St. Sybil's of Monimaskit Home for the Mentally Unsound

[Hammers]

My main current project right now is a pulp/horror game takig place at the institution mentioned in the Subject. The game will be for three to four participants running one of the following teams:

* institution personell (trustees, doctors, nurses, orderlies, nuns, gardener, nightwatch)

* madmen...sorry, madpersons (various deranged inmates suffering from a range of paranormal afflictions like lycanthropy, posession, self combustion, telekinesy... well, you get the idea)

* investigators of the paranormal (parapsycologists, exoricists, investigators, detectives, pulp heroes...)

* evildoers (cultists, evil mastermind, fascist occultists)

Now, I have always prefered story driven wargaming where strategy plays the second fiddle. Nothing unique in that, I supose, there seem to be a tilt in that direction among most Pulp Adventure gamers. but since I don't want it to be a RPG I am ponderimg how run this as a foursided game. In my experience most rules work well as frameworks as long as they are fast and failry simple.

But there are som specifics to this gamre I'd like ot include but I am not sure how:
-Is it reasonble to play a four side game where all are antagonists against each other or shuld I make it two sided.
-How would you run teh madmen...-persons? I would like to run the in a chaotic way where they can sometimes be controlled and sometimes lost and sometimes infighting: i.e they change allegiances during the game.

All ideas are welcome.

[Eisenfaust]

That sounds great ... I've just been planning out constructing the interior of an asylum for a game I want to run. Your breakdown of the four teams sounds super-fantastic.

The key to running all four teams at the same time is not to have them necessarily be antagonists one to another, but to give them exclusive victory conditions in the scenario. If their conditions are met at the game's end, they got so many extra victory points. Say the institution personell's guide is to keep all the madpersons in the facility while keeping everyone else out. At the end of the game, they get bonus points based on whose in and out of the asylum's doors.

The investigators would need proof of some event or happening. They could either capture a picture of a weird happening or come back with a real live lycanthrope in tow, something like that.

The evildoers may be conducting some experiment or sacrifice to their god and need some particular item or control of a particular room. Say the asylum was built on an ancient Deep One spot used for the worship of Father Dagon (if you're in an H.P. Lovecraft frame of mind). Now, the ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) room is built over that spot. At the end of the game, to achieve their victory conditions, the evildoers must be in control of that room and have one subdued captive for sacrifice within it. Something like that.

That hardest part comes with the madpersons, as you termed them. I love your idea of having them have paranormal powers. I'd suggest that, in addition to normal moves, attacks, etc., they can attempt to use their powers, but the must roll on a chart to see in what way their power works. On the most desirable result, the power works as desired. On other results, something random happens. For a pyrokinetic, for example, the power would ideally set one opponent in line of sight on fire. Other results would be sets the room on fire, sets alight the nearest person to the pyrokinetic whether in line of sight or not (could well be a friend), and then, worst of all, sets the pyrokinetic him- or herself on fire.

I think that kind of system is better than the switching allegiences thing, because then the player still has partial control of his intent, if not the result. If it's that allegiance switching-thing, that seems to me that as a player, I'd really resent not even being able to say which team my figures were fighting for. Alliances should be made by the players, not by the rules.

[Hammers]

Excellent suggestions! See below:

The key to running all four teams at the same time is not to have them necessarily be antagonists one to another, but to give them exclusive victory conditions in the scenario. If their conditions are met at the game's end, they got so many extra victory points. Say the institution personell's guide is to keep all the madpersons in the facility while keeping everyone else out. At the end of the game, they get bonus points based on whose in and out of the asylum's doors.

Very good idea. Of course I have heard of objective points but I have not played any many-sided games with a scoring system.

The investigators would need proof of some event or happening. They could either capture a picture of a weird happening or come back with a real live lycanthrope in tow, something like that.

...or a cult object, or having terminated an agent of evil or a paranormal "vessel". Great! Obviously an excellent opening for a cool marker to.

The evildoers may be conducting some experiment or sacrifice to their god and need some particular item or control of a particular room. Say the asylum was built on an ancient Deep One spot used for the worship of Father Dagon (if you're in an H.P. Lovecraft frame of mind). Now, the ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) room is built over that spot. At the end of the game, to achieve their victory conditions, the evildoers must be in control of that room and have one subdued captive for sacrifice within it. Something like that.

I was thinking one of the madmen should be an unfortunate but unparalelled vessel for a great power of evil, like you say, Dagon or Games Workshop.

That hardest part comes with the madpersons, as you termed them. I love your idea of having them have paranormal powers. I'd suggest that, in addition to normal moves, attacks, etc., they can attempt to use their powers, but the must roll on a chart to see in what way their power works. On the most desirable result, the power works as desired. On other results, something random happens. For a pyrokinetic, for example, the power would ideally set one opponent in line of sight on fire. Other results would be sets the room on fire, sets alight the nearest person to the pyrokinetic whether in line of sight or not (could well be a friend), and then, worst of all, sets the pyrokinetic him- or herself on fire.

Aye:
I have the following miniatures lined up with more to follow:
-Mr Wulf, diagnosis: lycathropy
-Wee Lloyd, diagnosis: benign muscular hypertrophy combined with Hypoadrenia (i.e. built as a brickhouse and prone to sudden rages)
-The Scribbler, diagnosis compulsive scribbling disorder, has filled every square inch in his cell with arcane writing (from Necrotelecomnicon)
-Peter Murrey, diagnosis Proteus syndrome (former circus attraction by the name of The Hippoman)
...and so  fort. It definitely should be a bit of surprize to open a cell door.

I think that kind of system is better than the switching allegiences thing, because then the player still has partial control of his intent, if not the result. If it's that allegiance switching-thing, that seems to me that as a player, I'd really resent not even being able to say which team my figures were fighting for. Alliances should be made by the players, not by the rules.

I'll consider this. Maybe you could have the madmen run by the GM and completely run by dice?

[tbroadwater]

I love the concept of the 4 player game in the asylum hammer..great idea. One thing could be bonus given to each of the groups since they are sharing a combined space -yet the individual spaces per team could give them home bonus for being on their own turf.

Cults in underground tunnels and off-limits closed off areas of the hosital
madpersons in the cells and patient areas
staff in the admin areas and surgical area

investigators could get random bonuses per area and act as a wildcard team...

cant wait to see what you come up with


you could do disadvantage rather than bonuses as well per area

[fastolfrus]

Another option might be :

Team 1 - hospital staff, mostly start inactive in their rooms. The director and his assistant start active, and may either check on the assylum or rouse further staff. Their aim is to keep the assylum secure. Especially against investigators or bad guys.

Team 2 - inmates, most start securely locked away, but one, who isn't actually insane, starts at liberty, and hopes to release as many of the other inmates as possible, to cover his own escape. Some of the released inmates will join him, others will help him (ie are under his control) others will remain neutral or actively move against him. Some inmates will remain loyal to the director if released. At least one will be a crazed mass-murderer.

Team 3 - pesky investigators. A team of 4 or 5 investigators out to uncover the real truth about the assylum. At least one has got inside disguised as a member of staff, another might be disguised as an inmate. Primary objective is to get the remaining team members in over the wall and break into the director's office to search the files. And get out undetected. Or at least alive. If they happen to see anything else that might be of interest that would be a bonus, but not if they get caught (or seen clearly).

Team 4 - the bad guys. Cultists, crazed scientists, megalomaniacs, take your choice. They want to release one of the inmates (for reasons known only to themselves) and although they will know which one he is, to keep everyone else guessing they will be able to move/command most of the inmates when they are released. They will either get in via a secret passage/tunnel from the sewers/bomb against the wall/airship, and after releasing their leader/secret weapon/sacrificial victim will want to escape quickly, but as a bonus the chance to kidnap the assylum director (for revenge later) and/or any pesky investigators who they see nosing about (although they are almost just as good dead)

Giving you something that might run like a cross between "Batman Begins", "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest", "Van Helsing" and "Scooby Doo"

[Gluteus Maximus]

Another option might be :

<snip>

Giving you something that might run like a cross between "Batman Begins", "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest", "Van Helsing" and "Scooby Doo"

Now _that_ sounds like a real winner! How come no-one in Hollywood has ever tried that?  ::

Cheers,
Ian

[Eisenfaust]

Maybe you could have the madmen run by the GM and completely run by dice?

That's the other big option, design-wise, to have a GM who runs the madpersons or else have them run by a set of rules/randomized chart.

But hey, everybody's going to want to play the crazies, count on it.

Oh, White Wolf recently published their book "Asylum" for the World of Darkess setting. It's got some interesting stuff in it -- I just got my copy today from Amazon and looked at it during my lunch break.

The only thing it's lacking is a floorplan. It gives you a map of the facility they're creating, but not a detailed floorplan. They do break down the important rooms/locations by building and floor in the descriptions, though.

I guess that's one of the big differences between being a roleplayer and a wargamer. By the gods, I need scale drawings, man!

[Hammers]

That's the other big option, design-wise, to have a GM who runs the madpersons or else have them run by a set of rules/randomized chart.

But hey, everybody's going to want to play the crazies, count on it.

I am sure they do and it probably would be a bad choice not tome let someone do that. What I have I mind will require a bit of playtesting. I have some quite sprawling and powerful characterisitcs for the maniacs which needs to be checked by randomness without making it impossible to play them with an aim in mind.

Oh, White Wolf recently published their book "Asylum" for the World of Darkess setting.

I have heard of it.

By the gods, I need scale drawings, man!

I hear you. I want to build a moody victorian interior.