As my three-year-long campaign of Song of Ice and Fire winds down, and I grind copy of FIFA 15 down to a nub, I have been itching for something to replace my online gaming experience, and the alchemy of my brain is combining the two into what I hope is a sick, twisted masterpiece. I would like to have a few players to join an experimental game I have been cooking up: FCRPG, the roleplaying game that replicates the experience of a soccer club as they fight their way to win league glory, compete for cups, and promote youth in order to continue their legacy. One player will be the manager, in charge of making on-the-field decisions and adjustments, making profitable moves on the transfer market, and using his eye for talent to define the roles of the youth squad as they fight for first-team minutes. All the other PCs will be players, using their skill and flair for the game to craft the game how they wish. My role? Why, I am all the sleazeball agents in Brazil, all the supermodels hoping to catch a ticket on your yacht, all the hard tacklers hoping to snap your ankle, and, most importantly, I am Andy Townsend, and I'm Martin Tyler. The rules themselves are very easy to learn. You have abilities and specializations, for example, shooting is an ability, but volleying is a specialization. If you have 5 shooting, and 2B volleying, you get to roll seven dice (d6s) and drop the two lowest. The more you succeed past a certain target difficulty, the more success--- You roll a (6,4,3,3,3,2,2) Your 19, a low, well-aimed half-volley, is going to be tough for the goalie to stop. There are also benefits and drawbacks, which are sort of like feats in D and D or Pathfinder. For instance, you may have a benefit called Brother, which means somewhere out there you have a brother capable of the same level of talent as you. Playing on your team, he might add a chemistry bonus to some rolls, and on others, you may have an advantage defending his dribbles. You may have a drawback called Overly Aggressive, which means successful feints may cause you to foul harder than other players. There will be 12 turns in each match played; one defining skill check for each player on offense, marked by a defensive maneuver. The ball can be passed, and the ball carrier can be left unmarked for a helper or in dire circumstances for the goalkeeper, but relying on one player too much for offense or defense requires more stamina than most possess. The last round is the "Man of the Match" round, in which the two players who have done the most to exert themselves can have one final attempt to change the game: a meteoric strike from outside the box, a diving denial of a crucial penalty, or the drawing of a crucial second yellow on their best player heading into extra time. This is why soccer; not American football or baseball or basketball, where repetition and technique are everything. This is the beautiful game. Your descriptions, your player's attitude and appearance on the pitch, your movements, and even your instincts will have an effect on the outcome. If your wing back comes flying in to deliver his favored cross and fails, do not be surprised to see the bonus your opponent has when counter-attacking that wing. If your striker is described as "lurking" between two defenders the round before your maestro lays in a forward ball, there will be blood. The game won't be perfect, and I'll need your help, but I have a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of ability. I have played mostly on Fantasy Ground, but this shouldn't be map-intensive or schedule-dependent to a great degree, so I welcome all suggestions and applications. Please e-mail me at johnrisley at g mail dot com if you want to try it out or talk it over.
