their damage, heal themselves, or mitigate damage from your attacks.

Characters have talents (kind of like powers/skills/perks/feats) and if they have a Spirit modifier of at least +0 or higher, they can use magic (called powers). There are some skills though few.

The setting is designed to be grim and there's four ways a character can be permanently ended in the campaign:
1. They died (however, I intended to write that the GM can provide a second chance by having the character bargain for their soul with an other-worldly entity).
2. They've gone insane (sanity points though are not treated like Call of Cthulhu, you can completely restore your mental health for the next adventure as long as you have some sanity left and get to a safe haven).
3. They've become corrupted by The Grim (as long as you have Fortune points, you can stave off this, but if you're out of Fortune points, you're out of luck).
4. They've failed their noble patron and put in prison (one of the professions can try to get you a second, third, etc. chance, but each failure it gets more difficult to not get thrown in prison).

If you have any questions, please drop me a line. Right now, the entry stands alone as it is, so there isn't a character sheet. However, once the contest is over and there's been interest, I'll post a char sheet and a sample adventure. It would be interesting to see if my game was actually playable (that's what happens when you write a game in just 7 days! ).

Happy Gaming!

 

[Stalker0]

Just read "follow the leader" and its hillarious.

For a nonstandard system that I would want to pick up, it needs to be a bit quirky, and getting to play the B team is right up my alley!

 

[RangerWickett]

I've at least skimmed all of them, and I am most impressed or amused by Follow the Leader, Dragon-Slayers of the Rio Grande, and Men of Power (because, as I said above, it'd be hilarious if that won $1000).

I kinda hoped Familiar Story would be antagonistic against the wizard, like Follow the Leader is against the 'Fearless Leader,' but it seemed to play it straight, which sacrificed some charm. Doctors & Nurses had a novel idea, but it was a bit of a dry read. Eternal Harmonies reminded me that some day I want to play a Dethklok game, but I think I want something more rules-light.

I guess my bias is that I want fun writing, a clever concept that jumps into the flavor from the get-go, and mechanics that are either simple or novel. Humor is a big trump.

I wish I'd had time to write a My Little Ponies knock-off, because my GM's wife says that she'll give role-playing a try if she can be a pony. Since I didn't, I wish the rest of the folks here well.

 

[Murph Murphy]

So I've got a special treat for you guys. I was struck with inspiration, and spent hours on my new game. It features ALL NEW MECHANICS. Also you can BE A DOG. It is called DOGS OF AUTHORITY and it is world debut strech goal here.

View attachment Dogs of Authority.pdf

 

[NancyButtpeach]

I agree that Follow the Leader looks great, though I think it is more of a board game than an rpg- it reminds me of a comical version of TOMB. If you don't vote for my system, them vote for it .

 

[Stalker0]

I am most impressed or amused by...Men of Power (because, as I said above, it'd be hilarious if that won $1000).

No offense to the author (I got a good laugh out of it myself), but I would be pretty disappointed if the "joke" system one against other legitimate entries.