Fantasy PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRANGE

[ComradeSenpai]

Phantasma is an alternate history fantasy game taking place in a near future Earth wherein various magical creatures have integrated with the world.


The players take on the role of teachers and students in a type of dorm school run by a colorful variety of both humans and supernatural creatures.


This differs from other games in that it has a communal GM system. During dedicated action sequences (field trips), a volunteer will act as a GM, using NPCs, creating the world, and playing hostile forces to overcome. Because everyone has the option to GM at one point, it's ensured adventures stay fresh and varied.


Additionally, we are using Risus as a conflict resolution system and determine abilities. Risus is extremely simple to learn and use. This ensures that, during IC conflict, we always have a way to fairly settle battles and arguments.


http://www.rpnation.com/threads/phantasma-school-of-the-strange.61450/

 

[MechaGhoul]

Hm sounds cool.

 

[Zerohex]

As a player in this I'm more or less obligated to bump this thread I suppose. In fact, I'mma try to shill it somewhat, even if we already have a few interested people.


Why you should join this roleplay


-It's a modern fantasy take on a typical highschool setting: The world was not suddenly reset into a wierd pseudo medieval state by the arrival of magic and the resurgence of fantastical species. Time marched on, technology advanced as well, and thus players can seek to define what the world would be like in the year 2150 with both magic and tech, though a general outline of the world state has been provided. This means that you may use both fantasy, modern and even mild science fiction tropes within this world and not be out of place. The world is a mix of serious bits and tongue in cheek attitude, so you can use both and have as diverse a set of characters as you wish.


-The idea of communal GMing is actually better than it sounds: Obviously, ComradeSenpai retains a certain degree of authority as the thread creator and ideas need to be run past him, but how it works is: you PM him your ideas for a plot or storyline, he okays them and lets you run your very own minigame where you act as the GM, after which the characters return to life as normal within the school and we go back to a hands-off approach focused mostly on social interaction between the characters.


School-sponsored field trips into dangerous locations, a threat breaking into the school somehow or the students just going to town and running into shenanigans, it's your pick, be creative. It's as good a place as any to practice being a GM with the added benefit of it being just a limited portion instead of a whole game, which means any potential mistakes caused by inexperience are not as damning to the whole thing as if you'd tried to run your own setting you've put time and effort into only to find you're not quite ready to run a game on your own. This system also means players get to experience a wider variety of adventures and plots without placing all the burden on one person.


-We actually have a system for conflict resolution and it is incredibly simple: How many times have you run into someone who clearly oversteps the boundaries of their character or has boundaries so diffuse they might as well be introducing new powers every other day? How many times have you had to rely entirely on GM judgement to settle disputes over what characters can or cannot do? Well, Risus solves all these issues in a neat and concise manner. It's a four page system that can be used to run damn near any kind of game without much hassle and can be boiled down to defining what your character is good at, you decide this yourself, and assigning a number of six sided die to whatever that might be.


There's a few characters already posted to give you an idea of the kind of things you an invest die on. The more die you have on something, the better the character is whatever that may be. Cooking, mechanics, using flattulence to attack, you make these up to suit your character. You then roll the die whenever there's a conflict to be resolved (this forum has that function now) and that determines whether the character succeeds at what he's trying to do or not, the higher the roll the better the chances. Simple, impartial conflict resolution with properly quantified abilities. The actual ruleset is linked in both the rules and the character signup page for good measure.


So there you have it. Three good reasons as to why you should seriously consider joining this roleplay.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Oh hey so I am bumping this. More players are always welcome.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Bumpu

 

[MechaGhoul]

Clearly, the shill that I will provide, will not be as eloquent as the ones performed earlier buuut...


Step right up onlooker to PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRANGE! Yes, that's right, you too can be part of this academia of anomalous affairs. Now then, allow me to share a few quick reasons on why you should step up, and join.


Unique Flavor - This game has a variety of tastes to fill your metaphorical palette. The world has a mix of advanced technology, as time progresses and more innovations occur, along with the practice of the unique and mystical arts of magic, and of course the unique mixture between the two. This allows for great creativity of the player, regarding their own character concept and how they wish to help flesh out their place in the world.


You Can Affect the World - Yes, I am talking about you, the player. You can affect changes through running Field Trips (or just Students goofing around in town). Just check in with Comrade, and bam! You can start running your own little adventure, get practice to GMing and refining your skills. From the School Sponsored Sports Competition, all the way to Students having a joy ride, and accidentally summoning a horrific monster from the beyond and having to destroy it, before it kills the town, and more importantly, your stuff at the dorm... There are so many exciting opportunities you can create, and participate in.


Conflict Resolution - There is actually a system of conflict resolution. You won't have to get into endless debates about how 'X' 'Y' or 'Z' was able to happen causing, blah, blah blah. Those constant situations (in places without a proper conflict resolution system) can easily bog a game down, and keep it from being fun. Here, there is a easy conflict resolution system, so that the game won't be bogged down in the clutter that would come.


Activity Galore - The School does have an outstanding faculty, which means you can participate in the fun of class instead of just constantly roaming around the halls. Yes, from Class, to Field Trips (which can be highly dangerous in nature), to socializing with fellow students, to after school activities, to detention, to breaking out at night (to sneak into an R-rated movie only to be chased after a Hard Core Truant Officer), there are many, many possibilities to engage in.


Fleshy Combat - Oh I know I am cheating (a little), by not just putting this under Conflict Resolution, but why not just put it here. Through the Risus system, you can get combat that is effective and isn't just a string of auto-hits, auto-misses, and generally non-entertaining fare. No, this combat is for real, and every dice roll matters. Are you a Bad Enough Dude to (save the President?) engage in this combat?


So, ORDER TODAY AND GET ONE STANLEY'S MAGICAL AND FANTASTICAL ELIXIR!





Well, I've done my part. So why not join in on the fun that is to be had, in PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRAAANGE!?

 

[MechaGhoul]

Alright. Well, back here again... Anyway. I'mma just gonna pop over here again, for reasons faaaaar beyond, uh some reason. I know, I'll just do a quick break-down on how the Risus system creates characters. Cause why not.


Alright, so for the purpose of Phantasma, you have 12 points at character creation, for a Student Character.


For a Teacher/School Faculty Character, you have 20 points to work with.


These points represent the amount of dice your character has for that ability. So for a cliche of five, you roll five six sided dice. Or 5d6.


And you can max out 5 points in a single cliche. This applies to both Students and Faculty. (Ie. skill or whatever you want to call it.)


So, right here I'll make a hypothetical student character and examples of potential cliches.


Name: John Smith


(5) Boxing: John is rather talented boxer who knows the proper footwork, techniques for blocking and hitting to effectively punch people in a boxing match.


(2) Parkour: John is used to the style of free-running, and is good at getting past the obstacles of city life in fleeing.


(3) Venture Capitalist: For some reason or another, John has loads of money, and in this pursuit of even more money, he finances start-up companies, and knows the risks and benefits associated with it.


(2) Comic Fanatic: John has a extensive knowledge of the world of comic books, and knows the in and outs of various comic plots, what new comic books are coming out and so on. If there is a comic book out there, there is a good chance he has read it thrice.


So that used up all 12 points on our hypothetical student character. Cliches can be all manners of things.





Anyway, well that's all for now.

 

[Servant]

Are there any spots left?

 

[MechaGhoul]

Sure! Just head over to the CS and feel free to make a person.


Quick Edit: Any other questions?

 

[Servant]

Yes actually....I noticed that this RP has been going on for quiet a while now, I just wanted to make sure I am not being a nuisance by joining.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Oh yeah, I can understand that. Don't want to disturb any plot that could be happening, and what not. But as for what is currently going on...


Well, currently it's Gym Period which was demonstrating basic use of the combat system. Always fun.


But no, you wouldn't be a nuisance joining. I for one welcome you.

 

[Servant]

Alright, good! I just wanted to get out of the way...I will start making the CS now. Thanks for the info!

 

[MechaGhoul]

Anytime! Feel free to ask me about anything else.

 

[Gothemel]

Can I join too?

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Sure.

 

[MelodyRain]

I want to join, but it seems like every time I join a roleplay, I get ignored. I don't even understand the Risus system or anything.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

The Risus system is easy. Think of things you want your character to be good at, and assign up to five points to a singular skillset. Students get total twelve points, and teachers get twenty.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Risus is a very simple system. For character creation, for us, you have either 12 points to spend on a 'cliche' (aka talent), if you are a student character.


If you are a Teacher/Faculty, you get 20 points.


The max amount of points you can put in a single cliche is 5, for both teacher and student.


The amount of points you put in a cliche, determines how many d6 (six sided dice) you can roll when using your cliche.


I did an example on page one, which you are free to look at.


Ninja'ed by Comrade.

 

[MelodyRain]

This literally is making NO sense. Why do we need dice, exactly? 
And btw your example didn't help either.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Because even if you have the same number or even more dice during a fight, it's possible the other person will roll higher, because dice results vary. This adds randomization and a chance at failure. In other words, having more dice means you're more likely to win, but does not make you invincible.

 

[MelodyRain]

So in a fight or other confrontation, whoever has the higher score wins?

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Whoever has the higher score is more likely to win. There's still always a chance of defeat, and most characters have at least one combat skill at 5 anyways, which puts you on even footing.

 

[MechaGhoul]

When you win, a round, you knock out a dice of the opponent's cliche.


So let's take John Smith, the student character I made on page one.


Let's say he is in a boxing match against another student. And just for the sake of it, let's say the opposing character, who I'll call Steve, has 5 in boxing as well.


The first round results in John getting say, 22, and his opponent rolls a 15.


John successfully knocks the amount of Boxing Dice Steve can use against him to 4d6.


But let's say next round John got really unlucky and got a 7, and Steve got 16.


Now John only has 4d6 dice.


Even though John won the initial match, he still lost the second one with Steve and his lower dice-pool.


You FULLY WIN, when you fully knock out the opponent's cliche.

 

[MelodyRain]

So when you knock out all 5 dice you win?

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Yes.