Eureka The Mad Science RPG

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

For those of you who don't know St. Ehlers and I are preparing to forey into the magical mystical world of making RPG's with Eureka!!! The Mad Science RPG.

We plan two editions, a rules light Beer and Pretzel Edition and a more comprehensive Delux Edition.  Supplements for Eureka planned so far are "Retro Rockets and Square Jawed Heros" and "The Menlo Park Scientific Supply Catalog"

Just so you know authoring a game is much tougher than it seems and I have been working on this game in my spare time for about a year.  After a lot of work I have a great mockup of the game ready but I have decided to completley finish it and the two supplements I have planned before marketing and selling it.  Last night I began to fully rework and redesign my rules engine to make it smoother an simpler.  
Soon playtesting will begin and we will have to rework the game again.
But before I get there I need your input, (please dont suggest formats or seperate RPG ideas.....)  
So here's your chance to contribute to a creative process. What would you say absolutely HAS to be in a Mad Scientist RPG!!! Do you have a favorite setting or a favorite invention idea or a scientist you think doesn't get enough credit? Tell me about them. I'll try and convert them into game terms and include your name in the title of an invention as your form of credit. (drawings and diagrams would be nice too if your an artist with lots of free time)  

[Slant]

What HAS to be in a mad scientist game?

Ummm...

Creepy Bavarian castles.
Lots of towering equipment that produce electrical currents.
Hunchbacked lackeys.
Machines that make people swap personalities.
Doo-dads that turn people into animals.
Genetically engineered white mice who try to take over the world.
Secret lairs.
Angry townsfolk.
Hot young women to be menaced by grotesque monsters.
Grotesque monsters to menace hot young women.
Handsome, red-blooded men of action to foil evil plans.
And, of course, mad scientists.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Oh and I almost forgot, don't confine yourself to the Frankenstein box,... remember the Mad Scientists of the bad alien invasion movies and SCi-fi serials (Flash Gordon, Buck Rodgers) and don't forget Jurrassic park....

[Fellfrosch]

If I were playing a mad scientist game, I'd want a workable system for my PC to actually create wacky devices and monsters. A lot of games try to add construction elements to games, like alchemy and hardware and weaponsmithing, but it never works for me. I'd like to see some creation powers/skills that aren't relegated to the downtime between sessions.

[Entsuropi]

Secret exits. Lots of em. In fact, more secret than non-secret exits. You can never have too many after all...

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

I dont know about wacky (I have a serious bent toward my game)
but the invention system allows for instantanious invention. Each Creation can be brought into play whenever..... No questions asked as long as the character has invention points to spend.  
Each invention has 2 stats: Power and Complexity and 1 achilles heel (like power hungry or willful)
Power represents base damage potential(giving or taking Up to a maximum of 6)
and each point of power adds 1 point of damage to the device.
Complexity represents the creations function. Each point spent allows the player to select 1 perk for the creation (like offensive attack or Intimidating). Complexity has no cap.

Characters can also go in the hole for as many invention points as they have intellect points but while in the hole they cant invent untill they have paid all the points back.

[Fellfrosch]

See, that sounds cool. Glad to hear it.

[Brian]

Lightening... most definitely lightening. Every Mad Scientist story has to have a Dark and Stormy Night.

[Slant]

And every mad scientist worth his psychosis has at least one Gate to the Infernal Nether Realm.

Out of curiosity, what made you want to come up with this game?

[42]

Don't forget the disabled assistant.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

How did I come up with the idea..... Well I went to Origins in 2001 to GM the Hackmaster Tournement of Champions and I saw all the new games coming out.... and I was dissapointed. Too many Conan or LOTR or Star Wars knockoffs not to mention Gothic wanna be Vampires and Werewolves.... lots of Diesel Punk (children of the Sun) and other books that frankly looked like everything else that was there. On the way back I was reading the comics that my friend picked up and complaining about the lack of originality in the industry right now. Thats when I cracked the cover of Girl Genius a cooll steam punky comic about mad scientists.  Which got me thinking .... I like steampunk, I like mad science.... I'd play that game.... especially if I could buy it for 15 dollars or less I bet other people would too.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

The cool part about the inventions is that you can keep improving the first one ever increasing its power or complexity pretty much indefinately. The two catches areThe more complex an invention is the bigger it is and some perks are mutualy exclusive.

[Entsuropi]

Might i just interject that not all, or indeed most, white wolf gamers are goth.
Another crude stereotype. Like... all americans are stupid; all rpg gamers are spotty 15 year olds... get my drift?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

heh, touched a nerve. I should interject a response that no one said all WW players were goth, jsut that htere were a lot of goth knock offs of WW games.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Indeed I own and enjoy vampire... but lots of "new" games have tried to out goth the original. I never mentioned gamers or people,... just games.