Parasites crazy experience!

PARASITES is a role-playing game that explores a disturbing yet fascinating concept: alien parasites that infest and control a single human host. Inspired by Michael Sullivan's "Everyone Is John," this RPG takes the concept of dark humor and competitive strategy to a whole new level.

In PARASITES, one player takes on the role of the GM (Game Master) while others play alien parasites infesting the same human host. Each parasite has its own distinct personality and objectives to complete, but they all share one fundamental priority: survival.

The premise is brilliant in its simplicity: players compete with each other to take control of the host and achieve their own objectives, often at the expense of the host's well-being. The result is a chaotic, unpredictable, and decidedly hilarious gaming experience, albeit with a distinctly macabre tone.

Character creation in PARASITES is simple yet offers considerable variety. Players determine their parasite's personality by rolling 1d6, resulting in combinations like "Manipulative/Sadistic/Cheerful" or "Impulsive/Vindictive/Naive." These twisted personalities guide the parasite's behavior when it takes control of the host.

Each parasite also has three objectives of increasing difficulty, ranging from relatively harmless actions like "Make the host argue with someone" to extremely destructive goals like "Destroy everything the host loves." Completing these objectives is key to winning the game, adding an element of strategy to the chaos.

The central mechanics of PARASITES revolve around two systems:

1. Control Auctions: Parasites compete in an auction to determine who takes control of the host in each scene. Each parasite rolls 1 base d6 but can spend Energy Points to add extra dice, introducing a resource management element.
2. Action Tests: When a parasite controls the host and attempts a risky action, they roll dice to determine success. Actions are classified based on difficulty, with harder objectives requiring more successes (5-6 on dice).

The failure management system is particularly interesting: when a parasite critically fails, the host risks meeting a "grim fate," and the other parasites must participate in an auction to save them. If no one succeeds, the host either dies or rids themselves of the parasites, forcing them to change bodies.

The GM can randomly generate the host and their initial situation, creating scenarios ranging from mundane to absurd. The host might be a criminal on the run, an office worker about to declare love, or a celebrity trapped in an embarrassing situation. The unique complication adds another layer of chaos: the host might be in the middle of a robbery, being chased by police, or carrying a dangerous object like a primed bomb.

These initial situations provide a rich context for the game and push the parasites to react strategically, trying to exploit the circumstances to their advantage.

What makes PARASITES so fascinating is its embrace of dark humor. The game encourages absurd situations, catastrophic decisions, and moments of pure madness, all while players try to sabotage the host (and often other parasites) to achieve their objectives.

The result is a chaotic and unpredictable narrative that can quickly shift from comedic to disturbing and back again. Players find themselves laughing at situations that would be horrible in real life, creating that tension characteristic of dark humor.

Despite the apparent chaos, PARASITES contains a significant strategic element. Players must carefully manage their Energy Points, deciding when to invest them in control auctions and when to save them for important tests. They must also assess when it's the right time to complete their objectives and when it's better to sabotage other parasites.

The competition between parasites creates an interesting dynamic: occasional collaboration may be necessary for common survival (such as when the host is in danger), but ultimately there is only one winner. This tension between cooperation and competition adds depth to what might otherwise be a simple game of chaos.