I've been kicking around rules and mechanics for a game based on The Quiet Year. The Quiet Year is a tabletop game where players cooperate to try to build a village within a year, because an enemy force is approaching. Kind of like a collaborative map-making game.
That's what I'd like to do here. Gather a bunch of characters, provide them with a blank slate, warn them that something is coming, and watch them build a community to both support themselves and defend against whatever might be coming. It will last for roughly a year in-game, one and a half to two years out of game. I want a 1:2 time scale.
Every week, the mod team will draw a card for a random event related to the current season of the game. The events will range from things like unexpected drought, wolves attacking the livestock, or an unexpected abundance of resources useful to the group is discovered. The events will always be suited for the season. In the Winter deck, there will be one card that states that the game ends suddenly hidden in the deck, kicking off the endgame.
Players will have several different levels of activity checks. It'll be simple, just like "This many posts means you pass. This many posts means that you get 1 activity point. This many posts means that you get 2 activity posts." Players will use activity points to benefit the community somehow, speeding up construction projects or adding new resources to the map. And players will be able to pool their bonuses together.
It would end up being something like a player posting "I want there to be some sheep." "Hey, I really like that idea. I'll chip in.""That could be useful." Then, what would be someone discovering a pair of lambs or something would turn out to be a whole herd of friendly, tame sheep in a rich meadow. The more people cooperate, the more points they spend, the better the resources recovered will be.
I'm not sure what to do with powers, admittedly. I'm kicking around a few ideas, but nothing solid.
One thing I've got an idea for is to have an idol or something nearby. The closest thing to an NPC the game will have. People can 'trade' things for it, offering up small sacrifices and the like, in order to gain things like tools that they can't possibly make in the village. Or mementos from their worlds. Or supplies. Or knowledge on how to do something. The sacrifices can be anything, as long as it's equivalent. Food. Jewelry. Cloth. Treasured memories. If the characters don't have an idea of what would be acceptable, the idol will make their own payment, which will never be in the character's favor.
Would there be an interest in something like this?
Time Limited Survival Game
That's what I'd like to do here. Gather a bunch of characters, provide them with a blank slate, warn them that something is coming, and watch them build a community to both support themselves and defend against whatever might be coming. It will last for roughly a year in-game, one and a half to two years out of game. I want a 1:2 time scale.
Every week, the mod team will draw a card for a random event related to the current season of the game. The events will range from things like unexpected drought, wolves attacking the livestock, or an unexpected abundance of resources useful to the group is discovered. The events will always be suited for the season. In the Winter deck, there will be one card that states that the game ends suddenly hidden in the deck, kicking off the endgame.
Players will have several different levels of activity checks. It'll be simple, just like "This many posts means you pass. This many posts means that you get 1 activity point. This many posts means that you get 2 activity posts." Players will use activity points to benefit the community somehow, speeding up construction projects or adding new resources to the map. And players will be able to pool their bonuses together.
It would end up being something like a player posting "I want there to be some sheep." "Hey, I really like that idea. I'll chip in." "That could be useful." Then, what would be someone discovering a pair of lambs or something would turn out to be a whole herd of friendly, tame sheep in a rich meadow. The more people cooperate, the more points they spend, the better the resources recovered will be.
I'm not sure what to do with powers, admittedly. I'm kicking around a few ideas, but nothing solid.
One thing I've got an idea for is to have an idol or something nearby. The closest thing to an NPC the game will have. People can 'trade' things for it, offering up small sacrifices and the like, in order to gain things like tools that they can't possibly make in the village. Or mementos from their worlds. Or supplies. Or knowledge on how to do something. The sacrifices can be anything, as long as it's equivalent. Food. Jewelry. Cloth. Treasured memories. If the characters don't have an idea of what would be acceptable, the idol will make their own payment, which will never be in the character's favor.
Would there be an interest in something like this?