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Drakeburn
2017-08-09, 10:33 PM
I'm sort of curious about role playing games that focus around High Schools. Of course it isn't uncommon to have High School settings in superhero, though who says you can't have High School in a fantasy, sci-fi, or supernatural game?

What do you think of having High School as a setting for role playing games?

And what are some "do's and don'ts" Gamemasters should keep in mind when making schools for their campaign settings?

Mutazoia
2017-08-09, 11:15 PM
1. Keep the content "age appropriate" for your gamers.
2. See rule one.

Teenagers from Outter Space (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/25121/Teenagers-from-Outerspace?it=1) is, as you can tell by the name, set in a High School setting, where Aliens send their kids to High School on Earth (because Earth has an actual culture, unlike the rest of the Galaxy). Hillarity ensues.

There is also the Playground's own High School Harem Comedy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?290243-High-School-Harem-Comedy-(Game-System-PEACH)) RPG, modled after Harem Anime/Manga...

raygun goth
2017-08-09, 11:48 PM
Ok, so. I do this a lot. Especially in one particular fantasy setting.

The best way to work this is to do one of two things:

1. Put the PCs in the same dorm together, barring that (and especially if it's not a boarding school),

2. Tell the players their PCs should all join the same club when things get started

After that, the players need some teachers to like and some teachers to hate. If you know their playstyles, this'll be easy. If not, start giving teachers bizarre quirks, like, the full Twin Peaks if you got to, and see what the players latch on to.

I do work up a schedule, but I let players pick electives - this is very helpful in getting players to tell you what they want. Be willing to go with crazy electives, too. I mean, I have a list, and it's the usual - home ec/life skills, shop, art, ethics of magic, vehicle repair, etc - but I also invite players to invent a class they want to attend, since it's also a big part of their character. Most of the action, however, will take place between class, during lunch, and most definitely after school.

You will need to help players cook up their parents - whether they're single parents, married, or in a poly relationship or what have you, it's great to have parents ready to pull on the PCs with hooks. Barring that, if you have them in a boarding school, definitely some parent-figure style teachers and staff.

The best part about a lot of high school tropes is that they're modular - you can rotate in a super-powerful student council if you need to, or instigate, frankly, bizarre rules like 10% of your grade being your team's duel against your teachers (I hear the bio teacher is the worst, with poison gas and genetically modified frog-golems).

daniel_ream
2017-08-09, 11:59 PM
There are tons. There's at least three Buffy-inspired ones I can think of, some unlicensed Harry Potter knockoffs, the aforementioned TFOS, Alma Mater, the Smallville RPG (although you should probably have the "Smallville High" supplement), Monsterhearts, Bubblegumshoe, and most anime RPGs have some sop to it.

Personally I think it's overdone as a trope, especially in anime. There's only so many high school stories you can tell and they've mostly been done to death by now.

I'd say the biggest question you'd have to answer is whether you want a "realistic" high school setting, where the PCs have severely curtailed freedom and options, or whether you want "TV-style" high school, where no one ever seems to have parents or curfews or responsibilties and gets treated like an adult by everyone they meet. Your players are probably expecting the latter, since that's what's depicted in most media.

Mr Blobby
2017-08-10, 05:52 AM
Agree it's an overdone trope - but like all tropes, can still be used if the DM is a) good at their DM'ing [plot, setting etc] and/or b) subverts or develops the concept in an interesting way[s]. Random thoughts...

- You also need to establish not only what type of school, but *where* - not just urban/rural, but country too.

- Is the school 'special'? This can lead to different storylines, if you're playing a game of which the PC's are all apprentice mages at McNormal High [for example], doing their best to appear nice and normal to the teachers, parents etc. It would also explain why they're all together - they are all the X's currently at the school.

- Is the chronicle *about* school, or is it just a part of their background lives? Sure, a big part of their lives, but not the focus of the stories.

- If you're doing / suspecting this is going to be a long-runner, you can always set this in the past. Gives you [as DM] breathing-room; run out of plot ideas for 15 year-olds? Simple; skip a year or two, then continue!