what campaigns will you be doing with OVA when you get it?

[mysticsage1]

Hi guys I'm a GM planning to use the OVA system for a game that should be interesting and I would love to have some suggestions and feedback from the community on some things before the game gets started.

The core principle of the game is that choices matter and anything is possible to change. Players cannot make their own characters in the sense of choosing perks or flaws beforehand. These traits will be established by choices that they make in game, and any part of their background from name to personal history could change in a blink of the eye. The premise revolves around a curse that falls on a small rural community in present day that is slowly being warped into a community of anime characters. Only the player characters and the person who cast the curse in the first place will be able to see the curses affects and remember their previous lives. The player characters will be able to affect how the curse plays out by the decisions they make and the bonds the make with the myriads of NPCs. The curse spreads like a virus from person to person so people effected by the curse should not meet the normal populace. Not that they can leave in the first place at least at the beginning. All player characters will be sophomores at the local high school as they attempt to solve the mystery of the curse, stop it from spreading over the globe as well as the hidden bad guy. That or will they simply aid the spiral of insanity to try to build the world they want?

I will be instituting a relationship system with all NPCs that judge PC's influence over any particular character an important part of the story and are the most visible part of the curse. Players have to be careful because any decision may anger a NPC allowing the villain to pray on them and use them like an episode of Sailor Moon possibly turning them into something the players must battle. The relationship building will also be one of the major ways next to battles that characters gain exp which they use instead of levels to buy extra out of game stuff like re rolls or remaking choices.

As for traits and flaws they will get them over time during the story as I said before, the first of the major story elements that will help them in this is the school clubs they choose. Players will be able to choose two clubs from a list. Some of the clubs will be straight forward as to what they give the player trait wise like the kendo club or cooking club and then there are the more obscure clubs with less apparent pluses and minuses with a certain risk reward to them. For instance the modeling club or the library club at face value are a little harder to figure out.

What do you guys think? Sound fun?

The first thing I need help with since it is the first major choice are there any clubs that you think would be good apart from my list already:

Club List
Archery Club, Art Club, Astronomy club, Audio/Visual Club, Automotive club, baseball club,
Basketball Club, Boxing club, Calligraphy Club, Card club, Computer Club, Cooking club, culture club,
dance club debate club, Disciplinary committee, Drama Club, Fencing Club, Flower arranging club,
Football club, future club, Gardening club, Geology Club, Golf club, Gymnastics Club,
Judo Club, Karate Club, Kendo club, lacrosse Club, Library club, Marketing Club,
Modeling club, Music club, naturalist club, Newspaper club, ping pong club, Puzzle Club,
rowing club, rugby club, salon club, Sewing club, Soccer Club, softball club,
Student Affairs committee, Student council, Student Morale and togetherness club, Sumo club,
Swimming Club, Tabletop club, Tai chi Club, Tennis club, test prep, Track and field club,
wood/metallurgy Workshop, Wrestling Club


And then the last thing i need help with is the out of game perks for players to use thier experience on like:
re rolls
redo most recent decision
sudden assistance from an NPC something like that.

Any feedback or help will be much appreciated!

[Clay]

Sounds like a good list of clubs to me! OVA was partially inspired by a freeform RP group called "Battlemaster High" which, while a different plot entirely, never-the-less put heavy emphasis on a student's chosen school activities.

While abilities emerging through play sounds neat, you should always be clear about when a choice will affect a player's character in a major way (even if they don't know what that effect is). If you suddenly lose an Ability or gain a Weakness seemingly by random, players could become discouraged. If however it's made clear that it's a risk one's taking, then hey, sounds fun to me.

Some other random game perks to consider:
Bonus Drama Dice
Give opponent a penalty
Automatically Succeed

Though, in my experience (no pun intended) when you give players the chance to burn experience to "do cool things" ... more often than not they just hoard it instead. You may want to consider giving away temporary points during the game to do things with, something that will be lost after the adventure is over. Or, if nothing else, at least use a separate pool from XP, so players aren't forced to choose between character improvement and neat in-game effects.

[alcar]

I played OVA for one campaign [an arena/fighting game] and had an utter blast at it; depending on how streamlined/fixed the new rules will be, I might try to run something along that nature as well, though it is very vague in my head right now. OVA fit that style of game perfectly for our group, so I will probably make a campaign where everyone has their own reasons for fighting over some McGuffin and try to make it as sensible and sane as possible. With luck.

[Clay]

Best of luck! Sounds like a blast in the making.

[Chris Brady]

Been kicking around an idea a sports manga-esque game, where the players would be part of a fantasy martial arts team, fighting in various arenas of a planet where the cities are above the clouds, set either on a series of pipes that lead below an area called the Cloud Cover, or floating chunks of continent.

[sniffycrab]

Monstera Ball!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/113934/U- ... m=monstera

You use Monsteras to give you powers to play a Kind of rugby. Kind of like Pokémon but no violent battles and you got the whole sports star thing going.

[Chris Brady]

It has been decided that we will play one of the ready made adventure seeds with Auren and Fukiko. And because Auren was spoken for, and my tendency for playing sexually Straight characters (no matter the gender) I am forbidden to play Cora or Fukiko. (I think the GM, she wants Fuki for herself.) and so I have come up with a background for a new character.

I present to you: Aurunox the Mighty, a Noble Dragon of Auren's era.

Aurunox the Great is/was a dragon, one of the mightier Noble ones. During the Age of Magical Might he amused himself by terrorizing various kingdoms and villages around the mountain he called home. And by around, that was close to a thousand miles in all directions.

The Order of The Fallen Star and various other Magical orders spent decades trying to stop him, but to no avail. Until one day, a human warrior from a far off kingdom known only as 'Dragonslayer' came to his mountain and challenged him. Aurunox accepted and they fought.

Dragonslayer had been given that name because until Aurunox he had slain over a dozen dragons albeit of the Common variety. But even though Aurunox was one of the greatest of even the more powerful Noble Dragons, the human knight was willing and proved capable of dealing with any of the beasts.

The fight lasted almost a week of constant battle, both equally matched. And the longer the fight went on, the greater Aurunox's respect for Dragonslayer grew, until a point where he grew loathed to kill the human. And in his heart of hearts, he wondered if he even could.

On the last day, when both nearing their end of endurance, Dragonslayer bested him! And as the final blow was about to land, Aurunox did the one thing that neither expected.

Shifting to his human form (of which he had several, he was a powerful magical creature after all) dropped to one knee, bowed his head in a manner similar to Dragonslayer's fellow knights and uttered two words: I yield.

And the human warrior actually stayed his swords. For he had remembered that in all of tales of the Dragon's fearsome feats, Aurunox only ever killed in self-defense and never actually ate a human. In fact it was well known that the beast liked his beef and he liked it well done, even to the point of being willing to be bribed with a cow, or a simple steak meal.

And so began one of the oddest and perhaps greatest friendships to ever grace that time. And in the decade that passed, both of them had many an adventure. Aurunox was having a grand old time of it as well. Doing good deeds actually netted him the very same gold and magic rewards he used to raid and steal! And even better some of it was given freely, in thanks!

Then on a summer's day, before one of their hunting trips, Aurunox came to the secret human sized entrance and found his best friend's two Rune Blades crossed into the rocky surface. They stood there in an X as if waiting for him. And the might dragon was confused. Dragonslayer had died? How? He wasn't that old, not even past his mid thirties. Aurunox made sure he knew of such things, because that's what friends do. Who had killed his friend, his first true friend? And why had the magical swords delivered themselves to him? They're bane to his kind.

However, the thought of some coward having taken the life of Dragonslayer filled him with such righteous rage for vengeance and justice that he braved the touch of the hilts.

The show of lights and power knocked him to one knee, but he did not release the brands. When it was over, everything had changed. He was no longer in the rocky lands he calls home, it was a field near an odd looking shrine one of a design he never encountered. Even the air didn't 'smell' right. And it was night, when he had just awoken an hour before, making it noon. Worse the only thing he had were his dear friend's blades, his Dragon magic was gone! He was stuck as a human! At least the Dragonslayer Blades still functioned and were still able to merge into their Greatsword form at will and back again.

However, if there was one thing that Aurunox had that other dragons did not, was his adaptability. Wandering down into the city below the hillside shrine, he raided the tailor shops for appropriate clothing and spare money for food. His days playing 'adventurer' aided immensely. Then he found an Internet cafe, and guessing luckily, found a store of information he could use to learn about this new land.

Using his natural charm, he beguiled the admittedly bored young lady into showing him how to use a computer and the internet. Then spent nearly half of his money and nearly twelve hours reading up on the world. Disturbingly enough, he never found mention of his friend, nor much about his era, but decided that something or someone, wanted him here. If the Rune Blades allowed his touch, then they must see whatever threat ahead to be greater than even he. A thought that rankled, sure, but so it seemed.

Mentally hoping that Dragonslayer had a good long life, and giving his friend permission to loot his lost hoard as needed, he sought out what threat summoned him.

And promptly ran into a truancy officer. What Aurunox did not know, or paid less attention to was that he now looked like a stocky, human boy of about sixteen! And so a whirlwind of activity ensued, which amused and confused him. It was determined that he was a runaway orphan, (he feigned amnesia to cover his lack of practical knowledge and newness to this world, which actually helped them as much as it did him!) and then quickly placed in a foster home, finally enrolled into the local high school. Which after learning what that was, he secretly approved of. Knowledge is a resource, after all.

And even though this was new, and he did miss his time, it really didn't seem so bad. Until he found out he was in the same class as Auren.

Personality: Aurunox finds everything interesting, which tends to get him in trouble as coupled with his reckless tendency to dive into every situation with both feet. It made life interesting, to say the least, when he was with Dragonslayer. Now, he's slightly more cautious, but he loves every thing he sees. But one thing he can't stand, especially since he had been one before he'd 'settled down' is bullies. His naturally boisterous nature also gets him in trouble in modern Japan, his lack of caring also causes embarrassment. Also his natural tendency as a brawler, he loves him a good fight.

But he is learning and underneath it all, he's taken to liking humans. Even if they pile ungodly amounts of school work on him.

The Rune Blades: These pair of swords are, of course, magical. Aurunox mistakenly believes that they are designed to slay dragons, but are in reality, designed to slay 'evil'. They are granted by some unseen will to a champion of an era, driving them to seek out companions to root out some great threat.

They have two forms, a pair of large blades that are faster to use, but do less damage, and a single two handed weapon, that's slower but hits much harder. Both forms they are razor sharp and can cut through anything with the right amount of strength. They can also mask their presence if needed to, like they do in Aurunox's current world. They may also have powers that he doesn't know about yet.

Aurunox “Arisawa Hayato”

Concept: Time Lost Polymorphed Dragon
Birthday: January 7th
Age: 237 (looks 16)
Sex: Male
Height: 5' 7”
Weight: 152lbs.
Hair: Punk-Orange with red tips
Eyes: Green
Association: None
Hobbies: Martial Arts
Favourite food: Cooked beef (All kinds)
Allies: None
Enemies: Anyone who victimizes others

Abilities:
Attack: +4 (Rune Blades)
Combat Expert: +4
Intimidating: +1
Iron Will: +3
Perceptive: +1
Resistance: +2 (Fire)
Smart: +1
Strong: +2
Tough: +3

Weaknesses:
Ageism -1
Compulsion (Fighting) -1
Easily Distracted -1
Hatred: -2 (Bullies)
Impulsive -2
Lecherous -1
Loner -1
Overconfident -1
Secret -1 (Dragon)
Soft Spot -1 (Beef, cooked)


(Reserved for corrections and modifications)

[MacLeod]

Turns out my first game will be some kind of... phantasy star meets outlaw star mixed in with some spelljammer stuff and ROBOTS!

[Atmo]

I'm probably opening a game at rpol.net, using a homebrew scenario.

EDIT: lost the drive to do that.

[scano]

My group's looking at maybe doing a Soul Eater (manga madness version) game, but we're having trouble figuring out whether to handle weapon/meister teams as Character/Companion or as two separate Players.

[Scribix]

Assassination Classroom...holds a special place in my heart.

[Cloud]

I have a campaign I am working on called Inheritance of Mana. Essentially its one part Record of Lodoss, one part secret of Mana, two parts Fairy Tale. Blend til awesome! I was originally designing it for a different anime rpg but because OVA is out I will be converting it.

Here is an excerpt of on the nature of Mana in this world:

On mana- an excerpt from professor May Bourbon, Pokus guild head researcher of mana.

“In our world, mana itself is generated by the planet and all living things. There are five types of mana; earth, air, fire, water and arcana. Anything that produces mana belongs to a type and usually produces mana of that type. For example, if mana were to be produced by a stream, that mana would be water mana. Mana can collect in special locations on the planet. Collected mana condenses and becomes flakes like snow but attuned to the type it is created with. If living things touch condensed mana, it tends to be absorbed into their body to be disbursed harmlessly later. Note that if arcana mana is condensed, something horrible has happened. After all, arcana mana does not normally occur naturally in nature aside from its normal place of residence. The normal place of residence would be humans and other sentient life.”

“Collected mana is measured in grams with the unit designation of karats. The dwarves created a complex method of refining collected mana into metal mana attuned sheets. They also created an even more complex method of converting raw mana into different types, but depending on the type conversion, more energy is necessary to convert between types. The sheets of mana and mana conversion techniques lead to the creation of magicka technology.”

“While every sentient being has mana (many of those attuned to arcana mana but there are exceptions), only certain ones are attuned to mana. People whom are attuned to mana can use it to power their ambitions in many different ways. Many attuned only merely become soothsayers, oracles or magicka laborers. Some become wizards, using formulas to convert their arcana mana into other forms for purposes such as flight and traversing water. Others use their internal mana to create fighting techniques or maneuvers that shield them from specific elements. Many of these individuals go on to join either wizard or adventurer guilds in order to refine their techniques while receiving monetary compensation, fellowship and glory.”

[PandaDad]

Of the possible games I had in mind for this, the one that is actually apparently going to move forward is a little thing tentatively called Marital Arts Dojo (yes, that's a pun) which draws as much inspiration from Teenagers From Outer Space as it does from, say, the romantic entropy of any comedy by Rumiko Takahashi...and nowadays has a hat-tip to Golden Sky Stories as well!

Lots of silliness. Lots of gag damage. Arranged marriages, hengeyokai fiancés, genderswapping, boneheaded clan agreements dating back to the Sengoku Jidai, evil magical girls, and a bunny-eared Pooka paralegal from the distinguished firm of Smaug, Orochi, Fafnir, and Mab to boot.

[ArgentumLupus]

Just registered so I could respond to this.

Games I have planned for when OVA reaches public release (I missed the kickstart):

Sailor Moon (I'm being blackmailed by my wife to run this )
Star Ocean
Wild Arms
Kaze no Stigma
Record of Agarest War
BlazBlue
and several homebrew series that are in early planning.

I have the original OVA that I may use in the mean time, but I also run Pathfinder and Runequest for my fantasy games, Alternity for my Trek/Wars type sci-fi, and Silhouette for my gritty sci-fi (Jovian Chronicles and Heavy Gear).

No wonder I hardly play... too many ideas bouncing in my skull.

[sniffycrab]

My first game turned out to be "The Trouble with Natsuko" Which is like a mash up of Sailor Moon and Tenchi Muyo. The Title character is played by PandaDad.