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rantmo posted:It took me the better part of a day to narrow down the list of possibilities to it. It doesn't help that the tracking on stamps.com is slightly worse than completely useless. Ah yes, a PACKAGE from LOCATION 3021 being sent by [REDACTED] is totally not going to make me paranoid that something terrible is going to be showing up on my doorstep
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Sep 13, 2013 21:12
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Ohhh, -that's- what PSI was sending me that my mailman arbitrarily didn't deliver today. I was sort of assuming it was Zombicide, which is in the process of shipping and has actually updated to that effect, unlike Better Angels.
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Sep 14, 2013 01:09
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I too mistook the shipping info for that of another project. Ambiguous emails are my favorite kind. On top of the ambiguity, the address in the confirmation email sent doesn't even have my suite number. They're 0 for 2 with me.
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Sep 14, 2013 01:51
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I've been in playing in a Better Angels campaign for some time. We playtested the rules and our GM is writing a campaign for BA for Arc Dream. It's been quite fun so far. Tonight we faced a demon who managed to free itself from the human host. poo poo got real.
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Sep 14, 2013 07:32
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Didn't see it mentioned elsewhere, so I figured this is the place for it: http://bundleofholding.com/index/current Current bundle is Unknown Armies and a bunch of supplements, presumably more to come.
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Oct 5, 2013 00:03
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Tsed posted:Didn't see it mentioned elsewhere, so I figured this is the place for it: Never heard of this site before. But pretty tempted to pick it up. I love UA but don't have access to the books anymore so I have a totally legitimate reason to pick it up, right?
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Oct 5, 2013 00:11
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That was my excuse! Also they're adding Godwalker, the Unknown Armies novel featuring the Freak throwing down with a Major-charged Entropomancer, to the bundle on Monday.
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Oct 5, 2013 00:38
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Doodmons posted:That was my excuse! Also they're adding Godwalker, the Unknown Armies novel featuring the Freak throwing down with a Major-charged Entropomancer, to the bundle on Monday. Trust me, it's worth it for Godwalker alone! Buy it, people!
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Oct 5, 2013 05:23
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This is probably a bit late, but what did those of you who picked it up / kickstarted it think of the audiobook for Mask of the Other? I actually really liked it and want to see more of Greg Stolze's work transition into other mediums. Also I'm pretty psyched for Godwalker, even if I don't usually enjoy pdf's of actual books. ^^"
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Oct 5, 2013 06:23
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I just finished reading the UA core book, and I really want to run this thing now. Even the story time flavor text is good. I have a bunch of people who love this kind of poo poo. I've found pdf reference sheets for combat, and stress checks, but has anyone tracked down the one for magic and tilts? Tilts is the main thing I can't keep memorized.
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Oct 5, 2013 16:36
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Babylon Astronaut posted:I've found pdf reference sheets for combat, and stress checks, but has anyone tracked down the one for magic and tilts? Tilts is the main thing I can't keep memorized. I make my players print out stuff like magic rules for themselves and honestly, something like Tilts shouldn't come up that often. Unless that's your thing.
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Oct 5, 2013 17:21
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Babylon Astronaut posted:I just finished reading the UA core book, and I really want to run this thing now. Even the story time flavor text is good. I have a bunch of people who love this kind of poo poo. Could you link the combat and stress check PDFs? Those sound handy.
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Oct 7, 2013 01:27
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If only this was a sign that there was fresh Unknown Armies coming. I finally got my hardcover of 'To Go' after a seriously absurd amount of ebay hunting, and, inevitably, my UA group has disintegrated off into the seven hills. Tilts will probably never comes up unless you're specifically building your campaign around 'em.
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Oct 8, 2013 00:15
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Doodmons posted:Could you link the combat and stress check PDFs? Those sound handy. http://fading-suns.mapache.org/u/stresses.pdf http://www.geocities.ws/pbrennan42/uacombat_v2.pdf
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Oct 8, 2013 00:27
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Wild Talents question: Can the No Upward Limit extra take the width of an attack beyond 10 dice? I know there's the hard limit that you can only roll 10 dice, but I don't think I've seen anywhere that there's a limit on the width you can have. The thing I'm thinking is that 10HD Invulnerability is supposed to make you literally undamageable within the system, but someone with NUL can increase their attack's width beyond 10, and then only 10 width is removed by the Interference, so the attack still goes off.
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Oct 9, 2013 14:38
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Squidster posted:If only this was a sign that there was fresh Unknown Armies coming. I finally got my hardcover of 'To Go' after a seriously absurd amount of ebay hunting, and, inevitably, my UA group has disintegrated off into the seven hills. To Go is stupidly good. Even just reading it has upped my game on how I write and plan my group's games.
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Oct 9, 2013 14:56
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Doodmons posted:Wild Talents question: Can the No Upward Limit extra take the width of an attack beyond 10 dice? I know there's the hard limit that you can only roll 10 dice, but I don't think I've seen anywhere that there's a limit on the width you can have.
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Oct 9, 2013 16:05
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Doodmons posted:Wild Talents question: Can the No Upward Limit extra take the width of an attack beyond 10 dice? I know there's the hard limit that you can only roll 10 dice, but I don't think I've seen anywhere that there's a limit on the width you can have. The thing I'm thinking is that 10HD Invulnerability is supposed to make you literally undamageable within the system, but someone with NUL can increase their attack's width beyond 10, and then only 10 width is removed by the Interference, so the attack still goes off. If you have enough willpower to spend, I think you may be able to increase it beyond ten width. By the same token, someone with 10HD Invulnerability that also has no upper limit could also boost themselves to similar levels. The reasoning for this rules interpretation is derived from the following passage on page 120 of Wild Talents Essential Edition: quote:There’s no limit to the amount of Willpower you can spend to increase the power’s
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Oct 15, 2013 13:21
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Has anyone experimented with using the Company rules in other ORE games? I was inspired by politically conscious comic books and the old Underground RPG, and I think a game where misbegotten superheroes try to really save their city could be a blast.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:47
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That would be a natural fit for eCollapse with ORE rules, actually.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:53
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So, Unknown Armies might reboot in 2015.
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Jan 2, 2014 03:34
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HO MY GOD. Fetch my skull-bong and a chilled bottle of 1999 virgin tears, and let us ascend through the eternal drivethru at 3rd and Truth Ave!
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Jan 2, 2014 03:48
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Honestly, the major thing that needs to be done with the reboot is push the setting forward to present day.
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Jan 2, 2014 08:22
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I'd like to see some stuff too for putting it in ORE or a more rules light system too.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:22
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I'm not sure what you'd strip away to make UA more rules light honestly, it's already pretty light as it is. A percentile resolution system, you make most of the skills you have up, you choose a few stimuli, and off you go. Magic doesn't really add that much in terms of crunch on top of that.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:27
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I would like to see it in ORE too, if only because ORE is unique and neat whereas I'm a little prejudiced against bog-standard percentile systems for being, well, kinda dull.
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Jan 2, 2014 15:28
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I think what UA needs is, in this order: 1) More concrete advice on how to set up adventures and interesting situations for the players, i.e. "how do I actually play this thing" 2) Less detail about the factions and NPCs of the setting, more detail about their feel and themes, so each GM can warp the setting to make it work for them 3) A more interesting system I'm not too familiar with it, but Don't Rest Your Head is an indie game that features both a madness system with fight or flight and weird magick-like powers that are psychologically costly to use. It'd be nice to see something similar for UA, a system that's designed around these things which are the most important aspects of the game. Either way, I'm very happy to see a possible reboot in the works. Here's to hoping for less pages of metaplot and lame "canon NPCs"!
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Jan 2, 2014 15:50
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Cyphoderus posted:Here's to hoping for less pages of metaplot and lame "canon NPCs"! Luckily very few of the "canon NPCs"! were lame. The Freak, The Count, Alex Abel, etc are all exceedingly good, actually.
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Jan 2, 2014 23:46
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On a related note, I want to see Satan's Chosen Temple reimagined as Juggalos.
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Jan 2, 2014 23:53
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The Freak and St. Germain were both unbeatable, unkillable godbosses. Neither has stats, and they're cosmic constants in a game about shifting chaos. They could easily become two-legged railroad tracks in the hands of a poor dm. I feel like most of the canon NPCs are great evocative characters who work great in a traditional narrative, but don't really work as well in a player-driven setting.
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Jan 3, 2014 00:54
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Squidster posted:The Freak and St. Germain were both unbeatable, unkillable godbosses. Neither has stats, and they're cosmic constants in a game about shifting chaos. They could easily become two-legged railroad tracks in the hands of a poor dm. Yeah, UA's concepts are going to be awful poo poo in the hands of a poor GM. This goes with anything. The Freak and St. Germain aren't there to be bossfights you put your party up against. They're also not really supposed to be like, quest givers or DMPCs. They're just part of the setting, as I see it, and at worst occasional plot devices. As for "contants in a game about shifting chaos", The Freak, St. Germain, and Alex Abel are both notorious/powerful for how they interact with the "rules" of the setting. The Freak abused how magic[k] works to become a terrifying monster, St. Germain apparently exists due to how the universe functions on a metaphysical level, and Alex Abel's whole deal is he came close to ascending and is now taking it out on all magic[k] anywhere. They exemplify how the world of UA works, in different ways. Magic[k] is bad for you! Edit: As an aside, I agree that in general the canon NPCs are never to be taken off of the shelf except in extremely rare circumstances and only by a skilled GM. If I recall correct, the books say as much.
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Jan 3, 2014 01:28
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For an RPG that was ahead of it's time in so many ways, the specifics of the setting are just about the only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb. I'd expect to see the rumors section expanded greatly, since they're such a huge part of the ongoing support done Tyne's website. I could see "building your own occult underground" as a new GM tool. Keep St. Germain as a constant in all worlds, but, y'know, I could take the McDonalds cult or leave it. Those rumors, I tell you, were the harbinger of that Night Vale and Weird Twitter style of postmodern horror so popular in these times. We should have listened.
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Jan 3, 2014 01:55
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Capntastic posted:Yeah, UA's concepts are going to be awful poo poo in the hands of a poor GM. This goes with anything. The Freak and St. Germain aren't there to be bossfights you put your party up against. They're also not really supposed to be like, quest givers or DMPCs. They're just part of the setting, as I see it, and at worst occasional plot devices. That's a thing I like about UA; yeah there are super-high-level NPCs who could squish you easily, but they're not "end bosses" or Elminster-style quest dispensers. They're powerful people who don't give two shits about you (until you cross them) because the world's full of people who don't give two shits about you (until you cross them). It's entirely possible to live your whole life and never even get close to interacting with them, but they're still there and they may or may not have an influence on your life. Mimir posted:For an RPG that was ahead of it's time in so many ways, the specifics of the setting are just about the only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb. I'd expect to see the rumors section expanded greatly, since they're such a huge part of the ongoing support done Tyne's website. I could see "building your own occult underground" as a new GM tool. Keep St. Germain as a constant in all worlds, but, y'know, I could take the McDonalds cult or leave it.
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Jan 3, 2014 02:13
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Squidster posted:The Freak and St. Germain were both unbeatable, unkillable godbosses. Neither has stats, and they're cosmic constants in a game about shifting chaos. Isn't that most of the enemies in Call of Cthulhu, minus the stats?
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Jan 3, 2014 06:15
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Almost every setting has "gods" of some sort or another. You can't blame the setting if a GM uses them in a poorly-thought out scenario. And I think "gods" play an important role in any game--there always has to be someone tougher than you, or things get boring.
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Jan 3, 2014 06:34
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Sad Mammal posted:Isn't that most of the enemies in Call of Cthulhu, minus the stats? UA's mission statement and catchphrase, You Did It, establishes that the game is about free will and consequences. It also implies You Can Do It - any obsession, with enough power and sacrifice can be accomplished. You want all of humanity to wake up tomorrow as hermaphrodites? No? How about a chance to eat Hitler's still-beating heart between double-down patties? Or maybe you want to record San Francisco on audio cassette to win the love of Philadelphia? All valid, achievable Unknown Armies goals. You Can Do It, and if you're willing to play by the rules and pay the price, You Can Do Anything. Having an invulnerable plot device who can cancel out player agency is bad in all RPGs, but extra dissonant in UA.
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Jan 3, 2014 06:36
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You can still thwart a god. Sure it will most likely come at tremendous cost, but at least you got to stick your middle finger into the face of a deity.
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Jan 3, 2014 06:42
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 Both of 'em are granite-cast metaplot, and I feel that it doesn't match the setting's central paradigm to have unkillable gods at all. Treat them as gigantic fuckoff wannabe-gods that should have PCs pissing their pants, sure, but the Freak and co shouldn't be pet deus ex machinas. In a campaign that wrapped up last year, I had an Automaton try to ascend as The New Flesh by instigating a Epidomancer civil war. After all but 2 adepts were destroyed, leaving only the Freak and a player character, the Automaton made a final bid to harvest the Freak, and incorporate the Godwalker into itself, effectively hijacking its way into the Celestial Clergy. When the dust settled, New York was a deserted plague camp, and the Freak owes them all a favour. But I made it clear that the players could support either side and expect to win - gods or not, they have to be fallible and breakable to fit with UA themes.
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Jan 3, 2014 06:58
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Here's what UA says about The Freak, etc: "No stats are provided for the Freak. Like the Comte de St-Germain, the Freak is an unstoppable, unkillable, near-omnipotent plot device, a fable that walks. Use it as such." In Stolze's novella Godwalker, the Freak nearly gets taken out by two adepts. If a GM wanted to have a campaign centered around killing or even seriously interfering with The Freak, it could certainly be doable. UA is all about doing the impossible. I think it's pretty wise of them to not stat certain things up, because then you have people saying "well, by all rights I should be able to solo them with this build". It's like how D&D has literal gods and devils statted out and then you can make a character with max charisma to convince them to do your bidding. Conversely to all of this, Progenitor's Amanda Sykes (an insanely superpowerful housewife) is statted out. Oh well. Edit: Squidster's image didn't load for me until I submitted this!!
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Jan 3, 2014 07:21
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The Freak can be beaten, just not physically. Do something it didn't account for. It's that the ideas in The Freak's presentation are interesting that makes The Freak a good NPC, a line in the book saying it can't be beaten doesn't just automatically make it suck.
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Jan 3, 2014 07:23
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