So I am working on a hack for the Something Awful August contest. I started with a Sliders meets X-Com+Stargate+Fringe/worthy kinda thing with Loresheet inspired research and base management but this kept popping into my head:
Rock & Roll World Racer Extreme!
In a way its really two games, all the “wacky” adventures off the Track and then the Race Day. The stuff off the track was pretty easy to handle , though not as archetype driven as most PbtA games, it puts Megacorps as Fronts that try to get as much advertisement for their sponsorship dollars, the Handlers that keep the talent from dwelling on their futures and Drivers that have to kill each other on Sunday and then go to an Event on Tuesday evening. Essentially, its the worst parts of being in a band and extreme sports. Wanted to get some feedback on this:
Agendas
Fill the PCs lives with Bullshit!
Make the PCs feel like a commodity
Keep the story Extreme!
Principles
Fill the Void with Rock and Roll
Address yourself to the characters, not the players.
Make your move, but misdirect.
Make your move, but never speak its name.
Occasionally, Show the Party from the other-side
Make the Party the only place you want to be
Give everyone a life, dues to be paid, and ties to each other
It should be all rise, baby!
Happiness is always one more payday away
Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.
Be a fan of the PCs.
Treat your NPCs like stolen cars, owned by another PC
Give your NPCs simple motivations that divide the PCs
Sometimes, disclaim decision making.
And, I am a little conflicted on path I have gone down though for detailing the race day as it gets a bit board-gamey. Essentially, you use a deck of cards to lay out the track with card numbers being an obstacle rating and the suites determining the roll involved. The course is ambiguous until defined by the PC that first encounters the feature who gets to detail it and have the others face it as well.
Thoughts?
Nice! And in a single post, you have convinced me that I really need to join the SA forums!
You should, and then you should take part in the contest! There’s still ten days until submissions close, and over two weeks until the deadline; that’s more than enough to come up with basic moves, GM principles and four AW-sized playbooks. /shill
I had a firm anti SA-Forum stance for a long time, but that was because the old forums were a toxic wasteland. Now its only a wasteland and full of a lot of great things
So here is my update on the hack. Its actually all most in a playable condition:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApUHj0VAykHTdHRuQzJwOG52a1VWUDVIWDVqUW54bWc&usp=sharing