Unnatural Twenty

A friend of mine mentioned using flashbacks in a role playing game and it got me thinking about a Highlander RPG again. I never got around to playing or running one, and I think it was always because I couldn’t figure out why a group of immortals would work together. This shows how I was assuming the structure of the game would follow the standard D&D party style. Now I’ve experienced a few more games and ideas, maybe I can actually wrap my head around it and get it to work. Rather than try to fit the concept to a gaming group, I tried to imagine myself playing a game where my character was an immortal. Ars Magica has the Troupe System, where a player’s role changes depending on the session. In the Dresden Files RPG , one player might play a wizard, but the others could be vampires, werewolves, faery folk, or regular humans. It’s not necessary for each player to play a wizard, so why an immortal? Down Through the Centuries So if I’m playing an immortal that lives a long t...

In preparing for a role playing game based on the movie Inception I’m thinking of the following issues. Character Creation Rules System(s) Mission/Session Structure Campaign Structure Character Creation One implementation of an Inception style RPG ( L.u.c.i.d. ) uses archetypes to define the characters (the Architect, the Chemist, The Counterfeiter, and so on) which seems to copy very closely the team from the movie. I’d rather have a set of skills that are needed to run an extraction, and as long as the characters have all these skills then the team can succeed. If a player wants to define their character as an architect, they can still do that. Another part of character creation will be defining how the shared dream state is actually achieved. The movie is thankfully pretty vague there, so we can fiddle with the science involved to come up with something we all like. Initially I’m thinking that the target needs to sleep for at least two hours, and within...

I want to run a game based on the film Inception, so I’ve been talking it over with my usual group of players and thinking about it here and there. The main thing about the ‘feel’ of this game would be the difference between the real world and the dream world. I’m thinking that in the real world part of the game, we can use the GUMSHOE investigation rules. The player characters are investigating, using various skills and contacts to find out about their target. When it’s time to enter a dream then the GUMSHOE general skills system could be used, or perhaps a whole different rule system. At this point I need to watch Inception again. A lot has been written about it, but not from an RPG design point of view I think. In the real world scene where Cobb evades agents of Cobol Engineering in Mombasa, I could imagine the player of Cobb’s character using his general skills. However, since Cobb is specialized in working within dreams, the evasion is a pretty sloppy affair. Later in the...

Here's a quick system that can be used for ships, flying vehicles, submersibles, and other fantasy craft. In keeping with the design of Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons, I've used as much as possible from the rules that already exist, rather than adding a lot of new rules. Designing a vehicle is just like designing a character, and follows the same steps. In some cases a vehicle gets abilities that are nonsensical, it's up to the DM to replace them with something of equal power that makes more sense. For example, in a chariot race, the PCs might be using a tough armored chariot but be harried by a more maneuverable model. On their turn, they move their vehicle to melee and attack with its mounted ram. On their rivals' turn, they disengage and maneuver to range, attacking with their vehicle's mounted ballista. If the PCs want to attack the rival NPCs directly, they can use their turn for that, but each vehicle will have a crew requirement, so without the require...

I'm looking for an old school feel, but with the new fifth edition rules for D&D. Here's what I've got so far. Character Creation Start with the basic rules (no feats, no multiclassing, only 4 races and 4 classes). First, choose your race Second, roll ability scores, in order (3d6) for strength, dex etc. You can remove 2 points from an ability to add 1 point to another, but this can’t bring a score below 10, or above 16. Humans can be any class (of the 4). Human fighters get no archetype ability, but need 20% less XP per level. Halflings are rogues (thief) Dwarves are fighters (champion) Elves get the special abilities of fighters and wizards (d8 HD), but no archetype abilities. They need 40% extra XP per level. Third, choose background etc (finish 5e character creation). If your character dies, you can make a new first level character. Adventuring No long rests in dungeons. Leveling up only happens back in town. Encumbrance: You can carry one item ...

Wondrous Item, uncommon This spellbook is bound in red leather, and has Elven designs on the cover and throughout its pages. It may be used to record spells as per the wizard class description. When holding this and using the arcane recovery ability, a wizard may choose to substitute spells written within it for prepared spells. The total number of spells substituted can be no more than the number of slots recovered.

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement) This mask is made of a dark ceramic, and is mostly smooth like an eggshell. It grants you +1 to armor class, when you are wearing light armor, medium armor, or no armor. You have advantage on charisma (intimidation) checks, but disadvantage on charisma (persuasion) checks. Once per day, as an action you can cause the mask to become the face of a previous wearer of the mask. As a bonus action you can cause the mask to return to its normal appearance. Curse : This mask is cursed. The curse is only revealed when an attuned wearer removes it. On removal the mask takes their face, which now appears carved into the mask, leaving the owner with a smooth featureless face, without eyes, nose, ears, or mouth. The owner can no longer see, speak, smell, eat, or drink. Putting the mask back on restores the wearer’s facial features and all associated abilities.