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 I — Classes

Now that we’ve looked at a lot of the basics to help expand your USR games, from Specialisms to vehicles and monsters, let’s turn to settings. And if the sales charts from ICv2 are anything to consider, the most popular genre after medieval fantasy is “Star Wars.”

For Domino Writing-style USR, “Star Wars” consists of the classic trilogy (“A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return Of The Jedi”). The prequels and sequels have new ideas to offer the “Star Wars” universe but nothing as indelible as the original films. I won’t be writing much about them, though I’m looking forward to someone providing stats for Qui-Gon Jinn and Kylo Ren.

Everyone in this picture, too. In a few weeks there will be stats for one of them. (image: sonsofcorax.wordpress.com)

In most fantasy RPGs, a character has a race and a class. Despite appearances, that’s not the case for Star Wars, where a character’s species really isn’t that significant. A Wookiee might have Strong +2 as a Specialism, but a Rodian or Ithorian doesn’t have particularly strong “racial” characteristics. Droids, on the other hand, are nothing but special abilities. Consider Multi-lingual +2 or Computer hacking +2 (Specialisms droids from the films might have).

A character’s profession is best described using an archetype, like the ones we’ve seen for modern-day characters and in USR games like Somnium Void.

Scoundrel

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Pilot, Bargain, Hide, Charm

Suggested Equipment: Pistol, Huge debt

Note: “Rogue With A Heart Of Gold” isn’t really a good Specialism, since there probably aren’t many ways to apply the bonus this would provide if it was a Specialism. It’s a great description of the character’s personality, though.

Jedi

Primary Stat: Mind

Suggested Specialisms: Dedication, Leadership, Inspiration, Athletics, The Force*

Suggested Equipment: Lightsaber

Warrior

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Endurance, Military Tactics, Terrain Knowledge

Suggested Equipment: Rifle

Outworlder

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Invent, Survivalist, Riding, Bargain

Suggested Equipment: Droid parts, All-weather clothing

Sage

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Knowledge, Reference Tools, Etiquette

Suggested Equipment: Computer

Diplomat

Primary Stat: Ego

Suggested Specialisms: Negotiate, Leadership, Languages

Suggested Equipment: none

Technician

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Hacking, Computers, Repair, Jury-Rig

Suggested Equipment: Repair tools

*A note on The Force: To simulate the Jedi or other Force-users at the most basic level, the player simply makes a Wits roll against a target number determined by the game master, depending on the complexity of the power. We’ll get into a more involved (but still Unbelievably Simple) version of The Force next time.

What classes need to be added to USR Star Wars?

USR: Archetypes: Modern-Day Heroes

Last time we looked at the classic fantasy races and classes. Now let’s move into modern-day action and adventure settings. Everyone’s human (usually), but the range of skills heroes need to succeed is bigger. These archetypes cover a lot of ground; a sneak, for example, can represent a James Bond-style spy, a Jason Bourne-style secret agent, or even a Jake Gittes-style private eye.

Or these dudes. (image: YouTube)

Diplomat

Primary Stat: Ego

Suggested Specialisms: Charm, Negotiate, Language, Leadership, Etiquette

Suggested Equipment: none

Entertainer

Primary Stat: Ego

Suggested Specialisms: Art (music, oratory, writing, etc.), Charisma, Athletics, Hundreds (Possibly Millions) Of Fans, Target Of Paparazzi

Suggested Equipment: Musical instrument

Gadgeteer

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Repair, Invent, Hacking, Works Best Alone, Focused On The Task At Hand

Suggested Equipment: Miscellaneous Gadgets, Tools

Pilot

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Driving, Flying, Repair, Adrenaline Junkie, Team Player

Suggested Equipment: Vehicle (if there’s more than one character with a vehicle in the party, maybe they have one big vehicle, like a space cruiser)

Researcher

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Knowledge (in one topic), Dedication, Bravery, Support Of A University or a Military Organization

Suggested Equipment: Computer, Library Of Books

Sneak

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Move Silently, Sleight Of Hand, Hacking, Disguise, Hide, Spot Clues

Suggested Equipment: Lock Pick (possibly an electronic one)

Soldier

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Endurance, Intimidate, Leadership, Toughness, Military Tactics

Suggested Equipment: Guns, Knives

Which archetypes are best for the modern world?

USR: Archetypes - Meet the Big Four

In USR, concepts like class and race are found in the form of archetypes, suggestions for ways to simulate character types long-time roleplayers are familiar with. In Halberd, the predecessor to Tequindria, a lot of the classic fantasy archetypes made an appearance. 

Archetypes aren’t a requirement, just a tool to help you visualize your character better. Every USR setting will probably have its own archetypes (Tequindra does). They’re a good way to get a feel for the kind of characters that would appear in that setting, even if your character stands out as someone different. 

Archetypes for elves, wizards and fighters can be found below.
Source: Wizards of the Coast originally, I think.

Since I’m using my Domino Writing-style version of USR, I’m going to make a few changes to better fit my version of the game. Here’s how they break down:

Primary Stat: This is the stat (Action, Wits, Ego) that should be assigned the d10, or d12 if using superhero rules. It’s not a requirement, but emphasizing that stat is the quickest way to simulate most familiar character types. That said, a really buff wizard (with a d10 in Action) would be a unique take on the spellcaster! Some archetypes have a primary stat of “Any” — the archetype doesn’t call for any specific stat to be favored. Just take your pick, like in the normal rules.

Suggested Specialisms: Several common skills, abilities or powers characters of the archetype usually have. You don’t have to take all three, or even any, of your specialisms from this list, but it’s a good starting point. In Domino Writing-style USR, a character’s combat skills are represented with their gear, so combat specialisms won’t be common. For example, an archer will have a Bow weapon rather than a Ranged Attack or Archery specialism. Also, Domino Writing-style USR doesn’t assign Specialisms to stats; you’ll have to do that yourself. I just represented supernatural powers as a Specialism, since USR has several different magic systems, which are worth looking at in another blog post.

Suggested Equipment: This includes weapons and armor, though you’ll have to decide on their value (Light/Medium/Heavy), depending on how you picture your character, and how many Combat Gear points you have available. It also includes signature tools of the trade, such as a spellbook or thief’s tools. It doesn’t include money; assume your character has enough “pocket change” or credit for any ordinary purchase, unless the GM says something different, of course. It also doesn’t include everything a character would be carrying (ordinary clothes, a bedroll, etc.), just the stuff that makes the character a hero.

Here’s a few examples, the classic “Big 4” races and classes, with a lot borrowed from Halberd.

Dwarf

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Mining, Brewing, Tough, Leadership, Appraise Valuables, Forge Weapons and Armor

Suggested Equipment: Battle Axe or War Hammer, Armor, Repair Tools, Mug of Ale

Elf

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Woods Lore, Magic Knowledge, Aloof, Move Silently, Alluring

Suggested Equipment: Long Bow, Cloak of Invisibility

Human

Primary Stat: Any

Suggested Specialisms: Blacksmithing, Inventing, Leadership, Persuasion, Trying New Things, Sailing, Riding, Driving

Suggested Equipment: none

Halfling

Primary Stat: Ego

Suggested Specialisms: Sneak, Hide, Charm, Bargain, Singing

Suggested Equipment: Short Sword, Food

Cleric

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Healing, Religion, Nature, Charisma, Inspiration

Suggested Equipment: Holy Symbol, Mace, Armor

Fighter

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Athletics, Strong, Military Tactics, Leadership, Intimidation, Riding

Suggested Equipment: Sword, Shield, Armor, Dagger, Crossbow

Rogue

Primary Stat: Action

Suggested Specialisms: Sneak, Climb, Escape, Disarm Trap, Pick Lock, Disguise, Charming

Suggested Equipment: Dagger, Thief’s Tools, Poison Vial

Wizard

Primary Stat: Wits

Suggested Specialisms: Spell-casting, Identify Magic Item, Monster Lore, History, Create Magical Item, Research

Suggested Equipment: Staff, Spellbook, Dagger

This is a starting point; there will be more archetypes to come, as we build up the range of settings available for USR.

Which archetypes have you created?