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 Post subject: Shattered World OOC (I)
 Post Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2020 4:27 pm 
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You don't remember much of anything.

You wake up in a section of ruined structures. Some kind of castle, you think? Your view is lightly obscured by a thick haze and you can't see much of anything in the distance, but at least you can see see whatever is in front of you and near you. Within the walls the haze is light, but as you ascend a nearby tower to obtain a good view you're met with nothing. The view beyond the nearby wall is obscured by an impenetrable fog and utter darkness despite the light that is somehow permeating through the thick clouds above your shelter.

You have little on you beyond what you were wearing when you woke up here. How did you get here, anyway? Your memories are as hazy as the surroundings. You're alone, you think, but as you explore the ruins you find others. Strangers, as you don't know them, but also because their appearance is also strange to you. What few strands of memory you can grasp at, you know that they're as much locals as you are even as you realize they wouldn't be locals where you're from. Wherever you think that would be.

You're cold. You're weak. You're hungry and you're thirsty. You're far from your home and you have no idea where you are. And for some reason the fog outside fills you with dread...

Maybe you should find out what's going on.

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Shattered World is a game about finding out who you are while trying to survive in an environment that makes no sense. Everyone has a mysterious background that's been shrouded by a fog of amnesia, but from what little you can piece together none of you seem to be from the same places. You might not even be entirely of the same species, though you're all at least vaguely human-ish.

You'll start with few aspects and few skills, unlocking more as you go along and manage to remember bits and pieces of yourself. Everyone starts with one Home aspect and two Personality aspects, reflecting on how you act and what sorts of skills you might possess. One of you might be from a Steampunk World and have proficiency in tech from that area. Another of you might be from a Space Station and have knowledge of future tech. Still another of you might be from a primitive Tribal World and you're proficient in bows and hunting.

The standard Skill Pyramid will be used, and you'll have skills all the way up to 5th level, but only some of your skills will be unlocked thanks to your lack of memory. You'll start with five points to put anywhere (meaning you can have five level 1 skills or one level 5 skill, or any mix in between) and you'll unlock more skills and points as you remember more of yourself. Does that chemistry set seem familiar? How does that sword feel in your hand? You'll find out more of yourself as you go along and interact with your surroundings.

This is a story about finding yourself. Determining who you are in the face of complete oblivion. Finding your way home, if indeed you even have a home. And it's about surviving long enough to get that far.

Is anyone interested?

Same Fate rules as from Long Way From Home.
These ones, for reference.

Current Refresh Total: 3
Humphrey wrote:
Aspects:
Home world: Twenty Minutes Into The Future
Personality: Master of Disguise
Personality: Trickster

Fate Points: 2
Spare Skill Points: 1

Skills: 13/15
?
?, Deceit
?, ?, Stealth
?, ?, Investigation, Alertness
?, ?, ?, ?, Sleight of Hand

Stunts:
Clever Disguise

Wright wrote:
Aspects:
Home world: High Fantasy Age of Enlightenment
Personality: Over Educated
Personality: Fatalist willing to be proven wrong

Fate Points: 1

Skills: 14/15
?
?, Alertness
Investigation, Survival, Engineering
?, ?, ?, ?
?, ?, ?, ?, Guns

Stunts:
Cats Eyes

Rook wrote:
Aspects
Homeworld: Generic High Fantasy*
Personality: Wet Behind the Ears
Personality: Something to Prove

Fate Points: 2
Spare Skill Points:2

Skills: 15/15
?
?, Endurance
?, Athletics, Alertness
?, ?, ?, Survival
?, ?, ?, Engineering

Stunts:
One Hit to the Body

*Newtonian Dwarves


Last edited by Kajin on Fri May 08, 2020 8:07 pm, edited 14 times in total.
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 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:07 am 
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Definitely interested.

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 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:18 am 
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Awesome. Let me know if you have any questions.

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 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:20 am 
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The first question is about equipment. Can a Star Trek science officer start with a tricorder (or other minor implement of their profession) or does everyone start out with just the clothes they're wearing and nothing in the pockets?

Are Magic Worlds possible, and is it permissible to be a Wizard?

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 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:03 pm 
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If you want to start with gear of any actual significance you'd need a Personal Gadget stunt. Still not sure how many stunts I want the players to start with, but starting with at least one stunt shouldn't be too bad.

The world as it stands is going to be... somewhat modular. Certain aspects of it will conform to bits and pieces of the character's history and it won't be outside the realm of possibility that you'll end up finding a bit of tech and gear relating to the world you came from. So if you want a tricorder but don't take the stunt for it in the beginning, you can always find one later. Not guaranteeing it'll be in good condition, but finding old equipment you can potentially make use of isn't outside the realm of possibility

And I'm not sure about magic. I've been contemplating using some of the supernatural power rules from the DFRPG, but magic from that game is devastatingly effective and I'd rather things be a little more difficult. If I do go for magic I want it to be something either difficult to use or relatively simple but not as powerful.

At any rate, I'm not going to specifically exclude magic but it's something I'd need to work on adding a system for. Tying it into the memory mechanics so you start out with little and gain more as you remember more and more details about who you are.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:54 am 
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Okay, so no overt magic, and tech skills aren't going to be made useless by lack of suitable technology to use them with. Both good to know.

I assume that something similar goes for superpowers - nothing of great power/utility, though I imagine something like the ability to breathe underwater (i.e. strictly limited use) might be allowed?

How far does 'vaguely human-ish' go? Elves, dwarves, hobbits, nomes, borrowers? Minotaurs?

...Ents?

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:00 am 
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Yeah, the environment will react to the players based on their known aspects and their known skills. A player with a Home aspect denoting that they're from a Steampunk world would very likely come across steampunk contraptions they can work. Players with Guns or Archery skills would likely find guns or bows. A player with Guns skill that is from a Medieval or Renaissance world might find old style muskets, while a player from a world closer to the Industrial age might find a bolt-action or revolver. Note, most things found in the world are going to be in an extreme state of disrepair, so some maintenance will be in order. You might even have to scavenge multiple instances for parts in order to kludge together something that that can work. So if you want to immediately have something useful, take a stunt for it.

Powers taken from the usual Fate source we've been using will mostly be allowed. Powers from other sources will be taken on a case by case basis. As an example, the Aquatic ability from the Dresden Files RPG would be allowed.

The closer to at least the appearance of baseline human the better. So lots of playable races from fantasy settings are good. Elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, halflings, tieflings, aasimars, what have you. All fine. Rubber forehead aliens? Fine.

The closer to human appearance, the better. If the reaction of someone who has never seen them before would be "huh, what an odd looking fellow" then it's probably allowed. If their reaction is "ahh, monster!" then probably not. Minotaur are out. Ent are also out, which is just as well. They'd be... rather uncomfortable in this environment, I would think.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:15 am 
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So, people who look human except for one thing are mostly okay.

Just for completeness, what about the case when that "one thing" is that they're six inches tall?

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:33 am 
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I've been thinking about that one and I'm unsure how an individual that small would be able to work in the world. From the rules I'm establishing I think there would need to be a whole colony of them to do what needs to be done for survival, and I'm aiming for a more small-scale, low-number-of-characters experience. Consider that one out for the time being.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:41 am 
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Okay, fair enough.

I think I have a basic character idea in mind. A stage magician and actor, who is only a wizard in the sense that Torg is; that is, his 'magic' is all trickery and sleight-of-hand. Perhaps a bit of a con man as well.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:59 am 
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Alright. So to make your character is relatively simple. They'll have amnesia and won't remember much of anything, so they'll only have three aspects, five skill points (slotted anywhere in the tree), and one stunt. First aspect is your home world, which will tell us about your character inasmuch as the kinds of things they'll be familiar with. The next two aspects will be prominent parts of your personality, strong enough to filter through the fog your thoughts have been left in. You won't remember why you think and act like that, but they'll be the base for how your character acts for the time being.

So...
Aspects:
[Home World Aspect]
[Personality Aspect]
[Personality Aspect]

Skills:
?
?, ?
?, ?, ?
?, ?, ?, ?
?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Stunts:
[First Stunt]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]

You'll discover more about yourself as you go along, filling in more aspects, fleshing out the details of aspects you already have, gaining lost skills, and gaining lost stunts. Your character also isn't guaranteed to remain the same as they were before they became lost in this world, and can take aspects, skills, and stunts reflective of the time they spent trying to survive.

Also I'd like to mention that social conflicts aren't really something I'm good at designing, so I won't go too far into that kind of thing. So attempting to lie, deceive, or persuade people will likely be simple, one-off rolls instead of full scale conflicts. Conflicts will be more in the realm of physical combat and fighting off mental strain.

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 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:49 am 
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Aspects:
Home world: Twenty Minutes Into The Future
Personality: Master of Disguise
Personality: Trickster

Skills:
?
?, Deceit
?, ?, ?
?, ?, ?, ?
?, ?, ?, ?, Sleight of Hand

Stunts:
Clever Disguise
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]

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 Post Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:32 pm 
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Alright. Now that that's out of the way...

I'd ideally like a least one more player, but I haven't gotten overly much in the way of interest from other people. If I can't get another player signed up, would you be alright playing by yourself? Dunno if it'd be as fun, but I'd be willing to try and run it that way.

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 Post Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2020 3:25 am 
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I agree that it would probably be improved by adding a player, but if there are no volunteers then I'd certainly be willing to try it solo.

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 Post Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:17 am 
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Alright. I'll give it a few days and if no one joins by then we'll go ahead and start.

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