Here you can find a set of rules for the School Hard setting, including rules for creating and playing Emo Kids.
Below you will find rules for using the School Hard setting, and also rules for the powers gifted to but a select few by the Gods of emo. Powers sufficient to take over the world if only thost who wielded them weren't so damn whingy.
Here you can find more information on the School Hard setting, as well as the rules for setting games in it.
Here are the rules for using attributes and skills in the School Hard setting.
Attributes
There are four attributes in School Hard: Brain, Brawn, Style and Substance. Between them, these attributes govern all actions, and whenever a character attempts to do something they will use one of their attributes to determine how successful they are. Of course, if it's something especially easy or boring then you can assume the character successfully achieves their goal. If it's something dramatic oor difficult, you will need to roll a dice and calculate a score to see if you're successful. More on that later.
Some actions, like a surprise exam will only have one relevant attribute - in this case Brains. Others may use any number of attributes depending on how the character goes about. A seduction attempt could use brains if the character tries to use logic to persuade their would-be paramour or impress them with their genius, brawn if they try to impress somebody by flexing their muscles, style if they bat their eyelashes, or substance if they, y'know, try to strike a conversation based on mutual interests and a shared respect. Of course, trying to seduce a chess club nerd by flexing muscles will be much more difficult than trying to impress them with you mad chess skills. It's important to be smart when you choose how to do something.
Broadly, Brains can be used for any action where being smart or intellectual may help. Brawn for anything where your physical prowess is key. Style for when you need to look good doing something, and Substance for when you can't fake it, and you need genuine talent or character.
As a guideline, a rating of 1 in an attribute is kittenishly weak, 3 is poor, 5 is average, 7 is good, 9 is amazing.
Skills
There are an indefinite number of skills. They reflect a specific way of using the attribute that a character is particularly adept at. So for instance, a band may have a talented guitarist who has a skill in substance (guitar). The same band may also have a guitarist with no talent beyond looking really good whilst playing the guitar - in other words, one who has a skills in style (guitar). Potentially any skill can be used by a character but they must be specific and make sense for the character.
Because skills are unique to people, a rating of even 1 means that character can do something better than most people, 3 is an impressive talent, 5 is semi-pro, 7 is professional, 9 is world-class
Doing Stuff
To determine whether a character is successful in her attempt to do something, simply roll a single D10 and add the result on the die relevant attribute score, as well as any relevant skill. The sum of these numbers has to equal or beat the target number, which will be set by the GM. Something that is of average difficulty will have a target number of 11, moderatly hard will be 13, difficult will be 15 and... well, you get the idea.
Fighting in the school hard system aims to reflect fighting in real life. By which we mean it should be short, sudden and usually happen when one side hopelessly oumatches the other.
Health leavels
Each character has health levels equal to their brawn. If a character is reduced to zero health levels then they are obviously very woozy and will want a quiet sit down a cup of tea. If somehow a character gets below zero health levels then they are knocked out. Dying is not something that usually happens. That said, if your character contrives to get shot in the face a number of times they will die. For those who need rules, if somebody manages to get down to -5 their friends would probably want to call an ambulance. At -10 a character dies in the absence of major medical attention. If they get down to -15 they are dead. There shouldn't normally be need to keep track of minus levels, though.
Losing Health leavels
If somebody takes a solid punch, or drops to the floor after a failed stage dive then they will lose a health level.
If somebody takes a dog bite to the leg, takes a fall from the first story window or gets hit by somebody using a weapon they will lose two health levels
If somebody gets hit by a car, bullet, or bitten by a shark they will lose three health levels.
If somebody takes more damage than that I will start to wonder what kind of school you went to.
Healing Health leavels
Health levels are healed at the rate of one per good night's sleep. Any health levels below the first heal at a rate of 5 per night, meaning that anybody knocked out should be coming to by the next morning, unless they're very seriously injured.
Fights
Fights are modelled using a opposed roll of brawn vs any relevant skill. Whoever loses the roll loses a health level. If the person who wins is carrying some suitable weapon, then the victim will lose two health levels.
Within these pages you will find the rules for creating and playing Emo Kids in the School Hard setting.
Relive your glory days as a sixth form poet struggling to find something to rhyme with 'tears of blood'. Better yet, create a much better set of glory days as a sixth form poet who actually can think of something to rhyme with 'tears of blood'.
In depth characterization is important to the mature consumer of 'I'm Not OK'
Don't worry! It's not really. I was just being ironic. 'I'm Not Ok' is basically an excuse to be insensitive about teenagers and trivialise serious emotional problems.
Still, it might be useful to have some sort of idea of the sort of Emo Kid you want to inflict on the world. Here are some basic Emo sub-divisions to help you start your Emo-Kid off,. At some point there may even be some questions for you to consider in order to flesh them out.
Emo Sub-Divisions
The Inferior Musician can often be spotted playing the same few bars of Street Spirit and Under the Bridge around campfires whilst their friends feign interest. They often belong in bands with long names who compose derivative emo songs.
Goths are easy to spot by their black livery; which they wear as a result of their unique realisation of the fundamental meaningless of life. Most Goths respond by becoming bleak and macabre, though a small few become bubbly and chirpy. Perhaps they are trying to create meaning? Perhaps they have been driven mad by the black chasm of despair into which they gazed? Perhaps they once read The Sandman and though Death was cool.
The Randoms are crazy, quirky, wacky and zany in one horrific little package. They break a carefully selected set of social norms, after careful planning. Part of the planning involves the illusion that the trangression is spontaneous and a result of the youthful spirit within them. They can be seen rolling down the hills that they checked for dogshit before their friends arrived, before starting a food fight with the jelly they just happened to have with them.
The Snobs are the people who are telling you that they used to like your favourite band/TV show but only before they sold out last year. Everything you do and like will be compared, unfavourably, to an alternative that you have never heard of and never will. Because it's almost certainly fictional.
This is where you begin to flesh out your concept. In a skinny, skeletal, emo kind of way.
Attributes
There are four attributes in I'm Not OK, which come in two pairs. Brains and Brawn, and then Style and Substance. You have 10 points to allocate to each pairing. So if you decide you want a genius character, you might give her Brains 8, which means you have 2 points lefts over for Brawn. There may be people out there who are both very strong and very clever, but they'd make me feel inadequate, so I've made their existence in my game mechanically impossible.
But be careful! Emo kids are puny, so they start off with -2 brawn. This means you need to spend 3 points just to raise an emo kid up to kittenish levels of strength.
Skills
You have 10 points to allocate to your skills. The first level you take in a skill costs one point, the second costs 2 points, the third costs 3 points, and so on.
For more information on attributes and skills check out the pages on the School Hard setting.
Every Emo-kid knows that inside of them lies an untapped fountain of energy which, if unleashed, would overwhelm the world.
They are of course all wrong. But by playing I'm Not OK they -and you- can pretend for just a little while that this is the case.
Every Emo-Kid starts off with at least one Emo-Power. These powers allow young men and women to wield their teen-angst like a horrible, horrible tool. Although these powers allow Emo-kids to do (relatively) cool stuff, due to the intrinsic nature of Emo there is always a downside. This can range from points on the Emo Track, to looking like even more of a fool than normal.
Here are some sample Emo-Powers, but feel free to make up your own.
Sample Emo Powers
I Bet That You Look Good on the Dance Floor
You are a leaf on the sea of music. The rhythm pours into you submersing you in a universe of basslines and wailing guitars. You are the music, and you can no more ignore the call to dance than you can ask your heart to stop beating.
As long as you can hear music and you don't mind looking like a fool, you can use your Style instead of your Brawn when calculating your results in a fight or an act of destruction as you mosh and dance hopelessly around the room. As long as the music plays, you must successfully make a intelligence check to stop dancing.
When I Weep, my Guitar Weeps with me
Your mind throbs and aches and pulses. Infinite stars kiss your soul, each one healing a wound or a scar. And as your soul bleeds your pain away, right down through your fingers and into your guitar you know that in this one moment, and only in this one moment, you are open like the night sky, and for a split second, they will understand.
When you play music, recite your poetry or make any kind of performance you may cause your audience to feel any emotion that you fee, as long as you take a point of Emo. You may affect a number of people up to your current Emo Rating.
Would Anybody Even Notice, Would Anybody Even Care?
Who are you? Your difference is a mask which hides you from them but also from yourself. You are just like them but in your arrogance you thought to find a speck of individuality but you failed and that failure is now all you have left to mask. You're beneath them. It's for the best that they don't see you, for there is nothing worth seeing.
By gaining a point of Emo you may be invisible for a minute. To remain invisble for a second minute you must gain 2 points, and so on...
Creep
-filler-
When you insult somebody you can cause them to gain Emo points equal to your successes on a Substance check, even if they are a non-emo character. Non-emo characters cannot handle having emo points and so will vent them as quickly as possible, normally by cutting the pain out.
The downside is that you gain the exact same number of emo points as them.
Boy Whore
-filler-
By sharing your emo with somebody you can seduce them. For each point of emo you gain, a successful seduction check will guarantee that you get to the equivalent base.
With great power comes great pain
It's true for Spiderman, despite what his uncle said, and it's true for Emo Kids.
Every Emo Kid has an Emo Meter. Certain situations will cause the angsty little things to gain more emo. Other times, they will be able to behave in a way that vents some of these pent up emotions. That's important because if the emo meter ever gets to 10, the character will have an emo freak out, when they lose control of the vast emo powers at their disposal. On the other hand, having a higher rating on the Emo Counter has distinct advantages.
When you create your character, you'll need to select an Emo Freak-Out. You can find some examples of Emo Freak-Outs at the bottom of this page but feel free to invent your own. If you read on, you'll find rules for gaining and losing Emo.
Using the Emo Track
The Emo Track is a way of quanitfying your character's teen angst. There are four main stages:
0-3: Your character is a well-adjusted, normal teenager, undeserving of the name Emo. Most people never leave this area. Whilst your character is so well adjusted, he may not use his Emo Powers, and he suffers a -1 penalty to all social interactions with other Emo Kids (even ones with this level of Emo). On the other hand, he has a +1 bonus to all social interactions with non Emo Kids, who are just happy he's not whining.
4-6: Your character is attuned to the unfairness of life. He mopes, whinges, whines and cries his way through the day. In other words, he is an ordinary Emo Kid.
7-9: Your character bleeds for the world. It would hurt too much to get out of bed, were your character not a huge masochist. At this heightened state of Emo, your character has a +1 bonus to all social interactions with other Emo Kids, and a -1 penalty to interactions with non Emo-Kids.
10: Emo Freak Out!
As well as these permanent advantages, you can also use your Emo Rating in lieu of an attribute where that would be appropiate. For instance, if your character has a Substance of 6, a skill in Poetry worth 2, and a current Emo Rating of 9, he could use his Emo Rating of 9 instead of his substance when writing some particularly angsty poetry, so he would add 11 to his D10 roll instead of 8.
Not all poetry could be written in this way. A beautiful ode to the sunset is not Emo enough, although a poem about how the red of the sunset reminds you of the red that trickles down your arms might just do it. Remember that whatever you create whilst using your Emo Track will be tainted by Emo, so that no well adjusted person can get any long term benefit out of it.
Gaining and losing Emo
Characters gain Emo by:
- Denying their Emo nature
- Using some of the Emo powers
- Emotional rejection and general teen angst
Characters can vent some of their Emo by:
- Self Harm (one lethal health level will get rid of one level of Emo)
- Writing Teen Poetry
- Voluntary social withdrawal.
In general, any one of these things will cause a gain or loss of one level, but rewards should be given for going the extra mile. Walking out of the school dance just after the girl of your dreams has asked you to boogie because you are not worthy of such grace is worth a lot more than leaving a party half an hour early. Being humiliated by the kindly English teacher is going to give you more Emo than the school bully's daily taunts.
As a rule, the character has to be genuinely inconvenienced to lose some Emo, and genuinely bothered to gain some.
Sample Emo Freak-Outs
Vomit-Forth Emotion
The emotion wells up inside of you until you can't keep it in anymore. The world must know how you feel. You begin to vomit forth your emotion, which to the casual observer appears to be the same as regular vomit. You cannot stop vomiting for the rest of the scene, with the force of a fire hydrant.
The Truth Hurts
Lies. They overwhelm us. They become our thoughts and our methods of communication. Each lie is a compromise, and we heap compromise on compromise until we lost what we were trying to protect. Your life is a lie. But no more. From now on, You shall be a beacon of hope in a world made dark by deceit. For one day, you will be honest and candid in your criticisms of other people, no matter what the consequences.
Spread the Pain
Your Emo is contagious! Your life is now so painful that anybody who comes into contact with you for a scene has no choice but to feel the pain of the world. Otherwise happy people burst into tears of pain and shame. Unsurprisingly, when they come to their senses once the scene is over they aren't too impressed with you.
Finally you can min, max, and munchkin to your heart's delight
That's the idea, at least.
You have 12 bonus points to spend on your character to make sure they have all the powers you need them to. Here are the costs:
An extra point in an attribute will cost you three points
An extra dot in a skill will cost you one point for the first three levels, and two points for the next three levels.
An extra emo power will cost you nine points.