Hi all.

Our current gm has really tight work pressures so I'm brewing up an ongoing open city sort of thing with lots of noir thems and tropes. It's the sort of thing where we wil be able to run a game with whoever can make it because there won't be a 'party' structure so to speak.

To keep things a little paranoid the characters are all somehow bound to the =I= and are minor agents of the Discaterium Invisiblis (ID), a low 'pool' type organisation at the bottom of the Inquisition. Inquisitors allocate resources, and the ID conducts routine investgation, research, pattern matching, and cult tracking type stuff. I got some really great source material from a guy calling himself 'Reason' over on RPGnet which I have packaged up into a nice little pdf for the group.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?410651-Dark-Heresy-Defining-Hive-Sibellus-OR-Reason-s-Thread-of-Ultimate-Awesome

(someone else renamed the thread!)

To the point though. To help create the noir atmosphere, and get everyone roleplaying well I've decided to use Archetypes in lieu of background packages. Not that I'll stop anyone from having a background package, but everyone will have an archetype. I see this as having a number of effects both in game and out of game.

• Each Archetype will come with bonuses. I was thinking +5 to prime stat, and one talent (or skill) applicable to that Archetype.
• Players will bew required to be their archetype, one of the classic types from noir (all genres).
• An bonus xp mechanic will be in place where characters are rewarded for acting within their archetype. Samll group or gm awards rewards.

Has anyone tried anything like this before, or have any good ideas? Do the aqrchetype bonuses go far enough? I've posted here because I want to ear from players and not just gms.

Cheers.

What you have seems ok, but my knowledge of the noir theme is fairly limited, so I doubt I can help.

You could look at the Edge of Darkness scenario. It is a free pdf on this website somewhere (although I think it would be easier to find with google).
It is fairly noir themed imo.

I wouldn't force people to play archetypes - if the atmosphere of the setting is noirish enough, they'll slip into appropriate behavior whatever their profession. You might want to have them all watch some good noir films the week before, though, so everyone is on the same page.

When I ran a Planescape Noir game I had every character choose one Sin that defined their character. When the opportunity to indulge in that sin came up in game the character had to make a check to resist giving in - or if that were inappropriate to the scene - to resist being distracted by it. So, the beat cop paladin had wrath as his sin, and anytime he was pushed by a perp he had to check against his stat or give into the urge to beat the man into line. The Jazz musician's sin was Sloth, which meant he actually had to succeed at a skill check or always take the easiest way out of a situation. (or just not get involved)

I also made it clear to the players that in a Noir game there are no real happy endings ... just better or worse.

Then play up the class struggles, the grit vs. glitter, the idea that no matter how rich or poor you are, people are doing the same dirty things in their back rooms, and things should fall into place.

thanks for the replies guys. On a whim I switched to Paranoia instead, and we have had a hoot. Makes a good break from our other DH game.