You know, for some reason, I was expecting the vampire and witch pictures to be from one of the anime ARK mentioned earlier. I am, however, pleasantly surprised and I wish I could homebrew as well as you, Komodo
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You know, for some reason, I was expecting the vampire and witch pictures to be from one of the anime ARK mentioned earlier. I am, however, pleasantly surprised and I wish I could homebrew as well as you, Komodo
This idea just occurred to me, an ability for tsundere.
Fetching Fury: You're surprisingly cute when you're angry. Twice per episode, you can use the result of a combat check in place of an allure roll.
At the rate things are going you'll have enough material for a kick starter by next week lol.
Yet another hare-brained suggestion. You know how in Mage: The Awakening, paradox is the result of human disbelief? Maybe humans in the "Magic Pack" can have a similar advantage. Something that lets them cancel one supernatural ability per episode.
This class relies completely on being reasonable and working with GM as otherwise it's ridiculously overpowered.
Sentai/Magical Girl Class
Spoiler“Have you ever noticed how she always seems to disappear just before something interesting happens?”
You have been blessed with a power! Whether this is from you being an alien, cursed by a god, subject to a lab accident, using superior technology, or you were just born that way it doesn't matter. Just as you'd expect keeping your true identity secret is difficult, and your love always seems to end up getting captured.
Empowered Movement: Whether by flight, superspeed, webswinging or something even more bizarre, you can use your powers to allow you to travel much faster. +2 on rolls to reach a location faster than other girls if you are able to use your powers to get there.
Kryptonite: The cause of your strange gifts also gave you a powerful weakness. While in the presence of your Kryptonite you suffer from -2 on conflict and skill rolls, but a +1 on allure and luck rolls because of how vulnerable you look.
Saviour: One of the main things about being a superhero is that you're a HERO! When making a roll where success would mean saving or rescuing someone, you gain +2 on the roll.
Secret Identity: Being a hero, you possess an alternate identity. When in costume, you gain a +1 to allure and conflict rolls. But because the protagonist won't realize that it is you, your secret identity gains an victory points while in costume rather than you gaining them. If your secret identity is revealed, you lose the benefit to rolls when in costume but gain half the victory points your secret identity possessed.
Superpower: You possess a power, you must decide what this power is with the GM's approval. This power applies a +1 bonus to conflict or skill rolls whenever you can use your power.
Hmmm....now that I think about it we're missing the "gay friend" trope. He's usually comic relief, popping up making veiled ( or in some cases not so veiled) passes at protagonist-kun (such as Fred Luo from Outlaw star or Mitsurugi Hanagata from Saber Marionette J) Often tries to "rescue" protagonist-kun from the onslaught of the girls... Probably more of an Uke than a Seme
The yandere already does this with "Murderous Love."
Everyone, thank you for your generous suggestions! Keep 'em coming as long as you feel like writing more. Once I've tinkered around with the advantages and gotten everything how I like it, I'll compile all this stuff into an expansion pack of sorts for the main game.
Also, I'm working on a simple mechanic for character advancement that should be done pretty soon.
So I have a notion for another mechanic.
Note - since one of the very first comments was AuraTwilight intending to start up an all-boys game and it brightened my day so much, I'm sticking to gender-neutral or alternating language. The game becomes a lot more interesting when you assume that any combination of genders and sexes are possible among the characters. Does this mean I should alternate between Protagonist-kun and Protagonist-chan...?
Edit: Apart from spoilering it to be more considerate of forumspace, I added a few to the list and made some more general. I think this is closer to a usable list.
Anyway...
SpoilerProtagonist Traits
Sometimes our protagonist isn't just a meek, colorless milquetoast, and has some quirks or interests that set him/her apart from the rest of the genre and show us what their appeal might be to the harem. This system can add interest to the character of Protagonist-kun and add variety to multiple rounds of the game.
As with character traits, the number of protagonist traits is pretty much arbitrary, but one rule of thumb is to have as many traits as there are player characters, or one more. This way, you can try to ensure that none of the PCs have an unfair advantage by using the traits to give a reason that each of them would appeal to Protagonist-kun.
How careful you are when you choose traits, and how hard you work to make them form a coherent character, is entirely up to you and your group. After all, the protagonist is rarely the selling point of harem anime. That said, it will probably be easier for your players to get into the game if they can understand what their characters see in our hero/ine.
One last note: many of these traits can be used to create a character who isn't exactly a choice catch. Well, love is blind, after all.
So here are some examples. though I'm noticing now that they're pretty "allure" heavy:
Hobbyist: Choose a task or interest, which could be anything from cooking to board games to a particular celebrity to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Protagonist-kun is all about this kind of thing, and PCs who share his interest get a +1 to allure checks in a scene where they both enthuse about his interest. Additionally, if a PC is attempting a task in this area and the protagonist is helping them, they get a +2 bonus to their roll.
Fetishist: Pick a particular quality that a person of the protagonist's preferred gender might have, which could be anything from glasses to long legs to freckles to cat ears and beyond. Any character who has this quality gets a +2 bonus to allure checks where the protagonist is concerned.
Otaku: The protagonist is completely obsessed with something. (Not sure about this one. I was imagining it as a more intense version of either Hobbyist or Fetishist, but now I'm not sure.)
Unforgiving: If some slight or insult during this scene has given your character a penalty to checks when interacting with the protagonist, the penalty lasts through the next scene.
Gentle: Every character gets a +1 bonus to checks to gain sympathy from the protagonist.
Thick-headed: All characters take a -1 penalty to allure checks with the protagonist when they are trying to be at all subtle. If they're basically throwing their undergarments at him, then either the penalty doesn't apply or the protagonist is calling the cops.
Accidental Pervert: Every character gets a +1 bonus to luck rolls to be caught in a compromising circumstance with the protagonist. This stacks with any traits the PCs have, so there will probably be a lot of tripping and groping going on.
Insecure: Choose a task, interest or hobby. If a PC shows the protagonist up with a spectacular skill or luck check, seeming to demonstrate superior skill or knowledge in this area (whether or not this is actually the case), they suffer a -1 penalty to allure rolls towards him for the rest of the scene.
Really Seriously Insecure: As above, but it applies in any area, not just a given one.
Horndog: Every character of the protagonist's preferred gender gets a +1 to allure roles when dealing with him or her.
Wandering Eye: It can be hard to keep the protagonist's attention sometimes. Pick some kind of character or object (attractive members of the protagonist's preferred gender are a popular choice.) As long as a PC is sharing the scene with these characters or objects, he or she suffers a -1 penalty to any rolls to interact with the protagonist.
Heroic: If a player character or innocent bystander is in danger, the protagonist immediately drops what she's doing and tries to help them, regardless of the risk to herself. The rolls required for a given rescue are not pre-determined by this trait, of course, but any PC can be awarded VP for helping the protagonist in her mission or being rescued themselves.
Villainous: The protagonist has some dastardly plan that may soon come to fruition. Player characters can gain VP for aiding in his machinations, but may just decide to reconsider their pursuit.
That kind of thing.
It is indeed. I needed something that would be recognizable as an alien, instead of just another pretty face. Thank you for the compliment!
D'aww...thanks so much.
Yeah, the problem with using pics from those anime is that there's nothing about those characters that would mark them out as a monster. Even the true form of the girl from Rosario + Vampire just looked like a white-haired noblewoman. I needed something unambiguous, which is why I used the Namekian for the Alien entry in spite of one of them never being allowed near an officially published harem story. I'd ask why all the aliens in harem anime look exactly like pretty girls, but I'd be answering my own question.
Well, that explains it.
And another hair-brained advantage for Meganekko (I think it should be obvious by now which of these I am IRL)
Savant-You are excellent at some skill to the exclusion of all others. Once per episode you may chose to take a +2 to any skill roll at the price of taking a -2 to all skill roles not directly related to the skill used in the first roll at the GM's discretion.
Updated the "protagonist traits" proposal. I think I might be going about this the wrong way, but we'll see. If it does work, then optional setting traits might be fun too.
Reading through the classes and personalities, some advantages appear to be balanced with two things in mind: one, all the PCs are the same sex (female, by default); two, the Puro-kun (or Puro-chan, as the case might be) is not. As such, any advantage that specifies a sex it works on, such as School Queen, might need revising in games where those things do not hold true.
I'll try to respond to a decent number of people here. If I haven't commented on something you posted, don't worry! I'm working my way along here.
So, I think the protagonist traits are a fun idea, and I'll definitely sort through your suggestions to see if there's anything I'd like to add, but I have a bit of a concern about a few of them. Having a protagonist react positively to a certain kind of roll basically weights the game in favor of characters who use a certain kind of roll - but that's really what the strengths and advantages are for. If the protagonist responds better to Allure rolls in general, then that's just another cherry on top for a girl who's already specced to take the Allure option whenever it's available.
True. That advantage in particular seems to be getting interpreted in funny ways during gender-swapped games, so I'll probably reword it to apply to "NPC students."
Hmm, possibly. If he's not meant to be a serious contender, he could really just take the form of recurring challenges that the players need to overcome to earn their VP.
I'll have to think about this one. Skill covers a really wide variety of activities, so I wonder if the benefit would be worth the drawback in that case.
That's a very good point about the imbalance, and it's one of the reasons I wasn't sure about this whole thing. My notion was that ideally the protagonist would have a quality that gives an advantage to each of the characters - so they strongly share an interest with one, respond well to another's strongest trait, have a fetish for the trait of a third, et cetera.
It might be better if I moved protagonist traits away from bonuses and penalties, though. It's still a work in progress after all. If you'd like me to keep hammering, let me know what direction you'd like it to go!
Mis-click ate my post...rage!!:smallfurious:
Anyway, I saw that we have a priest (of sorts), so why do we not have a goth? This situation is abot to get rectified.
I don't have a cool anime-style name, if y'all do please tell me.
(And an image...can't seem to get them to work...)
Spoiler
"So, Protagonist-kun...my friends and I are performing a skyclad ritual up by the lake. Wanna come watch?"
Your friends thought yo were crazy when you went goth; in fact, everyone who knew thought it was weird. Now, however, there's that new guy in class, and chances are that your Master would love to have his soul. Besides, he's cute.
Black Sacrament: It's a good thing the school has an Occult Studies course on campus. At the start of any scene you may make an unopposed (usually) Skill roll described as reciting some mantra you know. If you succeed, the first person who attempts to roll against you in this scene takes a -2 penalty to their roll.
Eternal Apathy: Death has a tendency of sucking the emotion out of people, and your simply another on the list. Once per episode, whenever your emotions might get the best of you, you can succeed on any rolls to resist; however, if you try to express emotion in the same scene you activate this power, you take a -2 to any rolls involved.
Killer Reputation: People have a bad habit of leaving their pets on your sacrificial altar in your basement. It would be a shame to let such good blood go to waste...and they haven't forgotten Jimmy in second grade. +2 to Conflict rolls when trying to freak people out who've heard of you.
YEs I know I'm mixing my metaphors a bit with the flavor text, but I can't help but see this as a golden use of RP if you can get the protagonist to go with her on one of these "rituals". Do I get a cookie?
Edt: Also are the Japanese names just from being serious anime fans or is there some sort of website?
And another one for the cuckoolander
Drift Away: Once per episode you may ignore any single social interaction (such as the "banishment in another realm"). This has the side effect of causing Protagonist-kun to feel a bit odd around you, and you take a -1 to Allure for the rest of the episode.
I imagine this to work like the Chuunibyou "banishes" the Cuckoolander and then she's like "Huh? I wasn't listening"
Will now be using this as a base for an idea that I just created (killed part of my fictional masterpiece but it's probably worth it) involving a world concept very similar to the Epic book series (life is video games, real-life violence is a no-no, world somewhat utopian, alien contact etc). Since a decent bit of the game will involve video game combat I may have to attach this to another system to get it to work, but in theory Conflict rolls ought to do it.
Just so you know, semi-Homestuck trolls are involved. Yes, I am posting stats for them as a race (they're the only other race so far). No, this is not what it looks like...well, at least not what you immediately think it looks like...:smallwink::smallamused:
Alternian Troll
Spoiler
"wHHen dIId yOOu shOOw up, pRROOTTAAGGOONNIIst-kUUn?
While being an alien race of war-loving emotionless/extremely emotional oddballs with bizarre speech may not be a human's first choice, you Alternians have been working alongside humans for a long time. It helps that you also throw some wicked parties now and again.
Alternian Blood: Having yellow blood can be really fun for you...although attackers might be really confused. When you fail a Conflict roll, your attacker takes a -2 to his/her next three rolls due to confusion over the fact that YOUR BLOOD IS TEAL!! WHY?!
Horns of the Zodiac: You have horns on your head; they look like candy corn and are attuned to your zodiac sign. When dealing with a person of the same zodiac sign as you, you add +2 to any related rolls (GM be warned, don't let the protagonist fall into this category).
Typing Quirk: People who don't know you find your texts REALLY confusing. Non-Trolls or people who have spent less than an act with you take a -2 when trying to decipher any writing you do.
In addition, an appropriate Universal Advantage that all PCs will have:
Gaming Scholar: Now that school is all about teaching people the game, kids are getting a lot more homework done. +1 to any rolls involving RPGs of the game variety (not rocket launchers).
Anyway, thought I'd share.
If anyone is interested, I posted a thread for a second playtest here.
A Rainy Knight, if I get players, might I PM you with any questions I might have?
JBPuffin: Well, sounds like an interesting idea! I've got no experience with Homestuck or anything like that, but I hope it works out well for you.
Ooh, excited to see what happens! Feel free to ask me on anything you aren't sure of. It'd be useful to see if my rules are explained clearly enough that someone other than me can run a good game of it.
Welp, I've been watching this thread with interest for a while, and I finally decided to break out of lurker mode and post some thoughts I've had, mostly questions about the reading of specific advantages, as well as a couple of possible suggestions.
In no particular order, the list is:
- I was curious to find out the reasoning behind the difference in Deep Freeze and Thaw Out's durations for the Kuudere; especially considering that five rolls seems like a fairly long stretch compared to some of the other girls' tradeoff abilities.
- In the case of the Graceful advantage in the Ojou class, does that automatic result of 4 allow for adding modifiers (like taking 10 would in D&D) or is it to be interpreted as a flat result for the roll, everything else aside?
- For the Meganekko, two advantages (Foresight and Just As Planned) depend on quite a bit of OOC chance. They do give reasonably large payoffs in return, but since taking them is a gamble it reduces that class' "dependable" advantages to only a set of two, while most of the other girls have four or five. This might just be my own play-style bias, but it seems like it would be worthwhile to add another consistent advantage to that class, or re-write one of the existing chance-based ones to incorporate more consistency. This suggestion also stems somewhat from my impression that mechanical dependability is thematically important for a class designed to represent a careful, plan-and-goal-oriented individual.
- The Iinchou class seems a little too light on advantages in comparison to the others; they've only got three in total while most of the other girls are working with 4-5. I know the advantage lists are still under development, but I'd suggest this class for priority treatment in the next round of updates.
- Finally, does the Idol's Star Quality advantage apply only when all the girls are competing in the same type of roll (Allure/Conflict/Skill/Luck), or just when all the girls are on-screen for a roll, so to speak? Also, in connection to that, does it apply to any roll or only opposed/unopposed ones?
Got a little bored at work to day so I fiddled around with a new class suggestion:
SpoilerSports Fanatic (not to be confused with Bokukko):
"Yata! That's another point for me, Protagonist-kun!"
Sports are your life. Your natural talent and determination have made you the best in the school in your chosen field. Even your sempai's bow to your skill. Whether its rythmic gymnastics or the girls kendo team, you've risen to the rank of team captain, a duty you take very seriously. You let little distract you from your duties and boy's are usually a distraction....protagonist-kun WAS watching just now...right?
Eye of the Tiger: When it come's to sports, you NEVER lose. When ever the chips are down and your back is against the wall, you summon hidden reserves of strenght that allow you to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Once per scene, during a contested or uncontested skill or conflict roll, and after the results have been tallied, you may activate this advantage to receive an instant bonus that would allow you to win. (Example if you roll a 2 for a skill roll and your opponant rolls a 5, you can immediately get a +4 bonus to win). This ability comes at a price, however. The flaming eyes, grim face, and a chakra aura that would put a super-sayan to shame...you are NOT cute when your angry. During any scene in which you use Eye of the tiger to win a roll, you also receive a penalty to your next Allure roll equal to the bonus you received.
Fan Club: Your skill in your field has made you very popular, and you even have your own fan club. Once per scene you can cause another girl to take a -2 on an allure roll as your fans do their best to "help you out" by getting in her way.
Team Captain: Your experience as team captain has tought you how to lead effectively. Once per scene you may collaborate with one or more of the other girls, receiving a +1 bonus to any one roll for every "team mate" that participates.
Hard body: Your intense physical training has made your body lean and fit. As a result other girls take a -1 penalty to any conflict rolls against you. Unfortunately your lean figure prevents you from taking the "well endowed" advantage.
Observation: the universal advantages are surprisingly popular, leading to a cast full of well-endowed athletic girls. Perhaps it could be useful to limit each universal advantage to one cast member (possibly two if the cast is sufficiently large - maybe a minimum of five players). This helps differentiate girls and say things like yes, all the girls can cook with some skill (except the ones who are weak in Skill rolls), but Saeko is the best cook among them.
It can probably be alleviated with a greater variety of univantages. Or perhaps by adding a rule for Rivalries when two girls use the same advantage. Not sure how it would work, but my first thought... the girls agree on or roll for their pick of: keeping the normal bonus OR forgoing the bonus to gain extra VP as long as she checks higher than her rival, even if she fails the check herself. The girls may not take the same option.
Maybe add one more for three-way rivalries, but any more is silly :P
Small update time! A new advantage each for the Pervert and Cuckoolander, and two new advantages for the Iinchou, bringing them all up to at least four advantages each, the standard I'd like to shoot for.
The reasoning there is that I'm an idiot :<
That's a mistake I didn't fix from the first draft, it seems. They're both supposed to be three turns in duration, so I'll fix that.
It's like taking 10 in D&D. You treat the result of your d6 roll as a 4.Quote:
- In the case of the Graceful advantage in the Ojou class, does that automatic result of 4 allow for adding modifiers (like taking 10 would in D&D) or is it to be interpreted as a flat result for the roll, everything else aside?
Mmm, you have a point. I'll think about this, though I'm certainly open to suggestions. I'll probably look through firedaemon's suggestions in this regard, too.Quote:
- For the Meganekko, two advantages (Foresight and Just As Planned) depend on quite a bit of OOC chance. They do give reasonably large payoffs in return, but since taking them is a gamble it reduces that class' "dependable" advantages to only a set of two, while most of the other girls have four or five. This might just be my own play-style bias, but it seems like it would be worthwhile to add another consistent advantage to that class, or re-write one of the existing chance-based ones to incorporate more consistency. This suggestion also stems somewhat from my impression that mechanical dependability is thematically important for a class designed to represent a careful, plan-and-goal-oriented individual.
Oh, one thing that I might add, though - the way I envisioned it, Just As Planned serves as a counter to someone dumping a ridiculous number of advantages on a single roll. If someone stacks up so much that they'll almost certainly win, then Just As Planned pulls the rug out from under them.
Two new advantages in this update! They're basically type-swapped copies of existing abilities, but it's a start.Quote:
- The Iinchou class seems a little too light on advantages in comparison to the others; they've only got three in total while most of the other girls are working with 4-5. I know the advantage lists are still under development, but I'd suggest this class for priority treatment in the next round of updates.
Every girl has to be doing exactly the same roll for that to count, so they have to be the same type. It's only a +1 bonus because it's guaranteed to activate anytime there's only one option in a scene.Quote:
- Finally, does the Idol's Star Quality advantage apply only when all the girls are competing in the same type of roll (Allure/Conflict/Skill/Luck), or just when all the girls are on-screen for a roll, so to speak? Also, in connection to that, does it apply to any roll or only opposed/unopposed ones?
Yes! I was absolutely thinking of doing something along the lines of this. I'll have to have another look and see what I think of your advantages, but this is definitely a class I want to add.
You're right. I'll have to add something about this, though I'd also like to try to alleviate this by just adding a greater variety of universal advantages to pick from.
Fear not, supernatural lovers! I really do want to add a big ol' update with all those races in it, so I'll keep working at that.
Question time!
- Do opposed rolls always reduce another roll in the same scene, or can they be used to earn VPs (for example, some sort of contest where there can be only one winner)?
- Can all roll types be used both opposed and unopposed?
- Is there a minimum or maximum number of options in a given scene?
-They can definitely be used to earn VP. Your two main types of opposed rolls would be one-on-one Conflict rolls to interfere with each other and group opposed rolls where a prize is given to first place (or maybe to the top three, or maybe a different prize for second place, et cetera).
And just to elaborate here, you can offer rewards other than VP for a successful roll. A success on one roll might give you a bonus on the next roll that actually rewards VP. Or maybe only the people who succeed on one roll get to participate in the next one.
-All roll types can be opposed and unopposed. I'll try to give some examples.
Unopposed Allure: Charm an NPC into giving you information.
Opposed Allure: Get the protagonist to listen to you instead of the other girls.
Unopposed Luck: Find your way to the protagonist's house without a map.
Opposed Luck: Be the one girl who gets walked in on by the protagonist.
Unopposed Skill: Make a bento lunch that isn't disgusting.
Opposed Skill: Win the dance competition all the other girls have entered.
Unopposed Conflict: Scare off the bullies bothering the protagonist.
Opposed Conflict: Beat the other girls into submission and win your place as the protagonist's date to the ball.
-There's no minimum number of choices (well, there has to be at least one choice, really :smalltongue:). The maximum is however many you feel like offering. Maybe you'd offer one option of each roll type. Maybe you'd offer two options that both depend on Skill, where one of them is higher difficulty than the other but offers a great reward. And so forth.
I don't think it's a problem though. Or rather it's one that the DM should decide if he wants to enforce.
Using the well endowed trait, because Anime. I can see games where noone selects the trait, some where only 1 or 2 girls select the trait, or some where the majority/all girls pick the trait.
Is the goal of the game really harmed if that happens? I mean seems stereotypical anime-ish.