Clocktower survival horror game

[MadPanda]

Ahhhhh!  Nope.  Not yet.  I like to tailor these things to my PCs...and not having any to work around just yet...(shrug)   

[ZK]

If sex isn't the main focus, I'd like to play in that.

[MadPanda]

I wouldn't rule it out, exactly...but no, it wouldn't be the main focus for the game I have in mind.

[Rydia]

Chalk me up for an interest.  It sounds like a combination between Saw II and an older movie called (what else) the Cube I saw once. 

[Ixy]

...

fuck. 
Is 'Cube' an 'older movie' now?

Somebody euthanize me before I need a walker.  *goes off to have a midlife crisis*

[Rydia]

Older than Saw II and not as old as, say, Gone with the Wind.  It's all context, love.

[MadPanda]

Yes, the Cube might be an influence here, although I have something weirder in mind...

[ZK]

The Cube is an awesomeness...even the B-rated sequal [hypercube] wasn't that bad either. Kind of like the first one, but you used teleportation and dimensions instead of a series of cubes.

[MadPanda]

Since Cosmo asked nicely...

Part of what I had in mind was to throw a group of strangers, connected through a common factor that they do not initially recognize, into a very bizarre situation (ie Rubik's Bunker) and then let them 'enjoy' exploring and escaping their new and unpleasant environment.

The common factor I was initially considering was a dark secret of some sort, like an occult society that shows up in all their backgrounds (someone's crazy uncle Jiro is a member, someone else was investigating them, etc etc).

I also had a very light ruleset in mind, if anyone wants to look over the 'open' version of the rules.

[Elandra]

I am also interested.

[MadPanda]

Silly me.  Here's the link to the Open/Reloaded version of Wushu.

http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/OpenReloaded

Two things to note: first, this is like the OGL or the dX version of Tri-stat in that it's the core concepts around which a game could be structured.  Also, this is the 'reloaded' version.  It contains feedback from the surprisingly robust (and opinionated) online advocates for all things Wushu.

I've compiled some notes for using these in a Survival Horror setting and we can get to those later, if folks are still interested in trying this.  We can also do this freeform if we prefer, but I thought of Wushu since it's almost as good as freeform and gives the players a certain amount of creative license.

[MadPanda]

Could I get some feedback re: Wushu, please?  It does me no good to start a game using a system that nobody likes.    The Zombie-fu info will follow...

[Ixy]

Hm.  I liked it right up until the section about Chi.  It's a great concept, and I still think I'd really enjoy it, if I could have a little help juggling the mechanics.  Honestly, I am certain that I will not count my details as I write, keep track of stats, etc. 

My fear for this kind of game is that, at some point, I'll spend a couple of days getting into a scene only to have this happen: "Nuh-uh, I veto that, cause I CLEARLY wrote 96 lines of text in my last post, and you only wrote 25, so that's not fair--" etc.  As ludicrous as that sounds, there's probably lots of people here who remember those guys from Yahell, etc.

However, this is Elliquiy, so naturally there's a higher level of expectations on the players; I'm optimistic that, with a ST that has a firm grasp of the concept of Wushu, a group of level-minded players could really have a good time with this.  I'd really like to see that, and be part of it.

[Rydia]

I'd need a walk-through to make sure I understand the rules, but I think I could work with it.  It seems as lite re rules as you can get without actually being free form, so yeah.  Why not?

[MadPanda]

Okay, to hopefully help clear up a few things:

'Chi' is simply a way of measuring a character's ability to affect the current scene.  Losing Chi is NOT the same as being hurt--getting hurt is a detail    It takes a bit of getting used to, I'll admit.

The VETO is in practice a very rare thing, and comes in two flavors: hard and soft.  The hard veto is, of course, 'you can't do that' (as in 'this is Capone Versus Untouchables.  Where'd you get a force-field, Bobby?') and should be invoked only if someone is going out-of-genre.  The soft veto is 'hey, wait, wouldn't it be cooler if...' 

The only cost to coming up with fewer details is having fewer dice to roll.  You always get at least one die, just for doing something!  If you don't want to count, you can always filibuster (we have one player who never, ever counts his dice.  He asks 'what's my die cap' and sets that number out on the table at the start of the scene...)

[MadPanda]

Stuff in normal text is 'description'.  Stuff in italics is 'mechanics'.  This is 'borrowed' from Pulp-fu, so it's more cinematic and flashy than survival horror would be.

The Rumrunner races through the crowded streets of Bombay, eight Nazis hot on his heels!  In the back seat, the Liberated Woman keeps a tight grip on the Staff of Shiva, an ancient relic they just rescued from a Nazi convoy.  The Flying Ace is in the passenger seat, desperately wishing he was the one behind the wheel.

A pair of Nazi motorcycles flank the Rumrunner's recently 'acquired' Chrysler Imperial.  The engine roars like a jaguar/as the Rumrunner hits the gas and jerks the wheel to the right/bumping one of the motorcycles into a collision with a farmer's cart. (3 dice). 

On the other side of the car, the Nazi goon in the sidecar jumps across to the Imperial and starts clambering into the back seat.  The Liberated Woman shatters his left goggle with the Staff of Shiva/then kicks him hard in the face/sending him careening into a fish stall. (3 dice)

The Flying Ace steps across the Rumrunner with a quick "Beg yer pardon"/and leaps into the now vacant sidecar/ pushes the motorcyclist unceremoniously off his seat and takes control of the bike/with a nod and a wave to his friends in the car. (4 dice)

These mooks are just a warm-up for something else the GM has planned, so she gives them a Threat Rating of 12 and sets the die pool limit at 4 dice for this scene.  Each player reserves one die for defense. 

The Rumrunner rolls 2 Yang dice and his 1 Yin die against 'Bat Shit Crazy' trait (5) for his stunt driving...getting two Yang successes to reduce the Threat level to 10.  His Yin die fails, however, and he cashes in a point of Chi.  "Must've dented the fender."

None of the Liberated Woman's three dice fail against her 'Tough As Nails' trait of 5, so the Threat level is down to 8.

The Flying Ace rolls against 'Daredevil' with a target number of 4 and gets 2 Yang and 1 Yin successes, reducing the Threat Level to 6.

Time for a new round...

The two remaining Nazi bikers open fire on our heroes!  The Flyboy zigzags across the road like a madman/ alternately drawing fire and blocking their bullets with the sidecar. (2 dice)

The Liberated Woman opens the passenger side door and swings herself out over the road / to nab a bag of flour from a passing truck. / She tears it open with her teeth as she swings back into the car / and empies its contents into the air to create a white smokescreen behind the Imperial.  (4 dice)

The Rumrunner cranks on the emergency brake / and sends the car into a box slide that sends them sideways / then rockets into a narrow side street / as the Nazis sail blindly through the flour into a dead end!  (4 dice)

The Flying Ace zigs the other way through the flour dust and zags off down another alleyway (+1 die for the Flyboy)

The Liberated Woman racked up 4 dice with a nice Pass, which both her fellow players use to good effect.  She splits her dice 3 Yang/ 1 Yin and rolls all successes, and the Threat level is now 3.

The Rumrunner, sure that the mooks are done for, narrates what he thinks should be an appropriate end--sending them down a blind alleyway!  He splits his four dice evenly, not wanting to lose another point of Chi, and gets 2 successes of each kind.  The Thread Level drops to 1...not quite enough.

The Flying Ace rolls 2 Yang and 1 yin, gets 2 Yang successes--enough to drop the mooks to -1 and end the threat, but blows his defense and cashes in a point of Chi.

Little do our heroes know, the GM isn't done with them.  Next round...

and so on, and so forth.  Questions?

[Elandra]

I too have read the system and think it will be easy to adapt to forums; it adds a nice mechanic to freeform. Thanks for the example, it helps out tremendously.

[MadPanda]

We've been using it for pickup games.  It's kind of fun.   

And since I'm getting positive feedback for this, I'll see what I can do about setting up a game...but since happyfuntime sex isn't going to be a main feature of this, what do folks think about putting it in Light/Weird?

[Rydia]

Sure.

[MadPanda]

Awright.  I'll think of a title and ping the next 'goddess' I see, and I'll get the data posted.  We can brainstorm there, once it's ready.

[Celestial Goblin]

Oh, oh, I think I'm still here...

[MadPanda]

Almost there, gang!  I've thought of the Big Picture.  Now I just need a title...

Alas, listening to the Silent Hill game soundtrack over and over is doing wonders for my mood, but not much to inspire a title.   

[MadPanda]

Request is in.  Now we just wait and see...

I will post the Zombie-fu stuff in the game thread, when it shows up.

UPDATED: Game's up!

"Perfect Strangers", under Light.

Brainstorming over PC generation may now begin!