High School Harem Comedy (Game System, PEACH)

[AvatarVecna]

So, while I'm in the process of updating fluff, I decided to take a bit of a break and update the sample characters. I figured that using characters of mine from some of the games I've played will give some people a familiar face in the new system, not everybody who plays HSHC is in those games. So I decided to follow Sgt Cookie's lead and use characters from other media - in my case, Manolo and Joaquin from "The Book Of Life".

Just a little something while I'm working on the rest.

[Illven]

So rules question. What happens if someone uses get wasted twice, without a skill roll in between?

I can see 4 scenarios.

1 The second penalty is ignored. Your next skill roll takes a -2 penalty.

2 The penalties double up. Your next skill roll takes a -4 penalty.

3 The penalty doubles in duration. Your next two skill rolls take a -2 penalty.

4 You simply can't use it again, till you discharge the bonus.

Thoughts?

[Esprit15]

I lean toward the -4, at least RAW. RAI, I would say you have to eat the penalty first. This prevents it from being used too easily with stuff like Down and Dirty.

[GM_3826]

So, how would you handle "Androphobia" or "Gynophobia" as an Advantage? I think it could work. Maybe -2 to Allure rolls and +2 to Luck rolls involving students of the opposite gender? Not sure as to whether or not that is "balanced", though.

[AvatarVecna]

[HSHC: R] Reuleaux Academy is looking for players.

Also, a chart akin to the one I made for the base system a while back:

Spoiler: Roll Substitutions

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Replacing	Replaced	Archetype	Power Name
Allure	Conflict	Imouto-chan	So Cute It Hurts
Allure	Conflict	Mahou Shoujo	Unorthodox Victory
Allure	Conflict	Shrinking Violet	Like Kicking A Puppy
Allure	Luck	Fae	Fortune Favors The Beautiful
Allure	Skill	Pervert	Carry My Books?
Conflict	Allure	Amazon	Death By Snu Snu
Conflict	Allure	Yandere	Murderous Love
Conflict	Luck	Amazon	Stubborn Persistence
Conflict	Luck	Celtic Lass	Stubborn Perseverance
Conflict	Skill	Eldritch Abomination	Absorb Knowledge
Conflict	Skill	Sukeban	Bully
Luck	Conflict	Catgirl	Nine Lives
Luck	Conflict	Miko	Fortune Talisman
Luck	Skill	Celtic Lass	Luck O' The Irish
Skill	Allure	Artist	Impressive
Skill	Allure	Idol Singer	Impressive
Skill	Conflict	Martial Artist	Practiced Kata
Skill	Luck	Gynoid	Calculated Odds
Skill	Luck	Otaku	Genre Savvy
Skill	Luck	Tech Whiz	Calculated Odds

[Lentrax]

I believe a while back there was a game that started using AVs revisions. I was wondering if that was still going and how people are doing with the new ruleset.

[Lentrax]

New archetype

Spoiler: Otokonoko (Crossdresser)

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”P-Protagonist-kun? No, he doesn’t know. I just hope he understands…. Because I like him, and I don’t want to upset him when he finds out that under my dress I’m actually a boy…”

Playing soldier, team sports? Snip, snails, and puppy dog tails? No. That isn’t you. You prefer satin and cashmere, silk and lace. You don’t know why. Maybe it excites you, maybe you were just born wrong. Maybe the sign of declining Venus was in the wrong quarter. Who cares? But you like to dress up. In dresses, even though you are a boy. Just hope Protagonist-kun is understanding when the truth eventually comes out…

Persona You’re a girl, and you dress like it. When dressed as a girl, you gain a +2 bonus to Allure rolls. This power does not ordinarily stack with other clothing bonuses, however, it will stack with Cosplay Enthusiast.

Eye for Detail Your need to conceal some certain things cause you to tend to notice little things that might escape the eyes of others. You gain a +2 to a Skill or Luck roll when you need to conceal or find something.

Soft Heart You are more delicate than your other male counterparts. Like a flower, you bloom with gentle beauty. Once per Episode, when you are in Persona, you can take a +3 bonus to your current roll. But like the flower, once picked, its beauty must fade, and you take a -2 penalty to your next roll. This power cannot be used in conjunction with Personality Flip.

Practiced Gait There is more to being a girl than simply dressing the part. You have to be able to talk the talk. And of course, you have to walk the walk. And you have it down cold. Twice per episode, you may substitute a value of 4 for any d6 roll.

One Body, Two Worlds You may not like it, but you’re still a boy. And on occasion, that can work to your advantage. Twice per episode, you can make a d4 Skill Roll. If you succeed, you gain a +2 bonus to your current Allure or Conflict roll.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice When it really counts, you can be the absolute epitome of feminine grace, charm, and beauty. Once per episode, you can automatically succeed at an unopposed Allure roll.

Thoughts?

[Illven]

Too strong.

Persona stacks with another clothing advantage which is completely unique for it's type of power.

Eye for detail is fine.

Soft heart seems unbalanced. It's triggering condition is pretty much up to the player. Over personality flip, a similiarish power, it grants it's bonus immediately, the bonus is larger. The fact that the penalty can't be controlled, I'm not sure it's enough of a downgrade for it's buffs.

Practiced gait is fine.

One body, two worlds applies to all checks, instead of powers that it's like that only apply to two.

Sugar, spice, and everything nice, is a strict upgrade from cold shoulder in that it can apply to opposed rolls.

[Lentrax]

Too strong.

Persona stacks with another clothing advantage which is completely unique for it's type of power.

Explicitly. None of the others state they don't stack. Which I thought necessitated the clarification here, for an occasional crossplay. And, as always, when and where outfit and costume powers apply should be strictly enforced by the Principal.

Eye for detail is fine.

Soft heart seems unbalanced. It's triggering condition is pretty much up to the player. Over personality flip, a similiarish power, it grants it's bonus immediately, the bonus is larger. The fact that the penalty can't be controlled, I'm not sure it's enough of a downgrade for it's buffs.

True. But Personality Flip is able to be applied twice an episode. I thought that by dropping it to once an episode makes he additional +1 a bit balanced. Plus, for personality flip, you take the penalty at a time of your choosing, to get a bonus at your leisure. I could limit it to just two roll types if it still seems too much. Skill and Allure, perhaps?

Practiced gait is fine.

One body, two worlds applies to all checks, instead of powers that it's like that only apply to two.

I forgot about it being limited. Which two would you think it should apply to? Allure and something else, but which one?

Sugar, spice, and everything nice, is a strict upgrade from cold shoulder in that it can apply to opposed rolls.

That is a whoops. I meant it to only be unopposed, and said it in my head as I was typing, but went too fast, apparently.

[Illven]

Soft heart states that it's twice per episode. And you can still apply the bonus at your leisure because you're choosing to start it. Hell, if you're able to you can even save one use of it to trigger at the last scene and avoid the penalty.

Probably Allure and Luck

And okay, that removes my concerns about Sugar, spice, and everything nice

[Esprit15]

I would add Luck as well to Eye for Detail, since both tend to involve finding things.

I would say Allure and Conflict if you really want to emphasize the cliche masculine and feminine traits for One Body, Two Worlds.

[Lentrax]

Updated Otokonoko with proposed changes.

[Sgt. Cookie]

I believe a while back there was a game that started using AVs revisions. I was wondering if that was still going and how people are doing with the new ruleset.

As someone IN the game, I have no idea if it's still going on. Vecna has not been heard from in either the IC or OOC threads since the end of last month.

To be fair, the unexpected website outage was a thing, but still.

[GM_3826]

As someone IN the game, I have no idea if it's still going on. Vecna has not been heard from in either the IC or OOC threads since the end of last month.

To be fair, the unexpected website outage was a thing, but still.

Here's Vecna's word on the matter.

Less "lost interest" and more "continually realizing with every post that they're a godawful GM". I should probably just semirandomly generate a bunch of characters and run them through the episodes I've got planned, see how they come out and how they compare to each other. Would certainly playtest things a lot quicker, and would mean I could stop jerking people around.

"Jerking around" was more referring to how I barely ever advance everything, but don't do the decent thing and just let the game die like it probably should.

[Lentrax]

So basically, no.

[Westhart]

This looks interesting, and that is coming from the guy who keeps anime/mange away with a 49 and a half foot pole

Seriously, never read/watched either (Cue hissing)

I like the look of it though... Maybe I will join a game of after my vacation if one is open...

EDIT: is there a hacker type?

[Esprit15]

I believe that would fall under the homebrewed Engineer archetype. It's actually being play tested right now.

[Westhart]

Ah, yet to encounter in my reading, but thanks ^^

[Mutazoia]

Been reading Rosario X Vampire again...and thinking about an HSHC game set in Yokai Academy, where only Protagonist-Kun is a non-supernatural type, and trying to keep it a secret....

[GM_3826]

Been reading Rosario X Vampire again...and thinking about an HSHC game set in Yokai Academy, where only Protagonist-Kun is a non-supernatural type, and trying to keep it a secret....

Spoiler: Rosario+Vampire spoilers

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I think it would be interesting if Protagonist-Kun knew about how humans were actually a rather common sight at Yokai Academy and tried to keep it a secret because he didn't want to be turned into a monster.

I'd sign up for this game, although please note that while I have some basic knowledge of later arcs of the series I've actually only seen the first season of the anime and read a couple of volumes of the manga.

[Lentrax]

I would be interested in a game with that setup, but right now I am full up on games.

[steelsmiter]

So I played this game WAY back in the day. I eventually became interested in a number of different indie systems while never losing interest for this particular game. I did however have quite a bit divergent interest in visual novels so when I played this game, I had combat rules. Later on I would end up making an PBtA hack for bot noncombat, and combat oriented visual novels. I originally sought permission from OP to use their material, but have since written around 200 pages of divergent material. If you're interested, you can check out the discord either through navigating my sig, or PMing me for it. If you're not, sorry to bother.

[JNAProductions]

So, I was bored, and watched a really neat animation.

It featured my girl Filia, from Skullgirls, and I thought "She's an attractive young lady. She'd probably have suitors. Why not make a HSHC game starring her?"

And then I decided to add my other favorite character (excepting Peacock, because... Yeah... Peacock wouldn't work as well), Squigly!

You can find the recruitment here.

[GM_3826]

This is a bit late, considering the fact that the High School Harem Comedy game I'm GMing is filled and about to start, but I just remembered that I had an idea for an Archetype worked out, and decided to make it and post it here for you guys to review.

Servant

Spoiler

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“Protagonist-sama, I will do anything for you. You need only say the words.”

Perhaps the protagonist saved your life, and so you feel the need to repay him with yours. Maybe you really are the protagonist’s servant, and just so happen to be young enough to go to the same high school. Perhaps you just idolize him THAT much. Any number of things could be true! Regardless, you have feelings unbecoming of someone who considers themself to be the protagonist's servant, and devote your body and soul to the protagonist. If only those other girls didn’t seem to have the same idea…

Devoted: You are always ready to serve. +1 on Skill rolls if you had the option of using another roll type instead.

Hardworking: No matter how many times you fall, you get right back up again. If you lose an unopposed Skill roll, you gain +2 on your next Allure or Luck roll. This ability does not stack with itself to provide any bonuses larger than +2.

Homemaker: You keep house, just like any servant. +2 to Skill rolls involving cooking, cleaning, and other tasks involved in the running of a household.

Live To Serve: Serving the protagonist is your only goal. +1 on unopposed Skill rolls.

Maid In Heaven: Even if you’re not an actual servant, that doesn’t mean you can’t look the part! +2 to Allure rolls while wearing a maid or butler’s outfit.

Perfect Maid: As a servant, you cannot show ANY weakness. Twice per episode, you may substitute a value of 4 for any d6 roll.

This archetype is designed to be gender neutral. Maids normally don't work very well for this game, since it's universally set in a high school where the protagonist is unlikely to have any, but making it fit any character with a vow of devotion helps fix that problem. My primary inspiration for this is one of the main characters of Haganai, Yukimura Kusunoki.

Also, as a bit of a fluff choice, I chose to have the quote refer to the protagonist as Protagonist-sama instead of Protagonist-kun. There's a couple of bonuses to unopposed Skill rolls, instead of opposed, for that reason, as well, since unopposed Skill rolls are more likely to involve directly serving the protagonist, instead of competing with the other girls. The archetype is also designed to semi-support the "clumsy but hardworking maid", hence the Hardworking but Maid In Heaven advantages. As for why Maid In Heaven is a thing, well, harem anime will take any excuse to shove a character in a maid outfit.

Good Cook and Shrine Caretaker are famously underpowered, so Homemaker is a bit better than both of them... it also doesn't make sense for a servant to be good at merely cooking and cleaning.

Please tell me if there's anything I need to improve on.

[AvatarVecna]

Alright, so I'm not sure how often this kind of character would necessarily appear in your typical HSHC anime (a point which you're clearly aware of), but you give enough example situations that make sense of it that I'm gonna overlook that issue and just think about whether the archetype is mechanically viable.

Homemaker: You keep house, just like any servant. +2 to Skill rolls involving cooking, cleaning, and other tasks involved in the running of a household.

Maid In Heaven: Even if you’re not an actual servant, that doesn’t mean you can’t look the part! +2 to Allure rolls while wearing a maid or butler’s outfit.

Perfect Maid: As a servant, you cannot show ANY weakness. Twice per episode, you may substitute a value of 4 for any d6 roll.

I'm starting with these three because they are, to me, the core of any straightforward Servant role, at least as far as one would exist in this game. Homemaker is a clear upgrade on a few different advantages that already exist, but as you pointed out those advantages are largely considered pretty weak due to being too circumstantial to warrant taking...and I recall somebody making something similar as a homebrew Universal, so that's fine. Maid In Heaven is on par with the other dress powers as far as balance goes: if you're playing with a dress code it's equal with other "+2 to one roll type in certain circumstances" powers, while if you're playing in a game without a dress code you can use it on every Allure roll and only suffer mild RP consequences. Perfect Maid is a classic ability and makes sense for this class.

Live To Serve: Serving the protagonist is your only goal. +1 on unopposed Skill rolls.

On the one hand, I think a bonus to Unopposed Skill rolls is very appropriate for a class that's not necessarily about directly competing for the protagonists' favor as much as passively proving your worth. On the other hand, my general thoughts on these powers is that, with how the community meta has formed around "circumstantial +2 to one roll" powers, this power would be more balanced if it was +2 to unopposed (making it theoretically apply to half of all Skill rolls, which is about as circumstantial as most +2 powers". +1 to unopposed {Type} rolls should generally be +2, IMO.

Devoted: You are always ready to serve. +1 on Skill rolls if you had the option of using another roll type instead.

I like the fluff behind this ability (essentially a mechanical benefit attached to "I am yours to command", but limiting it to Skill feels weird. I feel like it would make this archetype much more versatile (always a good thing to have in your archetype) by potentially letting you gain a Conflict bonus as an alternative to the Skill. That is to say, something like "+1 on any Skill or Conflict roll to directly aid the protagonist" or something, letting you fight for them as well as work for them. This opens up this archetype to a "gang minion" or "hired muscle" kind of role, or even just the "kickass servant" trope that shows up sometimes (Alfred in Batman, Butler in Artemis Fowl, Miss Pauling in TF2, etc). I can understand leaving it as it is, but a change like this would still fit the fluff and would still allow some skill focus while giving this archetype a way to get a conflict bonus.

Hardworking: No matter how many times you fall, you get right back up again. If you lose an unopposed Skill roll, you gain +2 on your next Allure or Luck roll. This ability does not stack with itself to provide any bonuses larger than +2.

I'm always skeptical of abilities like this. As near as I can tell, this kind of ability isn't super-useful for a Weak Skill Build because getting it as often as other people will get their "circumstantial +2 to one roll" powers requires intentionally tanking a bunch of rolls, which defeats the point since it means guaranteeing you can't get VP from a bunch of scenes. AFAICT, the most optimal way to use an ability like this is sticking it on a Strong Skill Build so that, on the occasions where the dice screw you over on an Unopposed Skill roll, you can at least get something out of it. Ultimately, though, I don't think you could get this power to come into play as often as you'd need to for it to be worth a power slot. That you can't stack the bonuses just makes it even worse. I'm not really sure how to build a power around this kind of fluff, though. I would suggest looking at how people have fixed Shrinking Violet's "Quiet Patience" if you were going to remake this ability. It's probably fine as-is, but I can tell you for sure that I'd never take this power or other powers like it.

As a suggestion for an additional/alternate power, I would suggest some kind of teamwork ability, mechanically identical to either the Celestial's "Compassion" or the Sports Star's "Do Your Best". An ability that gives a boost to your competition in exchange for making life better for Protagonist-sama seems appropriate to a class more focused on helping the protagonist than competing for their love directly.

[GM_3826]

Mmm, good points. If Hardworking really is underpowered, perhaps something like this would work better, following your suggestion?

Team Up: Your goal is making the protagonist happy: there’s no reason not to assist others who wish to do the same. Twice per episode, you may grant +2 on another player’s roll. If they receive VP as a result, you receive a VP bonus equal to half of what your target received, rounding up.

I think Compassion's mechanics work better than Do Your Best's, as Do Your Best seems to involve inspiring others, while Compassion's could easily be fluffed as helping out another haremette.

Edit: As a note, if I ever post this archetype again, I will definitely listen to your other suggestions. Although I would prefer more than one person's input, if possible.

[AvatarVecna]

Mmm, good points. If Hardworking really is underpowered, perhaps something like this would work better, following your suggestion?

Team Up: Your goal is making the protagonist happy: there’s no reason not to assist others who wish to do the same. Twice per episode, you may grant +2 on another player’s roll. If they receive VP as a result, you receive a VP bonus equal to half of what your target received, rounding up.

I think Compassion's mechanics work better than Do Your Best's, as Do Your Best seems to involve inspiring others, while Compassion's could easily be fluffed as helping out another haremette.

Edit: As a note, if I ever post this archetype again, I will definitely listen to your other suggestions. Although I would prefer more than one person's input, if possible.

Team Up seems good. And yeah, don't base all the changes on one person's opinion. I'm sure others will come by to give their thoughts as well. I'm also working on an archetype of my own, so hopefully when I post it, it'll get feedback too.

[GM_3826]

....Why didn't it occur to me that the Servant Archetype should have a clone of Problem Solver?

"Need Only Say the Word: If the protagonist needs help, you are always willing. +2 to Luck rolls when the protagonist is looking for a character to help him with something."

Duh.

[Illven]

Need only say the word, seems like it'd also work as fluff for a luck auto success.

[AvatarVecna]

A quick note that I'm not sure if this should count as a supernatural archetype, since it could easily just be a naturally unlucky person. I think it's about as nonmagical/magical as some kinds of Miko and Chuunibyou characters, but IDK.

Spoiler: Living Jinx

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"I prefer to think of it as making my life adventurous, Protagonist-kun~"

Maybe you were born under an ill omen, crossed the wrong witch, or destroyed a mirror shop. Maybe you're just naturally unlucky. Whatever it is, misfortune follows in your wake, and heaven help whoever gets caught in the crossfire as the universe plagues your every step with woe. But a little bad luck isn't gonna keep you down: with care and planning, you can do anything you set your mind to, up to and including falling in love! Your determination to succeed and experience with misfortune will give you the experience you need to navigate the minefield of love and win Protagonist-kun's heart!

Accident-Prone:Things just go wrong whenever you're around - usually for you specifically. +2 on Luck rolls involving stumbles, falls, and accidents.

Double-Edged Assistance: You wanted to help out, really, but it...went bad. Twice per episode, you may give +2 on another girl’s roll. On the next roll in which both you and your target participate, she takes -2 on her roll and you gain +2 on yours.

Karmic Balance: Whether it's the universe paying your back for your misfortune, or your own attempts to prepare for the worst, sometimes things end up going your way just a bit. Twice per episode, you can choose to roll an additional die and take the lowest result in the die pool. In exchange for doing so, in any later scene you may roll an additional die and take the best result from the pool. If the former would coincide with an ability letting you roll twice and take the better, or the latter would coincide with an ability letting your roll twice and take the worse, you roll normally instead.

Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Three times per episode, every girl rolling in this scene must roll twice and take the worst roll, including you. If another player uses Contingency Plan, they ignore this effect; if you use Contingency Plan, the two powers cancel out for your personally, letting you roll as normal.

Prepared For Anything: You're prepared for the worst to happen, to the point that nothing can really catch you off-guard anymore. Three times per episode, you may attempt an extra D4 Luck roll which grants a +2 on a Skill or Conflict roll if successful.

Unfortunate Aura: Everybody's unlucky when you're around. Twice per episode, you may impose -2 on all Luck rolls made in a given scene.