Unusual Days - The Elderly Class + Ideas For A Contemporary GLOG
"The really unusual day would be the one where nothing unusual happens."
-- Persi Diaconis
Alrighty, so I told some people that I was thinking up some ideas for a GLOG type game that takes place in a modern setting but focuses on more mundane types of people like kind old ladies, snot-nosed kids, and spectacle-wearing know-it-alls. I am especially inspired by works like the MOTHER series, E.T., Ghostbusters, Men In Black, Ace Ventura, Home Alone, cartoons like Scooby Doo, Jimmy Neutron, Dan Vs, (countless others) and other cheesy films in the horror, comedy, and family genres.
I totally envision this regularly feature a motley crew of player characters fitting into wacky soon-to-be classes like the Mad Scientist, Sweet Old Lady, Airheaded Jock, and the Real Alien From Space trying to solve a mystery about pets missing around the city. I'm realizing the classic GLOG Really Good Dog class fits perfectly into the kind of setting I'm imagining. The tone should be lighthearted, perhaps occasionally dipping into semi-serious. It turns out the local canned meats factory was using the stolen pets as cheap filler. Gross. Now the party have to fight off a shelter's worth of phantom Fidos and Whiskers. You're just as likely to have to roll initiative and battle an ornery vending machine to win your rightly-earned cheese doodles! I hope I'm making sense so far. In a nutshell, you play as tropes/clichés/archetypes of relatively normal people as you face off against a number of threats, both the everyday and the UNUSUAL.
Also, I suppose you could take things in a more Men In Black/Call of Cthulu/Delta Green sort of way and play with ACTUAL horror themes and sanity mechanics. That's fun too.
If you ever have had the opportunity to play micro RPGs like Roll For Shoes, Everyone Is John and Honey Heist, or even the RISUS RPG, you might be familiar with the kind of thing I'm trying to evoke here. The hard part for me is figuring out what sort of mechanics I should use (I'm heavily tempted to stick to my usual D20 roll-under type system with the classic six attributes). Maybe I'll switch it up. We'll see.
Anywho, the thing I enjoy most about the GLOG is how easily new classes can be whipped up. Let's do one now, shall we?
The Elderly
You're a kindly (or crotchety) old neighbor. All this newfangled stuff confuses you, and you fondly look back at the Good Old Days. You might complain, but some of these youngsters ain't so bad.
Starting equipment: Sturdy cane (1d6 dam), glasses, dentures (1d8 dam), heart medication
Skills (Roll 1d6): Gardening, baking, chess, knitting, golfing, complaining
Increase WISDOM by +1 and gain +1 multi-attack with your cane for each Elderly template you possess.
A: Old-Timer, Good Old Days
B: Still Got It
C: Old Family Recipe
D: Senile
Old-Timer: You are old, but you still get around with the help of your trusty cane. You cannot read or see very far without your glasses, have a hard time eating (or biting) without your dentures, and you get out of whack if you don't remember to take your heart medication each noon. On any critical failure, your back, hip, or other relevant joint pops out of place and you cannot walk for 1d4 turns, after which you make a CON save or remain immobile each turn until you save.
But it's not all bad. In battle, when armed with your trusty cane (d6), your damage die explodes. If this happens, or you roll a critical hit normally, you can opt to knock out your target foe instead of dealing lethal damage. If you wish, you may also spit out your dentures at a nearby foe for a ranged bite attack.
When another character is making a skill roll, you may give them a piece of advice or tell a story related to the task at hand to grant them advantage. You can do this once per day for each Elderly template you possess.
Good Old Days: You long for the Good Old Days, where money was worth more, the sky was more blue, and things were right in the world. If the party is ever in an unfamiliar location, learns of an old-timey relic, or something like that, there is a 2/6 chance you know something about it. Also, you can call in favors from your old contacts or their grandchildren (ideally, pitch to your GM a name and how you met this friend, and why they owe you one). You can call in friends from the Good Old Days once per month for every Elderly template you possess.
Still Got It: Once per game session, when a skill check is called for (like lockpicking, athletics, or playing the tuba, etc.), you can reminisce about your former career as a cat burglar, football star, or jazz band musician and automatically succeed at the roll. Keep track of your supposed past careers. You can only have a number of past careers equal to your character's LVL.
Old Family Recipe: You can bake a heavenly apple pie, mouth-watering meatloaf, a mean five-alarm chili, or some other specific dish. When you or an ally eat this food and get a good's night rest they can restore up to half of their HP. Alternatively, if you feed this food to a hostile foe, they must save or be stunned for 1d6 turns either basking in the immaculate flavors of a loving home, or weeping in sorrow. If you pack leftovers to eat during an adventure, they count as rations and restore 1d6 HP if eaten during a Lunch.
Senile: Your memory certainly isn't what it used to be. It's getting harder to remember names and faces, and where you last put your keys. However, what you have lost in brain power you have gained in boldness and sheer naivety. When you encounter anything UNUSUAL (vampires, aliens, boogeymen, eldritch horrors) you have advantage on courage and sanity saves, and only suffer 1d2 psychic damage from relevant attacks and effects. You are immune to mind control.
I hope you enjoyed! I have several more ideas bumping around in my head. More posts coming soon.