Time to put my thinking cap on...
+Robin English-Bircher and I have been playing a weird little InuYasha-ish Japanese gods duet for a bit, but it seems to be coming to the end of its natural lifespan. Duet games tend to burn out really quickly -- at least, they do when I run them -- because the condensed nature of character growth and frequency of play just fast-forwards through the plot development. Now I need a new duet setting. We've played multiple The King is Dead duets and Robin (rightfully) wants something more romantic than giant monster fights, so I need to come up with some pitches:
Elminster's Ecologists
Genre: Fantasy
The Forgotten Realms' answer to Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin is a ragged team of druids and rangers who try to study animal-intelligence monsters and relocate them away from populated areas without resorting to using deadly force. (It wouldn't actually have anything to do with Elminster; the title's a pun off some supplements Greenwood wrote.)
Fab Flannel Five
Genre: Modern
What if Jem and the Holograms and Singles had a baby? A story about the glamorous side of rock stardom, full of improbable band battles and over-the-top melodrama, set to the soundtrack of our twenties. Between fighting their heroin addictions and saving whales, our Doc Martens-clad protagonists are winning surfing contests and solving crimes.
Pride and Kicking Ass
Genre: Wuxia
Pride and Prejudice set amidst the anachronistic, fantastical jianghu underworld of martial artists and vagabonds. “Elizabeth Bennett” is the daughter of a small-time -- but well-respected -- kung fu master. Her life is turned upside-down when "Mr. Bingley" arrives to take over his post as the Imperial governor, accompanied by the frustratingly accomplished martial artist "Mr. Darcy" and the dashing but ambitious military officer "George Wickham." (There might be hopping vampires and nine-tailed foxes, but I'm not sure.)
Princess Errant
Genre: Swashbuckling/Fantasy
In a vaguely 17th century fairy tale realm of elected royalty and anthropomorphic animal-people, the adopted daughter of Queen Freddie is about to embark on her Grand Tour. Duels will be fought, loves will be won and lost, and a princess will find her prince.
Scholomance
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Beyond the mundane realms lies a world of magic, liberal arts, and substance abuse. Borrowing the college-centric Setting Rules of East Texas University, this would eschew the Buffy-style grounding in realism for a college populated by vampires, werewolves, witches, and other monsters. Think Rosario + Vampire Goes to College.
Travis University
Genre: Modern Horror
Or we could take the ETU Player's Guide and use it to make up a "haunted UT" equivalent to ETU's "haunted A&M." It would have a better arts scene...
Elminster's Ecologists
Genre: Fantasy
The Forgotten Realms' answer to Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin is a ragged team of druids and rangers who try to study animal-intelligence monsters and relocate them away from populated areas without resorting to using deadly force. (It wouldn't actually have anything to do with Elminster; the title's a pun off some supplements Greenwood wrote.)
Fab Flannel Five
Genre: Modern
What if Jem and the Holograms and Singles had a baby? A story about the glamorous side of rock stardom, full of improbable band battles and over-the-top melodrama, set to the soundtrack of our twenties. Between fighting their heroin addictions and saving whales, our Doc Martens-clad protagonists are winning surfing contests and solving crimes.
Pride and Prejudice set amidst the anachronistic, fantastical jianghu underworld of martial artists and vagabonds. “Elizabeth Bennett” is the daughter of a small-time -- but well-respected -- kung fu master. Her life is turned upside-down when "Mr. Bingley" arrives to take over his post as the Imperial governor, accompanied by the frustratingly accomplished martial artist "Mr. Darcy" and the dashing but ambitious military officer "George Wickham." (There might be hopping vampires and nine-tailed foxes, but I'm not sure.)
Princess Errant
Genre: Swashbuckling/Fantasy
In a vaguely 17th century fairy tale realm of elected royalty and anthropomorphic animal-people, the adopted daughter of Queen Freddie is about to embark on her Grand Tour. Duels will be fought, loves will be won and lost, and a princess will find her prince.
Scholomance
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Beyond the mundane realms lies a world of magic, liberal arts, and substance abuse. Borrowing the college-centric Setting Rules of East Texas University, this would eschew the Buffy-style grounding in realism for a college populated by vampires, werewolves, witches, and other monsters. Think Rosario + Vampire Goes to College.
Travis University
Genre: Modern Horror
Or we could take the ETU Player's Guide and use it to make up a "haunted UT" equivalent to ETU's "haunted A&M." It would have a better arts scene...
I can see from your latest post that Princess Errant is probably winning out. But as someone with a biology background who works in conservation, I have to point out the sheer comedy potential of Elminster's Ecologists. The idea of trying to keep poachers out of an owlbear preserve, or convincing the local mages guild to stop dumping its alchemical waste on the ankheg breeding ground, kind of tickles my funny bone.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the sort of game for Fate, rather than D&D?
I know, right? It's a comedy goldmine! I wish I didn't have so much else on my plate or I'd run it for the local gaming group instead (though I think it would be extra-hilarious to try to run it with D&D).
ReplyDelete