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[TolyK]

Hey, whoever said that? 

[Tarran]

Actually, that statement is completely false. You without a doubt can play in your own game. It's not a very good thing considering you're the GM and you know everything, but still, nothing is stopping you from playing your own game.

PPE: NINJA JERKHAT RAGELOLOL

[Caellath]

Actually, that statement is completely false. You without a doubt can play in your own game. It's not a very good thing considering you're the GM and you know everything, but still, nothing is stopping you from playing your own game.

PPE: NINJA JERKHAT RAGELOLOL

You can always have your in-game avatar, like Tarran's Tarran and piecewise with Steve and the armory master.

[IronyOwl]

You don't get the full experience, though.

[TolyK]

You can run into the wall for the night to make up for the lost experience.
( )

[Caellath]

You don't get the full experience, though.

Yep. I guess it is better than nothing, though.

[Tarran]

You can always have your in-game avatar, like Tarran's Tarran

Heh, yep.

You don't get the full experience, though.

Who needs experience when you can bend reality to your bidding?

More seriously, yes that is a problem. Oh well.

[TolyK]

Фдерщгпрб Ш вщ дшлу ещ ыуьв ьн здфнукы еркщгпр пщв-лтщцы-цруку фтв рфму еруь ыгкмшму ше ыщьурщцююю
_{Err, switch to english...}

Although, I do like to send my players through god-knows-where and have them survive it somehow...

[ExKirby]

So I had brainfart based on a TV show that I watch for reasons that are not apparent to myself: Adventure Time. For those of you who lack the knowledge of what Adventure Time is... Google It™. But seriously, imagine some Bay12 heroes roaming the land of Erm and saving assorted princesses. ...It was funnier in my mind, honestly.

[Spinal_Taper]

I was thinking about doing an internet literature RTD. My Immortal, 40 Hs and The John Freeman chronicles would be the major influences, and it would be about John Freeman (Full life consequences)and Harry Potter (40 Hs) conflicting.

[Skyrunner]

Idea: Five people in a room. They must get out.

Actions are submitted by posting "PM sent." and sending a PM.

... Perhaps incorporating the nightmare room part where what you imagine might become reality.

Spoiler: Spoilerific twist (click to show/hide)

There are only four people that play, though. The fifth is shrouded in mystery and has to PM the GM to do stuff. One of the players is tasked with sabotaging the actions of the others, not necessarily the secret player.

[Tarran]

That sounds interesting (I won't play it, though), though personally I don't really like the idea of PMs. It's less interesting for observers and future readers.

[Skyrunner]

That sounds interesting (I won't play it, though), though personally I don't really like the idea of PMs. It's less interesting for observers and future readers.

That is true...  I can't really post the whole PM (because often the way the person writes tells who's whom), and paraphrasing is rather boring to read... T_T

[monk12]

That sounds interesting (I won't play it, though), though personally I don't really like the idea of PMs. It's less interesting for observers and future readers.

That is true...  I can't really post the whole PM (because often the way the person writes tells who's whom), and paraphrasing is rather boring to read... T_T

Do like Gat did during the prologue of Hero Caddies- don't display what the intended actions were, just tell what the results were.



Anywho, I've been pondering how a more strategic RTD might play out, so I thought I'd write my ideas down and see how stupid they look written out. Intended setting is a low-magic fantasy world- fantasy to allow crazy things to happen with "A Wizard Did It" as justification, low-magic to keep it from being a pain to maintain. It'd be cool to figure magic out, but I'm starting with the nuts and bolts of empire management.

Spoiler: Players/Waitlist (click to show/hide)

The most active "main" players are the Dukes, Duchesses and similar high-ranking nobles of The Empire^tm, heretofore referred to as the PCs. The Empire^tm has recently discovered a new continent full of natural resources and all kinds of good things, as well as waves upon waves of Gnoll tribes. The PCs have received an Imperial Mandate to colonize and exploit the new world, and are allowed to claim land and resources as their own provided they pay tribute to the Emperor. The mechanics of the faction politics will encourage infighting and backstabbery, but if there is too much disunity the Gnolls and other menaces will be able to wipe The Empire^tm off the map.

The PCs aren't just given free reign by The Empire^tm, however- some lands are claimed in the name of the Emperor himself, and there are Imperial forces available to help defend the citizens. The actions of Imperial forces are dictated by the Council of Lords, played by the waitlisters. The Emperor is responsible for making every decision, but since his power is based on the support of the Noble Houses he frequently abides by the decisions of the Council. The germ of this idea was the Sponsor/Driver relationship in my Mario Kart RTD- I've really been digging how it's almost two different games that influence one another in significant ways. What I'd like is for the PCs to be maximizing their wealth/power while the Council is trying to... well, something. Ideally they'd have some mechanical stake in what is happening, but I'm not sure what to do there yet.

Finally, random waitlisters may also "Guest Star" (in the fashion of lawas' Bowinauts) as Megabeasts or Barbarian Hordes. Basically, there will be a table of random events, and if Megabeast or Horde shows up a random waitlister get's to hop in and cause as much havoc as possible. I really like this idea, but it is at odds with the Council having actual impact- as imagined, it'd require me to either make the Council not care at all about what happens in game (making them nosy pricks, which isn't necessarily a bad thing,) or it would require people to choose whether they want to be a Councilman or Monster (which... I'm not sure how that'd play out, whether the lists would be balanced or if everyone would sign up for one and let the other wither.) I'd like to be able to reconcile those, but I haven't yet.

Spoiler: The World (click to show/hide)

The world map is divided into tiles. A tile is revealed when scouts explore (scouting expeditions require gold) or as the result of Random Events. The contents of a tile are determined randomly, and come in two parts- the terrain, and the features. Terrain affects what structures can be built there and what resources can be found there, and may play a role in combat. Features encompass any of a number of things that make a region unique, whether it is natural resources, indigenous people (friendly or otherwise,) defensive positions, magical enchantments, whatever.

Tiles may be improved by PCs or the Empire. Improvements do a variety of things; they may enhance innate properties of the tile, they may be required to extract certain natural resources from the tile, they may provide the Improver with a benefit not strictly related to that tile, and very often they do more than one of those things.

Spoiler: Rough Stats (click to show/hide)

Veeery rough. More of an outline, really.

Each Noble House has a few different stats.

Population is how many citizens owe the House allegiance. Population consumes Food, and produces Coin in the form of taxes. Population is also required to train military units, and is a prerequisite for some Improvements. Population is an aggregate total- where all those people are at any specific point in time isn't terribly important. Population grows as long as Food is positive and the Pop Cap has not been reached. The maximum Population you can have is determined by Improvements.

Happiness is how happy the Population is. If the Population under a House becomes disaffected, Bad Things happen, ranging from lowered tax income to outright revolution. Happiness is raised by certain Improvements and Resources, lowered when Pop is drafted for militia, Pop is starving, or when things get destroyed, and Random Events play merry hell with it.

Food is how much food is produced under the direct control of your House. Food is necessary to maintain your Population, and as such is a valuable strategic asset. Food is produced by certain Improvements and Resources, drained by Pop and Random Events, and can be directly traded between players like Resources.

Coin represents the wealth of the House. Most actions require Coin, and Coin is required to maintain a standing military. Coin is produced by Pop, Improvements and Resources, and drained by military, player action, and Imperial Tribute. Of course, Random Events can mess with this most thoroughly.

Resources are valuable assets at the disposal of the House. They commonly increase one of the other stats, and may be required for certain buildings/units/actions. Resources are normally acquired by building an Improvement in the appropriate tile, and can be traded between players. Resources are never consumed- control of a resource represents control of the supply of that resource, and as long as the supply is maintained the benefit is conferred. The supply line can be mucked with by enemy action or Random Events, however.

Characters are historically significant figures who are associated with the House. They might be minor courtiers, artisans, political allies, generals, or anyone, really. Characters frequently provide some benefit to the House, but may also inflict a drawback in certain situations. Characters are fairly unique, and normally arise as the result of Random Events (although some high-end Improvements encourage Character creation/development.) Once they exist, they have their own life and relationships- they might stay with one House their entire life, leave or be cast off as the result of Events and/or personal relationships, or they might bounce from faction to faction as a mercenary.

Spoiler: Things Players Do (click to show/hide)

In general, players should have the freedom to do what they want (results determined by d6,) but there are many common actions that have established costs and effects. Ideally, there'd be a framework for action cost that could be referred to for individual cases. I haven't dicked around with this much.

Combat- Players indulge in military matters; exactly how this happens is very much TBD

Build Improvement- Players pay Coin to construct and gain control of an Improvement, cost determined by the specific Improvement.

Sign Treaty- Players can initiate diplomatic action, often for trading purposes. The player initiating the trade must use an action to navigate the paperwork and bureaucracy of the Empire- no action is necessary to accept a trade.

Spoiler: Combat and Conflict (click to show/hide)

The Emperor often turns a blind eye to the internecine squabbles of the Noble Houses, only getting involved when the citizenry suffer greatly or when national security is threatened. Houses are also expected to provide the first line of defense for their lands against Gnoll threats and other marauding groups- Imperial Forces are simply too spread out to guard every front.

The specifics of how military might is tracked are something I am still thinking on. I'd like it to at least have a pike>cavalry>archer thing going, hopefully with terrain factored in somehow, but I'd also like it to be more generalized than "these units in this tile." I'm currently mulling a system where Factions control the land itself, which allows their generic Military stat to function like Population in that their specific location isn't super important, but that makes multiple armies impossible. That's something I'd particularly like input on.

Spoiler: Some More Specific Examples (click to show/hide)

These are the kinds of specifics I'm thinking for each category. Not at all fleshed out or balanced.

Improvements

Settlement- Increases Pop Cap by 5
City- Requires Settlement in same tile, Increases Pop Cap by 5
Theater- Requires City in same tile, consumes 1 Coin, produces 2 Happiness
Farm- +2 Food
Manufactory- +1 Coin
Mine- Harvests Metal Resource

Resources

Silver- Requires Mine, +3 Coin
Wheat- Requires Farm, +2 Food

Character

Master Jeweler- Consumes Silver, +2 Coin +2 Happiness

Random Events

Plague
Famine
Character Emergence
Grassroots Exploration
Grassroots Politics
Barbarian Horde
Megabeast

Alright, I'm sleep so I'll stop typing. As you can see, very very very rough right now. I've most recently been cogitating on the Characters aspect- it'd be cool to get a Total War family tree thing going, with characters being associated with either a settlement (as governor) or army (as leader.) Just what I've been thinking lately, imma go to bed nao.

[Tarran]

Do like Gat did during the prologue of Hero Caddies- don't display what the intended actions were, just tell what the results were.

Not displaying the intended actions was the reason I said it was less interesting.