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[Gatleos]

What happens when the JRPG heroes get too much power? What becomes of the plucky prepubescent protagonists after the adventure is over?

A black storm looms overhead, a permanent scar on the once clear sky that chokes the world below with bloody light and acid rain. The land is torn asunder. The great war between the people of the world and their former saviors had perhaps destroyed all that there had once been to fight for, but the fight had been in vain. The people were but vessels now, their souls fit only for the consumption of their dark gods. Those lucky enough to live outside the death camps themselves lived a lie, their illusion of free will tread upon by the overlords' spies. Their eyes are everywhere. Those that do not comply disappear mysteriously in the night.

A child, draped in ceremonial garb, laughs sweetly to herself as her dead loli eyes stare out over the killing fields. The people were only livestock now, raised to die in the factories. There was no more war; only clean, efficient slaughter. There was no more hate, only misery. Only by draining the XP of the masses could their immortality continue, and the hunger only grew with each feeding. And so it must continue. The blood of the innocent must flow.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

(I also thought about leaving the teacher's roles to different players and have them give me their actions so we can have participation without problems about not knowing who is the one doing the updates).

I think that idea, of the teachers each being a separate (player) GM, interesting. If hard to coordinate. Maybe the players who are teachers have their own storyline going on, and every few turns they have to interrupt it to go teach their class.

[IronyOwl]

So, yeah, I'm currently slowly making Westlands 2, even though I might not run it. I figure I should ask a simple question: Does anyone think it's worth it to put in special attacks for melee character flavor? Or is it a bad idea in some way?

Here's an example of what I've got. I'll likely balance it a bit more once I remember the system I used and/or create a new one, but these are just ideas.

Seems alright. Too many to really focus on, but I'm sure if you were actually using them that wouldn't be an issue.

What about "Roll to be a Badass" or "School of Badass"?

Sounds like it could be very nice. You might give some thought to how advancement and working towards badassery would work, though.

A child, draped in ceremonial garb, laughs sweetly to herself as her dead loli eyes stare out over the killing fields.

Jesus.

[Caellath]

Gatleos got it right. As far as the teacher thing goes, I mean, not the dead loli stuff.

But do not mind what happens after a certain point, I have it all planned. It does not, in any way includes a GM evil laughter.

Would anyone here be willing to act as a teacher and help me orchestrate this clusterfuck school? I offer non-existing cakes for anyone willing to take this path with me. Also, anyone who volunteers to do so gets more free time for their teacher GM.
Just read the 32.767 pages of the contract and sign in your post (what you do out of school as a teacher may bring problems for the school, so please get in trouble).

Ahem, I meant anyone willing to join as a teacher, please report when appropriate, which means as soon as I make up my mind and do not end up wasting a lot of time from people.

Also, I may try to fit in a loose story (NO NOT AGAIN) in it just as a way of supporting the development. As for the badassery advancement, I may have some ideas (meaning ohshitwhatdoIdonow).

[Caellath]

Also, as you can see, I already have two RTDs rolling, I am a novice GM and I had no previous GM experience in RL, so, you are probably asking yourselves "Why should we trust you?"

Well, my friends, I shall answer that question by categorically saying: Well, you shouldn't, but you also do not lose that much if you do. I happen to have a lot of spare time and an imagination as fertile as a pile of the subproducts of the bovines' digestion process.

My vocabulary is also slowly growing to a reasonable size, although it is still not as large as my native language's. Actually pretty far from it, but well, I guess it is a matter of living and learning.

P.S: If I end up creating the "School of Badass", I will probably open the signups during the weekend. Or maybe earlier, it depends mostly on my mood.

[Gatleos]

A child, draped in ceremonial garb, laughs sweetly to herself as her dead loli eyes stare out over the killing fields.

Jesus.

Basically, it's a setting where once great JRPG heroes (all of them sickeningly cute prepubescent anime characters) are consumed by hatred and greed, and abuse their enormous quadruple-digit attack stats to take over the world. They become nightmarish dark gods that feed on the living to sustain their immortality. Their immortality is fueled by XP, which they get by farming the masses in huge, organized death camps. I think it could make a great RtD setting.
Loli + Grimdark = Nightmares

And if it wasn't clear, the child I referred to was one of the wicked immortals. Not actually dead.



As for the Badass School, I had an idea similar to it a long while back. It ended up becoming a forum game no one remembers. One of the ideas I had for it was separate classes, each based on different badass archetypes. You've got a gunslinger, a samurai, whatever you would call John McClane, etc.

[monk12]

I was the one that floated the Ninja School idea, and feel free to do whatever you like with the initial concept- half the reason I threw it out there is because I'm way too busy to run it, but I'd like to play it.

I actually did a little work on the Ninja School mechanics after that, before I got caught up doing other things. One of the concepts I was throwing around was chargeable abilities- charging your abilities often made them more potent, but also meant you weren't charging your other abilities, thus forcing the player to prioritize their stuff based on anticipated encounters and try to ration their charges until they got in a big battle, preventing ability spam. Given the way that was going, I probably would have ended up making Night only give across-the-board charges instead of full recharge. Or maybe subdivided Night into another couple of sections, I dunno.

The following spoiler is what I actually did if you're looking for inspiration.

Spoiler: Ninja Ability Trees (click to show/hide)

Shadow Clones- Chargeable. Makes a number of Shadow Clones equal to the number of charges expended. Shadow Clones are semiautonomous and can be given simple instructions upon creation. Shadow clones have the clothing and equipment of the player, but special items have no effect and none of the special abilities of the player. Shadow clones disappear after a set time or when they are attacked. Improved Shadow Clone allows the clone to make one attack before disappearing, and Master Shadow Clone gives them 1HP, allowing them to live until destroyed or duration ends

Substitution- Chargeable. Allows the player to swap places with a nearby inanimate object. If the player teleports out of line of sight, he is Stealthed. Improved Substitution allows the player to attempt Stealth even if within visual range, and allows Shadow Clones as valid substitution targets. Master Shadow Clone causes the player to be automatically Stealthed for the next action, and may roll to be automatically stealthed.

Flash Step- Chargeable. Causes the player to move incredibly quickly for a brief time, allowing teleportation across short distances. In combat, grants a +1 bonus to attack or dodge. Improved Flash Step allows the player to expend 2 charges for a total +2 bonus (divided as chosen among attack/dodge,) as well as allowing the Ninja to travel across normally impassable surfaces with no penalty. Master Flash Step allows 3 charges for +3

For a general Badass School, you could do something like this within a few different archetypes. The above abilities (or variations thereupon) would be tied to the Ninja/Assassin teacher, Badass Pirate would have piratey abilities, Action Hero/Macguyver stuff, Badass Priest, etc. Whatever flavor you're going for.

EDIT: NINJA! And I would have beat him were it not for the seductive allure of TvTropes!

[Caellath]

Basically, it's a setting where once great JRPG heroes (all of them sickeningly cute prepubescent anime characters) are consumed by hatred and greed, and abuse their enormous quadruple-digit attack stats to take over the world. They become nightmarish dark gods that feed on the living to sustain their immortality. Their immortality is fueled by XP, which they get by farming the masses in huge, organized death camps. I think it could make a great RtD setting.

The idea of heroes abusing their powers in dark ways is always fun to put in perspective.

And if it wasn't clear, the child I referred to was one of the wicked immortals. Not actually dead.

About the loli, I got it. Dead, soulless eyes.

As for the Badass School, I had an idea similar to it a long while back. It ended up becoming a forum game no one remembers. One of the ideas I had for it was separate classes, each based on different badass archetypes. You've got a gunslinger, a samurai, whatever you would call John McClane, etc.

What is the name of the game and, huh does that mean I have high chances of failing? Cool.

Thanks for providing the idea for me to plagiarize, monk.

Also, I guess I'll need more feedback before I dive into this.

[Tiruin]

WALL OF TEXT INCOMING!
Woohoo, fumbling around with mechanics in my head and in Microsoft Word, as well as a flexible plotline.

So, before I mess around more with my plans and my RTD, is the prospect of an RTD where players have a direct effect on the world based on their actions seem alright? As in, there will be missions for the player involving certain aspects of the society they live in, mostly working around the "kill or eliminate this threat" deal, there will be a kind of 'home base' for all the players, both waitlist and current to tend to their wounds and re-equip themselves after every mission. The outcome of everything is set by the actions of the players, maybe ending in the end of the world or a brighter future for the peasantry, it all depends on them.

The time is set in high-fantasy, but magic is truly rare. Now, waitlisters have a chance of switching in with players upon request but only in breaks between missions. Certain NPCs could come in every mission if requested to. Maximum number of players = 5 per mission.

And those missions could either be related to the aforementioned plot, or just by anyone's PM to the maker of the RTD. I'll find a way of putting that in. Now, there is no morality holding any player from doing whatever they want - like killing their fellowmen, but in this certain RTD, death is permanent. You have my word that all rolls are just as how they are determined and not biased in any way. The fact is, the players have no idea on the outside world, being cloistered in their base of training for most of their lives. Only through missions do they get to interact with the world.

Oh, and there will be multiple (three) rolls for complex actions.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: X
Skill: Sabotage and Explosives [+1 to simple and complex rolls that govern explosive weaponry and their handling]
Class: Temple Knight
Personality: Cynical, Loyal
Life: 25/25
Weaponry: Crossbow w/ longbolt ammunition, Broadsword and kiteshield.
Name: Y
Skill: Stealth and Subtlety [+1 to feints in combat or generally sneaking around, not to battle rolls]
Class: Assassin
Personality: Open, Kind
Life: 20/20
Weaponry: Main-gauche and Short sword.
Name: C
Skill: Field Augmentation [Negates any negative rolls from protecting a single target for at most 3 turns of battle, decreases the negative modifier of the group size rolls by 1 (so from 2-3, it will become -1 for starting and holding, 4-5 is -2 for starting and holding...)]
Class: Spellwarden
Personality: Short-tempered, Persevering
Life:15/15
Weaponry: Bastard Sword, Wintersnap Whiskey (Very flammable)
Name: Z
Skill: Physical Finesse [+1 to simple defense rolls]
Class: Assassin
Personality: Arrogant, Confident
Life: 20/20
Weaponry: Short Sword, Throwing daggers strapped to a bandolier
Name: [NPC]
Skill: Honed Reflexes [+1 to simple attack rolls]
Class: Spellwarden
Personality: Cautious, Curious
Life:15/15

Situation: (Infiltrate N and find out more about the strange appearance of the "Pillar of Light")

It was night. A multitude of lights appeared in the heavens, ranging from red to the bright azure hure of blue, pointing out the stars against the light of the crescent moon. The first signs of rain are felt as the group touches down on the parapet of the tower, folding up their gliders after the travel.

As they settle to their surroundings, it seems that their arrival hasn't garnered any attention from the local guardians. From the natural lighting, X can make out a hatch nearby, it is made of Oak, rotted with age.

[NPC] lights a torch with her left hand, pointing out the direction of your goal. "This must surely be the place, I can feel faint traces of energy in the air. I'll be at the rear with all these," she says, gesturing to the folded gliders. With a nod, Y lights up his torch and shields it's side with his other hand while leading the way down through the hatch. Their footsteps are luckily muffled by the cloth padding they all brought along, no echoes are heard as they trudge through the halls. After what seemed to be hours trekking through the ancient hallway, flanked by moss and ever-green flora at all sides, Y spots a light in the distance and whispers to the rest, pointing it out. It appears that this place is actually guarded, despite what Z's guess earlier.

Judging from the light, C can make out about three or four guards, evident by the clanking of iron boots on stone. Their silhouettes giving off a humanoid appearance.

X: Hide behind one of the pillars and shoot the enemy
Y: Feign death, to attract attention away from the others
Z: Sneak attack
C: Follow the group's plan while casting a protective shield around Y
. . .

How the turn may look like:

X drops into a crouch while loading his crossbow and moves over to one of the nearby pillars as Z unsheathes his daggers, following him. C accompanies [NPC] as she snuffs out her torch's light, they shift over to the other side. Y douses his torch by stepping on it and lies prone just a few meters behind the party, with a hand on a nearby rock in preparation.

The Guards turn the corner and for those who choose to look, see three men clad in iron wearing sullen expressions in their patrol. Their only light source held by the middleman, a weakly burning torch. Their leader holds a hand up and squints in the group's direction. He gestures once more and the group follows, slowly unsheathing their blades and grasping their shields, shrugging off their aloofness. They pass the ambush point with no warning of their impending doom, fully interested in the prone figure.

The leader is alarmed but curious upon approaching Y, prodding him lightly with the tip of his blade. Suddenly, the body rises and throws his rock at the torch, taking them with surprise while the force of the blow knocks away the torch with a clatter. The sound of a boot stepping on it follows, leaving the guards in total darkness.

Keeping with the plan, the group rushes the bewildered guards, taking advantage of their helplessness. The lead guard swings his sword blindly at Y, which strikes him in the chest but the sword glances off his body as if made from iron itself. Y counters the strike with his dagger, pushing through the weak iron plating and striking true in the head. The sound of a body hitting the cobblestone floor resounds through the hall. The remaining two are assaulted on both sides by the rest. The first guard raises his shield instinctively, ignoring the blow from C but leaving his other side open to attack in his haste. Which [NPC] strikes with her sword, sparks are seen from steel glancing off the side of his copper-shod cuirass. The force of the blow leaves him dazed however which Y uses to his advantage, striking unseen at the neck, opening the jugular. Even in total darkness, the sound of spurting blood can be heard from the fatal strike.

Beads of sweat form on the last guard's forehead, the sounds around him dampening his morale. He falls to the ground, after being impaled in the back by Z, followed up by the sound of a bolt puncturing the back of the guard's cervelliere.

A few moments pass and silence is the only sound the group can hear. Y lights his torch once more and under the flickering light, the group can see the effects of their ambush. Three dead men with no notable marking.

"Hmph, nothing but ill equipped louts." X says after checking the bodies. With a nod, Y continues the journey deeper down the tower.

A few floors down, C stops the group. Y shines his torch forward and at the end of this hallway, revealing an ornate door in the distance.

I made this up on the fly so couldn't delve deeper into the RTD workings, but this is basically what you may see.

Using lawastooshort's battle mechanics, from Gatleos with a pinch of my own. Busy re-working it with his permission.

. . . Great, this seems like a whole list of rambling. Sorry for that, it's just that I had a plan for an RTD-in-the-making and unsure if it would garner any interest from anyone. I usualy spout every word that seems relevant when nervous, being my first time and having absolutely no experience at all in running an RTD, other than observation.

So, um. Am I overdoing this? Giving an NPC a chance in the mission (as the NPC will have effects in the future, being a waitlister character that may be randomly chosen by the current party)

Tl,dr: Team-based RTD, waitlisters get a chance of having their characters in the mission if the current group chooses so but as an NPC. Responses of the NPC are based on the "Personality". Multiple rolls of 3 may be encountered, most to determine the effectivity of a situation according to the current party's view. Wall of texts are to be expected. This is an RTD that will be constantly updated, I will not give up on it.

Questions
On the Life system, all damage that is going over the defenses of the player would head straight to health. Is rolling a d6 to account for it alright?

I could be planning some sort of Stamina bar or Fatigue bar on the players, that would affect their actions in game and thus, leaning towards reality which may give the waitlisters a chance but would that be too far?

Also, in planning random events, how do people do it?

And thanks for bearing with my overly-long post everyone.

[Caellath]

Count me in already. What about the skill development system?

It is good to see the latest RTDs have been trying to integrate waitlisters. Also, the world-changing actions and morality issues are a must-have! I like to create or take part in a world where my actions really matter. Which takes me back to that village in Arcane Steel where Adrienne (truly) almost sparked a war. If her second roll turned out to be bad once again...Well, you get the idea.

And good luck for you. (Feedback on my idea on top of yours would be appreciated).

[Tiruin]

Skill development? Um, yes. Unsure to that as I'm considering maybe a universal reward from every mission completed. In making a character, players and waitlisters will get to choose from a pre-made list of upgrades like the ones shown. The classes are only for flavor, to tie in with the story, which may or may not have other effects in there. Any class can use any skill.

Edit: Basically a draft of the stamina. It would, maybe, work as an added defense roll when Life is in danger of death (or any damage at all, just state in the action). Life and Stamina are both regenerated out-of-mission, but not in mission without external events.

Have to post mechanics later on, if anyone is alright with it.

[Caellath]

I am not against stamina. My favorite genre is the mix of fantasy with gritty realism. It gets players more wary of what to do, and even magic users should be wary of taking an arrow to the face.

But, huh... I guess Rule of Cool being applied some times could get you more people.

[freeformschooler]

I... man, I want to play that game, Tiruin. It sounds really fun, and I adore the idea of a "hub area" for waitlisters.

The only thing I can say is try not to overthink it because that can sometimes lead to too-complex games that crash and burn quickly.

[Toaster]

Tiruin:  I like it, and am interested in playing it.  Have you checked DH's Nowhere to Run?  They sound a bit similar (though obviously a very different setting.)

[Caellath]

I... man, I want to play that game, Tiruin. It sounds really fun, and I adore the idea of a "hub area" for waitlisters.

The only thing I can say is try not to overthink it because that can sometimes lead to too-complex games that crash and burn quickly.

This. Do not overthink it, I think we should mostly try to learn from our first RTDs, without forgetting fun.

[Dermonster]

I might try it.

Which bodes ill for your plot.