What is needed to create a original role playing game? The answers can be multiple, because the inspirations can be infinite: whether it is for the game modes, for the tools, or maybe for the locations and the concept, the combinations depend only on the most vivid imagination. Hannah Shaffer for Damn the Man, Save the Music! he imagined a very particular situation, where the protagonists are characters who work inside a 90’s indie music store.
One step away from failure!
The situation the game puts us in is very simple in concept. A group of punk kids work inside a music store, outcasts, weirdos, but with their own peculiarities and defined personalities, with friendships or other relationships that have been created over time during their stay in the store.
The moment of judgment but it has arrived, the shop is one step away from final closureand the players, both the characters and the boss, will have to do the impossible in a last desperate attempt to save their jobs, and more.
Of course the characters will also have their own personal goalsmaybe work-related, maybe not, like an important relationship with another character, a future aspiration, or anything else you can think of.
How can the shop be saved? Use the last day of opening to lift things up, that of the signing of a copy rockstar in decline that you will have to try to please when it arrives. But there is much more behind it: the shop will be open for about 14 hoursfrom 10 in the morning to midnight, and during the day the tasks will be varied, from preparing the setting, to cleaning, to solving the various problems that will inevitably knock on the door, and obviously trying to sell as many records as possible. All this, always keeping in mind your personal goals.
A band of hearts and music
The game is created for 4 or 5 playerswhere one will have the role of Facilitator (i.e. the master who will manage the game and play the NPCs) while the others, 3 or 4 to choose from, will be the store’s employees. Revolution Records. The manual presents in a way clear and concise small lists, diagrams, and in-game examples that can help the Facilitator manage the game, and can always be kept on hand for consultation (the small size and brevity help a lot in this).
This concept also applies to character creationwhich in a few steps will be exactly as you want them, choosing age, archetypes, clothing, and songs (even fictitious ones). As already mentioned, they already know each other, so you can think quickly and in a not excessively detailed way, even about their relational background.
Obviously music will also have a central and fundamental role, not only for the Big Event (that of the declining rockstar), but also for start a conversationcreate a seight-distance running for the games. Remember that we are in the mid-90s, so it will be very important to be consistent with that, both for the genres of music and for the instruments.
Material and launches
The manual of Damn the Man, Save the Music! It’s not very long (we’re talking about a hundred pages), but it contains all the information you need to play: in addition to what we’ve told you about, there are some specific sectionsdedicated for example to how set a scenea glossary that explains in a few words roles, characters, objectives and terms, and of course the explanation of the launch mode of the dice (with d6 white And d6 black), and also of the character sheets. There are not an excessive amount of drawings, but the few that are there are pleasant to look at, which go well with the presence of numerous colored mirrors depending on the information.
In addition to the d6s, which will be 5 of each color per player, to prepare a game you will also need pencils, sheets of paper or post-its, and a deck of poker cards (excluding the jokers).
Obviously each player will have his own character sheet, and the Facilitator will have that of the Boss and the Big Shot.
Day X
A match complete It will last about 3 hoursand will take place in 3 acts. Act 1 is theopeningAct 2 is the Big Eventand Act 3 is the closure. The game will begin and end with a musical montage, while in the middle the shop’s problems will follow one another, which will get worse as the hours pass.
In each of the acts, the players will be protagonists of a scene: although other players may be present, only one player will be in the spotlight for that scene, and during that scene they can choose what to dowhether it’s carrying out his duties, or thinking about his personal interests, all while also deciding what type of approach to use. To resolve the actions of a scene, a roll of dicewhile to find out what problem is about to occur, some cards will be drawn cardsWhere depending on the seed and the number it will be possible create a new problem ad hoc.
End or new beginning?
The game will be completed at the end of the three acts, where with a closing scene players will find out – or maybe they already know – if their mission has been accomplished. Maybe the shop has blown its last note, but maybe your character has achieved his personal goal, maybe signing a contract, becoming the rock star’s assistant, taking over the boss’s job, or maybe seeing his love returned.
The events and their evolutions can be of any kind, and although the setting is in a certain sense already set, the possible scenarios which can be created, as well as epilogues, they are infinite. Will you be able to save the shop and at the same time realize your dream?
#Damn #Man #Save #Music #Review #RPG #Punks