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I'm thinking of drafting a campaign based loosely around the plot of Earthbound. I've got four friends who've never played the game and I think it could make for an interesting tabletop campaign.
I'm curious how you Paizoans out there would fit this to mechanics. I've got a few options out there. First, an extremely short breakdown of the main characters:
Ness - Good at close combat with a baseball bat, but also able to use supportive PSI abilities and a single offensive PSI ability.
Paula - Powerful offensive PSI abilities, with a small number of supportive PSI powers.
Jeff - Child prodigy, extremely good with technology and gadgets.
Poo - Martial arts master, able to use limited PSI powers.
Now we have to keep in mind that these are all children. I could try this using Pathfinder rules, in which Ness would probably be a cleric, Paula a sorcerer (or psion if I want), Jeff could be an artificer or alchemist, and Poo would be a monk.
In that case, I would adopt the rules of whatever system we play to more closely resemble a videogame. For example, TPKs wouldn't happen, instead it would be Total Party Knock-Outs in which the group wakes up in a hospital bed, missing either XP, GP, or a little of both.
I'm also looking at the Grimm system. It has an assumed setting but I'm guessing I could adapt it. It assumes that all of the PCs are children, which is a plus. I'd have to look at the rules.
Anybody have any ideas for other possible systems that might fit the Earthbound world? I might make a (very rough and probably poorly formatted) PDF out of the adventure outline if there's any interest, and if I actually get around to doing the whole thing without getting distracted by some other campaign idea.
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To keep with the video game feel it might be worth going a little more rules-light. True20 is a pretty good system and it has good support for modern day stories. Its flexible enough to allow for the mixture of classes you are looking for, but is still familiar to those who have played other d20 rule systems.
Another possibility, but one that might take a bit more stretching of the rules, would be to use the WoD system. You could build the people as humans with their different focuses and add in magic through the Mage system.
Mutants and Masterminds for rules medium, PDQ for rules light.
It is based on d20 but does away with some of the granularity (goodbye AoO). In my opinion, it is still a very find cinematic system capable of handling non-super powered campaigns.
PDQ is more narrative oriented (why I often suggest it for rules-lite games) which boils conflict down to 2d6 plus modifiers. I believe it is very easy to learn despite the core, free rules being a little confusing (why I often suggest it for kids).
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Looking more into Mutants & Masterminds, as well as True20, and I'm having a hard time deciding. I think I'm going to pick the core rulebook up for both and see what I think, and go from there. I definitely think one or the other will fit, we shall see.
You may want to think about it in terms of whether or not you want a system where power is constantly rising (True20, level based) or where the power curve is relatively stable and the curve doesn't rise as fast (M&M, campaign power level based).
For people who are new to the hobby, or younger, the flat power curve of M&M may be easier to manage, and with the point based system all your character archetypes listed could be built without one outshining the other, and generally staying that way in the long run.
Using the non-lethal combat rules in M&M would also hit on your "everyone is knocked out" requirement.
SMAAA
I would suggest a somewhat simpler system than Pathfinder Core. If I had to choose one aspect that would be important, to me, in an "accurate" emulation of Earthbound, it would be the lack of tactical positioning (except for maybe for enemies forming lines or such). Less time thinking about moving and more deciding on a single action to take.
Earthbound is a RPG made by Nintendo.
It is strange game in a modern setting. I find it just a tad hard to describe aside from a RPG that emphasized some of the odd things in RPGs.
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What is "Earthbound"?
It's...
Odd?
A Japanese RPG series starring a band of child heroes and set in a cartoony, somewhat modern(a bit of an homage to 1950's America) setting where your primary weapons tend to be things like baseball bats and psychic powers.
One of the many possible random encounters is a hostile "New-Age Retro Hippy".
Notable for getting downright Lovecraftian out of NOWHERE. The final boss of the second game was based on the game director's traumatic experience as a small child involving
NO, REALLY.
But yeah, something rules light would be ideal, IMO. Savage Worlds is definitely a strong contender.
Thread Drift
You may want to think about it in terms of whether or not you want a system where power is constantly rising (True20, level based)…
To be fair, you could start the PCs at a set level in True20 and keep them there. It would deny them some branches of the feat trees but I believe that impact would be minimal.
Are you trying to keep the setting or the mechanics or both?
If you like the idea of kids running around in a dystopian future being bad@$$, consider Robert Bohl's "Misspent Youth." I'm not sure Grimm is going to do what you want it to, but not knowing your concept well, I can't say that with certainty. Also, consider BESM (Big Eyes, Small Mouth) for the same reason.
On the other hand, there a few mechanics that are decidedly Earthbound that you might want to hold onto. The rolling HP meter for one, which would then obviously require a system with HP. (Assume no matter how much damage you take, you only sustain say, 10 HP per round or something.) The SMAAAAAAAAAAASH and Pray options are also important, so a system with fun random effect tables are helpful too. Maybe steal some charts from old school TSR or Rifts for this?
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To be fair, you could start the PCs at a set level in True20 and keep them there. It would deny them some branches of the feat trees but I believe that impact would be minimal.
Ya, true enough. I was considering the idea that the players may like a little nugget of advancement, a point here and there, as they play from session to session.
Either way works though.
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jcarleski, I'm going to look into both of those games when I'm not quite so tired.
I am focusing mainly on keeping the setting and story. The game will be played in by people who have not played the game, specifically, a few friends of mine who have flaked out, forgotten, or outright objected to playing it, after months (years in some cases) of me insisting.
I do also want to keep mechanics, where applicable! Mechanics that come to mind: rolling HP, SMAAAAAAASH, Pray, lined-up combat, Jeff items, status ailments (like mushroomed, homesick, and crying), food/beverages restoring health/casting ability...can't think of any more off the top of my head.
I've been looking at some of the True20 mechanics and I really like the system. It's a contender. At this point, the big thing it has going against it is the lack of HP, and thus, lack of rolling HP. That is one mechanic I'd like to keep, but it isn't a dealbreaker. I think the rest of the mechanics I want could be created with minimal work.
Looking at Mutants and Masterminds, I'm suddenly not so sure. I'd definitely like some power advancement through the campaign, and the standard starting power level in M&M is way above what these kids would start at.
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As far as story is concerned, there will probably have to be at least one or two solo sessions with each player. I don' think that can be avoided.
However, I'm going to try to adjust so that as much as I can, no more than one character is missing from the party at a given point. If I can accomplish that, I'm going to have King, Ness' dog, accompany the party as an NPC that can be taken over by whichever player would otherwise be sitting out because their character is out of commission. Poo's player will probably have to get used to playing King for at least a few sessions.
Keep the ideas coming, the more that are put out there the more my creative juices get flowing.
M&M has an option for Hit Points in the Mastermind's Manual. I am not sure if you want to invest in yet another book just to get all the features you want. I imagine it would be easy enough to port that option to True20.
There is nothing that says you have to start a M&M game at PL10. In fact, from my limited experience with the PbP games on the Atomic Think Tank, I would say about 50% of the games there are not PL10. I am running a PL6 Cold War Espionage PbP on another board and next Friday I will be running a PL6 20's Gangster one shot for a co-worker.
I do not mean to sound like I am trying to sell the system.