High School Harem Comedy (Game System, PEACH)

[Mutazoia]

...So I've been thinking....

1) Harem manga/anime usually start with the protagonist already having a crush on some one. The formula is usually Protagonist-kun likes girl A but is afraid to tell her. Girl A likes protagonist-kun but is afraid to tell him. So to simulate this, how about if, after character creation, the GM (maybe start calling that position the "Principal"?) assigns each girl a number and secretly rolls to see who protagonist-kun has a crush on. Maybe add one more number than the number of girls to give him a chance of liking some one not actually chasing him.

2) Right now Protagonist-kun is kind of on dimensional. Perhaps he should have a few perks of his own to flesh him out and make his interactions with the girls a bit more interesting. For example, if Protagonist-kun is on the track team, the Sport Nut will have a slight advantage...but say he's also an Otaku, so the manganka will have an inside track as well. Some things would be obvious and known to all girls (being on the track team for example), but some things will be secret and have to be discovered during play (say, protagonist-kun's love of ecchi manga (giving both the Pervert and the Manganka a bonus). Girls using his interests to get closer to protagonist-kun could receive a +1 during a scene (or +2 if that interest coincides with their own).

[JBPuffin]

IT LIVES!
As a tangent, does anyone else find themselves making harem stories out of just about any non-harem media they enjoy?

My first dig into this system was actually an alternate timeline to the story I'm writing; the main guy protag was the target, the girl characters I had at the time were all over him b/c of certain events, and the Lancer to the protag's Hero was basically tasked with being a distraction, albeit a pretty terrible one. Now that I have an actual cast to throw at it, it could be pretty funny to try this again...

Beyond that, though, I find myself completely altering the actual events of various games in my head to make them fit my vision. Or, at least, the reason behind those actions. Its a great pastime .

[Lentrax]

I second renaming the position of GM to Principal. Much more High School sounding.

[BWR]

...So I've been thinking....

1) Harem manga/anime usually start with the protagonist already having a crush on some one. The formula is usually Protagonist-kun likes girl A but is afraid to tell her. Girl A likes protagonist-kun but is afraid to tell him. So to simulate this, how about if, after character creation, the GM (maybe start calling that position the "Principal"?) assigns each girl a number and secretly rolls to see who protagonist-kun has a crush on. Maybe add one more number than the number of girls to give him a chance of liking some one not actually chasing him.

2) Right now Protagonist-kun is kind of on dimensional. Perhaps he should have a few perks of his own to flesh him out and make his interactions with the girls a bit more interesting. For example, if Protagonist-kun is on the track team, the Sport Nut will have a slight advantage...but say he's also an Otaku, so the manganka will have an inside track as well. Some things would be obvious and known to all girls (being on the track team for example), but some things will be secret and have to be discovered during play (say, protagonist-kun's love of ecchi manga (giving both the Pervert and the Manganka a bonus). Girls using his interests to get closer to protagonist-kun could receive a +1 during a scene (or +2 if that interest coincides with their own).

Thirding the idea of 'Principal'.

While Protagonist-kun having a crush on one of the girls is common in the stories, and various interests that might work better with certain archetypes, I think it would actually be worse for game in general. For one thing, if the players know beforehand what to choose, they will likely choose it, thus reducing the number of archetypes that will see play. Secondly, I think most people would be a bit annoyed that their character has a distinct disadvantage compared to other PCs based on something unknown and out of their control. While harem stories abound where certain hopefuls are obviously the 'right' choice, or where some obviously have a better chance than others, I don't think this is a good thing to do in a game where the players should be more or less on equal footing.

[jseah]

Lol, reading the thread. @ page 6 now. Negima / Omamori Himari runs almost true to form.

Well, the dungeon crawl idea could be married to the standard high school format by using an adventure / quest where the Protagonist-kun and Harem are on a quest to defeat a BBEG just like an RPG (or perhaps just trying to live peacefully while being attacked).

Thus the game then revolves around winning Protagonist-kun but also keeping him alive. It also allows character deaths where one of the girls dies (I smell noble sacrifice scenes) because P-kun only needs to rescue a new girl or turn one from the BBEG in order to introduce the player's new character.
The VP won through death scenes could be high, and with high prior VP to add to, a dead girl could win at the end. Which indicates a downer ending or perhaps a ressurection quest (where the currently alive girls now try to win more VP than the dead girl before the quest ends, a bit like a race).

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More generally, I could see altering this for use as some kind of group-dynamic system for when there isn't a need for blowing things up.

[Metahuman1]

That sounds like it could be an interesting variant for less mundane games (where aliens and/or super powers and/or supernatural creatures and action scenes to go with the love what-ever-angles are the norm.), but I just can't see that working too well for a more mundane group of high schoolers.

[Mekboy]

You could mix the two together. School for monsters, super-heroes saving the world while leading a normal life at school, that kinda thing.

[Metahuman1]

That's not really a mix though. When you have aliens, supernatural beings, super hero's, ext, you either have them out in the open, or operating in secret under the radar. It's a staple of most forms of media, Harem related or otherwise, that there either one or the other in universe.

So, again, I propose it works better as a variant rules set that can be included in the game, or not included, depending on the desires of the players and GM of each session. And yes, that does get into more actiony stuff a lot of the time, which could be really cool for showing off certain archetypes at there finest like The Martial Artist, The Magical Girl, The assorted Supernatural one's giving a reason why people might fear them, The Strong girl Archetype (physically strong.) that I talked to Rainy about before his Hiatus and he said he liked the idea of and put on his to do list, ext.

And since I'm a fan of those kinds of archetypes as a rule, giving them more room were they can really shine is something I'm bias in favor of doing. But it should still not be a mandatory thing for every game as I get that other players who are less enamored with those archetypes would be less interested.

[BWR]

Honestly, I don't really see you need any extra rules to portray supers/aliens/mechs/whatever.
Conflict works just as well whether it's a slap fight between two normal teenage girls or whether it's girls in flying power armor (that inexplicably fail to cover their faces, cleavage or thighs) blowing up small mountains at a time - eveyone just needs to be on the same power level.

[Mutazoia]

Thirding the idea of 'Principal'.

While Protagonist-kun having a crush on one of the girls is common in the stories, and various interests that might work better with certain archetypes, I think it would actually be worse for game in general. For one thing, if the players know beforehand what to choose, they will likely choose it, thus reducing the number of archetypes that will see play. Secondly, I think most people would be a bit annoyed that their character has a distinct disadvantage compared to other PCs based on something unknown and out of their control. While harem stories abound where certain hopefuls are obviously the 'right' choice, or where some obviously have a better chance than others, I don't think this is a good thing to do in a game where the players should be more or less on equal footing.

Well the idea is the players don't know any thing before hand. This information is made in secret and not shared with them. Like they just meet protagonist-kun on the first day of their first year of high school and he already has these interests. They would have to find out what they are through play. (The track team one would be easy to find out...other's not so much.) This would require the girls to actually get to know protagonist-kun, rather than just fawning over a 1 dimensional piece of set dressing.

[A Rainy Knight]

Since I'm trying to take a sort of fresh start on things here, I thought I might as well lay out a central guiding principle for what I'd like to accomplish with this system.

Keep it simple, stupid.

I think I'd like to keep the framework of rules simple, add more content to choose from when making your characters, and let the players' imaginations handle the rest. I was trying to make a game that I'd enjoy GMing when I first started working on it, and I don't want to keep track of lots of rules! I think the basic Allure/Conflict/Luck/Skill mechanic has enormous versatility on its own, and I'd like to see how much I can wring out of it without even introducing any other game mechanics.

Scheming imoutos and so forth? Sounds like something the GM could handle within the existing scene framework, by framing the players' reactions to these characters as Allure/Conflict/Luck/Skill rolls.

A more interesting protagonist? The GM can make that happen just by guiding the flow of the story and the protagonists' actions, without necessarily dragging the rules into it. Additionally, like someone mentioned before, I'm not particularly keen on giving the protagonist any traits that overtly favor a girl with certain advantages, since that discourages creativity if the players know about it or makes the game take place on unfair footing even if they don't.

"The Principal," huh? It's got a nice ring to it, but I'm a little too lazy to go edit it in when I've got this other stuff to work on.

[Durazno]

My notion for protagonist traits was that each player would get to pick a trait that advantages their own character; the tsundere would say that he enjoys arguing, the writer would point out that he is an avid artist, the sporty girl would point out that he admires strength and grace, and so forth. That way, protagonist-kun would be characterized as a guy who could fall for any one of them. They wouldn't necessarily have to be mechanical, I suppose, but traits would still be a good move.

EDIT: Alternatively, this could be reversed - we can assume that the archetypes the players choose are aspects that protagonist-chan would be attracted to, so maybe each player could say one of the reasons that she would be attracted to their boy, and the protagonist's characterization could be inferred from the mix of characters that the players made.

[Lentrax]

"The Principal," huh? It's got a nice ring to it, but I'm a little too lazy to go edit it in when I've got this other stuff to work on.

Pssh. We just gotta make sure Mutazoia knows about it so it can get edited into the PDF. You don't gotta do anything, Rainy.

[steelsmiter]

...So I've been thinking....

1) <snip>the GM (maybe start calling that position the "Principal"?)<snip>

2) Right now Protagonist-kun is kind of on dimensional. Perhaps he should have a few perks of his own to flesh him out and make his interactions with the girls a bit more interesting. <snip>

I'm already using both of those ideas. Since my game takes place in a university (due to its adult nature), I use the term 'Chancellor', but it still stands. I facilitate the second by allowing Protagonist Tratis, and also allowing protagonists to take on normal abilities. any time a dice roll is mentioned, I assume either a 3 or 4 and use the ability to guide the difficulty for any player driven tasks. I've also assigned the plethora of protagonists "Automatic VP Conditions" in which they grant others automatic VP.

Beware though, if you ever consider my game: I took a nod from Persona and it's possible to enter Relationship Reversal in my game (which only works due to the fact that it's VERY long term).

[A Rainy Knight]

My notion for protagonist traits was that each player would get to pick a trait that advantages their own character; the tsundere would say that he enjoys arguing, the writer would point out that he is an avid artist, the sporty girl would point out that he admires strength and grace, and so forth. That way, protagonist-kun would be characterized as a guy who could fall for any one of them. They wouldn't necessarily have to be mechanical, I suppose, but traits would still be a good move.

EDIT: Alternatively, this could be reversed - we can assume that the archetypes the players choose are aspects that protagonist-chan would be attracted to, so maybe each player could say one of the reasons that she would be attracted to their boy, and the protagonist's characterization could be inferred from the mix of characters that the players made.

These all sound like fun ideas, but for now, I'm going to leave this stuff to the players' imagination/discretion. I'll just focus on the basic mechanics for now.

So, I think I've got all the Interference references cleaned out of the supernatural archetypes, and I've started adding a bunch more advantages to the main archetype list... expect more to come soon. The idea I have in mind with this latest round of advantages is to add a bunch of weaker, +1 advantages which have less specifications on when they can be used - for instance, instead of requiring something specific in the setting like stealth or sharp edges or nudity, they might apply to all opposed Allure rolls or all optional Allure rolls. (It might also them easier to use in settings that are significantly different from your usual high school, where the common tropes aren't so common anymore.)

I think I'll bump up the default number of advantages soon, since what I'd like is for players to be able to pick a nice mix of weak, general advantages and strong, specific advantages. That way you don't end up getting shut out of most of your advantages by circumstance, but it's still exciting when you find an opportunity for something that's right up your alley.

[Mutazoia]

These all sound like fun ideas, but for now, I'm going to leave this stuff to the players' imagination/discretion. I'll just focus on the basic mechanics for now.

So, I think I've got all the Interference references cleaned out of the supernatural archetypes, and I've started adding a bunch more advantages to the main archetype list... expect more to come soon. The idea I have in mind with this latest round of advantages is to add a bunch of weaker, +1 advantages which have less specifications on when they can be used - for instance, instead of requiring something specific in the setting like stealth or sharp edges or nudity, they might apply to all opposed Allure rolls or all optional Allure rolls. (It might also them easier to use in settings that are significantly different from your usual high school, where the common tropes aren't so common anymore.)

I think I'll bump up the default number of advantages soon, since what I'd like is for players to be able to pick a nice mix of weak, general advantages and strong, specific advantages. That way you don't end up getting shut out of most of your advantages by circumstance, but it's still exciting when you find an opportunity for something that's right up your alley.

Updating the PDF....

Rainy if you could PM me a list of the changes so I don't have to hunt through all the rules to find them ;)

[Esprit15]

Gym Class example still has interference.

[Amaril]

So are there any games of this going on right now? I was having a lot of fun with that other one that died off. I know this really should be in recruitment, but I have to admit I'm a little embarrassed to ask about a game like this around people who aren't also potentially into it

[Esprit15]

Eh, makes sense. It's probably the best place to advertise that you're recruiting.

[A Rainy Knight]

Updating the PDF....

Rainy if you could PM me a list of the changes so I don't have to hunt through all the rules to find them ;)

I'll just let you know once the dust has settled on all the stuff I want to change. ^^;

So are there any games of this going on right now? I was having a lot of fun with that other one that died off. I know this really should be in recruitment, but I have to admit I'm a little embarrassed to ask about a game like this around people who aren't also potentially into it

I'd like to run a game once I'm finished adding things here. I mean, that's what I always say, but I feel pretty good about this round of changes. And this time I'd like to plan the game out a little bit beforehand, so I'm not constantly coming up with things on the fly.

[Esprit15]

Ooh, sounds fun. Let us crazy people know when you're opening recruitment!

Also, question for Mekboy since I saw him here: Is that game you started a while back still alive? I know you said that you would be back once finals were done.

[BWR]

So are there any games of this going on right now? I was having a lot of fun with that other one that died off. I know this really should be in recruitment, but I have to admit I'm a little embarrassed to ask about a game like this around people who aren't also potentially into it

I know the feelling.

[Mekboy]

I'm afraid with one thing and another it kinda got left behind. I may try and start up another game at some point in the future, but stuff still kinda crazy with me right now.

[Esprit15]

I'm afraid with one thing and another it kinda got left behind. I may try and start up another game at some point in the future, but stuff still kinda crazy with me right now.

Don't worry, I get it. Real life comes first.

[gr8artist]

So I've seen this pop up dozens of times in the last year and finally broke down to look at it. I wish I'd done so sooner. The simplicity and versatility you've achieved simultaneously is astounding.
I have not read the whole thread, as it is late/early and my insomnia is finally starting to fade.One problem I found was in your use of the phrase "conflict interference" or just "interference". While this seems like a no brainer thing to decipher, its never explicitly stated, but is used as if it were a game mechanics term. Some clarity would not be amiss. - oops
Also, in addition to renaming the GM as a The Principal, I suggest reordering the four rolls into Conflict, Luck, Allure, and Skill, so you could say the girls had CLASs. (Much like KAMB's Brawn/Ego/Extraneous/Reflexes system, or BEER)
I starting fleshing out a similar game called D@#%sels, where you played the role of kidnapped debutantes trying to escape from dungeons. You had no combat stat, but had Willpower to determine how quickly you swooned, and Charm to convince monsters to help you. Your system is far better and more in-depth.
I am surprised there is no catgirl in the supernatural archetypes list, or space/time traveler.
Have you taken a look at Pokethulhu? Its free in PDF form and is a humorous and interesting combination of Pokemon and Lovecraft lore. I would love to see a mash up of these two games.

[John Cribati]

Interference is a rule concept that's being taken out because it's complicated. Just that every reference to it hasn't been hunted down and deleted yet.

[BWR]

I am surprised there is no catgirl in the supernatural archetypes list, or space/time traveler.

Animal-girls general would be an excellent archetype, and I can't off-hand think of an existing one that would fit. Space/Time traveller would also be fun, but is there anything they can do that isn't covered by an existing archetype? Perhaps some fancy gadgets or knowledge of the future or something that give a bonus to certain rolls or scenes.

[Esprit15]

Animimal-girls general would be an excellent archetype, and I can't off-hand think of an existing one that would fit. Space/Time traveller would also be fun, but is there anything they can do that isn't covered by an existing archetype? Perhaps some fancy gadgets or knowledge of the future or something that give a bonus to certain rolls or scenes.

Thirding the cat girls/other cute animal girl idea. How has this not come up sooner!?

Hm, what kinda of advantages would they get though... Only one that comes to mind right now is a bonus to Conflict rolls in unarmed fighting (those claws/teeth hurt like hell, man). Something for Allure, but I'm not sure how to justify it or where to make it apply.

[Milo v3]

Something for Allure, but I'm not sure how to justify it

Justified via pun, call it Animal Magnetism.

[Angelalex242]

So Interference didn't last? That's probably for the best. I believe Conflict was supposed to be 'all interference rolls' anyway.