Quote from: jhkim on June 10, 2024, 10:24:16 AM

Quote from: Lurker on June 10, 2024, 10:03:41 AM

Quote from: yosemitemike on June 08, 2024, 10:07:49 PMMonster of the Week.  This is the sort of thing that PbtA actually does well.

I hate to sound like a noob but what system is Pbta / Monster of the Week ... What rule system does it use?

PbtA are games that are variants of the Apocalypse World system, like D20 games are variants of D&D. (It stands for "Powered by the Apocalypse".)

PbtA are rules-light class-based systems, where players choose an archetypal playbook, and roll 2d6 for various moves that activate when appropriate during game play.

Monster of the Week was designed to emulate TV series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, with Charmed being closely related if not the same genre.

Thanks, I'd never heard of it before

Urban Shadows is another PbtA game that specializes in the urban fantasy genre. It includes rules for both abhuman archetypes like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc and human archetypes like hunters, slayers, witches, etc. It doesn't have lore but is setting agnostic, so you don't have to worry about that baggage getting in the way.

This is amazing and I absolutely will want to see where this goes to completion. I'd love to see how this plays out.

https://www.rpgpub.com/threads/brindlewood-bay-murder-she-wrote-meets-the-occult.4415/

Brindlewood Bay advertises itself as Cthulhu meets Murder, She Wrote.

QuoteBrindlewood Bay is a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries. They become increasingly aware that there are supernatural forces that connect the cases they are working on and, in particular, a cult dedicated to the dark, monstrous aspect of the goddess Persephone will come to vex them.


The game is directly inspired by the television show Murder, She Wrote, but also takes inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, "cozy" crime dramas, and American TV shows from the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

Thanks for the suggestions, but any sort of PbtA game is right out; I hate that system with a passion.

That said, I took a serious look at my CoC 4th edition per a couple posts and that might be the way to go instead of using the new BRP due to being a bit more succinct. However, I think SAN is going to be "problematic" in the real meaning of the word since these are tough old broads who have been around the block more than once. They're experts in the occult but still relatively unaffected by it due to their unique nature. I guess I could always just handwave that part and ignore any sort of SAN rolls for normal monsters or whatever and only require it for something insanely monumental, although I don't even know what that'd be.

Quote from: Krazz on June 10, 2024, 03:24:10 PMSince you've had suggestions for a bunch of systems, I'll add another one Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's based on monster hunters, with a "monster of the week", and the show veered from jokes and light humour to serious, with failure being common.

I was going to add BtVS which is, oddly, still available on DTRPG if you wanted to get pdfs.

There was, back in the day, a fan supplement adapting BtVS to Charmed.  I doubt I still have it but it should exist still somewhere in the ether.

PulpHerb -- is this what you were thinking of? Charmed for Cinematic Unisystem:

http://www.peregrine.madasafish.com/charmedrpg/

The site assumes that you already have the Buffy RPG, but includes a bunch of stats from the series and suggestions for Charmed-specific rules.

I suggested the Buffy RPG back in reply #5, particularly if you didn't like yosemitemike's PbtA suggestion - and the Charmed adaptation presumably helps that.

That is not what I had in mind. This was a pdf floating around circa 2006. It might have the same material as I was never much of a Charmed fan and only saw it because it was designed to attach to BtVS.

As for a Buffy RPG, as I said that can still be bought on DTRPG as well as various second hand markets (and other places). There is also a fan Cinematic Unisystem corebook out there.

Quote from: PulpHerb on June 13, 2024, 05:15:16 PMThat is not what I had in mind. This was a pdf floating around circa 2006. It might have the same material as I was never much of a Charmed fan and only saw it because it was designed to attach to BtVS.

As for a Buffy RPG, as I said that can still be bought on DTRPG as well as various second hand markets (and other places). There is also a fan Cinematic Unisystem corebook out there.

Got it. Is this it, then?

https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1377755926204.pdf

That's by Jeff Slick, and seems to be independent of Andrew Peregrine's site.

Here's a Cinematic Unisystem compilation book:

https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1437098890776.pdf

You could hack Traveller.  But then they may not make their Survival rolls...

Quote from: jhkim on June 13, 2024, 05:44:21 PMGot it. Is this it, then?

https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1377755926204.pdf

That's by Jeff Slick, and seems to be independent of Andrew Peregrine's site.

Here's a Cinematic Unisystem compilation book:

https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1437098890776.pdf

That's it, although looking it was just Unisystem Charmed instead of BtVS supplement specific.  The problem with being an old man.

And that is the same compiled CU rulebook I have, yes.

Thanks.

Quote from: Svenhelgrim on June 14, 2024, 02:36:31 AMYou could hack Traveller.  But then they may not make their Survival rolls...

Might as well go with Paranoia at that rate.

Quote from: Brad on June 12, 2024, 08:58:52 PMThanks for the suggestions, but any sort of PbtA game is right out; I hate that system with a passion.

That said, I took a serious look at my CoC 4th edition per a couple posts and that might be the way to go instead of using the new BRP due to being a bit more succinct. However, I think SAN is going to be "problematic" in the real meaning of the word since these are tough old broads who have been around the block more than once. They're experts in the occult but still relatively unaffected by it due to their unique nature. I guess I could always just handwave that part and ignore any sort of SAN rolls for normal monsters or whatever and only require it for something insanely monumental, although I don't even know what that'd be.

Rgr. Especially with the root of the game being 'tough old broads' . You could scrap the SAN element of the game completely, or go the modified DG route and have types of SAN loss that the PC is immune to - DG has 3 types of causes for SAN loss, Violence Helplessness Unnatural, and depending on character history or in game events you can get 'used to' that type of SAN effect and limit or negate SAN loss for that type (a soldier cop or hitman can be used to Violence, and isn't effected by scenes  of Violence). You could take that and expand / modify the types and give the PCs immunity(ies) that fit their history.

Or again, dump the SAN element of the game totally. It is there to enforce the horror and mind melting reality of Lovecraft. In a 80s sitcom setting, no real need for it any way. Of course, it would be useful for those times the PCs have to cast a servant of Ba-el back into depths of Sheol and get to Denny's late for the Ole Bird Special and the cook over boils the broccoli to near mush and the canned cheese goop is cold and lumpy ... I mean all of that just might make the most stalwart of heroes snap. They might not need the SAN check for the monster, but the food .... 

Quote from: Brad on June 12, 2024, 08:58:52 PMThanks for the suggestions, but any sort of PbtA game is right out; I hate that system with a passion.

That said, I took a serious look at my CoC 4th edition per a couple posts and that might be the way to go instead of using the new BRP due to being a bit more succinct. However, I think SAN is going to be "problematic" in the real meaning of the word since these are tough old broads who have been around the block more than once. They're experts in the occult but still relatively unaffected by it due to their unique nature. I guess I could always just handwave that part and ignore any sort of SAN rolls for normal monsters or whatever and only require it for something insanely monumental, although I don't even know what that'd be.

You could just drop SAN altogether.

Or...

You could just re-weight everything.  Instead of SAN loss being an element of learning too much of the cosmic horror it could just be a weakening of resolve and loss of courage.  Make it easier for PCs to regain SAN.  Decrease the challenge of passing a sanity check.