Creator's note: This is a literal Interest Check in the sense that i'm not sure if i want to run this, but i'm checking interest in the concept.



So, i've been recently rewatching the Yu-Gi-Oh! original anime and thinking to myself "Wow, you can tell this is fiction, because people are playing this card game and actually having fun and dynamic battles." Because, let's face facts, most Yu-Gi-Oh RP's i've seen are ruined by the fact that this game has become a 1-turn game where early game is meeting your opponent, mid-game is shuffling and deciding who goes first and end-game is showing each other your opening hands and deciding who's gonna pull out their insta-win combo first. I like that universe the show created, i like the lore and the idea of the game they play, but the simple fact is that the actual game isn't that game. Hell, i owned my own card game shop for 10 years and all of my YGO players agreed "We don't play this game because it's fun, we play it because Sunk Cost Fallacy has taken control of our lives"

So, i'm thinking of making something based on the VR arcs from the first series, specificially both of the arcs dealing with The Big 5... Kinda more along the lines of Digimon. Where the idea is a bunch of kids and their decks get sucked into a fantasy world where their Duel Monsters Decks and the monsters and cards they play are the only things capable of protecting them. Where it doesn't matter that one player decides to have a Kuriboh deck and someone else is playing the latest Centaur-Ions, because story dynamic decides duels, not the meta, meaning that player interaction is the important thing, not "Well, i'm playing the latest meta, meaning i am literally incapable of losing any match-ups with other players, because they wanted to play something else." that 90% of RP's like this end up being.

I'm currently thinking of having deck creation be like:


So, anyone got any thoughts on this?

I've been giving the idea of Yugioh RPs some thought lately, and while you hit on a lot of good points, yugioh RPs (that aren't borderline tabletop RPs) and more broadly the anime tends to be an asspull contest. I'm not sure how you plan on handling things, but while shifting the focus of the RP towards a fantasy world of RPG-based monsters can help that aspect, it doesn't sound particularly conducive to player agency. Don't get me wrong; running an RP is difficult and running an RP well is impossible, but I have concerns about how much players will actually be able to make decisions if the world isn't robust enough to handle going off the rails.

There's also a lot of obvious mechanical questions, like how to avoid players solving every problem by busting out a Raigeki or solving every problem with their ace monster which just so happens to have non-targeting, non-destruction board wipes. Are we going full RPG monsters where effects barely matter, and if so, what do effects and spell/traps even do? Are we doing actual duels, and if so, what are the stakes when players are expected to style on every enemy?

Finally, I also tried to test out the deck sheet you made, and I'm not sure sticking to exactly 3 in each category or having arbitrary categories like "signature dragon" is ideal for giving people an idea of what the deck is like, how it works, or even the simple aesthetics of it. This might be because I filled it out with an actual (if slightly aged) non-archetypal deck, but I'm not sure it would work perfectly even with more thematic decks, other than rote archetype decks. Did you have custom cards in mind for this RP?

You know me, I'm always down for your rp's!

As for thoughts, something else that could help cut down on the frustrating "whoever plays the meta first is the main character and wait, where's everyone going-" thing? I think your idea could work, and if you wanted to further control/stay ahead of the madness that is modern yugioh? while it won't have players actually playing the game, imposing guidelines like "GOAT/Time Wizard" or "Edison" could also keep things under control, and ease some players' "analysis paralysis".

So, yeah, I'm down. I'll hold off on a character submission until there's an OOC.

Count me in. I’d take any version of Yugioh where the opponent doesn’t play Solitaire, or every card in a given deck results in a board full of negates. Your idea also lets people play whatever they like, which I appreciate as someone who enjoys more thematic/gimmicky decks over the meta. But real quick, how would cards from the Rush era work if they’re allowed? Like say I wanted to play Red-Eyes, but wanted to use something like Rush Duel exclusive support? (Ex. Meteor Swarm Dragon)

This is an interesting idea. There could be a cap on the number of effects people can activate to keep things from going crazy. Like you start with 3 moves and get 2 every turn or something. People could also use custom cards to help prop up a favorite card or archetype that would otherwise be lackluster.

Since its a yugioh rp I imagine it'll have cheesy scenarios and the cast making dumb remarks as they observe their teammates duels? The duelest kingdom arc would be a fun place to start.

This is an interesting idea. There could be a cap on the number of effects people can activate to keep things from going crazy. Like you start with 3 moves and get 2 every turn or something. People could also use custom cards to help prop up a favorite card or archetype that would otherwise be lackluster.

Since its a yugioh rp I imagine it'll have cheesy scenarios and the cast making dumb remarks as they observe their teammates duels? The duelest kingdom arc would be a fun place to start.

Well there is this thing called Trinity Format that does that by limiting the summoning of effect monsters to three. It could probably be something worth looking over.

Roight, it's been too bloody hot these last few days and now i'm in somewhere with my laptop and AC so i can think.

@Ryik Honestly, all good questions.

1) Still deciding on story, as i said this is an Interest Check in the literal sense of "Who would even be interested in something like this?"
2) To be fair, in freeform RP's like this, there is always that problem. "How does Superman act as an effective character in this DC RP when he can literally just laser someone's face off the moment things get spicy." And the simple answer is that we are all subject to the rule of Narrative. Think of it like Duelist Kingdom. Duelist Kingdom has no rules. They are literally "What we need them to be for this episode to work. The Panik fight especially so. Point is, if characters are going to win battles, then the narrative will shift to help them win the battle, regardless of other factors.

Pretty much: "If Yajerobi needs to defeat Broly in a 1v1 in order for the story to progress, then you'd best believe Yajerobi is gonna beat Broly in that 1v1."

This is just how narrative works.

3) As i said in the first post. Characters decks wouldn't be a set thing. Pretty much, if you set your character up as having an archetype then you reasonably get any card you need from that archetype as you need it. Allows players to mess about with some of the crappy cards, super-situational cards. Think of Jaden's deck with all of those cards that only work with 1 specific hero.

Again, as in the first post, it avoids players from having to build decks based on the current meta in order to have a chance of ever being allowed a win in a PVP battle.

Pretty much, spaced is warped and time is bendable, most of this is "Don't worry about it."

While it won't have players actually playing the game, imposing guidelines like "GOAT/Time Wizard" or "Edison" could also keep things under control, and ease some players' "analysis paralysis".

@Darkmoon Angel

My last game of Yu-Gi-Oh! was when they first released Dragon Rulers which convinced me to never play the game ever again, i have no idea what a "Rush Duel" is, but i don't see why not, unless there are specific mechanics that prevent Rush Exclusive stuff from working in the main game?

@Product

As i said earlier in the post, this is mostly going to be narratively driven, so don't worry about going nuts with rules.

But definitely want to lean into the Duelist Kingdom style insanity. Definitely at least need 1 cardgame on motorcycles at some point.

@Digmata

They made another format for Yu-Gi-Oh! I mean beyond Advanced and Traditional.

No that Trinity format is a fanmade format.

No that Trinity format is a fanmade format.

I think Rush is the only format that isn't? Definitely research Rush, boss- it's very different from standard, including different printing and abilities

@mattmanganon Rush is a format that hasn’t even come to the West in the 5 YEARS it has been a thing. It plays differently than the meta we’re familiar with and, as I said, has exclusive support given to certain cards, and even entirely new archetypes and decks built for it. Heck, one of the themes is a bunch of female monsters like Kanan the Swordmistress and Mystical Elf going out and partying lol. Fusion and Ritual are the only ED mechanics (yes, Rituals are in the ED like they should’ve been), and the cards even have updated and more stylized artworks to them. I recommend looking it up if you’re not a fan of how the current game is.

Hi, Count me in

Man I haven't played in months. Have a pure machina deck. Whoever mentioned rush, it's not coming to us.

Man I haven't played in months. Have a pure machina deck. Whoever mentioned rush, it's not coming to us.

Unless you play Duel Links, they have it

I was for a while. I might get back to it soon. I don't know. Feeling like building a zombie deck at the moment.

This seems rather interesting. Count me in if it ever gets made.

Well, looks like there is definitely plenty of interest for the idea.

Currently working on an actual story. Currently thinking about something with the heroes being summoned to the world to defeat the forces of Dark World or the Evil HEROs

To help me out on this, what kinds of "Special" cards would people like to work their characters towards?

Example: Yugi starts with his grandfathers deck where Dark Magician is his prized monster, but Dark Magician isn't exactly the be-all-end-all of power. Eventually he manages to unlock the powers of the feared Egyptian God's. And when the God's are stolen from him, the mythical dragon Timaeus grants him his power to defeat the ancient threat of Orichalcos.

So, the "Special" cards for Yugi would be the Egyptian God's and Eye of Timaeus.

Also, would people be interested in saying that the reason that they can even do what they do in this world is because of something like the Millenium Items? Or maybe the signs of the Crimson Dragon?

Pretty much, some advice on "Why the gang are as super special awesome as they are?" Would be helpful.

To help me out on this, what kinds of "Special" cards would people like to work their characters towards?

Example: Yugi starts with his grandfathers deck where Dark Magician is his prized monster, but Dark Magician isn't exactly the be-all-end-all of power. Eventually he manages to unlock the powers of the feared Egyptian God's. And when the God's are stolen from him, the mythical dragon Timaeus grants him his power to defeat the ancient threat of Orichalcos.

So, the "Special" cards for Yugi would be the Egyptian God's and Eye of Timaeus.

Also, would people be interested in saying that the reason that they can even do what they do in this world is because of something like the Millenium Items? Or maybe the signs of the Crimson Dragon?

Pretty much, some advice on "Why the gang are as super special awesome as they are?" Would be helpful.

Honestly, I’d be fine with either or. The legendary dragons and their fusion shenanigans are a cool concept that I wished was explored more. Having a weird magical mcguffin connect the characters might be a way to go. Of course, what’s stopping us from making an underdog with no magic mumbo jumbo, Joey style? Either way, magic mcguffin, ancient gods, or legendary dragons/knights, I’m fine with any decision.

I'm tentatively interested. I'll keep my eye out for this one.

Yu-Gi-Oh these days just isn't the same as it was before.

Right, back from Holiday and doing some proper story planning. People still interested in this?

Any preferences on the kinds of decks people would be wanting to use?