I'd totally IN that, but with the caveat that it should have a strict timetable for races so they don't drag along. Perhaps a 24 hour window, with the expectation that if you don't submit an action, you default to defensive driving or somesuch. Certainly allow actions in advance if you expect to be away.
Between race turns would be slower and allow everyone in, since they're more important to the game as a whole.
Assuming a 5 segment track, and assuming nobody breaks away to complete multiple segments in one turn, a 3 lap course would take ~15 turns to resolve a single race. Having spent some more time investigating the different tracks on the MK Wiki, it looks like 5 is a good average size for tracks (maybe more like 6,) and I think 15 turns per race is a reasonable thing. The default "defensive driving" action is a good idea, so I think I will roll with the 24 hour posting window during races. Not sure how important not-racing turns are going to be though, we'll see.
Yesterday I spent cogitating on the race rules I posted that night, and today at work I invested my time in Metagame Shenanigans.
Characters have 5 associated stats- Points, Fame, Coin, Crowns, and Cups. Points are earned in races, are indicative of career racing achievement and are used for qualification purposes. Fame is similar to Points, but is much more difficult to earn, can be lost through misdeeds or poor PR, and is useful in different situations. Coin represents the finances of the character- Coin is used to enter races, improve Karts, and perform certain other actions. Unlike the other stats, a player's Coin supply is hidden by default. Crowns are earned for winning a race, and Cups are the most prestigious award available.
Each character drives a Kart- by League Rule, each Kart is standardized for competitive balance, and any offenders caught in violation of these rules are subject to heavy fines. Of course, caught is the operative word there...
Drivers start play with a base Kart and 5 Coin. The rules allow each Kart to be augmented with ONE Module per race- a player may own any number of Modules, but only one may be installed for each race. Modules, unfortunately, are inherently unique, unstable, and react unpredictably with Karts. When you buy a Module, you may choose the Benefit- however, there is always a randomly associated Hiccup that is permanently tied to that Module. Modules cannot be resold, although they can be traded between Players.
Some special races allow more than one Module to be used, but some villainous drivers cheat, using multiple Modules even in Races that prohibit such skullduggery. The specific method of cheating varies- sometimes the driver simply bribes the inspection official for 5 Coin, and sometimes the driver's sponsor uses its corporate leverage in exchange for... extracurricular activities. More information on sponsors in the Setting tab.
Benefits
Item Bonus- Cost 3 Coin, Karts with an Item bonus get +1 on Item Rolls.
High Acceleration- Cost 3 Coin, Karts with high Acceleration get +1 Momentum any time they start a turn with Zero Momentum. This applies at the start of a race, before Rocket Starts.
Free Item- Cost 3 Coin, driver starts race with an item. The Item Roll to determine what item they start with is made with no bonus, even if another Module has the Item Bonus Benefit.
Compensator- Cost 3 Coin, cancels out a Hiccup.
Rubber Band Forward- Cost 3 Coin, gives a +2 bonus to avoid Falling Back
Speedy- Cost 3 Coin, allows a maximum Momentum of 6 (normally 5)
Ramming Speed- Cost 5 Coin, provides +1 on Ram Checks.
Nitrous- Cost 5 Coin, gives ONE Momentum on a successful Powerslide in addition to other effects.
Highly Maneuverable- Cost 5 Coin, gives a +1 bonus on Driving Aggressively.
Hiccups
Featherweight- -1 on Ram Checks.
Low Loot- -1 on Item Rolls.
Slow- This Kart's Maxiumum Momentum is 4 (standard is 5)
Banana Magnet- This Kart suffers an additional -1 penalty to avoid Bananas.
Rubber Band Back- Racing Checks made to Pull Ahead take a -1 penalty
Sticky Wheel- When Driving Aggressively, a roll of 2 results in the loss of ONE Momentum
Not Aerodynamic- When Drafting, you must have higher Momentum than the Kart ahead of you.
Races occur in tournaments of four related races known as a Grand Prix- the first three are intended as qualifying races for entry to the fourth, the Cup event. The first race is the Underdog Open, populated by drivers with the fewest points (starting with rookies.) The second race is the Crown Invitational, populated by drivers with the highest Fame. The third race is the Comeback Open, with dibs going to the racers who haven't been able to compete for the longest- if every driver has participated in the current Prix, then precedence goes to fewest points. The winners of the first three qualifiers are automatically entered into the Cup race, two slots go to drivers with the most career Points, and the final slot goes to whoever has the highest Fame of the remaining drivers.
Rewards for Standard Race
1st- Crown, 3 Coin, 2 Fame, 9 Points
2nd- 2 Coin, 1 Fame, 7 Points
3rd- 1 Coin, 5 Points
4th- 3 Points
5th- 1 Point
6th- Consolation Non-abrasive Tissue
A Cup does not cost any Coin to enter, and the Coin and Fame rewards are doubled.
While most Prix use the standard rules, some may use alternate rules, allowing more powerful Karts, teams, or other quirks.
Kart Racing was once the national past time of the Mushroom Kingdom, but in recent years it has exploded in popularity. Globalization of the sport has drawn involvement from many different corporations seeking to put their product before the greatest number of viewers. The sponsorship deals resulting from increased corporate involvement have greatly fueled the growth of the sport, allowing races to be conducted more frequently in ever more exotic locales. However, competition between the different sponsorship groups has greatly complicated the races and opened the door for involvement by criminal syndicates such as
Team Rocket or the infamous
Bounty Hunter's Guild.
All of this extracurricular activity has made the lives of the drivers more difficult. Few drivers can afford to pay the bills purely on the strength of their winnings. Drivers that accept sponsorship deals receive a guaranteed income, but are held to higher standards, and may be required to perform flashy maneuvers in the middle of a race to boost ratings, even in defiance of tactical sense. Drivers who agree to drive for Team Rocket or other shadowy organizations may find themselves required to perform... less than legal activities on the track. Drivers strapped for cash are often approached by the Bounty Hunter's Guild, who always have an underhanded mission to perform on behalf of the quarreling sponsorship groups. Bribery and corruption is rampant in the Prix, but the show must go on.
To land a sponsorship deal, a player must have competed in at least one race. Between events, a player with Fame may make a Sponsorship Check modified by their Fame score- on a success, they are offered terms of a sponsorship deal to accept or decline. The quality of the sponsor and the terms of the deal are determined by the degree of success of that Check.
A player cannot publicly ask around for information on bounties without risking loss of Fame. A player asks by PMing the GM, and a Secrecy roll is made- if the player critically fails, their attempt at skullduggery is revealed to the world. The Bounty Hunter's Guild will often approach drivers on their own initiative- when this happens, they never run the risk of being found out.
Having slept on it, I've made a few minor changes:
Blue Shells now hit at the end of the following Action Phase, rather than the following Cleanup Phase.
Item Rolls get a +1 Bonus to Players that have Fallen Behind.
Rocket Start rules are updated so only Critical Fails receive no Momentum.
Specified that course hazards hit at the start of the Movement Phase.
Specified that Dragged items can be used at any time without using an action, however, they MUST be used before deploying another item.
Right now, I feel the metagame "as she is played" is a bit underdeveloped. I'd like to have better reasons for Sponsors/Bounties to provide, shall we say, "alternate objectives." Right now it's a bit arbitrary, and if I roll like it is now I'll probably have targets be the result of a random roll. My brain has been kicking around an idea where the different Sponsors all have their own little ranking derived entirely from the performance of the drivers they sponsor, and that would inform Sponsor actions, but I haven't worked it out to a place I like. Maybe sponsors get to choose where the next Prix is held... Any thoughts here are appreciated.
As far as the actual bounties, right now I'm thinking of two different methods of handling everything. One, I use existing mechanics to frame bounties- this would mean that the worst a bounty could do is make one person keep trying to ram another off the track, which is annoying but feasible. In this case bounties would be paid out if the target finishes in the bottom half of the leaderboard, with a bonus if they come in dead last. The plus side is that bounties are less annoying to the target, but less significant in story terms and harder to accomplish in any meaningful way.
The other option is to add mechanics for Karts to wreck. This would probably get generalized so it would happen during play- for example, a 1 on a dodge would result in damage to the Kart (inflicting a debuff for the rest of the race.) The bounty payout would probably happen if the headhunter inflicted damage, or it might require follow-up action to force the target out of the race entirely. I'm also undecided if this would lead to situations where the player can attempt to stop and fix the problem on the track, or if repairs would only happen during the Metagame (at the cost of Coin.) The plus side is that bounties are actually a thing that matters during a race, but the downside is that the target might feel hassled. We'll see if I get any bright ideas one way or another, and if y'all have input give a holler!
I also hope the Module system A) Makes Sense and B) is Balanced. Most of the reason the Module system exists is because shady organizations can't break the rules if there are no rules to break, and Kart enhancement is an obvious one. Again, I'd like there to be more ways Sponsors can influence a match apart from scandal-drama and random objectives (e.g "whatever you do, beat character X" or "show the power of our product by Ramming X times.") In general, bounties and alternate objectives are things where there probably won't be more than one active during a given race, especially if I don't come up with more variety for them.
But yeah, I think I'm going to run this thing. I decided to accept pre-ins as the competitors in the first race. In essence, there isn't really a waitlist, merely a pool of players who aren't racing right at this moment. It's almost a Mario Kart Persistent World, to my sleep-deprived brain, anyway. The way it is set up now I think every player should have the opportunity to qualify for a given Cup, unless this gets ridiculously popular.
I think I'll give everything another look tomorrow, incorporate any bright ideas you folks have, polish up the rough edges and start the thread.
1- Yoink
2- Gatleos
3- Toaster
4- Scelly9
5- Nicholas1024
6- ExKirby
Rookie- 10ebbor10