Post by jazzs3quence on Aug 24, 2010 8:41:09 GMT -8
The Long Con
The Long Con is about con artists. Not the dime-a-dozen scam artists that try to make a quick buck and run with pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes and African prince emails, but the ones who have honed their craft to a fine art. For a grifter on the long con, it's no fun to go after the easy targets; it's much more rewarding -- and profitable! -- to go after the big guys, who've grown fat and lazy with their own greed. They're a little like Robin Hood in that way, attacking the rich, except not so much with giving back to the poor. Still, there is a kind of honor among thieves.
How do you play
We're going to run this game in these forums (see Game Thread). When the game is actually done, you'll be able to run it with paper, pencils and dice and -- if all goes according to plan -- with or without a GM. So the gameplay will be pretty much the same as any other forum game. For simplicity, let's also say that any actions (i.e. when you're trying to use a skill) should be declared at the bottom of the post. Unlike the Steampunk game, though, only one action per round because...
there is no combat.
The Long Con isn't about combat, it's about intelligence and suave. There are no combat-related skills. I'm not even sure what would happen if a PC got into a fistfight, though most cons would probably see that as the utmost failure. Moreover, there are no rules for any kind of fighting -- if it came to that, we can just roll with it and see what happens.
Getting started
As implied elsewhere, all documentation exists -- and will most likely continue to exist -- over here (at least until I decide to set up a proper domain for it eventually). The wiki is being updated on a fairly regular basis so stuff is subject to change and be added to, and probably at some point I'll make a Quick-start Guide. In the meantime, here's how to start:
Actual character creation is covered here. You may (or may not) want to have a look at the different classes to get ideas about what type of character you'd like to play. Classes aren't really a set thing, more of a specialty or defined skillset, and characters will probably swap roles or put on different or multiple hats as the con requires.
You'll probably also want to have a look at the Skills since character creation will involve allotting points to skills.
Once you've got the basics down (you can also take a look at the mechanics page although it's woefully incomplete), there's a few things I've thrown in for fun.
Specializations are more specific skills within a defined Skill that you can add points to after reaching a certain threshold. Skills can have multiple Specializations, and Specializations can have sub-specializations. Specializations mean you're really good at this specific task and, as such, get perks when you are performing that task.
Experience, Reputation and Buzz are all ways your character will advance through the game. Experience Points (XP) can be spent on Skills and is awarded at the end of each round (once a day). Reputation points represent how much people are talking about you and directly influence your Rep skill. Buzz points are awarded when you do really well at a particular task (roll all successes on no less than 3 dice) and can increase your Skill ratings. Basically, there's XP, but there's also a ton of ways your character will get better simply by doing the things that he/she does through normal gameplay.
If your Rep starts getting unmanageably high, and you start getting tailed by the cops more frequently (and/or harassed by would-be grifters who want in on your crew), you can go off the grid and assume a new identity. The more cons you are able to successfully pull of while off the grid, the lower you can reduce your Rep when you resurface, but if you get caught while off the grid, you receive more Rep points (making you even more sought after and followed by cops and cons alike).
When you find a mark, you'll need to figure out what makes him tick. This is accomplished with Research and Dirt. You'll need to describe what you're doing to find information (calling on contacts, using Google, digging through public records, etc), but just how much you find out (and what) is determined by how many successes you roll (or, in this case, the computer rolls for you). You can also work together and combine your dice pools to potentially get better results.
The Long Con also uses the concept of botches, which are 1's on a d10. 1's cancel out successes, and if you roll more 1's than successes, you not only fail, but you fail fantastically.
Finally, you may be interested in taking a look at the Terminology and Classic Cons pages. These pages have stuff that was pulled from other sources and are included in the manual for reference. They'll be added to as more information is gathered. A few other places that are good to take a look at are the Confidence Trick and Ponzi scheme entries on wikipedia.
Contributing
The Long Con is being written under an open source license (though I haven't decided which one yet). This means that contributions are always welcome, or if you wanted to take the rules and spin them off in a new tangent, you're free to do so. All you need to do to become a contributor is to create an account on the wiki. If you're unfamiliar with wiki-language (and I'm still learning myself), there's everything you ever wanted to know on the MediaWiki Wiki.
Specific areas that I see the most potential for contribution (after the core rules are done) is in plug-ins, extensions and modules.
WTF?
I'm taking a note from open source software development with building this game. The concept is the core rules will be made to be as simple and functional as possible. Additional rules can be added (or removed) through Plug-Ins. Anything that adds a feature or rule that isn't defined in the core rules is defined as a Plug-in.
Modules will be sourcebooks that contain NPCs and bad guys. Modules are key to GM-less play, since playing without a GM will be run straight from Modules, so there will need to be some system (which has yet to be devised) where you roll against your Research or Dirt and move to a particular page which gives you information based on how well you rolled (and no more). They'll sort of be like Choose-your-own-Adventure novels in that respect.
Extensions are full scenarios or worlds. The beauty of The Long Con is that con artists have pretty much existed since the beginning of time. And it's unlikely there will ever come a time when con artists don't exist. Any time, place, planet, or scenario you can think of could be used as the basis of an Extension. Run LC on an alien world? Great. Run a con in World War II concentration camps? Sure. Extensions will include modules for GM or GM-less play and may include any number of Plug-ins (or none), and will most likely have some scenario or world information about the particular theme or setting.
Plug-ins, Modules and Extensions are my favorite part about this game (even though they haven't been explicitly written yet), and are what I see to be adding the most innovation to gaming (I don't know of any other systems that have that sort of thing going on, except maybe tabletop games like Settlers of Catan and other related games like that). Even with gaming systems that may have those sorts of things added in, I don't think there's many that base all of it on user-contribution. I've done a cursory look at open source gaming, so I might be being presumptuous in thinking I'm the first person to think this stuff up, but even if I am, it's still cool and I'm excited about it.
Recommended resources
There's lots of movies and TV shows about cons. The Sting with Robert Redford is often referenced. This game was inspired highly (down to the classes, terminology and philosophy) by BBC's Hustle. It airs on A&E in the US but if you're a pirate like me, you can get seasons 1-6 on The Pirate Bay or Demonoid (requires membership, ask if you need an invite, I might have some). Let me know if there's other good resources you know.
If you are thinking of creating scenarios, modules or extensions, a good plot-device resource is TV Tropes and Idioms, which I just became aware of last week. It's basically a massive wiki of every TV, movie and fiction plot cliche ever, and lists the sources it can be found in.
Warning!!
This game is in extreme pre-beta mode (i.e. alpha). It's not only possible that there will be changes/additions made as we go, it's pretty much guaranteed. However, I think the core mechanics are fairly solid (we'll see, though), so the basic functioning of the game should be sound and everything will just be added on to what's already up in the wiki.
That's about it!
Let me know if you have any questions or comments in the Suggestions or OOC threads, and otherwise get cracking on your characters!
The Long Con is about con artists. Not the dime-a-dozen scam artists that try to make a quick buck and run with pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes and African prince emails, but the ones who have honed their craft to a fine art. For a grifter on the long con, it's no fun to go after the easy targets; it's much more rewarding -- and profitable! -- to go after the big guys, who've grown fat and lazy with their own greed. They're a little like Robin Hood in that way, attacking the rich, except not so much with giving back to the poor. Still, there is a kind of honor among thieves.
How do you play
We're going to run this game in these forums (see Game Thread). When the game is actually done, you'll be able to run it with paper, pencils and dice and -- if all goes according to plan -- with or without a GM. So the gameplay will be pretty much the same as any other forum game. For simplicity, let's also say that any actions (i.e. when you're trying to use a skill) should be declared at the bottom of the post. Unlike the Steampunk game, though, only one action per round because...
there is no combat.
The Long Con isn't about combat, it's about intelligence and suave. There are no combat-related skills. I'm not even sure what would happen if a PC got into a fistfight, though most cons would probably see that as the utmost failure. Moreover, there are no rules for any kind of fighting -- if it came to that, we can just roll with it and see what happens.
Getting started
As implied elsewhere, all documentation exists -- and will most likely continue to exist -- over here (at least until I decide to set up a proper domain for it eventually). The wiki is being updated on a fairly regular basis so stuff is subject to change and be added to, and probably at some point I'll make a Quick-start Guide. In the meantime, here's how to start:
Actual character creation is covered here. You may (or may not) want to have a look at the different classes to get ideas about what type of character you'd like to play. Classes aren't really a set thing, more of a specialty or defined skillset, and characters will probably swap roles or put on different or multiple hats as the con requires.
You'll probably also want to have a look at the Skills since character creation will involve allotting points to skills.
Once you've got the basics down (you can also take a look at the mechanics page although it's woefully incomplete), there's a few things I've thrown in for fun.
Specializations are more specific skills within a defined Skill that you can add points to after reaching a certain threshold. Skills can have multiple Specializations, and Specializations can have sub-specializations. Specializations mean you're really good at this specific task and, as such, get perks when you are performing that task.
Experience, Reputation and Buzz are all ways your character will advance through the game. Experience Points (XP) can be spent on Skills and is awarded at the end of each round (once a day). Reputation points represent how much people are talking about you and directly influence your Rep skill. Buzz points are awarded when you do really well at a particular task (roll all successes on no less than 3 dice) and can increase your Skill ratings. Basically, there's XP, but there's also a ton of ways your character will get better simply by doing the things that he/she does through normal gameplay.
If your Rep starts getting unmanageably high, and you start getting tailed by the cops more frequently (and/or harassed by would-be grifters who want in on your crew), you can go off the grid and assume a new identity. The more cons you are able to successfully pull of while off the grid, the lower you can reduce your Rep when you resurface, but if you get caught while off the grid, you receive more Rep points (making you even more sought after and followed by cops and cons alike).
When you find a mark, you'll need to figure out what makes him tick. This is accomplished with Research and Dirt. You'll need to describe what you're doing to find information (calling on contacts, using Google, digging through public records, etc), but just how much you find out (and what) is determined by how many successes you roll (or, in this case, the computer rolls for you). You can also work together and combine your dice pools to potentially get better results.
The Long Con also uses the concept of botches, which are 1's on a d10. 1's cancel out successes, and if you roll more 1's than successes, you not only fail, but you fail fantastically.
Finally, you may be interested in taking a look at the Terminology and Classic Cons pages. These pages have stuff that was pulled from other sources and are included in the manual for reference. They'll be added to as more information is gathered. A few other places that are good to take a look at are the Confidence Trick and Ponzi scheme entries on wikipedia.
Contributing
The Long Con is being written under an open source license (though I haven't decided which one yet). This means that contributions are always welcome, or if you wanted to take the rules and spin them off in a new tangent, you're free to do so. All you need to do to become a contributor is to create an account on the wiki. If you're unfamiliar with wiki-language (and I'm still learning myself), there's everything you ever wanted to know on the MediaWiki Wiki.
Specific areas that I see the most potential for contribution (after the core rules are done) is in plug-ins, extensions and modules.
WTF?
I'm taking a note from open source software development with building this game. The concept is the core rules will be made to be as simple and functional as possible. Additional rules can be added (or removed) through Plug-Ins. Anything that adds a feature or rule that isn't defined in the core rules is defined as a Plug-in.
Modules will be sourcebooks that contain NPCs and bad guys. Modules are key to GM-less play, since playing without a GM will be run straight from Modules, so there will need to be some system (which has yet to be devised) where you roll against your Research or Dirt and move to a particular page which gives you information based on how well you rolled (and no more). They'll sort of be like Choose-your-own-Adventure novels in that respect.
Extensions are full scenarios or worlds. The beauty of The Long Con is that con artists have pretty much existed since the beginning of time. And it's unlikely there will ever come a time when con artists don't exist. Any time, place, planet, or scenario you can think of could be used as the basis of an Extension. Run LC on an alien world? Great. Run a con in World War II concentration camps? Sure. Extensions will include modules for GM or GM-less play and may include any number of Plug-ins (or none), and will most likely have some scenario or world information about the particular theme or setting.
Plug-ins, Modules and Extensions are my favorite part about this game (even though they haven't been explicitly written yet), and are what I see to be adding the most innovation to gaming (I don't know of any other systems that have that sort of thing going on, except maybe tabletop games like Settlers of Catan and other related games like that). Even with gaming systems that may have those sorts of things added in, I don't think there's many that base all of it on user-contribution. I've done a cursory look at open source gaming, so I might be being presumptuous in thinking I'm the first person to think this stuff up, but even if I am, it's still cool and I'm excited about it.
Recommended resources
There's lots of movies and TV shows about cons. The Sting with Robert Redford is often referenced. This game was inspired highly (down to the classes, terminology and philosophy) by BBC's Hustle. It airs on A&E in the US but if you're a pirate like me, you can get seasons 1-6 on The Pirate Bay or Demonoid (requires membership, ask if you need an invite, I might have some). Let me know if there's other good resources you know.
If you are thinking of creating scenarios, modules or extensions, a good plot-device resource is TV Tropes and Idioms, which I just became aware of last week. It's basically a massive wiki of every TV, movie and fiction plot cliche ever, and lists the sources it can be found in.
Warning!!
This game is in extreme pre-beta mode (i.e. alpha). It's not only possible that there will be changes/additions made as we go, it's pretty much guaranteed. However, I think the core mechanics are fairly solid (we'll see, though), so the basic functioning of the game should be sound and everything will just be added on to what's already up in the wiki.
That's about it!
Let me know if you have any questions or comments in the Suggestions or OOC threads, and otherwise get cracking on your characters!