What's the weirdest "conceptual framework" for an rpg that you've encountered, and are there any out there concepts that you'd like to try?
It probably comes as no surprise that I've seen a lot of strange RPG ideas, both theoretical and in practice, that play with the standard structure of what most people see as the usual way to run and play a Tabletop Roleplaying Game. I've done more than a few myself. Weirdest is really hard to narrow down. One person's weird is another's normal and that sort of thing.
Conceptual Frameworks that stand out to me:
I ran a Time Patrol/Time Travel game that began with all the PCs and Main Villain dead. The heroes come back to life one-by-one, drawing energy, weapon attacks, etc. back from the body of the villain which then stands up as well. It was as if you were playing a video of the final battle in reverse. From that point, we jump back a few hours to before the final confrontation. Each subsequent session (of which there were 5 or 6 I think) took place months to years before the previous one. During the entire campaign you learn that the villain is one of the PC heroes, then who it is and how an alternate timeline version of the character was created, and finally insight into altering the sequence of events so it never happens in the first place.
I've run a Wizard of Oz campaign with references/allegories to the Second World War as a musical, with players and their PCs singing.
I've run the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, each following the structures of those TV shows. All featuring singing as well.
I ran a really odd 7 session mini-campaign of the game Skyrealms of Jorune that took place over the course of 7 days of real time. Each day I would run a 5 or 6 hour session. Within the game, the party is taking 7 days to travel back to their home city after having traveled 7 days to a sacred site and burying a revered Shaman/Priest in an ancient temple. Prior to the trip, the group is charged/cursed with determining the Meaning of Life by the other clergy aliens in the deceased one's sect.
Each PC dies soon after declaring what they think the Meaning of Life is. The last two guys think its the same thing, so one declares it thereby sacrificing himself. The last guy makes it back to those would sent them on the mission and cursed them with this burden. He says to the assembled clergy, "I know the Meaning of Life", with a smile. He is cut, bleeding, bruised, etc. but it impedes him not. He does not reveal what the answer is however as he approaches the alien Priests with his sword drawn...fade to black. It was creepy, surreal, and very Heavy Metal Magazine coded.
An idea I'm especially proud of but have never quite been able to finalize to my satisfaction is that of my Ghost Story RPG idea, 'Unfinished Business'. The idea of the game being to stop playing your PC as the PC is a Ghost and being one kind of sucks. The goal is to 'move on' and therefore be removed from the game.
Ideas I'd like to try?
Hmm. That's tough as I usually don't how what weird concept I'd like to explore until it hits me. It isn't easy to be strange on command, if you know what I mean. That said, I would be curious to explore a different kind of Time Travel game, a horror game with a more surreal nature (as opposed to just gore and jump scares), and a Superhero RPG from the perspective of non-powered government agents, treating the Supers as these weird, unpredictable god-like beings. There are a few indy games that take this approach like 'G-Men and Supermen' and 'Power Squid'. Then there's always my desire to figure out how a Twilight Zone RPG would work.
(Potential further question: How would you make a 2D rpg work?)
Kelvin's question was inspired by something he read where a gamer was trying to run a 'side scrolling video game' inspired RPG where the setting is in 2D. Character could move left or right, as well as above or below an opponent or obstacle, but they can't pass in front of or behind it as its a 2-dimensional environment.
How would I do that? My friend Ray and I were tossing around ideas and honestly, it's pretty simple in its basic desgin; it would work like any other game except moves would be limited to no attacks from the side and facing position would be of great importance. To elaborate, a mechanic or in-game currency could be used to perform actions like a quick about-face, leaping over an object or enemy, etc. Perhaps one could built-up and spend Action Points (or something) in order to enter the background and move 'behind' another character. Characters on two different planes couldn't interact however.
I also like the idea (inspired by a Japanese TRPG called 'One Way Heroes' that has a similar idea) that while on an adventure you could travel from the starting town to the dungeon and through the dungeon back to the town but once the adventure is over, you move on to a new town and can never access that previous town or dungeon again. As if once you 'clear a level' you move on the the next level and the previous one no longer exists.
What do you think?
So many idea.
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Barking Alien
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