Starting as simply a horrible pun, I came up with another idea for a game - Mermeido. (Feel free to shoot me now.)
Setting - The maids look after the young heir to the Atlantic throne, a rather charming little girl who is very naive in terms of how the world works. She was raised by them, though her uncle has tried more than once to alter the way they brought her up. The maids can tell he has plans for the throne, but they chose not to tell the young girl.
Her father has stepped down from the throne, but her inaugration as Queen of the Atlantic is incomplete. Before she can be crowned queen she is told she has to prove herself by completing the Crown of Tides - the most valuable of the nation's artifacts. She is told that the first of its six gems is hidden within her very own mansion, but the rest of them are scattered around the world - land and sea. After *ahem* 'recruiting' some maids from above the surface to help out with the land-faring, the quest begins - but a shadowy force from an all-too-predictable foe looks set to collect the gems first and stifle the princess's plans. It's up to you, her maids, to help her to her rightful place!
Mistress - Merlina Lantis
Legitimate Child, Age 12
Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue tail/fins
Qualities - Mermaid (duh), OCD
Power - Blood Ties
Explosion - Sleep
Ath - 1
Aff - 2
Ski - 1
Cun - 2
Luk - 2
Will - 2
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Maid RPG already has a mermaid character type, but this game will mainly focus on the common image of a mermaid - half-human with a fish's tail. As such, when a mer-maid rolls for uniform colour, that colour counts for their tail as well.
The maid team will be made up of two groups - the mermaids who've looked after Merlina for years, and a group of surface dwellers from various backgrounds who Merlina 'recruited' from above to help out. Magic is abound, so don't worry about the whole breathing thing.
For Roots, roll 1d6 as per your race:
Mermaid Roots
1 - You come from a family of maids loyal to the Lantis family.
2 - You were bought as a slave as an act of mercy.
3 - You are a distant relative to the princess, though you have no desire for the throne and have offered your aid as a servant instead.
4 - You are a mermaid from a foreign ocean (choose one yourself) working as a peacekeeper in the Atlantic.
5 - You were bought in by Merlina's uncle, Lefay, to sabotage her quest. You must do so discreetly, or else he has made dire threats against you...
6 - You're not sure how you came to the mansion, but, well, here you are!
Non-Mermaid Roots
1 - You fell off a cruise ship and were left for dead, until suddenly you woke up in a mysterious mansion at the bottom of the sea...
2 - You are a scientist, adamant that mermaids really do exist, ridiculed by your peers for chasing myths. You've just been proven right, but good luck telling anyone...
3 - You were a criminal on the surface, wanted for a serious crime, when you were suddenly given the chance to atone through servitude.
4 - You're a magician, though not a very experienced one. You tried casting a spell to cook toast and managed to send yourself to the mansion of the princess of the Atlantic. Those kooky misfires!
5 - You were a maid in a mansion above the surface. Same job, sliiiightly different environment.
6 - The spell to bring you here backfired - you don't remember what exactly you were before you were enrolled as a maid.
I'm looking for at least two or three characters from both groups, preferrably. Three qualities, no complexes, yadda yadda yadda. Hopefully this idea will get off the ground...
