Original RPG ideas

[Lordpils]

I haven't posted in awhile, but lately I've been thinking about how tired I am of fantasy RPGs based in Europe, so I ask you what mythology or culture would you use to make a fantasy RPG.

Personally I like the idea of pre-colonial America, things like the Navajo skin-walkers, the White Buffalo Woman of the Sioux, the Thunderbird, coyote the trickster etc. Don't be afraid to elaborate why you think something would be fun.

 

[sircashews]

I want a Chinese mythology RPG I really want to slay a dragon using fireworks.

 

[Nightkind]

I like the idea of an RPG set in an Egyptian setting. Maybe with the story telling of Bioware, the dungeon delving of Final Fantasy, and the theological interaction of God of War. One of the problems I see is that most of the dungeons would more than likely be cookie-cutter pyramids.

EDIT: My English teacher would've killed me with all the unnecessary words in that post.

 

[sircashews]

My friend and I have spent several hours, must be more then 24 now, coming up with a bunch of amazing ideas!

Which are not covered by the creative commons licence. Sorry.

Anywho...
Ideas that I would share? Colonial America + Steampunk = Epic Win.

You call Besthesda right now damn it!

 

[Gamegirl22]

How about the modern times? We don't have that too often. Or perhaps that's boring for an RPG? Though Earthbound and the Persona series prove it doesn't have to be.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I would like an RPG based during the American Civil War. I think it could be pretty good.

 

[spartan231490]

idk, china, dragons. um, feudal japan, ninja and samurai and ect. Yeah, i like that one.

 

[Rakun Man]

THE HUNS!!
Seriously; kill, rape, pillage, and move on to the next town!

 

[AWOL]

One of my biggest guilty pleasures is the Harry Potter series, and I think there is a lot of money to be made in a full-scale (preferably sandbox) RPG set in the Harry Potter universe.

When I think of it, I imagine a Bethesda RPG specifically because I love their work, so you could have different skills in different types of magic, perhaps riding a broom, potion-making, dueling, etc. The list could go on and on. As for loot, there are limitless possibilities for magical items because of how the nature of magic in the Harry Potter series is treated. Basically magic can do literally anything you want it to, so the magic list would have to be well thought out and extremely extensive, but if taken the right way, sticking to the main schools of magic, it would be possible to generate a large enough feeling of freedom within the magic system to create and use magic effectively and believably within the series.

"Karma" could make a return as well and the character could join with the Aurors (basically the wizard police force) or become an evil wizard or even, depending on when you would have the game set, join up with Voldemort himself.

So yeah, I've thought about this a lot, haha.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

We need some more RPGs set in a computer people!

 

[Ensiferum]

How about an RPG that involved becoming a ninja during General Oda Nobunaga's genocidal rampage against the Iga ninja clan that actually occured in feudal Japan? The best part is, though he wiped out almost the entire clan, the few remaining members that survived killed him in the end, avenging their clans death, so you could have the entire game building up to training to face him in order to avenge their destruction.

 

[Crabcakes]

rock band RPG!

no, just no.

but maybe a cyberpunk versus steam punk RPG, like 3rd person shooter, with dark void's jackpack game play with a story about steam punk freedom fighters frighting for their home land.

weapon crafting, open world, deep rpg, squad of 6, with 3rd person shooter game play.

thats what i want

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I would like an RPG based during the American Civil War. I think it could be pretty good.

Move to America. Buy a rifle. Start another Civil War.

The RPG would be so realistic it would almost be like you were actually in the middle of a civil war! Oh, wait...

Wars on a grand scale are awesome ASPECTS of an RPG, but I don't think its really... Enough. Cause if you stick to historical accuracy then the American Civil War would be a really dull scenario, lots of marching, dying of heatstroke, weapons only really effective at 20 paces, instant death... Plus the Civil War is a bit too... Clear cut between good and evil. I find RPG's more fun if you are in the morally grey area of not knowing who is right and who is wrong. Much more... Intriguing.

And before someone makes the connections, I am a DM. Morally ambiguous campaigns are so much more fun then "EVIL PEOPLE COMING OVER HILL! GO OVER HILL AND KILL EVIL PEOPLE!"

The American Civil War is extremely morally ambiguous. The issue of slavery was important, but the underlying issue was the idea of states rights vs. federal authority. This is an ideological debate that goes on to this day. There were many Confederate soldiers who disliked slavery, but who supported state sovereignty, and I'm sure there were many Union soldiers who somewhat agreed with slavery and who were either drafted or believed in federal power.

As for the actual war aspect, I don't mean play as a soldier. I mean, sure, that could be a path you chose, but I was thinking more along the lines of some of the wacky conspiracy theories surrounding the war. Or perhaps serving as a spy for either side, or being part of a small guerrilla force. There's no need for historical accuracy- this is a video game idea. I meant simply the idea of the setting, and the political climate surrounding it. There's no reason why a states rights supporter couldn't play the game as the Confederacy and cause the South to win.

 

[Internet Kraken]

You know what I want to see? A dystopian future that wasn't caused by nukes, meteors, or anything else that reduces the world to looking like it's been swarmed by beetles that devour anything that's green. I want to see a world in which society has almost completely fallen into ruin, but nature itself still looks normal. Well, some parts of it at least. basically what I'm saying is I want to see an apocalypse that doesn't result in every tree being turned into a burnt stump. It'd make for a nice change from the usual appearance of post-apocalyptic worlds. Plus you'd have to get creative and think of something that could bring about the end of modern civilization without destroying the world in the process.

 

[Diligent]

I'd like to see an RPG that takes place inside a dream, or a the afterlife(I know Planescape:Torment) or some other more specific mythological/fictional location.
The best parts of RPGs are exploring strange new places.

If you're talking ideas not regarding location, I would love for an RPG to have an item and crafting system that doesn't have you just find an item, it has you find parts of the item each with their own stat bonuses, and you assemble the parts into various armors or weapons.
So for example, leather straps that give a small boost to agility would go into boots, vest, gloves, or whatever, and every individual piece would have their own distinct look, giving you tons of different permutations of what any piece of armor could look like.

 

[Pearwood]

I want a Chinese mythology RPG I really want to slay a dragon using fireworks.

Two words, Jade Empire. Sort of. Not in the way you're probably thinking of and not with a firework but it's a Chinese dragon, what more do you want?

I'd love to see a good game based on Norse mythology. There's so much potential there I'm amazed not many people have used it.

 

[Lordpils]

How about the modern times? We don't have that too often. Or perhaps that's boring for an RPG? Though Earthbound and the Persona series prove it doesn't have to be.

Actually this idea has occurred to me quite often, the idea that a civilization say in D&D advanced into modern times, things like orcs with AK-47s fighting paladins who have blessed their guns with holy magic and illusionists using magic to scam people. It could be quite fun.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

The Epic of Gilgamesh.

There. Done.

EDIT: Okay, just kidding, let me explain a bit more.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient poem from Mesopotamia (present day Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran) and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, which were gathered into a longer Akkadian epic much later. The most complete version existing today is preserved on 12 clay tablets from the library collection of 7th-century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It was originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba îmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shûtur eli sharrî). Gilgamesh was probably a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II period (ca. 27th century BC).[1]

The story revolves around a relationship between Gilgamesh and his close companion, Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgamesh's equal to distract him from oppressing the citizens of Uruk. Together they undertake dangerous quests that incur the displeasure of the gods. Firstly, they journey to the Cedar Mountain to defeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian. Later they kill the Bull of Heaven that the goddess Ishtar has sent to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances.

The latter part of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh's distressed reaction to Enkidu's death, which takes the form of a quest for immortality. Gilgamesh attempts to learn the secret of eternal life by undertaking a long and perilous journey to meet the immortal flood hero, Utnapishtim. Ultimately the poignant words addressed to Gilgamesh in the midst of his quest foreshadow the end result: "The life that you are seeking you will never find. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping." Gilgamesh, however, was celebrated by posterity for his building achievements, and for bringing back long-lost cultic knowledge to Uruk as a result of his meeting with Utnapishti. The story is widely read in translation, and the protagonist, Gilgamesh, has become an icon of popular culture.

Effectivly, Gilgamesh is a demigod who goes around making everyone miserable with his potency. He kicks the crap out of everyone else in sports and fights, he demands prima nopte (first night) from young women and brides and then wears them out for their grooms. He's a good king, but also oppesses the people, so they call out to the gods to save them. The gods decied the best way to address this

IS AN EPIC BROMANCE

So they creat Enkidu, a wild man, a force of nature of pure chaos. Enkidu rages out of control for a while until a prostitute seduces him and apparently getting boinked settles him down. Him and Gilgamesh group up, and they start going on epic quests - just like the gods wanted.

Unfortunatly, all these quests involve wrecking the gods shit and getting into trouble. Basically, they're like Monkey from Journey to the West.

They get up to all kinds of stuff, but then Enkidu dies, being a mortal. And Gilgamesh, missing his epic bromantic partner, deciedes HE WILL CONQUOR DEATH ITSELF.

And he fails.

But he learns a valuable lesson and blahblahblah.

Gilgamesh is a great story, filled with action and humor, and presents a different kind of hero. And the mythology remains untapped.

 

[Beach_Sided]

How about an RPG based around a mix of the video games Dead Space and Red Faction?
And the movies Total Recall and Battlestar Galactica (original)?

So it would be in the future, be based on a mining planet, and in a time of political strife and alien conflict on a remote world with limited supplies.

You could play a mercenary (warrior equivalent), a scientist (mage equivalent), an escaped prisoner (thief equivalent) or an explorer/engineer (ranger equivalent)/

Storylines would be based around sourcing supplies for towns, new mines being discovered, alien lifeforms being found/landing, political turmoil making players have to choose sides or flee, town uprisings, new technology being found/invented, crazy scientists, space pirates, virus outbreaks, escaped prisoners on the run, mutant attacks on towns.......

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

I think a cool concept would be a sci fi stealth based RPG. In it, you would play a civilian on an alien planet who has to evade the meat headed space marines from earth who we normally play in FPSs...

Most of the content would involve indirectly aiding the alien resistance against the Beefy Menace via setting up supply runs, stealing plans and technology from the marines and waging guerrilla warfare with viet cong esque traps.