[Early interest check] Bard's Tale: Bad Ends

[Zenkai]

So, I'm slowly easing back from being in Hell to into having more free time. What better way to occupy a few hours per week than run a small game?

To be run in a simple system such as Searchers of the Unknown, but I might be persuaded to use something else. It should be fast-paced, with a single dungeon delve taking no more than a dozen posts or so, using small tactical maps, players joining and leaving the game seamlessly as we go. First comers will get to create the six adventurers who drive the slavegirls through Skara Brae's dungeons. Things should be a little bit tongue-in-cheek, fun, and unapologetically kinky, unless all the players want me to be extra gloomy. Ideally, at least one slavegirl per delve will meet a rather detailed Bad End (tm).

If you've played BT before, you're extra welcome, and expected to abuse your knowledge of the game. ;D

Being the thoroughly impractical kind of person I am, the whole adventure is hosted as a PDF on the Homebrewery, so that's why the screenshot below is here.




Takers? Thoughts?

[Outcast]

Interesting concept, and the rules look nice.  :D

I'm not sure how I'd get on with 'throwaway' characters who might be written out at any moment, but it could be interesting to give it a try....

[Envious]

I'm interested! Are you anticipating the dozen or so posts to be over the span of 1 week? 2?

[Zenkai]

I'd like a fair posting rate, let's say an average of once every other day.

The Bad Ends the characters suffer might provide the motivation for a rescue mission, depending on what happened to the poor slave. Death needn't be permanent - for enough coins, the monks will raise the dead.

[BlackStone]

Tentative interest.  I cannot recall how many hours I spent on Bard's Tale.  That can't Sage stole all my gold, the bastage.  It's payback.

[pdragon]

Are only slave girls allowed? Or could we make slave boys as well?

[Zenkai]

Are only slave girls allowed? Or could we make slave boys as well?

I could accommodate tasty boismale slaves as well.  ;D

[pdragon]

Sweet, then I'd be down to play a male slave tasty boi

[c0i9z]

Also expressing interest.

[Sethala]

Also interested.  Do you have an idea of what kind of bad ends the characters could find?

[Zenkai]

Also interested.  Do you have an idea of what kind of bad ends the characters could find?

I have loads of ideas laid out, but I'll mostly follow player preference. A band of (seven) dwarves might have a peculiar idea of what to do with a captured heroine... A stone statue animated by demonic forces might have altogether different tastes. As there are a variety of enemies and situations, most bases should be covered. Most bad ends will be non-final and reversible, unless the player prefers otherwise. A look at the map provided above should give some ideas. Fans of the game already know that the strongest weapon is a lasso.

[Sethala]

Admittedly, I'm not familiar with the original, so I don't have much context there.  Good to hear you've got a variety of situations for our victims.. I mean, "heroines".

Though I will say I'm perfectly fine with more "permanent" bad-ends, if they come up.  Not saying they have to be forced or anything; I certainly won't complain if they never come up.

[Muse]

I'd very much like to play, please! 

This looks straightforward and fun--just enough system to make me feel the baddies had earned their right to claim my maidenhood.  :P 

[Zenkai]

The rules are more or less ready for your perusal. If you have any suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them. You can start throwing around ideas for your characters and owners.

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ROo-ItG6w1uh

[Sethala]

Looks interesting, I'll have to spend more time reading through all this when I have a moment. 

It looks like we're basically making two "characters", the slave herself and her owner NPC, and the owner's class determines what the slave can do, is that right?  And, you mentioned before we might want to make multiple slave girls in case one hits a bad end?  If so, would they all be the same owner, or can they be different owners?

[Zenkai]

Yes, you got it right. There should be one owner per class, so once they're all created no more will join the roster. You can pick and choose another owner each time you restart. One slave should be enough for now.

[Muse]

  Wait, we're playing the owners too?  Awesome, I didnt catch that? 

[c0i9z]

My understanding is that we create our character's owner, but don't play them.

[Muse]

Oh, I see.  :)  Our character's class features come from the class of our Master? 

[Zenkai]

Oh, I see.  :)  Our character's class features come from the class of our Master?

That's right. "Magic" abilities and some roleplaying goals are provided by the owners, but after you create them they are essentially NPCs.

[Sethala]

So it sounds like we should make sure everyone's ok with any details we make for the owners, yes?

I have a rough idea for the monk owner, if this sounds good for everyone.  She enjoys ritual aesthetics and meditation, and practices such with her slaves in the form of rope bondage, particularly shibari.  Her slaves train as such, with parts of their body bound, and toughen their bodies by doing so completely nude.  This extends even into dungeon delving; her slaves are often bound in some way even before starting the delve.  (My slave character would have her arms bound behind her back, but if other players make a slave under her, they might be bound in different ways.)

[Zenkai]

Sweet. Note that being tied in a karada would qualify as well while leaving the arms free

[pdragon]

Owner Idea

Full Body

Name: Syn Jumastra
Class: Wizard: Her slave may turn one enemy into an obedient slave, or summon a demon (the demon will have to be paid later on…) once per delve.
Appearance: 6'5 320lbs. A tall and robust futanari. Even without her magic she is an imposing figure, towering over most with a curvaceous figure thickened by her decadent lifestyle. While technically human, her ringed eyes and protruding horns give away the demonic power she's tainted herself with.
Bio: A hedonistic summoner, originally part of a cult dedicated to conjuring demons and unleashing them onto the world. However as her powers grew she realized that instead of just releasing the demons to do what they wished, she could actually bind and control them, harnessing their power for her own. She also realized that there were much better long term prospects in being a hero than a villain, and so she sold out her fellow cult members and rebranded herself as a demon tamer instead. Now she travels the world capturing and enslaving supernatural creatures wherever they rear their heads, further adding to her own demonic power, all while getting paid and revered for it!
Gimmick: All of Syn's slaves are low level demons or supernatural creatures she has personally bound to her servitude. Great for those who want to make non-human characters. She's also very lazy when it comes to her slaves, usually renaming them something incredibly simple based on whatever trait happens to jump out at her (a color, feature, race, etc.), and making them do the majority of her work for her, even outside of dungeons.

First Slave

Full Body

Name: Lavender
Appearance: 5'3 130lbs. An effeminate lesser demon, barely any bigger or stronger than an imp. He has rich purple skin (thus his name), wavy raven hair, glowing yellow eyes, and slender black horns rising from his head. With his beautiful face, slender build, and curvy hips he is easily mistaken for a female, especially by dumb horny monsters simply looking for an open hole to fill (but that's enough about his mistress).
Bio: One of the many lesser demons conjured by Syn after she first went solo. While she was initially just practicing to summon a more powerful demon, Lavender happened to catch her eye, and her dick, so she decided to keep him. For a while he was considered one of her most prized slaves, but in recent months she's started to grow bored of him. As such she's decided to start sending him into dungeons to wring some last bits of amusement out of him before either setting him free or leaving him to whatever fate befalls him.

stats

Name: Lavender
Owner: Syn Jumastra (Wizard)
Level: 1
HP: 2
AC: 9 (silk wrappings)
Starting Skills: Magic & Religion
Equipment:
-Claw Gauntlet x2 (slashing)
-Knife
-Flaks of Oil
-Torches and Flint
-Thieves Tools

[Sethala]

Sweet. Note that being tied in a karada would qualify as well while leaving the arms free

True.... but that does defeat the purpose of coming up with an excuse for an adventurer to intentionally go into the dungeon already tied up :P  (Up to you if it would be mostly for theme, a straight debuff, or some kind of partially-benefiical "stance" that gives her something extra as long as she takes the penalty for being tied up.)

[Zenkai]

True.... but that does defeat the purpose of coming up with an excuse for an adventurer to intentionally go into the dungeon already tied up :P  (Up to you if it would be mostly for theme, a straight debuff, or some kind of partially-benefiical "stance" that gives her something extra as long as she takes the penalty for being tied up.)

since she trains like this, no penalty apart from the looks and attention ;)