Demented: Cataclysm - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

[Anthile]

Welcome to the unholy lovechild of Gantz, 4400, Paranoia and Highlander.

Story:

It could have been quite a nice day. But as so often, things went wrong and in this case you got abducted by aliens. Unfortunately the aliens are not just pleased with studying the human body and play around with your genetics. Before you can really grasp what happened you are send back to Earth – but with a clear object: other alien races have infiltrated Earth and it is your mission to prevent them from taking over the world. To assist you, the aliens give you 10 identical clones and if you die your mind and all memories will be automatically uploaded into one of these clones.
In case you decide to be a pacifist and you are not able to kill one of the PCs within one month a bomb inside your head will explode, wasting one of your bodies. The bomb cannot be removed.
Otherwise you get the Nebula, an universal license that allows you to drive, buy and everything and everywhere. Futhermore it serves as passport and prevents you from ending in prison [note: normal policemen will not recognize it and they still might arrest you temporarily].
Additionaly you own a suitcase with 10,000$ cash.
Except from that something like a compass is implanted in your left wrist that shows you PCs that are in a radius of 1000km. The nearer you are the better you can see the position on the display. This device cannot be removed.

The only way to win and become free again is to be the last person alive!


Mechanics:

Since we finally have a dice-plugin we can now roll dices!

Attributes
Every player posesses the following attributes:

Body – Strength and endurance; determines how good you are with melee weapons and how well you can deal with poison and disease.
Dexterity – Perception and agility; determines how good you are with ranged weapons and how well you can sneak and dodge.
Intellect – Logic and thinking; determines how good you are with technical or mechanical devices of all kinds, ranging from explosives and traps to driving a tank and fly an airplane.
Presence – Charisma and willpower; determines how good you are with people and controlling Myths.

At the character creation you start with exactly 0 points in every ability which means you get absolutely no bonus or malus for checks.
With every point you invest you can add one point to your throws.

When you are in a situation where failure has any relevant consequences you have to roll a d20 and add the bonus points to the rolled number (or subtract if the attribute is negative). The usual Challenge Grade (CG) is 12 but varies with the situation.
If you are in a competetive situation with another player the aggressor announces what he does and uses the appropiate attribute for that action and the defensor chooses the attribute with which he tries to avoid the attack.

Jerk Points

Every character starts out with 5 Jerk Points (JP) at the beginning that he can use to put points in attributes or Myths. It is also possible to subtract points from 0 to gain additional points but you will receive a malus for rolls; this works to a maximum of -3 per attribute.

You get more JP for killing enemies or, well, being a jerk to other players (aka good roleplaying) and kill them with style or in an unusual way.
Additionally you get 3 points for killing two players at once, 4 points for 3 players, etc.

Costs for improving attributes:

0-3: 1 JP
4-7: 2 JP
8-10: 3 JP

Every new Myth costs 4 JP.

Myths

Myths are superhuman abilities that are granted through genetic enhancement. Every usage costs you Myth Power (MP); for every point over 0 you have in Presence you gain one MP.
At the beginning you can choose two powers from the Myth pool. Every new Myth has to be unlocked with JP.

The Myths are:

-Pyrokinesis: Throwing around fireballs.
-Cryokinesis: Throwing around ice clouds.
-Electrokinesis: Throwing around lightnings.
-Telekinesis: Throw around things and people.
-Teleportation: Move instantly to a known place within a radius of 100 meters.
-Premonition: The next attack that hits you does not inflict any harm upon you.
-Illusion: Creates an exact copy of you but that cannot do anything physical or hurt your enemies.
It vanishes after one hour and you can command it with thoughts.
-Regeneration: You gain one HP.
-Invisibility: You become invisible for 10 minutes.
-Shield: Throws back projectiles with the same force but not melee weapons.
-Life Geas: Allows to take over a sentient being (human or animal) that is not a PC. That being is completely under the control, is commaned via thoughts and the user can see everything what the victim can see. Lasts one hour.
-Machine Geas: Allows to take over a machine and activate it from the distance. Lasts one hour.
-Ultra Sight: The user gains 360° sight, night vision and +2 to Dexterity throws. Lasts one hour.
-X-Ray Sight: The user gains the ability to see through matter. Lasts one hour.
-Super Strength: The user gains +5 to Body rolls for the next check.
-Super Dexterity: The user gains +5 to Dexterity rolls for the next check.
-Super Intellect: The user gains +5 to Intellect for the next check.
-Super Presence: The user gains +5 to Presence for the next check.
-Anti Myth Field: In the radius of 20 meters no Myth ability can be used. Everyone

Uber Myths

Uber Myths are extremely powerful Myths that are permanently active and cost 10 JP once.

-Nietzsche Wannabe: Every time you die you gain 2 additional JP.
-Vampirism: Every time you damage a PC in a melee fight you gain one HP.
-Monofilament Wires: You have implanted monofilament wires in your fingers that can cut through almost everything. A melee weapon that subtracts two HP from the victim.
-Fly: You gain the ability to defy gravity and fly with the maximum speed of 20km/h.


Health

Every PC has three HP. With all three HP you are unharmed and fit.
If you lose one HP you are lightly wounded.
If you lose two HP you have medium wounds.
If you lose three HP you have heavy wounds and you get -1 to all throws

Normal weapons destroy one HP while heavy weapons do two. Explosives cause usually instant deaths as well as car crashes and the like.


Character Creation

1.Choose a name

2.Create a background story for your character and what he did before he was abducted; ~200-300 words

3.Choose two Myths

4.Distribute your 5 JP

5.Roll a d6 to see on what continent you land, where exactly on the continent is up to you
1 – Europe
2 – North America
3 – South America
4 – Australia
5 – Africa
6 – Asia

There have to be at least 500km between two players when at least one of them teleports down to Earth.


In A Nutshell

To put it simply, this game is about killing people in the most hilarious way. It's sadistic and amoral.
Although you can team up with other players against stronger opponents; backstabbing is encouraged.
Furthermore, two simple principles you should follow:

1.The main object is to have fun. Don't take it personal when a player betrays or kill you.

2.Seperate your knowledge from character knowledge.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

*hugs Anthile*
That's how much I like this game.

1. Choose a name
Full Name: Seth Van-zandt Stark

2. Create a background story
Prior to abduction Seth was studying general psychology in university, hoping to one day become a fully qualified psychoanalyst, and was doing night work as an assistant bartender at an inner-city bar.
(I can't flesh it out further without a plot or setting to build upon)

3. Choose two Myths
Premonition: The next attack that hits you does not inflict any harm upon you.
Life Geas: Allows to take over a sentient being (human or animal) that is not a PC. That being is completely under the control, is commanded via thoughts and the user can see everything what the victim can see. Lasts one hour.

4. Distribute your 5 JP
I spend 4 JP for,
Teleportation: Move instantly to a known place within a radius of 100 meters.

Body: -3 (that would be -8 to -10 in effect, correct?) +3 JP
Dexterity: 0
Intellect: +2
Presence: +2

5. Roll a d6 to see on what continent you land
...where's the dice-app?
Can it just be Australia?

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

The setting is modern Earth 2009. There is no difference except that some superpowered people run around to kill each other.

Dammit, forgot how to explain the dices work! Quite simple: with the BB code [roll]xdy[/roll]

x is the amount of dices and y is the sort of dice.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

[roll0]

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

[roll0] Finally, it works!

5. Roll a d6 to see on what continent you land
Well I'm in Europe... Moscow, Russia.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Some clarifications:

1. Life Geas requires eye contact.

2. Everytime you die you get a new suitcase with 10,000$.

3. You can see the stats of other players at any time. This is simply because I think the temptation is too big to look it up here anyway and to not seperate it from character knowledge.

4. The compass device is also an universal translator like in Star Trek. Makes things easier.

5. Since we mostly are in real locations, putting some research in where you are is encouraged.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Character Creation

1.Choose a name

Jared Corcair

2.Create a background story for your character and what he did before he was abducted; ~200-300 words

Jared Corcair was born January 1986 in Sacramento, California, and was raised a catholic. In 2007, he became a corrections officer at the San Quentin State Prison. Shortly thereafter, he was stabbed by an inmate and suffered significant internal damage. During his recovery, something 'clicked' in his mind and he became disillusioned with the American prison system, society in general and also religion.
Jared then left his job at SQ and won $200,000 at a scratch-and-win. This money was spent on heroin, a statue made of toilet paper rolls depicting an obscure homeless philosopher, and a handgun. With the handgun, Jared tracked down and shot two COs he had previously worked with at SQ. Both of them died.
Jared was then abducted by aliens before he could be apprehended for his crimes.

3.Choose two Myths

Telekinesis, X-Ray Sight

4.Distribute your 5 JP

Body: 0
Dexterity: +1
Intellect: +1
Presence: +3

5.Roll a d6 to see on what continent you land, where exactly on the continent is up to you
1 – Europe
2 – North America
3 – South America
4 – Australia
5 – Africa
6 – Asia

[roll0]

Damn, Australia :/ I guess I'll start in Sydney.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Character Creation

1. Choose a name

Raquel Tsironis

2. Create a background story

Raquel was abandoned on the streets of Recife, Brazil as a child. She became a deft pickpocket and thief out of necessity, to survive. As an adolescent she became familiar with guns and used them as a means of self-protection. Becoming quite skilled with the weapons, she was soon recruited to do the dirty work of a local drug lord. After some time, she became bold enough to steal from her employer. She was found out and promptly shot through the base of her skull. The Aliens plucked her body from the gutters, fixed her up, and gave her a mission.

3. Choose two Myths

Electrokinesis
Teleportation

4. Distribute your 5 JP

Body: -3 [+3jp]
Dexterity: +3
Intellect: +2
Presence: +3

5. location
Raquel wakes up in the ruins of a Gusuku on Okinawa island.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

[roll0]

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

The minimum amount of players before it even starts is 4 (people can join while others are already paying) and the maximum is 10.

 

[SEELE01]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Character Creation

1. Choose a name

Wayne Boston

2. Create a background story

Wayne was always a bit of a different card. Exceling in school but coming from a lower class family he graduated from Arizona State with degrees in Political Science and Software Design. After about 2 years of steady work he suddenly abondoned his stable life and chose to live out his days in a junkyard. While there he worked day and night almost obssesivly on somthing that passersby thought looked kind of like a satalite dish.
When asked why he was constructiong the hodgpodge of old radio equipment and scrap metal he would reply "To contact aliens."

3. Choose two Myths

Illusion
Invisibility

4. Distribute your 5 JP

Body:-1
Dexterity: 2
Intellect: 1
Presence: 3

5. location
[roll0]

 

[SEELE01]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Character Creation

1. Choose a name

Wayne Boston

2. Create a background story

Wayne was always a bit of a different card. Exceling in school but coming from a lower class family he graduated from Arizona State with degrees in Political Science and Software Design. After about 2 years of steady work he suddenly abondoned his stable life and chose to live out his days in a junkyard. While there he worked day and night almost obssesivly on somthing that passersby thought looked kind of like a satalite dish.
When asked why he was constructiong the hodgpodge of old radio equipment and scrap metal he would reply "To contact aliens."

3. Choose two Myths

Illusion
Invisibility

4. Distribute your 5 JP

Body:-1
Dexterity: 2
Intellect: 1
Presence: 3

5. location
[roll0]

Tokyo Japan

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

You get more JP for killing enemies or, well, being a jerk to other players (aka good roleplaying) and kill them with style or in an unusual way.

Is there other ways of acquiring JP?
i.e. incapacitate one or more fellow PCs, sacrifice them in a satanic ritual to open a gateway to hell, enter hell and fight one's way down as many levels as possible (gaining JP for every new level reached) and/or possibly make it down to the bottom, defeat whatever's there, and claim sovereignty.

Of course it's far more likely one would die long before reaching such a depth, the whole idea of this little side-quest is to be a death-trap for powerful players and even if one did succeed it's likely this would convince all the other players to temporarily unite against that one. An interesting proposition considering the "it" player could take refuge in hell, although the only way in/out would be through the portal (demons can't get out) and by descending into hell the PC group would gain JP with each level they descend, although considering hell's legions are now being directed by a PC, that's going to be a lot harder.

Anyway, just brainstorming here,
I like the idea of there being some sort of ulterior objective to complete, perhaps several (will continue thinking about this), with the whole world and everything in it "kill them all" is a painfully simple goal.

 

[tom]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Name: Anthony-Lewis Renwick

Back story: Born into the illustrious family of Renwick, Anthony-Lewis was educated by the finest, most expensive tutors in the land. However, to his Mater and Pater's dismay, at the age of 18 and just before entering Christ's church college, Oxford, Anthony-Lewis began to notice the plight of those rather less fortunate than himself!
The high expectations piled high upon Anthony caused him to sink into a deep depressive
state, only alleviated by his daily fencing and gymnastic regimes. One day, as he settled down under a tree for a good think...

Choose two myths:

Teleportation

Illusion

Distribute 5 JP:
Body:3
Dex:0
Int:1
Pres:1

[roll]1d6[/roll]

What am i doing wrong with the dice?

 

[SEELE01]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

I think thats 4 people now

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

So, then we can begin.

1. Healing and restoring MP

Restoring MP:

You restore all MP by sleeping for 8 hours.
You restore one HP for 24 hours without stress or exertion.


2. The game runs in real time, more or less. If you fly somewhere you can only act in the plane until you reached your destination, for example.
However, you can ask how long it does take to accomplish an action before you do it.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Let's see if I can't make your role a bit easier Anthile.

The rules below are copied & edited from "The Agency" taking into account a few educated guesses as to how Anthile is going to run this thing; I'll try to be as detailed as possible so Anthile can say yay/nay or edit them and give us the official version. So to be clear, these are not the officially recognised rules, it's just something (a template at best) to make Anthile's job a little easier.

The Director (Anthile, our GM) is a player who is responsible for organizing play, setting the scene, conceiving plot and describing the actions of non-player characters. Another way to put this is that he's the author of this story and we're the characters (i.e. he has the unquestionable authority of a god over in-game reality). The players will create their own characters (we already have) who are the heroes (buh ha ha haa) protagonists of the piece, everything beyond that is under the director's control. New players could (in theory) join the game after it has begun, this may at first seem unfair but the director can alter the number of lives they start with to compensate, or just let the existing players do it for him, considering they'd have already acquired extra JP and other in-game resources... perhaps he should give them extra lives? Guns & body armour too.

Typically, play will begin with the Director describing a scene and then continue with players describing how their characters react to events. Their decisions, and suggestions, will lead to a changes in the scene and the development of the plot. The events may be dramatic chase scenes, brawls with supernatural creatures, or acts of death-defying heroism. The object of the game is to have fun by creating an enjoyable story. Rules help frame the action in a manageable way and encourage the conventions of the action genre. The dice add an element of the unforeseen to the experience.

Considering our game will be somewhat more proactive than reactive this is where the rules begin to diverge from the Agency's. I'm thinking we tell Anthile what are intentions are and then he replies with his discissions regarding things like: duration, costs, damage incurred (like say if you jumped off a roof), the various dice rolls needed and one's probability of success, and indeed if or not something is at all possible.

So for example here's a hypothetical dialogue,
Player (PM): I wish to perform a carjacking, then drive to the local bank.
Director (thread): Player walks over to the highway and attempts to stop traffic (1/12 chance of getting run over, *rolls*, player succeeds) having stopped a car (what sort of car is it? *rolls*, score is 9/12, the director picks a car off wikipedia that he thinks is worth a score of 9/12, then records it for future reference), the player attempts to highjack it (two rolls, first to see if the player succeeds, the second determines the drivers reaction or the director can just guess it if he wants), assuming the player succeeds the player drives across town to the bank (the director approximates travel time, or calculates it if the player is doing a long range flight, all depending upon the director's personal discretion, and he may also choose roll a check to see if any police notice the player driving around in a stolen car, adjusting the probability based upon his personal discretion to account for various factors such as the car's notability, the prevalence of police in this country and/or if the player deserves a little bad luck).

PLEASE NOTE
The examples above are dreadfully short, in the actual game the message sent by the player to the director would be a lot longer and probably quite complex, meanwhile the in-thread posts made by the director detailing what's happening in the world will probably be more interesting to read, he is playing author after all and with that comes creative license. Although obviously characterization should be left to the players, but that doesn’t mean Anthile can't describe the world around the player in loving detail, it's his world, we're just playing parts in it.

So provided the player gives detailed plans and everything works out according to plan there will be very little dialogue exchange, but once players start interacting with each other they may want to start guessing each other's plans and give Anthile "if then" instructions, simple heuristics for handling obvious choices, for example,
Player 1: I don't know if I can trust player2, so if s/he tries to attack me I want to teleport to my car and escape to the highway, (then continues on with planned actions that assume the "ally" isn't traitorous)
Obviously the more detailed one's plans are, the more contingencies covered, the less messages will need to be sent and the faster the game can flow.

@-Anthile.
Use it, abuse it, delete it, repeat it, or just copy, paste and/or edit it, whatever, just don't take it as a request, I'm not asking for it to work this way, just offering some ideas for how it could. Btw if there is anything I can do to help just ask, I just want to get this game started.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Sure, why not. Makes sense to me.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Stop!

Okay guys! I'm afraid we have to change the rules. From the PMs I got it seems that it comes down to "people try to take over states and send endless waves of mooks". Actually I want to give the players as much freedom as possible but on the other hand it should be more personal conflict where the PCs experience danger and sorta animesque fights.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

*sigh* Alright, I need a new character.

Name
Vladimir “Deadman” Volkov
Владимир “Deadman” Волков

Background Story
An ex-Spetnaz solider, earned the nickname “Deadman” after going AWOL to take vengeance for the loss of a dear friend after having been specifically told by the field commander “only dead men attack the enemy alone”.

Myths
Machine Geas: Allows to take over a machine and activate it from the distance.
Ultra Sight: The user gains 360° sight, night vision and +2 to Dexterity throws.
Super Dexterity: The user gains +5 to Dexterity rolls for the next check.

Attributes
Body: -3 (+3 JP)
Dexterity: 0
Intellect: 0
Presence: 4

Location
I'm already in Russia, so why move?

I assume Super Dexterity is activated innately like Premonition, so unless somebody sneaks up on me I'll be able to react to being shot at with +5 dexterity, of course each time I get shot at it's going to cost me MP.

But teleportation for example doesn’t have this defensive capacity, otherwise it would be the perfect defence, allowing someone to not only doge bullets (even when there's nowhere to dodge to) but also position themself advantageously at the same time.

Perhaps there should be an "Escape Artist" epic myth, a sort of long range random teleport that can be activated innately, but once used it effectively ends the fight, at least until the attacker manages to track them down.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Sorry, Cog. I really feel like kind of a dick for destroying your plan, considering how much time and thought you have put into it. I apologize for my incompetence.


@Myths: Teleportation was designed as an escape tool while Super Dexterity works even outside of battles for climbing up a wall or walking on a rope and the like.

Teleportation has also the limitation that the user has to know (remember) the location where he wants to teleport.


So what exactly would be the difference between Teleport and Escape Artist?

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Say someone takes a shot at you, would you b3 able to teleport away before the bullet reaches you? And if you did what's stopping you from ending up right behind the shooter, and literally stabbing hir in the back?

With my dexterity bonuses it's probably not going to work, in fact such a tactic would likely backfire considering I'd be able to see behind myself as I'm shooting at someone ahead of me (ultra sight) but everyone else has practically no defence against this. Worse still the teleportor could prime a grenade, wait, then teleport above someone, drop it, then teleport to safety mere moments before it goes of... right next to the victim’s head.

The "Escape Artist" idea was to teleport someone over a great distance (500km) but randomly, a useful ability for someone who's badly wounded and wants to escape combat.

This short range teleportation is impractical as an escape measure, but a wonderful tactical ability, in a gunfight the ability to go anywhere you can see instantly is utterly invaluable. And before I forget, has anyone considered using the teleport myth for paratrooper tactics? Assuming one's velocity isn't retained when teleporting (something just too complicated to simulate) a freefalling PC could teleport just before hitting the ground and end up just standing there.

Sorry, Cog. I really feel like kind of a dick for destroying your plan, considering how much time and thought you have put into it. I apologize for my incompetence.

Don't fret, I've got many more plans, all you've done is made the game so much more interesting for me, not so easy anymore

Dexterity – Perception and agility; determines how good you are with ranged weapons and how well you can sneak and dodge.

So does a level 7 dexterity (at an MP cost) mean I can practically doge bullets like a Gun-Fu ninja? At least I'm going to be very difficult to gunfight with.

*rest break*

Okay, more questions.

How much MP do we get for each level of Presence?
And how much MP does each ability cost to use?

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Okay, I'll add Escape Artist as random teleport in a radius of 200km.


How good you are at dodging against another PC depends on the skills, since it's a competetive situation and the higher roll wins.


Every usage of an ability costs 1 MP by default and every Presence level over 0 gives you 1 MP.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Every usage of an ability costs 1 MP by default and every Presence level over 0 gives you 1 MP.

Okay... I should use a Barrett M95 with HEIAP rounds, gotcha.

Btw, how are you calculating damage?
Is there any advantage to obtaining such firepower?
What about body amour?

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Ah. Normal weapons (=one handed) do 1 HP.
Heavy weapons small explosives (=two handed, grenades, rocket launcher, etc.) do 2 HP.
Big explosives do 3 HP, which means instant death.


Body armour, depending on the type, protects you from one attack.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Name
Vladimir “Deadman” Volkov
Владимир “Deadman” Волков

Background Story
An ex-Spetnaz solider, earned the nickname “Deadman” after going AWOL to take vengeance for the loss of a dear friend after having been specifically told by the field commander “only dead men attack the enemy alone”.

Myths
Machine Geas: Allows to take over a machine and activate it from the distance.
Super Dexterity: The user gains +5 to Dexterity rolls for the next check.

Attributes
Body: -3 (+3 JP)
Dexterity: 3
Intellect: -3 (+3 JP)
Presence: 8

Location
I'm already in Russia, so why move?

In light of new information regarding the non-stacking nature of buffs I've changed my character yet again, same tactics as before, but now topping out at 8 dexterity.

Can't stack buffs can I, gee, that's terrible*

1*: Pronounced ridiculously as if spoken by that Russian guy from the recent Start Trek movie, man that guy cracked me up.

 

[Jaico]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Alright, after watching from the sidelines and debating whether or not I should joint...here goes.

Name
Professor Arco Slicer

Background

Arco Slicer was a successful nuclear physicist, known across the globe for his fantastical (yet practical, and useful) inventions and eccentric personality. Or, that's how he saw himself prior to his abduction, anyways. In reality, Arco was somewhat of a mad scientist whose brilliant schemes always tended to end badly. Despite this, he managed to land a job at some university in the American Mid-West, and was working late one night when he saw a bright light shining through his window...

Myths

Cryokinesis
Life Geas

Attributes

Body: -1
Dexterity: 2
Intellect: 3
Presence: 1

Location

[roll0]

 

[Jaico]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Alright, after watching from the sidelines and debating whether or not I should joint...here goes.

Name
Professor Arco Slicer

Background

Arco Slicer was a successful nuclear physicist, known across the globe for his fantastical (yet practical, and useful) inventions and eccentric personality. Or, that's how he saw himself prior to his abduction, anyways. In reality, Arco was somewhat of a mad scientist whose brilliant schemes always tended to end badly. Despite this, he managed to land a job at some university in the American Mid-West, and was working late one night when he saw a bright light shining through his window...

Myths

Cryokinesis
Life Geas

Attributes

Body: -1
Dexterity: 2
Intellect: 3
Presence: 1

Location

[roll0]

Score! Alright, looks like Arco's been dropped...in North Bay, Ontario? scratch that. New York City, New York. Yeah.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

I will post later on a revised ruleset that includes more detailed descriptions and limitations for Myths and other parts that have been requested.

 

[Anthile]

Re: Demented: Earth Aflame - A Forum RPG\Rules & Discussion\Backgrounds

Took me almost a whole day but here you are


v0.2


Welcome to the unholy lovechild of Gantz, 4400, Paranoia and Highlander.

Story:

It could have been quite a nice day. But as so often, things went wrong and in this case you got abducted by aliens. Unfortunately the aliens are not just pleased with studying the human body and play around with your genetics. Before you can really grasp what happened you are send back to Earth – but with a clear object: other alien races have infiltrated Earth and it is your mission to prevent them from taking over the world. To assist you, the aliens give you 10 identical clones and if you die your mind and all memories will be automatically uploaded into one of these clones.
In case you decide to be a pacifist and you are not able to kill one of the PCs within one month a bomb inside your head will explode, wasting one of your bodies. The bomb cannot be removed.
Otherwise you get the Nebula, an universal license that allows you to drive, buy and everything and everywhere. Futhermore it serves as passport and prevents you from ending in prison [note: normal policemen will not recognize it and they still might arrest you temporarily].
Additionaly you own a suitcase with 10,000$ cash.
Except from that something like a compass is implanted in your left wrist that shows you PCs that are in a radius of 1000km. The nearer you are the better you can see the position on the display. This device cannot be removed.

The only way to win and become free again is to be the last person alive!


Mechanics:

Since we finally have a dice-plugin we can now roll dices!

Attributes

Every player posesses the following attributes:

Body – Strength and endurance; determines how good you are with melee weapons and how well you can deal with poison and disease.

Dexterity – Perception and agility; determines how good you are with ranged weapons and how well you can sneak and dodge.

Intellect – Logic and thinking; determines how good you are with technical or mechanical devices of all kinds, ranging from explosives and traps to driving a tank and fly an airplane.

Presence – Charisma and willpower; determines how good you are with people and controlling Myths.

At the character creation you start with exactly 0 points in every ability which means you get absolutely no bonus or malus for checks.
With every point you invest you can add one point to your throws.

When you are in a situation where failure has any relevant consequences you have to roll a d20 and add the bonus points to the rolled number (or subtract if the attribute is negative). The usual Challenge Grade (CG) is 12 but varies with the situation.
If you are in a competetive situation with another player the aggressor announces what he does and uses the appropiate attribute for that action and the defensor chooses the attribute with which he tries to avoid the attack.

Superhuman Abilities

If you have 5 points in any ability without that it is temporary you have achieved superhuman status in this category which means that you have reached a level beyond the human limitation.

Superhuman Body: You gain permanently one additional HP.

Superhuman Dexterity: If you fail to dodge, you can roll again without bonus.

Superhuman Intellect: You are able to perform Mad Science.

Superhuman Presence: You gain a permanent follower who does everything for you. You can determine who your follower is. If your follower dies, you cannot gain a new one until you get reborn. In case you die before your follower, he or she will wait until you come back.
Your follower has a distinct personality and might disagree with you, but eventually he or she will obey and even die for you.

Even if your ability should be temporarily under 5 you will not lose your bonus.

Jerk Points

Every character starts out with 5 Jerk Points (JP) at the beginning that he can use to put points in attributes or Myths. It is also possible to subtract points from 0 to gain additional points but you will receive a malus for rolls; this works to a maximum of -3 per attribute.

You get more JP for killing enemies or, well, being a jerk to other players (aka good roleplaying) and kill them with style or in an unusual way.
Additionally you get 3 points for killing two players at once, 4 points for 3 players, etc.

Costs for improving attributes:

0-3: 1 JP
4-7: 2 JP
8-10: 3 JP

Every new Myth costs 4 JP. You can upgrade a Myth to Greater ... for 3 JP.

Myths

Myths are superhuman abilities that are granted through genetic enhancement. Every usage costs you Myth Power (MP); for every point over 0 you have in Presence you gain one MP.
At the beginning you can choose two powers from the Myth pool. Every new Myth has to be unlocked with JP.

The Myths are:

Pyrokinesis: You emit a ball of super-hot plasma from one of your palms that does 1 HP damage. The maximum reach is 50m.
-Greater Pyrokinesis: You set a melee weapon on fire which causes 1 more HP damage then. This effect lasts until the next battle is over or 1 hour.

Cryokinesis: You emit a ball of super-cold gas from one of your palms that does 1 HP damage. The maximum reach is 50m.
-Greater Cryokinesis: A layer of hard ice absorbs 1 HP damage caused by melee weapons. This effect lasts until the next battle is over or 1 hour.

Electrokinesis: You emit a lightning bolt from one of your palms that does 1 HP damage. The maximum reach is 50m.
-Greater Electrokinesis: You are able to overload an electric device of any kind and destroy it this way. The maximum reach is 50m.

Telekinesis: You emit a force field from one of your palms that hits hard and does 1 HP damage. The maximum reach is 50m.
-Greater Telekinesis: You can heave a non-living object with total mass of 1000kg and throw it around. The maximum reach is 50m.

Teleportation: Move instantly to a known place within a radius of 100 meters.
-Greater Teleportation: Move instantly to a random location within a radius of 100km.

Premonition: The next attack that hits you does not inflict any harm upon you. If nobody attacks you within 1 hour the effect vanishes.
-Greater Premonition: The next attack that hits you does not inflict any harm upon you gain an attack within the same round if your opponent is in reach. If nobody attacks you within one hour the effect vanishes.

Illusion: Creates an exact duplicate of you. The duplicate cannot manipulate anything physical and matter goes simply through it but they create realistic sound effects for whatever they do. It can be controlled via thoughts and lasts for 1 hour. Ultra Sight and X-Ray Sight Myths can see through it or any technical devices that have the same effects.
-Greater Illusion: Same as above but with 2 duplicates instead of 1.

Regeneration: You regenerate 1 HP.
-Greater Regeneration: You regenerate 2 HP and any missing organs.

Invisibility: You become invisible for 10 minutes. You still make noises and Ultra Sight and Meow can see through it.
-Greater Invisibility: You become invisble for 20 minutes. You still make noises and Ultra Sight and Meow can see through it.

Shield: You become immune to projectiles. Lasts for 10 minutes.
-Greater Shield: You become immune to projectile weapons and the shield throws them back with the same force, which means that the attacker has to dodge or the projectile(s) hit him. Lasts for 10 minutes.


Life Geas: Allows to take over a sentient human being that is not a PC. This human is completely under the control of the user and is commanded via thoughts. The Geas user can see everything the enthralled person can see. Lasts one hour. After the Geas ended the victim cannot remember anything. The user can command the enthralled person to die. Requires ey contact. Every new Geas costs one MP. The maximum amount of active Geas is one for every 5 points in Presence, starting out with one. Which means:
0 – 1
5 – 2
1 – 3

-Greater Life Geas: Same as above but the maximum amount of Geas is one for every 2 points in Presence and startimg out with one which means:

0 – 1
2 – 2
4 – 3
6 – 4
8 – 5
10 – 6

Machine Geas: Allows to take over and control a machine with a motor or to activate a trigger from the distance. Lasts two hours. The maximum amount of active Machine Geas is the same as with Life Geas. Requires ey contact.
-Greater Machine Geas: Same as above with the same changes as with Greater Life Geas.

Necrokinesis: Revive a corpse as a mindless zombie. Every zombie has 2 HP and +2 to Body. They are not intelligent and you can command them with your voice but they won't comprehend complex commandos. Lasts two hours and after the time they displode and become unusable. The maximum amount of zombies is the same as with Life Geas.
-Greater Necrokinesis: Same as above with the same changes as with Greater Life Geas.

Ultra Sight: The user gains 360° sight, night vision and +1 to Dexterity throws. Lasts one hour.
-Greater Ultra Sight: Same as above but with +2 to Dexterity. Lasts two hours.

Meow [Mystic Eyes of Wyrd]: The user gains the ability to see through solid matter. Lasts one hour.
-Greater Meow: Throw 4 d20 dices. If all 4 dices are equal or higher to 13 the victim dies instantly. Requires eye contact. Costs 2 MP.

Super Body: The user gains +5 to Body roll for the next check.
-Greater Super Body: The user gains +10 to Body roll for the next check.

Super Dexterity: The user gains +5 to Dexterity rolls for the next check.
-Greater Super Dexterity: The user gains +10 to Dexterity roll for the next check.

Super Intellect: The user gains +5 to Intellect for the next check.
-Greater Super Intellect: The user gains +5 to Intellect roll for the next check.

Super Presence: The user gains +5 to Presence for the next check.
-Greater Super Presence: The user gains +5 to Presence roll for the next check.

Myth Net: In the radius of 20 meters no Myth ability can be used. Everyone who is in the radius loses 1 MP but not if that person enters the field after it has been activated. Doesn't stop active Myths.
-Greater Myth Net: Same as above but with 30m radius and Myth users lose 2 MP.

Myth Buster: Deactivates 1 active Myth in the radius of 5m. If the target is also a Myth user he or she loses 2 MP.
-Greater Myth Buster: Deactivates all active myths in the radius of 10m. If the target is also a Myth user he or she loses 4 MP.

Enlightened Strike: Requires a weapon with the Precise or Masterpiece ability. Requires that the target does not see the attack coming. Roll 4 d20 dices and add your appropiate fighting bonus with a maximum of +5. If all rolls are equal or above to 13 the vistim dies instantly. Works only once a battle. Costs 2 MP. Active Ultra Sight negates Enlightened Strike.
-Greater Enlightened Strike: Same as above but you have to roll only 3 dices.


Note: Myths do not stack with each other. You can only have one Myth of a kind active except when described otherwise. Life Geas, Machine Geas and Necrokinesis cannot be overwritten by the same Myth.

Uber Myths

Uber Myths are extremely powerful Myths that are permanently active and cost 10 JP once.

-Nietzsche Wannabe: Every time you die you gain 2 additional JP.
-Vampirism: Every time you damage a PC in a melee fight you gain one HP.
-Monofilament Wires: You have implanted monofilament wires in your fingers that can cut through almost everything. A melee weapon that subtracts two HP from the victim.
-Fly: You gain the ability to defy gravity and fly with the maximum speed of 20km/h.
-Bloodlust: If you are in a melee fight you gain +1 to your attack throws with every round passing by.
-Shapeshifting: You can morph into any animal form. Your HP stay the same and depending on the size you lose or destroy your equipment. Every shapeshift costs you one MP.


Health

Every PC has three HP. With all three HP you are unharmed and fit.
If you lose one HP you are lightly wounded.
If you lose two HP you have medium wounds.
If you lose three HP you have heavy wounds and you get -1 to all throws.

You regenerate one HP and two MP for every 8 hours you rest without any disturbance.


Poison

Poison is another way to kill or weaken players efficiently. Due to gameplay reasons we put poisons in three categories:

Weak Poison: The victim gets -1 to all throws. This effect stacks with the effect from heavy wounds. The effect vanishes after six hours.

Medium Poison: The victim gets -1 to all throws and loses 1 HP if not cured within six hours. This effect stacks with the effect from heavy wounds. The effect vanishes after six hours but the HP is still lost.

Strong Poison: The victim gets -1 to all throws and dies if not cured within twelve hours. This effect stacks with the effect from heavy wounds. If the victim dies, the poison doesn't bother the next clone.


Disease

Disease works like poison but since we can't make rules for every existent disease we put them in two categories:

Mild Disease: The victim gets -2 to all throws. If not cured, the effect lasts for three days. This effect stacks with the effect from heavy wounds.

Severe Disease: The victim gets -2 to all throws. If not cured within three days, the victim dies. This effect stacks with the effect from heavy wounds.


Poison and disease effects do not stack with each other. There can only be one poison or disease be active for a PC at the same time. Poison or disease cannot be „overwritten“ by another poison or disease, even if the one is stronger than the first one. Whatever comes first has priority.


Mad Science

If you have Superhuman Intellect you gain the ability to create unique items.

With Intellect 5
Super Soldier Serum: You create a serum that transforms commoners into vicious monsters. They cannot longer distinguish between friend or foe and will attack everything within reach. Their Body and Dextery abilties increase to +4. After two hours they die a pretty painful death. Life Geas works on them.
Requires: 5000$ for the ingredients and 1 day free time.

Omnidote: You create a serum that cures every form of poison or disease. If you take it while healthy it protects you for the next 12 hours from poison or disease. Since it requires a part of the DNA to be effective, mass production doesn't work but you can bew an extra Omnidote for your potential henchmen.
Requires: 5000$ for the ingredients and 1 day free time.

With Intellect 6
Manticore: You create a Strong Poison from legal substances
Requires: 10.000$ for the ingredients and 3 days free time.

Mjollnir: You create a powerful explosive that does 4 HP damage. Small radius but extreme power.
Requires: 10.000$ for the ingredients and 3 days free time.

With Intellect 7
Plasma Gun: You create a powerful Light Ranged Weapon that deals 2 HP damage. Solar powered and regenerates one „bullet“ per hour with a maximum magazine capacity of 20. Doesn't work with Greater Pyrokinesis.
Requires: 1.000.000$ for the parts and 7 days free time.

Plasma Blade: You create a powerful Light Melee Weapon that deals 2 HP damage and glows in an ominous green light.
Requires: 1.000.000$ for the parts and 7 days free time.

With Intellect 8
Acid Blood: You manage that your blood is like acid. Everytime you get hurt in a melee fight your opponent has to do a Dexterity check with CG 10 or loses one HP.
Requires: 10.000.000$ for the parts and 14 days free time.

Randroid: You build a robot that looks suspiciously like Ayn Rand and is commanded by your voice. The gynoid has two HP and gets +2 to Dexterity and Body rolls. If you are female, the android will look like Nietzsche.
Requires: 1.000.000$ for the parts and 14 days free time.

With Intellect 9
Endoskeleton: You coat your bones with the strongest known metal in the world: Intpinium. You become more robust and gain 1 additional maximum HP.
Requires: 20.000.000$ for the parts and 21 days free time.

Exoskeleton: You build yourself a powered exoskeleton made of Intpinium that absorbs every attack that does only 1 HP damage. Since the exoskeleton is not very flexible you suffer from -1 to Dexterity rolls.
Requires: 20.000.000$ for the parts and 21 days free time.

With Intellect 10
Sky Fortress: Ah! You invent a solar powered turbine engine that is so powerful that it allows you to create a flying headquarter that never has to land. This masterpiece has room for a maximum of 10 people and requires a crew of at least two members to maintain the fortress and if you want to use the gratis helicopter you have to hire a pilot too. The Sky Fortress comes with air-to-air missiles to repel annoying visitors. Every time you die you will automatically land here instead of a random continent though you are able to choose to do that anyway.
Requires: 2.000.000.000$ for the parts and 14 days free time. After these 14 days you need 5 workers who build the rest for 100 days. Additionally you'll need a competent and reliable crew with a minimum of two people.


Warning: Except for the Sky Fortress and the once-usable substances every invention becomes useless after your death. So if you die and want to pick your Plasma Gun and Randroid up – forget it, they won't work anymore. Same with the body enhancements that are not integrated in your clones.
However, other players are perfectly able to steal your inventions - except they won't come back on the Sky Fortress.


Weapons

Light Weapons: Light Weapons are weapons that one can use with one hand. You can use Myths while having a Light Weapon equipped. They do 1 HP damage.

Heavy Weapons: Heavy Weapons are weapons that one can only use with two hands. You cannot use Myths while having a Heavy Weapon equipped. They do 2 HP damage. Heavy weapons require a Body ability of +2.

Explosives: Explosives are weapons that deal 3 HP damage. This category has explosives that detonate from a distance with a remote control which require at least +2 Intellect and weapons like bazookas and rocket launchers.that require at least +2 Body. Explosives cannot have the masterpiece or precise ability.

Precise: Ranged weapons with the Precise ability give you +1 to attack throws.
Masterpiece: Melee weapons with the Masterpiece ability give you +1 to attack throws.

NPCs

Normal humans have only 1 HP and +-0 in any ability. This might differ.

Character Creation

1.Choose a name

2.Create a background story for your character and what he did before he was abducted; ~200-300 words

3.Choose two Myths

4.Distribute your 5 JP

5.Roll a d6 to see on what continent you land, where exactly on the continent is up to you
1 – Europe
2 – North America
3 – South America
4 – Australia
5 – Africa
6 – Asia

There have to be at least 500km between two players when at least one of them teleports down to Earth.


In A Nutshell

To put it simply, this game is about killing people in the most hilarious way. It's sadistic and amoral.
Although you can team up with other players against stronger opponents; backstabbing is encouraged.
Furthermore, two simple principles you should follow:

1.The main object is to have fun. Don't take it personal when a player betrays or kill you.

2.Seperate your knowledge from character knowledge.

 

[Death]

Is the RP still on? I think I wanna join...

 

[Tyria]

I would also like to join.