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2009-12-15, 10:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2008
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- Xin-Shalast
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Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Anyone have any ideas as to what systems would be best/easiest to get the sort of oddball enemies and psychic powers and so on that Earthbound had?
Or if there's any kind of existing body of work in terms of a fan-made RPG system?
..I just... I just had the idea of an Earthbound-themed set of dice and... it was wonderful.
And then I wondered what it would be like to play such a game with such dice...
And now I'm asking you all. haha.
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2009-12-15, 12:09 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2006
- Location
- Nova Scotia, Canada
- Gender
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2009-12-15, 12:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
FATE would be the best system IMO. Relatively rules light and I like the idea of aspects. In case you don't know, they're defining parts of your character that you can utilize to give you the edge in a certain situation. For example, Ness might have the aspects:
Cracked bat
Gets homesick
Doesn't talk much
Dumpster diver
Players can use aspects to give them an advantage like if he gets into a fight he can compel his cracked bat aspect to give him a better chance of striking someone. The GM can also compel aspects to put you at a disadvantage like saying "Ness, you're feeling homesick. A call to your mom sure would be great." Players can also put themselves in disadvantageous situations in exchange for extra fate points so if the GM describes a trashcan near, Ness' player could say "I jump in and look for hamburgers to eat."
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2009-12-15, 12:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
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- Starter town
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Mutants and Mastermind
/threadImage by Rich Burlew
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2009-12-15, 01:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2008
- Location
- Baltimore
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
I actually played in an Earthbound game at a con using the Savage Worlds system (Savage Earthbound?). It was great fun. Somebody kicked Pokey in the coinpurse while he was delivering his villainous monologue. It's a well-remembered moment.
Halbert's Cubicle - Wherein I write about gaming and . . . you know . . . stuff.
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2009-12-15, 01:19 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
- Location
- New Orleans and abroad
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
This is better than my idea for a Fable II style game using WHFRP.
Ness finds a Skip Sandwich DX!
You don't have room in your backback...
Ness puts the Skip Sandwich DX back.I just published my first novella, Lúnasa Days, a modern fantasy with a subtle, uncertain magic.
You can grab it on Kindle or paperback.
Proud to GM two Warhammer Adventures:
Plays as Ulrich, Student of Law
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2009-12-15, 04:44 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Most Shin Megami Tensei games are set in modern or futuristic settings.
For the record, that includes the Persona games.
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2009-12-15, 10:44 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2008
- Location
- Wasco
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
I realize that BESM is not that popular or widely available (3rd edition, I mean) but I tried an Earthbound style game with two friends a while back using that system, and it went pretty well. I don't know if my friends enjoyed it as much, though. They had never played the video game, and only agreed to play my RPG version because of all the neat praise I had for the video game. I think, as a result, some of the best references were lost on them.
A kind of modified 4th edition D&D could work in theory, but would be a lot of work. You would need new classes and magic items, and power sources would be almost universally psionic. Still, using at-will, encounter, and daily level powers would be a nice change from power points, and even a Jeff-like character could hold his own by being some kind of non-arcane artificer.
I think one of the nice things about an Earthbound game is that you don't always have to excuse yourself if something is a little absurd. With the influence of evil madness spreading in the world, things just don't need to make (as much) sense. That was one of the things my friends and I had the most fun with.
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2009-12-15, 10:51 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
3.5 could do it - the game actually uses power points, after all!
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2009-12-15, 10:59 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Location
- Poland
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
The thing with BESM is, unless you're married to the idea of hit points and mana/spirit points, M&M can do everything it can do and also do a much better job at it. Not that BESM is a bad game (though it's not awesome, either), it's just that M&M is much better designed.
Yeah, it might feel a bit boring when the default answer to people asking what system to use for this and that setting is M&M, but that is because M&M really is that versatile. There are very few settings it handles badly.Last edited by Tengu_temp; 2009-12-15 at 11:01 PM.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
Spoiler
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2009-12-16, 01:48 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- Starter town
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
What I've played on Mutants and Mastermind:
Superhero game similar to inFAMOUS set in our hometown
Shin Megami Tensei/Persona 3 game
A real life world war 2 non-superhero game
A D&D game set in a futuristic Eberron
Space Opera game set in an even further future of Eberron
Fallout 3 game
Think of a game. Yes, you can play it with M&M. It's that goodImage by Rich Burlew
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2009-12-16, 02:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2008
- Location
- Xin-Shalast
- Gender
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2009-12-16, 02:30 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
- Location
- Starter town
- Gender
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2009-12-16, 02:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Indeed, though it isn't nearly as in-depth as GURPS. Of course, IMO that's a good thing.
But yeah, if you take a look at the official forums you'll see how many settings it can cover. Particularly if you poke around "Roll Call", where pretty much everyone from everything has been statted (someone statted up The Dude from The Big Lebowski...he's, uh, not very powerful though).
edit: I should probably add I've never played GURPS either ^^Last edited by Haven; 2009-12-16 at 02:40 AM.
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2009-12-16, 02:55 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
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2009-12-16, 08:02 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
It's been a bit, GitP. If you're reading this, you're either digging through old stuff, or I've posted for the first time in forever.
If you want to stay in touch, reach out to me on twitter (same username).
The best answer is always to ask your DM.
Unless you're the DM, in which case you should talk to your players.
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2009-12-16, 09:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
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- Poland
- Gender
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
I'm not really familiar with GURPS, but from what I've seen the only advantage in versatility it has is that it covers gritty games much better. And yeah, it's a much slower and more cumbersome system, and easier to break too - M&M is the most balanced open system I've seen, at least as much as an open system can be balanced.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
Spoiler
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2009-12-16, 10:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Fishtown, Germany
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
So... M&M gives GURPS a run for its money at versatility, eh?
When it comes to flexibility and adaptability, M&M is a set of building bricks, and Gurps a toolbox with endless raw material.
When it comes to ease of rules... well yes, M&M has the easier rules but ackomplishes this through superficiality and a general lack of depth. The Gurps rules are the more stringent and in itself logical ones. It takes a bit more time to get into the system, but once you understand the system, it is mostly self-evident. If you think that simple rules are an end in themselves, yes, M&M offers good rules. If you think they are a means to an end, they are somewhat lacking.
Even in its very core competence, super hero gaming, M&M is at best equal to Gurps . In every other regard, it is vastly inferior. If you like, we can make it a challenge - create a character of your choice in M&M, including background story, setting parameters etc. and I'll rebuild it in Gurps. Then I'll build a character in Gurps and you can try to rebuild it using M&M.
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2009-12-16, 10:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2008
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- Poland
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Simple rules are an end in themselves, they make the gameplay much faster. You rarely need more than building bricks to get the character you want.
I'm tempted about this challenge, but I'm not sure am I not too lazy to purposely make characters just for it. Not to mention that there are some settings M&M is bad for - very gritty games with little cinematic or supernatural elements, and Christmas Tree-effect games where you continuously buy/find better magic items.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
Spoiler
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2009-12-16, 10:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2008
Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Is there anywhere I can see a 'demonstration' of M&M's rules?
I'm also interested in this Persona 3 game Random NPC mentioned. Is there a source you can point me to for that?
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2009-12-16, 10:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
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- Fishtown, Germany
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Simple rules are an end in themselves, they make the gameplay much faster.
You rarely need more than building bricks to get the character you want.
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2009-12-16, 11:11 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2008
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- Poland
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
I disagree. Compare these two ways of estimating do you hit the enemy:
1. Roll 1d20 and add your attack bonus. If the number you get is the same or higher than enemy defense bonus, you hit, otherwise you miss.
2. For each point in your appropriate attack skill, roll d6d6 (not 6d6, d6d6), add 3/4 of the difference between your and the targer's Strength and 1/2 of the difference between your and the target's Dexterity if it's a melee attack, or 3/4 of your Dexterity and of your 1/2 Perception if it's a ranged attack. Substract the cover bonus, as written in the table on page XX, if it's a ranged attack. Square root the number you get, substract 3/4 of the target's Parry skill and 1/2 of the target's Dodge skill for a melee attack, or the target's Dodge skill for a ranged attack, as well as the square root of the difference between the target's and your Agility, if it's higher than 0. Compare the result to the appropriate number in the Fight Conditions table - if it's lower, then you miss, if it's higher, than you hit, if it's equal, you hit if your Tactics skill is higher than the target's. If you hit, roll on the hit location table...
Which method is simpler? Which method is faster?
So it's impossible to create a character that will be simple mechanically, yet interesting and complex as a person?
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
Spoiler
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2009-12-16, 11:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2007
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- Fishtown, Germany
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Originally Posted by Tengu
As a side note, a system were you only ever roll one kind of the same roll all the time without any circumstantial variety or tactical options would be an even worse choice than the convoluted mess example, as the sheer repretiveness, predictability and lack of any influence or alternation would make it incredibly boring.
Originally Posted by Tengu
A system that actively supports the development of characters with interesting strengths and weaknesses, and even small fluffy traits with little impact which are just there to give the character more depth and substance and helps to visualise the character. Especially for new players who have little experience in creating characters this is an invaluable assistance which helps to create well-rounded and diverse characters from the very beginning.
Besides, it is not only the investment but also the quality of character traits in the game. You can easily argue that traits which are hard wired into the rules have a lot more impact and substance than ephemeral traits without any counterpart in the rules. The one thing has supposedly an impact in the game, the other is pretty much arbitrary and solely depends on the wilingness to include them.
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2009-12-16, 12:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2008
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- Poland
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
It doesn't change the fact that more complex rules are slower, even if they are not convoluted, because even if you're completely familiar with them, there are still more processes you have to make in order to estimate the result of a roll. There is a reason DND abandoned THAC0.
And no, I don't think if there's any connection between the structure of rules and their complexity. Either a complex and a simple system can be elegant and logical, and either can be a complete, utter mess.
I must agree here, a game needs combat* options to be interesting. M&M, for example, gives you plenty of options - even if you purposely don't take any feats/powers that can be used tactically or as a reaction, you always have hero points and extra effort.
* - Or during other confrontations, but combat is the most common type of confrontation in most RPGs.
I never found it difficult to create a complex character no matter was the system in question complex or simple, or did it support creating characters with quirks or not - note that these two are not the same, for example DND 3.5 is far from the simplest rules out there, yet its mechanics have absolutely no support for character personalization. It's a great help for newbies, yes, but if you've got a bit of experience, you'll be able to create a multi-dimensional character even in TWERPS.
On a sidenote, M&M encourages creating complex characters too, in a simple yet effective way - the Complications mechanics.
I don't think so. Unless the game is very light on roleplaying, the characters' personalities and other things the mechanics don't cover will have an important impact on the gameplay, as well. I'd argue that every single aspect of a character depends on the willingness to include it in the game, be it documented by the rules or not - you could have a combat-heavy character, which of course takes a lot of room on your character sheet and is well documented by the rules, only for it to turn out that the game has absolutely no combat at all.
This gets quite offtopic. Taking it to another thread would be the best solution.Last edited by Tengu_temp; 2009-12-16 at 12:38 PM.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
Spoiler
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2009-12-16, 02:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
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- Starter town
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Re: Earthbound and other Wacky Modernish RPGs
Here's a preview of character creation. You need to buy the rulebook for all the rules. Or maybe browse around the M&M website here
The game Persona 3 is a PS2 RPG game. Really cool. We wrote up rules on how to play it. Basically we did a Power Level 3 character for our characters and a Power Level 10 for each individual Persona. All the players had one Persona each. We had to battle shades in our university.Image by Rich Burlew