USR Wednesdays: Slasher Films

It’s Halloween season, time for a look at this classic genre for role playing. There are many ways to mix horror and gaming — fantasy has plenty of horror-themed beasts, and no game is complete without a nod toward H.P. Lovecraft’s creations. But today we’re going back to the 80s and beyond.

Slasher films feature a supernatural creature attacking a bunch of nobodies. Think “Nightmare On Elm Street” and “Friday The 13th.” This is not about setting the mood for a look into the darkness of the human soul; this is about teenagers having sex and showers of blood!

Time to roll for initiative: good luck. (image: New Line)

It’s a perfect genre for a game like USR, because statistics are less important in a narrative game. No one in the setting can go toe-to-toe with Freddy or Jason; they’re much too powerful. Instead, the protagonists have to out-think or at least out-run their enemy. You could have a game where players are the monsters themselves, but that’s really just a superhero game (without the “hero”), and it’s not what we’re going for here. This idea was inspired by the Slasher Flick RPG.

In a slasher film game, each player creates three characters, using the standard Domino Writing-style USR rules (though without assigning equipment or spending Combat Gear points). Specialisms in this game should lean heavily toward stereotypes, like Cheerleader, Jock, Redneck, Naive, and Rebellious.

You can determine Narrative Points and Hit Points for the characters, but they probably won’t use them. And don’t forget to create a slasher — make sure it’s got a signature weapon (a clawed glove, a chainsaw) and a gimmick (attacks in dreams, possesses the body of a doll).

When the slasher is ready to start its rampage, roll a die to decide which of the characters is the first victim. If there’s three players, that’s nine characters; roll a d10 to decide which one is first. Other characters may be in the scene, but the current victim gets the spotlight.

Create a scenario for that victim: what they’re doing before the slasher shows up and what they do to escape or fight back. The scenario should have three die rolls built into it. Here’s a few examples.

• Run away from the slasher (Action)
• Build a trap from stuff around the campsite (Mind)
• Try to explain the horror that’s just up ahead to the gullible county sheriff (Ego)
• Grab a farm implement and start swinging it at the slasher (Action)
• Summon magical powers you only have in your wildest fantasies to attack the slasher (Mind)
• Talk the slasher out of fighting back (Ego)

Tell a story with those dice rolls mixed in. It’s a “best two out of three” situation: if the character succeeds at two or three of the rolls, he or she survives... for now. After each character has told his or her own little story, count up the number of survivors. If more than half are alive at the end, the players win, but that’s the end of that horror movie franchise — fans are there for the clever kills, after all. If half the survivors, or fewer, remain, the slasher joins the fraternity with Michael Myers and Ghostface.

What does your slasher look like?

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part VII — Villains

Our villains are presented as of the beginning of “Return Of The Jedi” — so they’re all still alive... none of them actually survive the film!

Darth Vader, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Pilot +2, The Force +4, Intimidate +3

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Lightsaber +2, Body Armor with Breathing System +3

Narrative Points: 3

Is this Polish "Return Of The Jedi" poster the best of all "Star Wars" movie posters? Yes, yes it is. (image: reddit.com)

Jabba The Hutt, Level 3, Experience Points 10

Action D6, Wits D8, Ego D10

Specialisms: Command +2, Great Wealth +3, Underworld Contacts +3

Hit Points: 24

Equipment: None

Narrative Points: 7

Boba Fett, Level 4, Experience Points 15

Action D10, Wits D8, Ego D6

Specialisms: Bounty Hunter +3, Pilot +3, Negotiation +3

Hit Points: 33

Equipment: Mandalorian Armor +2, Blaster Rifle +2, Grappling Line, Rocket Pack

Narrative Points: 3

The Emperor works in the background, even during the final showdown at the end of “Return Of The Jedi” (all he physically does is shoot Force Lightning — and fall down a ventilation shaft, of course). He’s better represented as a Power Level VI monster than as a character.

USR Wednesdays: Star Wars Part IV — Experience Levels

We’ll wrap up our series on the original “Star Wars” trilogy with statistics for the heroes and villains from the films. But first, a note on levels: unlike Dungeons & Dragons, the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPGs, and other professionally published games, USR doesn’t rely on characters adding a host of new abilities as they gain levels. Yes, they may add Specialisms and hit points, but we don’t have a list of special abilities added at each level for each class. We don’t even have classes for characters. So here’s the guideline I’m using for Domino Writing-style USR characters.

As seen in the USR rules, you gain 1 to 3 experience points per adventure, and go up a level every 5 XP. In other words, one level per two to three adventures, or roughly one level for every five or so game sessions (depending on how long your game sessions last). A character can gain unlimited levels, but by levels above 5, most monsters will no longer be a real threat. So let’s say a level 6 character has to “retire” from adventuring, or at least stop gaining XP.

Here’s “A New Hope,” complete with experience point awards.

Read this text box to start the adventure. (image: LucasFilm)

First game session

Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi join Han Solo and Chewbacca (and the droids) in the Mos Eisley cantina, where they have to make a quick escape off the planet Tattooine. They escape to Alderaan, per the “quest giver” Princess Leia hologram. But Alderaan has been destroyed, and their ship is captured. 1 XP for everyone!

Everything before the cantina — the death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, the escape of C3PO and R2-D2 with the Death Star plans — is backstory, helping develop the personalities of the characters. Obi-Wan and Han (and probably Chewie, too) should be level 2 or 3, really, but RPGs don’t often work with characters of different levels in the same party, so we’ll have to chalk it up to the difference between a movie and a tabletop RPG.

Second game session

In the Death Star, the party frees Princess Leia and Obi-Wan dies (soon to become a new Specialism for Luke). 2 XP for the dramatic conclusion to the game session.

Third game session

The Empire follows the Millennium Falcon to Yavin IV, triggering the dramatic space battle and destruction of the first Death Star. 2 more XP, and everyone goes up a level. The End.

You could define the events of the entire movie as one adventure (so they advance to level 2 at the end of “Return Of The Jedi”), but I want my heroes to gain XP a little more quickly. There are big challenges ahead; they need to be ready.

After “The Empire Strikes Back,” they go up another level. And since we’re only looking at the original films, that’s where we’ll stop. Despite what I said before, to “accurately” portray the characters, they’ll be at different levels. That’s what you’ll see next week, when we provide USR statistics for the heroes of Star Wars.

How many game sessions will it take to play the Harry Potter novels?

USR Wednesdays: Superheroes part 2: Super-Specialisms and hit points

Specialisms for superheroes can be powers - which can be used as weapons and armor, unlike most specialisms – but also personality traits (“billionaire philanthropist,” “mild-mannered reporter”). Because they’re so free form, super power Specialisms don’t have particular damage amounts or limits (for example, how many people are mind-controlled at one time?). Turn to the comics, animation and movies: if you can find an example of the power being used in the media, you can use it, though maybe with the use of a Narrative Point.

Almost every rules-moderate to rules-heavy superhero RPG (including my own Microlite 20 Costumes) has a catalog of super powers for characters to purchase, and which count as Specialisms in superhero USR. As with any Specialism, though, the descriptions that allow for more narration are often more interesting in play. The Punisher’s Lots Of Guns is kind of boring as a Specialism, but the Flash’s Runs Fast Enough To Access The Speed Force is a simple to understand power with a unique twist (lots of heroes have Super-Speed, but don’t also get access to the Speed Force). With the Ice Control Specialism, Iceman of the X-Men can fire ice darts at a villain, but he also creates ice slides to move quickly, duplicates of himself in ice form, and so much more.

A Specialism of Magician means you can do just about anything in a superhero setting. (Also, you were expecting Dr. Strange or Zatanna, right?) (image: King Features Syndicate)

Another superhero-specific element is hit points. Heroes can take a beating, and shrug off most ordinary damage. Boosted Action and Wits stats help represent that, and so does increasing hit points, to (maximum Action die value + maximum Wits die value) x2. Alternately, heroes can be delayed in the hospital, or outright killed, only to return dramatically in the next adventure.

The superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse keeps defeated characters in the game until the end with one simple rule. Characters that lose all their hit points can only take one action on a turn, and it has to be used to help another hero who is still in the game. It’s described as inspiring the surviving characters to fight harder. The same concept can be used in USR, with knocked-out heroes offering a +1 to certain kind of die rolls, or a once-per-battle reroll to their surviving allies.

What are your favorite superhero Specialisms?

USR Wednesdays: Creating Specialisms

One of the keys to USR's streamlined system is its use of Specialisms (another is the simple dice mechanic). It's the same concept as found in a lot of rules light RPGs, like the cliches of Risus, the qualities of Cartoon Action Hour and the aspects of Fate. Specialisms represent skills, supernatural powers, personality traits and occasionally gear and character types, though in USR, races and classes are more often archetypes (as they are in Domino Writing-style USR).

What is a Specialism? As USR 2.0 puts it, "Specialisms are the things that make your character stand out from the rest. They give your character an edge at a specific task, making them more likely to succeed." They explain what a character can do, or how he or she does it, in a way that's appropriate to the setting.

What a character can do: Most often, Specialisms are skills, like lock picking, computers or sneaking (or hand-to-hand fighting, if you're using combat Specialisms). It can also stand for special talents, like magic or a super power like eye beams.

How he or she does it: Specialisms can also be personality traits that not only help define a character's background for role playing purposes, but can also be put to use as abilities. Think of the inspiring leader, the intimidating muscle man, or the even more intimidating loner with a creepy smile.

Appropriate to the setting: Since so much of rules light RPGs like USR rely on tropes and stereotypes familiar to fantasy and science fiction fans, most players probably start the game with a general idea of what fits the setting. But it's easy to be too broad: a sorcerer may not be specific enough; try a fire wizard or an illusionist instead. Likewise, think about Specialisms that won't be available all the time: a wise mentor is a great support for a hero — but Obi-Wan and Merlin aren't supposed to be part of every adventure, they're only supposed to lend a helping hand now and again.

Can your character do this?

Characters that gain levels in USR can either gain new Specialisms or improve their existing ones. In a classic adventuring party, each character has a role (healer, tank, etc.), so improving the existing Specialisms is more fitting. Adding a new Specialism should show how the character has made a major life change — finding a powerful magical item, taking on a whole new set of responsibilities, and so on.

Specialisms and similar characteristics are one of the defining elements of a rules light RPG: the game isn't "weighed down" by pages and pages of skills and abilities! But it can be hard to figure out just what Specialisms really are without a guideline, one like this:

Specialisms are what a character can do, or how he or she does it, in a way that's appropriate to the setting.

What Specialisms does your game have?

(image: Guillaume Riesen)