If I build a crazy RPG, will players here actually play it?

[MooCow]

I rarely finish what I start, but I figured I'd give up early if there's no chance that I'll get any players to play it.

Is there any interest for the following:
- A dice-less, rule-less Call of Cthulhu like CoreRPG setting, without any allowed combat or uncivilized behavior on the highbrow PCs part. Fairly railroady, with the exception of player choice, since I just get to decide what happens as consequence.
- A trippy CoreRPG Sword & Sorcery game where the characters eat strange monster babies and throw metaphysical dice at monsters as forms of attack, redefining the very meaning of "violence".

[Valyar]

Nope.

[MooCow]

A rather short answer.

Could you check the things that apply in this list?
- There's a general lack of players here.
- Players don't like diceless systems.
- Players like rules.
- Players like combat and violence / uncivilized behavior.
- Players prefer to play established professional game-systems.
- Players don't like weird, trippy games.
- Players find eating weird monster babies to be too gross.
- Players don't like to wield metaphysical dice as strange "weapons".

I've been suffering through lots of RPGs for 20 years, and I like my ideas better, so it would be weird if there wasn't at least some appeal. There's basically only a handful of settings in RPGs: Futuristic, post-catastrophy, medieval, contemporary, and some portal games that try to blend them all together. I'd welcome something new and different at this point.

[Valyar]

All right, I will be more verbose on this topic.

Your option 1 is basically a book (or audio book as you will be narrating it during a game session). Just because you will allow choices for players to influence a story, it does not mean it is a game. No combat, no rules, railroads and basically stripped down version of "Chose your own adventure" gamebooks. I am also not fan of free-form roleplaying games where GMs and Players decides arbitrary without common baseline what happens and how. This is not fun at all and will lead to frustration. Also in a group, different players get their kick from different things - one from combat, another from story or from mix of those and etc. You take almost all of components that might keep a group together and replace with things that are not really good replacement. I know people that like to be spectators and slightly participate when necessary, maybe those are your target audience. All I said is subjective, you might find people who are going to be fascinating by such game, but not me. I want to be active participant, not spectator.

On your second option - I don't see the selling point here, why I should eat baby monster in game to throw a dice... is this some Pokemon thing or what?

On the items you listed:
- There's a general lack of players here. <- No, there are a lot of players, just people who are active on the forums are less than those that play
- Players don't like diceless systems. <- I have no problem with the system being diceless, if there is another way to decide what happens when there is challenge or opposed check that is not arbitrary and to the whims of someone.
- Players like rules. <- yes, because this is what prevents the game to go into free-form chaos and lack of fun due to that.
- Players like combat and violence / uncivilized behavior. <- Players also like to make smart choices that allow them to win without combat. Therefore this is not valid statement.
- Players prefer to play established professional game-systems. <- yep, I don't like homebrew stuffs that are in the head of someone with close to nothing written down and explained.
- Players don't like weird, trippy games. <- depends on the presentation.
- Players find eating weird monster babies to be too gross. <- no issues with that.
- Players don't like to wield metaphysical dice as strange "weapons". <- what?

[RunningHill]

"A dice-less, rule-less Call of Cthulhu like CoreRPG setting" - yes this could be interesting
"without any allowed combat or uncivilized behavior on the highbrow PCs part. Fairly railroady, with the exception of player choice, since I just get to decide what happens as consequence." - but no this is not interesting.

For the second example I just haven't been on any acid trip ever and can't see any of it as any fun. But there are some computer games that have found some success with this kind of theme so you might get some players together for a oneshot.

[MooCow]

Thank you for answering all my questions, at least from your perspective. I appreciate it.

[seycyrus]

Thank you for answering all my questions, at least from your perspective. I appreciate it.

Out of curiosity, would YOU like to play in such a game? Have you played in such games? ho did they turn out?

[MooCow]

Out of curiosity, would YOU like to play in such a game? Have you played in such games? ho did they turn out?

I've never played in any such games - I think my ideas are unique - but when I design a game, I of course design them to be fun to play, at least for me.

I've struggled for years to implement a good dice system into Call of Cthulhu, but right after coming up with a really awesome system, I realized that CoC isn't like other games. If played like Lovecraft intended it to be played, it's the exception, that doesn't benefit from dice or rules at all. I went through every single skill and attribute in the rulebook, and none of them had any value. I've also spent a few years as a teenager, GMing a diceless, ruleless system, and my two players seemed to like it just fine.

I've heard the argument that it will just be a CYOA before. Many players are adamant about this, just as I'm adamant about dicerolls sowing chaos and completely ruining the immersive experience. To me dicerolls are like throwing the campaign up into the air and seeing how many times you can hit it with a gun before it falls to the floor. I think DnD ruined the legacy for actual roleplaying.

[MooCow]

"A dice-less, rule-less Call of Cthulhu like CoreRPG setting" - yes this could be interesting
"without any allowed combat or uncivilized behavior on the highbrow PCs part. Fairly railroady, with the exception of player choice, since I just get to decide what happens as consequence." - but no this is not interesting.

I find it odd how everybody enjoy the literary works of Lovecraft, and even the fan spinoffs, yet when it comes to roleplaying, there's this pervasive idea that it's supposed to be about gambling all of a sudden. ...but whatever. We're different.

For the second example I just haven't been on any acid trip ever and can't see any of it as any fun. But there are some computer games that have found some success with this kind of theme so you might get some players together for a oneshot.

Silent Hill is a popular franchise where weirdness just makes it better. I was thinking my second idea to be a mix between Conan, Silent Hill, and *** Simulator.
I stay away from dr*gs altogther, and I've never been h*gh. Maybe that's why I'm designing trippy games instead.

[LordEntrails]

There are lots of players here, and many that like to try new things. If you do put together one of those games, you'll want to present it very differently. Make sure you do something that gives the potential players a hook, and a feel for what it will be like. Good luck.