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View Full Version : DM Help Best system for a persona inspired game?



recolector
2018-10-02, 09:55 PM
Hi, so, I been working on a couple of ideas for a campaing I want to run. A persona/smt based game, I started with the dnd 5e rules since they are ones that im getting familiar with and seem very newby friendly to me.

however, I find it wanting in some places and im not sure on how appropriately translating part of the charm of persona in the game, for example:

- they should be normal highschoolers/drop outs during daytime, since they only fight shadows/demons at night, part of this would be not being able to cast spells on day time, but how to stop physical builds from tearing a person apart? ( it came to me making the weapons become harmless objects while the sun is out, but un-armed dmg could still be a problem


- how to better implement the feeling that your persona is making the attacks/spells? I want that feeling of having a manifestation of yourself helping you survive the night not just you gaining powers at night, I thought about making them separate bodies but Im afraid that will just be the equivalent of giving my players useless npc bodies that they have to constantly babysit. (human bodies being frail is something i like to convey, babysitting yourself is not)


basically, im looking for a system where character could have two distictly set of skills or maybe a pokemon-esque game where the pc control something very powerful but they are humans otherwise or maybe some suggestions on homebrew for 5e that could help

ps, I checked the forum before posting, you guys actually have a persona game running but I couldnt catch if you are using a system or its a freeform RP

DeTess
2018-10-03, 04:04 AM
If you want something that's not medieval/rennaisance fantasy, it's best to not use dnd. You could easily mod FATE to do what you want, and from what I've heard GURPS can do anything, but it might take a while to pick the rules and options available.

I'd expect most superhero systems to have a normal/super-identity split which you could change to the high-schooler/persona split.

Drascin
2018-10-03, 04:44 AM
I'd suggest Mutants&Masterminds.

It's similar enough to other d20 games that you shouldn't be too confused by it ruleswise if you're familiar with D&D, but the effect-based point buy char build should make it significantly easier to model the kind of silly crap SMT demons get up to.

It also allows you some differentiation between demon summoners and persona users. There's a significant difference in feel - in Persona, your Persona IS you, and for all intents and purposes you have the powers, and it's easy to model as a set of powers you can only access with a summon sequence. I feel like trying to model Persona users as "not your power" would actually work against the feel of the game. Chie and Tomoe are not different beings with different bodies. Chie kicks people and her persona comes out and kicks with her when she does - they're Stands, not minions. Tomoe is not "covering" Chie, Tomoe IS Chie, and thus I feel like powersets unlocked are genuinely the better way to represent the feel of it.

Meanwhile, demon summoners can use Minions and Summon and Sidekicks, probably tied to a summoning device. That said, be very careful with this - it is extremely easy to break Summon entirely. I would not recommend having a party of summoners as your first M&M experience unless you trust your players and you're willing to make retcon adjustments on the fly if issues pop up.

YohaiHorosha
2018-10-03, 07:47 AM
If you want to focus less on the actual powers but the roleplay between night and day, and how they're affected by their monstrous abilities, using a pbta hack and/or modding Fate will likely be your best best (less about crunch, more about the story).

Savage Worlds has a lot of cool settings you can modify to fit the bill if you want the tactical nous and a rule set that's a little simpler than dnd or d20 (and their ilk). You can use elements of fantasy and or superheroes to make it work. Also, 12 to midnight might also give you ideas. None are exact fits.

Insofar as your setting: the basis of your setting is pretty much there, but let's add a story detail to it:
1) in your world, every person is born with an other. That is, a spirit that is our companion thru life. Most people don't ever access that other...it's just there to raise the hair on our necks when we sense something is off. Otherwise, not much of a difference.
2) some people, either thru birth, accident, ritual, meditation, etc, can access that other. When doing so, they access greater abilities. (Great fighting skill, magic, etc).
3) these things amplify or only occur at certain times. Negatives to everything at some parts of day, no mods at others, plusses at specific other times.

The mechanics/settings you use determine what happens when there are negatives to everything. Are there mysteries they have to solve where skills are useful, irrespective of fighting/magic? Are they just living life, where access is cut off, and they can manage how they live a double life (roleplaying the peter parker and/or matt murdock in lieu of spiderman/daredevil).

How you envision that downtime is important, because it ultimately will determine your system.

Raine_Sage
2018-10-03, 10:43 AM
City of Mist is good if you're looking for something rules light, the core gameplay loop is about solving mysteries while fending of supernatural threats, which lines up with the core gameplay loop of the persona series. The default setting is vaguely Cthulhu inspired I believe, but the "Mythos" of your setting can be anything from fairies to shadows in practice.