Bill Barton also made an RPG called something like Rock Star but I understand it's clunky as hell, I've never seen a copy certainly.

topos, pl. topoi

English usage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_topos

Maybe it´s more common in german usage.

An obvious idea:   an RPG based on lawyers--a fairly common subject for TV shows, fiction, and movies,and I'd guess that the game would work best as an imitation of that kind of stuff, rather than as a realistic simulation.  It could include/cross over with crime-solving or police-procedural elements, focus on legal maneuvering, or on politics, either inside the firm/organization or beyond.  Clashes in the courtroom or in negotiations could replace combat.

One thing that strikes me about some of these concepts (businesses, politics, sports, even murder mysteries) is that they are more often addressed in board games or  maybe computer games than TT RPGs.  I have no idea if that implies they work better in those other formats, or not.

I also think The Shadow's point could be generalizable.  For whatever reasons, RPGs have become identified with certain genres and with a certain type of audience.  Expanding beyond either could be difficult in practice.  That doesn't mean that it isn't worth trying, of course.

Quote from: FritzefAn obvious idea:   an RPG based on lawyers.  The former topic is a fairly common subject for TV shows, fiction, and movies,and I'd guess that the game would work best as an imitation of that kind of stuff, rather than as a realistic simulation.  It could include/cross over with crime-solving or police-procedural elements, focus on legal maneuvering, or on politics, either inside the firm/organization or beyond.  Clashes in the courtroom or in negotiations could replace combat.

I'd love to run a campaign based on the TV show Profit

Regards,
David R

I would like to see an RPG that focuses on multiparty political negotiations, whether we're talking 6 Party Talks to de-nuclearize North Korea or a debate in Space Congress over the mineral rights to Betelguese 3.

These exist, Jeff. They are just not called RPGs.
I´ve "played" quite a lot, and my MT campaign often ended up with similiar situations.

For a structured (and mineable) take on that issue, you might take a look at the TSR boardgame "a line in the sand".

Empires in Arms is also full of this stuff. But there´s too many people being upset by the zero-sum part of the game, so it´s hard to find players.

I'm trying to cobble together a political game from Pendragon's lineage and season concepts, together with Dogs in the Vineyard's town generation concept.
The idea is to make a Succession like RPG.

Though using Nobility in my case, it should be flexible enough for other use.
=

Quote from: BalbinusI'm not sure what worries me more, that you didn't intend a massive double entendre which means that I have an appallingly dirty mind or that you did mean it which just means we both have massively dirty minds.

 He just might want Officer Krystal from the movie American Wedding to show up and play with him.


- Ed C.





YES I watched that movie...I LIKE Alyson Hannigan - A LOT , okay??

Quote from: Settembrinitopos, pl. topoi

English usage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_topos

Maybe it´s more common in german usage.

I think that may be so, thanks for the link though.

Ugh! Now, not only do I want to make a baseball RPG, I want to call it Burning Umpires.

Would Luke freak? :O

-clash

His website needs work, but Chris Engle's "Engle Matrix" comes to mind for these scenarios.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!His website needs work, but Chris Engle's "Engle Matrix" comes to mind for these scenarios.

As a matter of fact I am using the Engle Matrix Game system to run a political/economic/military simulation of a small fictional South American country via PBEM even as we speak.  There are a lot of roleplaying elements to it, but it is definitely isn't an RPG.  In many ways I think it is comparable to the old Braunstein Game - somewhere between a traditional wargame and an RPG.

I think that a lot of these concept games (like ones based on a professional sports team or law firm) similarly fall in this gray zone of "not quite a traditional military-style simulation but not quite a traditional RPG".  In these cases the fluidity and flexibility of the Matrix Game system works pretty well in my experience.  It allows for quick resolution of the overarching conflicts (who wins the big game or the big case) while at the same time including character development and interaction that would more akin to roleplaying.


TGA

I've considered messing around with Wushu to make a sports game (probably American football, since it is what I am the most familiar with in terms of watching and playing) or a rock band game.  But the other ideas in this thread are good too.

Eventually I would like to make something with a crunchier system as well, but I think the obstacle there is that a crunchier system would require more detailed knowledge of the subject matter and how everything interacts.  I think this may be a reason (one of several) why it hasn't been done as often.

The problem with a Sports RPG is that much of it is a tactical game and not really an RPG, in as much as there is perhaps very little scope for much more than hitting stuff. Contenders gets round this by having the struggling boxer motif. I'm not sure how you'd get round this in baseball but I guess you could have Bull Durham the RPG. PCs have to sort out their personal issues to be able to perform on the field. Much as I enjoy baseball though, I don't think I'd want to run a pitch by pitch game.

Yeah, that's what I like about an En Garde model, as the actual playing season is just a few dice rolls (like the wars in EG). Although there's not a great deal of actual role-playing in EG, so....

And let's not forget, D&D is essentially a combat boardgame with lots of set-dressing. A successful Premiership Footbal (tm!) RPG could very easily support the same model. "Mystery" style adventures might be about who's accepting bungs, "intrigue" around arranging bungs and "romance" around spending your bung money to attract a WAG. You could call it "Bung!"

Of course, in D&D the set-dressing usually feeds into the board-game element by providing power-ups or opponents. Not sure how you could make this work with sports but, I'll be honest, sport bores me to fucking tears, so whadda I know?

Ned