RPR Archive The Game Designers Guild

I'd like to join.

And the Pirates RP looks very interesting.

 

Wow, I took credit for someone else's idea.

Awkward...Sorry 'bout that.

If we're doing a pirates RPG, I vote we stay away from using another franchise. Spoofing them, okay, but I think we should be more original. Unlike me (see above).

I like Prenn's semi-opening post, but we can improve on it.

 

definite possibilities with the current ideas.

three days between towns sounds good, time for interaction but not too long for those who don't want to do that.

quests... that's a good idea. making the end amusing could get to be a challenge, such as having a bottle cap collection or some such as the "ultimate" treasure.

i'll have more in the near future.

oh, on the opening post, maybe giving the wording more of a piraty flavor, such as using the word yer instead of you're? or ye instead of you? just a thought.

 

Good call Trimaj. I will update the OP when we get a few more oppinions.

 

What about a grand pirate adventure with someone opening up the doors of all realities and summoning the "best" pirates from all over including all forms of literature, media, and real life? I think the idea of a working will (some) well known characters will lend itself well to the success of an RPG, while not eliminating the ability to create an original character (or even play yourself ). Some comedy could already be built in, with importation of humorous pirates and clashing personalities, freeing the plot line from needing to be built upon the backs of humor.

 

Like the Dread Pirate Westley (Roberts!) against Cap'n Jack?

 

Yes! And possibly even multiple Dread Pirate Roberts. You could play as Wesley, and I could play as Inigo Montoya both portraying the Dread Pirate Roberts! And others still could play as a muppet pirate! It would be pandamonium in search of the greatest treasure ever sought out by Pirates, all assembled by some (comedic) great schemer.

 

blackbeard (from the movie blackbeards ghost from the eighties if anyone else knows about it) would add to the mayhem.

 

Name: It ain't a RP if you don't have a ship named the Minow...

Characters: Now, I'm not anti-muppet (even though Henson died from the stupidest thing I've heard), but if you're going to play this as a Humorously Serious RPG, the Muppets are out. Now, I can see having real people pirates, because if you think about it, it is entirely possible that Roberts and Co. could have been around at the same time as Sparrow and Black Beard. But, once you bring stuffed animals into it, I think people will lose interest fast...but that's just my opinion.

Game Play: The game definatly has to center around tasks, or challenges, all part of the great treasure hunt.

For Instance... We've got a single piece of a treasure map, and are in a race trying to find the other pieces, which are in the hands of collectors, old sea-dogs, and other Pirates. To obtain these, we would Raid the Governers mansion/ storm the city, perform a service, and board another parties ship. All the while other Pirates are working against us, as well as the authorities. A rag Tag band of Pirates, we're willing to put life and limb (Wooden or Otherwise) on the line to get that first or last big score.

Another mission type, free your fellows from the brig (prison).

 

i do agree DVc, no muppets. that takes away from any reality that there might be in it, and wouldn't really be discworldish in the least (if that is indeed the way that this was going to be taken in anyway).

tasks are a must, and you just covered the majority of them really well. i'd say that the GM (or GMs) would need to be nearly everyone but the people of the crew... or it could be more difficult to keep things going in any sort of order (if you can really see this having much in the first place).

having to get people out of the brig after a paricularly difficult mission would make sense, because likely not everyone would make it out of an assault on the govenors mansion.

 

I'm not big on DI's idea. I've got that (albeit much broader) in Exiles, I wouldn't wanna play it in the humor/pirate RP.

I have qualms about how multiple ships could work, unless the ships themselves were GM-controlled with a PC crew. Otherwise you could have (God forbid) some newb who decides his ship is gonna attack the ship that's a couple days ahead. Not saying that ship-on-ship conflict wouldn't happen (you gotta have at least one boarding), but that it would be roughly at the GM's will.

With situations like that, I trust the 3 days on the high seas would be thrown to the wind.

I also think the title/subtitle needs to include some bastardization of "Davy Jones's Locker."

Make it a chain-smoking monkey or an opera-singing parrot, and you have totally been shortlisted for best role-player next time I vote.

Rest assured, LW, it will be a quirky pet. The nature of its quirks? Not sure yet, but quirky they shall be. That's right, it will have quirky quirks.

 

LOL...I just thought of an example of the kind of comedy you might see...

Attacking an Austrian Governors Mansion, we fight a battle with the Governator....or not....

 

You could always do it One Piece style. For those of you who aren't familiar with the series...

It's said that Gold Roger was the greatest pirate who ever lived. But twenty years ago, the World Government finally managed to capture him. Before they executed him, he spoke to the crowd. He told them that his immense fortune would go to whoever wanted it, but they'd have to find it first, as he'd left it all in that one place. And thus with his death began the Great Age of Pirates.

In the pursuit of his legendary wealth, crews from around the world set sail for the Grand Line, a route so treacherous that only Gold Roger and the crew of his ship, the Oro Jackson were said to have ever reached the end. So where else would his treasure be found than at Raftel, the last island on the Grand Line?

But the Grand Line is place like no other. A chain of islands that encircles the world, the only thing odder than the weather patterns are the interlocking magnetic fields that drive any normal compass completely insane. It is only with a Log Post that a navigator can find his way from island to island, using the unique compass to lock onto the magnetic field of the next. But navigation is not the only concern. The Grand Line is home to some of the strangest creatures imaginable, and the further one goes along the line, the more dangerous it becomes. The harsh environments of the Line leave no room for weakness. Only the strongest and most determined pirates with a strong ship and a strong crew can make it to the end. But it is said that the treasure of Gold Roger is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Do you have what it takes to claim it?

 

I like the idea, LW, but I think that just focusing on one thing the entire game will be bland, and not have enough variety.

So is it the consensus that this game should be a sort of "allstar" pirate game, i.e. playable characters include any famous pirate you can come up with? If so, I will update the OP tomorrow sometime to reflect this.

 

Actually, one can have completely different reasons for going on the expedition. For example, the crew of the Going Merry:

Monkey D. Luffy- Wants to find the treasure and become King of the Pirates to proove himself, as well as give Red-haired Shanks his hat back.

Roanora Zoro- Wants to become strong enough to beat Hawkeye Mihawk and gain the title of "Greatest Swordsman" to fulfill his oath

Nami- Wants to make a map of the world, though she also likes treasure

Ussop- Wants to become a "Great Warrior of the Sea" and proove himself to the others

Sanji- Wants to find "All Blue", a location said to contain species of every fish in the sea, and a chef's paradise.

Tony Tony Chopper- Wants to become a great doctor, and proove that there's no disease that can't be cured.

There are other characters involved, but the US dub of the show (which even I must say is inferior to the original) hasn't gotten that far.

 

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/Imperial_Hammer/Prosperitythroughendeavor.jpg]

***Game Designers Guild News***
Volume 1: Number 7

---

[hl=darkblue][color=yellow][b][u]***Full Roster***[/u][/b][/color][/hl]

[u][b]Full Members[/b][/u]
- DarthSeti5
- Winged_Jedi
- YoungAngus
- Dark-Enigma
- BLemelisk
- MASTERPRENN
- SephyCloneNo15
- darth_nemisis
- Darth_Vaders_cousin
- agap_afima
- dontlookatmethatway
- Despised1
- Rayson
- Jango10
- Trimaj
- DarthIntegral

[b][u]Partial Members (Add the GDG to your sig or bio!) *4/28*[/u][/b]
- Penguinator-176
- HandofSkywalker86

[i]Always Accepting Membership!!![/i]

[hr]
[color=#990099][b][u]***Agenda***[/u][/b][/color]

[u]Now[/u]
- Formative Genre Discussion: Humorous RPGs

[u]Next[/u]
- Yearly Competition Number 1: *Topic to be Announced*

[u]Later[/u]
- Gaming Mechanism Discussion: The Mathematics of Role Playing
- Specific Game Discussion: SephyCloneNo15 - Brainstorming on how to Create a Divine/Gods RPG
- General Genre Discussion: Romance RPGs

[hr]
[b][color=red][u]GDG News[/u][/color][/b]

- Congratulations to MasterPrenn and Winged Jedi for their wins in the Spring 06 RPF Awards. We here at the GDG are honored to have such prestigious players working here among us.

[hr]
[color=#0000bb][b][u]***Chopping Through***[/u][/b][/color]

Continuing with the discussion

[i][u]The Ship Name (DVC):[/u][/i] Minnow. Yeah perhaps. Gilligans Isle can also serve as a funny place to draw inspiration from. :p

[i][u]Gameplay (Prenn):[/u][/i] Three Days is actually a great amount to spend on sea. Either three or maybe even five. I agree that a week may be a bit too long. At the very least, it can be altered (as perhaps it should be). Some stretches at sea could take three days. Others five or even a week.

[i][u]Spelling and Grammar (I-5 and Tri):[/u][/i] Of course the first post needs touching up. But as this is a rough, and we are more focused on ideas here, I feel we can safely skip the issue for now.

[i][u]Pirates Hall of Fame (Integral):[/u][/i] Maaaaaybe. I dunno if it is wise to make this game a cross-over. Maybe a few of them could be admitted by a GM, but too much can lead to an unstable game.

[i][u]Muppets (DVC):[/u][/i] That was just an idea to kick around. We could do it just as easily as we could not. As popular opinion is saying no, we probably won't.

And all the other topics are just meh... I'm working in private on a multiple ships motor... it really changes everything though. Probably not a good idea. Best since we are keeping so many balls in the air to not add additional burdens to this game.

[u][b]Relatively Uncontroversial Stuff[/b][/u]
- Single Ship Crew
- Open Nationalities
- Mission-Type Framework
- Short Times at Sea / Long Times in Cities

Keep it going folks, we're soaring now! :)

-I_H

 

I realise the Muppet idea is just being kicked around, but as someone who has launched jawas into serious RPGs and found it creates a nice dynamic, as well as having witnessed the Cerebus the Aardvark phenomena, I would question dismissing them out of hand.

 

I agree. This is supposed to be a humerous RPG, not a realistic one and its not like much of the RPing we do here is realistic anyway. I would like to see multiple Dread Pirate Robert characters, and oddball cooks, and a chain smoking captain's monkey, and yes maybe even an odd muppet or two.

That sounds like a good time to me.

 

I think that one[/i or ]two puppets would be halarious, just not a whole crew of them.

 

agreed. throw in gonzo and rezo, maybe pepi the shrimp. more than maybe three or four would cause it to be highly unbalanced.

as to the instability of the crossover thing, that depends on the level of player that we have in the game, does it not? since all sheets are pm'd, and we know those who are good, we could decide based on that who could have a "allstar" pirate, and who needs to be more the average joe type, with an interesting quirk or two.

 

I call dibs on the pirate with a gambling problem.

 

Tri makes a great point. With limited crossover opportunities and the rest being "regular" joe pirates and original characters. I dunno if you would want to put out an actual limit amount or just play it by ear, but I think that would be a great option

 

[image=http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/Senor_blancito/muppets_pepe.jpg]
I am not a shrimp... I am a King Prawn!

 

to refine the idea, maybe stating that 'allstars' will need to impress the gm to be accepted, or state that they need to be experienced RPers (such as those who are at the point where they could be an adopter in the RPF) to even be considered for an 'allstar'? some sort of stipulation so that the GMs aren't bombarded with sheets for them, and possibly PMing what 'allstar' you want to the GM before you even request them?

 

I personally don't see why it would even be an issue, sure the player gets an allstar name but what happens in the RPG still depends on the person posting, its not like the would all of a sudden become uber-pirate just because s/he was able to snag a good name.

IMO allowing people to have allstars would just allowing them to have the name, nothing more, so I would vote to allow it just to add an interesting twist.