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Tortoise262
2011-02-23, 01:04 AM
Hello! I mainly just needed a place to host the information for this game to show my friends. I don't know when I'll start it, and I'm not sure if I'll need to find a player on the recruitment boards, but in the meantime, I would appreciate any feedback! I will continue to edit this post as I come up with more details or decide to implement suggestions from others.


An Amusing Tale
a freeform RPG by Tortoise262

STORY

Four students at The Morrowbrook Boarding School for the Arts are about to have their worlds turned upside down! The last time I ran this game, we didn't get very far before I got bogged down by real life, but the story starts out something like this:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73760

CHARACTERS

The appearance, background, and personality of each character is completely up to the player. There will be one of each of the following Classes:

The Musician uses music to manipulate the minds and actions of other people and creatures.

The Performer uses acting, mimery, or dancing (or another similar performance) to control the elements.

The Visual Artist conjures objects by creating a work that comes to life.

The Writer can drastically alter his friends' circumstances by writing in plot holes, convenient twists, and the like. He will likely keep a journal of the group's exploits.

When the player creates his character's background, he should include specifics on the character's area of expertise. For instance, the Musician might know a handful of instruments, but concentrate mainly on the recorder. The Performer might exclusively practice in oration. The visual artist might do a lot of painting, but also dabble in sculpting or paper machet. The writer might be inclined to write in a certain style or genre.

MECHANICS

The idea of this game is to have very few rules or mechanics. There are no rules for combat, and each character only has two resources (not counting items and supplies):

Hearts represent a character's life force. When you get hurt, you lose one or more hearts. If you run out of hearts, you fall unconscious.

Stars are used to harness the supernatural powers of your character's art. When you attempt to use your powers you consume one or more Stars, which replenish after a full rest. The GM will determine the Target you will need to roll to succeed. Consume one star and roll 1d4+1 and attempt to hit or surpass the Target. If you fail, you may consume an additional star to add another 1d4+1 to your roll (and you may continue to do so until you succeed, run out of stars, or decide to give up), but each time you consume a star, you are taking more time to perform the action.

The Targets in the following examples should NOT be used for reference. They are merely for the sakes of the examples they are in:

In this game, the group is comprised of four artists...
The Visual Artist: Vincent, a painter
The Performer: Michael, a dancer
The Musician: Ian, a flautist
The Writer: Clive, a fantasy novelist

Vincent and his friends are hungry, so he decides to paint a plate of hamburgers for them to share. [The GM decides a Target for this action. Since it's a simple task, we'll say it's 3.] Vincent rolls the 4-sided die, and it comes up 1, (a result of 2, after adding the +1) which is not enough to reach the target. Vincent continues working on the painting and consumes a second star. The result is another 2, but added to the first roll, it is enough to reach the Target. Vincent's painting is finished, it comes to life, and the boys enjoy their lunch!

Michael sees a twenty-dollar bill caught on a tree branch. He performs a few spins and kicks to call up a gust of wind to blow the money out of the tree. [For this example, the Target is 5.] Michael's roll results in a 4. A slight wind picks up, but not enough to dislodge the bill. Michael decides that he should save his Stars for something more important and gives up.

Ian is a Musician who plays the flute. He and his friends need to sneak into the dean's house, but there is a dog in the front yard. Ian begins to play a soft, soothing song to make the dog fall asleep. [Let's say the Target is 8 for this example.] Ian gets lucky, and the result of his first roll is a 5. Ian continues to play a little longer, consuming a second star. This time, he is not so lucky and gets a 2. Added to the 5, this is still not enough to reach the Target. The dog begins barking, and the dean's lights come on. Ian and his friends are in big trouble! Hopefully, Clive will be able to write in some sort of decoy to get them out of it!

At the GM's discrection, the player may be able to roll a 6- or 8-sided die based on good roleplaying or description from the player trying to perform an action.

Tortoise262
2011-02-23, 01:05 AM
Edit Log for first post:

2011/02/23 Added a link to the original game in the story section. Added that the GM may allow higher dice rolls for good RP. (Thanks to Adam for the suggestion!)