Seedlings of an idea...

[singerinthedark]

I have this FABulous idea for an RPG game integrating the Wod 2.0 Mortals system and the rules for "A Penny for My Thoughts." The players are amnesiacs who wake up in a mental asylum. On day one of gameplay the players are given a basic , nearly blank WoD character sheet. Players will have a few dots to spend to start on basic stats, but since they don't remember anything, these will be very, very basic characters. Characters spend the first evening of game in "therapy," which will be pure "A Penny for My Thoughts" to get them started. After that, the characters will spend games alternating between group therapy (the Penny system) to remember who they are, and exploring the asylum, its inmates, and its secrets. Or perceived secrets. Who knows what psychoses the characters have? Perhaps they are just regaining memories in waking dreams by projecting them onto their situation. Perhaps not.

Players are awarded dots to spend in appropriate skills and stats, rather than experience, as they remember who they are. This simulates the rapid regaining of skills and basic knowledge about themselves at first (since they are starting at ground zero). Once the campaign has gone significantly forward, i.e. they have reached just beyond a beginning hero's stats, we'll switch to an experience points system. This simulates the slowdown of knowledge gain as they reach the limits of what they have already learned (even if they couldn't access it) and start having to learn new things.

The whole idea is that the players start out knowing as little about their characters as their characters do. I think that with the right group of players, this could add a creepy, but all together wonderful dimension to gameplay, rather than just having them as fully-formed inmates of the asylum.

So, to all my GMs and gamers out there: What do you think? Any thoughts, tips, ideas? Any potential playtesters before I unleash this monster on a gaming group?

Anyone? Bueller?

Comments

[lyahdan.livejournal.com]

a. That sounds awesome and fun.

b. damn, wish you lived closer

c. For playtesting, I could likely make it out if it's a night I'm free.

d. Wondering if a short version could work for a convention game.

e. I think I really need to pick up Penny..

[brazenleo.livejournal.com]

This is a kick ass idea for a game. You really need to do it.

[barnabas-truman.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about Penny or new WoD, but the core concept sounds awesome and I'd love to give it a try. I've long liked the idea of an RPG where the PC(s) have amnesia and don't know their own character sheet. I once ran a single-player game with my cousin in which she started out waking up, sans any memories or possessions, by the side of the highway in the desert outside of Flagstaff, AZ. Five minutes later the Men in Black showed up, hauled her off to a secret base, and attempted unsuccessfully to interrogate her. The hidden backstory was that she was a secret agent who had, just before the game began, dosed herself with amnesia serum because she knew the MiB were catching up and didn't want them to get any information out of her. After she escaped it was fun watching her follow the trail of clues her past self had left her.

Also, I found a copy of an updated edition of the Baron Munchausen game!

[unkyrich.livejournal.com]

Allow me to introduce myself . . . (crap, now I have to change to one of my devil icons. Hang on. brb.)

(Okay, back.)

I'm one of the Bay Area gamers that brazenleo mentioned. While I haven't played Penny yet, I've been thinking of a very similar idea.

This idea sounds very awesome (and different from the idea I had) and I would LOVE to play in it. And help you get it going, if you would like.

Just some thoughts off the top of my head (if you don't mind, otherwise feel free to skip the next few things):

* Do you have the World of Darkness: Asylum book? It might help flesh out the setting.

* Would there be plans for the characters to eventually get out of the asylum?

* You may want to award a lesser amount of XP during the "regaining your memories" time to reflect that even an amnesiac can learn new things.

* Would there be safeguards or rules in place to prevent someone from learning (for example) "You're a serial killer who preyed upon children and their puppies" if the player had no interest in going that direction? (I have no idea how Penny works, but it sounded like this could be dumped on someone. If not, completely ignore this part.)


Anyway, just reading this post made me think "Oh, yeah!" And now I want to hear more. So I would count that as a good idea.