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12:36, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult.

Posted by Ginkgo Bear
Ginkgo Bear
member, 225 posts
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 13:04
  • msg #1

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Have had a desire to put together a game that begins in the modern world. Players lead right out a day or so of their life as regular people in any contemporary game. But on day two of the in game time, it gets real weird. Nobody really knows how or why it happened, but the world changes instantly.

Suddenly the world is a blend of the modern and the fantastic, a unique combination of the two settings. Although it's initially a great shock people begin quickly acclimating to this blend, and some begin making changes to fit this world.

In my head I imagine there is an element of randomness to it all, maybe a little chart people roll on to see what traits of a fantasy race they begin to develop into, or to determine if they have access to any sort of magic. Player choice is of course a factor in this, but the randomness is appealing.

Lots to work out in this, but before I do I wanted to see if there's any interest in the player base.

Plenty of room to include a lot of other stuff,can throw in some zombies,maybe some steam punk stuff,maybe even dinosaurs, who knows?
hughesnjd
member, 54 posts
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 13:12
  • msg #2

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I've played a couple of similar games over the last few years, and sadly both died. I enjoyed both (particularly the last one) immensely.

What kind of system would you use?
Dream Sequence
member, 48 posts
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 13:20
  • msg #3

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I'd be interested in hearing more.
DaCuseFrog
member, 76 posts
SW Florida
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 13:24
  • msg #4

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I also was part of a game like that.  It was D&D 5e that started on Earth, then wound up in FR.  Our backstory had some sort of an explanation for the class we wanted to play, but we started as level 0.  Sadly it died, but this definitely is an interesting concept!
Ginkgo Bear
member, 226 posts
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 13:41
  • msg #5

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I've also played a few games where normal people are taking to handsy setting, but blending the two together has never really come up. I imagine that while the world physically changes Sowood what we have in our belongings. Suddenly that heavy coat in the winter becomes some suit of armor, and you are favorite kitchen knife becomes a long sword. Add some extra urban elements to it, some conversion to subways into buildings, the city Park is suddenly a massive forest in the middle of the kingdom, that kind of stuff.

As for a rules system, I've never been good with keeping up on them so I tend to lean towards freeform. Managing the writing and creative process is far more interesting to me, but a light rules set could work. the only one I really have experience with is the Window.

A lot of this comes back to a story I wrote sometime ago about people suddenly waking up in a foreign land, and their goal is to journey to this sacred mountain. When they reach it, they can return to their former life, but along the way they begin developing traits of this new world , and at the end they ultimately make a choice of staying in his fantastic place or returning to their old life.

So to that end, the story would be about the initial shock of waking up in this world followed by a gradual but sometimes rocky transition to becoming fit for the new one.

 the randomness element of it would be something along the lines of, maybe eight races, a few "classes", access to magic, available equipment, that kind of thing. Everybody would have to roll, but you would get a few reroll if you don't like the results, and you also can pick one or two categories that are entirely up to your choosing. Having a curveball thrown at you was fun, but playing something you have zero interest in or doesn't fit your character is not.
hughesnjd
member, 55 posts
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 15:12
  • msg #6

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Your story sounds a bit like the Wizard in Rhyme books, which I really enjoyed. I'm still interested, if you take this forward.
steelsmiter
member, 2047 posts
BESM, Fate, Indies, PBTA
NO FREEFORM! NO d20!
Mon 23 Sep 2019
at 16:18
  • msg #7

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Ginkgo Bear:
Suddenly the world is a blend of the modern and the fantastic, a unique combination of the two settings. Although it's initially a great shock people begin quickly acclimating to this blend, and some begin making changes to fit this world.

quote:
What kind of system would you use?

I'm down if it's Modern AGE (ideally with Freeform Character Creation).
Low Key
subscriber, 233 posts
Tue 24 Sep 2019
at 20:12
  • msg #8

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Interested
Especially interested if you're talking modern people who get fantasy aspects encroaching on their modern lives in a modern world where everything's going sideways. Rather than modern people being thrust into a D&D-esque setting.

Would prefer freeform, but if you go with a system it'd have to be either one I know or very light and easy to learn.
Ginkgo Bear
member, 227 posts
Tue 24 Sep 2019
at 20:47
  • msg #9

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

In reply to Low Key (msg # 8):

 On my drive home I came up with the idea that each person makes two characters, a modern one and one based in the fantasy world. When this dynamic shift happens, those two characters begin to merge, but it's at the discretion of the writer how that transition occurs. But just one thought process there, you are correct that it would be people from the modern world who are dealing with this transition. Even if it's that two character thing, the core perspective should always be from the modern character.
Bornite
member, 75 posts
Tue 24 Sep 2019
at 22:36
  • msg #10

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

In reply to Ginkgo Bear (msg # 9):

Interesting idea there.  If I can find some free time this looks like it could be a lot of fun.
Low Key
subscriber, 234 posts
Wed 25 Sep 2019
at 10:07
  • msg #11

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

In reply to Ginkgo Bear (msg # 9):

Oooh, I really like that idea!

The thought of having two contrasting characters who are influencing each other is really interesting...
Ginkgo Bear
member, 229 posts
Thu 17 Oct 2019
at 14:37
  • msg #12

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I've been sitting on this idea and have come up with something to potential add.

I love all genres and it's difficult to pick one or even two to make into a game or story, so I have an idea that would mix them all; fantasy, apocalyptic, and Western into one stew.

Is that much variability in a singly story generally frowned upon, or is it something people are interested in trying out?
Cold-Dragon
member, 6 posts
Thu 17 Oct 2019
at 17:06
  • msg #13

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

While I find the idea interesting, not sure I would play in it depending on end system. I can't resist adding a comment on the mix though.

The three are totally mixable if you do it in the right ratio. Not counting the world merger stuff before, you can have said apocalypse with its partial recovering, going for a bit of pioneer goodness to mix in the western bit adding in old tech bits or remakes (thus gunslinger still viable) and the fantasy creeps in steadily with the mix. Not unlike Arcanum I suppose!

So totally doable I think, you just have to place the ideas in the right slots and you'd get something interesting out of it, and arguably compatible to the merging world bit too. Heck, for all we know, said apocalypse kicked Time and Space in the pants and that's all part of it...
Ginkgo Bear
member, 230 posts
Thu 17 Oct 2019
at 17:55
  • msg #14

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

To go in line with that universe thing you mentioned, I thought about this being book ended by an author frustrated with his latest book. So he just starts writing random stuff, and that's what the player characters are doing. At the end of each chapter or whatever, it would have the author reflecting back on his work and giving a foreshadowing for the future plotline.

I'll check out arcanum!

 honestly leaning towards freeform, as I mentioned before I'm almost solely interested in the story and the writing
steelsmiter
member, 2060 posts
Thu 17 Oct 2019
at 19:32
  • [deleted]
  • msg #15

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was off-topic, at 19:54, Thu 17 Oct 2019.
UnseelieLord
member, 78 posts
Survival of the fittest.
We're all gonna die.
Tue 29 Oct 2019
at 02:08
  • msg #16

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

That's a really interesting idea. I've been in a few games over the years that ran along similar themes, and it's always a really interesting dive in terms of character creature and growth. The story itself is usually where the ball gets dropped and the game withers and dies.

I'd still be interested, especially if you go freeform. I don't really care for systems in collaborative writing roleplay.
Starchaser
member, 671 posts
Tue 29 Oct 2019
at 09:00
  • msg #17

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Count me interested. However, if its system based I'd need help. The only system I'm 100% familiar with is Call of Cthulhu.

Also, not a huge fan of random die rolls during the chargen process (Yes I know COC does this which is why I often change it into a points-based chargen system).

Plus, the die roller hates me!
Experiment262
member, 1 post
Mon 23 Dec 2019
at 02:40
  • msg #18

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

I'm interested. Lots of scope for character development as was said above.

At some point I will have to bite the bullet and learn how dice-based roleplay works but I am not at the stage yet!
Cubist
member, 85 posts
Thu 26 Dec 2019
at 12:54
  • msg #19

IC: modern/urban fantasy, writing intensive, likely adult

Only just now noticed this thread. Here's a possible idea for the setting, which I explicitly renounce any ownership of, so anyone who wants to use it is welcome to:

Ovid's Towers
  • Basic idea
    The real world is being gradually replaced by a magic-capable sorta-kinda-D&Dish world.
  • Campaign opening
    Start on the current date in the current year. It's the contemporary RealWorld, complete with iPods and hybrid-electric cars and yada yada yada. On [date], at least one vast Tower, a thousands-of-feet-tall Tower (or Towers) constructed of some kind of stone-like mineral unknown to contemporary geologists, appears upon the Earth. Just like that—one moment, there was no Tower, and the next, there was.
    As time passes, things begin to change within a [number]-mile radius of the Tower (or Towers). Inanimate objects get completely replaced  by functionally-equivalent objects which one would expect to see in an advanced magic-using culture of a D&D campaign; some living things (humans in particular) become entirely different species (most-to-all of which are sentient without being human). Inanimate objects generally transform completely in one fell swoop, but living things tend to transform in a number of distinct stages, that number being determined by the relevant player's preferences.
    As even more time passes, more Towers appear on the Earth. And these new Towers share the old Tower's quality of inflicting TF on anything in their near vicinity…
  • Major focus of the campaign
    As I see it, an Ovid's Towers campaign revolves around the question of how a normal person copes when the world goes crazy around them. Will a PC try to maintain their old life as best they can, or will they join the efforts to investigate the Towers, or will they try to exploit whatever opportunities come their way in the inevitable chaos, or...?
  • Characters
    Start with normal, mundane 2014-friendly characters, who live anywhere in the world—that's why there could be more than one Tower; we need enough for all the PCs to live within some Tower's [number]-mile-across "danger zone". Ideally, each player should stat themself out, and play out their own personal response to this bizarre situation, but if the players don't want to do that, they don't want to do that. [shrug]
  • Rule-set to use
    GM's choice, of course—but given that this is an explicit mashup of genres, something like Hero System or GURPS would probably be a good choice.
  • Anything not covered above
    Ask the GM, who of course has all the answers for their campaign.

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