I have designed a Simpson game yeeeaaars ago that I would enjoy hosting at some point... but I would need help from a native speaker to write proper updates
I have also some ideas about an historical game taking place in the hundread years war, specifically the Armagnac-Burgundian civil war.
Welcome to my secret place where I am posting my Oregon Trail Game rules. I've stored it inside this post until it's time to post its own thread. You're welcome to look, but remember it's a work in progress.
Oregon Trail Forum Game
Welcome to the Oregon Trail! Hit the trail with other travelers as you seek to start a new life in the West. You will encounter dangerous obstacles and difficult people as you seek to travel around 2,000 miles to the famed Willamette Valley. You will interact with other players, face river crossings, climb hills and even mountains, and care for the others in your wagon party. Will you die of dysentery? Be mauled by a bear? Limp your way to Oregon? The only way to find out is to head west on The Oregon Trail!
Premise
Your mission is rather simple, on the face of it. You must get to Oregon alive. You travel to Oregon with the same wagon train as other players. If you reach Oregon with your original character alive, you have achieved victory. When you arrive in Oregon, you will receive a score for the condition of your party and other factors. The one with the highest score will be declared the game's ultimate winner, but this is still basically a cooperative game. Although certain things may strain the cooperative nature of the wagon train...
Score
Abraham Lincoln said:
If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.
Score gives you additional goals beyond "get to Oregon," and it is used to determine a winner.
Score is calculated in the following manner:
Spoiler:
Each of the following categories will be added to determine your final score.
Money
10 points for every dollar, rounded up.
Health
1000 points for each party member in good/OK health
800 points for each party member in fair health
400 points for each party member in poor health
Supplies
Bonus points for certain items.
Morale
500 points if morale is good.
300 points if morale is OK.
100 points if morale is fair.
0 points if morale is poor.
Personal Goals
50-200 points for each personal goal.
Each player will have 500 points available to earn in this category.
Keeping an eye on your party members' health is the best way to score the most points. Health will determine what supplies you have to use, if you need extra food, how your morale is doing, and more. A healthy wagon party will almost surely score the most points!
Food and Water
Mark Twain said:
The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.
Each day, you and your party will consume food. Whether you travel or rest, your party will still need both food and water.
Spoiler:
Food Consumption
You choose approximately how much food your party consumes per day. Eating less food will have a negative effect on your health. The options for your rations are:
Filling (Default) - Each member of your party will eat 25-30 pounds a week.
Middling - Each member of your party will eat 20-25 pounds a week.
Meager - Each member of your party will eat 15-20 pounds a week.
Barebones - Each member of your party will eat 10-15 pounds a week. Water Consumption
While near rivers and other natural sources of water, your party members will automatically use the water available to them.
When you enter regions with little to no water, your party will have to use stored water or they will suffer dehydration. You can increase your water capacity by purchasing canteens or water kegs. Health Effects
Suffering dehydration and starvation causes rapid declines in health.
Dehydration and starvation without food or water will cause great harm to health and will likely be fatal!
Dehydration with access to food will still cause severe damage to health. As long as you have food, it will be less severe, but no water is still very bad news for your health.
Starvation is very dangerous. Lack of food can be survived for a while, but you will suffer in health.
Clothing and Protection from the Elements
Esther Hanna (American Pioneer) said:
This evening we had a severe hail storm just before we came to our encampment it had been raining, in the mountains all evening and as we neared them we got our share in ice. It is so cold since that we are all shivering with our thick clothes on.
How you protect yourself and your party members will be an important factor in whether you live or die on the trail. Be prepared!
Spoiler:
Clothing
In order to maintain health and safety, you must provide adequate clothing and protection for your party members. Buying equipment and clothes to protect you from the elements will be important. Look for clothes and equipment that protect you from danger, heat, and cold. Heat
Extreme heat will rapidly drain your water sources along with your party members' energy. When traveling, be careful not to overexert yourself in the heat, especially in deserts. Traveling by night may be unusual, but it may well keep you alive. The wagon train should take time to rest if things are just too hot. Having some cover for yourself or the wagon will not hurt. Cold
When the weather is colder, you will need much more protection. Will you sleep in the cold or have a tent? Do you have a fire if things get freezing? Do you have protection from frostbite during the day? These are things you will need supplies for before you leave for Oregon if you think cold is a risk.
Animals
Proverbs 12:10 said:
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Taking care of your animals will be an important part of the trail. If your animals survive and thrive, you can keep moving. If they struggle, so will you.
Spoiler:
Buying Animals
When you set out, you will need to buy animals to help pull the wagon. Having the right type of animals will help. There are three basic options:
Horses are the most expensive option. They are valuable for trading. Remember that horse will constantly need oats or they will become weak.
Mules are a middle ground. They can be stubborn sometimes, but that stubbornness makes them have strong endurance. They do not need oats to remain healthy, but they perform better with oats. They also do not use as much water as other animals.
Oxen are the cheapest, most dependable option. Although they cannot sprint like horses, they are much more dependable and can still move at a good clip. Oxen are not nearly as valuable for trade and do need more water than mules, but they are good for those not willing to take as many risks.
In addition, you might be able to buy some other animals such as milk cows or pigs. Keep your eye out and see what you can get. Animal Endurance/Care
Taking care of your animals is important. Just like people, animals have endurance limits.
You need enough animals. Make sure you take care of your animals after you buy them, because they are not easy to get on the open trail. If you have extra animals, you can rest any that happen to get injured or weakened. Keep every animal you can, because they will prove vital on the trail.
Animals sometimes need care and rest. If you have an injured animal, make sure that it gets rest, or it will soon buckle under the weight.
Traveling the Trail
Charles Goodnight said:
Above all things, the Plainsmen had to have in instinct for direction. I never had a compass in my life, but I was never lost.
You will travel the trail together as a wagon train. It is imperative that you stick together no matter what, or the consequences could be devastating. You will face various hardships along the way, which will test you and you endurance.
Spoiler:
Rivers
Cross ++ Mountains/Hills
++ Deserts
++ Rafting
++ Centers of Civilization
++ Direction
++ Speed
++ Wagon Wear/Repair
Health System
++ General Health
++ Disease
++ Injury
++ Resting
++ Medicine
++ Animal Health
EVENT SYSTEM
== Danger system
--- Benefit System
ECONOMY SYSTEM
++ Money
++ Buying and Selling
++ Trading
HUNTING/GATHERING/FISHING SYSTEM
++ Hunting
++ Gathering
++ Fishing
MORALE SYSTEM
++ General Morale
++ Entertainment
++ Health and Morale
++ Food and Morale
++ Location and Morale
++ Events and Morale
POLICY
TRAIL GUIDE
WAGON LEADER
SCORING
++ Health
++ Money
++ Supplies
++++ Bonus Items
++ Morale
++ Personal Objectives
ROLEPLAYING
UPDATES
Are there any articles about balancing player-specific abilities? One idea I'm ruminating over would entail many, if not most, characters having a specific ability that only works on another, specific character. Thus, it'd be important to figure out character names, but also make it dangerous to reveal. But would this be annoying? Pointless? Potentially game-breaking? Is there a number of players necessary to counteract the negatives? How would this work with cover roles?
Are there any articles about balancing player-specific abilities? One idea I'm ruminating over would entail many, if not most, characters having a specific ability that only works on another, specific character. Thus, it'd be important to figure out character names, but also make it dangerous to reveal. But would this be annoying? Pointless? Potentially game-breaking? Is there a number of players necessary to counteract the negatives? How would this work with cover roles?
I have included stuff in my game that is not covered in any article anywhere. Hopefully it all balances out, but I acknowledge that halfway through the game I might be able to see that I made it impossibly hard on one side or the other...or that some chain of odd circumstances combined with my new ideas (unbounded weirdness) has done so. If it happens I'll watch the game play out and apologize profusely to the wounded side for the experiment having gone against them, and write an article about what not to do. It's still a Mafia game, not an experimental cure for cancer. If it goes badly we dust ourselves off and play again.
What I'm saying is, take a chance if you think you're onto something.
Are there any articles about balancing player-specific abilities? One idea I'm ruminating over would entail many, if not most, characters having a specific ability that only works on another, specific character. Thus, it'd be important to figure out character names, but also make it dangerous to reveal. But would this be annoying? Pointless? Potentially game-breaking? Is there a number of players necessary to counteract the negatives? How would this work with cover roles?
ATPG would say that that sort of role was pointless:
Your objective is to locate character A using your scanning power. Your scanning power is useless for anything else. Your personal goal is to make sure such and such a character doesn't die. You have the ability to protect said character one time. But since you don't know when they will be attacked, your personal goal is nigh-impossible. And it is far more likely they will die before you even find them. If you do find them, when do you protect them?
I understand personal goals where you want so-and-so to survive, or wish to outlive so-and-so. That's fine as a stand-alone, throwaway, bonus points kind of goal, but when that is all that person is focused on, and they barely have the skills to accomplish that at all, then the role is pretty weak. It is just taking a basic standard innocent role and giving it what amounts to a bogus, unwinnable mission. As if that player's character is given busywork.... sure, lynch some scumbags, but also do my taxes. It's not very interesting, and the whole concept is forgettable.
Given the near impossibility of accomplishing that goal, it's not even worth focusing on. Meanwhile, someone else might have the inclination to kill a certain person, and have the ability to murder them outright. It's a far easier goal to accomplish. Which of the two personal goals do you think will be fulfilled by the game's end?
One of the LotR games I was in, I was Eowyn, with the ability to scan for and kill Nazgûl, but it turned out that there weren't even any in the game for the first few turns. If you think you can do something interesting with incredibly limited abilities, then more power to you, but it may just come across to your players as disappointing or frustrating.
In all likelihood, anyone with a character-specific ability would have a normal one they can use otherwise.
One issue I foresee is that cover roles would negate the idea entirely, and without a real incentive to role reveal, there's nothing stopping anyone from simply not claiming who they are (as there'd be no gain for them to do so). I would need to think of a way to encourage revealing without it breaking the game. Scanners would do the job, maybe.
In all likelihood, anyone with a character-specific ability would have a normal one they can use otherwise.
One issue I foresee is that cover roles would negate the idea entirely, and without a real incentive to role reveal, there's nothing stopping anyone from simply not claiming who they are (as there'd be no gain for them to do so). I would need to think of a way to encourage revealing without it breaking the game. Scanners would do the job, maybe.
You could include a role cop instead of a alignment cop. They are usually weaker, especially if they are told they receive cover roles if they scan mafia.
@pzelda: You might want to go before me then. I would rather host around july, it would be easier for me to be reliably available during 2/3 weeks then. @topsecret
OK, finally there's non-Takhisis people who want to host.
I have at least two setups that just need dusting off and can be launched. One's an X-Files offshoot that needs a bit more work and the other is Miraculous Ladybug!-based role madness. I can launch whenever, so if anybody cannot host and there's a gap gimme a call.
I have included stuff in my game that is not covered in any article anywhere. Hopefully it all balances out, but I acknowledge that halfway through the game I might be able to see that I made it impossibly hard on one side or the other...or that some chain of odd circumstances combined with my new ideas (unbounded weirdness) has done so. If it happens I'll watch the game play out and apologize profusely to the wounded side for the experiment having gone against them, and write an article about what not to do. It's still a Mafia game, not an experimental cure for cancer. If it goes badly we dust ourselves off and play again.
What I'm saying is, take a chance if you think you're onto something.
I am officially recanting this gem of naiveté. It is still true in the final conclusion, but each thing you commit to that is "new and different" is a thing you have to manage every step of the way, and as a current first time host just managing the things that are part of hosting for every host ever that you can easily get help with or at least sympathy about is more than enough. Get one under your belt that is just the normal level of challenge before you find yourself stuck with an elephant that you have to eat one bite at a time.
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