Project Odd: Player Primer

The first information on Rules will come in my next post. For now, here's what I would give to a player before starting a game with Project Odd.

Player Primer

You are not a Superhero. You may be great at some things, you may have access to spells of great power, but you're not going to survive getting stepped on by a gigantic boot or falling down a hundred-foot pit. As such, you should be careful.

Consider what Fantasy could mean outside of its most popular settings. There's always something new around the corner, be it shocking, confusing, intriguing or just odd. Magic is something you can use to your advantage, but never becomes innate or natural to you. The world is full of Arcana, objects of a magical nature, that could save your life or cause you a horrible death. Show them some respect.

Make sure you avoid deathtraps and know the risks of mortal combat. Monsters aren't target practice, they're monsters. Run, sneak, surrender, or bribe. Whatever it takes to survive your encounter with them is just as good as fighting.

This game is about exploring and problem solving, fighting is just one of the options at your disposal. If you do insist on killing the huge creature that's trying to eat you I suggest you find a way to do it without going toe to toe with the thing. Honour is for the dead.

Stone Age to Space Age

In stark contrast to my work on a Stone Age game earlier this week I've spent the last few days taking another shot at an idea I've never quite been able to make work. A Rules-Lite Science Fiction RPG.

Until now, that is.

I feel like I've made some real progress with a game I haven't got a name for yet. For now it has the project name Futureworlds, and I hope to post more about it when it's further refined.

So here's an imagedump of sci-fi settings that have been on my mind while writing the game.









The contrast of serious and more comedic strands of sci-fi in there is quite deliberate and something I'll go into more detail on at another point.

GAME OVER!

I'll level with you. This game idea is almost entirely inspired by the Street Fighter movie with Jean Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia that everyone hated. I can say without a hint of irony that I thoroughly enjoy this film. Yes, the characters mostly bear no resemblence to their videogame counterparts. Yes, they're mostly awful characters even if you forgive the first point. But something about the film just keeps me entertained from start to finish.

With that in mind I wanted to play around with creating a game where you could take that concept of martial artists fighting off mobs of masked soldiers before going toe to toe with the boss but draw it a little closer to the videogames that inspired it. Yes, in this game I'd like my hero to be able to throw a fireball or two.

All very preliminary. The idea is little more than 30 minutes old but FreeMind has drained the words from my brain and I present them infront of you in a foetal stage.




Stay tuned for what will inevitably turn into another game document. I should clarify I'm aware of a few RPGs out there that tackle this subject matter, but none of them have really grabbed me. Besides, more game design practice is never something I shy away from.