Base Stats and High-School Games

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:49 am

Oh come on there are a MILLION popular franchises you can leach of, and 40K is small potatoes in comparison to most of them.

Not to mention you can just leach of generic concepts pretty well.

You want a high school game?

I just watched most of the Harry Potter movies with Rifftrax commentaries. I am now tempted to run my own survival horror game where all the characters are orphans attending a charming isolated wizards boarding school where nothing makes sense, and nothing is ever explained in advance to any of the students to try and ensure the maximum likelihood that they will all be horribly killed or maimed because ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about the school is designed to be needlessly stupidly dangerous for NO REASON. Shifting stairways! How charming CRUNCH there goes another first year! Someone should really warn them in the orientation day, oh wait THERE ISN'T ONE. Ahahahaha OH MY GOD A BASILISK JUST ATE TERRY! Why do they even KEEP them? Oh well, best no questions are asked, that leads to disappearing! Lets just go watch a match of a completely senseless sport the only identifiable trait of which is to launch students high into the air on high speed sticks while being pummeled about the skull with flying bowling balls and little truncheons then risking massive falls to their deaths! AHAHAHAHAH! You have to laugh to stop screaming.

Or you know. Whatever. That's just a needlessly detailed example I got overly carried away with because watching five harry potter films in three days has DRIVEN ME INSANE. But whatever. You could do High School Star Wars. Marvel vs DC Universe High. Marvel vs DC vs Capcom high. Cthulhu High. Nintendo High. You could steal the movie Sky High and make a game BETTER THAN IT WAS without even TRYING. Have you not seen the TV series "Clone High" that was an AWESOME concept you could just lift it DIRECT.

What I'm saying here is, 40k is sucky mc suck suck suck pants in comparison to a million other populist derivative hijackings. And if that's the only thing you like and you think other people will also like then you haven't seen enough of ANYTHING and should spend some time experiencing ANY fiction in the world rather than further immersing yourself in 40K and driving yourself to the inevitable life of misery and self harm and the early lonely death it will lead to. And yes even fucking Harry Potter is better.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:05 am

PhoneLobster wrote:I am now tempted to run my own survival horror game where all the characters are orphans attending a charming isolated wizards boarding school where nothing makes sense, and nothing is ever explained in advance to any of the students to try and ensure the maximum likelihood that they will all be horribly killed or maimed because ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about the school is designed to be needlessly stupidly dangerous for NO REASON.

If you want a reason for gratuitous lethality in your magic school, you could have the people in charge experimenting on the souls of dead students or something. But flagrant incompetence works too.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:53 am

Harry Potter is what came to mind for me as well with this system, and you could totally do wizard high. Ankh Morpork Preparatory would be interesting as well.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:32 pm

Okay then. This is no longer Tenno Gakuen (Emperor High). And it's not even going to be "40k with the serial numbers filed off", because that would leave it in the cross-over point of "Still 40k for the people who hate that (and for GW to try suing if they hear of it, no really)" and "Not 40k enough for the actual 40k fans to be interested in".

Because I don't actually like Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, Grease or basically anything that is on Australian television, that's all out*. And seeing as I also hated my school life, and by association the whole Western School cliches/tropes, they're out too. This is going to the roots of what I want in a crazy lethal "why is this not shut down?" high school: anime.

Maybe with a few aspects of old English schools that I like (the bit where, as you gain seniority, juniors are expected to just be your servants (though not in as abusive manner as in the real world. This isn't Student: the Sodomy) and have freedom to wander off campus and go fly a plane & the big old impressive buildings)

The main sources of inspiration will be:
[*]Battle Club (fighting factions, exploding uniforms)
[*]Freezing (exploding uniforms, the rigid system where seniors are considered to have military rank superiority over juniors, transformation and conjuring of signature weapons for fights, possibly to the death, and being trained up for an actual purpose)
[*]Ikkitousen (secret scheming student council, battle between factions, the school just flat-out accepts these fights to the near-death (or indeed to the actual death), exploding uniforms)
[*]Kämpfer (ability to just transform and gain your signature weapon for their official duelling/battle system, battle between the factions)
[*]Ladies vs Butlers (etiquette being a seriously important thing)
[*]Revolutionary Girl Utena (student council that outranks the teachers and is seeking to change/destroy the world, official duelling system)
[*]Shitsurakuen (which is really very similar to Utena)

This gives a new starting point, though honestly, most of the system stuff I've vaguely outlined still applies, it just requires making some new fluff up and altering specific things. Different Houses would now cover not what they're one day training you to be, but what you actually already are (your fighting style and everything). So there would basically be House Magical Girl and House Gun-Summoner and so on.

*And the problem with Discworld is that people like it for Terry's writing style and for his specific characters. Neither of these translate well into a game.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:58 pm

Stray thoughts:
the d6 system +/-1 stat system sounds like the WEG Star Wars system. You might be able to steal some of their balance.

Would it make sense to have a time-based improvement system, so you devote time to your studies, or to having a job, or to socializing?

Classes:
History (including secret wizard histories, etc. Genre-savvyness. Be harsh)
Math (prestige, none of the others matter for being a good student. low scores get you detention, high scores get you visits to the mayor)
Science (Bugs and Bombs and Arc-Reactors, oh my!)
Kendo (or whatever the cultural combat idiom is; Harry Potter had either dueling or Defense Against the Dark Arts)
English (or whatever the native language is) (social)
Home Economics (the combination MacGuyver/scrounger skill. Also, tea.)

Clubs could directly add to a class (e.g. math club). Detention could be a great club (maybe it lets you get out of serious trouble, because you just get detention again instead?)some clubs should be free. You should be able to be the chess club champion as a freebie, unless the game is about chess.

Do you also want to support Bleach/PS-238, where the school is totally normal, and happens to be populated with superheroes?

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:13 pm

I would say you should just have an option to spend your free time studying, which gives you the ability to add +1 to rolls regarding the subject you studied for a scene, because that's effectively all cramming does, and the long term benefits of studying are already going to be replicated by advancement.

Edit: Oh, another idea would be "High School of the Gods," where a bunch of pagan deities are all going to high school together because of rule of funny/rule of cool.

Hell, you could just do up the system, put your book with chosen fluff out there, and the system in creative commons, and then denizens could write up fluff books as they wish.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:42 am

So, changing stuff...

House:
Every student belongs to one house. Those who have already manifest their powers are automatically sorted, whereas the other new students tend to be scanned, and if that fails, put through a highly dangerous one week intensive training course. The survivors of that course will have brought their power out by the end of it, so the sorting is then complete. There are no talking hats involved.

(Note: the Houses/Power Sets will likely have better names, in-setting ones, but for now I'm flat out using the terms we are all familiar with)

Magical Girl: and not necessarily girls to start with. There can be boys who enter this, but there's a slight problem that when they transform... yeah. In combat mode, they are magical girls, even if out of combat mode they happen to have a penis. Powers and abilities:
[*]From the start, the ability to transform to gain combat prowess (a boost to Gym and some actual unique powers)
[*]They might get access to some basic enhancement powers (like the Celerity/Potence stuff in WoD, except interesting and worth taking), but only when transformed
[*]Over time, they specialise and adapt their transformation, gaining element-themed powers or similar, that get bigger and better
-They don't need to keep their identity a secret, which is good, because in some cases the transformation is a new set of clothes and their face and hair look the same. But it is recommended they transform in private, for the same reason it is advised people change clothes and shower in private.
[*]Examples: Sailor Moon, Kämpfer, the original Agent Aika, Mikarun X

Weapon Master: not only can they summon their specialist weapons out of nowhere (each having a specific weapon that is theirs), but they can do more and more outrageous things with those weapons, such as cutting through slabs of solid steel with katanas or firing homing-bullets from their machine guns. Powers and abilities:
[*]They select their weapon right at the start, and can summon and use it basically at will.
[*]They perhaps gain one of the generic "you're better" things like super-speed or whatever, but they gain the full set of abilities, specialising in it, so a Sword+Speed as a 4th year is literally in ten places at once, a Sword+Power as a 4th year can make a slice that cuts actual tanks in half and has its own shockwave to clear the path of flames, Gun+Speed ends up making your pistol fire like a gatling gun, and even the bullets go faster, teleporting into the target, whereas Gun+Power makes your bullets hit like anti-tank rockets.
[*]They gain various fighting techniques (unique powers) as they go along, and the weapons become more hardcore and awesome.
[*]Because the weapon is a reflection of their actual soul, the strength of it often depends on their mood at the time, so making them feel sad can be more important to winning than just stabbing them.
[*]Examples: Kämpfer, Freezing, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Shitsurakuen

Chi Adept: the martial artists, but more than that, they specifically get to throw fireballs and the like. This group don't summon weapons or transform or anything, they're always in battle mode, but it takes time to fire their battle auras up properly, meaning they get stronger the longer the fight goes on. Powers and abilities:
[*]They are also hardcore about one of the generic power upgrades, or can get some access in multiple ones, but its level of effectiveness is limited by their battle aura - which improves over time spent actually fighting, and decreases when not fighting - running away and hiding from them for a minute or so can actually work to your advantage
[*]Various special chi-based attacks. Yes, they gain unique powers that basically provide a fighting game movelist. Some of these require a certain degree of Battle Aura, aka Super Gauge.
[*]They can learn techniques to block the Chi of others, shatter special weapons with their fists, and hit the "Untransform" chakra of Magical Girls.
[*]Examples: Ranma 1/2, Freezing (Rana and Creo), Disgaea 3 (Champloo, Master Big Star), Koi Koi 7

Noble Lord/Lady: these people are actually the psychics. But not D&D or 40k psychics, they specifically have two things: Subjugation and Dominance. Basically, they are taught to act like nobility and royalty, and everyone else hates them for their snobby attitude, or adores them. Powers and abilities:
[*]Subjugation: telekinesis. Specifically used as a stand-in for servants (TK power to fetch things and pour tea), and to force foes to their knees/hold them still/shove them away.
[*]Dominance: telepathy. Mostly actual mind control and charming, though mind reading and speaking into minds are also covered.
[*]Examples: Rosario to Vampire (Yukari: Subjugation, Kurumu and Batty (one episode): Dominance), Freezing (the Limiters), Harry Potter

Soulbinders: the psychic energy of Soulbinders is a bit different from most of the others: they don't manifest it as physical objects or channel it to do powerful things. Instead, they are able to see into the other realms, look past illusions, and communicate with spirits. Indeed, that is their main gift: bonding to spirits and gaining their trust to use them in combat. For some, this is by having one powerful (if irritating) death god who follows them around and murders people for them/on a whim, and for others it means they have a gang of vengeful spirits they unleash at foes. Yet more bond with an aspect of a nature spirit, and ride around on giant tigers or whatever.
[*]See the invisible, touch the untouchable. Literally.
[*]Communicate with, and befriend, most spirits in general
[*]Gain powerful companions
[*]Examples: Pokemon, Death Note, Guilty Gear (Zappa), Persona

Inhuman: the Inhuman bunch technically only have one surge of power in their life: one that changes them irreversibly on a genetic level. They literally stop being human, to the point that they can't procreate with humans (plenty have tried - also, the school is divided as to whether they should tell them this, worried they could take it as a blank cheque to go at it like rabbits). They might continue to alter over time, or simply be better at focusing power through their body over time. Either way, they are no longer human, and they look the part.
[*]Always in their combat-ready form, they can just get up and start fighting on the spot. Powers range from "being superhuman at stuff" to actual fiery breath or whatever.
[*]Tend to look like cat-girls, robots (no really), aliens (a broad category), vampires, bundles of tentacles (less popular with the ladies than you might think) or whatever
[*]Some have changes so extreme that they no longer comprise of cells (which brings up a question of "are they in fact alive?")
[*]Examples: Pantyhose Tarou, Freezing (when they get converted by Novas), Spiderman (the Lizard, Morbius or even Spidey himself, really), Rosario to Vampire (sort of)

Mandatory Subjects:
Health: Health is still in, and is used to determine your HP or, if fixed-HP, your resistance roll. Because it's all about being healthy, and looking after your body. People also like it because it covers sex ed, and that involves talking about wobbly parts. This is taught by the head nurse of the school, who is pretty and busty (required by law), and tends to wear short skirts, resulting in many boys (well, usually boys) "getting sick" or "having a headache" or cutting their own limbs off. She probably actually carries a giant Makai Kingdom style syringe with her.
[*]As mentioned above, the HP or Damage Resistance is based on this.
[*]Also, general health care, fitness, hygiene and generally looking after your body. This can be used to cover attractiveness (as can PE, see below).
[*]This covers first aid, which is incredibly useful in this school. It possibly even covers stuff like surgery.
[*]Being really good at this means you will sometimes be asked to help out in the medical staff, a chance to be near (and get in the good books of!) the nurse. Being bad in it means you're often injured/sick, so have a chance to be near (and being tended to by) the nurse.

History: ah, history... this is really a broad subject that covers research in general (meaning it could be needed by other subjects), as well as knowing most information about the outside world, and the various things that have happened in the school. It's really a general Knowledge skill. The teacher is an ex-military veteran with a bit of a nervous tic. He's borderline insane and carries an assault rifle everywhere he goes (for assaulting people, of course).
[*]Researching things, maybe even studying in general
[*]Any kind of Knowledge that isn't Science basically falls under this
[*]This also covers genre knowledge and setting info

Home Ec: yay, home economics! Everything you need in order to live life at home, making it on your own as an adult... cooking, sewing, budgeting, fashioning home-made weapons from kitchen appliances, finding loose change in the sofa... the teacher is a manic woman going through a sort of mid-life crisis. She's often hitting on male characters, worried that she's getting too old and is going to die alone and unloved in a rat-infested hotel in Ipswitch.
[*]Yes, cooking is really covered here
[*]Anything regarding saving money or holding onto money
[*]Things like sewing, furniture making, house painting etc.
[*]Scrounging and improvised weapons

Language Studies: Primarily the "Native Language" class, covering literature and everything, but also covering "speaking other languages". This is good for reading fast, and for essay-writing (meaning sometimes another class might require you to make a Language Studies check), but also actually covers the art of speaking with people, so it's also sort of Social Science or whatever you want to call it. The teacher is probably a kind of short guy who wears vaguely out of date clothing and likes puns. He might be the only person who doesn't threaten the students with death.
[*]Covers Diplonacy, and also stuff like innuendo/secret coded messages, clever insults and lying
[*]Also covers writing things well, and being good at giving speeches
[*]As such, this is good for generally doing well scholastically, and actually means you are less likely to be punished by writing lines because they know you're good at that stuff, and get more weird/interesting things in detention. Like bionic surgery.

Phys Ed: these classes will specifically include playing different sports (like it works/worked in Australia, as opposed to specifically getting football coaches in America who are paid way above the norm and can get away with murder), as well as basic athletics. Students will often be required to literally fight each other to stay in practice. The teacher for this should almost always be an aggressive asshole who carries a kendo stick everywhere, blows a whistle at people and likes prowling around to shout at people who are skipping class. He probably voluntarily signs up to be in charge of detention so he can shout at people/make them run laps. Likes the sound of his own voice above all else.
[*]All close combat rolls can use this if the user wishes.
[*]Endurance type tests (keep running without getting fatigued), as well as carrying heavy loads, jumping over stuff and running away from/after people also make use of this.
[*]It can seriously be used as a "Look muscular" thing as a way to attract people to your looks. Can also be used to intimidate

Science: yes, this covers all the different sciences, and is sort of considered the "smart kid" class. Because of the nature of this school, students who do well in this are allowed to mix nitroglycerin or hydrofluoric acid or whatever. Some tests for this will require mixing poisons and utilising them on other students, or even making killer robots. The teacher is likely to be an eccentric bespectacled woman who is constantly making dangerous crap and experimenting on students. As in "See me in my private office for detention" followed by "You wake up with one of your arms replaced by a buzz-saw". The classroom for this has walls plated with whatever strong metal people think is appropriate. Maybe Dragonforce.
[*]This can be used to cover the production of poisons, acids and explosives (Chemistry)
[*]It can also be a stand-in for Health when doing first-aid, especially when treating things like bio-hazards. Also, it can be used to create said biohazards.
[*]Biology helps with wilderness survival and hunting, too!

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:24 am

Elective Subjects: of which everyone gets two. That isn't much, and there are a fair number of choices, but that's okay.

Art: this really covers all the different types of art - photography, drawing, painting, pottery and so on. The art teacher is a man who is probably a thousand years old, and his beard is basically an art smock all on its own. He makes sure all the paintbrushes are sharpened like stilettos at the not-brush end.
[*]Any kind of photography or video surveillance will actually fall under this
[*]As will map-making and sketching stuff in a hurry
[*]Also helpful for noticing details so can be used to Spot stuff.

Computing: all aspects of it, from assembly to software to word processing to networking to Internet usage to filter-bypassing to history-deleting to quick-window-changing to monitor-and-keyboard-cleaning to password protecting and hiding folders to rapid-muting... yeah, plenty of people take this for porn access. Downside: they force you to learn how to do MS Access databases.
[*]Computer hacking, totally
[*]Another tool for research, although there can be risks such as getting locked into Wikipedia for hours on end or forgetting the research and just looking at porn
[*]By playing shooters, you can use this for your shooting skill

Debate: this class not only teaches the various forms of debate, including the use of logic, and how to attack people's arguments, but it encourages debates amongst the students. The teacher for this is the best-paid teacher on campus, and it is rumoured she has never lost an argument. Then again, it's rumoured that, when in danger of doing so, she pulls out a Magnum and shoots her opponent.
[*]This can be subbed in for basically all social skills
[*]It can also, however, be used for logic and noticing inconsistencies

Drama: this is all about acting, comedy and other types of performance that isn't music and song - there's a separate class for that. Plenty of students use this to enhance their attempts to get out of class because they're dying of TB or whatever.
[*]Handy for disguises (both in acting the part and the access to the props and costumes room) and for acting/lying
[*]Can be used for convincing the public of things with speeches
[*]Can probably be a substitute for athletic stuff, but not for actually attacking people in combat

Forensics: the whole CSI thing, including ENHANCE! Seriously though, students in this class are taught how to use a mass-spec, how to dust for prints and lift prints, how to analyse hair and DNA and so on.
[*]ENHANCE!
[*]Noticing things around the place
[*]Proper investigations and following CLUES

Hunting: a wide-ranging skill, the best bit about this one is that it allows for the most off-campus excursions and camping trips. Students who do well in this are sometimes expected to go out hunting truants and bringing them back. The teacher for this is an ex-Ghurka.
[*]Setting traps, as well as avoiding traps
[*]Noticing and sensing things in general
[*]Shooting (as well as weapon maintenance)
[*]Setting up tents, skinning animals, etc.

Music: also covers singing, this class is about doing well with song or specific instruments, but also with composition of music, and of playing well as part of a band. It espouses the usual TEAMWORK! stuff.
[*]Performance and capturing people's attention
[*]Can also be used to rally your forces (so, Bardic Song type stuff)
[*]Can more or less be used as the TEAMWORK skill.

Piloting: it isn't just driving cars, they also teach students how to operate boats, submarines, light aircraft and hoverbikes. There's some amount of maintenance training as well.
[*]Vehicular combat
[*]How to operate and not crash a vehicle
[*]Navigation, reading sensory equipment etc.

Tech: this covers woodwork, metalwork, circuitry and electronics. All sorts of stuff, really. So you can rewire the alarm clock so that the Snooze button actually snoozes and doesn't just give you a shock. You can also make machineguns and fix broken tanks, however.
[*]Making weapons and armour
[*]Attacking with weapons that you personally made
[*]Repairing and maintaining tech
[*]Rewiring electronics

Clubs: everyone may join a single Club - note that changing clubs is considered bad form (and can result in assassins being sent your way) but is possible, and dealing with assassins is sort of the norm for the game anyway. Changing clubs won't result in an increase in power, however.

Book Club: it's not just about reading (although a big part of it is). It's also about tracking down rare books, and discussing them, and working on "Reading out loud' skills, speed-reading, analysing texts for hidden meaning, and even writing. Has a President, a Treasurer and a Librarian (who actually keeps track of the school library books, possibly better than the actual paid librarian).
[*]Excuses to go searching for secret tomes - adventures and rewards!
[*]Automatically treats you as having a good grade for essay writing and studying, and gives a bonus to your Language Studies
[*]Is seen as a class for nerds or good students, rarely in trouble
[*]Can potentially learn magical spells
[*]Has a rivalry with the Occult Club, which may be friendly or... not.

Cheerleading Club: okay, so apparently cheerleading isn't all about taking group showers - the Internet has let me down! Although it does actually cover a fair amount of showering, along with the actual athletics and cheering and gymnastics, as well as bitching, sniping and plotting. Has a President, who does not trust the others enough to appoint a Treasurer or anything.
[*]Is automatically good at some aspects of Gym, like athletics and all, and can jump super-high
[*]People in this club are automatically considered attractive, even if they're not: because they're cheerleaders
[*]They seriously get allocated extra shower time because the school made the same mistake I did
[*]Yes, they can make TEAMWORK/Marshal Warchant type effects
[*]Quite handy for assassinations and plotting peoples' demises. Because of this, they have a rivalry with the Parkour and Darts clubs.

Chess Club: they play chess. No really. Granted, there's also checkers, Chinese checkers, go, shogi, and wargaming involving painted minis and dice, but it's mostly Chess. The President tends to be a Machiavellian Xanatos Gambit "Just as planned" sort of guy. There's also a Treasurer and a Timekeeper.
[*]Big on scheming and plotting, as well as regular strategy
[*]They are able to bring prestige to the school (and money) through entering televised chess championships.
[*]If they do electronics, they can make very clever, dangerous robots.

Combat Club: yes, it's a martial arts thing. Fight Club, really. They don't obey the first two rules, though - how else do you get members? The President is renamed the Grand Master, and anyone can take his crown by defeating him in one on one combat. There's also a Treasurer and a Secretary (who doubles as Referee).
[*]Gives bonuses to martial arts/brawling type fighting
[*]Students in this club often look scruffy and unkempt, but are hardier than normal
[*]In theory, it's the quickest way to become a Club President - you could do it on day one if you somehow win!

Cooking Club: this club specialises in cooking - in all food preparation, technically. But there is a lot of actual cooking. They cover regular meals, but a big draw to this is the baking of cakes, and preparation of sweets. They are extra-popular on Valentine's Day. There is a President, a Treasurer and a Secretary (who handles stock taking as well - the Treasurer only handles financial matters)
[*]A handy way of getting invites (and money) for school functions, club members will actually be hired on
[*]Automatically good at cooking, even if they don't take Home Ec and suck at Science
[*]Also good at putting fires out, and resistant to food poisoning and catching fire
[*]Goals include taking over the school cafeteria/canteen

Cosplay Club: yes, costumes and disguises! Specifically, it tends to be anime costumes. Many magical girls pick this club, and it helps them in reimagining their transformed outfits, but plenty of other students join this, some of which then make costumes mimicking the magical girls. Also draws in many Nobles, as it's good for making fancy gowns and such. This club only has a President and a Treasurer.
[*]Automatically be good at sewing, knitting, fabric-measuring (and cutting) and so on
[*]Costume design is taught as a skill, and they're all good at disguises
[*]A lot of money tends to be made (particularly from the Noble House) shortly before the school prom and similar things

Darts Club: why darts? Simple. It's a club for the "sport" of throwing sharp pieces of metal accurately. Yes, it's actually a club full of ninja assassins. President is replaced by the title of Grand Master, and there are no other special positions of power.
[*]Automatically good at weapon-throwing and picking weak points
[*]Also makes you good at math, which can be handy
[*]Has a rivalry with the Parkour and Cheerleading Clubs.

Detention Club: delinquents, every last one of them. Basically, they're always in detention. Indeed, this actually gives them extra club time: the designated club activity time and also every lunch break and some weekends. In order to be elected President, you somehow have to be sent to double detention. Note that people in this club actually are troublemakers, they don't simply elect to spend all their time in detention for the fun of it.
[*]Being given detention really has no effect - you were going there anyway. As such, they can be seen to get away with more things (minor offences, at least).
[*]Having so much time for club activity allows for a fair amount of actual plotting and so on.
[*]Because there isn't really a club agenda, you can kind of use the time however you like - as long as it's in detention.
[*]Other students who get sent there are often preyed upon - mugged or brainwashed and sent as sleeper agents - by this club.

Do Nothing Club: this is the "I'm not choosing anything" choice. For lazy bums. You have more free time, but are (rightly) seen as a lazy layabout, so automatically have less respect from teachers, and just about everyone. There is no club president here, as it's more of a nickname than a serious club.
[*]More study/homework time, letting you pursue other fields
[*]You can basically gatecrash other club meetings if you so choose
[*]Because you haven't joined an actual club, this makes you fair game for clubs to try to recruit

Duty Club: effectively, Butler and Maid training. It covers everything such people would be expected to know, and generally keeps them in good favour with others. They are closely aligned with the "Social" Club. The President is called the Head Maid or Chief Butler, depending on their sex, and they also have a Treasurer, Secretary, and Officer of Public Relations (who exists to link them up with paying customers, assign tasks from the school and so on).
[*]Often actually helping to clean the school grounds and so on, which puts them on a good standing with the school staff
[*]Can be paid big money to serve other students (especially the "Social" Club) or to help out at events
[*]Tidying quickly is a helpful trait for concealing and pocketing items, you know
[*]Frequently brought on board by the Student Council

Exploration Club: this club is very much about treasure hunting, but not just that. They also like to map out the school buildings as they discover lost corridors and forgotten rooms, discovering the perfect hiding places and treasure troves. Also, they sometimes have approved excursions where they go out exploring the forest, caves or ocean. There is a President and Treasurer.
[*]Typically good at piloting things, climbing and diving, regardless of actual Grades
[*]Very handy for finding places to hide when skiving off or evading trouble
[*]Occasionally, vast amounts of treasure or plot devices can be found

Golf Club: this is totally a pun. However it is also a serious club, where they play golf, and learn to do incredibly accurate trick shots at a good range - even using it as a fighting style. It's also a rather posh ladies & gents club. In order to get in, you are given a simple math question, but have to answer with a lower number than the actual answer (for instance 7*3 = 19). There is a President, a Head Caddie (the VP, who also actually serves as the President's caddie), a Treasurer, and a Secretary (who also keeps track of the scores).
[*]Gain training with clubs as melee weapons, and hitting the balls as ranged weapons, along with spotting things in the distance
[*]There is a certain amount of automatic prestige involved with just being in the club
[*]They have a rivalry with the Soccer Club, due to the "Posh game versus Uncultured hooligans" thing.

Gun Club: it's really more of a "general military" club, but the real focus is on guns. And indeed, they often make their own guns, and have access to anti-tank weapons and the like. There is a President, a Treasurer, and the Holder of the Keys, who is the only person with the keys to the gun storage room.
[*]Automatically good at shooting things
[*]Able to maintain, build and repair guns
[*]Military tactics and skills are covered too
[*]Gain access to anti-tank cannons, gatling guns, bazookas and so on

Kendo Club: this club covers more than kendo - there's iaijutsu, fencing, naginata and the like too. But it's largely kendo. They are very serious about the duels, and consider the Combat Club to be dirt beneath their feet. The President of this is almost always a member of the Discipline Committee - currently, she's the Morality Officer, making her the head of two violent groups, and using her bamboo shinai for both. There's also a treasurer.
[*]Be good at all forms of 1-on-1 duelling, as well as general swordplay and weapon usage
[*]Also covers honour, tradition, and focus - handy for Aura control
[*]Being invited to a duel in the flower garden is always dangerous, but victory can win respect and prestige - no loser of these duels has ever harboured ill will against the winner, and a draw always results in the forging of the bonds of eternal friendship - or true love.

Music Club: it's all about music and singing and fun! There are all kinds of instruments, too, along with an official choir and an orchestra and a school band. There's less backstabbing than with the cheerleaders, too. It has a President, a Treasurer, and a Talent Relations Manager, who exists to represent particularly good members and get them recognised in the international markets.
[*]Yes, they have Bardic Support Powers, kind of like Cheerleaders
[*]Often called upon during school formals and such
[*]Also, you can actually make it big and be a number 1 best-selling idol!

Occult Club: given the different things "occult" can mean, this does cover... a wide assortment. From actual Cthulhu cultists, to people who like stage magic, to goth Wiccans, to people who want to unlock the secrets of ancient sorcery - or even just find out if ancient sorcery is even real. The President is referred to as the Supreme Sorcerer of the Ninth, and has four assistants (roughly equivalent to Vice Presidents), called the Four Shadows. Yes, they wear hooded robes. There is also a High Priest (for religious occult stuff, also the treasurer) and the Book Keeper (doubles as secretart).
[*]If it is possible to learn magic spells and such, this is the most likely place
[*]On the other hand, if Cthulhu is going to get summoned or you're going to be sacrificed... yeah, this is the most likely place
[*]Has a fierce enmity with the Book Club, because "books of eldritch lore man was not meant to know of" are still books

Parkour Club: the Parkour Club is almost exclusively dedicated to Naruto-style ninja training, minus the mystic arts. Yes, they travel around the place by flinging themselves off ledges and running along walls, but basically it's really just training for martial arts ninja combat. There is only one special rank, the President.
[*]Has a rivalry with the Cheerleading and Darts Clubs, due to the whole "ninja/assassin" thing.
[*]Being in this club guarantees being good at athletics, as well as getting places quickly - you are only ever late if you actually want to be (or if the class bell goes before you start moving).

Pet Club: this is where you get your pet cat if you're a magical girl. Indeed, many magical girls sign up for this club so as to have a cute pet that they can talk to. Other people also sign up here so they can have attack dogs and stuff, though never anything like the beasts the Soul Binders can call upon - not to mention the fact that it doubles as an equestrian club. This club has a President, a Treasurer, and a Chief Carer (who is tasked with looking after any unadopted animals, or the pets of those who are in the infirmary or whatever). Sometimes the Chief Carer has all fingers and toes. Becoming President always requires proving your worth: you are locked in a room, and a wasp nest is hurled in there, breaking open. You pass if you talk the wasps into calming down and appease them.
[*]You gain an actual useful pet, which can help in combat, and can also just make you feel happy. It's not as good as a Soul Binder "familiar" and can't disappear when convenient.
[*]Sometimes plot hooks will involve the responsibilities of pet ownership
[*]Other skills covered include riding (anything big enough) and the ability to communicate with animals.

Racing Club: don't think Track and Field - that's Gym class. Think cars, hoverbikes, jetskis, speedboats and light aircraft. No really. It's an expensive club, and like most clubs is dangerous, but it's also awesome. There is a President, a Vice President, and a Treasurer.
[*]You basically get the keys to your own nice vehicle
[*]Gain access to other ones, too, and impress girls/guys by taking them for rides
[*]Also, you're actually good at piloting them.

SCIENCE! Club: I probably don't actually need to explain this one. It is just science, it's SCIENCE! In other words, anti-beam beams, plasma cannons, fusion reactors, force field generators, black hole generators, creating plagues, curing all cancers with one pill, synthesising exciting new drugs and poisons, making bombs that will even make explosions explode... and giant robots. All of this and more could be yours. There is the Super President, who resides over the Sub-Presidents of Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering. There is also a Treasurer, as well as a Secretary and an Officer of Damage Control.
[*]You're always actually good at science, at least your core field
[*]Any big project always makes a plot hook - either you succeed and have your killer destructo-beam or whatever, or you fail and unleash space distemper or something.
[*]The lab itself has all sorts of long-forgotten, discarded experiments to dig through.

Soccer Club: it's soccer, which sounds a bit weak compared to the other things here. But oh no. Firstly, it's a great athletic sport that works on speed and coordination. Secondly, all that running about in shorts and taking your shirt off after kicking a goal means members of the opposite sex like to watch. You can learn to kick the ball so that it hits like a tank shell, and also, much like Italian soccer, it's really just a front for a criminal gang. There is a Team Captain (who is also a mob boss), a Treasurer (launderer), a Designated Referee (who knows what calls to make) and a Business Official (who handles the protection rackets).
[*]Generally be good at Gym, and remain healthy regardless of Health grades
[*]Automatic popularity with those who are attracted to your sex
[*]Good pay thanks to the illegal side of everything (and other benefits of the mob)
[*]If you have a soccer ball, you have an extreme-range weapon

"Social" Club: see: Host Club (the anime). Yes, it's that bad. There is the core of the club, who are actual hosts/hostesses, and there are others who are just members who are paying customers. It isn't prostitution though, at least not officially, and were I controlling every member of it, it wouldn't be. But player actions trump designer intentions. There is a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, and a Business Administrator (who actually handles the introductions and sets the transactions up). Technically, there are also many specialty positions such as "The Dark, Mysterious Older Guy", "Twins, With Implied Twincest", "The Busty MILF", "The Girl Who Looks and Acts Younger Than She Is, What are You, a Paedophile?" and so on.
[*]The club rakes in mega money from the non-core members - and from others as well. Anyone can acquire their services, it's just that non-core members have the most time available to do so and are sort of personal sponsors.
[*]It's actually a great way for developing social skills, so very quickly, being in this club makes you a smooth talker.
[*]Bestows knowledge in etiquette, tea ceremony, proper tea preparation, dress sense and other things.

Swimming Club: at its core, this club covers swimming, in both pools and the ocean. It also covers diving, snorkelling, scuba, and looking sexy in a swimsuit (including "Tan Lines: the Style for You"). Expect plenty of "Sempai~ can you rub lotion on my back?"
It also covers boating and submarine piloting, however, along with how to deactivate mines and use harpoons and torpedoes. There is a Team Captain, and a Treasurer.
[*]Swimming skills that are good regardless of your Gym grade
[*]Piloting too! Along with underwater combat - you automatically excel, your foes... don't
[*]Pretty much guaranteed attractiveness and popularity, too!
[*]On the flip side, when sea monsters surface, you're the first on call

Tennis Club: this hones reflexes, running speed, and a killer backhand that caves people's ribcages in. It is not a gentle, serene, girly sport - though that said, thanks to short skirts, the female tennis team is very popular, with a great audience attendance. There are rumours that they smuggle drugs through the tennis balls. There is a Team Captain, and a Treasurer. Currently the Team Captain is also Vice President of the Student Council, and people are nervous about what links there could be between the two - it has to be drugs, right?
[*]Again, it's a good club for looking good, keeping fit, and moving fast
[*]Also, with a racquet and ball, you now have an extreme-range weapon.
[*]Indeed, even just unarmed or with a sword or whatever, your back-hand is ferocious.
[*]There is some mysterious influx of money for your club.

Underwear Club: this isn't even nearly as pervy as it sounds - it's all about making comfortable underwear, and knowing what is best for you - for comfort and for appearance. Many girls wear the wrong bra size or shape because they don't know better, or wear undies that rides up or is made of an unpleasant fabric. This club is all about helping to avoid that, and building self-confidence. It's still a bit weird. All-female club, with the exception of boys who are magical girls - they have a lot of catching up to do. There's a President, a Vice President, and a Treasurer.
[*]Gain great self-confidence, as well as comfort wherever you go
[*]When your underwear is showing, it's the right kind that suits you, and this works in your favour
[*]Good for actually helping out other girls and making friends
[*]Thanks to lingerie sales (and posing for magazines), this club makes buckets of cash.

Underwear Club (The Other One): remember how I said the Underwear Club isn't pervy? Yeah, this one is. It's all about panty thieves. Almost exclusively male, but not entirely - some girls like stealing boxer shorts. Or the panties of their fellow female student. Who am I to judge? There is a President, and usually the member list is not made public.
[*]Learn the supreme stealth skills that make ninjas jealous!
[*]Also good for lock-picking, trap-disabling and similar things.
[*]In fact, all kinds of rogue skills start becoming really handy.

Special: The Student Council
Entry to the Student Council is by election or invitation - players cannot just outright choose to join it, and the only position available to first-year students is Officer of First-Year Relations. Needless to say, the Student Council outranks the United Nations and is plotting something incredible that could change the entire world - or possibly destroy it. Although there are a few elite minions (General Members or Members With-Out Portfolio (MWOPs)), most people in the Council have a proper title:
-President (beyond all reproach, and their decision is final)
-Vice President (a loyal second in command who also acts as a trusted advisor)
-Head of General Affairs (the person who starts meetings and keeps track of/recommends solutions to the everyday matters, strictly keeping out of the mysterious shadowy stuff)
-Officer of First-Year Relations (a first-year, always, with the job of helping first year students integrate into the school, and communicating between them and the Council)
-Internal Affairs Officer (sort of a Commissar of the Council, there to handle grievances against the Council itself or deal with members who go past their boundaries)
-Treasurer (the only person with the keys to the safe, and the only person to know exactly how much money the Council has (a lot))
-Secretary (mostly there to take notes, and to know everything)

Sub-Committees:
Discipline Committee: some see it as a group of armed thugs who go shaking people up for money for the Council... actually, that often IS the case. They also serve as a sort of student police force, and are even tasked with hunting down delinquents, and are given special permissions. Special roles: Morality Officer (equivalent to a Club President, and is a true member of the Student Council), Secretary

Student Communications Committee: this sub-faction exists to serve as a means of communication between the general populace of the school and the Student Council - so that the Council's time is not wasted by frivolous matters, but people can still have their messages heard. Special roles: Communications Officer (leader, true member of the Student Council), Secretary

Council-Teacher Relations Committee: this sub-faction deals with such issues relating to the teaching staff - mostly serving as a form of communication with them, but also there to keep them under control. Special roles: Staff Management Officer (leader, true member of the Student Council), Secretary

Funding Committee: the job of this committee is specifically to raise money for the school in general, and the Student Council in particular. They all report to the Treasurer of the Student Council, but it is sort of a separate entity. Special roles: Income Officer (leader, follows general instructions given by the Treasurer but interprets them as needed), Sub-Treasurer (treasurer of the committee, and reports to the Student Council Treasurer), Secretary

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:30 pm

Tech, science and Home Ec seem to overlap.

the_taken · Post by **the_taken** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:13 pm

To make it culture neutral, rename English to Language Studies.

Club ideas:

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 6:54 pm

So, ideally I'd like 2-3 more archetypes for Houses, so the 6 person party can have everyone playing a different House (as opposed to different options within the same one) if they want. But I'm drawing a blank - keeping in mind that it's all supernaturally powered, so "owning a mecha" doesn't really fit (and "summoning power armour" is just a type of magical girl).

Yes, I will actually make some fluff for GenericAnimeHigh that explains how it's an increasingly common genetic* marker that can be scanned for, that actually provides this weird energy, and the specific strain of this gene determines how your power manifests - but with specifics being somewhat morphic, and you can shape it to an extent.

One person has suggested the idea of the Super Normal or whatever the archetype is called: they have no special powers and just get by via bravery and GAR. Now, in anime and so on, this is represented by "being the main character" or plot shielding or whatever. In other games, it's generally by giving them good base stats and skills, but no super powers. In this... well, it would mean "By foregoing any mystic ability ever, you start with a fantastic set of grades, because you know how much you need to work your ass off just to survive. You also push yourself so hard and over-pack your schedule that you are in TWO clubs. You get no access to any kind of special power, even learned from books of occult lore, and other Houses tend to laugh at and look down on you."

But is that something that is desirable in this game? I'm not sure - I could go either way on it, really. It is sort of the Fighter problem, after all - "I want to be completely realistic and ordinary, and also I want to be able to hold my own against dragons and lich wizards".

Thoughts on this (and suggestions for other Houses) are welcome.

*Seriously. Like, a dominant trait that was probably first introduced via gene therapy or genetic engineering, and now is getting bred into the population more and more.

Edit: now all the subjects and clubs are covered. Next step is to continue avoiding definite mechanics and cover the advantages/disadvantages (which have little bearing on mechanics, and more on plot hooks), and to then go into the actual power sets available to Houses. With descriptions. And then a rule-set can be plugged in to work with those.

the_taken · Post by **the_taken** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:37 pm

Super Normal. They're so average, it would be amazing if it wasn't so normal. These guys have the power to disappear in a crowd. They're just so generic that people will forget that they're there, or even not realize it when they aren't. The only reason this particular one get any screen time is because they are one of the few with that awesome spark that drives them to excel. And they totally do.
- As mentioned, people don't immediately notice when this person arrives or leaves. They show up in a head count, but if they're in a group and someone tries to remember the number of people in the group, they'll run up short.
- Can walk into other club activities and participate in a passable manner. They don't get any benefit for doing so, but with their first ability, it makes them amazingly average spies.
- Lots of doppelgangers. Going looking for this person is an exercise in frustration and mistaken identity. This person has so many look-a-likes in the school. Maybe they have lots of distant cousins living nearby?

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:09 pm

Traits:
Nobody is completely 100% bland and ordinary. Average only really applies across a whole swath of people, "taking the average" and then comparing people to it on any different trait. It's not like anyone actually is completely average in every single way. Some of the differences are good, others are bad, but all of them are memorable.

Any character must have 1-5 points worth of Negative Traits.
Any character may (and probably should) have Positive Traits with a total points amount equal to the points worth of Negative Traits they have.
Points not "spent" do not get converted into better grades or additional powers or anything, they are wasted.

Other Traits can be picked up in game, ignoring any limits above - these are the results of how the game works out.

Negative Traits:

✦ Bad Reputation: for some reason or another, you have a bad reputation. This may or may not be deserved. At any rate, a lot of people who have heard the rumours but not met you tend to avoid you.
✦ Bullied 1: another student often bullies you. They are either in your year level, or one higher. This is mostly an inconvenience. If you beat them up a few times they just become an enemy or rival.
✦ Delinquent/Inept 1: you are either kind of dumb and not good at actual class work, or just don't like doing work and cause trouble. People have lower expectations of you, but you're often getting lectured and routinely score below average on tests.
✦ Forgetful: you have a bad memory. You easily forget people's names, important dates and events, homework assignments, where you're going, to get completely dressed, or where you left your wallet.
✦ Grumpy: you just tend to be in a bad mood most of the time - and it shows. People who don't know you tend to stay out of your way.
✦ Innocent: you're... well, a bit dense, in an innocent sort of way. If someone asks you about your skill at cunnilingus, you'd assume they're talking about a dialect of Latin. Innuendo goes over your head.
✦ Perpetually Tired: you're almost always sleepy, and often fall asleep in class or oversleep and are late to morning classes.
✦ Pervert: you are a pervert in some way or another. If you join The Other Underwear Club, you probably have this Trait. Note: you certainly can take Bad Reputation to go along with this.
✦ Poor Eyesight: you can't see too well without your glasses, and will actually miss fairly obvious things or find reading really hard unless wearing them.
✦ Terrible Fashion: your dress sense is just awful. It's almost embarrassing, and as such, people laugh at you behind your back.
✦✦ Addiction: you're addicted to something that's hard to get your hands on. You actively spend time and money pursuing this addiction, and it can land you in trouble.
✦✦ Allergy: either you really easily suffer hayfever and almost always have watery eyes and the sniffles, or there is something reasonably common that you have serious allergic reactions to.
✦✦ Annoying: you're just a pain in the ass. You grate on other people's nerves, and it's hard to make friends.
✦✦ Blind Without 'Em: without your glasses, you basically can't see at all - you are actually blind when not wearing them.
✦✦ Bullied 2: another few students often bully you. There might be a gang of bullies in your year, or 3-4 from one year level up, or one fourth-year bully (assuming you're a first-year).
✦✦ Clumsy: you have a tendency to trip over a lot, or drop things, or slip over, or fail at climbing ladders... in fact, you're generally inept at moving the way you want to.
✦✦ Responsibility: you have a serious responsibility, such as a pet or a Kohai, and sometimes they might get kidnapped or something. If one person has this in relation to another, that other person has the "Looking Out For You" Positive Trait.
✦✦ Ugly: you are just plain unattractive. People don't like the way you look, and are not going to be the first resort for "Which stranger do I talk to?", nor get many Valentines.
✦✦ Unlucky: you have bad luck. Things somehow manage to find the perfect time to go horribly wrong, as though you were cursed. In fact, it's possible you actually WERE cursed.
✦✦ Weak Point: you have some kind of weak point in combat. This means that a successful aimed attack at the location (if your foe knows about it) can knock you straight out, regardless of damage.
✦✦✦ Blind Even WITH Them: not only are you completely blind without your glasses, but even when you are wearing them, you still have poor vision and need to spend time focusing just to read and such.
✦✦✦ Bullied 3: another few students often bully you. Generally, there are many of them, across a few year levels, with a fourth-year in charge. Teachers might even be in on this.
✦✦✦ Delinquent/Inept 2: you are either really stupid, and thus automatically fail basically all classes, or a real troublemaker. You are regularly in detention, or the school prison cells, and nobody ever believes you when you claim to be innocent.
✦✦✦ Eerie: there is something incredibly disturbing and unsettling about you that gives everyone else the heebie-jeebies. They automatically try to avoid you, and bad luck actually gets blamed on your presence.
✦✦✦ Horribly Maimed: you have a serious injury. Not a cool scar, but something like the loss of a limb, or lower body paralysis.
✦✦✦ Major Responsibility: this is like a responsibility, except more troublesome. Usually in the form of a Kohai or lover who is always getting abducted or something.
✦✦✦ Serious Illness: you have an illness which will never go away, aside from death. It actually leaves you unable to function some days, it's so bad. It might literally be the death of you.
✦✦✦ Wild Power: your power is actually out of control. Occasionally it won't function when you want it to, or won't switch off when you want it to - or erupts at full strength for no reason, causing collateral damage.
✦✦✦✦✦ Abysmal: you are so terrible that you will always fail one specific Subject you have. Select any one, and change it to an F. You can never improve it above F, and the teacher probably doesn't like you.

Positive Traits:

✦ Cheerful: you're generally happy and cheerful. It's possible this annoys people, in which case you should have the Annoying Trait as well, but usually it's contagious and people like being around you.
✦ Contacts: you know a guy who knows a guy, or you know several guys... you can sometimes get info or possibly favours from some NPCs
✦ Good Reputation: for one reason or another, you have a good reputation - possibly deserved. People who know of you respect you for this.
✦ Good Student 1: you do pretty well in class, behaving and completing work. The teachers generally like you, or hate you less than they hate everyone else, and you rarely get detention as a result of things in class.
✦ Innocent: you are just innocent and good-natured. You are almost never to blame, no matter what it looks like, and people assume the best of your intentions - because you do intend the best.
✦ Laugh Inducer: you tell funny jokes, generally. If you are clumsy or something, then people laugh at your antics. These things make you somewhat popular.
✦ Quick Learner: you learn stuff quickly. This means you don't really have to cram for tests, and don't need to do much study/revision.
✦ Stubborn: it's hard to make you actually back down, and that's often a good thing. Cowing or bulldozing you is difficult.
✦✦ Attractive 1: you look very attractive, and people notice your appearance. You are popular at the formal, Valentine's Day etc.
✦✦ Friend of Pain: either you have a sort of bloodlust where injuries just make you fight better, or you actively enjoy pain. Either way, you never suffer penalties for being hurt, and ignore things that cause pain. If you have this and are in the Detention Club, you basically suffer no ill consequences for actions that don't warrant Imprisonment or worse.
✦✦ Graceful: you move with such grace and perfection that you never fall over, and can look stylish and dignified doing anything. People tend to be mesmerised by your movements.
✦✦ Looking Out For You: there is someone who watches out for you, probably a stronger lover or sempai. They will usually come to your rescue, even if they scold you later.
✦✦ Lucky: good things tend to happen around you, and people often ask for a lock of your hair before exams or whatever.
✦✦ Special Rank: you flat-out have some position of good rank, such as a Title in a Club, Hall Monitor (which tend to get promoted into the ranks of Discipline Committee if they do well) or being a teacher's assistant, or kohai of an important member of the Student Council.
✦✦ Time Management Skills: you are really good at managing your schedule, so tend to always be early or on time, and have spare time to do things. This always works in your favour.
✦✦✦ Attractive 2: you are amazingly beautiful, and people often stare. Your locker is frequently filled to the brim with love letters.
✦✦✦ Fearless: you are never affected by fear - you might feel the fear, but it has no control over you. You just shrug it off and do your thing.
✦✦✦ FRIENDSHIP!: you are incredibly good at making friends - just about everyone becomes your friend soon enough. Possibly you should form the FRIENDS! Club.
✦✦✦ Good Student 2: you are incredibly wonderfully good at your classes. You usually get good grades, and the teachers like you, and other people are always asking to borrow your lecture notes.
✦✦✦ Relentless: much like Rick Astley, you never give people up or let them down. In fact, you never give up at all. As hopeless as things are, despair never engulfs you. You can be sad, but not suffer penalties from it. Indeed, if you would suffer a numeric penalty from sadness or despair, you instead take that as a bonus.
✦✦✦ Special Permit: you have a licence to actually leave the school grounds for various things, and indeed go flying planes and the like.
✦✦✦✦✦ Supergenius: you are so completely amazing at one subject of your choice (pick one that has a rating of A or A+) that you double-pass all tests for it. Change the rating to an S, which lets you roll five dice (no modifier). You always score the highest in this class (overall, not necessarily individual tasks), and the teacher likes you.

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:18 pm

This is too complex for a joke game.

No one should have to read lists that long for a joke game, especially since each entry is going to have text.

These rules need lightening.

They look heavier than Macho Women with Guns, the d20 modern version, and that system was probably too heavy and only got away with it by effectively making a joke out of the stupidity of the d20modern system.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:31 pm

1. It's not a joke game. It's lighthearted, in the same way most BESM games are, or Maid, or 99% of my games. But the idea is that people actually play it, and enjoy the plots they make, and have real choices for character creation and character growth. A joke game is D:tD40k7E

2. I hate especially rules-light games that don't actually give many options, they just say "Write some words down that you made up and put some numbers next to them. Whatever. I'm off to lunch." The simplest game system I can enjoy is Maid. If it gets more basic than that, you can go play it with the rest of the Indie "We don't need an actual game, man, we're reinventing the hobby!" crowd.

Basically it's going to be:
1. Pick one of 4-6 Houses based on core character concept
2. Pick two electives out of a bunch, it's not that hard
3. You're given an array of grades, assign them however you want
4. Pick a Club based on what sounds fun or whatever
5. A handful of stuff to customise the character and add more choices and flavour to it, that isn't a big deal

If that is seriously too much work, then fuck, you should consider playing Hero Quest instead of actual RPGs, that does all the work for you!

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:55 pm

Maid and, it sounds like, this game are pretty much exactly the right amount of rules light.

I'm not sure if you're still taking suggestions on setting, but if you are: 40K does very, very few things right. The things it does do right are actually not all that iconic. For example:

Orks: Gag characters who get old quick. The setting will not suffer if you remove them.

IN SPACE: No one actually cares that the reinforcements drop from space instead of coming out of a magic portal or arriving from off-field or whatever.

Chaos: Some kind of inevitable madness is key to the good parts of the setting, but all of the trappings of Chaos past that are totally unnecessary. You could make it into a carnival theme and it wouldn't change a thing.

SPEHSS MEHREENS: Some kind of dedicated religion that is actually the last, best hope for civilization was a good idea. Having that religion make increasingly drastic sacrifices of liberty and empathy to try and prolong the inevitable for as long as possible is also an interesting theme to explore, and would actually make an interesting grimdark backdrop to a lighthearted game. But having the face of that religion be a pack of absurdly dedicated zealots who pride themselves on their lack of concern for civilian casualties or property damage and who've got more homoerotic machismo than the 300 is stupid in a way I'm assuming I don't have to explain, and the setting loses nothing if you replace them with just regular zealots. Some of them can even be totally aware of the suffering they cause and feel bad about it and that will only make the setting better.

The upshot of this is that you don't have to file the serial numbers off the Warhammer 40K setting in order to retain literally everything good about it. The good things are totally divorced from everything that makes it iconic, and they mesh just as well or better with the anime theme you're going for right now.

A doomed war whose only real objective is to put off the permanent end of civilization for as long as possible is the plot of every third anime that's ever been recommended to me. Using an absurd Japanese reinterpretation/misunderstanding of the Catholic Church as the oppressive but practical defenders of civilization against the void is another thing that wouldn't be at all out of place. And it gives you an excuse to have a bestiary full of beasties to sic on the students of a high school, even the one for the aristocracy, which would also necessitate that everyone, no matter how high class, be trained in how to fight them. Sure, the classes are potentially lethal, but if they can't survive the class, there's no way they can survive being ambushed by a four-armed sewer monster with a fanged vagina on the end of its tail.

There's also the idea that the golden age has long since passed, and everyone is now mired in tradition because the war drains all the resources to make anything new worth having, which could combine very well with teenage rebelliousness and the undying conflict of youth v. age, but that doesn't strike me as a terribly anime theme. Still, the passed golden age makes for an easy explanation as to why this high school is located inside of an absurdly large cathedral but we still don't have the resources to stop the Silent Hill monsters from getting inside.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:09 am

Well, here are the things I like about 40K:
[*]BDSM Nuns (I'm not sure if there's any other kind, the Internet assures me there is not)
[*]Sovjet-style Commissars (to be fair, I think there was some faction in the real world at some time or another that had Sovjet-style Commissars. Can't put my finger on it)
[*]Chainsaw Swords and rapid-firing missile launchers
[*]Related: planet-sized mecha that fire demons from the main gun, and 40km-long spacecraft with cathedrals on top
[*]Some of the architecture
[*]It happens to be something enough people like that you can easily gather interest for a project by slapping "40K-related" on it, while at the same time being able to set it in some random part of the universe that has nearly fuck-all to do with the actual setting

Mostly it's the BDSM Nuns though. And the way I can sort of put a Battle Sisters expy into GenericAnimeHigh (until I think of a better name) is with A. House Magical Girl and B. Borrowing another element I like of old English boarding schools, excessivesufficient use of the cane.

Chainsaw-swords I'll live without, the gothic architecture can stay, albeit toned down, and people with the Speed Boost power and Rocket Launcher as their chosen weapon can basically do the "rapid fire rocket launcher" thing.

Note that 40k is basically the only sci-fi I like, and not for any sci-fi reasons. Other than that, I like Daleks (not Doctor Who, just Daleks) and whenever someone goes "Oh, as a fellow nerd, I know you'll like this Star ____ thing!" I automatically deduct eight trillion points from their score. So the bit where it's in Space has zero relevance on this - instead of "Yes there are other planets out there with stupid talking fungi but that's not relevant in this game" it's "Fuck space, it's not happening".

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 1:07 am

But, but, but, crazy cathedrals are even better in space, and then you can have an engine room with gouts of flame and mashy-spike plates.

Josh_Kablack · Post by **Josh_Kablack** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 1:29 am

an engine room with gouts of flame and mashy-spike plates.

Well back in my day attending a big psuedo-cathedral Catholic school, we just called that "the boiler room". It was in the sub-sub-sub basement below the old auditorium and students weren't allowed in there - although the building custodian kept it running so high that occasionally one of the adjustment knobs from the creaky old radiators in the classrooms would overload would fly off hard enough to bounce off the classroom ceiling. The algebra teacher who actually caught one was not to be messed with.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:07 am

How about you ditch the Magical Girl familiars and instead build a house/skillset around people that have a symbiotic relationship with a spirit of some sort as its main shtick? Fluff it out right and it could work for both the wet blanket shinto priestess types as well as the angsty dude that got stuck with a kami that is kind of an asshole.

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:01 pm

Well, yes, like I said, no one cares that 40K is in space. Someone might whine about it if they put everything on one planet because baaaaaw change, but that's not the same as people actually liking the concept itself. I don't see why you'd have to live without chainsaw-swords, either. Any society that sends ~14 year olds to a potentially fatal school to learn how to deal with potentially fatal threats in a universe where the laws of physics are more lke guidelines could reasonably invent stupidly awesome melee weapons.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 8:05 pm

Whipstitch wrote:How about you ditch the Magical Girl familiars and instead build a house/skillset around people that have a symbiotic relationship with a spirit of some sort as its main shtick? Fluff it out right and it could work for both the wet blanket shinto priestess types as well as the angsty dude that got stuck with a kami that is kind of an asshole.

So, Possessed but good? I'd play that. Hell, I want to play a game of Possessed, damnit...

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 8:10 pm

Okay, now Magical Girls (or indeed anyone) who join the Pet Club just get a cat they can talk to or an attack dog or something, and there is an actual "summon really powerful critters" House.

Five is a decent number. And the next step is to start listing the options the Houses get (regarding their powers), and to then actually flesh out the ruleset and sort of plug it in.

For combat, incidentally, I definitely want a "Roll Initiative, when it's your turn you declare and act" system because that's the simplest. Possibly where you don't get bonuses and it's just a random roll, with the exception of "Super Speed goes first, starting at the highest level of it and working down. If two or more have the same level of it, they roll off".

And this way, people don't have to pump points into Initiative and rely on "Strike first" builds, and it also means if doing PbP you can easily alter it to something like this: first to post is first to have their action resolved. Exception: Super Speed goes first. If this undermines the action of a previous poster, they have "Until the principal posts" to edit theirs. (Yes, this means if guy A posts his actions, with a bad roll, then guy B on the same side, with Super Speed, could cleverly do something that negates that, forcing guy A to do something else, re-rolling - TEAMWORK!).

And I'm kind of liking the idea of seriously small numbers for HP and damage: HP is 1 for an F in Health, +1 for every sub-grade above that (2 for D-, 3 for D, etc. all the way up to 13 for an A+ or 14 for S-rank)
Base damage for normal attacks would be 0 for an F in Gym, 1 for any kind of D, 2 for any kind of C, 3 for any kind of B, 4 for any kind of A, and 5 for S. With small bonuses for weapons or powers - and some weapons/powers not using Gym at all and replacing it with a flat number.

Not set in stone though.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:16 am

Shouldn't the last house be the "secretly not human" house? This would cover androids, cyborgs, cat-girls, vampires, the whole lot.

They'd still call it the "super normal" house, though. And a normal person could easily slip in by accident.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:31 am

Prak_Anima wrote: So, Possessed but good? I'd play that. Hell, I want to play a game of Possessed, damnit...

Yeah, thematically I was thinking along those lines although from a purely visual perspective Persona was the more immediate inspiration given the genre. The nice thing is that it appears Koumei already has enough varied negative and positive traits in mind that if a player absolutely felt like they must have a "good" or "evil" spirit(s) represented mechanically we could just tell players to represent the spirit's impact on your lifestyle with your personal trait allotment rather than assign powers based on anything as bullshit as alignment.