So I'll just talk about what kept me up late sunday, and how my experiments are going with Wildly Inadvisable: Test Theory.
The test game was just a pretty quickly thrown together sort of thing. I had some very vague ideas in mind, but I had no idea what kind of characters I'd have. Speaking with those interested in trying the new system, I learned that they were very interested in trying a modern magical game - a world in which we evolved with the knowledge that magic was a very real and tangible thing. Then the first two sheets that were slid my way using the rules laid out both just happened to be college students.
I had to think on my feet. I wanted to attempt some sort of investigation-themed game, but how could I tie college students into it? The obvious choice was pretty obvious: put them into the thick of things pretty quickly. A mysterious creature (whom they've begun calling Slender) that looks similar to a cat began to lead them on, in a way. A mysterious set of numbers led them to believe that something might be occurring later that week - perhaps in that very spot. So they chose to come back later that week, and sure enough, their gut instincts were correct - a professor who had been fired that very day had return to exact some form of revenge, and once the cat-like creature was mentioned, the professor went ballistic.
In this world, magic is a very real thing - but also fairly rare. Sure, most people have at least a small bit of aptitude for magic - usually it doesn't go very much beyond levitating pens or creating small lights, or powering small devices (such as phones). On occasion, someone will develop a power that is useful to them in some way, and with training, they can manage to become Mages.
Most often, Mages are taken under strict supervision of some government entity - be it military, police, or even a federal government. They have entirely new career paths made open to them, many of which serve to better serve mankind at large. Police investigators, for example, can more easily understand what precisely occurred at the scene of a crime - emergency medical technicians no longer need to rely on chemical remedies and common medical training - the use of magic can help stabilize patients long before they even arrive at the hospital. Senior Mages can even become expert medical doctors, or maintain watch over entire sections of the city, dealing with only the most dangerous cases.
In this game, there is also an entity known as "Corruption", where a spell user can allow themselves to channel some sort of dark energy into themselves, in exchange for greater power. Every character has some sort of 'safe' threshold for this Corruption, but it both takes a long time to vanish and also has some extremely dangerous side effects - after a certain point, a character must roll each time their Corruption increases, or risk being taken over by whatever power it is they are channeling.
What is this power? I leave that up to the imagination - I have my own ideas in this world what it is (and if I have my way, it will eventually come to light in the plot itself). But it could just as easily be considered a form of 'demonic energy', or some extraterrestrial influence, or maybe even just madness itself ala Lovecraftian designs.
Of course, since this Corruption is a very integral part of the system, I want to utilize it in every combat, so pretty much any foe they will be encountering will, of course, be in the midst of channeling this power recklessly - after all, what is the point of power if one never gets to use it? How can one push themselves to the limit if they do not take some risks?
It is just another one of those things that fits in nicely with the title, I suppose.
In the last session, the characters managed to meet up once again with a very powerful person known as a Witch Hunter. In this world, Witches are supposed to be some kind of legend - nobody knows if such creatures actually exist. Witches are, according to lore, some sort of powerful magical force that is considered to be nigh-unstoppable - the Bubonic Plague is one of those incidents that was supposedly influenced by a Witch. But whether these things really exist or not, or in what capacity, is a mystery in itself.
So imagine how citizens must feel knowing that there is a top-secret government organization known as the "Witch Hunters" whose task is to protect the public at large from such a threat - and then imagine their distrust and anger towards that very same government that appears to be simply throwing money at an organization that technically doesn't appear to have any real sort of function, and who also does not seem to publically admit the existence of. Imagine if the US Government were found to be throwing billions of dollars in funding for projects into Area 51. That's the sort of anger and resentment that exists.
According to this Hunter, he is fairly tired of seeing one of the characters constantly seeming to show up in some form or another with every investigation he is a part of. To say that he suspects she may have something to do would be an understatement - however, thanks to one of the other PCs, who was revealed to be either a cyborg or a robot whose basic purpose was the detection and nullification of these very same 'witches', it seemed to the hunter to be just a coincidence - albeit one he might not dismiss so lightly should their paths cross again.
Of course, the two college students have their own concerns - given that they were instructed by another supposedly similar to them that they should avoid Witch Hunters at all costs - after all, they too could be considered Witches themselves, and that would not be good for anyone involved.
So I managed to take what things the players asked for - modern day society, magic spells - and spin it into something that could be intriguing. They desperately want to know what is with this 'cat' they keep seeing, and why it seems like only they can see it. There's a number of other mysteries - such as why other people not unlike the professor continue to crop up with increasing frequency - and also increasing amounts of violence.
I'm sure answers will eventually present themselves to the party, and with any luck those answer will only spur them to ask even more questions, and begin to forge their own sort of path. Hopefully I can take these initial ideas I had for this game, and spin them into something that is both at least a decent mystery, and also allow for some very intense action sequences.
That's it for tonight - another post should emerge tomorrow, most likely going on about Deus Ex: Human Revolution (which I'm playing right now, really). Until then, take care, and play safe!
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