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General Forge Forums => Last Chance Game Chef => Topic started by: gtroc on April 07, 2012, 04:22:06 PM

Title: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: gtroc on April 07, 2012, 04:22:06 PM
My Ingredients are
Coyote: I am leaning toward Wil E Coyote mixed with the Crow and Blackfoot legends of old man coyote mixed with a little of the actual animal
Doctor: I see this as a mix between a witch doctor and a medical doctor
Lantern: I went very Jack O'Lantern with this. it is both the time keeping device and teh thing seeking to lead you astray
Mysticism vs Magic (http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=5373.0): I had to sort of pull what i could from this but I see Mystisism as accepting your self and your fate(kind of go with the flow) and magic as seeking to control the world around you, control your destiny.

So the game is this:

Whispers In The Dark
A game of life and loss for four people

this is a game that is about the choices we make in our lives it is played in four rounds and then the character dies.
the goal is to make choices and be tossed around by the whims of fate. there are four paths, the path of self, the path of the Magus, the path of the Mystic, and the forlorn path.
each of the four players will represent the tactics of one of the paths and seek to direct the character down their specified path.
In the final round the results are tallied and the story is told.
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: jackson_tegu on April 07, 2012, 08:16:37 PM
Cool! I like the push-pull feel of that.

Quick math question though, which i'm sure you'll review at some point -
though i really like the idea of having a short amount of rounds (i read that, perhaps incorrectly, as scenes)
if you have four players, and four rounds, and each round gives one point, then... you're pretty likely to have a tie.
But i'm sure you'll make that make sense later in the design in one of a dozen ways.

I like that it's all one character that no one owns, too.
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: gtroc on April 08, 2012, 01:37:30 AM
Its four rounds each with three hands.

you deal out three cards each for the round and place a card face up. the face up card is the life event card(I will have a better name later). this tells you what is important to the character, you then have to seek to enforce your tactic on that life event. at the end of the game the last card is face up and that is the final event. if you have the most tricks then you get to dictate how that card relates to the character's legacy.
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: jackson_tegu on April 08, 2012, 02:03:24 AM
Ah, cool. That seems like a better spread.

And a cool end mechanic, too!
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: gtroc on April 08, 2012, 03:26:17 AM
now I just have to break down the rules/tactics/maneuvers for each person in each round and then I think I am set.
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: Jason Pitre on April 10, 2012, 08:36:07 AM
I am doing something similar in my own entry, so here are a couple concerns I thought of.

Do you have any flexibility in terms of players, or is it hardcoded to 4 people?

Are the four players sharing the single character, or are they portraying NPC's that interact with that character?

Are you using playing card, tarot cards or custom cards?

Good luck!
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: gtroc on April 10, 2012, 02:04:17 PM
Quote from: Jason Pitre on April 10, 2012, 08:36:07 AM
I am doing something similar in my own entry, so here are a couple concerns I thought of.

Do you have any flexibility in terms of players, or is it hardcoded to 4 people?

Are the four players sharing the single character, or are they portraying NPC's that interact with that character?

Are you using playing card, tarot cards or custom cards?

Good luck!
This game is VERY hard-coded for four people. it can't really be done satisfactorily without the four.

The four players are all seeking to control the single character throughout its life. they seek to attain a goal through various tactics dependant on the entitiy they are playing.

I will be using a standard(American) deck of cards(52 cards plus one joker).

Here is what I have so far...ish:

Each round one of the entities deals three cards and flips one card which is the story card(the event/goal that the character wants or happens to it). you play through three tricks high card wins. Trump beats non trump.

Spring, look to the future
Coyote seeks to put the character in situations that the character can learn from
The Doctor seeks to protect the character
Jack seeks to satisfy the character's immediate want at the expense of their future good
Will seeks to achieve the goal with minimum difficulty
Trump is Hearts
   Water, love emotion Spirituality
Will deals the cards and flips the story card

Summer, Look to others
Coyote seeks to bring the character in contact with others
The Doctor seeks to Separate the character and remind the character of its individuality
Jack seeks to make the character use others to its own ends
Will seeks the help of others to gain its goals
Trump is Diamonds
   Earth, material possessions
The Doctor deals the cards and flips the story card

Autumn, Look to self
Coyote seeks to maintain the status quo, the character has achieved maximum strength
The Doctor seeks to hold back the future
Jack Seeks to make you dependent on others
Will Seeks to plan for the future
Trump is Clubs
   Fire, Inner wisdom, industriousness
Jack deals and flips the story card

Winter, look to the past
Coyote seeks to bring an end, release the character from pain
The Doctor Seeks to prolong life, keep the player alive no matter what pain or no pain
Jack Seeks to watch the character burn, the character wallows in regret
Will seeks to enjoy life, the character has lived well and is remembers the good times
Trump is Spades
   Air, Adversity, challenge
Coyote deals and flips the story card

Whoever has the most tricks flips the last card and decides how the story ends, what legacy did the character leave, how are they remembered?
At the end of each season the person with the most tricks decides how that seasons goal is attained. If it is tied then a compromise must be reached that has a bit of both tactics.


so that's it. the only issue I am having is figuring the story card meanings. specifically how do you do 13 different stories that will be acceptable in all stages of life.
Title: Re: [Whispers In The Dark] Jakes ingredients and ideas
Post by: gtroc on April 14, 2012, 04:20:20 AM
Well, my game is submitted.Hears hoping I didn't miss something big.