Here's the Erol Otus pictures from Alma Mater: The High School RPG from 1982. I don't need to tell you how much I love this stuff. Let me suggest you put some Led Zep or B.O.C. on the stereo, get your lighter, spark a fire, and enjoy.

Cover Art


Losers, Lovers or Both?


The Lunchroom Dweeb


Football


Race Rumble in the Boy's Room


Hot for Teacher


Gymcutter


Trippy


AC/DC Junky


Cheater

Makin' Out


Yearbook - get yer avatars here old school boys & girls!

Holy crap!  Is that real?  Where can you get that game?  That is awesome.  Thanks for posting that.

Man, I used to think that society was at its most uptight in the 80s, but looking back, you can really see how the wave of cultural conservatism has dampened the wildness here in North America.  

If that game is real, I need to get my hands on it.  How are the rules?

Or perhaps not:

QuoteAlma Mater was a bit of a controversy when it came out. Stores refused to order it, gaming magazines refused to even carry ads for it, and conventions banned anyone running or even dealers selling it, all because of the explicit references to sex n' drugs. I have an issue of the Sorcerer's Apprentice (the Flying Buffalo and T&T support magazine) in which the then editor Liz Danforth rants at length on the horribleness of AM and its inappropriateness as a game.

Which all looks terribly silly and naive two decades later, after White Wolf set aside a whole publishing imprint for adult-themed books and even D&D has had its mature content titles.

from a discussion on the review in rpg.net

If a chick ever made that face while reaching for my junk I'd be afraid. That picture looks like an undercover Femi-Nazi operative achieving her objective: the tearing off of the penis.

-=Grim=-

A friend of mine owned it; I remember seeing it in the game store at least as late as 1987. Regrettably I never picked up.

It's a real game.  I own a copy of it.  The rules are clunky and outdated.  Honestly, unless your a complusive collector, I really don't see the need to go out and hunt this game down.

How are the rules outdated?

Quote from: KenHR;246099How are the rules outdated?

Well, outdated in the sense that it was, basically, a modified D&D clone system (simple class-level with skill system).  It was published in 1982.  

Perhaps, my choice of the word 'outdated' was not the best.

I consider this game one the of my prizes in my collection for novelty and nostalgia reasons.

I did not mean to associate any negative connotation when I used the term outdated.  It's just the product of an earlier era in the RPG industry.

The game is funny, and could certainly be mined for ideas today.  Also, it's a time stamp on high school life in the early 1980's, which some gronards might find amusing and spark memories of life in high school back then.

Ah, gotcha.

I can see how classes like Jock, Loser, etc. would work for such a setting.  Certainly makes more sense than typical classes in a fantasy setting (no matter how much I love 'em).

The RPGnet review is interesting.  The game appears to have been trying to break some new ground at the time it was released.  Definitely looks like something to keep an eye out for one day, if for nothing else than to satisfy the collector's jones.

Creepy Otus artwork is always a bonus, too.

I'd liken the rules to a cross between Top Secret & Villains & Vigilantes. The combat system is pretty clunky - and you're pretty much reduced to stabbing each other with pens or maybe a switchblade. The social interaction rules are reaction table based with a slew of modifiers. Who you are and where you come from is pretty important - and not every character is special enough to fit in a class - most are just normal.  The game is supposed to be played as a normal school day, each period being a 'turn', with plenty of random events and encounters. Lots of very un-PC stuff crops up like drug use, sex (pregnancy & rape), cheating, violence and all of it is treated rather gleefully - sort of like Dazed & Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High or maybe Carrie. I really like it for what it is - plenty of good ideas to nab and that teen-sex-comedy tone. A pretzel game that probably requires something a little stronger than beer.

Fantastic and creepy artwork.  I remember this game.  My uncle had it hidden in his stash of RPG books that he never wanted me to see.  I was only 10 when it came out, but I was curious.  The pics alone tempted me to steal the book when ever he wasn't looking, and dive into this universe.  Funny you mentioned Fast Times at Ridgemont High...those are the exact thoughts that jumped into my head when I saw the pics.  Although I never played the game, I do remember trying to listen in on the group as they played and added their own atmosphere to the game...(a couple of joints, and booze)..man did that bring back the memories.  Thanks for the good times again.

Quote from: walkerp;246047Or perhaps not:



from a discussion on the review in rpg.net

I'm glad i missed this one.

Yet, neck rape and other fucked up stuff doesn't bother you.

Quote from: One Horse Town;246150I'm glad i missed this one.

Yet, neck rape and other fucked up stuff doesn't bother you.

Huh?

I said I'd be psyched to play this game.

I think he's referring to the fact that Alma Mater was, after all, controversial in the 80's.

Fact is, 1982 was the tail-end of the freewheeling 70's, but at no point in American history would a game with pictures like that, and references to sex & drugs, on the shelves next to games targeted at kids and teens, have passed without a blink.

The 80's did superficially reverse some things compared to the 70's, but at the same time the attitudes of the 60's and 70's spread out and became normalized. In 1976 someone could still make a big deal over an unmarried couple living together, by 1990 that attitude would seem quaint.