So, recent talk about Alma Matter and narrativist games has got me thinking about a more narrativist modern high school rpg. It would model the tropes of the genre, (and Archie comics of course) and thus, of course be pretty offensive.

Here's what I was thinking so far:

Stats
Boys have Muscle and Brains whereas girls have Looks and Smarts. Looks and Muscle default to each other with a penalty as do Smarts and Brains. This allows the task system to model the specific advantages of being a boy or a girl.

The two stats are set by dividing a pool of 10 points between them. So if you want a Brains of 10 you have to have a Muscle of 0. (I'm working on the assumption that Betty's around a L6, B4, Veronica's got L7, B3, and Cheryl's got L8, B2, Ethel is L3, B7 which is why she's chasing Jughead and not Archie, but I digress...)

Status and Sympathy
Boys and girls alike have these two stats, bought again from a ten point pool. (Veronica's Status 10, Sympathy 0) Status is used to buy things and impress people with the things you have, Sympathy is used to get away with breaking rules and making mistakes.

Mechanics
Tasks are evaluated by rolling 4d10 and comparing them to the appropriate stat. Each die that comes up equal or less than the stat gives one grade level. If a gender specific stat is required the opposite sex rolls only 3d10.

4 successes = A
3 successes = B
2 successes = C
1 success = D
0 successes = F

In a fight or arguement successes are temporarily applied to the target's resisting stat, resulting in less ability for the duration of the scene. Any such conflicts are resolved similtaneously with the penalties being resolved after all participants have had a go. If a stat falls below 0 the person is out of the conflict.

Some tasks and stat relationships

Gymnastics = Looks
Dance = Looks
Getting a Date = Looks
Talking Out of Speeding Ticket = Looks
Paying Speeding Ticket = Status
Buying Stuff = Status
Stealing = Sympathy
Getting off the hook for stealing = Sympathy
Getting Parents to Pay Ticket = Sympathy
Fighting = Muscle
Math = Brains
Science = Brains
English = Smarts
History = Smarts
Throwing a Party = Status
Getting Away with skipping class = Sympathy

Progression
Each Semester a character gets to spend one point on increasing any stat. As high school is three years long, a character gets a total of six points in the course of their education.
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 GBLT characters that allow overlap into the opposite gender's strengths at a cost to their own.  For instance you could scrap foot ball for swing dancing and use muscle.

That's part of why it's a bad idea, it's a game of enforced stereotyping and as such highly offensive to just lots of people when you start to think about it.

One other note on the topic of killing.  Guns and cars are very much able to kill characters, however in keeping with the genre there has to be an established plot point for a killing attack to do more than normal damage and even then the normal damage must reduce the stat to zero to cause death.

For instance even if our Muscle 2, Brains 8, Status 3, Sympathy 7 geek has been routinely harassed and beaten up by the Muscle 8, Brains 2, Status 6, Sympathy 4 jock.  It would require a particularly vicious attack or insult like stealing his girl friend that he's been struggling to attain for three grades, or putting him in hospital to acquire a plot point to allow the geek to build an elaborate death trap with which to get his revenge.

Okay, I'll bite. I don't think it is offensive to model the tropes of a given genre so long as you make it clear that's all you're doing.

Pendragon for instance models the trope of its genre that women are the 'fairer sex'. The rulebook makes this explicit, but also makes it explicit that this isn't done approvingly - rather in the interest of genre emulation - and that the players can try to subvert it if they wish.

Tropes are amusing and fun to mess around with if you don't take them seriously. I think if this sort of thing is done sensitively and in good faith it isn't problematic.

Is there a lot of vehicle combat in Archie?  Your game sounds more set up for Saved by the Bell, High School Musical and other teen drama/comedy than Boys in the Hood.

I like the grades for successes.   That is a great way to emphasize the school aspect and instantly understandable to all the players.

This is a good idea and its an untapped genre with a large potential audience.  Think Twilight and hell, even Hogwarts minus the external threats of Voldemort where life is about teens, teachers and parents.  

However, the political incorrectness requires the publisher to have some balls.   Not iron balls, just more balls than the whiny forum bitches.  Of course, those people who get their panties bunched over the game will be free marketing.

Well, as I see it the game needs to cover the things the players will actually decide to have their characters too and vehicular homicide certainly falls under that heading.

I've decided that a 10 is an automatic failure but a 1 doesn't give an automatic grade level. This means that points over ten have no effect except absorbing damage and allows the four stats to be allocated from a pool of 20.

I'd just like to echo that I think it's a nice idea and as Spinachcat says you could cover everything with it from Hogwarts to American Pie.

I'm not sure why killing necessarily needs to be involved - aren't pranks more in keeping with the mood and feel? Perhaps incorporating some sort of humiliation mechanic to bring about loss of status - though with a possible rise in sympathy.

Because the possibility of killing creates dramatic tension.  Even so, in this game it would be, the ultimate and extreme evil as opposed to D&D's killing is normal outlook.  There's no point in threatening to kill someone if there's no possibility of doing so.

However I will soften it a little further.  Not only do you need a plot point to attempt murder.  In all cases when your victim is helpless before you it still requires a conscious choice to enact.  You can run them down with a Buick but you have to throw it into reverse a few times to finish the job and at this time everyone gets to try to stop you in some way.

Quote from: David Johansen;315024Because the possibility of killing creates dramatic tension.

Trenchcoats & Teenagers?

Well, it's not like I'm writing the Columbine expansion for Frag or anything.

But I think ruling out killing entirely makes the game into Archie the rpg rather than an rpg that can handle Archie.