IOT Developmental Thread
- Thread starter Joecoolyo
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JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
this means you've seen waterworld. It's just so bad your brain automatically erases any memory of it.
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NYC is never a throwaway when your playerbase is 80% American, 99.99% English speaking, and is renown for lacking the nuance needed to make Vatican, Munich, and Tokyo plays work. If this game was being run with mostly former NESers and current Grenzvolk, maybe you can trust the playerbase more to make the game actually work from a roleplay standpoint.
KaiserElectric
Total Freakin Besties
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Vatican City sounds like the more interesting choice to me. Could make for a lot of religion-centered storytelling and RP.
I take it this is your thesis on why Hokoan went nowhere
(which yes, I'm aware of, people were pretty up front about that)
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Of course. For all the complaints that NYC is just Waterworld and Munich is Starship Troopers, nobody is pointing out Vatican City and Tokyo seemed to have developed in the opposite direction and are basically just CK2/EUIV Papal States and Anime Japan respectively.
But not New York City, a city renown for having more languages and religions than the number of conversations most IOTers will ever hold with persons of color their entire lives collectively.
Edit: To be fair, a lot of numbers are bigger than 10.
inthesomeday
Immortan
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Civ'ed
I ain't gotta explain a thing
I vote for Munich on the condition that there's cyber-Oktoberfest every year
Grandkhan
Telvanni Master Wizard
The Mage Wars are over. There has been no victor.
Little is left of the lands of Eudalon - a few shattered chunks of a once great continent, the center of civilisation. The cities, palaces, and temples of Eudalon, once repositories of aeons of accumulated riches, lie deserted and devastated, or else sunk into the sea. A few survivors cling to a shattered existence in those places safe from the magical fallout - a few survivors, and the Wizards.
In their towers, magically shielded against the energies cast in the Mage Wars and preserving the arcane knowledge of the aeons past, the combatants of the Mage Wars live on. And emerging into the aftermath, the myriad shifting sides forgotten - the world is their oyster.
The Mage Wars are over. The Wizard Wars have only just begun.
Coming Soon
Little is left of the lands of Eudalon - a few shattered chunks of a once great continent, the center of civilisation. The cities, palaces, and temples of Eudalon, once repositories of aeons of accumulated riches, lie deserted and devastated, or else sunk into the sea. A few survivors cling to a shattered existence in those places safe from the magical fallout - a few survivors, and the Wizards.
In their towers, magically shielded against the energies cast in the Mage Wars and preserving the arcane knowledge of the aeons past, the combatants of the Mage Wars live on. And emerging into the aftermath, the myriad shifting sides forgotten - the world is their oyster.
The Mage Wars are over. The Wizard Wars have only just begun.
Coming Soon
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
Jianghu or gtfo.
Grandkhan
Telvanni Master Wizard
I'll probably do both. Jianghu is pretty quick to write, I can do it between updates of Wizard Wars.
Jianghu is currently stuck in writers block hell more than an issue of having enough time.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
I know, because that's what happens every time. 
Omega124
Challenging Fate
I dont want to be causing any drama or discouraging you, GK, but your premise sounds a whole lot like Arcanum minus the technology aspect, and it feels like you would be directly competitng against it if you launched this game while its still running.
then just railroad us to where you want us, jeez
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Ronald Bellbroke ran his hand through the red hair of his companion while he kissed on her neck, ignoring the small voices in his head saying her soft moans weren't altogether genuine. His two bodyguards, sitting across from the couple in the back of the armored limousine, kept one eye on her and the other eye out the window. Ronald stole a glance out the window, but could not see past the rain-splattered darkened glass.
One of his bodyguards loosened his tie, "Merry Christmas, sir." The other guard quietly repeated the phrase. Ronald pulled away from the girl and checked his phone.
A few messages. Merry Christmases all around. Even his brother managed to sneak a "Merry Christmas" despite being locked up on Triton. The lost Bellbroke brother, Ronald thought to himself. I really am the last one on Mars.
The limo pulled up to a red light. The redhead tried to engage her suitor's attention, but he violently shoved her away. "What the hell, Ronnie?" She spat.
"Shut it, [FEMALE DOG]," Ronald barked.
"If you're going to be like that, I'm just going to walk myself home!" Before Ronald could order her to stay, she was out the door, around a corner, and gone. One bodyguard raised his eyebrow inquisitively.
"Let her go; I don't care." Ronald snapped at the bodyguard.
"She left her purse," said the other bodyguard, pointing to a large blue purse underneath the seat. Ronald groaned and grabbed the purse.
"If she's just going to storm off like that, I better get my money back!" Ronald opened the bag as the light turned green and his world filled with fire and light.
-----
On Christmas Day, Ronald Bellbroke, Big Boss of Abrovord's criminal underworld, was killed in an explosion along with all else in the vehicle. One witness stated she saw a woman exit the vehicle immediately prior to the bomb going off. Abrovord Police have failed to find this woman, and despite the bounty put on her head by revenge-seeking bosses, it looks like she is already long gone from Mars and out of their reach.
As a New Year dawns on Mars, reality has sunk in. For the first time since the founding of Abrovord, a non-Bellbroke will become the city's Big Boss. Long-suppressed rivalries between criminal families and crime syndicates will erupt, and the city's new police chief already smells blood in the water.
---
Blackhands is an "experimental" character-driven IOT in which players are Bosses of criminal gangs vying for power and control of the city. Bosses will compete with one another for control of rackets through intimidation, deal-making, and when all else fails, outright violence.
On the opposite side is the Police, which is played by a single player. The Police will maneuver their limited resources around the city to deny the criminal underworld money, gather evidence against criminals, and make arrests. The Police Chief will have to walk a line between taking on the entire underworld and taking on the biggest fish, letting the smaller fish swim merrily in the dark pool.
The game combines several board/card games such as Crime Lords, Mob Ties, and Blood Feud as well as the almost obligatory CK2 influences. The game is heavily driven by the actions and needs of characters who work for the Bosses and Police Chief. Every character has a Specialty, which determines the type of abilities he or she has, and can be further enhanced with white or black market cybernetics.
Instead of a game board, the game uses Mob Ties-styled locations. Where your henchmen are matter. When it comes to deciding who receives the money from a racket for a turn, it is whoever commands the most respect at a racket. When it comes to who will become Big Boss, it is whoever shows up to Bellbroke Mansion to vote that determines the outcome.
When one of your lieutenants is severely wounded, whether or not the rival gang has enough muscle on The Streets determines if your lieutenant will make it to the Hospital or to a mob Doctor without more holes for his trouble.
This game will require communication and negotiation. This isn't a game where you will be able to sit in the corner and build factories all day and night until it is finally time to streamroll a neighbor. No gang has a "special" home location or safe zone.
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If you're interested in helping me develop the game, or you have your own ideas, PM me and I'll show you a draft of what I have so far. Suggestions made by a few of you have already popped up in the ruleset.
No idea when I'll start the game. As you know, once I announced a game, it'll start anytime between now and one month from now.
Ailedhoo
wonderer
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- Mar 19, 2012
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Can I play a panzer cop unit? 
Link to video.
Still: will be interested in seeing the fruits of this project.
Link to video.
Still: will be interested in seeing the fruits of this project.
