Prepping - [System] Maid RPG

Started by Treehouseroleplayer, May 21, 2012, 04:25:45 AM

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Treehouseroleplayer

Maid RPG
In short, it's not just you. Maid RPG is weird in Japan too. -Ewen Cluney, English translator for Maid RPG.


So, I was trolling TV-Tropes one day and came across the page for this little beauty of a system. I've never been particularly enamored with the maid fetish or most anime inspired RPG systems but when I saw this, it just jumped out at me. This was too quirky and fun looking to pass up. Within an hour of reading the TV tropes page and some of the text on the official English website, my curiosity was piqued enough to pay the $6.00 USD price of admission for the online PDF at Indie Press Revolution I spent an afternoon reading the sourcebook and not only came away from it rather entertained (It's rather humorously written), but also somewhat impressed with the system itself. Character creation and core rules are very simple and easy to learn, (I believe the claim the author makes about being able to start playing with a group of brand new players in fifteen minutes), the extended rules are interesting, modular, and not particularly complicated, and the game is flexible with three different types of play and a wide variety of settings, and tones for the game to take (although it certainly errs heavily on the side of light romantic, slapstick comedy).

Let's be clear though, this in mainstream culture would be considered a weird game. In a lot of anime and roleplaying culture it would be considered a quirky game at best. The game is about exactly what it says on the tin. The PCs all play (feminine) maids in the service of a GM controlled master in a mansion. There are mechanics such as favor points for making the master happy which can be spent in various ways, stat penalties for removing or damaging maid uniforms, stress points for failure which result in a "stress explosion" when critical levels are reached, etc. However, I think the majority of players here on E who are interested in anime and it's tropes wouldn't find the game or it's mechanics too off-putting. The relationship between the master and the maids at first sounds like it would be very dom/sub, and although that is possible, it certainly isn't required or even how it usually works out. There are rules/examples in the book for inter-maid romance as well for those who would be interested.

The game occupies a kind of weird place in terms of sexuality. The translator seems to try to downplay anything past the "PG-13" level, but I think the more sexual elements that are usually glossed over in the book could make for an interesting game here on E. Of course, the game could occupy any level of sexuality the players were comfortable with, I tend to prefer fewer more significant sex scenes in my general roleplaying, but this game could comfortably fit many different levels. It would work just as well in a game with no/glossed over sex as it would where it's all over the place.

Character Creation
Character creation is very simple and a fun part of the game. There are 8 very simple steps, depending on the GM and your own personal preferences, you may reroll anything you wish as many times as you wish (aside from attributes in step one) or simply just choose traits directly from the tables. However, a good part of the fun of this system is generating your character and then roleplaying the results. Additionally, the GM may restrict certain options to keep the game within certain limits.

Because so much of character creation is based heavily on big tables, having an access to a copy of the book will make this much easier. The PDF is DRM free and only $6, and the book is an entertaining enough read to justify the cost even if you don't play. If you want, I could probably send you a copy, but I do ask that if you decide to play either in a game here or anywhere else that you end up buying a copy (this is basically what the creator encourages).

1. Roll Attributes for your character
Roll 2d6 and divide by 3 (round down) for each of your six attributes, they are Athletics, Affection, Skill, Cunning, Luck, and Will. In play, the core mechanic for resolving conflict is to roll a d6 and multiply it by the relevant attribute. Much of gameplay then is maneuvering situations around so that you can use attributes your character is strongest in.
2. Determine Maid Type
Roll 1d6 twice to determine your character's two maid archetypes. Apply bonuses and penalties as appropriate, if a penalty would reduce your attribute to below zero, set it to zero. Note that a character with a score of zero will always fail checks in that attribute.
3. Determine Maid Colors
Roll 1d66 (two D6s, one is the 10s digit, one is the 1s digit, for a total of 36 possible results.)  This will determine the two colors of your character's maid uniform. Optionally, you may also use this to determine character eye and hair color.
4. Determine Special Qualities
Roll 1d66 and then another d6 for any relevant sub-tables twice for two special qualities. These special qualities can range from anything from wearing glasses, to being a secret princess, to notable accents.
5. Maid Roots, Stress Explosion, and any optional tables
Roll 1d66 for each table above. Other tables if the GM includes them are maid weapons, traumas, and other such optional rules. Maid roots describe in very general terms why your character is a maid, from doing it for money, to returning a favor, to infiltrating the mansion in hopes of spying or killing the master. Stress explosions include things like drinking until your character forgets, violence, shopping, etc.
6. Choose Maid Powers
Find your character's highest attribute, and roll 1d6 on the corresponding Maid Power table. If your highest attribute is tied with another, you may choose which table. If the sum of all your attribute scores is nine or less, you may choose a second power. Maid powers include the ability to declare your character has seen other events in the mansion, cook food for other characters to relieve stress, etc.
7. Calculate Spirit and starting Favor
Your character starts with two times their Affection score in favor. Their spirit is equal to ten times their Will score.
8. Choose your character's name and age
Determine these as you see fit. This is also where you flesh out your character from the traits, attributes, roots, etc. that you rolled up.

Optional Rules and tweaks I am considering
-Seduction rules - Either tweaked or omitted.
-Adding a blanket +1 to all character attributes after finalizing character creation. This would prevent characters from starting with 0 favor or 0 spirit and ensures that there is no check that is outright impossible.
-Butler rules - Undecided, leaning towards a no on this one.
-Game type - For an initial game, considering a short favor race/random events game, but eventually a scenario driven game would be fun.

Overall though I am very open to what people may want to do with this, I'd just really like to get one or more games using this system started on E. I think it's a great system that mixes structure with freeform in a concept that I think would mesh quite well here. I highly encourage people to check out the website, take a look at the PDF and let me know if these seems like a fun system. It's also a simple enough system that even if you've never played a system game before, I am confident you will have no trouble picking it up. If there's enough interest in the general system and idea, then we can start talking specifics.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Sethala

I am definitely interested in the game.  I don't think the blanket +1 to everything is needed though; starting with a really low stat is easy enough to fix, and makes the game more interesting.

NatalieB

I'd be fairly interested if it sticks to a short, pre-defined thing.  First one to however many favour or whatever.  From reading, it sounds like it might get a bit tedious if it became a super long running thing.

Meliai

Haha, a friend and I came across a random character generator for this game a while back and and wasted a few hours giggling over it and making goofy characters. I had no idea it was a real system!

I haven't been watching much anime these last few years but I think I'm familiar enough with the tropes in play here. Sounds fun, count me in :-)
    {{A/As updated 5/8}}           

NatalieB

Ha, great find:




QuoteYour name is Me. You are 19 years old. You have rainbow eyes and pink hair, and wear a blue maid uniform. You are very cool; others describe you as doll-like, unflappable and expressionless.

You are exceptionally quiet, with a cool, subtle demeanor. You have long, pointed, elfin ears. You are a vampire, with long fangs, pale skin, an aversion to light and an insatiable appetite. You fled your real home without permission. You are part of a secret agency under the government as an intelligence agent or spy.

Although you are only distantly related to the master, your parents have put you in his care. In combat, you have some kind of weapons installed in your body which you use to attack. When you are extremely upset, you use anything you can lay your hands on to run around destroying things around the mansion. Due to your notable Skill, you have the ability 4-D Dress. You can produce anything in the mansion from within your maid uniform

Treehouseroleplayer

Three interested people isn't too bad, I'm hoping to get a total of four or five players for lots of opportunity of inter-character interaction (I'd honestly feel a bit self-concious if it was all about the master!) but I'll start looking at some some of the shorter scenario ideas since that is the type of play that appeals the most to me.

What kind of tone would you all prefer? I was thinking light and romantic-comedyish but with at least a little bit of character development. It's up to you all though, either way, I was thinking we'd run a short first game as sort of a pilot, see if we enjoy the system, and if it works out, work on a longer game afterwords.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Meliai

I think a romantic comedy sort of tone would work well with this game, if the short "pilot" story works out well we can always try out something different in a later game.

Quick question: When rolling attributes are they assigned in the order they were rolled (i.e. your first roll is your athletics score, second is affection, etc) or can you shuffle them around?
    {{A/As updated 5/8}}           

Treehouseroleplayer

I think it would depend on the type of game, for a more silly random game, I'd say take them as you roll them, but I personally don't have any issues with swapping them around. What does everybody else think?
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

who149

I think I might be interested. Since this is very Random I'll do my Rolls first then come up with a character.

1. Character Attributes
Athletics: 2 (rolled 5, 3: 8)
Affection: 2 ( 1, 5 : 6)
Skill: 1 (3, 1 : 4)
Cunning: 1 (3, 2: 5)
Luck: 3 (5, 6: 11)
Will: 3 (3, 6: 9)

2. Maid Type
4 - 4 (I don't have the book or a PDF at the moment, so you'll have to tell me what this means)

3. Maid Colors
54

And I think I'll need to see the tables too do the rest. I'll find a PDF sometime today and finish this. It looks interesting though *nods*



Been away, now i'm back. Updated based off changes in my life.

Ons and offs!

Treehouseroleplayer

#9
4 is the 'Cool' type which is described as "Composed, expressionless, unflappable, doll-like", as you rolled it twice that means your character is truly cool and thus doubles the bonus and penalty. In this case +2 to skill and -2 to affection.

The color is Gray.

Edit: For anybody reading the sourcebook, try not to read any of the scenarios presented for now, particularly any of the random event tables.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Sethala

How I've always run character creation is, you can assign the attributes however you like, but you assign them before rolling for maid type.  For the special qualities, you can look at the table and use the dice in either order (so, if you roll a 3 and a 5, normally that's 35, but for the qualities you can swap it and use 53 instead.)  That way the characters are still random, but you can at least avoid certain qualities you don't want.

Treehouseroleplayer

Sensible recommendations from Sethala.

Alright, I think I have chosen the scenario I will use. It should be short and fun, provides both a male lead and a female lead, and how romantic or sexy it gets will be left to you guys and I would highly encourage any players who would be uncomfortable with FxF to let their preferences be known, as I support and in fact whole-heartedly encourage inter-PC romances.

The setting will be an exclusive private high school and nearby villa, so you may wish to plan your characters around this. Also,  if anybody is on the fence about getting the book, I think we could actually play without it (Although I still highly recommend it!), just send me the following rolls with appropriate comments and I'll PM you the results, for Special Qualities I will send you the swapped option as well.

Your abilities
2d6 Maid Types
2d6 Maid Colors (Uniform)
2d6 Maid Colors (Hair - Optional)
2d6 Maid Colors (Eyes - Optional)
2d6 Stress Explosion
2d6 Maid Roots
3d6 Special Quality 1 (the third D6 will be for any sub-tables)
3d6 Special Quality 2
2d6 Maid Power (the second one will only be used if the sum of your modified attributes come out to 9 or less)
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Sethala

I should point out that all of those should be d66 instead of 2d6 (d66 = rolling two dice, using one as the tens and one as the ones).  So he needs both dice, not just the total, and in order.

Meliai

#13
full sheet a few posts below!
ATTRIBUTES:


   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:
1   
2
3
3
2
2
-1
+1
0
-1
+1
0
     0
     3
     3
     2
     3
     2

MAID TYPES:
    Lolita (luck +1, athletics -1) - Childish, young, innocent, cute, sweet
    Pure (affection +1, cunning -1) - Pure, maidenly, clean, fragile

COLORS:
    Uniform: Navy
    Hair: Pink
    Eyes: Sky

STRESS EXPLOSION:
    Alcohol - You drink alcohol until you can’t remember or care.

MAID ROOTS:
    Unrequited Love - Following your one-sided love of the master, you have come here.

SPECIAL QUALITIES:
    Shapeshifter - Bunny - You’re actually a bunny, with long ears and a tail.
    Former Delinquent - Although no one would know it looking at you now, you used to be a delinquent. Fortunately right now there’s no one (in the mansion at least) who knows about your past.

MAID POWER:
    Teleport - You can go just about anywhere in the mansion instantly

FAVOR: 6
SPIRIT: 20

All done I think, except for the fluff (which I'm going to wait on until we know a bit about the setting/master/mistress/mansion.) Also, I just want to share this image that I found while looking or a character picture:



Seems oddly appropriate for this game.
    {{A/As updated 5/8}}           

Treehouseroleplayer

#14
(Still working on this post, editing in a bio for the master and a more thorough description of the setting, including the school and mansion, but I wanted to give you guys something. Stay tuned.)

Alright, some more details on the scenario, setting and a basic stat-block for the master.

edit: if people wish, I can bump the master's age up to 18 and make him a third year, but it'll take a wee bit of reworking behind the scenes.

Operation Love Academy!
The Master has recently transferred to Richmond Academy, an exclusive high school in Japan attended by students from affluent families. Although the Master has always been rather shy and found it difficult to make friends, he was excited for the change and was eager to start at the academy. At first things seemed to go well for the Young Master, but as summer break approaches, he appears to be growing more and more morose as the days pass. Although he has always been a morning person, he is sluggish to get up and get ready for school, he comes home despondent, and although he has always enjoyed a fairly close personal relationship with his maids and other staff, he seems to have been distant lately.

The Master
(I really like Meliai's formatting, so I'm going to steal it.)

Ryuuji Sugimoto (Age 17/Second Year [Think Junior]/Male)

ATTRIBUTES:


   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:
0   
2
1
0
1
2

MASTER TYPE:
     Legitimate Child N/A - The Master is still a child Young Adult. He’s just starting to understand his power.

FAVORITE MAID TYPE:
    Unknown

COLORS:
    Hair: Brown
    Eyes: Blue

STRESS EXPLOSION:
    Seclusion (cutting school) - You go into your room and won’t come out, not even for food.

SPECIAL QUALITIES:
    Glasses - You wear glasses, and can’t use contact lenses. The frame design can be whatever you want, and this can include a monocle.
    Shy - You’re very shy. Don’t forget to remain silent when encountering NPCs you haven’t met before.
FAVOR: N/A
SPIRIT: 20

The Mistress?

????? (Age ??/Occupation ??/Female)

ATTRIBUTES:


   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:
2   
2
1
1
3
2

MASTER TYPE:
     Aristocrat N/A - This person was born to be the master of the house. Regardless of age, (s)he has excellent self-control.

FAVORITE MAID TYPE:
    Unknown

COLORS:
    Hair: Blonde
    Eyes: Purple

STRESS EXPLOSION:
    Crying - You go into your room and won’t come out, not even for food.

SPECIAL QUALITIES:
    Artist (Music) - You wear glasses, and can’t use contact lenses. The frame design can be whatever you want, and this can include a monocle.
    Unknown -Unknown
FAVOR: N/A
SPIRIT: 20

Some additional optional/house rules we will be using:
-Tweaked seduction rules: Seduction checks will not be necessary, but if I as the GM deem one character to be infatuated enough with another character, I will consider them 'seducted' for the purpose of game mechanics. I will also hand out favor points accordingly to 'seduced' characters instead of the 'seductor'. This is because I would like PCs to have the opportunity to fall in/out of love through the basis of role-play alone, with a basic sanity check so that two PCs can't just seduce each other and then grind favor points.
-Abstracted comforting rules: I will just hand out stress point reductions as I feel appropriate for role-playing, although I might have relevant players make an affection check or some such.
-Random Events: As per normal game rules, PCs may spend 1d6 favor to force a random event to occur. However, this may only happen once per character per game day, and at most 3 random events in any given day. Random events will be mostly rolled from the Romance/Light-Hearted tables, but some of them I may tweak the specifics of or replace entirely.
-Complexes: optional. You may add them to your character if you wish and have access to the relevant tables. If you elect to do so, you may add one point to an attribute of your choice, provided it does not raise it above 4.  Keep in mind that if an opponent knows about your complex, they get a bonus to checks against you if they can take advantage of it.
-Traumas: eh. If you would like to add one and you are confident it won't bring the game to AIR or Grave of the Fireflies levels of sad, go ahead.
-I decided against the blanket +1 bonus to attributes at character creation.

Overall, my goal is to run this with an emphasis on freeform with the supporting structure and randomness of having it attached to a system. The dice will be here to serve the story and humor, not the other way around.

Meliai's character sheet for copying her formatting if you so wish:

[b]ATTRIBUTES:[/b]
[table]
[tr]
[td][b]   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:[/b][/td]
[td]1   
2
3
3
2
2[/td]
[td][right]-1
+1
0
-1
+1
0[/right][/td]
[td][b]     0
     3
     3
     2
     3
     2[/b][/td][/tr][/table]

[b]MAID TYPES: [/b]
    [b]Lolita [/b][i](luck +1, athletics -1)[/i] - Childish, young, innocent, cute, sweet
    [b]Pure[/b] [i](affection +1, cunning -1)[/i] - Pure, maidenly, clean, fragile

[b]COLORS:[/b]
    [b]Uniform:[/b] Navy
    [b]Hair:[/b] Pink
    [b]Eyes:[/b] Sky

[b]STRESS EXPLOSION:[/b]
    [b]Alcohol[/b] - You drink alcohol until you can’t remember or care.

[b]MAID ROOTS:[/b]
    [b]Unrequited Love[/b] - Following your one-sided love of the master, you have come here.

[b]SPECIAL QUALITIES:[/b]
    [b]Shapeshifter[/b] - [i]Bunny[/i] - You’re actually a bunny, with long ears and a tail.
    [b]Former Delinquent[/b] - Although no one would know it looking at you now, you used to be a delinquent. Fortunately right now there’s no one (in the mansion at least) who knows about your past.

[b]MAID POWER:[/b]
    [b]Teleport[/b] - You can go just about anywhere in the mansion instantly

[b]FAVOR:[/b] 6
[b]SPIRIT:[/b] 20
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Sethala

Sounds like some good ideas for the system.  I've always thought the idea of multiplying the roll by your attribute was a good way to make sure games stayed crazy and unpredictable.

(Speaking of crazy and unpredictable, a neat anecdote: I first played the game at GenCon.  In the middle of the session, Andy Kitkowski, one of the guys responsible for translating and localizing the game, showed up to hand an autographed copy of the book to the GM.  He had been using a tablet to look up the PDF while playing, since at the time the print copies of the book were sold out.)

Anyway, too tired to think up fluff at the moment, but my character:

Athletics: 0
Affection: 4
Skill: 3
Cunning: 3
Luck: 2
Will: 1

Maid Types: Sexy, Pure

Maid Colors: Uniform: Orange; Eyes: Gold; Hair: Vermillion

Special Qualities: Overactive Imagination, Princess

Maid Roots: Unrequited Love

Stress Explosion: Mischief

Maid Weapon: Hammer

Maid Power: World for Two

Treehouseroleplayer

#16
Oh dear, two maids with unrequited love backgrounds, this could be interesting, ha.

Two more rule things I forgot to mention, if you wish to take a complex, then note that you have taken one on your character sheet, but you don't need to specify what it is publicly yet. Secondly, for effects that are listed in real time in the rulebook, just eyeball it since forum time can be a bit more stretchy then real time.

Also Sethala, since you have experience with the game feel free to PM me and interject any ideas, suggestions, corrections, etc. Also, if you're familiar with the scenario, you could very easily play the male master using the PC Master rules if you so wished. I am quite happy either way though!

Still working on more setting details, will post it in a new post when ready. For those who aren't familiar with the book, for many of the scenarios the level of detail given is different from what you might expect from a western tabletop game. Elements of the plot tend to be highly structured and fairly detailed, but generic setting and implementation details are often left rather vague. For example, the mansion gets maybe an adjective worth of description in this scenario whearas the school gets about a sentence, so I'm creating them from scratch.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

who149

#17
ATTRIBUTES:


   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:

2
1
1
3
3
0
-1
+2
1
3
3
     2
     1
     3
     1
     3
     3

MAID TYPES:
    Coolx2(Affection-2, Skill+2) - Composed, expressionless, unflappable, doll-like
   

COLORS:
    Uniform: Gray
    Hair: Black
    Eyes: Green

STRESS EXPLOSION:
    Gambling: - You use every penny you have for gambling

MAID ROOTS:
    Who Knows? - You’re really not quite sure how you wound up becoming a maid.

SPECIAL QUALITIES:
    Tragic Love - Lover Died: - You've had sad or tragic experiences with love, You had a lover who died, since then you've been afraid to fall in love.
    Overactive Imagination: -You frequently get caught up in your own imaginary world, or else tend to daydream a lot.

MAID POWER:
    Forboding (Luck) - You can tell when something dangerous is coming.

Complexity:
     (+1 Affection)

FAVOR: 2
SPIRIT: 30

Been away, now i'm back. Updated based off changes in my life.

Ons and offs!

Sethala

Nah, I'm not a fan of playing male characters, generally.  (And I don't remember the scenarios well enough to know what's going on ahead of time.)

And, would you rather I switch to a different background?  Although, I suppose it could be unrequited love towards another maid, instead... >.>

Treehouseroleplayer

#19
Go ahead with whatever you think sounds the most fun, and if you like, you can let me know privately if you decide to switch it to another Maid and I'll sprinkle you with secret favor points as appropriate until its revealed. ;)

(If you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of selective information presentation, especially at the start of the game. I like the extra drama and tension it brings, and even the best of us meta-game unconsciously from time to time.)

Alright, no more distractions! I will post the setting and bio information within the next six hours or I will feel shame!

edit: Half done. Need a nap though. Working on mansion design and layout at the moment, if anybody wants to link me to a blueprint, floorprint, or hell, even a screenshot of something in The Sims for a moderately sized villa type mansion that you'd find in a hilly temperately forested area, then please PM me, it would save me some time. Its not so much that I think a detailed layout is necessary, but I find that having the setting mapped out helps with clarity of writing for relatively small scale settings such as this.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

ShadowFox89

 This has my interest. Do you still have room?
Call me Shadow
My A/A

Treehouseroleplayer

#21
(Note, I couldn't find suitable anime style images, but since they're depicting the setting and not characters, I'll forgive myself. If I have time and inclination later, I'll pull a Katawa Shoujou and run some photoshop filters on them.)


The Area
Our story takes place on the more temperate island of Hokkaido, in and around the fictional town of Morishi (森市). The town is nestled between a large lake in the west and higher elevations in the east. Although the area is not mountainous, the elevation changes fairly quickly and one would not have to walk far for some impressive views.

Morishi is a well sized Japanese town, and although its not a particularly bustling metropolis, there are plenty of things your young men and women to keep themselves occupied with, and the resort town of Yamaichi (山位地)* is about an hours drive north and into the mountains. Notable areas of interest include the Richmond Academy, the concert hall where the Morishi philharmonic have made a name for themselves in the region, a large Shinto shrine on the eastern outskirts of town, a vibrant shopping district with a mix of local independent shops and large chains, and a few natural hotsprings.

Due to the region's scenic beauty and temperate climate driving up Japan's already significant cost of land, the wealth of the area is very high, but there is definitely some income disparity. On the southwest side of a town is a small but significant slum that is a bit more dangerous at night. Overall though, there are a large number of rich privileged people living in the area and several powerful and influential families have made their homes here over the years. Additionally, many wealthy families keep summer homes in the area to beat the heat in the hot and humid months.

An example of the type of views that can be found in the area. (Image credit unknown)

For those poorer families in the area, sending one of their daughters to work as a live-in maid for these elite families can be a huge relief on finances and many young girls in the area actively seek the employment out as bridal training, a more comfortable (but hardworking) environment, or for a host of other reasons. Consequently, for many young women in Morishi, traditional public schooling is closed to them. However, for those who wish to continue studying past middle-school and their employers allow it, a popular homeschool/correspondence course has recently begun gaining traction among such service-oriented individuals.

The Villa

The Sugimoto Villa can hardly be called a mansion. Or at least, that's what the heads of the Sugimoto family might say and in fairness, compared to the vast Sugimoto estate near Yamaichi, it is rather small. For somebody whose gross yearly income doesn't outstrip a small country's GDP however, it is a sizable building of residence. Designed in the modern western tradition, it has four bedrooms with space for more if needed, 6 bathrooms, two dining rooms, a balcony facing west with a view over the city, an outdoor covered porch, and a small natural hotspring bath on the southwest side of the premises.





The mansion is located in the hills east of the city, and its about a twenty minute drive from it down to the Richmond Academy. Although it has been kept in good shape, the Sugimoto family didn't have much use for the building and tended to only spend a couple weeks there in the summer. For the rest of the year, historically they would lend the building to friends for a weekend or two, or occasionaly use it as a perk for valuable subordinates. When Ryuuji began school at the Richmond Academy however, the family gave it to him as his 'school dorm'. He was allowed to take a few servants of his choosing, along with permission to hire new ones at his discretion if he so desired. The rest of his family remains in Yamaichi.

Ryuuji isn't left living alone though. Along with the live-in maids, the Sugimoto Villa is staffed by a few other workers who commute, including a couple gardeners and an on-call chauffeur service. For the most part these workers tend to fade into the background, perhaps shaking their head quietly at any shenanigans afoot.

The original mansion dates back to mid 1950s MacArthur era and was built by a wealthy foreign investor. He was rather reclusive and eccentric and there are rumors of special passages and even of a hidden basement, but nobody in the Sugimoto family or any of their guests have ever found any. This certainly doesn't stop visiting children from pushing and pulling on everything trying to find them though. The mansion's age is visible though: the second floor tends to creak, some of the murals and textiles have faded over the years, and it shows some older design sensibilities. Still, for the most part, it is a beautiful villa with modernizations included wherever possible.

The colors on the inside of the mansion are dominated by darker woods particularly in areas like the library and main dining room. However, the rooms are well-lit with both artificial light and natural sunlight from large windows. The walls are adorned with many works of art, including a few semi-rare originals of both eastern and western origin. Overall, the mansion exudes class, and it can be an intimidating environment for somebody to live in if they are not used to it.

The kitchen and pantry aren't much to look at decoratively, with a simple granite floor and tiled walls, but they are well stocked with many modern conveniences and for the expert cook, it is possible to create splendid meals. Unfortunately, it is not ventilated well, so during preparation for large meals, it quickly becomes uncomfortably warm, especially in a full maid uniform. Cooking anything more complicated than an average daily meal costs 1d6 / 2 (round down) stress per hour. There is a small staircase here up to the second story near the two maid bedrooms.

The maid's breakfast room next door is where the maids eat their own meals in the morning before the Master wakes up. Although it is a space designed for the servants of the house, it is still well decorated with a small table with an expensive tablecloth, a simple rose motif on the walls, and some nice furniture to hold dishes, paintings and decorations. Its nice enough that Ryuuji will tend to eat some meals here, notably his breakfast and the occasional smaller fare.



A front view of the mansion. The trees should be more of a temperate evergreen variety and the surrounding area's elevation should be more varied. Interior pictures of the mansion below, click to enlarge. (Above image credit unknown, found through Google Image search for 'Forest Mansion', floorplans and interior images from the Felt Mansion)


















The main dining room is large, grandiose, and well decorated. On the walls are murals painted with images of western castles and men. A strange motif in a Japanese mansion to be sure, but the artistry is sound and pleasing to look at. The floor and furniture are crafted with handsome and striking dark woods. Although the dining furniture has been recently replaced, it still manages to look great with some of the antiques remaining in the room.

The Library is fairly small but stocked with books both practical and decorative, with a few beautiful old tomes on prominent display, and the main bookshelf at the focus of the room containing the kinds of book one keeps on their bookshelf to look smart. However, there are lots of books available in several genres both popular and classical for somebody looking to actually read something here. Overall, it is a very cozy area equally suited to quiet contemplation, writing, or reading, as it is to a private conversation between friends.

The Western terrace is made out of stone and perfect for either outdoor entertaining or just looking out over the city and lake. There is a short slope with a small gradient past the terrace that's steep enough to see past, but not steep enough that somebody could fall to their deaths if they were knocked off. The furniture on it is suited more to its outdoor location and is made of wrought iron instead of wood.

The Parlor has been converted into a spacious living and entertainment room, with a large entertainment center, several big comfortable couches, a fireplace, a table that always has a deck of cards and some poker chips nearby, a shelf full of board games, a Steinway grand piano in a corner, and even a pool table. On the fireplace mantle are pictures of Ryuuji's family, his laughing father, his mother with the small smile, his little sister in a pink frilly dress, and a brother four years older dressed in an expensive suit with a serious look on his face.

Rjuuij's bedroom on the second floor is somewhat spartan compared to the rest of the mansion, but it contains some of the trappings of a typical young man's room. His computer sits on a desk next to a wall, along with a small collection of games and movies, and he has a large bookcase of his own with a large number of books both popular and classical with one small shelf dedicated to manga. His bed is ridiculously large for one person to sleep in and is covered with a simple black comforter and red pillows. He has a few pictures of friends and family on his dresser and a large stereo controlling the sound system in his room. He tends to keep the double doors to the sitting room open, and likes to read there on occasion.

On the north side of the second floor is where the maids stay. There are two sizable bedrooms setup for two beds each and a separate bathroom (not pictured) each, with side rooms nearby for laundry and supplies. In a pinch, the room immediately north of the main stairs could be converted into a room for the head maid or two other maids. The other rooms on the second floor are largely unused by Ryuuji and are either unfurnished or have their furniture covered in white sheets to protect them during disuse (although I'm more than willing to accept suggestions for ideas if people feel the need to add more rooms).







First Floor


Second Floor


Third Floor

The Life and Times of Ryuuji Sugimoto



The Sugimoto family is new money. Through a series of shrewd investments and business dealings founded what would become a significant international corporation. By the time of his death, he was one of the richest men in Japan, and he passed on that wealth and his controlling share of the company to his son. After he passed away, Ryuuji's father began to grow weary of running such a large venture and so sold the company for an absurd amount of money, cementing his family's assets even further. However, not content with just sticking his money in the bank and living large off of the interest (although he did that too), Ryuuji's father began his own company in a field he was much more interested in, travel and resorts. Although the company certainly does not make anywhere close to the older one, it would be enough to keep the Sugimoto family living very comfortably even without the money generated off of the interest of the vast pre-existing Sugimoto fortune.


Ryuuji looking perplexed. (Source: Austria from Hetalia)

Ryuuji therefore has always grown up in absolute comfort with every luxury handed to him. Despite this, he doesn't really give off the air of being spoiled or selfish, and although he has a hard time relating and empathizing with people worrying about money or living in poverty, he understands that it is an issue that the vast majority of people face. Part of this is because his family has always tried their best to avoid being snobbish. They make a point to be friendly to their maids and other staff, they encourage Ryuuji to make friends with 'normal' people if he gets the chance and as he gets older, give him relative freedom to do what he wants as long as he takes responsibility.

However, he has always been shy. He has no great traumatic reason for it, just that he found it difficult to relate to the arrogant air kids tended to display in elementary school and tended to prefer the company of books to people. By the time he started becoming more interested in spending time with other kids by the end of middle school and beginning of high school, everybody had already seemingly formed their circle of friends already, and he found it difficult to gain ground. He made a few casual friends here and there in school, but nothing particularly deep or meaningful.

Instead, he found friendship in the people around his home: his family's staff became an important source of kinship. His first such friend in elementary school was a kindly middle-aged butler for the family who took him under his wing when his father would be out of town for business, followed by the daughters of some of the family's older maids. In middle school, he ended up becoming infatuated with one such girl, but he never could work up the courage to reveal his feelings before her family moved to take care of another family for reasons unknown. So when it came time to hire his first personal maids as a first year in high school, for the most part, he paid less attention to experience or skill and more to how interesting of a person he thought they were. It seemed to work out alright and although he had too many to really connect with all of them, he ended up on friendly terms with them.

At the end of his first year however, a freak accident caused significant damage to the school he attended and it was forced to undergo significant renovations. Rather then wait for a late-start to his next school year and then study in a school under repair, the family decided it might be best to transfer. Since Ryuuji enjoyed his visits to Morishi and the prestigious Richmond academy was there, the decision was made that he would move there for the year. Doing so meant moving away from his parents, but Ryuuji had always been able to take care of himself (especially with the help of maids), and it wasn't really feasible for the entire Sugimoto family and their retainers to move to the small villa full time.

So Ryuuji took a few/couple/one/no (to be determined by PC backstories) maids with him and moved to the villa where eventually he hired a few/couple/one/no more. At first, everything seemed fantastic, but around the middle of May**, things took a turn for the worse. Occasionally, he would start coming home from school quiet and subdued and it only got worse and more common as the term went on. By the tail end of the middle of July, It eventually got the point where he would come home and immediately shut himself in his room. He has stopped taking meals with the maids, and seems moody and morose. It is now a little over a week before the first term ends and summer vacation ends, and he doesn't seem to be getting any better. What will his maids do?

Coming soon, a brief history and description of the Richmond Academy


*Also fictional
**For those who are not aware, in Japan, schools work on a trimester system. The first term is usually from April 1st to late July, followed by about six weeks of summer break. The second term starts in September and runs until late December for a two week break. Finally, the third term lasts from January until late March where there is a graduation ceremony, followed by a week long spring break, and then the beginning of the new year.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Feel free to work your character's backstory in at any point, if you're not sure, feel free to ask. Your first character post when we start the new game will likely be some form of recap of how your character has gotten along with the master and the maids since the move, so you don't need to write character bios right up that point, especially if you want to coordinate OOCly beforehand about any shared backstory or pre-existing relationships with another player.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Treehouseroleplayer

Shadowfox, I think we should be able to fit you if its alright with the other players. NatalieB, are you still interested?

The game is going to have structured time/event schedule which I will explain in addition to the academy soon. The gist of it is going to be that the entirety of the planned plot will take place over ~7 days of in-universe game time. After that, and depending on the resolution of the story and interest in continuing, there may be room for a sequel.

As always, feedback is appreciated on the setting and characters.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.

Meliai

       
Boisterous Bunny

Kei Tsukino ( Age 17 / Maid / female )

ATTRIBUTES:


   Athletics:
   Affection:   
   Skill:
   Cunning:
   Luck:
   Will:
1   
2
3
3
2
2
-1
+1
0
-1
+2
0
     0
     3
     3
     2
     4
     2

MAID TYPES:
    Lolita (luck +1, athletics -1) - Childish, young, innocent, cute, sweet
    Pure (affection +1, cunning -1) - Pure, maidenly, clean, fragile

COLORS:
    Uniform: Navy
    Hair: Pink
    Eyes: Sky

STRESS EXPLOSION:
    Alcohol - You drink alcohol until you can’t remember or care.

MAID ROOTS:
    Unrequited Love - Following your one-sided love of the master, you have come here.

SPECIAL QUALITIES:
    Shapeshifter - Bunny - You’re actually a bunny, with long ears and a tail.
    Former Delinquent - Although no one would know it looking at you now, you used to be a delinquent. Fortunately right now there’s no one (in the mansion at least) who knows about your past.

MAID POWER:
    Teleport - You can go just about anywhere in the mansion instantly

COMPLEX:
    Unknown - unknown - (+1 luck)

FAVOR: 6
SPIRIT: 20

BACKGROUND:
Kei was the oldest of 3 children born to a struggling working-class couple in the rough area of Morishi. Protective of her siblings from a very early age, she eventually fell in with a bad crowd. Too keep them safe she did small favorites and the occasional odd job for local gang members and a small-time crime boss in exchange for the promise that they wouldn't harass or try and recruit her brother or sister. Though she wasn't very tough she was clever, and her shapeshifting ability made it easy to slip away unnoticed if things went south. Her luck persisted for several years, but just after her 16th birthday her bosses realized that having a loud, pink-haired girl with perky white bunny ears working for them wasn't exactly...subtle. Her usefullness having run its course, they assigned her one final job. Unfortunately for Kei, it turned out to be a setup and she was framed for armed robbery (a crime considerably more sever than any of those she'd actually committed.) Due to her young age she was let off with a fairly light sentence; six months in a juvenile detention center, and probation until her twentieth birthday.

Once her sentence was over, Kei returned home but found a cold reception waiting for her. Her motives a mystery to them, she found herself all but shunned by her family. Her siblings were afraid of her and her parents considered her a disgrace to the family. Eventually she heard of Ryuuji's return to the area and immediately applied for a job in the household, in part to try and redeem herself in her family's eyes and in part because of the massive crush she'd nursed for the young aristocrat since they were children.

Kei met Ryuuji when they were both quite young; her habit of wandering far and wide would often bring her to the more affluent areas of town. She expressed her affection as most young children do, by teasing and taunting him. This continued for several summers; she'd keep an ear to the ground and when the Sugimoto family returned to their summer house Kei would "coincidentally" wander by. As they grew older and Kei fell in with the rough crowd she began spending less and less time with Ryuuji each summer. Her unfortunate situation brought into sharp relief the vast social gap between the two of them; she knew she didn't have a chance with him, and yet her schoolgirl crush refused to fade. Eventually she stopped seeking him out all together.

Kei doesn't have many possessions these days; a couple spare uniforms, a few changes of clothes, a small assortment of pulp fantasy novels and an ancient, clunkly old laptop she uses for her correspondence classes. Though she greatly prefers to outwit her opponents rather than directly fight them, she keeps a small switchblade hidden in her clothing. Though not usually the materialistic type she does have one thing she's absurdly proud of; an ancient, beat-up old motorbike that she bought for next to nothing and fixed herself.

APPEARANCE:
Petite but curvy, Kei wears a modest, navy blue maid's uniform with thigh-high stockings and a small apron. She has thick, wavy pink hair that falls just past her shoulders and bright, sky-blue eyes. When she isn't concentrating fully Kei's control over her shape-shifting slips and she sprouts a pair of long white ears and a small, furry tail; when her emotions get out of control she sometimes loses control entirely and turns into a little white rabbit (or back into a human, if she was a rabbit at the time.) If she concentrates fully she can appear to be a normal human girl, but it's difficult to maintain. In addition to her maid's headband she usually wears a navy blue bandana or scarf tied around her head to hide her ears.

PERSONALITY:
The vestiges of her delinquent years haven't faded entirely; she tends to curse when upset and has a rather short temper. She tries to maintain a sweet, innocent persona but struggles with it more often than not. Despite her somewhat rough demeanor, Kei exhibits a strong protective instinct towards those she cares about. The type of person to put the safety, welfare, and happiness of her friends and family before her own, Kei is one of the best friends a person could ask for but she has a very difficult time expressing her fondness for others even when it's obvious they reciprocate.




Hope it's okay that I took some creative licence with her maid types, and background. I had an odd combination and it was kind of hard to get them all to work. I couldn't really find a way to work in her whole Bunny thing, but I'm just sort of assuming it's a weird curse that strikes one of the girls in the family ever # generations or something.  Also I'm completely fine with Kei and Sethala's girl both having a thing for Mr. Sugimoto! Could lead to some interesting scenes :D Kei's pretty much convinced herself nothing will ever happen anyway. Depending on how the game progresses she might get over him or might grow a damn spine and make a move. Or she might just mope forever, we'll see I guess.
    {{A/As updated 5/8}}           

Treehouseroleplayer

#24
Quote from: Meliai on May 24, 2012, 04:24:23 AM
Hope it's okay that I took some creative licence with her maid types, and background. I had an odd combination and it was kind of hard to get them all to work. I couldn't really find a way to work in her whole Bunny thing, but I'm just sort of assuming it's a weird curse that strikes one of the girls in the family ever # generations or something.  Also I'm completely fine with Kei and Sethala's girl both having a thing for Mr. Sugimoto! Could lead to some interesting scenes :D Kei's pretty much convinced herself nothing will ever happen anyway. Depending on how the game progresses she might get over him or might grow a damn spine and make a move. Or she might just mope forever, we'll see I guess.

Completely fine! I think you stayed in spirit to the idea of the system, what you rolled, and the setting and as I said, I'm a strong believer in the idea that the dice exist to serve the story, not the other way around.

Oh, and What kind of rating do people want for the game? Like I said, the game could go totally without sex if thats how it ends up playing out, but I'm going to stick it in an adult forum all the same. It looks like it could go into light, but if you guys think BDSM is a possibility I can place it there as well. I don't expect Non-Con to show up, but I certainly don't mind tossing it in there to be safe.

Also, I'm going to have to remember that float tag you used, Meliai. It seems to work way better then tables since it doesn't stretch everything based on window resolution.
If you wish to get a hold of me and I'm not on E., message me on IRC.