Well, I saw "Transformers" suggested in a topic about games people would be interested in, and my brain randomly spun off a game. I haven't been able to stop trying to refine the idea, so I might as well see if it sparks any interest.

First off, I'd be using Powered by the Apocalypse for the system- specifically Worlds in Peril as a base, a supers game whose systems do a lot to facilitate what I'm aiming for with this. That said, if you're not familiar with the system, or the specific game, don't worry. It's a system very friendly to new players and a fairly simple one, and I'd be happy to help anyone through it, particularly since I'm likely going to be hacking some things to fit the concept a little better.

On the other hand, if you're not very familiar with Transformers... well, neither am I. I'll get to that in a minute, and it's part of why this isn't already in a Player's Wanted topic.

Here's the pitch:

In a metropolitan city (perhaps even city-state) an intentionally vague time into the future (perhaps a few decades), reasonably normal people go about their lives in an increasingly tense state of affairs. An economic crisis (of as-yet undefined nature, but likely involving skyrocketing fuel prices and the first signs of a looming energy crisis) combined with a less mundane net of corruption where both individuals and groups ranging from businesses to criminal gangs and law enforcement have been showing up with stark technological advances that no one has offered any concrete explanation for, but which the perspective (and numerous conspiracy theorists) have begun to associate with unexplained absence from work and everyday affairs.

The reality is that Decepticon remnants who've been in hiding on the planet for some time have become active and begun to build a power base in the city, seeking out people falling into desperation as a result of either the broader crisis or their personal ones, and offering minor technological wonders to solve their problems, in a city where even law enforcement and first responder groups are struggling to maintain the resources they need to function. These always come with a catch, and usually more than one. They're often either fueled by energon, and therefore requiring a continued relationship with the mysterious entity that granted them, or designed based on alien technologies that come with subtle consequences. The details vary, but these are always used in some way to deepen the Decepticon foothold, whether directly or by advancing a state of chaos and desperation they can continue to leverage, all without revealing their nature or presence in a public way.

As subtle as this activity is, however, it's been enough to catch your attention. Whether you're a passing patrol or private crew, or you've been stationed/stranded on the planet for years in hiding, and how much contact you have with a higher power is something that would be determined in character creation. But whatever the reason, you're here now- and you're in over your head. You don't have the resources the Decepticons have amassed, the base of power and security they've established, or the connections with the locals (covert or otherwise). From one perspective, it might be said that you have to start playing their game with a late start, possibly employing similar tactics- but that's on you. This is a city divided, with years of crime and corruption layered on by the Decepticons, and you need allies, and a cover. Are you the sleek motorcycle that reckless teenager is so excited about, or the police vehicle carrying the very investigator responsible for following up on your case, who's trying desperately to strike a balance between doing their job and accepting your aid in saving lives? Are you a taxi spying on the airwaves and ferrying people- without their knowledge or consent- to where you think they need to be? Maybe you're something stranger- a partly-biological transformer using a size-shifted beast form to conceal yourself as a pet or wild animal, or a human-sized Pretender attempting a more ambitious level of espionage?

And when you aren't simultaneously fighting your secret war, getting caught up in fights, conspiracies, and politics that shouldn't involve you, and asking yourself just what your life will be in this environment, and what your role will be in this society- these are questions I've begun to really want to see answered.


The reason I'm looking to the Worlds in Peril system for this is because of the flexibility of its drama-based powers system (which isn't really a game mechanic at all, but a narrative one), and the depth of its Bonds system. It's designed to emulate a game where superheroes have to take their secret identities (or at least their "normal" lives, whatever that means for them) seriously. At the beginning of the game, a balance is struck between the number of Bond points a character receives and the number of specific powers they start with. Each Bond is a numerical rating representing your relationship to a person, entity, or nebulous concept like "The Past." These include other players, NPCs, "The City," Law Enforcement, and whatever else you deem appropriate. It's also a numerical currency you can spend to guarantee a higher level of success on a roll (which can be particularly important when you're making the Push move, which allows you to expand your powerset, with an incorporated gamble between how easy you want it to be to perform later if you succeed and how much harm you suffer if you fail), at the cost of being bound to play out a scene either immediately or in the near future where your relationship with that subject is jeopardized in some way. It's also how you recover from major injuries and conditions that take time to heal- you use the "Fit in" move to play out a scene with a subject of your bond, which can sometimes lead to new troubles or a new plot hook. This fits in well with having to manage relationships with human allies to survive and find the leverage you need to be a challenger to the established Decepticons.

I'll likely try to find some way to revamp the progression system, because it's both very genre-specific and feels very much like a set of checkboxes to fill out.

I'm also thinking of including aspects of the faction-level surplus and needs system from the recently released Legacy: Life Among the Ruins, mostly for my purposes behind the scenes to keep up with the interplay of what different groups are doing and what their motivations are, and possibly to give players a more dynamic way to call on the resources of their allies, if I can do so in a way that doesn't feel like unnecessarily tagging on a redundant systems to what is intended to be a minimalist engine. I may also hack some of the basic moves to fit the setting if it seems necessary, or maybe just to add a basic "Manipulate/Parley/Leverage" social move.

To those with a better understanding of the interplay of PbtA mechanics and maybe Worlds in Peril specifically, do you think such alterations are worth thinking about, or do you have specific suggestions?

More importantly, I mentioned my lack of familiarity with the Transformers franchise. This is true- I've grown up with it, but my knowledge of the setting is scattered, sketchy collections of little bits of trivia and half-remembered cartoon episodes and comic book plots from half a dozen different series. I get the impression that Transformers continuity is very fluid, but I do want to ask fans of the franchise: what do you consider the most important aspects of the franchise? What would you think of as "required reading"? Are there setting elements you feel I should hold sacred, or do you think this whole concept is a poor match for the franchise?

Basically, I'm looking for input, and checking for interest.
This message was last edited by the user at 20:16, Wed 22 July 2015.

I think it would be prudent to watch the series one of transformers to get a good feel for the universe they inhabit and then watch the transformers movie(1985 I think?), as it fleshes out some good stuff that exist beyond earth and cybertron. Outside of those things, there are a few other tidbits to consider(microbots, pretenders, etc.), but I think that's the core of transformers to me, the live action movies are so far off the beaten path that there's just no bringing it back any more(even if they can be fun to watch), so I would ignore all of those, accept maybe as pics and character sketches of some of the bots.

The later comics add lots of backstory to the transformers, stuff that the shows and movies ignore despite the popularity. Any of the recent runs would be great stuff to lift ideas from.

Anyways, interesting premise and though I've never played World's In Peril, it sounds like an interesting system, and I've found that storyteller systems make the best games on RPoL.

Here is a very good story (but I have to admit that I haven`t read it yet).

https://www.google.de/url?sa=t...vm=bv.98476267,d.bGQ

There is also a very good book that is the new, official background of how the transformers were created. The first 13 Primes, created by Primus and all that nearly religious stuff. Maybe you can find a pdf version somewhere. ;)

And,
while I tend to stick to more simple Transformers games with cool, transforming robots that gun out each other, your long and good written text triggered my curiousity.
To your question what you should stick to: The clear black and white view of Autobots and Decepticons - no, a little bit of grey would be perfect for what you posted here. BUT in the classic Transformers are no side changing ones. Autobots are always Autobots and Decepticons are always Decepticons (exceptions are always only temporary by Decepticons tricking some naive Autobots). But on a world like our earth, with the leading Cons and Bots are somewhere else, ressources and reinforcements rare, new allies/slaves/friends, the two sides can, depending on personality, go out of their usual way... Autobots endangering humans to protect their secret or to safe MORE humans.... Decepticons that do good (like helping out the ones in need you mentioned) for their own greater goals.

In reply to Caranamon (msg # 3):

Thanks! I probably will try to look into things and get a grasp of the high-level mythology of the setting, the primes and sacred artifacts and such, though I'm mostly thinking of keeping the game itself on a street-level scale.

I'll go through a few comics at least before I pull this up to start, but it helps  that the engine really encourages cooperative worldbuilding, most often in the form of simply asking players for answers to specific questions about the setting or recent events. I probably won't try to tie it to any specific continuity, and instead simply ask players questions to help fill in blanks about the history of this. Things like what the Transformers' previous visits to Earth amounted to and whether or not there's any public memory of their existence.

Another thing that has always interested me besides the cool look and the names and alternate modes and wage war in secret is the math involved with Energon-shortage. The constant struggle for new sources to convert into the precious, pure Energon, the life-force of the Transformers.

In reply to Caranamon (msg # 5):

That's a good point, and it's a pretty good argument for finding a way to incorporate elements of the faction systems from Legacy: Life Among the Ruins. Certain moves individual characters could perform required you to burn off an appropriate surplus from a willing faction. If a faction has Surplus: Medicine, you could use that up to cure the party's wounds and illnesses. Factions also had a "Tech" resource, a simple numerical resource that could be used by regular characters to jury-rig devices that granted them bonuses to rolls on a 1 for 1 basis. (The in-character explanation is that Legacy takes place in a "sufficiently advanced" post-apocalypse, where technology is effectively magic, and the "Tech" is a representation of the treasures a faction has ferreted away for use by its heroes and leaders. Whenever you use this bonus, you have to describe what these devices tell you about the world before.)

The trick, as I see it, is making this work so that these two systems are complementary to each other, and not redundant. The Tech system probably wouldn't offer much on top of the Bonds system (which you can already burn to guarantee a degree of success in exchange for narratively interesting consequences), so I'd probably work solely with the Surplus/Needs system. An interesting part of that is the way it simplifies math- you either have a surplus, or you don't. You don't track it numerically, except perhaps in exceptional circumstances. It means that there's always a little vagueness about exactly how much of something is available, since a single faction's surplus of it gets exhausted when you use it for an event of narrative importance no matter how you use it. And in a way, that's perfect for communicating a theme of scarcity in both the mundane resources used by the city and in the alien power source, and that of the players' dependence upon human allies.

A vague "Call for Aid" move that lets you perform large-scale actions by exhausting an allies resources wouldn't be ill-fitting for the system, since Worlds in Peril is all about generalizing mechanics and letting the actual situation inform what results mean. (It has a move as general as "Use Environment" to accomplish something.) A fair balance to the obvious advantage this creates in having Bonds with entire organizations over individuals is that those groups also have "Needs" which inform their motivations and can potentially apply consequences with every action they take, when dramatically and logically appropriate.

Of course, for the purpose of this game, most of these details will just be part of a behind-the-scenes framework used by the GM to keep track of forces moving in the world. What I really need now is to figure out precisely which tweaks to make to splice these systems without cluttering them up.

Worlds in Peril's progression system is also a bugbear I need to figure out before moving on too far. The point-buy achievement system is probably okay, even if I do think it's uncharacteristically clunky for a PbtA game, but opening Drive Playbooks and moves is done by checking off events in a way that feels arbitrary, particularly in cases where they require a direct push from the GM. On the one hand, maybe that makes progression more organic, but I can't help but feel the whole thing would be better served by a simple XP and "take an advance" system used by other games.

I'm really of two minds. To explain, Worlds in Peril uses a dual playbook system. Your Origin playbook is the basic one, and you progress using "Drive" books. When something specific happens in the narrative, you can unlock a drive book. Within that book, each move requires a specific action to unlock.

For example, the Die Trying drive book is unlocked when you "reveal and indulge in a serious, self-destructive vice. Write down what your self-destructive vice is." You can open the "Reputation" move within that when "Your fame or vice puts all those close to you in danger because of your neglect of those around you and your indulgence in your vice."

Every time you unlock a book or (subsequently) move, intentionally or incidentally, you also gain an Achievement. You spend achievements to do things like increase your Bond threshold (the total number of numerical bond points you can have), add powers to your power profile, or increase one of your stats, usually by spending two or more achievements at once.

Any thoughts on whether or not this really needs to be changed? As I think about it, you do select a specific Drive playbook that you're actively pursuing to place in your character sheet, which helps the GM to know when it would be appropriate to help push events to let you unlock a particular move, such as when the "An Eye for Danger" move requires you to be "the victim of an ambush or surprise and you establish it affects you on a personal level."
This message was last edited by the user at 18:58, Fri 24 July 2015.

I don't know anything about the system and its supplements. ;)
So I can't give you any advice on that matter.

But rpol is full of people with the needed knowledge, maybe someone is lurking and drops a few lines soon...