Line #26 TabletopGame/BlissStage


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bliss_stage_edit.png]]
2	->'''Right now,''' the moment you began reading this, Humanity is devastated by an alien attack from the edges of our understanding.\
3	'''It is the first blow of a terrible war.''' Seven years later, armed with technology you cannot comprehend and can barely operate, you will strike back.\
4	'''''This is how.'''''
5	-->--Back cover text
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7	Bliss Stage is a tabletop roleplaying game by Ben Lehman & PH Lee. It was released in 2007 and picked up by publisher TAO Games in 2011. It is an homage to Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion and similar works such as Manga/{{Bokurano}} and Anime/RahXephon. Currently it can be found at the [[https://www.tao-games.com/bliss-stage/ TAO website]] and sold by various RPG PDF sites.
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9	The story involves [[AlienInvasion alien invaders]] afflicting humanity with "the Bliss", a form of stasis locking the [[OnlyFatalToAdults adult population]] into an [[LotusEaterMachine unwaking sleep with apparently blissful dreams]]. Children and teenagers are left to deal with societal collapse and the occasional [[StarfishRobots alien terror drone]] attack.
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11	A lone, insomniac, and probably AxCrazy adult manages to [[LaResistance rally some survivors]] and, to their enduring astonishment, capture one of the drones. They reverse-engineer it into the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Alien Numina Inversion Machine,]] or [=ANIMa=], a machine that [[ThePowerOfLove converts relationships]] into a source of PsychicPower taking the form of a HumongousMecha. The deeper the relationship, the more power it contributes to the mecha. With this, they fight back against the aliens in the hopes of liberating Earth. [=ANIMa=] pilots also need to be Anchored (in a manner similar to the Operators from ''Film/TheMatrix'') by a [[InformedAbility "trained psychologist"]], usually just someone they have a crush on. Some players take the role of pilots, while others are anchors.
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13	The game being a {{Deconstruction}} of ThePowerOfLove, developing more and stronger relationships is encouraged as a way to make your mecha more powerful, so [[LoveDodecahedron complicated romantic entanglements]] happen a lot but can have nasty consequences. In addition, each pilot accumulates a "Bliss score" through various means, and dies or otherwise becomes unplayable when they reach [[Mystical108 108]] Bliss. The game's ending is often [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] or [[GainaxEnding a little more disturbing]].
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15	There are two editions of the game, "Ignition Stage" and "Interim Stage", the latter apparently only containing minor wording changes and clarifications (the authors, to their credit, offered to provide a free upgrade for anyone who bought the first edition.) A third edition with significant gameplay changes, "Acceleration Stage", was announced but never released.
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17	Troper Tropers/TsundereLightning was [[PromotedFanboy tapped by the authors]] for a VisualNovel adaptation, ''VisualNovel/BlissStageLoveIsYourWeapon'', which also fizzled out and was never released. Overall the game did not receive much attention, though a Website/SomethingAwful user did write a critical and somewhat humorous review which can be read [[https://writeups.letsyouandhimfight.com/purplexvi/bliss-stage/ here]].
18	----
19	!! This game provides examples of:
20	* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Encouraged by the Interludes, which are shorter scenes taking place in the "real world" as opposed to the psychic dimension where you fight the aliens. They primarily serve to develop relationships between characters (though not necessarily in a positive way...)
21	* AdultsAreUseless: Both averted and played straight, in different ways. The world's economy and infrastructure collapses without the adults, but the [=PCs=] actually getting stuff done during the game are all teenagers. The one adult character, called the Authority Figure, is inevitably a ManipulativeBastard at best and a JerkAss at worst.
22	* AppliedPhlebotinum: The [=ANIMa=], a mysterious machine which uses alien brainwaves to create giant robots powered by strong emotion.
23	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: One of the possible results of the endgame.
24	* BlackBox: No one knows how the [=ANIMa=] work; the rulebook even speculates that the only functional part of the entire rig is a chunk of alien brain.
25	* BlackBugRoom: Where a pilot ends up if you botch a Pilot Safety/Nightmare check. The reason you need an Anchor is to prevent this from happening.
26	* BreakTheCutie: One of the character types is the Innocent Sweetheart, so this is likely to happen.
27	* CompetenceZone: Ages 13 to 17, in a very clear-cut example of this trope. Before that you're too young to operate an [=ANIMa=], after that you fall into a Bliss coma.
28	* CrapsackWorld: No farms. No electricity. No ''sewage systems''. Aliens trying to kill you. And you fall into a coma at age 18.
29	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of ThePowerOfLove, though most players try to immediately [[{{Reconstruction}} reconstruct]] the trope. And succeed.
30	* DeusSexMachina: In the form of LevelUpAtIntimacy5 and MoreFriendsMoreBenefits.
31	* DoWellButNotPerfect: The stronger your relationships, the more dice you roll during missions, getting a plus, minus, or zero for each die. A plus is good, a zero is bad, and a minus is really bad. You then assign these dice to various categories: one die to succeed at that step of the mission, one to keep yourself safe, and one for each relationship you're using in order to protect that relationship. However, unassigned dice give you points of Bliss. No points for zeroes, but you get one point for a minus and a whopping three for every unassigned plus. When you hit 108 points of Bliss, your pilot stops being a playable character— falling victim to the Bliss sleep, running away, taking over for the Authority Figure, or [[HeroicSacrifice dying heroically]]. A character with multiple strong relationships can keep everyone they care about safe, but [[GlassCannon will end up Blissing Out sooner rather than later]].
32	* DreamLand: The aliens' home turf.
33	* EldritchLocation: The dream realm where the pilots carry out missions is open to interpretation by the pilots' Anchors... at least until things go awry and the Anchor loses control, then it can quickly become a BlackBugRoom.
34	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The Bliss, which has knocked out all adults and led to societal collapse.
35	* FailureKnight: You can safely assume you are not your Anchor's first love. Or even their first pilot.
36	* FunWithAcronyms: Alien Numina Inversion Machine shortens to [=ANIMa=] ([[DontExplainTheJoke like anime]]).
37	* {{GMPC}}: Required in the form of the Authority Figure. In fact, if another player's character usurps the Authority Figure, that player must become the new GM!
38	* HandsomeLech: At the beginning of the prewritten one-shot, Keenan Caine has snagged all of the girls (judging by their Intimacy scores). Depending on what names and genders you assign to the Anchors, [[GayOption he's also snagged a couple of the guys.]]
39	* HowDoIShotWeb: The [=ANIMa=] was created six years after the alien invasion. The war began in earnest after another year of deadly trial and error. And it's still very hard to control an [=ANIMa=] without the guidance of an Anchor.
40	* HeroicBSOD: The probable result of getting to 108 Bliss.
41	* HumongousMecha: The [=ANIMa=] and the alien terror drones.
42	* InsistentTerminology: They're a Creche and a Cradle, not a hangar and an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Entry Plug]].
43	* IntimateHealing: Since the game mechanics are mostly based on a character's emotional state rather than their physical state, this can happen in the form of a Stress Relief or Trauma Relief result during an Interlude.
44	* JerkAss: Any Authority Figure, period. [[TheScrappy Some also say this about Keenan, one of the pregen characters featured in the rulebook.]]
45	* KickTheDog in the continuing examples, followed soon afterwards by an attempt to MurderTheHypotenuse:
46	--> '''Keenan:''' Man, Sara is getting all girly and clingy and shit. I don't want to deal with that. Lousy lay, too.
47	--> '''Josh:''' [[AxCrazy Fuck. That. Noise.]]
48	* LaResistance: The player-characters all are members of one of these, fighting the aliens and attempting to free humanity.
49	* LevelUpAtIntimacy5: Trope namer; the only way to get better at [=ANIMa=] combat is to deepen your relationship with your Anchor [[LoveDodecahedron and others.]] In order to reach the actual Intimacy 5 level with someone, you need to either be family or sleep with them, which is kinda creepy considering all the [=PCs=] are underage.
50	* LoveTriangle: In the rulebook examples and the one-shot. Josh is attracted to Sarah, who is with Keenan. Happens a lot in actual play, too, sometimes to the point of a--
51	* LoveDodecahedron: If your Pilot doesn't have one, [[MoreFriendsMoreBenefits they're seriously underpowered.]]
52	* MissionControl: the Anchors. In game, the Anchor's player acts as MissionControl and describes the terrain in combat.
53	* MoreFriendsMoreBenefits: Former TropeNamer. The path to MoreDakka in this game is wrapping your Pilot in a LoveDodecahedron of ludicrous proportions.
54	* MoeCouplet: Sara and Josh. [[MemeticMutation Their love is so innocent.]] This in a relentlessly GrimDark game.
55	* NeverSleepAgain: The Bliss only gets you when you go to sleep, so any surviving adults have managed to remain awake for ''seven years''. The rulebook doesn't describe how they've done this -- AppliedPhlebotinum, presumably -- but does note it's taken a toll on their psyches.
56	* OnlyFatalToAdults: The Bliss. Specifically, it's only fatal when you turn eighteen. Except it might not actually kill you. The protagonists certainly don't know.
57	* ParentalAbandonment: The results of the invasion in general -- and Josh Preston's father, the Authority Figure of LaResistance in the rulebook stories, who ''didn't look for him'' after the invasion hit, in particular.
58	* PresentDayPresentTime: This is when the Bliss hits, while the actual gameplay takes place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture.
59	* PromotionToParent: To be expected when the world suddenly loses all adults.
60	* PsychicPowers: All mechanically significant combat (i.e. [[=ANIMas=] vs. aliens, as opposed to humans fistfighting) takes place in a bizarre dream-world where your mind propels you.
61	* RelationshipValues: There are six stats in the game. Three of them measure the status of an interpersonal relationship (Intimacy, Trust and Stress) and the other three measure a character's mental state (Trauma, Terror and Bliss).
62	* RuleOfCool: The only possible explanation of why the [=ANIMa=] creates a robot.
63	* ThePowerOfFamily: Although much of the game's focus is on romantic relationships, familial ones can be just as strong and help you fight the aliens.
64	* ThePowerOfLove: [[WordOfGod Ben Lehman's]] favorite way of describing the [=ANIMa=] is "It runs on weaponized love."
65	* {{Tsundere}}: Anna Lin in the rulebook examples and pre-written adventure.
66	* TeenageWasteland: Most survivors have formed into gangs that scavenge for supplies and often attack each other.
67	* TheVirus: The Bliss had serious overtones of this, [[PresentDay before the before time.]]
68	* ThisIsNotADrill: Uttered in one of the rulebook example scenarios.
69	* WordSaladTitle: While it may seem like this, the trope is averted: the name is a reference to the "Bliss Stage" of a relationship - a more formal term for the honeymoon period.
70	* WriteWhoYouKnow: Invoked. The rules suggest naming Anchors after the players' unrequited crushes from when they were the age of their Pilot characters. It's also pointed out that using the name of someone you still know would be rather creepy, considering [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 certain]] [[DeusSexMachina mechanics]].
71	* YouLoseAtZeroTrust: The TropeNamer. Relationships are destroyed when they hit zero trust, which deals serious mental (and possibly physical) damage to the people involved. The stronger the relationship, the worse the damage.

Context TabletopGame / BlissStage