Name This Game: Post-Apoc Mythos-Punk

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:27 pm

I'm writing a quick RPG for a contest (the deadline is the 20th), and I'm stumped for a title.

The basic premise is that the "apoc" in post-apoc was caused by a mass invasion of otherworldly Lovecraftian Horrors. The big Horrors ate up most of humanity, then, satiated, departed through the underwater gates through which they'd come. But they left behind many thousands of survivors scattered all over the Earth -- the crumbs left over from their meal, essentially -- along with thousands of smaller Horrors who stuck around to claim the table scraps.

It's been discovered that grafting parts of these Horrors to yourself confers some of the Horrors' powers, such as supernatural strength or toughness. Doing so also heals any injury -- as long as the patient is even barely alive, a graft will bring him back in a hurry -- so for many survivors in the post-apoc landscape, grafts have been a grim necessity if they want to stay alive. It's amazingly easy to transplant these grafts, almost alarmingly so. Stick a severed tentacle to the stump of your severed arm, and it'll do most of the work on its own. They almost seem eager, in fact.

However, grafts come at a hefty cost (besides hunting down Horrors for harvest, that is): The more you have, the less human you are. The game has two main stats, Human Nature and Horrific Nature. As one goes up, the other goes down. If your Human Nature goes down to zero, you're officially one of them. But some people are cool with toeing the line. They just want the power, or they're out of their minds, or they think the Horrors are the next evolutionary step, or all three. A lot of those people are at least as dangerous as the Horrors themselves, but there are those who manage to balance Horrific power and sanity. While the old world economy is a thing of the past, there's a thriving trade in Horror parts.

The players are a band of survivors trying to make their way through this Horror-stricken wasteland. They might fight against the Horrors or roving gangs of cannibals, or harvest Horror parts for fun and profit, or whatever. You get the idea.

What do I call it?

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:48 pm

Devlin1's World of Darkness
Age of Horrors
Mirror of Humanity
Horrors: The Insanity
Lost Tomorrow

... I got nothing

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:08 pm

After the Nightmare
The Hell-lands (which would be what people call the wastelands)
Legends of Humanity

I don't know.

-Chris

Dragonkin · Post by **Dragonkin** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:01 pm

Becoming Cthulu

Children of Azathoth

Ulthar's Failure

Hastur's Corruption

Aaaaaaaaand . . . I'm spent.

Sven · Post by **Sven** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:37 pm

Ichor

or alternatively:

ICHORror

jimmy corrigan · Post by **jimmy corrigan** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:38 pm

either:
exquisite corpse
or
expectations are important

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:04 pm

After Cthulhu
Of Mythos and Men
Transhuman Cthulhu

Naming things is hard. Also, there should totally be a race of sentient Beetles.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:01 pm

The Taint of Time
Meek shall inherit
Beyond the end of time
To be or not to be
The Cthulhu Crux
GReat Expectations

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:10 pm

The Forgotten World
The Abandoned Earth
Those Left Behind

-Chris

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:58 pm

~~[quote="jimmy corrigan"]~~
expectations are important[/quote]

Winner.

Thanks for playing, everyone.

No, seriously, thanks for all the suggestions. I still have some time left to think about it, so if anything else comes to you over the next few days, post away.

SpaceMonkey · Post by **SpaceMonkey** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:50 am

Horrible Humanity

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:26 am

Shadows of Apocalypse
Shadows of Humanity
Survivors
Wasetland Warriors
Days of Mythos Past

-Chris

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:22 pm

FUBAR
When Humanity Hits the Fan
The Foresaken

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:15 pm

Leftovers

-Chris

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 5:06 pm

~~[quote="BlanchPrez"]~~Leftovers

-Chris[/quote]

Chris my friend...YOU...R...A...Genius. This gets my vote

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 5:40 pm

Yeah, I like "Leftovers" too. Very good. Also sounds "indie"...

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:23 pm

I know this is going to sound like total bullshit from an arrogant fucking asshole, but Leftovers occurred to me, too. It's really good if I go with a more darkly humorous angle. I think the odds of that are pretty high, since I can't really see me being deadly-serious for more than a few paragraphs, let alone a few pages.

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:06 pm

To me, Leftovers has that Twilight Zone "It's a cookbook!" feeling to it. It's good.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:00 am

Very Twillight Zone indeed

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:56 am

Well, given that I came up with that same name independently of you, it seems like confirmation that this is the name of the game. It's too perfect not to use. Go for it. :)

-Chris

Sadohara · Post by **Sadohara** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:54 am

Actually, even though it doesn't convey the setting itself, I like the title of one of the stats: Human Nature.

Also:

Slice
Graft
Wither (or Whither), as in Whither/Wither Humanity
After
P.S.

That's all I got.

DAW

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:39 pm

Something else I'd thought of for fans of Palladium's TMNT RPG (of which I am not one): After the Ftaghn. I wouldn't actually use it; I just think it's funny.

Human Nature appeals to me, too, although you're right, it's not especially evocative of the setting. I mean, it sort of is, but it feels unfair to give Horrific Nature such short shrift.

smartmonkey · Post by **smartmonkey** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:49 pm

Tribe 7.

Oh, shit, wait.

I like simple, single word titles. Graft, for example, might work well.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:02 pm

Good to hear from ya Morgan

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:46 pm

So! Update.

I went with Leftovers, and the finished version (or at least the one I submitted) is available here, in case anyone wants to check it out.

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. After one round of judging (out of three), I'm in first place, so woot!

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:05 pm

Cool! Good luck!

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:08 pm

Yes Good Luck...love the title

SpaceMonkey · Post by **SpaceMonkey** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:01 am

"The stars were right" - Haha, i love it.

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:15 pm

~~[quote="dnd3eplayer"]~~"The stars were right" - Haha, i love it.[/quote]

I thought that was great myself.

Good luck to you, Mike! It looks like a great game, and I can't wait to play it at Hyphen-Con.

-Chris

jimmy corrigan · Post by **jimmy corrigan** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 11:49 pm

rock on! good luck, brah.

Count Zero · Post by **Count Zero** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:24 pm

So I am looking at participating in one of the other game design contests. Based on some of the design requirements I was looking at designing a game with this concept.

Humanity achieved its greatest achievement: Unified Field Theory. It was also their undoing. For some unknown reason, humanity understanding the very foundation of the universe caused the universe to unravel. As the universe collapsed, scientists realized that places that resisted the unraveling, were also the same places where science and reason seemed the most prevalent. Places filled with superstition and religion were the first to go. Now things of fantasy are pouring into the last bastions of human reality.

Now all that remains as a bulwark against the destruction of reality is a determined group of scientists whose job is to go to those places threatened with ceasing to exist, and convince the people of the area that all of these monsters and superstitions aren't scientifically possible.

The players take on the role of those scientists. I was thinking of calling the game "Reality: Check".

Opinions?

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:32 pm

I'm not sure I get it. So, the object of the game is to go into fantasy worlds and convince people that the fantasy aspects of the world don't really exist.

My problem is this concept is too over the top. My question is, is this a game you would want to play and why. What makes this fun?

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:10 pm

~~[quote="Count Zero"]~~So I am looking at participating in one of the other game design contests. [/quote]
Which of those fairly baffling images are you using? I like the themes, but the images feel like a necessary evil.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:07 pm

BTW, I'm going to be developing Leftovers further on Roll Some Dice, an RPG blog I just started the other day. It's for all of my non-FATE RPG ideas, which is most of them.

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:46 pm

I just finished reading Leftover and so far I like what I read. I look forward to giving it a spin and following the blog.

I really like the parts about the relationships and harming them when combined with your horrific stat.

I also like how you can instantly heal yourself by gaining a new Graft.

The only part that confused me was the healing chart. It looks like you have number of wounds listed twice so you could probably just write it like this:

1 W = Diff 10
2 W = Diff 19
3 W = Diff 32
4 W = Diff 55
5 W = Diff 84

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:21 pm

The more wounded you are, the harder it is to heal any of your Wounds. So if you only have 1 Wound, you only need a 10 to heal it, but if you have 5 Wounds, you need a 28 to heal 1 Wound. I want recovering from injuries to be a real pain in the ass.

Thanks for the feedback! Glad you like it. If you do give it a shot, definitely let me know how it plays, because... uh... I haven't experienced that yet myself.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:51 pm

BTW, the third and final judge dropped out of Game Fu, so... I win by default! First judge had me in first, second had me tied for first, so I eek out a win with two points on the closest competition.

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:15 pm

Huh. I saw you were in the lead after the first two rounds. Did the third judge give a reason why he pussed out?

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:32 pm

~~[quote="mordraine"]~~Huh. I saw you were in the lead after the first two rounds. Did the third judge give a reason why he pussed out?[/quote]

Fuckin' life or some shit like that.

jimmy corrigan · Post by **jimmy corrigan** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:22 pm

right on, brosef! that is awesome. get that shit published.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:29 pm

Fantastic! I find the third judges lack of faith disturbing... *pinches thumb and index fingers together*...alas it now means nothing. You were so awsome he/she could not deal with the after glow.

As JC said...get it published baby

Count Zero · Post by **Count Zero** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:46 pm

~~[quote="devlin1"]~~Which of those fairly baffling images are you using? I like the themes, but the images feel like a necessary evil.[/quote]

I was going to use image 6 and the Last Outpost Theme

Count Zero · Post by **Count Zero** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:57 pm

~~[quote="cczernia"]~~I'm not sure I get it. So, the object of the game is to go into fantasy worlds and convince people that the fantasy aspects of the world don't really exist.

My problem is this concept is too over the top. My question is, is this a game you would want to play and why. What makes this fun?[/quote]

Actually, it isn't a fantasy world. It is our world. Think of the idea as more of a post-apocalyptic game. Basically, the world is in ruins except for those last few bastions of reason. Basically, I am looking at the idea of reason being the "real world" rather than the constant theme of "the shadow world" such as World of Darkness, and similar games.

I do have concerns that the concept won't work as a game. I was looking at games like esoterrorists, and thinking it could be an investigation style game. I am thinking about damage being your acceptance of science and reason. As you begin to doubt, you become vulnerable to the "things that shouldn't be."

Just like any investigation game, it is fun because of the mystery. So the game really revolves around investigating what is going on, and proving that it is impossible. Imagine the X-files in reverse, where Scully is the hero.

Also, will it be fun to play? Not sure. It is just a really rough concept. Sometimes you have to go down a design path and see if it works. It might fail completely, but you don't know until you try. I can always pull design elements from it for a different game.