Weird Roleplay Ideas You're Afraid To Pitch?

[Vor]

Something that I've always wanted to do is a time-loop scenario where people play different versions of the same character, both from the past and from the future. The idea would be for players to exchange information so they can piece together what triggered the time loop and how to resolve it, but the real challenge here would be having to represent the same character in different stages of their life.

It seems like too much of a hassle though; firstly, organising everything and getting the right group of players will be no small undertaking and secondly, you have to come up with an interesting plot to tie it all together and avoid the numerous cliches from Sci-Fi shows and stories.

[Shoryu Magami]

@Vor
I know I say this a lot, but clichés are tools (and subsequently neither good or bad; it's all in the handling, especially since a lot of them are actually realistic). With that said, television shows often don't handle things particularly well in my opinion.

It's an interesting idea you're suggesting though -- I'm not really sure if it's something I'd do myself, but I can definitely relate to the whole 'organising everything and getting the right group of players will be no small undertaking' sentiment, because a lot of role-plays are like this. The role-play I've recently brought to this site is an example of needing a set number of reliable people in order to function properly, while also having a lot to organize. In terms of your idea, I'd imagine the most difficult part would be having a character that interested enough people so they'd all want to play them, as well as them having preferences for playing specific versions of this character.

Time-orientated stories are also complicated just because a lot of writers aren't good at handling paradoxes.

[Sombrero]

One day I was eating a really good apple with one hand while typing in my "Mega-Lore" fantasy document with the other one. Incidentally, I had the wild idea of an adventuring party of medieval Food and Drink Critics finding each other in a tavern (Because there is no way more perfect than that!) in a highly developed, Game-of-Thrones-but-High-Fantasy* world. It would be a culinary rp, but with plots and politics on the side as "esteemed" critics start sharing tables (By accident or on purpose) with important and/or dangerous people, and becoming accidentally embroiled in political schemes, swept up in dungeoneering operations, and having little-to-no skills to deal with it, but being able to write to their paper about their experiences. (And possibly take credit for everything, if they're glib enough.)

Every region has different cultures and agriculture, so they all eat very different things. Different places even have differently flavored apples. And I’m subject to my own tastes, as well as definitely not an artist, so people will be free to make their own characters who are restaurant owners/tavern keepers/inn chefs/royal chefs/Chef Errants/Head Brewers/Bakers/Butchers/Public Soupsters/Et Ceteras. The problem is that these are reviewers, so unless they somehow involve themselves in the module of the day, the character and menus they worked on could very well get lost in the backdrop of the game very quickly. And not everyone’s going to meet the same people, or go to the same restaurant, so we meet the age-old issue of splitting the party up in ways that could potentially scatter them across the corners of a continent… Or, even scarier for a GM, oceans.

But most importantly, I’m worried about the fact that there’s going to be a fantasy world full of wars and dragons and giant pet pangolins and magic systems**, and I’m asking them to play as cooks and restaurant critics. Ah well, even if everyone does end up flanderising their roles into full-on adventurers, makes more sense than sending a professional musician into a dungeon with a bunch of warriors, anyway.

*There's some overlap between high and low fantasy here. It decidedly takes place in a world alternate to our own, but follows a lot of real-world logic, to the point where fantasy things that are usually taken for granted (Elves, Orcs, token furries, Dragons and Dinosaurs "Lesser Dragons"...) have their own evolutionary history. It isn't necessarily expounded on in great detail because I'm not a biologist and these things don't exist, but it is generally understood that certain scientific things we think about today happened. It’s high fantasy because insane things are taken for granted to exist, but it takes place parallel to our world and the fantasy things are bound by semi-realistic logic. I’m probably misdefining both terms pretty badly.

**Largely incomplete, because magic is trippy shit. I probably won't have much of a world to play in yet so much as a pile of mildly interesting puzzle pieces, but the point stands. When it's finished, it just seems like a strange place to have fantasy restaurant critics. Then again, I was planning on running a Freeform Dwarf Fortress thing in it, so I guess I really like this setting because its history is undeveloped and thus so open to fun fantasy game gimmicks.

[DepressedSoviet]

So I had an idea for one based on an episode of a kid's show I've been binging lately for the nostalgia trip, its a kinda stupid idea, but I'd like to do it if people were interested:

A most-likely-Free level RP based on the age-old literary concept of Boys Vs. Girls, only in a hilarious Terminator-level of grimdark. The idea is through time travel shenanigans, a young girl in the present has created a future where girls rule the world, and anything "boyish" like action figures, footballs, bb guns, and the like are outlawed. Boys are transformed into girls whenever discovered, and hope is nearly lost. The remaining boys have formed a resistance group to try and fight back using ramshackle technology and junk, like old football pads as armor, or a tin can launching weapon. The idea is pretty ridiculous, and I doubt anyone would take it seriously, but its fun to think about, at least.

[Lady Absinthia]

Okay, maybe not completely a weird idea but an idea that I find would be difficult to host here on this forum. I got HBO on Demand a while back and started flipping through older shows. One was OZ. Now, that was a twisted show in a lot of ways. Got me to thinking about hosting a Prison RP. Thing is with what happens behind the walls of a prison is not exactly kid friendly if you get the drift. Sure there is fade to black and such for some things but working out the dynamics of an OZ type situation it a bit foreboding even for me. Granted I still want to do it at once point, just figuring out the how's is going to put it on the back burner for a while.

[ArenaSnow]

So I had an idea for one based on an episode of a kid's show I've been binging lately for the nostalgia trip, its a kinda stupid idea, but I'd like to do it if people were interested:

A most-likely-Free level RP based on the age-old literary concept of Boys Vs. Girls, only in a hilarious Terminator-level of grimdark. The idea is through time travel shenanigans, a young girl in the present has created a future where girls rule the world, and anything "boyish" like action figures, footballs, bb guns, and the like are outlawed. Boys are transformed into girls whenever discovered, and hope is nearly lost. The remaining boys have formed a resistance group to try and fight back using ramshackle technology and junk, like old football pads as armor, or a tin can launching weapon. The idea is pretty ridiculous, and I doubt anyone would take it seriously, but its fun to think about, at least.

@DepressedSoviet

Just take a few girls from the outskirts, hide and breed while waiting for all the girls to die off. :p

[ham]

I'm working it out now but at the same time I felt it would fit here. I'm afraid of pitching a SAO-AU because I feel like a lot of people like the main cast. The other component that makes this all so hard is the level of role playing and dice mechanics that are involved. I've spent about three weeks looking at different systems, character progressions, and other people's tabletop role plays to get a feel for it.

Either way, it's still an idea that fascinates me.

[HeySeuss]

Something in the vein of Planescape or similarly-themed setting that involves geography as a manifestation of morality, a permeable reality based on ideas and faith and a sort of Van Gogh, Salvador Dali or Hieronymus Bosch aesthetic.

Heck, maybe a 'normal' world being turned into that realm where the reality is linked to things that are, in a normal setting, abstract rather than tangible and where ideas are given physical representation. The resulting ideological conflict, of course, becomes more acute in such a scenario.

Edit: Necro'd.

[PandaBrady]

Alright, so I am wanting to do several RPs.

First is an Original Universe Super Hero RP. It would be set in the city of Ultropolis, a super city that stretches for 50 miles by 50 miles. In this Comic-verse, the Greater Celestials created a multitude of Universes by using different methods, creating extremely different universes, or even very similar sepending on which one made it. There is also a constant threat of The Decay, a darkness that exists on the plane of the Greater Celestials.

My Second idea is "The Extraordinary Journey of The Scholar." A Who-inspired RP in which an Alien known as The Scholar attempts to travel the universe and timelines to stop any anomaly he finds and to teach the next generation how to protect themselves. Players would play the part of a human being that is flung into an anomaly that the Scholar would help them from, and ask if they wish to travel with him as well. (Max of 6 players.)

Thirdly is based on a Fighting game that I am attempting to create. Long ago a demon rampaged the lands, but a master of martial arts managed to face the Demon and seal it away. The master then created the God Hand school of Martial Arts, to teach the next generation how to defend themselves if the Demon should break it's seal. His 3 disciples argued over who should inherit the school when their master died, and split into the schools of Mind, Body, and Spirit. These schools have been upgraded to fit modern curriculum, but due to dangerous gangs, terrorists, and other pugilists around the world the schools continue to teach self defense. Every year, the schools hold a tournament to determine who would perform the sealing ceremony. This year however, the Mind School Principal has another idea.

What do you all think?

[Tyler Night]

Love the sound of the first one. I actually have several characters based in a comic book universe.

[SleepingSilence]

I'm afraid to post ideas because it requires me to strongly commit to something. But I don't think anyone will share my effort, making any possible attempt to do so, be in vain. >.< Also I actually tend to have thought out/explained RP's while also lacking in a bunch of direct rules and some of my ideas which I've successfully done with friends, would go absolutely nowhere on this forum. But I will give one in particular that I simply love doing, despite it's many variations I've done.

An RP where controlling other peoples characters, with very minimal warning and limits, is nearly the entire point/plot.

I've done this as a psychological thriller where all characters we're unaware but fully sentient puppets, where the GM would outright manipulate actions. No word, no confirmation. Often through characters giving the GM their written paragraphs and the GM changing them ever so slightly. It was so damn fun, because it sort of became "The Thing" in RP form in a way. (least the first run, second one was a little different and would take longer to explain than I feel like typing.)

Only did this one once, an action battle themed one with sentient robots that want a life away from their slavery, starting a revolution to kill their special human creators, where the human's only real advantage was having small windows of controlling their actions for a brief moment of time. Getting brief seconds of control time or something along those lines. Making for some pretty fast paced an actual strategic fights.

Would love to do something like that again. But yeah, I wouldn't dare waste my time if it would die as quickly as most of my RP's tend to do.

Oh, I also adore doing very dark themes for certain anime/cartoon shows styles, with people not being afraid to die or get injured and punished. But I see so many conversations about how people dislike RP's like this. So I wonder if I'd ever get enough interest in the first place.

[Rockmar]

This one, I love but afraid to pitch. People would know I'm a perv...

It's a fantasy world. All of the rulers are females; Queens, Countesses, Duchesses. You get the idea. Only women are allowed to be knighted and wear full plate mail armor. (Armor that really covers them up) The eldest daughters inherit their mother's lands and titles.

The Knights would wear armor like this

And NOT like this

The males serve as guards and soldiers in the various armies. However, so that the men don't rebel against their Ladies, the men are not allowed to wear much armor. (Think half dressed gladiators). Don't even get me started how little male mages would wear... The sons of the Noble Ladies serve as captains and generals in the armies and leaders of the male guards.

The game would be played as a "normal D&D type game", only in this campaign world.

[ArenaSnow]

This one, I love but afraid to pitch. People would know I'm a perv...

@Rockmar

This is RPguild. You're in good company no matter your fetish, so don't mind :p

Hell, it sounds like something of an interesting idea...

[Infamous Empath]

ALL of mine.

[Infamous Empath]

@Rockmar The Infamous (my main character and villain) would like that RP...

[BrokenPromise]

^ I had an idea like that. Except it was a magical world where magic was controlled with emotions. Woman have a stronger connection to their emotions, (or it is believed) so they are naturally gifted with magic. Being that this society relies so heavily on magic, woman are the breadwinners and you basically have reversed gender rolls. And you have all the same social problems you have today, just now it's the men screaming for equal rights and the ladies telling them they don't know how good they've got it. It never occurred to me to turn it into an RP. Probably because there are better ideas out there, and few of my RP pals would take to such an idea.

[Rockmar]

@BrokenPromise
That's a good twist on the story. Wheel of Time is sort of like that. Women have the magic.

I do like that idea.

[HeySeuss]

^ I had an idea like that. Except it was a magical world where magic was controlled with emotions. Woman have a stronger connection to their emotions, (or it is believed) so they are naturally gifted with magic. Being that this society relies so heavily on magic, woman are the breadwinners and you basically have reversed gender rolls. And you have all the same social problems you have today, just now it's the men screaming for equal rights and the ladies telling them they don't know how good they've got it. It never occurred to me to turn it into an RP. Probably because there are better ideas out there, and few of my RP pals would take to such an idea.

@BrokenPromise

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time starts out with only women being able to use magic because the men get driven insane from attempting it. Of course, he then takes the plot from there. I know a few fans are tucked away on the Guild, since there was a really cool RP set in the Wheel of Time that involved the hunt for a male channeler.

[Drache]

I want to do one that is a weird mix of sci-fi and high fantasy about a pair of planets that rotate around each other as well as around a solitary star. The planets are so close that it is possible to see some detail of one planet's surface from the other planet. My RP will be set after a great cataclysm that supposedly ends civilization on Planet A and destroys the known methods of traveling between them. Those living on Planet B are the more normal people/normal races, who have to watch as death sweeps across the surface of Planet A in their heavens.

Time goes by and life changes, people learning to get by without the benefit of Planet A, until a great flash can be seen on Planet A's surface and the portals on Planet B open to admit a horror the likes of which no one imagined.

The RP would include characters who were surviving on Planet A all this time, as well as characters native to Planet B who are now struggling to cope with a resurgence of magic.

I am pretty sure I won't ever be able to make this work in an RP but I might write a book.

[Tyler Night]

That sounds like a great game too.