An Alternate Saints Row (NSFW) [IC]

[steelsmiter]

TL;DR-Read the bold text

I have a system called Crime and Chaos that I explicitly wrote for playing out criminal sandbox games, and I just got back from playing the Reboot. Broadly speaking I've been seeing 2 opinions

1. It's "fine". The person giving it doesn't hate it, perhaps feels like it was able to capture something of the spirit, but fell short somehow (literal abbreviated story, weird writing moments, not enough banter/connection to MC's best buds, meh game play, and so on).
2. I hate it! (I don't know, something about 2 being best game or whatever)

Me, I thought it was good, but not great (In the interest of full disclosure 3 is my favorite HD game, but I don't obsess about it the way some people do about 2). I understood much of the story choices that got complaints while still having my own opinion about how things could have gone better. Anyway, it seems people are frustrated, which I also more or less understand. As noted above, I wrote a system for criminal sandbox roleplaying, so here's what I'm considering doing about it:

1. An alternate Steelport in which Playa made the "wrong" choice re:
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   Shaundi
   or straight up failed in the attempt to make the "right" choice
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   leading STAG to win and the old Playa to die.
   at which point new Playas revive The Saints, possibly a few months or years after the events of 3. Also
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   Gat won't be plot armored by Aliens.
2. An Alternate Santo Ileso in which we can have characters with more motivation and interpersonal connection than just being broke students that became friends after having to move together.
3. I'd previously pitched an idea with a non-canon S-alliterative town, but I don't necessarily need to run that.

Regardless of which of the three options we play, I also want some input on what we want to do with gangs. Do we want to include some or all previous gangs, or do we want to include 3-5 unique gangs that do one or more of the following:

1. A melee based gang either acrobatic or hulking brutes
2. gun bunnies
3. Motorheads with monster trucks, dune buggies, or both (which may or may not turn into technicals/NSTVs later)
4. An ironically anarchical group that largely has no idea about their own ironic existence (Everyone hated the idols, I immediately saw this and loved it)
5. Hackers (Also should we put cybernetic enhancement on the table?)
6. Paramilitary or Corporate Security firm, with pretty much immediate access to technicals, but can call higher firepower for backup.

I'm looking for about 3-5 players--Perhaps 1 per enemy gang--but I don't necessarily want characters to be Connected to the enemies like in the reboot.

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Here's an idea I had for an alternate Santo Ileso. That being said, an alternate Steelport would just cut short of the mass exodus mentioned there. I might have to noodle a bit how I'd do an alternate Steelport if I went that route though, because some of the decisions would not be the same. I think I'd probably keep Darkstar as Ultor still cut ties with the saints (and obviously moved into the Syndicate Tower), but I'm not sure I'd need Panteros to move in on the Luchadores. On the flip side I still prefer the Idols over the Deckers, but I'm not sure what excuse the Idols would have for hopping on over to Steelport (except maybe because STAG represents authority that they'd want to rail against). Would also not necessarily need The Nahualli to come over to Steelport unless the players decided they wanted his advice on getting even with Cyrus Temple (who of course took over the Saints HQ tower).

I would also use the Game Setup or OOC Thread to hash out an alternate Steelport other than the above if everyone hated Santo Ileso and would rather play in Steelport. Dunno enough about Stilwater to run a game there, so any other game/worldbuilding would be a city of our own imagining/design.

 

[mainman]

Would be interested, I love melee/stealth/chloroform/choke type do missions for the gang. Could even be a mercenary working for whoever's paying. New in town, don't need all the previous baggage.

 

[steelsmiter]

To say that you're not giving me much would be very generous to you, whereas I've given you quite a lot. What it looks like is that you'll play any criminal sandbox game, and don't actually care about Saints Row. That's not what this game/ad is about. Also among the themes that have always been prioritized in Saints Row games is the idea that the core group (whichever core group a respective game is about) has a level of loyalty to each other that is nigh on absolute (some of them even literally going to Hell and back), which doesn't really fit the idea of a "mercenary working for whoever's paying".

 

[steelsmiter]

In light of the fact that it's pretty easy to make certain characters in the game, and some concerns over how vehicles work, the upload as of this morning makes the following changes

Changelog

• Goblin Power Build
• Werewolf Power Build
• Overhauled Vehicles
• Added Sample Vehicle Stats