City of the Chosen: Discussion

[Raelifin]

Hello Guild! There's been some interest shown in the Underdeep thread about another PbP game, and since I've been thinking about starting one for a few days now I thought I'd throw up a thread to get the ball rolling. It has been my experience as a GM that the best games are collaborations between all people involved, so rather than put up the game concept as a take-it-or-leave-it, I'd like to use this thread to talk about what sort of game people want to play. (More specifically focused on those who want to take on another game than the underdeep poll thread.)

I have an idea for running a game where all players are humans taken out of all periods of history (and perhaps the near future) from anywhere on the globe and placed in a strange city. Initially the "city" is constrained to a single building, but over time areas will mysteriously unlock, granting access to more areas with arcane devices and powerful resources. As a human in the city you'd have to decide whether to cooperate or fight with your fellow abductees while exploring the environment and building a new society.
Mechanics wise, I was thinking that players would have a collection of "resources" and "liabilities" which could range from basic supplies to alien artifacts to irrational concepts. Each would have a section of rules (kind of like a card game), which would clearly state its effects on your resources, other peoples resources, and on npcs.
I imagine running a large number of npcs which would each have an alliance to one of the PCs. Each turn the PC would be able to use the resources of all their allies, but because the resources stay with the npcs, players can compete to win their favor.
Thematically I'm thinking of something like a not-so-sucky version of Lost.

Clearly this concept is loose, and I have more potential ideas, but if people are more interested in running another underdeep game, I'd be happy to run one of those instead. Speak up if you have ideas and a desire to play! I could easily make things more fantasy, more sci-fi, more mystery, or more wargamish.  :ph34r:

EDIT:

Despite some early trepidation, I will be running the game! Here's the rules thread (currently in-progress): http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209841.msg221929.html

Primary Game Thread
Roleplaying Thread

[Magnus Pym]

TMG was about to throw a really cool game that was Asian-inspired. I hope he's still interested.

[Raelifin]

Neat! I didn't mean to step on any toes by offering to run a new game. This thread could also serve to discuss interest for players who might play in his game.

[Xathan]

I think there's now 4 people looking at running a PBP game. I don't see a problem with this: if I ever run my Underdeep inspired game, it just means I'll make the turns longer to give people more time to play in all the different games. :)

[Steerpike]

Mandate of Heaven is one of the things that directly inspired Underdeep.

It's a cool idea, Raelifin.  Tragically I doubt I would have sufficient time to participate, much as I would love to.

I have some other whacky ideas for games along the same lines myself, not that I have the time to run them. (In particular floating around my head is an idea for a game set in a single city, with maps for the different districts and sewers.  You would play as criminals and other underworld elements in this city, with different interests and abilities. Example factions: Wererats (sewer scavengers), Thieves Guilds, Assassin's Guilds, Evil Cults.)

But your idea is pretty fascinating, and strange!  I think you should run what you want to run.

EDIT: Btw I blame Polycarp for the plethora of forum games.  Damn him and his freaking amazing Republic Reborn.

[Raelifin]

Oh man! I had no idea about Mandate of Heaven. Is that still going? The thread says the last post was on Jan 1st.

I fully intent to play what I want to play, but to make things fun I want to hear what other people want to play so that we can be co-inspired. :D

And yes, RR is amazing. I've been having a blast reading it.

[Numinous]

Does it require math?  Also Superheroes!

[Raelifin]

I had no plans for superheroes, but it could totally work! What if everyone started developing powers when they arrive at the city?

I wasn't anticipating any math, but I was anticipating lots of strategy. The upper-end of the math would be lower than Magic: the Gathering, I think. Basically, you have a pool of resources, and then each turn you can use abilities of the resources, but all the abilities and conflicts would be (I think) solved deterministically by rock-paper-scissor and other interesting but non-complex mechanics.

[sparkletwist]

My own personal "if I had the time (and patience) to run a forum game, this would be what I ran" is the concept of a few people with a few minor superhuman abilities and a lot of advanced knowledge ending up in the midst of a very primitive civilization, and having to decide just what they're going to do. Just try to blend in, set themselves up as god-kings, or whatever. This is vaguely similar to the kind of thing you were suggesting, I think, with some Lord of Light or Stargate thrown in there. (I was rooting it in my own Asura setting, naturally)

Or scheming noble houses in some kind of steampunk civilization. That's always good fun. :grin:

[Raelifin]

Hrm. What if the city had native humans that were clearly not of earth and were only at a bronze-age level of advancement despite being surrounded by advanced technology. Kinda stargate-esque but without the world-hopping (after the initial jump).

Players and NPC terrans would be free to come from historical earth, so "advanced knowledge" would depend on the player selecting a character from a more modern period.

Interested in playing? I'm thinking weekly turns, at least to start.

[Rhamnousia]

I'm really digging the idea, Raelfin.

[Raelifin]

Looks like Humabout is starting a new PbP game. At the risk of over-saturating the board I'm gonna put Elysium, City of the Chosen on hold for a bit.
If people are still interested after we see more of Mnemosyne then I'll start Elysium up, but I'd rather his game go well than both of our games to founder from competition.

[LD]

Why not flesh out the rules so that people could choose between the two?

I understand not wanting to step on anyone's toes though.

Personally I have not seen enough of either of these two to know if I am interested.

[Raelifin]

Well, part of the point of this thread is to find out what sort of game people would be interested in, rather than project a set of rules top-down and see whether people dig-em.

I'm waiting to develop them because I'm not convinced that the number of available players is large enough to support both games. I fear that by introducing both at once we'll split things and both get sub-optimal setups.

[Rhamnousia]

Personally, I like the idea of focusing on a central character and their "party". Rather than dealing with huge amounts of production and expenses every turn, the emphasis might be on managing their limited but relatively more powerful resources and their relationships with NPCs. Like a not quite on the scale of wargaming, but a little beyond a single-character RPG. If this sounds a lot like my suggestions for Mnemosyne, then it's only because I'd enjoy playing the same metagame in two totally different settings.

Ideally I'd love to give my attention to all three games: you've somehow managed to hit upon another genre I never see realized, with the Stargate-esque anachronisms and arcane artifacts. Is it "sufficiently-advanced" technology, actual magic, or a mix of both?

Incidentally, I already want to play a preternaturally-unflappable San Bushwoman from the Kalahari.