RPG Creation Contest II: Hidden Worlds

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

RPG Creation Contest II:
HIDDEN WORLDS



"There are more worlds than stars in the sky.
Understand? They are everywhere, big and small, close as your skin. They are everywhere. Some ye can see an’ some ye cannae but there are doors, Tiffan. They might be a hill or a tree or a stone or a turn in the road or they might e’en be a thought in yer heid, but they are there, all aroound ye. You’ll have to learn to see ‘em, because you walk amongst them and dinnae know it. And some of them . . . is poisonous."

From Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men

In the RPG Creation Contest, you don't create content for an existing roleplaying game, but a full fledged roleplaying game of your own. It can be as rules-light and simple as you want, so long as it is playable and has a coherent rules set. It can be done in 24 hours, so a month should be plenty of time.

This month's theme: alternate fantasy universes that are accessible from our own.

RULES

You will be creating an original RPG with an original premise. It can not use an existing rules set or be based off of any existing media. The setting and rules must be your own.

You must explain the rules. After reading through your game, it must be clear how to play. You can assume that the reader knows basic RPG concepts and has played D&D or something similar.

The entry must be between 2000 and 8000 words. This length is short enough to be readable in a short amount of time, but long enough to sufficiently describe the setting and rules.

The game must have been created for this contest. No submitting creations of other people, or games you have made earlier.

The game must be about a fantasy world, or multiple fantasy worlds, that can be accessed by people in the real world. There will be a different theme next month.

THE CONTEST WILL BE CLOSED AND VOTING WILL BEGIN ON OCTOBER 30TH. GOOD LUCK!

[Knaight]

Out
There are some who cannot cope with the world. Some plagued by mental ailments, isolated, abused. There are those for whom depression is not just a constant battle, it is a lost one. They've found a way out, into what they believe is their daydreams and their fantasies. They are wrong. What they've found are new, very real worlds, that can only be accessed through them. They can't know that these are real, that would damage them more than anything, but you need to enter them, and for that, the realities have to merge, and the masquerade must be kept.

Enter a game about depression, suicide, and escapism.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Enter a game about depression, suicide, and escapism.

So every misconception people already have about D&D.

[Knaight]

So every misconception people already have about D&D.

No. The idea is a serious game, that handles a serious topic. It is intended to make people think, and to get away from problematic cultural portrayals of the topics it addresses. If some self appointed moral guardians get the wrong idea due to an understanding limited to stereotypes, that is their problem. For that matter, said self appointed moral guardians are probably the people who need to play it, as they've consistently demonstrated an understanding of what depression and suicide is that makes the typical five year old look like a paragon of logical analysis.

[Hawkfrost000]

Does it have to be an "Alternate World" or can it be a more Masquerade like setting?

DM

[EccentricCircle]

Gosh, you're doing a contest each month.
hmmm, I think i'll sit this one out, once was quite enough!

[CarpeGuitarrem]

YES. Very much yes. I like this premise, I like it a lot. Count me in. I'll start brewing immediately...

[flabort]

I'll be following. Again. And again, not likely for me to join, but I'll try to try.

[Kazyan]

Ooo~ooh.

Is there some sort of official sign-up if I wanted to get into this?

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Ooo~ooh.

Is there some sort of official sign-up if I wanted to get into this?

No. You just need to post your RPG before the deadline. Preferably in PDF format.

[flabort]

Stupid PDF format...
Yeah, just saying this, if I do submit anything, it probably won't be in PDF format. That's beyond my computer (it doesn't even have the ability to view PDFs! Unless... maybe if I try a browser other than firefox? IE, maybe? doubt it.).

Yeah, it's getting really glitchy, it's old, and Firefox won't let me log in to several sites anymore. And when I open it up, it automatically switches to "work offline" Every. Single. Time. It's just two clicks to deactivate that, though. It says it failed to initialize the security component of the application when I start firefox up, I think that may be the root of the problems I have.

No ideas yet, but when I do have an idea, I'll see if I can't figure something out. Probably not. I'm not very good at writing Hint, Hint, to DSKPs.

[Knaight]

Stupid PDF format...
Yeah, just saying this, if I do submit anything, it probably won't be in PDF format. That's beyond my computer (it doesn't even have the ability to view PDFs! Unless... maybe if I try a browser other than firefox? IE, maybe? doubt it.).

If you email me a .odt or .doc I can send you a .pdf back. Though if you can't read them something is up - Google Docs can handle reading .pdf, as can the free Adobe Reader. If you plan to take me up on this, shoot me a PM.

[IcarusWings]

Well, I didn't get time to finish my entry for last month, but hopefully I'll do better this time, I've got a concept I like already. Here's a rough prologue:

-----

You want to know what power is? Well, there are some that believe it is found through influence over others, there are some who believe that power is wealth, or force of arms. Some believe that power is knowledge of all things. They are all wrong. Power is found in stories my boy. Stories that grip you so strongly that you don't know what is real and what is not.

There are some tales that are as old as time, that have grown a will of their own. They repeat themselves again and again, creating the entirety of history like a spider weaves its web. They have to be told, they want to be told. They spin worlds of their own in the infinite potential of imagination, and it is easy, so easy, to get lost in them forever. Woe betide you if ever get caught up in one of those stories, son. They care not for the happiness of their characters, for it is tragedy that inspires them, tragedy that gifts them the ability to live on, and it is tragedy that will be your downfall.

Sleep well, my son.

[YouLostMe]

I probably won't finish in it time (or finish ever), but I'll go ahead and take a mixed dump of all my ideas right here for possible progress in the future.

Twin Worlds
There is the mortal world that we all know and love, filled with cars and computers and people who play Touhou, and then there is a parellel world, which slightly overlaps ours. Its environment and inhabitants are more extreme, almost engineered to their specific places of dominion. Occasionally, this parellel world overlaps with our own, bringing pieces of the environment and occasionally new critters on over.

The more civilized of these creatures come and go from our world on missions or to build their own societies. Their presence is minute, but constant in our world, and their work remains almost entirely ignored by most of mankind.

Races
There are three overarching types of civilized creatures, the ones that PCs can play. They are ogres, salamanders, and fey.

Ogres: Ogres are usually durable beings. According to much common stereotype, they're ugly, but in reality most ogre traits don't include barf-colored skin or twisted faces. Ogres are constitued by troglodytes, giants, and goblins.

Salamanders: Salamanders tend to be quick creatures. Their physical appearance is almost ridiculously variable. Salamanders are constitued by dragons, wurms, and fiends.

Fey: The fey are usually highly aware. Most inhabit forests, and look most humanoid at a glance--closer inspection actually reveals that fey bodies constantly shift in color, texture, and shape. They fey are constituted by gnomes, ents, and trolls.

[Howler Dagger]

Will there be a banner for this one? Anyway, i think ill take a stab at this again:

In 2031, scientists developed the Hubble Inter-dimensional Telescope (HIDS). It could look into the fabric of the universe and sense the most basic information on other ealities. One thing unexpected that they found is that our world isnt the "prime world", which other worlds are fashioned from. Eeach dimension had a "gimick". Our worlds gimmick is unknown, theories range from "what if the planets was populated with lazy, fat, violent morons" to ""What if God's chosen people lived on earth". The first dimension, and the last, tohat they opened up a portal to was the Perfect dimension, where all living beings lived in harmony, and there was no violence or pain.

Humanity did not like what they saw. It was the perfect world, and it did not have humans. It was an insult from the universe, it was saying that a perfect land lacked humans. Of course, humanity's first instinct was to destroy it. But they discovered one of what are now the Three Laws of the Perfect Alternate Dimension (TLPAD): No being shall feel pain or be hurt in anyway or form. And they thus could not be hurt there. Warfare failed, and now only liscensed proffesionaled are allowed to enter.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Will there be a banner for this one?

Yes. As soon as I feel like making one.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I created a banner for this month's contest. I thought the last one was a little big, so I made this one smaller and more subtle.



Copy-able code:

[URL="http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217189"][IMG]http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/640/bannerimage.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[Knaight]

I'm dropping this for now, as my perfectionist streak kicked in a bit too much for me to finish. I may be able to do something which is far less serious and touches on far fewer concepts of actual importance, but no promises.

Also, we still need more voting for RPG Creation Contest I.

[Lord Loss]

Travel Yonder (Title Tentative)

There's a place out there, just out of reach, behind that grove of trees you've never entered, or in that classroom you never thought to look in. It's all around you. Waiting for you. Beckoning to you. But you'll never each it. It'll always be there, just out of reach, taunting you.

Unless...

Unless you're willing to pay the price. To throw away your heart's desire, to cast away your life, to break all the bonds tying you to our world. To gamble your life away, probably to eke out a miserable existance, all for a glimpse. A glimpse of things as they really are, for a glimpse of magic, a glimpse of impossibility. A glimpse of the Yonder.

EDIT: Expanded on the idea

Yonder is a strange place made up of the hopes, dreams and memories of everyone. Important icons, ideals, places and people are personified in Yonder, appearing under the same light as their public image, following the most common stereotypes that are attributed to them. Sometimes, more than one version of a person might appear in yonder, if there are two or more major perspectives upon them (e.g a man seen as a tyrant by some and a hero by others). Important figures of the past and present spontaneously appear in Yonder alongside fictional beings such as gods, creatures of folklore and urban legends. Finally, the people who make their way into Yonder on purpose or by mistake also exist there.

Came up with another idea, working on that. See below for details.

[BarroomBard]

I've been having a little trouble coming up with an idea I want to pursue, but if I can think of something in the next few days, I'll toss my hat in as well.

If only so there are more than two games to vote on

EDIT: Ok, I think I've got it:

The Meek Shall Inherit

You're a kid. And you suck. You're kinda fat, or you're a four-eyes, or you're a girl (and thus have cooties). You have to deal with thuggish bullies, cruel teachers, merciless coaches, and parents who would rather go to the office than to your baseball game. The only thing that makes life bearable is the Gang, your collection of misfits and oddballs who are each as much of a loser as you are.

And then you get the Call. Hidden behind the mundane world, there is another. A world of magic, faeries, goblins, and adventure. And they need help. Unfortunately, all they got... is you.
-----
"The Meek Shall Inherit" is a game about kids learning to overcome their weaknesses and along the way, maybe rescue a maiden or two.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Okay, I'm hoping to get this entry in, but here's the elevator pitch for what I'm planning, just to tease you all.

Andersen Shadow
Your father, and your father's father, have passed down legends of strange things in this world, of times when there was life on its surface, fresh air above the Ceiling, when the sun did not rain death down upon humanity. Down here in the Crypts, humanity preserves legends of a great man, a hero, Andersen, and the world that followed him.

A world of fish-women, faithful toy soldiers, and a pale white woman encased in a castle of ice...this is the world that Andersen saw. It is a world of wonder, a world of magic, and the tales of humanity keep it alive. It is also whispered that, for those who can kindle the spark of wonder in their hearts, passage to that world is possible.

It is a new world, a young world. Does it deserve to meet this broken, battered world?

[Bearpunch]

Monsters in the Closet.

It is really hard to sleep with those eyes peeping at you from the darkest corner of your room, isn't it? I can imagine, it must be tough. Your parents, your friends, they don't believe you. But I do. I know what you are seeing, because I can see you right now...

Monsters do exist. No, really. They do. In their own seperate world, they thrive. In their own sealed off section of the universe, they remain, beasts beyond description, as mad as they are huge. The problem is, sometimes worlds collide...

Life as a kid is really hard. Life as a kid is even harder growing up seeing eyes poking at you from your closet. Talk about traumatizing. So traumatizing, even, that your parents thought that you had a mental problem, so they sent you to Nightlights Sanitarium. The monsters still come to see you though, but now they get mean...

I am planning on having a rules-light more storytelling focused system, featuring plot hooks for both playing as kids and adults, as well as some form of bestiary. Basic stuff, really.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Monsters in the Closet.


Monsters do exist. No, really. They do. In their own seperate world, they thrive. In their own sealed off section of the universe, they remain, beasts beyond description, as mad as they are huge. The problem is, sometimes worlds collide...

Life as a kid is really hard. Life as a kid is even harder growing up seeing eyes poking at you from your closet. Talk about traumatizing. So traumatizing, even, that your parents thought that you had a mental problem, so they sent you to Nightlights Sanitarium. The monsters still come to see you though, but now they get mean...

I am planning on having a rules-light more storytelling focused system, featuring plot hooks for both playing as kids and adults, as well as some form of bestiary. Basic stuff, really.

Sounds quite fun. If I ever play, I will drench the closet in gasoline and totrch it instead of opening it.

[Bearpunch]

Sounds quite fun. If I ever play, I will drench the closet in gasoline and totrch it instead of opening it.

Good idea. You win!

[Kazyan]

Two more sections and a transferring from notebook to page, and the basics will be done. This is the only non-lame way I can describe it:

Abstraction
It’s not really a secret, but it’s not commonly known. After someone becomes a mathematician, it’s assumed they know: the universe isn’t done yet. The immutable, perfect laws of reality are, to put it simply, in beta testing. So what happens when you find a bug? You end up breaking the system in a very specific way: rifts in the fabric of reality, leading to pockets of space. Don’t leave the rifts undestroyed too long, or they start changing. Structures appear gradually, and then after a few days, you see people inside. Strange people. Human-like, but surely not homo sapiens. And if you’ve broken reality hard enough, you’ll see things you won’t even recognize as humanoid.

The reason you haven’t heard of any this? You have to use the right words after you discover something new. Quod erat demonstrandum.

[Noctis Vigil]

Oh man, a topic I love. If I had any experience and could write worth crap, I would enter this. Since I don't and can't, I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. "The Meek Shall Inherit" will almost indefinitely see use by me when finished, if I can find people who want to play in my gamer circle. "Abstraction" would interest some of my friends, I'm certain.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

RULES

You will be creating an original RPG with an original premise. It can not use an existing rules set or be based off of any existing media. The setting and rules must be your own.

And I was hoping I could finally make that Thomas Covenant RPG...

Oh well, let's see if I can finish something to enter this time.

[akma]

I doubt I`ll finish this in time, but this is the concept:

Lost hopes, dreams and potential

People have hopes. People have dreams. People have potential.
But most of it isn`t fullfilled – people lose hope, people give up on dreams, people don`t live up to their potential.
But all those hopes and dreams are not lost – they are fullfilled in other worlds. For every lost hope, dream or potential, a spirit is created.

Recently, the spirits came to a realization – if the human that is the source of them is murdered, they die too. This escalated their wars, and many came to our world – some to protact, some to murder.



The team of players could play spirits created from the same person, making sure he doesn`t live up to his potential and make sure his dreams won`t come true, as that would destroy them, and possibly making humans of their enemies fullfill their potential and make their dreams come true.
They would be sort of protacting angels that would keep the person alive but also make sure the person life won`t be fullfilling.

Alternatively, the players could play humans that will find out about the secret war on their life. About the spirits that protact them, and seek to keep their life unfulfiling. They could also try to go to the other worlds – how would a world filled with spirits of lost hopes would look like? How would a human fare there?

[Lord Loss]

Title Pending

I came up with a better idea for my RPG. Instead of the original idea I posted (Travel Yonder), I'm going to go with something a little more Steampunk. I don't have a title for it just yet, but here's the idea for it:

Children are being taken in the night by creatures called the Snatchers, taken to a horrible factory presided over by demons and terrible clockwork creatures. There they are forced to slave away, until they too begin to resemble their mechanical overlords, until they too lose their free will, their identity, their self, and become just another cog in the machine.

[flabort]

Hmmm... sounds like a melding of the first part of The Golden Compass, (The Snatchers, sound like the Gobblers before you find out what they really are), and part of Pirates of the Caribbean, movies 2 & 3.
And steam-punk, and sweatshops.

And is the PCs role as a rescuer, as a servant, or as an overlord? Or a Snatcher, maybe?
Sounds fun, by the way.