Hosting A DMC Tabletop RPG

[Wuodan]

I'm planning to host a sort of tabletop-style DMC themed roleplaying game for my friends in late July-early August and I need some ideas, mainly on the class/race system but also on possible items, locations, demon types, etc.

Now I'm pretty sure my friends can stumble upon this forum if I tell them I'm going to host such a game, so I'll just briefly go over the story in my mind without spoiling anything crucial. It's based on a fanfiction I was planning to write for several months, maybe I'll actually write it someday.

Anyway... Story will take place between DMC3 and 1, a bit closer to 1 timeline-wise. Main plot elements will be Order of The Sword and it's conflict for power with other similar factions, Mundus's struggle within the Demon World and some history regarding Vergil at the center of those elements. Returning characters will be Dante, Lady, Enzo(maybe), and while the rest will be original, some of them will share ties with Mundus, Sparda and Vergil. Also while Order of The Sword is in, Sanctus may only have a minor role or might not appear at all. Vie de Marli from DMC2 may also be included as a faction.

With all that said, let's look at the framework I have. I'll use D&D 5e as base and try to create races and classes from scratch. This is the point I need the most help with. There will be 4 races as listed below. Here they are and my thoughts on each of them;

• Regular humans

They can;
*Work as a "devil hunter", either government/corporate based or solo
*Make contract with demons and become their "pawn"
*Work inside a religious faction as a paladin of sorts
Alternatively, they can pick any profession they like and go from there but I wouldn't advise it.

• Enhanced humans (similar to humans transformed via Ascension Ceremony)

They are either knights of a religious faction or a deserter from them. They can play as a mage/priest type or a paladin/knight type.

• Half-demons

Pretty much the same options with regular humans. For a change, I'd like to implement a karma dynamic for them regarding their standing with humans and demons, which means their actions will have enormous effect on who wants to kill them most.
They'll always be wanted by someone and always on the run.
They'll also, obviously, play different than humans with extra abilities and according shortcomings.

• Demons

They can;
*Serve as a pawn of a demonic lord
*Mind their own business as solo
*Be traitors who help/serve humans in some way
Demons will always be in threat of religious factions, anti-demon organizations, solo devil hunters and other demons competing for fame/power so they'll be the strongest race in exchange of never being safe.
In regards to their power, I think they can have a sub-class category of their own, defining what type of demon they are. Imp, Incubus/Succubus, Fallen Angel are some quick examples. They'll have an according skillset.
Alternatively, they can pick skills from a skill pool without having a distinctive class. Using Shin Megami Tensei series as an example would be quite useful here.

That's basically it. I'm not really specifically asking help for my own campaign, but rather try to build a framework for a DMC roleplay universe for future use. If any GM ever wants to host a game in this universe, any work done here would help them a lot.

Any opinion, idea, criticism is welcome!

Ask yourself; if you'd host a DMC rp game like this, what would it be like? Hopefully this thread will invoke some fruitful discussion.

 

[Steve]

Haven't really got anything to put forward suggestion-wise just yet; just wanted to say that this sounds like a hella fun idea and you've already got a great foundation in place. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

 

[V's patron]

I think @RadiantWolf wanted to do a 2000 year timeskip with Dante taking over the king of hell.

So i put that forward.

 

[Veloran]

I would think that characters should start out as purely human and only upgrade under specific circumstances. As far we know those different groups don't really work together, and allowing that kind of gives away the plot right off the bat.

 

[Wuodan]

Thanks for your replies! I was at vacation, sorry for the late response.

@Steve Powell
Thank you! Please feel free to contribute anything. I'm also discussing this with my party right now. I'll write solid things down later.

@Z218
Sounds like a fun twist but I don't want to carry main characters around too much. I believe the best way you can do a DMC rp is to keep the stakes low. Lesser demons and their affairs rather than rulers of hell for example. Dante being the king of hell is a fun idea and can serve as a very enjoyable fanservice but 2000 year time skip is too much imo. I believe '90's aesthetic is something that compliments DMC's universe.

@Veloran
You are right but I don't know if a human-only party can enjoy the game against demons and people with almost magical powers.

 

[lorddemolatron]

For RPs, can be an okay if i can join too, beacuse i like that type and stuff and well now i rarely get to RP, even DMC as setted theme is okay for me

 

[RadiantWolf]

You should do a 2000 year time skip with Dante becoming King of Hell...I mean uh

Seriously though this sounds entertaining and practically speaking I think that the time period you chose is a better way to truly represent the setting.

Just remember not to let 'em have internet or cell phones.

 

[Wuodan]

@lorddemolatron
I'm really sorry but we'll be doing it in our native language. I'm not well versed enough to host such a game in English, as least not simultaneously. But maybe we can host an entirely new campaign specifically for this forum if anyone is willing to do it. I'm more than ready to help if such an event occurs.

@RadiantWolf
Ahhahaha thank you! Of course there will be no cellphones. As for internet, I'm not sure if it can be manageable in any setting at all. As far as I know there aren't any rulebooks or guides considering the use of social network sites aside from some apps in development.

I've laid down the foundations of Half-Demon subclasses, made a list of factions and pretty much laid the groundwork for everything else. I'll just briefly mention what's on my mind and write the detailed explanations with dice values when everything is done.

• Human race

Must begin as a member of a faction to balance the combat capabilities. Humans will play exactly as DnD 5e classes as they will pick from alterations of existing 5e classes. These are for players. They can pick 4 classes according to what faction they are in. Options are;

*Gunslinger: Player Character must work for a anti-demon government agency. Like the Highway Department in anime. Their main task will be eliminating lesser demons who cause trouble in urban populations.

*Holy Knight
PC must begin as a member of Order of The Sword or Act of The Apostles(self-made faction) and will use a mixture of 5e Fighter and 5e Paladin classes. Main difference between the two factions is this:
Order of The Sword is a pro-Sparda clan who respects his achievements for mankind and believe that demons can live alongside humans in a peaceful environment.
Act of The Apostles believe Sparda's deeds undershadowed mankind's fight and struggle against demon invasion and they despise Sparda for that reason. They also believe that demons are the mortal enemy of mankind and they should all be exterminated.

*Scholar
PC must begin as a member of Jester's Disciples, a semi-joke clan. The idea is some of Arkham's studies and writings on demonkind and demonic arts survived the collapse of Temen-ni-gru, to be found by an enthusiastic group of scholars of dark arts.
Scholars will use demonic runes, scrolls and enchanted demonic items as a means of combat and will use an alteration of Unearthed Arcana's Artificer

*Rogue
Will use an alteration of 5e Rogue class. Everyone knows what a rogue is so I'm skipping the explanation. PC must begin as a member of Vie de Marli.

• Half-Demons

They will resemble the gameplay version the most. Half-Demon PCs can pick from 4 main styles as their class: "Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royalguard" respectively. Each class has a moveset of it's own and players can choose to use any of those moves as a bonus action in their turns.

They can only use such moves several times at a time; but their ability to use the moves again returns after a short rest.

Something unique to Half-Demons is that they won't level up once they create their character; but instead they will increase their style level as they use style's abilities. Very similar to DMC3. Max level for a style is 5, although they can also pick a secondary style at level 3. I will explain the specifics at a later post.

Half-Demons can pick from a selection of starting points including government, gangs, self-employment, demonic groups and anything else possible.

Half-Demons (and demons) will also have a karma point attached to them, representing their wanted and wariness level amongst humans, demons and demon hunters. Again, details are at a later post.

• Demon race

PCs can pick from 9 possible subclasses:
*Shadow: Inspired by the famous (or infamous?) DMC1 enemy. Can manipulate darkness and use it as an utility and/or weapon.
*Elemental: Inspired from several aspects of both DMC and other similar games. Elemental can pick from Fire/Wind/Ice/Light and use picked element as a means of combat.
*Infestant: Inspired from DMC2 enemies. This demon can achieve higher strength by possessing various objects; but mostly powerless on it's own.
*Serpent: Reptilian demons. They can use poisons, bites and grappling attacks. They also have passive abilities such as thermal vision and sneaking.
*Imp: Small demons that can fly and mostly use ranged attacks. Inspired from Bathos & Pathos of DmC.
*Seven Hells of The Demon Army: Main lesser demons from DMC3. For entry level players who wants close combat.
*Succubus/Incubus: Demons that use their demonic charm as a means of combat and superiority.
*Armor: Inspired by Alto Angelo from DMC4 and Dullahan from DMC3. Demons that are made from steel and solid materials. They don't possess a physical body of their own other than the armor and they are a tank class.
*Chimera: Inspired by the Blade/Assault of DMC1 and 4. A class with beastly abilities such as superhuman speed, strength and acrobatics.

Demons will also not level up; but they can consume humans' and other demons' souls to enhance and strengthen their abilities, although they have to keep consuming preys to maintain their power. This is where the karma system for demons kicks in. If you are not careful you can be a public enemy for many anti-demon agencies or even amongst fellow demons.

In the period of this campaign, there are small rips and tears on the seal between the human and the demon realms, mainly because of Temen-ni-gru's short period of activity. Powerful demons aren't able to pass between worlds; but lesser ones can and do pass and in a small amount of time, they found communities in human world. Some hunt for humans, some try to mostly chill, have fun and mind their own business and a small minority are trying to adapt into human world disguised as humans. If PC becomes a demon, the main attraction will be the conflict between those three groups of demons.

• Ascended Humans

PCs must begin as a member of either Order of The Sword or Act of The Apostles. Alternatively, they can begin as a defect from those factions. They can use guns and swords like a half-demon or a professional demon hunter; but they also have magical abilities strong against demons specifically. I'm still not sure about their class features; but they'll probably be a mixture of all four Human classes. Jack of all trades, master of none basically.

That's pretty much it. Please tell me what you think about all this and thank you for your contributions!