Hello fine folks.
I'm workshopping a game in which my players will play a group of Japanese school kids on a field trip who all get killed by a mysterious figure....only to be reborn in another world. A world that's suspiciously like a game some of them have played....
So far on top of customised stereotypical backgrounds I've got a divine boon system going where each player can pick a minor boon and a major boon
Minor boons list:
Uncommon ancestry
Uncommon item (like guns or a rare non magic weapon)
Add 2 uncommon level 1 spells to spell book
Add 2 uncommon level 1 rituals to spell book
Take -2 to one ability score instead of 2 for the drawback option.
Major Boon list:
Rare ancestry
Rare non magic item
A relic to be discussed with gm
A unique power (focus spell to be discussed with gm)
No drawbacks for the ability score option (so essentially a free ability boost)
I've also allowed free archetype from a set list that will be flavored as "class change" in game.
The world is homebrew but the deities aren't.
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:
I'd want to hear your takes on cool ways you can take typical Isekai tropes and implement them in game, either through subsystems or actual systems or anything like that.
I also want to have a quest board and I'm currently trying to find a couple of fun low level quests that have that Isekai or MMORPG "feel" to make it authentic.
Anything you post will be welcomed, thanks for anyone who participates !
Good note about the boon system.
Basically this is just me saying "don't bother me about uncommon and rare things including ancestries!! " I agree that those accesses are not as good as, you know, a freaking relic! So when someone invariably asks me about playing a skeleton, my answer can be "but how much do you reaaaaalllly" want it.
Good note about the leadership system!! I could work that into like maybe even a "guild" system like in SAO
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My favorite take on Isekai is Tron-like : the new world is actually a computer game. Here, the PCs' lives are the number of Dying/Wounded stages they have left. And the PCs can see those.
Abilities that let you get Trained (or proficient) in a different thing as part of your daily preparations are actually equipping a new boon / skillsoft on your computer character.
Real fast and in no particular order:
Goal is to be light hearted fun until it gets real, REAL gritdark, main inspiration I think for this would be Konosuba: god's blessing on this wonderful world.
I have this idea in my head of having one of the cities on second or third part (so levels 5-11) be a massive mobile megadungeon fortress that attacks their city and kills a lot of their friends, I just need to make them emotionally invested in the NPC's first.
For unique class updates/spells: That's a decent idea, I might tie it behind reputation though, maybe make a ''mage guild'' ''druid circle'' High priests'' , ''Occultist guilds'' and ''Fighter's guild '' and ''Rogue's guild'' factions or somesuch (maybe not as clearcut, maybe organisations that typically draw these) and then have uncommon and rare spells feats and rituals be locked behind reputation with these factions, using the reputation system. I could make my sidequests issued by one of these factions to increase reputation with them, which in turn would provide access to these locked ressources.
Cursed items: yup!
Auto scaling items: I like the idea... I wanted relics to be that way anyways but every day item is something to be thought about....
Whispering: Sounds good ! I'll make sure to allow it.
Computer game: Indeed, that warrants explanation, but I'm not so sure... the secret behind everything is that one of the PC's accidently summoned the demon lord who killed them and then made a wish to it, hence why the game is called: Anata Ga Nozomu: Be careful what you wish for, life in another world.
It'd be hard to plug a tron like idea into this, but thanks for the suggestion !
On class change (sorry i tried editing but paizo crashed on me)
It's a good idea and I hadn't thought about it, definitely has a ''rising of shield hero'' or ''Trials of Mana'' vibe to it, which I like.
I also have 3 players new to TTRPG (2 of them ran a Dungeons and Disney one shot with me in 5e a year back) so this might reduce decision paralysis.
Yah well they've told me they were willing to put in the work, and they're all fans of the anime genre.
Fingers crossed it won't be a train wreck !
Various things about isekai....
- Almost always, everyone gets a cheat from the beginning, and *those cheats keep mattering*. Like, either the starter cheat they have evolves into being an even better cheat or it reveals some new important aspect later on or they can somehow leverage their initial unfair advantage into being an even more unfair advantage or whatever.
- If you want a nice, solid, classic way to run this? The fact that the players are PCs *is* their primary cheat. First of all, they're aware of their character sheet in-character, and they're making their level-up decisions in-character. Second, no one else has this "system". Generally, to go from the equivalent of 1st level to the equivalent of 5th level, someone should expect to have to spend years in training. The fact that the PCs can do it over the course of a few weeks by murdering level-appropriate threats should be highly unusual.
- It can be unusual in one of two ways. Either no one in this world has ever heard of isekai anything, and their sheer rate of improvement is an Out of Context Problem for basically everyone they encounter, or it's totally the sort of thing that happens from time to time, and random villagers out in the middle of nowhere will immediately know that "5 teenagers wearing funny clothing appear out of nowhere" means that within a year or two (if they survive) they're going to be able to challenge the gods themselves. They will react accordingly.
I've been working some more on this campaign, I'm starting to have a nice story arc for the first of 6 parts, with the Bosse being a wandering black dragon that's a Herald of a common Mook to be faced later on in the story.
I'm trying to find 6 monsters that would make good "generals for the demon king"
So far on themes I have:
2 of them would ideally be twins of some sort, as I'm not putting an act boss in the first chapter, then the others would have to be:
The twins would be levels 8-10, another level 12-14, another level 16-19, and the last two levels 20-22, with the last boss being Treerazer in this scenario (maybe I'll modify the stat block) as the 7th and final one.
Any suggestions for good "general" quality villains would be amazing.
One of them could be a dragon lord of some kind ? Maybe a dragon rider? Maybe a dragon itself ? Any suggestions of cool monsters are appreciated.
Yah well they've told me they were willing to put in the work, and they're all fans of the anime genre.
Fingers crossed it won't be a train wreck !
I've only seen this concept be train wrecks.
However they're also generally a blast.
Eh, we'll see, I usually have a good track record :-)
For the twins, you could go with the classic Red Oni/Blue Oni thing, where they're linked but with opposing powersets and personalities. Even better if they have combo attacks and/or can fusion dance. Sadly, I don't know nearly enough about the available monsters out there to suggest one.
For the twins, you could go with the classic Red Oni/Blue Oni thing, where they're linked but with opposing powersets and personalities. Even better if they have combo attacks and/or can fusion dance. Sadly, I don't know nearly enough about the available monsters out there to suggest one.
That's actually a great idea !
I could modify two Onidoshi to make them fit that theme! One would have cold, the other fire, and they would have dance attacks.
EDIT: Or I could bump them to being the level 14 ones and have them be a fire Yai and an Ice Yai.
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Fir isekai, it's definitely worth considering some sort of demon-summoner character where the real challenge is the demons they keep calling forth. At bare minimum, you need to have *someone* out there throwing around Horrible Rituals
A heroic character (ideally a sword-wielding female paladin in full plate) who's either an innocent (but utterly convinced) dupe, affected by some manner of mind control, or driven by a rigid code of honor to do things that they do not wish to do is also a classic.
Having one boss who's an infiltrator type who isn't revealed as a villain until very close to the end is also generally pretty cool. You don't even need to have the final battle there be a battle. You can have it be a social engagement where you have to fight them in their area of expertise - either identifying them or convincing others not to believe them or whatever.
For another great one, having the actual ruler (or at least the person who legitimately holds the temporary regency) of their starter kingdom be a miniboss villain is a great one, especially if they start out seeming reasonable and helpful and good and whatever villainous flaws they have only come out later. Remember, not all minibosses need to work for the main boss directly. Some can be major threats that have to be dealt with for entirely different reasons.
"Mad Druid" is another decent one, especially if they can hide their madness long enough to run around planting fast-growing Ent Seeds or toxic pollen plants or whatever, so that they can have instant army and chaos as soon as they make their move. This works well as someone who had some sort of legitimate grievance against whoever they're attacking already, and then was manipulated by some more horrible villain into taking it Way Too Far. If the next major villain is the person sitting on the throne, that even makes it really easy to justify the legitimate grievance. This one is nice because there's a pretty wide range of places you can put the "how evil is this person" indicator.
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I'm taking some notes from this.
I think my second city will be the trade metropolis, so a high level settlement with a complex political system nicknamed "the city of intrigue"
It'll go from the happy go lucky beginner's city that's very adventurer geared to a sprawling city where adventurers have to negotiate patron relations and court intrigue to even get jobs.
The demon kings general introduced in this one will be the lowest ranking of the generals, but the most devious one. A succubus pretending to be a half elf who holds high office and several committee positions that grind government to a halt over most issues.
On top of that, she'll have a pact with a troll king who is gathering troops and monsters in the sewers to raze the city, but the council can't agree on what to do about him. I'm hoping she can get in the party's good graces and really backstab them good.
3rd chapter will be in the technological city and will involve two twin onis who have redirected a gigantic walking fortress that is slowly gearing towards the city and must be stopped. The party will have to infiltrate the giant fortress by entering it through a door under one of its foots, and then do a race agaisnt the clock to make it to the center of the megadungeon inside to confront the two Oni twins that are controlling it. I will have a teleport puzzle in there using monks active tiles in foundry VTT.
4-5 are still open, 6 is gonna involve massive army combat to reach the demon king.
For chapter 1 I added an obstacle course that will be the new players "tutorial" moment and also serve as a way to introduce the adventurers guild.
Feel free to pitch me more ideas I'm loving it :-)
An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
Oh yeah, definitely no slaves and no harems either.
I'm unsure about other Isekai yet.... The campaign revolves around one of the PC's actually wishing to be in this world through a miscommunicated wish... So I'm thinking maybe the demon king created the entire world ? So then no other Isekai as the world is technically made for them.
But also other Isekai might be fun.
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An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
Oh yeah, definitely no slaves and no harems either.
I'm unsure about other Isekai yet.... The campaign revolves around one of the PC's actually wishing to be in this world through a miscommunicated wish... So I'm thinking maybe the demon king created the entire world ? So then no other Isekai as the world is technically made for them.
But also other Isekai might be fun.
Having the Demon King (their final adversary) create the entire world for their amusement is kind of a feelsbad moment, because it asserts that nothing they did actually matters, even in the context of the game. It gets even worse if defeating the demon king rolls everything back up and ends the world while depositing them back where they came from.
On the flip side, having the Demon King know just enough about them being isekai to lie about it makes a lot of sense. "If you take me out now, the world ends. On the other hand, you can let all of these people you've come to care for continue to exist as long as you fight me but never truly end me." It's a great last-ditch line for a guy who doesn't want to be murdered by adventurers.
Hmmmmm I really like that, and it enables me to tip toe that line during the game if the players ask themselves "is this even real!!"
An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
I'm not saying this isn't true, but as someone who enjoys a fair amount of anime (some of which falls in the Isekai genre) I'm curious if you have examples because none are jumping to mind.
I'm not saying this isn't true, but as someone who enjoys a fair amount of anime (some of which falls in the Isekai genre) I'm curious if you have examples because none are jumping to mind.An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
Rising of the Shield Hero is the big one, but I do like browsing TV Tropes and it's a trend I've noticed when looking at the pages of Isekai Anime.
How not to summon a demon Lord also have a bunch of waifus who consider being enslaved to diablo like the next best thing to sliced bread.
Watching black summoner now, he just bought a slave girl as well.
Examples of the first or second part?I'm not saying this isn't true, but as someone who enjoys a fair amount of anime (some of which falls in the Isekai genre) I'm curious if you have examples because none are jumping to mind.An uncomfortable number of Isekai stories involve the protagonists buying and owning slaves. Maybe don't use that trope.
On a different note, are the PCs the first characters to be reincarnated into this world? Perhaps certain beings might make note of previous reincarnators who have failed before.
Examples regarding isekai anime protagonists being involved with slavery
Forgive me if someone has mentioned it already, but from the posts I've read I didn't see anything about it:
Appraise/Status windows are a major trope for a host of Isekai.
So maybe modify Recall checks to open up windows showing actual stats instead of being "things I've read about" could work.
Make it that higher proficiency rank opens up those windows even more or something as well.
I've actually already created the scan/conceal cantrips.
Scan is a 1 action divination cantrip that tells you a targets level race and class, at higher levels it can give you bonuses to RK checks.
Conceal is a cantrip with a duration of "until next daily preparation" that counteracts the scan cantrip automatically. At level 5 you can cast it on 6 creatures.
Both are in all spell lists.
Tell me if you'd make some modifications to those, and sorry I hadn't mentionnés them, I'm working on building first part (levels 1-5 culminating in a small black dragon ultimate boss fight in the dragons cave)
I'm also toying with a re:zero mechanic for at least the first chapter since I want some of the encounters to be pretty deadly and have some zones that are "strongly discouraged" from them, but if they ignore the warnings they can go and get killed "safely".
Basically if they tpk they'd respawn at an earlier point and remember their deaths.
Not sure if that would encourage recklessness though.
As an exemple: I've made cost of living pretty hefty (1 so per night for the communal rooms where I'll roll every night to see if they get items stolen, 1gp per night for lockable rooms, 5 go per night for suites) to discourage them from having one fight a day but also to encourage them to take the level 2 quest that would provide them free housing for 3 months.
I fully expect them to then say "well we're going to go sleep in the wilds then!" And then at the gates guards would suggest strongly they don't since only adventurers of iron rank or higher (level 3) are technically allowed in the wilds. If they ignore that, they get two rolls on the random encounter table per night, with creatures around levels 3-5, and a prowling rookie killer (dweomercat) that's level 7.
So there's a very real possibility that they might start the game, stubbornly go camp outside the walls, and get killed in the middle of the night by a teleporting murder cat.
I'm also toying with a re:zero mechanic for at least the first chapter since I want some of the encounters to be pretty deadly and have some zones that are "strongly discouraged" from them, but if they ignore the warnings they can go and get killed "safely".
Basically if they tpk they'd respawn at an earlier point and remember their deaths.
Not sure if that would encourage recklessness though.
Have it happen, let it encourage recklessness, and then (if they've actually made use of it) have it taken away brutally in a tonal shift at the climax of act 1 (complete with the pertinent NPC dying) as minions of the Demon Lord detected their meddling. If they didn't make use of it, then the NPC wishes them a cheery farewell, and warns them to be careful because once they leave that starting area, said NPC can no longer protect them.
I really like the idea of the "1 reset" as a sort of divine boon.
Maybe from shyka ? Or just "the pantheon" which has been set up as a platform.
Btw would there be interest in having access to this campaign? I'm building it all in foundry, with mostly self drawn maps and some mods, all my custom monsters and npcs and organisations and quests are there too.
It'd be easy for me to set it up on my cloud next to my iron gods conversion that's already accessible.