Rule 1: In order to become canonical each post has to pick up something that has already been established by someone else and build on it. Only in this way can something new be added.Rule 2: Keep it within reason and don't break the immersion for everyone else. Rule 3: Have fun.Starting with a rough premise to set the tone:>Players are bug-headed-investigators collecting evidence of a vast, hidden control system that governs reality. >Detective work involves getting high on insecticide, cut-up-techniques and orgon accumulation. >The "Mugwumps," the "Reptiles," and the "Grey Officers" all represent control entities that feed on energy. >Don't trust 'em. >They are bureaucrats of a gnostic, alien order.>Be aware of the insect archons! >They are parasitic deities that can manifest as viruses (biological and linguistic), addictive substances or bureaucratic control. >Create a detective and expose the hidden patterns of the manipulators!
>>97396890All player characters are, in fact, aliens in disguise themselves.
>>97396934Immersion broken.
>>97396964Sounds like something a disguised alien would say.
>>97396934The disguise has gotten so convincing that many fell for their own trick. They have forgotten who they really are. This is intentional.The insecticide quiets the human fiction and reveals the hidden reality behind this veil of deception. Including our true clicking forms.
>>97397832The 'many' being everyone.The alien overlords have already won, but refuse to admit their true existence, even to themselves. The reasons are various.Some fear competing aliensSome have forgottenSome believe the charade is meaningful in itselfSome fell in love with humanity and no longer want to return to their original selves.
>>97397832The end goal of all this self-deception is to trick reality into making you a human.Naturally, this is a pretty esoteric goal and hard to accomplish wittingly.Game mechanics involve subliminally programming yourself so you can do manchurian candidate shit without breaking your own self-delusion.
>>97398483>Game mechanics involve subliminally programming yourself so you can do manchurian candidate shit without breaking your own self-delusion.kino
>>97398483The player simultaneously tries to maintain the belief that he is human while attempting to decipher the dark workings of metaphysical manipulation. I like the Antagonism in that. I'd suggest the player needs to take antipsychotics at regular intervals, or even morphine in emergencies, to maintain this illusion. It gets harder the deeper you journey down the rabbit hole. This could be implemented with a value similar to the Mental Stability System in Call of Cthulhu.I think a secret conspiracy in which people are processed into food and sold in supermarkets Idea stolen from Onions Green would fit well into the dark schizo noir atmosphere.
>>97398859I think in order to make it work you need to have a certain degree of separation between the player and the character.Hell, maybe you have two character sheets: One for your bug person when he's lucid and one for when he's pretending. You have to do a balancing act of time between either persona, tactically code switch, shit like that.
>>97398921Sounds cool. Original idea. Quite promising Since drugs have been mentioned a few times maybe we could expand on that and make them a game mechanic. Stimulants:(eg Cocaine) increase concentration and performanceAntipsychotics and Opiates:Supresses symptoms and self-awareness but also blocks access to transdimensional information. Psychedelics and Insecticides:Give you Hallucinations, increase esoteric perception and allow contact with unknown entities. You'll see some things you won't like though.Obviously all substances come with their irl side effects.Here's a roll table for not taking your meds:01: Nothing02: Faces and patterns are starting to morph03: What are these voices? 04: The walls are melting05: Insects and spiders are crawling all over you skin06: You're turning into a bug
I think it's important to clarify what players actually do in a session. I'd suggest that players start as "normal" detectives/investigators with more or less mundane cases which then become increasingly strange and surreal as the investigation progresses until the layers of reality literally start unfolding. Similar to Cthulhu, the players gradually become "mad," because of this with the difference that here they are actually experiencing a higher reality and achieving gnosis, which brings serious advantages but also disadvantages.
