Thank you!

Hello! My personal suggestion, if you don’t use the “Ghastly Affair” rules, is to use the experience tables from what is known as the “B/X” version of Ye Olde Game. One modern “retro-clone” (or restatement) of those rules is “Old-School Essentials” from Necrotic Gnome. Another is “Labyrinth Lord” from Goblinoid Games. Both are available on DriveThruRPG.

Sounds great! I’m looking forward to seeing what your group does with the ideas I’ve outlined here, and how they evolve in play. I also plan on focusing on further developing GROOVY GA in 2019 – not sure whether It’ll eventually be its own stand-alone game, or just a supplement.

One idea I’ve had is an optional rule that would pay tongue-in-cheek homage to the frequent gaffes of a certain late 60s Gothic soap opera. So, every so often the Presenter consults a random table to find out how “another reality” has briefly intruded into the PCs’ world. Perhaps they momentarily perceive a half-constructed room through an open doorway, suddenly see a mysterious man dressed like a stagehand, or realize that the NPC they are are speaking to seems to be struggling to remember what she should say next.

Thank you! Maybe there needs to be a “Bohemian” Class to cover Beatniks, Hippies, and other members of youth counter-cultures. The challenge would be how to distinguish the Class from the Maudit and the Ne’er-do-well. For one thing, I might re-name the “Ne’er-do-well” the “Bon Vivant”, and emphasize it as the Class for jet-setters, fashion models, and the idle rich. The defining thing about the “Maudit” would be their relationship with their Dark Patron – the Leanan Sidhe who inspires their poetry while draining away their life, the Devil to whom they sold their soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll, or the Vampyre who commissions paintings while feeding on the Maudit’s relatives.

The Bohemian’s defining feature might be their ability to survive on the margins of society. Maybe they should have Special Abilities like “Crash Pad” (they can always take shelter with members of their sub-culture), “Improvise Item” (they can re-purpose discarded objects), “Charm Youth” (a bonus when talking to those under 30), “Escape Bonus” (they get a Bonus when they have to escape holds, bonds, or confinement) and “Artistic Ability” (like the Maudit, but they don’t have a deal with some monster). They would definitely have a variant of the “Social Discrimination” Weakness, that would apply to those over 30. Maybe the other Weakness would be “Won’t Sell-Out”, which would turn a “Bohemian” into a Level 1 Everyman if they ever get a “straight job”. I’m open to any suggestions.

Anyway, very cool idea.

I think Maudit would be the Class to test out for a “drugged-out-rocker-fated-to-die-at-27” concept. If the hippie is actually a rich kid slumming it, then Ne’er-do-well. Otherwise, Everyman for the average commune inhabitant, or Haight-Ashbury denizen.